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I recently turned 30 and started a new medication. As a result of one or the other, I have gained about 15 pounds. It doesn't sound like a lot, but it really shows on my tiny frame! And it's all fat, so it looks bad. My days of fast metabolism and eating what I want are over :(
I want to exercise as well as watch what I eat, but I don't know where to start. I'd like an all over toned body, but the area where I gained most of the weight is in the tummy and hip area. What exercises can I do? And can you please explain what they are, or give me links to websites? I've never exercised, and I am ashamed to admit that if you tell me to do "lunges," I won't know what you're talking about...
Thanks!

2007-10-16 06:07:21 · 3 answers · asked by LilyRosemary 2 in Health Diet & Fitness

3 answers

I prefer to keep it as simple as possible so I know that it's realistic and more importantly, doable!

First let me say that the pounds shown on the scale only tell a partial story. In a recent Prevention magazine article there was an exercise comparison that measured real results for real people. There was one lady who only lost about 3 pounds, but should looked a lot better. The reason is that she lost 10 pounds of fat but through the exercise routine gained 7 pounds of muscle! So who would look better...someone who loses 3 pounds of fat only (maybe by running) or someone who loses 10 pounds of fat but gains 7 pounds of sleek, fat-burning muscle??

With that said, I personally recommend going by looks (with the occasional weigh-in for curiosity's sake). I've been combining nutritional changes with exercise and have seen weight loss but even after the weight loss peaked, I realized that weeks later I lost a belt notch!! Proof that I lost fat but replaced with muscle.

Here are my suggestions (based on my experience):

1. Cut back on portion sizes for your meals.
2. Eat more frequent, smaller meals. The usual rule is every 2-3 hours. But I modified this for myself to eat 3 meals a day (bfast, lunch, dinner; smaller portions) and eat 3 high-protein, unprocessed snacks. The usual rule for protein is 1 gram per pound of weight.
3. Do bodyweight circuits three times a week. The beauty of these is that they require no weights/equipment and take me 15 minutes each day but the results are great!

My beginner bodyweight circuit program was:
15 Squats
12 Pushups (can be done kneeling until gain strength)
8 bicycle crunches (lay on back w/ hands behind head with knees raised; rotate right arm toward left knee and straighten right leg but keep it off the floor; you don't need to go very high, just until shoulder blade is off the floor -- that's one rep; repeat on opposite side...)
No rest between the exercises, 1 minute rest, then repeat 2 more times. If needed when starting out, you can also do longer rests and/or 2 circuits instead of 3. I determined my beginning reps by doing each exercise until I couldn't do any more reps and then taking 70% to 80% of those reps.

The goal is to get up to 6 exercises per circuit (2 upper body, 2 lower body, 2 abs). As time went on I'd add a rep or two to some of the exercises, and then add another exercise.

For more details (too much to put in this answer :) see http://bodyweight-exercises.blogspot.com... (I've noted it in the source below)...I've documented how I progressed, have links to good books/articles, etc.

Good Luck -- It is definitely possible to lose weight, look and feel great and do it all with minimal time commitment!!

2007-10-16 08:38:09 · answer #1 · answered by kenhof2000 1 · 0 0

Start off by walking briskly around the block. Work your way up from there to get your heart rate going, you want to keep your heart rate higher for a little more each day , ending with about 20-30 minutes. It will work if you put your ind to it. I know what you mean about those days being over. Good luck.

2007-10-16 06:13:56 · answer #2 · answered by Snuffy Smith 5 · 1 0

Keep it simple for now...Just a brisk walk, about 4-6 miles daily and/or climb some stairs too. Eat light, get a personal trainer at a health club if you can afford it for a more indepth workout.

2007-10-16 06:14:43 · answer #3 · answered by magnetic1002 1 · 0 0

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