I just started going back to the gym today. I want to keep a little diary here just to track my progress. I will be updating this 4-5 times a week. My Goal is to reach 165 Lbs, 12% BF by Christmas, we'll see how it goes!

Weight: 186.4
Body Fat: ~24% (Will start this tomorrow AM)

Excerise:

45 Minutes Eliptical Plus Cooldown:
602 calories
3.5 Miles

Caloric Intake:
~1500

 

how tall are you, FF?

 

Sorry, I'm 5'11''

Actual Body Fat: 20.2%

Food:

Breakfast: Peanut butter sandwich, Banana, Coffee
Lunch: 2 slice of wheat bread, tbsp Mustard, 1 Slice of cheese, Fruit Punch
Dinner: Oriental Chicken Lettuce wrap from Trader Joes, Fruit Punch
ADS (after Dinner snack; between 8pm-10pm): Protein Shake

 

Are you drinking water? Without a doubt, cut out the fruit punch.

 

Cut out the fruit punch? Ok will do. I am also looking for constructive criticism, ill switch the punch out with water.

 

^ I agree. I would substitute water for the fruit punch, and possibly a slice or two of turkey instead of the cheese for your lunch.

 

Also, instead of having the PB sandwich & banana around the same time. Try have the PB sandwich for breakfast, then a couple hours later have the banana.

 

Just smoke crack for a few weeks...the pounds will melt right off!

 

Yea that was a one time thing because i was late. Usually, like today, i had a bowl of cheerios and coffee, no sugar/milk, at about 7:40 then i had a banana around 10.

 

^Sounds better, that is similar to what I am going to be starting next week.

 

Cool, so does my routine look ok, right now i am only trying to burn of fat. Whats i get rid of this little belly i will start weight training again.

 

Yeah it looks pretty good. That is similar to what I was doing. If you keep that going for 2 weeks you'll see results.

 

I would have the protein shake earlier in the day. Good luck.

 

Well sometimes i get hungry after dinner, I thought that a protein shake would be a good thing to take..

 

Protein works well when you can take it right before and after a workout to convert protein to muscle....Right before bed, it doesnt really do much (its not bad for you, just not as effective). Instead have a light snack such as fruit or veggies before dinner.

 

Turkey sandwiches rock.

 

You're on the right track though - keep it up!

 

It also depends on the type of protein you have. Whey will go right to the muscles while Casein breaks down very slowly and allows you to feel full for longer periods of time. If you have a whey/casein blend shake before bed it will work just fine. You could also have a small bowl of low fat cottage cheese.

 

Yeah I was going to suggest the Casein protein before bed if you still want to have a protein shake before bed.

 

Also, you may have cravings before bed because you obviously aren't eating as much as you used to. You just have to fight those cravings, and since you aren't really lifting weights much, the casein protein shake isn't needed.

I would eat some vegetables that are low in calories, or some cottage cheese. You have to get your body used to the lower calorie intake, and then you won't really need something before bed.

 

Just eat a little more at dinner (healthy food)

 

Rather than drastically cutting calories, I'd suggest limiting your caloric intake to 2000 calories a day and increase your lean protein consumption. You want to make your weight loss a life style rather than just a quick fat loss method.

A drastic calorie restriction isn't necessarily going to burn fat. It'll get you leaner, but you might not have the muscle you want. Plus, when you start to eat normal amounts again you'll gain some of the weight back. When limiting your calories, protein is burned before fat. Therefore you will be losing some muscle unless your protein intake is higher.

 

Good info guys. I will maintain a healthy diet, i am not too too crazy about limiting calories but i think the fact that i have added Cardio into my lifestyle will help. I've pretty much been eating the same thing everyday for the last 6 months, the only difference is that before i would eat out/fast food, now i will not be doing so and with adding cardio i hope i will be able to lose some fat.

 

You will notice the difference after 2 weeks if you do cardio 4/5 times a week.

 

I hope so i'm so looking forward to that, but so worried i wont see results.

 

^You may not see as many visual results, or you may. You should definitely feel better about yourself though.

 

Weight: 185
Body Fat: 23.8%

Food:

Breakfast: Bowl of cereal (Cheerios), Coffee (No S/M)
Snack: Banana
Lunch: 2 slice of wheat bread, tbsp Mustard, 1 Slice of cheese, Water
Dinner: Pasta w/ Light Tomato sauce
ADS: Protein Shake

 

Exercise:

Elliptical: 45 minutes
Distance: 4.00 miles
Calories: 580

 

Don't you think 5'11" 165lbs is a tad bit too small?

What percentage body fat are you looking for, I say anything at or around 10 is optimal for an average human.

 

Yeah...im 5'11" and weigh about 184, about 8% body fat.

I see your doing the elliptical for 45 minutes, a suggestion would be to do less time more intensity. Do 20-25 minutes of high intensity instead of 45 minutes.

 

I've really been debating on whether to do 45 mins at intervals or 20-25 mins of High intensity. Staying on an Elliptical for 45 minutes is not fun

 

Tell you the truth, I am not too concerned with my weight but i would like to get down to about 10-12% body fat.

Can someone please shed some light on the 45 mins vs the 25 mins of High intensity?

Thanks!

 

It shouldn't matter whether you do 30 minutes heavy or 45 minutes moderate....What should matter is that you cycle the intensity - 2 minutes heavy, 2 minutes moderate, etc...

 

This isn't necessarily a correct statement. High intensity training has shown to increase your metabolism for up to 36 hours after you're finished. For true fat loss, high intensity training is a superior form of cardio, it just also happens to be more painful.
The best way to lose fat fast is to do shorter cardio stints in high intensity bursts. OP, If you're interested, I can ping you a couple ideas for interval training.

 

Weight:186.4
Body Fat: 23.8%

 

how are you measuring body fat %?

 

Digital scale that uses an electric current, I'm not sure how accurate it is though, because it varies 3% almost daily. Some days I will be 20.8% sometimes 23.8% so I am taking that number lightly. Even though its the most important to me.

 

I am still a little confused on which is the best way to burn more fat. HIIT or 45 min. moderate intensity?

Thanks!

 

I would do what feels the most comfortable to you. Give both a try or alternate between HIIT and just a moderate intensity cardio. No matter what you are going to do it will take time, and rushing into anything can burn you out. So just try both, and do what feels the best.

 

I was thinking about doing one everyother day. I wonder if that will fair out ok. I've done HIIT beofre, well for only about 2 weeks and then stopped.