Cutting Fat

[hockegoale]

Hello everyone,

I weigh about 210, and i have for the last 3-4 years, and I'm about 6'2". I have been above average-large as far as my size goes due to lifting for the last few years, but I have had this constant layer of fat on my body, and it's been pretty consistent as i started gaining weight. I reached a point in my lifting where I would like to retain my size, but lose the layer of, unless I'm incorrect in terminology, subcutaneous fat. i gained about 50 pounds out of high school by lifting and eating everything in sight, and i mean literally. now i've cut out all of the bad stuff, and i'm even making a consciouss effort to stay away from beer (gin and tonics). i do not binge...when sober, but i feel like binging every now and and again is okay (by binging i mean getting a soda and chips with my subway sandwich, or 3 pieces of pizza after a night out).

my diet, just about every day:

breakfast - either a fruit cup/skim milk or egg white omelet/apple juice

i snack through out the day on apples, carrots, celery/peanut butter, bananas, and since i work in an office, occasional candy.

lunch is tough, we get an hour so it's difficult to bring a lunch. i began goignt o lunch, ordering a healthy sandwich or small meal, and bringing water with me.

after work i'll eat hard-boiled eggs, salad, turkey sandwiches, and cereal as small snacks, then my dinner nearly always consists of salmon/chicken/orange roughy and some vegetable steamed in water.

i lift rather heavy weights 3-4 times a week with cardio once a week because i hate it

am i on the right track to losing this fat? i know i need to increase my cardio, but does my diet sound about right? i figure i've kept the same level of exercise intensity as before, i've just cut thousands of calories out of my diet per week. i haven't seen momentous improvement, but maybe a little, it's hard to tell. in the end, i want to retain my size and weight (hypothetically), but just burn off some of the unwanted fat that layers my body.

[NewGuy2008]

from my own experience, i think you should up your cadio to cut fat. i hate running too but i have found that it makes me feel like im making much more progress. find out your maintenance calorie amount from a site like the one below and then set your daily calorie amount off of that. othr thn that, try to eat like 5 to 6 small meals a day and try to stick to natural foods. try to stay away from processed foods and sugar and personally i try not to eat any carbs within like 4-5 hours before i goto sleep but i guess that depends on your routine. hope that helps.

http://www.freedomfly.net/Articles/Nutrition/nutrition14.htm

[Progress]

Hello everyone,

I weigh about 210, and i have for the last 3-4 years, and I'm about 6'2". I have been above average-large as far as my size goes due to lifting for the last few years, but I have had this constant layer of fat on my body, and it's been pretty consistent as i started gaining weight. I reached a point in my lifting where I would like to retain my size, but lose the layer of, unless I'm incorrect in terminology, subcutaneous fat. i gained about 50 pounds out of high school by lifting and eating everything in sight, and i mean literally. now i've cut out all of the bad stuff, and i'm even making a consciouss effort to stay away from beer (gin and tonics). i do not binge...when sober, but i feel like binging every now and and again is okay (by binging i mean getting a soda and chips with my subway sandwich, or 3 pieces of pizza after a night out).

my diet, just about every day:

breakfast - either a fruit cup/skim milk or egg white omelet/apple juice

i snack through out the day on apples, carrots, celery/peanut butter, bananas, and since i work in an office, occasional candy.

lunch is tough, we get an hour so it's difficult to bring a lunch. i began goignt o lunch, ordering a healthy sandwich or small meal, and bringing water with me.

after work i'll eat hard-boiled eggs, salad, turkey sandwiches, and cereal as small snacks, then my dinner nearly always consists of salmon/chicken/orange roughy and some vegetable steamed in water.

i lift rather heavy weights 3-4 times a week with cardio once a week because i hate it

am i on the right track to losing this fat? i know i need to increase my cardio, but does my diet sound about right? i figure i've kept the same level of exercise intensity as before, i've just cut thousands of calories out of my diet per week. i haven't seen momentous improvement, but maybe a little, it's hard to tell. in the end, i want to retain my size and weight (hypothetically), but just burn off some of the unwanted fat that layers my body.


It's pretty simple. If you aren't losing weight then you need to eat less. First you need to figure out your maintenance calories by tracking them on www.fitday.com. Eat what you normally eat for a week and track your weight. If it stays the same or only varies 1-2 lbs then average what you ate during that week and those are your maintenance calories.

Then take away 20-25% of those calories from your diet daily. Make sure you're getting 1-1.5 grams of protein/lb of body weight daily and 1 gram of fat/lb of bodyweight daily.

Cardio may help, but it's not a requirement. You should continue to lift heavy to help maintain or build muscle. Lifting will also burn calories because your body needs them to repair damaged muscle.

Oh, and pack a lunch. What does the length of your lunch break have anything to do with packing a lunch. Cottage cheese, tuna, chicken breast, fish, fibrous veggies; these are your friends.

With time and effort you'll reach your goal.

[Unreal]

Looks like lots of snacking. Get on a set diet. Weight loss is all about calories.

I don't understand saying you only have an hour so you can't bring a lunch. I only get a 30 minute lunch break and bring a lunch.