Optimal cardio plan for 3 1/2 months for maximum weight loss?

[Wilstown]

As a little introduction, I'm a 20 year old College student currently studying abroad in China. I'm 6'2'', and I've been overweight since middle school, peaking at 248lbs this February. I started lifting weights at that time, and continued on and off throughout the summer and my first semester in China. I've never done significant cardio, but I've still gotten down to 205lbs as of a couple days ago. I have no access to a gym here in China until I get to Shanghai in the middle of February, but I've started a progressive pushups/situps program for the winter which is going well so far.

Basically I'd like advice as to what types of cardio I should do once I get to Shanghai. I'm relatively muscular as it is but holding extra weight, and so I basically want to do a hell of a lot of cardio once I get there. I'm willing to do up to 2-3 hours a day in order to get my body fat percentage as low as possible for when I get back to the states in June. I had originally read an article which said low intensity was best, and so I figured I would do 2 or 3 one hour sessions of fast walking a day, but after reading other articles I'm no longer sure that is best. Would something like 20-30 minutes of high intensity intervals in the morning, lifting in the middle of the day, and long low intensity at night be the best? Or another combination altogether?

Thanks for your responses,

Wilstown

 

[ka55i]

Best thing to do when losing fat is combining HIIT workouts and more importantly dieting. I'd say jump on a ketosis diet which means no carbs and lots of protein from meats and shakes. Mix that in with HIIT as it will push you enough to lose the fat quick but also still manage to keep your muscle mass. You don't want to lose a lot of mass from a 30min Low intensity cardio session It's a waste. You didn't mention anything about diet in your query but that's your biggest obstacle.

 

[workoutdvdworld]

I would agree with HIIT training. I wouldn't do long and slow cardio. Studies have shown that high intensity training not only burns nearly double the calories of low intensity for the same amount of time, but it has a huge after burn effect which increases your metabolism by up to 35% for hours after you work out.
If you are planning on doing a lot of cardio I would definitely NOT recommend a low carb diet. I doubt that you would have the energy to do really hardcore HIIT if your body was in ketosis. I would even say that it could be dangerous because the process of converting fat into fuel rather than using readily available glycogen from the carbs stored in your muscles can be quite taxing on the body.
At the end of the day fat loss is about calories in versus calories out. If you are creating enough of a calorie deficit your body will start eating its fat stores. If you drop your calories too drastically, by either eating too little, or exercising too much, your body will likely cannibalize your lean muscle tissue, which will completely defeat the purpose. The more lean muscle you have the higher your metabolism and therefore the more calories your body will burn even at rest.
Do weights to increase your muscle and HIIT to drop your body fat.
Make sure u eat 5-6 small meals, protein at every meal, and enough complex carbs and good fats so that you are maximizing nutrition in order to build a healthy, lean body.