Losing Weight ...

mrcozdude wrote: I got a bit fat and doubled chin through a couple years of drinking hard and eating awfully (I call it my Elvis period).I've lost the obvious weight but am still beer bellied.As i'm not very fit would you suggest situps or a run of some sort (or both obviously) Because it's just beer belly which is the problem and I'm quite anti-gym.

Personally, I would recommend that if at all possible you get a bicycle and try to use it instead of your car whenever appropriate. It's not an option for some people, but in my case this gives me about 4 hours of exercise each week without having to sacrifice any other activities.

On top of that I'm using a stepper ... while listening to prog or watching prog live dvds. Running is a bit more effective (burns more calories) but can also damage your joints.

^ sorry, in fact I have an elliptical machine:

http://www.daum-electronic.de/en/modelle/cp-lycardio-t.html

I agree that they're much better than simple steppers. If you use the arms properly and set a high wattage, they're every bit as effective as running IMO ... without all the health hazard. Usually I settle for a low wattage though, as my only intention is to burn some calories (usually about 100 watts for 20-30 minutes).

If I may chime in with some advice, this is what I found works very well to keep me healthy and at a reasonable weight:

1) drink water - lots of it! Sodas don't quench your thirst, and have loads of empty calories. At least beer and wine are natural products;

2) don't ever think about eliminating carbs - they are the main source of fuel your body needs. However, think about replacing part of your carb intake with whole grains and such. High-protein diets can put a lot of stress on your liver and kidneys;

3) use fat and sugar sparingly when you cook. I always cut down the amount of both fat and sugar in the recipes I make, and no one has ever complained. And learn to use plenty of herbs and spices!

4) WALK! That's the best esercise you can get - it's free, you can do it just about everywhere and in every situation. You'll wonder at what a regular 30-minute walk a day will do to your metabolism.

Mr ProgFreak wrote: Jimbo wrote: I've been slightly overweight most of my life - nothing serious as such, I'm around 175 cm and ~ 86kg. My problem is mainly the fact that I don't eat the way I should. I can go all day without eating anything (I'm often so preoccupied by other things that I actually forget to eat!), but whenever I do eat something, I eat quickly and too much. On top of that, I tend to drink too much coca-cola and the like, which is not doing me any favors, I'm sure. I've been thinking about cutting the sodas out, but it's not going to be easy as I have this bizarre addiction to carbonic acid. Perhaps I ought to turn to carbonated water. Anyway, good luck to all of you trying to lose weight, I hope we all succeed. There's also diet coke ... I never drink soda with real sugar in it. You could argue that it didn't help me much (like I said above, I'm really overweight), but on the other hand I don't want to know how much I weighed if I also had those calories on top of my ordinary intake.

Believe it or not, diet sodas are actually worse for the casual soda drinker.  The aspartame and other ingredients make one hungrier, and they wind up replacing those calories cut by drinking diet relatively quickly.

Mr ProgFreak wrote: ^ sorry, in fact I have an elliptical machine: http://www.daum-electronic.de/en/modelle/cp-lycardio-t.html I agree that they're much better than simple steppers. If you use the arms properly and set a high wattage, they're every bit as effective as running IMO ... without all the health hazard. Usually I settle for a low wattage though, as my only intention is to burn some calories (usually about 100 watts for 20-30 minutes).

Great, aren't they? I just did 1,000 calories on one of those things (granted, it was probably less than that since their estimates are usually zonky). I hadn't done that in months and man, do I feel revitalized! It's nice to kick it up a few notches every now and then.

Jogging is the best, and thats what i do i love it, i allso always hade problems with my Weight and jogging is the best way of losing it. But then again if your very big it might hurt your body so you shuld start with realy long walks then try jogging. Losing weight is not easy for everybody some have it easier then others, and it takes long time and hard work but its fun when you start see the results.

I've been using Splenda as a sweetener (primarily in my oatmeal) and I like it. I stay away from any refined sugar and have switched to either honey or agave nectar. Much better for you than sugar.

E

I have to admit I am dubious of the health benfits of bee spit, but then I don't like it very much.

Well, I'm just back from my parents ... a nice cycling tour, and my Polar heart rate monitor says:

Duration: 1:06h
Energy: ca. 850 kcals
Average pulse: 138

BTW: I took a nice picture on the way, you can see it in my new blog: http://mikeenregalia.blogspot.com




Edited by Mr ProgFreak - May 17 2009 at 10:08

add an e in the middle and it works fine

sic

Yes, about the topic, I can't really contribute much.


Edited by TGM: Orb - May 17 2009 at 09:57