I'm 21 years old - 6'0 and 220, i've been trying to lose weight for a while now and its been hard. I usually work out at night on my total fitness gym (the chuck norris thing) , do some push ups and sometimes work out on my moms weight bench thing (its just like johns weight bench thing). The problem is eating right. No one in my family besides my grand parents, usually when im out there , theirs meat, vegtables & saled. When im at home its what evers their : Hamburgers , fast food , hot dogs , pizza etc ...... At work for lunch its always burger king. Im tired or workin out and seeing no results due to the food. Whne i was reading johns story it was like i was reading about my self and i want to change for my health and how i look.

What are some good cardio workouts to do in the morning and where can i find out what supplements to start taking?

I really need help with a diet plan and how can i find out what my body fat % is ?

thank you,
Matt

You can get a real headstart by first reading Anthony Ellis' website (http://www.fatlosstips.com). This will give you a primer (and a wake-up call) about how your body works, and what it will need in order for you to make the changes you want in your life.

I would recommend reading John's March 2004 foodlogs (http://www.johnstonefitness.com/menus/mar_2004_history.html) based on your stats to give you an idea of what types of foods you should be eating and when you should be eating them. There's also tabs on his training for each day in those sheets.

There's also an ongoing debate on the best method for fatloss where cardio is concerned. However, I think that you'll find many of the people on here agree that cardio first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. The glycogen stores in your muscles are somewhat depleted after sleeping, so your body will turn to the first available energy soure - FAT.

Be sure to completely read John's story (http://www.johnstonefitness.com/php/why.php) and also John's FAQ (http://www.johnstonefitness.com/php/faq.php). This will probably consume the better part of a day, but a worthwhile investment in terms of a few hours reading.

Check out all of these links, and sponge all the information you can by reading all the forums of interest. You'll probably want to browse the Fat Loss Forum (http://forums.johnstonefitness.com/forumdisplay.php?f=2) to help educate you and enlighten you on others' experience and advice.

Hope this was a good starting point for you.

Best of luck!

Ken

My experience (and many others agree) says that nutrition is the most important part of fat loss. If you eat right and forget excercise, you'll lose fat, slowly, and you won't feel great -- but you'll lose fat. On the other hand, if you excercise well but eat junk, you probably won't lose fat. You've discovered that already.

So, you need to figure out a way to eat clean. If your family doesn't like healthy foods, you probably need to purchase your own groceries. They won't eat them, they don't like them. What foods? Look around these forums, you'll find lots of ideas. I eat lots of oatmeal, whole wheat bread, green beans, almonds, apples, tuna and yogurt -- that'll get you started. Another good source for learning about good nutrition is here http://forums.johnstonefitness.com/showthread.php?t=1222

Finally, I would suggest you write down everything you eat -- calculate how many calories you consume every day. Once you have your calories under control, start calculating where your calories come from (carbs, protien, fat) and get that under control. Take it all one step at a time, and keep coming back to the forums. Keep us updated on your progress, please.

Welcome, you'll find many friends here, we're here to help each other.

Definately write everything down, as exact as you can get the info. As far as tracking numbers I have found that FitDay.com (http://www.fitday.com) is extremely easy to use and will track all the numbers (Calories, Fat, Protein, Carbs) of all the foods you enter. It'll save you the headache of actually figuring it out yourself. It also tracks calories burned.

For a guide on how many calories you should have, I'm sure you have found many calculators online, most of them vary in the numbers they give. I have found that this one, Muscle Tech (http://http://www.muscletech.com/CALCULATORS/CALORIE/Calorie_Calculator.shtml) is pretty good to use. It gives you calories, fat, carbs, and protein daily needs. I began my "eating habit changing" 3 weeks ago. I do cardio one day, and weigh lift 2 days each week. I have lost on average 2lbs per week.

Just create your meal plans by yourself and realize it takes time..


Rob :gl:

_______________________________________
"Pain is weakness leaving the body."
"Rome wasn't built in a day."

i just red the nutrition guide and it was alot of help. I was really confused with all this protein , fat , carbohydrates , whats good to eat & what to do after a work out talk. Its was alot of help. I found out i need 2975.72 calories a day, 495.5 calories each meal and my ratio is around 50 : 30 : 20. So now im at http://www.dietclub.com.au looking at recipes and will be going out shopping tomorrow for some healthy food. I will be setting up a work out scheduel for the weeks to come and a meal calender with the recipes and their nutrition info. I shall be starting this great adventure monday.

Thank you for all your help & suggestions,

Matt