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[peplow]

Right guys, with summer coming up and days at the beach etc being planned aswell as hot cricket weekends and me striving to make my game better i am looking to lose some weight and become much fitter. I gained a bit of fat (not a huge amount, just enough to keep me warm in winter haha thats what i say anyway) and want to get rid of it! As not only will it do my cricket the world of good it will make me feel much better generally! I was wondering if anyone had a good dieting plan and training / exercise plan that i can follow to do this quickly and effectively ?

Thanks a lot

[Colesy]

Walk a lot. I walk about 4-5 miles a day. I can't put on weight to save my life lol.

[SillyShilly]

Cardio, cardio, cardio - and resistance training.
Push yourslef hard for a month doing lots of cardio and you will notice a massive difference.....but you have to push yourself!

[peplow]

resistance training? Like with the bands etc?

Anyone got any exercise plans? or any dieting plans?

Or just do and donts on what to eat (not the obvious ones!)

[SillyShilly]

Resistance for me means, running up a hill and jogging back up and repeating. Basically burst of speed/energy for a minute, two minutes and then a small recovery period.....if you can do this and repeat it you will really notice the difference.
Go on the menshealth website, they have a lot of people who give advice on what to eat and good workout routines.

[roco]

Don't diet in normal way by that I mean don't cut out your favourite foods just don't snack eat three times a day and not in between if you feel Hungry have a drink that works for me lost a stone and a half nearly since Christmas in fat but kept the muscle

[Colesy]

buy smaller plates

[Washington]

SS thats actually called interval training, but you are spot on its a great way to develop a good base level of fitness.

Peplow, the best way to lose body fat is prolonged low intensity exercise (power walking) combine this with 2-3 sessions of resistance training (free weights, hammer strength machines) a week and you will see results almost immediately. Dont cut down on the amount you eat just cut out foods that are high in saturated fat like crisps, cheese, cream, cakes etc.

My day job is a PT so if you want any advice dont hesitate to ask

[Johnny]

3 meals a day advice isn't strictly speaking true - eating upto 6 meals a day is often recommended (eat little but often, as opposed to gourging on big meals) - as Dan says just make sure that what you do eat is good for you

If you want to lose weight you need to have a calorie deficit - that means burning more calories than you are eating. You can do this by reducing your intake i.e. dieting or by increasing your output i.e. exercise more. In most cases it's probably advisable to do a bit of both.

[niceonechoppy]

Increasing your resting metabolic rate is also very beneficial, i.e do vigorous exercises for 45 seconds each, stop for 45 seconds, do more...

[scuudz]

I've lost about 53 lbs since last summer, and this is what did the trick for me:

1. Cardio is your friend.  Running (long slow distance ~10k and tempo runs ~sub-25 minute 5k runs) and elliptical sessions.  This vastly improves your cardio-vascular fitness and gives you almost a full body work-out.  With all my running sessions combined, I now run between 40 and 50k every week.  If you are a big guy like me (I am 6'3, and weighed close to 290 lbs when I started), then start out with the elliptical only for a few weeks so you save your knees and other joints from the impact of running.

2. Circuit training/HIIT.  When supplemented with cardio during the week, this is a great way to eventually boost your resting metabolic rate.

3. Strength training.  2-3 times a week spend about 30 minutes doing various exercises with free weights.

4. Core workout.  These are usually killers but will help your performance on the field tremendously in terms of balance, speed, muscular coordination etc.  Do crunches, sit-ups, plank and the side-plank. 

#1,2 are targetting weight-loss and #3,4 are to make sure you dont lose muscle with all the cardio you would be doing.

Remember, its not the weight that matters most (although you are bound to lose weight with this routine), but how you feel and the inches of fat you lose off your body.

It also helped me to figure out exactly how many calories I needed to maintain my weight back then (290 lbs), which was about 3200-3300 calories each day, and I strived to make sure that CALORIES NEEDED TO MAINTAIN WEIGHT > (CALORIES CONSUMED - CALORIES BURNED).

This is relatively easy to do.  There are websites that gives you close approximations of these numbers.  If you have a smartphone, there should be an 'app for that'.  :-)

As for diet, its just common sense really.  Cut out high saturated fats like Dan said.  However, some fats are healthy and should remain in your diet such as olive oil and mostly fats that you would get from seafood.  Cut out deep-fried stuff completely.

Good luck!! 

[peplow]

thanks great advice. lost a stone since posting this topic

[scuudz]

Good work!!  Keep it up!

[peplow]

need to lose another 5% fat, probably about half a stone, then will get on the weights!!!

[scuudz]

Yea, dont really have to rush on to the weight training.  I went the first 2-3 months just doing cardio.