Physical Fitness, Health & Weight ManagementStaying fit and physically healthy is essential! Remember, we aren't subsitutes for your physician! As always, talk to your doctor before following any suggestions or advice!
Hi everyone, (I'm new here) I've been married 3 years now and gained 40 pounds in that time. I spent the last 4 months exercising on a stationary bike, 30 minutes a day, 4 times a week. I was told that Areobic exercise burns fat but that this approach does take longer. I changed my eating habits, lowered calories/fat and also portion control. In 4 months time, I didn't didn't loose any weight, or any inches. I actually feel as if I've 'spread out' even more in my hips. I am very discouraged and also confused with the exercise concept. It is suggested that 30 minutes a day of ANY exercise will encourage weight loss. But as I read these posts, it seems this isn't so? I have high blood pressure and cannot do resistance training. What else can I possibly do to see some results?
Any suggestions would really help.
Nannjm
I just wanted to warn you - people with high-blood pressure should be careful about exercising, so be picky about whose advice you take. I've read on websites dedicated to blood pressure that its best to stick to light exercise such as speed-walking, swimming, etc. But don't trust me - do a search on google and read up on it.
Also, your diet - simply lowering the calories & reducing portion may not be enough. Are you getting enough vitamins? Do you drink lots of water? Did you change your diet too drastically, by any chance?
Considering your limitations imposed by high blood pressure, losing weight should take you longer than 4 months, I believe. So just stick to exercise, a good diet, and stop counting time.
I'm actually 'the wife' My husband has maintained the same weight as when we first married--Only I gained. I have increased my water intake, muti-vitamin and calcium supplement. My high blood pressure is only an issue due to the extra weight I've gained. I chose the stationary bike as a 'safe' way to exercise. I haven't been drastsic in my approach to diet/exercise....
In 4 months, I think I should have seen some changes?
Um, i think you're best off talking to your doctor about this. Perhaps your doc can do some tests to see if everything's OK, generally. There're many causes of weight gain (e.g. birth control pills make some people gain weight).
but whatever you do, exercise & a good diet are part of a healthy lifestyle, so keep it up!
I think what happens sometimes is that when people begin to exercise, they begin to build muscle, which replaces the fat. But muscles are heavier than fat, so even if you've lost fat, your weight may have stayed the same. This is just my uneducated guess though.
Actually, my doctor sees no medical reason being the problem and I'm not taking birth control pills.
I have heard that muscle weighs more than fat--But wouldn't I have still lost inches?
It seems to me that you should've lost some inches by now. Have you tried upping your exercise time--i.e. to 45 minutes or an hour? Maybe that will make a difference.
YOU WRITE: "I have heard that muscle weighs more than fat--But wouldn't I have still lost inches?"
Muscle weighs the SAME as fat, lead, concrete, rocket fuel, airplanes, etc. One pound of muscle and one pound of fat weigh exactly the same. However, muscle is more dense than fat.
The right diet and exercise, therefore, could theoretically result in your weighing the same although looking trimmer and more toned.
I haven't tried more than 30-35 minutes each routine--Mostly because my body is so tried the next day and I have to be moderate. I don't any thyriod complications.
In the past, I always maintained weight by simply eating as little as possible. I'm thinking I haven't lowered my calories enough to encourage the exercise to work. I'm starting to believe experts who claim 'areobic exercise' does not help change the body or actually burn enough calories to loose weight. It does help everyday stresses, anxiety, etc. But it's not effective in loosing weight overall....
Thanks for all the replies
In addition to healthy eating choices and increased activity, you must also "flip the switch" on your body's metabolism and the way it has learned through years of unhealthy eating habits to store and burn food energy. This can become increasingly more difficult as we get older and our metabolisms start to slow down.
Instead of consuming all of your calories during one meal, try breaking your large meal down into six smaller portions a day. This will help ward off hunger pangs and prevent those cravings to hit the snack machine during work. Consuming more water will also help "trick" your belly into thinking its "full" while at the same time flushing out unhealthy toxins.
Start with a 30 minute bike ride or low impact walk IN THE MORNING before eating anything. Not only will this help give you more energy to start your day off with, but your body will continue to burn calories throughout the day. After your morning exercise, reward your body with a light and healthy breakfast…THIS is the most important meal of the day! Try to avoid carbs as much as possible which will force your body to burn stored fat for energy instead of the food digesting in your stomach.
Than, every two hours, curb your need to "binge" by eating a handful of something healthy...a piece of fruit, low fat yogurt, unsweetened fruit juice or raw vegetables. Figure out what you like to snack on that is HEALTHY.
The key is to keep your body constantly digesting so that it doesn’t think you are starving it to death. Your body is in a perpetual “Feast or Famine” mode, and if its only accustomed to getting one solid meal a day, it will start hording calories and fat for its energy reserves. Also, save your largest meal for mid-day! Have that turkey on rye or mega-salad in the afternoon, and avoid eating anything six hours before bedtime. Avoiding alcohol also helps tremendously since it is full of sugars and tends to make the body “bloat.” And go ahead and treat yourself to that dinner out on the weekends. Once you have established a healthy routine, treating yourself once a week will do absolutely no harm and you’ll appreciate a good solid meal a whole lot more instead of taking it for granted as most of us do.
Believe me, your body will stubbornly fight you for the first month or so and it will be easy to become discouraged. It doesn’t like changing old habits any more than you do. But once it adjusts to your new regiment, the pounds will start shedding almost overnight and you will be surprised to find yourself with MORE energy and less fat then ever before!
Like you, I had tried just about every diet and exercise program out there and nothing seemed to work. But when I finally understood the concept of how my body swapped food for fuel, I suddenly went from a size 12 to a size 4 in only EIGHT MONTHS! My new dilemma became stopping my body from shedding pounds. Trust me, it will wreak HAVOC on that wardrobe budget!
If the right diet and exercise can equal the same weight but slim down the body, this certainly hasn't worked for me. There has been no physical change in 4 months.
I have talked with fitness specialist who all say, 'muscle weighs more than fat' and most people who work-out, gain more muscle...and they gain weight too. Normally, after building some muscle, it balances out and then one looses fat. This is the information I have read and been given....
Unfortunately, I haven't had these results.
I have actually done a lot of what you suggested, Engima. I drink tons of water all day long. I exercise in the morning before eating anything. I have cut down on carbs as well. Snacking is difficult because I seem to gain weight, whether I snack on fruit, etc. But I thank-you for your post and I will give it a try again.
Now I know my secret to staying thin even without exercise - I eat frequently, and not much at a time. Of course, my body is also very young & has high metabolism, but it looks like this often&little eating schedule is very good. I also sometimes eat huge meals, and they don't seem to harm me.
Oh, and always keep drinking.
good luck,
-yes
PS Be careful with working out with an empty stomach - make sure you have some water & sugar, otherwise you may faint.
...You are absolutely right! The key is not to starve your body, but to feed it CONSTANTLY, but with healthier, smaller portions.
Many of us have confused our metabolisms by yo-yo dieting. When we deny ourselves food it only sends our body into "starvation mode," and the minute we put any kind of food back into our stomachs again, our body stores the fat and calories it in the event we should try to starve it again.
It takes a little while to reprogram our metabolisms to do what we have unwittingly "trained" it to do, but it absolutely works and CAN be done!
If "starvation" don't work, then how do people become anorexic? I'm not suggesting that starving oneself is a good thing at all--But it makes me wonder.....Most 'thin' people I know, simply don't eat or eat one small meal a day, (and don't work out) People with eating disorders, stop eating and loose so much weight, they are risking their lives. So, with that in mind....the concept of slowing the metabolism by starving the body and yo-yo dieting, doesn't quite make sense to me....
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33 and Overweight
My husband has maintained the same weight as when we first married--Only I gained. I have increased my water intake, muti-vitamin and calcium supplement. My high blood pressure is only an issue due to the extra weight I've gained. I chose the stationary bike as a 'safe' way to exercise. I haven't been drastsic in my approach to diet/exercise....
Hybrid Mode
