Overweight Pre-Meds

[Law2Doc]

ive never heard that lifting weights makes u lose fat before....strengthen/ tone muscles perhaps? in my wt training class the instructor said cardio was key to losing weight, not lifting. i could be wrong on this, of course.

You may need to find a better informed instructor. Muscles need energy to maintain themselves. Hence they burn more calories than fat. So if you put on a few pounds of muscle, you burn more calories (even at rest). But since you have added muscle weight, you will not necessarilly be any lighter (you will just look that way). Certainly cardio burns calories too, but with cardio, the benefit only occurs while you are doing it, not after (as you get from weights). Watch out for words like muscle "tone" -- they have layman connotations not validated by science.
I recommend doing BOTH lifting and cardio frequently per week combined with a decent portion controlled diet), and you can get to your maximum potential. I apologize to doublepeak if I am generalizing hypocritically (I no doubt am), but from personal experience I believe in this concept. I do agree that consulting a trainer at a gym is a useful exercise, and anyone serious about getting into shape should find a good trainer when you first start out (although many people have doubts about the validity of calipre readings -- if you really want to know your fat % accurately you need to have yourself submerged into a tank of water someplace.)
I defer to the other poster as to whether you will get any tangible benefit from chewing gum or taking cold showers.

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[riceman04]

I'm an exercise physiology major, so her is some advice.

To put it simply, you will lose 1 pound of fat for every 3500 calories. So, if you are at a steady weight now, if you it out of your diet or comes from exercise it doesn't matter. If you are going to a gym, you will "burn" more calories from cardio than resistance training. Although it is best to include both aspects. It doesn't matter how long or hard you work out, however if you work out at a really low intensity then you have to go longer to get use the same amount of calories as if you worked harder in a shorter amount of time.

An average person can only lose about 2 pounds a week without losing muscle mass and water. If you have a quick, large weight loss, it is mostly water (like the first week of the Atkins diet).

You can go to any gym (our schools does it for free) and have your body fat measured by skinfolds. Some will also do exercise tests too.

Caffiene is useful as a performance enhancement in endurance events. It increases blood free fatty acid levels so your body uses fats quicker and saves the muscle glycogen so you would "have some left" at the end of a race....this doesn't mean you will lose more weight though. Some people think that caffiene affects your muscle fiber itself too, so maybe that is why the weightlifters used it.

Dr. Gibson (my exercise phys prof) told us that muscle burns calories at a very rapid rate. For that reason he has always suggested that lifting be included as part of one's exercise regimen

 

[LJDHC05]

If we all ran as much as we bickered over ways to lose weight the US would be able to keep up with Kenyans in a marathon...there's a weight loss program for ya!

Here's my new proposed workout:
Every time you visit SDN, go run/lift/bike/do something active for the same amount of time you sat infront of the computer.

MCAT prep: Every time you visit SDN, go study for the MCAT for the same amount of time you've spent avoiding it reading silly posts

Seriously though, so far this entire forum has come down to the following advice:
1) Get off of your ass and do something
2) Stop eating so much and such crapy food
3) There are too many ways to do the above two items for anyone to come to a consensus.

Outside Magazine published a 4 month program called "the shape of your life" series about 2 years ago. It's a pretty ballanced workout regemen that included cardio, strength, flexability and agility. If anyone wants to check it out, it's on their website for free. They also had a good piece on nutrition a few months ago that you could check out for some decent nutritional information. Neither of these are a tome of wisdom, just some educational materials to help out those who want some place to start.

EDIT: If I took my own advice I'd be running ultra-marathons at this point

 

[Turkeyman]

Dr. Gibson (my exercise phys prof) told us that muscle burns calories at a very rapid rate. For that reason he has always suggested that lifting be included as part of one's exercise regimen

Yeah I had looked up the actual numbers some time ago, and putting on a pound of muscle boosts your metabolism by an extra 50-100 calories. So put on 10 pounds of muscle and you can eat an additional 500-1000 calories...that's good enough motivation for me

 

[Turkeyman]

my new advice as of today: get a stomach virus!

I agree! I got one when I went to Pakistan two years ago and well...yeah I probably hit my lowest weight EVER after it was over

muahaha

 

[Stanford_Playah]

You may need to find a better informed instructor. Muscles need energy to maintain themselves. Hence they burn more calories than fat. So if you put on a few pounds of muscle, you burn more calories (even at rest). But since you have added muscle weight, you will not necessarilly be any lighter (you will just look that way). Certainly cardio burns calories too, but with cardio, the benefit only occurs while you are doing it, not after (as you get from weights). Watch out for words like muscle "tone" -- they have layman connotations not validated by science.
I recommend doing BOTH lifting and cardio frequently per week combined with a decent portion controlled diet), and you can get to your maximum potential. I apologize to doublepeak if I am generalizing hypocritically (I no doubt am), but from personal experience I believe in this concept. I do agree that consulting a trainer at a gym is a useful exercise, and anyone serious about getting into shape should find a good trainer when you first start out (although many people have doubts about the validity of calipre readings -- if you really want to know your fat % accurately you need to have yourself submerged into a tank of water someplace.)
I defer to the other poster as to whether you will get any tangible benefit from chewing gum or taking cold showers.

Actually, cardio does provide increased metabolism and fat burning benefits for several hours after you have completed it if you do it intensely enough, although you're right that intense weight training can burn fat for tens of hours at a time after the workout. Also, the earlier advice you gave about having to do cardio to get a six-pack is ironically a generalization. I know that's the textbook advice, but some ectomorphs can get a six-pack from weight training and controlled diet alone (I have witnessed this in several people I know). So people have to mix it up and try different things to figure out what works best for them. Some things are real easy for some people and some are not; the only way to find out is through trial and error.

 

[Law2Doc]

Also, the earlier advice you gave about having to do cardio to get a six-pack is ironically a generalization. I know that's the textbook advice, but some ectomorphs can get a six-pack from weight training and controlled diet alone (I have witnessed this in several people I know). So people have to mix it up and try different things to figure out what works best for them. Some things are real easy for some people and some are not; the only way to find out is through trial and error.

Yeah - sadly I don't share the plight of the beloved ectomorph. I don't think I ever actually advocated just cardio and not weights, though - but I suppose I continue to be guilty of over-generalizations on this thread (I was mainly troubled by doublepeaks reference to an "average" person in terms of numbers of calories burned, lbs capable of being lost etc., since sex, body composition and body frame give drastically different results - but I don't actually disagree with doublepeak for the most part).
Anyhow, the few brief moments I've personally been able to get some semblance of a six pack (and certainly couldn't keep at that level for too long) were from really stringent diet and frantic daily multiple hour workouts (certainly not focusing particularly on situps or crunches, but they were minorly included, along with weight training and heavy cardio) -- probably not something most of us will be able to do while in med school. I hope to settle for an athletic but not ripped build over the next eight years.

 

[boonguh]

eat less than you usually do, and move more than you usually do..

 

[lropp]

Well, it looks as if I'm a bit late on responding to this post...but I'll throw in my experience/input for the hell of it. After graduating from highschool, I had become very overweight. It has been about a year now, and I have been able to lose 75 pounds. I did this through a very intense exercise schedule and a (mostly) vegetarian diet. I go to the gym 5 days a week, for about an hour and a half or 2 hours per day...usually leaving weekends or Wednesdays for a rest day. Since my schedule has become quite hectic, when I'm pressed for time and can't make it to the the gym, I run a few miles around the track or through my local park. I eat a diet of fruits, vegetables, tofu, soy, beans and brown rice. Ocassionally I'll eat seafood...but I eat absolutely no red meat or chicken. This is not to bash meat eaters, but I do think those of us who eat a meat free diet tend to take in less calories and have a healthier lighter body overall. Also, I stay away from dairy (milk, cheese, etc). Although, I will eat some fat-free dairy yogurt occasionally. My best advice is to stick with it! All the advice given on this thread is great, just don't lose your will! Losing a significant amount of weight is not easy, and sometimes you'll hit a plateau and feel like giving up...DON'T!!! Just keep up the good work and hang in there, you'll be very happy with how your body looks and most importantly...how you feel!!! Good luck!

 

[redclover]

You may need to find a better informed instructor. Muscles need energy to maintain themselves. Hence they burn more calories than fat. So if you put on a few pounds of muscle, you burn more calories (even at rest). But since you have added muscle weight, you will not necessarilly be any lighter (you will just look that way). Certainly cardio burns calories too, but with cardio, the benefit only occurs while you are doing it, not after (as you get from weights). Watch out for words like muscle "tone" -- they have layman connotations not validated by science.
I recommend doing BOTH lifting and cardio frequently per week combined with a decent portion controlled diet), and you can get to your maximum potential. I apologize to doublepeak if I am generalizing hypocritically (I no doubt am), but from personal experience I believe in this concept. I do agree that consulting a trainer at a gym is a useful exercise, and anyone serious about getting into shape should find a good trainer when you first start out (although many people have doubts about the validity of calipre readings -- if you really want to know your fat % accurately you need to have yourself submerged into a tank of water someplace.)
I defer to the other poster as to whether you will get any tangible benefit from chewing gum or taking cold showers.

Thanks for the info, I might add it to my workouts and see how it goes. wt training just doesnt feel as good as running/swimming to me

 

[fullefect1]

This has been said before... but just a reminder spread out your meals into small portions throughout the day. You still need to be burning more calories then you are taking in, but by eating small portions throughout the day your will increase your metabolism. And yes you would want a balanced diet, weight training, along with cardiovasular work and you will be all set. But it takes time... don't excpect it to happen over a month period.

 

[docbill]

I did not read the whole thread. So hopefuly I am not too far off topic.

I was 220lbs... and I am only 5'6' so not that tall. And my BMI was 35. OBESE TYPE II.

In just under a year.. I droped 55lbs and came down to 26BMI.
Hard work and I had to be committed. No over a year later. Almost 2 years since I started.. I am still at almost the same weight. +5lbs and loving it.

This was one of the promises I made myself. Drope that weight and stop smoking. Did both.