Best way to lose a beer belly (diet + exercse)?

[kolax]

I've just finished uni, and during the 4 years, I've put on some weight from all the drinking and eating crap that comes with the stereotypical student lifestyle. I wouldn't say I'm fat, but slightly chubby, with a bit of a beer belly. Prior to uni, I was pretty thin.

The shock was last golfing season, I could get the top button done on my trousers. I put on my 'summer' pair of golf trousers last week and was a long shot from getting the top button done up!

So, the obvious solution is to join a gym, and go 3 times a week, and it'll be gone in a matter of a month or two. Trouble is, gyms are fairly expensive (I'm currently trying to find a graduate job), so for the time being, that's out of the equation.

All I have is an exercise bike, and from what I've heard, they aren't good for shifting a beer belly - they are more for 'toning'. Is this true?

I don't care about weights or muscles, all I'm focused on right now is shifting some fat and fitness!

Any pointers?

 

[SpookTheHamster]

The simplest and easiest would be running, all you need is a pair of shoes.

Also, eat less.

Also, uni made me fat(ter) too.

 

[Rodimus Prime]

get into some sport. Some of the people I see mountain biking have told me in under a year they lost 20 lb and had to buy all new pants.

Problem is sports like Mountain biking have a entry cost of around 500-600 bucks and then when the bug bikes fully it gets fairly costly quickly.

That being said complete worth it. I got back into the sport in 2007 and when I first got back into I spent like 650 between buying the bike and some other equipment (pedals, shoes and camelbak) and since then I have dropped I am going to guess around another 1000 or so in terms of upgrades, repairs, maintences and equipment (biking clothings and so on) And on top of that I really want to buy a 4k bike that is pretty well loaded but money is the issue there.

 

[iApples]

Happened to me too...

Anything cardio related really helps. If you want to go all out, I'd recommend P90X. It's a killer workout, and it really works. It's expensive to buy though, so see if you have any friends that could make you a copy of it.

 

[Macky-Mac]

..... I've put on some weight from all the drinking and eating crap that comes with the stereotypical student lifestyle.....

cut out all the drinking and eating crap!

ultimately to lose weight you have to be burning more calories than you're consuming

 

[KnightWRX]

ultimately to lose weight you have to be burning more calories than you're consuming

That is all. And one important point : You don't need to actually get off the couch to do this. Taking up physical activities does not mean you will instantly lose weight. If you still over-consume calories compared to the amount you burn, you will still be gaining weight even if you are exercising.

 

[codymac]

Move more, eat less.

 

[Hellhammer]

Try to cut down carbohydrates and eat lots of protein. Many high-protein ingredients have relatively few calories compared to their weight (e.g. 100g of chicken has ~110 calories while 100g of pasta has ~350 calories). They keep you full for a long time.

My usual dinner is 250-300g of chicken (or other low-fat meat/fish), 200g of cottage cheese, salad and two pieces of rye bread (you can still eat carbos as long as they are good ones, i.e. not made of white flour). So far I have lost 23kg (~50lb) in 6 months or so. Of course, the more important thing is to avoid candy, chips, sodas, alcohol etc. They have A LOT calories but don't really fill you up (also known as empty calories). To be honest, I'm eating more in grams nowadays that I used to but scale has still showed 0.5-1gb loss every week

Exercising is important too but in the end, even a good 1-hour workout doesn't consume more than around 500 calories. Have four beers and that's it. You still shouldn't forget sports as they will speed up the weight loss. My rule of thumb has been to do something little everyday. I go to gym 4-5 times a week and then try to do abs or cardio everyday. 30 minutes is fine, it will speed up your metabolism system or something which helps with weight loss.

Consume more than you eat. That is the #1 rule. There are different ways to achieve that and there is no best or fastest method. We are all individuals so something that works for one doesn't mean that it will work for everyone. Try to find what works for you. Good luck, the first weeks are the hardest but when it gets going, you can't stop it.

 

[Rooskibar03]

Since the diet and exercise angles have been discussed I thought I would throw out something that may also help.

CLA http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conjugated_linoleic_acid has been shown to help reduce fat deposits in the human body.

I take a 1300mg pill 3x per day with a meal along with a reduced calorie diet and exercise 3-4 times and week. Started roughly 8 weeks ago and while I'm only down 16lbs I've seen a dramatic reduction in body fat, specifically around the mid-section.

It’s relatively cheap at local Vitamin store and has no side effects to speak of (at least personally)

 

[Koodauw]

Train for a half marathon. You dont have to run one, just train for one. You will lose weight like nothing.

 

[Lord Blackadder]

Consume more than you eat. That is the #1 rule. There are different ways to achieve that and there is no best or fastest method. We are all individuals so something that works for one doesn't mean that it will work for everyone. Try to find what works for you. Good luck, the first weeks are the hardest but when it gets going, you can't stop it.

I agree - cutting down on your caloric intake is by far the most important step in gaining fitness/losing weight. Excercise burns calories, but even heavy excercise can't always keep up with bad eating habits.

 

[4JNA]

agree with the rest, burn more calories than you consume.

really good idea to get started is to keep a 'food diary' for a week. everything you eat gets written down. does two things for you. first is you get a good look at what you consume, second is you can calculate average calories which most people have no idea on. you need to know how many calories you consume to figure out where/what to cut.

decent exercise can be done without any gym or equipment. running and core strength (calisthenics) would be a great way to start. best of luck.

 

[KnightWRX]

I take a 1300mg pill 3x per day with a meal along with a reduced calorie diet and exercise 3-4 times and week. Started roughly 8 weeks ago and while I'm only down 16lbs I've seen a dramatic reduction in body fat, specifically around the mid-section.

I think you can safely stop the pills and just keep the reduced calorie diet and exercise going. The pills aren't what is reducing your body fat. Trust me, I did the same thing minus the pills and didn't shed a single lbs of muscle. All of my weight loss was pure body fat (I have the body composition analysis to show it).

 

[LumbermanSVO]

I've lost 16lbs so far by just counting calories and nothing else. I've been using the LoseIt! iPhone app to do the counting and have been very happy with the results. I have another 35lbs to go.

 

[puma1552]

Exercise bike is a waste of time, it takes an extremely long time to get the same workout as a run.

An hour run will only burn about 500 calories also, contrary to what many calorie/exercise apps/counters will tell you. This means you NEED to eat less.

I was 162 two years ago. Now I'm about 132-135 depending on the day.

All I did was run 3-4 times per week, and calorie count and eat healthy in general.

But--don't cut anything out, that is a guaranteed fail. If you want a coke, drink a coke. If you want a cookie, eat a cookie. In the end, all evidence thus far points to calories are calories when it comes to weight loss, meaning you can eat 1200 calories a day worth of M&Ms and you'll lose weight--you won't be healthy, but you'll lose weight.

You should be eating healthy foods in general, because as mentioned protein helps lose weight and protein keeps you fuller longer for a given amount of calories, which makes it easier to get through the day, but don't cut anything out and end up with a diet of four healthy foods day in, day out. All that does is force you into a plateau you can't break because you're already at the limit for eating healthy food.

The easiest thing you can do is run, and count calories. Watch what you eat, but indulge if you want, as long as you aren't going over your calorie limits. Don't diet hard--I'm 2+ years in and have only lost 30 pounds, but I've lost it for good and when I do slough off for a couple weeks at a time and binge eat etc, my body regulates itself to its 133 pound weight anyway. So it takes a long time, but doing it slowly is the key to keeping it off because it doesn't shock your body.

More than anything it's a lifestyle change.

 

[Angelo95210]

The simplest and easiest would be running, all you need is a pair of shoes.

Also, eat less.

Very good. I would add run first thing in the morning before eating. Burns all.

 

[63dot]

The simplest and easiest would be running, all you need is a pair of shoes.

Also, eat less.

Also, uni made me fat(ter) too.

Same here with uni (or college as it's called in the states when I was there, too).

Also if running doesn't suit you, you can bicycle, play racquetball, or swim. Also a good physical job can give you the exercise requirement, and then all you would have to worry about is counting calories. I do a PT daytime set of jobs which don't consume too many calories, but four nights a week, I polish floors and we have to cram in 8 hours of work into 3 hours due to the company adding hours to regular kitchen/retail staff leaving us little time to do what used to take an 8 hour night. This type of thing is so typical of a recession, and the extra staff is illegal aliens often paid with alcohol and food. The regular staff is nearly all illegal aliens. Sometimes the work is really fast and furious when the whole joint is rented out by a rich person and they invite 500 of their closest friends like a Cupertino based company that recently rented out the whole restaurant for themselves after hours and had a 100% percent vegan menu. It's hard to polish a floor when it has beet juice stains everywhere and the boss said it could have been some rich guy like "Bill Jobs". ... see below

Of course, the night shift floor polishing crew protested as to having us have to cram in so much work so quickly, but it's a huge workout the way I see it and we get paid for it. My boss lost 60 lbs. in just over a year and I have lost 7 lbs. in a month and a half. My goal would be to lose 20 lbs. altogether and hit a good 31 inch waist with abs with this extra job. As for gym memberships, they work, but in this recession in the states, it's just a luxury expense.

Whatever you do, don't use a medically dangerous way of losing weight such as taking up smoking (which can reduce weight) or hit the "fat"-kins diet.