Need Tips for Weight Loss.....?

Question

I need to lose alot (about 50 pounds) yikes.....I joined the gym this weekend and started my workout. Should I just stick with alot of cardio in the beginning? Or do I need to also do cardio and weight training? I am not really sure where to start or what to do?

Answer 1

find calorie/fitness calculator on the net, enter your stats and it will tell you how many calories a day you need to maintain your weight. take 300-400calories off that number and that's how much you need to lose weight.
eat 5-6 small meals a day instead of 3 big ones.
5-8 servings of fruit and vegetables a day.
8 glasses of water a day.
4-6 times a week cardio work out for 30-50min plus light weight training.
no junk food, no sodas, no white flour (white bread, pasta, cookies, cakes etc)

Answer 2

Before you start doing anything, make sure that you do not have any medical problems or physical limitations that may prevent you from doing certain kinds of exercise. If you are not sure, go get a physical from your doctor.

After you do this, it's best to know yourself and your diet and exercise style. Have you tried many times before to lose weight, but have failed? If so, examine the reasons why your diet may have failed.

A common reason is:

You're trying to take on too much at once. It's true that it's necessary to have a healthy diet and exercise to lose weight in the long run, but some people try to do it all at once, and because it is such a major change, it is too hard for them, and they give up right away. If this has been a problem for you in the past, then my best recommendation to you would be to start small.

Do you think you would be better starting with getting more exercise, or with changing your diet? Start with one OR the other, and concentrate on making it into a habit over a course of about 4-6 weeks before you even think about starting with the other step on your way to a healthier lifestyle.


As for the actual exercise, if you want to lose weight in the long run, you should incorporate resistance training into your routine. Muscle actually helps burn fat, so the sooner you start with the weight training, the sooner you will see results :)!

I'd recommend seeing if you can talk to someone at your gym for a day where they can go through all of the machines with you and let you know how they work, and how much weight you can comfortably handle.

Remember to start out with lighter weights, and as time goes on, increase the number of reps before you increase the weight. Also, when you're just starting out, do not do resistance training with the same muscle group(s) two days in a row; you want to always have at least one day of rest in between so that your muscles can rebuild themselves.

If you need support, you can find plenty of sites online that offer it. If you have someone else in your life, like maybe a friend who is also trying to get into shape, that's even better :).

Good luck with your weight loss!

Answer 3

I just heard a report on 20/20 i believe about strength training being more crucial to weight loss than cardio. A book has been written about it; it's called 'The Cardio Free Diet' by Jim Karas. The theory is that if you build up your muscles, you will burn more calories and lose more weight. I have trouble with my ankles and knees, so I figure it's worth a try. The woman in the story lost a significant amount of weight, eating 1200 calories a day and doing strength training 3 times a week for 20 minutes.

Answer 4

I recently asked a question about weight loss myself (many questions about it actually)..

one of my questions was about my daily workout (that i just recently started doing). My daily workout is mostly strength as cardio seems to take longer.

Most of the answers that I recieved stressed cardio. People said that cardio is essential to weight loss. One person, who really seemed to know what he was talking about, suggested 30 minutes of cardio and 30 minutes of strength.

I am currently seeing a nutritionist who told me that doing about 30 minutes of cardio just 3x a week is very beneficial, and that light strength training for about 15 minutes 5 days a week would go along good with the cardio. (My nutritionist stated that light strength training would be something such as lifting no more than 5lb weights)

Even though I have all these answers now, I still feel kind of lost because so many people say so many different things! I basically decided to just move in whatever way is the must fun to me. I really enjoy swimming so I've decided to get a membership to the community center near my house (only 50 dollars a year to use the pool)... I guess when it comes down to it - ANY movement is better than NO movement. Becides, if your doing a workout that you dont really like doing, chances are you might not stick to it - swimming is something I love, so I know I'll stick with it.

Losing weight takes a long time. I had 90lbs to lose! It took me about entire year to lose 20 of those 90. It went slow, but i lost it (and kept it off).

Good luck.

Answer 5

I started a cardio and weight training program for 30 minutes a day 5 days a week. That isn't going to get you to lose weight immediately but it will get you in the habit of exercise which is 1/2 of what you need to do. Once you have that habit in grained in your mind and body then work on the eating part.. smaller portions of all the things you love.. two helpings instead of 3.. 1 helping instead of 2.. work it gradually figure its going to be a life time thing not something you can end in 6 months to a year.

Answer 6

Go to www.body-for-life.com there's an entire diet and workout program that takes twelve weeks, it's cardio and weight training. I've been doing it for a little over a month and I've already lost ten pounds!!! If you have any questions about the program feel free to e-mail me at [e-mail]

Answer 7

Use 3 bite rule have three small bites and put fork down each time

Answer 8

if your lifestyle or career includes a lot of socializing out at dinners or drinks start scheduling workout dates with friends co workers or even clients

Answer 9

Set new goals even you lose 10 pounds

Answer 10

Tapestry gave good advice, do what she says, also lifting weights will help also burn fat too and help you gain muscle