Trying To Lose Weight

[myownenemy]

Every morning I go to the gym and do 30 minutes on the eliptical. I then do lunges and squats, and leg raises. goal right now is to lose fat. Does anybody have suggestions?

[Boss Man]

Well you will get some kind of Anabolic effect in the Legs, and possibly the Abs, but just working parts of the Core and Legs, won't achieve much if any Fat loss.

You need to be focusing on all the body, and don't bother with elliptical every day, that's potentially counterproductive.

You'd be better making elliptical 2-3 sessions a week, as overdoing Cardio for Fat loss isn't an answer. Fat loss comes from good Diet, weightlifting, and 2-3 well executed Cardio sessions.

Plus if you create a physical environment where caloric burn is too high for your body to deal with, I.E. high burn, insufficient calories, you can create a starvation mode, where the body can't and won't sacrifice some calories, or burn Fat, and then you'll end up doing things like burning muscle, then you'll create a lowered Metabolism, and potentially increase Fat stores.

I would be also looking at ways to alter diet. I don't know what you eat or when you eat it, but that often is the biggest falldown for most people trying ot lose weight, either too much of the wrong thing in it, or tiddly portios of the right foods.

Remember, if you're someone who thinks a piece of Fruit for snacks, and a Piece of Whole-grain Bread for Breakfast, make adequate choices because they're healthy, they don't, and when you potentially have 800-1,000 calories of healthy food, you're depriving your body of Vitamins and Minerals, and coupled with exercise, almost certainly doing what I described above regards the muscle burn etc etc.

We can assess what is what with diet, if you post when you eat and what you eat. Right now, this is about helping you to progress, not giving you grief, for how you have been doing things ,

Certainly though cut down elliptical stuff, and make weights stuff more total. Legs and Abs, isn't adequate enough, you need to work all over, just incase what you're currently doing could in future cause postural inadequacies.

[Packard]

You are cheating yourself if all you do is cardio work. You should strive for a balanced workout; one that hits all the muscle groups equally in addition to a good cardio workout.

I like to vary the cardio workout. I find that you are less prone to repetitive motion injuries that way and you hit different muscles too.

I like rowing and running and step climbing. I never felt like going for very long on the elliptical machines but that was a personal thing. The Concept II rowers hit many more muscles than running or elliptical work and I would encourage you to try to mix in some of the rowing for that reason.

[myownenemy]

Well you will get some kind of Anabolic effect in the Legs, and possibly the Abs, but just working parts of the Core and Legs, won't achieve much if any Fat loss.

You need to be focusing on all the body, and don't bother with elliptical every day, that's potentially counterproductive.

You'd be better making elliptical 2-3 sessions a week, as overdoing Cardio for Fat loss isn't an answer. Fat loss comes from good Diet, weightlifting, and 2-3 well executed Cardio sessions.

Plus if you create a physical environment where caloric burn is too high for your body to deal with, I.E. high burn, insufficient calories, you can create a starvation mode, where the body can't and won't sacrifice some calories, or burn Fat, and then you'll end up doing things like burning muscle, then you'll create a lowered Metabolism, and potentially increase Fat stores.

I would be also looking at ways to alter diet. I don't know what you eat or when you eat it, but that often is the biggest falldown for most people trying ot lose weight, either too much of the wrong thing in it, or tiddly portios of the right foods.

Remember, if you're someone who thinks a piece of Fruit for snacks, and a Piece of Whole-grain Bread for Breakfast, make adequate choices because they're healthy, they don't, and when you potentially have 800-1,000 calories of healthy food, you're depriving your body of Vitamins and Minerals, and coupled with exercise, almost certainly doing what I described above regards the muscle burn etc etc.

We can assess what is what with diet, if you post when you eat and what you eat. Right now, this is about helping you to progress, not giving you grief, for how you have been doing things ,

Certainly though cut down elliptical stuff, and make weights stuff more total. Legs and Abs, isn't adequate enough, you need to work all over, just incase what you're currently doing could in future cause postural inadequacies.

[Packard]

Cardio work will only burn 300 to 600 calories per hour and certainly in the beginning you will not be able to sustain sufficiently high levels to get much in the way of weight loss. Look at your cardio as a basic health benefit.

Building muscle mass will give you an apparent weight loss because it will improve the shape of your body and because muscle is heavier than fat even if your weight remains the same your waist will shrink.

But the bulk of your weight loss will almost certainly be from a correct diet. Diet is a mathematical equation. If you take in the same amount of calories that you burn each day then your weight will remain constant. If you take in less, then you lose weight. In the past you have been taking in more calories than you have burned and you gained the weight.

All that having been said, when I was training for mountain climbing I was riding bicycle approximately 250 miles per week and that was sufficient along with running and lifting to shed significant amount of body weight. I don't think you will be able to sustain that kind of high level training at this point in your program (indeed, I was only able to sustain it for about 4 months a year).

[mastertrainer1]

Yes, I can help. Losing fat is 90% diet. You have a good workout routine. Best advice - set a 'fat loss' goal, not a weight loss goal. Use the mirror more than the scale. Up your time on aerobic activity and lower the carbs you eat before aerobics. Carb up for resistance and 'non-aerobic' excercise. Keep your protein intake moderately high and consistent.

advice to anyone in the process of 'dieting' or beginning a diet - do not set an ending date. Think about being 70 years old and visualize yourself being lean, active, happy - even sexual! That should help motivate you.

Best of Luck,

M.T.

[mastertrainer1]

Myownenemy,

Incorporate the entire body in reisitance training - not just the legs and core. It's a myth that you can 'spot lose' . You are genetically pre-disposed to lose systematically - you can't change that.

It's your diet that get's you there. First, set a goal - like 19% (doctors recommend 19-23% for women). Find someone to measure and monitor it monthly. Bottom line - it takes a reduction of 3,500 calories to lose one pound of , so make your goal long term and realistic.

Eat before you resistance train. Protein and carbs (little fat). Limit your carbs before aerobic or cardio. The intent of long term sessions on the treadmill, for example, is burning off stored fat cells. you can't do it with lots of carbs in your system. Force your body to tap into your fat reserves as fuel, and your will decrease.

Best of Luck,

M.T.

[Aussie_Pride]

I have had success in the last 6 months by simply reducing meal portions and eating 5-6 meals every day. The real key is unprocessed food in opinion, fresh fruit, lean meat & vegetables with minimal sugar / saturated fat ensures it all comes together. In the first few months i had limited success on the harder to move area's i.e love handles but once it started to come off it fell off quickly & now ive lost 34pounds ( 15kg's ).

You need exercises that you enjoy but you must mix them up, i think as long as you vary the combinations & do it a minimum of 4 times per week you cant go wrong. Hope this helps...

[swanso5]

it takes a reduction of 3,500 calories to lose one pound of ,

wrong