Calories - Fitness Program

[LordCrumb]

I have started my own little workout, just what I would consider a 'starter' before I try to move onto longer/harder exercise.

Mornings: 5.2km brisk walk (usually done in 40-50min), 30-40 Situps & 15 Pushups.

Evenings: Same thing.

I started this on the 1st October, and according to some scales, I've dropped about 6kg so far.

My new diet;

Breakfast: 1 Weetbix, Half a Banana, 1 Cup of Skim Milk
Lunch: Atleast one egg (scrambled or boiled) with two peices of bread/toast
Tea: Varies- Mince Chow Mein, Salad w/ Ham, or just a small portion of whatever I have (im a student, low income).

nothing in between

Now, what I am trying to do, is loose 17kg, hopefully by christmas. Does anyone know how many calories you burn off when walking? does anyone know how many kms you need to walk lol?

If anyone wants to post their fitness program, please do so, but im not trying to kill myself just yet. I don't think I am at the running stage yet.

[beefytwinkie]

It looks like you are severely limiting your caloric intake. The trick to losing weight isn't to starve yourself or eat less. You have to eat smart. There are a lot of options out there where you can eat normally and still be healthy.

By lowering your caloric intake that much, yes, you will lose a lot of weight but at the same time your metabolism is also slowing down a lot because no matter what your brain thinks, your body thinks you don't have much access to food and in turn will adapt to survive.

After you start eating a little more regularly, your body will begin to store more fat and you will gain some bad weight back.

Anyway, bottom line is you need to find a balance between exercise and eating because from what I read in your post, you're doing more harm than good to yourself and may even be hindering the process of getting to your Christmas goal.

[LordCrumb]

Thanks for that info, I should look into more healthy meals then for dinner. This is all new to me, and once I get to my goal weight, I don't want to have to work out every day, maybe something like 3 times week, to keep at that weight, while still being able to enjoy a good meal like everyone else I know does.

[BStecke]

I've lost 15 pounds over the last couple of months . . . we go to the gym usually 4-5 days a week. Three of those days is cardio w/ weight training, two are just cardio. I usually eat some sort of cereal or oatmeal for breakfast, Healthy Choice/Lean Cuisine-ish meal for lunch, and for dinner we'll either have another HC or LC or we'll make something, usually chicken or pork loin, with a side of veggies. I also make sure I eat SOMETHING every three hours, and I definitely make it a point not to feel like I'm hungry all of the time. No food = body goes into storage mode.

I've been told, and I believe it, that the weight training is the key, as lean muscle makes your body burn more calories. We had some family in town and a vacation in September and ate like pigs and I only put back on a pound. I've done diet alone and the weight went back on very quickly.

[brettallica]

There are so many factors to staying lean that it's hard to say which one specifically is "the best." In all my years of training, though, I have found that I've stayed the leanest and looked and felt the best when all pieces were clicking together: weights, cardio, and nutrition. Falter in one of those three and the others suffer; i.e. they all work off of each other. I do cardio every single day, but I've noticed that during softball season when I limit my weights to virtually nothing, my body doesn't look nearly as fit. It's a good example of how one kink in the training can have a big effect on your overall fitness (or at least your leanness).

It's all relative, too, though. I mean I hold myself to a very high fitness standard. Some people aren't looking to be über-lean all the time, so it's going to be about finding what works for you as far as what helps you attain your goals. Another big thing I like to stress is not to trip out on "weight loss" in and of itself, because that can be very misleading. If you read a bit on metabolism and muscle mass and understand the densities of muscle vs. fat, that may help a bit (not saying you don't know about that, but if you don't, check it out). For the most part, though, if you don't eat enough food and you see yourself dropping weight quickly, it's most likely muscle that you're losing because your body will go to that first for energy. In this situation, yes you "weigh less," but you're still fat — even though you might be "skinny" — because your body fat percentage will still be high due to the fact that your body ate away all your muscle in an effort to get the calories it needed...if that makes sense. A good illustration might be to look at some of those rail-thin runway models. They are very skinny, but if you look at most of them, they're almost always not very lean. None of them are what anyone with a knowledge of health and wellness would consider to be "fit" or "healthy."

[jw]

p90x, get some of those discs

[supersix4]

Originally Posted by beefytwinkie

It looks like you are severely limiting your caloric intake. The trick to losing weight isn't to starve yourself or eat less. You have to eat smart. There are a lot of options out there where you can eat normally and still be healthy.

if he just needs to lose a few calorie restriction won't really help, he may lose it, but as soon as he eats normally again it'll come back... But limiting calories to say 1200-1700 of good foods should help allot, not to mention if he stays on it long enough.

[Silo5]

I found a very useful website by accident. I was looking for calorie info on certain foods and found it by "googling". The website is http://www.myfitnesspal.com. I started using it around mid-August and I've lost 20 lbs by monitoring my portion sizes/ calories and running/weight training 4 days a week. It's a free website to use and has a large database to find info on foods.

[Q?]

I just read that if you sleep approximately 7 hours a day, you'll be less hungry than if you're sleep deprived, 6 hours or less a day.
Can't find link, sorry.

[BStecke]

For you iPhoners there's a great app called Loseit for tracking calories and exercise. You can put in your current weight, age, etc, and it'll give you a calorie budget and show you where you are for the day/week in your budget. It has a pretty decent database of foods built in, but it also lets you create entries for foods that aren't in there.

[U4K61]

Originally Posted by KaiGusto

I have started my own little workout...5.2km brisk walk...and according to some scales, I've dropped about 6kg so far...Now, what I am trying to do, is loose 17kg, hopefully by christmas.

Well, here in the states, the SUV and junk food rules the roost and so is the battle of bulge as apposed to Eruope where walking/biking and 100g of meat for dinner is a full meal. Not too many overweight people are seen on the street there. And if you are, they won't forget your name if you are over the limit. Moderation has its merits.

I CK my weight 3x a week, make adjustmens if it is one or two pounds eather way, workout with weights 4x a week, and eat lots of natural food over the processed stuff that seems to be everywhere.

[SonOfArathorn]

Originally Posted by jw

p90x, get some of those discs

Here, here!

Day 72 today, most amazing workout program I've ever done. Lost 24 pounds, 3 inches off my waist and yet I am stronger and more muscular than I have ever been in my life.

PS, it only works if you work, hard. Follow the diet plan, do the workouts, do your best and forget the rest and bring it everyday and the results will speak for themselves.

[crxvtec]

My wife started doing yoga and watched what she eate and she lost 20 lbs in 3 months

Starving your self or eating way less is usually not good. I have lost weight by just changing what i eat. I do not workout alot but i like to ride my mountain bike( on the street until my knee gets better) and just eat healthy. I have maintained a weight of 165 or so. I would suggest eating more than you currently are. Drink water when you wake up, that helps start metabolism. Also, if you can get any kind of workout in the morning then your metabolism will work better through out the day. Losing weight is really not that hard, even keeping it off is easy. Set a goal( sounds like you have) and work towards it. In 2 months, it is very possible to lose that much weight. Also, you shouldn't just look at the weight on a scale. Look at a mirror. If you are looking the way you want, the weight should not mater.

[Silo5]

Originally Posted by crxvtec

Also, if you can get any kind of workout in the morning then your metabolism will work better through out the day.

I'm not trying to be disrespectful or anything, but I was just curious where you learned that. I have read on WebMD and a few other websites that said there was nothing proven that any one time was better to work out than another and that the time of day was a personal choice. I, however; workout in the mornings because it saves me time in the day to do it first thing when I get up. I do have a few mornings that I find it difficult to get up early and work out, so I usually do it when I get home from work. But if it's been proven that working out in the morning does boost your metabolism, then that would be my motivation to make myself get up and work out in the morning.

[nefilim]

Originally Posted by BStecke

For you iPhoners there's a great app called Loseit for tracking calories and exercise. You can put in your current weight, age, etc, and it'll give you a calorie budget and show you where you are for the day/week in your budget. It has a pretty decent database of foods built in, but it also lets you create entries for foods that aren't in there.

there is one for Nokia`s too. If you turn it on it mesures the distance you walk/run, calories you burn etc etc - and it`s free ! It uses GPS. And you can check your routes etc.

Remember to eat vitamins if you don`t get them from your daily food rations.

http://www.sports-tracker.com/#/home

There is nice 1.5 minute presentation how it works - check it out !