"Saturday Slim-Down": 3 Viewers Trying It

(CBS)  Three viewers with one goal combine to make up a new Early Show series, "Saturday Slim-Down."

They all hope to shed excess pounds by Labor Day, and accepted our challenge of letting us show them the way - and putting it on national TV as we do!

Day One saw AOL diet and fitness expert Liz Neporent explaining which workouts are best, and why - and pointing to inexpensive equipment for them, to boot!

The volunteers:

Karla, 38, of Brooklyn, N.Y. She lost 190 pounds after a gastric bypass operation a year ago. She bike-rides 12 miles, three times a week, but still can't shed the last 30 pounds she wants to. Her starting weight: 201.

Deirdre, 41, of Rye, N.Y. She went back to school and put on the "freshman 15" at 41! She's always been thin and can't figure out how to shed those 15 pounds before her wedding anniversary in September. Her starting weight: 118.

Taia, 27, of Manhattan. She's getting married in May and wants to lose 20 pounds and go down two dress sizes. Her starting weight: 196.8.

The workouts:

We've all heard it a million times: You can't lose weight properly without exercise.

But you have to know which routines are the wisest.

You want to start slowly. Do ten minutes per day; you don't want to do a full hour if you haven't worked out in a while. Gradually increase to 10-15 minutes per workout.

Do cardio three times a week and weights twice a week.

Try to work out every day, but no fewer than three times a week of cardio will get results, and no fewer than two days a week with weights.

A big secret is to do One Day of High Intensity: You get what we call the after-burn and continue to lose weight. Don't stick with long, slow distance: Do higher-intensity - it helps maintain metabolism, and gives temporary boosts in metabolism.

Aim to burn 300 calories from working out and cut 300 calories out of your diet each day - that would get you to lose about one-to-two pounds per week of fat weight. You want to loose fat, not water or muscle.

The big secret is, you won't lose unless you use weights. It's a well-kept secret formula: Work out with weights; it helps you lose weight and helps your metabolism, and helps eliminate the "yo-yo" effect and maintain wait loss.

Diet and Exercise go hand-in-hand; one doesn't work without the other.

Women:

Jump rope uses 10-15 calories a minute.

Running on a treadmill uses 8-11 calories a minute

Walking on treadmill, 5-8 calories a minute

Treadmill with incline burns more calories, and helps your butt and thighs.

Bike burns 4-7 calories a minute. Park it in front of a TV and just go! It's non-weight-bearing, and easier on your joints.

Once a week, do a fast/slow.

GO TO PAGE 2 FOR DETAILS ON THE EQUIPMENT SHOWN ON THE PLAZA

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[hpfeil]

Bowflex Dumbbells $149 - $699 ??

A couple of empty one-gallon orange juice jugs cleaned and filled with water provides the same exercise a lot cheaper. If 8 lbs isn''t enough, fill up two more and hold two in each hand for 16 lb lifts. I''ll gladly manufacture a set for less than $100 each.