Fat Loss / Weight Loss Questions and Answers
Q. From Amy: Could you tell me what you suggest: A lowfat diet or a low carbohydrate diet? I walk everyday up and down a hill that has quite an incline. I can tell a difference but I want more of a difference, quicker. I tend to "give up" unless I begin seeing better results. I am now on my sixth week of this. I have tried to watch food intake a little more closely and drink lots of water. I'm not huge but taking 20 pounds off would do me a world of good. I have always been a very tiny person until now, after my second child. Can you help me? I have no problem with exercise but it isn't doing enough. I need something more.
A. I do not recommend any kind of specific "fad" diet. I suggest you try to eliminate simple carbohydrates and hydrogenated fats and oils from your diet. Moderation of fats and carbohydrates are what you should strive for. If you want quicker results, try to run up and walk down the hills. If you want even greater results, start some strength training.
Q. From Zach: I'm a 22 year old male, 350 lbs, 6'1. I began my own weight loss program 3 months ago and have had success (about 20 lbs). Until about a week ago I was just lifting and doing cardio, but now I'm counting calories. I was wondering what the lowest possible safe level of calories to eat in a day is and how many calories my body will normally burn in a day.
A. Zach, congratulations on your progress. Did you decide to count calories because you stopped progressing, or because you wanted to see faster results? You do not want to drastically cut your calories because your body will go into starvation mode and you will cause muscle catabolism and the increased storage of fat. When the body is deprived of food, it will then begin to store more energy and catabolize your muscle tissue in order to conserve energy. I would recommend you slowly cut back on your calories in order to give your body a chance to adjust. There are too many variables involved in order to give you a straight number of the lowest safe level of calories you can consume.
Q. From Robert: I do about 1 hr. to 1.25 hr. of aerobic exercise daily, 5 days per week. Run 4-5 miles at 9 min./mile. 3,500 meters on ergometer over 15-20 minute period and 20 minutes on stairmaster at level 7 or 8. Daily calorie intake 1800 to 2000, age 52, weight 175, height 6'. I lost 30 pounds from 1/1/02 through 5/31/02. However, now all I can do is maintain my weight. I would like to drop about 5 more pounds but weight loss has hit a hard plateau. What can I do.
A. Cut back on the cardio, add some HIIT training and weight training. Try this for a few weeks and see what happens.
Q. From Mary: I just started going to the gym and im starting to eat healthier, is it true that although ive been very good about following my weight loss program i wont begin to shed the pounds until later. When should i begin to see results?
A. You should begin to see results fairly quickly. I would suggest you take some pictures of yourself every two months in a bathing suit under the same lighting conditions in order to check your progress.
Q. From Jacqueline: I am a nursing mother. I gained 70lbs when I was pregnant. Needless to say I went a bit overboard. I lost the first 50 with no problem. The last 20 has been a big challenge. I have revised my diet, eating smaller portions, and I am working out 5 days a week. I seemed to be slimming down. Friends even mentioned that I appear to have lost weight. However when I went to the doctors office yesterday his scale said I had gained 8lbs!!! What am I doing wrong? Is this really happening to me?
A. I am glad to hear you are breast feeding. First of all, you need to throw them weight scales out the window and measure your success with body fat testing, preferably hydrostatic body fat testing. Better yet, listen to your friends and use the mirror or take pictures ever 2 months to measure your progress. Now, for the discrepancy in your weight, every body weight scale will give you a different body weight, and some are off. If you were using a home or gym scale every time, and then tried on a different scale, then I would expect there to be some differences in the results. Don't worry, the reason for the change in body weight has to do with the different scales you used to weight yourself, not a gain in body weight. If you insist on using a scale, make sure you use the same one every time. In addition, would you care to share how you lost your weight and achieved these great results?
Q. From
Genelle: I am a 26 year old woman, 5'2",120 lbs, ans 15% body fat using
the electronic caliper method. I am trying to over come a plateu, and drop
another 2%. About 3 weeks ago I cut my calories from around 1400 to about 1250.
I consume 10% fat, and 45% for both protien and carbo. As I expected I have seen
a drop in my energy level. What I did not expect is the increase I've been
seeing on the scale, about 2.5 lbs. Also, my clothes seem a bit more tight,I
look thick, and my muscles have smoothed out slightly, mainly at my abs and
sholders. I've read your advice to others regarding HIIT training, but can't
locate the definition of that term. Is it something that I can utilize to help
maintain muscle mass while trying to drop just a little more body fat? My
current workout is as follows:
Cardio 30 minutes w/ a heart rate of 140-160 bpm 5 days/week
Lift 4 days/week for no more than 45minutes, doing high intensity super sets and
compound sets. Is there something I'm missing here?
A. I would suggest that you keep your calories at about 1400 and perform some HIIT Training. I am going to post my article on HIIT training tonight for you so that you and others will know what it encompasses. Perform the HIIT training 2 - 3 times a week.
Q. From Kimberley: I'm 23, 5'5 and about 170 pounds. I don't look awful, but I do want to get back down to a sensible weight for me (around 130-140). I'm currently doing the Slim-Fast thing, and altogether I'd guess I consume about 1300-1500 calories a day, with low-fat snacks and all (I'm trying to boost my metabolism). I walk 40 minutes (usually about 2.5 miles) 4 days a week, and do other light exercises (weight training, sit-ups, etc) 3-4 days a week. I drink 50-60 ozs. of water a day. I've been doing this for about a month now. My question is this: Why do I weigh exactly the same now as when I started this diet? I'm noticing a bit more muscle definition, and my face is thinner, but the needle on that scale has not moved in four weeks. Am I doing something wrong? Am I building muscle which is counteracting fat loss? Help!
A. Your current exercising doesn't sound very intense, so you are not going to expend to many calories on your current routine. Next, the scale only tells you your overall weight, not your body fat or muscle ratio. What is your body fat %? Has it gone down? Don't rely on the weight scale to measure your progress. Increase your strength training and perform some HIIT training. Building muscle will not counteract fat loss, but actually increase your fat loss when you are just sitting in front of the TV.
Q. From
Colleen: I am 40 y/o and need to lose another 50 lbs. I lost 45
last year on Weight Watchers & walked 4-5x a week. I lost it in 6 mos. I
went on a trip for my 40th & never got back on program. I gained 25 lbs
back. I made a commitment to myself and started WW again & joined
the gym (1st time in 20 yrs.) I am now on program 4wks and lost only 4lbs. I
believe it has a lot to do with the strength training (2x week and cardio 3x
week-1hr). The scale is not moving. Unfortunately, the scale is
critical for me. If I was 10 lbs overweight and was going o end up
fit and looking great - I wouldn't mind. But, no one at my gym is
going to tell me that being 50 lbs overweight,yet fit, will be a good thing.
I worry that to continue on this route will lead me to stopping my weight loss
efforts and the commitment I made to myself to go to the gym. Your
advice is appreciated.
A. I can sense your frustration. Strength training is not the problem at all, if anything you are not doing enough of it. You should perform less cardio and more HIIT training. You also need to make sure you are eating less calories in order to drop weight. The strength training will help you maintain your muscle mass while you lose the fat. You need to maintain your muscle mass in order to keep your metabolism elevated.
Q. From Haxhere??: i am fat. I trzed a lot of diets, but i am still fat. I love food and when i start eating i cant stop. Please help me. If you will my dreams will come true. Thank you.
A. Hello, it sounds like you already know what your problem areas are. You overeat and don't exercise. What I would suggest is that you start putting less on your plate and time yourself to make sure you take at least 20 minutes to finish your meal. Try to take a sip of your drink after every bite as well.
Q. From Sandy: I have a very lean upper body (particularly arms) however have large breasts and thighs (not huge but enough) for my size, are there any particular exercises/programs to reduce the size of ladies breasts (other than surgical procedures).
A. You can reduce the size of your breasts by losing fat. There aren't any exercises you can do to lose fat in the breasts because it is impossible to spot reduce fat.
Q. From Thomas: I am looking to lose weight around my stomach region. I am generally not too fat but my stomach is where I would most like to work on. I was wondering if you could point me in the right direction as to what excercises would be most useful to do this.
A. Thomas, I can point you to some exercises that will work the midsection, which will build up the muscle under the fat and have a tightening effect, but you cannot spot reduce the fat. You need to lose more fat overall in order to achieve your goals.
Q. From Vanessa: what would u do if u had a weight problem that u battle with all the time?And u can't lose it.U lose it then u gain it back what would u do??
A. Hello Vanessa, it sounds like you are frustrated with your past results. I would even take a guess that you have tried a lot of fad diets. If I had a weight problem I would do the following: What I would do first is assess my problem and change my lifestyle. I would become more active and begin to watch what I eat.
For my diet, I would then cut out most simple carbohydrates and hydrogenated fats. I would make sure I took at least 30 minutes to finish each meal in order to not overeat. I would eat five small meals a day instead of 3 big ones. I would pick one day out every week where I would go out and eat a little junk food. After a few months I would eat junk food only every 2 weeks. If I had a craving, I would eat only a little of what I was craving. This would probably be more than enough to take care of the diet side, and I would be able to do it for the rest of my life.
As for exercise, I would begin to exercise 4 times a week with a foundation type of training program. I would perform some interval training 4 times a week as well. I would think of some type of sport I would like to participate in that had to do with weight lifting in order to give my training some meaning and make it fun. I would then lose the fat and keep it off. This is now what you should do. Throw out the fad diets and make a lifestyle change.
Q. From Maria: Hello, I am trying to lose about 20-30 pounds. I work out every day by lifting and doing 30 minutes of cardio. I was told that muscle burns fat so in order to speed up the process, doing so would be a good idea. Should I be doing more cardio? Also, are there any supplements that would help me? Is there a good diet to follow? Any advice would be helpful. Thanks
A. Hello Maria, building more muscle will speed up your progress, but doing cardio can have an adverse effect on muscle mass, so drop the cardio and start performing some HIIT training. Also, if you are working out everyday, you may be over-training. It is not the quantity, but the quality of training that matters. Working out every day doesn't give your muscle or your neuromuscular system a chance to recover or adaptive reconstruction to occur.
As for supplements, I wouldn't recommend any of the weight loss supplements on the market. Don't rely on those supplements for your fat loss goals, unless you plan on taking them for the rest of your life.
A good diet would be one in which you didn't over eat and cut back on the simple carbohydrates and hydrogenated fats. This is a good start, and you'll notice you will eat less because you are paying attention to what you are eating. No magic, only a decrease in calories is what you should be after.
Q. From??: 1. How do i
lose weight by exercising not eating?
2. If I start exercising tomorrow from 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm will i lose weight?
How much would i lose I weigh 160.
A. LOL, I am not sure I understand your question. If you don't eat, you will lose a lot of weight and die. There is no way I can tell you how much weight you will lose, but if you are looking to lose some weight, read some of the past questions and answers.
Q. From Sabrine: Hi! I have lost about 25 pounds over the past few years (without much exercise) by simply becoming more aware of the emotional and "false hunger" triggers often connected to the patterns of overweight eaters. I have about 15 more pounds to lose and they feel stuck on me! I feel like I am gonna have to starve them off... though I know that is not the right thing to do. Is it my genetic make-up or is that a myth? Help!
A. I am sure there are some who are overweight due to emotional eating, but I think it has more to do with overeating by eating to fast and lack of exercise. You have become more aware of your eating and so you have been consuming less calories. Since there are three ways to lose weight, increasing calorie expenditure, decreasing calories, or both, it makes sense that you would lose weight, but 25 pounds over a few years is quite slowly. Now that you are aware of your over eating have that under control, you should start exercising more to increase your calorie expenditure. You should never "starve" the weight off. There is the set point theory that everyone has a set point of body weight when they eat normally and don't exercise, but it is only a theory. Of course your genetic make-up will determine your body weight, among everything else, but you can exercise and change this and reach your genetic limits.
Q. From Brianna: what can i do to make my stomach flat and get the two lines on the side? and another question, what can i do to make my butt bigger?
A. For your first question, please see past questions and answers, I have answered this question many times. As for your butt, perform some squats, straight leg deadlifts, deadlifts, good mornings, and hamstring curls. Build up the muscle in the area and you will increase its size.
Q. From Takisha: I read this... "muscle weight gain is an activity that works against fat loss in a lot of ways, especially diet, so trainers recommend that you burn away the fat first before starting any sort of muscle gaining regimen". I know this question was asked earlier, but I didn't see a direct answer to it. What do you think?
A. LOL, I am amazed by the mis-information being spread around out there. Is there any specific ways listed in this article that muscle acts against fat loss, or did the author simple state "a lot of ways". I can say muscle supports fat loss, but if I don't give you any explanation why, then it is simple a statement without support. Since it is a proven fact that muscle is the main fat burning tissue in the body, how can more fat burning tissue be detrimental to fat loss? In fact, less muscle means less fat burning tissue, so how on earth can that be a good thing? Can you please supply me a link of where you read this nonsense?
Q. From Trevon: Wuzz Up...I'm 5'10 and 285 pounds. I would like to know if it is better to shed the pounds first and then ad muscle. Or is that a myth. My goal is about 215 to 225 and have A fit and muscular body. I have currently in the past two and a half months went from 313lbs to 285 with walking,minor wieghtlifting and a balanced diet. Also my goal in my bench press I would like to Increase to 300lbs+. Thank you for your time.
A. Try to start eating less hydrogenated fats and simple carbohydrates and start exercising. You should be able to retain or increase your muscle mass while losing fat, but you need to watch your progress. A 300+ bench should be easily attainable with some serious lifting, but you need to train heavy. This will depend on how long you have been training. If you have 2 - 3 years of solid foundation training, then you can progress to heavier weight training. But if you are just starting, you will need to first build a solid foundation.
Q. From Casey: I am 21 years old, 5'9", and about 210 pounds. I know this isn't a bad situation I am in, but I would like to know how to lose weight safely and without killing myself with a lot of excercise. I would like to know what foods are good for me and what foods are bad for me.
A. Casey, I never recommend killing yourself with a lot of exercise. You should always start out slowly and work your way up. Even 20 minutes of strength training 4 times a week will make a huge difference in your results. It sounds like you have has some negative experiences with exercises. Did you fall for the more is better doctrine and over did it? Look in the archives at my article on building a workout so you can see how to get started correctly. You should exercise if you are looking for long term results.
As for food, moderation is the key, and avoidance of hydrogenated fats and simple carbohydrates are a good way to start.
Q. From Zorain: I wondered if you could clear something up for me. I was having a discussion with some colleagues at work regarding weightraining etc.
Can you tell me: If
you train regularly with weights and then stop, for whatever reason, does the
muscle that you've built up turn into fat?? I'm convinced that it
doesn't but everybody else thinks that it does.
I'd be really grateful if could you clear this up once and for all!
A. NO, fat cannot turn into muscle, and muscle cannot turn into fat. Muscle is made of protein and fat is made of fat, which are two different substances. It is impossible for protein to simply turn into fat and vice versa. Muscle increases in size due protein synthesis which is an increase in protein from amino acids. Protein synthesis is stimulated by strength training.
Fat is used as a fuel source in the muscle and does not become muscle. When you quit working our your muscle atrophies do to lack of stimulation (the use it or lose it principle). Since you body does not need your extra muscle mass any more, you muscle is catabolized. Let me know if you need any more information to expel this myth.
Q. From Angela: i wpould like to know what items on my body i need to measure and keep track pof?
A. It depends on the fat caliper, but you can purchase one of those "Accu-measure" (I think that is the correct name) fat calipers where you only need to take one measurement and read the results. It is not extremely accurate, but it is good enough to keep track of you progress. The only think you need to be aware of is to make sure you take the measurement in the exact same place every time.
Q. From Manuela: I was wondering if you could tell me tips on how to loose my extra fat i really would appreciate it if you could help me out and give me some kind of aweight loss plan!!
A. You are not after weight loss! You are after fat loss and a good fat loss plan is simple. Watch what you eat, cut back on simple carbohydrates such as soda, fries, etc, and cut back on hydrogenated fats. Add some strength training and HIIT training and you will lose the fat. I know it is supposed to be difficult but it really isn't.
Q. From BB: I'm 21, 5'8' and weigh 184 pounds. I drink over a gallon of water a day. Their are some really steep hills behind my house and I was wondering if I walked these hills 5 times a week would that help alot with slimming down or is it just a waste of time. Also my current excerise routine is 30 pushups 50 setups and high stepping in place 5 times a week. Is this going to help me in the long run?
A. You to drink a lot of water. To get to your question, yes the hills would be a good start, and you can increase the intensity with some HIIT training as well. You can run up one hill and walk down the next and repeat. As for you water intake, here are a few excerpts from
"No Need To Guzzle Water" -
Expert 10/08/2002 Reuters:
Excerpt 1:
"Trying to do the "right" thing by drinking eight full glasses of water a day may do little more than make a person run to the bathroom, a US researcher says.
Excerpt 2:
He said he and colleagues became concerned after seeing dozens of newspaper and magazine articles urging people to sip water all day. "I started talking to my colleagues and asking them 'Do you know of any evidence for this?'. Invariably, they said, 'No I think it's a myth'," Valtin said.
Excerpt 3:
The journal asked him to review all the scientific studies he could find and he
concluded that someone misinformed has been telling people to drink large
amounts of water when most do not need to.
Excerpt 4:
And overdoses of water can cause water intoxication that can
lead to
confusion and even death. Water intoxication is one deadly effect of taking the drug Ecstasy, for instance, because it makes people thirsty beyond their
physical needs.''
Add to this the Marine that recently diet from drinking too much
water and you can see that there really is too much of a good thing.