Best walking/running routine for losing fat?

[matts0344]

Hello, this is my first post to this site. I am very fat and wish to lose it, I'm male, 20 years old, 5 ft 3, and 170-175 pounds.

 

I have started to change the way I live 4 months ago.

I own a treadmill and have been walking/jogging 2 miles / day, 5-6 days/ week.

I have cut out soda totally from my diet and now only drink water and a good deal of it.

 

I haven't done much in the way of changing the way I eat and I feel that this is probably a problem because I have not noticed any great deal of weight loss yet, though I do feel better and have more energy than I have ever had.

 

1. So, first question is what is the best walking or jogging combination to lose fat?

 

Right now I have been walking at 2.5mph for 7 minutes, then jog at 3.5mph for 2 minites and then walk again. I do this on an decent incline and do it for 45 each session. I usually do this 5-6 times a week. Sometimes at night, sometimes in the morning after breakfast(or should I be doing it before?).

 

So is this ok or should I be doing some other combination? No jogging at all? Faster? Only jogging? Faster walk? Whats the best walk/jog routine to do in 45 minutes?

 

2. Now, what I eat, I usually have a small bowl of cereal in the monring (1% milk), a sandwhich for lunch (turkey usually), maybe with some chips. But I usually have a big dinner. I heard that its better to eat smaller meals throughout the day to lose weight, so what should I do instead? Eat fruit? I like fruit and salads, so could I do that? What should I eat for dinner?

 

Thanks for any help you can give me, I've tried reading stuff online but a lot of it is contradictory thats why I went to a forum to ask.

[RayKay]

I would definitely revamp how you eat - eat 5-6 mini-meals during the day of a good balance of healthy carbs, lean proteins and lean dairy and lots of veggies, fruits, and so on.

 

Make sure to keep your calories within reason, but definitely eat less but more often.

 

You won't see gains (or losses!) without proper diet.

As for working out; I would add some strength training in to build muscle, and build up your speed during your running parts. It does not matter when you do it as long as you do it; some say doing it before breakfast is better to get fat stores, but sometimes you have less energy and so do not burn as much anyway as you don't put as much into it. I run in the mornings too, and tend to just have a small banana before I run as I run for 6-8 miles in the mornings (too much food before and I get nauseous!) and eat the remainder of breakfast after. If I have nothing my workout is not as good.

 

If you are just doing 2 miles right now though, don't worry about eating before; just do your workouts when you can fit them in. I don't like the whole debate over WHEN to work out, as what matters is you DO it when you are able to and you stick to it. If you are NOT a morning person for example what does it matter if it is 'better' to work out in the morning if you will decide to sleep in anyway? I like doing my training in morning though as it gets it done for day and I have higher energy for rest of day (and sleep better at night!).

 

Doing walking breaks is good when you are starting out, but I would start pushing the speed during the running over the workout, like start off the first time at 3.5 mph, but then go to 4.5 mph the next interval, etc and keep going. As you improve, also take shorter walk breaks less frequently, but change the tempo while running a bit if you need to "rest" (ie once you are running at 6mph, go to 5.5 mph to "rest" for a bit).

 

Try going to link removed, they have some good ideas for beginners for workouts.

 

And do incorporate some strength training and cross training in there; those whom do tend to keep more interest in their goals and lose more weight in the long run, and be in better shape. Muscle also burns more and tones you up!

[rocio]

As far as the walking/jogging/running combination, I don't know. If you're walking or jogging 2 miles / day, 5-6 days/ week, that should be sufficient.. regardless of how fast you're going.

 

Eating less in the evening is also good. For supper, have a little bit of everything. Some meat, some rice (or potatotes), some cooked veggies, and a salad. Don't eat a snack after supper. If you feel hungry, have a glass of milk. Throughout the day, try to eat every 2-3 hours. Good snacks can include fresh fruit, dried fruit, yoghurt, veggies, nuts, a hardboiled egg, salad, cottage cheese, milkshake... Try to stay away from baked foods. And although you like fruit, don't have more than 5 servings per day because they are high in carbs.

 

For breakfast, make sure your cereal is made from whole grains. And for lunch, use bread made from 100% whole wheat (check the ingredients).

 

Good luck!

[Beec]

One of the best things I've read on diet was the original South Beach book. The author, a cardiologist, began testing diets to help his patients. His diet is relatively low carb, low fat and high protein, and he encourages you to eat veggies. Basically, the diet is meat and veggies without a lot of starch in them. It's a good book, and I bet you can find one cheap used or at a library.

 

Yor running and jogging combination is good. Try to up your intensity levels over time. If you have been doing the same inclines and speeds, raise one of them, and think about raising the duration of time for which you work, overall, and for which you jog. More time will of course burn more calories. In theory, one should burn as many calories when runnign a mile as when walking, but the additionally muscular effort rquired by running will end up with the runner burning more, especially over a series of months. The runner will burn more in recovering after the work, and even on days off because of better muscle tone. So, keep jogging. It helps.

 

RayKay is also right on with her recommendation for some strength training. You can start with simple easy things too, like dumbbells, pushups and other calesthenics. Strength training like running will burn calories jsut because of muscle tone. Moreover, fat cells burn hardly any calories, they just sit there waiting to be burnt. Muscle burns calories just to maintain itself. Building muscle is a great way to lose weight.

 

Congrats on exercising, keep it up.

[in_the_mirror]

for the running you should do what you are comfertable with for right now, maybe doing a little more then 2 miles....sometimes doing it based on time is better.... varity in training makes it easier too....so here are a few things you can do.

 

fartlicks (i know funny name but it really works): walk for 30 seconds, jog for 30, then push a little and run for 30 secs. then move up to a minute and go through that cycle again. then do 1 min 30 and then do the same again. go up to 2 or 3 minutes and then go down in time incriments from there. ( as you get more use to it you can move it up in 1 minute incriments and as high as you like)

 

just jog for 20-40 minutes- doing this on days after you have something harder is a great idea...

 

walk for 30 minutes then jog for 1 minute and 30 seconds whatever pace you are comfy with...do that for 20-30 minutes

 

i know that some of this seems a little hard but it helps a lot. you need to make sure you are getting good carbs in you the night before working out...if you are going to work out in the morning eat a pasta dish the night before. watch the fatty foods and sodium and i agree with ones said up above about eating 5-6 smaller meals....i found in the past that slim fasts are good for getting some daily vitamins, but eat a banana or other piece of fruit with it for breakfast maybe. or a snack at work...there are a lot of things you can do food wise, and the internet can be a wonderful source for finding good and healthy food ideas throughout the day.

[timlondon]

Firstly well done for sticking with the exercise - 4 months without seeing much change must be annoying!

 

Secondly, you're absolutely right that you're going to need to change your diet. If you're doing 2 miles a day that's only burning about an extra 200 calories over what you would normally expend, which really isn't that much overall (same as a couple of slices of bread a day).

 

I find having a more substantial breakfast is really good as it keeps me full until lunchtime - porridge is good, and basically free (good because I'm an impoverished student). Also cutting out bread and potatoes is a really good way to go as they're really calorific, so eat some other veg instead. You would really benefit from avoiding the chips too.

 

Oh, and I would get off the treadmill and get outside. I run way faster and further out in the "real world" and it's much less boring than staring at a wall Make sure you gradually increase the pace as you get fitter. Best of luck!

 

[matts0344]

Thanks for all the info and suggestions guys.

 

I will try to change my diet more and walk and run faster and see if that helps.

I do FEEL better, I just don't look any better.

 

For me, I just can't run outside. Its winter here and besides I watch a DVD of a tv show on the treadmill and thats the only way I can bring myself to do it.

[Grosse vache]

A fast walk at the highest incline burns a lot of fat and tones your butt, legs and stomach and if you pump your arms good it tones them too.

 

Basically, to burn fat, you need to keep your heart rate above 65% of it's maximum....to work out your maximum heart rate subtract your age from 220. So if you're 20 you get 200 so your maximum heart rate is 200bpm and 65% is about 125 bpm so you need to keep your heart rate at 125bpm to get maximum impact.