My plans for the summer - Suggestions needed please!

[Niigata]

I want to lose some weight this summer (Maybe about 20 pounds?). I am not at all fat, but I am gaining weight and I want to be slimmer!

My plan so far this summer is to only eat foods that would decompose after a short time (so that way I'm not eating food with crazy preservatives, like fruits instead of canned soup or something), and I am also semi-vegetarian so I will not be eating chicken or red meat (although I occasionally eat fish). I do not eat candy or drink pop, and I also plan to cut down on juice (although I will still drink small amounts of juices since I love it) and snackbars. I also plan to exercise at least once a day, either by an hour of drumming with no fan on in the room (and summer days here are extremely hot so I will sweat like a maniac), or an hour of mountain biking near my house. I also have a treadmill, which is an option.

This so far is basically all I have thought of as far as how I can exercise and watch my eating to hopefully lose some weight and tone myself a bit. PLEASE suggest any ideas you think I should add to my routine. Thank you!

 

[Guest]

Hello Niigata,

If you're hung up on the preservatives there isn't much in them that can do you too much bodily harm. You can always eat organic.

Also you need to stay very hydrated, it is not good to sweat profusely just to lose weight. I know by drumming hard, you can work up quite a sweat, but you're not moving your whole body every which way, so it may not get you the results you require. You need to be drinking at least 2 Liters of Water per day. I emphasize this!

For food to as you've stated "decompose" faster, things such as juice which are high in unnatural sugar, unless making your own juice from a juicer is great for you! Juice is something like pop high in sugar and unnatural. Over all not great for you. If in moderation, great! Add some to your water if you'd like. I was addicted to juice too. And Snackbars are usually high in sodium and sugars as well. Thery're more of your processed foods. They just don't have too much of a nutritional value to them. Eat them every once in awhile as a treat, no problem.

Stay away from potatoes, rice, pasta, bread.....unless brown...these will sit heavily in your body and feel heavier they take longer to become processed throughout your body.

Earlier in the day is the heavier the meal I have, I run in the morning's, I have a large breakfast, I also have a snack, Than Lunch, and snack, and a Power Walk in the afternoon, than supper later which is quite small and a snack. *Just an idea of how I eat*

Here's the thing, how much do you weigh now? If you are already of a smaller weight trying to lose 20 lbs, it is difficult to lose these last few pounds. Ppl whom are bigger at first drop 3-5 pounds a week, ppl whom are smaller (such as you and I) can have a harder time with weight loss. This will be argued I guarantee it, it is HARD Work for everyone to lose weight, to want to, to motivate themselves ect....it isn't easy to just drop those 3-5 lbs a week for someone whom is larger, BUT 5 lbs to them is like 1 pound to us, and it takes us at least 1 to 2 weeks to drop it. Our bodies DO NOT like to let go of those last few fat storages, our survival for them kicks in, and it is tough. I don't say this to deter you, if you want to lose weight you will! But I am trying to let you know that it's harder to just lose 20 lbs in a couple of months if you're already a smaller size.

You may want to do some resistance & weight training, as muscle burns fat, and gives you that toned shaped you are after. Please also take note that there is no such thing as toning, nor spot reducing. Toning is a myth. Our muscles become "toned" when they are repairing themselves from being worked on. But to actually tone and spot reduce cannot be done, Fat Loss is an all over outcome. When you start to lose your fat, it will gradually come off where it last went on and so on.

Be careful not to starve yourself, such as eating 1000 cals/day, your body may be able to handle it for a short amount of time, but than it will eventually begin to shut down. And you WILL gain weight, double the amount.

If you need some tips and want to learn a bit more about weight loss and a healthier life style change, take a wander through the forum. Take a look at the stickies, tons of useful info. There's quite an abundant supportive community here too.

Take Care

 

[Niigata]

Thanks for the reply

Some more info and questions =)

I am working towards a body type that I used to have, which looks like this

And I currently have the body type like this

I know I can lose the weight, because in grade 9 I was very skinny, in grade 10 I was overweight, in grade 11 I was very skinny and now at the very end of grade 12 I have gained the same amount of weight as in Grade 10. It may be related to stress, because in grade 10 I broke up with my 3 year ex-girlfriend, but school is finishing so now the stress will go away, and I will for the first time in my life truly start exercising and watching my eating habits!

I drink for sure over 2 liters of water everyday, I love water. Would switching out of juices to drinking just water be fine?

So for bread, would rye (brown) bread be good? We have that at my work and I could eat it with my veggie burger instead of a white burger bun. I can cut down on pasta and rice as well.

I am about 20-30 more pounds heavier than I want to be, thus I want to lose those pounds. So it will be harder as you say, but I will try my best! I do not look very good with extra weight, I am not the kind of person with a body that can gain weight but still look very nice. When I gain weight, I look very bloated iggy:

Is one hour of moderately difficult treadmill running or mountain biking be good enough exercise for every one to two days?

Thank you!

 

[Guest]

You know those first 10-20 pounds may just slide off for you. It may just be water weight. Of course with getting exercise and eating right. Just try not to get too discouraged if the last 5-10 just won't budge, when it comes to that, you'll want to try shaking things up a little bit. Different exercise routine, other exercises, ect.

Sorry I didn't mean to scare you out of drinking juices completely. If you want to, just remember everything in moderation.

Water is the best thing for us, since we are made up of about 80% of water. It helps flush your system out.

Yes for sure rye bread, that's great. For food overall, just think smaller portions. Or instead of seconds or thirds, just seconds. I wouldn't go cold turkey on everything, try setting mini goals here and there for yourself. Slowly working your way up. If you still want a lil extra something, remember everything in moderation is fine.

Your last question is a great one, and I don't have the exact answer for it, a half hour, an hour, is fine. You don't have to over exert yourself to begin with. If it's something you normally would do anyways, go for it.

Treadmill Running and Mountain biking are great activities!

 

[englishrider127]

Treadmill running is very good for you, and better for your joints,etc. My treadmill has a "softness" feature, so you can change up how soft the treadmill is your running on. I just find the treadmill SO boring though! If you have a nearby park, or your neighborhood is good for running, I'd definitely suggest that...1hr of running outside vs 1 hr on the treadmill, they seem like years difference! I can't run on the treadmill for more than like 20 minutes without dying of boredom..and thats with an iPod and a TV.