Need advice

aaliyahcookali331
aaliyahcookali331 Posts: 19 Member
edited November 28 in Fitness and Exercise
I am 230lbs and all my weight is at my upper body. I just started going to the gym on 1/4/16 what are some exercises I can do to melt the fat away?

Replies

  • tillerstouch
    tillerstouch Posts: 608 Member
    Exercise doesn't get rid of fat. You need a calorie deficit to lose fat.

    Cardio burns calories so your deficit is higher.

    Strength training is used during a calorie deficit to help retain some of the muscle that will naturally be lost during a calorie deficit.
  • ElizabethOakes2
    ElizabethOakes2 Posts: 1,038 Member
    I think you probably want to start off with cardio- look at the treadmill, elliptical, spinning cycles, etc. Follow that up with a little weight training with light weights at high reps, this will build and tone the muscle while melting off the fat.
    If you haven't worked out before, or are getting back into it after a long hiatus, start slow! Don't make the mistake of pushing yourself so hard that you end up injured or are too sore and discouraged to continue. Slow and steady progress wins the day. :)

    Good luck!
  • aaliyahcookali331
    aaliyahcookali331 Posts: 19 Member
    ElizabethOakes2 wrote: »
    I think you probably want to start off with cardio- look at the treadmill, elliptical, spinning cycles, etc. Follow that up with a little weight training with light weights at high reps, this will build and tone the muscle while melting off the fat.
    If you haven't worked out before, or are getting back into it after a long hiatus, start slow! Don't make the mistake of pushing yourself so hard that you end up injured or are too sore and discouraged to continue. Slow and steady progress wins the day. :)

    Good luck!
    Thanks and can u add me as a friend
  • aaliyahcookali331
    aaliyahcookali331 Posts: 19 Member
    tillerstouch wrote: »
    Exercise doesn't get rid of fat. You need a calorie deficit to lose fat.

    Cardio burns calories so your deficit is higher.

    Strength training is used during a calorie deficit to help retain some of the muscle that will naturally be lost during a calorie deficit.

    What is a calorie deficit
  • 47Jacqueline
    47Jacqueline Posts: 6,993 Member
    Eat less. A calorie deficit is eating less food than you need to star the same weight.
  • aaliyahcookali331
    aaliyahcookali331 Posts: 19 Member
    47Jacqueline wrote: »
    Eat less. A calorie deficit is eating less food than you need to star the same weight.

    What about 1200

  • tillerstouch
    tillerstouch Posts: 608 Member
    aaliyahcookali331 wrote: »
    47Jacqueline wrote: »
    Eat less. A calorie deficit is eating less food than you need to star the same weight.

    What about 1200

    Yes the above is a calorie deficit.

    As for 1200 calories, that sounds pretty low but I don't know forsure because I don't know your weight/height/activity level.

    Use this app and set it to lose 1 pound per week and eat the amount of calories it says to eat. When you set the app for 1 pound a week it's telling you the number of calories you need to be in a deficit.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    ElizabethOakes2 wrote: »
    I think you probably want to start off with cardio- look at the treadmill, elliptical, spinning cycles, etc. Follow that up with a little weight training with light weights at high reps, this will build and tone the muscle while melting off the fat.
    If you haven't worked out before, or are getting back into it after a long hiatus, start slow! Don't make the mistake of pushing yourself so hard that you end up injured or are too sore and discouraged to continue. Slow and steady progress wins the day. :)

    Good luck!

    Not really great advice.

    I would do strength training first or on different days, and I would go heavy (for you) for less reps. high reps is for muscle endurance and wont do as much for muscle retention or gaining strength. You will also not build much muscle at all while in a deficit, since you are new to lifting (I assume) and have weight to lose, you may have a small initial gain, but usually as you lose weight you lose fat, water and muscle. lifting helps reduce the amount of muscle you lose from a long term deficit.
  • khotch1
    khotch1 Posts: 99 Member
    You should eat less calories than needed to maintain your weight. Each pound is the equivalent to 3500 calories, so if you're maintenance calories were 2000 and you wanted to lose 1lb per week (approximate) then you should lower your daily calorie intake to 1500. If you exercise that will speed up your weight loss as well as tone you up. Although you state you are basically top heavy you should still aim to workout your whole body with cardio. You got this and it's a great place to be.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    khotch1 wrote: »
    You should eat less calories than needed to maintain your weight. Each pound is the equivalent to 3500 calories, so if you're maintenance calories were 2000 and you wanted to lose 1lb per week (approximate) then you should lower your daily calorie intake to 1500. If you exercise that will speed up your weight loss as well as tone you up. Although you state you are basically top heavy you should still aim to workout your whole body with cardio. You got this and it's a great place to be.

    I think OP should do cardio for health reasons, but it is not needed to lose weight/fat. It is great for health but for weight loss it just allows you to eat more and lose what you could through just diet alone.
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