# Exercise: Please help me work out what's best
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exercise-please-help-me-work-out-whats-best/122604
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [August 6, 2002, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exercise-please-help-me-work-out-whats-best/122604 "2002-08-06T14:04:53Z")
**Posts on this page:** 8
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Kendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kendo)
#### Post date: [August 6, 2002, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exercise-please-help-me-work-out-whats-best/122604/1 "2002-08-06T14:04:53Z")
Hope y’all can help me out with this one…
I’ve developed what can only be described as a beer-belly, and I’m starting to develop small (but so far inoffensive) man-breasts.
To be honest, I’ve no idea how much I weigh, but that’s not important for my question…which is:
Which first: 1/ lose the weight or
2/ get the muscle
Apart from the belly flab I’m a fairly well proportioned male and I’m not afraid of putting the work in, both diet-wise and work-wise.
So, do I concentrate on good diet and more cardio-vascular kinds of exercise to begin with and then follow that up (once I’ve lost some of the weight) with stomach hardening exercies? Or am I okay to do all of it at once? I guess my fear is that if I try to tone up too early then it just won’t work.
Oh yeah, and if anyone can give me a clue as to how long they reckon it takes to shed fat from these particular areas, that’d be great to know, too.
Thanks!
---
### Author:  [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)
#### Post date: [August 6, 2002, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exercise-please-help-me-work-out-whats-best/122604/2 "2002-08-06T14:19:59Z")
Please read this post and search these boards because all were covered extensively. (eat right, do resistance training and aerobics)
If you do NOTHING, read this link.
> **[How Dieting Works](https://health.howstuffworks.com/wellness/diet-fitness/weight-loss/diet.htm)**
>
> Dieting is a multibillion dollar industry in the United States, but it doesn't work for most people. The story tends to stay the same -- lose 20 pounds, gain back 30. But there are healthy, effective ways to lose weight. Find out why most diets fail...
---
### Author:  [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)
#### Post date: [August 6, 2002, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exercise-please-help-me-work-out-whats-best/122604/3 "2002-08-06T14:25:45Z")
Check out [http://www.exrx.net/](http://www.exrx.net/)
---
### Author:  [@Kendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kendo)
#### Post date: [August 6, 2002, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exercise-please-help-me-work-out-whats-best/122604/4 "2002-08-06T14:32:39Z")
Thanks so far…
Yes, I did read the howstuffworks articles on diet and fat…but they didn’t answer my questions.
I have also already tried using the search facility on this site, but we all know how tempramental it can be and I was unable to find anything that would help me.
I don’t want to sound overly defensive in response to **Philster’s** comments, but I think it was a touch uncalled for. I’m asking the question because I don’t know the answer…not because I’m too lazy to go and look for it. I’ve always thought of this as a very friendly place, so why make me feel like a lazy buffoon?
It’s a specific question: I have body fat, in particular around the stomach that I want to shed…ought I go about losing the weight first, or trying to exercise it away with specific stomach toning exercises?
If anyone has any success in using the ‘search’ facility, then I’d be more than glad to check out other threads.
---
### Author:  [@photopat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/photopat)
#### Post date: [August 6, 2002, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exercise-please-help-me-work-out-whats-best/122604/5 "2002-08-06T14:50:53Z")
Exercise, help “work out” - good one.
---
### Author:  [@breaknrun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/breaknrun)
#### Post date: [August 6, 2002, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exercise-please-help-me-work-out-whats-best/122604/6 "2002-08-06T15:07:31Z")
This is the kind of personal decision that you can only make for yourself. It really won’t matter in the end, which way you go about achieving your goals. You already know what needs to be done. Just do it and don’t worry about how long it takes. Exercise is a lifelong practice anyway.
If your biggest concern is your beer belly, then concentrate on losing that first. That should raise your self esteem the quickest and then you will be more motivated to take on other goals.
Btw, if you practice Kendo, and you still have a beer belly, you need to practice harder. 😃 Quit that wussy dancing about and strike like you mean it. 🙂 As for how long it will take, that kind of thing varies greatly between individuals but I think the generally safe recommendation is that you not try to lose more than 1 lb/week? I’m going from memory here so I could be off a little bit.
---
### Author:  [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)
#### Post date: [August 6, 2002, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exercise-please-help-me-work-out-whats-best/122604/7 "2002-08-06T15:09:27Z")
You are defensive.
Diet and exercise have been covered here. Also, search [www.google.com](http://www.google.com) for ‘diet myths’.
1. get body fat analysis and weight checked
2. read up on dieting (weight watchers is a good start…and all the info is on the web, so you can skip paying)
3. lossing 1-1.5 pounds per week is typical
4. When your body fat is 15% or less, you can think about having a hard stomache
5. 80% is diet, 20% is exercise
6. weight train and do aerobics from the start, working at a pace agreed upon with your physician
resistance training, diet and aerobics - the three big tickets to succes from the jump.
and be willing to do research weekly to get through various barriers…learn to get involved in the research now.
---
### Author:  [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)
#### Post date: [August 6, 2002, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exercise-please-help-me-work-out-whats-best/122604/8 "2002-08-06T15:12:20Z")
Also, you cannot spot reduce an area. Fat loss happens over the body as calorie intake is less than calories used…and ab exercises will not directly reduce a fat gut.
Search on google like I said because you are going to need to find out about myths because they usually help defeat the well- intentioned person. Myth = no results = giving up.