I admit it..

[Brixtonbulldog]

I look like crap right now.  I've been lifting but diet went out the window a few months ago. 

I'm 5'10 about 190lbs at 17% body fat.  I want to be about 180 at 10%.

I know a lot about lifting but not much about cardio/diet.  If I wanna hit this goal in 2 months what do I do?

[dyslexic]

190lbs. @ 17% bf = 32.3 lbs. of fat

180 lbs. @ 10% bf = 18 lbs. of fat.


Looks like you need to lose around 14 lbs. of fat in 8 weeks. That shouldn't be much of a problem.

You will want to maintain all of your LBM throughout the process.

I would suggest you become thoroughly knowledgeable in the nutrition dept. ASAP. -- and while you are doing that, start up the daily cardio routine.

There are 3,500 calories in a pound of fat. You will have to create a deficit of about 7000 calories a week. You can do this by keeping a daily log of your cardio sessions, activity levels, BMR, RMR and your daily caloric intake. That is, of course, if you don't want to play "hit and miss'


Simple tips for starters: Get a food count guide, start reading nutrition labels for portion/serving size and caloric content, knock out all the junk foods and (this is the most difficult if you are a drinker)--STOP drinking.


You can buy a cheap calorie counter at the local book store. You can even go as far as weighing your food portions and cooking your meals in advance. It depends on how serious and motivated you really are to do this. Competitive bodybuilders do it all the time without hesitating.


No candy, cakes, chips, cookies, sodas, pies, ice cream... you know the drill. Adjust to foods that are in a  more " natural" and unrefined state. Increase your fibrous carb content (green veggies) and knock out much of the simple carbs.


Creating a caloric deficit and zig-zagging calories would work well. By 'zig-zag' I mean to imply that you will eat for what you do. On days where you are extremely active, you will increase your calories- on days where you are doing nearly nothing, you will drop calories.


There are many topics here in the forum if you do your research. I personally think weighing food, testing bodyfat, looking in the mirror in poor lighting, and keeping daily records are your best bet...



If you are REALLY serious.

[Montague]

I know a lot about lifting but not much about cardio/diet.  If I wanna hit this goal in 2 months what do I do?

Good information from dyslexic about diet strategy.

As far as cardio – for many folks it’s not always easy to squeeze in 6 extra 45-60 min sessions each week.
You may want to consider doing some interval cardio.
Tabata works wonders for a lot of trainers.

You can search for it on the training board.
JPM101, Johnny No Name, and I have discussed Dr. Tabata’s protocols here quite a bit.
Search specifically for "Tabata cardio."

The session itself will be done in about 5 minutes.
If done correctly, you’ll feel like you’re on death’s door when it's over.
But this method is highly effective – many argue even more effective than conventional cardio – and it supposedly has greater muscle sparing effects so you won’t lose as much lean mass as you might doing other forms of cardio.

One thing:
You don’t want to use Tabata cardio every single day.
Maybe try implementing it 2-3 times/week interwoven between “regular” cardio sessions.

[Brixtonbulldog]

Great advice and I am very serious.  I'm about to lift for a 30 mins and then jog for another 20.

I'm looking up that cardio now.

[jpm101]

K.I.S.S..   The idea is to keep the muscle mass, and to even increase it some, while losing body fat. Calorie reduction (lower than the amount required for body repair and maintenance...mean average around 3,200 unites daily) can feed on muscle mass as well as the body fat it's self. Those less experienced BB'er who "diet" down for a contest wind up looking like muscless skinned rabbits. Extreme calorie reduction and  cardio go hand in hand as the major cause.

Might consider dropping the carbs to a lower daily range. Carbs are a ready energy supply, among other things, for the body. Reason endurance athletes carb up before an event(not the only way but the most commonly used method). Body's first choice, when the carb source is less, is to use body fat as it's first  energy  supply response.

Can start with 80 to 100 grams of carbs a day, to see how your body reacts. Each of our metabolism's are different, so begin with the higher amount first. Generally it is within the 40 to 60 grams a day ration. Try not going below the 20 gram mark. Many of the Pro's do, but they are chemically engineer to handle just about anything. But for brief periods in their training.

Do buy a carb counting booklet and also read up on the subject more for a better understanding of the effect of this type of diet. Plus hints on how to arrange it to your life style; eating out, party's, etc. Rather than a 7 day a week eating plan, there are different approaches. Some will keep on it monday through friday and on the weekend cheat a little which might include pizza, burgers & fries, etc. But do not pig out. Keep it on a moderate level. Also the 6 day a week thing, with one day off (usually saturday or sunday) that week.

Use this type of protocol on athletes all the time, if making bwt is needed for an event. Keeps their energy and strength up during this period. And the muscle mass. Fat seems to melt away on most. Actually user proper carb management to add muscle mass with much less fat.

Throw in interval training , 2 to 3 times a week, for notching  up the fat lost.  Along the lines of what Montague advised. Personal view only; 45 to 60 minutes, either 4 to 7 times a week, is just madness for any serious BB'er or lifter.  Good Luck

[Brixtonbulldog]

K.I.S.S..   The idea is to keep the muscle mass, and to even increase it some, while losing body fat. Calorie reduction (lower than the amount required for body repair and maintenance...mean average around 3,200 unites daily) can feed on muscle mass as well as the body fat it's self. Those less experienced BB'er who "diet" down for a contest wind up looking like muscless skinned rabbits. Extreme calorie reduction and  cardio go hand in hand as the major cause.

Might consider dropping the carbs to a lower daily range. Carbs are a ready energy supply, among other things, for the body. Reason endurance athletes carb up before an event(not the only way but the most commonly used method). Body's first choice, when the carb source is less, is to use body fat as it's first  energy  supply response.

Can start with 80 to 100 grams of carbs a day, to see how your body reacts. Each of our metabolism's are different, so begin with the higher amount first. Generally it is within the 40 to 60 grams a day ration. Try not going below the 20 gram mark. Many of the Pro's do, but they are chemically engineer to handle just about anything. But for brief periods in their training.

Do buy a carb counting booklet and also read up on the subject more for a better understanding of the effect of this type of diet. Plus hints on how to arrange it to your life style; eating out, party's, etc. Rather than a 7 day a week eating plan, there are different approaches. Some will keep on it monday through friday and on the weekend cheat a little which might include pizza, burgers & fries, etc. But do not pig out. Keep it on a moderate level. Also the 6 day a week thing, with one day off (usually saturday or sunday) that week.

Use this type of protocol on athletes all the time, if making bwt is needed for an event. Keeps their energy and strength up during this period. And the muscle mass. Fat seems to melt away on most. Actually user proper carb management to add muscle mass with much less fat.

Throw in interval training , 2 to 3 times a week, for notching  up the fat lost.  Along the lines of what Montague advised. Personal view only; 45 to 60 minutes, either 4 to 7 times a week, is just madness for any serious BB'er or lifter.  Good Luck

Good post, thanks. 

My diet has been something like this for the last 4 months:

plain bagel with regular cream cheese and salmon locks
two cinnamon-sugar cookies
two peanut butter and honey sandwiches on wheat bread
about 24 ounces of skim milk
about 6 ounces of 2% milk
large sugar free energy drink
one polish sausage with a slice of kraft cheddar cheese
one celery stalk dipped in peanut butter
banana
one bottle of michelob lager
8 ounces of red wine
and about 5 cigarettes

I lift about 2 to 4 times per week so it probably helped me not gain any more weight than I already have.

I'm changing my workouts to include higher reps, shorter rest periods, more total-body exercises, and more cardio.  Diet wise, calorie and carb counting start today.  I like the Tabata stuff you guys suggested.  That appeals to me more because I have a hard time staying on a treadmill more than 20 mins at a time.

[Montague]

I like the Tabata stuff you guys suggested.  That appeals to me more because I have a hard time staying on a treadmill more than 20 mins at a time.

Don’t get too excited.
Physically, it’ll be some of the toughest 5 min of your life.

If done correctly, you’re pushing yourself so hard that you should literally almost feel nauseous at the end. The first few times I tried it I felt sick. But the taste of “pre-vomit” is how you know it’s working.

Your diet doesn't look horrible, but I would definitely reduce the carbs more – especially the cookies, bagel, and beer. Save those for the weekend.
You’ll be getting plenty of carbs between the PB/honey sandwiches (keep those) and the bananas.
And don’t forget to account for the sugars in the milk!

If you try this type of diet, like the results, and don’t mind the sacrifices, then you may want to give the “Anabolic Diet” a try.
It was a hot topic of discussion on the Nutrition Board a few weeks ago.
You can find the principles, outline, samples/examples, and feedback from those who’ve tried it.
Seems a bit more structured & disciplined, but most people report they feel great, don’t miss the carbs, and see rapid, NOTICEABLE results.

If you can’t find it, PM me & I’ll try sending you a link. I should still have it saved in my post history.

[garebear]

Run, Johnny. Run like the wind.

[Brixtonbulldog]

Ran for 30 mins on a treadmill the other day.  First time I've done that since Navy 03 and 04.

Haven't ran since but I'm aiming for 3x per week.  Will do tomorrow.

Limiting carbs to 100 or less per day.  Having a hard time getting enough protein.  I'm taking in between 100 - 130 grams per day. 

Breakfast: Usually eggs w/ some other meat and one half to one cup of high fiber/whole grain cereal and a banana.  Water or skim milk.
Mid-day: Beef Jerky, sardines, and/or nuts of some kind. Water or sugar-free energy drink.
Dinner: Steak/chicken/pork with a salad and light italian dressing.  Water or skim milk.
Snack: Big spoonful of peanut butter with a bit of honey.  Skim milk.

Workouts are varied for muscle confusion.  Rest times are less than 30 seconds. 

Emphasis on high-rep compound movements (cleans, squats, deadlifts, pushups, rope-climbing, various core movements).

So far since I started at the beginning of the week I've lost 8lbs.  Pretty good since I've cheated a little between a couple bottles of beer and cake (my moms birthday).  No loss of strength so far.  Energy is better than expected.

Oh well, so far so good. 

[Brixtonbulldog]

190lbs. @ 17% bf = 32.3 lbs. of fat

180 lbs. @ 10% bf = 18 lbs. of fat.

Looking at this again I also need to gain about 5 lbs of muscle.  This may be more difficult than just getting down to 10% bf.