My plan - please help me fill in the blanks

[suzzer99]

Ok, I've read a lot of the stuff in the FAQ. There's a lot to process in there. Great forum btw kyleb, very thorough. Here's my current regimen and the plan for ramping it up. Any little tips or tricks would be greatly appreciated.

By far my #1 goal is to lose body fat. I'm 6'0.5 253 lbs. atm. I pack it in fairly well, but am probably 30-40 lbs. overweight. I have been trying very hard for most of my life, have lost 20+ lbs. at least 3 times. I'm 38. So my body right now is very reluctant to let anything go. Whatever normally works, I would guess needs to be at least doubled with me. But that's ok, I'm really getting addicted to exercise and I feel like I am ready to do whatever it takes to see get to where I want to go.



I've been going to this boot camp thing on the beach, MWF 6am-7am for about 4 months now. It's pretty brutal when they get going, but there's some ramp up time for the new people and a week off between sessions. The sessions last 6 weeks. In any case I generally get a good aerobic workout during those days and they focus on your core a lot. I really enjoy the bootcamp and I think it's a nice base to try to work from towards my goal.

The plan, which I've started doing a little, and really think the motivation is finally there for, is to work out my upper body on Tue/Thu/Sat or Sun. Then try to go for a nice long walk or something one the weekend day that I don't workout. We do a lot of running on the sand, up stairs, dragging tires etc. in the bootcamp, so I really don't think I can do much involving my legs on the off days. And like I said they really blast your abs and core. So I'm thinking if I just focus on building up my shoulders, arms and back, that the extra muscle mass will help me lose fat. If I could manage to add some mild aerobics, like a stationary bike, would that really add towards my goal of losing body fat?

The third and toughest prong of this plan for me, is some kind of diet. I was getting this zone diet thing delivered. Very expensive and I never quite stuck to it perfectly. I really thought when I started the bootcamp and the diet, that I couldnt' help but lose weight. Wrong. Also I don't like that they seem to give you a pretty big breakfast with the most carbs you get all day. I tend to feel a little bogged down and get really really hungry a few hours later. I've had diets where the typical breakfast was something like some frittata and a small piece of fruit, and I felt sooo much more energized. So I really don't know if I should go back on that thing or try to do my own thing.

My biggest problem with dieting is if I really stick to it, I tend to get really irritable and/or obsessive about stuff. Like to the point of getting into it with my coworkers or friends or anyone who comes at me with something that rubs me the wrong way. It really sucks. Basically I either have to eat, or go out and party (generally = coke). Then I feel guilty afterwards, but at least the irritability seems to be all drained. Is there something I'm doing wrong for this phenomenon to occur? Any better solutions?

As far as supplements, I have some real ephedrine (old school) that I ordered from the back of a Penthouse in the 90s. I take one of those with a big triple espresso on the weekends when I want some energy and as an appetite suppressant. And I take a half with some espresso before my bootcamp (my instructor would kill me if he knew). I tried some ZMA but I seem to have very vivid stressful dreams. And I never remember my dreams usually. So I'm not real nuts about waking up all stressed out. Anyone else experienced this? If so does it pass? I take a multivitamin too.

Ok well there's probably a lot more little details I could get into, but I think that was long winded enough. I would greatly appreciate hearing any little tricks or hints or general advice to some of my issues.

thanks,
matt