Help! How to get thinner!

paulineb_2

Lift weights, eat more protein and eat stuff like veg and sweet potatoes. A lot of veg.

Also, the more endurance based activity you do can negate results from the weights you lift.

Weights first, cardio after and sometimes its better to have a few hours break inbetween

Get a gym programme thats updated regularly. Theres cardio and theres cardio, do more HIIT stuff.

I do still eat bread and potatoes, I just eat them in moderation and I eat more sweet potatoes than ordinary

Watch your portion sizes and think about cutting out alcohol for a while. Drink plenty of water.

paulineb_2

Also, youve only been working out 3 weeks. Its very possible your weight has stayed the same but youve lost body fat.

Dont go by what the scales say, how your clothes fit is a better indicator, take measurements of your thighs, waist, upper arms and hips and take them again in 6 weeks time

NigeWick

hels234 wrote: »

I joined the gym about 3 weeks ago and go 3-4 times a week doing a mix of cardio and weights for 45mins a session. I'm using My fitness Pal and eating approx 1200-1500 cals a day.

You need to be having 1200 calories a day or less to hit your goal. Cardio exercise does not help with weight loss unless you can religiously stick within your calorie limit as it takes an awful lot of exercise to burn many calories.

Building muscle will help as it takes more energy to keep muscle up than to support fat. Therefore strength training is the way to go and not loads of cardio.

I gave up wheat, rye, barley and oats in all their forms as carbohydrates are basically sugar and not necessary. I lost over four stone in nine months or so by doing this. The benefit of cutting right down on carbs is that one eats a higher percentage of fat in food and the body starts to use fat for energy. When fat adapted hunger is reduced a lot and it is easier to stick to the calorie allowance. I can now miss meals for a whole day if I wanted to and not get "the shakes" like I used to if I was ten minutes late eating a main meal.

I hope you reach your goal.

hels234

Thanks for all your help and tips guys. When you talk about weights, am I better increasing the weight or the number of reps?

cte1111

90% of weight loss comes from changes to what you eat. Call it dieting / healthy eating, whatever you like, the best way to lose weight is eat fewer calories.

paulineb_2

You don't need to be having 1200 cals or less to hit a goal. You need to work out your bmr which is the amount of cals your body needs to stay alive without exercise, then apply a figure depending on how much exercise you do, if you were very active you'd multiply your bmr by 1.8.

Then you'd slowly set about reducing cals as you lose weight. If you want to build muscle you could eat more cals than you burn. It depends on the goal. Anyone can get thinner just by eating less, when you bring exercise into the equation it's wise to get some support on what your exercise goals are and some nutrition support.

1200 cals a day is too low for someone doing regular exercise.

paulineb_2

Get your gym instructor to plan a programme for you. Your programme will depend on what your goals are.

paulineb_2

I eat far more than 1200 cals a day. I strength train four times a week and do 3 hiit classes and one thump boxing class.

I've lost 14kgs in 8 months. It's wise to get a proper gym programme done that's reviewed every couple of months.

And get advice on what you should be eating before and after you train. It's important.

stir_crazy

heartbreak_star wrote: »

IMHO, SW and WW only work for as long as you follow them - they are built on a model that helps people fail so they'll keep coming back.

HBS x

Agreed - watch "The Men who Made us Thin" for some insight on the true success rates on these businesses (both from a customer POV and a business POV).

I think its better if you dont think about "dieting" but rather looking to make changes for long term health as well as losing weight. 1200 cals is too low to maintain for any length of time, its much better to eat healthier, non processed foods which are high in protein and low in carbs. Strength training is good to build lean muscle.

quidsy

Ignore the "advice" above about eating less than 1200 calories unless you are under 5ft tall or you want to be hungry all the time & any workouts you do eat into your muscle mass.

Just sayin'