Working hard to lose weight, what else can i do?!

Working hard to lose weight, what else can i do?

i have been trying really hard to lose 40 lbs. i have cut all caffine out of my diet, started drinking a ton of water, been working out with weights (1 hour 3-4 times a week) and on the eliptical trainer ( 1 hour 3-4 times per week), cut all the bad stuff out of my diet. is there anything else i can do to make things go any faster. i know it takes time, but was making sure i am not missing anything.

I hope you don't mind if I copy and paste parts of one of my other posts.

If you want to burn fat, you have two options. The first is to do cardio, which is extremely time consuming. When you run, run till you can't anymore. I recommend a circular track so you dont end up 5 miles from home and completely exhausted. Additionally you can either do a stationary bike, stairmaster, or elliptical machine which are all low impact. I personally hate cardio workouts because they're dull and if you run for 20 minutes a day you'll probably only burn 200-300 calories, possibly more depending on how fast you're running. Now I'm not saying don't run, because it is a decent way to lose weight and makes your heart stronger, meaning you'll live longer, but I'd much rather take in fewer calories a day and have less to burn in the long-run. So basically, diet, or all that running won't do a lot. And when I say diet I don't mean cut out everything, I just mean don't eat at crappy restaurants, and don't eat after you're full. Snacking is also a bad idea, but if you can you should break up your meals into about 5 a day, and make them small. This is much better than shocking your body with one or two massive ones.

The second way to burn fat is to lift weights, which a few other people have mentioned. Books have actually been written about this, comparing it to cardio workouts. Basically what you're trying to do is build muscle. It's not so much the actual act of working out that's burning fat, although this does contribute, but what you're really doing is building muscle that will constantly burn fat for you. I'm 5'9 and ripped with a 26" waist and I haven't seriously ran since I wrestled 140lbs in highschool over a year and a half ago. So basically, I'm not putting on any weight at all, because my muscles burn so many calories a day. I'm one of very few people who didn't gain my "freshman 15" when I went to college. If I wanted to LOSE weight, all I would have to do is eat less.

Building muscle for any gender or weight also requires that you consume an absurd amount of protein a day. I'm talking about 150 grams, at least. I take protein shakes and eat cans of tuna and steak, etc. and at the end of the day it's still very hard to hit that mark, but try as best you can.

That said, both of my friends have had successful weight loss with a combination of running and weightlifting. This is probably what I'd recommend. Running also helps to balance out the growth that may occur from lifting, or so we've seen in the past. My neighbor is an amateur bodybuilder and he'll tell you the same thing. You're not going to get huge if you run.

Finally, I'd like to mention a few alternate options. Hydroxicut is supposed to be a fantastic weight-loss supplement, and you don't have to change a lot about how you live to use it. My friend has gotten some great results from it. After you lose the weight, though, make sure you at least do cardio a couple times a week to maintain it. Another option is Alli, which is the only FDA approved weight loss system. I personally think it's a bunch of BS, and I have no idea what's in the pills that they have. It's probably a placebo. It's basically a diet program and they sell just the diet book if you don't want to pop any pills. Check out Walgreens or CVS if you want to buy it. They're selling like hotcakes and I'd buy stock in whoever's making it :P



Hope that helped, but basically I think you're right on track and you're doing a hell of a lot more than other people who complain about not being able to lose weight. I'd definitely give hydroxicut a try though, and you can do some research online if you're concerned about it :]