Leaning Out

[asiajademarie]

I'm 26 years old, 5'4", fluctuating around 170 lbs, and 42.9% body fat (according to the cheap little body fat analyzer I bought off of Amazon). I've recently returned to CrossFitting after an approximate 2 month hiatus, and I'm trying to lean out a little more so I have a solid base to start building on. I am pretty good with my nutrition, but I am horrible when it comes to supplements. I don't even do the bare minimum of drinking protein shakes. But I'm determined to start doing things right by supporting my body to build itself back up after I break it down. I've been taking Zantrex-3 High Energy fat burners (the red bottle) and African Mango plus Green Tea tablets every day for the past 3 months just for the sake of feeling like I'm accomplishing something, but I know that there is a right way of going about accomplishing my goals, and what I've been doing isn't it. I want to find a better alternative to cutting/burning fat while getting the benefits of an energy boost while prepping my body to gain muscle. The energy boost is vital because I suffer from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, which makes it hard for me to simply get out of bed in the morning. I work out at 545 am every morning before work, and it's always a struggle for me to muster up enough energy to hit the snooze on my alarm, much less actually leave the house, so I would also like to start taking some sort of pre-workout that can kick me in the face to wake me up and get me going. I was taking Hyper Shock Rage, and then Assault for a while, but I think my body has gotten used to them so they don't really do it for me any more. I'm just at a loss as to where to start, and I wanted to hear some experienced opinions before I went out on a limb and bought some random fat loss stack. Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated ;-)

[eatyourspinach]

Diet is the most important factor, any and all fat loss supplements are relatively useless without that. If you have been diagnosed with CFS it may be wise to try and figure out which foods give you the most sustained energy and supplementing vitamins and essential fatty acids where necessary.

[cumminslifter]

that^, what does your diet look like? tdee and macros included

[asiajademarie]

Honestly I have no idea what any of that is. I just keep it simple- eggs for breakfast, chicken, sweet potatoes & random veggies for lunch & dinner, & a cheat meal on Saturday. It's not the best diet, but it's better than a lot of the **** I could be eating. I'm trying to learn what I need to learn to do this right, so I guess maybe I should talk to a nutritionist.

[eatyourspinach]

Honestly I have no idea what any of that is. I just keep it simple- eggs for breakfast, chicken, sweet potatoes & random veggies for lunch & dinner, & a cheat meal on Saturday. It's not the best diet, but it's better than a lot of the **** I could be eating. I'm trying to learn what I need to learn to do this right, so I guess maybe I should talk to a nutritionist.

It isn't all that difficult, you can start by reading here http://forum.bodybuilding.com/forumdisplay.php?f=13

[The Solution]

Honestly I have no idea what any of that is. I just keep it simple- eggs for breakfast, chicken, sweet potatoes & random veggies for lunch & dinner, & a cheat meal on Saturday. It's not the best diet, but it's better than a lot of the **** I could be eating. I'm trying to learn what I need to learn to do this right, so I guess maybe I should talk to a nutritionist.

Does not seem to have a whole lot of calories or a whole lot of dietary fat which could be a major no no for your metabolism, and hormones.

i would start here:

If Cutting Read the following:

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat...ss-part-1.html
http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat...ss-part-2.html

I highly suggest you read here regarding your diet:

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat...ts-part-1.html
http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat...ts-part-2.html

[cumminslifter]

follow this link. come back with any questions
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=156380183

[Cheftepesh]

Definitely take the time to read all you can. Diet is 90% of the battle.

[Sean26607]

Read the links these guys have posted...there's some pretty useful information in there which will / can be of great assistance for you.

[wishiwasdivin]

Start with nutrition - learning the basics will help you reach your goals.

Calculating Calories and Macronutrients
Nutrition

Best of luck with reaching your goal