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female
age
36-40,
anonymous
writes: Ok, this isn't a relationship question, but anyway. I'm 20 years old. It's autumn down here and well, I have a busy schedule with uni and all that. I want to look really good for summer (December), and well, I need to tone and lose weight. However, due to my schedule at uni (it really sucks!), I think it'll be better if I do weight training from now until October, and then incorporate more cardio to lose weight. The thing is, I don't need to lose a lot of weight (approximately 10 - 15 lbs), I think it'll take me a lot more time to get firm muscles and all. I want killer abs, butt and legs! That will take more time. I usually walk a lot. I don't know how to drive and most places I need to go are quite near, so I walk a lot every day. But from October on (when my schedule eases up), I'll have more time to do other cardio activities (I love the elliptical machine and jumping rope!). That's a plan that would fit my schedule from here to December-January perfectly, but I don't know if it will work as good as if I lost the weight first and then toned up with weight training? As I said, however, it fits my schedule better to focus on weight training during autumn-winter, and then dedicate to cardio during spring and early summer. Will it work?
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female
reader, k_c100  +, writes (11 May 2009):
 Well I am a firm believer that the only way to lose weight and to tone up is to do BOTH cardio and weights otherwise you will see no benefit from either. I am currently trying to lose weight despite having a very busy schedule (I work full time 8.30am - 5/6pm and have lots of other commitments) and my target is to lose around 30lbs. So far I have lost 14lbs so I'm not doing too badly!
But the most effective way I have found to lose the weight (after lots of trial and error) is to go to the gym 3 times a week for sessions lasting an hour to an hour and a half. I do weights first - this way you burn all the intitial glycogen in your body. This leaves you to purely burn fat when you do your cardio. Weights are brilliant in so many ways - muscle burns more calories just by being stationary than fat therefore by increasing your muscle mass you increase the amount of calories you use at rest (your base metabolic rate). But even if you just do weights, while it will increase your muscle mass and you will burn more calories at rest, it will actually make you put on weight rather than lose it.
Therefore you need the cardio straight after the weights session to burn the fat and maximise the results you can get from the weights. I understand it may be hard for you due to time and not being able to drive (I dont drive either but I still manage!) but there are ways around it.
I'm not sure if you are a member of a gym - if you are then 2-3 sessions a week of 40 mins weights, 20-30 mins cardio (rowing machine and treadmill are most effective) will easily help you to lose 10-15lbs. However if you dont go to the gym and only exercise at home then just do the same thing - 40 mins weights and 20-30 mins cardio (go for a run or powerwalk) will work just as well.
With the weights, make sure you cover the whole of your body and not just certain areas. You need to do some weights for all the largest muscle groups (legs, back, shoulders, arms and abdominals) to make sure that muscle gain is evenly spread out. All the larger muscles (especially legs) burn more calories so the more work you do on these larger muscles the more you will burn calories just by doing nothing!
10-15lbs is very achievable, I suggest limiting your weight loss to 14lbs maximum as this will make you drop over 1 dress size, maybe even 2 so any more than 14lbs will look quite extreme if you already dont need to lose the weight that badly. Dont get disappointed if you put on a little weight on occasions, as this will just be muscle. I remember in my first 2 weeks, I lost around 6lbs and then after this it slowed down, with some weeks where I would put on 1 or 2lbs. But this was just muscle - the week after I would normally lose even more! Aim for 2lbs a week weight loss - this is steady and maintenable. If you lose weight slowly you are more likely to keep it off in the future.
Watch your diet too - if you are really going to up the amount of exercise you do then you need to eat a little more (ironic I know!). Eat more protein - this is very important for building muscle and achieving muscle tone. Without protein your muscles wont be able to repair themselves after your workouts so you will never see the benefits of the weights! Make sure you eat properly - carbs are important to give you the energy you need to get through the cardio sessions. If you are not eating right then you will end up feeling weak and dizzy after your workouts and you will be putting too much strain on your body. If you dont eat enough then your body will go into starvation mode and cling on to any fat it gets therefore you will never actually lose the weight!
I hope all this helps and good luck!
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