I have loads of questions!

elsteer

On the water front, if you don't drink the recommended of water a day (8 glasses from all recommendations) you become dehydrated and your body starts to retain fluid in order to try and keep in balance. By drinking the 8 glasses you will stop the water retention and thus lose weight.

dancer4275

So I saw on here I need to drink 8 glasses of water a day. So I have been doing it. But my question is, why? Does it help flush the salt from your body? Does it add water weight to my weigh ins? Would drinking more help me loose weight faster?

That's a GREAT question...and I'm glad you are asking it because so many others just do without thinking.
Here's what the Chinese medicine philosophy is: water is good, and water is bad. water can float the ship. and water can sink the ship.
The only person that can tell you how many glasses of water you need to drink is you.
Our health community says "ALWAYS drink 8 glasses of water!"
But how the heck do they know how much water YOU need?
It's very different for every person.
I drink very little water during the day, but in the evenings, when I have 2-4 hours of dance training, I drink LOADS of water because I get thirsty and my mouth gets dry.
I personally can't drink 8 glasses of water, even if they are being spaced out throughout the day, because it makes me sick.
Dr. Bo is my Chinese medicine specialist...and he also disagrees with the statement that everyone needs tons of water a day.
Too much fluid in your system is also a great factor in nasal congestion/sinus problems...he told me that too;)
Hope that helped!

JCPruitt

don't know who came up with the pee test, but the idea of lemonaid yellow being hydrated....don't think so. Directions from my Nut, if you can see it easily, you need more water. If is smells, you need more water. For me, 1st thing in the AM is lemondaid yellow, and I am thirsty as can be since I haven't drunk anything in hrs. Urine looking like apple juice also indicates you are passing large amounts of protein--AKA losing muscle mass and your liver and kidneys are over taxed. Seriously, as a nation we walk around in a state of dehydration constantly. My mantra on this--drink baby, drink (water that is)

TrainingWithTonya

So I saw on here I need to drink 8 glasses of water a day. So I have been doing it. But my question is, why? Does it help flush the salt from your body? Does it add water weight to my weigh ins? Would drinking more help me loose weight faster?

If you are eating a lot of salt, then the water will be drawn to it and will cause you to feel bloated and will add water weight. But if you are also cutting sodium in your eating, then the extra water consumption will trigger the body to release any extra stored water because it won't feel deprived of it anymore. So, if you are carrying around a lot of excess water weight, then drinking water will help you lose it faster. Drinking water though, won't help you burn fat any faster unless it is stored with glycogen in the muscles. In order to store extra water in the muscles, you have to do resistance training to trigger the glycogen storage and also consume enough carbohydrates to have to store as glycogen for those weight workouts.

I am 30 years old and weight 220. I was told my heartrate needs to be at 124 to be in the fat burning zone. But often when I work out it is much higher (150). Am I not loosing fat when I work out then? Do I need to make sure it stays right at 124 to loose weight? Should I be doing cardio too or just fat burn?

The actual zone that is recommended for a 30 year old is 124 to 162 beats per minute. That is 65 to 85% of age predicted heart rate max. From my education, 60-70% is the range for the biggest percentage of the calories burned to come from fat, which is actually 114 to 133 beats per minute. It's actually a spectrum of what you are burning at what exercise level. Generally, at lower heart rates you are burning a higher percentage of fat for fuel (about 50% of your calories are coming from fat at the 60-70% range) and as your intensity goes up the more carbohydrate you burn and less fat. At 85% it appears to be about 20% fat. The drawback to doing more low intensity workouts would be that you burn fewer calories, so even though half of them are from fat, it may or may not be the same amount of fat burning as from a higher intensity workout that burns more calories but a lower percentage of fat. The benefit is that lower intensity is usually more joint friendly for people with issues. Personally, I recommend to my clients to do some of both so they are well rounded. The higher intensity stuff will strengthen the heart muscles and the lower intensity will focus more on fat burning.

I have a personal trainer I work out with twice a week. We usually just lift weights for 30 minutes then I go and do some cardio. Should I be lifting weights more often to see better weight loss results. Or is twice a week enough? It seems stupid to do situps when I have such a flabby fat tummy. Do I need to loose the weight first and then tone up? Should I do cardio first or second?

First of all, your trainer should be able to explain to you what the goals of your program are and if you should be doing additional weight work on the days when you aren't working with them. If they can't explain your program to you and the results you should get from it, fire them. A well educated trainer can design your program based on your current fitness level and tell you why you are doing what you are doing and when you should progress to the next level. As for the "toning" timing with weight loss, do both resistance training and cardio. (Resistance first for more fat burning from your cardio.) There's no such thing as "toning" technically. You are either maintaining and building muscle mass or your not. Muscle mass burns more calories at rest then fat, so you want to maintain it or even increase it. Resistance training will also help you store that glycogen and water in the muscles to help with fat burning. Don't be discouraged if you see a gain on the scale at first or even a decrease or stoppage in your weight loss from weight training. It's just the muscles adapting and storing that glycogen and water for better workouts and more fat burning later. Eventually, the fat loss will catch up with the glycogen and water storage and in the meantime, you have fuller firmer muscles that will have a girdle like effect on the fat under them so you will appear smaller.

Does it matter what you eat or just how many calories you take in? I dont usually go too far over my calories goal of 1250 but often it is not super healthy food I am eating. Is this hindering my weight loss efforts? Or is a calorie a calorie no matter what it comes from?

At first, I tell people to make small changes. If the only change you are comfortable with right now is calories, then it's great you are doing that much. Is it better to eat complex carbs instead of pure sugar, usually. But not always practical. If you try to change too much at once, the natural tendency is to feel deprived and go right back to the old habits. So, change one little thing at a time and that way you are more likely to make healthy eating a lifestyle change.

I hope I dont sound stupid - but there are so many posts on here and so many different opinions and I just feel so LOST. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks a million.

No, you don't sound stupid. Most people aren't educated in sound fitness and nutrition. It's much smarter to ask for help from an educated professional (like your trainer) then to believe the media hype about the next big miracle plan. Hint: They aren't really miracles and most of them only use a small snippet from actual research to try and seem like they know what they are talking about. When the full research is looked at though, you see that the results can be manipulated to justify a lot of different plans.

Kristy0728

:laugh: thats why I said a GOOD one!

Kristy0728

Your peronal trainer should answer all of your questions with good explanation - a good one can be a wealth of information - especially when it comes to your body... its what you pay for in addition to the workout routine!
People on the forums mean well - but most aren't educated in physiology or anatomy. I am a massage therapist, took physiology AND anatomy for my license and I just cringe at some of the things people say. :noway:

If she has a good trainer who is truly knowledgable about those things, then this is great advice. But some of the worst weight loss and exercise advice I've heard has come from trainers.

ding ding ding

You don't have to have any formal training to be a trainer, just remember that. There are very good trainers who know a lot about fitness and nutrtion but many of them have no training in either subject. Not that having a degree is always proof of being an expert, there are some self taught nutritionists and trainers who are very good, but generarlly speaking trainers don't know as much as people think.

I would check what qualifications your PT has. In the UK, they should be REPs certified.

Well, in the US I don't think it is required to be certified and you need no formal training to be certified. You can get a home study kit and take the test and be certified. From what I've heard of the typeical certification exam, it doesn't exactly ensure they know what they are talking about.

rml_16

Your peronal trainer should answer all of your questions with good explanation - a good one can be a wealth of information - especially when it comes to your body... its what you pay for in addition to the workout routine!
People on the forums mean well - but most aren't educated in physiology or anatomy. I am a massage therapist, took physiology AND anatomy for my license and I just cringe at some of the things people say. :noway:

If she has a good trainer who is truly knowledgable about those things, then this is great advice. But some of the worst weight loss and exercise advice I've heard has come from trainers.

ding ding ding

You don't have to have any formal training to be a trainer, just remember that. There are very good trainers who know a lot about fitness and nutrtion but many of them have no training in either subject. Not that having a degree is always proof of being an expert, there are some self taught nutritionists and trainers who are very good, but generarlly speaking trainers don't know as much as people think.

I would check what qualifications your PT has. In the UK, they should be REPs certified.

Well, in the US I don't think it is required to be certified and you need no formal training to be certified. You can get a home study kit and take the test and be certified. From what I've heard of the typeical certification exam, it doesn't exactly ensure they know what they are talking about.

You've heard correctly. My aunt's stepson is a "certified" PT in the US and he didn't have to do much to get that certification. I've also seen the nutrition and workout advice a lot of them (not all) push and it's kind of scary. A LOT of it is very outdated, as well. They learned what they learned at the time and then didn't keep up on the latest science or anything.

I know someone who ended up with major surgery and lifelong health problems because he followed a trainer's nutrition advice.

TrainingWithTonya

You've heard correctly. My aunt's stepson is a "certified" PT in the US and he didn't have to do much to get that certification. I've also seen the nutrition and workout advice a lot of them (not all) push and it's kind of scary. A LOT of it is very outdated, as well. They learned what they learned at the time and then didn't keep up on the latest science or anything.

I know someone who ended up with major surgery and lifelong health problems because he followed a trainer's nutrition advice.

It depends on which certification you have and even certification for trainers isn't mandatory, which I think is completely wrong. There are some really good certifications out there that require a lot more in depth study then others. ACSM and NSCA require a bachelors degree for their advanced certifications, which is what I'm working towards. They have more basic certifications for lower education levels, and most of the other certifications out there don't require a degree. Basically, you buy the books, study at home, maybe take a weekend workshop, and then take the test. Those certifications give the basics of exercise, primarily weight training and cardio, but doesn't cover any specialized training (kettlebells, yoga, pilates, etc.). They also only give a cursory glance at nutrition. The nutrition they are given is very basic, and not enough to be recommending anything diet wise. In fact, in most states it is illegal for trainers to give nutrition advice. Reputable certification agencies actually tell them in their certification that nutritional counseling is outside their scope of practice. Unfortunately, not all of the cheaper, get a quick internet certification in a day programs are reputable and tell them this so they think that their basics is enough for them to prescribe a diet or supplements. Legally, only an RD can do that in most states and in some states a certified nutritionist can, but personal trainers without specialty education in nutrition are never legally allowed to do so. I highly recommend checking the credentials of whoever you work with. If they aren't willing to tell you where they got their certification, don't hire them. After they do tell you where they got their education, check out the institution. If it is an actual college degree it holds more weight then any certification, but if it is a certification check out that company. Look to see if you'd believe they actually learned something in the process and didn't just get the internet equivalent of a Cracker Jack Box certification.