no offense, but everyone's body responds differently and the above may not work for you.
Example:
My boyfriend and I have spent the last 7 weeks working out nearly every night. It is nothing big. We started walking 2 miles. The next week we bumped it up to 3. Then we added short jogging sets (all on a track to we knew how far we had gone). I also added lunges, 4 sets of 6 per lap and did a total of 4 laps that included lunges (this is specifically for my butt, my boyfriend doesn't have a butt
) . Then we started going 4 miles with all that other stuff included. Next we did 5 miles walking or 3 miles if we ran 1 of those three miles. By this time, I am doing pretty well. My body has worked out all those kinks (cramping, lack of breath, etc...) that you get when you are first getting in shape. However, my boyfriend has not faired so well. He actually gained two pounds and has not lost inches whereas I've lost inches, shaped up, and though I haven't lost much weight, I know it is because I'm also building muscle mass at the same time.
For eating, we were cooking all our meals. Ate lean meats and I loosly followed the South Beach Diet which I can say has worked for myself and everyone I know who stuck with it. No fried foods, no caffeine, no soda. Minimal milk and juices and LOTS of water. We cheated on our diet about once a week which was for sanity purposes and I think it is why we've been able to keep going instead of give up after a few weeks.
But, my boyfriend is upset because it isn't working as well for him as it is for me. He did have more weight to lose, so that could be a factor. I just wanted to show that what works for one person won't always work for another.
Here are some tips I've heard about trying to lose weight/burn fat:
-use smaller weights for toning up and losing fat but not building muscle (and then there is the opposite as described above, find out which works for you).
-no soda, minimal juice unless it is the kind where you've blended it yourself! Too much sugar everywhere else. Though, I found a wonderful organic apple juice that I think is THE BEST apple juice I've ever had, hehe.
-if you can cut out caffeine completely, at least limit it a lot. This is because caffeine actually slows down your metabolism in the long run. Also, you'll feel better, I promise... it just takes time to kick it.
-absolutly no soda. I don't even have soda on my cheat days.
-if you want to do the 5 meals a day, they need to be small meals. I don't like this because it always leaves me hungry. I like 3 regular meals a day with small healthy snacks inbetween.
-don't eat heavily after 6pm. This is hard because people work, but it is the trueth. unless you work the night shift,...
-be positive! The first few weeks NOTHING could happen. That is the worst because you want something to happen. It will, it just takes some time. The faster you lose weight, the easier it is to put on. You're losing the hard stuff (and not just water weight) when you lose maybe 2 pounds or less a week.
-swim. this is great for you! It works your entire body and is very good on your joints. you'll also lose those love handles a lot faster because of the stretching motions used when you swim.
okay, I'm sure someone knows more than me, so I'll stop rambling! Good luck