quote:

Between knee issues (may be because of lack of muscles) and lack of muscle strength, I have some difficulty carrying loads up stairs (for example). Like a heavy suitcase.

Easy and little or no expense.old fashion situps, pushups, leg raisers and squats. Walk fast or jog 4 miles per day. walk up and down stairs with dumb bells and more squats. do curls, press, and bendover pullups with the dumbells. In 4 or 5 months you'll reach your fitness and weight goals

What does the YMCA charge for monthly dues? That’s usually the best bang for the buck.

Re: Trainers. Don’t select a youngster. Find one in your age range who is very fit, male or female doesn’t matter. The young ones can hurt you, they don’t have the age and life experience. I’ve used a Physical Therapist to keep me out of trouble, they’re just not for rehab.

Best wishes to you.

quote:

Originally posted by konata88:
... I want to go from 175 to about 155-160 but lose 15-25 pounds of fat ... and double my muscle mass.

That's not going to happen, doing what you're doing. You're improving endurance, not strength.

quote:

Originally posted by konata88:
I'm very weak right now. Between knee issues (may be because of lack of muscles) ...

Do you have "knee issues" or do you not? If you don't know, then you should see an orthopedic doc who can tell you.

quote:

Originally posted by konata88:
... and lack of muscle strength, I have some difficulty carrying loads up stairs (for example). Like a heavy suitcase.

You're not going to improve that doing what you're doing. You need to be lifting weights to address that.

quote:

Originally posted by konata88:
I've cut back on food and doing the intermittent fasting - ...

That's all well and good, but, it will get one only so far.

quote:

Originally posted by konata88:
... cutting calories is good for fat loss but I'm worried that I'll lose muscle mass as well, especially if I can't keep up exercise to build it.

It's very hard to build muscle and lose fat at the same time. You have to achieve just the right calorie deficit--no more and no less, you need to go protein-heavy, and both fat loss and muscle gain will be slow. Also; Kiss daily IF goodbye.

quote:

Originally posted by konata88:
Joining a gym is expensive - $150-200 / month.

That sounds like Life Time or LA Fitness prices. You don't have any smaller gyms?

^^^ what ensigmatic says is mostly true.

You want to lose weight:
* change your diet
* calorie counting except on the extreme is futile
* it is what you eat that is the most important
* carbohydrate control is the key
* deploy a Keto diet with intermittent fasting but note the fasting is not to deprive you or calories ~ it is to train your body to burn fat
* when your carbs are low enough daily (Keto/Carnivore/etc) then your body will burn fat as the primary fuel creating ketones for energy
* Eating mostly fat (and that scares a lot of people), low carbs, moderate protein
** You will find on this diet you are very satiated aka not hungry all the time and snack less if at all and you can eat all you want even cutting down on the number of meals per day
* The diet is not without caveats of sustainability (able to keep it up) and takes discipline
* A lot of the healthiness of this diet revolves around insulin and the ability to control it.

The most effective muscle building exercises are:
* Dead Lift
* Squat
* Bench Press

Even if you have joint issues then find a way to isolate these areas.
They will not aid a lot in weight loss but have a great health benefit.

Cardio will help heart heath and aid somewhat in fat loss at a low enough heart rate.

Diet and weight lifting will be the optimum with diet making the most difference.
Nothing wrong with mixing in a little cardio but to the extreme will be a detriment to weight lifting benefits.

quote:

Originally posted by smschulz:
^^^ what ensigmatic says is mostly true.

You want to lose weight:
* change your diet
* calorie counting except on the extreme is futile
* it is what you eat that is the most important
* carbohydrate control is the key

Perhaps we've been talking across one another on these points?

I agree that what you eat is as important as how much you eat and, in fact, I've said so, several times, myself.

But, basic thermogenics tells us that if you consume more calories than you use, you will gain fat--regardless of the form of the calories consumed.

quote:

Originally posted by smschulz:
* ... but note the fasting is not to deprive you or calories ~ it is to train your body to burn fat

Excellent point!

I would also point out that, if doing high-intensity training, strength or cardio, IF will probably be detrimental. You need nutrition for recovery. Particularly protein.

quote:

Originally posted by smschulz:
The most effective muscle building exercises are:
* Dead Lift
* Squat
* Bench Press

To those, the Starting Strength people add:

• Standing Vertical Press
  
• Chin-Up
  
• Power Clean

quote:

Originally posted by smschulz:
Cardio will ... aid somewhat in fat loss at a low enough heart rate.

Disagree. Just the opposite: LISS (Low-Intensity Steady State) cardio isn't very effective for fat loss at all. It's better than no exercise at all, of course. And it does promote cardio-vascular health. As an aid to promoting fat loss it doesn't do much.

MICT (Moderate-Intensity Continuous Training) cardio likewise isn't particularly effective at promoting fat loss, though it's better than LISS. Conversely: HIIT (High-Intensity Interval Training) and particularly SIT (Sprint Interval Training) cardio have been shown to be fairly effective in aiding fat loss.

quote:

Originally posted by smschulz:
Diet and weight lifting will be the optimum with diet making the most difference.

Agreed.

quote:

Originally posted by smschulz:
Nothing wrong with mixing in a little cardio but to the extreme will be a detriment to weight lifting benefits.

Agreed.

As others have said, diet is the key to losing weight. You simply cannot exercise enough to make up for a poor diet. For example, the average person burns 100 calories by running a mile. That works out to a 4-5 mile run to cover one order of fries.

I suggest getting and following the “South Beach Diet”. You will lose weight and feel better in 10 days. And you can follow it for a lifetime.

Exercise as you’re able to build muscle and build stamina.

quote:

I agree that what you eat is as important as how much you eat and, in fact, I've said so, several times, myself.

But, basic thermogenics tells us that if you consume more calories than you use, you will gain fat--regardless of the form of the calories consumed.

I know as logical as it sounds and you and I are both come from that logic background but the cals-in and cals-out model is simply incomplete even inaccurate to a degree.
Furthermore, there are several other factors that must be in consideration.

FWIW, when I was pre-low carb I was eating approx. 70% of the calories I eat today > exercising approx. 20% more than today.
I was maintaining the same weight.
Since going low carb (one year ago) I have lost weight approx. 13%.
... and now maintaining the same weight (after the loss) and eating more and exercising less.

What you don't factor in is the body's innate ability to adapt to conditions.

If it was as simple as {X}-cals in deficit equals {Y}-weight loss then that would be an amazingly perfect system.
But that doesn't happen perfectly that way.
FWIW, not that there isn't some substance to the the formula it is as I have said true to some degree but not absolute.
NO, it is not as important as what you eat but to extreme levels ...over time, it will contribute to issues of control.

An important factor is whether you are in a Ketogenic state or not.
Also the body deals with dietary fat differently than body fat - they are not exactly the same.

Keto/Low Carb diets are eating 70% Fat, 10% Carbs, 30% Protein (% by cals) << my % btw but can vary with the individual.

Bottom line is IF you are eating ^^ this way then total cals have much less impact that a Standard American Diet where you need to deplete your glycogen store before you lose body weight.
IF you are going that way then watch your total carbs rather than total cals even though protein/carbs are 4cals=gm and fat is 9cals=gm.
It is a tightrope act that is hard to do.
But hey, good luck with that.

FWIW I recently had a talk with my doc about health, fitness, dieting and nutrition.

He astonished me when he said that a low thyroid level can make it extremely difficult to next to impossible to lose weight. I'd never heard that before.

I was given a blood test specifically to measure the various types of thyroid levels. There is more than 1 thyroid level type. I recall him mentioned T3 and T4.

Turns out my particular T-level test was right in the middle of the scale, perfectly normal.

He then told me that if it was low there were Thyroid meds available to raise the level.

Anyway, the next time you see your Doc you and he should agree to pull a complete blood test along with the better Thyroid level test.

Best wishes to you.
.

quote:

Originally posted by V-Tail:

quote:

Originally posted by konata88:\

Joining a gym is expensive - $150-200 / month. Hard on my budget, especially these days.

Is there a Planet Fitness location near you? It's ten bucks a month around here.

I belong to a fitness center called the Edge, fees start at 10 bucks a month for a basic membership up to about 40 a month if you get the membership with all the bells and whistles. The OP's gym more than likely charges 150-200 annually for a membership and not that much monthly

quote:

Originally posted by smschulz:
I know as logical as it sounds and you and I are both come from that logic background but the cals-in and cals-out model is simply incomplete even inaccurate to a degree.
Furthermore, there are several other factors that must be in consideration.

I don't know as I can agree with that entirely, but, I don't think we're all that far apart in our thinking

quote:

Originally posted by smschulz:
An important factor is whether you are in a Ketogenic state or not.

I bumped my daily protein by roughly 50% (protein shake mid-way between lunch and dinner, protein bar mid-way between dinner and bedtime, my lunches and dinners with more protein [in the form of meat, fish, cheese]) about three-four weeks back. I also dropped MICT/HIIT cardio in favor of all strength training because the cardio was interfering with my strength training recovery. Result: 2.3 lbs. net weight loss, 1.3% body fat reduction, and steady increases in weight/resistance across-the-board.

I don't believe I'm quite in a ketogenic state (not experiencing any of the "markers"), but, I don't know for sure. Maybe I'll order some keto test strips to check. (I've been reluctant to do that because the bastiges are expensive and have a relatively short shelf life.)

I suspect that, along with the increased protein, I've also further-reduced my carbs.

quote:

Originally posted by smschulz:
It is a tightrope act that is hard to do.
But hey, good luck with that.

Not certain to what this is in reference

Don't give up on walking, it's what the human being was biologically designed to do. It is a whole body exercise, stresses the heart in the exact zone that yields the most effective exercise and it's easy on the joints. Talk to any Cardiologist and they will tell you that Walking is the finest exercise you can do.

As mentioned earlier, Bicycle. You said you already have a mountain bike.

Just find an area without motor vehicle traffic and ride the bike.

Then join a bicycle club when you feel up to it.

quote:

Originally posted by V-Tail:

quote:

Originally posted by konata88:\

Joining a gym is expensive - $150-200 / month. Hard on my budget, especially these days.

Is there a Planet Fitness location near you? It's ten bucks a month around here.

Thats what I have been using, I have the Black Club card. $24 a month. I want to marry the Hydro Massage bed they have.

(I really don't mean to be argumentative, but, I can't let misinformation go.)

quote:

Originally posted by Scooter123:
Don't give up on walking, ...

Walking is good. I'll add it back once the weather is a bit more welcoming , but...

quote:

Originally posted by Scooter123:
... it's what the human being was biologically designed to do.

The human body was designed to do a lot of things in addition to walking.

quote:

Originally posted by Scooter123:
It is a whole body exercise, ...

Kind of. It does comparatively little for strengthening the posterior chain, except the calves; does nothing for shoulders or arms, and does little for abs or obliques. All of these are needed for lifting, pushing, and pulling. All things the human body was also designed to do. For those one needs weight training.

quote:

Originally posted by Scooter123:
... stresses the heart in the exact zone that yields the most effective exercise ...

That's not even remotely close to true. Multiple studies have shown MICT, HIIT, and SIT cardio are far more effective for improving the cardio-vascular system. Some studies have even suggested they may reverse COPD.

quote:

Originally posted by Scooter123:
... and it's easy on the joints.

That much is true.

I got on the fitness center (CFX) plan that my wife uses and am using a trainer, at least to start with. Their basic membership is only $16 a month and they have reasonably priced packages for a trainer. Mine is a younger guy (I am am 71) though but he is also a gymnast. A package of 6 sessions was $200 and IMO important to have an assessment (which was free) and then get me on a good program for one's goals and learn proper technique as poor form doing exercises can be a waste of time or even harmful.

For hips/glutes/legs he is having me do hip thrusts, squats, and lunges. If I could do only one it would be hip thrusts and it also helps with lower back and easy to to at home but lunges are also great. It's easy to add weight for hip thrusts too. A core exercise called dead bug LOL. For upper body he is starting me off with pushups, a machine that lets you do chin ups while kneeling on padded platform but not using your full body weight using variable weights for reduction, seated rows using cable to pull weights, and dumbbells for triceps/biceps/shoulders/chest. My weight is right about where I want it at 6'2"-195lb but wanted a program for cardio and strength and if I lose a few pounds that will be good too. Strength training no more than two days a week for me with Monday and Thursday this week.

https://www.healthline.com/hea...exercise/hip-thrusts

https://www.healthline.com/hea...unges-muscles-worked

For cardio I really like their Matrix E5x suspension elliptical machines as it is really easy on the knees. Their cardio equipment has built in heart rate monitors which is really helpful and estimated calories burned too..

I have only been doing this for a couple of weeks and already notice how much less stiff I am doing household activities including going up/down starts, bending over, etc.