Fitness Guru’s needed !

Not an expert, but I've been there and done that. Cardio alone will not solve your problem. I had the most success with a program consisting of 30 minutes on bike, and 30 minutes lifting weights. It doesn't have to be a ton of weight (you're not trying to be a body builder or anything). Just enough to challenge yourself & get to a point of muscle exhaustion (your last rep should be a struggle).

Muscle burns fat, so by building up the muscle tissue your cardio program will burn fat much faster.

 

I would estimate between 1500 and 1800 calories a day. You could go lower than 1500 but I'm not sure I would recommend it. Drink your 8 glasses of water a day....a must.

And I don't mean half of those fat calories. What you eat is as important as how much you eat. I would probably do a 40p/40c/20f ratio or something around there. Use protein supplements(like soy protein, shakes, etc.) if you don't like eating meat. Eat those fruits and vegetables.

Also, add weight-lifting into your routine if you haven't. Muscle burns fat and if you combine that with calorie reduction plus staying on course with your cardio...then I think you can't go wrong. I tend to do a 45 minute ride then a 45 minute weights workout and other days just a cardio for 45 mins.

Keeping the body fueled by breaking those calories down into 4-6 meals a day can't hurt, either. Eat healthy meals.

These are my opinions and they have worked for myself. Three weeks is to soon to be looking for results in my opinion. You need to stick with it for longer than that. Most people tend to add weight when they start exercising like that which is perfectly normal and should not discourage you from your physical routines. Water retention has alot to do with that. Your burning fat even if you don't see the weight reduction.

Surf

 

Don't get too hung up on weight. Muscle weighs more than fat, so there are a lot of very fit, muscular people who weigh more than you would expect. Measure progress by how your clothes fit, how you look in the mirror and how you feel. cuttino's right: your best bet is a program that incorporates both aerobic activity and weight training. There are a lot of fantastic weight training manuals out there -- pick up a few and make a routine for yourself. Good luck to both you and your wife(by the way, the same rules apply for her as well. Weight training is fantastic for women and it helps keep bones healthy in later years as well).

 

I say triple your sex intake. That should get you to your targeted area.

 

surfguy, 40/40/20, is that the zone diet? What do you think of the Atkins (no carb) diet? Short term, I've heard it is a miracle worker.

 

I've done the Atkins and yes it does work but it gets old eating nothing but protein/fat. Plus, when you stop, all your weight will come back once you add the carbs back and you might be worse off than you were before.

If you want fast results, then Atkins will give you fast results. In 3 weeks on that diet, you will lose some weight and alot of water weight. It gives you incentive to keep going. If you add cardio and weight-lifting to Atkins.....whoa....good luck finding the energy but I'm sure that would work well. If I were to try Atkins again, then I may start off on it for 3 weeks or so then switch to something else....like a 50p/30c/20f on 1500 - 1800 calories a day.

As far as those ratios I threw out, I didn't get those anywhere. I typically go with something like that...probably more like 50p/30c/20f....when I'm on my routine. 50-30-20 or 40-40-20....not much difference. Take those numbers with a grain of salt.
I'm not die hard into dividing calories among those groups.

I'm not an expert but I've done alot of research and found what works for me. Consistency with any routine is really the key to any success in my opinion. If you stick with it, then like Mrs. JB says you will see and feel the results. Usually, the weight will come down easily at some point in a very short time span when you've been doing cardio and weight-lifting consistently for a while and not stuffing your face .

Surf

 

Some of my info comes from this site . Alot of this stuff is common sense:

1.) Increase your protein intake if your weight-lifting and doing cardio because weight loss will burn muscle as well as fat and you need the extra protein intake to keep your muscle.

2.) Be smart in what fats you eat...stay away from saturated and eat the good fats...like fat from nuts.

3.) The reasoning behind eating 4-6 meals a day evenly spacing them out is to feed your body throughout the day and keep your metabolism going. If you cut calories and eat one or two meals a day, then your metabolism will slow down...which is not what you want to lose weight.

4.) Use protein supplements as meal replacements to make the 4-6 meals a day easier. Use a protein shake or protein bar as a meal and protein boost. Also an excellent source of daily vitamins and minerals in most cases.

5.) Be consistent in your routine.

6.) Choose one day a week to let loose and eat whatever you want(an amount within reason). This is my own personal tidbit which I got from a book "Fit for Life". It can be fast food or whatever. This one day is your exception day. Eat a hamburger, fries, and sugar soda for one meal(or whatever you want). This exception will make it easier for you to stick to your game plan and refresh the body.

7.) Mix your cardio up....bike, run, walk, swim, etc.. Stay away from monotany of one cardio exercise. Use the programs built in your machines(if you use one); vary the programs by day.

8.) Count your calories and measure against calories burned(for cardio where measurable). Always strive to achieve a caloric deficit for the day.

9.) Keep the body hydrated with water. Stay away from sugar soda.

10.) Watch out for nutrition labels which say zero fat but 30 grams of sugar. This is wrong. Any sugar not used by the body is stored as fat. Sugar from fruits is okay.

Hope this stuff helps. By the way, I'm on a program for 3 months now and it's working. I have not achieved the desired weight loss yet, either. But, it will come and my body is fitter and trimmer than before. My clothes are looser. I am on track and expect to continue for the long haul. Most importantly...I feel good.

Surf

 

By no means am I a trainer(nor am I as fit as one) but I do fine without one because I know what they stress and want you to do. I also have the added advantage of having a Bowflex so I can do alot of different exercises in the comfort of home.

Keep this tidbit in mind:

Our bodies burn calories in two ways: 1) by engaging in physical activity and 2) the body's natural resting metabolic rate. Calories burned, resulting from exercise and lifestyle activity, are the calories that make a difference in your weight control and physical fitness. Resting metabolic rate is the total number of calories you burn when you are inactive, including the calories your body burns to digest food and while sleeping. This natural rate also depends on your height, age, sex and the amount of lean tissue that makes up your body weight.

Your metabolic rate determines how many calories you burn while inactive. Increase your metabolic rate and you increase the number of calories you burn while inactive. Also, add to that the calories you burn from physical activity as well.

400 calories isn't bad if you do that 5-6 times a week. That's about a pound of week but the benefits are really more than that. Take this for example for a given day:

1.) You burn 400 calories on a bike or treadmill .

2.) You take in 1800 calories from eating.

3.) You burn approximately 2,000 calories a day doing nothing or
your resting metabolic rate....calculate yours here

That's a 600 calorie deficit for that one day right there. Multiply that times 6(for six days) and you get 3600 calories. Well, how many calories does it take to burn one pound of fat? Answer:

For each pound of body fat, you'll need to burn 3,500 calories more than you consume. How long that takes to accomplish depends on how long and how hard you exercise, and on your body size. (A large body in motion burns up more calories than a small one.) On average, a slow walk (2 mph) for 20 minutes might burn 60 to 90 calories, so it would take about 47 walks to lose a pound. A brisk walk (4 mph) for 30 minutes might burn 165 to 240 calories, so you would need to take 15 to 20 walks to lose a pound.

How often you exercise is key. If you only exercise twice a week and make no other changes, it could take you two to five months to lose one pound. Exercising five days a week would result in a loss of a pound every three to five weeks. Exercise is a vital part of reaching and maintaining a healthy weight. For most people the real results show up over time. Small amounts of increased calorie-burning add up and, as muscle increases, these changes raise metabolism.

Meanwhile, making a few healthy dietary substitutions and reducing portion sizes can help you lower the number of calories you take in on a daily basis. To lose weight, most people do best with a combination of exercise and modest changes in eating habits.


Anyway....hope this helps. Once you get in a program, it's easy to lose weight. I burn 600-650 calories on one bike ride and a 45 - 60 minutes intense weights workout burns at least the same amount(probably more). I plan to add running(2,3,4 miles a day) to my regimen as well. The effects of all this working out will be in play long after your done, however, as your resting metabolic rate will increase(but not if you starve your body). The key is to do it at least 5 times a week...the more the better...but don't burn yourself out as tends to happen. But, allow your body time to recover and get enough sleep as well. Always rest at least a day in between weight workouts and I recommend heavier rather than lighter weights.

Fun stuff. See ya....

Surf

 

Here is my true story.

In May 2000, I was at my heaviest, a 6'1" guy who weighed about 230lbs and ate fast food for lunch and dinner and didn't care about my health.

i suddenly woke up one morning and changed my lifestyle (I don't know what got into me, I just needed a change, I wanted to be healthy)

I started running 3 miles every morning and 3 miles every evening and limiting my caloric intake to 1500 calories a day.

By December 2000 I was at 190lbs.

I have built on my workout so that for the past 7 months, I run between 10-12 EVERYDAY and I limit my caloric intake to 2000 calories a day. I eat no junk food, no sweets, plenty of fruits, vegetables, and water. No regular soda (only diet), little alcohol, and no heavy foods. I have now maintained a weight of 175 lbs. for 1 year and feel better than I ever did in my life.

Some people tell me my exercising is extreme, but I feel fantastic. I have gotten to the point that if I need the adrenaline from running daily!

Hope my tale helps!

 

Like others have said, balance out your cardio with strength training. If you don't want to bulk up, just do lots of reps at a lighter weight. I recommend 5 days a week of at least 30 minutes cardio plus some strength training, if you can manage it. Alternate your weight exercises so you do not work the same muscle, the same way, on consecutive days. Do plenty of stretching. If you don't have time, try to shorten the whole thing, but at least do something. For some of us, we're so out of shape that it doesn't take much to get our heart rate up to "cardio".

If you have access to it, use a cross-trainer, elliptical cross-trainer, or cross-country skiing machine. Or swim. You burn a lot more calories at once if your upper body and lower body are getting workouts at the same time. On days when you're tired, just walk around the neighborhood, but carry hand weights.

Exercise is better for losing weight than dieting; for your exercise regimen, you're cutting out way too many calories. Your metabolism will shift into "panic mode" and will conserve every calorie it can, as if you were starving. If you have time, it's better to introduce some intensive exercise and modify your eating lifestyle piece by piece, but don't go overboard. If you're exercising a lot, carbs are fine.

Fatty foods are never good for you, but don't deprive yourself completely. For example, let yourself have a few treats on weekends. Please do not try the Atkins diet. It causes your body to circumvent the normal metabolic processes and shift to a pathway normally used in cases of starvation. When this is taken far enough, there are health risks involved; more normally, you will be tired and sluggish (the brain _has_ to function on carbohydrates) and the weight will come back as soon as you start eating carbs. Your body will think it has been starved, and your metabolic rate will lower itself to make sure this doesn't happen again.

While exercise burns calories, you're best off trying to trick your metabolism into speeding up. Regular exercise (combined with strength training) will increase the amount of muscle tissue in your body (which requires more calories) and will cause your metabolism to shift upward. As this goes on, you may be able to get away with eating a lot more. Try to make small changes to your diet where it doesn't hurt (for example, decide you never really liked cookies/donuts anyway, or no fast food during the week, or diet soda, or no alcohol). Some of these things you may not want to give up; in that case, keep them in small amounts and find somewhere else to cut back.

(and here I am being a total hypocrite right now, because I'm just about at the fattest point of my life. I'm too busy to exercise or to eat healthy stuff, and my willpower is limited. So do as I say, not as I do. I've done it before and it has worked.)

 

That's great. I've known people who just run and do no other kind of workouts as well. Running can definitely be a huge factor in weight loss...especially if you do it consistently which it sounds like you do. I like the variety of mixing up the cardio and adding in the weight lifting for better definition.

It really comes down to what works for you. Everyone is going to have their own flavor. Take the points and guidelines that you believe in and make them work for you. Short-term weight loss should not be your goal...the quicker you take it off...the faster you will probably put it back on...and go back to whatever unhealthy habits you had before. It really is a lifestyle change and if it doesn't feel like one....then it probably won't work out in the end.

I had a similar story to drapg a year ago before I slipped back into lazy habits and poor eating. I weighed 210 lbs and using the program I outlined above I went down to 174 lbs. This was not overnight and was a consistent program built into my daily life. You have to work for success and you can lose it just as easily as you found it. I'm back into that same plan where I found success before with some minor changes.

In the end, you have to do what works for you. Just do it.

One other point to elaborate on Isabell brought up....phase into your new habits. Don't just flip a switch and say I'm eating only 1500 calories today, riding the bike until I can't walk, and lifting for an hour straight. As noted in one of my favorite movies "What about Bob?", "baby steps into the weight room, baby steps over to the bike machine, baby steps onto the bike machine,etc."(you get my point...baby steps). People will look at other people's routines and say their extreme or "how the f*ck do you do that?". The answer is they worked their way to that point over time...they didn't just jump into it one week cause they felt like it. As far as Atkins being unhealthy, I tend to agree although the scientific evidence proving Atkins is unhealthy is scarce and the debate is always ongoing. The long-term studies are lacking in this area.

Surf

 

I know this is going to sound really obvious, but you really need to sit back and evaluate your metabolism.

What Surfguy and some others have said is great, but if you have a high metabolism like me, then I wouldn't get too concerned with eating fast food.

Hell, I work out 4 days a week & my workouts are an hour long and intense, yet I eat Taco Bell or McDonald's every day for lunch (because we don't have Whataburger or good fast food places where I work) . I have found my weight to pretty much stabilize at 180 to maybe 185.

Now granted, my cholesterol may not be that great but I feel that I'm an exception to the rule in that I can eat whatever I want and not worry about gaining weight.

So, your metabolism might be higher than you think. If it is, I wouldn't sweat what you eat that carefully, but if you do put on pounds every time you eat something fatty, then yea, I guess you will need to go all-out. I agree that exercise is better for you though, than diet.

BTW - Castor - "Mr. I now have 1,000 posts guy" - fast food is a necessary evil & one of life's guilty pleasures!

 

Hey Manny, wait til you hit your thirties -- you'll be amazed at how quickly that metabolism changes (and not for the better)! All I can say is enjoy your fast-food feasting while you can!

 

I got little over a year to go in hitting the big 30...woo-hoo!

That means more ear hair!!!

 

Oh great....another one of those "I have a naturally high metabolism so I eat and do what I want posts" . Just kidding. People who are overweight tend to have slower metabolisms than people who are not overweight and/or have never had true weight problems. In all honesty, I hate those motherf*ckers who eat Jack in the Crack every day of their life, are lazier than life, and are thinner than a sheet. They are out there and they have it easy in my opinion.