Losing weight with exercise - what is the best to do??

[andyrobo237]

I am diabetic and need to lose half a stone before an appointment in Mid april (after Easter!!!)

I have set myself a goal of losing 7lbs by then. Would be ok, but I generally can lose half a pound a week - so that wont do! What can I do to boost my weight loss? I try to follow the Slimming World plan, to limited sucess!

I am a gym member and go twice a week and to a 35 - 40 min cardio workout - I do different things each time, no set routine - so that it is varied.

I use the stairs at work, and go out twice a week for a 20 min walk. I also use the Wiifit twice a week.

I am very good at maintaining my weight, but it needs to go down, now!!

What can I do differently - any ideas, please!!

Weight loss is 80% diet, what are you eating and when ?

( Correct

Over a longrun exercise would help, but in a short period of time, it's going to be more down to what you eat and when

Sorrento - is it really that high - I would have thought it was 50 / 50?

Well, a typical day eating would be:

B - Diet Yoghurt and milk with fresh fruit - as a smoothie

L - 2 slices brown bread, chicken, loads of salad and dessert spoon of diet coleslaw

Snack - 1 Rich Tea Biscuit at play group

D - stir fry pork strips with mushrooms, sweetcorn and spoon of half fat creme fraiche, stir fry veg (out of pack from Tesco), 2 beetroot, and 1 large potato made into 'chips' using Frylight

Evening snack - diet yoghurt

That is a typical day for me, I try not to snack between meals, and have big plate fulls of food - but include loads of veg and salad to bulk up the meals.

Where am I going wrong, or am I just eating too much??

35 minutes is too short for a cardio workout. You should do a minimum of 45 minutes of it, ideally over an hour.

Which heart rate do you aim for during cardio workout? Depending on your age and resting heart rate, it should be about 120-135 bpm. If you are working out at 160 bpm or so, you are not burning fat, you are burning sugar.

At any meal, avoid eating proteins and carbohydrates together. That is, if you are eating pasta, eat it with tomato sauce, not bolognese, and don't put cheese on it. Similarly, no cheese & bread combo, etc. No corn, carrots, potatoes. No fruits/desserts/tea with sugar immediately after a meal. Eat sweet stuff at least an hour after meals.

Yes, well I would struggle to do an hour cardio workout - not with the effort, more with the time factor. I go to the gym at 8.30 at night! But I see what you mean - I do regulary check heart rate - tonight it was 128 to 130 bpm which is ok according to the machine for fat burning.

I do try to limit carbs as they have an adverse effect on my blood sugar levels, when I have been on a testing regime.

I dont know what the answer is, but something has to change!

heart rate

Have a look at this to work out your heart rate for training. Work out your resting heart rate over three mornings by taking your pulse in bed before you do any thing and use the average. Your maximum heart rate is not always 220- your age, it can be higher so be aware of that fact when trying to work out your heart rates using % for training.

Hi Andy,

To give you some comfort, you definitely do not need to be doing cardio for 45-60 mins at a time. I do 30-40 mins and have lost 11lbs in 5 weeks. Im not hugely overweight, only have about a stone to loose, but am combining regular exercise with the weightwatchers diet and having very good results so far.

Ive just started working with a personal trainer recently too and he has said a complete session of cardio, and resistance work can be done in 40mins and I know he has a lot of very satisfied clients, so don't be disheartened, the time you spend will show results, you just need to be consistent.

Good luck !

Whoa! Some real incorrect information going on here, but some points ones too!
OK;

WRONG;

• YOU DO NOT have to exercise CV for 60mins +

Exercise is all about intensity. If you exercise at a high intensity (a 7/10 or higher for you) it will be shorter, and more beneficial than a long 3/4 out of 10 intensity level. A complete fallacy about burning sugar and not fat. The fat burning zone is a complete waste of time. When you exercise "in it" a higher percentage of the total calories you burn may be of fat v's carbs, but you won't burn a huge a mount of kcals. Whereas exercising at a higher rate you will still burn fat, maybe not as high % but you will burn more kcals - and at the end of the day it's calories that make you add or gain weight. -Try not to have to many yoghurts, yes they are low in calories, but they are quite high in sugars. Opt more for oatcakes with tablespoon cottage cheese as a snack for example, or a small handful or nuts. They will keep you fuller for longer and will cause less of a blood sugar spike, and insulin release. -Try to consume a mid morning and midafternoon snack to keep metabolism high and blood sugar level, not biscuits!!

• You say you have big platefuls, again try to hvae smaller portions, but more regular during the day. It's hard to digest large infrequent meals.

-Not sure what the no eating sweet stuff with proteins is about! If you have an apple you SHOULD eat 3-4nuts with it as that will slow the sugar release of the apple down. Eting sugar foods by themseleves just gives a BIG insulin release which is a fat storing hormone.

CORRECT ;
2bayuminums trainer is right, you should be able to do a CV and resistance workout in 45mins. Keep it at high intensity, rst when you need to, but challenge yourself.
I have a (free) info sheet on my blog about interval training, which is what you want to incorporate. It's on the right hand side, just signup to receive it at [[www.markraynsfordpersonaltraining.blogspot.com] dont worry there is no sales or spam, you will just get the interval document free, and future health and fitness news from me, but can unsubscribe at any time.

Hope that helps.

Having read your posts with
"I try to follow the Slimming World plan, to limited sucess!
"

and
"typical day eating"

I would suggest a food diary to track exactly what you are eating, personally I think your portions sound much too big. I would also get rid of your breakfast of Diet Yoghurt and milk with fresh fruit and have something like shredded wheat with fresh fruit, it really is the truth that a good breakfast will set up up for the day.

MarkPT - thanks for your advice - I have often wondered about pushing yourself as far as you can to maximise the time spend exercising. I will try that this week, as well as look at your site.

2bayumimum - that is encouraging - you should be proud of yourself - I would love to acheive that loss!

LibrasJusticeLeagueofBiscuits - I agree with you, that maybe my portion sizes are too large. I was hoping that by bulking out my meals with loads of veg or salad, that it would fill me up and I would last without the need to snack.

I did not lose any weight this week, but did not gain, so hope that some minor changes this week will have the desired effect.

Thanks to you all!

No trouble!
Add protein to your meals, that will help keep you full for longer, is harder to store as fat, and actually burns calories to consume! cottage cheese, eggs, lean meats, fish etc. Try to consume with every meal.

yep exercise is about intensity - too many people dilly dally, waste their time in the gym. It's about getting out you comfort zone for short periods. That's how the body changes and reacts. If it can cope with something, why should it change?!