Question ofr you fitness experts!!?

2008-02-02 22:52:22 UTC

Given that you're not even that much overweight for your height, cultivating a successful diet and exercise habits is not as far-fetched as you might perceive. I had sagging legs (thighs and calfs) and tummy fat after I had my daughter. What I did for exercise to burn off the excess fat and rebuild my muscles was:

1. Cardiovascular workout one day. Aerobic exercises, biking, treadmills, or stair climbing with or without dumbbells.

2. Weight train (5-10 lbs.) for upper body (shoulders, biceps, triceps, chest, back, and abs) the next day.

3. Weight train (10-15 lbs.) for lower body (quadriceps, hamstrings, calves, butt) the day after that.

4. Back to cardio workout.

5. Back to upper body training.

6. Back to lower body training.

7. Rest on Sundays.

I find this type of exercise routine works the best because I tend to get soooo exhausted from working out the entire body that I would get really lazy about maintaining a 3-times-per-week routine. This way I get to work out a little bit at a time, which gives me a sense of "achievement" in the short time and make me feel better about having done something for the day. Then the next day, I would feel more motivated to go back and work out a "little" more. And just keep going one "little" bit at a time makes me feel more successful, even if the actual result haven't shown through in the mirror yet. Then before I know it, the week's almost over, and the natural endorphin my body produces from exercising every day makes me sooo happy that I get addicted to it.

The amount of weight you should use depends on how long you haven't exercised and how strong your muscles are. I would say start with the lowest weight of just 5 lbs. and increase the weight as you see fit. Cardio burns off the calories and fat. Weight-training helps to either build or tone your muscles. But be sure you allow 1-2 days of rest in between exercising each muscle group (as the list above), because continuous exercises don't give your muscle groups enough time to "rebuild." The process work this way: during exercises, you literally destroys the muscular tissues by tearing them up so they get uncomfortable, then the next day of rest, your muscles take a natural process to "heal" by "rebuilding" the tear. Through 3-4 weeks, your fat will start to burn off and muscle shape will slowly emerge.

The general rule is: if you want to tone down, use lighter weights (5-8 lbs. dumbbells) and do more repetitions (12-14 reps per set, 2-3 sets); and if you want to build muscle mass, use heavier weights (10-20 lbs and slowly increase) and do less reps (8-10 reps, 2 sets).

As for diet, it was really hard for me to continuously keep "count" of calorie-intake per meal. Instead, I just focus on obtaining a feeling of "80% full" for each meal and completely avoided ALL greasy fast-foods, including McDonalds, BKs, KFCs, Taco Bells, and so on. I focus on eating more fish and tofu, which also provide proteins but without the fat. I replace the "sides" (especially mashed potatoes with gravy) with lots of veggies, which I would need to eat more veggies to equal the amount of "fullness" mashed potatoes would normally provide me with, and that's GREAT for cleansing my system daily. Most of all, avoid ALL deep-fry anything, from fries to egg rolls and especially my favorite Cheese Wantons and just plain Cream Cheese (as in scooping it directly out of the tub and eating it like a snack). Instead, I replace those snacks with lots of mixed nuts. Every time I had a strong craving, I would reach for some salty nuts----salty for the purpose of preventing me from eating too much of it, as I will get full and thirsty very shortly and drink water like crazy, which forces me to drink more water instead of pop, too. Then my stomach THINKS I'm full from eating just a few pieces of nuts and drinking all that water and I completely forget what my original craving was.

I hope this helps. Best wishes. I'm sure you'll succeed!

ღThE OnE

2008-02-02 22:25:27 UTC

TIPS:

If you follow these tips you will lose weight.

First of all your body can healthly lose only 2-4 lbs a week. Also i would not reccomend one of those diet books or programs because once you lose the weight you will go back to doing what you did before and gain it all back.

Here is what you need to cut out of your diet or limit.

-sodas they are empty calories and just add fat.

-also juices try to limit 1 cup of o.j. has as much sugar as a can of soda.

-fast food. they provide no nutrients and terrible meals they do have healthly selections at all fast food stores if you pic those you will do much better.

-junk food is also empty calories its ok now and then just don't over do it.

Here are foods that you can indulge on.

-veggies since they are so healthy for you and provide you with many nutrients the calories in them are meaningless.

-water!! you should drink64oz. a day at first you will pee alot but then you will get used to it.

-when eating meat try to eat chicken because it is the best.

other tips

- try to have baked foods not fried.

-eat breakfast and try to have it mostly be complex carbs like oatmeal and wheat bread they will give you energy all throughout the day.

-don't skip meals when you do your body thinks it is being starved so it will hold in more calories instead of burning them.

ACTUALLY DAILY FOOD:

(suggestion)

breakfast: Main course under 200cal ..maybe a packet of oat meal or healthy cereal bar. Along with 1 fruit and 1protein or dairy product (things like one egg, string cheese, milk, low cal yogurt)

Lunch: Main course around 200cal. Salad (low cal salad dressing) 1 protein or dairy product

Snack: 1 fruit and 1 protein or dairy product

Dinner: Main course around 250-350 cal. Salad or Fruit. 2 servings of veggies

Desert: Something under 200 cal.

**make sure ur main meals have over 5g protein and some fiber..to keep ur from getting hungry. Hot cocoa is good they have 25 calorie hot cocoa at ralphs. Coffee is ok just not with real sugar and not too much creamer. **drink plenty of water **take vitamins to keep you energized

WORKING OUT

you need to buy some weights or go to a gym and work on increasing your muscles. because that will increase you resting metabolic rate which is how many calories you burn while simply doing nothing and you will see weight loss as well as losing inches. The bigger the muscle you work out..the more calories you burn. So legs are good calorie burners.

running is also a good way to help your overall apperience.

and pilates is a good way to tone your body a simple pilates

-Denise Austin comes on Lifetime in the mornings..the workouts are fun..and she's really hyper and motivating..its not to hard but I got results very rapidly. She has some great dvd's too. (lost the 70 pounds with that)

-now that it's been a few years later I really like doing exercise classes at my school gym..because I got bored of running miles and miles everyday (too keep my weight off) and working out alone.

go online and find some healthy meal recipes and use them try to reduce the number of calories you take in daily but not by too much. Don't go below 1200 or the weight will come back really easily..even if you don't over eat that much. It's okay to still have desert everyday..just a really really small amount that is under 200 calories.

hope this helps you. Good luck

Don M

2008-02-02 22:21:53 UTC

No. There is no way to spot-reduce fat, and anyone who tells you otherwise is just selling you snake oil and a load of expensive hooey. It comes off where it wants to. You can, however, tone (increase muscle definition) certain areas by working on strength.