What am i doing wrong?
 

im 22, weigh 195.5
USED to weigh 170 back when i was 16-17, but then college food courts and constant studying until 3am killed my metabolism and way of life lol

for the last 9 months ive been following a "dvd" workout so i can start losing weight again slowly while still focusing on school
DVDs DO NOT HELP
i got lazy, didnt want to walk downstairs and start my workout in a cramped, low ceiling, extra room in the house... so i joined a gym finally last month to help me get back in shape and lose some weight

i followed the workout regimen the trainer gave me
consists of:
chest press, shoulder press, bicep curls, leg press, leg extensions, "ab/oblique" machine (cant remember the name), tricep pull down, and lat pull downs
takes me roughly about 45mins to complete all the workouts and then i follow up with a 45min walk/jog (3-3.5mph @ 15% incline)

after the workout, i take a protein shake consisting of about 45g protein, 280cal, and 8g fat

i go up and down in weight from 189-195.5... im tired of it and just want to go down to 170

any sugguestions?
im up for anything

What does the rest of your diet look like? You should have lots and lots of lean protein coming from as much real food as possible. Some good potential lean protein sources:

chicken breasts
Egg Whites
Tuna
Salmon (not quite as lean as tuna but still fairly good)
lean ground beef
lean cut of steak

You should be eating stuff like that with every meal and lots of greens like spinach, lettuce, brocolli, celery. etc

You can have carbs too but for losing weight they should really be kept to a minimum. I found if I had 2 carb meals a day it worked for me. They should be whole grain products or yams etc. Complex carbs not things like simple sugars and white bread.

You should be eating as many times a day as you can. I find ever 2-3 hours is best. try to get in a minimum of 5 small meals per day. The more the better. There is a calorie maintenance level calculator somewhere on this site (someone can point you in the right direction). I would figure out your maintenance level and then shoot for 100-200cals below that. If your weight doesn't go down then drop it another 100-200cals. Weigh yourself once a week at the same time of day for good repeatability. Don't weigh yourself everyday because weight does fluctuate with water retention etc.

Oh ya, drink lots of water.

As far as your exercises I would be focusing alot more on lower body. Especially the big compounds such as squats and deadlifts. These are the lifts that will get your metabolism into high gear.

There are plenty of articles on "how to cut" and whatnot around here but I would focus more on just eating healthy foods and not get that extreme just yet.

Thats my 2 cents.

IronWorker

You lose weight by expending more calories than you ingest. That said, more lean muscle mass will increase the metabolism to help keep fat off and eat up the fat you have.

However, it is very difficult to add lean muscle mass and lose fat at the same time.

If you want to lose fat, I would suggest a good lifting routine doing mainly compound movements with some isolation work. And also incorporating High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) to help you lose the fat.

Read the stickies. All the info you need is already posted. If you can't find something, then ask and you'll get plenty of advice.

^^^ what he said.

oh, and your program doesnt look good. Too much machine work IMO. oh, and you arent squatting or deadlifting.

i actually do eat alot of lean proteins, which confuses why i dont lose weight easily
on a simple day (weekday), im eating 4 egg whites on toasted whole wheat sliced bread and maybe 1/4lb chicken diced into the mix
bout 4 hours later im having a small protein shake (max 20g protein) with a small salad sometimes
then having a lunch usually consisting of a turkey sandwich with mustard on wheat, 2-3hrs later having another protein shake, and usually finishing off dinner with a peice of lean chicken breast with a mix of organic veggies (green beans, corn, peas, yellow squash)

dinner is usually around 7/8 whenevr i get home from the gym

and my workouts normally consist of working out every other day, but doing a 50min uphill cardio on the tredmill (mon-fri)
saturdays and sundays i usually work 6am-4pm and unless i get some hidden energy burst, im usually home or going out with friends

one thing i never paid attention to tho, and reminded me here today, was the fluxuation of water weight
i do weigh myself almost everyday, sometimes 2x a day
but ill change that to maybe tuesday mornings right after i wake up and def before breakfast (like i did today)



-about the lower body workouts
i told my trainer i wanted to LOSE some of my leg muscles
so he put me on a simple workout of leg extensions and leg press with a low weight and high reps.. back in high school i weighed 170 but was able to easily leg press 900lbs ...nowadays, big legs arent working out for me and so i started a high rep/low weight regimen to hopefully tone and lose some of the muscle

my basic outcome of working out is to get back into shape, lose some weight, get that 6 pack ive always wanted, and become somewhat cut

currently 195lbs, 22% fat, 52% water
want to be at 170 with a decent 13-16% body fat before school starts again in september
opinions?

if im in it to lose fat, im going to end up losing alot of strength and muscle mass with it, correct?
as long as i can get back to 170ish, ill be happy... ill work on muscle mass when i get there then... whats the HIIT consist of?

:yikes:

that depends on your diet...and your workout.

why would the trainer want you to LOSE leg muscle??????:wtf:

Not just the trainer...he does. That seems ridiculous to me.

Sounds like you really couldn't give a crap about your strength/muscle mass. In which case I would just say don't eat anything at all and you'll soon shed fat/muscle/water and maybe even some hair, bone and skin. lol That way you'll hit that magical 170lbs that you're after. I don't know why you're so obsessed on that number. ( if you couldn't tell, this is absolute sarcasm...don't do this)

You are wrong in thinking you have to lose muscle mass while you lose fat. You can maitain your muscle mass if you take it slow and eat right while maintaining a good workout program.

Oh ya, it looks like your protein is actually not that high. I would count it up and find out what it is. But you should be at a minimum of 200g protein per day.


IronWorker

wonderful post. IW, if this were bb.com and if i could rep you, consider yourself on my rep circulation list :D

For the sake of playing Devil's advocate...

It's not the trainer's fault, the trainer provides a means to reach the client's goal. A good trainer would probably advise against losing muscle mass to achieve your goal though.

If the OP has large legs and would look very disproportionate once he's shed some upper body fat, then maybe he just wants to lose some mass for the sake of symmetry. We tell the golf tee's to start squatting and deadlifting because they've got little chicken legs that don't match their much larger upper body. We tell them to add mass to their lower body to proportion themselves out (among other things of course), so why can't someone lose muscle to proportion themselves out. Not everyone trains for mass or strength.

I'm not saying that deliberately losing muscle is a good plan of action or something that I would ever do, but I don't think it's as big a deal or as absurd as it's being made out to be.

It's good to have a goal, and saying 'I want to reach X lbs bodyweight' is much better than saying 'I want to lose some weight'

lmao yea yea yea i kno i kno
the girlfriend doesnt like them, especially since my 1 thigh is almost as wide as 2 of hers lol
they kinda get in the way ..so no biggie to me to lose some of my immense legs

lol ...thanks... ill up the protein, but ive heard diff stories from diff people... some tell me that having a high protein diet turns itself into fat deposits if not used

and i want to get to the 170lbs area, mainly because at my height (5'7")...@194lbs im technically obese, even with the considerable amount of muscle nd strength i have ...Rutgers University food wasnt always health conscience in the food courts and well, studying til 3,4am didnt help either
only problem is, even the way i eat and the training i put myself through, ill go from 194 one week to 189 the following and then 195 the next week WHILE still following the same regimen... I EVEN CUT OUT ALCOHOL lol

Protein is less likely to turn into fat than carbs and fat. People are not smart. :)

I'm "obese" also, but I saw my abs when I looked in the mirror this morning. If you have ever looked at weights in your life, then you're probably "obese". :D Just be happy and healthy and you'll be doing great. IMO, so long as you're healthy, then that's what's important. Health ---> happiness. I suppose 170lbs ---> happiness also. :)

Try to get as much sleep as you can and try to keep your schedule as static as possible. Go to the store and get some healthy food to snack on throughout the day. That will make a huge difference.

Good luck

Haha I thought it was funny/crazy...that's why I put that smiley down. First time I've seen someone want to lose muscle mass on a bodybuilding forum. It's cool though. I understand because I've met people that are the same way. It's a personal choice. Good luck...losing...your m-m-m-muscle..m-m-m-masss. There, I said it. :)

according to a physical the nurse at the gym did before i started, i have 23% body fat... i got my top 2 abs coming in and obliques on their way... i understand what u mean by "If you have ever looked at weights in your life, then you're probably "obese""...id love to stay around the 180-190 area but def want to lower my BF%

lol thanks for understanding
most of my life i was always "thunder thighs" anyways, so ive always had big legs either bc of weight or muscle
either they were chunky or i was able to leg press 900lbs
@ age 15 i weighed almost 225
@ age 16 i was diagnosed with a heart murmur
@ age 17-18, constant cardio got me to 170lbs
@ latter half of 18 in college i enjoyed the late night food, beer, and studying til 4am waaaaaaaay too much lol to get me to 200 again
@ age 22, currently, been working out again for the last 7months to lose some BF and gain muscle back... but finally putting some extra effort after joining a gym in the beginning of June

bump

why are you bumping this??? was there an unanswered question?

HIIT:

HIIT

Here's a brief overview.

Ross, I cannot believe you said it...you must be punished :spank:

Just kidding :biglaugh: I understand people have their own individual goals and best of luck on meeting yours Never.

BTW if you think you are obese try 6' and 240 lbs. Then the charts get real nasty :)