Seeking advice with work out/body shape

CKYTEP

New member
Hi all,

Hoping I could get some feedback and advice from some of you on my predicament. So first off, I really dont care how much I weight, I just want to look half decent naked, lol. Mainly get rid of the belly/lovehandles. I'm male, 5'10" and 198lbs. Back when I was satisfied with my looks I was about 160lbs.

I now have elliptical & treadmill in my house. Looks like I burn much more calories on elliptical then treadmill. The plan that I am setting for myself for the past week and moving forward is to get on elliptical 4 times a week for about 2-2.5 hrs each time. Per the countner on my phone & elliptical, I seem to burn around 1600-2000 calories each time. I also play soccer twice a week but I'm a goalie so I dont move as much as the rest. I'd say 400-500 calories a game? So lets average it out to about 8K calories burned a week.

As far as my diet goes, I'm kinda useless. I have trouble cutting out things like candy or bread. From what I counted, I generally consume between 2200-2500 calories a day and probably more than half those calories are not of the good kind.

I've been cruising at 195ish for a few years now. So seems like this intake keeps me there. Also for the same few years, my work outs have not been near as intensive as what i've described in the first paragraph or existant at all.

So, my predicament.... I have good endurance and I can work out pretty hard and for a lengthy period of time but my diet is almost a lose cause. It is likely to stay close to where it is. If I stick to the excersize plan listed above, how is my outlook slimming down to 180 or dare I say 170lbs?

Thanks in advance for your help!
 
2-2.5 hours of cardio is nuts! I really don't think you need to be going that long. I think if you up the resistance and intensity, doing 30 minutes is plenty of time for doing cardio exercise. Just try to get your heart rate as high as possible. I'd say at least 140 BPM (beat per minute).

Diet is far more important in weight loss, if you really want to commit to getting down to 170 then you are going to have to make sure you have a healthy diet. As well, you'll feel much better after putting nutritious foods into your body as opposed to unhealthy empty calories.

Anyways, I hope you are successful and reach your goals, all the best and good luck.
 
I agree with Snezy on a couple of points:


1. 2-2.5 hours is a long time if you're planning to do this 4 times a week. However, when it comes to weight loss, 30 mins is often not enough. I think it would be fine to do 2-2.5 hours maybe once or twice per week (but I think the elliptical might get a little boring!). Considering that there are a lot of people out there that train for marathons or triathlons or do things like hiking, cross-country skiing or snowshoeing, this length of time is not unreasonable, but could lead to injury if you just jump right into it or if you do it too often. Generally, you should start off slow, (e.g. 30 mins) and gradually increase the length of time by about 5-10% per week to hopefully avoid injury.


2. Diet is far more important in weight loss. You can exercise all you want, but if you don't watch how much (and what) you put in your mouth, you will likely not be successful. You need to take some accountability for your health and put some effort in here. Even small changes can make a big difference in the long run. Making excuses for not reducing the amount of junk you eat will not help you be successful. You don't have to eat perfect 100% of the time, but you'll need to make some improvements in you diet.


I would also say that you should try to add in some strength training, even if it's just body weight exercises such as push ups, squats, lunges, planks, etc. Maintaining lean mass through resistance training is not only good for your overall health, but it helps to maintain your metabolism.


Good luck and let us know how things go!
 
Bodyweight exercises are an awesome way to strength train! Ideally you should be mixing in cardio workouts with strength training workouts to get the maximum effect. I would have to agree that 2 - 2.5 hrs on the elliptical or treadmill may be a bit much. If not done properly, the elliptical can be quite hard on your knees. My main concern for you on those long workouts would be boredom! You might get to a point where you are dreading having to do it and that can very easily lead to excuses.


For me, diet is way harder to get right than motivating myself to exercise. There is that old saying "you are what you eat". You need to get up as much motivation to turn certain types of food down as you need to get up and exercise. I realize that is easier said than done though. Start with small changes and build on your successes.
 
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