[bamoh]

... can walking and running the tread mill for 30 min a day alone help you lose weight?. and get tid of an annoying belly?. my eating habits are somewhat haphazrd but don't drink.I am 35 years of age!
.. What other programs would one embrace to keep fit?. I am 5'8 and tipping the scales at 181 pounds!. is this on the heavier side?

Thank you in advance!. for the input

[trmpldonagn]

Alone? Not sure if that alone will help. It depends on what you're eating. You probably know that 3500 calories not burned is 1 pound of weight gained. You want to watch your caloric intake and what you're eating along with the exercising. Ex: you'd be better off with a 400 calorie piece of steak rather than a 400 calorie piece of cake. I know I know, I'd rather have the cake too! Best of luck to you.

[Eileen G]

"Abs are built in the kitchen, not the gym". Shifting belly fat is about what you eat, rather than which exercise you do in the gym.

That said, the treadmill does provide good cardio. Alternate between High intensity sprint sessions and longer steady state cardio.

181lb at your height could be completely ripped or wobbly fat. Totally depends on your body composition. What size is your waist?

[bamoh]

.. Eileen!. Thanks for the insight!. to answer your question I am a male ,doing 36 inches around the waist.. so how do I stack up?. hmnn.. a little too "stocky"?

.. outside of that,other than adopting a healthy meal routine,what other exercises could I explore religiously besides the "infamous treadmill?"

[Eileen G]

They generally recommend that men should be less than 34 inches around the waist, so work to do but not too bad.

The main things are getting the diet right (try replacing all white carbs with lean protein and green veg), some form of cardio and lifting weights. You need to lift weights even if you have no interest in any form of bodybuilding. It will keep you strong and fit and keep your bones strong. Men get osteoporosis as well.

If you can't get to a gym, then do bodyweight squats, lunges, step-ups, press-ups, pull-ups, dips etc. You can do shoulder press, biceps curls and woodchoppers with bottles of water or something similar.

[bamoh]

... very resourceful Eileen!. time to get on those veggies now then!. quickly though, steamed would taste a little "bland" for me... is it on order to sautee them?. preferably using some vinagrette?. (eg Italian)
,, secondly what is the ideal duration (if any)on the above routines should one embark on them daily?

Many thanks dear!

[mead907]

The only way to loose weight is to eat less calories in a day than you burn off. This is called a negative caloric balanced.

Fat is stored in the different locations of the body where it is pregenetically disposed to be.

"Spot Training" is a false theory stating that you can loose fat in specific areas of the body by doing specific exercises. Ex doing sit ups to loose belly fat. This is a false theory.

The best way to loose weight would be to do cardio exercises that raise the heart rate for prolonged periods. The higher the heart rate the more calories burned.

A good heart rate to exercise at for cardio for starters is about 50-75% your max heart rate.

Your max heart rate (give or take 10 or 12 beats per minute) is 220-Your Age = Max heart rate. For you 220-35=185

50% X 185 = 93 bpm
75% X 185 = 139 bpm

If you exercise at 40-60% Max HR or higher for 30 minutes most days of the week (3-4 days) you will significantly lower your risk of cardiac disease such as heart attach or angina.

You can gain these same benefits if you get your 30 minutes of daily cardio in periods of no less than 10 minutes.

MEANING you can exercise at the prescribed HR for 10 minutes at morning 10 at noon and 10 at night and still gain the same health benefits as exercising for 30 minutes continuously.

Cardio is good to burn your daily calories to gain that negative balance diet and increase your basal metabolic rate (BMR) which is the amount of calories burned at rest.

Adding weight training 2 to 3 days a week will also increase that metabolism (BMR) even quicker.

Never lift weights for the same muscle group 2 days in a row. Always give at least one days rest.


At 5' 8" and 181 lbs you are overweight according to the Body Max Index (BMI).

A BMI of 18.6-24.9 is normal. 25-29.9 is overweight. 30+ is Obese.

your BMI is 27.5

This is not considering muscle mass. Muscle weighs more than fat. Personally I am a BMI of 25.5

of my 173 pounds only 10.4% is fat but I am considered overweight. I only have about 18 pounds of fat on me. That's not much at all.

An acceptable body fat % for men is considered 18-24%. Obese is 25%+.

I hope this helps. I am a personal trainer in Alaska.

[Eileen G]

Sauteed with a little olive oil is fine, you do need some healthy fats in your diet, but all oils are heavy on calories, so allow for this. Eat oily fish too, you really need your Omega-3.

I agree with most of what the previous poster said, except for the bit about heart rate. If you are carrying a lot of muscle, you risk burning some with high intensity exercise. However, if you have fat to spare, then belt away hard, pant and sweat to see best results. 50-75% of max heart rate is very low for most people, it's the equivalent of a brisk walk. Personally, I'd do sprint intervals where you go at 90%+ then drop back to the lower level.

[bamoh]

.. thanks guys!. now! there has been this buzz lately on granulated sugar versus sugar substitutes. I read and hear tons of conflicting takes on substitutes like equal,splenda ,sweet and low and some such,, are these healthier options to take with my much needed cup of tea?. or I am better off with a teaspoonful of regular sugar or honey on that cup/.. and speaking of cup, I have to take a cup of tea withhalf and half milk and at times whole!. is this in tandem with what I am trying to achieve here?.

.. again team, thank you so much for shedding all this light to some of us!

[bamoh]

.. mead907!. I was immensely grateful too on that informative piece!

[Eileen G]

Personally, I'd ditch both the sugar and the sweeteners. Sugar is empty calories with no nutrition at all, and there is some evidence that sugar is a factor in a lot of lifestyle diseases. Sugar in tea is something you can learn to live without, it's not essential. Just drink your tea a lot weaker than usual and you won't miss the sugar.

Sweeteners have fewer calories, but they are mostly made from chemicals your body can't process. Rat studies show that eating sweeteners tend to cause overeating later, they think that the taste of sweetness without the calories breaks the link between food and satiety.

If you must use some sort of sweetener, I'd be inclined to go for xylitol, which at least is good for your teeth.

The amount of milk you take in your tea is small, don't worry about it.