Just thought I'd try and answer a few of your questions.
1) You should aim for FAT LOSS of about 1/2 pound - 2 pounds per week depending on how much you have to lose. Actually the huge weight loss that you hear so many people rave about when they start a commercial program is mostly water and lean body mass - you want to lose FAT, because lean body mass - muscle - actually BURNS fat and helps you lose quicker!
2) Six days a week with a day of rest each week. It's not really how much TIME you work out, it's the INTENSITY of your workouts. I know lots of folks (and I was one myself) who spend hours on the cardio machines at the gym and have not visibly changed one iota in years. It has been proven again and again that interval training, interspersed with weight training, is far more effective than hours of cardio in the so-called 'fat-burning' zone.
3) Again, it's not the time, it's the intensity and actually just DOING it in the first place. Check this link
http://www.stumptuous.com/cardio.html for a very good (and funny!) article called "Kardio Kween" that explains all.
4) You HAVE to push yourself if you want to make changes. When I do cardio at intervals, I will do 2 minutes jogging, 1 minute all out running. Just look at the way a race horse is trained. They don't just trot and canter all day - they do intervals, all out breezing interspersed with cantering and galloping. That's how you improve - by pushing your limits.
5) Exactly! As long as you're working a different muscle group every time (what bodybuilders call 'splits') you're NOT overtraining. For example: the classic BFL split:
Monday - Upper body weight training
Tuesday - 20 Minutes cardio
Wednesday - Lower body weight training
Thursday - 20 minutes cardio
Friday - Upper body weight training
Saturday - 20 minutes cardio
Sunday - rest day
Monday - Lower Body Weight training
Tuesday - 20 minutes cardio
and so on. You will see there is more than 48 hours between bodypart training to recover.
That should answer question 6.
7) It all depends how much you put into it. How intense and focused you are during your workouts, and how 'clean' your nutrition is. If you're taking little bites of this and that and thinking it's not going to affect your progress - WRONG! (Thank goodness BFL has the Free Day every week!) Those nibbles do add up...
8) Everyone is different - depends on what your caloric needs are. Basic rule of thumb is 1 gram protein and carbs per pound of body weight. At each meal you can eat all the veggies you want.
9 & 10 - I have no idea what the 21 day program you are referring to is.
11 - Keep working at it - your body changes from the inside out. Focus on how you feel INSIDE. If you're lifting weights and eating clean, most likely what's happening is you're building muscle mass - this is a GOOD THING (don't worry about getting 'too big' - unless you are on steroids or have a preponderance of testosterone - which women don't have - you will NOT get huge) because muscle burns fat 24 hours a day, 7 days a week - not just while you're doing cardio.
12 - you should be getting 8 hours of sleep a night - your body needs the recovery time. If you're not feeling energized, then you need to look at your lifestyle and what you're eating. If you're eating a lot of sugar, that can tend to make you crash big time - the quick insulin rush followed by the rundown feeling.
13 - First thing in the morning if possible, but the important thing is to 'just do it'. If you make an effort, you'll find that the morning workout becomes a habit - a GOOD habit! It's like renewing your commitment to be healthy every day!
Any more questions? Check us out at the Body for Life board - and you can check my website for my photos up to Oct 2001 and the Transformation Gallery at
www.leanandstrong.com for my progress photos up to last month! Take care!
Sooo much information - which plans really work?
Ok. I think that's enough for now - ha ha! I'm looking to lose 40-45lbs and am just getting started. I'm normally petite (or at least I used to be) but ever since having my second daughter 4 years ago! I have had such a hard time losing anything. And what's worse is that I'm tired all the time. I know kids wear you out but I think that I must have the tired gene and I'm discouraged that there's no getting rid of it. I also know that everyone is different and that there is no perfect program and no perfect answer to any of the above questions. I just had to ask and hope that I could get something that will point me in the right direction. Thanks so much for all your help and good luck!!
Hi there Sassypie!
Thanks!
