Attention all TTLG Fitness Gurus! The Internet needs your help!

Tonamel on 6/6/2006 at 18:11

Quote Posted by Raven

walk/cycle everywhere instead of public transport(if you can safely ofcourse and you have the time)

This is the only change I made, and I dropped 45 lbs (or 3.2 stone or 20.4 kilos or 13,125 pennyweights or whatever measure makes you most comfortable)

Hewer on 6/6/2006 at 18:27

Stitch is right.

The only way to spot-reduce fat is liposuction. Your body has found it's equilibrium with the lifestyle and eating habits you have. If you want to change your body composition, you have to change the equasion of calories in/calories out.
Calories in are those calories you consume which have to go somewhere. To lose weight, you have to create a calorie defecit, and the easiest way is to just not take in extra calories.
Calories out is a) your exercise habits and b) your metabolism. Follow the good advice above on walking, cycling, and follow along with the DVD workouts. As long as you're moving and doing whatever it is safely and with proper technique, you'll be effective. Giving it your best effort also helps. It's important that you enjoy what you are doing, too. It takes certain wierd personalities to actually enjoy long workouts on a treadmill, so if that bores you, take a dance class or start cycling or whatever you like to do. It helps if you can train for an event, too, such as a fun run or cycling century or dance recital or whatever- these things help keep your motivation high.

Renzatic on 6/6/2006 at 19:12

With your diet, you don't need to worry so much about fat, carbs, and all that miscellaneous foody stuff, you just need to worry about your caloric intake. Provided you're working out to burn off all the excess, you should eat about 100 calories per pound you want to weigh. So if you want to drop to 180 pounds, you eat 1800 calories a day.

I also recommend eating a few smaller meals a day stretched out over every 3-4 hours instead of 3 big ones every 6-8 hours. It keeps your body constantly digesting and thus raises your metabolism.

You won't lose weight as fast as you would with a low carb or low fat diet, but it's considerably better for you since you're not depriving your body of substances it needs. It all boils down to what everyone else has said, watch what you eat, and move around alot more...simple as that.

Ulukai on 6/6/2006 at 20:05

Most sensible stuff has already been said, but I'll add that sit-ups are often misunderstood. If you do lots of situps without losing your stomach fat, no-one will notice or worse case you'll just get a bigger stomach because the fat will still be sitting on top of your enlarged abs.

In the past, cross-country running several times a week has worked for me as the best way to lose fat from my gut and to subsequently keep my ninja-esque figure (I have a Body Mass Index* of 20)

I'm cycling across the Alps in August, which is rapidly looming. If nothing else, you've reminded me that I should really get back into training :D

*Calculator: (http://www.halls.md/body-mass-index/av.htm) male / (http://www.halls.md/body-mass-index/bmi.htm) female

SD on 6/6/2006 at 20:09

Quote Posted by Ulukai

I have a Body Mass Index* of 20

According to BMI, Brad Pitt is "overweight" and George Clooney is "obese".

As a guide to general health and wellbeing, I think it's very poor indeed.

Ulukai on 6/6/2006 at 20:11

Quiet, fatty.

Renzatic on 6/6/2006 at 22:15

Stronts has man-boobies.

metal dawn on 6/6/2006 at 23:01

Do you bleed gravy?

SubJeff on 7/6/2006 at 00:01

The whole BMI thing is interesting. You may think it's a poor measure Stronts, but it's a pretty good predictor in reality. Of course it doesn't quite work because very muscular people come out as overwieght and some slight people come out as underwieght. For example - if you calculate the BMI for many Chinese women (in China, not the UK) you'll get a result which in the UK would be likely to indicate the need for a psych consultation regarding eating disorders. But clinically (in the West at least) especially if viewed in combination with other risk factors it's pretty useful, and you can George Clooney yadda yadda all you like but the day you end up in A&E with chest pain of a cardiac nature or requiring any minor abdominal surgery is anyone going to care?

metal dawn on 7/6/2006 at 00:14

For a short time my school district wanted to put students' BMIs on their academic report cards.

It didn't go over too well with parents and the recommedation was quickly struck down.