Hey everybody, I've been a lurker for a while but finally decided to show my face around these parts. I'm currently an Army ROTC student who's looking to cut some weight. I make the Army's "body-fat" analysis just fine because I have a decent amount of strength and a large neck (they do a ratio of neck to waist measurements). I am, however, overweight and am trying to lose weight. I managed to lose a ton of weight last fall, but I pretty much starved myself to do it (not good, I know). And it's been a struggle ever since because I really messed up my metabolism. Right now I'm actually doing things correctly and keeping track of all my foods to make sure I'm eating enough.

I Currently weigh 230 (up from 207 in november!) and the Army says that I should be at 180 pounds.

My goal is to weight 180 by the beginning of February, not sure if this is possible though. I do weights 4 times a week and some sort of cardio almost every day. Right now my cardio routine is this...

Monday = 2-3 mile run
Tuesday = 23 Min HIIT on a stationary bike
Wednesday = 45 Min LISS on Sationary bike
Thursday = 23 Min HIIT on stationary bike
Friday = 2-3 mile run
saturday = 23 Min HIIT on stationary Bike
Sunday = 45 Min Liss on stationary bike

I typically do cardio in the morning and lift at night, around 7 PM.
I do my running and my LISS on an empty stomach when I first get up, but I keep reading different opinions about when to do HIIT. Some people say to do it fasted, and some say after a meal. What do you all think.

I don't know if it matters, but my lifting days are Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday.

As far as supplements go, I take Whey protein right after my lifting workouts or before I go to bed. I also take PMD Nocturnal, which is a GABA/ZMA blend.

I also always wait an hour after my cardio to eat.

I think the Body for Life stuff says to do HIIT fasted, but I don't like that. I can handle it endurance wise, but I fear I'm probably hurting myself muscle wise when I do that. At a minimum, get some whey in before those type workouts (or maybe some BCAAs/creatine). It probably wouldn't hurt to have a small serving of fruit before. Small apple, half a cup of berries, etc.

LISS fasted is probably fine, but your medium intensity and HIIT I wouldn't do fasted.

Like you said, you'll probably get other opinions :)

Welcome, btw.

I Currently weigh 230 (up from 207 in november!) and the Army says that I should be at 180 pounds.

Monday = 2-3 mile run
Tuesday = 23 Min HIIT on a stationary bike
Wednesday = 45 Min LISS on Sationary bike
Thursday = 23 Min HIIT on stationary bike
Friday = 2-3 mile run
saturday = 23 Min HIIT on stationary Bike
Sunday = 45 Min Liss on stationary bike

It's going to be tough to drop 50 pounds in seven months.

If you can get a heart monitor that tracks your exercise calories you might get a better result. The various rules of thumb floating around the net are OK if you don't have that high an expectation of results, but you are going to want to have a really effective program. Measure both your cardio and weight lifting exercise, and also the calories burned for a couple hours after your workouts. You will see how effective your various workouts are at stimulating your metabolism.

For the most calories of metabolic increase in the least amount of exercise time, HIIT is probably your best choice. You can do that more than once a day.

thank you for the welcome. Yeah, 50 pounds is a lot to drop, and in all honesty I don't know if I will be able to do it because I've go pretty large legs that don't have that much fat on them. I should say that my goal is either 180 or <10% body fat. My short term goals are 2lbs a week and around 200 pounds for the end of november. I will look into that heart monitor, do you have any suggestions? I've read both BFL and BFFM and am doing a hybrid of sorts. I eat 5-6 times a day and keep a 40-40-20 macro.

In order to be able to maintain that regimen long-term, I would suggest incorprating a rest day!

thank you for the welcome. Yeah, 50 pounds is a lot to drop, and in all honesty I don't know if I will be able to do it because I've go pretty large legs that don't have that much fat on them. I will look into that heart monitor, do you have any suggestions?

Actually, one thing you have going for you in a body composition / body weight manipulation, is strong legs. You can absolutely beat on your legs compared to any other part of the body. Stay low impact - especially if the Army runs you around in boots.

I would suggest the Polar F11 heart monitor. It's not this year's model, but it does a great job.