I am trying to lose that stubborn belly fat and am wondering which is more effective for exercising. Should I go out jogging, exercise on the eliptical walker, or go out biking, or alternate between all three? If this helps, I am 5 foot 10 and weigh 156 pounds. I mainly want to tone up my stomach and thighs. I am not fat, but sometimes I look at my stomach and think that I am, but then people always tell me that I look so thin. What should I do?\n\nAlso, I would like to work out 6-7 times a week as I enjoy exercising. How long should I jog or bike? And how often should I do weight training? Is there such a thing as exercising too much? How many calories should I try and burn off every day?
209029
Since you are trying to lose weight, the question is really which will burn more calories per session.  Whichever requires the body to do the most work is going to end up burning the most calories.  This figure is provded to us by something called METs (metabolic equivalents).  Overall jogging requires more METs than the eliptical, and the elipitcal requires more than biking.  SO jogging is going to burning more calories in the same amount of time than the other two.  \n\nHowever, either one of the other equipment could utilize more calories than jogging if you are exercising at a high enough intensity.  So if you are biking with a lot of resistance you will most likely burn more calories than if you are jogging at a slow rate of speed.\n\nThe best thing is to find an exercise that you like and are most likely to stay with.  Or better yet, mix it up and crosstrain.\n\nAs far as how long to exercise, it's not how long that's as important as how intense the workout is.  So instead of trying to exercise for an hour with a slow jog, you better better off going at short time period, but at a higher intensity.
387179
if you want to burn fat the best thing is cardio, about 30 minutes of walking, running 3 or more times a week and your tummy will lokk good.  I walk 2 1/2 miles in 28 minutes...I am booking. good luck
120163
Lots of cardio is great....do some toning exercises too, as the more muscle you have, the more calories you burn at rest.  Also, don't forget the food angle of it...calories in vs. calories out...I lost 40 pounds by eating healthier (non-processed food for the most part, and exercising 5-6 days a week for an hour total (mixed up cardio and weights)..hope that helps!
395973
Congratulations on your engagement.  Being 15 lbs overweight with 9 months or so to lose it is a weight loss expert dream because that's easy.\n\nEveryone says they eat pretty healthy and I'm not knocking you and saying you don't but what is your definition of eating healthy? That might be something you want to evalaute.  But my personal guess is that it's not so much your eating that's the issue but it's the workouts you're doing that will make or break your goal of looking great for your wedding.\n\nThe best suggestion I can tell you is to do total body weight training. Do not divide your days up and do chest one day, arms the next day.  This will not help you tone up as quickly as possible.  You're much better off either training the entire body 3 times per week with a day of rest between each OR you can workout 4 times a week where you work your upper body and lower body on different days.\n\nAs far as the best time to workout, the answer is simple. Whenever you can get it in is the best time.  It does not matter if it's morning, empty stomach, full stomach, calories are calories and whether you workout before eating anything or after the caloric difference is not enough for you to make that change.  But if it's best for you to workout first thing in the morning there's no issue with that either.\n\nWhen it comes to your side aches, I'm guessing since you probably aren't an avid runner that your body just cannot take the impact of running just yet.  I would opt to use the elliptical machine and alternate the intensity levels up and down for 30 minutes.\n\nIf you want to know more about what to do the best answer is my free newsletter. It won't be free for long so I suggest you get to it.\nI reveal strategies to drop weight in there that I'm sure you'll enjoy and your future partner in life will also.\n\nhttp://4evertoned.com/newsletter.html
628419
hang on. you should've put your age. if you're above 30 years old and you're 57kg and 160 cm (rare but whatever) you are around a normal weight (or even nearly under it) so you shouldn't be bothering with a diet. if you want to reach fitness eat in moderation and get your fair share of exercise. and like someone said in this you must burn more calories than you take in. if you burn off calories but eat more calories you're bound to put on weight. if you are, like, 11 then i can agree with the above you are overweight and if you really are around 11 you shouldn't be going on a diet. if you are over 30 or even over 20, don't think about losing think about maintaining. you can find stuff like that over the internet. if you are on the under 15 side i think you should loose 1-5 kilos depending on your age. oh yeah, you said you want to reach fitness, if you're already on the way to that your weight could be due to muscle mass so i wouldn't worry about losing anything.
102886
Hi! I am a certified personal trainer, level 2 (strength & sport specialist) so I'm not able to be more descriptive about nutrition, but diet really is your #1 concern. If you already are active in strength training (weights, resistance bands, calisthenics, yoga & pilates) AND cardiovascular exercise (running, as noted below, swimming, biking, rollerblading or anything that makes you sweat for 30 minutes)then diet is the final piece of the puzzle. NOTE I used weight lifting and running to lose about 75 pounds!!! I now am 10% body fat and look pretty darn good. If you're NOT involved in BOTH of those types of training, then GET STARTED. \n\nA healthy diet, with proper # of calories is the answer to belly fat. Check out the abs diet (several books) or the ebook burn the fat feed the muscle. Both are great guides to eating right. Make no mistake about it, to get your abs to show (i.e. the six pack) you MUST strength train, do cardio AND eat right. There is no magic solution.\n\nHope that helps.
289560
Get off your butt and exercise.  I always want to roll my eyes at people that "dont have time to exercise".  Stop watching Grey Anatomy or whatever every night, and Ill bet you find an hour or two right there for exercise.  My wife is 32 weeks pregnant, works 50 hours a week + commute, and still manages to get in 4 1 hour workouts a week.  Talk about not having time.\nThat being said, if you insist on doing it via diet only, cut your calorie intake to less than 1500 per day.  Realize that you will likely be hungry, and that as soon as you stop with this, you will put the weight right back on, plus you will proibably gain a little extra, as you will also lose some muscle mass, which slows your metabolism.,  The only way to lose weight permanently is with exercise.
616888
Only jogging is unfortunately not enough, you'd go to the gym & get professinal help for your ab workout. You'll be told there that you have to jog (or bike, jump with a jumping rope, etc.) before AND after your work out up to 20 minutes. Plus for fast results, you have to visit the gym at least 5 times a week!
207766
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR UNDERSTANDING THAT SIT-UPS DON'T MAKE YOUR BELLY FAT GO AWAY!!! Seriously, you just made my freakin' day, no joke. \n\nYou need a 2-front war, 1 front being exercise & the other front being diet.\n\nExercise: plenty of cardio, incorporating intervals into your cardio training. also do some strength training, as lean muscle mass supports an elevated metabolism. try doing cardio 1st thing in the morning on an empty stomach to capitalize on depleted glycogen levels so that you will burn bodyfat more efficiently. \n\nDiet: drink water like it's going out of style (at least a gallon/day). consume approx 1g of protein for every pound of bodyweight, all from healthy sources such as chicken, fish, eggs (be careful if you have high cholesterol, go for more egg whites & leave out the yolks), lowfat dairy (milk, yogurt, etc), and meat substitutes such as tofu, tempeh, seitan, and other soy-based products (hey, I'm a vegetarian so I get to do some sneaky advertising here HAHA). spread your food for the day evenly across 5-6 smaller meals; make sure you get a good dose of rapid-digesting protein (such as whey) within 20 minutes of a workout. eat plenty of fiber. focus on whole food sources for your micro & macro nutrients. I am NOT a low-carb kinda gal & you will never ever hear me endorse any crap like Atkins, but it is helpful if you taper your carbs off gradually thruout the day. green tea is also helpful, a natural thermogenic. \n\nhope this helps some; good luck! if I can help you any more feel free to send me a message.
652248
Once you pass 20 minutes, you go from burning calories to burning the fat along with it.\nIf you are doing 3 times/week, then go for 25-45 minutes, depending on How you feel at the time. I would suggest going 4 times/ week, at 30 minutes/each time. the best way to answer your question is to tell you to listen to your own body. How much You like to eat, are you an indulger, like myself, Do you see and feel a difference in your physique, all of these wll help you to map out what works best for you.\nHave a great day, and I love to hear that other people are out there running and taking the iniciative to take care of themselves!!!!
187076
Eating healthy, consistent exercise and lots of water is the right way to start and are important for a healthy lifestyle but they won't necessarily cause you to lose weight.\n\nTo use exercise to lose weight:\nYour cardio exercise should have your heart rate at a minimum of 80% of maximum which is generally 220 - age\nand maintain that for over 20 minutes. At 20 minutes, your blood glucose level is depleted and your muscles start to burn fat so every minute beyond 20 minutes you are directly burning fat. If you increase your muscle mass, it does increase your weight since muscle is denser than fat but you burn more calories even when you are resting when you have more muscle. \n\nThe last five-ten pounds will not come off so easily however short of starting a fitness plan that has you training for a marathon (running so much that it matters less about much you eat though what you eat will affect performance).
178252
It's a really sad truth of life, you cannot spot reduce anyplace on your body.  You can do millions of sit ups and a beautiful six pack, but it'll still be covered by a layer of fat.  The way to burn off that fat is by burning off more calories than you're taking in.  So, you want to monitor your caloric intake (don't starve, just be aware.. never go below 1200), and do cardio! Walking, jogging, jumprope, biking, skating.. anything that gets your body moving, your blood pumping and your heart rate UP is going to help you burn off calories (fat).  Good luck, chicka.  You can do it!!!
598036
I agree with Garfield as well. You might want to visit your doctor or a nutritionist to get them to measure your body fat percentage. This could help by putting some more things into persepctive for you. Centrally though, cardio should be your best friend. Walk as oftne as possible. If you like riding a bike, go for it. A really great way to keep your metabolism going is to go for a nise, SLOW stroll after dinner. It really helps you digest your food. Another really great way to burn fat is to weight train with low weights and high reps. I like to put a really small amount of weight on the rack and do a good 50+ reps because it aids in adding lean muscle mass to your body, which can also boost your metabolism and help you burn fat even when you're resting. You'll want to vary your routine as often as possible to keep your wits about you (wouldn't want to bore yourself to death while trying to accomplish something), and tell a few friends and family members what you're doing... They'll be a quasi-silent support group because you'll be forced to do well on account of the thought that they will be watching your every move to see if you're doing what you should be. When you reach an ideal body composition, you might actually want to keep checking on your weight and measurements weekly so you can keep yourself in check. Keep your head up and good luck!
604595
jogging is great exercise. You will lose fat, your aerobic capacity will improve, and you will sleep better and night and be more awake during the day.\nIt will increase your strength and also because it is a load bearing form of exercise, it will slightly increase bone density which is always a plus for women.\nRegarding doing it every day...I would rec 5 days a week and do something else 2 days a week like lift weights.\nAlso- you are tired when you exercise because exercise is, by definition, tiring. Don't worry about it though. Keep it up and you'll be running 10-12 miles at a time without becoming too tired. Our bodies can do amazing things if trained right and fed good food!\n\nGood luck!!
673912
I'm in the same situation, so I jog/run/hike.  And do pushups.  Anything that gets your heart rate up for 15-20 a day.  And diet is really important at our point in the weight-loss cycle.  We can't just do diet OR exercise, we have to do both.
205292
If you are trying to lose fat, you want both a low fat and low cal diet. Don't count on losing weight if you exercise though because you are likly to put on more pounds than you lose. \n\nIt takes around 500 calories to burn off one pound of fat, but fat is the last reserve of your body, so it takes a lot to get to it. \n\nTo get an estimate of how much you burn each day, consider that if you did nothing but sit, with some minimal walking, you would burn about 2000 calories. If you do the same thing, except for getting about 2 hours of heavy exercise, you'll burn about 3000 calories. You need about 2500 calories a day to avoid being hungery and to stay healthy.\n\nSo, a smart diet (around 2500 calories), and more than an hour of exercise daily, and you should slowly start seeing a difference. Don't expect it to go fast though. It takes about 3 months for your body to adjust to major changes in diet and exercise, and get to peak preformance.
433848
The answer depends on where you are starting... it would be better to ask what is a healthy rate of weight loss and then talk about what a healthy target weight is.  Here are some ideas.\n\n\nOn Yahoo!Answers I find certain questions being asked repeatedly which is simply a reflection of new people participating. A couple of common questions amount to "How do I lose weight," or more specifically, "How do I lose abdominal fat?" I have gotten very positive responses from my answers when I paused to reply (and now beginning to get "It works!" emails that are very gratifying. I like helping people)... so have recently decided to put a good solid answer on my Yahoo!360 Blog (September 10) that I can point people to. These are my thoughts as a physician and athlete.\n\nDon't target losing more than about 2 lbs per week. If you try to lose faster, your body will go into "starvation mode" and get very stingy about burning calories while at the same time very efficient about storing any calories that you do provide. And it will make you feel awful. \n\nThere is no site specific way of losing fat... the old myth about working your abs to burn belly fat isn't true. To get rid of love handles, you need to lose overall fat. That happens with exercise and watching your diet. More on that below. \n\nThe most effective way to lose fat is aerobic exercise in the "moderate" fat-burning range, ideally first thing in the morning before you eat. When you wake your body is ready to burn fat and your levels of growth hormone are highest at that time. Later in the day it can take up to 30 minutes just to put your body into a fat-burning mode. \n\nAnother overlooked way to burn fat is by lifting weights. Skeletal muscle has very high caloric needs... almost twice that of adipose (fat) tissue. Put on a little muscle and you will burn calories all day even at rest. Be aware that skeletal muscle weighs more, so with this approach you may see your weight increasing while your body fat is melting away. Not realizing this often stresses folks who think they should be losing weight as a measure of fitness. Forget the scale, look in the mirror and you will be happy.\n\nTo lose a pound of fat, you need to eliminate about 3500 calories. You can do this by burning more with exercise or by modifying your diet to reduce intake. If you do a Google search on say, "swimming calories" you will quickly find a website with tables of calories burned for a given exercise. You can use such lists to estimate how many calories you are burning up with your routine.\n\nFor diet, keep a diary for a couple of weeks counting calories, grams of protein, and grams of fat intake. It is easy with online sources of nutritional information (type the name of the food and calories into the Google search engine) and packaging labels. That will let you quickly figure out where the fat is coming from in your diet. \n\nFat gives you 9 calories per gram. So take the number of grams of fat, multiply by 9, then calculate what percentage the fat calories are of your total daily calories. Restricting the calories from fat to about 20% of your total intake is ideal for a maintenance diet... that isn't overly restrictive. Of note, you need some fat in your diet. For instance, the body uses fat to produce hormones. Once you have a picture of how to modify your diet, you can drop the diary and just go back to it occasionally if you are wanting to tweek things further.\n\nThere is a subset of questions that goes further and asks about "How to get a six-pack?" The answer is the same. Six-packs are 20% abdominal exercise and 80% diet. There is one caveat... abdominal muscles will form in the position that you work them, so be certain to pull them tightly toward your spine while doing crunches, etc. Also, during most lifting, the "core is active" which means that you should be stabilizing with contracted abs then