A Quick Question: Exercise And Diet

[Jackass]

Ok, so im sure for the 1 millionth time something like this is coming up, but search disabled is my excuse.
I've waged war on my developing beer belly, for the fifth or so time, but this time im determined to win!

I'm taking Vitamen supplements, which i notice i have a lot more energy, eating 3 healty meals a day, Special K in the morning with Coffee, Sandwhich and Soft drink/Tea at lunch, and a regular dinner e.g. 1 main meat (steak, chop etc.) with decent Veg portion +cup of tea. (with as little snackage as possible ) and am exercising for 30 minutes a day in a light jog, and then 6 x 12 sit-ups, and 3 x 12 pushups.

So a couple of quick questions:
1/ I always try to have my dinner before the Gym, but sometimes I have it after. Should I always have it before for maximum weight loss results quicker?
2/ I drink lots of tea, and often have one with low fat milk to ward off the urge of a biscuit (I recently gave up smoking which plays havock with food cravings). Should i cut it out and stick to water or something?
3/ What's my routene like? Any suggestions? Add/Remove things.
4/Also, what kind of time scale would you imagine it would take on that routine to see significant results? (Im 6'0 ...13st.)

g'em

well first off good man yourself for decided to wage war on the beer gut.

you're diet changes are a good start, but i think a lot of people in this country are still under the impression that three solid meals is best, when in fact snacking is not something to be afraid of, its something you should make an effort to do!! you just have to snack healthily and wisely. snacking keeps your metabolism ticking over nicely and therefore actually encourages burning up more cals. So mid-morning try a piece of fruit and a yoghurt (natural ideally but keep it a low-sugar one) and mid afternoon some more fruit or small handful of nuts (about 15-20 cashews is the right portion size). This will help keep you energised ans stave off carvings till dinner. keep fruit at your desk or veggie sticks to pick at.

Afaik the best time to excercise is at least 2 hours after eating, any sooner than that and your body won't be able to digest it properly when you start to work out. so its probably better for you to eat after your excercise, but not too soon before bed (try and leave about 2 hours between eating and bed, again coz it;'ll slow down digestion). And if you're going to a gym, why not ask one of the instructors to show you the ropes with the weights. if you want to make any really significant cahnges to your physique, weights are the way to go. you won't bulk up unless you really try, and there are a million good reasons to weight train (better posture/ digestion/ balance/ healthier heart/ less risk of injury/ great sense of wellbeing/ strength list goes on...)

Have you ever considered trying green tea instead of normal? takes a while to get used to, tastes a bit different and you miss the milky warmth mmmmm..., but theres lots of different variety, very little caffeine, boosts your metabolism (so you burn more cals- never a bad thing ) and aids digestion. Maybe at first just substitute one cup a day and see how you get on, but personally i highly recommend it. I'd be more concerned about the softdrink at lunch, they're LOADED with additives and preservatives, even the diet ones, why not get juice instead? or a smoothie? it'll contribute toward your daily fruit/veg requirement.

when you start any new healthy plan you usually see a good bit of weight come off quite quicky in the first week or so, but this is just water weight. You should aim to lose no more than 1-2lb a week, and this will slow down the nearer you are to a healthy weight. if it comes off fast, it'll go back on even quicker.

Good luck!!

jman0

Correct me if i am wrong but isn't "Special K" just another sugery Kellogs cereal that uses fit slim women as a marketing ploy?

joc_06

im not a fat loss guru but i know what a fit person should do to get bigger faster stronger.

1 - eat a high carb meal 2-3 hrs before gym, get lots of protein + carbs in 20 mins after workout
2 - no tea it has caffeine which does nothing for you apart from make you dependant on it. fat free milk is crap. no muscle building power whatsoever. i drink a gallon of full fat milk a day and im 10% BF
3 - Yuo didnt post a routine
4 - You are underweight imo. If you eat loads and lift heavy and snesibly you'll bulk up in about 8 weeks.

3 square meals a day is the WORST possible way to eat. 6-7 smaller ones is way better, dont mix carbs and fats, start doing 400m sprints. an excellent fat burner.

[Jackass]

Just had my dinner 10 minutes ago, and i'll be workin out in 10 minutes...Is that really bad for the workout?

Joc, you may think im underweight, but i have a 38" waist that begs to differ

My routine is pretty much the eating & exercise I posted above...I know it's not exactly Paula Radcliff terretory, but it's a bout as much as I can fit in. 400m sprints aren't really an option in a 45 - 1hr gym session is the max. I could fit in.

But if you really wanted to help me out loads, maybe you could post a daily eating routine, and a 1hr work out session for maximum weight loss? That would be great!

G'em, thanks for the advice and encouragement I appreciate it.

g'em

no worries at all, we all gotta start somewhere.

And no, you're not underweight, you're at the upper level of normal for you body mass index, but 38 inches is quite rotund so shedding an inch won't do any harm at all. The more weight you carry around the belly the more at risk for various coronary diseases you are.

Stick to a cardio program that you're comfortable with, if that's 45 min on a treadmill or cross trainer so be it, just use the interval programs. 400m is all well and good if you're at that level. for weights, get an instructor at teh gym to help you with teh basics- bad lifting will cause all sorts of problems. once you know how the posture/ correct lifting technique etc then we can help with teh extras.

and do try to leave at least an hour between eating and working out, any less and its asking for acid heartburn, indigestion and all sorts of nastiness.

Above all, make sure you enjoy it, if you don't you'll give up and the beer belly will reign

PJG

yeah I'd agree with whats said about.

if you spread your calories over 6 small meals as opposed to 3 meals the body will burn it a lot more effectively.
i'd also go with the green tea, takes a few cups to get used to but now I can't get enough of. It has quite a few health benefits and it helps the body burn calories.

Have fun..

cheers

Fmicrochip

Caffeine will help you with your training(esp. sprints and strength training).
It will boost your endurance.

joc_06

Fmicrochip wrote:

Caffeine will help you with your training(esp. sprints and strength training).
It will boost your endurance.

No it wont. Studies have proven this. All it does is make you dependant on it and then subsequent performance without out it is less
Stay away from it