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I need to lose 20 pounds in a week in a half but I don't know how please help me.

No way you should even try that. Even 6 pounds as suggested below is too much except perhaps if you are truly obese... only way to get near that sort of a figure would be through water loss. For a week and a half 3 pounds is about it for someone who isnt huge(again not counting water loss).

As for weight loss tips, well its diet and exercise... Cardio is great- e.g. stairmaster, jogging, biking, etc- and should be done at a steady pace. Time wise I dont agree with the answer below. Aim for at least 20 minutes to get the optimal cardiovascular benefits. Then as you get fitter increase the time to over half an hour. Something up to 45 minutes could be a goal to shoot for.

If you do cardio on an empty stomach before breakfast you it will hit the fat stores directly. However do remember to have breakfast, and to eat in a healthy and balanced way. Dont try drastic starvation diets since they will have the oposite effect in the long run by ruining your metabolism.

Weight training is also good, it protects your muscle from being lost during your diet period. Muscle is active tissue and it keeps your metbolism elevated.

I dont know your fitness level but try to gradually work your way up to maybe 4 or so cardios per week. Weights on top of that if you are willing to do them.

Food wise keep it simple and logical. Get rid of all the crap- stuff with sugar added to it, other junk foods, and processed foods. Base your meals around good lean protein sources (e.g. chicken, lean beef, turkey, tuna, low fat cottage cheese, etc.), moderate your carbs and eat plenty of vegetables.

Start with this and you will be well underway.

Good luck, and sorry there are no quick fixes here.

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over the past 6 months ive been real depressed which menas i eat everything in sight, ive gained 20lbs, and skool starts on the 25th of august, is there ne way i can lose all this weight b4 skool starts?

Not really no. If you do it will largely be water weight and muscle loss... which is the effect most fad diets have.

What you can do is to get yourself well underway, and lose it by the early part of the school year.

Remember, if you want the weight to stay off, you have to change your habits into something that is sustainable. The main reason people's weight bounces up and down is because they dont learn to eat and exercise properly. They binge for a while, then they quickly diet... once thats over they have no idea how to eat properly so they gain weight again.

So, start easy and make gradual changes. Base your meals around lean protein sources like skinless chicken/ turkey, lean beef, tuna, cottage cheese, etc. Eat plenty of vegetables, eliminate stuff with sugar added to it, avoid processed foods in general, and moderate the amount of carbs you eat in a day.

Also, eat in anticipation of what you are about to do. If you have an active afternoon planned, you will need more calories and carbs in your lunch. If you plan to take a nap, eat a smaller meal and limit the carb intake.

So, step one is to aim for nutritious balances meals. E.g. chicken/turkey/lean beef/ etc., a potato/ 50g basmati rice/ 50g whole wheat pasta and a salad/etc, and a salad with a good oil. Or simpler alternatives could be cottage cheese, an apple or other fruit, and a few walnuts. You get the idea... a good protein source, a moderate carb source (bit higher earlier in the day, less in later when you are more static or sleeping), and a small amount of healthy fats (essential for your health).

Step 2 is exercise. Cardio is great. Weight training helps more than people realise as well. At least try to do a nice, steady 20 minute+ cardio a few times a week. If you can do more, then by all means do that.

Good luck

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how can i lose weight by working out AND NOT GET AND MUSCLES? i hate muscles in girls!!


(female/ 15)

First off its pretty much impossible to build muscle and lose fat at the same time. One requires a calorie surplus, the other a calorie deficit. Beginners may see some gains, but it really is nothing to worry about...

While weight workouts may not be as effective as cardio (as mentioned below), they do however protect your lean tissue from being digested. Losing muscle mass during weight loss is inevitable to some degree, and should be avioded as much as possible. This is because muscles elevate your metabolism, the more you have the more calories you burn even while you are asleep. So one should not under estimate resistance training for weight loss.

In regards to cardio, you do not need to do over 45 minutes specifically (though there is nothing wrong with it). A 20 minute cardio is plenty for heart health, and beyond that its just about buring calories. Any amount is a good amount. Moreover, the intesity should not be extremely high. It should be at a steady pace and you should be able to carry out a conversation during.

The diet is crucial of course. Try to learn to eat every 3-4 hours or so. Limit your intake of saturated fats, keep carbs moderate and mainly earlier in the day, and stick to good wholesome non processed foods. Stay away from empty calories from junk, stuff with sugar added, etc. Base your meals around a good lean protein source (e.g. chicken, tuna, egg whites, turkey, very lean beef, etc.).

Finally, make sure you intake a small regular amount of good fats, and particularly omega 3 (from oily fish, walnuts, flax oil/ seeds, dark leafy vegetables, etc.). This is important for your health and also for weight loss.

Good luck.

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15/f

i'm 5'6" about 120 pounds, i'm not really fat but i want to tone my body, maybe lose a few pounds. can anyone tell me exactly what i should do everyday?
like to tone my stomach, arms, and thighs?

like what exercise and how much i should do. thank you so much!

I got to say, tone is a word I really have grown to dislike. No one really knows what on earth it means. Look at it this way, a muscle can grow or shrink, body fat can be gained or lost. When people use tone its almost as though they are engaging in some sort of other mystical activity.

Another reason tone is dangerous word is because people who use it tend to combine two things that should not be combined... namely muscle growth and fat loss. These are by far best done separately, with proper time and effort devoted to each process. This is because the body grows when it has a calorie surplus and shrinks with a calorie deficit...

Now, to your question. To lower body fat you need to create a calorie deficit. You do this primarily through your diet and through cardiovascular exercise (e.g. running, biking, stairmachines, etc.). The diet is crucial here, so you have to learn to eat balanced meals, based around good protein sources, and to stay away from empty calories and processed foods.

I would recommend 3- 5 cardio workouts per week. Aim for about 30 minutes, but by all means work your way up to that if your fitness level is not that high yet.

Now to make a muscle grow, you need to do area specific exercises (note: these will in no way whatsoever make you lose fat from that area, they only make the muscle grow). For the stomach you can do crunches as mentioned below, for thighs you can do things like squats, for arms I would use dumbbell exercises like biceps curls and triceps extensions. A very simple beginner routine would be to do 3 sets of 8- 12 reps for each group.

That being said, I would seriously recommend a full body routine. Apart from that you will look odd with only partially developed muscles, you may also get posture problems if you only train one side of your body. For example, if you train stomach, you need to train your lower back. Otherwise the powerful abs will pull you into a bad posture. This will result in potentially serious health problems later on.

Now, what I would do in your case is I would start by dropping my bodyfat. Focus on diet and cardio- eat about 500 calories less than you burn each day. Do your area specific workouts but dont expect too much from them just yet... at this stage do them to prevent muscle loss. Then after a couple of months, start eating a few hundred calories a day more than you burn (still eating healthy and clean), and focus on adding on a bit of muscle.

Good luck.

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whenever i'm in a dark room i cant see anything at all, it's just all black.
its so bad that i have to feel around for the light switch.
is there anyway to improve my night vision, or not?

I believe what you are describing is night blindness. I used to have a friend who had it. Check out thess articles:

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003039.htm
http://my.clevelandclinic.org/disorders/night_blindness/hic_night_blindness.aspx

Generally for improving eyesight they say vitamin A helps. However if you are night blind you should go past your doctor before you try home remedies.

Anyways, here is another article on food and eyesight:

http://www.eyerobics.com.au/eyesight_food.html

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what is the least amount of weeks I would have to do lunges (every day)to get toned thighs??
or just so they don't jiggle.
btw,
do lunges make thighs lean? or muscley?
Thanks:)

There is no exercise that will specifically make any part of your body lean. So the answer to your second question is "no". Fat spot reduction is a myth, we just dont work that way.

Whether or not your thighs will get bigger from muscle growth will depend on how heavy you train, how hard you push yourself, and what you eat.

Similarly, if you want leaner thighs, the only solution is to lower your bodyfat percentage. Eventually the fat will come off your thighs as well... when this happens is determined by genetics. To lower your bf percentage, you need a calorie deficit. Thats essentially diet and exercise (general, not specific, and heavy on the cardio).

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I went to a festival over the weekend, and Judas Priest played there (love them :) )
And I was wondering, when the lead singer, Rob Halford, sings, why does he look down, instead of looking at the crowd?
I mean, he looked at the crowd when talking, but when singing, he looked down all the time.
Is there any particular reason why? or is that just his style?

Btw, I want answers from people who know facts or have seen Judas Priest live. I don't want random guesses from people who don't know anything such as ''Maybe he's shy or nerveous?''

Thanks :)

Great band, absolutely love them.

Now, I know you didn't want guesses, but how about a rumour?

I was on youtube listening to a live song a while back and people were asking the same thing. One guy claimed it had something to do with improving his breathing. Apparently he kind of hunches forward and its supposed to help him sing in some way.

Now... the real question is, if thats true, why the heck dont others do it too?

Hope you had a great concert though. I will try to catch them myself next time they are anywhere nearby.

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So, I'm just now starting to work out more, and I'm getting a Gazelle(which is tony little's newest exercise machine) and an exercise ball.
But ANYWAYS, I'm also getting a window unit(air conditioner) for my room, because my room is SO hot, and I hate heat, but i love being cold. But my friend said that being cold while I'm exercising won't do any good, and I'll be working out for nothing. But I think that it'll be better, because it takes more energy to warm you up, so it burns more calories. but idk, can anyone help em with this? haha.

Well your friend is not correct. If you are too hot, all you will do is get dehydrated quicker. Sweating a lot is not necessarily the same as getting a good workout.

If your friend's assesment was correct every athlete that lives in a cold climate would be out of shape and fat lol. Particularly people who do skiing and skating, but even joggers or regular athletes that live in a northern country...

By the way, I too love to keep the temperature a good deal below everyone else's comfort level :) It will not adversly affect your exercise or your calorie burn efforts. Just keep the temperature at whatever level you feel is most comfortable to exercise.

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I was recently diagnosed with polycystic ovary disease. To help with the symptoms, I need to lose weight. I know that this means I need to change my lifestyle - the way I eat and how active I am. I don't have a lot of money and I live in the city. My apartment is fairly small. These aren't excuses, just information to give you an idea of my situation. I don't need anyone saying mean or obvious things like "don't eat as much" or "get off your ass" because that is in no way helpful.

Basically, any advice anyone could give about how I can lose weight, either to do with eating or physical activity, would be very much appreciated. Thank you.

Hey there. You got some decent advice below. I would add that for any kind of weight loss, its inches and not the weight itself...

Anyhow, I will split my advice into two sections, the first will outline some general ideas behind weight loss, the other will give you some specific advice. I don't know exactly what you are willing/ not willing to do, so I think its easier to do it this way- that way you can decide how much you can/ want to put into it.

General principles:

- You need a calorie deficit. 500 calories less a day would mean about a pound of weight loss a week.
- You need to preserve your muscle mass as much as possible. Rapid weight loss particularly will digest your muscle. Loss of muscle= drop in metabolism which mean weight gain in the future.
- There are many specific diets out there but, for my money, nothing beats the balanced diet. It has one thing the others do not- sustainability. You dont need to be so speficic, but a calorie split of 40- 40- 20 is a fairly common recommendation (carbs- protein- fats).
- You should try to eat meals that are tailored to what you are about to do. Eat higher calorie and carb meals before periods of activity. Eat fewer calories and carbs before periods of rest.
- Exercise of all kinds is great. Cardio is crucial. Fasted morning cardio (on an empty stomach before breakfast) is generally accepted as the most effective way to target your fat stores. Weight/ resistance training is also useful- it protects your muscle mass from dropping during weight loss.


Practical suggestions:

- Eat 4- 6 small meals during the day. They used to say that this increases your metabolism. Now its not sure thats true, but it does enable you to control what your body has access to at different points in the day.
- Base your meals around a good protein source. If its hard to get enough protein, you might consider getting a supplement (e.g. whey shakes). Otherwise egg whites are an excellent source.
- As a vegetarian particularly, you have to eat very varied. Most of the vegan protein sources, like oats, grains, nuts, etc, are incomplete. They must be mixed with others for total absorption.
- Make sure you get a small amount of good fats, and particularly omega 3. This is crucial for your health and important for weight loss. You find them in good oils, flax seeds, nuts of all sorts (though only walnuts have significant omega 3), leafy green vegetables, etc.
- In regards to exercise you have a few options, of which jogging and biking are probably the easiest. If you can join a gym then that would be ideal, however if not then its not a problem. You could incorporate some bodyweight training to do at home. This could be every second or third day and could include push ups, lunges, squats, crunches and supermen (lower back exercise). You can find them all here:

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/exercises.htm

- Cardio work should be nice and steady, not too intense, and be at least 20 minutes in duration. Getting it over 30 minutes would be even better.
- Otherwise cut out all the empty calories from junk foods, anything with sugar added to it, and so on.
- Make sure you stay properly hydrated.

Thats pretty much it. Good luck :)

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has any one ever made it having a gym membership for a year? i just started at a gym up my street and ive been going about 4-5 times a week for a month now, and just signed up for a good deal for a year thing with my family. but now im thinking,,, a whole year! how will i possibly stay motivated and have time. plus ive got school and sports practice =[ just curious if anyones ever done it before without like quitting for awhile. haha thanks! and im 16 =]

ps. for me, mom, and brother its $54 dollars a month total. normally one person is $30 a month. =]

Well I have done it. Its not so hard once it become a way of life. It has to become as natural as taking a shower or eating a meal. Just something that one does.

Some ways to keep it interesting is to constantly challenge yourself and to mix things up. For weight training one usually runs cycles of 8 to 12 weeks. Then you take a week or so off and start a new cycle. This way you can plan your goals and emphasise certain things in certain periods (e.g. strength or muscle size or explosiveness or anaerobic endurance, etc.).

Also you can vary the intensity and focus so as to work around your schedule- so if you have a particularly hard few weeks with the sports you are playing, you adjust your cycle accordingly so as not to overtrain. Similarly in the off season, you can really focus on training yourself up. This applies also to cardiovascular and fitness training as well.

I personally like to make it into sort of a competition with myself. That may not be everyone's style though lol.

Good luck.

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Whats the difference between diet coke and coke zero?

To my knowledge Coke Zero has less nutrasweet than Diet Coke. Also, they claim that it is supposed to taste closer to the real thing (probably since they managed to make it with less artificial sweetener). I have a few friends who definately agree, and who claim that the nasty diet coke after taste is not as strong. I have not tried coke zero myself so I cant really offer a personal opinion.

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Hi Alin! Cool name!

I was just wondering if you could help me out.

Im 14, and way to young for a serous boyfriend but ive had one for the past 2 years and every time i ended it he won me back again and now im through so i ended it for good last week and now hes already over it and im still hurting and it makes me even worse that hes already kissing other girls!

My question is, whats your advice for getting over a relationship? How long does it take? How do you know if your really over it or if its going to come back? How long does this hurt for? And is it serously fine that hes over it already? And how do i honestly get over this for good? Whatever it takes. Thank you so much!

Hey there,

I got to tell you, you have the wrong person I think. I have a terrible track record with getting over relationships and crushes. I will try to offer some input, but you are probably much better off asking someone who knows what they are talking about :)

About all I can say is that it will last longer the more you are in contact with this person. Its a little like quiting smoking, you need to go cold turkey and you need to get yourself as far away from the "bad habit" as possible. Try to avoid talking, seeing, interacting, or generally being around this guy.

The second thing is that you should try to keep yourself busy and active. You dont want to be sitting at home with nothing to do but thinking of old memories. Also it helps to meet new people. Once you meet someone else you like, the old crush will be easier to forget.

As for how long it takes, that is impossible to tell. Similarly it is very hard to know if the feelings could return. Feelings are so darned unpredictable that way.

In regards to him being over it, I think it shows he may not have been quite as emotionally invested in the relationship as you were. That being said, he is not doing anything wrong since you broke up with him.

Well thats about it. Just give it some time, be patient, and I am sure you will be fine.

Good luck.

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Okay, so in a few weeks I'm moving to my Dad's house, and he honestly doesn't cook.

So I'll need to be learning how to make basic dishes for some nights. I've never cooked in my life (I only took cooking class once, I cooked once and skipped for the rest of the semester) I can't even boil an egg.

What are some simple dishes to cook so I can practise between now and the time I move there? It doesn't have to be stuff made straight from home, it can be packaged stuff, I just don't want real basic stuff like 2 minute noodles or anything you add water to and microwave.

What about things like:

- Chicken (oven baked is probably easiest)
- Salads (many nice options here)
- Steaks
- Bolognese sauce (to go with pasta, or rice)
- Burgers (at home you can make these so they are quite healthy using lean mince)
- Tacos
- Roastbeef

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I am going on a trip to Atlanta, GA and I want to bring a small bowl and a little bit of pot with me. If I put them inside a small zip lock baggy and insert them into my umm yea would I be okay?

To be honest thats crazy. The chances of catching you are probably on the slim side, but if they do you will be in a world of trouble.

Seriously, I would urge you to consider taking the sensible approach on this one. Its just not worth it.

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do guys like pussy better trimmed or shaved

This is one of the most recurring types of question. If you use the search function you can view years worth of surveys conducted here to figure out this apparently elusive answer.

The best I can say is... it really, really depends on the guy. Amongst my friends I know there are several with distinct preferences one way or the other, and several who couldnt care less.

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Okay, I wasn't sure what category to put this in, so I'm sorry about that.
But alright. This is a weird situation. I'm 16 years old and I'm a girl. I just started self defense classes (sorta like karate..but more physical and stuff..) and I have to have a girl as my partner. She's the same age as me. There are a lot of moves where you have to touch each other and lean over eachother and go into these weird positions where your bodies make a lot of contact. And I feel SO FLIPPIN' WEIRD when I'm on top of her! I mean, I don't want to look like I'm staring at her boobs or somewhere inappropriate or touching her in the wrong way cause I just started. I'm just leaning over her..sitting on her...and her boobs are like right there and I don't know where else to look so it looks like I'm all awkward about it! I feel so weird. I used to be really sexually confused and turned on by girls and stuff..now I'm not as much..but the little feelings linger. I know I'm not bisexual though...but this is so weird. I'm scared she'll think I'm a lesbian or something. How can I approach this? It makes me feel so uncomfortable!

Ok you have to remind yourself that the problem is in your mind only. Just carry out the exercise as instructed and you will be fine. The more you obsess about this, the more you will think you really are touching or looking at her inappropriately.

I used to train that sort of stuff myself some years back, and have had male and female partners. There really shouldnt be any awkwardness, just focus on what it is that you have to be doing. Odds are she wont really be thinking the same as you.

By the way, just for my own personal curiosity, the martial art you are training, is it ju-jitsu?

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Alright, so I have to do a project for school, and basically I need to come up with questions that I'd like to ask David Beckham. I have a few, but I'm kind of stuck. If you guys have any ideas, pleaseeee share them with me!

Thanks so much!

Here are a few I can think of:

How did you train yourself to have the best freekick in the world?

How would you describe the football style difference between the English, Spanish and American leagues?

In your opinion, who is the best player you ever played with?

What do you think needs to be done to make the English football team competitive again?

Once you have completed your playing career, do you plan on becoming a manager or coach?

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Anyone who has smoked pot, what does it feel like? Both positive and negative effects that you experienced. How long does it last for? Would you do it again? Would you recommend it to others? Was your first experience different from later experiences?

Please answer all the questions. Thank you

The thing about pot is that it reacts quite differently with different people. I will try to answer your questions though. Note that this is something I did in my youth, and its nothing I am proud of. Many things went wrong for me during that time if I may add. Anyway here goes:

- Cant explain how it feels.
- Positive: Mellowed mood. Lower aggression levels.
- Negative: Low activity level, drowsy/ lower reaction times/ lower reasoning ability, poorer short term memory.
- How long it lasts depends on how much you smoked... not unlike drinking.
- My rather long history of smoking pot ended so badly, and so abruptly, that I can safely say that I will never ever touch that stuff til the day I die.
- Even though I think the media does not accurately portray the effects of pot, I would never recommend it to anyone. I have seen more than enough people quite literally smoke their lives away.
- First time I felt absolutely nothing. In my teenage wisdom, I thought I was immune to the stuff. Took 5 tries before it worked. In hindsight I really was an idiot.

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im happy i guess with my body in general but i hate my stomach fat, its gross. i have a big belly and love handles, and thats what makes my body gross. im so determined to get rid of them. i've been doing situps, backwards sit ups (to loose the love handles) but i dont seem to be getting flatter, my fat is just getting harder (muslce i guess?) but it still looks like fat, not like a 4-pack muscles, i want 4 pack ab muscles instead of just a big blob of fatty muscle, does anyone know what im doing wrong?


oh and i dont really wanna loose weight i mean 10 pounds would be good but i dont think im that fat, just my stomach. thankss.

Laura is right. You cannot target fat loss. Thats just a widespread myth. As you have experienced, what you have achieved is to build some muscle under the fat (which is not bad of course).

Unfortunately getting your abs to show is only a matter of reducing your bodyfat percentage. That means you have to lose weight. Genetics will determine how quickly that fat comes off your stomach.

The key therefore is with cardio and diet. You need a calorie deficit, you need to eat "clean", and you need to exercise.

Good luck.

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I've known since I was a child Chocolate was never good for dogs and could even kill them. But I am curious as to how it affects the dog's body enough to harm them in such a way. Would anyone care to tell me?

It's an odd question I know.. But curiosity has the better of me right now....

This explains it better than I could:

http://www.dogownersdigest.com/news/library/chocolate-dog-poisoning.shtml

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