What should a great diet and exercise regimen include?

EvelynMama
EvelynMama Posts: 7
in Health and Weight Loss
I want something custom to my goals and health needs.
I am 25 and morbidly obese (although I don't feel it) I am 5'3 and I weigh 200 pounds.

I have an in ground pool in my backyard that I swim in every day. I also get in about 1-2 hours of walking 5 days a week.

My eating habits could use some modifying.

So that being said my goals are to lose forty pounds of adipose tissue, and do some toning. I have a lot of muscle in my legs but absolutely zero upper body strength.

I'd rather not go to a gym, I have a park around the corner from my house, an in ground pool, a hula-hoop system, and the fluidity bar system so I'd rather use those.

Now the basic question: How much cardio, how many days of cardio, realistic calorie goals etc... I'm not worried about a time frame to lose weight. I have the rest of my life to live so there's no rush lol.

Replies

  • Barbellarella_
    Barbellarella_ Posts: 454 Member
    Heres a good place to start. Good luck!

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants
  • terbusha
    terbusha Posts: 1,483 Member
    The best thing you can do is have variety, both in nutrition and exercise. It helps to keep you from getting bored and plateauing. Mixing in resistance training, intervals, cardio, and yoga is a great mix that helped me to lose 64 lbs in 10 months. You said that you want to be toned. That means you want muscle. Resistance exercises are needed for that. Plus, you'll develop your upper body strength that you said you are lacking at this time.

    For nutrition, I set my calorie goal based on progress towards the goal I'm shooting for. Since you're wanting to lose weight try this. I recommend to people is to eat at a calorie level that allows you to drop 1-2 lbs/week. This assumes an average calorie burn from you getting in all of your workouts. This will be different for everyone, so you'll have to do some trial and error to figure it out. I'd start ~1600 cal/day. Hit this goal, along with your macros and getting in your workouts, for a week. If you lose 1-2 lbs, you're good to go. If you lose too much, increase your intake and repeat. If you don't lose enough, reduce your intake a bit and repeat. After a few weeks, you'll figure out what works for you in your situation.

    Allan
  • richardheath
    richardheath Posts: 1,276 Member
    We can't see your diary, so we are not going to be able to make comments on what you should or should not eat. And, to be honest, there are no foods you should or should not eat (caveat for allergies/medical conditions etc). Single foods are neither healthy nor unhealthy - you have to look at the diet in total. So make sure your diet is varied; eat at a reasonable deficit; eat your veggies; get enough protein and fat; practice moderation for high calorie items; learn portion control.

    As for exercise: do what you enjoy! Adding some form of resistance training is good for maintaining your current muscles, bone health etc. But weight loss is primarily about diet, not exercise. You can't out exercise a bad diet.
  • EvgeniZyntx
    EvgeniZyntx Posts: 24,208 Member
    I was just writing about the best exercise regimen - here you go:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/EvgeniZyntx/view/the-best-training-program-eva-fur-realz-678447
  • Jruzer
    Jruzer Posts: 3,501 Member
    Something else I would suggest: find a goal besides weight loss and "toning". What do you want to be able to do? Go skydiving? Run a 5k? Bench press your weight? Swim 20 laps of your pool without stopping?

    Then you can customize your fitness goals to that end.

    Also: THANK YOU for using the word "regimen" instead of "regiment" or "regime". :flowerforyou: :happy:
  • thavoice
    thavoice Posts: 1,326 Member
    I want something custom to my goals and health needs.
    I am 25 and morbidly obese (although I don't feel it) I am 5'3 and I weigh 200 pounds.

    I have an in ground pool in my backyard that I swim in every day. I also get in about 1-2 hours of walking 5 days a week.

    My eating habits could use some modifying.

    So that being said my goals are to lose forty pounds of adipose tissue, and do some toning. I have a lot of muscle in my legs but absolutely zero upper body strength.

    I'd rather not go to a gym, I have a park around the corner from my house, an in ground pool, a hula-hoop system, and the fluidity bar system so I'd rather use those.

    Now the basic question: How much cardio, how many days of cardio, realistic calorie goals etc... I'm not worried about a time frame to lose weight. I have the rest of my life to live so there's no rush lol.
    Simple.'
    It should put you in a deficit so you can lose weight, and something you see as sustainable and could do for a very long time.

    That, in a nutshell, is what a great diet and exercise should include.

    So basically...eat less and move more. The rest is how you decide you can do and sustain it
  • EvelynMama
    EvelynMama Posts: 7
    How do I open my diary? I don't usually log a lot on my diary , I write it down in a journal normally.
    One thing I see a lot on here is talk about metabolism. It is my understanding that no food controls one's metabolism. Metabolism is actually controlled by lean muscle tissue and of course the thyroid gland. I have a good understanding of nutrition, but not as it pertains to fitness. Should I be eating carbs before a workout? Protein after? That's what I get confused about.

    Lol @ regimen =)

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