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How to lose weight?
i'm 18/f, i weigh about 150 pounds. my ideal weight is around 135, is there any specific exercises i should do to get down to the target weight? i am a little overweight.
i have love handles, and was wondering if there was a workout technique i could use to get rid of them or make them smaller.
i also have a bunch of excess tummy fat, i heard somewhere that crunches and situps werent good for it, is that true?
basically, i just want to tone up my body, and i need help with what exercises i should do...
anything would be appreciated! thanks in advance,
gina
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Hey Gina,
First how tall are you? You said your ideal weight is around 135 but depending on your height that weight could be close or really far off.
To answer your first question there are NO SPECIFIC exercises. Just being more active and eating less is going to be the key. Losing weight is 80% what and how much you eat. Eat less calories is going to make the biggest difference in how you look and how fast you lose the weight.
If you want to get a killer body you need to eat less calories, and do some type of High Instensity Interval Trainin (HIIT). There are a lot of programs but here is two I like....
[Link](Mouse over link to see full location)
[Link](Mouse over link to see full location)
Let me know if this helps if you have any question feel free to ask.
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Peeps's answer is very good. I just wanted to add a couple of things.
First, cardio is very important. It is a great way to burn calories and it has so many health benefits that it would take forever to list here (though the benefits to your heart's health deserve a mention). So please, incorporate at least 20 minutes steady pace cardio into your routine. This could anything like biking, running, walking (depending on your fitness level), etc, done at a pace where you can just carry out a conversation. 20 minutes at least 3 times a week is the minimum which will give you many of the health benefits.
Now, in regards to exercises. I would recommend going to a gym, both for the equipment and the motivation. As mentioned below, you cannot target fat loss, but resistance training preserves muscle mass during weight loss, which is very important to keep your metabolism from going down. Train as much of your body as you can (ideally a full body routine).
Try to train opposing muscle groups... e.g. if you do crunches, train your lower back also. Not doing so can lead to posture problems later in life (which in turn can lead to back problems, etc.).
You can find a big list of exercises here:
[Link](Mouse over link to see full location)
The best is to stick to multiple joint movements that involve more than one muscle group. You can also find home workout routines on youtube with just a few creative searches :)
Good luck.
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The truth is, you can't lose weight in specific areas of your body. Your body gains weight in strategic places and will lose that excess weight slower than in other places that doesn't have as much stored fat. It's just how the body works.
That being said, any exercise you do will help you lose weight. Any. You could run, jog, do crunches, or lift weights and you're going to lose weight.
However, just because you're working the muscles in one specific area doesn't mean that's where you'll lose the weight from.
I know. Losing weight isn't as easy as you'd think.
If you're goal is to tone your stomach then, yes, do more crunches and exercises that work out that abdominal region. It'll help increase the mass of the muscles, but it won't necessarily cause the already-stored fat to go away in that area at first.
Your goal should be to get into a healthy routine. Once you're in a routine where you're eating a well-balanced diet and exercising regularly then your love handles are going to diminish and your body, as a whole, will be slimmer and trimmer.
Exercise alone just doesn't cut it though. You have to change your eating habits. A lot of people simply do not grasp this. Think of this:
If you're suppose to eat, say, 2500 calories a day and work out to burn slightly more calories each day than you consume...
...then you can eat all of the chocolate candy bars you want as long as it adds up to less than 2500 calories!
That's kind of silly, isn't it? Chocolate doesn't help to feed the muscles. It helps to become stored fat. Why would you want to decrease your muscles and that built-up strength, right? After all, the muscles are what actually breaks down the fat.
Change your eating habits.
Exercise doing whatever makes you happy.
Try to do some strength training 3 days a week, spaced out so that you give your muscles time to heal from small tears that happen during these exercises.
The other days of the week, do some cardio. Run, job, do jumping jacks. Pick up some aerobic DVDs and following through with them on the days you aren't, say, going to the gym.
Your body will tone. Your fat will diminish.
Lastly, focus more on your size rather than your weight. I know that sounds weird but here is why:
Muscle weighs more than fat.
You don't want fat. You do want muscle though. Not HUGE muscles but long, lean muscles that give you that beautiful shape and doesn't leave you saggy and baggy as you age.
So, what do I mean about focusing on you size rather than your weight?
Nix the scale.
Pick up a tape measure.
Measure yourself once a month. Measure around our stomach, thighs, hips, arms, etc. Keep a little list of how you're doing. You might see a little increase here-or-there as you build the muscle before you lose the fat but it'll happen to where you suddenly see great definition where there was none before. Weighing yourself on a scale doesn't tell you where you lose squishy fat. Measuring yourself with a tape measure does.
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