Hi,

I'm looking for a healthy but effective way to lose a few kgs. I'm not fat - I'm 23, I'm 165cm tall (or 5'5'') and I now weigh 53-54kg. However, I have very small bones and muscles, I am generally tiny - and even though it may not seem like it, I actually do have a lot of fat, especially on my legs. I'd like to lose some 5kg.

I've been looking for a reasonable diet that would allow me to do this and keep the new weight. I know that I should exercise more and I'm now in the process of trying different activities that I'd enjoy. But I also need to eat wisely.

Would you eliminate all carbs? I did that for a week and I lost 3kg - I've managed to keep that weight, but I find it very difficult to sustain that diet as I don't like eggs and I'm not too fond of cheese, and I get fed up with meat and fish after a while.

I know I should always eat good breakfast - should I allow myself to eat brown bread for breakfast and, say, try and eat just meat and some vegetables during the day? Is it better to eat less but more often or the other way around? The problem is, that I work and study and I'm out a lot, so I find it difficult to eat frequently, especially that shops and cafés all have unhealthy food with loads of carbs in them.

Any ideas/suggestions - I'd much appreciate!

Hi, yes like you say you are already a healthy weight and your BMI is on the low side but if you feel you need to shift a few pounds then the best way to go about this, in your case, is to just simply increase your exercise everyday a little for a few weeks. You are lucky not to like cheese too much - lol, that's one of my vices.

The thing is, as a health professional, I personally wouldn't recommend losing too much weight, 1kg ideally and 2kg at the absolute most. Your BMI is already between 19.4 - 19.8 and anything under 18.5 is considered underweight and a risk to health. Losing 1kg will put you down to about 19.2 which is just above the cut off between healthy and unhealthy. However, at your weight, you should see a noticeable difference with losing 1kg so, although you can't guarantee it'll come off the area/s you want it to, the best bet is just to try to tone up the areas. You could try doing some daily squats and other leg exercises.

All the best

thinnerthanb4, thanks for your advice!
Well, I actually have a very tiny figure - as in, my wrists and fingers and bones in general are very petite, I've small arms and even small hips - so, even though my weight is technically correct, I still have some fat to burn.

Perhaps it's a good idea to develop some muscle and burn fat, so that the weight would stay the same but I would look healthier? I don't want to build too much muscle on the other hand (I know it's virtually impossible for women to bulk up properly - just to clarify , as my muscles (especially legs - like, thigh muscles and calves) are already a bit angular - or, prominent. My aim is a lean, proportional figure that would sort of match my bone structure.

I've come up with a diet for myself that keeps my weight at a steady level - during the week I mainly eat eggs and meat and some vegetables but over the weekend I also include some wholeameal bread or rice and things like that, and I try to eat regularly and not too little (I would normally forget to eat, especially in the morning - weird, but...).

Do you think circuits or Pilates would be good to tone up a bit and burn the excess fat? I know running is the best but I really dislike it (I've tried, was running for some two months regularly and then gave up - because I simply don't enjoy it) plus the weather is really moody where I live. What about yoga, to get more lean?

Thanks for any suggestions

Telling you what helped me to reduce the fat. I was doing strength training and eating limitless, loads of calories. I could eat huge pizza before going to bed easily. Along with muscles the level of fat was increasing as well. What helped me, is to cut the carbs in the afternoon and 1-2 times a week of 30 min cardio.

If I was you, I would eliminate carbs only in the afternoon. Or you can do this way:
- breakfast - mainly carbs (like porridge for example)
- lunch - protein, veggys and a bit of carbs (e.g. chicken breast, vegetables and a handful of rice)
- all the meals later on no carbs, lean protein and veggies only.

Also I don't think that the diet alone would be enough. Although strength training would be good in any case, to burn fat you should do cardio with or without strength training. The cardio session has to be 30+ minutes. Only after 30min of cardio your fat starts to burn.

Now don't think that you have to join gym for that. Not at all. There are plenty of options for you - cycling, inline skating, swimming, rowing, dancing, martial arts, athletics and hell of a lot more, you choose. I'd suggest you to go for something that you like and enjoy. Do that not only to achieve your precious "-3kg" of fat, but make it as a part of your life on a constant basis. You can try one thing first and see how it goes. If you don't like it, swap for another one until you find something you enjoy.

Pilates is good, but not to lose weight. It's good for your body, health and a bit of mental health. It's a good addition to pretty much any sports. But I would suggest you to go for something to pump the blood in your body properly.

alex_btg - thanks for sharing the advice!

Do you think circuits or kettlebells would be a good form of cardio exercise?

(These are the basic stuff that's run by gyms, and as far as I know myself I really need a scheduled work-out, because otherwise I'll never stay motivated - like with the running, once I got in the habit, the weather got terrible and I just haven't been able to force myself to do it since - but that's the thing I suppose, not to actually force oneself to exercise, but enjoy it).