Is there anyone not on WW looking to lose 25-50lbs?

[Eileen]

I am working on losing my last 25 lbs of FAT and would love to connect with people who are adding in exercise, experimenting with new recipes and making it a lifestyle not a diet.

I want to have some accountability for the exercise and water intake, maybe a few pointers or challenges to keep the progress going. Measuring weight, inches and reporting in on NSV. Anybody with insight is appreciated, but I don't have WW points listings and information. I basically do low carb - less than 100 grams a day. Low fat, I try to stay below 25 grams in a day, this is often a challenge, but I try to make it healthy fat such as almonds. Also I am working on getting my fiber intake up to a steady "regular" of 25 grams daily. Just a few of the things I pay attention to in my attempt to lose the FAT!

[Anonymous Fat Girl]

I'm not on WW but I have about 100 to lose. My eating plan is similar to yours - and I'm all about this not being a "diet" but a healthy lifestyle. I just started working out with a trainer at the gym. It's going to be a long road for me, but we can both do this together! :)

[Boston Kosta]

common misconceptions about cardio and strength training. I used to think that kicking my butt doing cardio was the best way to shed body fat but I was wrong. My good friend, personal trainer, and now business partner, Pete Samberg explained why it was incorrect and less effective and dared me to try it his way and now I am well on my way to my target physical shape and I am doing it in a "lifestyle" way. The program I am on that he developed is ww.getLEANin15.com . You can try the program free for 30 days and unlike other workout programs/videos where it is 1-2 workouts or 30-60 days, this program is on going. Every week Pete provides you with 5 new workouts so you never have to worry about whether you are plateauing or getting sick of your workout which is great for me.

As for diets, I generally have an idea of what I eat but I do not track any details and if I am out and choose to have something I do. what I learned from pete is that "cardio" activity is a moderate exercise and 2 minutes of moderate exercise is equivolent to 1 minute at a high intensity. Therefore it takes twice as long to achieve the same results. The other thing I learned was that if I wanted to speed up my metabolism I had to build more lean muscle, so strength training was paramount. Working at a high intensity while strength training I would I was getting faster and more effective results in a shorter time. See the thing with "cardio" is that the moment you step off the treadmill you are done burning calories, but when you strength train at a high intensity your muscles take 24 to 48 hours to recover. And your body continues burning calories all day.

I have been tracking my progress for 30 days however I lost several of my posts. I am nearing the end of the 30 period and I have lost 5 pounds and built more lean muscle, shed body fat and 2 inches off my waist. before and after pictures are forthcoming. If you would like to try the program I recommend it, it is not a quick fix or 8 week total body transformation but rather a system that will get and keep you in great health for the rest of your life in only 15-20 minutes 5 days a week. Should you look to another program just remember the cardio myth, it is not necessary to start with cardio and work your way to strength training, and don't be scared or intimidated by strength training. If you don't have the knowledge to set a program look to programs like this and others to guide you. I have set up a group for my program and I wish you all luck in your endeavors.

[Melissa Pace]

I'm not on WW either. My plan is very similar to yours. I try to watch my carbs and fat. I like experimenting with new recipes that are easy and fast, but taste delicious! Getting my water intake up there is hard for me. I try but I struggle with that. I would like to lose 50lbs.

[Salina Lyn]

K...maybe I'm just slow but you mention making a lifestyle change and not using a diet then all the comments below seem to be around following a DIET. What about just having a balanced diet and exercising regularly? I'm curious to know what your calorie intake is every day if you're trying to keep your carbs at less than 100 grams/day because that seems unhealthily low. I maintain a 1,400 calorie diet and balance my diet by % of each carbs, protein, and fat. Anything less than 50% of your daily calorie intake from carbs is considered unhealthy and will put your body into ketosis which causes a laundry list of problems if you do that too long. At 1,400 calories/day, 50% to carbs is about 168 grams/day and 20% to fat is about 30grams/day. I typically balance my carb/protein/fat intake like so, 50/30/20% of daily calories. It does fluctuate as much as 40/30/30 though every once in a while. Nutritionists and fitness professionals alike say that weight loss is about 80% about your diet and 20% about your exercise. If you're eating balanced meals including fruits, veggies, grains, and lean proteins, you should be good there. Then when it comes to exercise, there's a trick I just learned this year and I've been using it and it works WONDERS. Actually two things. First thing is interval training. Seriously amazing. I suggest learning what you can about efficient interval training. Second thing is lower intensity for longer duration. Most people think that if you get on the treadmill and run your heart out for 20 mins, you're good to go. Not true if you you're trying to burn fat. Burning fat by exercising is all about heart rate management. If your HR is too high, you're not going to be in fat burning zone. And if you're only exercising for 20 mins, you haven't given your body sufficient time to switch over to burning fat. No matter what your HR is the first 20 mins of a workout, your body is programmed to burn off the natural carb stores we have, then it will switch to burning fat ONLY if you're in the fat burning HR zone. Mine happens to be between 135-140 bpm (I had my metabolism tested to know for sure). Winning combo for burning fat, at least this is true for me (I've lost 8.8lbs of fat in the last 6 weeks without losing any lean body mass), is:

4 meals/day totalling 1,400 calories (for me) at the 50/30/20% I mention above (balanced per meal and for the entire day), plenty of fresh fruits, berries, veggies, whole grains, and lean proteins (you shouldn't have to measure fiber if you're doing this)

Exercise 4-5 times/week doing 45mins-1hr cardio alternating days between interval and a steady average HR of 140 the entire time and weight training with low weights high reps at least once/week (this is very important so you tone and build more muscle which is responsible for burning your fat while you are at rest, which also increases your metabolism)

Some great books to check out if you want more information:
Jillian Michaels - Master your Metabolism
Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle
Eat Clean
Body for Life (the website is a good resource for weight training demos and ideas)