Joyce Vedral - 2000 Motivational Series

Welcome to MSN Live! Tonight DietRiot.com and MSN Live are proud to present our second "Spring Into Fitness" chat with fitness expert, Joyce Vedral.

Hi everybody!

If you're keeping up on your New Year's resolution to lose the extra weight and get fit strong and healthy, congratulations! If not, you're about to get a jolt of motivation with Fitness Expert, Joyce Vedral.

Do it with me with my video. I have a video men can do, called "Bottoms Up, Upper and Middle Body Workout." I'll make you laugh and before you know it, it's over!

How many videos do you have, Joyce?

I have four videos now, four different sets.

Bailey says: Is it possible to spot reduce?

Terry says: Joyce, I have 40 pounds to lose (have lost 20 already). I have the food part down, but I can't motivate myself to exercise. Any advice?

passionfruit says: What do you think of energy/protein bars?

I don't like to waste my calories on that kind of thing. Food is the most important. Eating a balanced diet, then your body will not drive you to overeat. You cannot fool Mother Nature. If you eat 65-75% carbs and the rest between fat and protein with fruits, veggies, dairy (unless lactose intolerant), grains, you won't be hungry. I'm not 100% against them, but I don't prefer them. Better to have a nice can of tunafish or some nice lean beef.

oceanview says: I just found out I am pregnant and due in August. What exercises should or can I do to maintain my weight and muscle mass?

Very good question. You must not do any new exercises, unless you doctor recommends them. But, most doctors will allow you to continue to do any workout you are used to doing, and as you go along will tell you what to stop doing. So, eat what your doctor recommends and WALK. Walking at a natural pace is allowed by almost all doctors, unless you have a special condition. So, read and plan for when you have your baby, exercise and training magazines so that you're psyched about getting back into shape after the baby arrives. My daughter, Martha, who gained 55 pounds and had a c-section, was back into shape in twenty weeks.

oceanview says: Can I still do ab work? I have great abs now. I am so afraid of stretch marks and loose abs.

Again, you'll have to ask your doctor. That's so important. Show your workout to your doctor and ask him/her what you can do.

Wishing says: Is exercising the total body 3 days a week with BU okay? With my work and school schedule and 3 kids this is the only thing that works?

Yes, you can do that, or you can opt for my newer "Definition Workout," especially designed to do the whole body in one day, and then take the next day off.

bacos says: What is your opinion of high protein versus high carb diets?

High protein diets are against nature and will thin your bones. You will lose a lot of weight in the first few weeks, mainly water weight, since it's the carbs that hold the natural healthy water in your body. Sooner or later you'll go off it and probably gain 10 pounds in the first 10 days, with an almost controllable urge to gorge yourself on unhealthy carbs. You cannot fool Mother Nature. Look at the FDA Food Pyramid. That's a balanced diet, if you figure on less than 15-25 grams of fat per day (minimum-maximum).

Well, ask the general community of medical doctors and they'll say the high protein diet is bad for your health. If you're happy on it, continue. Then email me in a year and tell me. I just know from experience.

Dave is fine. That's my bulldog. He looks like a sausage. He has no shape, no waistline, but Dave can carry a 10-pound dumbbell across the floor in his mouth. J He weighs 69 pounds and has weighed the same for the last 7 years. You can see him on my website, also, on the Biography page.

mariaF says: Have you always been fit?

NO! I gained 10 pounds every year after I married. I was 30 pounds heavier than I am now, and being short, I really looked fat. I finally learned that champion body builders had the secret. I modified them for "normal" people and created workouts that I eventually had to share with everybody.

Again, that's against nature and will cause a binge reaction. Because the body needs solid foods. More than just one solid meal a day, like some of these plans allow. Even if you have tremendous discipline, after a month or two your mind will rebel and you'll eat everything in sight. Remember Oprah Winfrey who wheeled the wagon of fat across the stage when she was on the liquid diet, and then put it back on. She found that she had to change to a balanced eating plan to lose it and keep it off.

This is an extreme measure. I would not do it. You can lose 100 pounds in about 1-1/2 years without any kind of extreme measure. I'm sure it took you more than 1-1/2 years to become 100 pounds overweight. Eat a balanced diet, I have a book you can get from the library "Eat to Trim." It’s very balanced.

I don't take any supplements because I like to rely on foods. I'm not against them, but I think they could throw your body off since they would make your body think you have all the right vitamins and minerals. I think if you eat balanced, you shouldn't need many supplements. As you can tell, I love to eat and I want to make sure I eat food! J

jaime says: Do you ever binge?

Ah, I do. Very rarely now. I do, but not to the extent that I did before I got myself into this shape. I call bingeing now when I feel uncomfortable, like on Thanksgiving when I eat a second plate of food even when I don't need it or buy a large box of Cheez-Its, and say I'll have a small portion every day and eat a half a box that night. That's the extent of my bingeing at this point in my life. My body is angry at me when I do it, since it’s so used to eating healthy.

perfect_girl says: I eat no fat at all. Is this ok?

grammamary says: How do I protect myself against bone loss?

Work out with weights. I am 56 years old, and my bone density is more than double for women my age. I have stronger bones than the average woman in her 20s, and that is when the bone peaks. You can do my "Bone Building Body Shaping" workout or my "Bottoms Up" videos. In 9 months, your bone density will increase on any major bone density test. By the way, I just changed my photos on my website-- those were taken 3 weeks ago. I wanted to show everybody how I look at 56-1/2, and they are not touched up. But you can't see my bones. Just my body. J

hellokitty says: Do I do more reps with lower weight or less reps with more weight?

I want to add, a side effect of working out and getting strong bones is the beautiful shapely muscle you'll get. As you work with weights, muscles are built and as the blood flows through the muscle, it flows through the bones, and electrical charges are created that make the bones more dense. I'm simplifying this, but you can read the first chapter of Bone Building workout at my website. Click on the "Build Bone" button.

It's a science, and that's why I put it in books. Do your first set with 12 reps at lightest weight. Second at 10 reps with middle weight. Third at 8 reps at heaviest weight. This is called the Pyramid System and has been found to be the most efficient way to build muscle, get definition and get the most out of your workout. As you get stronger, increase your weights.

mint_Julip says: Do you ever do appearances?

Yes, I do lectures all over the country. I just did one in Albuquerque, and in NY with the Learning Annex I have one in April. I'll be back on "The Jenny Jones Show" toward the end of April.

yes, you can. You put a muscle under the skin and it smoothes out the area that looks like cellulite. Cellulite is bunched up fat and only shows through thin skin. Genetically, if you have thin skin it shows more. But as you follow a low fat eating plan and put a muscle under the skin, the cellulite will go. This is a fact. Many women email me that they have no cellulite or just a small dimple left after doing this. Start doing any one of my workouts. Email me, and we'll rejoice together when we see the cellulite go! J

babymine says: Do the cellulite creams work?

NO. They just take out some water from the skin and temporarily give the appearance that it's less. Stop using the creams and you're back to square one.

froufrou says: What do you think of the cellulite vacuum thing or the cellulite massages?

They say it's better to do aerobics first if you have the time. I say, if it's one or the other, do your weight-training first, since that's the most important. It reshapes your body and increases your metabolism. Aerobics does the heart. If you have to sacrifice one for the other, do your weight training. Get it in.

The bathing suit is only for the lower body. The stomach, hips, back thigh and front thigh... the Circle of Fat, I call it. It's a giant set workout where you do an exercise for one of three body parts before you take a rest. You do butt, then hip-butt, then stomach, then thigh, then rest. You keep going around the Circle of Fat. It's completely different than the "Fat-Burning Workout."

People like to switch and do bathing suit one day and fat-burning the next and so on. There are many ways to work them in together.

Where do you live? It's so easy to get inexpensive dumbbells. You can get them for 50 cents a pound-- call information or look in the yellow pages under exercise equipment and call around for the metal ones. Two, three, and five-pound dumbbells are a good starting weight.

Amy Parker says: it appears that you have lost some additional body fat in the thigh, hip, and buttock area how did you work it down?

I did the bathing suit workout with the definition workout while I was viciously practicing for my videos. J Yes, even I noticed it! You must be looking at my new website pictures.

Work out with weights using the Pyramid System and keep raising your weights as you get stronger. Your first set is 12 with the lightest, next is 10 with middle weight, last is 6 to 8 reps with your heaviest weight. Keep raising your weights as you get stronger-- don't hold yourself back-- that's the key.

Nadia says: What is the easy solution to burn calories?

Let me see. I alternate. I will do "Bottoms Up" for a few weeks, then switch to "Definition," then "Fat-burning." Now my plan is to do one a week and then start all over again. If you do the same workout forever, you begin to hate your life. So it's good to switch around and surprise your body and your mind.

When you have a body that you are not ashamed of, you feel more sexual. Therefore, working out and getting your body into shape, so if and when the day comes when you're seen in the nude you no longer have the urge to turn out the lights. You know your sex life will get better. J

donutbreath says: I travel a lot. What are good choices for airplane food and what exercises do you recommend for me while traveling?

I take my travel weights, which fill up with 3 pounds of water each, and do the same workout I've been doing at home when I'm away. For example, when I went to do my Definition and Bathing Suit videos, I had my travel weights with me and did the same workout in my hotel room. Just do the same workout and flex harder to make up for the lighter weights. Always order the special meal on the airplane if you can-- Low Calorie or Low Fat.