I am 25 year old female and really want to make a life change where I learn to eat, exercise, and live healthily. I know that I am waaaay too heavy for my height, or even as something that I want for myself. I am 5'4" and weigh 164 pounds.

I want to learn how to burn fat-- that's my primary concern. I know this will sound reckless but right now I don't really care about building muscle because I really don't want to look gross and bulky. I have one of those bodies that will bulk up and look like a man in no time. I have a huge upper body which I HATE and a lower body that resembles a man's. I want to lose fat-- I want slim down my bust, arms, and have a collarbone that shows. After that happens, I'll care about building muscle, which will mostly be on my lower body anyways so at least I could look like a woman!

What are some good cardio exercises to burn fat? How often should I do this for?

ringlets, welcome to the board! You've come to the right place.

I can certainly appreciate your circumstance. I am thrilled to hear you say you want to lose fat and not weight. Obviously you know losing weight includes water, bowel evacuation, muscle etc - however, losing fat is just that- fat.

If you want to lose fat to reveal a beautiful lean muscle then you will want to do some cardio AND I would also suggest Chalean Extreme. P90X won't bulk you up BUT Chalean Extreme really leans out those muscles.

I am in the process of doing Turbo Jam.http://www.beachbody.com/product/fitness_programs/turbo_jam_fat_burning_elite.do?gclid=CMKQhvW72pwCFSm8sgodMxcJMQ&code=GOOGLE_SEMB_TJFBE&ef_id=1908:3:s_45ab25a6e629ea13ffe8bc9cf391fde3_3895154923:SqJZRUNIYXsAABRYyu4AAAFA:20090905122749They are fun cardio workouts- BUT it took me about 2 weeks to learn the choreography. Of course, I'm a bit slow on the uptake and it may not take you nearly that long. However, once you get the routine down it's a blast. It will also help you burn fat fast. Check out youtube. There may be some Turbo Jam routines on there that you can watch to see if it's your thing.

Let it be known that NOTHING you do exercise wise is going to help you lose fat. That will be done in the kitchen alone. Exercise gets you fit. Proper diet gets the fat off.

All of these programs come with a recommended diet during certain phases. If you follow it and give it all you've got during the workout routines I guarantee you the results you want.

The list of good ones is VERY long. We have reviewed most of them here. I would start here at our exercise reviews.

Some I would recommend, but far from exhaustive:

• Zumba


• Hip Hop Abs


• Barry's Bootcamp (definitely check this)


• Slim In 6


• Turbo Jam


• Core Rhythms


• Yoga (we list 10 good DVDs here)

That is a pretty darn good list, but explore the site more, we have reviewed 100+.

Glenn

Thanks for the advice. I agree that the best way to lose weight is through what I cook and eat. Based on that, what IS the best way to eat? I keep hearing 3 meals versus 6 small meals throughout the day. I have been told multiple times that I need to eat even if I am not hungry at all. But that's the same thing that's caused me to get this heavy in the first place! I respond best when I eat in response to physical hunger, IMO. Then it's easier for me to control how much I eat and what I eat at that given time. What is the best way? And then what should I eat? It's hard to always eat sandwiches all the time or salads. I have access to microwaves which helps.

What is a good exercise regime? What kinds of exercises will help me burn fat and build my LOWER body muscles without my upper body looking like a man? Thanks.

ringlets- yes, the idea is to eat 6 small meals a day, or, 3 real "meals" and 3 "snacks" in between. what happens when you only eat 3 meals is that your body will go into starvation mode, which will cause it to hang on to every ounce of fat that is on your body. try to not go more than 3 hours between feedings. and yes, i think its good to eat when you're NOT hungry, so that, if you're like me, you dont eat as much. at least thats how it is for me. if i'm hungry, i just eat everything in site until i'm FULL!

no WHAT to eat is a little more difficult. but make sure you get a good balance of proteins and carbs. carbs are not the enemy. SIMPLE carbs are. so stay away from any processed. proteins- go for lean meats, chicken, tuna, that kind of thing. and load up on the veggies. if you aren't alreayd, track what you eat. i mean, EVERYTHING. i just started doing that, and keeping track of my macro-nutrients (protein, carbs, fat)- and WOW. i realized i'm taking in WAAAAAAAY too much fat. i mean, the percentages are like, 40/40/20- carbs/fat/protiens. 40/40/20 would be great if it were proteins/carbs/fat! but tracking everyting you eat, will be your first step. there are many sites online that do it. i personally went with thedailyplate.com. fitday, about.com caloriecount.com i think are others that people here use.

as for exercise regimen, i'd go with one of the ones glenn or christine suggested above.

whatever you choose, good luck!

What happens if you eat when you're not hungry and then it becomes "grazing" or unconscious eating, where I end up eating just for the sake of eating? That's the main thing that caused me to gain so much weight...I would eat for the sake of eating and tell myself that I was eating the way I am supposed to.

I have a relative who only eats 2x per day and she is a size 3 and is slim. She never eats breakfast or snacks. How come she is so thin? She told me she only gets hungry 2x per day and she is the thin one...whereas I get hungry multiple times during the day, and I am the fat one!

ringlets wrote:

QUOTE:
What happens if you eat when you're not hungry and then it becomes "grazing" or unconscious eating, where I end up eating just for the sake of eating? That's the main thing that caused me to gain so much weight...I would eat for the sake of eating and tell myself that I was eating the way I am supposed to.

Hi ringlet. Glad to see you here. You just answered your own question. When you graze you gain weight.

QUOTE:
I have a relative who only eats 2x per day and she is a size 3 and is slim. She never eats breakfast or snacks. How come she is so thin? She told me she only gets hungry 2x per day and she is the thin one...whereas I get hungry multiple times during the day, and I am the fat one!

I don't know how old your relative is, but I can tell you everyone's metabolism is different. AND, if she is young, like you are, she is basically in the process of destroying her metabolism. Give her 10 more years and the pounds will begin sneaking up on her and she won't know why. AND, she won't know what to do about it.

Lucky for her you are in the process of learning to eat right and exercise, because she will need your help in the future.

She's younger than I am and when I've tried to talk to her about these things, she dismisses them saying that she stays thin when she eats like that. Her waist is 25 inches whereas mine is...well, we won't go too much into that!

I guess what I was trying to say in my previous question is, why should I eat when I am NOT hungry, when all it seems to do is cause me to graze? I also used to have a huge problem with emotional eating...I've been under alot of stress the last 2 years and whenever I became very upset, lonely, or bored I would eat. Now, I eat when my stomach growls. I'm afraid if I start eating when my stomach does not growl, I'll be setting myself up for failure. I do however, eat breakfast every single day-- I almost can't function without it. The minimum amount of times I've been eating since I started this thread has been about 4 times per day...three meals with one snack, and that's when I get hungry. I also had my doctor awhile ago tell me that instead of eating more than I need to, I should drink more water because the body doesn't necessarily know how to interpret thirst the way it interprets hunger. Apparently your body absorbs the water from the food? He told me I need to drink alot more water considering the fact that I don't do the greatest job with that. He based this on the number of times I use the bathroom, took a urine sample from me and compared it to the samples I've given before this year, and asked me how often I drink JUST water.

Great tips here. For us, we live rurally, which means we can't eat it if it's not here. No running out for a quick bite to eat.

Good luck...

To tell the truth there are lots of tips which were invented for people who want to start thier life with a beautful body but the most powerful way is to make fitness exercises several times a week.

Hi Ringlets,

Really you shouldn’t be too worried about ‘bulking up’ as it really takes a huge amount of iron pumping to bulk up like a muscle builder.
Increasing muscle mass is one of the best ways to burn more fat, think of muscle as an engine in a car, the bigger the engine the more fuel it burns even when the engine is at idle, the same goes for muscle.

The more muscle you have the more fuel that is needed to provide that muscle with energy and if you watch what you eat at the same time it’s like burning the candle at both ends.

Although cardio has its place in burning fat, cardio just doesn’t compare to resistance training when it comes to long term fat loss.
I am not saying to hit the gym three times a week, but a strength training session once a week will do wonders I think.

That said the PX90 program is a great program as it gives you structured high intensity training sessions and also guides you in the aspect of your diet.

As far as cardio is concerned, an orbital trainer is an excellent piece of kit, but basically any cardio activity that you enjoy will do, if you enjoy it you are more likely to do it more often.

Christine is right on about diet, what you eat provides the foundation for fat loss. If you are not eating properly chances are exercise will not help you shift the fat.

Dear friend. You need to start up slow, get a buddy, and have a CLEAR vision about what you wanna achieve. When you have been working out for a few weeks, start implement intervals in your cardio workout, 4 x 4 minutes intervals with 3 minutes walk/easy jogging works just great. You should not be afraid of working out with weight, the thing is how. Low resistance and more repetitions. This way you will train your muscles, witch in turn will increase your metabolism, witch in turn will make you lose weight and get a firmer body. In a healthy way. Good luck

The best way to start fresh is to re evaluate your strategy and get an aid for your weight loss process going. Lots of people think that they best weight loss solution is going to get them the body that they want in a mont or so. Well, thats not the case, especially with pills and supplements. Here's what you should do, there is a powerful fruit called Acai, you've probably heard of it, it has a lot of anti-oxidants and is proven to help in weight loss. The supplement that utilizes it the best is probably cenalex. that supplement has Acai in it and no fillers like corn starch and other junk. That supplement is best taken with an already existing routine.

Hi there,

I'm new here. Hope I am not interrupting. Yeap, it's excessive body fats that we all want to lose and NOT the water content. As such, please do NOT cut down on the number of meals you should be having.

To burn off these excessive body flabs and fats residing comfortably in our body, we should never pop pills! Fats burner tablets, starch blocker pills or detox medication do NOT work at all! Instead I advocate good eating habits that naturally cleanse our body system like fresh fruit juices or yoghurt drinks (with NO ADDED SUGARS!) and consumes food that activates hormones responsible for burning fats. Hey, of course drinking water is equally effective except that there is no amount of the useful fibre introduced into our body.

I have been on a special diet for many months already and have lost almost 30 kilos and now my body mass is stablized and doesn't vary very much. In addition, I do simple stretching exercises instead of the high cardio activities to lose weight.

Cheers,
Jenn_A

I would suggest you to get a buddy, so that the two of you can motivate each other and also compete with each other to see who can lose more weight effectively. I started out on my own by just walking every single day for an hour and I also tried to stay away from any kind of sweet stuff. Then I got my cousin to be my buddy and we both aimed at losing 5 lbs a month. She kept her calorie intake to 1350 calories since she is smaller than me and I tried to keep my intake to 1200 calories. But that was challenging at times, I know I sometimes would go over to around 1500 calories. But I tried my best, worked out regularly at home(The Firm DVDs, The Biggest Loser DVD, Pilates DVD etc.). Try to add variations to the exercises, increase the weights if necessary because once our bodies get used to the same routine, they hit a plateau. Eat 5 small meals during the day and do some kind of exercise, intense or moderate and you will burn calories. Good luck.

Just a note -- strength training will not cause you to bulk up unless you are overtraining and taking supplements. Basic strength training is useful in burning more calories at rest, so don't shy away from the weights.

But I have huge shoulders and am built like a guy, to be blunt. The only thing that makes me look female is the fact that I have a bust. Other than that, it would be hard to tell.

Whenever I've done any kind of lifting, I get that cut in your arm where the muscle is. I don't want that! I want my arms to look smooth and feminine. I don't want huge Michelle Obama arms and neck muscles. I want to retain my muscle mass but look feminine, at least as feminine as I can possibly me. It's just getting frustrating because I have NO butt to speak of, no hips, no waist. My only saving grace at times is that I have a somewhat feminine face.

I don't know what picture you seen of Michelle Obama, but her arms and her neck are not big by any stretch of the imagination. I know you'd like a small frame but you can only work with what God gave you. Sounds like you have big bones and all you can do is make the most of it. Unless your huge shoulders are pure muscle then they will shrink when you do resistance training due to burning the fat off your body.

I don't know what some women see when they see pictures of other women in these workout videos using light weights to make them think they are some huge manly body building steroid size female, but some of you really need to get a grip on reality. These women are NOT big by a (dare I say) majority, if not all, of men's opinion. Females and males respond very differently to weight training. Men get big and women have an extremely hard time getting "man size". 10,15, 20, and 25 pound weights will NOT get you looking like you are competing for the Ms. Olympia contest.

If you have a big frame then do light weights..5 or 10 lbs and alot of reps. But the fact is...whether you lift weights or do cardio for 10 hours a day your muscles will get worked and will start to fill out more. Parts seem to shrink because you are losing body fat, but the muscle is building up.

If you want to be a twig, then the cold hard truth is....you have to starve yourself. Your body will go through it's fat reserves then it will start eating your muscles for the nutrients it needs, oragans start shutting down and then you will die after a certain point. But at least your a twig, right?

I never said I wanted to look like a twig. I want to look like a WOMAN. Every time in the past where I've lifted weights, I end up getting much bigger on my upper body and I have no lower body. I end up looking like an upside triangle figure.