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Orkeosaurus wrote:

squilverine wrote:Loosing weight is all about cardio vascular fitness, not lifting heavy things. Cardio vascular excercises are those which make you out of breath. Running, cycling, rowing, cross trainers and swimming are all excellent. Lifting wieghts will increase the size and definition of your muscles. As muscle is heavier than fat you need to concentrate on your cardio first or you may actualy put on wieght!

I don't know that I'd agree with this; I mean, if you're technically talking about reducing weight I guess I'd agree, but most people who say they want to lose weight want to be losing fat, and would be happy with more muscle.

Muscle helps to keep the fat off later on, and can help to make cardiovascular exercise easier to do. I think you need to try and mix the two.

.

QFT! I also know that many have an "anti-weight lifting" belief because they don't want to look like Ah-nold but the truth is only Arnold can look like Arnold (Lou Farrigno is bigger anyway). Unless someone plans to pump iron for a couple of years or more, they simply won't (necessarily) get that big. Muscle is a good thing, generally.

But let's get Blaglord moving in the right direction first. Blagord can fine tune their own plan later.

Orkeosaurus wrote:

squilverine wrote:Loosing weight is all about cardio vascular fitness, not lifting heavy things. Cardio vascular excercises are those which make you out of breath. Running, cycling, rowing, cross trainers and swimming are all excellent. Lifting wieghts will increase the size and definition of your muscles. As muscle is heavier than fat you need to concentrate on your cardio first or you may actualy put on wieght!

I don't know that I'd agree with this; I mean, if you're technically talking about reducing weight I guess I'd agree, but most people who say they want to lose weight want to be losing fat, and would be happy with more muscle.

Muscle helps to keep the fat off later on, and can help to make cardiovascular exercise easier to do. I think you need to try and mix the two.

Agreed that most people who want to loose wieght also want to add muscle and definition, but you can't loose weight by doing weights. Most men put wieght on their belly, the only way to get rid of this is cardio. The muscle it's self doesn't keep fat off. The body prefers to burn fat when exercising, the muscles are made larger by exercises which cause little tears in them, these then form scar tissue which toughen and bulk them out. The problem with building too much muscle is that it quickly turns to fat when you stop exercise.

The best way to to start loosing weight, and tone up, by exercise is to go 2/3 cardio and 1/3 wieghts, the cadio work should be incorporated into the warm up and warm down with the wieghts to tone things up and work the muscles in the middle of the work out.

squilverine wrote:

Orkeosaurus wrote:

squilverine wrote:Loosing weight is all about cardio vascular fitness, not lifting heavy things. Cardio vascular excercises are those which make you out of breath. Running, cycling, rowing, cross trainers and swimming are all excellent. Lifting wieghts will increase the size and definition of your muscles. As muscle is heavier than fat you need to concentrate on your cardio first or you may actualy put on wieght!

I don't know that I'd agree with this; I mean, if you're technically talking about reducing weight I guess I'd agree, but most people who say they want to lose weight want to be losing fat, and would be happy with more muscle.

Muscle helps to keep the fat off later on, and can help to make cardiovascular exercise easier to do. I think you need to try and mix the two.

Agreed that most people who want to loose wieght also want to add muscle and definition, but you can't loose weight by doing weights. Most men put wieght on their belly, the only way to get rid of this is cardio. The muscle it's self doesn't keep fat off. The body prefers to burn fat when exercising, the muscles are made larger by exercises which cause little tears in them, these then form scar tissue which toughen and bulk them out. The problem with building too much muscle is that it quickly turns to fat when you stop exercise.

The best way to to start loosing weight, and tone up, by exercise is to go 2/3 cardio and 1/3 wieghts, the cadio work should be incorporated into the warm up and warm down with the wieghts to tone things up and work the muscles in the middle of the work out.

I think we may be tripping over mouse-turds aka particulars of fitness and training. Sorry for mediating but I think we are all meaning the same things. I'd hate for this to break down into an argument over fitness techniques (and potentially off-topic). Let's help Blaglord get started first.

All this is great!! I've said it numerous times , Thank you for your support. I have made some dietary changes and the next step is excersize which I'm going to have to make a serious effort into applying myself. Fortunately, there is a gym where I work and it has a treadmill and an eliptical (it scares the crap outta me hehe) so that's my next step.

But, I've really got to do something, my knees are going out and I just don't like myself, and with the Hypoglycemia (which may turn into Diabetes, runs in my family.) I've got to make a change.
I'm shocked how supported you guys are for someone you've never met and I appreciate it.

I got to keep the Waaaagghhh!! goin strong!!

squilverine wrote:Agreed that most people who want to loose wieght also want to add muscle and definition, but you can't loose weight by doing weights. Most men put wieght on their belly, the only way to get rid of this is cardio.

Eh? You don't need any exercise to lose stomach fat; diet alone can do it. Both aerobic and anaerobic exercise burn calories, so it's really a matter of how many calories they burn relative to each other than one doing something and the other not doing anything.

The muscle it's self doesn't keep fat off. The body prefers to burn fat when exercising, the muscles are made larger by exercises which cause little tears in them, these then form scar tissue which toughen and bulk them out.

Muscle burns calories at rest, so having more muscle will increase your base metabolism as well as allow you to burn more calories when exercising.

The problem with building too much muscle is that it quickly turns to fat when you stop exercise.

Muscle can't turn into fat. What happens often times to people who weight train is they then stop and continue eat the amount of food they did before. That's not a liability caused by the muscle though.

The best way to to start loosing weight, and tone up, by exercise is to go 2/3 cardio and 1/3 wieghts, the cadio work should be incorporated into the warm up and warm down with the wieghts to tone things up and work the muscles in the middle of the work out.

That's probably good advice. Cardio's going to be having more of an impact when the goal is to lose fat specifically. (Although diet seems to make a bigger difference than either.)

I would recommend switching off between more moderate cardio and high impact cardio, but I don't know what level of cardio Blarglord is going to have an okay time with, so that might be something to look into once he starts getting in better shape.

His practice has no room for new patients! Now, he's a medical wizard! I love this Doctor!

Q: Doctor, I've heard that cardiovascular exercise can prolong life. Is this true?
A: Heart only good for so many beats, and that it.... Don't waste on exercise. Everything wear out eventually. Speed up heart not make live longer; that like say you can extend life of car by driving faster. Want live longer? Take nap.

Q: Should I cut down on meat and eat more fruits and vegetables?
A: You must grasp logistical efficiencies. What does cow eat? Hay and corn. What are these? Vegetables. So, steak nothing more than efficient mechanism of delivering vegetables to system. Need grain? Eat chicken. Beef also good source of field grass (green leafy vegetable). And pork chop can give 100% recommended daily allowance of vegetable products.

Q: Should I reduce my alcohol intake?
A: No, not at all. Wine made from fruit. Brandy is distilled wine. That means they take water out of fruity bit; get even more of goodness that way. Beer also made out of grain. Bottoms up!

Q: How can I calculate my body/fat ratio?
A: If you have body and you have fat, ratio is one to one. If you have two bodies, ratio is two to one, etc.

Q: What are some of the advantages of participating in a regular exercise program?
A: Cannot think of single one, sorry. My philosophy: No Pain....Good!

Q: Aren't fried foods bad for you?
A: YOU NOT LISTENING!!! .... Foods fried in vegetable oil. How getting more vegetables be bad for you?

Q: Will sit-ups help prevent me from getting a little soft around the middle?
A: Definitely not! When you exercise muscle, it get bigger. You should only do sit-ups if want bigger stomach.

Q: Is chocolate bad for me?
A: You crazy? HELLO. Cocoa beans! Vegetable!!! Cocoa beans best feel-good food around!

Q: Is swimming good for your figure?
A: If swimming good for figure, explain whales to me.

Q: Is getting in-shape important for my lifestyle?
A: Hey! 'Round' is shape!

Well, I hope this has cleared up any misconceptions you may have had about food and diets.

Seriously, though, I have been thinking about getting into shape, and this thread has helped a lot.

@Blarglord - If you're having knee problems, a rowing/sculling machine could help. That would mean less impact on your knees than running. Works for me.

G'day mate - I have the same problem. Ive been hanging around 100kilos since 2002 (im 34 now).

Ive been personal training, but - because I didnt adjust my diet I got 'Fat Strong'.

My new approach (2rd week in) is - eat less (im getting my GF to determine portion size for me) and integrating gradual cardio excersize in to my day to day routine. If you can pick up incidental exercise it makes a huge difference. I used to drive to work, Im now walking (50 mins).

I also picked up an interval trainer/timer. So I now walk for 5 mins and jog for one min on the way to work. Every week I reduce the walk time by 15 seconds. Very gradual, but Im seeing a few results - I started two weeks ago at 96.9, and today Im 95.0.

Oh yeah - my sister did weight watchers and went from 90kilo to 60 in the space of 2 years. She has kept it off for the last 4 years and keeps trying to get me on board!

Best of luck mate, and keep us informed (support is very helpful - I considered posting something like this - but wasnt sure if it was 'off topic' or 'p&m"

squilverine wrote:
Agreed that most people who want to loose wieght also want to add muscle and definition, but you can't loose weight by doing weights.Most men put wieght on their belly, the only way to get rid of this is cardio. The muscle it's self doesn't keep fat off. The body prefers to burn fat when exercising, the muscles are made larger by exercises which cause little tears in them, these then form scar tissue which toughen and bulk them out. The problem with building too much muscle is that it quickly turns to fat when you stop exercise.

Muscle itself doesn't turn into fat anymore than fat turns into muscle. If you stop lifting your body will reduce the size of individual muscle cells, and that will 'soften' the body, but its not the result of additional fat being present. Rather, the muscle fibers themselves simply lose mass, and thus occupy less space; reducing the tension on the skin, and the outer layer of fat. You never actually lose muscle, barring medical complications, only muscle mass. This is why its easier to reach a certain strength point after having previously achieved it.

The type of training you do will dictate the impact on your muscles, but in the broadest terms there are two different effects: hypertrophy (the increase in size of muscle cells) and hyperplasia (the increase in number of muscle cells). Of the two, hypertrophy is far easier to achieve as it doesn't require the extreme exertion of hyperplasia, which requires very high weights in order to produce the microtears you described. In general, there is no reason for anyone who is over 25 to bother with hyperplasia as older bodies are unlikely to respond well to the training over anything other than extremely long intervals.

As for muscle not burning fat: that's simply untrue. The amount of muscle mass the body carries is critical to determining its rest metabolic rate. The more muscle you have, the more calories your body will need to sustain itself while sitting in a chair, or sleeping. Since fat only burns at a ~90% blood oxygen level, the best time to lose it is when you're sitting in a chair; hopefully recovering from a workout.

squilverine wrote:
The best way to to start loosing weight, and tone up, by exercise is to go 2/3 cardio and 1/3 wieghts, the cadio work should be incorporated into the warm up and warm down with the wieghts to tone things up and work the muscles in the middle of the work out.

Cardio itself has no toning effect on the body. It burns calories which have been taken in during the day, so that the body can utilize fat calories while at rest. Any tone produced in the course of something like running is the result of progressive stress (roughly equivalent to very inefficient strength training) placed on the muscles used in the course of motion.

The workout you describe is fairly sound, as far as outlines go.

I'd say see a doctor to get an assesment of your state of health and if possible start weight lifting and some cardio.
If you can, use an eliptical machine or just do a lot of walking at first and build up to some running.
Make a menu for yourself with a safe amount of calories for each day and that should just about do it if you stick with it and don't let yourself be discouraged.
Don't diet though, eat reasonable amounts of foods you like as long as you're willing to pay the price with a workout that can burn it off.
I'm 53 and it's a method that's worked well for me my entire life.