Cathe, need a suggestions for losing 20-30 lbs

chapplin

Cathlete
Hi,Cathe I have about 3months to lose 20-30 lbs for a family get together in Florida. I am off work until late Sept 04 and I want to workout at least 1-2 hours a day (with the rest days) because I now have the time to workout. I have all of your exercise on DVDs. I guess I asking do you have an very intense rotation that I can follow. My husband suggests that I workout 1 hour of cardio in the morning and 1 hour of weight training in the evening. I don't have a treadmill so my only cardio will be your DVDS. I am also looking for a very strict eating plan as well. I am looking for any suggestions from anyone who has followed some strict regimen and had great results. thanks for responding...Chap
 
Hi, I'm not Cathe but can help provide you with some pointers (I lost 40 lbs). Research shows that between 75% and 80% of weight loss is attributed to nutrition and not exercise (exercise is necessary for toning and for the heart). I would suggest you eat 5-6 small meals per day; using a combination of proteins, complex carbohydrates, and some fats per meal. These meals will keep you feeling energized and not hit a sugar low.

You may want to check out Ann Louise Gittleman's Fat Flush Plan, Cliff Sheats' Lean Bodies Cookbook, or Bill Phillips' Body for Life (he recently came out with a Eating for Life book as well) for ideas.

Keep up with the weight training and cardio; you really don't need to work out beyond an hour per day to see results. Remember, muscle weighs more than fat so you may weigh the same but wear a smaller size.

Hope this helps.
Lorrayne
 
Hi Chap! The main advice that I can give you is to not do too much too soon or you will sabotage your efforts and hinder your goal(s). Take the first three weeks to get acclimated to a two hour a day workout program. If not you run the risk of aches, twinges, spasms, pulled muscles, shin splints, just to name a few. All of these injuries require days, weeks, or in some cases, months to rehab. So please set realistic sights for yourself.

Since you say you have all of my DVD's, I'm assuming you are an advanced and regular exerciser. The following is based on that assumption.

During the 1st week of your conditioning program, you should do only one hour of cardio per day (4 days a week) and 30 minutes of strength training (2 times per week...total body workouts). Also do the strength training later in the day if possible so you are more refreshed (or vice versa with cardio).

The 2nd week, you can continue to do one hour of cardio but now 5 days a week (either early or later in the day) and also do one full hour of strength training later in the day. (4 days a week, two body parts per session).

The 3rd week, you can do 6 days of cardio (any day you feel too tired to do it, rest that day). Do 4 days of weight training again but change the two body parts per session to two different body parts (ie: if you did back and biceps, now do back and chest).

After your three week conditioning program, take four days off of all exercise except maybe just a 30 minute walk per day to let your body recover and refuel.

After that start in with workouts that accomplish the following:

1) Slow and Heavy weight training series for the first three weeks (along with your 5 or 6 weekly cardio workouts earlier or later in the day).

2) Pure Strength weight training series for the next three weeks (along with your 5 or 6 weekly cardio workouts earlier or later in the day).

3) Slow and Heavy again for the next three weeks (along with your 5 or 6 cardio workouts earlier or later in the day).

4) One week of Power Hour and Muscle Endurance (each done twice in the week) along with your 5 to 6 days of cardio.

5) One week of "Circuit Max", "Boot Camp", "Body Max", "Cardio and Weights", "Legs and Glutes", "Step, Jump, and Pump". Instead of doing weights later in the day this week, you will instead do IMAX 2 two days this week (on any day of your choice as long as it is not consecutive IMAX 2).

6) One week of CTX Series in its entirety. Two days this week (for your evening workout) you can do Supersets one day and Push Pull a few days later.

That should bring you in right at your three month mark. Good Luck and remember to vary your cardio modes daily and have at least two VERY high intensity cardio workouts each week (after your three week conditioning period).
 
WOW!! This is so awesome and so timely. I am going to be living at home with more time than I usually have in the day to work out in the summer for three months exactly, and I recently got a bunch of new Cathe DVDs, so this is EXACTLY what I wanted!! I am going to substitute a few Firms in here for variety (instead of some of the circuit workouts), and some of my cardio will be hiking or biking or Christi Taylor videos...but other than that, I'm going to be following this to a T! This has made me look very much forward to summer! Thank you SO MUCH, Cathe!
 
Hi Chap and Others,

I'm happy to see you excited about taking on a new workout program. But I do find it necessary to reiterate that you really need to listen to your body along the way. Working out intensely 5 to 6 days a week at an hour plus per day is very demanding on the body. If you start to feel the effects of overtraining in any shape or form, you need to cut back on your exercise program and factor in more rest days. Everybody will respond to exercise differently. Some feel they absolutely need to do an hour of cardio (which includes a 7 minute warm up and 7 minute cool down) to get results, while others feel they get results with 40 minutes of cardio (which again includes a warm up and cool down). The same rules apply to strength training...some need more, some less. So while this program is based on a specific request, it may or may not be the program that meets your needs. Time will tell...enjoy! PS....Don't forget to eat clean :)
 
I too want to say THANK YOU, Cathe for posting that program. I'm seeing many holes in my workout routine...mainly not enough emphasis on weight training.:eek:

Time to regroup!!
 
Wow! Thanks Cathe! I have printed this one off.

I recently sold off all of my various vhs tapes with the hope of making enough money to replace them all with dvd (36 pack:D ). I am almost there, and will very soon have the entire set in my little hands and can begin......carefully, as per your orders:)
 
Cathe - a few questions here...

In weeks two and three, do you suggest using weights from CTX, pure stength and S&H? Are these the types of weight workouts that would work here or do you suggest others? Can you suggest a 30 minute total body?

Secondly I don't understand the difference between the weight workouts in week two and three. Can you clarify or give a sample of weights for each week? And with those, do we just pick which body parts to repeat (b/c we won't be able to do all twice in that week).

Thank you for your input!

Christine
 
Thanks Cathe and all who responded. I have printed this and will take your advance. I had just purchased the eating for life book by Phillips last night. Just wondering if anyone has received results with his new book, it seems interesting and easy to follow. I did not want any new book that has complicated recipes. I wanted something that I could cook for myself and my family. Once again thanks for responding so quickly. Chap..
 
I love this book, and I love his cookbook "Eating for Life". The main reason is that my whole family will eat all of this food. It truly is yummy, and they don't even know it is, *gasp*, healthy. Just stay away from the brownie recipe, blech!

My husband and I both have some weight to lose, and he has been very consistant with a 2 pound per week weight loss. I had sort of plateaued at the same weight for two weeks, but have finally broken through. A little frustrating for me because I never cheated, and have been very good with the plan. I just think I plateaued at the weight I have been the most consistant at for the last year or so, only I had put a bit on in the last two months with winter and and injury kind of sidelining me. Overall, the average for me has been 2 pounds per week....now that I have broken through:)

I will also add that I really feel good. I have discovered that if I eat "old style" on my free day I feel awful. The funny thing is that I thought I ate fairly well! I like not being that stuffed kind of full, but satisfied. I never really get hungry, but if I start to feel a little twinge, it is usually time to eat anyway. It really is a great plan for me.
 
Also....is this rotation completley "out" for those that don't really need to lose that amount of weight? I am loking for something new and different to try but I don't really need to lose.
 
In Cathe's suggestion, she says to include at least two VERY high intensity cardio workouts. Which workouts are considered VERY high intensity? I know IMAX and IMAX 2 would be. Any others?
 
Cathe, a follow up question...

Are you suggesting using the S&H workouts twice each week for the 3 weeks after the acclimation?

I just started mountain biking & I've discovered I need a bit more power & total body strength (well, a lot more). This routine looks like it might be just the ticket. Having a few less pounds to lug up the hills would probably help too.

Thanks for your time and expertise.

Debra
 
I suggest you get the book called: "Natural Hormonal Enhancement:"by Rob Faigin

6 small meals: 7 days under 20 grams of carbs to start fat burning, go into a 3 day under 20 grams of carbs; next day under 20 grms of protein and carb load, then back to the under 20 grams of carbs for 3 days.

3 day protein, 1 day carb; 3 day protein. He says this balances all your hormones and that you need a carb load day for the carbs. Highly recommend the book. Weight falls right off and you don't look sickly.
 
Hi Guys! I just wanted to give some input on diet and nutrition. I am a physician, about to enter my last year of training in Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation. I started medical school very late (at age 47 !), but started with an interest in diet and nutrition over 35 years ago, and have researched this subject for decades.
I have to recommend the best book ever written on the subject: Eat To Live, by Joel Fuhrman, M.D. He is a Family Practice physician who spent 15 or 20 years researching the research, and has pulled together virtually everything that good solid scientific research has proven or validated in thousands of studies over the years and put it into one very readable book (which just came out in 2003). He points out many interesting and surprising facts, such as Romaine lettuce has more protein per calorie (or hundred calories etc.) than does Sirloin steak! (And walnuts are a safer source of good Omega 3 essential fatty acids than is fish, as walnuts aren’t polluted with mercury as are many fish., and broccoli has many phytonutrients which help retard the growth of cancer, and blueberries are the most nutritious berry/fruit available, etc., etc.)
His book is based on the proven facts of science, not the theories of one man. Dr. Atkins diet, as just one example, is based on one man’s opinion and not backed up by the facts, and can be dangerous to one’s health.
Dr. Fuhrman’s book is designed not just for people seeking to lose weight, but for people who want to eat the healthiest foods in the world so they can be free of the fear of ever having a heart attack or stroke (unless there is a very large genetic predisposition in the family). His diet is designed for health and longevity, but also helps people lose excess fat just incidentally. (Not to mention it also Cures Diabetes, and this is not some quack claim either, read some of the patients stories in his book.)
On the personal front, I have weighed around 178 lbs (at 5 ft, 10 in) for most of my adult life. During the stress of medical internship, and the every fourth day having to stay up all night (during which time I also ate an extra 2 meals a day, since I thought I might need the extra fuel due to being up), I gained an extra 20 lbs. The only other time in my life I had weighed 198 lbs was in the 1990’s when I spent years lifting weights and bulking up with lots of muscle. Well, this time I weighed 198 lbs, and had a big fat gut sticking out in front of me, not extra muscle! This was up until about 10 months ago when I decided I needed to get rid of this ugly health threatening fat. Over about 6 months, through sheer will power, I cut back on my eating and lost down to my usual 178 lbs. Then my wife introduced me to Dr. Fuhrman’s book, Eat To Live, and I read it and decided with her, to eat this way, just to prolong my life and reduce my chances of cancer and heart disease. WELL, to my astonishment, over the next two months, I lost ANOTHER 15 to 18 lbs, without trying, and without “dieting” in the sense of cutting back! In fact, I was eating like a pig (large quantities), but not like most Americans (poor quality foods). Despite my eating to satiation regularly, the fat melted off effortlessly. Literally effortlessly, as I did not increase my exercise level (which was minimal) at all during this time. I now weigh 160 lb, which is the weight I was in High School, when I was competing in very vigorous Judo competitions!!
I am now getting ready to purchase some Cathe DVD’s because I want to see how fantastic my condition will be when I am both perfectly healthy on the molecular level from eating the perfect diet, and when I am in great cardiovascular and musculoskeletal shape from good hard healthy exercise like she teaches.
So, if you want to lose fat and get in great shape, follow Cathe’s advice for exercise, and read Eat To Live by Dr. Fuhrman and follow it as closely as you can for perfect nutrition. (By the way, I am not a personal friend of his, nor do I get kickback’s, percentages or any other rewards for pushing his book, except the reward of knowing I am helping other people to maximize and optimize their health, which is a personal goal of mine as a Rehabilitation doctor.)
 
Has anyone started doing this? I started it last week. I'm asking about the 1 hour of strength for the second week, are we to do 1/2 hour on one body part, and 1/2 hour on second body part? I'm wondering if it would be okay to do 1/2 hour of lower body and 1/2 hour of upper body, or do we need to focus on specific body parts, lets say half hour on biceps, and half hour on back? Sorry for all the questions!
 

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