Girls: what workout routine and diet works best for you to maintain your figure?

Working

i don;t i just watch what i eat and it seems to work for me…
see the thing with a regular exercise routine is that if and when u stop or change it then u gain weight cause ur body was use to all that exercise and now its not getting it.

i had a baby five months ago and had alot of trouble getting the weight off at first and one day i was at walmart and saw this dvd in the fitness section its called cardio dance slim down and i lost 30 pounds in 3 months. and i eat yougart for a snack and eat my normal way the rest of my meals.

I know i’m not a girl, but I’m sure I can help: Calories in has to equal calories out…and the average body naturally burns 2000 calories in whats called basal metabolic rate: If you want to lose a pound a week, look great and feel great, I suggest eating about 2000 calories to support your body needs each day, and exersizing and burning 500 calories a day! Thats it, just run a bit…Oh yeah, and eat lots of fiber. Whole grains, beans, veggies, etc. This will help you get full faster. Try not to eat so much fat, like nachos, refried beans, burgers, fries, etc. Eat meat but try to go lean; lunch meat turkey and ham is really good and low in fat. If you drink 2% milk, go to skim; it has more vitamins and is lower in fat! Thats the best I can do;

I run on the treadmill on the “weight loss” program. The speed on it goes up and down as well as the incline, which is great for burning calories! After that, I do yoga. I do it all at home, so thats really nice. I mainly do the yoga routine that is in self magazine by jennifer anistons yoga instructor. you can go to self.com and see the workout. I have found that it works my butt and abs the most (which is good!) and it is fun and not too difficult to do! I was the same way as you…and now I am trying to do something about it too and this is working very well for me!

Okay…first of all, as we age, our bodies change and we aren’t actually as active as we have been. Metabolism varies by person as well, and genetics do play a part. Medications- including birth control can play a huge part in weight gain and metabolism. I found that out the hard way. Basically, I exercise 4-5 days a week, for 45 min to an hour. I do weight training at least 2x a week- which includes strength training. In the past I did an hour to two hours 5-6 x a week, but that was taking up so much of my life. I also belonged to a gym back then and it was easy to get caught up in all the equipment! LOL! I do have a tendency to go overboard, and I don’t recommend it if you want to have a life! Other activities count as exercise as well. So, as long as you are moving, you are getting some benefit. Actually, there are some more sedentary activities that count (but only a little) as well. You can look this up online- I forget the link, but the government has a site where you can add up calorites burned by activity (it doesn’t include everything), they also have a section for calorie consumption where you can look up foods you eat in a day and chart it. I don’t do that really because I tend to get obsessed, as it is, I don’t eat much these days so I’m not worried..although, now that it is starting to get colder….I’m sure my appetite will pick up! So, the other thing I do is I watch what I eat. I eat low fat products, breads bloat me, so I watch that too. Eat lots of fruit and vegetables (I’m better at the veggies). Eat lean meats if I eat meat- I like to stick to pork and chicken breast mostly, although, I have been eating leftover turkey since Thanksgiving (for lunches)! Make sure you get enough protein in your diet, if you don’t, you won’t have much energy to exercise. Also, watch your carbs like chips…they don’t really benefit you. If you want chips, Pringles Right Chips out to do the trick. Sometimes it’s nice to have something cruncy with lunch. Take raw cut of veggies with lunches also some fruit (grapes travel well). If you are bored with sandwiches, fat free refried beans and a tortilla shell are a nice change. You can get whole what tortilla shells but they aren’t the most tasty…however, not bad. And, better that white flour tortillas. Same with breads…whole wheat is better and it will stay with you longer- and it tastes fine! Basically watch your ingrediants on anything you buy- sodium, sugar, fats. Also, pay more attention to how your clothes fit than the scale. It sometimes takes a bit to catch up with your weight loss, kind of weird…..muscle weighs more than fat and the more muscle you have the more fat you burn. You will after a while know just by how your body feels…when you’ve lost weight. Also, you probably know this but do your weights every other day so your muscles can rest. You may want to do heavier weights as well. Don’t worry, you won’t turn into mighty woman! You would have to work out all day long and with REALLY heavy weights and your diet would be really different as well….
Another thing…yard work like raking….really burns a lot of calories! I don’t like yard work but if I look at it from a calorie loss perspective, I can do it…same with shoveling snow…(altough, I moved to FL so won’t be doing that now!). I have more I would like to share with you but I have run out of room. If you want to know more e-mail me! OH! Something fun to try is Bellydancing! It is a really good work-out!