Lean proteins are foods like chicken, fish, egg whites, and lean beef. If you are trying to build muscle, these should make up the majority of your diet. You can also substitute in protein bars/shakes or use bars/shakes for in between meal snacks. They are also great for post workout muscle builders. Your cardio schedule is pretty good but my biggest question would be, how long have you been doing this routine? Your body usually takes about 3-4 weeks to get "use to" a specific routine and you will get diminishing returns. I would suggest mixing up more interval training at different rates and times. So, go at a 4 for .5 mile, then 7.5 for 1 mile, 9 for 1 mile, 7.5 for 1 mile, then back to 4 for .5 mile. Something like that will keep your body guessing and force it to continue to "prepare" for whatever you throw at it. As a quick aside, if you have the ability to, I would even try to do a different cardio workout/exercise for a couple of weeks to see if it jump starts fat loss. There are a lot of good cardio classes out there that basically do the thinking for you (Zumba, Bodyworks, and Spinning classes come to mind). Even if you only do it for a week or so, it's usually enough to get that "sore" feeling back and it will work out areas that running alone does not. Then you can decide if its something you want to continue and you are getting a benefit from or if you want to go back to running. Hope that helps.
Hubby and I joined a Crossfit. Reebok Firepower Crossfit - it ROCKS. If you are strong and can challenge yourself 3-4 times a week who cares about your body fat %. In Crossfit we do a ton of burpees, pull ups, box jumps basically kick ass exercise. Yes burpees suck but they leave you feelin like you climbed a mountain and help those sexy ass cheeks.
Some really great info in this thread. To me the most important thing about weight loss is tracking your macros. Yes - 3500c= 1 lb no matter how you cut it - same as 100 pennies = $1. BUT for me, the combination of protein/carbs/fats has been huge. The body doesn't burn a calorie of protein/carbs/fat in the same way. Many people think that to lose fat you have to cut fat out of your diet. As long as the body gets fats, it will burn them. It's when it thinks it has no source to obtain more fat - then it tries to store what it has. I think the bigger enemy of fat loss is carbs. The best combination for me seems to be about 250g protein, 100g fats and 150g carbs or something like 40/35/25 % of my calories. If I really want to make an impact, I cut carbs even further and add more protein. IMHO - if you hit those macro %'s and stay near a 500 calorie/day deficit - you will lose fat and spare muscle during a cut. You can run around looking for the most lean meats you can find or you can throw down a cheeseburger either way you get there - try to hit those macros every day. There is a saying in bodybuilding circles - If It Fits Your Macros (IIFYM) - eat that shit. That has been my experience - for what it's worth. YMMV Cardio?? To me the best use for cardio is to create a bigger calorie deficit. The more cardio I do the more protein I can take in and maintain my daily 500c deficit. Firm
I agree with the carbs...they seem to be my enemy - and I am only speaking of the bad carbs not good ones. I limit myself to one to two small pieces of fruit per day and eat those high in fiber like grapefruit of apples. I think eating clean is 80% of it and the other comes from killing it at the gym. I have learned so much over the last 6 weeks about nutrition and being fit. I have noticed such a difference not only in my body but also my mental state! Trust me ....pizza and cheeseburgers are great but nothing tastes as good as being slim and in shape feels! Again, thanks for all the great advice - you guys are great and I can't wait to hang out with the May crowd! :aktion033:
100g of fats is 900 calories a day. 250g protien is 750 calories a day 150g carbs is 450 calories This is 2100 calories, from which more than a third comes from fat. I was taught that all fat is bad fat, no matter where it comes from. Just my opinion mind you. My coach would kill me if i had that much fat in my diet. Unless your 900 calories is MCT oil. Fat always has 9 calories per gram, no matter if its butter or olive oil, the body will treat them the same, it will burn them the same, it will store them the same. If its working for your frame giver.
After you have been clean for about 3-4 months, you can have a pizza meal once a week, your body will just zip through it, you may feel sick after eating higher fat meals too. I hit the mcdonalds with my boy once a week in the off season, it usually makes me want to vomit.
I run currently on contest diet. 849 carbs 1482 protien Total 2331. Off season I run almost the same split, but 3700 calories a day. All my food is clean, till i hit mexico 95% of my meals are rice\chicken and potato\chicken right now. 1 cup veggies each meal. In the off season its a lot less strict and my choices are much easier.
Oh hell yeah, she jacked herself up on sugar to make it through the workout. Hopefully its only 5 or 6 times till she can start doing it on her own. Its ok to take a preworkout like that when your sucking wind. But not when your trying to loose weight. And only if your dropping the amount you take as you progress in strength and stamina. There are days on the tread mill or the stair master, after doing an hour of weights, im an hour into cardio and I want to quit. It happens. Suck it up princess!
