[shoegazer]

Hope you're all having a great weekend so far.

Ok, January of this year I was weighing in at about 210. 220 at times.

Here we are in September and I'm down to 185. My goal weight is to be 170. I'm not a big guy, my height is roughly 5'8 and my frame is fairly small.

I DO NOT want to gain size at all. I just want to have more of a slender physique with tone. IF anything, I want to lose some overall size, my question is, how would I go about this?

I'll start with my workout routine.

M-F High Intenstity Cardio for 4 miles. (15 min walk on 4.0 speed for warm up, then the rest of the distance doing 1 min sprint, 1 min fast walk.)

After cardio I'll hit the machines and rep out a few sets for the body part I'm working that day.

Now my diet, is not the best, however not the worse. I'm not too confused on the diet thing, we can skip over this.

I'm looking to maybe supplement this with DCP and a stimulant like LR.

I need to lose the last 15 lbs by Oct. if it's worth anything, I lose fat pretty fast.

[striking]

Welcome to the board!

Now my diet, is not the best, however not the worse. I'm not too confused on the diet thing, we can skip over this.

I hate to tell you this but no supplement is going to do you any good at all if this is not set in stone.

First things first you need to have a proper diet this does not mean no food nor does it mean some crazy diet.

This means keep track of the things you eat take one week to count your calories and find out have many calories you need to take in to stay at the weight your at then subtract 500cals from that.

Once your diet is set you WILL lose weight I can tell you that for sure! the exersice will speed this up.
Once you have these in order then supplements will help give you that extra bit but not before!

Not saying this to be mean but your missing the most important element in weight loss! Your on the right path that is for sure but not out of the gates yet.

[Resolve]

Scout around the weight-loss forum, this all covered time and again. Diet is THE MOST important part, so no you can't skip over it. Lifting heavy weights is going to dramatically improve your weight loss - way better than cardio could ever do alone. IF you could only do one, lifting would be the way to go for fat loss, even if you "don't want to gain size." Again, do a little research, there's tons of great info to be had here on am if you look.

BTW, welcome to am!

[shoegazer]

Thanks for the answers and welcome.

I think there's a misunderstanding on the "skip the diet" part of my question, sorry.

What I meant was, I'm not confused about the diet aspect, and the HUGE part it plays in weight loss.

My question was, to supplement my diet to get the physique I'm aiming for, what type of workout and supplements should I be looking for?

I've been suggested to just run my a** off on a treadmill and do high reps with the weight lifting part.

However, you suggest heavy weights? Less cardio? That's where I get confused.

[babywifey]

weight lifting has really helped me with fat loss. Last year I was doing intense cardio for around an hour almost every day and I hardly lost any fat. Now I do a weight lifting routine for about 30 minutes 3 days a week, and I am finally seeing the results I wanted last year. Eating healthy is a big key to fat loss as well.

[striking]

Got ya! haha I read it and just had to stop to many people come here looking for a fix all with supplements wanting to not have a diet at all just sit there and BAM thin haha!

Heavy weights are a great way to lose weight. I never believed the less weight more reps deal for weight loss. Keep in mind gaining muscle adds weight but makes you look better so don't let the scale be the end all judge!

The more muscle you have the more calories you burn!

Cardio is still needed to lose weight IMO. Fat loss will happen with just weight lifting but I feel it happens much faster with cardio and since you don't wish to gain any size it won't hurt to keep doing that cardio.

The thing to remember is that if your already under your needed kcal intake currently the extra cal burn from cardio does not have as large of an effect but it is sitll godo to keep the heart in good shape!

As for supplements popular ones can be found all around the board here venom hyperdrive, ReCreate, LeReloaded, DCP just to name a few!

Again these are to give you an extra push not to be the end all for your weight loss. so in short Heavy Weights, Good diet!, Cardio, lastly supplements and your a weight loss machine!

[shoegazer]

Perfect, thanks you two, babywifey, striking.

Thank you everyone else for the replies. Time for a cheat meal ahhhhhhh.

[Hurleyboy05]

Originally Posted by babywifey

weight lifting has really helped me with fat loss. Last year I was doing intense cardio for around an hour almost every day and I hardly lost any fat. Now I do a weight lifting routine for about 30 minutes 3 days a week, and I am finally seeing the results I wanted last year. Eating healthy is a big key to fat loss as well.

Being a female also plays a key role in this. A male will lose weight much faster (usually) with increased cardio. This isn't always true with females - it all comes down to metabolism, and genetics in the end. It's great to hear that you're seeing good results, and that you've found what works for you - thats not always easy! Congrats and I hope you keep getting the results you're striving for!

My advice, being a male that was once overweight, is increased cardio for faster weight loss. The male body has a tendency to accept this form of exercise quickly, and will, once again usually, give faster results. If you're looking to get lean then cardio is the way, and for tone I would recommend heavy sets along with it. It's all about finding what really works for your body.

Thats my $.02, take it or leave it, but I wish you the best on your journey for a thinner life!

[Resolve]

It's all so clear now! Thanks for being more specific.

Hurley has a point - you do have to experiment a bit a find your own "sweet spot". However, that being said, there are some basics that are most effective for the majority out there.

Circuit training with 3-4heavy compound movements, 3-5circuits for 5-10reps depending on the weight. Check out "Meltdown Training", "Afterburn", "EDT" and again, read through some of the myriad of threads on here.

Circuits coupled with HIIT cardio is a great combo, so check out HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) too.

[shoegazer]

Hahaha, clear like water, cool.

High Intensity Interval Training, sounds like the ticket, I'll try it out tomorrow.

Say 1 mile sprint/walk, then hop the weights for a few sets? Back on the treadmill for another mile, rinse, wash, repeat. How's that sound?

[Hurleyboy05]

I'm glad you brought circuits up Resolve, as I think circuit training is an unfortunately overlooked system. For most people theres either running or lifting - but the interlaced combination of both is truly a "secret weapon" when it comes to weight loss. It's also a great way to find out which of the afore mentioned exercises really affects you. I actually found that my body responded better to cardio through a circuit, and the rest was history. Definitely some good advice for someone looking to find their, as you put it, "sweet spot".

[Resolve]

Oh, absolutely cardio through a circuit is one of my all-time favorite methods of training! Rips fat off and replaces it with muscle right quick. Gets you in and out of the gym quick too