Weight Loss Tips

[Feonis]

The only possible way you can drink too much water is if you drink several gallons of it in a day. Drinking eight glasses, while it might be too much for your weight, is not going to kill you. Do not let that fear of "What if" prevent you from drinking water - You are not going to die.

I know. I wasn't serious. I'm sure she heard about the horrible incident with the lady who died trying to win the Wii, that's the only time I've heard of that happening. She drank multiple gallons.

[Nikki Wright]

My response was meant for FMA - You and I posted within seconds of each other, with yours before mine. Easy enough to mistake who the message was for.

I'd also like to stress the importance of exercise during one's dietary endeavor. Sure, I know of people who have lost weight by simply counting calories alone, but this is not going to work for everybody. Besides, if you get up and move around for over 20 minutes everyday, you'll drop the weight you're seeking to lose a bit faster, while gaining muscle and strengthening your heart.

Exercise does not have to be a chore - Putting on some music and just dancing can be fun, and it's a great cardio work out. Go for a walk, but just walk at a faster pace than usual - Maybe bring your dog who will drag you along if you don't keep up with their pace. Go for a swim and be sure to do a couple of laps - It may not seem like much, but you do a bit more work because you're working against the resistance of the water. Your gym will likely offer various classes, such as Tae Bo - Or, if martial arts is something that interests you, enroll in some sort of self-defense class.

Or, you can do it the boring old-fashioned way and go for a run.

[Jason Axelrod]

As Nikki said, while nutrition is a huge part of weight loss (my local gym trainers like to claim it to be about 80%), exercise is extremely important. I think most people seem to think that weight loss is synonymous with fat loss.

It is and it isn't:

Many people go on diets for varying reasons, but the most prominent reason I see and hear is in order to get into shape. Well, while you may be losing weight on a strictly nutrition-based program, the weight you are losing is not comprised entirely of just fat. You are also losing muscle at the same time. Sometimes people can have incredibly bad weight loss ratios.

Let's say a guy who weighs 220 lb. wants to get down to 180lb. He currently has 16% body fat (35lb of fat, 185lb of muscle). He loses his 40lb, but half the ratio is fat and half of it is muscle. So now, he's 180lb with still 16% body fat (now about 29 lb of fat and 151lb of muscle). He effectively lost 6lb of fat and 34lb of muscle. That's a pretty big loss. If his goal were to look more fit, then of course as he is now smaller, he may look slightly better, but the proportion is still there, and he isn't by any means any closer to defining his body the way he might like to.

Now keep in mind that's a pretty huge extreme. The ratio is unlikely to begin with and most people will never see something like that as long as they are remaining at least somewhat active, but the point still stands that it's not exactly the number you see on the scale that you should be wary of (if your goals are simply health-related), but rather your body fat percentage.

Proper nutrition can help minimize muscle loss and maximize fat loss, but it can't do it all on its own. You need to constantly be building (and/or rebuilding) your muscle as you lose weight in order to maintain or improve your build.

I might be making this a little more complicated than I need to, but I feel it's important that people understand these things.

You don't necessarily need to run to your local gym and get a membership or get hocked up on their wonderful Apex vitamins they love to market to you, or even get a personal trainer. Just try to be a little more active, if you aren't.

I guess some very basic tips would be the following:
-Take a water bottle with you everywhere you go.
-Start up some morning jogs. If you frequent a local location that isn't too far off, maybe you can walk or jog there instead of commuting. Saves gas too, which I think is a pretty important plus.
-EAT BREAKFAST. Breakfast is a VERY important part of your nutrition. It sucks having to get up early and cook yourself something before school or work, believe me I understand, but it is a vital part in keeping yourself satiated, your metabolism working, and your body functioning properly altogether.
-Instead of eating three larger meals a day, cut your meals down into smaller portions, and eat five to six times throughout the day. This will help keep your body's metabolism working constantly and effectively.

Furthermore, let me say that eating before you go to bed will not further weight gain any more than eating the same portion earlier in the day. Calories are calories, and your metabolism does not slow down while you are sleeping. If you give it something to burn, it will burn it. The general reason that the population who tend to eat at night seem to gain more weight is mainly due to improper portion control.

[Erica]

This has probably been covered and is extremely obvious but cutting fast food and sodas out of your life helps greatly.

Last summer I was damn near close to reaching the 200lb mark. I hardly ever exercised and probably at fast food at LEAST 2 times a week during that time. (Plus that was around when we were in California for a week and ate out for breakfast, lunch, AND dinner x_x)

I'd probably also drink about 2 sodas a day at times, so it was really hard to kick the habit.. but I slowly weened myself off of most caffeine in general, PLUS fast food. I still eat fast food of course, but not nearly as often. Maybe once every few weeks, depending on the situation. And for soda.. I can't really stand drinking a whole can of soda anymore, so really I'll only drink regular soda maybe.. every few months? And even then, I can only drink half a can. I find myself drinking diet soda (which isn't much better.. lol) more, but only when I get sick of drinking water.

BUT ANYWAY. Along with getting a bit more into exercising (Mainly, trying to run at least half a mile on the treadmill everyday) I was able to lose about 20lbs.

Er.. then again, I also don't drive, so I end up walking everywhere probably helped a lot too XD;


Oh, and if you don't like drinking water because there's no taste, I recommend getting those little flavored packets that you can put in water to give it a little flavor. The Raspberry and peach tea ones are my favorite <3

[Sapphire]

I lost 5 pounds within two weeks. @__@

Cardio. Cardio. Cardio.

Take a walk around the neighborhood, ride your bike, swim, wash dishes, clean the house, run on the treadmill. If you do this 5-6 times a week for about an hour or more (and eat healthy) you will see results.

After three weeks I've gotten used to running on a treadmill for longer than a minute without running completely out of breath. At first I started with a walk for a minute run for a minute (for 15 minutes) pattern, then by the next week I was able to walk for a minute and run for 5 minutes for 15 minutes, then I followed the second batter and instead did this for 30-45 minutes. My goal is to usually burn 500 calories every day while eating a fist full of simple meals.

If anyone is interested, here are the settings I use:

3.0 spd for walking
4.0 spd for running.
2.0 incline for both.

If you increase your walking speed then you should increase your jogging/running speed by as much. If you feel the need to slow down, reduce the walking speed by 0.5.

If you don't feel any burning in your legs then increase the speed. If you feel you can go on longer, then keep going. If your legs get tired, keep going until you seriously can't handle it anymore or just walk at 2.0-2.5 speed. The whole point is to use every method you can think of that will keep you running or walking. If you sweat (if you can) then you know you're at the speed you need to be.


I've also done weights on legs, arms and abs but cardio is pretty much the #1 thing. Pain is good, pain is good~

[Jason Axelrod]

4.0 was your running speed? I'm assuming that either your machines measure of speed is different from ours (though I figured that would be unlikely), or you are significantly smaller than myself. I actually do a similar activity for my cardio warmups:

Totaling 15 minutes (3 times through):

2 Minutes 3.0
2 Minutes 3.5
1 Minute 8.5

for 15 minutes. I find that I can't really start running or even jogging until about 6.0, else I'll just be stomping my feet on the belt in a sluggish pace. Anyhow, I've been trying to improve on that, but I've got pretty lower-than-average cardiovascularity which leaves me winded and tired pretty easily. That and I was never really a fan of running >_>.

It's a very good way to warm-up or to do an actual cardio workout, though. A lot of high school physical education / gym classes call it "conditioning", where they tell you to walk, then run, then sprint, etc.

Right now, I'm still in the conditioning phase as far as that goes.

Another thing I think is important is to understand the difference between normal muscle soreness and pain from stress on joints, bones, or even the muscles themselves. Not to dissect "No pain, no gain" or anything, but I've known quite a few people who couldn't figure out for themselves if a pain they were feeling was supposed to be there.

If you're working out, and you feel like you shouldn't feel the way you are, chances are you probably shouldn't. If an exercise is uncomfortable or straining on any part of your body, do not do it. Find another exercise for that given muscle.

When I first joined the local gym, I was doing a set of exercises called "dips", where you grab onto two bars at your sides, and lift yourself up into the air. When I'd finished my first set, I was telling my father about how it made my sternum feel a bit "weird". I guess the guy next to us overheard me, because he immediately stood up, walked over, and began to explain to us how this certain exercise can be especially dangerous for some people, sharing with us the story of his brother who apparently screwed up his sternum so badly over time that he almost had to have surgery (and is now living in some discomfort).

That scared the hell out of me.

So yeah... there really is no gain without pain... but be safe.

...You know, I'm either getting way off-topic, or else this thread should be called Dieting and Workout Tips, or simply Weight Loss Tips. I know we've deviated from nutrition, but I'm sure no one minds .

[Sapphire]

I've been on different types of treadmills in which 10 was the highest speed or 20 was the highest. So, who knows? :0

Also, changing topic title.

EDIT:

I usually have problems with my arms when I do bicep/triceps curls (w/e). Like right now, I can't bend my right arm without it hurting it. I know for a fact that it's soreness though, since the pain goes away within a day-- or three.

[Jason Axelrod]

Yeah, that sounds like soreness. It really sucks when you first get into weight training, especially. I don't know if it has happened to you, but when I was first introduced, my tendons actually tightened themselves due to my exercises, and I was physically unable to stretch my arms outward without feeling like I was going snap something. Very uncomfortable feeling, far more terrible than any muscle soreness, in my opinion. However, it apparently (don't take my word for it, if you can help it) isn't anything serious, and it only happens in the beginning. I've never had it happen to me since the first time I began my workout program, and a second time that I returned to the gym after a huge break of sorts.

Another effective way to maximize both your fat loss and muscle gain is to shock your body with sudden changes to your dietary or workout programs. When you stay in one program for a long period of time, your body will start to realize this, and start to settle into a groove. It's almost as if it thinks to itself, "Hey, it looks like this is where I like being, so maybe I should slow down a little and relax here". Now, the amount it slows down at once is not very significant, but over time, you'll notice that you will start losing less and less until you stop losing altogether.

That's when you know it is time for a change. Sometimes simple changes such as the foods you intake (even if they equal the same calories, etc.) can help boost your metabolism a little bit. However, it is usually big "shocks" that tend to do the work. Let's say you're on a low-carb diet for three months, and weight loss is starting to be less and less prominent.

It sounds crazy, but go get a cheeseburger from McDonalds or something, and chow down. A rare cheat (and I mean rare) can actually cause a spike in your metabolism for a period of time, keeping it on its toes.

Basically, don't give it enough time to get too comfortable (you don't necessarily need to change anything every week, or even every month).

Just as shocking your body's nutrition can spike your metabolism, shocking your body's workout(s) can help improve muscle growth. Muscles are the same way, in that they can get too comfortable if they stay in one place too long, and you might start losing more muscle than you are building, which is something most people will not want. Change up your exercises and your curriculum if you can, in order to help prevent this from happening.

[Sapphire]

Oh man. Getting my body into shock was just a living nightmare.

When i met with my trainer on the first day she said we would be going on the treadmill. I thought, "Okay, no biggie. It'll probably be for like 5 or 10 minutes."

...Obviously I was wrong.

As soon as I got on she put the speed at 2.5, then she increased the incline to 15. So I was pretty much climbing up a freaking hill. I started catching my breath only 20 seconds and I had to stay on for 15 minutes. The feeling of just quitting took control of me for the longest time.

It was just horrible. But yeah, you get used to it and soon everythig becomes easy.

[Chikaaki]

As others have mentioned, drink lots of water ^-^. However, try to avoid icy cold water. Tepid water or a nice hot tea would be beneficial to the body. My aunt who lives in Korea got a surgery to shed quite a many pounds, only to gain half or more of it back because she couldn't stop drinking cold water (she loves cold water a little too much ). So my advice is to avoid ice in your water (and most of the restaurants serve water with lots of ice, so possibly ask them not to?).

It's very important to keep the body warm no matter what season it is, hot or cold. When our body is cold, our blood circulation becomes slower. Taking a bath in hot water (I've read this article in Korean yahoo site that dipping lower body part from toe to stomach in the tub while the upper part stays cold and dry helps one lose weight more because of the differences in the two body parts' temperature) or wearing extra clothes in summer (not too extreme, but maybe little things like wearing socks when going to bed?)

and of course, as we all know, aerobic exercises like jogging helps too. But one has to keep running for more than 10 minutes or else it's really hard to burn the fat that's stored within the body. In my school's Indoor Track practices (I did long distance), we used to run continuously for at least 30 minutes at a steady pace without stopping. (Even though that was a pain, it really helped me get into shape )