I have two months to look my best????

[JamesMC]

Ok i have 2 months till I am going away to a very hot lake where i will need to take my shirt off but as of right now I definetly dont have the confidence to do it. I want to loose around 15-20pounds and i want to look as good as possible for this holiday.

my diet has been pretty lousy for the last couple weeks but I am going shopping in a couple days and im going to make sure my deit is great for the next couple months.

because my main goal is to loose weight and tone up i was thinking i should be doing much more cardio then weight training. for the last couple weeks i havent been doing anything as far as exercise goes but before that i was going to the gym 3 days a week and doing cardio for 25mins a day 5 days a week.

should i keep going to the gym and doing a bit of cardio or should i cut down the gym visits and do more cardio?

i was thinking going to the gym twice a week, doing weight training and then 25mins of eliptical trainer, then 3 days a week i would run laps, and a 6th day i could either do an intense hike or go swimming?

what would u guys suggest doing?

thanks

[DBZ Status]

alright first of all every pound of muscle u put on takes about 60-80 calories just to keep it a day. So it would be in your best interest to weight train and do cardio. Also watch your diet eliminate all junk food. I would weight train at least 3 times a week. Squats are a must because they build the most muscle. Run as much as you want but at least do 120 min of cardio a week of some kind. For weights u can split it up like

mon upper body 3 x 20 on chest shoulders arms
tues lower body 3 x 20 on squats 3 x20 on leg extensions and curls
wed rest just run today or rest
thurs upper 3 x20 everything above
fri lower 3 x 20
sat rest
sun rest

this is a conditioning phase u can start going heavier the next week. If u lift weights regularly u can just skip that but its still good to do to get u ready for heavier weights
This is only for weights run as much as u want but at least 120 min a week and make sure u eat enough protein and sugarless carbs (oatmeal, brown rice, grains) No sugar is very important!! it triggers the storage of fat!!! so dont eat sugar!! Also take before and after photos becasue weighing yourself doesnt work too well u have to go by image comparison... I hope this helps u out feel free to ask anymore questions ill try my best to answer what i know

[JamesMC]

ok thanks for the advice im going to do just that and see how it goes.

so when i am in the gym doing weights i should be doing 20 reps to tone up?

right now i usually do between 8-12 reps and 3-4 sets depending on the exersise.

if possible can i do more cardio then 120mins a week, something around 180mins a week or will that be too much and take away from everything?

thanks agian

[etothepii]

I was, at one point, loosing 3 pounds per week. I used a spreadsheet to track calories (I use fitday now -- much easier). I used various calorie calculators to find the approximation of my BMR. Then, I ate 100 - 200 below that, and exercised once to twice per day. Usually, I'd rollerblade for 45 - 60 minutes in the morning, then do 30 - 45 minutes on the stair climber in the evening. Some days, I would do calesthenics as well.

If I could do it all over again, I would lift weights every other day. Nothing to serious, in order to avoid over training. Just enough to help preserve some muscle mass. High rep lifting with low weight is a great idea. Wait 60 seconds between sets to help trigger an aerobic response.

Keep in mind, that quick weight loss can have negative side effects in the long term, namely muscle loss. Exercise smart, and you can minimize this.

[AlexR]

20 Reps!? No Way. I'm sure people will elaborate more but there is no such thing as 'toning' or 'sculpting' a muscle. It is far more simple than that. Weight training and correct eating habits aid Muscle growth.

The best rep range's for muscle growth are anything between 4-10 reps. Personally I aim between 6-8 reps on each exercise.

For someone to appear toned they need to build muscle, however many reps you do, will not change the shape or appearance of the muscle and if anything will just slow progress.

Get good form and go heavy.

[Lady C]

20 reps are fine for a beginner to get the form down. Form is most important. Once you are doing the moves correctly, move to a rep range, and weight that is taxing around 10 reps. Toning is a nice way of saying building muscle. High reps usually trigger endurance muscles rather than strength muscles. The rep range you stay with depends on your individual goals. Muscle mass building is very important for anyone over 30 since our bodys start losing muscle mass naturally at that age.

Cardio's primary focus is fat loss, which will translate to muscle loss as well, if resistance training is not incorporated. A diet is key to reaching leaness or muscle building. Insufficient or overabundant intake will lead to not gaining muscle or gaining fat.

The comment on eating "no sugars" is not completely correct. All carbohydrates (even brown rice) is converted to glucose. Glucose is the primary source for energy in the body. Too much inake (of anything) at one sitting is converted to fat. Sugars just shortens the time frame in which this happens.

[DBZ Status]

[quote=AlexR]20 Reps!? No Way. I'm sure people will elaborate more but there is no such thing as 'toning' or 'sculpting' a muscle. It is far more simple than that. quote]

Ok first of all if u looked i said its for conditioning for the first two weeks or so for a beginner then to go heavier. Its important to get a little tone in before u go heavy and get your muscles use to it. If he goes in there and just tries to go heavy he could tear a muscle, overpower his body and get sick, u have to start off slow and steady just not jump into a pro bodybuilder workout

lady C thats some interesting info what i heard what that if u eat sugarless carbs they dont trigger your insulin levels and you are more likely to use them as energy. I also heard that sugar is good but only after you workout to help recover quickly what do u have to say about this?

[Lady C]

This should help fill in the fuzzy areas.

The role of insulin in the body
The main job of insulin is to keep the amount of sugar in the bloodstream within a normal range. Here's what happens during digestion:
- After eating a snack or a meal, sugar and other nutrients enter the bloodstream as the body digests food.
- Carbohydrates, protein and fats are three types of nutrients found in food. Although all three affect the amount of sugar in the bloodstream, carbohydrates affect it the most.

• Protein is essential for building and maintaining your muscles, bones, organs and other tissues and to keep your body functioning.

• Fat is important for vital body functions such as making hormones, building cell walls and storing energy.

• Carbohydrates provide the quickest form of energy--they are converted into glucose, or blood sugar, when they reach your bloodstream.

- During digestion, carbohydrates break down into sugar and enter the bloodstream in the form of glucose, a simple sugar.
- The pancreas responds to this rise in the amount of sugar in the bloodstream by producing insulin.
- Insulin must be present in the bloodstream to allow sugar — the body's main energy supply — into the body's tissues.

Insulin also influences the liver, which plays a key role in maintaining normal blood sugar levels. After eating, when insulin levels are high, the liver accepts and stores extra sugar in the form of glycogen. Between meals, when insulin levels are low, the liver releases glycogen into the bloodstream in the form of sugar, keeping blood sugar levels within a narrow and normal range.

When your body notices that the sugar level is elevated, it is a sign that you have more sugar than you need right now, your body is not burning it and therefore it is accumulating in your blood. So insulin is released to take that sugar and store it. How does it store it? Glycogen? Your body stores very little glycogen at any one time. All the glycogen stored in your liver and muscles would not last you through 1 active day. Once you have filled up your glycogen stores, that sugar is stored as saturated fat.

So the idea of medical professionals recommending a high complex-carbohydrate, low-saturated-fat diet is absolutely a mistake. A high complex-carbohydrate diet is nothing more than a high-glucose diet, or a high-sugar diet. Your body is just going to store it as saturated fat, and the body makes it into saturated fat quite readily. Insulin normally allows body tissues, such as the muscles, to take up the blood sugar glucose, the body's prime energy source. In those with diabetes due to a lack of normal insulin or insulin resistance, blood sugar rises, a condition that can lead to tissue damage.

Your body's principal way of getting rid of sugar, because it is toxic, is to burn it. The sugar which your body can't burn will be rid of by storing it as glycogen, and when those glycogen reserves are full, sugar gets stored as fat. If you eat sugar your body will burn it and you stop burning fat. Another major effect of insulin on fat is it prevents you from burning it. What happens when you are insulin resistant and you have all this insulin floating around all the time? You wake up in the morning with an insulin level of 90.

[DBZ Status]

wow thanks so i guess eventually complex carbs end up as saturated fat if u eat to many, the same as sugar, just the complex ones are slower. Thats very interesting stuff and helped me a lot thank you!!!

[Maxgain]

Originally Posted by DBZ Status

lady C thats some interesting info what i heard what that if u eat sugarless carbs they dont trigger your insulin levels and you are more likely to use them as energy. I also heard that sugar is good but only after you workout to help recover quickly what do u have to say about this?

Sugarless carbs are carbs that are not absorbed and thus provide no energy. Carbs are sugar.

Protein will also ilicit an insulin response especially certain amino acids such as arginine.

Fats will get stored regardless of insulin response present.

Remember though you need an insulin response for your muscle cells to intake nutrients as well fat and muscle receive through the same transporters glut4. Working out provides anutrient partition in the favor of muscle uptake.

I would only take simple sugars after a workout or just before it

[Lady C]

Originally Posted by Maxgain

Sugarless carbs are carbs that are not absorbed and thus provide no energy. Carbs are sugar.

I think you are misunderstanding his meaning of sugarless. He means like brown rice does not contain sugar vs. orange juice drinks contain sugars. Not fake sugars i.e. sugarless.

[Maxgain]

Originally Posted by Lady C

I think you are misunderstanding his meaning of sugarless. He means like brown rice does not contain sugar vs. orange juice drinks contain sugars. Not fake sugars i.e. sugarless.

That is what i am trying to explain there is no such thing as sugarless carbohydrates in all forms are sugars the only possible way it can be seen in a digestive sense as sugarless is if it is not absorbed and thus explaining the no insulin response.
Also the sugars in orange juice is mainly fructose so in the essence of raising insulin it is not that high in proper amounts.

Some great posts here. I'd like to go back to your original question and offer a suggestion that will help motivate you. I think you should walk around as often as you can, at home or wherever, shirtless, so you can see the constant reminder of what your current condition is. It just might make you disgusted enough to become super motivated to make the major changes that will help you achieve where you want to be in 2 months.

Because if you are not motivated enough, nothing will happen, despite all the great information and advice you'll get here. You gotta get absolutely disgusted with yourself and make a promise to yourself that it's time to change. That powerful motivation will jump-start your efforts to eat healthy and train hard. You can get alot done in 2 months. Been there, done it.

How bad to you want it?

p.s. Oh, do 100 pushups a day between now and your strip day and you'll be sporting some proud pecs and clearly-defined lines when you go topless.

[DBZ Status]

yeah max by sugarless carbs i was meaning more like oatmeal brown rice, sweet potatoes, I meant no simple sugars. But i do have one question how long after u workout should u eat simple carbs for before u switch back over to complext carbs?

[Lady C]

Eat the simple carbs post-workout within 1 hour. 2 hours after workout eat complex carbs