CARDIO

Recently the gym I go to closed for 2wks & i lost weight b/c of it! I don't know if its b/c i wasn't drinking protein shakes, which DO NOT replace any of my meals...

I think the reason is that i didn't lift weights during those 2wks - I rode my bike (bicycle) a lot instead.

When I go to the gym I warm up my heart for 3 to 5mins on the elliptical, lift, then THINK about doing more cardio. While I go to the hot tub, steam for a quick minute & sweat for 20 to 30 in the dry sauna; my favorite.

I'm thinking about alternating days w/cardio & weights. Either that or go twice a day 3 or 4 days of the week.

The benefits of doing cardio probably outweigh lifting...DOES anyone have some advice on this"?

I think it is really effective to alternate cardio with strength. If I just stick with one, I seem to flatline my weight loss. Don't forget stretching too. Have you tried yoga? I personally love it!! It's like dessert after or in lieu of the cardio or strength days. I don't get into the spiritual side of it, just the poses done in a relatively quick manner.

I just had alot of fun! Dance cardio for an hour. i love it!

I'm approaching the heaviest I've ever weighed. I'm titrating down off of Seroquel & hope I don't have to go on high blood pressure medication or start developing type 2 diabetes b/c of the weight I've gained over the past 2yrs of taking it.

I was going to the gym regularly but have slipped recently due to being sick for awhile & then falling out of the habit. It takes 3wks to develop a habit. The hard part for me is to simply get started.

One of the best ways to lose weight is to do what is called "interval training", which is using your body's natural reactions to the fullest. Basically, you would start out by doing about 10 mins of cardio just to warm up, then stretch. Then you do about 2-3 different sets of weight lifting exercises, isolating specific body parts (like for legs do 10 squats repeated 3 times, 10 lunges x3, and 10 deadlifts x3), then do about 2-5 minutes of hard cardio (running, skipping, elliptical..) since your body has slowed down while you were doing weightlifting. Then do another 3 different sets isolating another body part (ie arms: 10 tricep extensions x3, 10 bicep curls x3, 10 one arm rows x3). When you've done that you do another 2-5 minutes of intense cardio. If you're a gym superstar you'd repeat the whole thing another time, then finally at the end you do about 10 minutes of cardio and cool down. Stretch all your muscles very well (this is often thought of as MORE important than warm up stretching. Do this 3 times/week at least, splitting your weight lifting to focus on body parts each day, like legs/core/abs one day, arms/back/core/next day, shoulders/chest/core the last day (yes, I try to get all my exercises to use my core, like balancing on the Bosu ball while I do all my exercises.

The point of exercising like this is to keep your metabolism at a constant high so you burn way more calories in one workout than if you separated the cardio (aerobic exercise) and weightlifting (anaerobic exercise). Try it for one month, don't push yourself if you can't do all the repetitions, just do what you can, but make sure you always insert little bursts of cardio between all the weightlifting and I will guarantee you will see a huge difference in your weight-loss and muscle building. To find good exercises for body parts the Sparkpeople website is fantastic and free! Tracks food calories/vitamins/fat, protein, carb breakdown, the exercises you do, there's support, exercise vids http://www.sparkpeople.com/res....

I know this seems like a lot of work, but it's really not, its just breaking up your routine a bit so your body doesn't get used to the monotony and in the long run you'll have to do less work to get/stay in shape. Good luck!

Thanks taraduc,

part of my problem is that the meds I'm on slow down my metabolism, especially Seroquel. I'm getting off of it & my meds have switched up a little as well.

Thanks taraduc,

part of my problem is that the meds I'm on slow down my metabolism, especially Seroquel. I'm getting off of it & my meds have switched up a little as well.

My weight loss has really flatlined. I blame Seroquel because ever since I started taking it regularly, I have been really fatigued. This makes me feel like not exercising, so I quit doing it. Kumbaya, I hope that by getting off Seroquel you will be able to lose. Pdocs should pay more attention to our physical health than they typically do. What good is stability if one has a heart attack?

well, that's the great thing about interval training, you're forcing your metabolism to work harder so it speeds up. Also, increase your protein intake, your body works harder to digest protein than carbs or fat so it causes your metabolism to rise as well, just make sure it's lean protein. Chicken, fish, low fat cheese, beans, tofu, soy, egg white with one yolk omelette, so many options!! Have a protein shake for breakfast rather than cereal, or cut your cereal in half and put some protein powder on top of the cereal. All these will work to counteract Seroquel, I know, I"ve been on it before and managed to lose 40 pounds just by making little changes.
Also, if you exercise in the morning it keeps your metabolism higher ALL DAY! And make sure you eat breakfast, your metabolism stays at 60% until you eat in the morning.

If you want any more tips, please contact me, I know how frustrating it is to watch the scale climb while your self esteem plummets, it ain't fun!
Good luck!

I really appreciate the feedback guys,

I've only exercised a couple of times over the past 3wks - fell off the exercise wagon! I'm going to have to force myself to go so I can get back into it. Just getting started again is the hard part. I had been sick & that's what slowed me down. Then I stopped going to the gym altogether thus putting on at least five more pounds.

Tduc - like you were talking about, I need to change my eating habits as well as exercising on a regular basis. I also think that my terrible sleep pattern has something to do w/my weight gain. After taking my Seroquel at night i get SOOO hungry its ridiculous! Part of the problem is that i should get in bed sooner than I do after taking it. Though I have also woke up in the middle of the night b/c I was so hungry.

I work with a personal trainer. He has atimately stated cardio is essentail in weight loss. Weights are going to cause muscle gain over time. It is a good thing because muscle will use more calories during the day than carrying around fat. However weights will tone and tighten the body and therefore allow you to get into smaller size clothes even if the scales havent moved as much. So I incorporate a minimum of 30 minutes cardio each time I am at the gym in additon to the stregnth training being received. I do work out at home as well which is 99% cardio which is why my cardio is reduced at the gym.