Losing weight- healthy way?

[UltimoKazuma]

I think I want to try to lose weight so there's less fat in my thighs and hips to create a more masculine figure (I guess it could come off my face and stomach a bit too, which I wouldn't mind, but my goal is my lower body) and then when I'm on T, I would bulk up since it'd be easier.  I'm 5'3'' and 104 pounds, so I'm on the lighter side. 
Can I lose fat by dieting without too much exercise, maybe 30 minutes of activity a day, safely?  My goal would only be a .5-1 pound loss per week, and I think I would just keep going until I got results.  Or should I try to lose fat and gain muscle at the same time so my weight doesn't go down?

[Jeatyn]

You can't spot reduce fat I'm afraid, it comes off in dribs and drabs all over from wherever it feels like it.

You can lose weight without exercising, all you need to lose weight is to consume less than you burn. Exercising just makes that process easier/faster and also improves your health more than simply cutting calories.

It's also very difficult to lose fat and gain muscle simultaneously, one requires a calorie deficit and one requires a calorie surplus. Focusing efforts on one or the other produces much better results.

With that being said, at 104lbs it sounds like losing weight isn't what you want to be doing. If you're trying to create a more masculine shape I feel building some muscle would be more beneficial. Building up bigger shoulder, back, arm and chest muscles especially will offset bigger hips.

Having more muscle also makes you burn more calories by existing

[UltimoKazuma]

Ok, do you think something like this- http://hundredpushups.com/index.html  would be good to start?  I would prefer to do only body weight exercises for the convenience.

[pianoforte]

I agree that building muscle is probably the healthiest/best option. Pushups are good. You might also look into a pull-up bar that you can hang in a doorway at home. Lifting household objects as weights also works if you don't want to buy weights.

Squats are great for core and lower body strength.

Be sure to eat plenty of protein to help with building muscle. You may need to increase your caloric intake overall to support new muscle. Don't stress about weight in itself or even about having fat in the wrong places. If you get on T in the future, a lot of that will take care of itself.

[blink]

I highly recommend this website: http://www.aworkoutroutine.com/
Check out the categories on the right. The Myths & Nonsense section is useful for just about anyone, you might personally also find the sections on building muscle, and diet & nutrition useful. I agree with those who've already posted, at 5'3'' and 104 pounds, it might be healthier and more effective to build some muscle first, and "cut" (i.e. lose via carefully engineered caloric deficit) fat after.

[Kreuzfidel]

Can I lose fat by dieting without too much exercise, maybe 30 minutes of activity a day, safely?  My goal would only be a .5-1 pound loss per week, and I think I would just keep going until I got results.  Or should I try to lose fat and gain muscle at the same time so my weight doesn't go down?

30 minutes of exercise a day is good - workouts should ideally not last much more than 1 hour or you risk overtraining. 

My personal recommendation is to cut first, then bulk.  If you try  bulking first, you may find that you gain too much weight if you don't know what you're doing and don't stick with the meal plans you should be sticking with.  You may then find, once you start trying to cut, that you actually burn off all your gains (again, if you don't know what your'e doing).

If you're cutting, my first suggestion is to read all you can regarding low-carb diets and high-protein consumption.  Cut out most of the pasta, rice and potatoes you eat.  Look at ways you can cut your calories in general back to around 500 calories less per day.  That could be mean cutting back on things like cheese in recipes. There are apps for this like MyFitnessPal you can get for your phone. 

You need to be sure that you're sticking with your meal plans each day, though.  A lot of people start getting discouraged because they a) don't like having to buy and prepare lots of "bland" food like chicken (there are plenty of good, low-carb ways to eat chicken that are tasty) and b) don't like missing out on junk food.  Well, junk food isn't worth the damage it does.  Sticking to a diet like this requires discipline, so be sure you commit yourself to it.

My advice is to incorporate 30 mins of cardio, 3x a week.  You don't even need to do cardio every day.  Be sure to change it up each time - for instance, jogging one day - skipping rope the next - stationary bicycle the next, etc. 

That being said, if you want to actually condition yourself to weights (in preparation for when you start bulking), you can also substitute light weight training for one of those cardio days.  Lifting weights has been said to burn more calories than cardio on its own.  So it's your choice.

I prefer to weight train, then hit the gym and do 30 minutes on the stationary bicycle or elliptical.  Weight training first burns through sugar, cardio after can start trimming off the actual fat.

Once you've dropped your body fat percentage down to an acceptable and healthy level, look at bulking.  That's just my personal advice.

[JHeron]

Dude.. I don't recommend you lose any weight! At 5'3(which is my height) 104 is underweight of you want to lose fat simply apply cardio for at least 30 minutes a day five times a week. It can be cycling or swimming though I always recommend running it gives in my opinion the fastest results. Whatever you do just make sure you put effort in and you'll see results. I'd also take some protein after your workouts because it'll help you build muscle instead of just slimming down like cardio usually does.

[adrian]

I second the recommendation of not losing more weight - I'm underweight (BMI is a bit lower than yours) and it has terrible impact on my energy levels.

But it's true, gaining muscle without a calorie surplus and without gaining some body fat initially will be difficult. Do you know what your body fat is?

[UltimoKazuma]

I don't know my body fat percentage.  With my untrained eye, I would place it between 20-25% but of course that's only an estimate.
Considering all the responses, I think I'm going to build up at least a little muscle first to put on some weight and hopefully a bit of bulk in my shoulders and arms. 

[kieranDS]

If you want bodyweight excercises I'd definately look into getting a pullup bar. Pullups work everything. The extra muscle I've put on my shoulders since I started doing them has made me feel a lot better about them at least. Can't seem to loose the fat on my hips but I feel like my shoulder to hip ratio is a little better. But yeah, I'm with everyone else you don't need to loose weight just build muscle.

[ChaoticTribe]

As you diet, your body will slowly make your metabolism lower and lower. This kept our ancestors alive during food shortages for tens of thousands of years. Unfortunately, it also means your weight loss will slow and slow until it stops and if you go back to eating normal, you'll gain more weight on the same amount of food!

Exercise is the only really good way to stay losing weight - thats why they call it yo-yo dieting, because even if you lose all the weight, you regain very quickly if you eat normally. That's not going to happen with exercise. Exercise for 20 minutes and you'll literally burn extra fat all day because it raises your metabolism.