Hey all, new here

[thedarkshade]

Hey all, lookin' to lose some weight before the summer really ramps up. I've been doing cardio for the past three weeks on a bike (20 minute sessions on the inside bike with increasing/decreasing resistance) or when it's nice outside, I take a bike out around the hilly neighborhood until my legs feel like jelly, or 20 or so minutes, whichever comes first.

I'm down 10 lbs. as of today (if counting from 3 weeks ago)

My daily routine goes as follows, normally:

Mon-Fri
6:30am - Wake up, prep self and head to work
8:00am - Make it to work, have a bowl of oatmeal and a 20oz coffee (with fat-free cream and about 4 pkts of sugar) for some early morning energy, a Centrum and a 1200mg Fish oil cap
Noon - Eat something small and carbless, such as leftover steak from the night before or a bunless hamburger with a smattering of ketchup/mustard, 1200mg fish oil cap
~ 2:30pm - have a granola bar or similar fiber bar to stave off hunger until I get off work
4:30 - Head home
~ 5:20pm - Undress, settle in for the night
~6-7:00pm - Have a sensible dinner, normally plenty of protein and a vegetable or two. Drink is usually unsweetened black tea or water, with a 1200mg fish oil cap

Three of the five weekdays I do the 20 minute bike cardio, and take two scoops of whey protein with 20oz of 2%-1% milk and hit the shower

I have no disposable income to spend on a gym membership, and I have no real 'weights' to lift. I've been told P90x is the way to go, but I was looking for some more ideas besides just my cardio. I put my stats up in my profile if that helps.

Thanks!

[thedarkshade]

I guess it would help to tell my goals

180lbs., 32 inch waist, looking for some chest, arm and ab definition

[Automagic]

Hey all, lookin' to lose some weight before the summer really ramps up. I've been doing cardio for the past three weeks on a bike (20 minute sessions on the inside bike with increasing/decreasing resistance) or when it's nice outside, I take a bike out around the hilly neighborhood until my legs feel like jelly, or 20 or so minutes, whichever comes first.

I'm down 10 lbs. as of today (if counting from 3 weeks ago)

My daily routine goes as follows, normally:

Mon-Fri
6:30am - Wake up, prep self and head to work
8:00am - Make it to work, have a bowl of oatmeal and a 20oz coffee (with fat-free cream and about 4 pkts of sugar) for some early morning energy
Noon - Eat something small and carbless, such as leftover steak from the night before or a bunless hamburger with a smattering of ketchup/mustard
~ 2:30pm - have a granola bar or similar fiber bar to stave off hunger until I get off work
4:30 - Head home
~ 5:20pm - Undress, settle in for the night
~6-7:00pm - Have a sensible dinner, normally plenty of protein and a vegetable or two. Drink is usually unsweetened black tea or water

Three of the five weekdays I do the 20 minute bike cardio, and take two scoops of whey protein with 20oz of 2% milk and hit the shower

I have no disposable income to spend on a gym membership, and I have no real 'weights' to lift. I've been told P90x is the way to go, but I was looking for some more ideas besides just my cardio. I put my stats up in my profile if that helps.

Thanks!

Welcome to the forums. As for your diet, id kick the sugar out of the coffee. With no gym or weights, stick to body weight exercises and cardio. Pushups, pullups, crunches...etc...

[thedarkshade]

Thanks for the info. I figured I'd also ask if these figures are feasible and if I should review them as goals

Weight loss: 209lbs. May 22nd, 180lbs. July 31st
Fat % loss: 25.7% May 22nd, ~15% July 31st
Waist size: 36in. May 22nd, 32in. July 31st

[ispankmidgets]

Thanks for the info. I figured I'd also ask if these figures are feasible and if I should review them as goals

Weight loss: 209lbs. May 22nd, 180lbs. July 31st
Fat % loss: 25.7% May 22nd, ~15% July 31st
Waist size: 36in. May 22nd, 32in. July 31st

That's probably too fast to be honest. I would shoot for no higher than 2 lbs per week.

As for diet, check out this thread: http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=121703981
And this one: http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=133634471

Read, read, read.

Also, lifting weights is a must. Body weight exercises are fine for a while, but if you really want to transform your body then you must lift weights. If you only do cardio then you will look exactly the same, except smaller (basically skinny fat). I do not recommend P90X personally. Do Starting Strength by Mark Rippetoe instead.

[thedarkshade]

Thanks for the info. I'm going to lose weight regardless of how much it is per week, I'm done looking like I have a beer gut. I'll bench my car if I have to, I will get results.

[dukend]

Thanks for the info. I'm going to lose weight regardless of how much it is per week, I'm done looking like I have a beer gut. I'll bench my car if I have to, I will get results.

Nice attitude.

Head to the nutrition sub forum and watch the video at this thread:

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=134797481


follow it to the T.

[thedarkshade]

I checked out the video and started an account on FitDay.com, here's some ideas based on some reading and nutrition guides:

Breakfast:
2 packets of instant oatmeal
20 oz. coffee with low-fat creamer and 1-2 pkts of sugar (can't do it without some sugar, far too bitter)
1 banana

Lunch:
2 cans of tuna mixed with light mayo on 4 slices of whole grain bread (most of protein and carb intake for entire day)
1 hard boiled egg

In-between snacking:
3 oz. of chicken salad with wheat crackers (good amount of fat intake from chicken and more carbs from crackers)

Workout after work:
20oz of 1% milk with 1.5-2 scoops of whey protein

Dinner:
Varies, usually something high in protein (steak, chicken, burger) and a vegetable.

No food after 9-10pm

Drink coffee (breakfast), water or unsweetened black tea all day

Total macros:
Fat: 57g (23%)
Carb: 260g (46%)
Protein: 170g (31%)


Do I need to add/subtract/adjust some things? This is sitting on my ass for 9-10 hours a day at my job/in the car, then doing either cardio or self-weight workout for an hour after I get home

[Joe HadEID]

Did you calculate your macros or did you just put some food together and that total came up? I would drop the carbs a bit.

[Electricheadd]

I checked out the video and started an account on FitDay.com, here's some ideas based on some reading and nutrition guides:

Breakfast:
2 packets of instant oatmeal
20 oz. coffee with low-fat creamer and 1-2 pkts of sugar (can't do it without some sugar, far too bitter)
1 banana

Lunch:
2 cans of tuna mixed with light mayo on 4 slices of whole grain bread (most of protein and carb intake for entire day)
1 hard boiled egg

In-between snacking:
3 oz. of chicken salad with wheat crackers (good amount of fat intake from chicken and more carbs from crackers)

Workout after work:
20oz of 1% milk with 1.5-2 scoops of whey protein

Dinner:
Varies, usually something high in protein (steak, chicken, burger) and a vegetable.

No food after 9-10pm

Drink coffee (breakfast), water or unsweetened black tea all day

Total macros:
Fat: 57g (23%)
Carb: 260g (46%)
Protein: 170g (31%)


Do I need to add/subtract/adjust some things? This is sitting on my ass for 9-10 hours a day at my job/in the car, then doing either cardio or self-weight workout for an hour after I get home

57 *9 = 513
260 * 4 = 1040
170 * 4 = 680
2233 calories total

This sounds like a good starting point calorie wise, but you are short on your fat requirement. .4g of fat/lb of body weight I would drop some carbs and increase fat.

[thedarkshade]

Might just load up more chicken salad on fewer crackers

This is stuff I can readily/easily buy and palatable to me, for five days a week. Weekends tend to be lighter on the exercise (I work out Monday/Wednesday/Friday) and do weekend activities/stuff to displace the rest days (wash the car, take a walk/ride around the reservoir, etc) and light on the diet, then back to the grind on Monday

Started a bit of P90x workouts yesterday, I first did some cardio around the neighborhood on the bike (too nice outside to be inside, I can count how many times I've seen the sun in the past 2 months on one hand) and started on some Ab Ripper. Tore my ass up and there's muscles that are sore that I didn't know existed. Felt like a million bucks after the shower.

[thedarkshade]

Just want to verify about clean eating -- if I drop one tuna sandwich and replace it with a chicken salad sandwich (relish + light mayo + chunked chicken breast) will add more fat, keep some of the lost protein from the -1 tuna sandwich, is this diet sustainable? I assume as I lose weight that the LBM will increase slightly (as long as I am not losing muscle while losing fat) and caloric intake will also need to decrease as I lose the weight. From what I understand .8-1g of protein per lean muscle, 2-2.5g carb and .3g of fat per pound of full weight is what I should be aiming for to cut?

The Total Metabolism Forecaster spreadsheet I downloaded seems really finicky and won't accept certain values in some cells while miscalculating others (if I put the date far enough ahead it says I'll have to weigh 71lbs. to meet my body fat % goal? wtf. I'm at ~25% now and I'm aiming for mid-low teens