[1437]

ok.....im doing pretty good with my diet (290 down to 268), but i have hit the wall on weight loss, i cant seem to lose anymore weight.......i walk my dog 4-6 miles a day and im taking xenical (fat blocker)perscribed by my DR., i have cut my food intake in 1/3 to 1/2......im looking at joining a gym at the end of the month.....any suggestions on how to lose more weight.........my DR. wants me down to 210-220lb cause of bad knees and HBP in my family..........what tips can i get from you guys about weight training???? im used to power lifting (heavy weights low reps) most of my life cause of the sports i played (football, wrestling)........plus i quit

....so if anybody can help please do (my body fat index is 30 if that helps)

thanks
john

 

[barfnick]

Drink a ton of water a day. Your body burns calories processing it, but there is no calories in it to gain. You also end up walking more, to the bathroom and back.

Another great snack is celery, if you can stand it. It is the only negative calorie food. It actually takes more calories to eat it than it contains.

Powerlifting does nothing for the high blood pressure or weight loss. You want a more aerobic excersize. Treadmill, basketball, swimming, tennis, crap like that. Throw in FLASHDANCE and try to keep up.

Good Luck, whatever you try.

 

[OIIIIIIIO]

weightlifting though is a good idea...high reps (10-15)less weight to build muscle. then your resting metabolic rate will be higher with the additional muscle.

patrick

 

[LEVE]

1. The Atkins diet is working great for me!
2. So good that I'll soon be able to remove
3. "Too Fat"
4. From my profile!

5. But I still can't do anything about the "Too Old" part!

 

[2450]

whatever you're doing excercise-wise, shake it up...when you do something over and over, your body gets efficient at doing it, and it becomes ineffective...do something different, in effect confusing your body, and forcing it to work harder and more inefficiently...

there's a decent article on inefficient excercise and inefficient food consumption (i.e. you burn more calories digesting calcium-rich foods than you would if you ate something with equal calories but no calcium) in the Feb. issue of Men's Health...

 

[517]

Reduce carbs, not just calories. Maintain a healthy intake of protein so that you maintain your muscle mass. This is key to maintaining your metabolism. For a guy your size, 300 grams of protein a day. Drink lots of water. When you are hungry, snack on boiled eggs, tuna, salmon, chicken, beef jerky, whey protein. Avoid simple carbs (sugars) and processed carbs like bread and pasta. Especially avoid carbs & fats together (like pizza). Carbs produce an increase in blood insulin to deal with the sugars and shuttle whatever nutrients you just consumed into your cells. So carbs & protein is good, it builds muscle. Carbs plus fat is bad, it fills your fat cells. For energy, eat fruit and vegetables. Try to spread the meals out and eat every 2 hours. Count carbs, more than calories. Add in more carbs if it starts really zapping your energy. But that loss in energy is indicative of the caloric deficit you are creating, so it is to some degree inevitable.

Join a bodybuilding forum to get advice on training. There are many ideas, and more than one right way to go. Build up slowly. High volume (8-12 reps per set) and 4 or more sets per exercise is much easier on the body and burns more calories than HIT (low volume, high intensity, infrequent). Rest only long enough to catch your breath, not 3-4 minutes while you wait for your muscles to recover fully. You are after fatique, not records lifts.

Formulate a routine that works your entire body. Figure out realistically how many days a week you have to work out and from there figure out how you want to split up the routine. In the beginning you can work out more frequently (2-3 times per week total body), but eventually you will need more recovery and 2x a week, then eventually only repeating a body part every 5-7 days.

So for a beginner:
complete body workout 3x week

Intermediate: push (chest, shoulders, tiiceps) pull (back, biceps, legs) routine 2x week (ie 4 workouts)

advanced: 4 or 5 day split (legs, back, shoulders, chest, and possibly an arm day)

When things get stale after 3-4 months of training, change things around. Try to do things you can see yourself being able to maintain for a lifetime.

 

[2761]

i'm a nursing major at wvu and in my nursing 110 clas i've learned that lifting is the worst type of activity, because it is the lowest fat burner, and even if you do light weights with low reps, it still builds more muscle than it burns fat, and that will cause you to gain weight. running is the best activity, so with walking your dog 4-6 miles a day you're on the best track you can go. also change up your activity. if you can, try to work out differently a few days of the week (shoot hoops or something, but make sure you're not just standing there). Changing activity makes the body lose weight faster. And contrary to popular belief (sorry barfnick), there is no food that has "negative calories." Celery is filled with water and has virtually no calories, but it does not take more calories to eat it than it does if you weren't eating it. It will, however fill you up. that is why 3-4 vegetables and 2-3 fruits are reccomended every day, they fill you up and are good for you, so they keep you from eating more junk. Sorry this is so long, I hope that I helped in any way. Good luck with your diet!

 

[517]

"i'm a nursing major at wvu and in my nursing 110 clas i've learned that lifting is the worst type of activity, because it is the lowest fat burner, and even if you do light weights with low reps, it still builds more muscle than it burns fat, and that will cause you to gain weight."

Although he may not have articulated it, he wants to lose FAT not simply WEIGHT. The muscle he maintains through weight training will prevent the wasting effect of typical weight loss and will give him the kind of physique he will be proud of. The muscle mass will increase his overall caloric requirements as it is active tissue. This will assist in losing and maintaining fat loss by burning calories even when at rest.

running is the best activity

My wife was an avid runner. Entered in many races and placed with respectable times. Ran year round. Me, I lifted weights. I decided to join her. The transition from weight training to running was easy, as weight training at a brisk pace builds aerobic capacity. Very quickly I was outrunning her in both distance and speed.

Weight training mimicks hard physical labor. Something that man is well equipped to adapt to. In days gone by, men and women labored in the fields all day. It did the body good. If anything, running for long periods is unnatural, and not everyone's body is built to withstand that punishment.

Also, I look at the runners at the gym. Stick figures with bird legs, bad posture, that count calories. Not the look most men are after.

I am for aerobic activity to maintain health, but I strongly disagree with relying on running. A study of runners showed they had no greater leg strength than non runners. You have to do more than run to maintain your fitness. Strength is critical to posture, balance, injury prevention. Weight training is the most efficient way to gain strength.

 

[CJ7Taz]

First, you never want to go on a diet. You need to change your eating habits slowly, methodically and permanently. If you go on a diet, when the diet s over, you gain it all back.

The first few pounds are the easiest. A 10 pound loss in a week or two is pretty common. Some people can loose 5-8 pounds in a couple of days. After that, it gets much slower.

The worst thing you can do for your heart s go into fluctuating weight cycles where you continually loose a lot of weight, gain it back, loose it again, etc.

I went diabetic type II a few years ago, that will loose you a lot of weight fast but wouldn't recommend t. My doctor won't even talk to me about diet, he tells me to talk to the dietician. I actually gained weight on the diet they put me on at first.

Count carbohydrates. 60 per meal and 30 per snack, three meals and three snacks a day max. The carbs are listed in the nutrition information on the package. I walked into the office around Christmas time and the receptionist had a plate of fudge on her desk. I commented that I could see that somebody had been to Laura Little's Fudge Shop, best fudge in KC. She asked me if I wanted a piece. I told her I'd pass, I could either have about two pieces of the fudge or eat lunch.

Try to eat about the same times every day, once you are used to it try stretching the times out to where you don't have that last snack. Look at the carbs on different things, you can have a lot of popcorn instead of a small chocolate bar.

 

[upalittle]

I started weight-watchers last January and lost 36 pounds. Have been maintaining since May, but I started back again two weeks ago. Had regained 6 lbs. since Thanksgiving, now wanting to get to a -50 lbs. Good luck. I like the weight-watchers because it limits amounts, but can have anything I want.

 

[1437]

yea im slowly trying to drop the weight (fat)...so i dont gain it back.......i weighed 290 in july and now 268........im trying to get to 250 then 230 and to 210 last (my ideal weight for my build)......my family has big people in it..my grandpa was built like Hos off of bananza (sp?), im built the same way........i was going to try running/jogging but when i try my knees swell up like ballons and its hard to walk......my DR. and i have figured out that my weigh problem is also from the steroids

i used for 4 years (2 yrs in high scl. and 2 years out) so im having to fight that also..........thanks for the help so far.keep the comments coming

later
john

 

[CJ7Taz]

I figured somebody would bring up Atkns. I have to preface this with that I haven't read the book but from what I've heard, I don't see anything new about it. My grandfather was on a steak and tomato diet back in the late '50s.

As soon as I started hearing about the Atkins diet, I said it wasn't a good thing. The body needs carbs to feed the parts including the brain. I don't need drugs, I can do the same thing by not eating. When your blood sugar gets low, the brain does some strange things. You'll have something like out of body experiences where you feel like you are watching your life rather than participating. It will effect your vision too, if you ever "see the rain", you're low on carbs. The body converts carbs to sugar.

 

[2450]

keep in mind too, that muscle is denser than fat...this will come into play with weights - you can get into better shape, tone up and trim without losing any weight, and by actually gaining weight in some cases due to the increase in lean muscle mass vs. the loss of fat...

that's sort of the problem some women have when they try to "downsize" their thighs and butts - they jump on the bike, stairmaster, etc (big lower extremity exercises)...they burn the fat, but build the large muscles in their legs and butts, and don't get the shape they want, and figure it's not working...

one of the best things anyone can do is swim - literally NO impact (great for your bad knees - builds muscle around them which will stabilize them), works almost every muscle in your body at the same time, and great cardio...

 

[general420]

Aerobic activity is better for weight loss (jogging, biking, cross country skiing etc...). However, I like to lift weights as well. The best way to burn fat while lifting is to set up in a cycle. The biggest reason that not a lot of fat is burned during weight lifting is muscle fatigue. Because of muscle fatigue, weight lifters tend to take short breaks between sets to regain some strength for the next set. An example of a cycle would be: If you lift 3 days a week, work opposing muscle groups on each day. ie. DAY 1 Biceps and Triceps, DAY 2 Chest and Back, DAY 3 Shoulders and Legs (Nothing really opposes the shoulders).

Then when you work out, set up one work out on each muscle group at a time. For example, DAY 1 set up arm curls and tricep pull downs. Go straight from the first exercise to the second until you've done 4 sets of each without a break. This rests your muscle group while doing the second exercise, while keeping your heart rate up. When done with both exercises, then take a SHORT break while setting up two more exercises.

Keep in mind, like previously stated, muscle is heavier than fat. So even though you may be burning fat, you may not notice as great of a weight loss. You have to keep track of progress in the mirror as some of the weight is re-distributed.

 

[LEVE]

In reply to:

I said it wasn't a good thing. The body needs carbs to feed the parts including the brain. I don't need drugs, I can do the same thing by not eating.

[/ QUOTE ]1. Taz, I'd encourage you to read the book.
2. Your body doesn't need Carbs,
3. It needs something it can convert...
4. That could be Carbs, or
5. In the case of Atkins,
6. It's your own fat..
7. Oh, yes, where did...
8. I don't need drugs come from? [*]I assume you're referring to Insulin [*]And saying you don't need it [*]That's what I'd wish for any diabetic! [*]And weight is a HUGE risk factor in contracting diabetes!
9. The reason I chose this diet,
10. Is that it afforded me the fastest way to loose weight,
11. With the least amount of exercise.
12. As it's physically impossible for me,
13. To run,
14. Or walk any distance.
15. Again I'd encourage you to read the book,
16. It may let you take another look at it,
17. And there is a great deal of the book,
18. Devoted to preventing Diabetes and
19. As a control factor in a Low Carb diet...
20. On thing to clear up...
21. The Atkins diet is low carb ,
22. It is not a No Carb diet.

 

[709]

If running makes your knees swell up, look into something different that has low impact.

High impact is great for teens and kids because it builds bone mass (Up to %20 i've read.)

But if impact exercise isn't working for whatever reason, look into a bicycle.. or rowing.. or anything else.

My mom broke her leg a few years back and did lots of bycycle and stuff like that to loose weight.. the running just doesn't work for her.

 

[Caver Dave]

All these informed replies....

And I was gonna suggest you get off you A$$ occasionally and work on the Jeep...if not yours...somebodys! You'd be surprised how much of a workout you'd get crawling/climbing up/down...

Same boat though...need to drop back to fighting weight!

 

[1437]

In reply to:

But if impact exercise isn't working for whatever reason, look into a bicycle.. or rowing.. or anything else

[/ QUOTE ]

i just talked to a health nut here at work and thats what they suggested for me to do...........i guess i need to start keeping track of what excer. i do on what days so i can keep with a program.........i guess im just not getting my heart rate up where it should be........should biking for 30-45 min with about 50-60min. of weight lifting every other day be a pretty good start?????? when i weight trained i never did the stop and rest thing, i just kept going till i was done with all of my free weight stations......

o caver you know i like to work on everyones rig except for mine

later
john

 

[LEVE]

In reply to:

i just talked to a health nut here at work and thats what they suggested for me to do...........

[/ QUOTE ]1. Cycling, and the like,
2. Can cause premature knee joint wear.
3. Have you considered swimming?
4. It low impact on the joints!
5. Any thought?

 

[1437]

In reply to:

Have you considered swimming?

[/ QUOTE ]

not a big fan of swimming........what about the stair machines??????? or a fast paced walk on the tread mill????

later
john