Weight Loss Techniques

[fitbrit]

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.

Cardio before weights IS a great warm-up, However, depending on how hard you work, you may not leave youself enough energy for a good strength training workout if your main purpose is to be stronger or bigger. I'm pretty muscular already, so I mostly do cardio first.
You should stop stretching between cardio and weights, unless you're stretching the primary muscles used for the cardio, and not muscles you're about to use in strength training. Simple reason? As Juan Carlos Santana puts it, "Stretched muscles suck!"
You lose a lot of power by stretching before a strength workout, and can actually increase your chances of injury. A warm up is MUCH more effective and important than pre exercise stretching.

[fitbrit]

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?

See my post above. It really depends on:
* How easily you put on muscle.
* What's more important to you (lose fat/gain muscle).

Just make sure you get enough rest before doing the same muscle groups again (48 to 72 hours). You can train up to 5 times a week, but you have to build up to that kind of frequency.
For cardio go as intense as you can, as long as you can, unless you're one of those skinny people who can never put on weight no matter what. At least 20-25 minutes if you want to have good cardio benefits; you may need to reduce the intensity to achieve this.

[bdckr]

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.

You may want to be careful about what muscles are involved in the cardio you do before weights. Strength training can be affected if you used the same muscles during your cardio. It's just not clear if that has a long-term impact on strength gains.

This well-designed study reveals constructive insights for personal trainers who train some clients with cardiovascular and resistance exercise within the same session. When the sequence involves aerobic exercise followed by resistance training, the personal trainer may be well advised (from results of this study) to attempt to emphasize different muscle groups during the aerobic training as those conditioned in the resistance exercise. There was no significance difference in the intensity of aerobic exercise completed prior to the subsequent resistance workout; so this decision can be made exclusively on the cardiovascular goals of the client for that workout. Should the trainer wish to ensure no compromise of strength training output in a concurrent workout session, another educated option is to perform the resistance exercise first, followed by the aerobic training. One research question, not addressed by this study that needs to be addressed by future studies is whether LONG-TERM strength outcomes are truly affected by aerobic exercise performed prior to resistance training.

Stretching right before weights can also have a negative impact on performance.

So if you're going to stretch before, limit it to dynamic stretching, and save any kind of static stretching for after you've finished your strength routine.

[peppy5]

diet is very important. eat less meat, you may lose a bit of weight doing that. drink lots of water as many have said instead of pop or juice. don't eat chips or chocolate snacks as that will help.

start running as that will help too.

[poedua]

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?

Let's say you do cardio for 30 minutes. The percentage of fat calories burned is higher at lower intensity but the absolute ( or total ) number of fat calories burned is usually greater at higher intensity. So if you're trying to lose weight, it's the total number of calories you have to focus on.

If you do 30 minutes light exercise that burns 250 calories. , you might for example burn 40% of your calories from fat and 60% from carbohydrates- say 100 calories come from fat.

Now, if you go harder ( in the same 30 minutes ) say you burn 500 calories in 30 minutes, it might be 25% of the burn comes from fat, 75% from carbs. As a % , fewer calories come from fat, but now a 25% burn is 125 fat calories vs 100 calories in 30 minutes.......the absolute ( or total ) number of fat calories burned is usually greater at higher intensity.

Simply put, going hard vs going easy in 30 minutes just creates a larger calorie defcit

[vincent-poon]

wow, I have the same problem; I have almost an inch of fat covering my lower abs. But no matter how much sit ups/leg raises I could not see my lower 2 abs. I never knew running on treadmill would burn that fat, nor did I know fat burn as a whole.
This forum is so great....thanks guys for helping out people like us with imperfect bodies.

[fishcurry]

Can't see your lower 2 abs? Man... i can't see any of my abs.

Let's say you do cardio for 30 minutes. The percentage of fat calories burned is higher at lower intensity but the absolute ( or total ) number of fat calories burned is usually greater at higher intensity. So if you're trying to lose weight, it's the total number of calories you have to focus on.

If you do 30 minutes light exercise that burns 250 calories. , you might for example burn 40% of your calories from fat and 60% from carbohydrates- say 100 calories come from fat.

Now, if you go harder ( in the same 30 minutes ) say you burn 500 calories in 30 minutes, it might be 25% of the burn comes from fat, 75% from carbs. As a % , fewer calories come from fat, but now a 25% burn is 125 fat calories vs 100 calories in 30 minutes.......the absolute ( or total ) number of fat calories burned is usually greater at higher intensity.

Simply put, going hard vs going easy in 30 minutes just creates a larger calorie defcit

Gah... I'm actually trying to build muscle, but lose fat at the same time... Not just lose weight, so this is why this is a difficult subject. There must be a balance somewhere between running for an hour straight, which would most certainly cause your muscles to shrink, and running for 10 minutes (which might not do anything)... So i'm trying to find this balance...

[poedua]

Can't see your lower 2 abs? Man... i can't see any of my abs.


Gah... I'm actually[B] trying to build muscle, but lose fat at the same time... Not just lose weight, so this is why this is a difficult subject. There must be a balance somewhere between running for an hour straight, which would most certainly cause your muscles to shrink, and running for 10 minutes (which might not do anything)... So i'm trying to find this balance...

Bodybuilders do the same thing ..."build muscle, but lose fat at the same time."....Also, muscles don't shrink because of running...unless you are a "heavy duty "long distance runner......that's why you never see many "muscle bound" long distance runners either...so i can see your concern. Here's why that happens.

It basically all starts with carbs. Once digested, carbs are absorbed into the bloodstream as something called glucose - and it's what we use for energy i.e to run. Glucose that is not used immediately for energy is stored in muscles as glycogen, and - the bigger the glycogen stores in your muscles, the longer you'll be able to run.

Let's look at long distance runners. I think runners can store about 2,000 calories worth of glycogen in their bodies, enough to fuel about 30 kilometres of running. After that, glycogen stores run dry, the body must burn fat for energy. That's when fatigue sets in and your body shuts down ("hitting the wall") - the energy from fat cannot supply enough energy for the demand needed to continue running.

Here's where muscle comes in to play. Since you're now in need of energy from someplace - cause all you're glycgen and fat is gone - it now comes from protein - protien in muscle. The protein energy supply comes from cannibalization of muscle tissue, i.e., muscle mass is lost to meet the body’s energy demand. In other words, the muscles are sort of ' eaten alive'. This is why marathon runners, cannot keep muscle mass on their physique. So, you can burn lots of fat calories through long-distance running, but you also lose muscle mass.

But for normal guys trying to shed fat and put on muscle...i wouldn't worry.
...It's just a matter of making you sure take in enough calories...in other words, don't starve yourself in hopes of losing weight. So long as you're not running 30 k a day, you should have more than enough calories in your food and stored in your muscles to keep your muscles as an unlikely energy source - you'll never dry up your glycogen stores. You could run 10k a day ( 1 hour ) be fine to still build on lots of muscle.

Just remember, the muscle loss you're concerned about usually comes about when there isn't enough calories to sustain muscle growth. When your calories are way too low, your body goes into ' starvation mode ' . At that point, your metabolism slows down and your body burns muscle tissue to conserve energy. Your muscles need a heck of lot of calories just to maintain it - so, that's why your body will start shedding muscle if it thinks your starving.

Simple solution is just to eat a low fat healthy diet that contains a resaonable number of calories....you're not going to lose or shrink muscles in any way by running a hour 3 /4 times a week.

[sleepyguy]

Holy shiznit... awesome post man!

Bodybuilders do the same thing ..."build muscle, but lose fat at the same time."....Also, muscles don't shrink because of running...unless you are a "heavy duty "long distance runner......that's why you never see many "muscle bound" long distance runners either...so i can see your concern. Here's why that happens.

It basically all starts with carbs. Once digested, carbs are absorbed into the bloodstream as something called glucose - and it's what we use for energy i.e to run. Glucose that is not used immediately for energy is stored in muscles as glycogen, and - the bigger the glycogen stores in your muscles, the longer you'll be able to run.

Let's look at long distance runners. I think runners can store about 2,000 calories worth of glycogen in their bodies, enough to fuel about 30 kilometres of running. After that, glycogen stores run dry, the body must burn fat for energy. That's when fatigue sets in and your body shuts down ("hitting the wall") - the energy from fat cannot supply enough energy for the demand needed to continue running.

Here's where muscle comes in to play. So, since you need energy from someplace, it comes from protein. The protein energy supply comes from cannibalization of muscle tissue, i.e., muscle mass is lost to meet the body’s energy demand. In other words, the muscles are sort of ' eaten alive'. This is why marathon runners, cannot keep muscle mass on their physique. So, you can burn lots of fat calories through long-distance running, but you also lose muscle mass.

But for normal guys trying to shed fat and put on muscle...i wouldn't worry.
...It's just a matter of making you sure take in enough calories...in other words, don't starve yourself in hopes of losing weight. So long as you're not running 30 k a day, you should have more than enough calories in your food and stored in your muscles to keep your muscles as an unlikely energy source - you'll never dry up your glycogen stores. You could run 10k a day ( 1 hour ) be fine to still build on lots of muscle.

Just remember, the muscle loss you're concerned about usually comes about when there isn't enough calories to sustain muscle growth. When your calories are way too low, your body goes into ' starvation mode ' . At that point, your metabolism slows down and your body burns muscle tissue to conserve energy. Your muscles need a heck of lot of calories just to maintain it - so, that's why your body will start shedding muscle if it thinks your starving.

Simple solution is just to eat a low fat healthy diet that contains a resaonable number of calories....you're not going to lose or shrink muscles in any way by running a hour 3 /4 times a week.

[vincent-poon]

this is the most constructive thread I've ever read in a online forum.

[dasaylay]

Yup, the basic guideline is a regular cardio workout and some strength training. At first it may not seem like a lot of weight is being shed, but you have to keep in mind when you strength train you pack on muscle mass as well so don't be alarmed. Muscle is about 3 times denser than fat. Although it may not seem like you're losing any weight, i.e. the scale isn't showing a smaller number, it's not based on weight, but rather the fat % in one's body.

Just remember to do a regular cardio excercise. Start off slow by running about 12minutes or so, then slowly work your way up to about half an hour if you can. It doesn't have to be rigourous. If running's not your thing, take your bike out and find some trails. I find it much more rewarding going on trails as on a stationary bike you may find yourself stuck in the same place for quite some time. Moderation is the key and don't kill yourself either.

I would recommend trying to suppress the amount of caloric intake to under 1800calories/day if possible. It's not to starve yourself but eating small snacks like apple slices or a granola bar every 2-3 hours keeps your metabolism and absorbtion constantly moving.

Excercising early in the morning before breakfast is an accelerate process because as soon as the breakfast is turned into carbs, it gets burned first rather than the fat on your belly. Remember to keep a positive mind and focus on your goal. Low carb diets do not work as much of the weight dropped is fluid from your body. Eat healthy and the flab shall drop!

[Wildfire]

So what do you guys drink on a regular basis?

I stopped drinking soft drinks and other carbonated beverages quite a while ago, and have been drinking alot of fruit juices, but even that has alot of sugar.

I obviously drink alot of water, but that's so empty and boring, and I stay away from Crystal Light because of the nasty Aspartame in it.

So what's a good healthy thing to drink besides water all the time?

[poedua]

I would recommend trying to suppress the amount of caloric intake to under 1800calories/day if possible. It's not to starve yourself but eating small snacks like apple slices or a granola bar every 2-3 hours keeps your metabolism and absorbtion constantly moving.

It's not that simple. Calories you need each day depends on age and actvity and weight.

A rule of thumb I've used is that if you are moderatley active, you can calculate the calories you need by mulitplying your weight by 15.25.

So, say you weigh 165 pounds. You are moderately active.Your calorie needs are 165 x 15.25 = 2,516 calories/day.

Now, to lose 1 pound of fat a week , you need to lose 3,500 calories through a combination of diet or exercise. So, if you want to lose a pound a week, that means losing 500 calories per day ( 3,500 divided by 7) or 3,500 per week.

Let's say you do cardio 4 times a week and burn 300 calories each workout....you're already down 1,200 calories ( 4 x 300 ). To lose that pound of 3,500 calories in a week , cardio burns 1,200...so you're left with 2300 calories left to lose in the week...or 2300 divided by 7 .....or 330 calories per day.

So, if you need 2516 calories per day, and you do cardio of 1,200 calories and want to lose a pound a week , I'd drop to 2,186 calories a day ( 2,516 - 330 ) not 1,800.

[lkn4deals]

can the op please correct the title now that this has been stickied?

[fitbrit]

Some excellent info in this thread now.

Also don't forget that each pound of muscle requires 50 calories a day to maintain. Doesn't sound like a lot, but let's look at a hypothetical situation:

Through exercise you gain 5 lbs of muscle over a couple of months. You keep your diet the same as before let's say.

Each week you will burn 7x50x5 more calories= 1750 Cal, or as has been mentioned before 1750/3500 lb of fat= 1/2 lb

Therefore, every month you'll lose 2 lb of fat, just by increasing your muscle composition and the direct metabolic effects derived from that.

However, bear in mind that:
Most people start to eat more when increasing muscle mass.
And:
Combining muscle gain with cardio and a better diet will have the best combination of effects for these goals.