Your questions from February – round 2! Let’s talk about… If you could travel to one place in the world, where would it be? When are you doing a new podcast episode? What are band walks? Your running warm-up? What is your everyday diet? How long should your longest marathon training run be? Tips for ... Read More about Q&A – Feb Round 2
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Hi everyone!
As I've continued on my weight loss journey these past couple of months I have wondered how I can improve other areas of my life, especially my sedentary lifestyle. I work part time at a desk job as a receptionist and the rest of my time is spent in lecture halls because I am a student in University. So then I stumbled upon an amazing invention: A mini exercise bike!
I found this little bike scrolling through Amazon one day and it has been amazing! It fits under my desk so I can peddle while helping out customers or answering the phones. I'm basically on it nonstop 9-5, it doesn't burn a whole bunch of calories because I'm not riding it in a cardio zone or anything crazy like that, but hey, it's something right?
I also take it back to my apartment most nights so I can peddle on the couch while watching TV at the end of the day!
Everyone in my office thinks I'm crazy but I figured some of my fellow losers would get a kick out of this and maybe even try one out if they feel they would like it!
Also, here's a picture of my bike: https://imgur.com/a/dR9EgYy
It was only about $25, I'm not going to link it because I don't want to be banned or anything by mods but it's not hard to find on Amazon.
Hey guys, I started my weight loss journey about a month and a half ago and am now starting to hit my first plateau I think. I'm down about 15lbs but I'm still obese so it's not like I've not got more to lose! Lol But I've stagnated for a week and I don't want to stop now so is there any general advice I might need to keep losing the lbs? For my diet I generally fast from 8 pm to 12 pm, breaking it with a 235 calorie sandwhich of egg, English muffin, and a slice of deli ham. Dinner varies but generally I eat a good 1200 calories or so and have a snack between lunch and dinner after I go to the gym (4/5 times a week). Speaking of the gym, I alternate cardio for 45 minutes and weight days where I do a 5 by 5 that takes around 45-1 hour. I don't know if it's the diet or maybe I'm not working out hard enough at the gym, it's just kind of strange for me to not still be losing pretty regularly when I've been down about 2lbs a week so far! Thanks for any help.
For a while now the skin above my belly button has been looking a little wrinkly and it gets much worse when I suck in my stomach.
It feels very dry despite me oiling it on a daily basis. I obviously assumed it was loose skin but the weird thing is, it feels firm? I can't pinch it or move it the way I can with my inner thighs. I cannot grab the wrinkles at all and I still can feel extra fat under the skin. Unlike my lower belly which feels very squishy, the fat in my upper stomach feels much firmer.
I hate how these wrinkles look, it's almost like very dense cellulite? I tried using a derma roller for 2 weeks but I think it may have made it worse!
Oh and I have something similar on the sides of my bum but only when I tense up and it's nowhere near as bad as my stomach. It also looks very different from the cellulite I have on my thighs and bum.
Any insight would be greatly appreciated!
Looking to lose belly fat, crank up that core and reveal a gorgeous, flat tummy? We’re right there with you!
Yoga is one of our favorite activities because it helps us unwind and balance our hectic lives, plus it gives us a powerful full-body workout—and some killer core moves to boot! The great thing is, strengthening your core goes way beyond the elusive six-pack. “Because your abdominal muscles support the proper curves of your spine, strengthening your core can can help improve your posture and reduce back pain,” says Jennifer Smith, certified vinyasa instructor in Seattle, Wash. Core strength is important, Smith explains, because “it also helps improve balance and reduce your risk of injury in yoga and your other workouts.”
So let’s get right to it—roll out your mat for Jennifer’s five flat-belly moves you can practice right at home:
LOSE BELLY FAT WITH THESE FIVE MOVES:
Before you start:
Come to a comfortable seated position. Bring both hands to your belly, palm over palm, and close your eyes. Take a few breaths here, breathing fully into your lungs and belly. Then take a gentle twist to the right, left hand on right knee, gazing over the right shoulder. Hold for two breaths and repeat on the other side.
MOVE 1: BOAT POSE (NAVASANA)
How to do it: From a seated position, bend both knees and place feet flat on the mat in front of you, fingertips to the mat on either side of your hips. Elongate your spine, engage your core and roll your shoulders back to open the chest. Keeping your spine straight, lean back slightly, then lift your feet off the mat, bringing your shins parallel to the mat with bent knees. Focus on your core—is it engaged and stabilizing you from moving backward in this pose? Good. Now extend your arms straight out in front of you, palms facing up. If you need a little more challenge, work on straightening the knees and fully extending the legs, bringing your upper and lower body into a V-shape. Hold for five to 10 breaths.
Bonus burn: Slowly lower your back and your legs to a hover just above the mat, arms up overhead, then come back up to your Navasana pose. Use your core strength to stabilize you and move as slow as possible. Repeat this flow five to 10 times.
MOVE 2: SLEEPING CROW POSE (SUPINE BAKASANA)
How to do it:
Lying flat on your back, bend your knees and bring them into your chest, about hip distance apart. Flex your feet at the ankles. Extend your arms overhead, then engage your core to lift your shoulders off the mat and extend arms up toward the sky, wrists flexed and palms facing the ceiling. As your shoulders and chest lift, align your knees to tuck in to your armpits. Now you’re in Crow Pose, on your back! Your core should be telling you that it’s working here, so if you’re trembling—you’re doing it right. Hold for five to 10 breaths.
Bonus burn: Keeping your core engaged, shoulders and chest lifted off the mat, slowly straighten and lower your legs to six inches above the mat, at the same extend your arms overhead to align with your ears. Hold for three breaths. Using your core muscles, move back into your Sleeping Crow Pose. Repeat this flow five to 10 times.
MOVE 3: GATE POSE (PARIGHASANA)
How to do it: Come to kneel on the floor, using a folded blanket or towel under your knees if they’re sensitive. Stretch your right leg out to the right with your foot flat on the floor. Keep your left knee stacked directly below your left hip, and align your right heel with the left knee. Keep your torso facing straight ahead and engage your core. On an inhale, circle your arms up overhead touching the palms together. On an exhale, lower your right hand down to your right thigh, coming in to a side bend with your left arm up. Turn your gaze up to look at your left forearm. Welcome to Gate Pose! Stay here for 10 breaths: On each inhale, contract your right side torso and on each exhale move deeper into the stretch as your right hand moves toward the shin. Repeat on the left side.
Bonus burn: From your full Gate Pose with right leg extended, inhale, circling your left hand up and over to the left, touching down outside of your left knee, as your right hand reaches up and over to the left to stretch the right side body. Exhale, circling both arms back into Gate Pose, contracting your core and right side torso. Repeat this windmill motion of the arms five to 10 times on each side.
MOVE 4: PLANK POSE (UTTIHITA CHATURANGA DANDASANA)
How to do it: Come to hands and knees. Look down and make sure your wrists are aligned under your shoulders. Press into your hands, engage your core, then straighten one leg out behind you at a time, toes tucked, bringing your torso and legs into a straight line. Imagine pushing back on a wall with your heels. Keep your neck long and your gaze down. Firm your shoulder blades to the back and then spread them away from the spine. Check in to make sure your hips aren’t hiked up, or sagging down. Check in with your core—feeling the burn yet? Stay here for 10 breaths, dropping to your knees if needed.
Bonus burn: Lift your right toes six inches off the mat, then lower down slowly, tapping your toes on the mat. Repeat 10 times then switch to the left.
MOVE 5: SIDE PLANK (VASHISTASANA)
How to do it: From your Plank Pose, ground into your right hand and rotate your hips and heels to the right, coming to the outside edge of your right foot. Engage your core to lift your hips up and bring your left hand to your left hip, opening your chest and torso to the left. Stack your left foot on top of right, or for a little more support, bring the left foot slightly behind your right foot for a kick stand. Send breath to the core and keep the hips high. Hold for 10 breaths, then repeat on the left, resting on your knees between sides.
Bonus burn: From Plank Pose on the right side, lift your left leg, toes pointed, then tap left toes to the mat in front of your right foot. Lift through center, then tap left toes behind your right foot. Repeat five to 10 times.
COOL DOWN:
Give your abs a nice deep stretch with Sphinx Pose. Lay belly down on the mat, bring your elbows directly underneath shoulders, forearms flat and fingers pointed straight ahead. Press into forearms to lift your chest and torso off the mat. Firm your legs and point your toes behind you. Send five deep breaths down to your belly, then lower down slowly. You did it—amazing work!
The post 5 Yoga Moves for a Flatter Belly appeared first on The Leaf.
Today is your Day 1?
Welcome to r/Loseit!
So you aren’t sure of how to start? Don’t worry! “How do I get started?” is our most asked question. r/Loseit has helped our users lose over 1,000,000 recorded pounds and these are the steps that we’ve found most useful for getting started.
Our bodies are amazing (yes, yours too!). In order to survive before supermarkets, we had to be able to store energy to get us through lean times, we store this energy as adipose fat tissue. If you put more energy into your body than it needs, it stores it, for (potential) later use. When you put in less than it needs, it uses the stored energy. The more energy you have stored, the more overweight you are. The trick is to get your body to use the stored energy, which can only be done if you give it less energy than it needs, consistently.
The very first step is calculating your calorie needs. You can do that HERE. This will give you an approximation of your calorie needs for the day. The next step is to figure how quickly you want to lose the fat. One pound of fat is equal to 3500 calories. So to lose 1 pound of fat per week you will need to consume 500 calories less than your TDEE (daily calorie needs from the link above). 750 calories less will result in 1.5 pounds and 1000 calories is an aggressive 2 pounds per week.
Here is where it begins to resemble work. The most efficient way to lose the weight you desire is to track your calorie intake. This has gotten much simpler over the years and today it can be done right from your smartphone or computer. r/loseit recommends an app like MyFitnessPal, Loseit! (unaffiliated), or Cronometer. Create an account and be honest with it about your current stats, activities, and goals. This is your tracker and no one else needs to see it so don’t cheat the numbers. You’ll find large user created databases that make logging and tracking your food and drinks easy with just the tap of the screen or the push of a button. We also highly recommend the use of a digital kitchen scale for accuracy. Knowing how much of what you're eating is more important than what you're eating. Why? This may explain it.
How do you create a deficit? This is up to you. r/loseit has a few recommendations but ultimately that decision is yours. There is no perfect diet for everyone. There is a perfect diet for you and you can create it. You can eat less of exactly what you eat now. If you like pizza you can have pizza. Have 2 slices instead of 4. You can try lower calorie replacements for calorie dense foods. Some of the communities favorites are cauliflower rice, zucchini noodles, spaghetti squash in place of their more calorie rich cousins. If it appeals to you an entire dietary change like Keto, Paleo, Vegetarian.
The most important thing to remember is that this selection of foods works for you. Sustainability is the key to long term weight management success. If you hate what you’re eating you won’t stick to it.
Is NOT mandatory. You can lose fat and create a deficit through diet alone. There is no requirement of exercise to lose weight.
It has it’s own benefits though. You will burn extra calories. Exercise is shown to be beneficial to mental health and creates an endorphin rush as well. It makes people feel awesome and has been linked to higher rates of long term success when physical activity is included in lifestyle changes.
It can seem like one needs to make a 180 degree course correction to find success. That isn’t necessarily true. Many of our users find that creating small initial changes that build a foundation allows them to progress forward in even, sustained, increments.
You will struggle. We have all struggled. This is natural. There is no tip or trick to get through this though. We encourage you to recognize why you are struggling and forgive yourself for whatever reason that may be. If you overindulged at your last meal that is ok. You can resolve to make the next meal better.
Do not let the pursuit of perfect get in the way of progress. We don’t need perfect. We just want better.
Now you’re ready to do this. Here are more details, that may help you refine your plan.
So I’ve been losing weight since the 1st of January(I know it’s cliche) and I have lost 5,5kg/12lbs, which is awesome! But I have a really good healthy lunch at work and then I have a small dinner at 7pm. Some days I snack on a protein bar or fruit on my breaks at work. But I am worried that this is too little for me even though I’m never hungry when I go to bed. I work out 4-7 days a week and have never felt as good as I do right now, but I felt like I should get another opinion about this.
Btw I can’t calorie count my lunch because it’s made in the kitchen at work and I eat while working(I work with 3 year olds), but it’s good healthy food.
And for the first time in my short life (20yr) I have motivation to lose the weight I gained when I started puberty, my long distance boyfriend is coming to visit at Easter and I want to surprise him with my weight loss( he has never commented on my weight and tells me I’m beautiful,perfect, the best person in the world etc, every day so he’s not pressuring me or anything. It’s just good motivation)
-the surprisingly never hungry girl.
