Weight Loss Techniques

[poedua]

Ok. I've doing situps,cruntches and leg raises for couple months everyday but it seems like nothing is happening. Probably i've been doing something wrong. Any one have any good suggestions on what exercise to do to get rid of my waist fat? The fat is like a belt. I have this problem ever since elementary school. I'm not overweight but actually the more skinny type. Since 2-3 years ago, I've become a bit bigger (5 11" , 160 pounds) but then my waist fat is still noticeable (my friend laugh at me for it) and I really want to do something about it now.

I'd read firebot's post again...he's right ....it's all cardio.

Generally speaking, losing weight means losing fat. The first thing you need to realize is that it is impossible to "spot reduce" fat from one specific part of the body while you workout .... stomach ( abs ), arms, back, butt ..........whatever. So when you tlak about losing waist fat......you can't target that one area, by "spot reducing "your waist and nothing else.

It doesn't work that way. Here's why.

Fat loss occurs systemically, meaning that you can’t control where the fat comes from. When you burn fat for energy while running on the treadmill , you will draw it from all areas of the body, and the first place you tend to put it on will be the last place it comes off. The reason everyone has those "stubborn" spots is because each of us is born with a genetic pattern of fat storage, just as we inherit hair color, eye color, and other physical traits. In women, the stubborn areas tend to be hips, thighs, and the waist. In men, the troublesome areas are usually the lower abs and the "love handles...and in some cases, full faces and ' double chins ' on anyone of us.

Now, I'm not certain if you want to lose a lot of fat or not, but the process of gaining and losing weight/fat is really quite simple. It's a function of the amount of energy (calories) taken in versus the amount of energy expended burned. Excess calories in the body are simply stored as fat - regardless of the source (carbohydrate, fat or protein). I'm guessing, most guys would need about 2,500 - 3,000 calories a day just to maintain your current weight. The number of calories anyones uses obviously will vary depending their activity level, age and weight, so it's just a guess.

A pound of fat is equal to 3,500 calories. So, in order for you to gain or lose a pound of fat, either you increase or decrease your intake by this amount...3,500 calories...eat less , workout more, or both.

Now, the real secret to burning fat is aerobic exercise - or cardio - as firebot mentioned. The treadmill is a great fat burner. During the first 10 minutes of a treadmill workout , glycogen (stored carbohydrates) is the primary fuel source. If you stop after 20 minutes, you’re really only getting the cardiovascular health benefits, but you don’t get much fat loss. Because you don't burn significant amounts of fat until glycogen stores are depleted, the key to maximum fat loss is to work out on the treadmill for 30-60 minutes continuously per session.

So, to lose belly / waist fat...it's cardio, cardio, cardio.

[cutiepurr]

Try Muay Thai... I've been training in Muay Thai for the past 6 months and am in best shape ever! The gym I go to is offering self-defense workshop in March. Let me know if you're interested.

Ok. I've doing situps,cruntches and leg raises for couple months everyday but it seems like nothing is happening. Probably i've been doing something wrong. Any one have any good suggestions on what exercise to do to get rid of my waist fat? The fat is like a belt. I have this problem ever since elementary school. I'm not overweight but actually the more skinny type. Since 2-3 years ago, I've become a bit bigger (5 11" , 160 pounds) but then my waist fat is still noticeable (my friend laugh at me for it) and I really want to do something about it now.

[ckang008]

Well, I read this up.
http://exercise.about.com/cs/exbegin.../begcardio.htm

and I'm trying to maintain a 30-40 min run with another 20 min of weight lifting for 2-3 consecutive days with a day of rest. Or should I have 20 mins running everyday with 15 mins weight lifting and no resting days? I also do Taekwondo training for 2 hours every Wednesday and Saturday so I don't know if I will overwork and not do any good for fat loss.

My friend runs 15 mins everyday and he seems to be in much better shape than before.

[Princess Buttercup]

If you are stuck on what to drink and hate just water, Cristal Light, no carbs, no cals, no sugar.
gives water a taste.

running every day is great, get that heart pumping. even a brisk walk for an hour a day is good.

[Firebot]

Well, I read this up.
http://exercise.about.com/cs/exbegin.../begcardio.htm

and I'm trying to maintain a 30-40 min run with another 20 min of weight lifting for 2-3 consecutive days with a day of rest. Or should I have 20 mins running everyday with 15 mins weight lifting and no resting days? I also do Taekwondo training for 2 hours every Wednesday and Saturday so I don't know if I will overwork and not do any good for fat loss.

My friend runs 15 mins everyday and he seems to be in much better shape than before.

Either is good, just as long as when you do weights, that you don't work the same muscle group on back to back days so they dont become overtrained. So on Monday you can do 30 min run with 20 min weight lifting only working on legs, while Tuesday you do running and work on biceps / chest. You could also alternate cardio and weight lifting days. As long as you are consistent in continuing to workout and have a good diet to match up with it, you should be fine.

[sleepyguy]

Also remember it is the intensity level as well... heck I get get in a better 20min cardio then most peple in the guy do in 1hr! LoL... most sit there and watch tv or read a mag while casually working cardio. Go hard or go home!

That said... my workout simply consist of...

45-60mins cardio 5-6 times/week
30-45mins wieght training 3-4 times/week

Most of all set your goals. I've very very happy with my results thus far.

Well, I read this up.
http://exercise.about.com/cs/exbegin.../begcardio.htm

and I'm trying to maintain a 30-40 min run with another 20 min of weight lifting for 2-3 consecutive days with a day of rest. Or should I have 20 mins running everyday with 15 mins weight lifting and no resting days? I also do Taekwondo training for 2 hours every Wednesday and Saturday so I don't know if I will overwork and not do any good for fat loss.

My friend runs 15 mins everyday and he seems to be in much better shape than before.

[ctam]

Doing cardio alone will not make u lose fat.

I am training for ironman next year and I do a lot of cardio. (about 10-12 hours a week). On Sat, I have ridden the bike for 3 hr and 45 min and burnt over 2000 calories. Do I lose weight? Nope.

To lose fat is very simple, make sure u consume less calories than you burn.

Basically count your calories. If you are going to chow down two big macs after doing cardio, it doesn't matter b/c your body will restore the fat and the glycogen.

Doing cardio in higher intensity will not help burn fat. The reason is that when you exercise, u use both carbs (glycogen) and fat at the same time. In lower intensity (like a jog), your body uses more fat and less carbs. This is call aerobic.

In higher intensity (workout or a fast sprint), your body uses more carbs than fat. This is call anaerobic.

If u are seriously about losing fat, u need to make sure u consume 200 calories less than what u need daily (this is assuming u are eating healthy). There is no fad diet or exercise programs to make u lose fat. It is just simple, long term, hard work.

[sleepyguy]

very good info!

Doing cardio alone will not make u lose fat.

I am training for ironman next year and I do a lot of cardio. (about 10-12 hours a week). On Sat, I have ridden the bike for 3 hr and 45 min and burnt over 2000 calories. Do I lose weight? Nope.

To lose fat is very simple, make sure u consume less calories than you burn.

Basically count your calories. If you are going to chow down two big macs after doing cardio, it doesn't matter b/c your body will restore the fat and the glycogen.

Doing cardio in higher intensity will not help burn fat. The reason is that when you exercise, u use both carbs (glycogen) and fat at the same time. In lower intensity (like a jog), your body uses more fat and less carbs. This is call aerobic.

In higher intensity (workout or a fast sprint), your body uses more carbs than fat. This is call anaerobic.

If u are seriously about losing fat, u need to make sure u consume 200 calories less than what u need daily (this is assuming u are eating healthy). There is no fad diet or exercise programs to make u lose fat. It is just simple, long term, hard work.

[fitbrit]

First useful in-depth and accurate answer here, rather than just regurgitation of "my friend said this", or "I read somewhere...".

Stop drinking coke and juice. Stick to water.
Don't eat late at night. I don't care if it's only a piece of toast, if it's within 4-5 hours of you going to sleep, don't eat (unless you're going to get exercise before you go to bed).
Don't eat really large meals. When you eat large meals, a lot of it gets stored as fat, because you're body can't break it down properly.

Don't go a long time between meals. When you do that, you're body prepares itself for the long haul and starts breaking down your food and stores it as fat. Believe it or not, starving yourself will result in more fat (at first anyway, although eventually you'll lose a lot of weight, but do NOT do it this way!).

Do a lot of cardio and if possible, hit the weights. The more muscle you have on your body, the more fat you'll burn. The amount of muscle you have has a direct correlation to your BMR. So more muscle = more fat burned at a quicker rate.

Cardio is more important than weights.
A proper diet is more important than anything else

[fitbrit]

Most of what you said is right, but then you screwed it up with the intensity stuff. For losing fat, it doesn't matter about the intenisty; in fact higher intensity is better. Here's why: a calorie is a calorie is a calorie. If your fuel source is mainly carbs as in higher intensity exercise, the glycogen will eventually be replenished by metabolising fat (as well as food you eat). The main factor is what you mentioned at the beginning of your post: burn more than you consume. Higher intensity exercise is better because after burning the same number of calories in a shorter time, you're still burning EVEN more during the cool down etc. Moreover, and this is a big one, higher intensity has a greater impact on speeding up your metabolism.
What you say about intensity is true if you're interested in increasing your cardio/aerobic capacity; low intensity aerobic exercise results in bigger mitochondria and more of them in each cell too. This will increase your aerobic capacity. Training at high intensity will have a lesser effect on increasing your aerobic ability, but is still good for many things.
One can argue, putting the above points together, that in the long run, low intensity exercise will result in more fat loss because of the greater benefit to your cardio1 threshold, which in turn will allow you to increase low-level stamina and hence workout longer... resulting in more calories burned overall. Just trying to see both sides here. On the other hand, l find llow intensity stuff very boring and that means I like to do it less often- resulting in it being less effective for me than high intensity stuff.
What ctam mentioned was old-school (by that I mean pre-2002/3) thinking. They even taught us that stuff and have been trying to correct themselves and fix the misconception since then. Since I have a personal training business and have a PhD in cell/molecular biology (full-time researcher), this stuff is the meeting point of my two main interests. I could still do with losing 15 lbs though- bad eating habits e.g. eat late, too infrequently and don't get enough sleep!
Also, one more tip, if you're serious you may want to look at Paul Chek's work research into cortisol levels and the ideal lifestyle. Some people are stressing their bodies with bad habits without realising it. This is not conducive to losing fat, no matter how much you work out. I'm not one of these people- I stress my body and I DO realise it. Trying to change though...

Doing cardio alone will not make u lose fat.

I am training for ironman next year and I do a lot of cardio. (about 10-12 hours a week). On Sat, I have ridden the bike for 3 hr and 45 min and burnt over 2000 calories. Do I lose weight? Nope.

To lose fat is very simple, make sure u consume less calories than you burn.

Basically count your calories. If you are going to chow down two big macs after doing cardio, it doesn't matter b/c your body will restore the fat and the glycogen.

Doing cardio in higher intensity will not help burn fat. The reason is that when you exercise, u use both carbs (glycogen) and fat at the same time. In lower intensity (like a jog), your body uses more fat and less carbs. This is call aerobic.

In higher intensity (workout or a fast sprint), your body uses more carbs than fat. This is call anaerobic.

If u are seriously about losing fat, u need to make sure u consume 200 calories less than what u need daily (this is assuming u are eating healthy). There is no fad diet or exercise programs to make u lose fat. It is just simple, long term, hard work.

[fitbrit]

Just reread some of ctam's post. We might have been confusing terminology here.
ctam may be talking about aerobic vs. anaerobic exercise ("low" vs."high" intensity, respectively); strength training is mainly anaerobic, with the exception of abs and a couple of other muscle groups, where even strength training is of an aerobic nature.
I was talking about low intensity vs. high intensity aerobic exercise, also known as cardio1 and cardio2. Apologies if I accused ctam falsely of being wrong.
Your best results may come from high intensity aerobic exercise... as long as you can sustain it for at least 20-25 minutes. Good luck!

[ctam]

fitbrit,

yes u are right. I did mess up on the intensity part. I mean..yeah a calorie burn is a calorie burn.

Basically, eat healthy and make sure u eat less than what u burn. Done .

[sleepyguy]

hehe... nice KISS principle

fitbrit,

yes u are right. I did mess up on the intensity part. I mean..yeah a calorie burn is a calorie burn.

Basically, eat healthy and make sure u eat less than what u burn. Done .

[fishcurry]

for a side question... if you're trying to build muscle, and lose fat the general rule is to keep the intensity high for a low amount of time 20 minutes or less. am i correct on this oh godly fitness experts? how many days a week shall i do this, and is it okay to do it after I do a weight routine?

[sleepyguy]

i'm not too sure BUT I always do my cardio before weights... give me a very nice warmup and loosens me up quite well... i do stretch for around 10mins before wieghts after my cardio.

for a side question... if you're trying to build muscle, and lose fat the general rule is to keep the intensity high for a low amount of time 20 minutes or less. am i correct on this oh godly fitness experts? how many days a week shall i do this, and is it okay to do it after I do a weight routine?