Help With Plan to Lose Weight

can comeone please help me. I know this is a masculine site, but I rather hear a males point of view. I need help on a work out plan for me. I’m trying to lose whatever I can. 10lbs maybe 20lbs. I am also having a hard with making a diet routine. Its easy for me to follow a healthy routine, I just don’t know what to follow by.

Do I need to post a picture so you will know what I am trying to lose? my stomach, hips and my butt i don’t know what to say. But just give me some ideals. Please!!! I am trying to look a little better for my birthday coming up in December.

the easiest thing to do is just ease into a plan, just add one healthy meal every week or too. Try starting with breakfast 1/2 cup of cooked and cooled oats with 1 1/2 scoops of protein, chocolate works best, no sugar or other flavorings needed. Then after a couple of days to a week bump up the oatmeal to 1 full cup and just keep the protein the same.

I usually don’t eat breakfast. I guess thats where I am messing up. When I am at work I might eat lunch. When I go home thats when I eat something.

What kind of excerise should I do? What type of workout?

Oh yeah thanks for replying. I really appreciate it.

I know it sucks when you post something and noone replies.

yup start eating breakfast even if that means going to bed earlier to get up earlier, just try like i mentioned earlier adding one meal every week or two until you reach 5-6 meals every 2-3 hours. it’s rough doing it all at once. just be consistant and these are just guidelines don’t freak if you can’t eat as scheduled. instead eat earlier or later. if you have to go 4 hours before you eat, ok just eat your scheduled meal and don’t try and make up for it by combining two meals if you have to skip one skip it. “tomorrows another day”.
ToNy

multi joint exercises:
push-ups
squats
leg presses
shoulder presses
dead lifts
stiff leg dead lifts
pull ups / chins
rows
dumbbell bench presses
etc.

[quote]MsIndependent wrote:
I usually don’t eat breakfast. I guess thats where I am messing up. When I am at work I might eat lunch. When I go home thats when I eat something.

[/quote]

that?s probably your main problem right there, when it comes to nutrition:

Do you eat more than 50% of your daily calories at night and does this meal consist of massive amounts of carbohydrates?

Yes, you do and yes, it does.

http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=459493

This is the link to “7 Habits of Highly Effective Nutritional Programs
by John M. Berardi”

If you want a short answer, you should eat like that.

The real explanation why what you do is terribly, horribly wrong would take reeaaally long, that?s how terribly wrong it is.

A recent article from Chad Waterbury (one of the great strength coaches her on T-Nation if you didn’t know) is the “10x3 For Fat Loss” routine.

You could follow the T-dawg diet 2.0 while using the 10X3 for fat loss routine, but that’s just one option.

T-Dawg Diet 2.0:

Here’s the links to the 10X3 for fat loss:

http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=795366

Read those articles and see how you like them. Chad does a great job at explaining why his routines work so well.

Even if you don’t feel like you can jump right into the t-dawg diet, take in the great info and work gradually twards making your diet better.

Remember, doing something is better than nothing and you can still get great results without everything being perfect.

Don’t stress too much over everything (unless you like that sort of thing) and make the workouts and meals enjoyable.

Consistancy is the key. Constantly doing a sub-optimal routine with a sub-optimal diet is better than doing the best routine and best diet for only a short period of time.

[quote]MsIndependent wrote:
What kind of excerise should I do?

Oh yeah thanks for replying. I really appreciate it.[/quote]

Start with some of the basics, the staples:

-Break up your meals to 6 a day.
Do NOT skip meals. That will actually cause you to hold fat.
-protein at every meal
-taper your carbohydrates. Eat the majority of them in your first three meals of the day. Last meal of the day would be protein and vegetables and some good fats like nuts (almonds, walnuts) or a spoonful of olive oil.
-keep your carbs to whole grains. Cut out white pasta and white rice, white bread…etc.
-try to have vegetable at every meal
-water. Keep a liter bottle with you at all times and drink at least three-four of them a day.

Start a basic fullbody weight routine that you perform 3 times a week. You can find many on this site and others. If you’ve never done it before, find a great trainer to get you started.

Start implementing morning cardio. 1/2 hour every morning on an empty stomach. Don’t need to kill yourself, it can be a brisk walk, but enough to get your heart pumping. Commit to something you can see yourself doing every morning.

I’m sure i’ll get flamed for some of these reccomendations but i imagine the look you’re going for is not that of a bloated powerlifter or 250 pound bodybuilder.

If you are disciplined, consistent and stick with these core things, you will absolutely improve your body and lose fat by december.

Make sure you check out the “Are You a Beginner” thread - it has great info and links to lots of great articles and information. http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=640350

You may also want to check out the thread “The T-Vixen Articles” for links to some women-focused articles. http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=645666

Also check out the Fahrenheit website www.f-heit.com which is geared towards women looking to lose weight and also has tons of great articles and information (and a supportive forum).

IMO, the basics to get started (while you continue to read, learn and implement) are:

  • cut out all the junk and crap
  • drink nothing but water, at least 3L a day
  • eat 6 meals a day, every 3-4 hours
  • eat protein with every meal, aiming for 1g per lb of bodyweight (for example, if you weigh 150lbs, eat 25g of protein 6 times a day)
  • eat some healthy carbs (don’t be afraid of carbs!)
  • eat some healthy fats (don’t be afraid of fat!)
  • don’t do a lot of cardio (1/2 hour 3-4 days a week is plenty)
  • do lift weights (pick a good program from here and don’t be afraid to lift heavy!)

Good proteins - tuna, eggs, chicken, turkey, beef, protein powder, lean deli meat (in moderation)

Good carbs - vegetables, fruits, oatmeal, brown rice, whole-wheat bread and pasta, quinoa

Good fats - natural peanut butter, fish oil, olive oil, ground flax seeds/flax seed oil

There is a learning curve to all of this, so don’t get overwhelmed. Start making some good choices right now and continue to read and “tweak” what you’re doing. Remember the scale is evil - it’s best to measure your progress with calipers and a tape measure.

Hope this helps - good luck!

Mostly at night when I get off from work around 7pm. Then I won’t eat again until the next day afternoon. I might eat some peanut butter crackers. Another thing I love sweets, but I usually don’t them till til i get to work. I don’t really buy softdrink. If I buy any its a sprit, but I am cutting that out along with the sweets.

[quote]orion wrote:
MsIndependent wrote:
I usually don’t eat breakfast. I guess thats where I am messing up. When I am at work I might eat lunch. When I go home thats when I eat something.

that?s probably your main problem right there, when it comes to nutrition:

Do you eat more than 50% of your daily calories at night and does this meal consist of massive amounts of carbohydrates?

Yes, you do and yes, it does.

http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=459493

This is the link to “7 Habits of Highly Effective Nutritional Programs
by John M. Berardi”

If you want a short answer, you should eat like that.

The real explanation why what you do is terribly, horribly wrong would take reeaaally long, that?s how terribly wrong it is. [/quote]

Aside from diet, I would stick mainly to
Bodyweight Calisthenics, Tabata style.

Check out warriorforce.com, “Underground Guide to Warrior Fitness”. Once I started the rountines in the book, the fat literally flew off my body. I am incredibly more agile than when I used weights, too.

Thanks everyone I am going to try to post a before and after picture. I will also check everyday to let you know how the day went with the workouts and everything.

Thanks

[quote]MsIndependent wrote:
Mostly at night when I get off from work around 7pm. Then I won’t eat again until the next day afternoon. I might eat some peanut butter crackers. Another thing I love sweets, but I usually don’t them till til i get to work. I don’t really buy softdrink. If I buy any its a sprit, but I am cutting that out along with the sweets.

orion wrote:
MsIndependent wrote:
I usually don’t eat breakfast. I guess thats where I am messing up. When I am at work I might eat lunch. When I go home thats when I eat something.

that?s probably your main problem right there, when it comes to nutrition:

Do you eat more than 50% of your daily calories at night and does this meal consist of massive amounts of carbohydrates?

Yes, you do and yes, it does.

http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=459493

This is the link to “7 Habits of Highly Effective Nutritional Programs
by John M. Berardi”

If you want a short answer, you should eat like that.

The real explanation why what you do is terribly, horribly wrong would take reeaaally long, that?s how terribly wrong it is.

[/quote]

I don?t think you love sweets that much. You only eat so little during the day that your blood sugar drops dangerously low and then you WILL eat something to make it rise again. Guess what foods will do that as fast as possible. Bingo. Simple sugars, aka sweets. Makes it rise real fast, which leads to insuline release that overcompensates, which makes your blood sugar drop, which makes you hungry again.

Could well be that what you experience as craving for sweets is really your body needing a certain level of blood sugar.

Eat like Berardi suggests for 3 weeks and see if you really like sweets that much.

[quote]uberswank wrote:
Aside from diet, I would stick mainly to
Bodyweight Calisthenics, Tabata style.

Check out warriorforce.com, “Underground Guide to Warrior Fitness”. Once I started the rountines in the book, the fat literally flew off my body. I am incredibly more agile than when I used weights, too.[/quote]

Ok thanks I will check that out as well. I’ve just lost my dad to bad health and I am trying to get in better shape and start eating healthy.

This is definately not a male-only place, though it can seem like that at times. It’s just more…aggressive than some others. You are of course welcome here and we’re happy to have you.

Read the beginner’s forum from end to end and listen to what advice you get - some of it will fly in the face of what the craptastic magazines out there tell you. DO it anyway and you’ll be fine :slight_smile:

[quote]MsIndependent wrote:
I’m trying to lose whatever I can. 10lbs maybe 20lbs.

Do I need to post a picture so you will know what I am trying to lose? my stomach, hips and my butt i don’t know what to say.

I am trying to look a little better for my birthday coming up in December.[/quote]

Two things. First, I wouldn’t set a weight loss ( and please read fat-loss when I say that ) goal of more than 10 lbs by December. A goal of 1 lb / week is reasonable. Trying to lose any more than that is a setup for failure.

Second, I don’t think where the fat is located on your body is that important. As far as I know spot-reducing is simply not possible.

You just want to follow the advice here, and get your diet straightened out, and begin a sensible exercise program.

I have read that after 6 weeks ( I think it is ) something becomes a habit. If you make some gradual changes, and start some new habits, it won’t be long before you wonder how you ever did it the way you were before.

|/ 3Toes