I agree with what Luke has posted, if you are focusing on the numbers yet you are at the gym trying to get some muscle building and toning in, you are going to get discouraged mighty fast. Muscle does weight more than fat, so keep that in mind with your routine. If you are trying to gain muslce and are doing a combination of cardio and some strenght training/toning you should be eating as much protein (in grams) as you weigh. The ideal ratio for putting on muscle (for a woman) is 1-1 1/2 grams of protein per pound of lean body mass for the days you are going to be in the gym. On your off days you should have .75-1gram of protein per pound of lean body mass. To find out your lean body mass, you need to find out how much body fat you have. You can do this at a local gym or even better through your local CF nutritionist. Then you take your TOTAL weight and multiply it by you body fat percentage. The result is your "lean body mass". Also, when you go to the gym you should alternate days of body parts that you focus on to give your body the best opportunity to "grow". for example, on Mondays my husband and I do weights and focus on chest/back, triceps and biceps and shoulders. Tuesdays he runs in the am on a treadmill, and I run afterwork with my coworkers for 3 miles. Then Wednesdays we work on abs (front/side) and butt. Then on Thrusdays I will run every other week, on the weeks where I don't run on a thrusday, I will run either Saturday or Sunday ad he takes Thursdays off from working out. Then Friday we will work on Legs (thighs/calves) and inadvertantely the butt will get a workout again. Then we usually do a light cardio on Saturday mornings, maybe a 10-15 minute run or brisk walk and sundays we take off. I don't know if this helps you out or not.Julie (wife to Mark 24 w/CF)
