[AbhishekB86]

Originally Posted by rki2007

Hi guys i am back to this thread after quiet a long time. I started with my weight loss goal and things happened fine. I could lose out 13 Kgs. I was very happy when i came down to 108 from 121 kgs. I had stopped everything for about four months due to extensive travelling and other works.Now i kick started things and continued the same exercise routines. I just did some basic aerobics/strech exercise and brisk walk for 1 hr a day to lose the weight earlier.

But now the issue is that i am not able to lose weight.

One of my friend suggested me that i will have to start weight training first and then cardio work outs like treadmill/ cycling to lose more weight. If this is true then what exactly weight training means and what is to be done. Please pardon my ignorance. I have no ideas about weight training.

Thanks in advance.

Its called the 'plateau'. Weight is constant after a sustained period of exercise and there is no loss for a while. It is perfectly normal and everyone goes through this stage.

How long has it been since you've been exercising again?



Weight training is essentially a method of increasing muscular strength periodically by increasing the ability to resist force which may be in form of dumbbells etc for developing strength and size of your muscles. This can aid in weight loss as you may lose inches and gain muscle strength.

The ideal way to lose fat is by combining cardio (cycling, running etc) with strength training (bench press etc) and is a fastest way to get rid of unwanted weight.

However having once been in your position, at a personal level, let me suggest you not to jump straight away into weights yet.

I would suggest you increase your intensity of exercise. Maybe you should start incorporating running into your schedule. No cardio exercise can make you lose weight faster than running. You should start slowly and endure the few strained muscles for a while. Your body will be used to it in no time and you will see immediate results. If it helps I was around your weight once and lost all of it thanks to running. I am now concentrating on strength training to build muscles and over all toning of my body.

Also remember your calories burnt should be more than the intake. the ideal way to go about this is to record your eating habits in a journal. Every weight loss site will suggest you the same.

Whatever method you choose you should look at increasing the intensity of your exercise.

Cheers!

EDIT : I found this link for you. It might be useful, if it is, a healthy treat should come my side. It is for beginners.
http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.shtml

[chikkars]

I see a lot of people suggesting running to lose weight. IMHO, and its my personal experience too, that it may not always be safe for an overweight person to start running. Running is a safe activity as long as you run in good form with the right shoes. People make the mistake of running to get fit. The things is, you gotta be at least a little fit first before you can run! Having said that, I believe one should always start their fitness journey by joining a good gym, in that which has a very knowledgeable trainer and also perhaps has a good nutritionist/dietician. These people can guide you to set realistic goals and also help you towards achieving those. The problem with looking for advice of internet is that there are just too many opinions, suggestions, contradictions.. leading to more confusion.

Just my 2 cents

[avingodb]

I am also on the weight-loss trail once again. Now at 97.5 Kgs.

Had started gymming last July with a usual mix of 30-35 min cardio, 15 min weight training and 10 min stretching. Did till October and was down to 96.5. Work and family travel meant long breaks and wrong foods. Thus hit thee highest weight of 99 Kg in December 2012.

I resumed exercise mid January. Did the same routine for a while. However, i was getting bored of using treadmill everyday. Plus I was developing some ankle sprain from treadmill runs. Thankfully, now my gym has a TT Table and there are enough number of office guys who want to play. Thus, I have shifted from treadmill running to playing TT for 40-50 mins and then 10 mins of gym. At a plateau of my present weight since 1st March. Hopefully it starts showing some progress soon!

[AbhishekB86]

Originally Posted by chikkars

I see a lot of people suggesting running to lose weight. IMHO, and its my personal experience too, that it may not always be safe for an overweight person to start running. Running is a safe activity as long as you run in good form with the right shoes. People make the mistake of running to get fit. The things is, you gotta be at least a little fit first before you can run! Having said that, I believe one should always start their fitness journey by joining a good gym, in that which has a very knowledgeable trainer and also perhaps has a good nutritionist/dietician. These people can guide you to set realistic goals and also help you towards achieving those. The problem with looking for advice of internet is that there are just too many opinions, suggestions, contradictions.. leading to more confusion.

Just my 2 cents

What you say is true to an extent but in my experience Indian trainers simply lack the expertise to guide anyone. Yes they may help you with postures and assist with your workouts but beyond that there isn't really much hope.

Running is for anyone and everyone. I was 105 and unfit and had never ran my entire life. I lost weight easily and very rapidly through running. The catch is to allow your body to get used to it. This will be the case for every exercise. Someone who's unfit may not be able to do a single push up but going easy and regularly helps you develop and adjust your body to take the workload.

If you actually read the couch to 5k challenge it does take into account the beginners unfit condition and provides a very basic upgrade every week. IMHO you can actually go faster than the program suggests.

[pganapathy]

I know that a lot of people say running is the best cardio for weight loss, but it is not. The reason people say so is due to the simplicity of it. All you need is to invest in a good pair of running shoes and you can run anywhere (treadmill, open road, cross country etc.). However swimming is a much better and healthier exercise. It does not have any stress on joints (running affects ankle and knee if not done correctly, or of excess weight) and is burns far more calories because it works more muscles. However the problem with swimming is getting access to a pool. I always suggest swimming if any friend asks. However, finding a club with a pool is always the biggest concern. Virtually no gyms have a pool.

Additionally swimming has the advantage of giving you a more balanced build as it works out all your muscles simultaneously

[NMS]

Heck !! Buy a bicycle !! The range of bicycles starts at almost the same cost as that of good running shoes You could buy a decent bicycle at the cost of 2 pairs of running shoes. Cycle to work if possible and then add the fuel savings to upgrade your bicycle !!
OR Better, give up the gym membership (and the supplements ) that you don't often use and buy a good bicycle right away.
Its been around 6 months since I have been cycling and I have seen some good results.
Stamina has increased tremendously, though I haven't lost too much weight.
Frankly the reason for it is a heavy dinner that I am used to eating. Working on correcting that habbit as well. Am making a conscious effort of eating less carbs towards the end of the day.
I also have started playing Squash, Cricket and Baddy on a regular basis these days (one at a time ) Which has also helped me.
Not a very big fan of Running, The scare of injuries keeps me away from running.
IMHO if one is not too keen on building muscles, a good mix of sports and cardio can help keep the body in fairly good shape. And you can couple it with some basic exercises like push-ups, crunches, and any more at home itself.
And YES !! Buy a weighing scale... Helps tremendously

[StarrySky]

If you are unfit or over-weight (or both) and start running from day 1, it will probably do more harm than good. It is better to start with brisk walk for a few minutes a day. You won't see much reduction in weight immediately, but if you can manage to keep your interest level high, you can slowly gain enough strength and stamina to start running.

I started on the treadmill and on day 1 (Jan 1st 2013), and I did 3.5km in 40 minutes. Since then I have managed to keep my interest level reasonably high and have missed walking/running only for a handful of days in the last 2.5 months. Even when I go to visit my parents or in-laws, I make it a point to get up at 6am and get some running in before the roads become crowded. Now I'm able to easily sustain an average speed of about 8.5 to 9 kmph on the treadmill for 30 minutes. I intend to keep pushing bit-by-bit till I hit 5k in 30 minutes.

I also made a few changes in my food habits:
1. Have a healthy breakfast and cut down on dinner. Earlier, I used to skip breakfast and eat a heavy dinner.

2. Only 2 cups of coffee a day, with one spoon of sugar (can't think of having without sugar )

3. Completely eliminate snacking in the evenings - no biscuits, no chips, no nothing.

I am a non-vegetarian, I still eat everything I want like/want (even beef once in a while), only in small quantities. This means I haven't started hating my efforts to lose weight because it denies me the stuff that I like and I believe it has helped in a big way to keep the efforts going.

And the results are good. I have deliberately avoided measuring my weight, instead preferring to go by other indicators, like my old body-hugging t-shirts, and it's no longer an eye-sore when I wear them

[AbhishekB86]

I agree swimming is one of the best ways to shed weight. Finding a good pool or even finding a pool for that matter can be difficult. For someone who doesn't know how to swim, like me, running is the alternate.

Running is as dangerous as any exercise. If you can't lift 15 kgs on the bench press and try and do 25 the risks are equally high. You need to go slow to build up your running form slowly and not aim for the sky when you first start.

I have been running for almost 4 years now and never have I ever had an injury. The only time I've come close to being injured was knee stress because of running on tarmac. Switching to the ground helped me overcome that.

There was a time I could do 10 kms and currently can do a 5k on the treadmill with a bit of huffing and puffing.

Apart from the physical benefits, anyone who runs would swear by the 'runners' high' it is one awesome feeling

[Googleman]

Originally Posted by rki2007

Hi guys i am back to this thread after quiet a long time. I started with my weight loss goal and things happened fine. I could lose out 13 Kgs. I was very happy when i came down to 108 from 121 kgs. I had stopped everything for about four months due to extensive travelling and other works.Now i kick started things and continued the same exercise routines. I just did some basic aerobics/strech exercise and brisk walk for 1 hr a day to lose the weight earlier.

But now the issue is that i am not able to lose weight. I have been doing this for the past two monts but there seems to be no reponse at all. I think i have hit the saturation point. My BMI says that i am obese. I should be somewhere around 75-80 kgs which is apt.

One of my friend suggested me that i will have to start weight training first and then cardio work outs like treadmill/ cycling to lose more weight. If this is true then what exactly weight training means and what is to be done. Please pardon my ignorance. I have no ideas about weight training.

Thanks in advance.

I request you please... do not jog. Only brisk walk.

You have reached the point which you think is your saturation point is because your intake is equal or more than the amount of Calories you are burning.

Weight training is to build muscles and tone your body. So you can leave that in the end of your routine (i.e if you have energy left). Any website can give you your workout schedule. Start - 30mins cycling+ 30min treadmill @6KMPH.

The secret lies in how focused you are to reduce weight.
You need to cut down your workout time, i.e - the amount of workout you do in 1 hour in day 1, target to finish it in 50 minutes in day 2 or 3.


Cut out all soda, only drink water. Eat 5 small portioned meals but not after 6pm. Its hard to stay on track with it all but it will help. Try and do a much cardio as possible. Do NOT eat any fast food, fried, potato, rice, red meat, cheese... etc.

To support your workout, you need to eat food which gives you enough energy. So do not cut down on intake of food. Take quality food in, and say no to anything with oil. I can keep on writing.. but you can get more information online also.

[AbhishekB86]

I really don't understand why people are discouraging running? If there is science behind it I would like to know. It is one thing to not want to do it yourself and another to discourage everyone else. Unfortunately in our country running hasn't really picked up. If 101 year old Fauja Singh can run marathons what can stop us?

[Googleman]

Originally Posted by AbhishekB86

I really don't understand why people are discouraging running? If there is science behind it I would like to know. It is one thing to not want to do it yourself and another to discourage everyone else. Unfortunately in our country running hasn't really picked up. If 101 year old Fauja Singh can run marathons what can stop us?

Sir, 101 year Fauja Singh did not start running from the age 101.

Why would we discourage someone?

Running, specially when you are over-weight is very risky for your knees.

In order to run, we first need to make sure our legs are strong enough to handle the weight. If you are already overweight, you legs take more pressure. Dumping 80KG every second for over 100 times on those legs will very obviously put them to injury.

So walk first, in this case, you will lose weight and also build your legs strong enough (slowly) to be able to handle the pressure.

Try doing some 45 squats and tomorrow morning you will know how strong those legs are in real terms

[AbhishekB86]

Originally Posted by Googleman

Sir, 101 year Fauja Singh did not start running from the age 101.

Why would we discourage someone?

Running, specially when you are over-weight is very risky for your knees.

In order to run, we first need to make sure our legs are strong enough to handle the weight. If you are already overweight, you legs take more pressure. Dumping 80KG every second for over 100 times on those legs will very obviously put them to injury.

So walk first, in this case, you will lose weight and also build your legs strong enough (slowly) to be able to handle the pressure.

Try doing some 45 squats and tomorrow morning you will know how strong those legs are in real terms

Valid point sirji but our friend has already been walking for a while now. He doesn't need to do 5k in a day. Maybe 60 seconds of running alternate with every 5 minutes of walking.

Absolutely true about legs, fortunately, with calf muscles slowly developing if he goes slow, he will be able to do some.

Yes squats are an important indication of strength and an alternate first to do before he gets to the process of running but it can work the other way too like it did for me. Very slow can sometimes win, like the turtle

[prajwalkashyap]

Why doesn't anything think yoga is good enough? Sustained yoga exercises, even half hour a day will get u fit and supple in a matter of just a few months. And it refreshes you too.

Invest in a good yoga teacher. He will fix u internally and externally in a matter of a few months. I was a 39" waist and I am down to 36" in 2 months. My sugar level was >400 and now its down to 210. And all this with being very irregular. I could have achieved this in a month had I been more regular.

PM me if you need info on this.

Prajwal

[AbhishekB86]

Originally Posted by prajwalkashyap

Why doesn't anything think yoga is good enough? Sustained yoga exercises, even half hour a day will get u fit and supple in a matter of just a few months. And it refreshes you too.

Invest in a good yoga teacher. He will fix u internally and externally in a matter of a few months. I was a 39" waist and I am down to 36" in 2 months. My sugar level was >400 and now its down to 210. And all this with being very irregular. I could have achieved this in a month had I been more regular.

PM me if you need info on this.

Prajwal

Saar noone can deny the advantages of Yoga. I've done a one week course at a yoga institute where my food was satvik and yoga was scheduled twice a day. This was post my weight loss and wanted to get away from the stressful 12 hour job. I've never in my life felt better physically and mentally.

However, some folks suggest only power yoga aids weight loss. Is that true?

[prajwalkashyap]

Originally Posted by AbhishekB86

Saar noone can deny the advantages of Yoga. I've done a one week course at a yoga institute where my food was satvik and yoga was scheduled twice a day. This was post my weight loss and wanted to get away from the stressful 12 hour job. I've never in my life felt better physically and mentally.

However, some folks suggest only power yoga aids weight loss. Is that true?

Untrue. Power yoga is advanced form and it takes a lot of practice to attain even the basic level of fitness and flexibility to start with it. There are breathing techniques that need to be perfected before synchronizing with the asanas. Google for Ashtanga Yoga.

Just simple and basic asanas will get you sweating in no time and still be very refreshing. Of course, there are asanas that will tire you a lot, but the purpose of those is just that. Without them too will get you fit in a surprisingly short amount of time.

I used to sweat with just the breathing exercises. 50 outbreath strokes (kapalbhathi) in a minute's time and I had to pause for a few seconds from exhaustion. In 2 months, I can now do 600 strokes continuously. I still sweat though, but I don't tire as much. My goal is to touch 1500 strokes. That will get my diaphram strong and improve breathing stamina. Once breathing improves, sweating also improves and that burns a LOT of calories. This is just 10 mins in a day. Due to my irregularity, I do this just 3-4 days a week (I always miss a day every week due to something or the other).

Then there is Bastrika. While Kapalbhathi is forced outbreath (inbreath is automatic), Bastrika is forced inbreath (outbreath is automatic). This I do for about 5-7 mins.

You could google for these 2 exercises.

I am told, and now I believe so, that even if you do nothing else, just these 2 exercises for 20 mins in total daily will burn calories equivalent to walking for 2 kms. Do 10 counts of Suryanamaskara and you would have burnt about 14 kcal in EACH count. Each count of Suryanamaskara takes about 45 seconds. So that's about 10 mins or so.

In an hour, you've burnt an unbelievable number of calories while still feeling very refreshed and hardly tired.

Phew! That was a lot of reading. But I hope it might be useful for someone who might be interested in yoga, or some form of well-researched "shortcut" slimming methods!

Prajwal