Brerlappin wrote:jamcc wrote:Corazon de Leon wrote:Brerlappin wrote:Corazon de Leon wrote:About to jump back into weights - the goal is to be lean though, not big, so not really sure what to do beyond a lot of cardio as my last workout regime led to me puffing out in a way I wasn't happy with. Anyone got any ideas?
Cardio and bodyweight fitness. Try the recommended routine over on Reddit.com/r/bodyweightfitness
Cheers mate, will look it up. View to starting this evening so will keep thread updated.
If you want to burn body fat, cardio is by no means your only option - diet and weights alone can make a huge difference.
Do an intense weights program (like Stronglifts) - when you get into it you will sweat and feel physically tired after workouts. Also, reduce your intake of sugar and refined carbohydrates (bread, pasta etc). Oh and reading Sandycoin's post above, yeah, reduce alcohol intake too - I'm convinced that our booze culture is largely to blame for our terrible obesity levels in this country.
Ive just started a program called Whole30 with my wife. Its marketed as a complete overhaul of your eating habits, rather than a diet. But it means you cant have any sugars, at all, very limited carbs, no dairy, etc. Its supposed to help with stomach issues by "resetting" your stomach, and after a month you can slowly add stuff back to your diet. I'm looking forward to seeing what, if any, results there are when combined with my workouts too.
Sounds great. I eat a lot of dairy though as I don't have any issues with it and milk/eggs are great and cheap protein sources. On the other hand, a lot of people are intolerant to dairy, so I see why they've included it.
Corazon - have a look at the Paleo diet too. I loosely follow that. Potato and rice/rissoto are decent mainstream alternatives, and then you have more left-field stuff like lentils etc. And then you can go absolutely wild with 'good' carbs like green vegetables, aubergines, cauliflower etc.
As for the sugar thing, the less you eat it the less you'll crave it. I also find that chewing (sugar-free!) gum satisfies any rare urge to eat ice cream etc. Bit gay maybe but it really works.
Honestly, if you follow a decent/intense workout program and make those changes to your diet I'd be astonished if you don't lose body fat pretty rapidly.