Lifestyle Changes

[cassanova]

Well after 20 years of smoking, Ive finally decided to give it another shot to quit. In the past 3 months, I think Ive only had 3 cigarettes. The last one I smoked was on June 6, 2006



I look in the mirror everyday and see this fat outta shape man that I loathe and detest. So Ive made several lifestyle changes in diet and exercise. Ive recently started running and have been sticking to a much healthier diet. Even go to the gym at my campus on a regular basis.

Which leads me to me to ask a question or two. What are some good exercises both in the gym and around the house to develop your ass and burn off a gut? I know squats for the ass and crunches for the gut, but Im wondering if there is any others I can do.

 

[d8g3jdh]

Pushups are good for the chest, wall pushups good for the shoulders. You can probably take just about any household item and use it as a freeweight.

As for the gym, you could get help from a trainer there, or you could just go to the machines and figure it out for yourself. It's better for you to find your own exercises that you like than for us to recommend them to you, since everyone trains and grows in different ways.

Remember that you can't spot-lose fat. While strength training is good for building muscle, the best way to lose the weight is with cardio/healthy eating.

And go see your doctor!

 

[guy n. cognito]

There are no "target" exercises that will help you loose your gut. Weight loss doesn't work that way. You should embark on a full fitness plan that includes both cardio and weight training, as well as a balanced, sensible diet. I would also suggest talking to a trainer at your gym to put a plan together.

Personally, I do cardio 4 times a week and weight training 4 times a week (2 days overlap, so I work out 6 days a week.) My cardio is typically either an elliptical machine or running. I work out each major muscle group with weights at least once per week, if not twice. Even on my overlap days, I never work out for more than an hour. Using this program and a "cut out the crap" diet, I managed to lose 50 lbs and keep it off for almost 2 years now.

Congrats on the decision to live a healthier lifestyle. I had the same epifiany you did, except I was 31 at the time. Now that I have lost the weight, I have never regreted my decision.

 

[Mike N]

Congrats on quitting smoking. I quit (cold turkey) three years ago after 24 years of smoking.

Now I need to work on some excercises to get myself into shape.

 

[ric1312]

Cardio, but heres a secret. You must do it first thing in the morning before you eat anything. This is how the weightlifters get so cut, that and diet.

When you do cardio in the morning, before you eat, you are actually burning off fat for energy and ramping up your metabolism for the rest of the day. And by the morning you've already burned off your last meal.

A lot of people do cardio sometime after a meal. While this is good for the heart and endurance all you are really doing is burning off your meal. If you want to lose weight quick, proper diet and cardio first thing in the morning.

 

[Juneau]

I took a kinda backwards approach. I plan to quit smoking by the time Im 30, which is in September. I decided if I was going to quit, I better start developing some good habbits now, to both relieve stress, and to keep me from gaining a bunch of weight. Since Ive never been in shape my whole life, I decided to start a running program. I do pushups/crunches/leg lifts on my off days, and run 4 times a week. I also started the South Beach diet at the same time. Hopefully by September im in a bit better shape, and will have developed good habbits to prevent problems from quitting smoking. I have a feeling Ill drop the ciggs before September though as they certainly impeed my workout progress.

 

[d8g3jdh]

Cardio, but heres a secret. You must do it first thing in the morning before you eat anything. This is how the weightlifters get so cut, that and diet.

When you do cardio in the morning, before you eat, you are actually burning off fat for energy and ramping up your metabolism for the rest of the day. And by the morning you've already burned off your last meal.

A lot of people do cardio sometime after a meal. While this is good for the heart and endurance all you are really doing is burning off your meal. If you want to lose weight quick, proper diet and cardio first thing in the morning.

Unfortunately, this entire post is false. First off, weightlifters get as cut as they do because they go anorexic before a competition, and take a bunch of diuretics/laxatives to get rid of all the water weight. No normal person looks like that.

When you do cardio before you eat, you are burning off primarily muscle. Your body will almost always choose to take energy from muscle reserves as opposed to fat reserves. So, cardio before eating is not good, because muscle is good. As for the metabolism, it increases for a temporary period of time. Whether or not you exercise in the morning or afternoon does not make a difference. What is important is making a routine of your exercise time. That way it's easier to keep at it.

You shouldn't want to lose weight quick. The quicker you lose it, the more likely you are to gain it back. don't look at it as a diet, look at it as a lifestyle change. Just eat healthier.

In fact, the cold hard truth of it is that unless you are doing weight training then there is no way to lose weight without losing muscle. However, if you eat a diet that is low in high-GI foods (I recommend looking into the glycemic index, or purchasing the GI diet) then it will get your body to shift from burning muscle towards burning fat. If you just want to drop the pounds, remember that weight loss is based on more calories out than in.

Good luck!

 

[Peter Squire]

Agreed, Scott.

Again, fellow TB'ers, please be careful about taking advice about your health and fitness from an internet site.

Cass, to assist with toning up your behind, try squats. Be sure you perform them with absolute perfect form - back should be 45 degrees to the floor, with your bum sticking out as you lower yourself.

Any household item that is heavy can be used for weights, as long as it is stable. Try using water bottles filled for about 2kg.

Stick with it - results take time, but they will come. Eat correctly as Scott has pointed out, and do not use diuretics or supplements for body-builders - most of them are pointless unless you are seriously training hard.

Good luck!

 

[MAJOR METAL]

All the best in your new lifestyle choice John.

 

[cassanova]

Guys I appriciate all the good advice, but all I asked for was what exercises I can do in the gym and at home to work on my gut and develop my ass a bit.

When you do cardio before you eat, you are burning off primarily muscle. Your body will almost always choose to take energy from muscle reserves as opposed to fat reserves. So, cardio before eating is not good, because muscle is good.

This goes against everything I learned while in the Marine Corps and more importantly what my nutricion teacher tought us in college. If you have stored fat reserves then the body will burn those off before using the muscle as an energy source. (providing you dont take in a minimum carobohydrate intake of 100 grams I think she said. I was tought in my nursing classes that its best to exercise in the morning on an empty stomach because the body burns fat in a last on first off kind of order. Meaning the most recent stored fat will be burned off first, then work its way back to the oldest. Mind you Im not saying you are wrong, it just goes against what I was taught.

You shouldn't want to lose weight quick. The quicker you lose it, the more likely you are to gain it back. don't look at it as a diet, look at it as a lifestyle change. Just eat healthier.

Yeah, Im very old school, just planning on 2 - 3 pounds per week. Definately stays off that way. Do note the title of my thread, "Lifestyle Changes" cause thats exactly what it is and a little change is good every now and again.

 

[kserg]

Guys I appriciate all the good advice, but all I asked for was what exercises I can do in the gym and at home to work on my gut and develop my ass a bit.

I can’t tell you what works as i just started getting in shape. However i can tell you what i am doing right now besides trying to eat healthier (not really less, just not as bad).

When I get into gym i start with a bike and/or running, thinking of picking up swimming again too. This looses up your muscles and helps you loose fat. I started with 30minutes on bike now i am up to 45. I also am thinking of switching pace as I read this:

2. Use short, hard cardio workouts to increase metabolism
Cardio workouts are important because they CAN, if done correctly, increase your metabolism for 4-24 hours or more! This means you are less likely to store any excess calories as body fat because they are more likely to be used by your elevated metabolism. Plus, you are more likely to burn off some excess body fat.Below is a sample interval workout that can be done with just about any activity (walking, bicycling, swimming, stair climbing, etc.).Warm up at easy pace 2-5 minutes then:

* perform 30 seconds of hard work (almost as hard as possible)
* perform 1 minute of moderate work (recovery time-catch breath)
* repeat this process 6-10 times à Cool down at an easy pace for 2-5 minutes

After that I hit free weights. I do that for a while, then in the end I do a bunch of crunches.

After that I get on a bike for a little bit more (10 minutes or so) and then hit the sauna for a bit more.

That’s how I role... however I am planning of getting a friend of my (trainer) to tell me what I am doing wrong.

Good luck...

Cheers

 

[Bryan R. Tyler]

Best thing you can do for the gut is changing your diet. A million crunches won't come near doing what a great diet will. Try to cut out sugar in all of its processed forms (sugar, high fructose corn syrup, etc.) and cut way down on breads. It's really tough to do, particularly the sugar, as it's in almost all the processed and pre-made foods out there, but it'll help more than anything else.

 

[d8g3jdh]

Guys I appriciate all the good advice, but all I asked for was what exercises I can do in the gym and at home to work on my gut and develop my ass a bit.

When you do cardio before you eat, you are burning off primarily muscle. Your body will almost always choose to take energy from muscle reserves as opposed to fat reserves. So, cardio before eating is not good, because muscle is good.

This goes against everything I learned while in the Marine Corps and more importantly what my nutricion teacher tought us in college. If you have stored fat reserves then the body will burn those off before using the muscle as an energy source. (providing you dont take in a minimum carobohydrate intake of 100 grams I think she said. I was tought in my nursing classes that its best to exercise in the morning on an empty stomach because the body burns fat in a last on first off kind of order. Meaning the most recent stored fat will be burned off first, then work its way back to the oldest. Mind you Im not saying you are wrong, it just goes against what I was taught.

Hmm...I'm not really sure the science behind where the body goes for energy, this is just what I've been taught...I think I'll look into this sometime...

You shouldn't want to lose weight quick. The quicker you lose it, the more likely you are to gain it back. don't look at it as a diet, look at it as a lifestyle change. Just eat healthier.

Yeah, Im very old school, just planning on 2 - 3 pounds per week. Definately stays off that way. Do note the title of my thread, "Lifestyle Changes" cause thats exactly what it is and a little change is good every now and again.

Didn't notice the title...

 

[cassanova]

Hmm...I'm not really sure the science behind where the body goes for energy, this is just what I've been taught...I think I'll look into this sometime.

Im going to dig through my notes from the class and see if I can find my old textbook from the class and research the info again. Id hate to have typed all that to find out I was wrong.


On a side note, Ive been watching what I eat all week, ran 3 times this week (4 if you count the run I did tonight after I weighed myself) and only lost 1 friggen pound. that really irks me. all in all in the 3 weeks ive been dieting ive lost a total of 5 lbs. 3 the first week, 2 the second and only 1 this past week. Im trying to stay positive by thinking "well thats one less pound I gotta worry about."

 

[d8g3jdh]

Im going to dig through my notes from the class and see if I can find my old textbook from the class and research the info again. Id hate to have typed all that to find out I was wrong.


On a side note, Ive been watching what I eat all week, ran 3 times this week (4 if you count the run I did tonight after I weighed myself) and only lost 1 friggen pound. that really irks me. all in all in the 3 weeks ive been dieting ive lost a total of 5 lbs. 3 the first week, 2 the second and only 1 this past week. Im trying to stay positive by thinking "well thats one less pound I gotta worry about."

That's a good way of thinking. 1 pound a week is by no means slow, however. It's actually just about the ideal rate for losing weight. Of course, depending on how healthy you are now vs. how healthy you were before, it may be slow. Just don't get frustrated, it'll come off in time.

And uh...3+2+1=6, not 5...hey, you're doing better than you thought!

 

[BOOCAKE4U]

go by what you see in the mirror, not the scale (muscle weighs a hell of a lot more than fat)...don't get discouraged, no matter what

 

[clanner]

get a body fat percentage test. weight means even a body builder could be over weight. they use you hand instead of a scale, mor acurate. I don't remember what normal percetages are though.

 

[cassanova]

go by what you see in the mirror, not the scale (muscle weighs a hell of a lot more than fat)...don't get discouraged, no matter what

Actually muscle weighs no more than fat does. A pound is a pound no matter how you slice it. Muscle takes up more mass than fat does so it takes less muscle mass to put on that pound.

Im not getting discouraged just yet. No reason too. I just want faster results LOL

 

[Tsal]

In my opinion, the best exercise to burn off your gut is to find a local amateur sports team with people of your age and join them. You might even make a few new friends in the process

 

[Pacman]

On the fat/muscle burning issue, your body has to be taught to burn fat. You're both right, in a sense. Lower intensity excercise (say 50-65% of your max heart rate) will burn fat, but if you kick the intensity up past that, you'll burn carbs first and then muscle. If you've got no food in your stomach, muscle gets burned.

So, get a heart rate monitor and train with that.