Trying to Lose Weight

So I have been watching what I have been eating, tring to lose weight; however, I am not happy with my current results. I have to go to a wedding in two weeks and after that I am going on a cruise with my girlfriend and her family in early May. I do not know if I should cut weight real quick with a fat burner, then try and define my muscles more. I don’t know. Any ideas?

Well what are you doing for exercise and what/how much are you eating? Is it quite possible (guess) that you are eating too little. Depending on your genetics, it takes time and lots of hard work to get them abs showing.

You’re gonna need to put up a lot more detail then “I’ve been watching what I eat and trying to lose weight” if you want anyone to be able to help you. What exactly are you eating? What is your workout plan? How heavy are you now? Do you have an idea what your bodyfat % is? Even on something like the V diet, which is probably not something that you’re ready for, you would be extremely lucky to drop 10lbs in 2 weeks.

Since I don’t know where exactly you’re starting from, or even your starting weight, the best I can say is lift heavy and eat clean, with a focus on long term goals instead of short term ones. Go check out Rippetoe’s Starting Strength, and read Berardi’s 7 habits article, and you’ll get where you want to be, just not in 2 weeks.

What is the V-Diet? I am approx. 5’8" 200 lbs. 34 in waist line. My plan is not really a plan. I go to the gym 2-3 times a week only to go on the elliptical machine and come home. I have a barbell in my room that I will use to pump up the biceps and triceps real quick. I have trouble establising a plan and sticking to it. I waist time and money in nutritional stores it seems like. I would like to lose a good 35 lbs (or more) and be cut. Oh yeah one more thing: Bud Light.

It’s a strict diet for losing those last 10-20 lbs if you’ve already got a solid base and have stalled on fat loss while eating clean. If you aren’t already eating clean, and haven’t been training well, the V diet will probably be to intense for you to really stick too. In your case, you need eat clean and to get to the gym and lift for real. Honestly, if you start doing Rippetoe’s starting strength program, you’ll probably lose fat pretty quickly.
You could also check out http://www.T-Nation.com/article/bodybuilding/10_x_3_for_fat_loss&cr= ,
http://www.T-Nation.com/article/bodybuilding/edt_lose_the_fat_keep_the_strength
or http://www.T-Nation.com/article/bodybuilding/real_fast_fat_loss&cr=
if you want.
You should also read John Berardi’s 7 habits article and make sure that your diet is right.

You say this

but do this

I really don’t think you are ‘trying’. You say you’re trying, but you work on the beach muscles, 20 minutes of elliptical, drink beer and wonder why you haven’t lost weight.

You should be happy with the results that you have gotten so far.

So drop the beer, lift weights that actually work muscles other than your arms, and do cardio everyday, sometimes twice a day.

My recommendation is to do 10x3 For Fat Loss, walk in the morning and at night on workout days, and elliptical/bike/jogging and walking on non-workout days.

I do not even know where to begin! What does 10x3 mean? I have been told to take dietary supplements, training packs, drink atleast a gallon of water, and even buy Barilla Plus pasta!

Can I start off by running outside, eating right, and skating by on my Weider Home gym? What supplements will complement my fat loss goal, and build muscle strength and definition. What about green tea!

I am a true begginer. I have trouble designing a plan, and even when I go into GNC I find trouble aiming towards the correct vitamins. Then, the salesman directs my attention to other products, and I get frustrated just buy the fat loss pills and get out.

I have the right attitude about my goals, but I think now is the time to take a more serious step and design a plan that can work for me. Thanks everyone for your comments and support.

Excellent! As a true beginner, you need a lot of information. I recommend clicking on ‘beginner’ at the top of this page. This will take you to the beginner forum. Read Vroom’s thread. It should be the third thread from the top. Read it, leaf through the articles it links, and it should give you a very good idea on what to do. Then come back and post questions to refine your knowledge. We’ll be more than happy to help.

What Otep said. But you are guaranteed to get confused reading all those things. That’s ok. It’s expected for beginners to be confused by reading info. But ultimately, educating yourself is the only way to keep the GNC employees at bay and know how to get results on your own.

In the mean time, do something, anything. Doing > reading only. TheDudeAbides has a good piece of advice for you–> You need to make what you say and what you do the same thing (ie–drop the bud light, etc).

You’re not going to be able to drop the weight in 2 weeks. But you could drop the weight eventually if you get serious.

Check some of the other threads around here. There’s some good info on beginning training programs. I’m too tired to write anything out right now.

Search for “Training for Newbies” parts 1 and 2 from Thibaudeau. Read those articles. Don’t just skim them, understand them. Look up “Big Boy Basics” and read that article. Then follow the program or post questions after that.

[quote]hottabO2 wrote:
I do not even know where to begin! What does 10x3 mean?[/quote]
If you’d read the first link I posted, you’d know. It goes straight to Waterbury’s 10X3 program.

Well, I did read it. But that is just one of the several different programs I can begin. Have you tried this program? I have found some people who have trashed certain programs, and pushed some over others.

And the winner is 10X3! I am giving this program a shot staring tomorrow. I went out and bought a jump rope, too. Now, I have to complement this program with a diet. I picked up these training packs that contain: mega vitamins and minerals, performance nutrients, and amino acids. I was also informed to drink green tea and add fish oil to meals? Thanks for the advice along the way these past few days.

Well Hottab02 the guy’s here are right by reading some of these programs youl get a feel for what your goal are and what will work towards helping you acheive them. I know when you look at everything for the first time its confusing try to do the little things right first!

Step 1 - Forget about GNC and fat loss supplements! You can incorperate them later when you understand beter that they are only there to SUPPLEMENT and aid an alredy clean diet and sound training program!

Step 2 - Clean up that Diet NO BEER! eat 5 small mealls throughout the day focusing on protein and build around that with good carbs ans healthy fats. There a lots of good article here to explain good nutrition! Look at how gus and bartl are eating in the physique Clinic on the home page.

Step 3 - Find a good Weight training program I think the 3x10 is a great program but there are many out there that you could use. Be sure to use big complex movements like Squats,deadlifts power clean’s etc start simple and work your way up!

Remember that building a strong body and a lighting fast metabolism should be your goal your muscles burn the calories not just a 20 minute ride on the Olyptical trainer!

Step 4 - Cardio is a definate must for you but try to make it longer at a low intensity 3-4 days a week on you non lifting days preferably on an empty stomach but this is open to debate as everyone seems to have a defferent opinon lol!

Step 5 - Evaluate your progress and adjust it acording to your results and goals!

Good luck bro remember everyone here really knows there stuff and will definatly help where they can but try to focus on your goals for the long term not just for a day on the beach once a year!

Happy lifting!

[quote]hottabO2 wrote:
And the winner is 10X3! I am giving this program a shot staring tomorrow. I went out and bought a jump rope, too. Now, I have to complement this program with a diet. I picked up these training packs that contain: mega vitamins and minerals, performance nutrients, and amino acids. I was also informed to drink green tea and add fish oil to meals? Thanks for the advice along the way these past few days.[/quote]

vitamins and minerals are good.
Performance nutrients are… what are performance nutrients?
Amino acids… I’m assuming the bottle reads ‘branched chain amino acids’?..

Green tea contains anti-oxidants, caffeine to wake you up, and EGCG, which has been shown to have a number of beneficial health effects. It’s good stuff. Highly recommended.
Fish oil is perhaps the single most effective supplement ever.

But in general… I wouldn’t recommend buying ANY supplements (okay, fish oil. And green tea isn’t really a supplement) until you’ve already seen some results without them.

It’s great that you have a program. What’s your eating plan look like?

If you need help on diet, do a search for ‘nutrition for newbies’. It should be written by Christian Thibaudeau, if you haven’t read it already.

My Diet today contained:

Breakfast: 2 Hard Boiled Eggs, Cottage Cheese & Peaches, an Orange and a cup of Green Tea.

Snacked on some cantaloupe.

Lunch: Tuna Fish on Wheat(Toasted w/ a few pickles and lettuce), bananna

Snacked on some strawberries

Dinner: 2 Grilled Chicken Breasts, and some brocoli

Snacked on some Chex Mix

I picked up some whey powder this afternoon, too. My diet isn’t complete, but I made sure I ate good today.

Good on you man! Your learning! That diet looks really good for you to start your transformation with!

The only thing id change is to have protein shakes with those snacks and that should be fine for a while until you start adapting!

Looks to me like today you had 1300 calories - 110grams of protein, 150grams of carbs and 20 grams of fat give or take a few! (Those are rough calculations) if you add 3 whey shakes that will put your calories at 1750 or so and get that protein up around 185 grams! A nice balance just add a little healthy fat and you should be good to go then just hit the gym!

Nice work on the Diet!

Does anyone know anything about CLA?

what do you want to know?
Its real name is Conjugated linoleic Acid and its in meat and dairy It has some muscle perserving effects and its suposed to aid and help fat loss I havent taken it myself but people seem to say it works well!

To truly be in a good shape, you’re going to have to do a lot of reading on this site AND THEN making it a lifestyle of DOING. The above posters gave excellent advice on programs to start with.

That being said, I noticed you said 2 weeks!! You’re going to have to really fine tune your diet and follow a bust-your-ass training program - might I recommend doing a search for Meltdown Training. I’ve been doing it, as have many others here in the past, and if you have the discipline and passion to go through with it, you will see results.

But since you’re new to the weightlifting game - use light weights at first - don’t try to impress anybody! But don’t make it so easy that you don’t break a sweat. You should leave a puddle on the floor. And don’t expect washboard abs, but expect to lost some weight and feel much better about how you look and feel.

Well I am not looking for washboard abs…well, maybe next summer. Anyway, I need to lose a good 15-20(+)lbs. I am doing the 10X3 program. I jumped rope for 10 minutes and thought I was going to die.

My dieting is good. I am eating great. Shakes 3x a day, too. This afternoon, I didn’t know if I should use dressing on my salad or not. I made a hearty green salad with brocoli, cucs, chic peas, and grilled chicken, and THEN ranch dressing was what I had. I barely put any ranch on, but I bet it killed the salad. How do I spice up some of the healthy foods I am eating? My mom made a chocolate cake; I didn’t eat any.

The potato chips and french onion dip she bought on Sunday I would normally have gone, but they are not even opened. Certain things I can avoid, but certain condiments like ranch dressing are they detrimental to my diet? Pizza? I am guessing YES! Chinese? Mexican here or there? I know I am rambling on, but there are certain foods my mother will still cook and restaurants my family will still visit. This journey has just begun, and I have to prepare myself down the line. Hey, its only my first week though. So can anyone tell me an alternate to ranch dressing or just eat the damn salad bland!