Problems with Fat

[Promax]

Ok here is my story. I use to work as a field mechanic traveling the Gulf Coast repairing Diesel engines. These engines were in very hot conditions. While doing this I was able to maintain my weight at about 200 lbs. That weight was fine for me as I have always been somewhat of a big guy. Now for the past 2 years I have been working in an office job. I have gained about 60 lbs. I also was in the habit before and after the job change to drink beer about 4 to 5 times a week(I know I know alchoholic anyone ). Nothing like a cold beer after work . Also my eating habits were pretty bad.

A couple of buddies and I have started going to the gym everyday after work. The first week we did a couple of day of full body work outs to get our bodies ready. The next 2 weeks we used only machines and did somewhat of a split work out like this.

Mon. - Chest & tris
tues. - back & bis
wed. - legs
thurs - chest & tris
fri. - back & bis

Now we have moved to free weights and changed this rountine up a little. We are on our second week of free weight work outs with this routine below. We determined that our muscles needed more rest between workouts.

mon. - chest
tues. - back
wed. - shoulder
thur. - arms
fri. - legs

Also I have changed my eating habits somewhat. I know breakfast is important but I am usually in a rush in the mornings. What would be a good fast thing to grab that I could eat of the drive to work? At lunch time I eat one 5 oz. back of Starkist flavored tuna straight out of the bag. When I get home in the evenings I will eat something grilled with a side vegatable or maybe 4 boiled eggs or something else low fat the wife has cooked. Also I have dropped my beer drinking down to 1 or 2 nights a week. I stopped all sodas and drink about 5 to 6 20 oz. bottles of water a day.

I hear cardio is good for burning calories. The only problem is I don't really enjoy it and if I stop enjoying my workouts it may cause me to want to quit or slack off. I know I have to push myself but I want to keep it enjoyable so I am in the right state of mind to keep going. I also read that muscle building was a great way to burn off fat. I was hoping that my new rountine stated above would help start shedding some of my fat. I am 33 so maybe its my age making it a little harder. I know when I was 18 I lost about 80 to 100 lbs as I was a big boy in school. When I did that I completely stopped eating. Bad yes but I had to lose the weight and it worked.

Any suggestions would be great. I hope this is not to long for some to read but I wanted to give as much information as possible. Thanks again for any help.

[nxtss]

your work out routine is good, but you should incorporate some kind of cardio on the weekends. I found cardio unenjoyable too until i started to listen to music while i ran. Now because of music i run 3 times a day, about 2-4 miles and love it!

[Promax]

Ok I have made some changes to my workout routine starting this week. I have been doing 4 set of 4 differant exercises for each muscle. I have decided to drop that down to 3 sets of 4 exercises for each muscle. This will free up just enough time to work in some cardio. I am thinking 15 to 20 minutes every work out day. I have also started taking ON 100% whey protein. My diet is the same as above but now I take my whey in the morning for breakfast, then at 3:00pm, my work out is around 6:00pm and I take one more serving of whey protein. Hopefully this helps.

[hrpiii]

Congrat on making the change in life style. This in itself will give you some really great rewards and feeling good about yourself.

Now the important things (first, read and absorb all the knowledge from this site). Second, you should focus on diet first, and lifting second. With the proper diet, the fat will gradually disappear. A good lifting routine will help this fat disappear faster.

Cardio will help even faster, but is not required in itself. Even walking on the treadmill for 15-20 min. after your workout is better than nothing at all, but it all depends on what you eat.

Watch those whey shakes, and don't get the idea that they replace meals, as food is more important. Use the shakes to help fill in the protein where needed. First thing in the morning is good, a small shake before a workout isn't too bad, but you definitely want one after the workout, followed by a healthy meal.

Best recommendation is to keep track of all the food you take in. Keep track of calories and carbs/protein/fats. This will show you what and when you are eating, along with finding better alternatives in your diet.

[travis15]

i do that

[waynaferd]

Find a fun cardio routine. I don't run, don't do treadmills, or anything like that.

I gotta 80 pound punching bag, a 90 pound red-nosed pitbull to walk and wrestle with, do some aggressive downhill skiing in winter, kneeboarding in summer, throw around a 300 pound dirtbike, 500 pound snowsled, etc. Anything to get your heart rate up and alternating.