looking to lose 20 pounds in 2 and a half months

hi guys. i'm 28 years old and my metabolism stinks. i have gone to the gym for almost a year and i may have lost 6 pounds. its getting frustrating because i spend alot of money to go and sweat and i am not getting anywhere.

awhile back, i did the atkins diet and lost 20 pounds in a month. but the major drawbacks doing that, is it gives you horrible breath and my kidneys hurt like hell. but i did see results. is the only method to lose weight nowadays pain.

i use to go to the gym and do cardio for 35 minutes straight. i noticed no results. so i upped it to 35mins in the mourning and 35mins in the evening. the only results i'm seeing is, i'm getting worn out and tired.

the question i have is, should i start lifting weights then follow up with cardio? i am only just slightly out of shape, but i don't want it to worsing. i'm a 190 lbs 5'11 and my woman thinks i look great. but i used to weigh 165. what really bothers me is, i hate hearing the comments when i go home. "looks like you put on some weight." i know be tough. but it sucks hearing crap like that. half the time my woman wonders why i never want to visit home because i'll hear those comments and it will bring me down.

this christmas i want to go home weighing at least 170 pounds.

so does anybody have some great advice on how to get lean and trim. i will follow what ever advice i get. please help.

Start eating salads and fruits for main courses and snakes. Once you wake up start doing cardio and weights.
Change the way you think, cause whatever your doing is not working.

i have an amazing attitude. i look foward to going to the gym but when results don't show for a whole year it can get tiresome. it's like a job where you hear that your going to get promoted and as time goes on you never hear anything about it again. so you have to evaluate how your going to bring up being promoted without bugging your boss.

i eat fruits and salads. i never did try snakes but i don't see them for sale at our grocery store.

i think im going to first do some weights then im going to hit the cardio. i hope this works. why did they have to take ephedrine of the market. it was the one thing that actually did work. oh well no use on looking at the past.

is it possible to lose 20 pounds before christmas. im starting back to the gym on oct.10 tuesday and im going 7 days a week hardcore. if i don't lose at least 1 pound i am giving up this time.

How many calories are you taking in each day?

Post your diet and workout plan

insanity said:

i have an amazing attitude. i look foward to going to the gym but when results don't show for a whole year it can get tiresome. it's like a job where you hear that your going to get promoted and as time goes on you never hear anything about it again. so you have to evaluate how your going to bring up being promoted without bugging your boss.

i eat fruits and salads. i never did try snakes but i don't see them for sale at our grocery store.

i think im going to first do some weights then im going to hit the cardio. i hope this works. why did they have to take ephedrine of the market. it was the one thing that actually did work. oh well no use on looking at the past.

is it possible to lose 20 pounds before christmas. im starting back to the gym on oct.10 tuesday and im going 7 days a week hardcore. if i don't lose at least 1 pound i am giving up this time.

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try HIIT:
http://www.askmen.com/sports/bodybuilding_100/135_fitness_tip.html

Just know if you do this you will lose muscle as well as fat unless you drink a protien shake like whey or a blend. What your diet like? Do you small meals every 3 hrs? Your body can only burn off so much calories per hour. Example of a 500 calorie meal is: 2 wheat bread natural peanut butter sandwiches and a banana drow it with 16 ounce glass of soy milk. Do you take any supplements?

I wanted to add the reason y they took ephredia off the market is due to the fact some morons kept overdosing. I used to take only 1 or 2 tablets a day just to get my heart rate up and moving after finsihing my cardio HIIT training. It's the same as any drug. It won't cause any harm if you take in tiny doses and moderation.

Losing weight is not hard. It's keeping it off most people have problems with. Everybody wants a quick fix, which is why these fad diets like atkins and southbeach are so popular. You need to change the way you think about food. You need to change your life style so you don't gain back 30 lbs after christmas. Lifestyle comes first.......... than exercise!

I agree with the HIIT training. It has worked wonders for me in the past. Buying a heart rate monitor will help guage your intensity during your workout.

read the e-book "Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle" by Tom Venuto.
www.burnthefat.com

it's enough to get you started.

for a book on working out, i suggest Starting Strength by Mark Rippetoe
for a starting routine, i suggest the following: http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=750551

insanity said:

i eat fruits and salads. i never did try snakes but i don't see them for sale at our grocery store.

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:crackup:
I don't know if you were serious, but I'm sure he meant one of two things when he said snakes.

He meant either snacks or shakes.

Of course, snakes could be healthy...

I think?

When you wake up before you eat or drink anything go for like a 20-30 minute run/jog/walk. This forces your body to break down fat cells for energy. Then invest yourself in a Low Carb Protein shake, like Isopure, it costs $60 but its some of the best. Protein shakes will curve your appetite. Begin eating salads, put chicken or fish on it so they dont get boring, you can do a lot with chicken, extremely healthy. Go to your nearest stop and shop or whatever you have and pick up Muscle and Fitness, its a great magazine that can help you out. If you need any other tips or pointers just message me and I'll do the best to answer you're questions

You guys are cracking me up talking about running or walking for only 30 minutes to loose weight. I'm no gym rat but 20-30 minutes is just a warm up for me. Typically you'll need to go anaerobic in such a short amount of time to be able to start tapping into your fat stores. If you're are just going to do aerobic exercise, you'll need more than a half an hour to get any results.

Check out the advice we've been giving to this gentleman, also on this forum, who is looking to lose much more body fat than you:

http://www.sosuave.net/forum/showthread.php?t=110522

The summary? Lift weights--heavy weights as soon as you figure out the form for key lifts, do cardio in the morning on an empty stomach, eat lots of lean protein.

DO NOT try to lose weight by calorie restriction -- it will backfire, and you will ultimately end up where you most fear (worse shape).

BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY, please please PLEASE stop thinking in terms of "losing weight." I mean it. Throw away all your scales if you have to. You want to reduce your body fat. To do that, you want to lose fat & gain muscle, probably at the same time. It takes longer than doing one or the other, which requires patience (and you clearly have that, as you say!) but it pays huge dividends in the end. I speak from personal, hard-earned experience. Your body weight is irrelevant to these goals. You may gain weight, you may lose weight, but if you make a few important lifestyle changes, you will lose body fat, which is your real goal. You've bought into a cultural obsession with "weight" when your real demon is "body fat." You're hardly the first to buy that line of bull.

If you bench, deadlift, and squat, and can do that with serious weight, your entire body will widen -- in a good way. People will ask, have you put on weight?-- in a good way. And that extra muscle will burn more body fat, esp. when you're doing your cardio, and esp. if you can hack doing it on an empty stomach. And a commitment to diet, lifting, and cardio of your choice is a long-term choice you can live with--literally.

Nope see thats where you're wrong, a half hour can do a lot for your body if its done right. You dont go at the same pace for 30 minutes, you run for 30 seconds then slow down to a jog or a awlk for 30, then you run again for another 30 and slow down to a walk for a minute or so, then you run for another 30 seconds, what this does is it causes your heart rate to rise and drop, causeing you to break more stored fat cells down cause you're body doesnt know what the heck is going on

and thats when you just wake up, doing another 30-45 minutes on a stairmaster or something is required sometime during the day. You shoudl do about 1-2 hours of cardio a day

MyOwnKryptonite said:

Nope see thats where you're wrong, a half hour can do a lot for your body if its done right. You dont go at the same pace for 30 minutes, you run for 30 seconds then slow down to a jog or a awlk for 30, then you run again for another 30 and slow down to a walk for a minute or so, then you run for another 30 seconds, what this does is it causes your heart rate to rise and drop, causeing you to break more stored fat cells down cause you're body doesnt know what the heck is going on

and thats when you just wake up, doing another 30-45 minutes on a stairmaster or something is required sometime during the day. You shoudl do about 1-2 hours of cardio a day

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You guys aren't into indurance sports, are ya? Something where you have a sustained heart rate of at least 70% of your MHR over the entire lenght of the exercise period.

Throttle said:

Check out the advice we've been giving to this gentleman, also on this forum, who is looking to lose much more body fat than you:

http://www.sosuave.net/forum/showthread.php?t=110522

The summary? Lift weights--heavy weights as soon as you figure out the form for key lifts, do cardio in the morning on an empty stomach, eat lots of lean protein.

DO NOT try to lose weight by calorie restriction -- it will backfire, and you will ultimately end up where you most fear (worse shape).....

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So how does someone loose weight without taking in less calories than they expend? No matter how much muscle you build, you won't loose weight if you take in more calories than you use.

Francisco d'Anconia said:

So how does someone loose weight without taking in less calories than they expend? No matter how much muscle you build, you won't loose weight if you take in more calories than you use.

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The focus is on body fat percentage, not weight. Since muscle weighs more than fat, you may gain weight, but because you are building muscle and burning fat.

Francisco d'Anconia said:

So how does someone loose weight without taking in less calories than they expend? No matter how much muscle you build, you won't loose weight if you take in more calories than you use.

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The key was in my next sentence... I want him (and others in his position) to stop thinking in terms of losing weight. 200 lbs. seems a very reasonable weight for someone 5'11" and some solid weightlifting progress.

Try simultaneously gaining muscle & losing fat for a while, and see if you don't feel better, look better, and find it infinitely more sustainable than cycles of deprivation, guilt, and depression. And instead of intentional calorie restriction, try shifting your diet to relatively lean sources of protein and fibrous sources of carbs. The link I provided explains why WBA's Idiot's Guide applies to guys who are "overweight" (unhappy with their high bodyfat) as much as "skinny guys" (haven't learned to eat enough of the right stuff to grow).

(Edit: BicardiGuy beat me to the punch and said it more succinctly )

Heh I see this topic of discussion won't die so I will throw in my other 2 cents.

Yes everyone here brought in a good point about excerise like weightlifting and running. However it's 20 % workouts and 80 % diet. The better the OP regulates his diet ie: fruits, meats, vegtables, grains, the quicker he'll lose that weight depending on his body type. I read that after doing a HIIT workout if that muscle needed to be perserve but the body fat lost you need to consume a high protien meal to prevent the body to get into that catbolic state. The body is a complex system but too stupid to use the fat as energy so from what I understand HIIT "tricks" it. As for me I've been trying to get rid of this stupid belly and form a six pack but it seems that it takes forever.

If you go to the gym and it takes a year for you to see results you're doing something wrong, my friend. My guess is you dieted too hard and surpressed your metabolism and thyroid output.

Do the following:

- Go to fitday, register, input your data and find out your approximate daily calorie needs. Aim to eat around that many or a couple of hundred kcal less. Yes, you'll have to be fairly meticulous in calorie-counting 90% of the time.

- The bulk of your calories should come from protein (300-350g) in your case and fats (split evenly between mono, poly and saturated fat). Carbs (starchy carbs and fruit) should only come at breakfast and pre- and post-workout. I don't need to tell you to eat clean.. but, um, eat clean.

- I repeat, do not cut your calories too low. We need a high level of nutrients to keep your metabolism running high and keep gym perfomances good. We'll introduce a caloric deficit through some cardio.

- Make sure your workouts are strength-oriented and not volume-oriented (you -are- working out with weights, right? if you're not, start). Weight training burns calories and muscle is active tissue which burns calories even at rest.

- I don't know your bodytype but I'd start at you at doing low intensity cardio 5-6 times a week before breakfast (on an empty stomach). Start with 30 mins each time, and wait about 30 mins after cardio to eat breakfast (have your shower/shave for the day etc). By low intensity I mean treadmill, 3.5-4mph, 2-5% incline, something like that. No HIIT for now.

- Once a week, maybe at the weekends, have a cheat meal. This can be fast food or whatever for now. Or you could just eat more carbs. But don't neglect this day. It's essential to keep thyroid output good. As you lose fat this day will have to eventually be a 'carb' day with no junk.

- Supplement with green or white tea (natural thermogenics). Drink two cups or take the equivalent in pill form pre cardio, and aim for about 8-10 bagsworth of tea per day or the equivalent in pill form.

- Eat green fibrous veg with every meal. The more the better.

- Eat your meals in this order: protein, veggies, carbs/fat. This ensures you won't pig out on carbs and you get the maximum thermogenic effect from food (protein and veggies being the most thermogenic foods around).

- Supplement with at least 10g of fish oil a day. You can have more if you like. (pills or oil)

- Be consistent. Every day you cheat on the diet/cardio/workout is putting your eventual goal a day behind.

- Throw away your scale. We'll stick to the mirror for now. After about a month, you can use a tape measure too. Avoid looking at yourself in the mirror as much as possible. Once every three weeks is good, but by then your clothes will be fitting better anyway, if you do what I say.

- For cardio, don't think "more is better" and don't think for food "less is more". If you stuff up your thyroid while dieting, forget burning any fat.

- Keep your carbs low GI except after the workout where you can have some sugary stuff if you want (fruit juice, dextrose, lucozade, gatorade, doesn't matter).

- The calorie intake on workout days will be higher thanks to the added pre- and post-workout protein+carbs. This is fine.

- Cut out all dairy from your diet except whey (if you have it). A little lowfat yogurt here or there is fine, but don't be going drinking milk and wondering why you've got a gut.

Now, post us a (true) typical day's eating and your workout regime if you have one.

This diet is meant to to strip fat at a fair pace and also let you put a little muscle on while dieting - the net effect is that you'll LOOK a helluva lot better and you won't worry about what the scale says, because, exactly as my friend Throttle says, weight is irrelevant, body composition is what's important.

Lastly, post a journal on here. Each day I want you to post how much cardio you did, your workout (if it was a workout day) and what you ate (exactly, including if you cheated). This'll help you stick to the plan.

Good luck mate, and don't worry, it's easy to lose the fat. Just do what I say. Trust me, I'm me.

Thanks for the advice everyone. it's nice to have a list of helpful workouts and diets to try.

i think my dad(doctor) wants me dead or something. i'm not trying to gross everyone out. but most people take a crap what like 2 to 3 times a day. i'm lucky if i go once or twice a month. this is no lie. i asked if i could be put on some kind of safe crap pill.i won't take laxitives because your bowels will depend on them.
but i always thought maybe thats why i don't lose weight.

anyways, thanks guys. 170 here i come this time. i have no doubt this time.

All I want to add to this is a warning about the phrase "losing weight". Diets such as Atkins will help you lose weight, but a percentage of that is water weight and muscle weight.

A lot of fad diets will make you think you are getting slimmer, but can push your body into an emergency state. So while your body is burning muscle, it is also storing fat. I've been through this and the consequences were frightening.

It's much healthier to eat regularly, eat well, but just drop the unhealthy things (sugars, simple carbs and fat) from your diet, and speed things up with some cardio. The process is more gradual, but healthier and more beneficial in many ways.