Working Out

[brekk]

supplements are bullshit.

[Lejina Bloodbath]

I don't understand why someone would say that you must avoid cardio.

I'm in the military and, as everyone in that field of work would tell you, it's our cardio that keep us going. That and a healthy dose of endurance. If you had to chose a single exercice, it should be cardio.

Jog 3-4 days a week and push ups, sit ups, squats every days.
There, dead easy workout schedule that you can complete in like 30-40min.

That won't turn you into Mr Universe, but it's as simple as it get, you will get in better shape and will feel better. Once you have the time to go to a gym or feel like buying some weights, then go on, but the stuff i listed is the very basic that will make a noticiable change after some time.

[Chaotic]

I think that if you posted up the same thing on the bodybuilding board (which really is just a fitness board) they would say that he should keep the mass and turn it into muscle due to his very low body weight. I'm not going to really go into what cardio does and why it oculd be negative, you can wiki I guess, but in this situation I don't think it would be recommended unless you would mind being 125 lbs or so (if your 138 now with a gut)

That being said, I do cardio 3-5 hours a week. However, thats to balance my bulking without getting fat. Cardio is great, given certain parameters.

[Lusiphur]

Well I fit it in this way.

Straight after that wake up piss, as many push ups and sit ups as you can manage. I started with 15 and 30 (believe it or not, and that was an effort). Now I can manage 2 sets of 30, 2 sets of 50 and leg raises into the mix.

Minute I get in from work (before even the cats are fed) same again and some free weight work with some dumb bells I have had gathering dust for the largest part of 20 years.

Maybe less than an hour a day and everyone says I look better .. /shrug.

[Croissant]

I didn't want to start a new thread, so I guess I'll post this here, it's related to the what the OP is asking.

I'm 5'7" ish, and I weight like 120-125 pounds. 18 years old. I don't really eat well, lots of junk food, and I don't do much cardio. If I want to put on some muscle mass, what should I eat that isn't a supplement? I'd rather ask people here to know what worked for them, because I've tried a lot of the "suggested" stuff to eat and it didn't work or I did it wrong or something. I'm also not very in shape, but I don't want to do too much cardio because I'm struggling to GAIN weight :/

A lot of people have suggested creatine and supplements, but I don't really want to try that yet, I'd just like some suggestions on everyday food to actually gain weight? I'm going to do a little bit of research on how to gain "good" weight too I guess. Everywhere there's advice on how to eat healthy and lose weight, but I've never found a good guide to gaining 15-20 good pounds. Maybe there's a reason...?

edit: I'm also aware that I need to actually workout to get muscles, but I tried that too and I didn't notice much of a difference, so I figured it's what I eat that's holding me back

[arkael]

Originally Posted by Chaotic

I think that if you posted up the same thing on the bodybuilding board (which really is just a fitness board) they would say that he should keep the mass and turn it into muscle due to his very low body weight. I'm not going to really go into what cardio does and why it oculd be negative, you can wiki I guess, but in this situation I don't think it would be recommended unless you would mind being 125 lbs or so (if your 138 now with a gut)

That being said, I do cardio 3-5 hours a week. However, thats to balance my bulking without getting fat. Cardio is great, given certain parameters.

Did I strike a nerve that you had to comment on my low post count? Go back to trolling.

When I started out I used bodybuilding.com almost exclusively. I know exactly what you're talking about. What you're misunderstanding is not everyone is a bodybuilder and not everyone cares about putting on muscle mass. They just want to look and feel good. You don't have to weigh 200 pounds with 5% body fat to do that.

I understand why someone who weighs so little would want to avoid cardio and put on more mass, cardio burns muscle AND fat and hurts your gains if you mix it with lifting in the wrong way. The thing is, not everyone wants to look like Ronnie Coleman. Cardio is never going to do more bad than good, and is always better than nothing for someone just looking to lose fat.

As brekk said, in not so many words, supplements are bullshit. Creatine is bullshit. Eat healthy and exercise. The point of working out shouldn't be to get huge, it should be to look and feel healthy.



Most people probably aren't gonna read this far down, but what worked for me was like I just said. Eat high protein with healthy carbs and good fats. Omega3 and whole grains. Combine that with any kind of exercise you enjoy doing and push yourself hard, you'll see improvement.

[Dinthug]

Originally Posted by Shoeby

the people over at John Stone fitness are absolutely amazing with any kind of fitness/nutritional advice you need.
They've helped a ton of people get on track, including myself, and are all a friendly lot of people.

Forums - http://forums.johnstonefitness.com

was going to recommend the same thing, awesome forum. Go there religiously, read every sticky and follow everything they say. Might even want to start a log like a bunch of the people over there do.

[Dinthug]

Here's a bunch of stuff I pulled from that forum a while ago, lots of good information here. In NO particular order, it is all from stickies posted in their forums, if you are confused what you are reading, just go to the forums and read the stickies. I just pulled what I thought was important.

Most of the stuff beginners will find important is toward the bottom (foods to eat and avoid, types of workouts, etc.)






If you take the grams of protein and multiply it by 4 calories, take the grams of carbs and multiply it by 4 calories and the grams of fat and multiply it by 9 calories, you actually get close to the number of calories listed on the package for things.


-----Guide to Calories---------


http://forums.johnstonefitness.com/s...ead.php?t=1222




(weight conversion?)
http://www.onlineconversion.com/

Harris Benedict BMR Formula For Men

BMR = 66 + (13.7 X weight in kgs) + (5 X height in cms) – (6.8 X age in yrs).


Now we need to take into account the amount of energy burned through activity.

1. If you are sedentary (little or no exercise) – BMR X 1.2

2. If your are lightly active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days a week) – BMR X 1.375

3. If you are moderately active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days a week) – BMR X 1.55

4. If you are very active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days a week) – BMR X 1.725

5. If you are extra active (very hard daily exercise/sports & physical job or training twice daily – BMR X 1.9.

I fell into category number 3 therefore 1868 X 1.55 = 2895.4



...They recommend that a person lose 1-2 lbs per week maximum. The example I’m going to use is for my aim to be to lose 1 lb per week. I believe this is fast enough and I won’t be losing any muscle. 1 lb of fat is 3500 calories. Therefore to lose 1 lb a week you do the following: 3500 divided by 7 = 500 cals. I then minus 500 from 2895.4 = 2395.4. So to burn 1 lb of fat per week I must consume no more and no less than 2395.4 calories per day.

...You can either start of with a common ratio like 50% carbs, 30% Protein and 20% fat.

...Lets look at protein. Its recommended that you consume no more than 1 gram of protein for every pound of body weight. I weigh 170 lbs so I should be getting 170g of protein per day. Because there are 4 calories per gram of protein I can do the following calculation: 170 X 4 = 680. So I should consume 680 calories of protein per day. To workout the percentage you need the number of calories you should consume daily. Therefore: 680 divided by 2395.4 = 0.28 X 100 = 28% protein. Note: If after doing these calculations the percentage if over 40% then disregard and estimate. I reccommend 30% but if you think you need more, do not go over 40%. In some cases the 1g for every 1lb of bodyweight guideline can be too much. (Thanks for bringing this to my attention Ansett)

The recommended amount of fat intake should be around 20% Hence 0.20 X 2395.4 = 479 calories from fat. Because there are 9 calories in 1 gram of fat I can say that 479/9 = 53.2g of fat should be consumed per day.

To work out the required amount of Carbohydrates I can use the following equation. 100% - 20% (fat) – 28% (protein) = 52% of Carbohydrates per day. Hence 0.52 X 2395.4 = 1245.6 calories of Carbohydrates per day. Because there are 4 calories per gram of carbohydrate I can say 1245.6/4 = 311.4g per day.


So the Macronutrient Percentages are:

52 : 28 : 20

Carbohydrates : Protein : Fats

Diet Plan
http://www.fatlosstips.com


You can track what you eat and all of the numbers and ratios on a spreadsheet. Check out John’s spreadsheet on the main page or check out Adi's excellent fitness log that really makes it easier for you to achieve your goals:

(read later)
http://forums.johnstonefitness.com/...read.php?t=5999

You can also use http://www.fitday.com/ to track your diet.


Time Meal
8 am Whey protein powder, vitamin C (1,000mg)
9 am Workout
10:30 am Meal [egg white omlette] with Glutamine, and vitamin C
1:30 pm Meal 3 [5oz chicken breast, 1 cup of brown rice, small salad]
4:30 pm Meal 4 [snack]
7:30 pm Meal 5 [6oz of tuna, 1 cup of vegetables]
10:30 pm Whey protein powder, vitamin C and Glutamine


Complex carbohydrates can be found in a variety of foods including bread, rice, pasta, vegetables and some milk products. These foods are generally digested slower and release energy over a longer period of time


To increase your complex carbohydrate intake eat more of the following;
- Bread (especially wholemeal and wholegrain)
- Cereal products such as oats and whole wheat.
- Wholemeal pasta and brown rice.
-Legumes and vegetables.

---not important---
Lipoprotein lipase (LPL) is an enzyme that takes free fatty acids from the blood and stores it in the fat cells as triglycerides. This is called lipogenesis, the making of fat. It expands the size of fat cells by filling them up.

Hormone Sensitive Lipase (HSL) is an enzyme responsible for the release of fat from the fat cells and back into the blood stream making it available to the body for energy. This process is known as lipolysis. It reduces the size of the fat cells as the fat is being released.

So to lose fat we must increase the use of HSL (lipolysis), which will speed up the breakdown of fat in the cells and cause it to be used as energy. Adrenaline and Cortisol enhance HSL production and are produced in response to stress. Physical stress in the form of exercise increases the rate of fat breakdown and uses the resultant free fatty acids to power muscles. Emotional stress also increases the rate of fat breakdown, however, fat stays in the bloodstream putting you at risk for artery disease. Stimulant drugs like caffeine and amphetamines also increase the above hormone production.
--------------------------

A High GI Value is 70 or more.

A Medium GI value is 56 to 69.

A Low GI Value is 55 or less

Below are some links to lists of popular foods are their GI values:

http://www.glycemicindex.ca/glycemicindexfoods.pdf
http://www.lowglycemicdiet.com/gifoodlist.html
http://www.geolucid.com/sauderfamily/steve/foodgi.htm

For more info about the Glycemic Index and for a really good GI database check out this website.

http://www.glycemicindex.com/



Saturated Fats are found mainly in animal foods (milk, cheese, meats etc).

Unsaturated Fats fall into two categories:

Polyunsaturated fats
Mono-unsaturated

Polyunsaturated fats are found in most vegetable oils and fish (eg. corn, soybean, safflower and cottonseed oils) and contain essential fatty acids (explained later). They lower LDL levels and increase HDL levels, which is good.

Mono-unsaturated are found in olive and canola oil along with some fruits and nuts. Eg. olive oil, canola oil, peanut oil, cashews almonds, peanuts and avocados. They lower LDL levels and increase HDL levels.

Essential Fatty Acids
Essential fatty acids cannot be manufactured by the body and therefore must be obtained through the diet. They are not stored but saved for hormone like functions.

To conclude: for weight loss and optimal health, stay away from saturated fats and concentrate on mono-unsaturated fats, polyunsaturated fats and essential fatty acids. However even though these are good fats, excess consumption will still lead to fat gain.



-------------------------------------
protein
-------------------------------------
It’s recommended that people undertaking fitness programs consume 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight per day. Any more than this can be harmful to your kidneys and other components of your digestive system. Also once your body has met its protein requirements the excess is stored as body fat.


Protein is broken down by the body’s digestive system into amino acids. There are two types of amino acids:

Essential Amino Acids (cannot be produced by the body)
Non-Essential Amino Acids (These can be produced from other amino acids in the body)

Protein can be obtained from a variety of sources:

Animal Foods – meat, poultry, eggs and dairy foods. These are high in protein and contain all of the essential amino acids required by the body.

Plant Foods – breads, cereals, grains, beans etc. These foods supply the body with protein but lack the required amino acids.

You can also obtain protein from supplements like Whey Protein that are very useful because you can meet your daily protein requirements without consuming too many animal products.


To get your protein requirements consume a mixture of whey protein, lean meats, skinless poultry, eggs, low fat dairy products and seafood.


-----
micronutrients
------

---vitamins----

If your diet is good you may not need extra vitamins but athletes and people on fitness programs burn more energy and hence may require supplements to ensure they meet their daily requirements

I won’t go into the different types of vitamins and their functions because it would take forever. To ensure you get enough vitamins try and consume fruits and vegetables with every meal and take vitamin supplements.


Minerals
They assist the body in; muscle contraction; nerve control; fluid balance (sodium/potassium);
metabolism of enzymes in energy production (zinc/iodine); control the body’s pH and in the transportation of oxygen.

The two most important minerals are:

---iron---

Iron is very important for athletes and can be obtained from the following sources; red meat; liver; kidney; eggs; green vegetables; fish; poultry; cereals/breads and dried fruit and nuts. You can also supplement iron with a general mineral supplement.


---calcium---

Calcium can be found in; milk; cheese; eggs; green vegetables; tinned salmon; non-fat yogurt. You can also supplement with calcium with a general mineral supplement.




-----------------------
pre-work out meals
----------------------

The aim of the pre-event meal is to top up glycogen and protein levels and maintain fluid levels.


If you are doing Continuous Training (eg 20 mins at 70%) then it is fine and more effective to train on an empty stomach before breakfast. If you are performing HIIT (or any other type of interval training) and weights then you should eat before the workout. The question is though, how soon before the workout and what to eat? A general rule is you should not eat within an hour before exercise because as you need to allow for the digestion of food. If you ate a big meal 5 mins before your workout, you would feel extremely tired because the digestive system would be taking all of the blood and energy from your muscles and using it to digest your food.

So the guidelines are don’t eat within an hour of your workout. Eat foods that are; high in complex carbs; low fat; have fibre; and will give you adequate fluid intake.

If you must eat within an hour of your workout, have something like Sustagen or Milo because it digests quickly and easily, it empties quickly from the stomach and provides instant energy.

-----
mid workout drink
------
*
*
*
As a general guideline you should consume 150-250ml of fluids for every 15 minutes during exercise.
*
*
*

---------
recovery
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After any physical activity the body must have a chance to recover. This can be achieved through; replacing muscle glycogen stores, replacing fluids and electrolytes lost through sweat and providing the initial ingredients lost through tissue and muscle repair.

For glycogen replacement it depends on the intensity and duration of exercise but you can speed up the recovery process by consuming carbohydrate rich foods immediately after exercise. High GI foods are effective but people trying to achieve weight loss should stick to low GI foods, which will also be effective.

If you performed weights you will need to repair damaged muscle tissue by consuming foods both high in the Protein and Carbohydrates like a whey protein shake.

For fluid replacement you can tell how much you lost by weighing yourself. If you lost 1kg of weight you need to drink 1-2 litres of water. If you lost 2kg you should drink 2-3 litres. What I usually do is drink 1 litre straight after the workout and in the next hour drink another litre.




--------------
supplements
--------------

In my opinion there are three main supplements that people should take when trying to lose weight.

Whey Protein- Helps you get your daily requirements of protein without eating large amounts of fatty animal products.

L-Glutamine – Prevents catabolism of the muscles. In other words it helps you retain muscle mass while cutting. It also boosts your immune system and nourishes your digestive tract.

A Vitamin and Mineral supplement is also useful to ensure you are getting your daily requirements.


Some Useful Links

http://www.eatright.org/Public/

http://nutrition.about.com/

http://www.dietclub.com.au/

http://www.healthyeating.net/he_1.htm





(new page)




So bad carbs are: pasta, white bread, anything potatoes (including fries, and chips), white rice, regular bagels, fruit (lots of sugar), and anything with lots of sugar like soda, anything with lots of high fructose corn syrup, basically what most of us think of as carbs.

The good carbs are: vegetables, wheat or multigrain bread/bagels/pasta, oatmeal.

Low fat protein (chicken, tuna, protein shake)
- Good carbs
- Good Fats



Old habits:
-eating three large meals
-always thinking that meat, starch, and vegetables are all needed for a complete meal.
-you can have as much fruit and fruit juice as you want with no consequences
-When eating out or getting takeout, thinking that you are supposed to finish whatever amount of food is given in one sitting regardless of portion size.
-eating too fast, and not letting your body tell you it is full. If you eat fast you will miss the point when you were actually full and overstuff yourself.
-Not realizing that water is the most important drink and the recommended eight 8-oz glasses is not enough for you.




When I had my first one with water, It was really hard to drink. I wasn't used to it at all and didn't like it. But then I tried the chocolate with non-fat milk and it was like a chocolate milk shake. Very tastey. (the taste improved when I switched from Designer Whey to All The Whey). Also the milk I get has 12 grams of protein per serving, which just increased the amount of protein I was getting from 20 to 32 grams. Yes the milk does have sugar in it but I wouldn't worry about this if you keep the rest of the sugar you eat to a minimum. And if it gets you to drink the shake in the first place, then that's what counts.


I should probably try to get use to it with only water but I have liked the taste so much I haven't bothered. Something to try would be John Stone's method for making his protein shake. I believe, if remember correctly, he puts his shaker bottle with water in the freezer 45 minutes before he is about to drink his shake so that it is very cold. Then add the protein powder and any other supplements, shake the hell out of it and drink it down.





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Here is an example of food that is on my “good for eating” list, but also I like it. There are many more good foods, these are just the ones I eat. I tried to separate them based on what they were a good source of, some things are listed in multiple categories.

Protein
lean chicken breasts
tuna
whey protein
turkey lunch meat
low fat ground turkey
fat free hotdogs
meatloss sausage patties by Morningstar
sushi
Lean Pockets Ultra
eggs
eggbeaters (got sick of these fast though)
low fat beef jerky (although lots of salt, beware)
Protein bar, Odyssey, 30 g of protein, only 7 g of sugar
edamame beans
black beans
salmon
shrimp

Carbs
whole wheat bread
whole wheat pasta or reduced carb pasta (basically the same thing)
whole wheat bagel
Cinna-raisen crunch cereal by Kashi (relatively low sugar)
Any vegetables such as lettuce, tomatoes, green beans, broccoli, cucumber etc.
edamame beans
Lean Pockets Ultra
bananas

Fat
peanuts
peanut butter
olive oil
fish: salmon, swordfish, other white fish




Here is an example of a typical day:
Meal 1: Kashi cereal with skim milk
Meal 2: two bananas and protein shake (post workout meal, for days I lift) or maybe a whole wheat bagel on non-lifting days
Meal 3: Turkey sandwich on whole wheat bread with lettuce, tomatoes.
Meal 4: Protein bar, odyssey
Meal 5: Chicken breast (or hot dog on whole wheat bread, or tuna), greenbeans, edamame beans.
Meal 6: protein shake (before bed, if I’m still hungry)


Basically there is two types of protein supplement, blend and isolate. The isolate it pure protein, and costs a lot. The blend has a little bit of fat and carbs in it, but not much and is much cheaper. I recommend starting with the blend. Chocolate is really the only flavor I drink.

(the taste improved when I switched from Designer Whey to All The Whey).

... he puts his shaker bottle with water in the freezer 45 minutes before he is about to drink his shake so that it is very cold. Then add the protein powder and any other supplements, shake the hell out of it and drink it down


bad foods

Fried foods (Fried chicken, French fries, fried onion rings, tater tots, etc)
Cookies
Crackers
Biscuits
Frostings
Pies
Pastries
Frostings
Doughnuts
Corn chips
Taco shells
Shortening
Partially hydrogenated vegetable oils
Refined vegetable oils
Baked goods (Croutons, crackers, cookies, cakes, breads, muffins)
Margarine
Peanut Butter (JIF, Skippy, PeterPan, etc.)


Dr. Erasmus once said, "If you see the "H" word on the label, get the
"H" out of there!"

[Dinthug]

Work on "unsexy" muscles too. Back, hamstrings/glutes, obliques and triceps don't get as much media attention as chest, quads, abs and biceps.

Thats because they are less important - right? WRONG! WRONG! WRONG! I can argue that they are at least as important. For burning fat, these are the serious furnaces - simply because they are big. Work them and build them, don't get focused on forearms and calves as much initially - they get worked anyway.

4. Finally, force yourself to stabilize when lifting: use a phyisoball to do bench presses; do some things on one foot; add some rotational components to a workout- basically, get out of using just push/pull in one plane.

I just started asymmetric loading of weights and it's a good twist: Instead of symetrically weighting every exercise, pick weights that are marginally different: 5-10 pounds different max, and then go through a set. It forces you to use lots of the muscles in your trunk and core to stay stable and balanced. (For example: Do lunges with a 45lb weight in one hand, and a 50 lb weight in the other). For real fun, do DB Benches on a physioball with different weights.

It's just one way to not let yourself get too comfortable.



------------------------------------------------------
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If you don’t know what this is, you need to. Within 30 minutes of finishing weight lifting you should have a protein shake along with some sugar. The sugar gets released into the blood stream quickly. The protein is designed to do the same thing. this basically creates an environment for the protein to get delivered to the muscles that were just worked. I think the sugar heads to the muscles because the muscle has depleted its stockpile of glycogen when it was working out. Sugar (glucose) gets stored as glycogen in muscles so they can perform work.

...so I just eat 2 bananas and a whey protein shake (after working out).


*
*
LONG list of exercises he does with his routine.
*
*
*
--------------------------
http://forums.johnstonefitness.com/s...ad.php?t=16232
--------------------------



I like to split the major body parts into three different lifting sessions. In general, I try to do 3-4 sets per exercise and 2-3 exercises per body part. For example:

Day 1:
Chest, Shoulders, Triceps
1) DB bench press

2) incline DB bench press (same as above with 30 deg incline)

3) seated DB shoulder press

4) lateral raises

5) shrugs

6) tricep bar pushdown

7) bench dips (no weight though)


Day 2:
Back, biceps
1) assisted pull-ups

2) Cable row

3) back extensions

5) incline seated DB curls

6) regular pullups

Day 3:
Legs, abs
1) DB squats

2) DB stiff legged dead lifts (I keep my lower back straight)

3) seated calf raises

4) decline crunch

5) side crunch

6) elbow to opposite knee

7) leg raises (basically, lie on back and lift legs off ground and hold)





1) low intensity steady state (LISS) - this is probably what most people are familiar with, cardio that gets your heart rate (HR) at about 75% of its max value for 45 minutes. This puts your body in a fat burning state without risking muscle. I've also heard people use this term to refer to walking as well. You can't get your heartrate up as high, but you still can burn fat.

2) high intensity interval training (HIIT). this is a little more advanced, please search around for more info before doing this. It involves alternating between pushing yourself extremely hard (higher than 75% of the max HR) for a length of time (like a minute) and then slowing down and recovering for the next minute. The principle is, that by alternating like this, your body actually thinks you are exerting yourself at the high intensity for the entire time. So you can get the same workout in less time. HIIT workouts are more typically 20-30 minutes.


I've seen lots of people say that you should not eat anything for up to an hour after performing cardio. The fat burning process can continue that whole time. Although as soon as you eat something, it stops. You can and should definitely drink water. This will never stop fat loss. Water is necessary and should be drunk all day long.

Right now I walk as my cardio. I walk to and from work about 3 days a week. The one way trip is 2.8 miles and takes me about 40 minutes.

[Dinthug]

Here's where I started:

My Guide To Nutrition For Weight Loss

Gravity Homers Fat loss Guide

Fitness links suggested by JSF

JSF main forums

[Ham n Cheese]

It's really simple, there aren't many shortcuts. I work out on weights 3-4 times a week and run 3-5 times (only 2 miles though, still working this up from basically 2 years of nothing). Eventually when you hit your walls increase your cardio and switch it up (jumping rope, swimming, biking). You know what you have to do, it's not fun.

I used to go to a gym a lot, but I moved further away from it so I bought myself an olympic bench and easy curl bar. I work out a LOT more conistantlyl now that I have insanely easy access to lift (boxers, 3am, whenever/however). I can't recommend getting yourself your own weights enough if you're serious. Nothing beats convenience

[ValkyrieIsAboutToDie]

Dance Dance Revolution!

[Gahid]

I lost a good 10lbs in a few months by completely reworking my diet and doing some very basic exercises.

I am not very committed to losing weight - I have a steady relationship and I'm not seriously overweight.

Here's what worked for me:

I basically stopped eating shitty food. I cook all my own food now so I know what is in it. I don't keep a log or anything I just try to eat lots of protein and avoid saturated fat, high fructose corn syrup, and simple carbs. You can check labels for saturated fat and corn syrup (really anything with high amounts of sugar, but corn syrup is a good place to start) and a good rule for simple carbs is if it's white or light colored it's bad. And the closer it is to the tree the better. Avoid processed foods.

I've switched up my exercise routine a lot, but I've done lots of running (two miles twice a day), biking, push ups, sit ups and squats. My gym membership is expired so I don't lift. Running felt the best but I had to quit because I got shin splints from running on concrete, and I discovered that biking is more enjoyable to me and since I am able to do a more extended exercise it is also probably better.

Do not skip meals.

You know what? If you've read this far the best advice I can give you is just go to a nutritionist; they cost like $30 and you'll never regret it. Best $30 I ever spent.

[Fammaden]

I only skimmed the thread so forgive me. Sounds like the original poster ruled out jogging and isn't into some of the crazy weighthead/supplement shit people always start to post. Just going to give my story as a gamer and drunk.

I decided to lose weight like 15 months ago and I'm down from like 220+ to a slim 180. I went pretty hard low carb at first but I have since introduced some carbs back into my diet in limits and with balance. I stayed away from all the typical "bad" carbs like white bread/rice, any and all refined sugar products etc. I cut way down on the beer intake though I love it so. I totally eliminated soda, which is huge in and of itself. I was drinking tons of Mt. Dew raiding and getting up at 5:30 in the morning. All that sugar in soda does you no good, so cut that shit out if you drink it. That alone might get some weight loss happening. The low carb shit really works and for all the Adkins naysayers out there, it actually does make sense. Pro atheletes, marathon runners, triatheletes and the like can consume bags of pretzels massive amounts of pasta and such because they need that available energy to burn since they burn massive amounts of it a day. Me and you on the other hand, the average slob sitting at a desk hammering at a keyboard night and day for work and play, aren't burning hardly any of it. It gets stored by our body into fat. I have been doing nothing but a big salad and a 1/4 cantelope for lunch at work for over a year now. I have some meat and cooked veggies for dinner and (very importantly) don't snack or eat within three hours of going to sleep. For breakfast I do a higher carb fruit, usually apple or banana.

I like to keep the raw vegetable part of the diet intact. I see so many fatasses get into the idea of Adkins/low carb and you hear them say dumb shit like "wow, Adkins is great, I ate a pound of bacon, a whole chicken, a dozen eggs and a package of hot dogs last night!" Of course these lazy fucks are looking for an easy way out so they never exercise with it and eventually give up their half assed "diet" up pretty quickly. Raw veggies can hurt your stomach if you aren't used to them so you might want to expect/be prepared for that if you go down the salad route. A well thought out salad can be very fulfilling though and cover all the vitamins and minerals you will realistically need. Eating fruit and vegetable matter for lunch is so much easier on my work afternoons too. I don't feel weighed down and tired for hours after lunch trying to keep my eyes open staring at a computer screen.

For exercise, I went with cycling. I have always enjoyed it and I find it more tolerable and lower impact on my joints and body than running. Either way, just make sure you actually push yourself, don't just go through the motions. You need to do your CV until you are out of breath and your heart is beating so you know you are burning off fat. This is especially key when you are trying to lose rather than just maintain a weight. I live in a nice development for biking or running though, with nearby trails/parks and wide shoulders on the roads just for that purpose. I usually bundled up and braved all kinds of cold weather, and eventually I got addicted to having that release as part of my daily routine. And that is what it has to be, just as much a part of your life as paying bills, waking up in the morning, going to work, taking a shower, just another task that you need to get done. You can't look at it as a chore that is optional or you will have temptation to slack. In time though like I said, you will value it on its own merit, the stress relief can't be beat. Sounds cliche but it is true.

Of course sometimes rain or other environmental concerns keep me indoors and you might not have the luxury of appropriate nearby outdoor venues for running/biking. (I exclude walking even though I hike about a half mile round trip to the mailbox with my dog as a cooldown and consider it a vital part of my routine. Most people just don't get enough real CV action from simply walking to suffice though, and it sounds like you don't either.) Other easy things to do without going to the gym or going outdoors are, jumping jacks and jump rope like someone said, push ups, crunches or sit ups. Something else I have done in lieu of biking is a sort of ghetto stairmaster, just doing like a jog in place on two stairs if you have stairs. I do this in reps of 80, used to do reps of 40 but like three times a day.

And of course, get an MP3 player/ipod and a nice set of headphones that won't fall all over the place when you are bouncing about. Good luck.

[NoStem]

Swim, run (google tabata or HIIT), and when you go to the gym you should never really leave the power rack i.e: stick to compound/olympic lifts and make sure you squat, deadlift, chinups, dips etc etc should be first and foremost above crap like curls. Drink protein after you workout, and before you go to sleep if you want; Muscle Milk / Cytosport is the best tasting brand bar none, and I'd probably drink it even if it was bad for you. Eat healthy, smaller portions of food often (every 2-3 hours) and try to eat more veggies, fruits, meat and wholegrain and drink more water. When you drink beer make sure you're also drinking water, especially after. Sleep as best you can, and if you can even roughly stick to this type of lifestyle you will be in phenomenal shape.