Beauty Broadcast Fitness Forum

Here is a link to a video I did with Emily answering some exercise/nutrition questions. I will also answer the questions I did not have time for in the video below. If your question is not answered it is probably because I thought I either answered it in the video or answered it in another question. If it didn't get answered to your satisfaction feel free to ask it again in the comments or email me. I realize this is kind of long, but I wanted to answer everyone who took the time to write in a question.

Maria: what is a good exercise which does not make legs and thighs grow too many muscle mass but is still aerobic and fat burning?
Walking, jogging, swimming, biking or pretty much anything you can sustain for longer than 20 minutes will burn fat and not add much if any muscle mass.

Jennifer: I would like to tone up more. I'm good w/ cardio..I take aerobics classes 3 times a week. How many times a week should I do weights and/ or toning activities to see better results?
Adding weights twice a week would be great, but even once would help.

Pouneh: the best way to lose belly fat for men (that is for my husband)..and to maintaining your weight for a natural thin person :)
Men store the majority of their body fat in their belly, so if he just tries to lose fat in general, the majority of that will be from the stomach. He will most likely see the most results elsewhere first though (mainly the face) because those fat stores are smaller. As far as maintaining weight, I recommend eating three solid meals a day and making sure you get enough calories to maintain your weight. On a side note, I really wish I had that problem.

Priscilla: I am trying to lose weight, I need to lose over 100lbs. I have heard that you should weight train to lose weight and I've also heard that if you weight train while over weight you will just appear bigger. Can you please tell me which is correct?
Weight training is a definite must in my opinion. This can be a fairly confusing issue, but if you are losing weight or staying around the same weight you will look smaller even though you are adding muscle. Muscle tissue is more dense than fat so if you gain a pound of muscle and lose a pound of fat you will look smaller. If you gain a pound of muscle, but don't lose fat you would look bigger. However, I don't think that's what you will be trying to do. Weight training while losing weight is extremely important. I will probably do a future blog on why this is the case, but for now just take my word for it.

Julie: i dont eat enough calories during the day ,i have hypothyroid and i eat right and walk 2 miles a day no weight loss what do you recommend?
I don't know much about hypothyroidism, but as I understand it affects your metabolism. To increase your metabolism I recommend adding in some weight training if you can and eating healthy food every 3-4 hours.

Angelica: I just can't seem to loose it! but I also can't seem to stop loving food! and i also can't seem to be consistant with the gym! and i also hate eating only greens or healthy things. lol im helpless :p
Don't get discouraged, this stuff is hard. Personally, I know exactly what I need to do to look like I want to, but putting it in to practice is difficult. Unhealthy food is more convenient, cheaper, and tastes a lot better. Working out is time consuming and not a whole lot of fun. Just start by making small changes gradually over time. In my experience it's a lot easier to ease in to a healthy lifestyle than to just make a complete change.

Nureen: what types of food would help me lose weight?
Lean meats, vegetables, eggs, nuts, and fruits. Avoid sugary stuff and flour based products as much as possible.

Allison: I'm a college student and find it hard to get to the gym as much as I want. Do you have any suggestions on ways I can make my visits more effective (goals: weight loss and toning), or even things I can do in my dorm room (without freaking out my roommates). Are there any different machines that target more areas (I usually do elliptical) that I should try?
Thanks so much!!!
With weight training, try to go from one exercise to the next without resting in-between. You can do this with as many exercise as you want, just don't do the same muscle group back to back. If you're talking cardio, try intervals. Do whatever machine you're on at close to maximum intensity for around 30 seconds to a minute, then at a slow pace for another 1:30 -2 minutes. At home try pushups, jumping jacks, burpees or find an exercise dvd you like.

Wendy: If I work out at home on a carpeted surface, do I need to wear shoes to do jumping exercises, such as plyometrics?
Yes, doing that kind of stuff barefoot sounds like a good way to injure your feet.

Lisa: What are your personal eating habits or excercise routine? Do u have any favorites, that work well for u?
I lift weights three days a week and try to run or ride my exercise bike at least two more times each week. I may post a full blog explaining my weight workout because it would get pretty long and this blog entry is pretty darn long already. I try to eat fairly low carb on days where I don't lift, but when I do I increase my carbs a little bit.

Maria: Is it true or a myth?
**When we exercise lose weight ,tone our body then if we stop exercising our body get worse and we end up gaining more weight! ... Read More
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Also I am a border line diabetes 2 case(my doctor said I should lose 15 to 20 pounds), and I tried to find some exercises on the internet for diabetes 2 , and I read somewhere exercise will increase sugar level in body! I will appreciate if you could provide any information on that!
If you stop exercising you may gain weight, but you won't gain more because you exercised in the first place, so I'm pretty sure that is a myth. Exercise will not increase your blood sugar either. It will actually use the sugar for energy which will actually reduce your blood sugar. Also to keep your blood sugar lower you need to pay attention to the glycemic index of the foods you eat because the higher the glycemic index, the higher they will increase your blood sugar.

Abigail: What foods to eat when you are trying to gain weight and muscle as well as what kind of work outs? I ask because I'm 23 and very thin naturally.
Make sure you get plenty of protein, but aside from that you are probably one of the lucky ones that can eat whatever you want. Just make sure you get enough of it. As far as workouts I would stay away from doing much cardio and lift weights about 3 times a week. Do at least one exercise for each muscle group every workout for 3-4 sets of 10-12 reps.

Annie: What foods are good for your skin??
I don't really have much knowledge on this, but I found an article that might help out: http://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/features/skin-food?page=3

Adeshia: What are your top 5 fave exercises to do? and why?
Bench press, pullups, rack pulls (basically deadlift, but you start with the bar on a rack at your knees), dips, and squats (i actually hate squats, but they're a favorite because of results). I went with these as my favorites because if I could only do five exercises for the rest of my life they would probably be it. They're not really fun, but they get good results.

Alexandra: What's the best way to lose weight without much exercising? I don't have any extra time to exercise :(
Find out how many calories you need in a day and eat 500-1000 calories less than that per day. That should help you lose between 1 and 2 pounds per week.

Julienne: what is an alternative to push-ups that will not affect the wrists? i'm a court reporting student and i push-ups affects my writing on the steno machine. not good if you're trying to write more than 100 words a minute!
I'm always amazed at how you guys type on those things. My gym has push-up bars that you can set up so you're doing a more neutral grip so that might help. If not I would recommend doing some type of bench press, but also do plank exercises for your core if you eliminate push-ups completely.

Sandra: So I have 2 kids and i like my body the way it is. The only thing that bugs me is that i have a bit of love handles. How do i get rid of them or shrink them??!!
Unfortunately there is no way to selectively burn fat. If that's where the most of your body fat is stored though they should shrink faster than everything else.

Saga: I'm very lazy when it comes to exercise... Any ideas how to include fitness into my life without making it boring?
Try to find a sport you like. It can be something intense like basketball or something as easy as frisbee golf. Anything that gets you up an moving, even if it's just walking.

Jennifer: I am taking a kinesiology class, and I have to work out. I just dropped a class that was draining all my energy so I can concentrate on getting all my workouts by the end of the semester. If I am on the treadmill (walking slowly cause I'm a big girl) and I walk for 3-4 hrs a wk - can I drop 30 lbs by Christmas? I am on a rather light diet, salads and fruit mostly, but that class I dropped was preventing me from getting my workouts in. Help
Salads and fruit are good, but make sure you're getting some protein too. You don't want to try to lose more than 2 pounds per week so 30 is pushing it a little bit. 22 pounds would be a much more realistic goal. I recommend searching for a calorie counter online which will tell you how many calories you should eat per day to maintain your current weight. Then cut in to that amount either by exercise or by not eating your full amount by 1,000 calories per day. You should probably mix in some resistance training too.
Beth: I want to do squats, but my right knee is giving me a fit. What can i do instead?
Lunges if you can with your knee. If those don't work either try leg presses.
Bonney: Do you think it's better to do interval training on gym equipment (like the cross trainer) or just continued at a higher rate/resistance?
Interval training is great. I would go with that
Amanda: I have always wanted to be able to run outside, but I was never really taught how to run properly, or how to get started, any suggestions? Should I base it on miles or minutes run? And any increment suggestions (walk-jog-run) on how to build up my stamina? Thank you!!!
Basically what I do is run as far as I can until it gets really uncomfortable, then I walk until I get back to normal and repeat that process for around 30 minutes to an hour depending on how much time I have. I am not much of a runner though so my advice in that arena is not the best.
Chontay: how can I work out and get long and lean not big and bulky (I'm a girl!)
Eat right, do some cardio and you can even lift weights without getting too bulky (trust me).
Andrea: how can i eat well without feeling like im on a diet or depriving myself of the foods i like?
Let yourself eat the stuff you like now and then, but make sure you limit the portions of those things if they aren't good for you. Also there are certain things you can basically eat as much as you want without worrying about gaining weight (chicken breast, turkey, any green vegetables). Whenever you're hungry you can always eat that stuff and not feel guilty at all.
Caroline: I play golf, and I usually have at least two games a week, and usually the golf courses i play at range to about two miles long, with an addition of twenty pounds of golf clubs on my back... (and i have to walk ... Read Moreit all btw) and I kinda consider that my work out of the week. By the end of the game im usually all sweaty and nasty ): I know people dont consider golf a "sport" but it is, because for one thing, its really important for people to be fit and be able to play. Is there something else i should add on to with an addition to just walking my two miles two times a week?
Actually yes. One of the problems golfers (and pitchers in baseball) have is the movements involved in swinging the clubs only work the muscles that swing the club one way. Because of this it becomes important to strengthen other muscles to maintain your balance. I would add in a little bit of resistance training. I would also advise adding in some core work with a medicine ball. This will probably even help out your golf game. It sounds like you definitely get enough cardio work in though with the golf. I play a little bit and anyone who says it's not a sport should go walk 18 holes.

Kamani: Will crunches really make my stomach flat? I've heard conflicting answers.
Crunches alone will not make your stomach flat. The only way to do that is to lose fat which comes through diet and exercise.
Eirah: i want to lose 15 kg in 1 month is it possible?
Not safely. You would have to create a deficit of around 3,500 calories per day to do this. Most of what you lost would be water weight and muscle mass which is not what anyone actually cares about losing.