question for any fitness experts out there......

[hotpotmama]

I am trying to lose weight after baby no 3 and am going to the gym and doing a lot of aerobic work inc. running and cross training.

I already had muscley legs but there's fat there too. I am worried in case the fat just turns to muscle instead of miraculously disappearing and I end up with massive legs that are all muscle.

So, how do I stop that happening? Am I doing the wrong exercises? Do I need to do something else?

Please help as I don't want to look like one of those bodybuilder types, just want to slim down!! [

I'm no expert, but since no-one else has replied....... I'm told that women rarely get to look like bodybuilders however much we exercise. You might want to try things like squats and lunges. Building muscle helps to lose weight quicker because muscle burns more calories than fat .

thanks tatt for replying!! thought my thread had just died!

Have been for a bike ride today which is probably the wrong exercise but it is my favourite exercise and beats the gym when the sun is shining (well it did for the hour I was out!).

I agree re. Squats and lunges; these exercises use the large muscle groups and hence burn fat, but mainly they are an efficient way to build muscle, which I'm turn burns more fat.
Some American websites I've found which explain it really well arethetruthaboutabs.com and joeyatlas.com.

So if you build muscle on your legs, bearing in mind that mine are already muscley but just covered with a coating of fat (sounds so attractive I know!, then will the fat turn to muscle and then the muscle burn away or will I just be left with even bigger muscley legs?

Will have a look at those sites, ta nontoxic.

i don't think fat can turn into muscle. fat can go away (one gets thinner) or muscle can get bigger (fat appears smaller).

better to do whatever exercise makes you happy and not get too hung up on becoming musclebound.

You need to be doing low intensity exercise for at least 30 minutes or more.

If you ask one of the gym instuctors they should be able to do you a programme to suit your needs.

As far as I understand it, you won't lose the fat unless you are consuming fewer calories than your body requires in a day. So, if you're putting in as many calories for the body to use for energy as it needs, it won't resort to using its stored energy reserves (fat).

Fat doesn't turn into muscle. Fat lies dormant, if you like, until the body uses it for energy, then it uses that energy to increase your muscle mass-providing you're doing the correct exercises. Muscle burns calories faster.

Check with a trainer- I think you may need to do fat-burning exercises AND muscle building ones.

thanks for replies everyone, yes I do need to start eating sensibly again, did it a few weeks back and lost 6lbs but then have started eating chocolate again and not being as strict and funnily enough the weight is just not dropping off me.

Ah well, no chocolate or wine or nice things for me this week (or year!)

the right exercise is the one that you will actually keep doing, cycling is fine.

Concentrate only on diet and your metabolism will be so slow that the weight will pile on again when you get sick of the diet.

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