the most effective way to lose body fat???

kim0913

great ideas!! How much green tea do you drink a day?

themommie

thanks for sharing. this is great info

TN_Tinker

Anyone else with type 1 diabetes trying this?

kdiamond

ITA with Trainer Robin!! Listen to her, she's got great points.

I will reiterate that no amount or variance of cardio activity can outdo a good diet! A good diet is #1!!!

My Crossfit instructor told us today when he was doing body building competitions, the last 6 weeks he did NO - ZERO - ZADA cardio and was losing 1% body fat per week. He did it all through proper diet and weight training.

runningneo122

ITA with Trainer Robin!! Listen to her, she's got great points.

I will reiterate that no amount or variance of cardio activity can outdo a good diet! A good diet is #1!!!

My Crossfit instructor told us today when he was doing body building competitions, the last 6 weeks he did NO - ZERO - ZADA cardio and was losing 1% body fat per week. He did it all through proper diet and weight training.

Weight loss like you're talking about is not the only way to lose weight when you're heavy. While when I first started losing I was merely eating home cooked meals and not eating out it was still not "healthy" foods. Biscuits and gravy, belgian waffles, regular maple syrup, salted butter as well as other things. I plateaued after losing 45 pounds. (260 - 215) Next I started running and after getting up to running daily for more than 30 minutes the weight continued to drop.....while still eating junk!!! The point I'm trying to make is that your ideas are not incorrect but merely closed-minded.

jamie1888

I don't think kdiamond was is being closed minded at all. You hit a plateau and then did "something" to change up your normal routine. And that IS what you need to do to break a plateau. However, you could have also done that by changing up your diet. Stop eating junk and start eating clean, healthy foods or by reducing the number of calories you consumed. So, again, you don't NEED cardio to lose weight or fat. Yes, it will help it along. But, you can lose fat also by just controlling your diet.

Edit to add:
I'm not saying don't do cardio. I'm just saying, technically, you can lose fat without it.

runningneo122

I don't think kdiamond was is being closed minded at all. You hit a plateau and then did "something" to change up your normal routine. And that IS what you need to do to break a plateau. However, you could have also done that by changing up your diet. Stop eating junk and start eating clean, healthy foods or by reducing the number of calories you consumed. So, again, you don't NEED cardio to lose weight or fat. Yes, it will help it along. But, you can lose fat also by just controlling your diet.

Edit to add:
I'm not saying don't do cardio. I'm just saying, technically, you can lose fat without it.

When I plateaued, I did try eating better and didn't lose anything. Walking didn't matter either. Fast walking wasn't getting my heart rate up enough to do it. And I didn't have the time. Running gets me done in an hour while walking was for nearly double and not working.

I overdid it due to lack of knowledge about proper running and was laid up for 8 weeks w/ out cardio. I became committed to better eating when I was running and continued into the lay-off. I lost no weight and after 6 weeks started going back up. I started running again in the afternoon and didn't lose a pound while eating healthy. The only thing that works for ME is "FASTED CARDIO" and in the first 11 days on here and after getting back to running again in the morning for the past 14 days, I've lost 4.5 pounds. Every 3-4 days I check my hydration on my bio scale and my weight is consistently down..... no yo-yo-ing.

Russellb97

1. Eat less calories than you burn
2. Limit carbs during the day, they slow down fat burning.
3. Weight training is better than cardio for fat burning.
4. Eat.a high protein diet, it increases metabolism with a high thermic effect.
5. Eat carbs at night to feed your brain while you sleep and store glycogen for exercise.
6. One day a week have a surplus of calories to increase metabolism
7. Drink water often, especially early in the day.
8. Buy a pedometer and try to get 10,000 steps daily.
9. Metabolism energy mostly comes from carbs and body fat
10. Exercise energy comes mainly from carbs and glycogen.

Carbs are not the enemy because they have a purpose, but by eating them at the right time you will burn body fat at a very high level.
Calories are calories, sone guy lost 30 pounds eating twinkles, so in a way everything works. The real trick isn't weight-loss, honestly that is easy. The real chore is burning fat and then keeping it off.
This is what I do, I lost 100lbs , 7 years ago, and can guarantee that it works, it's not the only way of course but this is a really fun way.

GiGi76

bump

kim0913

Here's a cheat sheet of things that I culled from various places that I attribute with some of the good results that I've had so far:

1. High intensity interval training (HIIT) - There have been studies that reported that following a 20 min HIIT program lost about 6x more bodyfat then a group that followed a 40-min cardio program

HIIT on the elliptical is awesome -- you can easily vary the pace without having to alter any of the controls. Furthermore, having alternating levels of intensity is much more mentally engaging (for me) as I was focused in on my routine and not doing the hamster dance on the treadmill.

2. Make sure you are drinking enough water. If you are not hydrated your performance will quickly fall off.

3. Bring your own tunes. Several studies have indicated that you'll train harder and longer when you are listening to the right music (for you). Don't do the TV thing..

3. Mix it up. If you get bored with whatever cardio machine you are doing some variety (rowing, running, elliptical, etc) to the cardio time.

4. Avoid sugary foods before training. The insulin spike will reduce the possiblity of your body tapping into FAT STORES during your training.

5. Drink green tea. All kinds of research shows that this a great thing to add in to your fat loss plan. In fact there has been some evidence that sipping on green tea while exercising caused a 10% increase in abdominal fat loss than those that drank a placebo; I am talking about green tea brewed -- not some sugary drink

6. Keep your protein intake high. Protein is critical for both gaining muscle and loosing fat.

Last but not least. Get enough ZZZs. Put simply if you are not sleeping enough you will decrease your glucose tolerance -- more likely to store sugar as fat.

Hope that helps!

kim0913

How much green tea should you drink a day? and is that on top of the recommended water?

runningneo122

How much green tea should you drink a day? and is that on top of the recommended water?

I've read somewhere 5 cups of green tea per day keeps the metabo crankin'. I have one in the morn' B4 "fasted cardio" but that's it and I lost 4.5 pounds my first 11 days on here.

_Bro

The only thing that works for ME is "FASTED CARDIO" and in the first 11 days on here and after getting back to running again in the morning for the past 14 days, I've lost 4.5 pounds. Every 3-4 days I check my hydration on my bio scale and my weight is consistently down..... no yo-yo-ing.

I had a similar experience as well.

Also, I found that it was a bit easier (for me) to start off with slowly changing my diet instead of making drastic changes all at one time. Of course, you can lose weight by diet (IE just cutting out sugary sodas is a good start) but doing the cardio made me more reluctant to consume bad stuff in my diet...

I also drink about 5-6 cups of green tea as I like the taste.
If you don't care for green tea you can also go with a supplement.

_Bro

1. Eat less calories than you burn
2. Limit carbs during the day, they slow down fat burning.
3. Weight training is better than cardio for fat burning.
4. Eat.a high protein diet, it increases metabolism with a high thermic effect.
5. Eat carbs at night to feed your brain while you sleep and store glycogen for exercise.
6. One day a week have a surplus of calories to increase metabolism
7. Drink water often, especially early in the day.
8. Buy a pedometer and try to get 10,000 steps daily.
9. Metabolism energy mostly comes from carbs and body fat
10. Exercise energy comes mainly from carbs and glycogen.

Carbs are not the enemy because they have a purpose, but by eating them at the right time you will burn body fat at a very high level.
Calories are calories, sone guy lost 30 pounds eating twinkles, so in a way everything works. The real trick isn't weight-loss, honestly that is easy. The real chore is burning fat and then keeping it off.
This is what I do, I lost 100lbs , 7 years ago, and can guarantee that it works, it's not the only way of course but this is a really fun way.

Great points and congrats on your results.

To me the twinkie diet is a great illustration willpower! Can I really just eat one cookie or Twinkie and stop right there?
Self control is key. Indulging every so often is not going to make you obese rather it is the constant surplus of calories that makes us pack on the pounds. In fact, I have had good results by cycling my carbs...

HealthyChanges2010

bump! Good stuff, wanna come back to this thread:drinker:

db2347

Robin,
Could you post the names of the studies you site? Would love to see them.

amycal

Calories are calories, sone guy lost 30 pounds eating twinkles, so in a way everything works. The real trick isn't weight-loss, honestly that is easy. The real chore is burning fat and then keeping it off.
This is what I do, I lost 100lbs , 7 years ago, and can guarantee that it works, it's not the only way of course but this is a really fun way.

If you really beliee there is any virtue in the twinkie diet you might want to read this:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-katz-md/chewing-on-the-twinkie-di_b_782678.html

Here's a summary:
The two-month timeline here is important for another reason. Over the long term, controlling calories means either going hungry, or finding a way to feel full and satisfied on fewer calories. Here's where the quality of calories certainly does matter. Foods of high nutritional quality include, among their many virtues, the capacity to produce fullness on fewer calories. Eating until full and yet being lean is having your cake and eating it too -- but snack cakes will never get you there!

You might be able to lose weight by just worrying about calories but you won't achieve optimal health or ideal body shape. I have been reading a lot about this recently and have attended some seminars by a local functional medicine doctor and I think the quality of your food does really matter.

Russellb97

I agree 100%, that's actually my point. Losing weight is easy, don't eat. The tough part is finding a way to do it and keep it off. This has been the main focus of my "diet journey"
For myself I had to find a way to lose eight, build muscle, and still be able to eat the way I love to. It had to be lifestyle that I could follow forever and be healthy. I'm not trying to sound like a commercial for Spike Diet but this is what it has done for me. I did lose 100lbs about 7 years ago, I've dropped my body fat into the single digits, and i eat donuts, pizza, and ice cream every Saturday. I couldn't be where I'm at now on the "twinkle diet" but it still proved the point that when it comes to losing weight it's calories in versus calories out. I would never recommend it, but it was still a very interesting and important test. I know many people who think they lose weight by just eating "natural" or organic foods.and just seem to not care that they still contain calories.

runningneo122

I agree 100%, that's actually my point. Losing weight is easy, don't eat. The tough part is finding a way to do it and keep it off. This has been the main focus of my "diet journey"
For myself I had to find a way to lose eight, build muscle, and still be able to eat the way I love to. It had to be lifestyle that I could follow forever and be healthy. I'm not trying to sound like a commercial for Spike Diet but this is what it has done for me. I did lose 100lbs about 7 years ago, I've dropped my body fat into the single digits, and i eat donuts, pizza, and ice cream every Saturday. I couldn't be where I'm at now on the "twinkle diet" but it still proved the point that when it comes to losing weight it's calories in versus calories out. I would never recommend it, but it was still a very interesting and important test. I know many people who think they lose weight by just eating "natural" or organic foods.and just seem to not care that they still contain calories.

I agree 100%... my first 45 pounds lost were eating pizza, biscuits and gravy, belgian waffles, pancakes, regular maple syrup, regular sugar in my tea, etc. Portion control and home cooking were the key here. No preservatives and extra crap in my food. I make my own pizza dough, so even this is not a premade item. Cut down on the salt and replaced the sugar with generic "Splenda" and started running and kept losing. Changing to eating clean has been in little steps but it is easier to make the changes permanent this way for me.