Has anyone lost weight and really toned up successfully?

Well done Bookworm.

A lot of the things I eat I don't think are slimming but they are good body fuel. For example, my fave breakfast now is wholemeal or sourdough toast with peanut butter and a sliced banana on top. It's lush.

I bloody love running. I get ME time, I get to think about my life and whatever else I need to lul over and I take my dog so he doesn't need walking. Running = multitasking and offloading the weight. I used to hate running and think OMG who would do this willingly, but at some point it becomes addictive doesn't it?

For me, I've cut out snacking after dinner and I've cut out alcohol completely for now. I also used to love crisps, but I've started buying Aldi's frozen pineapple/mango chunks and eating a small bowl of them in the evening instead.

I eat smaller breakfasts/lunches - slightly fewer carbs, more green veg and fruit, a lot more water.

That's it, and I'm losing about 0.8kg/week, but I have been exercising almost every day for at least 1h.

I can't recommend body pump highly enough.

e.g.

It's both a toning and cardio workout and it's fun, and the best all-body workout I know.

I used to do it regularly alongside pure cardio training, but when gym's closed I stopped as I didn't have the space at home. I've just started again now and have added it to my weight loss program.

I have Les Mills on demand. We have a TV set up in our spare room and bought some of the kit and signed up. It is a major game-changer in my life. I basically have my leisure centre class schedule in my spare room. It costs £10.99 a month and there is 4 people using it most days.

As for weight loss. I did WW's for a couple of months and then just kept eating healthy and left out the crap. I still drink wine 3 times a week though and have the occasional treat. I used to be quite a glutton with muffins and cafe lattes every day and cakes, crips and Dairy Milk. I've made a lot of swaps e.g. I always eat salad for lunch, I eat more fish and less red meat, I use skimmed milk and I melt a square of dark chocolate and dip fruit in it rather than eat a massive bar of chocolate. I had some Dairy Milk the other week and nearly vomited after upgrading to luxury dark and dipping fruit.

The running though is the thing that has literally dropped the fat off my bones. After a week of 3 runs, I literally shrink round the midriff.

That's brilliant @WebCookiesAreIntrusive; have you been following any particular diet or just upped the exercise? Can I ask if you'd recommend the Les Mills app (presumably you would?!) as a friend raves about it, but I've never tried it!

Just wanted to add that I have lost 19/20 pounds and have 7.5 to go to get to my goal weight and BMI. I have been doing running, body pump, and body combat on Les Mills demand. I have seen a massive change in my physique and it is going really well. It has been so good that I have another thread on the go asking how I can shift this up to the next level now that I have reached a point I'd never get to, but feel can do even better.

I used to hate exercise, but now I get antsy if I don't do something every day! It's changed my life.

Lol at this. Yesterday I tripped over some clothes on the floor in a shop and landed on my hip. As I lay there I glared at the assistant and hissed "this better not stop me from exercising this week".

Good to hear it's going well for you @MindBodyChocolate! I was in a good workout routine till a few days ago. Need to get back into the mindset, improve my eating and continue losing the pounds!!

Good for you, OP. Very glad to hear you're carrying on.

well done OP and thanks for posting as I've got some great pointers from this thread...

Don't worry too much about how long you can plank for, it isn't necessarily a case of the longer the better. Use an app to work your way up to 30 seconds and then add in other movements like side planks and leg raises.

I really liked Jillian Michaels' 30-Day Shred for building up a bit of muscle and aerobic fitness. It's cheap, only 20 minutes per workout, you can do it at home and you only need light hand weights. For a weights program I like the StrongLifts 5x5 program because it's very simple: only five different compound lifts to master and you only need to do three workouts a week. If you're more advanced or you have a willing trainer then the StrongCurves program is designed for women's figures and promises a beautiful "booty!"

Check out skull crushers for your triceps.

Good news there @MindBodyChocolate! I'm definitely looking for some sort of (easy!) weights/ kettlebells class to do from home to tone up a bit more. I will banish those bingo wings...!

Well done! Keep at it.

@stream26 I love a good chart!! Think it's why my DC like their reward charts too

@Fluffandbubbles those classes sound great; my local aerobics teacher really recommends kettlebells, but doesn't teach a course in them, which is a shame! I'll have to look for something similar.

How is it going at the gym @MindBodyChocolate (if you've had chance to return)? I'm still doing daily workouts, thinking of trying the Body Coach app free trial soon!

Honestly bare minimum at home could be some military stuff. Pull ups, planks, running (sprints are awesome) crunches (just google home and workouts there’s hundreds) push ups, squats. Anything Bodyweight, yoga is great too, just keep your daily goal chart template. But also know that toned bodies are built in the kitchen. Cooking good healthy meals is the best way to lose weight. Where to start with this I couldn’t tell you, I just cook chicken and vegetables every day and eat as much salad as possible

@ClaraTheImpossibleGirl I do some Kettlercise (kettlebells to music) online. My teacher not only has an on demand ‘Kettlebells basics’ which shows you all the moves, but they also do regular classes on zoom so the teacher can see you, finally a couple of people in our group have sent video clips or photos and she’s made comments on stance etc. I think she may also have loan bells , or you can buy via her. I got a 4kg on loan and a 6kg from Amazon. It’s definitely a good calorie burner and I like the fact I can choose from 20/30/50 min sessions every week all with different content which you can adapt to your own ability. Definitely recommended.

@TheUndoingProject can you recommend any in particular on youtube please? I typed in home weights workouts and it came up with hundreds, I don’t know where to start!

Daisy03 has given you a good suite of exercises. I'd add something for the hamstrings to that list. Certainly ask a PT when you get round to that.

You'll need more for arms, too, if they are a concern. Push ups are good but make sure you keep your elbows reasonably close to your body to get at the triceps. Triceps push downs on the cable machine are good. Also front raises and side raises with dumbells, plus some rear delt dumbbell flys to get at all of the delts will be good.

Someone who sisd its a myth about light weights vs heavy weights but in my kettlebell class you start with whats comfortable so I was on 2kg and we do 4 sets of 16 reps for every month, absolutely burns our muscles out. Then when 2kg felt too light I moved up to 4kg.

Well done on your weight loss so far!
Me - over time have gone down from around 15 to just under 9st

I'd recommend Caroline Girvan on YouTube - there are hundreds of workouts to choose from, some bodyweight only, some using dumbbells/kettlebells, and they range from 15 mins to over an hour. I'm the strongest and most toned I have ever been and I haven't bothered to renew my gym membership