Well, like many people, I'm overthinking things (I think).

I started out at 230 lbs.

It's been about 4 weeks, and I'm down to about 225.

I'm working about about 50 mins a day (25 cardio, 25 Nautilus circuit).

I've designed my diet ala JS' spreadsheets. Sometimes a get a good ratio (20-40-40), some days it's less than perfect.

But I'm consistently keeping my calories at around 2000 a day.

But I feel like I'm working pretty damn hard for 5 lbs over 4 weeks.

I got a body fat % thingy this week, so I'm starting to monitor that to give myself something else to measure success by.

So, I guess my question is...how'm I doing?

Eat more, first off. You're going to catabolize muscle instead of targeting fat stores, being that you're 225-lbs. and eating only 2,000 kcal's per day. Try to get your calories up to around 2,500~2,700 or so. Be sure to perform your cardio conscientuously as that's the key to maximizing fat loss.

What type of cardio are you doing? Fasted steady state or HIIT? If it's fasted state, which I assume it probably is, crank your sessions up to about 40 minutes and be sure you're doing it on an empty stomach. Avoid carbohydrates post-cardio for about two hours. Have some sort of protein/fat meal following your cardio.

Don't obsess over scale weight. As you're new to this, you'll build muscle as you lose fat. So while you may not see a decrease in scale weight, you'll see an improvement in body composition because you're exchanging fat for muscle.

-R

your doing fine, the one thing you need to remember is that you didn't get overweight overnight and it's not going to come off overnight... a lot of people (myself included) don't lose much weight at all at the begining of a program, sometimes it takes me six weeks before I start seeing my weight go down, you need to be patient... the good news is, you have seen the weight go down... slow and steady weight loss is the best way to do it because your more likely to keep it off this way. An average rule of thumb is that you shouldn't lose more than 2 lbs a week... you're averaging 1.25lbs a week, which is GREAT, just keep it up and make sure your working out.. you might want to move from a circut workout to a regular free weight type work out though... circut is good at the begining but free weight workouts tend to build more muscle and the more muscle you have the more fat you'll burn.

if you want more help you should post what you eat and when you eat it

keep up the good work :tucool:

I can't thank you guys enough for the replies. Feedback helps so much to keep me going!

As to what kind of cardio I'm doing, I'm riding a lifecycle in an interval setting, and concentrating on keeping myself at 80 RPMs for 25 mins.

My heart rate gets into the max fat burning range (according to the charts), which doesn't take much, since I'm starting this process WAAAAAAAAY out of shape.

I'm burning about 170 calories, according to the machine, in those 25 mins. And I'm pretty much pushing myself to the limit by the end.

As to the food question, I thought I'd be pushing my luck if I posted all that here! But I'm thrilled to get you to comment on it.

Let me preface this by saying that I'm an insanely picky eater - I don't eat any fish and I ain't so great with the veggies. Here's a typical day. I'd appreciate any comments:

8 AM:
-whey drink
-vitamins

AFTER EXERCISE
-Frosted Mini Wheats w/ skim milk (exact serving sizes)
-2 cups of coffee, each with 1 TBS of light cream (can't kick this)

B/W BREAKFAST AND LUNCH
-banana

LUNCH
-Salad of 2 oz Baby Spinach, 1 tomato, 8 OZ chicken breast, 1 tbs olive oil, 1 tbs balsamic vinegar
-sometimes have a serving of brown rice or baked beans here, too

B/W LUNCH AND DINNER
-Another Whey drink

DINNER
-8 oz of lean beef, serving of brown rice (sometimes baked or black beans).

That's about it. Absolutely no soda, booze, candy, ice cream, etc.

One thing I'm probably failing at isdriking tons of water.

Comments?

Crash course in heart rate range for low intensity, steady state cardio (abbreviated as "LISS" quite often):

Max Heart Rate (MHR) = 220 - (your age)

Heart Rate Range Minimum = MHR * 0.65

Heart Rate Range Max = MHR * 0.75

Keep within that range for 40~45 minutes every day. Do not go above the MHR * 0.75... if you do, you're getting into the range of high-intensity cardio. While you'll still benefit, you're mixing the two and it is, in my opinion, less effective. LISS is much less strenuous, though it takes more time. It may not feel like you're doing much, but I guarantee you most certainly are. Slow and steady wins the race... it's a cutesy saying that's often associated with LISS. This type of cardio is most effective if performed first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. But... as long as you're about 2 hours away from your last meal, it will still do you just about as well. The fat will just melt off as long as you're nutritional plan supports it.

I'd suggest you get off the bike and onto a treadmill. Walk at the steepest incline you can at about 3.0 MPH - but keep in mind, you have to monitor your heart rate range. Doesn't sound that hard, does it? Try it for 40 minutes. It works, trust me.

And don't put much stock in what those calorie counters tell you on the machines. It's mostly a stab in the dark.

-R

drop this ---> Frosted Mini Wheats w/ skim milk (exact serving sizes)
and replace it with oatmeal it's a much better carb source ;)

add a protien source to this one --> B/W BREAKFAST AND LUNCH -banana

do you like ANY veggies other than spinach.. spinach is awesome but you really should have veggies more than once a day and I don't know how often you want to eat it.. it would start to get really old if that's the only one you eat.... how about broccoli? green beans?

it doesn't look too bad though... although I would try to knock that 'cream' out of your coffee but as long as your not using much you should be okay.

Great advice, Bluestreak. Thanks.

Maybe I'll tryto marry the two cardio schools of thought - using your method every other day (rather than weights), then doing the other method on weight training days (which I probably shouldn't be doing every day).

JG

Crash course in heart rate range for low intensity, steady state cardio (abbreviated as "LISS" quite often):

Max Heart Rate (MHR) = 220 - (your age)

Heart Rate Range Minimum = MHR * 0.65

Heart Rate Range Max = MHR * 0.75

Keep within that range for 40~45 minutes every day. Do not go above the MHR * 0.75... if you do, you're getting into the range of high-intensity cardio. While you'll still benefit, you're mixing the two and it is, in my opinion, less effective. LISS is much less strenuous, though it takes more time. It may not feel like you're doing much, but I guarantee you most certainly are. Slow and steady wins the race... it's a cutesy saying that's often associated with LISS. This type of cardio is most effective if performed first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. But... as long as you're about 2 hours away from your last meal, it will still do you just about as well. The fat will just melt off as long as you're nutritional plan supports it.

I'd suggest you get off the bike and onto a treadmill. Walk at the steepest incline you can at about 3.0 MPH - but keep in mind, you have to monitor your heart rate range. Doesn't sound that hard, does it? Try it for 40 minutes. It works, trust me.

And don't put much stock in what those calorie counters tell you on the machines. It's mostly a stab in the dark.

-R

Does brown rice count, Chameleon?

I have tried to add broccoli in there, and it sucks.

I throw some asparagus or green beans in there occassionally.

The problem with early-day protein is that the other thing I don't eat is eggs. Maybe some turkey sausage or something like that?

Though I am a picky eater, I'm pretty good at eating the same thing all the time (though I wouldn't mind a pizza or steak sub at this point).

I love oatmeal, so I'll switch over. I can't keep my kids away from my mini wheats, anyway.

drop this ---> Frosted Mini Wheats w/ skim milk (exact serving sizes)
and replace it with oatmeal it's a much better carb source ;)

add a protien source to this one --> B/W BREAKFAST AND LUNCH -banana

do you like ANY veggies other than spinach.. spinach is awesome but you really should have veggies more than once a day and I don't know how often you want to eat it.. it would start to get really old if that's the only one you eat.... how about broccoli? green beans?

it doesn't look too bad though... although I would try to knock that 'cream' out of your coffee but as long as your not using much you should be okay.

While I use brown rice on weight workout days, I would not have it in the evening. Better to avoid the more starchy carbs in the evening and go for veggies. Lettuce, whatever. Swap around the spinach and brown rice maybe. Or have green vegs one more time and brown rice one less time.

Just a suggestion. I'm also relatively new at this.

Vincent.

Does brown rice count, Chameleon?

I have tried to add broccoli in there, and it sucks.

I throw some asparagus or green beans in there occassionally.

The problem with early-day protein is that the other thing I don't eat is eggs. Maybe some turkey sausage or something like that?

Though I am a picky eater, I'm pretty good at eating the same thing all the time (though I wouldn't mind a pizza or steak sub at this point).

I love oatmeal, so I'll switch over. I can't keep my kids away from my mini wheats, anyway.

asparagus and green beans are great... between those two and spinach you should be able to get veggies in your diet three times a day at least. Brown rice is okay as long as you eat it in moderation... meaning measure your portions ;)

instead of eggs in the morning, what about low fat cottage cheese with some natural peanut butter mixed in... I think it's yummy :nod: