Advice about losing weight, exercises etc.

[gustischafer]

So, I am trying to lose some weight and I also want to work out, you know, I' d like to be a bit muscled and have a fit body. There is a lot of work that has to to be done in order to get to that point and I need some advice. I don't know what kind of exercises to do when I work out (no time for a gym). I just lift some weight for my arm muscles. Any other ideas? Exercises that help with losing weight? Any advice in general?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Orlandude]

Base weight loss rule....you have to burn more calories than you are taking in. That means eating less and exercising more. It takes 3500 calories to make one pound of fat so do the math. If you want to lose a pound a week, you need to burn 3500 calories a week or 500/day or eat 500 LESS calories a day.

On exercise, everyone is different but what worked for me was doing various sets of free weights 3 times a week and riding my bicycle the other 4 days. I also stopped eating junk food (fast food), less red meat and more fruits and veggies. Drink lots of water!

 

[KaraBulut]

What are you stats- height, weight and waist size?

What's your current routine and what are your goals (ie. general strength, weight loss or adding muscle)?

If you have a recent upper body picture, that also helps.

 

[AverageJoe]

Drink lots of water.

Get enough sleep.

Don't try to gain muscle and lose weight simultaneously. Either lose weight and try to maintain muscle, or cycle between muscle gain and weight loss.

 

[3nipples]

Can you explain "no time for a gym"? Does it mean you can't make time to exercise?

 

[Audio Tech]

If you CAN, get some fins and swim your ass off. Swimming works ALL your muscles, your heart and lungs. It's idiot-proof exercise and tones your whole body. THEN you can supplement with weights if you want.

This has ALWAYS worked best for me, but I live for body surfing anyway, so it's been a great way to stay fit while having fun.

The Fins make you work harder, so you get results much faster as well. Oh, I dropped 10 pounds a month when I started for a total of 35 pounds until my body found it's new, lean state.

It works!

 

[gustischafer]

Thanks for responding!

Well, when I said I had not time for the gym, I meant that I am too busy to go to the gym. I sometimes (at least 4 times/week) have some free time at home and I can work out a bit...

 

[3nipples]

There's a lot you can do at home in terms of fitness, assuming you have the willpower to avoid the distractions (which I don't).

The bottom line is that to achieve your goals takes effort and it won't happen unless you prioritize your time to make it happen.

 

[Audio Tech]

Well, maybe P90X is better for the home...

I'm thinking of doing that as well.

 

[samuelcain]

Simple advice: drop the carbs. The lower the better. The least you should do is leave every food out of your diet that has grains, potato, rice, SUGAR, pasta or corn. All of those will turn to glucose (pure sugar) in your system and the excess will convert to fat. What's even more nasty is that your blood glucose levels will rise and insulin is secreted. Storing fat cannot happen without insulin. Your body also can't use it's own fat storages when insulin is secreted. Calorie might be calorie, but your body doesn't work like basic math.

Another thing is that don't be afraid of fat. It will keep you full and control hunger way better than anything else. One of the world's most respected and top fat researcher (Krauss) recently released a groundbreaking meta-analysis, that clearly indicated that there is no connection between heart diseases and saturated fat. So eat your beef non trimmed, chicken with skin and fish with the back fat on. Fry with butter and use real cream for food making . Cold pressed (olive) oils are ok too, if you can handle the taste.

As for the exercise, I'm hearing great things about Beachbody's P90X and Insanity. Insanity doesn't require any gears, but is a lot tougher. It might not be a good for a complete beginner. Go to their forum, see the gallery section of Insanity and there is a thread called Insane Carnivore. He did amazing job at transforming his over 40 year old body, and he did it completely without carbs! It's complete and utter BS that you need carbs to recover from exercise .

I mean come on, the food pyramid was designed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, not the health department. You really think they'd say cereals and bread were a bad thing?