Quote:
you all have it wrong. what ya gotta do is get an ab belt and anything chuck noris endorses. that is the only sure fire way to become a lean, mean, cardio machine!
in all seriousness:
the easiest way to loose fat is your diet. plain and simple. you can run miles a day but if you dont eat right, you arent going to loose anything significant; long term speaking.
tips so you dont have to work as hard. remember what your mother told you? work smarter, not harder. i realize the title is 'the single best exercise method to lose weight', but how about the top 8 best methods in general to loose body fat?
1. water, water, water. not only does water fill your belly up, but it is vital to you and is the only substance on earth that contains a true 0 calories. drink plenty of water, and as few other drinks as you can. no redbull, coffee, gatoraid, 'smart water', and if you cant do anything else, stay away from the devil in a bottle: soda.
2. eat more frequent, smaller meals. 5-6 small meals a day, specially if they have been preplanned will keep your metabolism going all throughout the day. your metabolism is the single biggest calorie burner in your body, by a long shot. running at max speed will put a dent in the calorie consumption that a highly active metabolism can.
3. do not eat late. stop eating 5 hours before bed. most experts recommend no food past 5:30 (or 6 if you go to bed later) for the average american.
4. eat a healthy big breakfast. this does not include a egg mcmuffin with cheese from mcdonalds, or 3 doughnuts from the gas station. your body only requires so many calories per day (it varies from person to person. for many it is right around 2,000) and every calorie over that you exceed will put excess body fat onto your frame
5. know what you are eating. read labels, keep a general number of how many calories youve taken in that day in your head. always guess high if you dont know the exact amount. try not to go over 2000.
6. fiber! is a gift that is rarely taken advantage of. fiber will help expel excess stored junk from your digestive tract. this will also help you digest food more efficiently because there is no backups. if a snow covered road is your current digestive tract, and food youve eaten is driving a 4wd truck, fiber is the snowplow that pushes all the snow out of the way and lets the truck drive freely and more efficiently.
7. stress kills. stress causes hunger. food is a way to satisfy your body, which is what it wants when under stress. eliminate all possible causes of stress, such as taking the city streets to and from work if the freeway is commonly jammed up. it may take a little longer, but your body will love you for cutting down that stress.
8. when your full... STOP eating. -self explanatory.
thats tyler the huckers 8 easiest steps to keep the fat at bay.
The whole 5 hours before bed is one of the largest fairy tales of nutrition. If you have not met your caloric intake for the day then you can eat. Just because it is late does not mean it will be stored as fat. As for the 2000 calories, I would not recommend that because some people need 2600, hell I need 3400 just to maintain my weight. 2000 for an active male is very low.
Regarding b-moc's original post, I cannot say I agree entirely. It does not depend on whether you are alternating, it simply depends on your intensity. High intensity exercise uses carbohydrates, while lower intensity uses fat. Alternating the load would actually use more carbohydrates because every time you begin to run from a walking or standing state your body first goes into an oxygen debt, and whenever there is no oxygen available it is an anaerobic state. You cannot burn fat in an anaerobic state. Once there is a steady-state in movement then fat could be the primary source (if the intensity is low), but if it is high it will continue to use the carbohydrates. Don't get me wrong, people would burn a higher percentage of calories in this form (and thus lose more fat due to a caloric deficit), but not necessarily fat itself.