This is the year I finally got off my fat ass and am going to lose some weight. Right now, I am only doing cardio on the treadmill and I read that intervals is the best way to lose weight. Here's what I am doing:
Is this an optimal workout. I usually burn right around 500 cals doing it like this. Is this a good foundation to build upon as my staminia and endurance build up?
Let me preface this by saying that I'm not accredited or licensed in any sort of health science, and that my advice is purely circumstantial based on my own resolution 2 years ago to get off my fat ass and get in shape (lost 60 pounds, so can you etc). I suggest anyone else responding to do the same, since state and federal law can be a real bugbear when dealing with this.
This sounds fairly similar to what I was doing for the first year or so. Honestly, if you went from doing nothing to this, you're probably going to lose weight no matter what since you're just burning more calories than you did. Consistency is what's most important; make sure you're going more than 3 times a week in order to see results; I started at 5 days a week.
HIIT is quite effective if you are under time constraints. If you have lots of free time, however, it's better to do a longer bout of steady-state cardio. Reason being that your body works through glycogen stores (i.e. energy from food you ate today) after about the 20-30 minute mark, so you'll see faster improvement by maximizing time spent burning fat.
Another good trick is to hit the weights before your cardio. Doing a few sets of a compound motion (squat, dead lift, bench press) with heavy weights will help you burn up those glycogen stores.
I have heard vague rumors of a moustache-dispensing vending machine in a distant laundromat, across the street from a tattoo parlor. However, this information is shaky, and time is of the essence.
This is the year I finally got off my fat ass and am going to lose some weight. Right now, I am only doing cardio on the treadmill and I read that intervals is the best way to lose weight. Here's what I am doing:
First of all, congrats for deciding to lose weight, and more importantly, doing something about it.
Is this an optimal workout. I usually burn right around 500 cals doing it like this. Is this a good foundation to build upon as my staminia and endurance build up?
The 'best way' to lose weight is the 'way' that you stick with week after week. Everyone is different and responds differently to nutrition and exercise. The differences between an 'optimal' workout and sub-optimal workout are for the most part irrelevant to a beginner. Any non-idiotic plan will be effective, as long as you keep it up.
In order to lose weight, you have to burn more energy per day than you acquire. You can do this by eating less or exercising more (or both). Use the scale as your guide. Weigh yourself once a week at the same time of day, wearing the same clothing (or lack thereof) to track your progress. If you are losing weight, then you are in a calorie deficit and your program is working. Keep on doing what you're doing.
Also, you did not specify in your opening post, but I assume when you said 'lose weight' you were referring to bodyfat. If that is the case, I would highly recommended that you consider adding resistance training (weight lifting) as part of your program. When you are in a calorie deficit, your body will lose both fat and muscle. Adding resistance training shifts this balance to minimize muscle loss and maximize fatloss.
This is the year I finally got off my fat ass and am going to lose some weight. Right now, I am only doing cardio on the treadmill and I read that intervals is the best way to lose weight. Here's what I am doing:
Personally I used the Couch to 5K plan to try and get into shape a few years ago. While I gave up on it midway through, it probably helped me from gaining ~25 lbs during college and my first job.
The other jogging/running plan I've heard of went like this:
1. Walk out the door in any direction for 15 minutes.
2. After 15 minutes, go home (taking 15 minutes of course)
3. The first 5 minutes are easy walking (faster than a jog)
4. The last 5 minutes are easy walking
5. During the 20 minutes in between, jog/easy walk
6. Repeat this for the next 34 days
The only downside to primarily jogging/running is that, if you've seen a few hardcore runners, they look like they're in immense pain while running.
How tall are you and how much do you weigh?
Have you played sports, even non-competitive ones?
The best way to lose weight is to combine a proper diet plan (by diet I do not mean elimination, though that's usually that it comes down to most people) and exercise plan together.
For starters, just get a basic idea of how much calories you need (your BMR on any of the credible looking websites online will suffice) and eat anywhere from 100-500 calories below that. The deficit depends on how quickly you want to lose weight, and how much you're exercising.
As I'm sure you've heard from countless places, focus on eating mostly meat, vegetables, fat from either eggs or meat sources, and some carbs from stuff like oatmeal/potatoes/rice/etc. Just avoid processed **** as much as you can, and cook as much as you can.
It can come down to as simply as eating half a pound of chicken thigh with oatmeal and some fresh vegetables. Takes no longer than 20 minutes to prepare and cook, and is cheap if you buy them at the right places.
Get a massage so your body doesn't start to deter you from your goals.
-Increased circulation to the body. Gets fresh blood to tired muscles.
- Loosens tight muscles (for us dudes, its our hamstrings, important for walkers etc.)
-When you sleep the quality of the sleep becomes better.
-When you feel good, your overall attitude improves and will make the process easier if you hit a wall.
-A good massage does burn calories...added bonus.
-A good positive re-enforcement tool for motivation (I personally always need one)
Can it be expensive? Yes.....it can...but this is your health hand I am a firm believer in investing in the one body you'll have while here on earth.
Thanks for all the input. I am currently 5'5" 200 lbs. I am not huge but since I am approaching 40 (in July) I thought it would be a good idea to get into the habit since the older you get, the harder it is to both lose weight and start new habits. I am trying to eat healthier but it's so expensive to buy fresh fruit/vegetables. I have lost about 4-5 lbs since starting a month ago and am already feeling better.
First of all, congrats for deciding to lose weight, and more importantly, doing something about it.
A thousand times, "this." Nothing happens until you act. That said, beware of trying to jump into something that's heavy on the intensity if you haven't been moving for a long time.
The first, and best, piece of advice anyone should give and receive on weight loss is that output (exercise) is a very, very small part of the equation when compared to input (eating). If you are ingesting 3000 calories a day, it's hard to get ahead unless you're spending 6-8 hours in the gym.
Basic calculations are like this: On average, the body needs 2000-2300 calories to function each day. One pound of fat is roughly 3500 calories, so if you can shave 500 calories off your net caloric intake every day, you're dropping a pound a week, which is a very sustainable rate.
The easiest way to drop caloric intake and make yourself just feel better: Cut soda completely and drink water exclusively. I couldn't do this cold turkey, I switched from fully-loaded sodas to diet, and then weened myself off them completely over the course of a couple of weeks. Addictions/routines are terrible things sometimes.
From there, track your intakes. Use some sort of food diary, be it a simple notebook, a spreadsheet or some app (MyFitnessPal is my personal favorite, and one I will recommend to anyone in this regard). As in anything else, your most powerful tool in the battle against portliness is knowledge.
So now that you're on that track, start slow on the exercise. When I was ramping up, I started on a stationary bike, just a simple, easy 20-minute ride three times a week. No resistance or anything, just getting the body used to moving regularly, and increasing your time on the bike every so often. After a month or so I moved onto a treadmill and decided to go with a "couch to two-mile" routine, and found myself going two miles in my first shot. HUGE motivational boost to taking it slow and seeing success.
Then I decided to do some track running and learned a harsh reality: Running is easier when the earth is doing some of the moving for you. Took me several more months to get up to running two miles without a rest somewhere in the middle. Eventually was running 5Ks routinely, and even kicking it up to higher distances.
Getting off the treadmill and running the neighborhood is a lot more fun anyway. Scenery changes are nice, as is learning the ins and outs of your area.
I cannot stress enough the importance of giving your body a chance to recover between sessions. If you try going out 5-6 days a week you will get injured and set yourself back. Ruining the body is easy, repairing it is tedious, but is so very much worth it when you're out buying new pants and shirts.
I was in the same boat as you about a year ago. I decided to stop being the fat guy and did something about it. I cut one thing which was obviously bad from my diet every week or so. Along with that, I started doing a combination of walking and jogging. I would jog until I was gassed, then walk, then jog until gassed, then walk, etc. I later found out that is basically what couch to 5K is.
I also bought a weight bench and some weights of craigslist. Between the exercise and dietary improvements, I'm down 50 pounds over the past year. I've gone from being unable to jog a 1/4 mile downhill to doing 10K three times a week. I'm hoping to do a half marathon over the summer.
The crux of all this is that you can reach your goals without turning your life over all at once. You don't need to be one of the spokesmen for one of those fad diets who lost 70 pounds in 2 months. It isn't a race. Taking an extra six months to lose the weight but making changes which you can keep up with for the rest of your life is the way to go.
time speed incline
1-5 3 3
5-10 4 4
10-11 5 5
11-13 4 4
13-14 6 5
14-16 4 4
16-17 7 5
17-19 4 4
19-20 6 5
20-22 4 4
22-23 5 5
23-25 4 4
25-26 5 5
26-28 4 4
28-29 6 5
29-31 4 4
31-32 7 5
32-34 4 4
34-35 6 5
35-37 4 4
37-38 5 5
38-40 4 4
40-45 3 3
Is this an optimal workout. I usually burn right around 500 cals doing it like this. Is this a good foundation to build upon as my staminia and endurance build up?
I collect pre-release Stone-Tongue Basilisk
This sounds fairly similar to what I was doing for the first year or so. Honestly, if you went from doing nothing to this, you're probably going to lose weight no matter what since you're just burning more calories than you did. Consistency is what's most important; make sure you're going more than 3 times a week in order to see results; I started at 5 days a week.
When in doubt, call a judge.
Objectivist here. Hit me up to talk philosophy.
Another good trick is to hit the weights before your cardio. Doing a few sets of a compound motion (squat, dead lift, bench press) with heavy weights will help you burn up those glycogen stores.
First of all, congrats for deciding to lose weight, and more importantly, doing something about it.
The 'best way' to lose weight is the 'way' that you stick with week after week. Everyone is different and responds differently to nutrition and exercise. The differences between an 'optimal' workout and sub-optimal workout are for the most part irrelevant to a beginner. Any non-idiotic plan will be effective, as long as you keep it up.
In order to lose weight, you have to burn more energy per day than you acquire. You can do this by eating less or exercising more (or both). Use the scale as your guide. Weigh yourself once a week at the same time of day, wearing the same clothing (or lack thereof) to track your progress. If you are losing weight, then you are in a calorie deficit and your program is working. Keep on doing what you're doing.
Also, you did not specify in your opening post, but I assume when you said 'lose weight' you were referring to bodyfat. If that is the case, I would highly recommended that you consider adding resistance training (weight lifting) as part of your program. When you are in a calorie deficit, your body will lose both fat and muscle. Adding resistance training shifts this balance to minimize muscle loss and maximize fatloss.
Personally I used the Couch to 5K plan to try and get into shape a few years ago. While I gave up on it midway through, it probably helped me from gaining ~25 lbs during college and my first job.
The other jogging/running plan I've heard of went like this:
1. Walk out the door in any direction for 15 minutes.
2. After 15 minutes, go home (taking 15 minutes of course)
3. The first 5 minutes are easy walking (faster than a jog)
4. The last 5 minutes are easy walking
5. During the 20 minutes in between, jog/easy walk
6. Repeat this for the next 34 days
The only downside to primarily jogging/running is that, if you've seen a few hardcore runners, they look like they're in immense pain while running.
Have you played sports, even non-competitive ones?
The best way to lose weight is to combine a proper diet plan (by diet I do not mean elimination, though that's usually that it comes down to most people) and exercise plan together.
For starters, just get a basic idea of how much calories you need (your BMR on any of the credible looking websites online will suffice) and eat anywhere from 100-500 calories below that. The deficit depends on how quickly you want to lose weight, and how much you're exercising.
As I'm sure you've heard from countless places, focus on eating mostly meat, vegetables, fat from either eggs or meat sources, and some carbs from stuff like oatmeal/potatoes/rice/etc. Just avoid processed **** as much as you can, and cook as much as you can.
It can come down to as simply as eating half a pound of chicken thigh with oatmeal and some fresh vegetables. Takes no longer than 20 minutes to prepare and cook, and is cheap if you buy them at the right places.
As for the exercise part, just follow this to the letter-
http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_article/most_recent/get_ripped_get_walking
You'll lose weight in no time, and it's very easy on your joints, which is relevant if you're heavy.
But, in general, incline walking works very well when you want to burn fat.
-Increased circulation to the body. Gets fresh blood to tired muscles.
- Loosens tight muscles (for us dudes, its our hamstrings, important for walkers etc.)
-When you sleep the quality of the sleep becomes better.
-When you feel good, your overall attitude improves and will make the process easier if you hit a wall.
-A good massage does burn calories...added bonus.
-A good positive re-enforcement tool for motivation (I personally always need one)
Can it be expensive? Yes.....it can...but this is your health hand I am a firm believer in investing in the one body you'll have while here on earth.
I collect pre-release Stone-Tongue Basilisk
How often do you do the plan you wrote in the OP?
A thousand times, "this." Nothing happens until you act. That said, beware of trying to jump into something that's heavy on the intensity if you haven't been moving for a long time.
The first, and best, piece of advice anyone should give and receive on weight loss is that output (exercise) is a very, very small part of the equation when compared to input (eating). If you are ingesting 3000 calories a day, it's hard to get ahead unless you're spending 6-8 hours in the gym.
Basic calculations are like this: On average, the body needs 2000-2300 calories to function each day. One pound of fat is roughly 3500 calories, so if you can shave 500 calories off your net caloric intake every day, you're dropping a pound a week, which is a very sustainable rate.
The easiest way to drop caloric intake and make yourself just feel better: Cut soda completely and drink water exclusively. I couldn't do this cold turkey, I switched from fully-loaded sodas to diet, and then weened myself off them completely over the course of a couple of weeks. Addictions/routines are terrible things sometimes.
From there, track your intakes. Use some sort of food diary, be it a simple notebook, a spreadsheet or some app (MyFitnessPal is my personal favorite, and one I will recommend to anyone in this regard). As in anything else, your most powerful tool in the battle against portliness is knowledge.
So now that you're on that track, start slow on the exercise. When I was ramping up, I started on a stationary bike, just a simple, easy 20-minute ride three times a week. No resistance or anything, just getting the body used to moving regularly, and increasing your time on the bike every so often. After a month or so I moved onto a treadmill and decided to go with a "couch to two-mile" routine, and found myself going two miles in my first shot. HUGE motivational boost to taking it slow and seeing success.
Then I decided to do some track running and learned a harsh reality: Running is easier when the earth is doing some of the moving for you. Took me several more months to get up to running two miles without a rest somewhere in the middle. Eventually was running 5Ks routinely, and even kicking it up to higher distances.
Getting off the treadmill and running the neighborhood is a lot more fun anyway. Scenery changes are nice, as is learning the ins and outs of your area.
I cannot stress enough the importance of giving your body a chance to recover between sessions. If you try going out 5-6 days a week you will get injured and set yourself back. Ruining the body is easy, repairing it is tedious, but is so very much worth it when you're out buying new pants and shirts.
Good luck!
I also bought a weight bench and some weights of craigslist. Between the exercise and dietary improvements, I'm down 50 pounds over the past year. I've gone from being unable to jog a 1/4 mile downhill to doing 10K three times a week. I'm hoping to do a half marathon over the summer.
The crux of all this is that you can reach your goals without turning your life over all at once. You don't need to be one of the spokesmen for one of those fad diets who lost 70 pounds in 2 months. It isn't a race. Taking an extra six months to lose the weight but making changes which you can keep up with for the rest of your life is the way to go.
http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=557874