Losing FAT?

[drunkenmasta]

I've put on about 13 kg & i really need to get it off.Thing is it's mainly around my gut,stomach & sides.

What's the best way about losing it?
Should i just stick to a healthy diet & cardio like bike machine & walking?

THANKS

 

[oopapercutoo]

You answered your own question there...a healthy diet and cardio are the only ways to get rid of the spare tire.

 

[Shafty]

Yep, just go for the cardio, preferably first thing in the morning on an empty stomach, or immediately after your weight lifting session. This burns fat faster, since the glycogen in your muscles will be depleted, either after hours of fasting (in the morning), or right after a weight workout (pumping iron depletes the muscles' glycogen stores).

This ensures that the cardio will utilize your fat reserves as an energy source, instead of using the glycogen which is stored in the muscles. When you're doing cardio it normally takes about half an hour before any fat burning occurs, but on an empty stomach or after a weight workout it begins immediately.

You can also further enhance the fat burn by downing a cup of coffee or green tea right before hitting the elliptic trainer/stationary bike/treadmill/whatever. This boosts the thermogenic process (fat burn due to a temporarily elevated body temperature) even further.

Oh yeah, and don't forget about the diet!

 

[PaloMalo]

Guys are right.....but trust me don't overdo cardio....

Eat healthy....try out the south beach diet....I just ordered the book cheap...look for the SBD thread in this forum and exercise more...make sure you include weight training....cardio alone is not the best....if you want to burn fat long term you have to build more lean muscle mass by weight training...

Good Luck

 

[Shafty]

cardio alone is not the best....

Absolutely. I cannot stress this enough. Without weight training you won't get anywhere, as the cardio, if done by itself, will also burn some of your muscles over time, resulting in a slower metabolism and worse muscle to fat- ratio.
I'm a good example of this: I'm religiously devoted to my HST regimen (whole body weight workout 3 times a week), but I'm quite lazy when it comes to cardio. I eat around 3500+ calories a day, divided among 5 evenly spaced meals, and I have gained very little, if any, bodyfat during the last 6 months or so. I've only recently started to do cardio, mainly to improve my circulation for better Penis Enlargement gains, but previously I did a measly 1-2 30 minute cardio sessions a MONTH, and my BF% still stayed the same.
All I did was pack on muscle, which in turn accelerated my metabolism. Nowadays I REALLY have to try hard to gain any fat... for example, over the holidays I ate a ton of chocolate and candy in additon to my regular meals... did my HST as usual, and I actually LOST a few pounds for some unexplainable reason. It might have been that I just shed some water weight, but I surmise that the increased caloric intake meant more food for my body to process, which in turn means more thermogenesis and an accelerated digestion process. The human body works in strange ways...

This is why you can eat pretty much anything you want about once a week without the extra calories being stored as fat, at least if you follow a sound nutritional plan for the rest of the time. Proven fact.

 

[drunkenmasta]

Just a few more questions.......

1.If i exercise(both weights&cardio) in the morning should i eat a protein filled breakfast only after or a mix of Pro/Carbs.

2.Do i need to do any ab-exercises with my bike/jogging exercises.

 

[PaloMalo]

I'll give you my two cents on the questions you asked and other guys can chime in too.

As far as your second question goes, I think that you should definetely train all your major muscle groups including abs.

Eating will be up to you but a good rule of thumb is to try to work out in the morning and then consume a meal with carbs and protein. After your good, intense workout your body will be in need of carbs because your muscles have used up all their glycogen (carb) stores, so eat a carb and protein meal. Then throughout the day taper off of the carbs so that you are eating more protein and little to no carbs at night.

Now these eating suggestions really depend on the nutrition plan you are following but they are a good rule of thumb for buring fat...to bulk up you need to eat more total carbs and colories. At this stage if your are just getting into a workout routine keep it simple and lower carbs throughout your meals except right after a workout....the post workout meal is critical so don't skip it.

Good Luck and if you have more questions ask away

 

[drunkenmasta]

How long should my cardio workouts be,for the bike & jogging.Should it be hardcore or medium-heavy?

 

[Shafty]

Medium intensity, and if you do it with empty glycogen stores, something like 30-45 minutes would be optimal.

Like Palomalo said, it is good to do your weight workout and cardio in the morning, since it kicks up your metabolism for the rest of the day, resulting in more calories being burned throughout the day, even when you're not doing any physical exercise.

Decrease the amount of carbs you eat towards the evening, and consume more fat, for example, fatty fish, penuts or even oil straight from the bottle (I get most of the fat in my diet this way, it's really convenient). Cold-pressed oils, such as virgin olive oil and flaxseed oil have the best fatty acid profiles, i.e. they are the most healthy for your heart and health in general. And, contrary to common belief, you actually NEED fat in your diet if you want to LOSE fat, since it slows the absorption of sugars and keeps your insulin levels steady (fluctuations in your insulin levels contribute to fat accumulation as well as the first stage of diabetes, insulin resistance, which can eventually lead to full blown insulin shutdown, otherwise known as type 2 diabetes).

 

[drunkenmasta]

Thanks for the tips everyone :bottumsup

 

[Dario]

Try to cut down on carbs and eliminate sugar completely.