Question for Justin

Hi Justin

Can you help?? My wedding is in 8 weeks and Im pretty much overweight. I havent done much up to now and Im dabbling with slimfast and celebrity slim and all those horrible diets . Today Im weight watching!

Anyways....can you recommend any particular exercises to loose inches from my boobs and belly? At the moment I walk very briskly for 40 mins each day but thats kinda it....any suggestions?

I need to loose some inches before the wedding

Any exercise is going to help you lose weight and shape your body but if your diet isn't in check then it's just going to unravel all your hard work. It has to be a two pronged attack when it comes to fighting the bulge, celebrity slim and slim fast are really not long term solutions. I hope Justin can help you work out an effective workout but in the end you get out of it what you put in. Good luck!

Hi Miss W,

Firstly congratulations!

I'm happy to help, but it will be easier for me if you could just tell me if you go to a gym, or are willing to go, or if you have any equipment at home?



EDIT: Sugarlips is spot on too, you can't out-train a bad diet. Eat good clean foods and plenty of water whenever you can.

Also, if you haven't read the post on the Principles of Exercise I wrote, I recommend you do so. It'll help you a lot.

Hi Justin,

Sorry I should have posted some more info! I have in gym in work which I use maybe twice a week. Im not a gym fan so would prefer to do other things if at all possible?

Im 27 and 15 stone 7 at the moment (5foot 4).

I should mention that my diet isnt bad. If Im not doing slim fast or celebrity slim kinda thing im using weight watchers. Today for example I had organic porridge oats for brekkie made with LF milk, a nectarine, salad for lunch and a ww yoghurt. For dinner Im having steak and vegetables. I drink about 2litres of water a day.

I know it sounds ok but I just havent been loosing weight??

Sound to me like your diet is good, but again, as Sugarlips pointed out, its a two-pronged attack! If you keep the diet up, you're halfway there!

May I ask what it is about the gym you're not keen on? Im only asking because if you have access to one at work this would be extremely helpful to use. A good strategy may be to use it twice a week as you are, but then give you some additional exercises to do at home. Do you have any equipment at home?

Hi Justin

I'm on the CD programme and will be moving up plans to 810 cals, as I miss not doing a class or any aerobic exercise. At the moment I use the gym twice a week, for a 15-20 min walk on treadmill (on 450 cals a day), plus toning machines. Would like to increase this next week as my cals also increases. Could you adivse me on what classes to do and what other stomache exercises to do other then sit ups?

Many thanks
Nikki

No none at home Im afraid.

I just find the gym quite boring to be honest.

EternalFlame: As I pointed out in a different thread just now, if you are on under 1000 calories a day I would strongly advise you to stop any cardio exercise (until your calories are up further).

Instead, perform resistance exercises, around 10 full-body exercises, for between 8-12 repetitions each, three times per week.


This means that aerobics classes should also be put on hold for the time being, and try taking up a resistance based class such as Body Pump, or Legs Bums and Tums. If you do go to one of these classes however, subtract one of the three resistance exercise sessions to two.


The reasoning is that low calorie diets encourage your body to think you are going into 'starvation'. In order to adapt the body will begin storing as much fat as possible to preserve energy, and will break down your muscle tissue to decrease your metabolism.

When your metabolism comes down, you will burn less calories day to day, and your body won't have the energy to cope with more than three resistance sessions per week.

As for stomach exercise, start with the prone plank' (search it on Google). Brace your abs, and try and hold it for up to 15 seconds initially. After you've tried this give me a shout to let me know how it was.

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MissusW: Okay if you find the gym boring thats no problem.

Here a list of bodyweight only exercises to try at home. Choose a few of them and put them into a little circuit you can repeat a few times.

- Press Ups
- Prisoner Squats (hands behind your head!)
- Step Ups (onto a box or step)
- Split Squats (search Google for these)
- Jumping Jacks
- Mountain Climbers
- Squat thrusts
- Burpees


Initially choose about 5-6 exercises to do one after the other. As for how many reps to do, try each exercise first, see how many maximum reps you can do, then take 30% off that number. (SO if you can do 10 press ups maximum, only do 7 in each circuit)


Try 2-3 circuits first, and see how you feel. Progress the circuit by adding 1 repetiton to each exercise the next day you do it. Once you've added 5-6 repetitions to each exercise, add another circuit on top next time.


Search the net for pictures of any exercises you are unfamiliar with.

I hope I've described that clearly? I've realised that its a lot harder to explain over the internet lol. Any problems or other questions just ask.


Justin x