Ilias
September 4th, 2007, 04:50 PM
Hi:
I discovered this site about 2 months ago, when I finally decided to do something about my weight - I had never really worked out before. Since then, I have started to eat right and exercise 6 days a week (you guys are an excellent source of inspiration :tucool:). In the 9 weeks since then I have lost about 8 pounds, which isn't bad. However, moving forward I would like to increase my weight loss rate. Here is my current info (sorry if this is a bit long, please bear with me):
PERSONAL:
Height: 5'8''
Weight: ~185lbs
Age: 23
DIET:
Breakfast
1.5 cups of All-Bran Cereal + 1 cup of skim milk
Lunch & Dinner
- 1.5 cups of red rice with meat (I am pretty confident it is 1 cup - but I just eat as much meat as is necessary to finish the rice), and 1.5 cups of vegetables (usually boiled Chinese vegetables; I don't know the English names)
- two slices of whole-wheat bread with eggs or tuna and some fruit
Snacks (both after-lunch and after-dinner)
- fruit (apples, oranges, bananas, peaches, watermelons, etc)
- plain boiled corn on the cob
- cashews (handful)
- 2 cups of Chinese sesame soup
- 2 cups of soup or 2 cups of red bean soup (its actually full of different types of nuts/beans and black rice).
For the main meals, I pick one of the bullet points, for the snacks I might combine two points (i.e. some fruit and some cashews). I usually drink water, but sometimes I have skim milk. In these past 9 weeks, I didn't wake up early enough to eat breakfast except for once a week. This will likely change when I start school next week.
As for exercises, I alternate between weight days and cardio days, with Sunday off. For the weight exercises, I followed the Abs Diet Exercise Plan, which I found at:http://www.menshealth.com/cda/article.do?site=MensHealth&channel=weight.loss&category=abs.diet&conitem=682a99edbbbd201099edbbbd2010cfe793cd____&page=1
I have been using 5lb dumbbells, and I still have difficulty completing the last reps of each set :). For convenience, I will post the exercise routine (more information can be found by following the link - I chose the home version of each exercise, which hopefully will have the same effect as the gym versions)
Tuesdays/Thursdays
Exercise Reps Sets
Traditional Crunch* 12–15 1
Bent-Leg Knee Raise (Pulse-up on Thurs)* 12–15 1
Oblique V-Up (Saxon Side-bend on Thurs)* 10/side 1
Bridge (Side Bridge on Thurs)* 1-2 1
Back Extensions* 12–15 1
Squat 10–12 2
Bench Press 10 2
Pulldown 10 2
Military Press 10 2
Upright Row 10 2
Triceps Pushdown 10–12 2
Leg Extension 10–12 2
Biceps Curl 10 2
Leg Curl 10–12 2
Saturdays
Squat 10–12 2
Bench Press 10 2
Pulldown 10 2
Travelling Lunge 10/leg 2
Military Press 10 2
Upright Row 10 2
Step-up 10/leg 2
Triceps Pushdown 10–12 2
Leg Extension 10–12 2
Biceps Curl 10 2
Leg Curl 10–12 2
For those exercises which I didn't star, they are part of the circuit group, and I do those twice (i.e. on Saturday, I do all exercises from Squat to Leg Curl, then repeat).
For the cardio exercises, I just alternate between 30 seconds of high intensity stuff and 30 seconds of low intensity stuff (i.e. running or going on the elliptical) for 5 minutes, than rest for 1.5 minutes. I repeat this 3 times (actually I just changed it from 2 to 3 about two weeks ago) for a total of 5x3+3x1.5 = 19.5 minutes.
So that is where I am at currently. I have noticed that I am not progressing to heavier weights (as I mentioned 5 lbs per dumbbell still tires me out), and that after the first 3 weeks, I will alternate between not losing weight or gaining a little weight one week (like a pound), and then losing 2 pounds the next week.
[Edit: I realized I wasn't being very specific/clear about my questions, so I'll list them]
Questions:
1) I was wondering if anyone can recommend a new set of exercises that would give me better results (if you just have a new set of exercises that might be better, I would still appreciate them as variety is the spice of life :))? I am aiming for 6-8 pounds of weight loss per month going forward. I would appreciate weight exercises that ONLY require dumbbells (i.e. no barbells, no chin-up bars, preferably no bench although I have a piano bench that might suffice if required), and the minimal number of weights (I only have 8 2.5lbs plates for my dumbbells). The reason behind this condition is that I am poor and can't afford equipment. Now, my university has a gym, but I would prefer to work out at home. I like that I am alone, and there is no equipment contention :)
2) Am I doing enough cardio? I think I am basically doing HITT, but are 30 second cycles enough? Should they be 1 minute cycles instead? Is it ok to break the cardio into 5 minute chunks, with 1.5 minutes of rest in between like I am doing?
3) How important are pre and post-workout meals? I see a lot of recommendations for protein shakes, but again, I would like to avoid all unnecessary costs and am personally not too comfortable with taking supplements of any kind (I would prefer to do things the natural way). I generally find that I like some fruit & nuts after my weight training, and a main meal after my cardio (usually dinner). Are these diet decisions hampering my progress?
4) Why does my weight swing like that? For the last 6 weeks, its gone: up 0.8lbs, down 2.5 lbs, up 0.6 lbs, down 2 lbs, no change, down ?? pounds (I haven't weighed myself this week, but I think I lost some weight). Is this a sign that I am doing something wrong? I haven't changed my diet/exercise regiment in these past 6 weeks.
Please keep in mind that I am a complete beginner when it comes to exercise/nutrition, so if you could make things as simple as possible (i.e. when listing exercises, it would be really helpful if you could provide a link to a step-by-step idiot-proof guide as to how to do that particular exercise).
Phew, that was a long post. Thanks for taking the time to read it and I look forward to what you guys have to say :)
I discovered this site about 2 months ago, when I finally decided to do something about my weight - I had never really worked out before. Since then, I have started to eat right and exercise 6 days a week (you guys are an excellent source of inspiration :tucool:). In the 9 weeks since then I have lost about 8 pounds, which isn't bad. However, moving forward I would like to increase my weight loss rate. Here is my current info (sorry if this is a bit long, please bear with me):
PERSONAL:
Height: 5'8''
Weight: ~185lbs
Age: 23
DIET:
Breakfast
1.5 cups of All-Bran Cereal + 1 cup of skim milk
Lunch & Dinner
- 1.5 cups of red rice with meat (I am pretty confident it is 1 cup - but I just eat as much meat as is necessary to finish the rice), and 1.5 cups of vegetables (usually boiled Chinese vegetables; I don't know the English names)
- two slices of whole-wheat bread with eggs or tuna and some fruit
Snacks (both after-lunch and after-dinner)
- fruit (apples, oranges, bananas, peaches, watermelons, etc)
- plain boiled corn on the cob
- cashews (handful)
- 2 cups of Chinese sesame soup
- 2 cups of soup or 2 cups of red bean soup (its actually full of different types of nuts/beans and black rice).
For the main meals, I pick one of the bullet points, for the snacks I might combine two points (i.e. some fruit and some cashews). I usually drink water, but sometimes I have skim milk. In these past 9 weeks, I didn't wake up early enough to eat breakfast except for once a week. This will likely change when I start school next week.
As for exercises, I alternate between weight days and cardio days, with Sunday off. For the weight exercises, I followed the Abs Diet Exercise Plan, which I found at:http://www.menshealth.com/cda/article.do?site=MensHealth&channel=weight.loss&category=abs.diet&conitem=682a99edbbbd201099edbbbd2010cfe793cd____&page=1
I have been using 5lb dumbbells, and I still have difficulty completing the last reps of each set :). For convenience, I will post the exercise routine (more information can be found by following the link - I chose the home version of each exercise, which hopefully will have the same effect as the gym versions)
Tuesdays/Thursdays
Exercise Reps Sets
Traditional Crunch* 12–15 1
Bent-Leg Knee Raise (Pulse-up on Thurs)* 12–15 1
Oblique V-Up (Saxon Side-bend on Thurs)* 10/side 1
Bridge (Side Bridge on Thurs)* 1-2 1
Back Extensions* 12–15 1
Squat 10–12 2
Bench Press 10 2
Pulldown 10 2
Military Press 10 2
Upright Row 10 2
Triceps Pushdown 10–12 2
Leg Extension 10–12 2
Biceps Curl 10 2
Leg Curl 10–12 2
Saturdays
Squat 10–12 2
Bench Press 10 2
Pulldown 10 2
Travelling Lunge 10/leg 2
Military Press 10 2
Upright Row 10 2
Step-up 10/leg 2
Triceps Pushdown 10–12 2
Leg Extension 10–12 2
Biceps Curl 10 2
Leg Curl 10–12 2
For those exercises which I didn't star, they are part of the circuit group, and I do those twice (i.e. on Saturday, I do all exercises from Squat to Leg Curl, then repeat).
For the cardio exercises, I just alternate between 30 seconds of high intensity stuff and 30 seconds of low intensity stuff (i.e. running or going on the elliptical) for 5 minutes, than rest for 1.5 minutes. I repeat this 3 times (actually I just changed it from 2 to 3 about two weeks ago) for a total of 5x3+3x1.5 = 19.5 minutes.
So that is where I am at currently. I have noticed that I am not progressing to heavier weights (as I mentioned 5 lbs per dumbbell still tires me out), and that after the first 3 weeks, I will alternate between not losing weight or gaining a little weight one week (like a pound), and then losing 2 pounds the next week.
[Edit: I realized I wasn't being very specific/clear about my questions, so I'll list them]
Questions:
1) I was wondering if anyone can recommend a new set of exercises that would give me better results (if you just have a new set of exercises that might be better, I would still appreciate them as variety is the spice of life :))? I am aiming for 6-8 pounds of weight loss per month going forward. I would appreciate weight exercises that ONLY require dumbbells (i.e. no barbells, no chin-up bars, preferably no bench although I have a piano bench that might suffice if required), and the minimal number of weights (I only have 8 2.5lbs plates for my dumbbells). The reason behind this condition is that I am poor and can't afford equipment. Now, my university has a gym, but I would prefer to work out at home. I like that I am alone, and there is no equipment contention :)
2) Am I doing enough cardio? I think I am basically doing HITT, but are 30 second cycles enough? Should they be 1 minute cycles instead? Is it ok to break the cardio into 5 minute chunks, with 1.5 minutes of rest in between like I am doing?
3) How important are pre and post-workout meals? I see a lot of recommendations for protein shakes, but again, I would like to avoid all unnecessary costs and am personally not too comfortable with taking supplements of any kind (I would prefer to do things the natural way). I generally find that I like some fruit & nuts after my weight training, and a main meal after my cardio (usually dinner). Are these diet decisions hampering my progress?
4) Why does my weight swing like that? For the last 6 weeks, its gone: up 0.8lbs, down 2.5 lbs, up 0.6 lbs, down 2 lbs, no change, down ?? pounds (I haven't weighed myself this week, but I think I lost some weight). Is this a sign that I am doing something wrong? I haven't changed my diet/exercise regiment in these past 6 weeks.
Please keep in mind that I am a complete beginner when it comes to exercise/nutrition, so if you could make things as simple as possible (i.e. when listing exercises, it would be really helpful if you could provide a link to a step-by-step idiot-proof guide as to how to do that particular exercise).
Phew, that was a long post. Thanks for taking the time to read it and I look forward to what you guys have to say :)