Is 20 minutes a day enough to lose weight ?

[Anonymous]

I started yesterday to run circa 20-25 minutes a day .. and my diet would include fruits , veggies , one time a day carbs and max 150 gms protein .. do you think this is all right to lose weight in the upcoming month ?

I tried running more than 20 minutes but I would literally die .. and I just feel that my legs melt and I can't do it right. . I will increase in time anyway .. but is this a good diet to follow ?

thanks

[rachiee]

How much are you looking to loose? Also, how many calories a day do you consume? Its not a bad start. Try to work up your endurance to last longer. Also, you don't have to run/workout all at the same time. You can run for an amount of time (I'd say 15 mins, maybe 10 to start out), rest for a few minutes and do other exercises (core workouts, arm workouts, etc), then run again. This can help you get a pretty extensive workout routine in. Also make sure you stretch good before and after!

[Asker]

I am looking to lose around 10-15 kgs .. and well calorie daily intake is pretty low .. around 1000. I will try to segment the whole thing since 20 minutes is pretty boring :D , thanks

[rachiee]

Eat more! Even if you just eat 5, healthy, small meals a day and get enough calories that's better for you. Try to aim for 1200 calories. And no problem, good luck!

[martyfellow]

Tha'ts fine for a start. As you get adjusted to running you'll find you can easily step it up in terms of time and distance. For now, try mixing in a little jump rope or pull ups with the running

You've gone over the first hurdle, and that's always themost difficult one. You are on your way!

[TurbulentDan12]

You don't need to do it all at once. It would be good to get more cardio daily and if 20+ minutes straight is not possible, splitting up the run into sets of 15 minutes or something would be better. I think you should aim for 30-45 minutes a day

[Asker]

so it's better to do 15 minutes twice a day than 30 a time ? .. I tried doing some toning , but I could only do one set of crunches and pretty much one set of each one , and I feel bad :D , I wanna lose some weight with jogging first and then I ll concentrate more on the toning .

[TurbulentDan12]

I actually don't know that. But I think it's better to do 15 minutes twice over 20 minutes at once. Just remember you can't "target" areas of your body for weight loss. Crunches will strengthen your abdominal muscles but the only way to lose fat in that area it to lose it overall. Your body will use up fat pretty much uniformly

[WeaponZero]

sounds good. we need to know your caloric intake though. but if you want to keep your workouts down to as little as 20-30 minutes a day then there are much better choices than running

[Asker]

Like what ? My calorie intake is not very high .. today for example I just ate one baladi bread, sardines and salad of half tomato , 2 cucumbers and celery (no oil , just vinegar ) and I drink green tea like there is no tomorrow! .. I'm in physical pain while doing it , but I heard it really helpful :)

[WeaponZero]

thats not nearly enough food for a day.

you should do something like circuit training.

[Asker]

I know .. I can't afford too much food , I ll eat some oranges or something .. thanks !

[WeaponZero]

if food budget is tight contact me. I can give you plenty of recipe ideas and meal ideas that are good on a budget.

[Anonymous]

Of course it is if you also have a good diet. Look into sprinting and interval training. Running isn't so great unless it's high intensity for short periods. So it's actually counter intuitive that long hours of cardio helps wait loss.

DONT increase the time, increase the intensity! Speed, and/or hills.