Hello Everybody!

[Sneak]

Hey jsf'ers!

I've been perusing the forums for the last few weeks here, quietly slurping up as much knowledge as possible, but I've decided to finally make myself known

I have what I see now is a fairly typical start-off story: I am approaching 30, in garbage condition, I can hardly run across a small parking lot without getting winded, I've been living on taco bell and frappuccinos for the last 8 years and I'm getting tired of seeing what I see in the mirror.

I'm 6'0 and generally have been tipping the scale in the 225-235 area. I estimate my body fat at approximately 30%, and have a 40" waist.

Since I've been reading here, I've totally started to realize that not all hope is lost; folks in similar or worse shape than myself have gotten in awesomely good shape and improved their quality of life tremendously.

My goal is to be in the 180 weight area, with some serious muscle tone. There are several activities that would be facilitated by this, and I'm in no shape to do them now - breakdancing, gymnastics, rock climbing.

I think I've got a couple great things going for me:
- An amazing coach/workout partner, who is himself a training body builder.
- A beastly metabolism, I'm always running hot, and I know that slight reductions in calories or increases in cardio pull fat off me double-quick.
- I work 50 hours a week on my feet, keeps me active in a very basic way.

In the past I've done 1 of the 3 primary elements of getting in shape at a time, and (predictably) had shoddy, slow, and temporary results. This is the first time I've really began to put it all together: diet, strength training, and cardio.

Here's to a new life!

Starting - 230lb

[Seltzer]

Welcome! I assume you've read the stickies, always a good place to get info.

Getting your nutrition under control will yield big dividends.

[Sneak]

My workout mate beats me daily about how nutrition is 90% and exercise is 10%!

I'm working my way to 6 meals as we speak, it's a little complicated as I work 10+ hours a day, and can't always count on getting time to stop and eat, but there's certainly a lot of room for improvement - I haven't regularly eaten breakfast in years, one of the things I've put into my daily improvement log.

[stallion16]

Originally Posted by Sneak

My workout mate beats me daily about how nutrition is 90% and exercise is 10%!

I'm working my way to 6 meals as we speak, it's a little complicated as I work 10+ hours a day, and can't always count on getting time to stop and eat, but there's certainly a lot of room for improvement - I haven't regularly eaten breakfast in years, one of the things I've put into my daily improvement log.

Eating six meals per day can be useful but unnecessary when it comes to fat loss. The most important thing is a caloric deficit. You have to burn more calories than you take in. So don't feel that you have to force yourself to eat on that schedule. Use whatever schedule fits your life so long as you stay in a deficit. 6 meals. 1 meal. 3 meals. When it comes to fat loss, they can all work.

That being said, welcome to JSF and congratulations for taking control of your life and moving towards your goals! This is a great place and a great resource in your arsenal.

[Sneak]

Originally Posted by stallion16

Eating six meals per day can be useful but unnecessary when it comes to fat loss. The most important thing is a caloric deficit. You have to burn more calories than you take in. So don't feel that you have to force yourself to eat on that schedule. Use whatever schedule fits your life so long as you stay in a deficit. 6 meals. 1 meal. 3 meals. When it comes to fat loss, they can all work.

That being said, welcome to JSF and congratulations for taking control of your life and moving towards your goals! This is a great place and a great resource in your arsenal.

Noted!

Simply eating a better mix of food, dropping fast food and soda and increasing my protein intake has already dropped my daily calories tremendously, and I'm seeing myself shed pounds.

My hope is that increasing the number of meals I eat will just get my metabolism burning more consistently and give me more even blood sugar levels.