Last week, we hosted our first Women’s Weight Loss chat on Stanzr.com, and it went great! Dr. Emily and Nutritionist Natalie were in our online chat room to answer questions from our gym members (or anyone else who wanted to join in). The following are some of the highlights from the chat. If you want to view the full transcript, you can do so here.
This is what the chat room looks like:
(Want to join in the conversation? Find out how at the end of this blog post!)
***
Q: Which activity is best for losing weight–weights or cardio?
Dr. Emily: The secret to losing weight is not necessarily in the activity you do but in HOW you do it. Both lifting weights and cardio provide different benefits to losing weight. To maximize your time, doing a combination of weights and cardio in an interval-based workout is one of the most effective and time efficient ways to work out.
Q: Which is best for losing weight–low-fat, low-carb, or low-calorie?
Nutritionist Natalie: You need to make sure you are eating the right amount of calories a day to maintain your existing muscle tissue in order to decrease your bodyfat. You need to eat a balance of good carbs, lean protein, and healthy fats.
Q: How important is heart rate as a factor in weight loss cardio? I’ve seen that on machines, and most of the time I go over the target heart rate.
Dr. Emily: Heart rate is very important when working out. If you’ve ever heard of the “fat burning zone”, that just means keeping your heart rate around 65% of your max heart rate.
Q: I have reached a plateau. How do I overcome it and jump start my weight loss again?
Dr. Emily: Any person who finds themselves hitting plateau needs to mix things up! A woman’s body is very efficient at burning fat, which means with every subsequent workout, we actually burn less. To avoid this calorie-burning plateau, mix it up with different cardio machines and different group exercise classes!
Q: How do I know how many calories I should be eating daily?
Nutritionist Natalie: You can find out how many calories you need to eat a day by weighing yourself on a Tanita body fat scale to find out your BMR (resting metabolism).
Lucille Roberts: We have scales at our gyms that can determine that for you.
Q: Do you have any suggestions for great pre- and post-workout foods? I never know just what to have, when.
Nutritionist Natalie: It is important to have something easily digestible before your workout, like yogurt, fruit, or a protein shake. After a workout, you should have a balanced meal like egg whites on whole grain toast or grilled chicken and brown rice. You should eat something at least an hour before your workout and eat something immediately following your workout.
***
…and that’s just the beginning of the chat! Want to join in the conversation? Sign in to our Stanzr chat room this Wednesday Sept. 14 at 8:00 p.m! (You can use Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn to sign in.)The chat will last 1 hour; you can stay for some or all of it. Dr. Emily and trainer John Chung will be there to answer your exercise and training questions!
