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Old 02-23-2011, 07:44 PM   #1  
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Question Would I acheive more success if I didn't work out daily???

Just wondering what you ladies (and gents) think about this:

I am by no means "stalling" or have reached a dreaded "plateau", but rather have been losing pretty consistently since I started working out daily in late July. I've been alternating between working out on my elliptical machine (up to 50 minutes now) and doing the thirty day shred every other day. I currently started alternating a day of Elliptical, then the shred, then the elliptical, then six week six pack (my abs suck, BTW). So that is pretty much my routine. I do not take a rest day. Two reasons for this--

1. Scared to death I'll go back to my sedentary, chocolate snarfing ways if I take a day off (snowball effect)

2. A former athlete, I love working out and like how it makes me feel

Since I began working out, in these past 7 months or so, I have only not exercised on five days or so that I can think of. I am just about to the 70lb lost mark, and "onderland", so I don't want to change up anything because I really want to get off these next four lbs or so, but here is my question for you all:

Do you think if I took a rest day, that I would lose at a quicker rate? Or do you think my weight loss would stay the same? Should I try this, or keep to the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" approach? What do you think? And yes, OK, I want the fat to be "gone already". I know that I just have to keep plugging along. Thanks for reading, and I'd love to hear what you think!

Thanks again!
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Old 02-23-2011, 07:59 PM   #2  
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It's hard to predict these kinds of things since we're all so different. Maybe someone here can tell you. I personally think, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it," and you are doing really awesome. I think you should give yourself one or two days off per week for your body to rest, but if that derails you, then maybe not.
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Old 02-23-2011, 08:25 PM   #3  
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the only way to know for certain is to try it out.

if you don't lose as much, at least you know your body a little better!
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Old 02-23-2011, 08:30 PM   #4  
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I don't....get the question? Sorry, but I don't.

You. Like. Working. Out. You like the way it makes you feel, you seem to like pushing yourself, you're still losing weight. Why would you stop doing something you like when its healthy and good for you?

Could you take a rest day? Imo, for sure, assuming you kept your calories in check for that day; I don't know if you're eating back calories you're earning exercising, but you clearly couldn't on that day.
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Old 02-23-2011, 08:39 PM   #5  
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Ducky---
I'm curious on if I integrated a rest day or two per week, if my rate of loss would be higher, and am wondering if anyone on here has done such a thing and had success. Also, if maybe it would rev up my metabolism. Yes, I like working out, but I'd be willing to rest a day or two a week if it means I'd lose weight at a faster rate than I am now.

Gagalu--
I am thinking of trying this out for a couple weeks, once I'm comfortably in the 190's.
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Old 02-23-2011, 09:06 PM   #6  
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i'd say you've got a good plan, then. good luck, and i hope an integrated rest day works well for you!
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Old 02-23-2011, 09:14 PM   #7  
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I like your idea of waiting till you are in the 190's just from a mental standpoint.

I used to workout every day and then one day I wasn't able to go and felt like a big fat loser. So the next day I pushed myself more by increasing the resistance on the elliptical and going a little longer. I really felt the difference the next day and I lost more weight that week after being consistent with my weight loss the few weeks before. So now I go to the gym 5x a week and I mix up my routine. Sometimes treadmill, sometimes elliptical, sometimes weights before cardio or cardio before weights -- you get the idea. I also started playing the, "How much faster can I go today?" game with myself.

I digress but going back to your idea of waiting till you are safely in the 190's....I'd say experiment for a week or two and see what happens!

Last edited by ShanIAm; 02-23-2011 at 09:15 PM.
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Old 02-23-2011, 09:39 PM   #8  
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I'm sorry to say but the idea that you will lose weight faster if you stop exercising is a pretty bizarre one. People get some odd notions in their heads based on the .0000000001% of the population. That represents the person (usually female) who attempts to work out at insane levels (several hours a day) on heavily restricted calories and only has 5 lbs to lose before he (or she) can hoola hoop with a cheerio.

Keep it simple. Exercise burns calories. A caloric deficit causes a net oxidation of fat.

I can think of many reasons why less exercise is better but since you like exercise and you're working out for less than an hour a day and you enjoy it there is no way you will lose more weight by stopping your exercise. You may intially drop a pound or two of water if you do but I assume you're really concerned about fat loss and the big picture rather than a bit of water you may or may not be retaining.
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Old 02-23-2011, 09:41 PM   #9  
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I am just like you and right at 73 pounds of weight loss. I workout with a trainer... he insists I rest one day of the week and wishes I would rest two days of the week. It sounds like I might do a bit more. 6 days a week I have at least 1 hour hard cardio, 4 days a week I left weights. On my rest day I don't go to te gym however I do walk, this past rest day I walked 3 miles.


- Although I think you need a day of rest depending on what your exertion level i... I don't think you will lose weight faster or slower because of the day of rest. I think it helps eliminate the possibility of injury to let your muscles recover. I also know that after a day of rest you are more likely to be able to workout HARDER.
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Old 02-23-2011, 09:42 PM   #10  
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Thanks Shan,
I think I am in a "funk" and want to mix it up a bit.
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Old 02-23-2011, 09:44 PM   #11  
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Quote:
Originally Posted by fattymcfatty View Post
Ducky---
I'm curious on if I integrated a rest day or two per week, if my rate of loss would be higher, and am wondering if anyone on here has done such a thing and had success. Also, if maybe it would rev up my metabolism. Yes, I like working out, but I'd be willing to rest a day or two a week if it means I'd lose weight at a faster rate than I am now.

Gagalu--
I am thinking of trying this out for a couple weeks, once I'm comfortably in the 190's.
To rev up your metabolis you need to do interval training. 2 minutes slow and two minutes super fast on the elliptical. My trainer has my crossramp at 15 and resistance at 8 and I have to keep strides per minute above 160. then it goes to crossramp 4 and resistance 2 for 2 minutes and keep strides per minute at 115-125. Do this for 30 minutes.
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Old 02-23-2011, 09:46 PM   #12  
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Also, I was under the impression my muscles don't need the rest because I am alternating between machine and video...
Am I wrong on that?
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Old 02-23-2011, 09:49 PM   #13  
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Quote:
Originally Posted by stacygee View Post
To rev up your metabolis you need to do interval training.
Interval training does not rev up your metabolism. This is an old idea based on the notion that EPOC burned a lot of calories. It doesn't. Unfortunately short of certain drugs there is little you can do to rev up your metabolism.

Having said that interval training does burn calories faster than steady state cardio.
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Old 02-23-2011, 09:49 PM   #14  
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I do 2 rest days a week, and I've lost consistently. On my workout days, I workout between 45-120 min, but do nothing on my rest days. I generally take my rest days after my heavy days at the gym. It hasn't slowed my weight loss at all. I too love exercising, but the rest days do wonders for my body and my mind!
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Old 02-23-2011, 09:51 PM   #15  
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Thanks Stacy
I believe the shred is interval, but I am not doing that on my elliptical. I have a used diamondback fitness machine that doesn't plug in, so it will be challenging. I have to stop to adjust the tension, but I could adjust my speed and keep track of the time.
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