langurmonkey

I don't think the concept is that different between men and women. Lift heavy and eat a lot of protein is probably the best bet judging from what you posted. I personally like running and that has helped - a lot of body builders do plenty of cardio when they are trying to lose fat.

To get under an hour what worked for me is just doing more miles per week. I very rarely do any speedwork / intervals. I split up between doing 10k at about a 5.5 / 6 minute kilometer (i.e. around an hour for a 10k), slower longer runs (10 - 20 miles @ 6+ min / km) and slightly faster shorter runs (5-5.5 min/km for around…

Do alternate days definitely. Also don't be afraid to repeat weeks - I would say if the last workout of a week still feels hard, then you might want to redo the week. I repeated each of the first three weeks, then I was OK for the last weeks.

Running and lots of it. If you are not already a runner, Couch 2 5k will get you going in the first 2/3 months. Then build on that by adding more miles to each session and more sessions per week. The obstacles etc. will probably benefit from a bit of strength training - if you can do one or two pullups by then I think you…

I am training for my first full marathon. It's in the north of England in Autumn, so I don't think that the heat will be too bad. However, training for it throughout summer promises to be brutal if I don't get into getting up early.

Hot.

Bodyweight exercises are a pretty good place to start. I have a barbell and a couple of dumbbells that I use a bit as well. Arnold Schwarzenegger has put together a few programs of varying difficulty on https://www.fitocracy.com/arnold/ The barbell one is pretty good - it says you need a kettlebell, but I made do with…

If you like pears you really must try conference pears. I literally cannot stop eating them!

That looks like a reasonable workout. I think cardio fitness is pretty important, so I would do some other cardio work that isn't just for a warmup. You might want to put a fly in there as well - I find them pretty fun. Maybe mix it up with some kettlebells. Just don't get bored! If you think you are just do some different…

I think we've all been there and it really sucks. The more times that you recover successfully and quickly from these episodes, the easier it will get. To be realistic, no-one is going to be perfect all the time, so the challenge is to not flip the "to hell with it" switch and abandon your goal. You know what you did to…

I do it every day and use the Hacker Diet online to track it. It takes a running average to smooth out day to day variation. I like it because you get fast feedback about how any changes you make to your diet / exercise are affecting you. I think waiting a week to discover that you have put on two pounds by eating badly is…

Log everything - I've logged days where I've been 2000 cals over. There is no shame in it. That is hard to make yourself think, but it's true. No-one really should be judging you for your log. The log is there to give you information and to help you get to where you want to go. It's also there to make you think twice…

If you have started exercise after not having exercised for a while you can get some water retention in your muscles as they get used to the extra work they are doing. It goes away after a few weeks or so. Try not to get demotivated! We all have periods where nothing seems to be happening for no good reason.

I use tablets dissolved in water, there are a couple of different brands. They are sugar free and just taste vaguely fruity. Another alternative that might be just as convenient is salt tablets washed down with water, or something like orange squash with a few pinches of salt in it. You really only have to worry about it…

If you drink a lot of water, particularly while exercising, you are potentially at risk of hyponatremia, which is caused when you dilute your salt levels too much. It typically happens when you sweat a lot, and drink water instead of isotonic drinks. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyponatremia It can be pretty serious!

Also the implication is that you cannot enjoy yourself if you are calorie counting. I don't think that is very true - in my case it just makes me think a bit about what my priorities are for that day. I am sure we all know that the battle we are fighting is 90% a mental one, so anything that makes it easier to do the…

There is a bodyweight routine that Arnold Schwarzeneggar put on Fitocracy that I do 8 x squats 5 x pushup 15 second plank 15 jumping jacks 6 reverse lunge 10 glute bridge do that lot 4 times, with 90 secs rest between each circuit. Doesn't take too long and you can increase the amounts as you get better at it. All those…

The problem is that there is *always* a special occasion, and your friends were probably very worried about "backsliding". I know I am after all the effort that I put in. If you "lived a little" every time someone else wanted you to it would put you right back where you started.

If you can run non stop for 4.5 miles then the race atmosphere may well carry you the rest of the way - it is amazing how much of a boost it gives you. Also, if this is a mass participation event, there will be plenty of people walking some or most of it. In addition, people running a race are really caring about what they…

I run a lot and do mostly bodyweight exercises and I am getting definiton OK. It's mainly about fat loss to be honest.

Fantastic! You look years younger.

Here is a non scam looking site about it http://www.muscleandstrength.com/articles/prevent-slowing-metabolism

I am not planning on it. Googling for the phrase "metabolic damage" produces a lot of dodgy looking diet sites, so I am still not quite sure what it means. If it's related to "starvation mode" I don't think I had much to worry about (as that's a myth that's pretty much been busted, unless you are literally starving). That…

I had a look at that simulator. When I fiddled around with the activity levels, it wasn't hugely different to what MFP gives me. Recently I upped my calories from 1280 to 1700 and the weight has started coming off again. I think it's because I am able to be a bit more active, the big deficit definitely made me very tired.…

Flabby like Mo Farah :-). There is a place for lifting and running in any fitness routine, and if you hate running don't do it! Don't claim that it's not good for burning calories though because it most definitely is. It also has the advantage of requiring no equipment, so you can literally do it anywhere. Also, the point…

I basically stay within the calorie range and try and get as much protein as possible, while pretty much ignoring the other two (all foods have either carbs of fat in so you don't exactly have to try to get them). I am trying to stop my muscles wasting away as much as possible, plus it's "harder" to get protein (not that…

One point to note is that calories burned through exercise can be unreliable for exercise that is not sport. So for example, there is a reasonably accurate formula for calories burned while running or walking, but assessing the calorie burn for cleaning or gardening is more difficult, as those activities can vary a lot in…

Any of the Polar ones have a good rep. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Polar-F6-Heart-Rate-Monitor/dp/B000XUDBJO

50g for a small portion, 90g for a standard portion.

You can probably get pretty good benefits from following it - certainly I wouldn't have tried doing squats with a barbell if I hadn't read it. I think the "Starting" part of the name is a bit misleading - you really have to have some idea what you are doing in order to get the best out of it. I would say if you want to do…