Trying to slim down

[EverythingIsRENT]

Hi all,

I am trying to slim down. Right now I am 6'3 at 265lbs. Very stocky. I have a new routine I put together but want to make sure I am doing this right.

Every day I drink a green smoothie in the morning (spinach, kale, strawberries, bananas, water) and pack a light lunch. Usually a sandwich on wheat, carrot sticks and a fruit + nut bar. For dinner I usually eat a meat (chicken or steak) with a vegetable or two. I only drink water. Cutting out coffee and soda. I am completely cutting out fast food. I hate spending money on eating out so hopefully that will be a good motivation.

Then I go to the gym. Usually 4 times a week. At the gym I do 20 minutes on the treadmill (thinking of increasing to 30) and that is at a speed of about 3.7 at an incline of 10. Then I do weight machine. I do 3 types of arm machines, 2 leg machines and 2 ab machines. I usually do each in sets of 3 at reps of 7-10, depending on the machine.

Then I come home and do 3 sets of 15 crunches, 3 sets of 10 push up and 3 sets of 10 squats.

Am I on the right path? I just want to achieve a flat stomach.

 

[Agent Provocateur]

You're going to want to do more cardio than 20-30 minutes on a treadmill if you want to slim down. Strength training builds muscle, cardio burns fat.

Also, the diet you're on is unsustainable over the long term; you're going to want to choose healthier things to eat, obviously, but you cannot completely revamp your diet and be able to stick with it for any length of time (trust me, I've tried it and it doesn't work). The best thing you can do with regards to your diet is slowly cut out junk food over the course of a month or so, then eat as healthily as you can. And you should have a cheat day once every week or two to keep yourself on the straight and narrow, but be careful that you don't undo all of your hard work with it!

EDIT: Coffee has almost zero calories, so long as you don't add sugar or milk/cream, just so you know.

 

[KaraBulut]

^Agree.

You may want to start slowly on the cardio until your joints and muscles get back into shape. Once you are able to handle 20-30 minutes of treadmill, you'll want to really start pushing yourself harder on the cardio- increasing the incline, increasing the speed and consider alternating with other things like stationary bike, stair climber, elliptical , etc.

Also agree that you want to reduce your calories but replace the types of food with healthier choices. Cutting calories drastically won't do it for the long term- it will just trigger a rebound once you start eating normally (or worse- it can trigger binging).

 

[borg69unimatrix]

If you can, swimming is great for burning calories without being too hard on the joints.

 

[Agent Provocateur]

If you can, swimming is great for burning calories without being too hard on the joints.

Swimming is excellent exercise. I've been at it for about two weeks and I've lost about 8 pounds and 3" from around my waist and hips. I've also been eating very healthily, but it's mainly the exercise that's done it for me.

 

[Agent Provocateur]

Also agree that you want to reduce your calories but replace the types of food with healthier choices. Cutting calories drastically won't do it for the long term- it will just trigger a rebound once you start eating normally (or worse- it can trigger binging).

This is extremely important. Your body is used to a certain amount of calories being taken in each day, and if you go too far below that you'll enter what's called "starvation mode" where your body stores a large amount of the calories being taken in as fat. You'll also be incredibly hungry, all the time. You being a 6'3" 265lb guy, you should be taking in roughly 2500 calories per day just to maintain your current weight. If you're trying to lose weight, you should aim for about 2000-2300 calories per day along with exercise. Of course, there are healthy fats, unhealthy proteins, etc. etc. and so on, but weight loss is very simple: it's calories in (eating) and calories out (exercise).

For calorie counting, the best website I've found is SparkPeople. It's what I use, and I've had a lot of success with it. Basically, you plug in what you eat, you plug in how long and how you exercised, and it spits out if you're running at a calorie deficit or surplus. It's a pretty powerful tool and can thus be a little confusing, but once you figure it out it's one of the best dieting/fitness websites out there.

 

[hotrocks]

Of course your diet is the most important aspect of weight loss. Cardio helps but you really don't burn a lot of calories doing it. You burn more calories just existing than you by doing cardio. You're definitely on the right track, but it will take time. Cutting out excess carbs (breads and grains) and sugars will be extremely challenging, but it'll get you to where you're going. It's good to eat lots of raw fruits and vegetables, good to eat lean meat (but fat on meat isn't a bad thing). Eggs are a great source of cholesterol which the body uses to synthesize testosterone.

Also: There is no such thing as "starvation mode". It's a complete myth. It came from a study on starvation done in the early-to-mid 20th Century using data that was sketchy at best. So pay no attention to that idea.

 

[KaraBulut]

Also: There is no such thing as "starvation mode". It's a complete myth. It came from a study on starvation done in the early-to-mid 20th Century using data that was sketchy at best. So pay no attention to that idea.

Not to derail the topic, but just to ensure that accurate information is presented... the effects of excessive reduction of caloric intake is well-established in metabolic research- with supporting research well into the 21st century, as in this 2013 study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition:

"The body has several defence mechanisms against weight loss, such as increased hunger, lower energy metabolism and relapse back to old habits," says research team member Dr Erik Hemmingsson. "If the problem of rebound weight gain didn't exist, obesity would be relatively easy to treat. There have been several possible methods to facilitate long-term weight control over the years, and now the database was large enough to make a systematic evaluation of existing studies."

There is some evidence that some people have changes is hormone levels that will result in rebound. Even in nutritionally sound diet plans, only about 50% of the people will be able to maintain the weight loss.

 

[EverythingIsRENT]

Thanks everyone! I've been at it for almost 3 weeks and have lost 13lbs. Been going to the gym 4-5 days a week and also doing an ab challenge throughout June. I just ordered P90X which I am going to start once the ab challenge ends.

I've been eating well I think (weekends and drinking is the killer). But I only eat out once a week and have been regularly eating a good breakfast/lunch/dinner with healthy snacks in between. I read you should eat every 2-3 hours to keep your metabolism in check, which I've been doing.

Just got some Eziekial (sp?) bread which I hear is a great substitute for the wheat bread I've been eating.

I'm feeling good!

 

[Mutuniatus]

Hmm, the best advice I could give for trying to slim down...drink a LOT of water. I eat whatever I want, I take no exercise, but I drink litres upon litres of water every day, and I am borderline underweight.

And yes coffee has no calories so if you really want to drink something other than water, it's a good bet. (I drink coffee black, but non-fat non-dairy creamers and no-calorie sugar substitutes can be added to maintain a calorie free drink). Stimulants like caffeine and nicotine would actually speed up your metabolism and help you lose weight- at least they have for me.

Again water is the best bet... but if you don't like water, coffee and tea though are good bets to drink. Tea is also a diuretic, so it increases the amount of water weight you pour out when you pee. While it's true it's only temporary, it can make a big difference. Since I drink so much water, the weight on my scale can vary between 110 and 120 lbs depending on how much water weight I have on.

 

[cgymike]

Isn't bread really bad if you are trying to lose weight? Anything starchy should be reduced and protein should be increased. Drink green tea and add spices to your cooking that are hot like paprika and turmeric because they speed up the metabolism. Cinnamon also good.