Question: Renerally an foods & excerise question..(long post)

mayaxx21

Currently, I consume (way more than I should because of soda) mid to lower calorie range - and I excerise mostly by walking but I'm not walking/jogging hard enough to "enhance my heart rate to fat burning mode.
I did try that- I got high but never to "fat burning or above* because it was a excerise equipment I put together. Not *great* but it works.. I did it myself and tighten screws everytime lol. Reason I bring this up is because of this..
Currently for the first time in awhile since I've been trying to weight, so far its been working - so far I've done this on a lower end calorie diet and maybe a few hours of "leisure walks"
Finally my question becomes...
Should I start adding the bike again at a very low pace - especially if for any reason I've changed and stopped walking?

I highly believe from known experience - weight loss almost soley can come from large amounts from choosing what how much & often you eat. From my past & somewhat currently experience has shown me is food is the major factor in just "losing weight" followed by excerise..

Question:::

So should I add the bike to the four hours I already "leisurely" walk daily and I'm so busy I don't often eat often, a good meal a day definitely but I do get a lot of calories from soda and small amounts of "junk food"

Or continue to just walk and eat about the same as I am now? (Always smaller & and healthier always, hard as it can be

Thoughts? Add bike or stay the same and continue to loss unless no results are seen in a week?

I recently read excerise is all about "starting small and slowly working your way up"

**On the same tone I'd like to be "toned" and not just skinny lol
So quick final question because there's so much conflicting opinions..this is for my workout people

If you start working out 15 med-hoght cardio and then 15 or 20 small repetitions or lifting in Target areas..

How long do you think it would take most people to considered "tone" or "definitely toned - body fat limited (not just weight) using the above workout plan w/ supplements & good eating plan?
2 years 5x a week? That's my "guess" I don't know if I'm anywhere near being right at this

With food, health and fitness there's ALWAYS so much you can learn from SO many different people
If you've read this far I'm really curious about anyone's opinion? Male or female.

csplatt

That was a lot of questions!

1. i am a bit confused by your aim for fat burning mode when you move. let go of that and just burn calories.
2. what kind of equipment did you “put together yourself” and how is it not allowing you to raise your heart rate?
3. when you say you leisurely walk for four hours… is this four hours of daily movement via living life? or are you taking a four hour walk? why not take a one hour vigorous walk instead to get your heart rate up and burn more calories, free up your day?
4. how are you measuring your calories? food scale? how many calories are you consuming per day?
5. one week is not enough time to determine effectiveness of anything. 4-6 weeks.
6. what is your current weight vs goal weight?

sollyn23l2

Yeah, don't worry about being in the fat burning mode. As far as looking "toned".... how long it would take depends on where you're starting from. And some people just never really do.

Retroguy2000

There isn't enough info in your OP for anyone to give anything more than very broad strokes. How far over target weight are you? Are you recently maintaining or losing, and at what rate?

Getting to "toned" is largely going to depend on the above. Your body fat % probably needs to get near 16% (M) or 23% (F) to look "toned", in addition to having muscle of course, i.e. close to goal weight.

Fat burning mode is largely a myth. The benefit to cardio where you can still talk during it, is you can do it for a long time, so it can burn a lot of calories. The downside is, it takes a lot of time. Either way, it's all CICO.

You're right that diet is more important than exercise. One binge can easily add more calories than multiple workouts will burn. It's still advisable to do some cardio and resistance training for health benefits, and the calories burned can help with staying at maintenance or losing.

ninerbuff

As mentioned, ditch the "fat burning" mode (this was a gimmick invented by Fitness industry to sell programs and cardio machines easier since it's mostly lower intensity).
And as for "toned" (I hate that description but it's so prevalent now) it's always going to be subjective to the person trying to achieve it. But if one's body fat is around say 21% that's a good goal.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 35+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

tomcustombuilder

The short answer is there is no fat burning zone, fat loss is a product of a consistent weekly calorie deficit over time.

“Tone” is a product of low bodyfat and a decent amount of muscle mass. Just losing fat will not “tone” you unless you have a certain amount of muscle underneath.

spiriteagle99

You asked about adding or replacing some of your walking with riding a bike. Would you enjoy riding more and walking less? Is the level of exercise you are doing now sustainable over the long term? It does little good to lose weight via diet and exercise if you go back to previous habits as soon as you reach your goal. You need to find a way of living that you can continue for years, not just weeks or a few months. I used to be a long distance hiker. People carrying heavy packs for 6 months of hiking often lose a lot of weight. But then 3 months later, they are back to the weight that they started with. Four hours of exercise a day is rarely sustainable over the long term. What happens if you get injured, or bored or find something more interesting to do with your life?

Losing weight is usually more a question of what you eat than what you do. If you are drinking a lot of high sugar soda, then switch to something that isn't as high calorie. Skipping meals often means that you eat less nutritious food when you do eat, because you are hungry. Figure out your calorie needs and log every bite you eat or drink. See what can be dropped or switched to lower calorie versions. Try to find more nutritious options that you can enjoy for their own sake, as well as what they do for your health. Think long term.

nossmf

Walking is likely to burn more calories than biking "at a very low pace" since you're moving your entire body weight, not just your legs, so from a pure calorie-burn perspective, walking will help more.

Define what you mean by "way more (calories) because of soda". Are you drinking 12oz per day? A pair of 24oz bottles? Two liters? (I was putting away a two-liter bottle per day at one point, so not judging.) If you cut whatever the amount in half, replacing with water or another very-low calorie alternative, the impact to your weight could be tremendous. When I was drinking those two liters each day, I barely tasted the soda, it was just a normal part of my day. Took me a while of slowly weaning myself off, but I've gone from 68oz per day to 12-24oz per week. Not only does this save over 5,600 calories per week (that's over 1.5 pounds just in soda! per week!!!), but now when I do indulge in a soda, I enjoy the full flavor of every last sip. (This on top of the money saved also.)