Core Fitness Program??

lanod2407

I'm stuck on 14.5 stone and cannot shift a pound. Started walking and running for the past 3 months, and though I'm now up to running over 2.5 miles (stall the digger - it's a big deal for me!!!) I still haven't lost a pound.

A mate told me that I'm not working on my "core fitness" and may need to develop a plan to improve in this area ............ can anyone tell me what I need to do here? - I'm relatively clueless!!!!

Thanks.

celestial

lanod2407 wrote: »

I'm stuck on 14.5 stone and cannot shift a pound. Started walking and running for the past 3 months, and though I'm now up to running over 2.5 miles (stall the digger - it's a big deal for me!!!) I still haven't lost a pound.

A mate told me that I'm not working on my "core fitness" and may need to develop a plan to improve in this area ............ can anyone tell me what I need to do here? - I'm relatively clueless!!!!

Thanks.

I suspect your mate may not have a clue!

What is your diet like? List a full day here and we can provide you with feedback.

EileenG

"Core" means belly and back muscles. While useful, core training on its own won't burn significant calories.

More important, are you squatting, benching and deadlifting? They'll develop your core as well as masses of big muscles.

Reyman

As Celestial says you need to list exactly what you eat and drink each day to give people a chance to comment.
Also let us know how much exercise you're taking and at what intensity

flaka

It’s pretty simple - consume less calories than you expend = lose weight.
Weight includes fat and muscle.

To avoid losing muscle you have to use them. Your body will try to keep your muscles mass because you've demonstrated that you need it. In general you should not be trying to get bigger/stronger while being calorie deficient. You should at least try to preserve what you have.

Core training will make your abs and back bigger, and if you have fat on top of the muscles make you look fatter as you've move volume.

Make a food diary for the week (15 mins per day)
Work out what you’ve consumed as average calorific intake
For average male you need ~ 2000 calories per day.

If ya don't do this you can't know what to change and wont reach your goal.

lanod2407

Daily food intake ....... crikey, ok, but not too much "constructive criticism"!!!???

Breakfast - porridge made with milk and water, honey to sweeten (it's gonna be downhill from here I'm afraid!).

Mid-morning - Tea (milk & 1 sugar) & Kellogg's oat & honey bar

Lunch - Brown bread sandwich, chicken, lettuce, mayo, butter; with Tea

Afternoon - Tea with chocolate bar.

Dinner - travel quite a bit, so it's typically a hotel dinner, red meat at least 4 nights a week. Potatoes & vegetables.

Supper - around 10.30 or 11pm - Tea and 3 or 4 biscuits

Fruit - typically 3 or 4 of banana, apple, small orange or pear between 9 am and 5 pm.

Exercise - 2 or 3 times a week. Sometimes a 4 mile walk in about an hour. Been trying to build up a slog jog to get to a 2.5 mile run - that would take circa 22 mins.
If I end up in a gym I'd go on a bike for 30 or 40 minutes covering around 6 to 8 miles.

That's it - my soul bared, so to speak!

EileenG

You've got to clean up your diet, and start lifting weights. If you are in hotels a lot, you'll have access to their gyms, and all you really need is a barbell and some dumbells. The other stuff is just for show.

Get a trainer to show you how to squat, lunge, deadlift, brench press, dips, pull-ups, shoulder press, barbell row, stiffleg deadlift, and other compound lifts. Those will build muscle and burn calories as well.

Diet: porridge is ok, though I'd rather see eggs. Cut back on the honey, nutritionally it's almost the same as sugar (simple carbs). Experiement with nuts and seeds as topping instead.

Snack: those bars are just carefully marketed sweets. A piece of fruit, some raw nuts, some cheese or cottage cheese would be much better.

Lunch. Try eating the chicken etc on top of a HUGE big green salad.

Snack: if you must eat chocolate, go for the really dark stuff. 85% or higher.

Dinner: red meat is fine, vegetables are fine. A few boiled potatoes are fine (not chips). Ask for sauces on the side (women do this all the time, no-one will blink) and get lots of extra vegetables.

Fruit is good, much better than buiscuits, but try not to overdo it. Eat it mostly around your workout time. Eat extra veg (celery and cucumber and radishes are handy snacks) if you have the munchies.

flaka

I'd mirror what EileenG says.

You are eating fairly frequently which is good - you want to eat 5-6 times per day to keep your metabolism from becoming inactive.
The key to good diet it being organised. It means planning your meals in advance an preparing them.
Convenience food = disorganised person. People who don't have a contingency plan grab something from chipper or put something that came in a box in the micro.

In your case the meals the look like they are not helping out are:

Mid-morning - Tea (milk & 1 sugar) & Kellogg's oat & honey bar
Replace with your fruit, a low fat yogurt and nuts like almonds. Buy a bag of them and carry these with you.
Those oat bars are not helping you

Afternoon - Tea with chocolate bar.
Depends on when you are working out you could put in some supplement here, like a pre-workout drink.
If your dinner is a large meal you could eat it in two halves or save some for another day. Most likely this will be a re-heat of yesterday's dinner.

Supper - around 10.30 or 11pm - Tea and 3 or 4 biscuits
Try cottage cheese on low fat crackers. I tend to eat 2 yoke : 3 whites omelette for the protein. Easy to make and quick to eat.
You want to have shifted away from carbs in the evening and towards more protein at the end of the day when it’s needed for muscle rebuilding.

Someone could consume 2000 calories in 3 meals. We want to be consuming it over 5-6 meals.
You will find that you are never stuffed and also never really hungry.
It takes more organising - and that’s why most people never succeed, they can't get organised - and think its too much hassle etc.

You'll also find you start thinking of food because it’s been a regular interval of time since the last meal and not because you are hungry.
You will also start to notice that you stop feeling like eating large meals - you'll start eating more normal portions than big dinners.

I've traveled a lot for business and stayed in hotels - you're doing really well in my opinion to keep on top of things as well as you are. I usually write off the week and end up missing meals all over the place when I travel. Its a big set back for me - so fair play to you.

Take all of this as ideas and information - figure it out for your self.
The only thing that is true is what you are currently doing give the results you are currently getting.
Change what you are doing and find what gives you the results you want.

celestial

flaka wrote: »

I'd mirror what EileenG says.

You are eating fairly frequently which is good - you want to eat 5-6 times per day to keep your metabolism from becoming inactive.
The key to good diet it being organised. It means planning your meals in advance an preparing them.
Convenience food = disorganised person. People who don't have a contingency plan grab something from chipper or put something that came in a box in the micro.

In your case the meals the look like they are not helping out are:

Mid-morning - Tea (milk & 1 sugar) & Kellogg's oat & honey bar
Replace with your fruit, a low fat yogurt and nuts like almonds. Buy a bag of them and carry these with you.
Those oat bars are not helping you

Afternoon - Tea with chocolate bar.
Depends on when you are working out you could put in some supplement here, like a pre-workout drink.
If your dinner is a large meal you could eat it in two halves or save some for another day. Most likely this will be a re-heat of yesterday's dinner.

Supper - around 10.30 or 11pm - Tea and 3 or 4 biscuits
Try cottage cheese on low fat crackers. I tend to eat 2 yoke : 3 whites omelette for the protein. Easy to make and quick to eat.
You want to have shifted away from carbs in the evening and towards more protein at the end of the day when it’s needed for muscle rebuilding.

Someone could consume 2000 calories in 3 meals. We want to be consuming it over 5-6 meals.
You will find that you are never stuffed and also never really hungry.
It takes more organising - and that’s why most people never succeed, they can't get organised - and think its too much hassle etc.

You'll also find you start thinking of food because it’s been a regular interval of time since the last meal and not because you are hungry.
You will also start to notice that you stop feeling like eating large meals - you'll start eating more normal portions than big dinners.

I've traveled a lot for business and stayed in hotels - you're doing really well in my opinion to keep on top of things as well as you are. I usually write off the week and end up missing meals all over the place when I travel. Its a big set back for me - so fair play to you.

Take all of this as ideas and information - figure it out for your self.
The only thing that is true is what you are currently doing give the results you are currently getting.
Change what you are doing and find what gives you the results you want.

Brilliant advice there, and from EileenG - you've got all you need right there

wayne1

anybody know where i can buy kettelbells ?

EileenG

Argos has them.

lanod2407

Folks,

Many thanks - great insight - and really appreciate the time you've spent providing feedback. Feels like a one-to-one session!

BTW - what are kettlebells used specifically for??

EileenG

Weights for lifting. You tend to use them in slightly different types of lifts. Have a look on YouTube for some examples.