I read this recent article where there tested the weights versus cardio theory. Twin sisters went on separate training programs, one did pump classes 3 times a week while the other ran on the treadmill.

Karen pushed herself in pump classes. Body pump is a weight-training class done to upbeat music. It’s great for people who want to lift weights but can’t afford a personal trainer.

And Kathy mixed it up with intense cardio. She ran on the treadmill until she was out of breath, then continued walking — repeating this sequence for a total of 30 minutes. Cardiovascular training is beneficial for heart and lung fitness.

The twins both trained three times a week for eight weeks and ate the same diet. We tested their progress with a body-composition test in week one and week eight to determine how much fat they had lost, and how much muscle they’d put on.

Surprisingly, the girl doing the intense cardio lost more body fat. Well, I found it surprising, I would have thought building muscle was key in increasing your metabolism and burning fat.

At the end of the eight weeks, Karen’s total body fat percentage was 32.1 percent (a drop of 2.4 percent or 1.5kg), and Kathy’s was 31.6 percent (a drop of 4.4 percent or 3.4kg).

It comes down to the intensity of the activity you’re doing — so the higher your heart rate while exercising, the more kilojoules you’re likely to burn.

Potentially, Kathy was working much harder on the treadmill than Karen was during her pump classes.

High-intensity work-outs continue to burn fat even after you’ve finish exercising. This is due to the fact your metabolism is still raised after training while your body uses energy to try to cool itself down and recover.

So if you want to burn fat, intense cardio is the way to go…

So while weight training is important, it looks like I’ll have to step up my cardio if I’m going to lose weight in the long term.

I attribute most of my weight loss over the last couple of weeks to my healthy diet (lots of fruit and veg, fish, and lean protein), plenty of exercise, including pilates, and my acai berry and colon cleanse tablets.

I have finished my colon cleanse detox so now will just be relying on the acai berry tablets to aid my weight loss. I’ve also started taking some resveratrol supplements which are supposed to help delay aging and reduce the risk of certain diseases like diabetes, heart disease and maybe even cancer. Resveratrol is also supposed to suppress the appetite which is a huge bonus. I’ll report on that in a couple of weeks to see if that’s true.

Weight at my heaviest: 200 lbs
Current weight: 168 lbs
Weight loss this week: 4 lbs
Goal weight: 140 lbs

Unfortunately, as with my other exercise routines, I got out of the habit of doing it and am back to square one

So this week I started taking classes again. My gym offers floor pilates classes and I was able to start with the beginners class earlier this week. I had forgotten just how difficult pilates is when you first start. I was sweating after a couple of minutes! I admit I was quite sore the day after but was feeling up to my second class this morning. I’m loving it again!

If you can’t get to a class, you can do pilates at your home. This video shows some basic pilates moves to get you started.

The main reason for my exceptional weight loss is the colon cleanse detox diet I’m currently on. I started it to give myself a bit of a boost to my weight loss efforts and it certainly worked. I only went to the gym 3 times this week, which is much less than I had planned, so I need to improve on that.

The goal for next week is to eat a little more and exercise a little more. I’ll keep taking the acai berry and colon cleanse tablets for now but I haven’t started taking the resveratrol yet, I’ll wait till I finish my detox before I take that.

Weight at my heaviest: 200 lbs
Current weight: 172 lbs
Weight loss this week: 8 lbs
Goal weight: 140 lbs

I’ve been having a huge fruit salad for breakfast, salad and fish for lunch, vegetables and some other protein (chicken, eggs, lean lamb) for dinner, and drinking lots of green tea. I’m eating quite large servings because I want to make sure I’m getting enough calories per day.

As this was a last minute decision, I grabbed a colon cleanser from my local health food shop. It’s working fine but it was really expensive. I wish I’d ordered one of the free trials available online then it would only have cost me a few dollars in shipping. I guess I was too impatient to wait a couple of days for delivery

Colon Cleanse Detox

As for the results, it’s going really well. Today is day 5 of my colon cleanse detox and I’ve already lost over 6 pounds and I’m feeling noticeably lighter and more energetic.

I’m going to continue with it for another week or so but am going to increase my food intake as I know it’s not healthy to lose so much weight so quickly.

I do have some photos taken when I was at my heaviest (200 lbs) but I’m way too embarrassed to post them here. I’ve taken some photos at my current weight (180 lbs) and will consider posting them when I reach my goal weight (140 lbs) but not before then.

Sorry but I just can’t bring myself to do it!

I’m using Calorie King to record how many calories I consume and use everyday. I think it’s a great resource and well worth signing up for if you need help and motivation to lose weight. It’s free to join (if you’re in Australia like me, otherwise there is a small fee per month) so go check it out!

Weight at my heaviest: 200 lbs
Current weight: 180 lbs
Goal weight: 140 lbs

My exercise program consisted of 60-90 minute cardio sessions (usually on the step machine or ‘the wave’ machine) followed by 20-30 minutes of weights or classes such as abs, stretching, or pilates. It was a lot of exercise but I really enjoyed doing it. Even though sometimes it was a struggle to get to the gym, I always felt better after my workout.

Unfortunately I had a leg injury and wasn’t able to workout for about 6 weeks. That really got me out of my routine and so for the last few months I’ve only been going to the gym once or twice per week – no where near enough. I’ve lost a lot of my fitness and have a gained around 5 pounds so I know it’s time to get back to work!

Tomorrow (Monday the 13th April) that’s all going to change. I’m going to start a new program as suggested by a friend of mine who is a personal trainer. The plan is:

• 20-30 minutes in the sauna
• 45-60 minutes jogging on the treadmill
• 6 times per week

He assures me that I can lose 20 pounds by doing this and he even showed me some before and after photos of his clients who lost a lot of weight on this program.

He claims going in the sauna before your workout gets your metabolism going and then you burn more when you start working out. I don’t know if there’s any science behind it but I’m going to try it and see for myself.

I will also lift light weights a couple of times a week and do some stretching or pilates classes when I have time.

I want to lose 20 pounds before summer and this is how I plan to do it.

So what I’m going to do is:

• reduce my intake of sugar
• reduce my portion sizes
• take the best diet supplement I can find

These small changes should be enough to see results (along with my exercise program) and it’s realistic enough to be able to stick to in the long term.

Regarding the diet supplements:

I was taking acai berry last year when I managed to lose 20 pounds. I don’t believe I would have lost the weight if I had only taken acai berry and not changed my diet and exercise program too. However, I really do believe they are worth taking as they helped to keep things moving along (if you know what I mean ) and reduced my stomach bloating. My stomach was noticeably flatter when I took the tablets so I’ll definitely start taking them again.

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