So apparently I lost something like %5 body fat in less than 3 months (heh, I still don't really believe it, I'm going to have it measured again). I went from those pictures above to this...
...in just two and a half months. Here are my thoughts on the process.
On nutrition...
Nutrition is everything. It is by far the most important part when it comes to losing body fat and gaining muscle. Everything is secondary to a proper nutrition plan.
If you burn more calories than you consume, you will lose weight. If you consume more calories than you burn, you will gain weight. Period.
The quality of food and types of calories consumed dictate what type of weight is gained or lost.
Eat natural foods. Protein bars are bad. Protein powder is a poor substitute for real food. Anything processed is bad (refined sugar and refined flour are especially bad).
Carbs are not bad. I eat lots of carbs everyday. Eat large amounts of fibrous vegetables with every meal (I go through 4 lbs of asparagus and 3 lbs of broccoli a week). Eat small amounts of starchy vegetables and fruit early on in the day, but no so much at night.
Eat large amounts of protein. This helps reduce the amount of muscle you lose when trimming down.
Get your essential fats from natural foods like nuts and salmon.
On physical aesthetic...
Do not concern yourself with weight, only body fat percent. I weighed about 140 in those "before" pictures... and I looked like shit. I weigh 138 now and look much better.
You can lose weight and still be just as flabby as before. You need to replace fat with muscle (i.e. reduce your body fat percent).
On metabolism...
Muscle burns calories just by existing. Fat does nothing. Replacing fat with muscle will increase your metabolism.
You must eat 5 or 6 small meals a day. This will level out your blood sugar and increase your metabolism. This is very important, probably the second most important thing besides nutrition.
On goals and motivation...
Write down a 3 month goal and read it every day. It should be something a little intimidating. It must be measurable.
Reprogram your brain to be motivated. When you catch a negative thought in your head, say (out loud) "stop", then replace it with a positive thought. This will (re)condition your subconscious.
On suppliments...
Don't bother with anything except whey protein powder and a multivitamin.
On cardio...
You need to do cardio. I do it 4-5 times a week.
"Low intensity cardio burning more fat calories" is smoke and mirrors. Let's do a little math game. Let's say that low intensity cardio burns a ratio of 70:30 fat to carbs calories and that high intensity burns a ratio of 50:50. Now lets say you do low intensity for 1 hour and burn 500 calories, that's 350 fat calories. Now I do high intensity for 1 hour and burn 1000 calories. Guess what, I burned 150 more fat calories than you and 500 more total.
This is a bit harsh, but who do you want to look like? Housewife McFatty walking on the tread mill? Or the triathlete that just ran 5 miles at an 8 minute per mile pace?
My favorite cardio is spinning (stationary bike). Cranking up the resistance on the bike always makes my legs sore... so I feel like I'm actually building some muscle rather than just doing cardio.
On weight training...
You need to do this to replace fat with muscle and/or to make sure that you don't lose too much muscle while trimming down.
Always make improvement every time you go to the gym, even if it's a tiny improvement. Get a notebook for this.
Parting thoughts...
If you want a harder look than my "after" pictures, try cutting down on sodium (salt), fructose (sugar from fruit) and dairy products. Unfortunately my diet is high in all of these.
This post is an extremely brief introduction to fitness. If you want a thorough and detailed guide, read Tom Venuto's e-book (the site looks like spam/scam, but it's not).
Can't wait to show results in another 3 months!
