first of all if you have eaten the same and exercised the same and are gaining in inches, (which seems to mean fat gain??)anyway you have to examine your diet, but first get a physcial to check thyroid, other hormones, and if they check out okay, then you have to figure out where the famine is in your diet.

one thing that helps show where your metabolism is is to take your temps 3 times a day for a few days with a mercury thermometer and keep it in for 7 minutes, if you are averaging 98 or up then your metabolism is okay, if less say in the 97 or 96 range then your metabolism has been slowed.

what causes slowed metabolism? Just plain not eating enough caloires, if you exercise and don't eat enough to fuel that activity (thus forcing the body to use it's reserves which tells the body a famine is in progress) then you have decreased your muscles mass (muscles are not preserved by execise when fuel runs low) and increased your need for fat.

fat if for surviving famines, not for everyday fuel, but where is the famine? many people undereat out of habit, fear of food, past dieting efforts, etc which trained their bodies to expect famines, and thus you don't get the hungries as often, as opposed to someone's whose body is not famine trained who hungries alot throughout the day, which incidentally is a sign of higher metabolsim, especially if you have not be restricting for weight loss in previous years up to the hungries.

higher metabolism higher hunger more often and more amounts eaten, slower metabolism less hungries but when you do get hungry it is intense for junk not for vegies for fruits or whole grains, as well as for real foods.

frequent cravings for higher fat junk foods like chocolate (which still has some nutrients, it lowers my blood pressure)ice cream, cakes cookies that sorta thing, giving more caloiric punch for the amount eaten to store up excess fat faster, is a sign of recovery from a famine you have imposed on your body whether conscious of it or not.

sometimes we have be brainwashed into thinking if we see food and get hungry and were not hungry seconds before seeing the food then we are emotinal or overeaters due to psychological situation, I am here to tell you that is not true. if food looks good to you that is enough of a quiet hunger signal ignore it at your peril, which means by ignoring it you are telling your body that food is restricted (famine time).

so the best way to tone is exercise and eating enough fuel on a consistent basis, eating more carbs then fat, fat is not bad just not to dominate the diet, carbs are muscle sparing, not protein.

too much protein is hard on the body, carbs are not. unless you are diebetic then you have to be careful, but if not you pretty much can eat what carbs you want when you exercise, as exercise is diebetes preventive, more than even diet alone.

it is a myth that sugar causes diebetes, or that eating to much causes it rather it is poor diet, yo yo dieting and eating alot of junk, which is hard on the body, so eat enough fuel and exercise and after a few months see where you are at, and please do not restrict your caloires thinking it will help make you lean, it won't only eating enough and exercise to build up muscles will.

hope this helps.

RR