Ask me anything about fat/weight loss....
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You have male parts, no?
Why do you have kissy faced photos?
Is that b/c you're feeling more confident in yourself b/c you're ripped? (I had to at least make it partially fitness related)
Lol. Confidence definitely comes with it......especially when in high school I was a 135 pound skinny band geek. First chair trumpet, and all-state band two years in a row, baby!!0 -
Bump0
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I have been doing bodypump (60 minutes of weight circuits basically) 3x a week and 90 minutes of various intensities of cardio 3x a week (running 30 minutes and 60 minutes of bike, elliptical, or other cardio). I eat 1400 a day and drink atleast a gallon of water a day. I have lost about 1-1.5 lbs a week since starting until lastweek and it has stalled. I feel hungry more often lately and thought od uppingthe daily calories, but as i dont know how to gauge the calories i burn each day, i didnlt know if adding calories would help or make the weightloss to stall even longer...i am 5"4', 151 lbs, and trying to get to 125-130. I dont have a set date to accomplish this but sooner than later
whats your opinion, on all this? Thank you for your advice!
Give yourself a day off and refeed. Overtrain, body freaks and starts trying to protect itself. Calories too low too long, and body readjusts itself. Calories too low too soon, body freaks out and tries to protect itself. What most people don't get is that as long as the body feels safe, it'll drop fat like it's going out of style! Most people get impatient and or freak if the scale goes back up for a day, and then what do they do?....They overcompensate by eating less and working out more. Body freaks out then, and does what's necessary to keep you from screwing it up more. Train to hard and too much for instance, you catch a cold and can't train. A one week stall is not a big thing. You probably really haven't even stalled. The science of fatloss is air tight pretty much, but we hold on to WEIGHT for many other reasons. I gave the example earlier: If you weigh yourself and then go drink a quart of water and weight yourself again, will it be higher?....Of course! Will this be true weight gain?.....No! Many factors attribute to fake weight gain, ESPECIALLY in women. Keep doing what you're doing, reevaluate every week, and SLOWLY adjust calories as necessary.0 -
I've always wanted to do a triathlon. In the past, running itself was never a problem, I enjoy running. And biking itself is never a problem, I enjoy biking even more so. However, putting the two together is where I have an issue. A few minutes into running after riding my bike, my legs are leaden and I struggle with keeping my stride as well as speed. I've done other activities right before running and this doesn't happen. Swimming, tennis...
Any ideas what's going on? I talked to a runner friend, and he said maybe we're (happens to him too) not built for triathlons. What? How can someone not be built for a triathlon? I always meant to ask him what he meant by that. Never got around to it, then I moved.
Edit to say, I was on my bike every day, rode my bike instead of driving a car. And running was about 5-10 k 2 or 3 times a week.
YOu just need more time. Doing your first tri is HUGE. Getting use to heavy legs the first few miles after biking is tough. Add brick training to your routine more often. You just gotta slow build up your tolerance that's all.
Thanks! I tend to just go do things without asking questions and blunder my way through. Good to know I just need to build up. Full steam ahead!
Lol. Same here. Word to the wise: Gold bond or vaseline on the inside of your legs for your tri-training. Going from swimming to biking and running....your legs will be rubbing back and forth for hours. My skin was rubbed raw by the end of my first!....and shower the next day?....Horrible. Just the steam alone would make me angry.
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Best way to burn inner thigh fat?0
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Not sure if this has been answered yet, but do you have to eat 100% clean of the time to get results/lose fat? I stay within my calorie goal of 1500 and work out, but if I want ice cream and it fits into my calories, will it really have an effect? I know it might sound stupid but I look at diaries of people with great bodies and it's kind of all over the place - some people eat fast food all the time and some people eat nothing but chicken and vegetables.0
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most of my questions got asked and answered...thanks alot, great advice0
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I have been advised to mix up my workout routines but I'm confused by what exactly that means. I have certainely turned up the intensity of all my workouts keeping my Heart rate above 130 per HRm (my goal established by the HRM is 111 to 145). My workout routine includes 45 minute treadmill (15 minutes I run) and then run/ walk intervals to keep the heart rate up. When the weather is nice I take the workout outside to a track and do 60 minutes of walk/run intervals. Am I mixing it up enough??? I have been losing weight at about 1lb/week or more since I increased the intensity of the workout until this week when I only lost 1/2 pound. Now I am panicking.Should I add in an aerobics class/ water aerobics etc or can I just change the time/intensit y and continue with the treadmill/track routine??? Keep in mind I am 49 years old and need to lose about 50 more pounds. Thanks for any advice you ccan give me
Always be mixing up your workouts. The body adapts to them the same way it adapts to food. Always doing the same thing and your body will get better at it. E.g. It doesn't have to burn as many calories to get the same workout done.
Many variable in your workout that can be changed up: Exercises, exercise order, weights, reps, sets, tempo, range of motion, rest interval time, etc. Keep at least a few exercises constantly in your routine though, because you want to be able to track SOMEthing of course. For strength I track the three big lifts, for cardio I track my 1minute mile time. I also keep track of my flexibility through yoga, and my agility through dance.
Read the previous post I answered. Don't freak if you don't lose perfect weight everyweek. For a female their are a million reasons your weight could fluxuate. Don't worry though. You are still losing. Depending on the time of the month, time of the day, water retention level, etc.....you might check it tomorrow and a pound and a half down! The long run is what matters. Keep up the great work and enjoy the ride yeh.0 -
Whats the best workout plan to maintain muscle? I used to lift often but nowadays not so much, ive been doing more biking, running/walking, Pilates and yoga. I was thinking full body lifting sessions 3 times a week.
Also can challenging myself in exercises like yoga and Pilates help me maintain?
Best workout for maintaining muscle?....Easy. Stay the hell away from cardio, lift progressively heavier in a 8-10 rep scheme with 2-4 sets per exercise, make SURE sure you're recoving between workouts for each body part, make sure your calories aren't too low, and make SURE sure you're meeting your daily protein requirements.
Side note: Keep the time in the gym down to no more than 60 minutes and keep the intensity high.0 -
Bump! Great thread. Interesting questions and excellent answers!
My question is, i'm going away in six weeks and want to look toned and mildly ripped by then. I started PT sessions last week and was a little disheartened that I lost weight but no inches. I know it takes time but do you think I can realistically see results in six weeks time?0 -
Hi - thank you so much for all of this, I am blown away by the advice and will have to take a few hours out to read it all.
My question is, I am new to exercise, I have a weakness in my back from a car accident (over 15 years ago), what is the best exercise I can do to work my core/abs please as I am holding body fat there (not sure if you need to know, but I'm female).
Thank you! :happy:0 -
Not complaining, you're being SUPER generous and helpful, but it appears you're answering in order and I think I fell through the cracks. I was the last one before you took your break earlier today
Since it seems a bit different topic than you've answered so far (food timing, not "what to do"), I'm copy/pasting below agai. thanks!
I work out multiple times a day (due to not having one long block of time) and am never sure about when/what to eat (type of food, like carbs/fats/proteins). I get a half hour around lunch time, a half hour at 5:00 and a half hour about 7:00 pm.
In a full normal week those 3x day workouts will include:
3x full body weight bearing workouts (multi-joint exercises using bodyweight)
2X sprints or other HIIT cardio
3X long hikes around on local hills
4x moderate tempo elliptical
4x good old fashioned walking the dog.
I follow a (mostly) paleo lifestyle with daily IF as well (break my fast about 11:00 with a big *kitten* salad with meat and high healthy fat dressing and have meat/veggies/healthy fat at dinner, around 6:30,) but I never know if I should be eating before each workout or after. And, what, if anything, should differ on cardio only workouts vs. bodyweight training (food/timing wise.)
Current info: 5'6" female, age 44, SW 265+, CW 210, GW 150ish?
Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated! thanks.
Sorry I missed ya yeh. When to eat?....This is completely up to you. I have clients who if they ate before a workout, they'd be sick the entire time. I have others who would hit the wall mid-workout if they didn't get something in before. Find out what works best for you. Me, I usually workout on an empty stomach. My workout partner he takes in close to 2000 calories prior to lifting(He's a 6'6 240 pound mammoth). Nutrient timing is like 5% of the bigger picture which is ARE YOU GETTING YOUR NUTRITION. Now if you were one of my athletes and you're trying to do your best performance in your respective sport, then I would be like YES!....We definitely want you carbed up and energized. But from a pure body composition standpoint, doesn't really matter at all so long as you're just getting it. Make sense?0 -
I'm 17 years old, 5'4" and currently about 151 lbs, giving me around a 1540 calorie BMR. If I NET at my BMR every day do you think that would be healthy and allow me to lose fat?
I ask it this way because on my rest days I do very little activity where as my workout days can range anywhere from 300 calories burned to 1300 (depending on how far I run) and I wouldn't be able to set an amount of calories to eat each day because my calorie burns vary so much.
Btw thank you so much for sharing all your great info!
Yes, you would lose slowly, but assuming your calories are spot on, then you WOULD still lose....just slowly. The bmr is assuming you are not doing ANYthing.0 -
This might be a silly question, but I barely have time to go to the gym. I do about 20 minutes of walking every day, and I want to lose 20lbs. Will this lifestyle enable me to lose weight and get toned?
Also, I have a max calorie goal of 1360 and I stay within it, but sometimes I feel very hungry trying to stick to it. Any suggestions for healthy, filling meals?
Thanks!0 -
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Hopefully that's enough background. Here are my questions!:
1. My workout regimen consists of four days of REALLY high-intensity circuit training for 30 minutes, high intensity cardio for 30 minutes on one day, and then two "rest" days where I do really low-impact stuff like yoga, bellydance, or ballet (dancing is one of my hobbies.)
Does the circuit training gives me enough strength training, since it's not exactly "lifting heavy"? I HAVE noticed significant strength gains in the past few weeks -- my upper body is stronger, my lunges and squats are going deeper and holding longer, and my formerly too-heavy toddler is getting lighter.
2. I currently am at the correct ratio for an hourglass figure (I'm just a "fat" hourglass) and I'd like to keep that. My understanding, though, is that overdoing it on exercises working the abs can create that square torso look that pilates instructors have and that I really don't want to develop. What's the best way to avoid getting the square look and keep the narrow waist definition?
3. How accurate have you found MFP's calorie counts? I cook from home most of the time and rely on MFP's estimates on the nutritional content of my recipes.
4. I'm a recovering soda addict, and while I've made a LOT of progress, I still have a soda a few times a week. I always record it and I'm staying within my calories. I'm aiming to quit entirely by the end of the year. Am I going to totally sabotage any progress I might make if I don't cut it out right away? With all the noise about high-fructose corn syrup, I'm half believing that I can workout all the time, eat well, and yet a soda a week will make me gain ten pounds. :P
5. Sometimes I have to do my workouts while my toddler's awake. Most of the time, I can push through it with her only being a little irritated at not having my undivided attention, but sometimes she gets into something, gets hungry, or needs comfort in the middle of my workout. I worry that these little interruptions are really cutting into the effectiveness of my workouts, but obviously I'm not going to ignore my daughter if she really needs me. Am I worrying overmuch, or am I really better off restarting the whole program until I can do it from start-to-finish with no interruptions?
I am so sorry for the wall of text. Thank you for holding still.
1. How much strength do you want? Circuits are efficient for gaining strength but there are more effective ways if you just want STRENGTH strength.
2. Best way to not get the square look is by doing excercises that work your hourglass like squats, lunges, and lateral raises.
3. Pretty decently active unless you're trying to get shredded. Then I'd personally manipulate a few things.
4. Sugar isn't the killer killer, but I would ween off of it asap.
5. Just get and stay active. If you have an interruption, that's fine. Just make sure you're progressively overloading yourself.
You're awesome. Thank you!
I'm not trying to get ripped or anything. I just want to build up enough lean muscle to ramp up my metabolism more to help drop excess body fat and to reduce overall... eh... floppiness.
Seems like doing circuits should be sufficient to get me there if I keep making it a little harder on myself as I go. Yay!
I do lots of those exercises already, but I'll toss in a few more lateral raises and really focus on doing my squats and lunges well. Thank you tons for providing so much guidance to me and everybody in this thread!
Yes, circuits help you kill to birds with one stone. They're intense though as you probably already know, but definitely a great in-between. Track the intensity of your workouts more than anything. That will keep your fitness level growing. Lol. Sweat is fat crying right?.... ;D0 -
Mon 05/07/12 05:57 AM
Hey Thanks for doing this!
I've got a running question - I'm trying to increase my running distance from 5k onward, but I seem to be capping out (lungs are okay, it's my legs!) just past the 5k mark...Is this a question of not enough protien, or just a matter of giving myself more time for my legs to catch up to my lungs?
did you ever respond to this question? I have the same problem. I have been doing research but there are many different reasons why my legs hurt after I run.
Short and sweet answer: How do you get better at anything?.....More experience. You're gonna plateau, but with patience, commitment, consistency, and not overtraining the body....you'll overcome that plateau. Lol. Then you'll hit another! The more in shape you get for anything, the harder it becomes to get to the next level. If you're new to something, your ability level will almost double in the first two months!! You think that is going to happen every two months? Of course not. I've been trying to increase my deadlift by twenty pounds for over 8 months now! I know I'll get there, it'll just take time, patience, and consistent effort. I admire your hunger, but don't stress too much if ya have to occasionally camp out.0 -
Need a good ab workout... They are just starting to emerge (YAY ME!)
I have a month til my vacation and I need to step it up quick!
Oh, you got me angry now. Ok, so here's my take on abs. If you are training them for health reasons, e.g. you have a weak posture/core, then yes I do believe in about 5 minutes of ab work 3x a week. If you are training them for aesthetic reasons, don't train them at all! I haven't done ab work, aside from demonstrations for clients, in like over three years! Think about it: What happens when you train a muscle group intensely?.....It grows. I'm not trying to have a bigger stomach!
Everybody has all the same muscles. You want your abs to pop better? Then lose 5 more pounds of fat. Guarantee you you'll like them a lot better. There is this one chippie a gym I've watched over the past year come in and do an hour of ab work almost everyday. AN HOUR OF ABS EVERYDAY ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!! I've watched as her stomach has gotten bigger and bigger. YOu can see a little bit of ab development, but she walks like a duck because her butt sticks out in the rear, her back has a considerable arch obviously due to neglecting the opposing muscle group, and her stomach leads when she walks! Please do not follow this example. #TRUELIFESTORIES
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Think it's amazing that you decided to help out!
I have a (quick) question - I'm 30 yo, 5'8", currently weigh 170lbs (30 lbs to my GW).
Regular exercise (mostly cardio), starting to prepare my body for future triathlons.
Caloric consumption: approx 1,100/day (I do, however, eat the calories I burn)
I'm not losing weight fast at all, but still I'm not sure whether I'm eating too little.
Thank you!0 -
I wanted to ask your opinion on this muscle building programme that I have as a new thread:
Muscle Building Program:
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/felicia-romero-muscle-building-program.html
Cutting program:
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/felicia-romero-cutting-program.html
Would you start with the muscle building program or the cutting program if you had a lot of fat to lose? For instance, 40 pounds to lose? The answer I got was muscle building program first. But I imagine you would also have to be losing fat at the same time. When I do a lot of leg exercises they tend to really bulk from past experience but it probably means that I wasn't losing the fat while building muscle. The above program lists 1300 calories, Felicia is 112 pounds and 5ft 3". I am 5ft 2".
Do you personally know of a good strength training program for women to do, i.e. have a link?
Me personally, at 40 to lose, I would say cutting no doubt. This is completely YOUR decision though. Most usually want to be lean first. If you have 40 pounds to lose and went on a bulk, that would take you up at least 10 more pounds. I would even tell a chappie to cut first. My mantra is usually this: If you're skinny as hell, dirty bulk. If you're skinny fat, clean bulk a lil' over maintenance. If you're fat, then definitely cut. I advise this on not just looks, but also health. Your waist size is your lifeline basically. Obesity is the number one and two cause of death in the states. Hope this helps0 -
I'm newish here, have a BMR of 1351 and a TDEE of 1859. Get to the gym or out biking/running a few times a week. Only looking to lose about 10-15 pounds. MFP has me on a 1200 cal/day routine and I've been sticking to it, eating back most of my exercise calories and it's been fine. However 1200 cal/day at my age/weight basically puts me on .75 lbs/week which seems sort of slow motion. However any day I eat less than 1200 calories, even 1150, I get a warning about possibly going into "starvation mode" which, of course, concerns me.
My question is: should I just keep up on the slow and steady thing I've got going here and be patient, or is it okay to drop down to 1100 calories a day to increase my deficit if I'm eating healthy [I've got a good mix of carbs/fats/proteins] and otherwise taking care of myself?
Obviously I don't want my metabolism to totally slow up, but it seems like at my height/weight [5' 3"/140/43 years old] there's no way to get more than .75 lb/week weight loss without the starvation warnings. Thanks for all the good info in this thread already today.
Starvation mode. GREAT question. Don't worry too much about it. It doesn't happen that easily. As you diet down your metabolism will go down too. Think about it: Obviously it takes more calories to maintain a person that is 200 pounds overweight that it does to maintain a 150 pound person.
Personally I would take the slow and steady route. If you occasionally did 1100 calories, that would not hurt anything in the long run. Hell, it's only 100 less than yer MFP reco! 0 -
Good Morning, Is there a HRM that you would recommend or what features should we look for in one? Thanks0
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Any tips for controlling appetite and impulse eating?
I want to start taking a supplement. I am consistant with my exercise, but I over eat 70% of the time... not good!
I AM willing to take supplements. I already take B vitamins, Biotin and a Pre-natal multi (not trying ot get pregnant though).
THANK YOU!!!
A few things:
1. Man up. Yes hunger sucks, but the quicker you embrace it, the quicker you'll get use to it.
2. Tell EVERYone about your goals. This will automatically make it harder to fail. (EVERYone meaning friends, not your haters)
3. Partner up with people with like goals. Have a support channel....people to encourage you to stay on track.
4. Stay motivated. Put up pictures of people who inspire you. Create a YouTube favorites channel of vids that inspire you. Get a fitness mantra.
5. Don't trade what you want in the split second, for what you'd want your lifetime. All the supplement in the world won't keep a person with eating problems from gaining weight in the long run. I have a client right now who was over 400 pounds, did gastric, dropped down to a little over 200, and then ballooned back up to over 500!! This is when he came to me. I'm happy to say that he is now down into the mid-300 area, and we still have some time to go, but he had to nip the eating in the bud. You can do it. It WILL be hard, but you can do it.0 -
bump - Thanks for all the great info! I'm trying to get through a stubborn stall myself, lots of good tips in here!0
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How do I find out how much I should eat everyday?
and how much more should I eat if I burn 1000 calories in the day (MFP exercise log so not precise... )
Simple. Track your calories consumed vs your activity. At the end of each week reevalute. Losing?....Great, don't change a thing. Nothing happened?....Try one more week and then reevaluate. Gaining?....You're eating too much. Lower your calories slightly or increase activity slightly, and then reevaluate again at the end of the next week. Simple as that.0 -
Ok, one more ? I just started the Intense Cardio workout Insanity. Today was day 17.. and I can do it no problem I mean Its hard yea but I get it done.. Also, I started running again today. So is it ok to run for 30min. early in the morning around 7am. then do my Insanity workout around 10am.. then go for another 30min run in the evening around 6pm? Or is that considered "over working myself"?
while eating 1200+ calories per day. I kno Im working up to eating more its just I'm low on foods in my home right now.
so im doin what I can..
Is your body recovering? Are you still losing? Do you feel good when you do it?.....If yes to all these then feel free to! If you're waking up more and more snapped up, if your weightloss has stalled out for more than a week, and you're having to fight yourself daily to do this....then no, I definitely wouldn't.0 -
What are your qualifications?0
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What are your qualifications?0
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hi im 164lbs and 5'8 w a goal weight of abt 145. ive been on here a month and lost 4 pounds total. TTH i do 40 minutes of hiit w a bootcamp trainer. Fri n Sun i lift for abt an hour n do 30 minutes of cardio either sprinting intervals or the ellipical.
My question is will lifting heavy make my thighs even (gasp) bigger?! ive always heard lift heavy.....but my bf says that will make me bigger- that the muscle will make the fat bulge out more. am i doing enough cardio to lose fat n counteract this? should i lift moderate weights at high reps on the legs like the bf suggests? should i not lift at all til im at goal weight?
lastly how does my diary look? tdee, bmrs n such just confuse the heck out of me
thanks so much!
ps im going to say wat every woman is thinking : 'DAMN!'
Shoot me yer stats and I'll look'em over. If you haven't loss in a two week span, my immediate response would be that something needs to change. As for the legs. Muscle is more compact than fat. One pound of muscle weighs the same as one pound of fat, but fat takes up more space. If you add a pound of muscle to each leg, but don't lose a proportional amount of fat(1 pound), then yes!!....Your legs will be bigger! This is what many women confuse as having bulked up. BUT now....if you add a pound of muscle to each leg, and you lose a pound of fat from each leg, THEN your legs will not only be smaller, but much more toned as well.0 -
What are your qualifications?
Certified personal trainer. Certified nutritional consultant. Ripped *kitten*. Overall nice guy. Helped hundreds of clients achieve the bodies of their dreams. Part-time physique model that regularly has to add muscle, lose muscle, gain weight, lose fat, come in ripped, come in big depending on the photoshoot.0 -
What are your qualifications?
Please see answer to previous post.0
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