So I lost a lot of weight, what's next?

Sup guys, I haven't been posting here much. So, I lost a lot of weight. I go to the gym 7 days a week, and I am trying to get in good shape. I have about 15-20 pounds left to lose. I already lost 50 which is pretty damn good. Any recommendations on how to reach this final goal? I seem to be hovering about the same weight now, it's much harder to lose.

I'm in the gym for an hour and 15 min to an hour and 30 minutes everyday pretty much. I just bumped up my elliptical cardio to 900+ calories. I want to be one fit dude by my 21st birthday in December. ) Also, I don't get enough veggies sometimes. Any good supplements to take since I'm not a big veggie guy? I was reading that some of these can make you gain weight, and that is a no no. I lost weight before, but I need to find a way to finally keep it off for good.

I don't have any recommendations but I'd just like to come in here and say good job. I commend your discipline.

Yeah good job, dude!

I've been "getting in shape" recently too. I take my bike out every other day and get about 16 miles in before work, then because my job is a physically active one I got a pedometer and apparently do about 12 miles of walking a day there. I've lost about 13lbs in 3 weeks (roughly) but I'm not really keeping a good diet so I could be doing better.

I say just keep doing what you're doing. It's obviously working. If you're trying to kill it quick, cut out carbs completely, drink a shit ton of water and buy a fat burner. You'll kill it off in 3 weeks.

Very nice. How do you stay disciplined? Do you have a support network?

I can tell you from other people's experience to slowly wean yourself down to a regular (i.e. not 7 times a week) routine. At this point, you want tone and maintenance, so 30 minutes of cardio a day, with alternating upper and lower toning exercises 4-5 days a week would be beneficial.

Get a dummies book on vitamins and minerals, and for that matter supplements. They're clearly spelled out and usually have a reference sheet somewhere in there for quick reference.

Watch your drinking too. I have too many friends that drink (granted only on weekends usually, but we always overdo it). You're approaching 21, and it's very easy to go to a bar and just drink with friends.

Don't be afraid to occasionally reward yourself, but never binge on carbs and sweets.

I did exactly what you did (got super fit, lost a ton of weight, felt GREAT) and over the last 4 years, fell off the wagon. I didn't bother even LOOKING for advice.

As for veggies....look around for veggies that you haven't even tried. There are so many different greens and weird shit out there that taste delicious. Also, talk to vegetarians about vegetables. Aside from all the tofu stuff, they really do make vegetables taste great with very little fat and sugar.

Congrats, and keep up the good work!

also


start sleeping with tons of women

The way I got disciplined was actually starting to go to the gym at school. I saw a 70 year old professor kicking my ass on everything they were doing in the gym. I then looked in the mirror and said wow I am fat. haha. I started going a couple times a week, then I bumped it up to every day. I actually mimicked the nutrisystem program. I found one of their menu planners and tried to follow it similarly with my own foods I could get in the store. The hardest part about this is that I am a bread and cheese lover, and beer as well lol. I am trying to change my lifestyle so I can control my portions as well as the type of food I eat. Anything beef has now been replace with chicken or turkey for me. I try to snack on vegetables or fruit if I have to snack. There are a lot of different types of popcorn that are good for snacking as well. I really wanted to start looking good for my 21st. Why should I be a fat ass at the best possible age? My new goal is to lose another 20 and develop a 6 pack over time. I'm trying to find a spotter for benching. Maybe I will make my friend go with me at school, he needs to get in shape as well. Is it that horrible to use the machines instead of benching and free weights that are supposed to work the same muscles?

Make sure you change up your workout every 4 weeks. That way your plateau time will be less. Also, you should be taking a day off to let your body rest. It's proven that if your body rests/heals, you will meet your goals more quickly. However, I have always said to each their own on that one.

GREAT work hun! I'm proud of you!

Great job on losin the weight man. If I may make a few suggestions though that I think will help you out to reach your final goal.

As Twon said, you need to give your body time to rest. 7 days a week in the gym has gotta be kickin your ass both mentally and physically. I'd recommend going about 4 times a week, however you break it up is all up to you. If you're going to go more than 4 make sure you're splitting it up to where you're doing only weights on one day and cardio on another. If you combine the two in a single workout then definitely don't go more than 4 times a week and especially don't lift weights every single day as this can not only injure you in the long run but severely harm your progress. There are many scientific studies as well as people who experience it themselves that know resting is just as important for you as actually going to the gym. I made a huge mistake a few years ago of trying to go almost every day and I started to plateau and eventually lose strength which sucked.

Also make sure you're doing enough strength training and not just cardio. Cardio is actually catabolic which means it breaks down muscle in your body. It does burn calories too but so does strength training. Its actually said that after a hard strength training session your metabolism is working hard for the next 24-48 hours. Anabolic is the state of building muscle and this is what you want your body to be in. You don't want to burn off too much muscle because muscle burns off fat. I forgot the actual statistic but its something like for every pound of muscle you gain you burn an extra 500 calories a week on top of what you would have already burned off. So figuratively speaking if you sat on your ass and didn't move an inch you would still burn 500 extra calories per pound of muscle gained. So try to stick to maybe 30-45 minutes of cardio like 4 times a week or so and do intervals. (Sprint, jog, sprint, jog) playing around with different speeds and inclines on the treadmill. There's also tons of other good cardio workouts but im just assuming you use a treadmill or something similar in the gym.

As far as supplements go, just make sure that immediately after you're done working out you get a good recovery drink that contains whey protein isolate and high-glycemic carbs that digest really fast in your body. A good combination would be 30 grams of whey protein and 50-60 grams of fast-digesting carbs. You want to get these nutrients to your muscles as quickly as possible because when you're working out you're actually breaking muscle down not building it up. This protein and carb mixture will send your body into an anabolic state to start re-building all that muscle you just broke down so it comes back stronger than before. Everyone has this big misconception that carbs are bad for you. If you're eating the wrong ones, yes they can keep weight on you. Obviously you don't wanna be eating pizza everyday and white bread. But the timing of carbs and the right choice of what you eat can actually help you in your goals. Whole grains are a good source of carbs that are fine to eat as long as you're not going crazy with them. They also contain fiber which helps your body digest nutrients properly. Carbs are your body and brains source of energy so completely cutting them out of your diet wouldn't be a smart thing to do although a lot of people think it is. For a good recovery drink check this one out http//www.bestpricenutrition.com/empyrean-nutrition-insu-pro-2-lbs-pr-19289.html It already contains the perfect mixture of everything you need after you workout. You want to take it immediately after you workout though and thats it. If you take it any other time of the day it won't do what you need it to.

Fat burners aren't necessary if your diet is good and you're training properly. Save your money. Also make sure you're taking a good multi-vitamin (not the cheap ones at wal-mart), some fish/flax oil, and eating a diet high in protein, fruits, vegetables, and the right types of carbs (whole grains, nuts, etc.) as well as spreading your meals throughout the day so you're eating about 5-7 times. If this is tough to do just throw a protein shake or two in there.

Sorry for the long post haha, hope it helps you out with your goals though. Just stick with it and you will see results. I'm a trainer myself and I also work at a supplement/nutrition store so I have a pretty good background in all this stuff. If you need anymore help or want me to write up a sample workout for you or something just let me know and I'd be glad to help out.

Another thing I might add about eating vegetables, try putting that non-fat spray butter on them. I was the same way as you before where I really couldn't even force any vegetables down. I tried the non-fat spray butter and it really does make them taste a lot better so its easier to eat.

Thanks! Pmed

Wow I looked at Powerbook's PM to Jeremiah1218....

[quote14b6d404bc]Hey thanks for the info! So do you have any other tips you can offer? Do you work out in the gym a lot? Are you ripped? You should show me a pic of your body so I can have a goal to work for. P [/quote14b6d404bc]

shock

lol yeah it was somethin like that

[quotebf03b587d8="J4320"]Wow I looked at Powerbook's PM to Jeremiah1218....

[quotebf03b587d8]Hey thanks for the info! So do you have any other tips you can offer? Do you work out in the gym a lot? Are you ripped? You should show me a pic of your body so I can have a goal to work for. P [/quotebf03b587d8]

shock[/quotebf03b587d8]

Haha that was pretty close except for the pic of the body. wink

Congrats to you!

so what are good strength building exercises? I saw above that you said to do more strength training rather than too much cardio???

hovering at the same weight?

Turn the dial to 11.

Run more, eat more(as in the same amount, just more separated during the day).

and lift more.

That should boost your metabolism enough to lose that extra weight.
Google HIIT running if you can, that stuff works like a charm. wink

g'luck

[quote3d54b60cee="ButtrflyFluttrs"]Congrats to you!

so what are good strength building exercises? I saw above that you said to do more strength training rather than too much cardio???[/quote3d54b60cee]

I prefer using mainly free weights with only a few machines thrown in. They get the job done for me. You want to focus on compound exercises, meaning exercises that work more than 1 body part at a time. This will maximize how many calories you're burning off along with build more muscle faster than if you did only machines and isolation work. So for example, doing the chest fly machine is isolating your chest muscles only, while bench pressing (with the bar or dumbbells) is primarily for the chest, but its hitting your back, shoulders, and triceps and then your biceps are also getting a little work because they are supporting muscles when you're bringing the weight down.

Same thing with squats. You are getting your quads, hamstrings, glutes, calves, and even your back and abs. Most people don't do squats though which could really be keeping you held back at your total strength and overall level of fitness. They do suck to do and yeah you're usually sore the next day but if I could recommend one exercise NOT to skip, this would be the one.

So basically just focus on all compound exercises so you can engage a whole group of muscles at once. You can do a little isolation at the end to finish off that muscle group. Like doing a few sets of chest flies at the end of your chest workout after you've done all your presses.

Also be careful not to over train which is something a lot of people do when they want to lose weight or reach a certain level of fitness. You don't want to be doing any strength training session for more than an hour. 45 minutes would be even better. Just get your stuff done and get out. (Unless you're like me and talk a lot in the gym then of course you might be there longer) Don't get into the mindset of if you do more sets you will get where you want to be faster. Do about 3-4 different exercises for each muscle group making sure to hit it at different angles and that's it.

[quotef879d53ba0="Jeremiah1218"][quotef879d53ba0="ButtrflyFluttrs"]Congrats to you!

so what are good strength building exercises? I saw above that you said to do more strength training rather than too much cardio???[/quotef879d53ba0]

I prefer using mainly free weights with only a few machines thrown in. They get the job done for me. You want to focus on compound exercises, meaning exercises that work more than 1 body part at a time. This will maximize how many calories you're burning off along with build more muscle faster than if you did only machines and isolation work. So for example, doing the chest fly machine is isolating your chest muscles only, while bench pressing (with the bar or dumbbells) is primarily for the chest, but its hitting your back, shoulders, and triceps and then your biceps are also getting a little work because they are supporting muscles when you're bringing the weight down.

Same thing with squats. You are getting your quads, hamstrings, glutes, calves, and even your back and abs. Most people don't do squats though which could really be keeping you held back at your total strength and overall level of fitness. They do suck to do and yeah you're usually sore the next day but if I could recommend one exercise NOT to skip, this would be the one.

So basically just focus on all compound exercises so you can engage a whole group of muscles at once. You can do a little isolation at the end to finish off that muscle group. Like doing a few sets of chest flies at the end of your chest workout after you've done all your presses.

Also be careful not to over train which is something a lot of people do when they want to lose weight or reach a certain level of fitness. You don't want to be doing any strength training session for more than an hour. 45 minutes would be even better. Just get your stuff done and get out. (Unless you're like me and talk a lot in the gym then of course you might be there longer) Don't get into the mindset of if you do more sets you will get where you want to be faster. Do about 3-4 different exercises for each muscle group making sure to hit it at different angles and that's it.[/quotef879d53ba0]

Great info Jeremiah. And congrats Powerbook - keep up the good work.

I just got some whey protein from costco. I still have weight to lose, and I do not want to gain weight from this crap. How much of this should I use so I can continue to lose weight? I read that bodybuilders have their body weight in protein, but I am not a bodybuilder. I got this stuff to be a recovery drink after I work out from my heavy cardio exercise. I am starting to take a day off from the gym once a week now. I was thinking of just using 1 serving of this stuff ( 28 ) grams after I work out then having yogurt, chicken, and other forms later in the day. I just don't want to start using this and find I am gaining weight. I still have a belly and getting big now would make me look weird. I want to lose another 15-20 pounds of fat before I start building a lot of muscle.

yoyoyoyo

- you build muscle by lifting weights
- you feed and help your muscles grow with nutrients
- your muscles need protein
- you gain muscle weight but that's not unhealthy bad fatty weight
- your muscles will help you gain a better metabolism which will keep you from getting fatty
- therefore you should keep up the cardio, lift weights, and use protein (and possibly creatine) to gain teh muscle, and eat healthy

then you'll be mista badass and not mista fatass

Creatine just adds water weight, protein is all you need.

;

Do you guys actually consume 1g li your weight in protein? That seems insane. That's probably for body builders. For people becoming athletic I was reading you consume about .5g li your weight. So, you replace 2 out of your 6 small meals a day with 2 servings of this protein. The rest of your protein you get in your other meals from the typical sources. I am going to try this shit for a while, and I will see how it goes. I will probably add in more exercises with free weights. When I am on a normal schedule at school I will throw in benching since those machines suck Jack Nicholson's testicles for chest exercises. This way I will have a spotter. Right now no one will go with me at 6 am haha.

You want to consume 1g of protein per body weight at LEAST. The thing you heard about it being for "only" bodybuilders is false. Like I explained above, having more muscle means you have less fat and you burn off more calories. Even if you're just going for the athletic look, protein is the main staple in any athletes diet because it fuels your muscles and helps you to create more muscle. Protein is what makes up muscle fibers and you want to get as much as you can but obviously don't over do it. Also make sure you choose the right sources of protein.

Protein drinks are good but also try to get your protein from many different sources such as meat and fish as well. You should be consuming about 30-35 grams of protein with every single meal you eat in the day and eat around 6-7 times daily. This of course does depend on how much you weigh. If you replace 2 of your meals with a protein drink that contains this amount of protein you will be good.

This sounds like a lot damn....

A gram isn't that much.

180 grams of protein is a ton lol

Its not when you really look at it spread throughout 6-7 small meals a day. If you add 2 shakes into your diet that contain 30-40g of protein each that's almost half right there. Eat a few chicken breasts, turkey, lean ground beef, fish, anything else that contains protein and you will easily hit that number. If you're getting roughly 30 grams of protein per meal you will be fine.

Protein has very few calories, so you want to eat as much of it as possible.

Protein = Fat loss (because you are going to consume fewer calories) + Muscle growth

You should aim for 1.5g of protein per lbs of body weight. When I was 165 lbs I was eating 250g of protein a day.

Chicken and turkey are probably the best sources of protein if you are not trying to get lots of calories. But still get some red meat in there, or at least take iron supplements. If you are trying to bulk up, milk is your friend (up to one gallon a day, depending on your goals).

Greek yogurt & cottage cheese are great too

yep, good info ilan and Keith.

Protein needs to be the staple of your diet if you're looking to lean out or get in shape in general. Don't fall into this idea of "I don't wanna look like a bodybuilder". They look like that because either they juice or they are very serious about their sport and that's what they devote all their time to. Just by consuming more protein you aren't gonna start lookin like these guys.

To put some of these suggestions into one package for every ones use, hey maybe we can turn it into an offer on a site!

- need to start sleeping with more women, or just have sex every night!
- turn the dial to 11. (I thought that only worked on Spinal Tap's Amps?)
- get a pic of Jeremiah1218 to jerk.. I mean work out to.

Well I skimmed through here so I may have missed it, but NO Pop makes a big difference! I know a lot of you already know that, but it truly works.

I DON'T APPROVE OF THIS METHOD BUT IT WORKS FOR ME.
I have crohn's and when it flares up I start losing weight fast. I lost 20 lbs since June and only 10 of it was trying (just before my wedding) the rest was from the stress which cause the flare up. All is well now, but it does give me opportunity to make good of the weight lose.

Not really sure that a disease is a method to lose weight, but whatever works for you shrug

[quoted84bfe25e3="tucker1003"]To put some of these suggestions into one package for every ones use, hey maybe we can turn it into an offer on a site!

[bd84bfe25e3] - need to start sleeping with more women, or just have sex every night![/bd84bfe25e3]
- turn the dial to 11. (I thought that only worked on Spinal Tap's Amps?)
- get a pic of Jeremiah1218 to jerk.. I mean work out to.

Well I skimmed through here so I may have missed it, but NO Pop makes a big difference! I know a lot of you already know that, but it truly works.

I DON'T APPROVE OF THIS METHOD BUT IT WORKS FOR ME.
I have crohn's and when it flares up I start losing weight fast. I lost 20 lbs since June and only 10 of it was trying (just before my wedding) the rest was from the stress which cause the flare up. All is well now, but it does give me opportunity to make good of the weight lose.[/quoted84bfe25e3]

And if that's not attainable yet, there's always

http//images.fleshlightuk.com/lib/stamina-training-unit-fleshlight.png[" alt=""/imgd84bfe25e3]

you know what i don't get? why do they have attractive women on advertisements? i mean, there's no real woman involved, let alone it being a plastic toy that you end up screwing..if anything i'd be more convinced into buying a fleshlight with a ton of buff men smiling and giving me their testimony on how awesome it was

/gayness

[quote4b52279926="tucker1003"]To put some of these suggestions into one package for every ones use, hey maybe we can turn it into an offer on a site!

- need to start sleeping with more women, or just have sex every night!
- turn the dial to 11. (I thought that only worked on Spinal Tap's Amps?)
- get a pic of Jeremiah1218 to jerk.. I mean work out to.[/quote4b52279926]

Lol, why does everyone always gotta bring up something about me in here? I was just giving him some tips. lol

By the way, I'm not some big jacked dude just because I know a good amount about getting in shape. I actually haven't hit the gym in a few months myself ? . I really do need to get back into it though, I've lost like 20 pounds and it sucks.

Hah, I actually lost a little more weight. It's harder now, but I am still staying with it. I'm hitting the gym like 6 days a week. Classes started, but I just go before them. I wish the gym opened slightly earlier than 7 am, but what can you do.

Me and a friend of mine are gonna start doing crossfit soon. I haven't read much about it but from what she says it sounds intense.

[quoted1b5669b19="J4320"]Me and a friend of mine are gonna start doing crossfit soon. I haven't read much about it but from what she says it sounds intense.[/quoted1b5669b19]

Crossfit is pretty cool, just don't get obsessed about it like all the other CF junkies. It's a good way of working out but everyone that starts it starts shitting all over every other type of working out, it's so annoying.

I also hate the fact that it's so expensive, when it is literally the same as a regular gym, except you do everything faster. Why does that justify paying twice as much for a CrossFit gym membership?

On an unrelated note, one of my goals for this year is to deadlift 405 lbs at a body weight of 165 lbs. Last year I DL'ed 340 lbs while weighing about 170 lbs, so I think this is definitely a doable goal. We'll see.

Yeah... I haven't even thought about costs. I already have a Y membership. Hmmm. I like how you always have goals, Ilan. That impresses me. I haven't really ever entertained the thought of having very specific goals when working out.

I don't think I'd be motivated enough to go to the gym if I didn't have specific goals to work towards. I am always thinking at least six months to a year ahead so I can plan my workout accordingly.

I think it helps to have a specific idea of why you're working out. e.g. is it vanity, sports, health, etc.

So, I lost some more weight. I'm starting to gain some good muscle. This brings my total weight loss to 70 pounds! D Who's not a fatty anymore? I got to the point that I can't even stuff myself because my stomach is small. It feels good. The best part is my thighs don't rub together when I do running or walking haha. I just bought pants like 2 months ago, now I need all new ones again. This the only thing that sucks. I don't have money for more new clothes.

lol I must have gained all the weight you lost. Darn you sloppy college food!

Damn don't remind me of Freshmen year.... Let's just say it was a bit more than the freshmen 15 that year haha

[quote7e3f4a4bac="Powerbook"]So, I lost some more weight. I'm starting to gain some good muscle. This brings my total weight loss to 70 pounds! D Who's not a fatty anymore? I got to the point that I can't even stuff myself because my stomach is small. It feels good. The best part is my thighs don't rub together when I do running or walking haha. I just bought pants like 2 months ago, now I need all new ones again. This the only thing that sucks. I don't have money for more new clothes.[/quote7e3f4a4bac]

Better get used to it, dude... if you are serious about staying in shape then your weight will be constantly shifting. It is a huge pain in the ass, but comes with the territory.

Save all your clothes for when you put that 70 lbs back on in the form of muscle.

Haha, I don't need that XL clothing D

So i'm thinking about working out. I'm not a skinny guy, but i'm not a muscular guy. Was just wondering if a 15-20 run every day + weights with dumbbells alternating diff parts of my upper each day would be a good routine?

could anyone share some light on this? I don't feel like googling it cause i don't know what to read lol.

15-20 refers to minutes, not miles, right? If you're looking to build muscle (bulk/vanity), running is not a great activity. Use it as a warm up until you've broken a sweat but you probably don't need to run more than 10 minutes for that. If swimming or rowing is an option, do that instead because it is a better warmup for the upper body.

I would use barbell instead of dumbbells. The advantage of dumbbells is an increased range of motion and more use of stabilizing muscles. Those are only necessary if you are injured or already have a strong lift that is being held back by smaller accessory muscles. You can always lift more with a barbell than with dumbbells, and that leads to more muscle growth.

Your program should include squat, deadlift, and bench. Those should be the focus of your routine, everything else is accessory work. Anything else you add should still be a compound movement that hits multiple muscle groups (e.g. dips, pull-ups, farmer's walks)—that means no calf raises, sit-ups, curls, or similar bullshit. (If you think your core strength is holding back another movement, do straight-arm planks. I will be impressed if you can do 2 minutes, let alone 1 minute without shaking.)

Also, I've said this a couple times in this thread I think, but bulking is about diet, not workout. A weightlifter who is trying to bulk or lose weight changes his diet, not his workout. Go through a pound of pasta, a pound of meat, and half a gallon of milk a day.

Thanks for the wordy reply Ilan.

Well, the thing is I want to get rid of some excess fat in the stomach are and lower body. I don't have access to a barbell unless I go to a gym. I just don't have the accessibility to the gym easily so I figure I'd just work with what I have at home (or what I can borrow relatively easy). I guess I can drink more milk haha. My friend tells me I should take protein shakes or supplements? What do you think about that? What's the point

Supplements are [i313dcebad8]supplements[/i313dcebad8]. They don't replace a steady diet. Really, they are effective for people who are 1) eating as much as possible but still need more protein intake, or are 2) measuring their caloric intake very carefully, and need to increase their protein intake without increasing calorie intake.

That's not to say they can't help you bulk up. But I would make changes to diet before adding protein shakes. Chances are you can get enough protein from your meals alone. It's really up to you, just make sure if you do use protein shakes that they aren't replacing real meals/food.

I haven't used dumbbells in over a year so I honestly can't help you with the programming part of your workout, I'm sorry. However, I would suggest googling for programs that are built around kettlebells—dumbbells are fairly interchangeable in those exercises. And I would also try to do some body weight stuff, depending on your living situation it should be fairly easy to do pushups, pull-ups, burpees, dips, planks, and pistol squats. Depending on your living situation, and assuming the dumbbells are heavy enough, you can do farmer's walks, they are one of my favorite exercises. I've never done thrusters but they look like they could be a good use of dumbbells too.

Listen to ilanfg. He is the milk of your salvation.

http//i.walmartimages.com/i/p/00/03/12/00/26/0003120026107_215X215.jpg[" alt=""/img0ae62aceff]
+
[img="0ae62aceff]http//www.nutritionexpress.com/images/Articles/Fitness_Labs/WheyFit/Creamy-Van-5lb.gif[" alt=""/img0ae62aceff]
+
[img="0ae62aceff]http//gnc.imageg.net/graphics/product_images/pGNC1-2331642t300x300.jpg[" alt=""/img0ae62aceff]
(grape flavor)

[img="0ae62aceff]http//forum.freeipodguide.com/smilies_mod/upload/213f82f8c6fa29c9585ed2d3426da4ba.gif[" alt=""/img0ae62aceff]

It tastes freakin good.

On a related note, yesterday I knocked out 5 dips with 90 lbs added. That's been my goal for like the past year, so I'm pretty pleased with that. This year I decided I would hit 5 reps with 100 lbs by the end of next semester, I think that goal is a few months away.

Thanks for the tips.