Hi everyone. I really need to shift a few stone. I've returned to Kung Fu after many years off and in that time I have ballooned. I'm 22 stone and 6'2 and need to get down to about 15 or 16 stone. I realise I need to stick to a diet and a training regime but I haven't a clue what to do. Or to be more precise what will be the most effective way of losing weight. I know it's a case of burning more calories than I consume but what's the best way to do this? Any help would be great. Mafoota
I was around your height and weight, Paul McKenna's book I can make you thin really helped at the start. Here's a clip of him [ame="http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=UQv1JBZ197Q"]YouTube - Paul McKenna Will Make You Thin - www.mckenna.com[/ame] and a longer clip. I Can Make You Thin With Paul McKenna Show 1of5 and an MP3 you need a Torrent handler to download this. MP# torrent
The more muscular you are the more calories you burn, so maybe using weights and cardio. Ive heard this works, you should research it some more.
Welcome to MAP mafoota, sorry i can't give advice on losing weight as i need to myself but i'm sure there are going to be lots of tips coming your way.
Losing weight is actually very easy, but the thing is you need to eat good and do a lot of cardio. food: You want to eat less calories then you consume. An average man burns between 2000-2500 kcal a day. Simply eat less kcal then that .Also, let all these fatty food/fast food/chocolate a side. Just don't eat them and you're on a good way. My friend was a ''fat-boy'' and we had vacation from school and he was going to an other city for vacation. I told him this: Don't eat any fatty things anymore, and try to sport as much as you can. I saw him 2 months later and i was amazed. He said: I just kept our promise and just didn't eat fatty things, and he smiled Btw, with eating less calories, it doesn't mean you need to eat less. You still need to eat like 4/5 meals a day, but just with less calories. Also eat a lot of fruit and drink a lot of water. Cardio: Just go run, bicycle, (kick)box on the a bag. Simply do something where you use your whole body. Do atleast 30 min of these trainings, minimal 3 times a week. I think this way you can really lose weight, easy. Never give up ;D
For exercise, look at doing a mix of weight training (heavy weights low reps, e.g a 5x5 type protocol of compound lifts) and interval training for cardio. The weights will build muscle (which as has been said above, burns calories) and the interval training has been shown to raise your metabolism post exercise, which long slow work doesn't tend to do (you may burn more calories doing 30 minutes on an exercise bike than 30 minutes of intense intervals, however, once you stop exercising the interval training will keep your metabolic rate high and you will continue to burn calories at a higher rate). For your diet, try to eliminate as much processed food as possible and use vegetables such as broccoli and cauliflower to bulk up your meals. Cut out sugary drinks and replace them with water and green tea. Try to eat a good source of lean protein (chicken, turkey, fish etc) with every meal. Eat smaller meals more often (5-6 a day). Have a good breakfast, as it will keep you going longer and reduce the chances that you will need to snack. If you need to snack eat nuts and fruit rather than chocolate and crisps (but be aware of the calorie content). I'm sure Yohan will be along at some point and he always gives excellent dietary advice!
I'm gonna suggest something a BIT different. Don't worry so much about cutting calories. Be more concerened as to what KINDS of food you are eating. Not just cutting out fatty foods either. It's all about taking in the right kinds of everything if you want a long term, easy to follow solution. Slow versus Fast digesting Carbs. Slow digesting carbs are the kind that, well...as the name says, digest slowly. Since the body gets energy from carbs, these kinds of carbs can provide for a longer period of time. They keep your Insulin levels at a steady level over a longer period of time. Also, slow carbs keep you feeling full longer. They are provided by foods that have not been processed much. I.E. potatos, oatmeal, wheat breads, wheat tortialla, etc.., Fast digesting are just the opposte (obvoiously). They are digested quickly and enter the blood stream causing Insulin levels to spike. Making you feel like you have lots of energy. BUT since the digest quickly, the effects also go away quickly. Causing Insulin levels to drop. This makes you feel rundown and hungry. These are also foods that are processed heavily (avearge) and so they also have a lot of bad fat and sugars in them. Foods like Candy, white rice (though this isn't bad for you per se, just digest faster), jelly, cold cereal, etc.., Now, a quick and easy way to look at this is: from morning till around 1 or 2 pm is when you have your carbs. Keep it to mostly slow digesting. Exception: after a workout it is a great idea to take in about 40-50g of fast carbs with a high protein source (I do a Whey/Soy/Casein mix in a shake). This is because your bodies insulin levels are down due to your exercise, use the fast carbs to bring them back up to a normal level. But you don't have to much of them and your next meal should be within two hours. Don't have any slow carbs after 1 or 2 pm for the rest of the day at first. I say at first because EVERYONE is different and you might find that later a serving of slow carbs just prior to bed will help you lose weight. Normally that isn't untill you get to the point where you are trying to lose that last 10 pounds or so. Fats. It isn't cut and dry. There are good fats and there are bad fats. Heavily processed food is almost gureanteed to supply bad fats. (see above post about avoiding fatty foods. It does work but many people can't stick to it) Good fats are in the more natural foods. I eat a handful of nuts everyday to ensure that I get the good fats from them. You don't need a lot, it's just a bad idea to cut fat out of your diet all together. Your body does need it. So why does just cutting calories work? No argument that it works. It's just not a long term solution. Most people that cut calories and manage to keep the weight off find the right answer about just controlling calories eventually. When you cut the calories you basically starve your body. It goes into a state of eating the fat stores that you have, thus you lose weight. BUT eventually (could be very quick for some people, takes longer for others) your body starts believing the it is acutally starving. Then, it starts STORING as much fat as possible for the future. You can't make it not do this. Posts above mine: Totally agree that eating 4-5 times a day is the way to go (I say 5-6, but that's me). This will speed up your metabolism, but not by much. That isn't the reason you want to eat like that. It's all about controlling your energy levels and keeping your metabolism going. That's what eating contatntly will do. Also, if you eat every couple of hours you will be less inclined to "cheat" and have candy or something else. Weight lifting will help tons! The more muscle mass you have, the more calories it takes for your body to continue to run itself. Cardio is a must! Depending on your available time and how much you are willing to commit a day to exercise is what you need to look at when developing a plan. PLAN!!! PLAN PLAN PLAN PLAN PLAN!!!! Everything. Not just when you are going to the gym. But what you are doing to do when you get there. What you are going to eat when you wake up. Before your workout, after your workout, etc.., Again, it's easier not to cheat if you have a plan.
oh yeah...in case you don't have time to do all the planning yet. Fast easy method that can get you started: Drop all liquids that you drink and replace with water. Try to drink at least a gallon a day of water. Have a cup of 1% milk every now and a cup of natural juice also. Drop all fatty foods. Run. That will get you started with some quick results, but again, not long term.
Unless he means something else: Run for 15 minutes/walk for 15 minutes (example times only, go for as long as you can at first even if it's a 5 minute run) then repeat for a total of 30 to 60 minutes.
I don't know how you manage you're grocery, but if you have a total control on it, maybe you want to try this: http://www.johnberardi.com/articles/nutrition/7habits.htm If you can follow this 7 habits, honestly you will never have weight problem for the rest of your life. When I suceed (because I often fail) to follow this seven rules, I just lose weight so easily. It shed off naturally. And with this method, I don't have to bother myself with all this macro. distribution of carb/fat/protein. Just for this last point, it worth trying the seven habits. good luck.
Well, I read it. It's good to have someone agree with me! He went into detail a bit more on the fats though. I didn't mention the proteins yet because that can get pretty down and dirty depending on what specific workouts and goals are being strived for.
He's actually a she! Although what is described above would, technically, be interval training what I was actually refering to was shorter, more intense bursts of work with shorter rest periods. For example a tabata workout would be 20secs of intense exercise followed by 10 secs rest repeated for a 4 minute set. So you could do: 20secs of pushups followed by 10 secs rest x 8 then you could do the same with bodyweight squats, burpees and chinnies to give 16 minutes of exercise that will leave you exhausted. Or you could do sprint intervals e.g. 100m x 10 with a 1 minute rest between them (or 200m, 400m, 800m etc) or jump rope for 1 minute on 1 minute off for 20 minutes. The exercises and length of sets can be based on your current level of fitness and goals.
OOPS!!! Sorry! that's what I figured you were talking about...I just gave it the quick and dirty version.
Wow quite a lot to chew through ( pardon the pun). I'm going to start to plan out my week and I'll try and do everything mentioned except maybe running as 22st traveling through my knees would do me in. I could replace it with swimming rowing or cycling, something that get's my pulse up without the impact. I had heard about the 5/6 small meals plan but I find it hard to do as I rarely manage breakfast as I'm dashing out of the house and usually 5 minutes late. The big thing for me is time, I'm a trainee secondary/high school teacher and I'm also doing my degree in Secondary education in design and technology so I'm quite busy. I guess it's a case of having to make the time, I just cannot stay at this weight any longer. I have to much to lose ( wife and three kids) and I want to be healthy for them.
Remember, if you do not take the time to be healthy, eventually, you WILL take the time to be sick. That's a quote that helps me on days I need a bit of motivation. Any step you take towards the right direction puts you that much closer to your goal...even if it's a baby step! If you only really have time to either work out, or eat healthy. Eat healthy. You will lose weight, it will just take time.
You don't need a lot of time to get a good workout in, particularly if you're doing intervals. Have a look at: http://www.rosstraining.com/ for some excellent circuit ideas. Replacing running with swimming, cycling or rowing should work well and you can mix and match longer sessions with intervals, e.g. if swimming do an interval session by swimming 1, 2, 3 or 4 lengths as fast as you can and then having a minute rest, or row 200m as fast as you can then have a rest. There are loads of variations you could do. If you find it difficult to have breakfast (I do) make a bowl of cereal the night before and just add the milk in the morning and eat it as you get ready (that's what I do) or hardboil some eggs.
