hello people of bit-tech ! I've decided that i want to lose some weight since i'm a bit chubby and went up some kg over winter. so i've decided to eat less and more healthy, stop drinking energy drinks, stop eating choclate, walk home from school instead of driving (about 40min to walk). does anyone have any good suggestion on what else i could do ?
instead of walking how about riding a bike? you can burn more calories and get to the location quicker.
hmmm... yeah, but i live higher up in the mountain and it's only downhills to my school, wouldn't get much exercise in the morning. so then i wouldn't have to be sweaty in school. but the way back would be much more exhausting.
Yes but the uphill climb would burn more calories and also allow you to build your endurance and improve your fitness overall.
Well I think you've got the right idea, I don't really make a conscience effort to maintain my weight but I do go under the principle that if you consume more energy than you are using then you will gain weight as that extra energy needs to get stored somewhere. So cutting down on some foods and doing more excercise will definitely help you address the simple equation. Here's a few things I do. Most of the time when I feel peckish I reach for a glass of water. Most of the time your body is actually thirsty when you feel hungry. The extra glasses of water also help you flush out your system. Track you weight and keep a food diary. It surprising how much you actually eat in a day when its written down on paper, all those small snacks really do add up. I also regulary weigh myself to keep track of my weight. At the moment I use an iPhone app called weightbot to note it down and have recommended it to friends who have tried to loose weight. It's really simple: input some information about yourself like your weight right now, height and your target weight and when you want the reach that. Whenever you weight yourself just tap it in and the app will help keep a record and present that information in charts. The data really helps motivate people. I read somewhere that people loosing weight are more likely to succeed if they are loosing weight with another person to help motivate each other. I guess its like having a spotter, you might not find someone whos looking to loose weight to but having that one person who knows what you want to achieve will help. I helped to be a "spotter" for my girlfriend who wanted to loose a little weight to fit into a dress for graduation. She's quite a charitable person too but never finds the chance to actually do something. So we both signed up to do a five mile walk for charity. That way we had a date to achieve, we had also fund raised with our friends and family donating for our achievments. The small pressure of responsibility to both friends and family as well as the charity helped spur us on. At the end of the walk we also felt a great sence of achievement for having done something for the benefit of other people as well as ourselves. Just a few ideas there, none of which is actual tips towards loosing weight but more towards the motivation of loosing weight. I find its easier amongst people to loose weight when they are not realising they are. In any case, good luck!
A bit of cycling would be good as it not only burns Kcals, but is good for pulmonary/cardio/vascular system, however, I would also include a decent amount of walking as well, as walking is "weight bearing" so the bones of the skeleton will remodel, ie. new bone is created (Wolff's Law, "bone remodels under stress"). You do not want rapid weight loss, aim for the loss of around one and a half pounds per week. Use a BMI calculator Aim for five portions of fruit/veg per day, a "balanced" diet... Water in the stomach supresses the appetite and removes that "empty" feeling. ________ Head shop
thanks for the help, i'm not in to lose much weight very quickly, it doesn't matter if it takes some time. just that i lose some weight before summer. I'll definitely make a food diary, stop eating what i don't need, and eat fruits instead of snacks. drinking water sounds good too.i think i can get someone to help me too. I'll start with that tomorrow acctually thanks for your help
Eat on time in a small amount per serving every meal. In this way, you can program your tummy. In addition, drink water before taking your meal in order to eat just enough food.
I'd suggest trying to build up muscle in order to burn more calories even if you're just sitting on the couch. There are lots of free training plans on the internet - just google them
Why don't you walk your bike to school and ride it back? The best way to lose wight is not to have minor excuse not too.
I think you're already doing the right things. The difficulty is maintaining enthusiasm for it, so keep yourself motivated to lose that weight. Sad to say it, I'm actually using the Wii fit stuff for this, that little graph tells no lies. Those two alone : "stop drinking energy drinks, stop eating choclate". should make a big difference. As another has said, keep your target reasonable, if you lose too much weight too quickly it can do more harm than good. But from starting out, don't be too alarmed at an inital large drop, this is actually normal when you first start a regime.
Ok Dark, you have provided me with your amazing project logs, so i would love to try and help you out as a token of thanks. so this is a brief, and very loose guideline, im sorry if its too basic, i would hate to patronise you, but then again, the basics are often overlooked. We could quite simply go by the rule "eat less, move more".... but i imagine some more indepth advice helps with the nitty gritty... and of course, you might rather "transform" the body than descrease its mass. Firstly, HYDRATION. everyone says it, we all know we need it, but do you drink your 2 litres a day? water is so vital for your health, weight loss, and preformance in work and play / exercise. so place this as your priority, its relatively simple too. get a 250ml or 500ml bottle, fill it up with tap water and carry it everywhere and drink it with each meal, some inbetween, a little during and especially after your exercise. EXERCISE lifting weights? cardiovascular? sports? heck, you could partake in so many different activities, so pick something you will enjoy, but make sure you still give yourself a killer workout. raising your heartrate and working up a sweat is the name of this game. i would recommend the following for getting into shape purely for ease of access and cost; swimming = fullbody workout, low/no-impact on joints, crucial life skill. running = its free, all you need is a pair of trainers, cycling = just because NEEEEOOOOOOMMMM! i like going fast. skipping = skipping is not for girls, go tell a pro boxer its for sissies. body resistance = pull ups / chin ups (yes there is a difference) push ups, sit-ups, dips. great for building strength, no money needed to spend on equipment. just your own body weight and an overhanging bar or branch. lifting weights = jeeze, to save a huuuge post, just let me know if you want information on this topic. yes, it does burn fat, builds muscle, helps joints (when done properly) stronger bones etc. its important to know a few key things for your success with exercise, 1. dont overtrain. your body needs time to rest and rebuild, try and exercise 3-4 times a week. 2. push yourself (sweat, high heart rate, out of breath) or else results will be meager and improvements little (within your 3-4 times a week) 3. walking should NOT count as your exercise. you never push you heart / body walking up a hill or into work, and if it does, i would seriously worry about my current fitness levels. replace car journeys if possibly by walking, but it does not count towards your 3/4 times a week. sorry. 4. food is your fuel to do all the above, good nutrition is essential, so.... NUTRITION ok, nobody is perfect, and its extremely difficult to constantly have 100% correct nutrition. but with a few basic changes and additions you can make a good start. remember eating right can be tasty, fun, and it WILL make you feel great. dont listen to the boring low fat low carb and low taste meals. learning to cook from fresh, unrefined meats vegatbles and fruits will give you a new found liberty over what you eat (and impresses the partner). cutting out groups of food is not a good idea, a good diet is a balanced, varied diet. Lean meats, cheese and milk, fruits, vegatbles, nuts, pulses. all the things you ever need. not refined sugary / salty processed foods. although yummy on occasion and of course allowed in moderation be aware of their potentially negative effects on your goal. try and stick to the general outlines below and your on your way. Wholegrains. a great source of complex carbohydrates for all your energy needs. with good complex carbs and hydration, energy drinks will be obselete. also a good source of fibre for healthy digestive systems (also easy poos ) eating wholegrains will replace the starch based carbs in your food cubbard, goodbye white bread / white rice / white pasta and (some) white potatoes. examples of wholegrains are: Wholemeal bread, brown pasta, brown rice, brown bagels, wholegrain pita bread (seeing the pattern yet?) also, oats. great breakfast to start your day by. Fruit and Veg! the yummy part. these are, as im sure you know essential for a healthy diet full of vitamins and minerals. 5 a day is a good amount. more wont hurt, high in fibre (fills you up) and low in calories, they will do very little, if anything to contribute to fat gains if you eat huge amounts of veg, so go wild. taste new ones, experiement with recipes. dried fruits and nuts are great snacks and are a good way to stablize your blood sugar levels inbetween meals keeping your body in fat burning mode and stopping you snacking on chocolate / crisps. full of energy, vitamins and the nuts full of protien and essential fats. eggs! any eggs, duck, goose, chicken eggs are great source of essential fats and quality protien. i love meat, fish and birds. hope you do too. protiens (lean protiens) are essential for rebuilding all the muscles you worked and bust up in your exercise (not just "bodybuilding", but running, swimming... everything!) so make sure you eat a good constant flow of it, its not a matter of giving your body a steak after working out, it always needs a supply to rebuild you bigger and better. anything lean, and all types of fish (full of omega oils and essential fats). good easy to get hold of examples; salmon, tuna, mackerel (tinned or fresh) cod, sardines.... list goes on, take your pick. lean pork, beef, lamb cuts / steaks. things like bacon, sausages and some hams are really fatty, which makes it calorie dense, sometimes best to avoid. i will have little luck telling someone on the internet to stop eating bacon... so in this case, make it rarely!!! dont forget poultry! so chicken and turkey the main contenders. turkey is really lean, higher in protien and lower in fat than chicken. its a great meat, tasty too if you know how to cook it right. Beans and Pulses, things like baked beans, lentils, kidney beans, soy beans black eyed peas, are ALL really good. high in fibre, low in fat, high in protien. just watch the salt / sodium content on baked beans. not hugely alarming, but something to consider. cheese and dairy yes, in moderation. high in fats, very calorie dense, if your aiming to loose wieght id cut down on cheese based foods. milk is fine generally speaking though. with the above ingredients you could have epic homemade meals really tasty and god for you, all cooked by yourself, for just you, or for the family even a partner if you have one. much fun, taste and goodness. try and get a bit of each of the above list, all healthy, all needed by the body. okay, now this bit is REAAALLY important. (yes thats right, B I U all in one) starvation is bad, sooo bad. you might look at the below day plan and think "thats too much food, ill cut out snacks and breakfast" .. you really cant. regulate your portion sizes, never cut out meals. the aim is to burn the fat by exercise, eat healthy and regulary to encourage metabolism and digestion while the protien rebuilds muscle. (in basic terms) SO, to break down the above into a quick example of a day. breakfast. porridge + fruit /OR eggs on brown toast + fruit water. snack. dried fruit & nuts /OR vegtable sticks. water / fruit juice / milk exercise. stretch, activity, cooldown. lunch. lean protien source, vegatbles. water. (eg :grilled / parcel cooked fish with boild / steamed vegatables and a lemon+mustard sauce) snack. dried fruit & nuts /OR vegtable sticks. water / fruit juice / milk dinner. lean protien source, vegtables. water. (eg. homemade guiness + marmite steak pie with a side of sweet potato chip, peas and brocoli) keep a record of your weight, your goal, motivation and log your exercise. it will be great to reflect on your progress, and achievments. even looking back at a week and seeing a failure is motivation to do better the next week. above all, enjoy healthy, wholesome foods, enjoy cooking, enjoy the exercise and enjoy the new body you shall recieve for it. hope it goes well, keep us posted. if you want more info or idea, ask away... i have a feeling for all my rambling i didnt cover much, or anything of relevance.
Really good post that wgy, I've pretty much been doing exactly that myself since last January. A new years resolution that actually stuck! Just in general I made a conscious effort to eat better and do more exercise. I was playing squash and tennis. I was never an unhealthy eater, I just ate too much and perhaps indulged in a few too many bags of Starmix So now I regulate myself better and it worked. A year ago I weighed 16.11 stone, now only 13.6. One stone to go and I'll be at my target weight. I've also been running since October last year and I've lost almost 2 stone since then. So it's gradual, but I never wanted to do this in any kind of rush. The way I saw it was that I needed to make this my routine. Rather than do a crash diet over 2 months and then just switch right back, I've just taken my time. The next thing on my list is to start getting into a routine in the mornings. Weights and eating breakfast. I know all the advice about breakfast, but i'm the most useless person in the mornings so that's been really hard. Perhaps starting tomorrow! On thing that I've found recently that helps is that I'm tracking my running on my iphone and that gets posted to Facebook. Every monday wednesday and friday anyone reading my wall gets to see my run. It's partly to show off, but also people now know if I skip a run and they comment on it! Keeps me motivated. Along the same lines I got a weight tracker app and that let me see how I was getting on. Again, it's mainly for motivation; looking at those charts showing that I blatantly stopped running over christmas made me start up again. Oh and the most recent thing, I've got one of those Graze accounts. They send you a box of healthy stuff: Nuts, fruit, natural snacks and various other tasty treats. I eat those gradually over the day and I don't need lunch. It keeps your metabolism on its toes and your not eating crappy coop sandwiches. Here's a code for a free box if you're interested: DZFDXNP (I get a freebie as well if you use that )
+1 for swimming. A quality workout can be had from doing a few laps and the difficulty level is entirely adjustable. There are a few things you'll want to grab as just hopping in a pool is not really a great idea. First, goggles: they will protect your eyes and allow you to have a smoother stroke with less resistance. Swimming with bad form can cause you to use the wrong muscles and stress your body is pointless ways. Second, swimwear: the smaller is almost always the better. Drag will only hold you back and make the excercise less enjoyable. It may force you to work more and give you a decent workout, but nothing is more motivating than the joy of gliding through the water. Third: A heart monitor. They may look a little funny, often putting a little belt around your chest, but they are great at helping you get maximum gain from minimal time, and keep you healthy. A heart monitor will not only keep you going fast enough for a good workout, but will also keep you from accidentally over-straining your heart. Some selling points for this sport as a workout are: -Low impact: your joints will have little stress and there is little risk of injury. -Basic survival skill: knowing to tread water will keep you from drowning, but being a strong swimmer will get you back to shore! -Cardio: A strong heart will help improve your overall health and quality of life. -Breathing technique: See above. Also prevents embrassingly losing your breath in other activities. -Spectator sport: Find when all the cute college girls swim, time your workout accordingly!
woah :O thanks for the awesome reply wgy ! +rep so.. sports, i will start to play squash two times a week, and cycling a bit, but it's still too cold(for me) to go by bicycle to school though. but i really hate swimming and running :s so really no swimming and running for me. Also food should be good, my mom is quite a healthy food nerd, so i always eat healthy food. i just need a better breakfast, but i'm really not a morning person, so I'm quite unable to make any sort of food that is more complex then cornflakes+milk in the morning :S snacks are also good now, no more chocolate now i can be sure to lose some weight, and as i said earlier, it doesn't matter if it takes some time ! thanks alot guys i really appreciate your help will. sadly i don't live in the UK, otherwise i would have taken one of those fruit thing
Alot of good advise already, I joined here I lost 1stone in 5 weeks just eating healthier, I hated salads etc but found a way to like them and now look forward to them! Go fitness plan done at gym, nearly killed me but worth it. Determination is key, set goals and stick to them!
Running! I started running about 4 months ago, I'm now running between 3 and 5 miles a day, five days a week. I feel fitter than I ever have, skinnier than I have ever been (although I'm still chubby), and I'm still losing weight. If you're keen to give running a try, here are my tips: 1. Go to a proper running store, get filmed running and let them pick your trainers for you. 2. Seriously. Just go in, and say "I need you to film me running and tell me which trainers I should buy". They'll give you between 2 and 4 pairs to try on, and you can take home the ones that feel the best. I didn't do this at first, and it ended up costing me hundreds of dollars in physio and podiatry. I use a pair of Mizuno Wave Alchemy shoes. 3. If you have an iPhone, get the RunKeeper app. It tracks your pace, distance, and speed using onboard GPS, and uploads them to a website so you can track your progress. 4. Read "What I talk about when I talk about running" by Haruki Murakami. This is what motivated me to start running the first place.
thats quite alright Dark! Squash and Cycling are great choices, squash especially, love playing it and a serious sweat can be worked up in a heated match. good to hear you have nutritional support within the family, let them know what your goal is and they can help keep you on track. breakfast can be difficult, its very easy in a sleepy haze to mumble around and achieve nothing more than a bit of poorly spread jam on warm bread. But, as you know how important it is, try help yourself out a little. maybe in the evenings you could set aside a peice of fruit, a bowl of oats and bottle of water in the fridge. So in the morning, you stumble downstairs, pour milk into the bowl, pop it into the microwave, whilst thats cooking your porridge you eat your fruit, drink some water then DING porridge is done! (also, if you sweeten your porridge use honey, not sugar... for SO many reasons) minimal morning effort, instant food and water and a healthy energy filled start to the day! any preparations you can do to save your time and effort will allow this transition into a healthier lifestyle so much easier for you. its hard work enough as it is, so dont let cooking breakfast be added on the list. keep us posted on your progress!
