Just made a post on how women getting bulky is difficult because of anatomy, and this is the kind of response I get.
Is this how some people in this sub think?
This is for all the women who want to be "toned" but not "bulky" or "wide". Firstly, toning is not real. It just means having muscles and a low body fat percentage. If you want to be "toned", you have to build muscle.
Lets address the "build muscle" part first- as women, we don't have enough testosterone in our body to look as muscular as men do in the first place. Because of that, you can train for years together and still not have visible striations, unless you take anabolics. Your training must be functional, not just hitting glutes everyday for aesthetics. Train all muscle groups, else you will look unbalanced, or stay weak even with training.
Building muscle will only happen when you eat protein and a surplus. Eating 1200 calories everyday with no protein will never give you the "toned" look you want no matter how hard you train. Do note that I mean weight lifting and not cardio or pilates when I talk about training. Pilates is for mobility and coordination, it will not help in progressive overload after a point. All the "pilates princess" bodies you see online are mostly genetically thin people. On the same lines, you can't "maintain breast fat" while losing weight. You will end up losing some weight from there as well.
When it comes to losing fat, only a calorie deficit will work. All the fad diets will only make you rebound hard. You cannot target fat loss either, you will lose fat from wherever your body decides to lose fat from. Doing ab exercises for a flat stomach will not work, plus us, as indians, with a carb heavy indian diet, can never have a 100% flat stomach due to genetics no matter how much you starve, unless you become severely underweight. Refocus on building muscle instead.
A "small waist" is also mostly genetics and also height. If you aren't tall enough to have enough gap between your ribcage and hip bones, likely that you'll never have a small waist without rib removal surgery. You should build lats and glutes instead to give the illusion of a smaller waist.
"Toned" really is just a marketing term for pilates and other forms of training to discourage you from taking up weights. You are never going to become bulky, and even if you do, you can balance it with training or dial down. Don't chase aesthetics, chase health. If you want a flat stomach, small waist and a "toned" body, stop starving and start lifting.
I've recently been seeing a surge of posts regarding women and women's health and fitness, and while it is refreshing to see women prioritise themselves, there are also some myths that a lot of women believe in, which I want to bust today.
"female body friendly protein powders" are a scam. Protein is protein no matter who consumes it, you are just paying pink tax on the protein powder. any trustified certified brand will do. Similarly, creatine is not a drug or a steroid, don't be afraid of taking it.
Protein powders cause kidney failure - technically, yes but only if you eat more than 4 grams of protein per kg of body weight, which is impossible to do for the most part.
"Toning" the body- toning is a marketing word targeted at women to make them take up pilates instead of weight training. It simply means losing fat and gaining muscle. Printers tone, human beings build muscle and lose fat.
Getting bulky as a woman is very very hard, no one gets bulky on accident. Don't be afraid to lift weights, becoming bulky will take at least a decade.
Obsessing over a number on a scale- not a myth per say, but it's absolutely false that only if you are below 50kg, you are attractive or whatever. Someone who's 5'7 would be unhealthy and underweight at 50kg. Plus, it has been proven that women need a BMI of atleast 21 to prevent osteoporosis. If you are at a BMI of 21 and below and still feel "fat", it's a body composition issue, not a weight issue, and you can only fix it by eating protein and lifting weights.
Spot reduction is a myth. Doing ab workouts to get a flat stomach or arm workouts to get slimmer arms won't work. You lose fat from wherever your body decides it wants to lose fat. "but i did ab workouts for a month and lost inches"- yeah, you did because you burnt calories and your body decided to lose weight from there, not because you can target fat loss. Similarly, "I want to maintain breast fat" won't work unless you have implants.
Carbs and sugar are the enemy- Can be depending on how you eat. Carbs are absolutely essential to keep your body and brain functioning. Added sugar is unhealthy, but you can still eat it in moderation and be absolutely fine. If all the added sugar you are having in a day is one square of chocolate, you are fine, don't overthink it.
You can do all the cardio and HIIT you want, but if you want to look "toned" or "tight", you will have to start lifting weights and upping your protein. Cardio also makes people ravenously hungry, so that's something to be mindful of.
1200 calorie diet plans are only for women shorter than 5'3, walk less than 5k steps a day and don't workout. If you aren't these, you shouldn't be following one. Eat a bit more, food won't kill you.
Cycle synced workouts are a scam. If you feel more tired during your luteal phase and period, lift lighter weights. If you are tired even for that, walk. If you can't do that also, it's okay to rest for 2 days. Women aren't weak little creatures controlled by their hormones.
rant over guys, thanks for coming to my ted talk.