No Marc, the muscle loss and slowing metabolism ideas are a (common) myth. The body has plenty of places to go to source energy before it reverts to muscle tissue, starting with glycogen stores, then fat stores. Muscle is unaffected in the first 72+ hours of a fast (typically a LOT more, especially if you're not already on a starvation diet!).
If you want the full details (lots of reference to the medical literature on this, read "Eat Stop Eat" book). Here is a recent article describing some of the medical benefits: https://news.usc.edu/63669/fasting-t...immune-system/
Interesting read. I guess our ancestors had a few days in between lunches so it must be built-in. Having said that it never worked for me. Every time I stopped eating for a short period or dramatically reduced my food intake it rebound on me and I tended to gain more later down the road. Since then I've always been conscious not to 'starve' while dieting and not over do it. I find I'll lose wait during periods of rest and upping my food intake for a few days, especially fibre.
A bit of melanoma surgery and 7 weeks of radiotherapy got me from 132kg down to 107kg.
Andrew mate, that's horrible I hope you are slowly on the mend now? All the best, wishing you a speedy recovery!
I have heard many good things about fasting and know someone personally who use to weigh 130kg and is now set to weigh in at 76 point something on Sunday! This is actually the basis for where my regime came from, although fasting for me working full time is not an option.
Instead I try to have really low days from Sunday to Wednesday (Thursday morning being weigh in) then I cycle between 1200-1560 Thursday and Friday. Saturday is generally 2500 calories then back to strict the very next day. In three weeks I'm down 3.5kg so it's definitely keeping my body guessing.
Marc, I haven't done a whole lot of core work just mainly kettle bells and arm weights. As for legs, that's all been from cardio related exercises (I'm the fittest and toned I think I've EVER been). I did decide to give planks a go and managed to do 4. 2 x 20 secs and 2 x 25 secs. Also managed to do this splits again!
I'll definitely have to start adding in more weights to my regime and get back into jogging once I've lost a few more kg's.
Bread isn't really so bad at all. Even white bread rolls are generally not so bad calorie wise. I find if I eat what my body is craving within moderation and portion controlled, then I do still lose weight. I love those Forme yoghurts I also like the Ski Soleil brand as the vanilla is quite low cal and delicious with banana!
Thanks for the heads up with toasting the bread, I'll have to make a habit of it!
At the end of the day, it's really all about finding a balance that works for everyone as an individual. For me, it's cycling and being super strict most days so I can have a cheat day. For some one else it may be different though.
Because I'm a giant wimp and I love my food Not sure I could fast for a day, although I know the less you eat one day, the more calories you could eat the next... haven't had the willpower to try it yet!
Marc, I haven't done a whole lot of core work just mainly kettle bells and arm weights. As for legs, that's all been from cardio related exercises (I'm the fittest and toned I think I've EVER been). I did decide to give planks a go and managed to do 4. 2 x 20 secs and 2 x 25 secs. Also managed to do this splits again!
I'll definitely have to start adding in more weights to my regime and get back into jogging once I've lost a few more kg's.
Core work is hard to start with especially when you're heavy but that's the best way to get really strong and shed heaps of kilos because you engage so many muscle groups and they're compound exercises. Try Pilates and body weight exercises with a swissball. You'll get super fit in no time because you have to keep your balance. Doing push ups on two swissballs is much harder than on the ground.
Jogging is a bad idea if you're still heavy. Watch out for the knees. Cross trainer on the other hand will get you the same work out with no impact on the joints. If you jog on it that is, you need to keep the revs up. One really good exercise by far is the rowing machine. You work out pretty much every muscle on that thing. Just gotta watch your back and keep proper form.
Core work is hard to start with especially when you're heavy but that's the best way to get really strong and shed heaps of kilos because you engage so many muscle groups and they're compound exercises. Try Pilates and body weight exercises with a swissball. You'll get super fit in no time because you have to keep your balance. Doing push ups on two swissballs is much harder than on the ground.
Jogging is a bad idea if you're still heavy. Watch out for the knees. Cross trainer on the other hand will get you the same work out with no impact on the joints. If you jog on it that is, you need to keep the revs up. One really good exercise by far is the rowing machine. You work out pretty much every muscle on that thing. Just gotta watch your back and keep proper form.
I completely agree. The heart rate shoots straight up as soon as you begin a plank and I can feel all the muscles EVERYWHERE working at once. I'll definitely have to give Pilates a try or a more strength based yoga also.
As for jogging, I don't do it often as I have a really bad ankle. Mainly just intervals more than anything. But yes, I need to watch myself. Just because I'm fit enough, doesn't mean I'm light enough! I have found cycling is a great work out for me without the impact, heart rate is up my entire route (as it's mostly uphill) so I really feel it. But I'm no where near as puffed and my legs can handle it pretty well now which is an amazing feeling!
I'm still so blind sided sometimes to how fit I actually am until I try something and wonder why I'm not absolutely dying Not to say I'm super fit but I've come a long way in the past six months!
Will try to spice things up from here on out, shock the body even more into giving up those stubborn kg's
I completely agree. The heart rate shoots straight up as soon as you begin a plank and I can feel all the muscles EVERYWHERE working at once. I'll definitely have to give Pilates a try or a more strength based yoga also.
As for jogging, I don't do it often as I have a really bad ankle. Mainly just intervals more than anything. But yes, I need to watch myself. Just because I'm fit enough, doesn't mean I'm light enough! I have found cycling is a great work out for me without the impact, heart rate is up my entire route (as it's mostly uphill) so I really feel it. But I'm no where near as puffed and my legs can handle it pretty well now which is an amazing feeling!
I'm still so blind sided sometimes to how fit I actually am until I try something and wonder why I'm not absolutely dying Not to say I'm super fit but I've come a long way in the past six months!
Will try to spice things up from here on out, shock the body even more into giving up those stubborn kg's
Anything out of your comfort zone is good for you without over doing it. Outdoors cycling is also great. When the weather warms up, get out there for an hour early mornings before the day heat.
I should read through the lot too. I am in the overweight range but not by a whole lot. My problem is a sedentary job induced (Ten years on my bum in an office and little time outside that) bout of fatty liver. Very luckily caught with only the very first signs of cirrhosis, so minor that a biopsy was required to find them.
In a nutshell, the direction from the quack was "Loose weight, do exercise" and while the last couple of months have stopped that temporarily, I am back on the horse again now. I have put a couple of KG back on but had dropped 12KG since Christmas last year, aiming for another 8 which would put me well into the "Healthy" BMI range.
Quite apart form the liver, it did spur me on to regain at least most of the fitness I used to have, and 40 minutes on the treadmill (Not keen on running on the road in low single digit temperatures and fog) does give you a nice endorphin buzz to start the day with.
Just a note of caution, don't get hung up on BMI. Check out the wiki (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_mass_index) for more details on the problems with it. It really shouldn't be used as an indicator.
I prefer to use other methods to determine how healthy I am, including blood tests for body fat percentages; measurements like waist, hips, chest, etc.; fitness - stamina, weight lifting, etc.
Currently my on scale weight is about +10-15kg more than the top of the range for the "ideal BMI", and while I can definitely afford to lose more fat, I'll never really meet that BMI value. One reason is that I try to gain muscle mass at the same time as losing fat. A couple of years ago, I did a program and lost about 30 kg of fat, but gained about 5 kg of muscle mass in the process. So, now as I'll try to take some more of the remaining fat away, I'll be replacing some of the lost weight with muscle increase instead.
If I was focused on BMI, I'd never succeed, but with more measurable goals, I can see progress (or lapses *sigh*) easier.
Will walking for a good hour every day achieve weight loss? I heard it does but how effective is it?
I also plan to cut the beer back to maybe 1-2 nights a week. It contains a surprising amount of calories
Walking for 1 hour day, every day will be quite effective, depending on your level of activity already. If it's above and beyond what you do and not a replacement for other exercise, you'll get great results.
However, you should increase your water intake for best results AND do not increase your calorie intake.
Just a note of caution, don't get hung up on BMI. Check out the wiki (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_mass_index) for more details on the problems with it. It really shouldn't be used as an indicator.
That's true too. Some charts are a joke. I found this one to be about right.
I don't get hung up on bmi. I am just using the middle of the generally accepted "healthy" range as a target for myself.
Regards walking, my fitness was a long way down to begin with and I started at about 40 minutes per day walking. I was dropping nearly 1kg a week for the first six weeks or so. But I was walking pretty hard.
I don't get hung up on bmi. I am just using the middle of the generally accepted "healthy" range as a target for myself.
Regards walking, my fitness was a long way down to begin with and I started at about 40 minutes per day walking. I was dropping nearly 1kg a week for the first six weeks or so. But I was walking pretty hard.
To drop 1kg per week it has to be mostly fluids or you are severely overweight. Maximum of 500g of fat a week is more like it and it requires a lot more than walking.
I hope you are slowly on the mend now? All the best, wishing you a speedy recovery!
Not sure I could fast for a day, although I know the less you eat one day, the more calories you could eat the next... haven't had the willpower to try it yet!
