Long Beach Fitness Expert

alright, well im 14. female. 5′4. between 130 to 138 at the most. I’m not fat, but i feel insucureabout my body. like my stomach has this little pooch at the bottom and i really want to get it away so my stomach will be completly flat.i want to get ready for the beach! =] just please tell me like, pills. workouts, foods, anything, and how long it would take. and just how to loose the pooch and loose weight.

running and crunches. avoid fried foods and soda. dont eat carbs at night. eat healthy. the funny thing is…its THAT EASY!! yet so many people have such a hard time with it!

i really need help with losing weight. i just wanna lose about 7 lbs. i’m not fat, but i’ve been feeling really fat lately. like, i’ve always wanted the defined cheek bones, and i want to be confident on the beach (i’m going for a week starting sunday), but i feel so fat! like all my cousins, brother, and friends have the line on their face that shows their cheek bones because they all have thinner faces than me, and they don’t even have to try to do anything to be in good shape because they have really, really fast metabolisms while i have to watch what i eat all the time. i’m not fat (i’m 5′9" 125 lbs) but i want to weight about 118 or 117 instead. i’d be so much more confident! how can i lose 7 lbs in a week without being anorexic or bulimic? my appetite has gone down a ton, i don’t eat breakfast or i get sick, and i’m eating healthier. i can’t go running because my mom won’t let me and my friend who runs with me is out at camp for the week. and i can’t jump rope because i don’t have one and i can’t seem to stay committed to working out because whenever i do, no matter how long i workout for and how hard i workout, even if i stay consistent for a super long time i don’t get any results. so my question is, is how can i lose about 7-8 lbs in a week. please don’t tell me that it’s dangerous because i don’t care. and please no pills or crash diets! (my mom would never let me, i’m only 14). thank you for all the helpful answers! best answer will get full points!

wow thanks for that…and i don’t own a treadmill, we got rid of it last year.

dont skip breakfast!! its very important to have breackfast you can eat cereal which is helthy
drink 2 liters of water a day!
eat salad
dont eat after 8:00 pm

i hope this helped!

i’m about 5′4, the holidays killed me. i want to get in shape for the beach without doing long workouts everyday. i need to lose about 8 lbs…any ideas???

Best way is combining diet and exercise. By this way you burn more calories than you intake.
You should drink lots of water and stay away from fat-sugar-sweet-fastfoods.
Eat 5 small meals including snacks. Snacking with nuts,fruit or yogurt because this make you feel not hungry so you dont eat much in meals. I am not saying you to eat lot with 5 meals, I say eat often but less. In fact the main point on weight loss is not how much we eat in a day, the main point is how healthy meals we eat and how much calorie we consume
You should drink green tea(this is really important because green tea speeds metabolism and so you burn more calories- 2-3 cups of green tea in a day is really necessary)
Here is a sample diet plan that works perfectly:
Breakfast: a piece of cheese,slices of tomatoes, 4 5 olives,2 egg whites and green tea or milk
Snack with nuts
Lunch: Salad
Snack with fruits or yogurt
Dinner: Grilled chicken/fish and boiled vegetables or salad
By exercising you make all your body work and so burn calories. There are many good exercise programs that you can do easily at home. I dont like go gym so I use the most recommended one at home and very happy with it.
Good luck:)

my wife has been dieting for a few months now and recently she has reached a plateau. the has been on the south beach diet phase 2, hasn’t had any sugar and hasn’t broken her diet at all. she exercises daily, and drinks 8 glasses of water a day. she calorie counts and is usually between 1,100 and 1,400 calories per day. she just checked her inches and hasn’t lost any in a month. she is 5′5” and 140 pounds. should she be having more to eat, less to eat. different foods, longer workout routines. please help she is getting really stressed out.

Don’t diet because it tricks your body into thinking its starving (that’s why you loose weight at first), but then your body will store as much fat as it can because it thinks your still starving, What you need is a lifestyle change, follow this and you will lose weight. good luck.

eat healthy, cut out most processed foods (if it comes in a packet don’t eat it unless it is health) excess salt, sugar. Snack on fruit (fresh and dried), veggies (carrot celery etc.) nuts (unsalted and raw are the Healthiest) and cheese, salad, yogurt during the day. Cut down on red meat (about 1-2 times a week) eat more white meat (fish, pork,chicken), Fresh veggies not that packaged frozen stuff it has no nutrients (the more variety of color the better). Instead of having 3 big meals a day (DONT SKIP BREAKFAST) try to have 4-5 smaller healthy meals a day (helps your metabolism) and try to avoid having a big dinner and try not to eat after 7pm (this prevents all your food from just sitting in your stomach when you sleep (you body doesn’t digest food when you sleep or so im told)). Eat more foods that are high in protein, fiber and a low glycemic index (google it if your not sure) as they will help you feel fuller for longer (thus cuts out any unnecessary snacking). Drink water not soft drink (soda) as it is has about 35gms of sugar per can (sometimes more), don’t be food by ‘diet’ soda it may not have any sugar but the artificial sweetener they put in it is just as bad for your body. If you drink coffee try to replace it with tea (don’t put sugar in your tea as your trying to cut out excess sugar, instead squeeze some fresh lemon into it (i woldnt put lemon in it if your putting milk in it may taste funny). Doing so will help your body absorbing 4 time more antioxidants). Cut out takeaway and fast food, excess alcohol. Fat in foods is not the enemy as most people think it is, altho excess fat is. excess carbohydrates are the enemy, your body coverts carbohydrates to energy (thus if you eat excess carbohydrates and dont use this energy in your body will store it as fat tissue). Im not saying dont eat that ice cream or Chocy biscuit, just and a small bowl or 2 bikkys instead of 5. The key to success is moderation.

Try to get in at least 30 minutes of exercise a day. If you walk do so at a fast pace this increase your heart rate (thus burning more fat), if you can run or jog do so but dont run everyday, your body needs time to recover. Some people prefer to cycle because its a lot easier on your knees, feet and ankles (whilst running it can put up to 3 times your body weight of pressure on your knees, feet and ankles (if you weigh 60kgs that would be 180kgs of pressure) that why people choose to cycle).
If your serious about loosing weight i would suggest buying a heart rate Monitor ($50-$100 for a basic one), you want your heart rate to sit at 120-135 Beats Per Minute whilst exercising. It will also tell you how many calories you have burned in that session. A more effective and faster way to loose weight is to do H.I.I.T. (high intensity interval training) this is where you get your heart rate up to about 130BPM and keep it at that for about 4 Min’s then sprint for 50-70 meters (this will raise your heart rate up to about 160 -180BPM maybe more) then slow down and let your heart rate BPM fall back to 135 hold it there for a few min’s then sprint again and so on (if you dont want to get a heart rate monitor wear a watch and jog for 4 Min’s run for 30sec run for 4 Min’s jog for 30 min and so on). The key to weight loss is you want to burn more energy than you take in (eat).
Remember these things take time so be PATIENT and KEEP MOTIVATED.

I know its a lot to take in at first, but following this will cut out excess calories and you will live healthier, have more energy and loose weight, It will be hard at first because your body will go into shock (you will feel like crap for a few days) as all the toxins leave your body. resist the sugar cravings they usually come mid afternoon or night, but if you cant have a pack of lollies in the cupboard and just eat one or two. this will get rid of the cravings without having to many calories

im 15…and im a varsity swimmer..we swim year round so i was wondering how long i have to wait before i can do the workouts again and the dry land pratices…also how long is ur stomach sore afterwards…and a lot of people say not to wear jeans after but if there really low and dont touch ur belly button then is it ok to wear?? and i live on the beach so how long before i can surf again??

My piercer said no pool swimming for 2 months and no ocean swimming for at least 1 (if your water is polluted I would wait even longer). The thing you have to remember is that fresh piercing is an opening into your body and makes it very easy for all sorts of nasty bacteria to get in (pool water will also dry it out and delay healing). As for your clothes, anything that rubs against it should be avoided, if your pants don’t touch it then your fine. As for surfing, any trauma will also delay healing (i.e. falling, catching it on something, getting wax inside, getting hit with the board, etc etc) I surf too so I know how hard it can be on the body. I got mine done in winter so it’ll have plenty of time to heal before I hit the waves again. They can take any where from 6-12 months or more to heal if everything goes well.

Personally, if you’re going to be pool swimming or anything else that can hurt a healing piercing without a long enough break then this is probably not the piercing for you. Sucks, but it’s better than getting the piercing, having it get infected or torn out or rejected and being left with a horrible scar instead.

i really need to lose weight. being about 150 pounds and only 5′1”, my doctor and parents both say that i’m overweight and at risk for many diseases. but i just dont know how to go about losing weight! so i need your help.
*i’d like to start off with a detox diet…to get all the bad stuff that’s been accumulating in my body OUT. what’s a good one that i should try? i’ve heard about the lemonade diet, the hollywood diet, etc. but which one??

*after i detox, i’m thinking about starting the south beach diet. does it really work as well as the book claims? can i really lose 14 pounds in 2 weeks?

*i know that every good weight loss plan is a combination of diet AND exercise. i have so much exercise equipment at my house (treadmill, elliptical, bike, bowflex and free weights) but i dont know where to start. what exercises should i do? how long should my workouts be?

*finally, i’d really like to tone up my stomach/thighs/butt. there’s too much fat/cellulite and its sick. what exercises will help with this?

*is it true that there are negative calorie foods? if so, what are some examples?

*any other tips???

thanks in advance. you are loved.

Detox diets are both ineffective and incredibly unhealthy. Think about it: our bodies need many different nutrients, from vitamin A to zinc, and just drinking lemonade, even for only a couple of weeks, puts you at serious risk for vitamin deficiency. You could develop a thyroid problem, anemia, or any number of countless other problems. What bad things are you planning to "take out" of your body? Fats? Cholesterol? These can just be limited in what you eat in a normal, healthy way. Think of all the critical things that won’t be coming IN if you just don’t eat.

If you don’t suffer from a vitamin deficiency, your metabolism will still be incredibly messed up. It will go into starvation mode, and after you switch back to a normal eating schedule, you’ll balloon back up again. The whole process isn’t worth it. Remember how big the Atkins diet was? Where did it go? It disappeared for this very reason- no carbohydrates made their bodies starve, and they gained all the weight back later.

I don’t know enough about the South Beach to comment, but always be wary of these solutions- remember, companies are trying to make profits.

Other points:

You’re right, exercise is very important. You should try something like twenty minutes of cardiovascular activity three times a week. I mean things like running, jogging, or rowing- not free weights, unless you’re looking to gain some muscle.

No, there are no negative calorie foods. Celery is debatable because of how little is actually in it besides fiber- that is, your chewing may make up for the calories in it- but you might as well just use that time to exercise and eat something you actually like later.

Basically, don’t fall for the idea that there are magic tricks to losing weight. It’s a process- if you want to lose weight, you have to eat healthier overall- follow the food pyramid, and avoid eating too much of things that are obviously bad. Exercise regularly, get enough nutrients- you probably already know all this. Just apply it to your life.

hey. i’m 16 years old, about 5′1” and around 146 pounds. i’m going to start eating healthier (south beach phase 1), but i don’t know what to do for my workout. i have access to a treadmill, elliptical, stair climber-ish thing, bowflex, free weights, and when the weather gets a little warmer i can also walk or ride my bike around the neighborhood.

so yeah…what kinds of exercises should i do? how long should my workouts last? how many days per week?

thanks in advance. you are loved.

Hi There -

There is a community for teens on a healthy lifestyle and it has many helpful tools on there such as calorie counters, teen groups to join. This site has a lot of helpful information and also other people your age that are facing the same challenges that you are experiencing.

www.sparkteens.com

Hope this helps!

w8losschick

i’m 16. according to my bmi, my parents and my doctor, i’m overweight. i need to lose between 25 and 35 pounds to get back down into the "healthy" range. i’m going to florida and my cousins wedding in virginia beach for spring break. how can i lose this weight before spring break ((starting the monday after easter))?

*what should i eat? a lot of people say that South Beach is an easy way to lose weight…is it true? if so, can you give me some recipes?
*what kind of workouts should i do? i know i should combine cardio and weight training…but what specifically? i have access to a treadmill, bike, elliptical, stair step machine, bowflex and free weights.
*how long should my workouts be? and how many times per week should i workout? is every day too much?
*any vitamins/minerals that will help with weight loss?
*any other tips??

thanks in advance!! you are loved. ♥

Determine your daily calorie intake . Losing weight is simply a matter of expending more calories than you take in, through exercise and your daily activities. To win the battle, it helps to know how many calories you are consuming in a day.
Write down all the things you eat on a typical day. Carry a small notebook with you and write down every snack, every drink, and the contents of every meal. There are also great websites that you can use to keep track of calories, get recipes, and help achieve your goal. Don’t forget to include the pats of butter or the spoonful of sugar in your coffee. It’s best to do this for at least a couple weekdays and a weekend; it’s even better if you can go a full week. There are also calorie tracking websites that can help you to do this, for example the US government website, My Pyramid Tracker.
Do an itemized calorie count. When possible, write down the number of calories in each thing you eat as you eat it. Keep in mind that the recommended serving size is often considerably smaller than the serving you actually eat. Look up the calorie count on the internet for foods that don’t have calories listed on the container or for fast food meals. You don’t have to be 100% accurate, but you do want a good estimate of the number of calories you’re taking in. There is an idea that multiplying your own weight by ten will produce a rough estimate of the number of calories you need to eat per day to maintain your weight. This is NOT true, you may wind up grossly under (or perhaps over) estimating the number of calories you should be eating. Use a scientific or health website to determine the number of calories you should eat a day or consult your doctor. Everyone has different metabolisms and there is no blanket rule that covers everyone’s recommended calorie intake. Reducing 500 calories per day from the calories you eat to maintain your weight can help you lose a pound of fat per week.[2]
Go over the list and decide which foods to cut out or reduce. Cutting calories is usually a lot easier than you might think. For example, that daily tall latte in the morning may pack 500 calories. Since a pound of flab (lost or gained) is roughly equivalent to 3,500 calories, replacing that rich beverage with black coffee can help you lose a pound a week. Other easy cuts include salad dressing (salad dressing is the number one source of fat in the average American woman’s diet) soda pop, candy, and butter. Look at the nutritional information for the foods you eat, pay special attention to your intake of saturated fats and empty calories (high-sugar foods). You don’t need to cut these things out entirely, but if you reduce your intake of high-fat, high-calorie foods you’ll lose weight faster.
Seek out alternatives to the unhealthy foods you’ve identified. You can simply reduce the amount of soda you drink or mayonnaise you put on your sandwiches, or you can substitute healthier choices. Drink water instead of soda, for example, or use mustard instead of mayo. Low-fat and low-calorie options are also available for most foods, and many of these are natural, (although some are made with strange chemicals), and tasty. Start trying to eat healthy in most meals:

Choose lean meats. Chicken and fish are both very low in fat (and certain fish like salmon, sardines, and fresh tuna are an excellent source of antioxidants, which are also beneficial to your health), so aim to replace some or all of the beef or pork in your diet with these foods.
Replace high-calorie side dishes with healthier alternatives. Many people get a ton of calories from side dishes such as macaroni and cheese, French fries, or potato salad. You can eat healthier and lose weight by replacing these with fresh vegetables and salads. Pre-made salads are practically effortless, and when accompanied by a reduced-calorie dressing or no dressing at all, they’re weight-loss gold.
Start your days off right. A fattening breakfast of bacon and eggs or a pastry can be replaced with yogurt, oatmeal, high-fiber, low-sugar cereals; or fresh fruit for fruit smoothies. However, for those on a low carb diet bacon and eggs are a great combo for breakfast, since neither have carbs. But don’t fall into the trap of skipping breakfast. Eating a healthy breakfast increases your rest metabolic rate earlier in the day, and reduces snacking before lunch.
Plan your meals. Look for healthy, delicious meals online or in your cookbooks, and create a menu for the week. Make sure that your meal plan reduces your total calorie intake: you’re not going to lose weight if you consume the same amount of calories by eating different foods. Make a list of what you’ll need for these meals, and — except for a few snacks, of course — don’t stray from your list when you get to the market. Planning your meals helps ensure you get a balanced diet and reduces the temptation to stop off for fast food or order a pizza. Remember, it’s easier to stick to your shopping

I would like to have so form of abs by then but if I dont it doesnt bother me i just want to know ways to help my stomach flatten out by july 18 the day we leave for florida!! I run everyday and I play softball and basketball and in softball we do work outs 3 days a week!! please help!! THANKS!!
the main thing I want to gain from this is just to have a flat enough stomach to not be afraid to show when we go to the beach and stuff!!! thanks again!! i noticed that many of you said to do lots of situps, but I read that you can do ab workouts all day long but until you get the fat off your stomach and make it flat you will see no definition in your stomach..is this true???
I also have a question just like this but I accidently closed it for answering so I made a new one!!! thanks again!!!
also I have lots of muscle in my body from sports bc I am 5′2” at 140 and I know not all that is fat but I do have just a tad around my midsection.

Eat only when hungry and not more than three times a day with nothing, except water, in between. Take plenty of uncooked food, vegetables and fruits, preferably 50%. Chew each morsel 32 times to activate ur body system to signal hunger and fullness.

Take light exercises and brisk walks regularly preferably twice a day.

U will achieve much more than what u r planning to do and that too in a reasonable period. Do not be in a hurry.

Alright so im 17 years old and ive been skinny/scrawny forever and really untill this year it didnt really bother me. so since summers coming up i would like to get a little bit of a beach bod going. nothing drastic im literally just looking for a change i can see. so does anyone have any advice for me , workouts or know how long it would take for a skinny fellow like me to gain some muscle. Any advice much appreciated

peace

First, be glad that you are at least skinny even if you don’t have the body you want yet. Any muscle you get is going to show and youll look significantly better within 2-4 months of lifting weights. To lift weights youll need to either invest in a gym membership or use your high school’s weight room if you guys have one.

I could make a really specific workout plan for you, but there is so many good ways to workout that I think ill just put out the basics and let you figure out what you like best and make your own routine.

Your body technically only does the actual muscle building while recovering so don’t overdo your workouts. 3 or 4 times a week will be enough to build muscle, keep the workouts simple and short and let yourself rest the other days. Lots of sleep too! You might think you need to workout all the time so you feel like you are doing something to your body, but if you lift too much your body won’t change a bit because you arn’t letting it recover.

You can basically break down the body into 3 major muscle groups. You can throw in some isolation exercises (calf raises, curls, abs) if you want but you can really cover the entire body with 3-4 exercises.

There is a push muscle group. pecs, triceps, front delt.

The pull muscle group. lats, rear delt, biceps.

Last there is the legs group. calves, hams, quads, gluts, and also often uses the core muscles for stabalization

Ok so when picking exercises keep these things in mind.
If an exercise uses more weight it is either a smaller range of motion, or uses more muscle. If you are using more muscles at once you are building muscle more effieciently, and probably hitting more muscles in general than if you just did a bunch of isolations.

THE EXERCISES

First off try not to use machines. They tend to do part of the work for you because you don’t need to stabalize or guide your motion. Stuff like calf raises are fine because the stabalization helps you lift a significant amount more weight.

Push: Benchpress and dips are amazing. You can add weight to dips with a dipbelt. Tricep extensions do good isolation on the triceps. Chestpress is ok too except for it usually uses a machine but some of the machines have a very natural motion to them, and you can use that some if you want. It is very similar to benching but easier for begginers.

Pull: Chinups are pretty much all you need to do. You can also add weight with the dipbelt for chins. Lat pull downs are pretty much the same at chins. Seated rows, Bent-over rows are also great pulling exercises. You can isolate the biceps with curls. curls helps increase forearm strength if you switch up between different types of curls (overhand, underhand, hammer curls). This also prevents wrist pain.

Legs: Deadlift. Deadlift also does a tremendous amount for the core, lower back, delts, and shoulders. If you can find a trapbar, or hex bar, you are set for life. Trapbar deadlift does amazing things for you. Squats are really great too. Try box squats, and full squats. Different ranges of motion on squats will work certain muscles more than others (true with most exercises really). Calf raises are pretty neat too, just keep your knees and hips still and do a full range of motion.

For abs do weighted decline situps or anything with weight really. There is about a million ab exercises out there, just pick something that challenges your strength.

Ok you can split pull push and legs up and do one per day of the week you workout or do them all every day, or do somethign like 2 mixed upper body days and 1 lower (that’s what i do anyways). Any way is pretty effective. For beggining i recommend doing all of them each day so you learn the motions faster. Do sets of 5-12 reps 1-4 times for each exercise or until you are tired and that will be a good workout. You can also do high rep once you start to improve your strength a bit. It really doesnt matter as long as you work your muscles hard and challenge yourself with higher weights and more reps.

Eat a lot of food, and drink a lot of milk. You need it to grow muscle, especially protein. Then get your sleep.

email is jogogoman@hotmail.com if you have questions. There is a lot of information on how to do these lifts if you just google.