Q&A for: 14-Jul-05
152. Q:
I've been lifting weights for a year now, and it seems impossible to get rid of the fat under my ches, Is testosteroe theraphy an option?
A:
Options like testesterone therapy are not really something I am qualified to discuss -- you should talk to your doctor about it. A year of weightlifting certainly should have given you some pretty good results. Have you been noticing some progress, at least? What is your weightlifting program like? Even more importantly, what is your diet like? What body fat percentage did you start at and what body fat percentage are you at now? How many pounds of weight have you lost in this past year and what is your height/weight now?
I would say that you should be around 12% body fat before you can start concluding that you need medical intervention to get rid of excessive chest fat. Virtually any man can get to 12-14% body fat if following a solid weighttraining program and a good diet and maybe some cardio on the side. For some people, it may take longer than a year, especially if they started off being quite overweight. Let me know more about yourself, your program, and your diet and we can probably find ways to improve on those before you try more dramatic options.
153. Q:
If one person has a calorie deficiency of 1000 calories when burning 2200 calories but eating only 1200 calories and a 2nd person has a calorie deficiency of 1000 calories when burning 4000 calories and eating 3000 calories isnt it true that the first person has much more of a chance of losing muscle than the second person?
A:
Yep, you're correct. The first person would only be eating 1200/2200 = 54% of the calories he/she uses while the second one would be eating 3000/4000 = 75% of what he/she uses. All other things being equal, the first person is in much more severe calorie deficit than the second and consequently much more at risk of losing muscle.
154. Q:
If I take in 2000 calories a day and run 3-4 miles a day. How many pounds will I lose in a week
A:
That's not enough info to answer the question. But assuming you usually eat the same 2000 calories to simply maintain your present weight, 3-4 miles/day every day of the week will lose you about 1 pound per week of bodyweight.
BUT one pound of bodyweight lost is not the same as one pound of FAT lost. Please read this before you continue with your program: Q&A #58, Q&A #60 and Q&A #71. There you will find why cardio (walking, running, etc.) is NOT the great fat-burner you may think it to be. After you read those, please check out my Nutrition article and Weighttraining article and perhaps reconsider your program. Good luck!
155. Q:
I am 27 years old and I just had a baby about 8 weeks ago. I have already lost around 33 pounds and would like to lose another 20. I run around 2-4 miles a day and take in about 2000-2500 calories a day. I am also nursing so I know that burns calories. I seemed to have hit a plateau now. I will weigh myself after I run and have lost a few ponds but the next day it will be bak to what it was the day before. What advice can you give me to lose these last 20 stuborn pounds?
A:
Two congratulations are in order first! Congrats on your new baby and congrats on your weight loss :) Now on to your questions... What you are noticing as far as weight loss after a run which comes back is simply the temporary loss and gain of water weight. You sweat out a lot of water while running and possibly dehydrate yourself a bit. Then you drink water and rehydrate yourself to normal levels. This kind of weight change involves neither fat nor muscle and should be ignored. To track your weight with greater precision, weigh yourself in the morning after using the bathroom and before eating or drinking anything.
2000-2500 calories/day is a good healthy diet. You are not starving yourself which is very good! You can probably get an extra metabolic boost by switching to a diet like this one. You probably don't have much free time to be cooking and eating five times a day, but if you did that's what you would've wanted to do :)
The second thing you can do is take up resistance training, concentrating on whole-body exercises like squats, lunges, deadlifts, etc. This is a good starter program and I have several others in the Weightlifting article. Please read that article before taking up weight training and don't worry if you've never thought that weight training can help you lose fat -- it can and will when combined with a controlled diet. Just don't start eating whenever you feel hungry because you will feel hungry a lot when lifting weights -- it's a sign that your metabolism is increasing!
If you can't get access to a gym for weight training, you can still do a lot of exercises at home using dumbbells and just your bodyweight. Good 'at-home' exercises include squats, lunges, crunches, touching your toes, pushups, pullups (even partial ones if you can't do a full pullup), and jumping jacks.
Try to incorporate these diet and exercise ideas into your routine and you'll shake those last 20 pounds. Again congrats and good luck!
156. Q:
what is the benefit of slow long distance walk
A:
Slow long walks do not have particular benfit when compared to a more brisk walk or run for somebody who can do either. But they may be very appropriate for older people, those in subpar physical condition who is just starting out on exercising, and those who are rehabilitating from an injury. They can also have great calming psychological effects which may be missing from more intense forms of exercise. Finally, they are MUCH MUCH better than no exercise at all. But if you are thinking in terms of a slow walk burning more fat than a run over the same distance, then that's not the case -- amount of calories burned is proportional to distance, not to time and a faster run will give your cardiovascular system more of a workout.
157. Q:
is it better to do cardio in between weight training exercises, before them, or after them (as the person in question 141 does)?
A:
I recommend doing cardio on days when you don't do weight training. If you want to do cardio and weight together, then I recommend doing light cardio for 5-10 mins before weights (as a warm-up more than anything else), then the weights, then the remainder of your cardio.
159. Q:
In question 146, you mentioned that we should not do cardio on an empty stomach. My personal trainer actually advised me to. I think his reasoning is that my body will burn more fat storage ( as oppose to first burning the food i just ate)....I just wanted to know a little bit more about this issue. Do you recommend eating carbs and protien before cardio/weight training?
A:
Let me try to expand on why I recommend not doing cardio on empty stomach and let's put some numbers on it... Let's say your cardio burns 300 calories, your daily BMR (not counting cardio) is another 2500 calories, your breakfast (either before or after cardio) is 300 calories, and you eat another 2000 calories during the rest of the day. Now let's look at the two scenarios...
Under your trainer suggestion you burn 300 calories by cardio (which will come from a mix of muscle and fat because your body is famished and has no particular reason to preserve all the muscle while using the precious fat), then eat 300 calorie breakfast, then go on with the rest of your day burning 2500 calories and eating 2000. The net total is calorie deficit of 500 calories per day and some of those 300 calories during the cardio came from burning muscle.
Now let's look at my recommendation. You eat 300 calories, go run burning 300 calories (few if any of these calories will come from burning muscle since you just ate and your body has fresh energy reserves), then go on with the rest of your day burning 2500 calories and eating 2000. The net total is, once again, calorie deficit of 500. But this time you burned less muscle during the cardio run!
The notion that cardio on the empty stomach somehow burns more fat is based on fallacy that assumes that somehow the rest of your day is the same calorie-wise as when you eat and then run. But clearly, if you are comparing apples to apples, then you should assume that your total daily calorie intake is the same in both cases (like I did above). Once you do that, you realize that you'll still have to eat that breakfast and those calories will still be in your system. In the end, total calories in vs. total calories out are the same in both scenarios but under my recommendation you do not jeopardize burning muscle. Hope that makes my position clearer.
If you do cardio in the morning, I recommend to at least have protein before it (giving your body less reason to burn muscle for energy since you give it readily-absorbable protein instead), but ideally you would have a regular breakfast. For weight-training in the morning having a nice big breakfast before is even more important -- your body needs fuel to push those weights around!
160. Q:
In question 149, you mentioned that body builders often suffer health problems....what kind of health problems do they suffer (that are not related to drug abuse)? This just concerns me because i always thought that exercise was a way to avoid all health problems?
A:
Vast majority of pro bodybuilder's health problems are undoubtedly steroid-related. But it is also very common for them to push their bodies past its limits and not allowing injuries enough time to heal. In the end all of this wear and tear can really take a toll on the body. I am not aware of of any studies that indicate that their actual large muscle mass causes any of their problems in itself.
For an average amateur bodybuilder or weighttraining enthusiast who does not abuse steroids and who is wise about letting his or her body recover from exercise stress and injuries, exercise brings nothing but good. One thing to watch out for is becoming overly obsessive with diet and exercise. It happens to some people and takes away from their overall quality of life. But aside from that, exercise is exactly what you said -- the key to overall health.
161. Q:
What kind of health problems are associated with working the heart too much?
A:
As long as you have no pre-existing conditions and follow a reasonable training program and diet (no starving yourself!) your heart will handle whatever you throw at it. But as always, it's very good idea to consult with your doctor before starting an exercise program.
162. Q:
I heard that the step machine is not very good for the knees. In fact, doing the step regularly (2 times a week) can cause major joint problems there...is this true?
A:
As far as I know if you do not have any pre-existing knee conditions, the stair machine will not hurt them. An injury is always a possibility in general, both when exercising and in 'regular' life. If you do feel pain in the knee (or anywhere else) that shouldn't be there, STOP immediately! The only good pain is the muscle tiredness during the exercise and possible muscle soreness afterward. Any other kind of pain is not good. If it happens, stop exercising and see a doctor. But there's nothing inherently dangerous in the stair machine. Remeber to maintain proper posture when using the stair machine -- your torso should be upright and you should not put any weight on the rails, they're only their to make sure you don't fall.
I should add that women are much more prone to knee injuries than men due to their anatomy. But again, the stair machine is not any worse than other machines or forms of cardio. However if you have an existing knee (or any other) condition or think you may have one, please consult with your doctor and/or physical therapist before starting on a program.
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