Losing Weight?

[SpeedKing9]

Hello everyone. I'm about 185 pounds and I'm 5'8. I want to lose about 15-20 pounds. I have a flat out beer belly and I want to get rid of it and get a six pack. What do you guys recommend I do to achieve within say a 2-3 month period? I'm going to try eating much more healthy and I'm trying to keep up a workout, but it's so hard to keep it up. What kind of work outs should I do and what kinds of foods should I stick to achieve this? I'm 19 year old if it matters. Thanks!

[rob1_bjj]

in my opinion - all the proper training in the world combined with a poor diet will get you very little results in the ab department!

What has worked for me when I want to slim down is to combine a low sugar (low carb) diet with moderate cardio training (bjj twice a week, treadmill or biking twice a week). Keep in mind that if you go to low on the carbs then you don't have the energy to train.

You can search the internet for tips on proper diet/nutrition (not on diets). Just don't be sucked into a low fat diet - there's good fat and bad fat - you want to cut down on the bad fat and still get the good fat. I find that it's all the sugars in the processed food that holds back most people from shedding weight.

There's a lot of good information on the internet - look for the sites that don't give you any magic diets or super quick fixes.

Rob

[SpeedKing9]

What do you think of this?:

Lunch: i)A bagel sandwich with pepperjack cheese, ham, and lettuce
ii)Glass of water
iii)Glass of skim milk
iv)banana/apple

Dinner: i)pasta w/ chicken
ii)glass of water
iii)glass of skim milk

Do you think that's good or bad?

For workouts, please help with some suggestions? I have started with 100 sit-ups and 50 push ups. I have just started, so I don't want to start heavy at all. How much should I run and how often? I'm thinking of going to a gym. If I do, what workouts should I do there?

[rob1_bjj]

2 Meals a day is going to make dropping weight really tough. Your best bet is to have 5 small meals spread throughout the day - even if it is using the same amount of food as the 2 meals. I typically eat 3 small actual meals, and 3 snacks (these are usually in the form of a protein shake, protein bar or piece of fruit). I drink a lot of water also (I shoot for the recommended 8 glasses a day spread out over the whole day- probably a little more). I eat some bread (or bagels) but I know many experts will tell you that they are a terrible food if you are trying to cut weight (a little of everything in moderation is good advice).

When you eat 2 meals a day over time your metabolism will slow down. By eating more often (and smaller meals) your metabolism will speed up (working out will also help to increase your rate of metabolism).

As for the workouts that's tough to say - no single workout works for everyone. I think you shoulder consider walking/jogging/biking 2 to 3 times a week. This cardio training should consist of a 5 minute warm-up, at least a 20 minute workout, then a 5 minute cool down (so 30 minutes minimum - and I would not workout hard for over an hour).

You should also consider training with weights (or push-ups, sit ups, pull ups, body weight squats....full body exercises) 2 to 3 times per week (even the full body done twice a week would be a good start). (if you want to get some ideas on workouts to do with no weights do an internet search for Matt Furey)

Again, if you want specific workouts I think going to a gym and talking with a personal trainer would be a good start.

Rob