# How to lose weight



## littrella (Aug 28, 2010)

There is no easy way to loose weight. You need to watch what & how much you eat & exercise. An instructor at the gym I like to go to said half you plate should be veggies, 1/4 a grain or potato & the last 1/4 your meat. Start with some easy exercises, yoga or pilaties. If you can, get an exercise bike, treadmill or eliptical & use that when your watching your favorite show on tv. You'll be suprised how much it helps


----------



## MNCOWGIRL (Oct 24, 2011)

I too have that same problem, Im not overwieght by average standards but I would like to lose the fat in my stomach and thighs and tone those mucles. It seems no matter what I do exercise or eat right nothing works. I work hard on our family ranch which is probaly the only reason I have stayed relativley in shape. But Would like I said to tone up more.


----------



## Blondehorselover (Oct 20, 2011)

HarleyWood said:


> I need to lose weight in my thights and stomach. How can i do that easyly i love food and have veggys, and i dont like o exersize all that much...?
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


 
You cannot lose weight in just certain areas. Your body decides where it comes off and when. If you don't want to give any foods up, try to concentrate on portion control. You can google that and find great articles on how much you should be eating of what kinds of foods. But do try to limit sugar, alcohol, starchy carbs, and try to eat only lean meats. I'm sorry but you WILL have to exercise, or at least move around more often. Try running alongside your horse to make it fun, or try riding bareback to target your core muscles (and leg muscles)! For the first few weeks of "dieting" you will lose the water weight which makes most of us have that "bloated" feeling. Once you lose that, you feel TERRIFIC! So most people (myself included) feel you've done a great job and you can go back to how you were eating, not true! Again, that's only excess water weight. But once you work through that, you'll notice your clothes fitting better and just feeling better in general. Cardio is the best exercise out there (running, fast walk, posting w/o stirrups, treadmill, elliptical, etc) and if you do it in "spurts". Say power walk for 10 min. then do a fast jog for 2 min then back to walking and so on.... I find I lose the most this way. Just remember to keep with it if you want results! It's not going to be easy since you will be making sacrifices whether it be food, personal time, etc. But once you get to your goal you'll be thanking yourself! Good Luck!


----------



## KissTheRing (Aug 2, 2011)

I use Ali- its a nonprescription weight loss supplement that takes all the bad fat out of what you eat- Where it wont magically make you lose weight it speeds up the process. 
And I don't know if its safe to combine it with the atkins diet (No carbs)- But with them combined your basically only getting protein in your diet. Which then helps toning of the body.


----------



## Kayty (Sep 8, 2009)

Wouldn't it be lovely if we could stuff ourselves silly with chocolate and sit on the couch all day, but stay skinny and toned 

Unfortunately that's not how our bodies work unless you have an increadibly fast metabolism and even then, you'll end up with your arteries clogged with fat from a bad diet! 

My body is used to riding 6 days a week, at least 2 horses a day, plus coaching, and doing general work around the property. I started full time (6 days a week!) office work 6 months ago, and stopped riding as I purchased a yearling. The result has been stacking on 10kg, before I even realised, I had really stacked on the weight. My diet is not bad at all, but it really is the inactivity that kept the fat on me. 

No pain no gain - you have to work to burn that excess fat off!! I have started running again. Cardio exercise is what is going to burn off the fat. You can run, ride a bike, whatever, just get your heart rate up and break a sweat for 30mins/day. 
As someone said above, you can't decide where the weight comes off, but you CAN tone specific muscles. I am trying desperately to get my core back in shape to start riding again this summer (Australia), so have been doing multiple reps of sit ups, crunches and core strengthening exercises such as the 'plank'. Another good one is to sit up with your legs straight out in front of you, lean back on about a 24 degree angle, then lift your legs at the same angle, keeping them straight, so you are balancing on your seat bones. Fantastic for working your core!! 
Lunges are brilliant for your legs, as are step ups. 

But the cardio is the biggest player for getting rid of the flab. Don't be lazy!!!


----------



## cfralic (Jan 17, 2011)

If you are looking to lose weight without excercise, my best advice would be to try and avoid carbs as entirely as you can, and try to only eat natural sugars (such as in fruit). I do eat carbs but really only beans and nuts. I also eat a good amount of meat (especially lean meats such as turkey, chicken) because I like to have high protien to keep uo with the energy I expell (I work in a daycare, which is my weekly workout!) Try to also make sure you're getting the right amount of iron as well, if you're a lady this is particularly important and it makes such a difference!

If you aren't interested in cardio maybe you should try something more interesting? I hate, HATE running but I started mountain biking awhile back and now I have a stationary bike I use when it's cold. I also really like to skip and hula hoop (again, fun to do with kids!)

You can get a pretty good workout from horseback riding, too. Just try riding bareback for awhile and flexing your butt, keeping your legs glued and flexing your abs trying to keep your seat! Bareback riding is a really great workout for me at least... haha. If you're long past that maybe try some bareback posting trot?


----------



## Jewelsb (May 8, 2012)

How I did it was cardio for an hour and a half a day and by tracking my calories on myfitnesspal.com or with the app on my iPhone. It's pretty simple and I lost 30lbs in two months. I did this with eating what I want but just keeping track of my calorie intake
Since then I've learned the importance of eating healthy though. I've kept the weight off too!


----------



## DancingArabian (Jul 15, 2011)

You have to burn more calories than you're taking in. If you don't want to exercise, be prepared to face only 1000-1500 calories a day. You definitely won't be healthy, you'll be "skinny" and have no muscle definition.

Join a gym like Curves or something that has groups where you can join in. A lot of people have an easier time working out if it's done with other people.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## Celeste (Jul 3, 2011)

I have lost 45 pounds over a 2 year period. I don't consider it a diet. It is a lifestyle change. Several things that I do.

1. No alcohol.
2. No fried foods
3. Limit bread, especially white bread
4. Limit sweets

The more I exercise, the more I tend to lose. Like I said, this has taken a long time. I did not change my ways to lose weight, but rather to improve my health. My blood pressure was uncontrollable and I was going to die if I didn't do something. I need to lose more weight, so I hope that this keeps working. If I want to eat something sweet, I do; however, I don't do it every day and I only take small servings. I never eat fried foods or gravy. I almost never eat potatoes, pasta, or rice. Veggies. Small portions of meat. Fruit. It is a very boring way to eat but food is not worth dying over.

The best thing that has improved about my looks is my face. My face was shaped like a basket ball. It is much better now.

I still am not going to make people wreck their cars trying to get a better look on the beach.............


----------



## kac7700 (Apr 20, 2012)

Jewelsb said:


> How I did it was cardio for an hour and a half a day and by tracking my calories on myfitnesspal.com or with the app on my iPhone. It's pretty simple and I lost 30lbs in two months. I did this with eating what I want but just keeping track of my calorie intake
> Since then I've learned the importance of eating healthy though. I've kept the weight off too!


I highly recomment myfitness pal as well. They have a great database, good tools and an online supportive community. It's really simple math, it takes 3500 calories to make 1 lb. In order to lose 1 lb. per week, you need to reduce your calories and/or increase your exercise to create that deficit. However, not all calories are created equal, and if you don't fuel your body properly you'll feel horrendous even with a calorie deficit. Myfitnesspal has forums and ideas and you can see other users food diaries. 

I would recommend you first start off logging EVERYTHING you eat and be honest with yourself. Count those calories. It becomes easier to see where you can make changes or cut to create that caloric deficit. 

Plateaus happen, and when you start to lose weight, your body needs less calories to maintain that weight, so you have to continually adjust. Start slowly and you'll find as you get into the groove that you can eat a LOT with different choices. I had a point where I had to add more nuts to my diet just to up those calories because eating too few is bad too.

Also, there is a podcast called Fat2Fit Radio. They have a website also. Their podcasts are free and they are so motivating and helpful. They use the simple formula of "eat the maintenance calories of the weight you want to be" and there are calculators on their website to help you find that calorie range. 

It's easier than you think it is, but it's a difficult mindset change. You can do it! Good luck!


----------

