i come in search of advice all knowing ones!

Seraphina

anywho, im already feeling out of my depth looking at these posts! im looking for some simple toning up/losing weight advice and you people are on about crazy diets and marathon running

ok, basically, im trying to lose weight
well not really, i couldn't give a crap about the weight aspect(im just saying that coz last time i was at the gym i realised id gained 4lbs!!) im looking to tone up and lose the fat
here's the dealy. im going to the gym, and im building muscle and what not, but the fats not going anywhere, im just kinda getting bulkier if you know what i mean. the fat is those niggling bits on my hips and my inner thighs(im a girl in case you didn't get that from the nickname!) and nothing im doing will get rid of it.
my diet is atrocious, i live on bread and pasta and stuff like that, way too many carbohydrates, but i need some advice on what i can replace it with, instead of everyone just telling me to cut down.
ummm... after re-reading this, i sound like a fool, but i need the advice so im posting anyway:)

helpful hints, just general advice is what im looking for.
thanks all!

logic1

Originally posted by Seraphina
my diet is atrocious, i live on bread and pasta and stuff like that, way too many carbohydrates, but i need some advice on what i can replace it with, instead of everyone just telling me to cut down.

Seems like this could be a big part of the problem. Try to replace one food product each month. For instance try to eat wholemeal bread instead of white bread. Make that the only change you make this month. After a few weeks you won't even want white bread anymore. Next month try replacing white pasta with wholegrain pasta. If you replace everything at once you won't stick with the changes and end up back where you started. Small steps

Drink plenty water too.

.logic.

Samson

You should consider doing spinning classes.
Most gyms do these now.
It's one of the best ways of losing fat/toning up.

Another thing you could try is doing longish (40 mins+ without let up) sessions on some cardio equipment like an excercise bike or a cross trainer.
The reason you need to do this amount of time:
Apparently, when you are excercising, for the first 20 minutes you are only using up carbohydrates for energy, not fat reserves, once you go over 20 minutes you then start using your stored energy reserves (ie. fat).

Seraphina

wow logic you're being helpful instead of abusive for a change!
thanks

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar

jaysus, ye looked fine when I saw ya you have no need to be losing weight, silly girl

Seraphina

quiet you! its my body and i'll do what i please!

Jak

Spot weight loss is something of a myth.

You don't target areas to lose weight from unfortunately.

It all depends on the level of your training. Obviously you are just looking to lean/tone up and nothing more - how much time do you have to put into this though? 3 mixed ardio a week might be the ideal for you. Just be patient - the changes are gradual, moreso when you are in relative good health.

The diet stuff is really pretty easy - it is mostly just a case of getting in the habit of making simple clean meals and buying better food options.

Buy chicken, various grillable fish - look for lean food that can be cooked cleanly. Buy more fruit have it lying about the place. It is just a matter of habit forming and giving yourself the opportunity to eat the right things by having them about.

JAK

logic1

Originally posted by Samson

The reason you need to do this amount of time:
Apparently, when you are excercising, for the first 20 minutes you are only using up carbohydrates for energy, not fat reserves, once you go over 20 minutes you then start using your stored energy reserves (ie. fat).

This is a falsehood. Fat does indeed make it's greatest contribution as an energy source during low/moderate exercise but the myth that you need to burn up carbs before burning fat is rubbish.

The fact is regular exercise is benficial for weight loss because it creates a calorific deficit. The type of fuel being burned during this calorific deficit is *not* important.

There is absolutely no conclusive proof to show that exercise which uses carbs as it's main energy source is more or less beneficial than exercise that uses fat.

The proof behind my statement comes from a study done by Gaesser and Rich. One group exercised for 50 minutes at about 45% of VO2Max and the other group for 25 minutes at about 85% of VO2Max.

The total energy expenditure was 300-350 calories per session, and most importantly, it was nearly identical for both groups. The low intensity group burned more fat during each of the training sessions, but after 18 weeks of training both groups had lost equivalent amounts of body fat (about 3 pounds) and both had reduced their percent body fat by the same amount.

The important thing we have to look at here is what happens after exercise not during. If we use up carb stores during exercise then there will be more fat burned after exercise.

Bahr and Sejersted did another study with much the same results.

The fact of the matter is to burn fat you have to create a calorific deficit during exercise. To lose one pound of fat you need to burn 3,500 calories. Whether these come from Carbs or Fat is unimportant

At a medium intensity 25 to 30 mins aerobic exercise is fine for fat loss. Obviously an even lower intensity requires a longer time to burn the same amount of calories.

refs:

Gaesser GA, Rich RG. Effects of high- and low-intensity exercise training on aerobic capacity and blood lipids. Med. Sci. Sports Exerc. 1984; 16:269-274.

Bahr R, Sejersted OM. Effect of intensity of exercise on excess postexercise post VO2 consumption. Metabolism. 1991; 40:836-841.

.logic.

Samson

Originally posted by Samson
Apparently...