Archive for December, 2009

I do 45 minutes of low to high impact of cardio a day. And I do squats and leg lifts and some crunches afterwards but with no weights. I’m a girl so I don’t want to get too bulky. So I don’t use any weights. What should I eat to lose fat and gain some muscle??

Sounds like you are off to a good start. I would suggest eating alot more protein because protein builds lean muscle mass which in turn burns more calories faster. Examples of protein I eat are eggwhites, chicken, turkey & some energy bars that are not high calorie. Losing the fat, food is not going to take that away. Only doing your cardio & maybe adding some strength training such as free weights or using the machines in a gym for toning, not bulking up will help you tremendously burn those fat calories. That is where I need it most myself. Good Luck to ya, but really increase your protein intake. Protein also repairs muscle connective tissue so your body will be more ready faster for the next workout. : )

i want to burn the little fat i have n keep gaining more n more muscle but i dont no how much to eat if i want to do both how many calories shuld i eat if i wanna do both

A bit of advice — choose one (gaining muscle or burning fat). Both require entirely different strategies. Gaining muscle requires consistently overfeeding yourself, creating a caloric surplus. Burning fat requires burning more calories than you are eating (a caloric deficit). Thus, trying to do both will only frustrate you.

If you are just starting out, it is very possible to do both at the same time. Just keep in mind that if you cut calories to burn fat, don’t expect to build any muscle. Building muscle requires extra calories.

Fast weight loss is unhealthy because it can slow your metabolism and it will make you start burning muscle (from what I understand so far).

So my question is, Can fast weight loss be healthy if while cutting your calories you still separate to 5-6 meals a day to keep your metabolism up; While also going to the gym everyday working different muscle groups every other day, while still doing a strong aerobic workout every day?

Fast weight loss may not be the ideal way, but it does have advantages:
1. It’s better than remaining overweight.
2. It may be easier to stick to a short, brutal diet vs slow gradual weight loss.
3. You may have a deadline for your weight loss.

The fastest way to lose weight is a protein-sparing modified fast. The best book out there is by Lyle McDonald and is called the Rapid Fat Loss Handbook. There’s a review on my blog.

As you approach menopause, it’s not unusual to gain weight, especially around your mid-section. You have likely not changed your eating habits or level of activity, but the weight continues to accumulate, even if you’re still experiencing regular periods. Most women begin to notice this added weight while they’re in their thirties or forties, and are frustrated by the fact that the weight is not quite as easy to lose as it was a few years prior.

The weight you’re now noticing is perfectly normal and is the result of declining hormone levels as you approach menopause (perimenopause). As your estrogen levels decline, your body will naturally look for other places from where to get the estrogen it needs. Unfortunately for us women, fat cells can produce estrogen, therefore, your body works extra hard to convert your consumed calories into fat.

Not only are your estrogen levels declining, but your body’s testosterone levels are declining too. Testosterone is a necessary hormone to convert your calories to lean muscle mass; as your levels of testosterone decline, the result will mean a loss of muscle. If you no longer have the necessary muscle mass to burn calories, the food you’re consuming will result in fat accumulation.

Fortunately, if you have the determination to lose the extra weight you’re now carrying around, you will do so successfully. The only obstacle between you and a successful weight loss would be a lack of determination and discipline on your part; I sincerely doubt this is the case due to the fact that you found this article because you’re obviously looking for solutions.

Now that you understand the havoc your hormones are capable of wreaking, you now have a clearer picture of what it is you need to do to lose the weight you’ve gained due to declining hormone levels. You see, simply cutting calories is no longer enough to reduce or eliminate the weight you’ve gained around your mid-section. Muscle plays a crucial role in weight loss, so it’s imperative to build muscle in order to have your body burn calories around the clock.

I’m not suggesting anything extreme, but getting into a regular exercise program, which includes cardiovascular workouts, as well as weight training at least three days a week will result in a much leaner body.

Congratulations on taking the first step toward having a body that is healthy, beautiful, lean and toned.

Susan Megge
http://www.articlesbase.com/careers-articles/lose-menopause-weight-gain-72241.html

If you’re wondering how to lose lower stomach fat then you need to lose overall body fat. It seems that the majority of people are aware of this fact, except for the relative few who think that it can be done through spot training. Despite it being true that spot training does not reduce fat, it does however tone the muscles so that once you have lost the fat, you will be toned and not flabby.

1. If you do not target your lower stomach with specific exercises, when you lose lower stomach fat it will be flabby. Why would you want to lose weight and look flabby? However we are getting ahead of ourselves. The first goal is to lose overall fat, since we have established that we can not fat reduce.

In order to lose weight quickly you need to eat around 1200-1500 calories each day, but no less than 1200. On the first day that you begin to count calories, you’ll find out how many you eat every day. On the second day, reduce your calorie intake by 500 per day until you reach 1500.

2. You need to keep track of your calories. If you don’t you will not start to lose weight and will not be able to keep it off. As soon as you start to cut your calories you should begin a weight training program. Cardio is also good, but weight training is important because muscle burns calories.

As part of the weight training you need to add ab work outs, in order to target lower stomach fat and muscle. You need to hit your abs hard and do a lot of reps from different angles. Super setting is a good way to go. This means that you perform alternate ab exercises with no rest between your sets for at least 15 minutes.

3. But this is not enough to lose fat on your lower stomach, so don’t go there. It’s weight training that takes it off, particularly working your legs. Your legs are the heaviest and toughest muscle to work on so that if you work them hard enough you’ll be able to burn more calories and lose more fat.

More about the abs. When your lower stomach requires extra work you need to spend more time targeting the area. You can do this by doing leg raises, windmills, ab pull ups, vacuum pose and reverse crunches as well as obliques which are more commonly known as love handles.

5. Your ab program should go as below in a super set with no rest between your sets. Once you finish this routine, you need to repeat it for 15 minutes. If you are a beginner then you need to build reps, sets and intensity.

** 20 oblique twists
** 50 bicycle abs and 50 leg raises
** 5 vacuum poses hold for 15 seconds
** 50 reverse crunches and 50 windmills

If you are unsure of how to do any of these exercises you can always find how to videos on Youtube which will help you learn how to lose lower stomach fat.

Jenney Pan
http://www.articlesbase.com/fitness-articles/how-to-lose-lower-stomach-fat-1264416.html