Help with weight loss

KentKent Acolyte
edited January 2011 in Life
Hey &T,

About 3 months ago I finally took the big step in starting to exercise regularly to get fit for summer. However I did not evaluate my situation thoroughly. I got stuck into weight lifting and completely ignored the fact that I have a lot of body fat. I’ve now missed 1 month of gym and finally decided to get motivated once again and take a new approach to my routine.

I’ve done some research on the best ways to lose body fat, but I decided to ask everyone on &T about any suggestions or personal experiences with weight loss.

I would like to learn more about essential diets or decent cardio routines. I would really like to start building muscle but my main focus is to lose my gut and moobs. I’ve been unsure whether to start a strictly cardio routine or balance it out with some weight lifting. To be honest im really confused with it all. :confused:

So &T, do you have any ideas?

Any suggestions and ideas are greatly appreciated :hai:

Comments

  • edited October 2010
    Can't you convert fat into muscle with intense weight lifting sessions?
    It will make you gain weight though, as muscle weighs more than fat.
  • DfgDfg Admin
    edited October 2010
    Read this: http://www.simplyshredded.com/6-steps-to-a-summer-6-pack.html

    Just focus on the nutrition side.

    I think you should do a balance work out. Combining different exercises that will help you lose weight. Eating less and eating healthy is the first step. Next step is being active and stop relying on different day-to-day luxuries.

    Start by walking more and doing stuff by hand. Then start dancing and or get into a hobby that will force you to move your body more. This simple habit will make your more comfortable. If you only want to lose weight and get in shape, following the body building approach becomes a bitch. Its high maintenance and tough to maintain and going to a gym isn't something that most people enjoy.

    You jumped in quick and didn't plan ahead. For anything to work you need to be motivated and you need to constantly remind yourself that you can do it. It's like each day is a new achievement for you.

    Make a planner or at least draw some ground rules, like no fast food, cardio every 2 days, jogging 5 days a week or less. It's just up to you. What I want you is to make your routine that you feel comfortable about. In that way you won't have these month-long gaps which totally mess you up.
  • edited October 2010
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  • KentKent Acolyte
    edited October 2010
    Dfg wrote: »
    Read this: http://www.simplyshredded.com/6-steps-to-a-summer-6-pack.html

    Just focus on the nutrition side.

    I think you should do a balance work out. Combining different exercises that will help you lose weight. Eating less and eating healthy is the first step. Next step is being active and stop relying on different day-to-day luxuries.

    Start by walking more and doing stuff by hand. Then start dancing and or get into a hobby that will force you to move your body more. This simple habit will make your more comfortable. If you only want to lose weight and get in shape, following the body building approach becomes a bitch. Its high maintenance and tough to maintain and going to a gym isn't something that most people enjoy.

    You jumped in quick and didn't plan ahead. For anything to work you need to be motivated and you need to constantly remind yourself that you can do it. It's like each day is a new achievement for you.

    Make a planner or at least draw some ground rules, like no fast food, cardio every 2 days, jogging 5 days a week or less. It's just up to you. What I want you is to make your routine that you feel comfortable about. In that way you won't have these month-long gaps which totally mess you up.

    It’s defiantly the food I eat which is letting me down. I’m pretty active during the day and do quite a bit of walking. I’ve only recently changed my diet, I’ve stopped drinking all soft drink and juices. I only ever drink water now and the occasional glass of orange juice and milk (not sure whether to drink, I assumed skim milk would be fine?)

    I actually loved going to gym and enjoyed working out when I was with a a friend or two. We would just all motivate each other and it would be such a better experience. However my friends recently changed gyms so I’ll be joining up with them within the next week or two.

    Since doing some research I’ve found out it was a lot more beneficial to do cardio before breakfast. So today I woke up at 6am for my very first morning run and it defiantly felt great. After a 45 minute run/jog along the water I got home and had a bowl of muesli and went to class. You feel so much more alive after some exercise in the morning. :D

    I’m defiantly going to maintain my running routine in the morning (not sure whether to run twice a day, morning/afternoon) and also look into some extra exercises (e.g. sit ups, push ups etc)

    Thanks for the link man, defiantly straight forward information and a good source for anyone else out the interested in getting fit. :thumbsup:
  • KentKent Acolyte
    edited October 2010
    trx100 wrote: »
    Can't you convert fat into muscle with intense weight lifting sessions?
    It will make you gain weight though, as muscle weighs more than fat.

    I read the exact same thing on a few sources and a few of my mates also suggested this. They also said it might take a little longer to visually see the fat gone and i've had it for years now and i really wanted to get fit before summer arrives.

    Thanks for the reply ;)
  • DysgraphiaDysgraphia Locked
    edited October 2010
    Run, run, run and run.

    Diets wouldn't help you lose weight. They'll just help you maintain your weight and regulate your nutritious intake.

    The best way to lose weight is to run. Get that heart pumping and drop those dumbells.

    Try running 20 laps every morning. It's best to do it at 5 am, just when the sun's peaking, really motivates ya and gives you time for a cold shower and a good breakfast.

    Then jog for at-least half an hour in the late evening. You really need to concentrate not on muscle build-up, but your weight issue.

    Do cardio exercises to increase your endurance.

    After you shed a considerable amount of fat, then consider shaping yourself up.
  • fanglekaifanglekai Regular
    edited October 2010
    Dysgraphia wrote: »
    Run, run, run and run.

    Diets wouldn't help you lose weight. They'll just help you maintain your weight and regulate your nutritious intake.

    The best way to lose weight is to run. Get that heart pumping and drop those dumbells.

    Try running 20 laps every morning. It's best to do it at 5 am, just when the sun's peaking, really motivates ya and gives you time for a cold shower and a good breakfast.

    Then jog for at-least half an hour in the late evening. You really need to concentrate not on muscle build-up, but your weight issue.

    Do cardio exercises to increase your endurance.

    After you shed a considerable amount of fat, then consider shaping yourself up.

    Wrong. Dieting is the most efficient way to lose weight. By dieting I mean having proper eating habits.

    Weight loss is completely a matter of calories. You must take in fewer calories than you burn. Your body burns a certain number on its own. You can burn more with exercise. The easiest way to lose weight is to eat less. For every 3500 fewer calories you take in than your body burns, you will lose 1 lb.

    Running will speed up the weight loss, but it's far less effective than eating less.
    ---
    http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/04/phys-ed-why-doesnt-exercise-lead-to-weight-loss/

    “Walking, even at a very easy pace, you’ll probably burn three or four calories a minute,” beyond what you would use quietly sitting in a chair, said Dan Carey, Ph.D., an assistant professor of exercise physiology at the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota, who studies exercise and metabolism.

    “The message of our work is really simple,” although not agreeable to hear, Melanson said. “It all comes down to energy balance,” or, as you might have guessed, calories in and calories out. People “are only burning 200 or 300 calories” in a typical 30-minute exercise session, Melanson points out. “You replace that with one bottle of Gatorade.”
    ---

    Furthermore, there's no way a guy with moobs is going to start out running 20 laps. That's failure.

    Here's what you do: walk 2 mins, jog 30 secs. Alternate. Do that for a few days. Then walk 2 mins, jog 45 secs. Alternate. Do that for a few days. Walk 2 mins, jog 1 min. Alternate. What you do is increase the amount of time you jog and decrease the amount of time you walk. Walk 1 min, jog 2 mins. Walk 1 min, jog 5 mins, etc. If you do this slowly you will actually be able to increase your total running time to 20 minutes and beyond without having to stop.

    Not everyone needs to do this, but if you're completely out of shape this is the easiest and best way of getting in shape: taking it slowly. If you try to run 3 miles while out of shape, you're not going to succeed. You're going to hurt yourself and/or get frustrated and be more likely to quit. By starting out at an easier pace you can work your way up to your goal and feel satisfied when you meet it.
  • DysgraphiaDysgraphia Locked
    edited October 2010
    fanglekai wrote: »
    Wrong. Dieting is the most efficient way to lose weight. By dieting I mean having proper eating habits.

    Weight loss is completely a matter of calories. You must take in fewer calories than you burn. Your body burns a certain number on its own. You can burn more with exercise. The easiest way to lose weight is to eat less. For every 3500 fewer calories you take in than your body burns, you will lose 1 lb.

    Running will speed up the weight loss, but it's far less effective than eating less.
    ---
    http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/04/phys-ed-why-doesnt-exercise-lead-to-weight-loss/

    “Walking, even at a very easy pace, you’ll probably burn three or four calories a minute,” beyond what you would use quietly sitting in a chair, said Dan Carey, Ph.D., an assistant professor of exercise physiology at the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota, who studies exercise and metabolism.

    “The message of our work is really simple,” although not agreeable to hear, Melanson said. “It all comes down to energy balance,” or, as you might have guessed, calories in and calories out. People “are only burning 200 or 300 calories” in a typical 30-minute exercise session, Melanson points out. “You replace that with one bottle of Gatorade.”
    ---

    Furthermore, there's no way a guy with moobs is going to start out running 20 laps. That's failure.

    Here's what you do: walk 2 mins, jog 30 secs. Alternate. Do that for a few days. Then walk 2 mins, jog 45 secs. Alternate. Do that for a few days. Walk 2 mins, jog 1 min. Alternate. What you do is increase the amount of time you jog and decrease the amount of time you walk. Walk 1 min, jog 2 mins. Walk 1 min, jog 5 mins, etc. If you do this slowly you will actually be able to increase your total running time to 20 minutes and beyond without having to stop.

    Not everyone needs to do this, but if you're completely out of shape this is the easiest and best way of getting in shape: taking it slowly. If you try to run 3 miles while out of shape, you're not going to succeed. You're going to hurt yourself and/or get frustrated and be more likely to quit. By starting out at an easier pace you can work your way up to your goal and feel satisfied when you meet it.

    He wants to lose weight. Not gradually lose it by eating less. The only way to stay healthy is exercising and proper food intake.

    Running is by FAR, much more effective than choosing a plate of peas over 3 sticks of corn.
  • fanglekaifanglekai Regular
    edited October 2010
    Weight loss is about choosing a salad and lean protein over the value meal #2. Eating 600 calories instead of 1200 calories is the equivalent of doing an hour's worth of hard exercise to burn off 600 calories. It's far easier and far quicker to eat less junk. I'm not talking about counting between peas and corn. I'm saying avoid sugar, decrease your carb intake and eat more healthy foods like fruits, vegetables, lean protein and whole grain carbs with high fiber.

    Weight loss is not about doing it overnight. If you're wanting to lose 50 lbs, it's going to take a while. Doing it as fast as possible is unhealthy. Losing 2-3 lbs/week is healthy, manageable and will work for the long term.

    Why is it so hard to see that if you eat less you have less calories to burn off? If your body burns 2000/day and you eat 1500, you'll lose 1lb/week. Yeah, doing exercise too will speed that up. Say you burn 300 calories a day. Now you've got an 800 calorie deficit going each day, meaning you'll lose weight faster.

    However, if you drink 1 bottle of gatorade or whatever and take in 300 more calories, you just put back in all the calories you burned during your exercise, meaning it did not help you lose weight.

    Weight loss is strictly a matter of calories in - calories out. If you eat less, you have less calories to burn. If you exercise, you're burning calories, but you can do the same thing without exercise if you just eat less. Obviously exercising is good too, but the most important factor is reducing caloric intake.
  • DysgraphiaDysgraphia Locked
    edited October 2010
    fanglekai wrote: »
    Weight loss is about choosing a salad and lean protein over the value meal #2. Eating 600 calories instead of 1200 calories is the equivalent of doing an hour's worth of hard exercise to burn off 600 calories. It's far easier and far quicker to eat less junk. I'm not talking about counting between peas and corn. I'm saying avoid sugar, decrease your carb intake and eat more healthy foods like fruits, vegetables, lean protein and whole grain carbs with high fiber.

    Weight loss is not about doing it overnight. If you're wanting to lose 50 lbs, it's going to take a while. Doing it as fast as possible is unhealthy. Losing 2-3 lbs/week is healthy, manageable and will work for the long term.

    Why is it so hard to see that if you eat less you have less calories to burn off? If your body burns 2000/day and you eat 1500, you'll lose 1lb/week. Yeah, doing exercise too will speed that up. Say you burn 300 calories a day. Now you've got an 800 calorie deficit going each day, meaning you'll lose weight faster.

    However, if you drink 1 bottle of gatorade or whatever and take in 300 more calories, you just put back in all the calories you burned during your exercise, meaning it did not help you lose weight.

    Weight loss is strictly a matter of calories in - calories out. If you eat less, you have less calories to burn. If you exercise, you're burning calories, but you can do the same thing without exercise if you just eat less. Obviously exercising is good too, but the most important factor is reducing caloric intake.

    So how would you go on about telling a 15 year old teenager weighing 700 lbs? Just eat less? Exercise is the most important factor in weight loss. Not only does it benefit your body as a whole, but helps you burn off fat. Not only is it the most effective way, but rather the fastest. You're trying to disprove my point by adding the gatorade factor, ever heard of water?
  • LMSLMS Regular
    edited October 2010
    Losing weight is 60% diet and 40% working out. Both are important, but if you are not feeding what your body needs, not only to be healthy, but low in calories, you will not lose weight as quickly.

    You can run run run run all day long, but my guess is, he is starting out, and not in good enough shape to burn off the calories of a shitty diet, if he does not change what he puts in his mouth.
  • fanglekaifanglekai Regular
    edited October 2010
    Dysgraphia wrote: »
    So how would you go on about telling a 15 year old teenager weighing 700 lbs? Just eat less? Exercise is the most important factor in weight loss. Not only does it benefit your body as a whole, but helps you burn off fat. Not only is it the most effective way, but rather the fastest. You're trying to disprove my point by adding the gatorade factor, ever heard of water?

    Yeah, just eating less would solve the problem. Why? If you take in less calories, you will lose weight because your body will burn off fat on its own. Apparently you didn't get the point of the gatorade example. If you eat more shit, you have to burn it off. If you eat less shit, you have less to burn off. If you reduce your meals by 300 calories, that's 300 calories you dont' have to burn through exercise.
  • stresstres Regular
    edited October 2010
    fanglekai wrote: »
    Here's what you do: walk 2 mins, jog 30 secs. Alternate. Do that for a few days. Then walk 2 mins, jog 45 secs. Alternate. Do that for a few days. Walk 2 mins, jog 1 min. Alternate. What you do is increase the amount of time you jog and decrease the amount of time you walk. Walk 1 min, jog 2 mins. Walk 1 min, jog 5 mins, etc. If you do this slowly you will actually be able to increase your total running time to 20 minutes and beyond without having to stop.


    I know a few people personally who have done this with great results :thumbsup:
  • blinky04blinky04 Semo-Regulars
    edited October 2010
    How often do you go to the gym? A bit of cardio a couple of times a week does wonders, however the most important thing is definitely diet. Losing weight is all about burning more energy then you consume, so watch out for sugar in drinks, stuff like that. Eventually you'll find yourself reading the labels on everything you eat.

    I lost roughly 10kg over a matter of months a little while ago without doing any extra exercise, simply by being strict as hell with what I ate. It helps that I had a fairly active job though.
  • KatzenklavierKatzenklavier Regular
    edited October 2010
    1. Do not diet. Get your 2000 calories a day. Dieting activates your body's starvation response, and all food gets turned to fat.
    2. Get plenty of exercise
    3. Get at least 10 hours sleep
    4. Do not get stressed over things
    5. Eat protein (meat, cheese milk) rather than skimpy salads.
  • fanglekaifanglekai Regular
    edited October 2010
    1. Wrong.
    2. Sure, but this can lead to people eating more.
    3. 10 hours is too much. 7-8 is all that's necessary.
    4. Has nothing to do with weight loss unless you eat when stressed.
    5. Protein is good. Salads are healthy as well. The main thing is to reduce carb intake.
  • KatzenklavierKatzenklavier Regular
    edited October 2010
    1. Only slightly wrong. People go on 1000 calorie a day diets and become sickly, and still fat.
    2. Exercise is still a must.
    3. Wrong
    4. Stress is bad for your health in general. When your stressed your body tends to hold onto fat.
    5. You're right, I'm right. Fat = Good, Carbohydrates and Simple sugars = Bad.
  • DirtySanchezDirtySanchez Regular
    edited October 2010
    LMS wrote: »
    Losing weight is 60% diet and 40% working out. Both are important, but if you are not feeding what your body needs, not only to be healthy, but low in calories, you will not lose weight as quickly.

    You can run run run run all day long, but my guess is, he is starting out, and not in good enough shape to burn off the calories of a shitty diet, if he does not change what he puts in his mouth.

    Lol at LMS giving weight loss advice but anyway OP dont get sucked into gimicky diets. They stress out the body and actually make you fatter. What you want to do is just eat a normal balanced diet and excersize particularly running a lot.
  • fanglekaifanglekai Regular
    edited October 2010
    1. Only slightly wrong. People go on 1000 calorie a day diets and become sickly, and still fat.
    2. Exercise is still a must.
    3. Wrong
    4. Stress is bad for your health in general. When your stressed your body tends to hold onto fat.
    5. You're right, I'm right. Fat = Good, Carbohydrates and Simple sugars = Bad.

    1000 calorie per day is fucking retarded unless you're a tiny person. Most people can lose weight on 1500 calories per day.
  • speedfeedspeedfeed New Arrival
    edited January 2011
    You do have to continue to eat, you don't want to go on a diet where you are starving yourself. Just like people do when their trying to bulk up and gain muscle, you want to eat around 6 very small meals, but keep it around or under 2000 calories. (this is depending on your body weight.) It's not bad to be a little hungry when your done eating because with 6 meals a day your gonna be eating again in a bit anyway. The small meals will speed up your metabolism. Find some ephedrine it's no longer sold in hydroxycut and other weight loss supplements anymore, but it's one of the most effective fat burners out there and still available online. Make sure your well hydrated all the time. Eat a balanced diet, your going to need both complex carbs and protein, carbs are your fuel for your workout so if you don't eat your carbs you won't have the energy you need. design a workout that focuses on cardio, but putting some low weight high rep lifting isn't bad, it'll help with toning. A lot of a workout is mental so push yourself when your working out and then be done, don't be like one of those people who spends all day at the gym and does nothing. Do your intense workout in 45 minutes to an hour and be done and move on with your day.
  • Sarahlov3lySarahlov3ly Regular
    edited January 2011
    fanglekai wrote: »
    Weight loss is about choosing a salad and lean protein over the value meal #2. Eating 600 calories instead of 1200 calories is the equivalent of doing an hour's worth of hard exercise to burn off 600 calories. It's far easier and far quicker to eat less junk. I'm not talking about counting between peas and corn. I'm saying avoid sugar, decrease your carb intake and eat more healthy foods like fruits, vegetables, lean protein and whole grain carbs with high fiber.

    Weight loss is not about doing it overnight. If you're wanting to lose 50 lbs, it's going to take a while. Doing it as fast as possible is unhealthy. Losing 2-3 lbs/week is healthy, manageable and will work for the long term.

    Why is it so hard to see that if you eat less you have less calories to burn off? If your body burns 2000/day and you eat 1500, you'll lose 1lb/week. Yeah, doing exercise too will speed that up. Say you burn 300 calories a day. Now you've got an 800 calorie deficit going each day, meaning you'll lose weight faster.

    However, if you drink 1 bottle of gatorade or whatever and take in 300 more calories, you just put back in all the calories you burned during your exercise, meaning it did not help you lose weight.

    Weight loss is strictly a matter of calories in - calories out. If you eat less, you have less calories to burn. If you exercise, you're burning calories, but you can do the same thing without exercise if you just eat less. Obviously exercising is good too, but the most important factor is reducing caloric intake.

    I agree. :)
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