You sound like you have a very realistic goal. Most people do not understand the idea of gradual weight loss, but I am glad your goal is 15-20 lbs. in six weeks. That is very possible! You need a good combination of aerobic activity and resistance training combined with a healthy diet. It is not recommended to lose more than 1-3 lbs a week. If you want to lose weight the correct and safe way that will stay off for the long-term you need a good exercise and nutrition plan. A good program looks like this: Always warm up and cool down Muscular strength & endurance-you need a good resistance training program that includes exercises for all muscle groups(hips, chest, upper and mid back, legs (quads and hamstrings), shoulders, lower back, upper arms (biceps and triceps), calves, forearms, abdomen, and the gluteus maximus). Your intensity should be 70-80% 1-RM or 8-12-RM, 8-12 reps, 1 or more sets, 3 times a week for 6 weeks or more. You should begin with 1 exercise for each major muscle group and make sure the days you do resistance training are not consecutive meaning you don't exercise the same muscle group two days in a row. As you continue your program you can add more exercises, add weight, and change up your program to include more days or just work specific muscle groups on specific days. As your muscles grow stronger you will be able to reduce the rest time between each set. You should rest for about 30 seconds between sets. Muscle is metabolically active and therefore when you gain muscle it burns more calories and helps to raise your metabolism. If you do not have money for a gym membership or do not have acess to one here is a great website to create a work out plan only using your body weight. http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/exercise… You can also search for all kinds of exercises that use weight. Cardiovascular Endurance-this is where you can burn fat the most and that leads to enhancing your
Links: Calculate Calories Consumed: http://www.nutritiondata.com/ Calculate Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR): http://health.discovery.com/tools/calcul… Calculate Physical Activity: http://www.weightlossresource.com/tools/… Cell Phone Diet & Fitness Calculator: http://www.handango.com/PlatformProductD… Desktop Diet & Fitness Calculator: http://www.handango.com/PlatformProductD… Free Online Diet & Fitness Calculators: http://www.mypyramidtracker.gov/ http://sparkpeople.com/ Natural and Organic Foods: http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/products… http://www.wildoats.com/u/home/ Multi-Vitamin Supplement: http://www.carlsonlabs.com/product_detai… Glycemic Index and GI Database Website: http://www.glycemicindex.com/ Harvard School of Public Health article on Carbohydrates: http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsou… MayoClinic Article on Water: http://www.cnn.com/HEALTH/library/NU/002… Food Pyramids: http://www.rayandterry.com/html/images/P… http://www.mypyramid.gov/ Certified Trainers: http://www.acsm.org//AM/Template.cfm?Sec… http://www.nsca-lift.org/ http://www.acefitness.org/ http://www.nasm.org/ Weight Training for Dummies: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0471768… Muscle and Fitness: http://www.muscleandfitness.com/ Exercise Prescription on the Net: http://www.exrx.net/ Fitness for Dummies: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0764578… Sleep Website: http://sleepfoundation.org/ Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2005: http://www.cbsnews.com/htdocs/pdf/foodgu… You The Owner’s Manual: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0060765… Nutrition Action Health Letter: http://www.cspinet.org/nah/ Realage Website: http://www.realage.com/ AirNow Website: http://airnow.gov/ Mike 3 of 3 1/30/2012 12:22 PM