Really?? Well, I am definately no expert. But if that's the case I would consider easing up on the cardio intensity atleast. You really shouldnt have to lose much muscle if any. The problem with losing muscle is that you can end up looking like a smaller version of what you were. If your body is tapping into your muscle for energy that means that it is going into survival mode. I would do your weights every other day. so upper one day, next day just cardio, next day lower.....Try your weights first and then do cardio after. Try either the HIIT for 20 minutes or do low intensity cardio for however long you have (i was doing 40-45 minutes on the treadmill. 3%incline at 3.2 to 3.5mph after weights) On the days you dont work out, do as much light cardio as you want. You want to keep it light because your body will be more likely to use fat stores. Most cardio machines will tell you your ideal heart rate for fat burning. I was using the heartrate sensors and raise/lower my speed or inclince depending on if i was above or below my target. If you are tight on time, try the HIIT on your non-workout days. Every pound of fat you lose is 3500 calories burned. so as much as i wouldn't trust the calorie counter on the machines, it's nice to have a ballpark idea. But the biggest thing would be carefull not to overdo it. Your body only really cares about surviving so you dont want it to believe it needs to go into survival mode. When this happens, it starts eating away at your muscle. Also, like others have been saying, nutrition is key. And, dare i say. Have a day a week where you eat more calories. This will help get your metabolism revved up. Your body will adjust to constant lower calories and will lower your metabolic rate. Once a week Kelly and I would go out for dinner, and while I was in that restaurant I would order and eat whatever I wanted, lol. it was great
Interesting advice. I appreciate it. I feel like I learned a lot in these posts. Some follow up questions... - what are some examples of lean proteins to eat? In my current diet I eat a lot of low fat, low calorie, high fiber items. I have added protein bars and feel like I am adding muscle at a good rate but not losing fat at the rate I would like. - as for high intensity cardio I feel like I may be doing something wrong. I basically walk at 4.2 on the treadmill for .5 miles. Then run at 8.2-8.6 for two miles. Then walk at 4.2 for .5 miles. Then run at 8.2-8.6 for 1-2 more miles. That seems like high intensity to me but if I understand correctly, that doesn't contain enough variation? What would be an example of better variation? - I always run first for the 3-5 miles and then lift weights for about an hour. I should reverse the order? Thanks!
My wife started. Her but Bible work out today. ( its great work out DVD.) We heard about. It from our friends. STACIA &JOHN they recommended. ( you ll know what I mean if you see Stacia. ) no disrespect. To anyone though. )
Look at the food you're about to eat. Does it look like it did when it was alive? If yes, then eat it. If no, then don't. If it has an ingredients label, then don't eat it. Whole meat, vegetables and fruit don't have ingredients labels. They are just made out of real food. Eat more meat. Like chicken, and steak sorta meat, not weiners and bologna. But that comes back to first rule cause bologna doesn't look like what it did when it was alive (don't even really know what animal it used to be) and likely has an ingredient list talking about what other crap they have put into it. Find a workout that you actually enjoy and do that. A sub-par workout that you keep doing is better than an optimal workout that you quit. I enjoy CrossFit. I hate treadmills. I can feel myself getting dumberer every time I step on one. It's about the most mentally draining thing I can think of. Different people love treadmills. Strength training is huge. It moves your weight from places it shouldn't be and puts it in places that it should be. HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) is your friend. HIIT is made of Awesomeness.
The amount of lbs you lose will depend on how close you are to your ideal weight and how much you are exercising. For someone that is 100 lbs or more overweight, losing 3 to 5 "real" lbs on the first weeks in not that uncommon (after you shed those 10 lbs of water the first week of dieting), however if you are just 25 lbs overweight then losing 1 or 2 lbs per week is more normal. Losing the last 10 lbs of weight will be extremely hard, probably at a rate of 1 lb every 2 or 3 weeks... unless you are doing some extreme workouts at the gym. Losing 5% body fat for a woman on 6 weeks will be a very hard thing to do (more realistically around 3% should be ok, and trust me it will make a big difference).
Those protein bars are typically very high in carbs... Don't worry about "LEAN" protein... Just protein in general... Whey Protein powder, chicken, beef, fish, etc... A prime example they gave us last night at the gym was a woman who's pre-workout meal was a banana, a small apple, some kashi granola, and one or two other things. It was like 1000 calories, with a ton of carbs.. So her entire workout, she would spend the whole time trying to burn off the meal she just ate before the gym.
I (Jason) worked at a pretty big fitness chain for several years and helped train a lot of the new personal trainers....gotta say that you did a LOT better than most of them in explaining what a PROPER workout and results schedule should look like. Simply put, lifting weights will increase your muscle content which, in turn, burns calories throughout the day. A lot of people think that cardio, cardio, cardio is the way to lose fat. It's not...it's much tougher to sustain weight loss with just cardio and cario has a smaller calorie burning window. Yes, cardio will burn more calories in that same window as opposed to lifting weights but over the entire course of the day, lifting will burn as many or more because the body uses more calories throughout the day to maintain and repair muscles as opposed to recovering from a cardio workout. As Brent pointed out, add in a couple of lifting days and at least 1 rest day (muscles repair at rest) then refocus on bodyfat percentage. You'll be attacking it from both sides if you add in the weights (gaining muscle and losing fat)! Doesn't sound like I have to mention diet because you seem to have that down. Good luck!
Great advice from everyone here so far. If your looking to add more weights and strength training Ive become a big believer in the cross fit workouts. TRX as well. I think that everyone's body is just a little bit different so constantly measuring your progess will give you a good guide to what is working a little bit better than another type of workout.
4 oz chicken breast (fresh no soya) 196 4 oz tuna 140 4 oz turkey breast 178 1 carton egg whites 136 4 oz sole 90 4 oz shrimp 112 4 oz halibut 159 4 oz cod 90 4 oz tilapia 147 Protein bars are full of fillers and crap, you mitas well have a cheese burger. Stick to real foods, never a box, package or can, as much as humanly possible. I lift every single day as heavy as possible, even when I am contest dieting. My cardio is after about 2-5 hours of weight training, for 45 mins 7 days a week during contest time, then only about an hour a week off season. Its why im too heavy this year Next year will be different though. I do steady state cardio, where you go up to an incline and speed for 2 mins, then go up again., then sit there for 40 mins, then start the cool down. My incline is 6, and speed 3.2 HIT type is similar to what you do. but your walking, I would say about 3.2 3.6 for a min or two, then a min at a run. 5-8 ish. I dont think you do more than 20 mins of this though. Here is my fibre list: (numbers after is calories per serving, serving is the number in front) 18 oz green beans 150 18 oz cauliflower 150 18 oz broccoli 150 1 Kg California Mix (broccoli/cauliflower/carrots) 300 16 oz carrots 160 1 cup celery 20 1 cup onion 60 1 cup peppers 26 1 cup mushrooms 18 1 cup beets 52 1 cup zucchini 18 1 cup turnip 28 1 cup cucumber 14 1 cup tomato 38 1 cup salad 10 1 cup cabbage 18 ½ cup canned pumpkin 40 ½ cup spaghetti squash 23 4 spears asparagus 14 ½ cup boiled eggplant 14 1 cup rhubarb 52 My starch list: 1 cup corn 160 1 cup peas 120 1 cup mixed vegetables (corn/carrot/peas) 80 4 oz oriental vegetables 43 4 oz potato 119 1 cup cooked rice 218 1 cup yam 158 10 cups air popped popcorn 220 ½ cup acorn squash 42 ½ cup butternut squash 41 1/2 cup boiled artichoke 42 My Carb cereal list: 1 oz (3 T) Cream of Wheat 100 1 oz Red River 109 1 oz Oatmeal 109 1 oz Shredded Wheat 90 2 cups Puffed Wheat 100 I also use MCT oil, about 3-5 Table spoons a day, 3-500 calories. My drink list: Diet pop, Crystal Light, Diet Koolaid, Coffee, Tea, Sweetners: Sugar Twin/Equal, Condiments: Vinegar, Lemon juice, Mrs. Dash, Davinci Sugar Free Syrups No other condiments! Anything else let me know.
Sorry I just realized that is my competition food list, not my off season one. I have lots more options if you want them.
