HI

I have to reach 72 kilos or say 160 pounds by December. I have started about a month ago . Diet and exercise.

At the end of a month I am feeling better than before. The body is well toned and I feel good exercising. I swim in the morning and walk in the evening.

After a lot of hiccups the evening walk has settled in. Though not too successfully. Sometimes half an hour , sometimes more.

Back problem has disappeared , the lower back muscles are now strong. :)

Diet is reasonably under control and am doing about 1500 to 1700 calories daily. Fat under control.

However, this week I show only 1 lb weight reduction. Wonder if I can reach my goal :( It is a little disheartening. I thought I would reduce at least three lbs or a kilo this week. :(

Well, hope to keep plugging away and hope for a kilo next week :)

Dec72kilos
20 july 2003

Hi dec72 (I really feel odd calling you that!?:D )

Okay, against my better judgement I'm going to mind your business here and give my .02! I say against my better judgement because I worry about how extreme you may get in your zeal to reach 160lbs by December but I also understand wanting the weight gone like right now!

As for the 1# loss, did you do the fasting thing you were talking about? If you did that would clearly explain why such a small loss. Fasting for a day or so for religious purposes is different than fasting for weightloss. Your body is going to hold on tight to every pound to prevent starvation, so if you fasted for a few days then went to the 1500-1700 cal/day plan, that may be the problem. But even without fasting, 1500 cal/day isn't much for a guy that 5'7" tall. You might want to try staying in the 1800 cal/day range especially if you're going to exercise morning and evening.

But~if you really want to increase your rate of loss, as long as you are feeding your body healthy foods, and I stress this point, feeding yourself healthy, you can increase your exercise time and intensity and that will speed up your loss.
Swimming is great exercise, but its not a major fat burner like running would be, and walking is fine too, but if you can increase your walk time to 1hr and do some intervals with it like speed walking, or hills or something, that will increase your fat burn.
Do you have access to weights? Building lean muscle through weight training will really increase your calorie burn and tone your body. If done with consistency, the average person can see results from weight training in 3-6 weeks.

But even if you aren't exactly 160lbs by December, you can be very close to that if you don't allow yourself to be swayed by "quick gimmicks" and ideas that are not safe and reasonable for healthy weight loss. There is no point in doing something to see a fast result if it's only going to result in a gain a few weeks later. Or slow your progress because you're doing something unhealthy like fasting which slows your metabolism.

So: eat well, increase your exercise (adding weights if you can) and I bet you'll increase your loss, at least for now, the closer you'll get to goal the slower the loss will get, but for now, 1-2lbs/week is possible if you're willing to work for it, but you have to eat, you can't fast.

Donna

p.s. You would not be the first person to see slow progress in the beginning of a weightloss plan. Some people have a quick loss the first week (usually water weight anyway) and some people actually have no loss for the first few weeks, so don't worry yet, just eat well balanced meals and exercise.
If you want some "motivation" with your exercise check out the thread titled "July exercise minutes" from the exercise forum, there's a bunch of us there and we strive for a certain amount of pledged exercise minutes, you're welcomed to join in, it's really motivating. They've already pushed me past my pledged minutes and I didn't even realize it til I was past them!:D

Thanks so much for this useful advice - I am going to hit the higher levels for food.

Exercising more is no problem. I am beginning to love it. Let me increase it a little.

What exactly is " starvation mode" ? How long does it last ? How long can it last - I do not intend to go onto this mode ,but am merely curious.

Running I can do ; does it affect the knees ? Weights I am not inclined to do - I heard that when you stop weights the body goes back to being obese..if that is untrue; what happens when one stops weights ? I do not think I would like weights in the long run - so if I begin , can I stop ?

I checked calorie burning charts - swimming burns enough calories ! The following are the figures for my weight of 212 lbs! The numbers at the end are calories per minute :

Running: 5.2 mph (11.5 min/mile) 15
Running: 6 mph (10 min/mile) 17
Running: 6.7 mph (9 min/mile) 19
Running: 7.5 mph (8 min/mile) 21
Running: 8.6 mph (7 min/mile) 25
Running: 10 mph (6 min/mile) 28

Swimming: laps, vigorous 17
Swimming: backstroke 14
Swimming: breaststroke 17
Swimming: butterfly 19
Swimming: crawl 19
Swimming: treading, vigorous 17

Walk: 3.5 mph (17 min/mi) 7
Walk: 4 mph (15 min/mi) 8
Walk: 4.5 mph (13 min/mi) 8
Walk/Jog: jog <10 min.


Running is stressful for the knees so I chose swimming. Should I also run ?

http://primusweb.com/fitnesspartner/jumpsite/calculat.htm

percent less calorie burning than running ( the max) .

I walk fast in the evenings - I mean it sweats me out ! Shoudl I swim in the morning and run in the evening ?

Thanks ! Appreciate your advice and suggestions :)

Wow, I stand corrected on the swimming not being a major fat burner! It burns a lot more than I gave it credit for! Somehow I got it stuck it my head from some book I read that it wasn't a "major" calorie burner? Obviously it is! :D

Starvation mode as I understand it is when your body goes into a "self preservation" mode and your metabolism slows itself down so that with your daily activities, exercise and non exercise, you're burning far fewer calories than normal. It does this in an effort to protect itself from whatever is happening to cause your body to either eat less (maybe you're stuck on a dessert island and food is scarce? it doesn't know you're purposely not eating!) or burn more calories through exercise than you're taking in. So your metabolism thinks it's doing the right thing in preserving your body fat so you don't perish before you can get to food again. So that's why eating too few calories backfires and the best way to keep your metabolism burning strong is to "fuel" it with good foods while you're exercising to burn off calories and fat. It's cool to watch your caloric intake, but slashing cals too low will only mean losing at a slower rate. but now some people don't want to exercise, so for them, eating 1200-1400 cal/day works because they don't want to do or can't do vigorous exercise, but for those of us who can exercise and like it, we need a bit more food to keep things running.

Running~personally it was too much for me! I waited until I got down to 180lbs before I tried it but still it was too much on my knees, but then I was also running on asphalt which they say is the harshest surface to run on. So for me it didn't work out, but you can try it, many love it! There is a site I think the address is www.coolrunning.com that is an entire site dedicated to the world of running! If that site is incorrect, there is also www.runnersworld.com that does the same thing. Everything from how to get started running to how to pick the right running shoe. But it wasn't for me, maybe in a few less pounds?:D

Weights~personally, I LOVE the results I've gotten cause having been fat my entire life it felt really good to feel muscle develop and flab disappear! And you don't have to work out and get huge like a bodybuilder, just tone what you've got. I've heard those same things about when you stop lifting weights, but from what I've read the misconception comes in like this:
when you're lifting weights you're building lean muscle which burns calories at a higher rate, but when you stop lifting and over a period of months the muscles aren't activated in that same way and building, it's not that they "turn to fat" it's that your body isn't burning fat at the same rate anymore because you've stopped building the lean muscle tissue, but you're still eating the same way, so what you're eating is being stored as fat, you're just not burning it like you use to.
And you might like it! I know before I could even see my first muscle (and lets keep it real, I was 350lbs when I started lifting so I was eons from seeing anything!), I could feel the strength gains and that was exciting for me since I'd never before felt strong. And of course over the weeks I began to notice some shifting happening and some definition happening in areas that had previously just been flab. So you really do see your body take on a whole new shape, and your clothes really fit you differently and many weeks when you don't lose much in numbers on the scale, you'll lose inches. Another thing that's sort of getting big with guys is power yoga. If you don't think you'd like weights, what about that? I understand you basically use your own body weight as resistance and the workout is very powerful. And there is a difference between the regular yoga and the power yoga, they say the power yoga is really a strenuous workout and great for all over muscle toning.

And walking is a great form of exercise, it burns calories and you say you walk fast so you're doing great with that. I guess if you want to jazz it up you could do hills, or speed walk intervals, or something, but increase slowly whatever you do, sounds like you're doing fine.:D

Donna

Can you tell me more about the weights that you did ? Maybe instead of walking I can do weights in the evening ....

I studied yoga long ago. Yoga does not reduce weight per se - but the discipline has beneficial side effects.

Thanks so much for your information and experience. I have started a new thread on swimming !

Hey dec,

The weight training I do is by video, but it is so effective that there are men who also use these particular weight training videos by Cathe Friedrich. She does gym style weight training that you can do at home with free weights. If you want to read up on them her site is www.cathe.com

I've never tried the power yoga myself, and the regular yoga I found okay for stretching, but I think I'm too hyper to appreciate the real benefits of yoga. I couldn't even slow my thinking down enough to really practice the breathing, so I use it mostly for stretching only.

i also have read that swimming is not a good exercise for weight loss...it does obviously use calories..but i think it was covert bailey a weight loss expert) who put it this way: have you ever seen a thin walrus or whale or seal?? here is an article about it:

http://www.thefactsaboutfitness.com/research/swimming.htm

im sure swimming is better than not exercising at all..and if you enjoy it you should do it..just wanted to let donna know that my research tells me the same thing..:rose:

Jus thougth I would add my 2 cents too. I did water aerobics for a while (would you believe as a college course for credit). I loved it for it's toning effects. I love to swim and, for me I call it the hippo syndrom. I'm large and clumbsy on land and light and graceful in the water :D . Anyway, I wish you luck in finding a progam that works best for you. I am on the same search to find a lifestyle that works for me adn my family.

I go by the number of calories burned. The chart shows that with swimming you burn enough calories. Yes, it has to be serious lap swimming.

Sooz - fat men and women run ! Plenty of thin fishes and water snakes around. I am not sure if that metaphor goes far.

As for hunger after swimming ; my appetite has actually decreased, the same as it happened when I was younger and did running for exercise and reduction of weight. There are many other points in that study that one can argue one way or the other .

If them calories burn as much as they show - I think it is great !That chart shows swimming to be almost second or third highest in number of calories burnt.

Any other calorie burning charts out there ? I would love to see more calorie burning rate charts...let us compare those.

I think swimming should be upgraded by everyone in their choice of exercise plans for its great overall benefits. Yes, the swimming has to be done seriously. Same as running and jogging.

There are many other points in that study that one can argue one way or the other

im not really interested in arguing, im just trying to reply accurately according to what i have researched..

im glad you enjoy swimming and it IS an excellent exercise..the point is that it is not as good as some others when the goal is FAT loss...there is a distinction between fat loss and weight loss..

for example, when one loses weight by fasting it is not only FAT they are losing, but muscle also..when one does weight lifting exercises, they may gain WEIGHT because muscle weighs more than fat...but muscle is much more metabolically active..a pound of muscle burns 50 calories and a pound of fat only burns 2-3 calories..so the goal is to increase muscles and lose fat...

there are many articles that make the point better than i apparently can..

http://www.drmirkin.com/archive/7208.html

http://www.healthcentral.com/FitorFat/FitorFatFullText.cfm?ID=33668&src=n31

http://www.healthyeatingclub.com/courses/12345phys-act/p5.php

i am not trying to discourage anyone from swimming..im just trying to add to the information that is out there...swimming is an excellent exercise..im glad you enjoy it and are working on it so conscientiously

swimming as in lap swimming at a good rate is a good form of exercise! finding something that you enjoy is what makes a person stick with it. i like to vary my workouts to ensure that i stick with exercising and dont get bored. i do a variety of walking, aerobics and pilates/yoga as well as weights. adding some variety to your workouts will only enhance the results.
hugs bell :)

Hey dec,

Another calorie chart I like is at www.caloriesperhour.com they have calorie burning numbers for just about everything. You input your height and weight and then the activity and amount of time spent on the activity and it caluculates it for you.

And sooz reminded me of where I too got that info about swimming, it was from a book by Covert Bailey.

But you know, whatever gets you moving dude, that's what's important! Today it may be swimming, but 25lbs from now it may be skating, or running, who knows? Exercise becomes addictive and soon you'll be looking for all kinds of ways to get in some crosstraining, so if swimming "floats your boat" then swim on!:D

Oh, and on the hunger thing. I do have times, not often, but there have been times when exercise would act as almost an appetite supressant and I'm just not really hungry after a workout for some reason? I use to just go with it or eat very lightly. So it probably has something to do with certain chemicals released in our body during exercise or something because I have heard this from other people as well.

Donna

I used the www.fitday.com

For swimming 60m in 1 min, say , 30 calories

For swimming 60 m in 3 mins it would 45 calories...

Interesting .

Can someone else also tinker around with this calculator and get a look at this.

Is there an ideal minimum of proteins to be taken everyday ? Is there like a ratio of proteins to carbs ?

I have cut out on my fat . My daily intake is also down to about 1500 to 1700 cals. I was now wondering at the composition of proteins, carbs and fat.

Thanks friends. :)

Hey dec,

The breakdown of pro/carbs/fat is really an individual thing and based on what you're trying to achieve.

For some that are really into building muscle, they may choose a higher ratio of protein as in 40/40/20

Then others, mostly runners that I know, are in to a higher carb intake for the energy it gives them for high intensity sports, so they may do something like 20/55/25, or even 20/60/20

I personally have learned to listen to my body and let it dictate what it wants. Weeks my weight lifting is heavier, my protein intake is naturally heavier, weeks when I'm doing more high rep endurance lifting and more cardio overall, my carb intake is naturally higher, but I usually average a ratio of about 20/50/30 most weeks, and sometimes 25/45/30 during weeks of really heavy weight work, but again that's just from letting my body dictate what I want to eat and how.

There are sites that will give you specific info as in the best ratios for fat burning, the best for muscle building, etc., I can't remember a one of them right this second, but if I do I'll be back and post it here for you.:D

Donna

Oh, and be careful not to cut your fat intake too low. I know you're a guy and may not care as much about dry skin, but cutting your fat intake too low can cause some messed up reactions like dry skin and hair, your hair can begin to fall out, your nails get brittle, and I'm sure there are internal organ dangers as well, so remember our bodies do need some fat, just try to make it from the "good" sources.:D

Donna

I think I am going to increase my diet a bit just to be safe..I mean 1500 to 1700 cal is the range and I think I was being picky trying to hit the 1500 cal mark.

I find my skin a little dry after about two weeks of regular dieting...

Cheers !