Q: What’s the best way to exercise my thighs during the summer?
Answer:
The best way would be determined by many different things, such as your current fitness status, goals (do you want thin thighs, muscular thighs, strong thighs…), time available and personal exercise preferences.
Some good ways to exercise your thighs while enjoying the warm summer weather include rollerblading, fitness walking, hiking, running on the beach… you name it! Find something you love and get out and do it!
I also recommend lunges, dips, and squats year round to keep those thighs toned (or get them there!). It’s best to meet with a personal trainer or fitness professional when you’re first learning these exercises, as proper form is essential for safety and optimum results. The FIRM also has some fantastic exercise videos and almost all of them work the thighs. Additionally, I’ve heard that the Legs of Steel tape (and series) is good, but I haven’t personally tried it (if you do, please let me know what you think!).
Remember to check with your physician before beginning this or any other exercise program.
Recovering Bulimic and Weight Loss
Q: I am recently a recovering bulimic\binge eater\anorexic ( I am 16). So I think I definitely threw my metabolism off track. I really want to lose about 10 pounds but I don’t know how to even start (in the eating department). I do exercise a lot. I play tennis on the team, figure skate competitively, lift weights and sometimes try new activities, but the weight just does not come off. I rarely weigh myself now and I try to keep this pair of jeans that I want to fit back into out all the time as a reminder. I would really appreciate advice because I’m in a desperate state right now.
Answer:
Please see your physician immediately! It is important for a person recovering from an eating disorder to keep in contact with her/his physician. It may also be beneficial to you to see a psychiatrist or other mental health professional (if you aren’t already). They may be able to help you work through the emotional reasons behind your eating. This is helpful because you may get to the cause of your problems and that might make it easier to understand and move on to a healthier self-image and lifestyle.
Is your family supportive and understanding? It’s really beneficial if you have a strong support group behind you. Your parents love you and are probably eager to help you (I didn’t believe this as a teenager, but it’s true! Most parents love their children even more than they love themselves!), so trust them. Talk to them and hopefully they can help you through this difficult time.
Also, try to be realistic about your weight. Does anyone else think you could lose weight? Does everyone else tell you that you look great? It’s possible that you don’t need to lose any weight at all! Model-thin waifs do not occur all that frequently in real life and everyone cannot be that thin. For some of us (myself included), it’s biologically impossible to be as thin as, say, Kate Moss. We have to accept that, learn to love our own bodies, and move on with life. It’s easier said than done, but it CAN be done!
Q: Losing weight and keeping it off
Q: I am 15 years old, 5’5′ and a bit on the heavy side. I’d like to lose ten pounds within the next two weeks. AND keep it off. Is there anything that you suggest?
Please I am in a desperate situation. I’ve tried not eating or even exercising five hours a day. It just doesn’t work for me! I’ve tried every single thing possible, except for diet programs or pills. Please help me. Thank you for your time.
Answer:
Please be sure to get your doctor’s permission to lose weight and start an exercise program before following our recommendations 🙂 I really would like you to see a doctor ASAP, especially since you’ve been trying such drastic measures as starvation diets! The doctor can also check to see if there is some underlying medical condition that might be preventing you from losing weight.
Unfortunately, a healthy, lasting weight loss is about 2 lbs/ week. Anything over that will just be water– or worse, muscle. We need all the muscle tissue we can get! It burns fat for us even when we sleep! The first thing you can do is to exercise aerobically (walking fast, jogging, stepping, taking aerobics classes or doing aerobics videos at home, etc.). For maximum fat loss, I recommend doing it 4-5xs per week for an hour per session. If you want, on the “off” days, you can take slow walks to keep your metabolism up.
Why do you need to lose the weight in two weeks? Do you have a special event? If you have a special event, be sure not to eat things with much sodium (salt) a few days prior to the event. Be sure to drink lots of water. If you’re wearing a revealing dress, be sure to exercise the revealed body parts earlier that same day. For example, if you’ll be wearing a sleeveless dress, exercise your arms. This will make them appear more toned for your event.
Always try to eat sensibly. This means balanced meals that include lots of vegetables. Fruit makes a great snack because it satisfies the sweet tooth while providing nutrients and relatively few calories. You need to eat at least 1200 calories/ day or your body goes into starvation mode! This is unhealthy and counterproductive to weight loss. Be sure to eat at least 1200 calories/day. When those calories consist mainly of natural, healthy foods that provide all of the vitamins and nutrients you need, you’ll feel full and have more energy. Your body function so much better than on any starvation diet!
Sports Drinks
Q: Are sport drinks useful?
Answer:
Well, they’re useful to marathon runners 🙂 Really, they’re most beneficial only if you’re exercising very heavily or for a long time. I’ve read that orange juice is better, though! For shorter workouts, plain old water is fantastic 🙂
Water Aerobics
Q: How effective are water aerobics?
Answer:
It depends on how hard you’re working. I think that intensity is the key. It’s likely that water aerobics aren’t as aerobically intense as regular classroom aerobics– so I’d recommend a longer duration of exercise (an extra 1/2 hour or as much as you can spare), more frequent exercise (5xs per week vs. 3-4xs), or adding resistance.
