How to lose weight in an apartment?
I am homeschooled and I have recently become overweight. I am about 5″0 at 136 pounds. We live in an apartment and I can’t really go around much in this neighborhood. There have been some crimes recently and we live next to a train station and a highway. My parents won’t take me to a gym and we don’t really go much anywhere. My dad SOMETIMES takes me to go on a bike ride, but that’s once in a blue moon. I need to lose weight. I am only a kid, so I don’t know how to exercise. I used to be really active and skinny, but ever since we moved here, I can’t do much. Please help. Don’t bother and waste my time if you have insults or ridiculuous idiotic things to say. Only people who want to help me. My idea to lose weight would be about 20 to 30 pounds, and I want a six pack. Please help. Any ideas of how to lose weight accepted, except insults.
It’s possible Janet M, that you don’t have any contacts or fans for telling others they’re rude.
June 26th, 2010 at 8:35 am
Get a step counter they really work. Go for walks in the apartment at every tv comercial. You can do sit ups at night before bed and it even tires you to help you sleep better. Also reduce portions at dinner that is the meal you metabolize the worst. Cereal for breakfast not waffles. No coco puffs. Reduced fat milk or skim if you can pull it off with the parental units. And get a few hand weights you can buy them for about 10 bucks at walmart or you can use 1 gallon water bottles. They weigh 8 pounds each. Use those for curls. And of course Red Fox said it best on Sanford and Son “why don’t you stand in front of the police station and yell ‘You’ll never take me alive'” PS this advice came from a 350 pound fat guy so good luck.
June 26th, 2010 at 8:44 am
well do lots of situps and control the amount and type of food you consume. if you eat a lot of junk food then you will definatly need to stop, also try eating smaller portions of food, dont fill your plate but dont starve yourself because no one wants to have bad emotional issues over weight. besides your not that bad. i am five feet tall and i weigh 135.
June 26th, 2010 at 8:46 am
all these are really good ways to lose weight.. also try jogging in place. back in high school i used to do this every night before bed, and it really helped. just take about an hour bed and do some situps, pushups, and run in place (i’m not sure if this is a good amount of time because i’m not a health expert.. if an hour isn’t healthy, someone please correct me.).. increase your workout every week, and remember to keep at it and don’t give up.. you’ll see results i promise.
and remember to eat healthy.. your parents will help you with this part i’m sure.
June 26th, 2010 at 9:01 am
It’s possible no one has offered any suggestions because you start right out with being a bit rude and insulting… just the way you asked not to be treated. You might want to consider that before asking for help on other things.
You don’t say how large your apartment is, but maybe your parents can buy you some weights. I would suggest 3 lbs, 5lbs, 10 lbs & 15 lb weights to start. Then get on the internet and find some sites that show you how to properly lift weights (will not gain unattractive large muscles with this kind of weight training). I would also suggest doing core work/crunches… lots of them. There are many differnt ones that work different abdominal muscles. There are also sites that will show you the proper way to do those. If you have room for a stationary bike, maybe you could find one that isn’t too expensive. It doesn’t take up much room, and you can get some good cardio exercise with a bike. Start out doing 20 mins, then gradually increase the time. (less than 20 mins won’t do you much good). Of course you can NOT lose weight with just diet alone. You have to watch what you eat. Don’t starve yourself, just watch your portions sizes, and eat healthy foods (not junk food). I’m not an expert, but I’m in the gym every day and do weight training with a trainer, so my suggestions come from experience. A link below should help. Can’t find all I’ve seen before. This one provides some little videos that will help with some exercises. There’s a section for crunches as well. Hope this helps.
June 26th, 2010 at 9:13 am
Apartments.com has a great area of their website you’ll probably like a lot. Apartment Living has tons of exercise articles, check this one out.
Working Out in Your Apartment
Turn your apartment into a fitness factory! You don’t even need to buy a home gym!
Depending on your goals and preferences, you might want to buy one, or more, of the following items:
Jump rope (high intensity cardio)
Mini-trampoline (mid-intensity cardio)
Exercise DVD (for those who like guidance and motivation)
Free weights or an exercise band (strength training)
Exercise ball (core strength)
These items are inexpensive and can add to your workout but they’re really not necessary. Read on for tips on improvising and creating your own routine.
Cardiovascular Exercise
This type of exercise increases your heart rate and tones your muscles. Here are some suggestions:
Jog in place and do jumping jacks.
Jump rope (start slowly as this is very high intensity).
If you have stairs, run up and down or use only the bottom step to jump on and off, using both feet.
Do old-fashioned aerobics (think 80’s dancing). Aim for at least 20 minutes and make sure your heart rate is elevated.
For a more effective calorie-burning routine, alternate five minutes of cardio with one of the strength exercises below until you’ve worked every muscle group. This is called circuit training and should keep your heart rate elevated. When your heart rate remains high throughout your exercise time, you burn more calories.
Strength Training
Compliment your cardio routine with strength training. Strength exercises are necessary for a complete workout. Building muscle raises your resting metabolic rate, which means you burn more calories throughout the day. If you aren’t into the big and bulky muscle builder look, don’t worry about it. It’s pretty much impossible for you to get that way without incredibly intense training and supplements. Follow this full-body plan 2-3 days a week for the best results.
Arms – You can either purchase an exercise band (about $10 at a retail store), free weights (prices very by weight) or fill up a milk carton with water or sand until it reaches your desired weight. Do 12-20 repetitions of bicep curls, tricep dips and shoulder raises.
Chest – Get on the floor and do some old fashioned pushups—as many as you can do without losing your form. Start on your knees if you’re a beginner. Also do a press with your band or weights. Lie on the floor and hold a weight in each hand. Lift them straight over your chest and lower slowly. (12-20 reps)
Back – Stand with your feet hip-width apart and bend forward. Grasp a weight, or a weighted object, in each hand and hold your arms out in front of you with a bend in your elbow. Use your back muscles to lift the weights to shoulder length and lower slowly. (12-20 reps)
Legs Squats – Stand up straight with your back against the wall and bend your knees until they are almost parallel with the floor. (12-20 reps)
Lunges – Stand with one foot 2-3 feet in front of the other. Bend both legs as low as you can without allowing your front knee to go over your toes. Keep your back straight the entire time. (12-20 reps)
Abs – Do 25-50 traditional crunches on the floor. Lie on the floor and put your hands behind your head gently. Lift your head up, not forward and focus your eyes in front of you. Hold in your stomach muscles the entire time and breathe after every crunch.
Toning/Flexibility
Every workout needs a stretching component so that your well-toned muscles can look their best—and not cramp up at work the next day. There are myriads of different stretches but here are a few you can do to keep limber:
Purchase a stretching video: Dim the lights and make it a relaxing experience.
Do yoga: This can be a workout in itself. Look for a book or video on hatha yoga, the style that focuses on stretching poses.
Recall your basketball team days: The warm-up and cool-down exercises you did as a high school athlete are still useful today.
Now don’t you feel better? Try to get in a workout 4-5 days a week to really notice a change in your body and energy level. Now your only problem is the neighbors below you…be courteous and workout during daytime hours so that you’re not getting angry knocks on your door mid-crunch!