Toning, weights & abs!

stripysocks85

I'm 5'3, female, 24 & weight 12st 9lbs. Far too much I know, and I'm working on that part, but wondering what sort of exercises I can do in my own living room to improve my body strength and fitness?

I bought this https://www.totalcore.com/ but am skeptical as to how well it can tone me up if there is still a lot of weight to lose in that area? Can/does it work? I've not used it properly yet as I'm unsure as to how beneficial it is, and wondering if there are other things I can do that would be better?

Should I get some dumbells? What weight? What exercises?

I've lost 2 stone already, but my waist/tummy/hips area are EXTREMELY slow to lose any inches, so what can I do to kickstart this?

Thanks for all the help. Figured this was the best place to get answers

EileenG

Well done on losing two stone.

Okay, you can't spot reduce. You can do crunches and sit-ups until you are blue in the face, it won't shift belly fat. All you can do about that is burn more calories than you eat.

As a gadget, Totalcore is not the one I would buy. I always laugh when I see the ad for it, and you have all those boxers, who get punched in the head for a living, complaining that regular crunches are too dangerous. But if you have it, and use it, it's a lot better than nothing. If you want to get a better core workout toy, I'd recommend a swiss ball. Cheaper and far more versatile, you can use it for crunches, pikes, side crunches, plank, hyper-extention, press-ups, lots of stuff.

Yes, dumbbells or free weights would be a good idea. Get heavy ones. You can alway use bottles of water when you need a light weight.

The best exercises are things like squat, deadlift, stiffleg deadlift, bench press, shoulder press, dips, pull-ups, bentover row, lunges, step-ups, wood chopper.

If you have a lot of fat around your waist, it's often a good idea to cut back on white and refined carbs. People with belly fat tend to lose quickly on a low carb diet. People with hip and thigh fat will lose on any diet, but more slowly.

stripysocks85

Thanks for that. For the most part, I have cut back on white carbs - as in I would usually eat 2 slices of toast for breakfast but now I eat porridge. If I'm having rice, I have wholegrain rice. If I'm eating pita breads/wraps, I go for the wholemeal/wholewheat versions - is this enough?

However sometimes I do have potatoes, and I know the chips aren't good but aren't usually planned so must cut them out - never mind pulling it back! What exactly are refind carbs?

Also, a quick question regarding the food pyramid - I was always under the impression that whats on the bottom of the pyramid is what you need most of [I realise the layout of the pyramid has now changed] so why do people recommend eating low carb amounts when according to the pyramid you need the most of?

Final question: Is boiling and steaming vegetables the same nutritionally? Does one method give you more nutrition than an another or are there any advantages/disadvantages?

Also, are there any particularly good fitness DVD's I could get, as sometimes its hard to get motivated to go the gym whereas if I had a good DVD I'd have no excuse whatsoever!

Thanks

EileenG

Don't know about DVDs, but there are some very good clips on YouTube.

The food pyramid is reasonable if you are young and healthy and extremely active. All those carbs are great for fueling long workout sessions and supplying the calories for manual labour.

However, if you are older, or female, or trying to lose weight, you'll find that it stops being so useful. Someone who is cutting back on calories needs a higher proportion of protein and fat in her diet, and less non-green carbs, so the food pyramid stops being the right shape. You can't just cut back on everything, you need to cut back on the stuff which provides the non-nutritive calories.

As for brown rice, wholegrain pasta and wholewheat bread, yes, they are better than white, but not as much as you'd think. They still provide a lot of calories for not that much quality nutrition.

The biggest difference between boiling and steaming is that if you boil, some vitamins may leach out into the water. If you use it to make your sauce or gravy, no problem. Chop and stirfry your veg if you fancy another cooking method. Some vegetables are better with some fat.

alibaba12

stripysocks85 wrote: »

Thanks for that. For the most part, I have cut back on white carbs - as in I would usually eat 2 slices of toast for breakfast but now I eat porridge. If I'm having rice, I have wholegrain rice. If I'm eating pita breads/wraps, I go for the wholemeal/wholewheat versions - is this enough?

However sometimes I do have potatoes, and I know the chips aren't good but aren't usually planned so must cut them out - never mind pulling it back! What exactly are refind carbs?

Also, a quick question regarding the food pyramid - I was always under the impression that whats on the bottom of the pyramid is what you need most of [I realise the layout of the pyramid has now changed] so why do people recommend eating low carb amounts when according to the pyramid you need the most of?

Final question: Is boiling and steaming vegetables the same nutritionally? Does one method give you more nutrition than an another or are there any advantages/disadvantages?

Also, are there any particularly good fitness DVD's I could get, as sometimes its hard to get motivated to go the gym whereas if I had a good DVD I'd have no excuse whatsoever!

Thanks

Hi, I have tried a few fitness dvds & the one I find best is Hannah watermans dvd its tough but you feel the bene fit after, I also have the Wii personal trainer which is good for the easier workout days. I dunno is you have sky but they have two fitness channels that are gud ive recorded some programmes & used them.

your veggies are better steamed or raw. I agree with EileenG above brown rice etc, pasta is loaded with cals. For me I cant take wheat and have found out recently that anything with wheat makes your insulin levels spike which causes your body to store the carbs from wheat products as fat regardless if they are brown or white products.