Q&A for: 12-Oct-05
683. Q:
I am 15 and im 5'11 and i weigh 145 and i have man boobs and i lift 10 pound weights and cant get to a gym,i also do crunches and i do about 3 to 6 hundred of them a day,what do i do about my boobs and stomach,i put saran wrap on my chest to sweat off my man boob fat,will this really work? Or do i have to do more? Im in a band and i sometimes jump around alot? What do i do to lose all of my fat on my stomach and man boobs?
A:
At 5 foot 11 and only 145 pounds you certainly can't have a whole lot of fat on you and you certainly should not be thinking of losing weight at this time. But you can still do quite a bit about your manboobs...
First off, stop the saran wrap thing. It will do absolutely nothing good for you and can actually be very dangerous depending on how much of your body you cover and for how long. You can't sweat off fat. You can burn fat through physical activity, but it has nothing to do with sweating. Second, the activity you get through band and jumping around is all good, but it's unlikely to make enough of a difference. The 10-pound weights you have are also like that -- good idea, but 10 pounds is almost certainly not enough weight to really stress you.
What you need to do is make sure you eat healthy stuff and increase your physical activity, be it through sports or heavier weight lifting (buy heavier dumbbells). Please read the first part, titled 'Principles, of my Nutrition Guide (don't worry about the rest of that article so much, just the first part). There you'll find out what to eat and what not to eat. At your age your continuing growth and maturation processes will easily take care of whatever extra fat you have, provided you don't fill yourself with junkfood and have a good amount of physical exercise.
For exercise, it would be great if you could get heavier dumbbells. You need to exercise all of the muscles in your body, not just arms and maybe shoulders that you're likely doing now. You also would ideally exercise them with such heavy weights that you could only do 10-12 repetitions of an exercise before needing a rest. However even if you don't have such heavy weights, doing something is better than doing nothing at all.
I have two programs designed to be done at home: Dumbbell-only program and No-equipment program. Pick one or the other and follow it at home 2-4 times/week (can even do more if you have no weights or only very light weights). That along with a heavty diet and your continuing development will take care of your manboob problem. Good luck!
684. Q:
I am doing cardio 3 times a week and strength training with resistance bands 3 times a week. I've lost about an inch so far but I've yet to lose any weight. I want to be slim and toned not full of muscle. What am I doing wrong?
A:
Actually I'd say you're doing everything right if you managed to lose 1 inch without losing any weight! It means you ARE LOSING FAT and that's the only way you'll get to be slim and toned in the long run. It also means that you've managed to replace that fat with the equivalent weight in muscle which will make your FUTURE fat loss that much easier. You should be very happy about your results so far!
What's going to start happen soon is that this process of simultaneous loss of fat and build of muscle will slow down and stop completely. At that point you will have to start losing weight and, along with it, both fat and muscle (which is when the extra muscle you're gaining now will come in real handy -- it'll allow you to lose weight for longer time).
In order to start losing weight you will have to adjust your diet. Unfortunately you didn't tell me anything about your diet now, so I can't tell you how to change it, but you can get my fat-burning diet recommendation simply by filling out Mike's Fitness Guide (specify 'Lose Fat' as your goal).
But once again, be HAPPY with your current results! You're well on your way to being slim and toned, it's just going to take quite some time, and your first steps on that path couldn't be better. You might think that had you lost 10-20 pounds in this time you would've looked much more toned, but believe me it wouldn't be the case -- you'd simply look smaller overall but be more vulnerable to regaining the weight you lost and would have a smaller future fat loss potential. So keep on doing what you're doing and when this progress stops, adjust your diet as the guide prescribes. You also may want to look into other resistance training equipment then since the bands will only take you so far. But for now everything you're doing is working great!
685. Q:
I have cut my caloric intake and increased my physical activity by a lot. During the day I eat every 2 hours (of healthy foods) even thought I'm not always that hungry. But it never fails that at night when the kids are down and I sit to watch tv, I am STARVING. How can I stop being so hungry at night?
A:
You should be somewhat hungry if you're trying to lose fat, of course. But you shouldn't be starving. For one thing, you could and should continue that every-two-hours eating regimen into the night too, all the way till you go to bed yourself. Don't eat any starchy carbs at night, but something based around light veggies is perfect. Even just munching on some baby carrots is fine. Also, I could maybe help you more if you told me what you ate during the day -- if you avoid fats altogether you'll get hungrier much quicker. You need and should eat (in moderation, of course) healhy fats like olive oil.
686. Q:
Hello,i'm 5'9 150 pounds,i only may be one meal a day,and i'm full..I'd love to gain weight maybe 20,25,30,even 40......Please help
A:
Well, you're going to have to stuff food down your throat if you want to gain weight. It's not going to happen any other way. The only thing I can promise you is that you WILL get used to it eventually, but it might take up to a month. But that's the only way. Fill out Mike's Fitness Guide specifying 'Build Muscle' as your goal to see a sample recommended bulking diet. You don't need to follow it exactly, of course, and you can combine multiple meals together, but on the whole it should give you a good idea of how you need to eat to put on weight.
687. Q:
im 20, i have a gut and man boobs.i weigh over 200, what do i do
A:
Please read this carefully, including the other articles it references and then fill out Mike's Fitness Guide for a complete diet and exercise program.
688. Q:
I have two question for you:
1.) Do you know a website (or have a section) that explains some of the terminology associated with exercise? I just don't understand how to do some of the things in the Dumbbell-only program. If you have a repetition of 10, 3 times, do you do 30 straight or take a break after one set?
One more thing: I've heard that Dance Dance Revolution is good for weight loss. Can it actually help, and if so can you lose weight solely on it or alot of weight?
Thanks.
A:
Read my Weighttraining article to learn a lot of terminology. Also refer to Exercise page for many of the individual exercises. To answer your specific question 3 sets of 10 reps means you do 10 reps (with a weight heavy enough for you to barely complete the 10), then take a 2-3 minute break, then do another 10, then another 2-3 minute break, and finally do the last ten. And Dance Dance Revolution will give you a good fun cardio workout and can certainly be a part of the bigger fat-loss program. But I wouldn't recommend relying on it alone if you want to make good progress. A good diet and weight training will take you a lot further.
689. Q:
Hey I have a few good questions for you Mike:
I'm 15 and since I live in the country I was wondering if these activities would be of any or alot of use:
The area I live in is quite hilly. I was wondering if I did a 1 kilometer lap a few times if that would amount to much/any weight loss if I did it every time I got home from school. Usually after I bike alot my mouse is dry and my legs feel like jelly, does this mean that I had a good workout or that I'm dehydrated and have bad leg muscles lol?
Are there any other activities that I can do outside in the coming winter months that can help me lose weight? I can't ski but hell I'll try it if it gives a good enough workout to be integrated into a routine.
So what kind of activities require little skill but can achieve a good amount of fitness (I can't skate, and I'll never be able to so that's out...I just can't keep balance lol).
Thanks!
A:
Any of those activities -- running, biking, skiing will help you lose some weight. Running and skiing are more demanding than biking, so they'll give you more of a 'bang for the buck' in the same period of time. But any of them are certainly fine to do. Do drink water while you do them -- the dry mouth is a sign of dehydration and you don't want that.
If you're just looking to lose a little bit of weight and/or get a little fitter, then that's all you really need. If you're need to lose quite a bit of extra fat though, you'll want to have a little more serious program. At the very least, make changes to your diet that will help fat loss. Ideally you'd also take up some sort of weight training. To get a prescription for both of those things, fill out Mike's Fitness Guide specifying 'Lose Fat' as your goal. Good luck!
690. Q:
What are the best exercises to do to get rid of a pot-belly and love handles??
A:
Unfortunately it's not just a matter of a few exercises. You need to get a good handle on your diet and have a complete whole-body exercise program. Please read this carefully, including the other articles it references and then fill out Mike's Fitness Guide for the diet and exercise programs.
691. Q:
Do you know off-hand what some good house-hold items or creations can be used as weights and what weight they are?
A:
As far as household stuff, a gallon of water or milk weighs about 8 pounds. You can find containers that are 1.5 or 2 gallons, so if you fill them with water they'll give you 12 and 16 pound weights, respectively. But your best weighttraining equipment for home is your own body! Pushups, pullups, squats, lunges, jumping jacks, extensions of all sorts, crunches, etc. all use your bodyweight as resistance are are likely to give you much more effective exercises than any other household stuff. You can also always look for used dumbbells or barbells at yard sales -- they're quite common there and are dirt cheap :)
692. Q:
Hey, I just tried doing some common exercises (push ups etc.) and I can BARELY do 5 push-ups, about 2 comfortably. And I can't do over 10 crunches or sit-ups properly. How am I supposed to lose weight this way if I can't even do it?
A:
Actually that's perfect! That means those exercise are just difficult enough for you to be most effective at burning fat and strengthening you! Keep doing them and keep doing them often. You'll be amazed at how quickly your strength will build up. You'll probably be able to do at least 20 pushups and god knows how many crunches in just a couple of months. Don't get frustrated or discouraged, but instead stick with it! I promise the results will come with time.
693. Q:
How can you tell if it's fat built up in the chest producing 'man-boobs' or if it's gynecomastia?
A:
For 95% or more of people, it's just extra fat that can be effectively lost through a good fat-burning diet and exercise routine. Very very few actually have a medical condition which requires drugs or surgery.
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