I am about 220 lbs. i would love to lose some 40ish lbs and then hit the weights.
Problem #1. Allow me to quote Yoda. "Hmmph, lose weight and THEN hit the weights will you not, for this path leads to the shabby body. Much muscle will you lose doing this. Hit the weights, you will, to fight the dark side of the weight loss and gain some strength as you melt the fat."
Strength is part muscle mass but another part neurological gains. Beginners can put on some muscle during weight loss, but not for long. After that, it require eating more calories to build muscle. Muscle is "expensive" in terms of calories. Which means you make cuts to your calorie budget your body makes cuts in both the fat and muscle departments. However, neurological gains are not expensive. If you exercise past the point of "noob gains" you will shift the balance of fat-to-muscle lost in your favor and continue to gain some strength.
The problem forme is finding a diet that I can sustain. Sometimes i lose 10 lbs but lose patience. Im sure alot of you on here have had many success on Actual routine diets.
Patience is the only way to win this one bubba, sorry. I think you might get a few replies on this, but my money is on most people here agreeing when I say this:
- A diet is not a thing you go on. I want you to eliminate that way of thinking. A diet is what you eat, simple. As in: the koala bear has a diet of shoots and leaves.
The human should have a diet of clean, lowfat meats; all the veggies it can stomach and more; a few servings of fruit a day; maybe some sensible fillers; and - very, very (very) rarely - a pizza.
You might consider poking around and estimating what your basic caloric needs are and signing up someplace like FitDay or......crap...SparkPeople is it? Anyways, finding a calorie tracking site and looking at not just that number but your nutrient profiles would be a big benefit if you can do it for a while.
Shoot for 1 gram of protein per pound of target weight or per pound of lean body mass. This requires you getting your body fat checked so 1 gram per pound of target weight will keep you well in the clear.
I think it's something like 100 grams of fat per 2000 cals a day, as long as you keep it to healthy choices and the saturated fat stays low. I THINK 20-25 percent is ok. Read around and double check me though. As long as most of the carbs are from veggies, whole food sources, and 100% whole grains (in moderation) the rest of your cals can come from here. Some extra protein instead of too many more carbs never hurts too.
As far as cardio,for 220lbs I HAVE GREAT STAMINA AND ENDURANCE , cause i have competed at a high soccer levels as far as fitness goes. So an aditional intense work out would not hurt.
My understanding is that interval training - the higher the intensity the better - is more effective for weight loss. Look around at some of the HIIT forums maybe, or wait for someone with a better opinion than mine weigh in.
And read the stickies. =P