Advice needed to go from 250 to 175

[SMKR]

Alright, time to get serious about losing some weight and looking for some input.

baseline is going from couch potato (ie- no weights/cardio, bad diet, etc)

things to cut (add anything critical I might omit)
fast food
beer/liquor
soft drinks

things to add
water-lots of it
salads


ECA Stack
is Bronkaide still the pill of choice along with aspirin and Vivarin?

Cardio
How much is adequate? I was thinking of starting at 30 mins/day on the elliptical and go up from there slowly to 45 mins/day.

weights
What splits are yall doing? I figure id split the body into 3 days, rest on the 4th, then repeat. How would you split the 3 days thought?

Apps
Are there any good apps (better than others) that help you count the calories? Where can I calculate a target caloric intake to set as my goal?

Snacks
I hate eating breakfast, but what are some of the healthier items to eat for breakfast?
During the day I like to munch. what are some 'munchies' or snacks I can eat during the day that wont kill my diet and keep the hunger at bay?

Lunch/Dinner
What are some things I should omit that are quite common? What items can I eat safely that wont add much to the calorie intake, be healthy, and still fill me up?

Thanks in advance for any input.

[matts5.0]

omit about 90% of your dairy intake.. eat lots of veggies, they fill you up so you dont eat as much and they are great for you.

[mk5.0]

Eat less and run more

[matts5.0]

Eat less and run more

that pretty much sums it up.. its a lifestyle change

[Jonny00GT]

#1 most important things to remember, you need motivation. Pick something to work towards. For me, it was to run a Marathon before I turn 40 and be able to play with my kids...throw a ball, shoot hoops, when they are old enough to play.
Next, and this is the big one, make a life choice. There is no end to this. You are not going "through" a work out program or a diet...you are starting a terminal habit. With that in mind, make little choices. Don't revamp everything all at once. Maybe start by limiting your fast food until you get down to just having one cheat day or cheat meal a week based on your success with your goals. Then work on cokes. Then alcohol, etc.

Cardio - Check out the Couch to 5K program.

Weights - I'm a fan of the book "Body for Life" by Bill Phillips, especially for beginners/starting back up.

If you can/have the time, play a sport or an activity that you enjoy so you'll stick to it.
Get a work out partner...someone you'll be accountable to, so you can't make excuses to get out of a work out when you're not feeling motivated.

Diet - Check out Paleo or see a nutritionist. It's not about cutting things out, but portion controll and appropriate choices.

Good luck, Bro!

-Jonny

[dville_gt's girl]

Alright, time to get serious about losing some weight and looking for some input.

baseline is going from couch potato (ie- no weights/cardio, bad diet, etc)

things to cut (add anything critical I might omit)
fast food
beer/liquor
soft drinks

things to add
water-lots of it
salads


ECA Stack
is Bronkaide still the pill of choice along with aspirin and Vivarin?

Cardio
How much is adequate? I was thinking of starting at 30 mins/day on the elliptical and go up from there slowly to 45 mins/day.

weights
What splits are yall doing? I figure id split the body into 3 days, rest on the 4th, then repeat. How would you split the 3 days thought?

Apps
Are there any good apps (better than others) that help you count the calories? Where can I calculate a target caloric intake to set as my goal?

Snacks
I hate eating breakfast, but what are some of the healthier items to eat for breakfast?
During the day I like to munch. what are some 'munchies' or snacks I can eat during the day that wont kill my diet and keep the hunger at bay?

Lunch/Dinner
What are some things I should omit that are quite common? What items can I eat safely that wont add much to the calorie intake, be healthy, and still fill me up?

Thanks in advance for any input.

How quickly do you want to drop the weight? This will also determine whether or not you keep it off. If you do it the right way, slow and steady, it will stay gone. If you hit the cardio hard 6-7x a week and in some cases 2x a day, you will lose fast but it will kill your metabolism and you'll gain some if not all back in the end. Weight loss, rather FAT loss which is what you're looking for, at least in my experience, is 90% diet. I have to eat at 100% compliance day in and out to see results, but you may be able to get by with 90% compliance. I'd say 2x a week cardio in the morning NOT fasted and starting with hill training and work up to different methods like sprints and combo ss/hiit later in your cut. Eat 12-13x your bw for a while and see how your body reacts, likely it will respond very well if you are going from an unhealthy lifestyle. No reason to rush a cut if you want it to stick. I have heard EC works almost as good as ECA without the negative effect habitual aspirin use can have on your body, but I have taken ECA and used broncaid in the past.

Plan your food and track your calories PRIOR to eating them, prep food all at once if you can. I make food for myself and Dville_gt on Sunday for M-F. No excuses to cheat when your food is weighed out and packaged.

I am cutting now and my split (very end of my contest prep) is 4 weight training days a week, 2 ab circuits (which also act as cardio) and 2 fasted cardio sessions that combine SS and HIIT. BUt when I started I was doing 2 cardio sessions a week, 4 weight days a week (upper/lower body splits), 2 off days.

Try baked oatmeal for breakfast, make the night before and heat in microwave. I drink 4L of water a day and 1 diet drink.

Good luck!

[GeorgeG.]

Fit Day has a good iPhone app that also syncs with your online Fit Day account(Free). It's kind of a pain in the beginning as you're entering the foods you eat but once you have the most common foods added, it's easy to log on (pc or phone) and keep track of your food intake. Also has other features like graphing your weight loss progress, your calorie/protien/carbs/fat intake etc. Their iphone app can be a little buggy at times but it's free.

Lose It is another app similar to Fit Day, the iphone app works better, different features and interface, etc.

If you think you'll be walking/running/cycling outdoors, Run Keeper is a great app that tracks distance and time.

[DON SVO]

I'd worry more about squaring my diet and allowing my body's metabolism to adjust to regular workout before fucking with an ECA stack.

[jdgregory84]

The Elliptical is probably the most inefficient cardio machine there is. Get on a treadmill and raise the incline and walk until you're ready to run, and when you run, if you can, do it outside. Crossfit programs are awesome for losing weight. Unfortunately, Crossfit gyms aren't geared towards couch potatoes and the instructors usually aren't willing to work with you one on one to cater to your specific situation.

[Pokulski-Blatz]

Eat less and run more

Dont forget the pooping .... lots and lots of pooping.

[jnobles06]

cut the carbs (not all of them like adkins would have you do), eat six smaller meals a day, do some cardio followed by some light weight/ high rep routine, drink water or un-sweet tea most of the time, and take a good multi. if you are looking for a good supplement for weight loss i would suggest usp labs oxy elite pro.

for breakfast i would stick to something lite like yogurt and granola, or a protein shake since you don't like it (i am the same way). as for the other meals, i usually cook enough food for 3 days which normally consists of grilled/ baked meats and green veggies. i also allow 1 cheat day a week. as for snacks i would suggest beef jerkey, peanut butter with crackers, pop corn, and fruit.

one of the things i like to eat most for dinner is tacos. i grill up a lot of meat, cut it into little pieces, throw a small amount of beans and cheese into a corn tortilla along with some meat, then fold it up and grill both sides of it on a skillet until its nice and crispy, top it with your favorite salsa, and enjoy. it is amazing, and i never get tired of it. lol. then i just throw the extra meat into the fridge so i can make tacos for a few days.

[jdgregory84]

cut the carbs (not all of them like adkins would have you do), eat six smaller meals a day, do some cardio followed by some light weight/ high rep routine, drink water or un-sweet tea most of the time, and take a good multi. if you are looking for a good supplement for weight loss i would suggest usp labs oxy elite pro.

for breakfast i would stick to something lite like yogurt and granola, or a protein shake since you don't like it (i am the same way). as for the other meals, i usually cook enough food for 3 days which normally consists of grilled/ baked meats and green veggies. i also allow 1 cheat day a week. as for snacks i would suggest beef jerkey, peanut butter with crackers, pop corn, and fruit.

one of the things i like to eat most for dinner is tacos. i grill up a lot of meat, cut it into little pieces, throw a small amount of beans and cheese into a corn tortilla along with some meat, then fold it up and grill both sides of it on a skillet until its nice and crispy, top it with your favorite salsa, and enjoy. it is amazing, and i never get tired of it. lol. then i just throw the extra meat into the fridge so i can make tacos for a few days.

There's some good advice in here but it's a bit extreme. Breakfast is actually the meal you can most cheat on. Seriously, a hearty breakfast is the way to go. Eggs, bacon, toast...help yourself. Stay away from empty calories like donuts though. Lunch is almost the same. As long as you're reasonable you're not gonna hurt your results. Dinner is the main thing. Stick to lean meats and veggies.

Stick with that, use portion control, and for your snacks do something high in protein and low in fat/carbs, especially with the second snack.

Try to eat dinner at least 3 hours before sleeping, and if you get hungry within that time go with something lean like a couple slices of ham or something.

[SS Junk]

^
Agreed.
After getting into the habit of waking up on time to eat breakfast it is a very enjoyable meal since you can basically go crazy w/in reason. Mentally you also feel good because if you stick to your diet plan you feel you are reaping the benefits.

[exlude]

There's some good advice in here but it's a bit extreme. Breakfast is actually the meal you can most cheat on. Seriously, a hearty breakfast is the way to go. Eggs, bacon, toast...help yourself. Stay away from empty calories like donuts though. Lunch is almost the same. As long as you're reasonable you're not gonna hurt your results. Dinner is the main thing. Stick to lean meats and veggies.

Stick with that, use portion control, and for your snacks do something high in protein and low in fat/carbs, especially with the second snack.

Try to eat dinner at least 3 hours before sleeping, and if you get hungry within that time go with something lean like a couple slices of ham or something.

Good advice, except I consider toast fairly empty calories. Fruits are very good for treating a sweet tooth. After your tastebuds/olfactory adjust, fruits will soothe the sweet tooth as much as anything else.

[SS Junk]

Good advice, except I consider toast fairly empty calories. Fruits are very good for treating a sweet tooth. After your tastebuds/olfactory adjust, fruits will soothe the sweet tooth as much as anything else.

Two pieces of toast isn't going hurt anything. You don't want to get so nit picky that you deny yourself things that you enjoy within reason. Especially for breakfast.