Exercise Advice

  • I have recently lost 47 lbs and I have about 20 more to go. But my legs / upper arms / and stomach area don't look good. I didn't think I really streched things out but they look like swiss cheese and my top of my legs STILL chafe -- although I have lost 4 inches in the waist -- the top of my legs have only gone down 1/2 inch.

    Also I can only devote about 30 minutes of exercise per day and I don't want to screw up losing the final 20 lbs by trying to bring in something else.

    First question - is it possible to tighten up the legs and flabby areas via doing some sort of non cardio exercise.

    Second question -- if not -- and I suspect not -- would my time be better spent getting to goal and keeping the 30 minutes largely cardio and THEN devoting my time to weight lifting / toning when I get to goal?

    Has anyone else lost weight -- was very flabby and then got toned / looked great via weight training at the end?
  • You can't spot reduce. You can, however, build muscle which will (a) help you burn more fat, (b) make your legs firm when the fat disappears, and (c) make you stronger and improve your life in little ways through your day-to-day activities.

    I think weight training is *more* effective than endless steady state cardio for fat loss, but I'm probably in the minority on this board. At some point, cardio becomes counterproductive by burning through muscle rather than fat. I do aerobic exercise to work my heart -- a muscle -- but only once or twice per week.

    To get as much bang for your buck out of your limited exercise time, mix weight training and cardio (on different days). Some cardio days can be steady-state cardio, but for maximum fat loss, build in high intensity interval training. 20 minutes of this will do more for fat loss than 40 minutes of long-slow distance in the mythical "fat burning zone."

    Good luck, and great job on losing 47 pounds already! That's quite an accomplishment!
  • First off, you'd be really surprised at what that last 20, or even the last 10, can do. It can make a world of difference in the appearance, but you'll still need to work on firming it up some. You can do leg exercises just sitting at work, home, wherever. Do some leg lifts at your desk. Put some leg weights on while out walking, shopping, and doing daily routines. You can contract your abs while sitting to work on the tummy, but situps and crunches will do wonders too.

    I noticed a huge improvement just in a 10 pound loss. Going from 150 to 140 made all the difference in the world in my stomach. But I also did a lot of situps every day to help tone that area.
  • Quote: First off, you'd be really surprised at what that last 20, or even the last 10, can do.
    Thanks ! Well I think I have my answer. If I get down the 20 lbs and I am still flabby I can start doing the toning exercises. But I could see a large difference if I drop the 20.

    Your post really cliqued with me because I noticed 90% of the difference between 179 and 167 in the stomach area.
  • I started out very flabby, lost around 40 pounds, and now look pretty toned. But I didn't wait until the end to do weight training, I started out doing it, then added cardio later. I think the weight training has made all the difference in my appearance. Sometimes I'm just shocked at how athletic I look.

    I wouldn't wait to start weight training; I think this would be a great addition to your current diet and exercise program. Having some muscle would make those flabby areas look a lot firmer. Also, muscle burns more calories, so increasing your muscle would ramp up your metabolism and make it easier to lose those last 20 lbs.
  • Quote: Thanks ! Well I think I have my answer. If I get down the 20 lbs and I am still flabby I can start doing the toning exercises. But I could see a large difference if I drop the 20.

    Your post really cliqued with me because I noticed 90% of the difference between 179 and 167 in the stomach area.

    Why wait until the last 20 pounds are gone?

    What I think is important to realize, is that cardio exercise, and strength training exercise (or toning exercise, as it is being called in this thread) do different things.

    Cardio exercise burns fat, and burns a lot of calories-helping with weight loss because of the calorie burn. It also works the cardiovascular system.

    Strength training, however, strengthens and builds muscle.

    When you are out of shape, there are two things going on. You probably have too much body fat...AND not enough muscle tone.

    Honestly, you are doing yourself a disservice to start strength training after your weight loss. Why not do both now? I split my workouts, and alternate cardio some days, and strength training the other days.

    Part of the flabbiness that you are experiencing is still extra weight and body fat, but part of that is most likely also atrophied muscle. (little muscle development, or "no muscle tone" as people sometimes say)

    You should do both for the best body-cardio to lose weight and lose fat, and strength (either weights, or exercise that uses the body weight for resistance such as Pilates, and exercises such as crunches/push-ups, etc.)
    to give yourself a firm, shapely body.

    Most of the avid exercisers, and maintainers here do both.