Weight-Loss Routine

[VespaRally]

I’m 6’1 and 195lbs, 23 years old.

I consume about 2300 (sometimes less, never more) in calories daily. All the food I eat is low-fat and mainly low-calorie. I'm not getting a lot of fat grams, mainly protein. I eat a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables and my meat intake is mainly grilled/baked chicken or fish. I've limited all my beer, junk food, dark meat.

I run five days a week and burn ~ 450-600 calories.
I also play pick-up basketball for about another 1/2 hour.
I also lift weights doing bicep curls and bench presses mainly 2-to-3 times a week.

I've been on this routine for about two months, yet I have not been on a scale to monitor my loss.

I feel like I've lost some weight, and have been told so by a couple people, but I am still waiting till I lose ALL of my beer belly before I do any ab/oblique exercises.

With this approx. daily caloric intake and exercise routine, should I be losing weight? If so, at what rate probably?

[thirddan]

your lifting routine is probably doing very little to help you acheieve your goals...time for a new program that incorporates multi-joint compounds movements like squats, deadlifts, pull up, rows etc...but you should have been seeing some results simply because you are in a caloric deficit, whether or not your loss is from lean mass or fat is another thing...

[DLKeeper1]

Seems like you're burning plenty of calories and eating a healthy diet

As for your weight lifting, I would definitely change things around. Although doing bicep curls and bench press may give you results in the mirror, they can cause muscular imbalances and will not help you reach your goal like a more complete lifting regimen would. Read around this forum for good full body routines.

[SmileyEH]

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I feel like I've lost some weight, and have been told so by a couple people, but I am still waiting till I lose ALL of my beer belly before I do any ab/oblique exercises.


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lol what?

[VespaRally]

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your lifting routine is probably doing very little to help you acheieve your goals...time for a new program that incorporates multi-joint compounds movements like squats, deadlifts, pull up, rows etc

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As for your weight lifting, I would definitely change things around. Although doing bicep curls and bench press may give you results in the mirror, they can cause muscular imbalances and will not help you reach your goal like a more complete lifting regimen would.

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Alright, you guys are probably right, thanks for the suggestions. I have to wait a while before the gym I usually go to reopens so I have been doing a less diversified lifting routine. I will definitely try out your recommendations when I get a chance. Right now I just have a couple free weights and a bench. Also, I have never had the goal to be like super-ripped, but rather just toned and athletic looking rather than bulky.

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I feel like I've lost some weight, and have been told so by a couple people, but I am still waiting till I lose ALL of my beer belly before I do any ab/oblique exercises.


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lol what?

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What I meant was I want to lose all the excess weight until it is relatively flat before I try to build up my abs. I thought this was the common approach.

[thirddan]

you should work your core all the time cuz it helps with pretty much everything...this doesn't mean do thousands of crunches...if you squat/deadlift/chinUp you will work your core, but you can throw in things like leg raises or reverse crunches also...seems like you are thinking that because you won't be able to see the six pack until you lose the fat that you shouldn't work the muscle, not true...

[SmileyEH]

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What I meant was I want to lose all the excess weight until it is relatively flat before I try to build up my abs. I thought this was the common approach.

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ummm...I would work on making your whole body stronger right now. Doing bench presses and bicep curls and waiting (forever) to do everything else may be a common approach, but it's also retarded.

[RushnRocket]

When do you run? (time of day?)

--The best time to run is in the morning on an empty stomach to burn the most fat. However, take in a small amount of protein or amino acids before cardio workouts (30 min before) to prevent muscle breakdown, otherwise your body will be forced to turn to muscles as well as fat for fuel. With some protein you spare the muscles.

--The next best time to run is after a workout...not before. (Doesn't mean you shouldn't run for a few min before just to loosen up.)

[thirddan]

"(Doesn't mean you shouldn't run for a few min before just to loosen up.)"

this is false...jogging to warm up only warms you up to jog...jogging for five minutes will not warm you up to do chinUps or squat...

[VespaRally]

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you should work your core all the time cuz it helps with pretty much everything...this doesn't mean do thousands of crunches...if you squat/deadlift/chinUp you will work your core, but you can throw in things like leg raises or reverse crunches also

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Alright, I’ll try this. Thanks.

I will probably add:

Chin-up
Leg-raises
Reverse-crunches

And then when I get back into the gym, I’ll do squats and rows.

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When do you run? (time of day?)

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I’ve been waking up around ~ 10:00 and running around 11:00 (before eating anything) but I will drink water before obviously.

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--The best time to run is in the morning on an empty stomach to burn the most fat. However, take in a small amount of protein or amino acids before cardio workouts (30 min before) to prevent muscle breakdown, otherwise your body will be forced to turn to muscles as well as fat for fuel. With some protein you spare the muscles.

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What time of protein would you recommend in the morning? If I do eat before I get on the treadmill (if I’m going to go a long time), I just have an English muffin with some low fat butter. I do have some Egg White and Soy Protein mix from TJ’s, but I haven’t used that in a long time.

I would use eggs but I'm not really interested in upping my cholesterol routinely like that. Maybe some chicken sausages or something like that?

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--The next best time to run is after a workout...not before. (Doesn't mean you shouldn't run for a few min before just to loosen up.)

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I usually follow this advice, thanks though.