Seeking female thin to toned transformation inspiration!

[x1Wifey]

Long story short, I am the 5'5" 108 lb remainder of what once was a 125 lb athletic woman. Ten years and one baby later I'd like to become the most fit, strong and toned me possible. Any women out there willing to show off their tranformation/offer advice??

Thanks!

[freebirdmac]

Long story short, I am the 5'5" 108 lb remainder of what once was a 125 lb athletic woman. Ten years and one baby later I'd like to become the most fit, strong and toned me possible. Any women out there willing to show off their tranformation/offer advice??

Thanks!

Food allergies and raising a kid by myself left me in a similar condition. Albeit at a much older age. I have a pict of me at the beach in my bodyspace that was taken before I started working out. While there are better transformations out there, if this old lady can do it...

[heidismommy]

First of all, keep in mind I'm still a work in progress, but I've transformed myself from a skinny waif to a much more athletic physique . Here are my results so far (sorry, lots of pictures): http://bodyspace.bodybuilding.com/he...n=progresspics

Lots of food, lots of time, and smart training. If you have any questions, feel free to send a pm my way and I'll be happy to answer them.

There are lots of women here who have built up their bodies, if we can do it, you can too .

[ilovethe80s]

Hi, I was a waif too. 40lb gain over the years. It's easy, you just have to lift stuff and eat, you can do it Hardest thing with having kids is finding the time. I have 3 little ones. I keep my sessions really short but half the time my workouts are truncated anyway. But I feel like I have made more progress during the last few years than before, when I was single with all the time in the world. I am not a perfectionist, I believe that every bit counts and if you can just get it where you can and can still reach your goals.

Here are my progress pics/ story:
http://bodyspace.bodybuilding.com/il...n=progresspics

[bosgirlin09]

I was skinny fat. I got in the best shape of my life after age 40, and 3 kids.

[x1Wifey]

Wow...you ladies look great! It's nice to see support form other mums who are busy, I feel like getting started has been difficult just because of my schedule. I'm really excited about this and seeing your progress pics makes me want to do this even more! Thank you!!

[andrerox80]

heidismommy has knocked it one out of the park and, imo, is the poster child for this. glad she chimed in.

[darkangel]

Thanks to the OP for starting this thread. With so many trying to lose weight, sometimes we thin girls feel really isolated and don't have much inspiration or support.

I was naturally very thin - runs on both sides of the family - a typical ecto. In high school and college, I started trying to do something about it. Did low weight/high rep "cardio with weights" workouts and continued to eat high carb, sugary junk. I obviously had no idea what I was doing.

In 1999, I became very ill and was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis. My weight dropped from my normal 105 to 90 lbs. I began lifting weights as a way to regain healthy weight. I knew I didn't need to do any cardio, so I found some DVDs that focused solely on heavy weight training. For the first time in my life, I noticed a change for the better and I was hooked.

The DVDs could only take me so far. When I plateaued, a little lightbulb finally went off. Perhaps an ectomorph shouldn't workout the way the majority does? I researched programs specifically for hardgainers and found Anthony Ellis' Gaining Mass program. That's when I really started making progress. At my peak, I think I was up to 119 and looked better than I ever had. This was a pretty good feat for someone with a chronic health condition.

Since then, life has interfered and I've backslid some, but I'm rededicating myself to getting back in top shape by spring. You ladies have inspired me even more!

[heidismommy]

heidismommy has knocked it one out of the park and, imo, is the poster child for this. glad she chimed in.

You are so sweet, thank you !

[x1Wifey]

I'm glad you ladies understand! I am also naturally very slender due to a fast metabolism. I get complimented often on my body and it drive me crazy because people don't seem to understand that being thin does not necessarily mean someone is healthy or in shape! I would much rather someone look at a toned arm and be like "wow girl, that took some work!" I think sexy is strong, athletic and energized. I felt so much more confident when I was 125 pounds, toned and running the 400m at 66 seconds. I could barely get a mile out at the gym the other night and seriously wanted to cry. Which leads to my second question-do any of you ladies run or compete in races? I'm considering doing a 5k in March.

[freebirdmac]

I'm glad you ladies understand! I am also naturally very slender due to a fast metabolism. I get complimented often on my body and it drive me crazy because people don't seem to understand that being thin does not necessarily mean someone is healthy or in shape! I would much rather someone look at a toned arm and be like "wow girl, that took some work!" I think sexy is strong, athletic and energized. I felt so much more confident when I was 125 pounds, toned and running the 400m at 66 seconds. I could barely get a mile out at the gym the other night and seriously wanted to cry. Which leads to my second question-do any of you ladies run or compete in races? I'm considering doing a 5k in March.

Fast metabolisms don't exist unless you have a medical condition like hyperthyroidism. What it boils down to is cals in" versus cals out. Some people are naturally "fidgety" which burns far more cals than one would think. Others simply eat better, which takes more cals to maintain and gain. Yet others have a built in throttle and they stop before they eat enough to gain. If you track your diet you'll see that your calorie intake is not what it needs to be for your goals.

As for running, don't do it!!! Maybe later, but for now you need to focus on gaining muscle mass. Eat more, lift heavy, and do a full on bulk for at least 6 months. You will get a cardio workout, especially on leg day. I wouldn't even do cardio. Being able to run a mile or more isn't going to get you the body you want. Lifting some heavy weights will.

The stickies in the female training section should help you get started on a lifting routine. The bulking thread in the female/general section can teach you all about bulking. Odds are you'll need to do a few cycles of bulking to get to where you want to be.

[darkangel]

Wow. Your experience is definitely different from mine. No one ever complimented me on my body, in fact, much the opposite. I was teased unmercifully growing up, called names and humiliated. As you get older, it changes over to weird looks, snide comments and people asking you "why don't you just eat?" I never received any positive feedback on my body shape until I started seriously lifting weights.

I agree with FBM. If you're truly wanting to gain mass, the last thing you want to do is a lot of running. There's no better way to ensure you'll stay lean.

As far as the calories in vs. calories out: that can be complicated if you have health conditions and/or food allergies and sensitivities which may make you unable to properly digest and assimilate the foods you're eating. I believe there's also a difference in the quality and types of foods you choose as far as how well you can gain muscle mass, but that's my personal take.

[freebirdmac]

As far as the calories in vs. calories out: that can be complicated if you have health conditions and/or food allergies and sensitivities which may make you unable to properly digest and assimilate the foods you're eating. I believe there's also a difference in the quality and types of foods you choose as far as how well you can gain muscle mass, but that's my personal take.

Definitely! My food allergies make it very difficult to even maintain weight. I'm allergic and intolerant to corn which is used in freaking everything. Eating a simple apple ain't simple. And that's only one of my food no-no's.

[andrerox80]

people don't seem to understand that being thin does not necessarily mean someone is healthy or in shape!

preach on, sister. love your attitude.

[wakechica]

I'm glad you ladies understand! I am also naturally very slender due to a fast metabolism. I get complimented often on my body and it drive me crazy because people don't seem to understand that being thin does not necessarily mean someone is healthy or in shape! I would much rather someone look at a toned arm and be like "wow girl, that took some work!" I think sexy is strong, athletic and energized. I felt so much more confident when I was 125 pounds, toned and running the 400m at 66 seconds. I could barely get a mile out at the gym the other night and seriously wanted to cry. Which leads to my second question-do any of you ladies run or compete in races? I'm considering doing a 5k in March.

I run. I do cardio every day. I have to be fit for work. I'm a sprinter by back ground. Currently only HIIT focused as I'm tying to shred my body fat down but I can run upto 5km easily in a session. Go for it I say! Don't let it stop you. Running builds muscle and I think 5k falls into that category (just).


I also do triathlon and ride time trials. I've not got the time to train for tri right now or this season so just time trials this year.

[freebirdmac]

I run. I do cardio every day. I have to be fit for work. I'm a sprinter by back ground. Currently only HIIT focused as I'm tying to shred my body fat down but I can run upto 5km easily in a session. Go for it I say! Don't let it stop you. Running builds muscle and I think 5k falls into that category (just).


I also do triathlon and ride time trials. I've not got the time to train for tri right now or this season so just time trials this year.

Sprinting, hill running, bleacher running, etc is good for helping to build lower body mass. Not so for distance. You don't want to do much if any distance running when you're trying to build mass. You already have lower body mass and had mass when you started (looked at your body space picts). It's completely different when you start out under muscled. You have to prioritize your goals and recognize that some goals can interfere with one another.

The beginner, fast gain window is not open very long. If you need mass, focus solely on mass and take full advantage. Save the other goals for later.

[rdferguson]

http://nerdfitness.com/blog/2011/07/...ng-super-hero/

Cliff's:
- After losing a lot of weight, went from left to right:

- And then from left to right again:

[wakechica]

Sprinting, hill running, bleacher running, etc is good for helping to build lower body mass. Not so for distance. You don't want to do much if any distance running when you're trying to build mass. You already have lower body mass and had mass when you started (looked at your body space picts). It's completely different when you start out under muscled. You have to prioritize your goals and recognize that some goals can interfere with one another.

The beginner, fast gain window is not open very long. If you need mass, focus solely on mass and take full advantage. Save the other goals for later.

Fair point. I guess it depends how much of a runner the OP already is. If she can already bang out a sub-25min 5k, it's hardly distance work however it's if her first one etc. then yeh fair call - prioritization of goals is required. 5k is hardly distance - and will build mass vs. training for a 10km/half marathon IF you go about the training the right way. But then it refers me back to my original query on how much of a runner the op already is as that would dictate the type of training