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What are some good exercise programs to lose as much body fat possible in a short period of time, but still keeping it healthy. A treadmill and elliptical is available to me 24/7. I am 5'11" and weight 185lbs, and I have lots of body fat.

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I believe you should try rewriting the title of your question, to reflect your question better. After I saw the title on the front page, I thought "this should probably be closed", but the question clarifies it. – Janis Peisenieks Mar 14 '11 at 23:11
@Kerx, I found some of the answers here incredibly useful. fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/2044/… Don't forget it's mainly about simply smashing our caloric intake. And for exercise, you must find your "70%" heartrate level. Enjoy! – Joe Blow Jul 18 '11 at 7:45

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You need to do enough exercise to burn more calories than you consume in a day. For every 3500 calorie deficit, you'll lose approximately a pound. The more strenuous your exercise is, the more calories you'll burn and the longer your excess post oxygen consumption phase will last. Anywhere from 30 minutes to about an hour and a half is considered healthy, as long as you aren't overworking yourself by doing this routine more than every other day.

Just remember, fat loss has very little to do with exercise, it's simple mathematics of calories in/calories out. If you eat more calories than you burn, they get stored as fat for later. If you consume 5000 calories a day and burn 3000 with lots of exercise, you'll still put on a 2 pounds every 3.5 days.

If you are eating a proper healthy diet, you should be able to healthily lose 2-4 pounds each week. Considering that with exercise, one will doubtfully burn more than 3000 calories in a day, so on a 2000 calorie diet, burning 3000 calories, you'll lose 2 pounds a week.

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Check out this video from the "Fat Head" documentary site. It discusses caloric intake versus calories burned, and the misconception about just how "simple" the math is. – JYelton Mar 16 '11 at 17:54
@JYelton - The math is just that simple still: calories in > calories out = fat stored. The reason why you're hungry may be more complex, and the reason why your body decides not to burn it's own fat may be more complex, but the simple mathematical formula is still precisely correct. Insulin resistance can often be corrected over time with proper diet (as in drop off some of those carbs). – Nathan Wheeler♦ Mar 16 '11 at 18:17
Keep in mind the cardio you want is aerobic exercise. Anaerobic exercise burns more carbs and less fat. If you are trying to burn fat, keep your heart rate low. – Berin Loritsch May 23 '11 at 14:19
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Nathan it is more complicated. One such example is the body adjusting it's metabolism to 'hold on' to fat whilst being forced into a catabolic state. The metabolism of the 3 different food groups is also very different. You also have brought into consideration the alternative energy source the body can use for energy - ketones. When switching from a glucose based energy system to a ketone based energy system you can typically consume excess calories which merely get secreted in the urine. – Mike S Mar 2 '12 at 6:46

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