Is this enough to lose weight?

[Voguester]

I've started exercising again to lose weight and I was just wondering if 30 mins on the treadmill everyday would be sufficient? I use dumbells as will which definitely adds intensity. It's just so hot here now as it is summer and I find it hard to do more than that, I'm also on a healthy food diet.

[Furtive]

Calories expended has to be greater than calories ingested or you will not lose weight.

 

THAT IS IT.

 

Depending on your weight, if you're running say four miles in that 30 minutes, you're burning a net of about 400 calories. EAT ALL OF THOSE BACK. Only have your deficit based on your base calories, at sedentary, and as a female NEVER EAT BELOW 1300 CALORIES a day, EVER!

 

Also, you can Google it. DO NOT CARRY WEIGHTS WHILE YOU RUN. It hurts your form, doesn't add much to intensity, and can lead to injury. I believe Runner's World has a great article on it.

 

Find a website to track your calories, eat healthy, eat back what you work off, NEVER EAT BELOW 1300 CALORIES A DAY, and you'll lose weight healthily and efficiently.

 

Edit for example day:

 

DAY 1: No exercise. Ate 1300 calories.

DAY 2: Ran 30 minutes at 8mph, burned roughly 400 calories. Ate 1700 calories.

DAY 3: Ran 15 minutes at 8mph, burned roughly 200 calories. Ate 1500 calories.

 

Always eat back what you work off. A few rules, don't try to lose more than 2 pounds a week unless you're over 300 pounds. At around 210 pounds don't lose more than 1.5 pounds a week, and cut it down to 1 pound a week in the 100s. So eat at those calorie levels, but never go below 1300 as a female if that's what it says to do. (For males it's 1500.)

[sadchick83]

Yes, I would say so. Sometimes when you run too much you get over-hungry.

[rocio]

It all depends on your diet. But if your goal is to be fit permanently, the best thing you can do is start exercising every day. It doesn't matter whether you lose a bunch of weight right away. Think long term.

[Danny77]

What's the disadvantage of eating below 1500 per day for a guy.

I have days where I eat about 900-1000 and have lost 25 lbs in 2 months.

I had a relapse one week and it had no effect on me.

 

I do feel a bit weak on the low days but of what I do eat 100% of it is good food.

I also use whey protein and take all vitamins.

Gym about 4 times a week too.

So what's the problem with less than 1500?

[rocio]

Danny, come back in a year and tell us if you've kept it off.

 

I hope you do, but realistically the only way to stay in shape is to develop healthy habits and maintain them permanently. And that is one of the problems with crash diets - you don't have to teach yourself a new lifestyle.

[OptomisticGirl]

If you crash diet you will lose the weight fast but will put it right back on once you come off that crash diet - and sometimes, even more weight than when you began.

[Danny77]

But I am happy with the dirt I am on and feel no stress and urge to break it.

I'm gonna lose 10 more lbs and then step back up to normal eating.

With the added bonus of the lessons I learnt about how you don't need to fill your plate so much.

I have learnt to eat and enjoy more fruit and veg too.

 

Like I said I don't yern for fast food and rubbish anymore.

This so called crash diet has been just, healthy eating.

I eat loads!

But it's all low cal, like fruit and veg and not too many carbs.

 

In one year I'll come back and be just as I am.

Sorry if this seems to contradict your attitude but it's working just fine.

About 3lbs a week has worked for me.

[OptomisticGirl]

But I am happy with the dirt I am on and feel no stress and urge to break it.

I'm gonna lose 10 more lbs and then step back up to normal eating.

With the added bonus of the lessons I learnt about how you don't need to fill your plate so much.

I have learnt to eat and enjoy more fruit and veg too.

 

Like I said I don't yern for fast food and rubbish anymore.

This so called crash diet has been just, healthy eating.

I eat loads!

But it's all low cal, like fruit and veg and not too many carbs.

 

In one year I'll come back and be just as I am.

Sorry if this seems to contradict your attitude but it's working just fine.

About 3lbs a week has worked for me.

 

And if you go to any sane doctor, he will tell you you are losing TOO much TOO fast. The recommend weight loss per week (healthy, anyway) is 1-2 lbs. a week.

[Danny77]

Well maybe I'll slow the last 10lbs down to 1lb a week.

We'll see how I feel.

 

But I will lose it and it will stay off.

 

And in answer to the OP

30mins on the treadmill if fine.

 

Doctors recommend that we do 30min of cardio per day anyway.

 

 

Thanks folks.

[rocio]

Good luck!

[Danny77]

I sense a touch of sarcasm but thanks anyway.

 

Haha-

[rocio]

I didn't intend any sarcasm.

[Danny77]

Okay,

Peace and love.xx

[StrawberryYogurt]

30 minutes is enough if you are doing intervals, but not if you're just running a steady pace. Weightlifting is good, key is lift heavier with fewer reps, say 4-6 reps per set. Switch up your exercises as to "shock your body" too.

 

Eating healthy is of course also important, I would say even more important.

[Voguester]

Thanks for your helpful advice. I'm not running on the treadmill, I try to do intervals though where I walk at 5.2mph for 10 mins, 5 mins at 6mph, 5 mins at 5.2 and then 10 mins with dumbells. I get really puffed and sweaty by the end of it and my legs feel all tingley.

 

I also try to do some aerobic workouts during the week which I find really good. I haven't lost any weight yet as I only started a few days ago but I'll keep you all posted.

[Snny]

I was just wondering if 30 mins on the treadmill everyday would be sufficient?

Are you running a total of 30 mins? Are you holding onto the treadmill as you walk/run? These details DO matter.

 

1. Do not hold onto the treadmill. If you need to, decrease the speed.

2. My favorite cardio activity on a treadmill is "hiking." Incline is at 15% and speed is up to 3.3 MPH (and only at this workout, hold onto the treadmill as far as you can) for 10 minutes. My personal trainer has told me I burn more calories this way than running a mile... though after 10 mins I run for 15 mins and do a cool 5 min walk to meet the 30 min on the treadmill. If you just running on a treadmill for 30 mins, you're only losing about 200 calories which is not a lot.

3. For cardio exercise, it is recommended to do 2 hours a week. You would be going over the limit; if you can handle it without injuring yourself, that's fine. Make sure you get plenty of calcium, potassium, carbs, and protein

 

I'm also on a healthy food diet.

Define what your diet is. The most effective eating habit is watching calories and measuring it to your physical activeness per day. NO ONE has a set number of calories to eat- there is a math equation that will show you how many calories you should be consuming (I'll post it later). I have lost weight from monitoring my calories AND did not need to diet.

 

Dumbbells should never be used for a running exercise. Also, it helps to have a professional show you how to lift weights and kinds of workouts. Free weights do not tone all your muscles and only focuses on one muscle group. I highly recommend looking into core weight lifting and there are youtube videos on it if you cannot afford a personal trainer.

[Furtive]

30 minutes is enough if you are doing intervals, but not if you're just running a steady pace. Weightlifting is good, key is lift heavier with fewer reps, say 4-6 reps per set. Switch up your exercises as to "shock your body" too.

 

Eating healthy is of course also important, I would say even more important.

 

I agree that intervals are better for weight-loss and toning, but 30 minutes at a steady pace is just fine too. At first a person may barely be able to do a 5k, but they're still getting a good 300 cal burn, and that just goes up and up with speed increases at steady paces.

 

"Is 30 minutes on the treadmill enough to lose weight?" The honest answer is, you don't even need the treadmill to lose weight. You just need to eat less calories than you burn. For instance, a male at 215 pounds that plays video games and watches tv all day and has everything delivered to him, never leaving his room, will lose two pounds a week as long as he eats no more than 1500 calories.

 

Working out and eating healthy are important, but I'm not sure where all these people get confused thinking they won't lose weight without activity. It has NOTHING to do with activity, and all to do with what you put in your mouth. Now, for accelerated weight loss, being healthy, looking good, fitness is required for that.

[Snny]

The honest answer is, you don't even need the treadmill to lose weight. You just need to eat less calories than you burn. For instance, a male at 215 pounds that plays video games and watches tv all day and has everything delivered to him, never leaving his room, will lose two pounds a week as long as he eats no more than 1500 calories.

I partially agree with this. Just because you eat "healthy" based on counting calories only doesn't mean you are. For example, the person described above may only be eating one meal a day, which is a Burger King Double Whooper meal that totals to 1,500 calories. He would lack proper nutrition.

 

Healthy eating AND exercise are the important keys to losing weight. There have been recent studies too that lack of exercise is one of the leading causes of cancer too and for women who don't lift weights... you could develop bone density issues later in life.

[Furtive]

What's the disadvantage of eating below 1500 per day for a guy.

I have days where I eat about 900-1000 and have lost 25 lbs in 2 months.

I had a relapse one week and it had no effect on me.

 

I do feel a bit weak on the low days but of what I do eat 100% of it is good food.

I also use whey protein and take all vitamins.

Gym about 4 times a week too.

So what's the problem with less than 1500?

 

Since you're hitting the gym, it's even worse.

 

You can read some articles. In a nutshell, because of your insane caloric deficit your body has been converting muscle into energy, thus the majority of your weight loss was initially glycogen stores/muscle (a lot of held water weight) and not fat.

 

The older you get, the harder it is to get that muscle back. Now, when you start eating at a normal rate, your base resting metabolic rate will be lower than what it was before (assuming you get to the same weight) you will be fatter at equal weights than you were before.

 

Just do what you want. There's a large amount of articles on why a male should never eat net below 1500 and a female net below 1300. It's a level of undernourishment, that on top of being unsustainable for many, hurts the body the longer it's on it.

 

link removed

 

Also, if you lose a lot of weight very quickly, it may not be fat that you're losing. It might be water weight or even lean tissue, since it's hard to burn that many fat calories in a short period."

[Furtive]

I partially agree with this. Just because you eat "healthy" based on counting calories only doesn't mean you are. For example, the person described above may only be eating one meal a day, which is a Burger King Double Whooper meal that totals to 1,500 calories. He would lack proper nutrition.

 

Healthy eating AND exercise are the important keys to losing weight. There have been recent studies too that lack of exercise is one of the leading causes of cancer too and for women who don't lift weights... you could develop bone density issues later in life.

 

I agree with you 100%, I'm just trying to get accross the point that in terms of weight loss (NOT HEALTH) all that matters is calories. Obviously, it's better to do it in a healthy way.

[rocio]

I disagree. In order to be healthy and permanently prevent obesity, an active lifestyle is essential.

 

You could lose weight by chopping off a leg, but it wouldn't improve your health or appearance. Same goes for dieting while being sedentary.

 

If you starve yourself without exercising, you will just have to keep eating less and less as you get older and you have shot your metabolism.

[timlondon]

I've started exercising again to lose weight and I was just wondering if 30 mins on the treadmill everyday would be sufficient? I use dumbells as will which definitely adds intensity. It's just so hot here now as it is summer and I find it hard to do more than that, I'm also on a healthy food diet.

 

30 minute runs at a constant speed are just fine (what I do most days). Don't run with weights or a backpack, and run on grass or trails where you can.

 

The most important factor when you begin losing weight is (as others have mentioned) your diet, you won't initially be able to do enough exercise to produce a significant calorie deficit. Also echoing not to reduce your intake too low, I've also heard the 1300cal lower limit.

 

Assuming you're a woman (is that right?) you shouldn't be scared of lifting some free weights as well - women generally avoid this because of worrying about getting bulky, but that basically isn't going to happen and weight training makes you look grrreat

[MakeItCount]

burning 700-1000kcal a week is where you begin to see health benefits. Fitness benefits on the other hand require more.

 

Honestly, if I was to write up a program for someone who was just starting out, or has been away from the gym for a long time, it would begin off slow. For example, 20 minutes @ 50rpm low resistance. Build that up each week. to me, this is deathly slow. However, it still hows results and most importantly, it promotes adherence!! Some people will go in, run their ass off for an hour a day and see great results in the first two weeks. Then, they'll get bored/tired and quit.

 

As a general rule of thumb, 60 mins of light activity every everyday (walking, gardening) or 20-30min of vigorous exercise ( running, biking, etc) is what's minimally recommended. Do at least 15-20 mins a day, 3-5x a week at a decent pace if you're on a treadmill. Jogging is just fine to start with. Depending on you, that's usually 3.5-6.5mph or so. Up that by 5 minutes every week. Go from there.

 

Don't run with weights. If you want to challenge yourself, go at higher intensity, but more recommended is longer duration. If you want to do weights, do weights. Work major muscle groups 2-3x a week to begin with, low weight, high reps...12-15, where you struggle with the last 3.