want to lose fat & build muscle! help!?

Question: i'm 22 yrs old. 5'2" and 130 ibs. i exercise regularly. but i want to lose about 15-20 ibs of fat and gain muscle. want nice abs. what should i do? i've been doing pilates, it's great, but still dont see anything. i'm just having trouble with choicing the right foods. i want to start taking whey protein to add more protein to my diet. will that bulk me up? also , my friend suggested i should take "muscle milk" instead, even though it has so many calories she insists that it won't make me gain since i work out regularly. i guess my body has gotten used to the exercise so i feel like i need to do 3x more to lose the fat. WHAT SHOULD I DO? please help! thanks!

Answers:
It's a tough question, and I doubt this page will give me enough space to answer it well.

First off, don't get discouraged. You need both diet and exercise to see drastic results. You want to eat things that are nutritious, because it makes workouts more effective. You want to have lots of water for the same reason. You want between 60-100 grams of protein a day for days you're working out well. You'll also want to avoid (for the most part, you can cheat a little. once or twice a week) things with sugar, starch, and other complex carbs.

Second, the kind of exercise is critical. Pilates is great for strength, flexibilty, and injury prevention. But the only people who actually tone or up from it would probably look just as good if they dribbled a basketball all workout. Cardio (running, biking, swimming, moving your body) eats fat. Weights (pressing machines, cables, dumbells, barbells) increase muscle size. Many other exercises are great for you, but don't offer visible results as much.

Third, pacing yourself is also critical. You cannot workout the same way 2 days in a row. On the second day of rest is when the given muscle improves and grows. Alternate body parts. Also, it is very difficult for many people (of varying body types) to lose fat AND gain muscle at the same time. You may want to do 2 months focusing mainly on fat loss, and then 2 months for muscle gain.

Other Answers:
the first misconception is that protein builds muscle. while this is only partially true--it helps repair--all other nutrients are required for muscles. iron, magnesium, calcium especially. stop working out so much. it's proven that the more you work out, your resistance builds up, and you won't do anything. look into this book, called Power Of Ten--i've put on 5 lbs. of muscle and it's only been seven weeks :)

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playing around with protien and carb consumption is not going to get you results. Trust me. First of all you need to find out your body fat percentage. If it is high you need to cut calories and do more calorie burning exercises. If your Body fat is good already and you need more muscle you have to do weight training and make sure you don't try to lose weight too fast or you will lose muscle mass which will keep you flabby.

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