Summer is coming! Lose weight get fit? Ask here.

[James]

Something to think about when calculating your calories:

1. As you lose weight you burn off less calories.

If you consider that for women 14cal/pound is a way to calculate metabolism . . . if she loses 20 pounds she is burning off about 280 less calories a day. Thats an hours worth of cardio in calories for a lot of people.

Like taking off a 20 pound back pack. (Some really hardcore people will use a weighted vest to compensate for lost weight)

Thats where a lot of people go wrong when they try the "eat healthy" or "watch what they eat" approach to weight loss.

Because they didn't do the math they cut calories by eating less, but not enough to get to their goal weights.

And because they don't have a good idea of how many calories they are eating/burning they don't know what to do when they plateau or the weight loss stops.

Plus, a lot of initial weight loss is water . . the heavier you are the more of it is likely to be water.

Assume that over half the weight loss in the first two to three weeks is water. That may not be completely accurate but its a good assumption so you don't get demoralized if weight loss starts slowing down.

[James]

A neat web site if you actually want to try and calculate all your daily activities by hour:

www.caloriesperhour.com


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[valkyrie]

Holy shit, I would shoot myself before doing all this calculating. Here is my advice:

1. Work out really hard for at least one hour five days a week. This must include cardio and weights.

2. Eat what you want -- real food, not fake processed shit -- but don't eat too much of it.

[cutie_cat_4ever]

Well, my problem, just like some others, is that I couldn't find time to go to the gym. I commute about 3 hours a day back and forth and work 10 hours, which doesn't really help that much.

I have a fairly moderate body, though I would like to get rid of the fat around my tummy. I started to do sit ups since I can do it at home and I heard it's better to get rid of the tummy fat.

But I also heard it would do the opposite because you would gain muscle and not lose the fat there...is it true?

[ADqtPiMel]

Originally Posted by cutie_cat_4ever

Well, my problem, just like some others, is that I couldn't find time to go to the gym. I commute about 3 hours a day back and forth and work 10 hours, which doesn't really help that much.

I have a fairly moderate body, though I would like to get rid of the fat around my tummy. I started to do sit ups since I can do it at home and I heard it's better to get rid of the tummy fat.

But I also heard it would do the opposite because you would gain muscle and not lose the fat there...is it true?

Can you join a gym near your workplace and work out at lunch? Or maybe just leave the office and power walk for a bit? Cardio is absolutely essential to trim your stomach - you cannot "spot-tone" by just doing situps.

[James]

ADqtPiMel is correct. You can't spot reduce, although having a tighter stomache and can some aesthetic advantages.

Originally Posted by ADqtPiMel

Can you join a gym near your workplace and work out at lunch? Or maybe just leave the office and power walk for a bit? Cardio is absolutely essential to trim your stomach - you cannot "spot-tone" by just doing situps.

[cutie_cat_4ever]

Originally Posted by ADqtPiMel

Can you join a gym near your workplace and work out at lunch? Or maybe just leave the office and power walk for a bit? Cardio is absolutely essential to trim your stomach - you cannot "spot-tone" by just doing situps.

I work in the Chicago downtown area, where gym choices are limited in a sense where they are quite pricy. Also I take the train that runs on a specific schedule. Though I've been considering to walk to the train station everyday after work (which takes about 20 mins)

Originally Posted by valkyrie

Move closer to work or get a new job. I'm not trying to be an ass -- I'm totally serious. People who don't find time to go to the gym now are going to be fat and achy when they get older.

I'm actually in the stage of saving money and buy my own place closer to work, or who knows, maybe in a couple years I may end up going to a closer company if this one drives me away

I'm not too afraid being too fat (the asian genes?), but more like the health risks associated with being fat, like heart failures and such.

Originally Posted by centaur532

You don't need a gym. You can go outside and walk/run during your lunch break. You can do some situps and pushups in commercial breaks while watching tv. There is no need for a gym, seriously. I'm a little out of it, but I'll write a better post later.

One of my co-workers actually do this everyday during lunch time but if I ever do consider walking back and forth to the train station, then I might as well do that instead. I heard it's generally not a good idea to run on a full stomach (quote from my mom )

and seriously...haha, I recently bought this equipment that's suppose to help you do sit-ups (remember that ab machine that rocks back and forth, from tv?)......just because I can't do sit ups...I'm serious

[valkyrie]

Originally Posted by cutie_cat_4ever

Well, my problem, just like some others, is that I couldn't find time to go to the gym. I commute about 3 hours a day back and forth and work 10 hours, which doesn't really help that much.

Move closer to work or get a new job. I'm not trying to be an ass -- I'm totally serious. People who don't find time to go to the gym now are going to be fat and achy when they get older.

[AlexMack]

Originally Posted by cutie_cat_4ever

Well, my problem, just like some others, is that I couldn't find time to go to the gym. I commute about 3 hours a day back and forth and work 10 hours, which doesn't really help that much.

I have a fairly moderate body, though I would like to get rid of the fat around my tummy. I started to do sit ups since I can do it at home and I heard it's better to get rid of the tummy fat.

But I also heard it would do the opposite because you would gain muscle and not lose the fat there...is it true?

You don't need a gym. You can go outside and walk/run during your lunch break. You can do some situps and pushups in commercial breaks while watching tv. There is no need for a gym, seriously. I'm a little out of it, but I'll write a better post later.

[valkyrie]

Originally Posted by centaur532

You don't need a gym. You can go outside and walk/run during your lunch break. You can do some situps and pushups in commercial breaks while watching tv. There is no need for a gym, seriously. I'm a little out of it, but I'll write a better post later.

I disagree with this. Walking isn't a workout and if you really want to be in shape, you need to do actual weight training, not just situps and pushups during commercial breaks. That might be a good start and it's better than nothing, but it's not enough.

[AlexMack]

Originally Posted by valkyrie

I disagree with this. Walking isn't a workout and if you really want to be in shape, you need to do actual weight training, not just situps and pushups during commercial breaks. That might be a good start and it's better than nothing, but it's not enough.

Well if the point of going to the gym is to hop on a treadmill or elliptical (and sadly, so many people do), then it is pointless. Get a watch with a stopclock and a pedometer and don't waste the money.
The weight training is different...that is something that cannot be done at home. The percocet has worn off a bit so I can articulate better. Anyway, my point before was, to get a good start at least, just try going for a brisk 20-30 minute walk everyday. Gradually start running, 1 minute at a time, walk for 5 minutes, run for 1 minute, etc etc. until you've done 30 minutes. Start increasing.
Cardio can be done without a gym...hell I hated running on a treadmill with a passion. I was much happier outside.
Eventually a gym will be necessary, but again, the cardio is a start.

[Eggroll]

I wonder how many calories they consume.