Lose fat without losing muscle

[aubree_0123]

I'm 15, about 130 lbs (I have a more muscular build with bigger bones but would still be considered slim/in shape), and 5'3.
I know that this is probably a very challenging question to answer and you'll probably just want to skip it and move on, but please please please help me.
I swim and play water polo for my high school team but haven't in about 2 months because that's when the season ended..
In those couple of months I have definitely gained a little weight/fat
I'm trying to get toned (not too toned) and lose fat but I don't want to get bigger because of an increase in muscle mass.
I am very health conscience and do eat very healthy, I'm very interested in eating healthy and am always cooking healthy recipes. It's actually become sort of a passion for me (I have recently fallen in love with healthy blogs). I cook very lightly and although I stay away from counting calories, I am fairly confident that I am eating a good amount of food with necessary amounts of carbs/proteins/fats. I do know about what's healthy and will only eat brown rice, whole wheat bread/pasta, I cook without oil and cornstarch, I eat a lot of vegetables (currently obsessed with avocados!) and yeah, I do know about eating healthy despite my age; you can trust me on that.
My problem is cardio. Although I'm in pretty good shape and I swim/play water polo during the school year, I'm usually the last one in laps and the first out of breath.
I honestly don't know why I'm like this, but I just can't stand cardio. I seriously can't run for more than a half a mile without feeling like I'm dying (although I can usually rough it through the mile). I never used to be like this, but in the last 2 or 3 years it's just slowly taken a toll on me.
I know that I can build up to longer distances without getting tired but I swam for a whole season, 2 hours a day, and I still cringe when I think of swimming laps (again I can rough it but it's seriously killer and I'm very slow).
This summer (I have 2 months left), I want to lose fat. I'm pretty skinny but I just feel big sometimes (I do have pretty large bones). I want to slim down because I'm sick of looking at all of those super fit models and feeling jealous (and of course I want to be at my optimal health and fitness ).
Again, I do not want to gain very much muscle. I do not want to get bigger, I want to slim down.
I love other exercises such as crunches and other forms of ab exercises (push-ups aren't really my forte ) and I was wondering how to reach my goal of slimming down by just doing things like crunches and leg-lifts or different eating habits.
Please do not tell me to run or swim or go on an elliptical because trust me, I know these things will help. I want to know ways to slim down with minimal or without any (preferably without any) cardio.
Also, they need to be things I can do at home because I don't have access to a gym.
I know that this is probably a very challenging question to answer and you'll probably just want to skip it and move on, but please please please help me! I will be so grateful!

 

[Bryan Jenks]

going to try and answer in bullet points to make it easier for me to write and you to read:

*lose fat --> eat a better diet

*Get stronger without gaining much size--> body weight exercise or VERY low rep high weight, weight lifting

--for body weight you wouldn't want to be doing endless pushups ,pull ups, sit ups, squats, etc. PROGRESSIVE Calisthenics, meaning just like weights you pick something challenging you can only do for a few reps and work at it until you master it.

*props for the interest in healthy eating, but grains are probably why you've gained the extra weight, grains get turned into pure sugar by the body (putting it simply) and this raises insulin level, which take all fat currently in the blood stream and puts it into storage, i made a video explain this

*long distance running and traditional "cardio" is ****. dont do it, it promotes fat storage with the release of the hormone cortisol, to boost testosterone levels (hormone that stimulates muscle growth and fat loss) short inteanse cadiovascular anaerobic (no steady air intake) exercise is best such as sprints or cardio with resistance such as tire flipping, sled work, etc. GET SPRINTING, made a video on that too on proper form

*"slimming down" = fatloss--> better diet, the only exercise that will REALLY help you with fatloss is sprints and interval/HIIT training.

*swimming is alright as a physical activity but not anywhere near as good as sprints.

if you have any questions feel free to send me a message mate.

 

[legend-writer II]

How to lose fat without losing muscle - Lose 1-2 pounds a week
Taking the slow and steady approach, is a much better option when trying to lose fat. The temptation is always there to lose as much as possible ans quickly as possible, but that 99% of the time leads to a dead end. Keep in mind that extraordinary results, require extraordinary effort. When your goal is to lose a steady 1-2 pounds a week, the not only are you going keep the muscle, but you don`t have go on a strict diet or exercise like mad. You can enjoy the process a lot more. :action11: