Work Out/Lose Weight at the same time?

[Kokome]

Hi!
I'm new here, and I wanted to know if by doing a full body workout about 4 times a week you could lose weight. I haven't been doing cardio because of timing and convenience problems(I do the workout when I get home at night). I'm a 19 year old, almost 5'1'', 110lbs aproximately, try to follow a strict diet, I usually have to eat out because I study full-time, sometimes have to wait about 4-5 hours before I can get some food to eat... My workout usually takes me about 45mns. to an hour... try to work all the major muscle groups...
I want to lose about 10lbs., because I want to tone up
I've never been really active so I don't have a muscular build, and my measurements are 34-28-37. I just wanna lose a couple of inches, so the toning I do with the workout shows... Also, what are the best things I could eat to help me achieve this, and that I can take with me from home?
Any advice greatly appreciated!!! Thanks a lot!

[atherjen]

Hi Kokome!
perhaps you could give us an idea of what your workouts include. I would think that you'd be better off either doing a 3 day split with weights and one session of HIIT cardio. or you could alternate your 4 workouts from upper/lower body, rather than working the entire body so much, which could lead to overtraining those bodyparts and inturn not seeing as much progress. is it possible for you to do cardio first thing in the morning?
as for your diet. aim to have smaller more frequent meals, spaced every 2.5-3hrs max. a balance of lean protein, complex carbs and healthy fats is needed. try and centralize your carbs in your morning meals and around your workouts for energy.
is it possible to carry a cooler with you? or a fridge/microwave available? perparing your foods in advance will greatly help you in the long run. going too long without food will slow your metabolism, making it harder to loose that unwanted fat. eating out a lot can be determinal to progress as well. so by packing your foods you know what your getting.
Hope that was a start best of luck

[Kokome]

Thanks, atherjen!
For my workouts I use a 25lb barbell and 7lb dumbells
I don't know the exact names for the exerciseds I do, but I hope you figure it out
I do 25 reps raising the barbell(for the chest) lying on the bench press
25 reps for the same thing but with the bench press inclined
15 reps standing with the barbell and raising it towards my chest (for the biceps)
10 reps raising the barbell on top of my shoulders(for back)
15 reps using dumbell on each arm, kneeling on bench press, move hand towards butt without moving from the elbow up(triceps)
10 reps raising dumbell with arm in a foward-upward movement while standing up
25 open-legs lats with barbell lying on my shoulders
25 closed-legs lats with barbell
and depending on how tired I am, 20 crunches or more
I don't know if I am doing too little
As much as I would love to do cardio in the morning, I can't fit it in during the semester... when the summer comes around, then I can reschedule my workouts
I know I should eat more frequently but it's hard for me since I don't have a fridge or microwave available when I'm at school (I'm a sophomore at college), and I'm usually there the whole day...
what can I take with me from home??

[atherjen]

workout doesnt look bad! are you only doing 1 set of each exercise? If it were me I would lower the reps some and try to go heavier on the weights and add a couple more sets per exercise.. but I see you are limited to what is available since you workout at home, correct?! it is possible to purchase a few more heavier weights?

hmm do you have a mini coolor or lunch bag? its easy to prepare many different things to take with you, such as brown rice, any sort of lean protein precooked, veggies, protein shakes, natural peanut butter in lil containers, cottage cheese and berries, baggies of Fiber1 cereal.

[Kokome]

I can buy heavier weights, should I add 10 more lbs. to the barbell? If not, then what should I get?
I'm going to take your advice on the lunch bag, I just wanted to know what kinds of food I could take with me, so thanks for your ideas atherjen!

[atherjen]

Welcome girl, anytime! feel free to ask anything.
I would start out by adding at least 10lbs to each side of the barbell. and see how many reps you can get with that. try and let the reps be between 8-12. the last couple being very hard to complete!

[AnnaD - TX]

Welcome KoKome! Add some weight if you can handle it. Just keep pushing yourself! You can do it. Also, for correct terms, buy a couple of magazines or browse the net for proper terms, thats what I did. Good luck and see ya on the board!

[atherjen]

heres a listing of exercises/demos for each bodypart along with proper terms if you want. just click on the bodypart your working for a list!
http://www.exrx.net/Lists/WtFemale.html

[Kokome]

Thanks AnnaD, in that great site atherjen just linked there, I found the proper terms for my exercises, and I got a couple new ideas to add to my routine, so thanks to you too, atherjen!!
Your link kicks ass! :

[Kokome]

atherjen, I now use a 40 pund barbell(added 15 pounds), and I can't put it over my back by myself, and that impedes me to do various exercises in my workout, like the squats for example... is that normal?? I need someone to help me with it in those exercises and that person is not always available, what can I do?

[ncgirl]

If you can't put the bar over your head yourself and no one else is around, take the added weight off while you do the squats and then put it back on for the rest of your routine.

Good Luck!!