A body like Jessica Simpson or Jenifer Aniston

[Buffy202]

Hi folks:

I'm 5'9" and 149 pounds and 23.5% bodyfat (I just finished a 12 week BFL course where I put on 10 pounds of muscle and lost 5 pounds of fat - I think my body was like, 'hey, protein, I've missed ya!' after years of low fat, moderate calorie eating.)

I'm going to be honest - I want a Jenifer Aniston/Jessica Simpson type body, toned and super thin, and not the muscular but with a good layer of fat body that I have now. I don't want to be a bodybuilder, or big but with low BF. I'd like to weigh 125-130 and be at 17-18% BF. I am also interested in training for a marathon. I got accepted in the NY lottery.

My question is, what's the best way to get there? Honestly? I'd eat a lump of kitty litter a day if that's what it would take - I just don't know what to do!
I am maintaining my weight at 1700 calories a day, 40% protein, 30% fat, 30% low glycemic carbs, 6 meals a day. Clearly, to get as skinny as a celebrity, you need to lower your calories past your BMR.

Here are some ideas I have had-
1) eat 900-1000 calories a day with about 80-100 carbs a day, and run 5-6 miles a day and continue with my heavy weight training.
2) go on the atkins diet and eat 800 calories a day w/ 20 carbs a day, continue lifting and get as much exercise as I can muster.

I anticipate that people will be angry with this and say that I need to keep my calories up or I'll go in starvation mode. But all of my friends who are celebrity-thin eat about 750 calories a day. I've been eating and working out right for so long and my weight isn't going anywhere. I want to be small and toned, not jacked.

Honest responses would be really, really appreciated. Please help. I can't take this anymore and I don't know what to do to finally get

 

[Akateros]

Honest response? You will probably regret it, in any number of ways, but hey, if that's how you want to live your life, go for it. Do lots of cardio, and remember the black coffee to keep you going.

And when you're sick of it, there's always www.somethingfishy.org

Because you will go into starvation mode, you will probably feel lousy and miserable with no energy and no sex drive all the time, and you will very probably suffer some health consequences (remember, for instance, what a hard time all of those celebrities are having trying to get the babies they want so desperately), and your metabolism and possibly your thyroid will get temporarily or permanently muddled.

What about looking as lean as a fitness model? At least they're eating more than eight or nine hundred calories a day.

 

[ncgirl21]

You sound a lot like what I use to want. What you have to realize is that these people don't always look the way they do when you see them on t.v. or in a magazine. There are a gizillion ways to make you look "picture perfect" in Hollywood. Your 5'9 and you are NOT overweight now, BUT I understand wanting to loose weight because we are our own worst critics. What you need to realize though is that you can obtain the body you want without starving yourself. You don't need to ficiate on a number though, go by the way you look. I don't reccomend decreassing your calories that much or you are bound to develop an eating disorder. And your friends............ they have major food issues (no offense). With a balanced diet and exercise program, and a weight loss of 1-2 lbs. a week you should be able to loose the weight that you want and be satisfied with your body. Post what you currently eat a day and the times you eat it and your current workout routine.

 

[argon]

no offense or anything, but way to be the exact stereotype of what media does to females

 

[CowPimp]

750 calories a day is ridiculous. Don't worry about what your friends are doing. Focus on losing weight in a healthy and safe way. I would stay by lowering your calories about 10% (Around 1500 calories per day). That might be all it takes for you to start losing weight.

 

[iMan323]

Step 1: post pics
Step 2: eat kitty litter

 

[Arnold]

I am maintaining my weight at 1700 calories a day, 40% protein, 30% fat, 30% low glycemic carbs, 6 meals a day. Clearly, to get as skinny as a celebrity, you need to lower your calories past your BMR.

Try changing to 55% P, 35% C, 10% F. Very effective macro breakdown for "cutting", it is the one my wife uses: http://www.ironmagazineforums.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/1707/sort/1/cat/500/page/1

that pic is from her last show, she is competing again next Saturday and she is currently leaner right now than in that pic! And NO she is not naturally lean.

I anticipate that people will be angry with this and say that I need to keep my calories up or I'll go in starvation mode. But all of my friends who are celebrity-thin eat about 750 calories a day. I've been eating and working out right for so long and my weight isn't going anywhere. I want to be small and toned, not jacked.

If you only eat 750 calories per day your body will eat it's own muscle tissue, you will equally lose fat and muscle. the muscle loss will cause your metoblism to drop, and as you said the lack of calories puts your body in starvation mode meaning that all physiological processes gets slowed down to deal with the calorie restriction. your energy levels wil be very low, and you will feel like shit. eventually you will not be able to handle this state any longer and you will start eating, once you do your body will store ever extra calories it gets as fat, its a defense mechanism in case you starve it again. you will ultimately end up with more bodyfat and less muscle than when you started and a slower metabolism. bottom line is its temporay, no one can maintain this for very long and it will put you into a viscous cycle of yo yo dieting where you ultimately get fatter and fatter.

above I said to change the macros, pleae try this. I assume that the food you eat is quality, it might be a good idea to list your diet here meal by meal. I also assume that you work-out? If not, that alone will make a world of difference. if you do work-out give a few detials on what you do.

 

[aztecwolf]

Try changing to 55% P, 35% C, 10% F. Very effective macro breakdown for "cutting", it is the one my wife uses: http://www.ironmagazineforums.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/1707/sort/1/cat/500/page/1

that pic is from her last show, she is competing again next Saturday and she is currently leaner right now than in that pic! And NO she is not naturally lean.



If you only eat 750 calories per day your body will eat it's own muscle tissue, you will equally lose fat and muscle. the muscle loss will cause your metoblism to drop, and as you said the lack of calories puts your body in starvation mode meaning that all physiological processes gets slowed down to deal with the calorie restriction. your energy levels wil be very low, and you will feel like shit. eventually you will not be able to handle this state any longer and you will start eating, once you do your body will store ever extra calories it gets as fat, its a defense mechanism in case you starve it again. you will ultimately end up with more bodyfat and less muscle than when you started and a slower metabolism. bottom line is its temporay, no one can maintain this for very long and it will put you into a viscous cycle of yo yo dieting where you ultimately get fatter and fatter.

above I said to change the macros, pleae try this. I assume that the food you eat is quality, it might be a good idea to list your diet here meal by meal. I also assume that you work-out? If not, that alone will make a world of difference. if you do work-out give a few detials on what you do.

if you do this diet for a long time (with minimal calories) and your metabolism slows down, does it recover after a period of time on a normal diet?

 

[Arnold]

if you do this diet for a long time (with minimal calories) and your metabolism slows down, does it recover after a period of time on a normal diet?

you should alternate cutting and bulking cycles, no one should stay at a very lean state year round.

 

[TopProducer]

buffy202, All I have to say is a healty diet and a S*)hit load of Cardio is your answer. Simple as that!

 

[KillerAbz]

Truly, we all have our own shapes and forms... not certain how that is possible... mold yourself into your own body... if that makes sense... not certain if it does...

 

[Arnold]

buffy202, All I have to say is a healty diet and a S*)hit load of Cardio is your answer. Simple as that!

not really.

first of all what the hell is a "healthy diet" anyway?

secondly, a "shit load of cardio" is not necessary if you follow a proper cutting diet.

 

[Arnold]

you know, the fact of the matter is no one (majority of people) really wants the real answer on how to lose weight and/or get lean, they keep fishing for some shortcut, magic pill, or "hollywood secret diet", it's quite funny, yet sad and pathetic at the same time.

many of us here can tell anyone what they need to do to lose weight and/or get lean, but very few will actually follow our advice because it takes hard work, discipline, patience, and of course ultimately time, up to 3-4 months, depending on your current state. the average person is not willing to put in the work that is necessary.

some times I really feel like I am just wasting my time typing this shit.

 

[aggies1ut]

It's all about a quick fix anyways. People don't want to take the time to learn about proper diet and nutrition. Often, these boards are cluttered with the same questions, just by different people.

 

[Akateros]

You never know. Everyone has to start somewhere.

 

[JoeR.]

many of us here can tell anyone what they need to do to lose weight and/or get lean, but very few will actually follow our advice because it takes hard work, discipline, patience, and of course ultimately time, up to 3-4 months, depending on your current state. the average person is not willing to put in the work that is necessary.

AMEN!

 

[Buffy202]

There have been so many replies. Thank you for everyone's input, and sorry to those I seemed to have pissed off. Rereading my post is a wakeup call - it looks pretty F--ed up, and desperate. (By way of explanation, as a 25 year old woman who is 5'9", 150 pounds, a size 8, and 20%BF or so, I have been bombarded my entire life by messages that I wasn't living up to my potential unless I was super-skinny. I had a really mean ex boyfriend who told me, and I quote "the skinnier a woman is, the more attractive she is." When I told him that I was doing body for life and that I could really do a lot on the leg extension machiene, he said, "Do you want to be built and muscular, or do you want to be skinny?" I have a weight-obsessed family and weight obsessed friends. Most of my girlfriends are my height and 20-30 pounds thinner.)


That said, I can't live like this anymore - constantly trying to get skinny and failing. I was really disappointed when I did the BFL program and didn't seem to get any results. But, I was eating 150 carbs a day, 150 protein a day, and 30 fat, at 1500 calories a day. And, there were days where I ate all my meals at once, etc, etc.

I am muscular, not petite. I should just accept that and make the best of my natural build.

Robert's wife is beautiful and has an amazing body (then again, you all already knew that.) I would really like to look like that, and I think, that if I put all the energy I have put into starving myself into doing this right, I think I can do that.

That said, I am completely willing to do the following:
1) Do whatever it takes for the next 3 months to lean out significantly and look like, not a skinny waif, but a fitness model.
2) keep a daily journal in this forum, weigh myself daily and report workouts and food, and possibly take photos, so you all can critique me.

The thing I need help on is what to eat. From the stickies I have read, it seems to me is I either have to do less than 0 carbs a day with a 2X a week carb up, or 60-80 carbs a day. The latter seems more doable.

I'm really not an a$$hole, as I suspect many of you think. I have my $hit together in my career (attorney) and have a great family and friends. I was/am just desperate to make a change.

If you are interested, I would really like a critique of my proposed diet, below.

1) Myoplex Lite
2) 1/2 c. oats (150), 6 egg whites (100)
3) same as 2
4) 4 oz. 99% fat free ground turkey, (100) 1 c. broccoli (20), 1/2 tbsp. EFA (60)
5) same as 4
6) same as 4
= 1208 calories, 34 grams fat, 76 carbs, 139 protein.

Lifting: upper body twice a week, 12/10/8/6, lower body twice a week, 12/10/8/6.

Cardio: Jog 4 miles every day at 10-12 minute mile pace.

 

[Akateros]

Nobody thinks you're an asshole. I don't think so anyhow. The skinny-skinny-skinny popular star and How She Got That Bod is in everyone's face all the time, easy to get sucked into it.

(Might want to look at a copy of I think the latest Us magazine. I was reading it in the checkout line last night as I stood there waiting with my basket of natural peanut butter and alfalfa sprouts. I get a lot of reading done in checkout lines. Anyway. Tagline something like "Celebrity Beach Bodies." Includes full-page shot of Aniston in a bikini. She doesn't look that hot to me, legs skinny but visibly flabby, so much for her overhyped Pilates coach in my opinion. Then again she's not my type at all.)

I'm gonna come back to this if that's okay. But a comment about BFL, a lot of women particularly seem to find this plan better for putting on lean mass -- mostly lean, but mass nonetheless. I think it's the carbs. Nice balanced plan on the whole, but higher carb than some. I've seen on other boards and such that some women who've complained they stalled on BFL have done things like just cut back the carbs a bit (veg only last couple of meals, etcetera) have found it an improvement.

 

[Buffy202]

Thanks Akateros, I appreciate it and am looking forward to your input.

I was surprised that you thought 70 or so carbs a day might be enough to stall me, especially since I'm jogging 4 miles a day. But you're the expert, not me

 

[CowPimp]

I don't think 1200 calories per day is enough. As I said before, try reducing your calories by about 5-10% at a time. If you are at 1700 while maintaining, then try 1550 to start cutting. If you don't see weight loss in a couple of weeks, then try changing your macro balance. If you still don't see a change, then try dropping to 1450. You get the idea.

Oh yeah, and no one thinks you're an asshole. You seem like a nice, amibitious, and capable young lady. We were just looking out for your best interests. No one wants to see you fall into the spiral of yo-yo dieting or an eating disorder. Be patient and persistent. The people on this forum are very knowledgeable and will help you achieve your goals. Good luck.

 

[Arnold]

Buffy202 just make sure you distiguish between skinny and lean. So many females get hung up on the scale and their weight, pay attention to body composition instead. That means your bodyfat levels, not what the scale reads. Skinny people are the ones that starve themselves and lose all of their muscle, but ultimately they are really no that lean. To look good and keep your metabolism high you want to retain muscle, so your goal should be getting lean, not skinny.

The last thing you need to worry about is getting to muscular. My wife trains like a bodybuilder, and she is pretty damn strong! But does she look like one? Of course not cause she is a female and she does not take steroids. She is very lean and muscular, but she could never get too big, it's basically impossible for any female to. Hell, it's hard enough for males to get a decent amount of muscle size, I have been bodybuilding for many, many years and I am by no means huge.

As far as that diet, the main problem I see is lack of variety, I think it will get old real quick. Try and incorporate different foods so you can actually stay on that diet without going insane.

Also, I do not recommend the jogging 4 miles everyday. Not only will you burn out very quickly, it really is not necessary to do that much cardio. Also, you may want to consider HIIT cardio instead. I finally got my wife to start doing HIIT instead of traditional cardio and it's working great for her.

 

[Buffy202]

Thanks for the input Cowpimp and Robert.

I am trying to readjust my mindset towards getting lean rather than getting skinny. I just went and bought a copy of Oxygen magazine and those women are gorgeous, and am going to try and work toward that versus getting plain skinny. Although, I do need to lose some fat to look like that.

Random question - I thought I was going to puke during my workout this morning - yesterday I had about 50 carbs and it was torture. Would eating a grapefruit immediately pre-workout, bringing my carbs up to aroun 85 and calories up to 1300, hurt the cause? If the nauseous-I'm about to pass out feeling is something I just have to suck up to get to my goals, then I'll do it, but I wanted to double check.

 

[CowPimp]

Random question - I thought I was going to puke during my workout this morning - yesterday I had about 50 carbs and it was torture. Would eating a grapefruit immediately pre-workout, bringing my carbs up to aroun 85 and calories up to 1300, hurt the cause? If the nauseous-I'm about to pass out feeling is something I just have to suck up to get to my goals, then I'll do it, but I wanted to double check.

I think you would be better off eating oatmeal or brown rice about 30-45 minutes before you do your workout. That way you have energy that will last you until you finish the workout. Since your calories are currently at 1200, that is partly why you are feeling like crap.

 

[TopProducer]

By the way Buffy202, you said your an attorney so you probably make a good living. You should think about getting a personal trainer to keep you motivated and focused on your goals. Just a suggestion.

 

[Buffy202]

Cowpimp - good idea, I'll try that tommorrow.

Producer - I've been thinking about that, except that the hours I keep are extremely irregular, depending whether I'm in trial or not, and at least at my gym, you get charged for missing appointments. So, my solution has been to work out from 5:00-7AM, and no trainers in my gym work those hours or have those hours free, unfortunately.

 

[dalila]

Hi Buffy, I won't give you any food/training advices, there are people here far more competent to do so. I am gonna tell you that I am so glad you've realized where are the bad vibes coming from, who are the people that were making you feel the way you did! Good job girl!

I was there as well,10 years ago. I was chubby, wanted to look celeb -skinny ( mostly coz I was bombareded by my "friend's'" comments that "I have such a pretty face, what a shame I can't lose some fat"!), lost 20kgs in 6 months, then couldn't climb a flight of stairs without feeling dizzy! So there I was pencil thin, having some other people tell me how I looked awful, haggard, and shapeless, oh, and my periods stopped for 8 months!!

That's when I realized, F*** the people and what they say, you'll never make everyone happy, so make YOURSELF happy, look good for yourself!! I love the way I look now ( well now I feel my biceps are too small LOL, have gone to the other end of continuum), I love the way I feel strong, and how " different" I look from all the other skinny grils that seem to think they look so hot... I wore a tube top dress to someone's wedding the other day and guys were flocking to ask " how did I get those shoulders!"... I reckon it was just an opening line , but hey I ain't complaining!

Good luck girl!

 

[ncgirl21]

I'm SOOO happy you decided to take a healthier approach. Regarding your calories, I think they are too low for your height/weight. A few low calorie days a week won't hurt you, but you need to increase your calories about 1 to 2 times per week to keep your metabolism from stalling (from what I've read). Also, with all your running- I think your carbs could be higher IMO.

Good Luck with your goals, but by the sounds of it you look awesome already

 

[MrsRiley]

I sorta know where you are coming from..I am a big girl as well at 5'10" and I've just recently accepted the fact that I'll never be a lil girl. I'm concentrating on just losing the fat and firms up my muscles and I'm very happy with the results so far. I'm not getting any smaller but things are jiggling like they used to. And even thou I've actually GAINED a couple pounds I feel great about myself cuz I see my BF% going down. Good luck with your program it looks like you are gonna take a much better approach than you were considering in your original post!

 

[CowPimp]

And even thou I've actually GAINED a couple pounds I feel great about myself cuz I see my BF% going down.

Yes! The scale is evil. Throw it away. Body composition is what matters. Hell, the mirror is what really matters. The only thing I use the scale for is to track fat loss after I have established my body composition. Of course, I am just making the assumption that I haven't lost any LBM...

 

[kate4646]

Buffy's not a big girl - She's 5'9" and around 150, in fact, the same size as I am, and I don't know about her but I'm definitely slim, and wear a size six. If you call her a 'big girl' she's going to go back to her original plan or worse.


I hate that we live in a world where 5'9", 150 pounds, 20ish% bodyfat is 'big.' ANd how does that make the people who are legitimately overweight feel?