Weight loss exercises?

[OilSheikh]

I have been trying to lose 2 inches of my waist for last year by cutting down on food I eat but getting nowhere!

I have stopped consuming the following since a year now :
Chips, Chocolate, Cakes, Lamb, Beef, Crisps, Coke, Ice cream.

My breakfast is : 1/4 bowl of whole milk with 2 tsp sugar + Kelloggs corn flakes
My lunch is : Pasta with Arabiatta suace OR Subways 6" sub > Veggie patty/Chkn breast
My dinner is : 1 plate of rice+daal+lil bit of chkn curry.
Snack : Biscuits


Now, what kind of excercises can I do to get this lump disappear. On top of that, my cheeks look chubby - what can be done regarding this as well?

[[GSV]Trig]

Change from full milk and ditch the sugar on your breakfast.
What biscuits are you eatting?

I lost about 2 inch from my hips by eatting a lot less bread and the bread I do eat is brown now...

[fuddam]

run. and then run. and then run some more.

basically free, gets your cardio vascular going strong quickly, and will burn fat like nothing else.

and once you're used to running, ensure it's not less than 40 mins a session.

you'll be amazed

[spoon_]

Agree with the poster above, you might drop weight on the scale by cutting out items you've mentioned from your diet BUT you really gotta exercise.

Chubby look only will disappear with proper dose of sweat!

[jim]

Personally I prefer playing sport... seems to be working so far, and my diet is far from good. Lost a couple of stone I think over 6 months. No scales at uni so it's hard to measure accurately.

As for my diet, too much chocolate and pizza, but there you go. I'm not convinced that eradicating every possible calorie from your diet is the answer. Mind you, I seem to put muscle on fairly easily, so maybe that's part of the equation.

Running isn't my kind of thing, and knackers my legs and knees far too quickly. Also, I far prefer sports in terms of fun and enjoyment, so that's what I've been focussing on. No form of exercise is any use if you get bored of it and give up.

Also helpful has been moving to uni, where I have to walk everywhere, and everwhere I walk is up or down a hill. A brisk walk for an hour a day, every single day, is going to make far more impact over the course of a few months than an occasional run.

In other words, make sure you're happy with what you're doing. If taking the sugar out of your breakfast cereal is going to hack you off a lot, it's probably not worth it in the end - you'll lose any enthusiasm you've got. Equally, starting exercise that you don't enjoy is going to hack you off a lot, and if you haven't got the necessary drive, then you'll lose faith and give up. Coming up with a long-term, lifelong, stable plan is far more important than coming up with brief, unenjoyable fads that you won't stick with over the long-term.

[OilSheikh]

Tnx for replies.

The breakfast isn't really responsible. I have been having the same for 20 years now since Primary school!!! [GSV]Trig, I eat 2pcs bread and an egg omlette on weekends only for breakfast.

The reason I gained weight was constant eating of chkn wings, chips, chkn doner everyday for lunch a whole year in 2008-2009.

snootyjim, fuddam and spoon , running or sports is not an option. I hardly get time after Full time work and uni. I am talking about something that can be done at home like situps, weight lifting .. got 2 X 12kg. If it's any help, I do 30 mins. of brisk walking everyday to catch trainas and get home.

[format]

Tnx for replies.

The breakfast isn't really responsible. I have been having the same for 20 years now since Primary school!!! [GSV]Trig, I eat 2pcs bread and an egg omlette on weekends only for breakfast.

The reason I gained weight was constant eating of chkn wings, chips, chkn doner everyday for lunch a whole year in 2008-2009.

snootyjim, fuddam and spoon , running or sports is not an option. I hardly get time after Full time work and uni. I am talking about something that can be done at home like situps, weight lifting .. got 2 X 12kg. If it's any help, I do 30 mins. of brisk walking everyday to catch trainas and get home.

Consider buying a bike and cycling to uni/work. Exercise on the go!

[fuddam]

well, definitely you need physical exercise. that 30 mins in the morning is good stuff, of course

the more muscle you build, the faster you'll burn off excess weight, even when stationary

the problem with home exercise/weights/gym is that IF you don't really enjoy it, your desire to do it won't last, and will likely stop after a while....

In my case, running isn't my favourite thing by any means, but I love adventure racing, and so in order to enter races, I need to train. The point is, I have a goal (a race), and the training happens because I want to enter the race, AND because AR is a team sport and I don't want to let my team down etc. Goals really help. Plus, making it social is better for most peeps. I run at night, usually after 8pm, in forests (with head torches when necessary), and always better with teammates.

whatever exercise you do, make sure it elevates your heart rate/breathing and you'll get the results.

[SeriousSam]

Whilst regular exercise is important there is growing evidence, especially for children, that; what you eat, how much you eat and when you eat has far more of an impact on your weight and consequently losing weight. However, being the right weight and sedentary isn't good for you either as your cardiovascular system especially needs to be put through its paces to keep it working efficiently. So it comes down to a balance of both, but you shouldn't get hung up on the idea of having to say run 20miles a week to lose weight as it would be far easier to adjust your diet slightly to reduce intake to get the same result whilst running only 10miles. How you go about it and the balance you strike is down to you and what you can fit into your life. If like me you like exercise then do that but don't forget the fact that amount of effort required to burn up just 100calories is a lot more than you think.

Where it gets complicated is in the effect that both food and exercise have on your mood and brain chemistry. There is some early evidence that some foods alter your brain chemistry to make you want more of them and unsurprisingly its the ones you shouldn't be eating in large amounts that appear to do this. The thing that is making studying this difficult is that we don't all react the same way to a particular food, with there being some interesting differences between the sexes. Women "react" far more to chocolate than men do for example. Fortunately it does appear that you can "train" your brain to make slipping back into bad habbits less likely via taste.

My personal nemesis is definately biscuits as I can munch through a packet without even thinking about it. However, life would be a bit dull if you couldn't dunk a biscuit in your tea now and again so I don't count not having them at all as an option. Consequently I have other "snack" food in the house when I just feel a bit peckish. Now when I say snack food I am actually talking about celery, mange tout and other vegetables which I munch on especially brassica's as I like the taste. However, the taste is not what is actually doing the work as thats what you "fool" your brain with. The act of chewing releases a chemical which increases the feeling of being full and the more you chew food the faster you will feel full, irrespective of how much you eat. Obviously swapping biscuits for crisps would be pointless, you just have to find something healthy that you like and that requires a bit of chewing.

In regards to what you are eating then I would make the following points;

1. Cornflakes aren't as healthy as you think as they contain more salt than a lot of other cereals. Its worth swapping this to something else such as shreddies and the sugar for say half an apple sliced on top as it still contains sugar but also provides other nutrients. Bananas are another option.

2. There is only a marginal difference between semi-skimmed and standard milk however every little bit helps. I still put full fat milk in my tea or coffee as it tastes better and then use semi-skimmed on my cereal etc.

3. Eating curry regularly isn't a good idea as it is very heavy in calories and fat... which is why it tastes so good. You can still get the taste by cooking the meat in just enough "paste" to cover it rather than being in a lot of sauce. Also chopped tomatoes with a bit of passata mixed in make a good healthy "sauce" and more importantly tastes great with chilli sauce added in.

4. Eating carbohydrates such as rice, pasta etc. later in the evening can be counter-productive as you don't really need the energy, especially in a form which takes a while to digest. Often your body will just store it up as fat reserves for later. Thats not to say you can't eat them but vegetables should be a much higher proprtion of the meal.

5. Mix your protein sources around a bit and include some red meat as a small amount a week is actually good for you. Oh and try swapping turkey for chicken as it is both cheaper and has less fat. I also find it takes up flavour better.

If I think of anything else I post it up but if you have any specific questions just ask.

[Theo]

Can you eat breakfast at work before you start?

30 minutes fasted low-intensity cardio (i.e. brisk walking) is more productive towards fat loss than doing it while you have a belly full of high GI carbs. If you exercise while your glycogen stores are depleted, then your body is more likely to use fat as it's fuel source.

I won't comment too heavily on your diet as it's not the point of the thread. However, unless you're an 9stone girl, I'd also say you're not eating enough!

[Lucio]

Personally I've lost the weight by going to aerobics twice a week, nothing intensive just 30 minutes working different muscle groups each week and 15 minutes of floor work

[b0redom]

Consider buying a bike and cycling to uni/work. Exercise on the go!

This is what I do - 14 miles each way. I found I can pretty much eat and drink whatever I want. Unfortunately when you stop for a week or so, and still have the appetite, you pile it on again!

[Ciber]

About 5 years ago I was getting fat so I decided to do something. I started out by just running or cycling as those are cheap and easy to do 2 or 3 times a week for 20-30 mins. When I say running at the start that meant running briefly then walking until I could breathe again and then run a ltille bit more etc. Over a few years that really helped change my body shape from 'starting to get a belly' to 'sort of athletic'. With the added bonus I can run more than 2 yards! After a few years of that I joined a gym after getting a really good offer (£300 for 3 years membership) and started doing a basic wieghts workout once a week. The fat seemed to melt off me over the next few months. In six months I lost 3kg weight but 5kg bodyfat according to the clever scales in tesco. Plus gained loads of strength. That was more than 2 years ago and the gym has become part of my lifestlye.

So, to answer the OP, the best exercise is heavy basic weight training. I think 1 to 2 times a week 30-40min. Add in some cardio 2 times a week 20-30min for even more benefit.

[OilSheikh]

The diet really isn't the issue. Current diet isn't making me fat IMO. I have been having chkn curry ( the mild homememade type , not your buttered oily one from Indian restaurants ) for dinner and Kelogggs corn flakes for breakfast for 20 yrs. he biscuits I eat are the bland types , no sugared or chocolated ones.

Cycling to work is impossible. It takes me an hour to get to work by train! Cycling will take me whole day!

Guys, Focus... what KIND of HOME excercises can I do ? Sit-ups, Push-ups and what not .. ?
Thanks Ciber for your tip, will do more weight training. Btw, what is that scale called - the one which tells you how much fat you have ?

[Ciber]

Home exercises? TBH a gym is much better as they have more weight.
However. Sit ups? Yes! Or crunches: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MPNN6HCJbk
Pressups? yes.
Also do pullups. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iV1D5...eature=channel
and dips: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKjcgfu44sI
And squats: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zY8G2...eature=related
And lunges is something good you can do at home as well: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOdbS...layer_embedded

As for the scales they were some big scales you stand on and put money in and get a readout on a slip of paper. I've used one in boots as well. They usually tuck them away in a corner. You can buy home ones but they will tend to be crap.

[[GSV]Trig]

If you want to do stuff at home buy a cheap xtrainer, stick it infront of the TV and your away, failing that put a keyboard/trackpad combo on the front of it and surf the net while you go for a run