Lifting Weights.

[cycloneSOULja]

Yes, but it was stalling before I started working out. That is why I'm confused.

Healthy weight loss is 1-2 pounds a week. Your water weight can fluctuate too. Weigh yourself once a week, same time and same place. Losing significant weight takes a bit unless you are crazy fat.

Also, if you eat too few calories your body goes into starvation mode processing healthy foods as fat.

You need to have a calorie deficit of 500 per day for each pound you want to lose.

Go to a calorie calculatior, put in your stats and figure how many calories it is to maintain your weight. Subtract 500 calories from that amount and then work out like 5 days a week and you will start losing a couple pounds a week.

Also jogging at the same pace every day isn't optimal. Do that like 3 days a week and do intervals a couple of the off days. You need to get your metabolism going and you need to burn.

 

[cycloneSOULja]

"My knees hurt too much to do P90X, etc. yet I keep jogging even though I have a gym membership and access to lower impact equipment..."

If said gym is Ames Racquet and Fitness, get your *** in there and swim a couple days a week. You'll burn calories damn fast and you'll maintain muscle mass with minimal impact.

+1. Swimming is the best workout. You can actually sweat while you swim.

 

[CYphyllis]

This is about losing weight? Well ****, stick some fingers down your throat and stop complaining.

 

[JWIL4CY]

For weight training I would either start with "Starting Strength" by Mark Rippetoe or "A Simple Beginner's Routine" by all pro.

1 lb of fat loss is roughly equal to a 3500 calorie deficit. So if you eat 500 less calories than you burn in a day you will lose roughly 1 lb per week. If you are stalling that simply means you are no longer at a deficit. This is probably due to the fact that as you lose weight your calories burned slowly decreases. So you need to recalculate your calories burned fairly frequently.

Cardio is good for your heart, but not necessary for weight loss. If your goal is to maintain a 500 calorie deficit, doing cardio to burn 300 calories just means that you can eat 300 more calories that day. I consider P90X and insanity to be cardio and not really weight training, so I would avoid those if you are looking for a weight training program.

In short, eat a 500 cal deficit per day, get a good weight program and stick with it, cardio is optional.

 

[cycloneSOULja]

Also get a bike and bike around every where. You live in Ames, right? That's like 10 square miles to anything

 

[cycloneSOULja]

For weight training I would either start with "Starting Strength" by Mark Rippetoe or "A Simple Beginner's Routine" by all pro.

1 lb of fat loss is roughly equal to a 3500 calorie deficit. So if you eat 500 less calories than you burn in a day you will lose roughly 1 lb per week. If you are stalling that simply means you are no longer at a deficit. This is probably due to the fact that as you lose weight your calories burned slowly decreases. So you need to recalculate your calories burned fairly frequently.

Cardio is good for your heart, but not necessary for weight loss. If your goal is to maintain a 500 calorie deficit, doing cardio to burn 300 calories just means that you can eat 300 more calories that day. I consider P90X and insanity to be cardio and not really weight training, so I would avoid those if you are looking for a weight training program.

In short, eat a 500 cal deficit per day, get a good weight program and stick with it, cardio is optional.

If your cardio is 300 cal then you aren't working that hard, IMO.

 

[JWIL4CY]

If your cardio is 300 cal then you aren't working that hard, IMO.

Haha very true. If you burn 1000 calories through cardio in a day that just means you can eat another 1000 calories. I was just trying to make the point that if you're sticking with a 500 calorie deficit then cardio is not necessary for weight loss. Of course I'm not saying cardio is bad though, I do it daily for health reasons.

 

[SWCy13]

Stick with compound lifts if you're trying to lose weight and tone up. Squats, hang cleans, and push up/pull ups are easily the best lifts you can do as they work the biggest muscles in your body, which in turn leads to calorie burn.

 

[cycloneSOULja]

Haha very true. If you burn 1000 calories through cardio in a day that just means you can eat another 1000 calories. I was just trying to make the point that if you're sticking with a 500 calorie deficit then cardio is not necessary for weight loss. Of course I'm not saying cardio is bad though, I do it daily for health reasons.

I think for this guy circuit training is probably the best. 3-4 lifts in a circuit, do higher reps lighter weight of those, rest for 2-3 repeat circuit. Do 2-3 circuits. Easily can burn 700-1000 calories because it gets that heart rate up while you lift

 

[nhclone]

If your cardio is 300 cal then you aren't working that hard, IMO.

Doing half an hour of jogging on a treadmill, he's probably not burning a whole lot more than that right now. Maybe 400, depending on his size.

 

[cycloneSOULja]

Doing half an hour of jogging on a treadmill, he's probably not burning a whole lot more than that right now. Maybe 400, depending on his size.

True, which is probably why he plateaued. Also, you are overweight and are working out. It's going to hurt a little and you are going to be sore

 

[twistedredbird]

I've lost a total of 25 lbs now, and it keeps bouncing back and forth between 25-23 lbs lost, and has been doing this for about 2-3 weeks now so it's becoming frustrating. My diet I thought was alright (in fact I lost all that weight with mostly just diet) but since that hasn't been cutting it I decided to start jogging and have been doing that for a couple few weeks now.

Mostly I'm just frustrated with not being able to lose anything and I don't know if I'm eating too many calories or too few (around 1650 a day) I'm still overweight so the weight should be coming off, but it's not.

Cyber, I feel your pain on this. Try losing 140 lbs, then not being able to lose any more for a year.

There could be a number of reasons for stalling, or combination there of:
1. You might need to throw in one day a week where your calories are around 3500 to keep your metabolism high. You can stall if you are decreasing calories because it signals calorie "slowdown" to your body. To get off my plateau, I had to actually increase my calories drastically for a month, gaining some weight, to kick start my metab again.
2. You could consider carb cycling. I do this a lot. Almost no starches on some days, and only starches on weight training days post workout.
3. Calories in versus calories out is phooey, and usually professed by skinny people. It is more about insulin levels in the body. It is more about the type of food you are getting. You are young, I would up your calories to a minimum of 2000 and make sure to get mostly good protein, vegetables(corn, peas, potatoes, carrots do not count here), nuts, fruits, and whole grains, and in that order.
4. Running - how much are you running? More than 20-30 minutes? If so, you could be causing some metabolic issues and muscle deterioration. In training for triathlons, I lost almost 1/3 of my muscle strength. Muscle mass burns calories. Running is very hard on the body, and I would suggest switching to elliptical or swimming, and doing interval or HITT cardio on days you don't lift weights, especially if your knees hurt.
5. Weights - It doesn't have to be weights. I might suggest starting with a full-body body weight resistance program. For example, as many sets as you can do of: 12 squats, 12 push-ups, 12 incline pull-ups, and 10 leg curls, and repeat. Or, I would suggest going with a superset program, where you do not rest between sets.
6. Avoid at all costs - Sweets, corn, and white flour, these have significant impact on your insulin level, and with high blood sugar, your body cannot access fat to burn it. I would suggest limiting yourself to one dessert every two weeks. Avoid all juices and sports drinks. And limit to 2 servings of fruit a day, and avoid high glycemic options such as bananas.
PM me if you want more info.

 

[JWIL4CY]

I think for this guy circuit training is probably the best. 3-4 lifts in a circuit, do higher reps lighter weight of those, rest for 2-3 repeat circuit. Do 2-3 circuits. Easily can burn 700-1000 calories because it gets that heart rate up while you lift

That's a good idea. When I first started lifting I was overweight and did circuit training. You definitley burn some calories that way. Eventually I starting lifting a high enough weight where trying to do a circuit would make me nauseous and light headed so I had to switch to a traditional cycle though.

 

[MattforState]

I think for this guy circuit training is probably the best. 3-4 lifts in a circuit, do higher reps lighter weight of those, rest for 2-3 repeat circuit. Do 2-3 circuits. Easily can burn 700-1000 calories because it gets that heart rate up while you lift

This is basically the routine I do when I work out and the one I would recommend for weight loss/burning calories. It takes away the 2-3 min of sitting around waiting for your muscles to recover to do a second set. So, just pick 3-4 lifts that cover different muscle groups. It keeps your heart rate up and allows you to get a good full body workout in in 40 minutes.

Make sure to work the big muscles in your legs (like other have said: squats, lunges, deadlifts). You will burn more calories working these.

Don't forget about your core muscles.

Lots of curls for the girls.

Lifting would be a good addition because it boosts your metabolism more than running does. So, you increase the amount of calories burned for awhile after you are done with a work out.

 

[JWIL4CY]

Cyber, I feel your pain on this. Try losing 140 lbs, then not being able to lose any more for a year.

There could be a number of reasons for stalling, or combination there of:
1. You might need to throw in one day a week where your calories are around 3500 to keep your metabolism high. You can stall if you are decreasing calories because it signals calorie "slowdown" to your body. To get off my plateau, I had to actually increase my calories drastically for a month, gaining some weight, to kick start my metab again.
2. You could consider carb cycling. I do this a lot. Almost no starches on some days, and only starches on weight training days post workout.
3. Calories in versus calories out is phooey, and usually professed by skinny people. It is more about insulin levels in the body. It is more about the type of food you are getting. You are young, I would up your calories to a minimum of 2000 and make sure to get mostly good protein, vegetables(corn, peas, potatoes, carrots do not count here), nuts, fruits, and whole grains, and in that order.
4. Running - how much are you running? More than 20-30 minutes? If so, you could be causing some metabolic issues and muscle deterioration. In training for triathlons, I lost almost 1/3 of my muscle strength. Muscle mass burns calories. Running is very hard on the body, and I would suggest switching to elliptical or swimming, and doing interval or HITT cardio on days you don't lift weights, especially if your knees hurt.
5. Weights - It doesn't have to be weights. I might suggest starting with a full-body body weight resistance program. For example, as many sets as you can do of: 12 squats, 12 push-ups, 12 incline pull-ups, and 10 leg curls, and repeat. Or, I would suggest going with a superset program, where you do not rest between sets.
6. Avoid at all costs - Sweets, corn, and white flour, these have significant impact on your insulin level, and with high blood sugar, your body cannot access fat to burn it. I would suggest limiting yourself to one dessert every two weeks. Avoid all juices and sports drinks. And limit to 2 servings of fruit a day, and avoid high glycemic options such as bananas.
PM me if you want more info.

You seem to be confused on eating to lose weight and eating healthy, which probably about 90% of the population is also confused on. You can eat nothing but boiled chicken breast and vegetables and gain weight if you are eating more calories than you burn. Likewise, you can eat nothing but sugar and fat and still lose weight if you are at a cal deficit.

Eating healthy is definitley a good idea, but does not necessarily mean that you will lose weight.

 

[Cyclophile1]

I've lost a total of 25 lbs now, and it keeps bouncing back and forth between 25-23 lbs lost, and has been doing this for about 2-3 weeks now so it's becoming frustrating. My diet I thought was alright (in fact I lost all that weight with mostly just diet) but since that hasn't been cutting it I decided to start jogging and have been doing that for a couple few weeks now.

Mostly I'm just frustrated with not being able to lose anything and I don't know if I'm eating too many calories or too few (around 1650 a day) I'm still overweight so the weight should be coming off, but it's not.

1650 calories doesn't sound like quite enough for someone in a workout mode. You may not be eating often enough to keep your metabolic rate going, burning throughout the day as well. Do you have a good handle on your macronutrient counts? If not, start getting a handle on the rough intake of those each day to make sure you aren't out of balance somewhere that may do something funky to your system that may inhibit fat burn. I find it helps to include a couple of snack meals in your daily routine to keep the engine running. Sometimes your body just needs a couple of weeks (or several) to adjust to what you are doing to it also. These plateaus can be frustrating but often lead to times of loss a few weeks later.

It's good to increase your activity with the jogging, but I have found that cardio is quite overvalued and when done alone may inhibit fat burn when combined with low calorie, small meal-count diets (eating only two big meals and snack or small meal per day). Your body can kind of go into 'starvation mode' fairly easily and try to keep the fat. I would say to increase to four meals per day plus a small snack meal combined with primarily strength/resistance training (free weights or free weights and machines combination) done with increasing levels of intensity. Then, I would work in some light cardio as a slump-buster or routine breaker a couple of times per week.

A good 35-45 minute strength training is a great workout. The key for me was to reduce the amount of rest time and keep the intensity level increasing. There are lots of good strength training routines out there, so I would find one that works for you. Maybe just try some movements that you are comfortable with and mix and match according to what muscles groups the routine is designed to hit.

I started out doing P90X four years ago, switched to a P90X Insanity mix but that was getting to be too hard on my re-constructed knee. So, this year I am doing the high intensity strength training and it's been a good routine breaker, with less cardio (which I find boring).

Unless you started out as very overweight, chances are you are settling into more of a mode where you should probably be tracking weight with the intent of losing 1-1.5 pounds per week. Track it over a 10-12 week period and aim toward being 10 pounds down, since you no doubt will be burning fat and maybe even adding a little muscle. Just establish the consistency and stick with it, trying not to let the scale MAKE you feel a certain way, happy or sad. You can do it.

Cheers

 

[bringmagicback]

Haven't done this in a long time (since I played basketball), I figure since I'm on a diet already and seem to be stalling I need to throw some lifting in to the mix. Does anyone know any good weight lifting routines? I'm doing cardio about 3X a week for about 30 minutes (jogging). I'd really like to start losing again because I have been stalled at my current weight for about 2-3 weeks now.

A) www.bodybuilding.com will get you real advice and not bro science.

B) If your weight loss stalls, you just need to do something different, HIT would be my best advice. Weight lifting is fine and will help but you prob are on to big of a calorie def to actually get anything out of it (other than weightloss) depends on if you like lifting more than running. Another idea is do 30 minutes of HIT and then hit the pool. Also if I were you Id jump on an EC Stack. Google it. It is a godsend.

When your weight loss stalls, change it and increase it.

 

[ISUtapdat]

Since you are a college student, one thing you could try during the school year to kind of shake things up with your workout routine is join one of the multiple dance clubs on campus. If you are at Iowa State there are roughly 20-30 to choose from; a few of them are DubH - hip hop dance; Orchesis II - jazz, ballet, tap; Ballroom Dance; Descarga - salsa;

Dance is a great full-body workout that combines cardio strength training, and flexibility in various amounts based on the type of dance and skill level performed. Also, dance clubs are full of girls.

 

[nhclone]

A) www.bodybuilding.com will get you real advice and not bro science.

B) If your weight loss stalls, you just need to do something different, HIT would be my best advice. Weight lifting is fine and will help but you prob are on to big of a calorie def to actually get anything out of it (other than weightloss) depends on if you like lifting more than running. Another idea is do 30 minutes of HIT and then hit the pool. Also if I were you Id jump on an EC Stack. Google it. It is a godsend.

When your weight loss stalls, change it and increase it.

Think it was a good idea linking bb.com? It's only a matter of time before we're taken over by the misc....

 

[bringmagicback]

Think it was a good idea linking bb.com? It's only a matter of time before we're taken over by the misc....

haha trust me, it would have already happend, ive posted lots of stuff from there here. you irate?

Ive thought about sending them to HN.com