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I don't usually eat more than 1000 calories a day, except on weekends when I decide to have some wine.
That's not particularly healthy Nexa. You should be aiming for 2000 calories a day. If your body isn't getting enough nutrients from those calories then it goes into starvation mode and start holding in all the fats it can while trying to preserve energy, so you will feel sluggish. Try upping your calories to 1500-2000 and doing moderate intensity cardio for 40 minutes, four times a week. This will adjust your body sufficiently.
As for diet, a misconception is that to lose fat you have to cut it off completely. This is just plain wrong. When you do this then your body starts to hold on to fat as much as possible. Start including natural fats in your meals like almonds, peanut butter, or take some flax seed/fish oil pills for healthy Omega 3 fatty acids. For the meals itself, start eating smaller portions more often through the day. This will boost your metabolism greatly, so aim for about 5-6 small meals a day. Be sure to include some form of complex carb and protein source in each meal. Protein synthesis is the most important factor in gaining muscle.
Do these things consistently and you should see some great gains. Good luck!
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Also: I don't want to *build* muscle necessarily, I just don't want flabby ones...so aren't lower weights with more repetitions usually suggested for toning rather than "bulking up" or am I way off there?
Another misconception from TV ads. The only way to looks lean is gain muscle and then lower your body fat percentage. The lower weight, higher repetitions method doesn't train the right muscle fibers for growth. Reps between 8-12 in which you will fail with the weight is the ideal for getting a pump and growing.
http://bodybuilding.com/ Go there for much more info.
Edited, Jul 23rd 2008 2:43pm by RaistlinDying Edited, Jul 23rd 2008 2:45pm by RaistlinDying