Simon C

I need to loose a beer gut. Injury and 2 years of working in an office have taken their toll. I used to have a 6 pack and I want it back.


Whats the best way to get rid of most of the fat? I've already lost 1/2 stone by altering my eating habits.

Ideally this won't involve a gym as there are no decent 1's round here that I know of.

SCD Simon

iTrader: (1)

Exercise and less calories

Simon C

That much I already knew.

I'm already doing the less calories thing, but what exercises?

SCD Simon

iTrader: (1)

I've lost 6lb in 14 days following the above

SCD Simon

iTrader: (1)

I've purchased an exercise bike

fast bloke

something that will burn the fat - (bike treadmill rowing machine) and millions and millions of situps to tone the muscles.

I used to have a six pack, but I drank it and now I want another one

SCD Simon

iTrader: (1)

Sorry Simon
I should have read ur 1st post about eating habits !
i'm in an office chair all day but am trying to be as active as possible
ie the exercise bike as mentioned and walking to work weather permitting and leaving the scoob at home !

corradoboy

I'm no expert and will probably get slated for my opinion by some of the more serious exercise freaks on here, but for fat burning you need to keep the heart rate down, so walking or flat level cycling are good. Secondly, I'd advise cutting almost out all carbs. You'll go through a period of feeling a bit **** after 3-4 days but stick to it and your body will switch its primary energy source to fats instead of sugars. The combination of fat burning exercise and a high fat/protein diet with limited carbs will see weight drop off you. Just make sure you drink at least 2l of water daily, and cut out caffeine. Eat every 4 hours if possible. I used this plan to shed nearly 5 stone in 5 months, and although I have now upped my carb intake my weight is stable. Once the weight is off start doing CV work to increase heart and lung function and whatever exercise you prefer for the stomach muscles (scrunches are better than sit-ups as there's less chance of damaging your back).

Simon C

Corradoboy, I can't cut out caffine, I live on the stuff, and nicotine.

SCD. I work 12 hour shifts 2 days, 2 nights 4 off. I can literally go 4 - 5 hours with out doing anything at work cos there isn't anything to do. I could leave teh car at home, but I don't fancy walking 12 miles a day round trip.

AudiLover

No fizzy drinks, No white bread, and cut back on carbs. Have cereal for breakfast.No beer. Jump on the steppers and treadmills. Situps will help to tone your abs but will be hidden underneath flab so will have to shift that 1st. For major weight lose cut back calories dramtically and most importatntly eat clean. No takeaways. Can have loving home cooked meals though. Chicken, brown rice, carrots, stuff like that. Fish is good for you also. If joining the gym do some work on the weights too. If doing extreme dieting you can make sugar free jello or jelly to get rid of hunger pains. First month will be the hardest as your not used to it. After that and watching your body change infront of your eyes will probably leave you addicted to training once you are near your goals. Enjoy.

corradoboy

Simon, trust me. Once you get over the 3-4 day sh!tty bit, you won't need caffeine. When I did it I realised that caffeine just gives you a quick hit but then drags you down facilitating the need for more to lift you back up again. Break the cycle, it is the best way. I used to try the brown rice and wholemeal pasta thing, but struggled. Once I'd got almost all the carbs out of my diet the weight just fell off. No bread, rice, pasta, potatoes, fruit, fizzy drinks (even diet (aspartame is a carcinogen)), caffeine (tea or coffee - get decaf and use sodium saccharine based sweeteners if you need them), sweets (chocolate or crisps) and cereal. I ate (and still do) a full English every day and still lost 5st. Eat any green veg that grows above the ground (loads of it), meat and fish.

A typical day...

Brekkie, 2 sausages (not supermarket crap, butchers best), 2 bacon, 2 eggs, mushrooms, tomato. Cup of decaf tea with sweeteners.
Lunch, Salad with chicken, fish etc.
Dinner, Any meat cut (chops etc) with steamed veg (lots)
Supper, Mushroom omlette

Make your own curry's (again, avoid ready made supermarket garbage), bolognaise, chilli. Feast on roasted chicken and as many varieties of fish as possible, especially oily (mackerel, sardines etc), but most of all load up your plate with broccolli, cauliflour, courgetes, peppers, mushroom, tomatoes etc. 70% of my diet is veg, and the remaining meat is always grilled or roasted to remove saturated fats. If you're hungry whilst out, instead of sweets or crappy take-away fodder, have a fish from a fish 'n chip shop, but no chips. Call in a supermarket and get 1/2 a chicken or something else from the rotisserie. It really is very easy once you get over the change, which is the problem most people have; they're simply not willing to change through psychological laziness.

Simon C

That would be lunch at work out, I take sandwiches in, but its granary bread, gave up eating white years ago.

Most of the stuff you've said avoid, I do anyway, but I do like my banana's.

Gotta go shopping tomorrow, so we'll see. Problem is I can't be arsed cooking after a 12 hour shift. And I'm usually to busy to cook on my days off.

corradoboy

Ditch the sarnies and take a salad. Lettuce, cucumber, pepper, tomatoes, celery, avacado, babycorns (not sweetcorn, too much sugar), beansprouts, piclkled onions/beetroot (small amounts) and fill it up with either chicken pieces, fish (an easy open tin of sardines/mackerel in tomato sauce or tuna, I love smoked peppered mackerel in the shrinkwrapped packets). Berries and nuts (avoid heavily salted) are a good snack too. Check any processed meats (honey roast wafer thin ham or pepperami style sausages) for nitrate based preservatives as these are carcinogens.

If you can't be @rsed cooking then you'll fail on any healthy eating diet, as it takes effort to eat well. It can be easy though. I can knock up 4 days worth of curries (korma made with fresh cream, coconut and ground almonds; and rogan josh with tinned tomatoes, peppers and a hint of chilli) in under 30 minutes. The next 3 days are just reheating and steaming veg. I can knock up fresh chilli and bolognaise just as quick, with no jars of pre-made supermarket tatt. Steaks, chops, fish etc are under 15 mins, usually only 'cos you have to wait for the veg to soften off.

A lifestyle change can be daunting, but once you break out of your existing pattern and get used to the new routines everything becomes second nature and hence quicker.

Another benefit of the diet I use is that by removing sugars from your diet your body reduces it insulin production. When you eat sugar your body rushes out insulin to transport it around the body to be used as energy. When the sugars are used up the insulin level drops sharply and you should go into ketosis, which is the body's way of transporting fats and proteins. Unfortunately, the brain mis-interprets the drop in insulin as starvation and tells you you're hungry, and thus you eat more sugars without ever processing the fats and proteins which ultimately get stored for later use. By minimising sugar intake your insulin production will even off to a point where the brain barely notices the drop-off once the sugars are gone, and so slips effortlessly into fat/protein processing, without falsely generating hunger signals. This is the key to this diet, as it is effectively appetite suppression. You end up having to remember to eat, whilst your body effortlessly processes ingested fats, and then moves on to stored ones too.

EP82

I joined the gym about a month ago, i feel alot healthier but my body shape isn't changing. I know this is down to my poor diet.

I am a sucker for chinese food and KFC, granted i don't eat it every day but i'll have either/or once a week!

I work long shifts as well 13 hours to be precise. To get an idea of what i eat during the day see below:

- Fruits + Water for breakfast
- Lunch Sandwiches Ham/Chicken on white with a bag of low cal crisps. More fruit and water
- For tea i have a home made meal, usually consisting of meat, sometimes pasta, veg and potatos.

Now i don't get home from work until gone 19:30, therefore i dont usually sit down for tea until gone 20:00 this can't be good for me, as i'm in bed by 22:00 at the latest.

I go to the gym 3 times a week my routine is as follows..

- 30 minutes on treadmill, a combination of fast walk and jogging. I'd say 5 minute warm up walk, 20 minute jog at 9kmph and then 5 minutes cool down walk.

-20 minutes on weights, i alternate one day upper body, the next day lower body.

- 10 minutes on the rower

- 30 minutes in the pool if i have time.

Apologies for butting in on your thread Simon but i am in a very similiar situation. I also a few years ago was slim, toned, etc. But since i started messing with cars and working in an office it's gone drastically down hill!

There are some excellent tips on here, i'll be changing my diet accordingly!

Little Miss WRX

I know it sounds really girly and such, but try pilates. The toning I have achieved with the courses I am doing is amazing.
I spent a year doing various routines in the gym, yet in a few weeks I am getting far better results doing pilates!

I've actually now got a dietician who has tailored a diet to ensure recovery assistance, weight maintenance (not loss) and general good health. It's good to know I was basically on the right track with just a little refining needed.
I also have a personal trainer who trains specifically for football and refereeing, lastly I have managed to start the season albeit at a lower level than last season. However, considering I was looking at not being able to start the season at all I am happy!

I am recovering from a post viral illness similar to CFS and every day is a slow and frustrating step forward to full recovery. During the hardest part, the pilates helped me to maintain form and tone in my muscles so going back to more full on physical exercise (running with the refereeing) has not been as much of a shock to the system as it could have been......

Mr Power

www.muscletalk.co.uk

everything you need to know is there mate.

Personally i would not go down the zero carb route. Its unsustainable, not conducive to well being, poor for overall fitness levels and only promotes the rapid loss of water due to the body utilising all muscular glycogen stores.

Upon reintroduction of carbs, muscular glycogen will be replenished and water weight will be gained.

Lifestyle changes are whats needed. Also forget the "i want it yesterday attitude", the fat did not appear over night, therefore you aint going to loose it overnight either.

IMO you need to consider EPOC, from hard and heavy weight training, this coupled with sensible cardio, and a balanced diet high in protein, utilising a slight calorie deficit along with sensible, structured cardio will give a dramatic change in body composition.

I could go on all day, start learning the CORRECT way to do things by using the link.

pete1977

Most people know all the stuff already written above .I think youll find the problem is that most people lack some sort of goal which gives them willpower to sort their fat bodies out.Its all very well doing it for a month but what about after that??Set yourself some realistic goals to start with,take it a day at a time,good luck.

pete1977

OMG,its Rex-kwon do!

Mr Power

Want me to give you the Kip Dynamite treatment bitch?

Jamescsti

SImon, sent you a PM mate

G-STAR

A quick question regarding cardio.

I'm trying to lose a little weight from my stomach (there's hardly anything to pinch at, but I'm getting self-conscious about it) and while home for Easter, I have the use of a treadmill for three weeks.

I tend to go on such for around an hour, usually at 5-6MPH, with a few small breaks.

How many calories should I look to be burning per session?

Last time, I ran 5.5 miles in the hour. Can I continue such once every two days?

My diet isn't the best, but I've cut down a lot of rubbish from it recently, and have started to take protein whey following my free weight sessions - is that defeating the point, or will I continue to lose fat from my stomach area?

AudiLover

muscletalk is a good place to get some solid advice. Be aware of some ******* though.

Mr Power

Care to elaborate on that?

G-STAR

Anyone?

TopBanana

Yeah bro

TopBanana

Sounds intriguing... pics?

2000TLondon

I've just bought a rowing machine from

www.concept2.co.uk

although it doesn't arrive until Wednesday. I like the feeling I get at and after being at the gym, but can't stand travelling to and from and having to shower whilst I'm still sweating etc etc etc.

Also, my mate did this and it worked very well for him, he beefed up quite quickly and was pretty scrawny to start.....

http://www.bodyforlife.com/

It seems like a typical American TV advert type program, which it probably is, but you can buy the book and the required nutri-shakes at GNC or Holland and Barrat, the good thing with body for life is that it is quick, it's principal is short and hard workouts everyday.

I myself haven't been able to get motivated to shifting my stomach, which incidentally I gained after hurting my back in a crash and not stopping my curry intake, but hoping the rowing machine will change that!

AudiLover

The concept rowing machine is good. The body for life stuff is near enough a scam.

kbsub

True

Simon C

I don't drink very often TH. Thats the insult. Ok I've had a serious injury on and off for the last 2 years, but still I want my 6 pack back.

I'm not posting the pic that started this off, and it does mean I'll be able to fit into my wet suit too