Great Site...I've already learned a lot....but fitness education is only the first half...now comes the hard part...so I'm 5'10-5'11...210 lbs...19 years old....dont know my bf%...but I just recently started going to the gym...unlike most people I didn't start with a new "years" resolution but a new "semester" resolution lol...lazy ass college kid here...so i was wondering ...is this possible?

From this

http://img341.imageshack.us/img341/2318/1xb5.jpghttp://img259.imageshack.us/img259/3060/3bn0.jpghttp://img270.imageshack.us/img270/8687/2zy4.jpg

TO THIS.....

http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f224/dew290/Sawyer47.jpg

haha I know thats going a little too far and too quick...but what kind of plan would you reccommend for someone like me? my only goal is to look decent for spring/summer break

I'd go on the t-dawg 2.0 diet, Big Boy Basics on t-nation.com and some cardio work.

Welcome to JSF. Glad you're here.

I'd suggest reading the stickies at the top of this forum. Especially, the one by gravityhomer about his transformation and the one on nutrition by marcus. They're golden!

Ok, here's my advice for new folks trying to lose fat.

The most important factor in losing fat from anywhere on the body is diet. Until you have a good diet in place, there is no need to get extra exercise. Lazy people on a good diet will lose fat. Active people on a bad diet will gain fat. Again, check the stickies at the top of this forum. That will get you started.

Once your diet is in place (or at least moving in the right direction), the next most important thing is weight training. Muscles burn calories 24-hours each day by just existing. Bigger muscles burn more calories. So, start weight training. Do complex exercises, squats, dead lifts, rows, bench press, pullups, dips, etc. Try to work all your muscles. If you're new to weight lifting, be sure that you concentrate on form until ig becomes habit, otherwise, you're looking for an injury. There's lots of info. on these forums for weight training.

Once you have your diet in place and your weight lifting program up and running, it is time to throw in some cardio. You want to do some activity that gets your heart rate up. Jogging, swimming, biking, elliptical machine, jump rope, anything that gets that heart rate up.

Ok, those three things should get you losing fat steadily. Remember, you don't want to lose more than 1% of your body weight each week. Also, I would recommend you making slow, small, but deliberate changes. If you alter your life radically in one week (eating stuff you never would before, exercising like crazy), you'll give up quickly. If you want to really get healthy, make small changes. For example, in your diet -- learn about diets this week, and cut out all soda. Nothing else. Next week, no soda and dessert only 3 nights each week instead of 6. Little changes. Soon, you'll find that you love to eat healthy because it makes you feel so good -- energized all the time, your mind will be sharper -- you'll love it, and you'll start to look better week by week.

I hope this helps. Keep us updated on your progress. You'll find lots of encouragement here. Welcome to the forums!

thanks a lot guys...I've never worked out before just started...so what can I expect to lose by spring break? or summer break? I read that if u gotta nice diet and cardio/weight training you can lose a good bit when u start...and eventually start to lose less aand less ...but stil lose? is that true?

I have found that people do lose quite a bit at first. If your body is used to a high sodium diet and you go low sodium (much healthier), you'll lose a bunch of water weight (which is easy to put on and take off again). According to the scale, you're making a lot of progress quickly, losing water is not really progress.

However, newbies do tend to lose fat quickly for a few weeks, and then slow down. Typically, though, if you are careful, you can determine your own rate of fat loss. You can lose up to 1% of body weight each week pretty safely and regularly. For most folks, that's around 2 pounds/week. As your body fat% gets lower (in the low teens), it gets more difficult and you have to go slower. When you get into the single digits, I understand it is very difficult to lose fat -- that's what they tell me. I've never been there.