Trying to lose about 40 pounds and could use some advice please

[hensche17]

Hi, my name is Richard, and I need your help!

I am a 30 y/o male, 5'10"@220lbs. Recently I have decided I need to change my unhealthy lifestyle. I recently changed my diet and am currently eating about 1500 calories a day, and taking a few supplements. I go to the gym nearly everyday, and alternate workouts to either be; light weight training for about 30-45 minutes, and then 15 minutes of cardio, or, 30-45 minutes of cardio, 15 minutes of strength training. My goal is to get down to 180lbs by June.

Am I doing things right? If not, what do you reccomend?

Also, I am pretty "unfit" and I saw that my maximum heart rate should be 190 bpm, and I shouldn't go over 85% of mhr. Normally when I am doing cardio I am at 180-185 bpm. This seems like it could be dangerous. What do I need to do to make it so I can do cardio and not have my heart rate so high?

If you have any questions, please ask and I will answer them.

[csb5731]

Hi, my name is Richard, and I need your help!

I am a 30 y/o male, 5'10"@220lbs. Recently I have decided I need to change my unhealthy lifestyle. I recently changed my diet and am currently eating about 1500 calories a day, and taking a few supplements. I go to the gym nearly everyday, and alternate workouts to either be; light weight training for about 30-45 minutes, and then 15 minutes of cardio, or, 30-45 minutes of cardio, 15 minutes of strength training. My goal is to get down to 180lbs by June.

Am I doing things right? If not, what do you reccomend?

Also, I am pretty "unfit" and I saw that my maximum heart rate should be 190 bpm, and I shouldn't go over 85% of mhr. Normally when I am doing cardio I am at 180-185 bpm. This seems like it could be dangerous. What do I need to do to make it so I can do cardio and not have my heart rate so high?

If you have any questions, please ask and I will answer them.

Starting off at 1500 kcals for a guy your size seems excessive IMO. An honest 2000kcals/day should result in continued weight loss for some time. Are making any effort as to hitting some sort of minimum protein target (and I am not referring to specifically supplemental protein, just in general), and if so, what is it?

As far as cardio, it's hard to make a blanket statement as to whether those heart rates are outright dangerous, but those values sound high for steady-state work. What type of cardio are you doing? I'd find some sort of cardio with adjustable speed/resistance and mess with that, or if you are really really out of shape go for a walk. Also some supplements containing stimulants can really contribute to an increase in heart rate (even plain old caffeine). So if you are concerned, you might want to skip the pre-workout.

[hensche17]

Starting off at 1500 kcals for a guy your size seems excessive IMO. An honest 2000kcals/day should result in continued weight loss for some time. Are making any effort as to hitting some sort of minimum protein target (and I am not referring to specifically supplemental protein, just in general), and if so, what is it?

As far as cardio, it's hard to make a blanket statement as to whether those heart rates are outright dangerous, but those values sound high for steady-state work. What type of cardio are you doing? I'd find some sort of cardio with adjustable speed/resistance and mess with that, or if you are really really out of shape go for a walk. Also some supplements containing stimulants can really contribute to an increase in heart rate (even plain old caffeine). So if you are concerned, you might want to skip the pre-workout.

I think prior to begining my workouts and dieting, I was eating 2200-4000 cals a day. As far as protien is concerned, I dont really have a target but I am consuming on average 100g a day, mostly from chicken breast and tuna. SHould I have a target when trying to lose fat? I have no idea.

For cardio, I normally get on a treadmill and set it on random at 5-5.5mph with a lvl 5 incline setting (where it fluctuates the amount of incline so I'm not running a flat path the whole time). I also do some cycling, but mostly running on the treadmill. Yea, I am only taking stimulant free fat burners and I dont drink caffeine, as I have ptsd and an anxiety disorder that gets agitated from stims.

Thanks for replying

[csb5731]

I think prior to begining my workouts and dieting, I was eating 2200-4000 cals a day. As far as protien is concerned, I dont really have a target but I am consuming on average 100g a day, mostly from chicken breast and tuna. SHould I have a target when trying to lose fat? I have no idea.

1500 just seems to low, and as far as estimating what you used to eat, it's generally hard to accurately reconstruct - my guess is it was more than you think.

There is value in getting reasonably high protein in during cutting, for satiety and muscle preservation/recuperation. The most commonly thrown out number here is 1g for every estimated pound of lean mass that you have (so if you were 25% bf, you'd target .75 x 220 g/lb = 165 grams). So, you are probably getting in less than that particular ideal value, but whether or not it really is going to matter much I can't say.

[Request21]

I've stuck at 1500-1700 calories a day and have lost almost 90lbs. If you have the will power by all means stick to it, but it can get hard at times. Do what you feel comfortable doing, not what others tell you. It's your body after all.

[hensche17]

I think one main thing that concerns me is my heart rate when doing cardio. I'm pretty sure that its not good for it to be around 180 when my MAX is 190. What do i need to do to make it so when i do cardio it isnt so high? Is it just conditioning, and I need to just keep doing cardio and eventually it will not get as high?

[Vaylor]

- I would personally recommend moving the cardio to your non-lifting days.
- Go easy on the Tuna intake: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PI6gUvvWnu4