Hello All, new and welcoming any advice!

[djm0]

I'll simply paste the e-mail I just sent. Any advice is appreciated

"What are you struggling with right now?"

That's a loaded question really. This is more of a long story then anything else. As a kid I have a lover affair with sugar, still do on the weekends most of the time (beer and slurpees... sigh gotta love that beer...). When I was 17 years old I was weighing in at a whopping 310lbs. Deciding at the point that woman hated me, I needed to do something about it. I went from 310lbs to 150lbs in 8 months, gross, kinda. I was a walking twig. The sad part of this is how I lost the weight:

- I ate only 3 meals per day. No snacks or deserts EVER.

- Being a fast food junkie I limited myself to a burger and a drink, never fires/chips.

- When I was hungry in between meals I drank a PEPSI... yes a sugar loaded death drink but it kept me from eating junk food hence lowering my calorie intake.

- I continued to live the same life style, biking everywhere and gaming.

In 2003 after being the twig for over a year I decided to join a gym, bulk up. The trainers were all impressed with my story, shocked at the strength of my tree trunk legs (biking!) but I had nothing to me otherwise. I started taking protein, supplements, eating larger meals (as healthy as I knew at the time) and worked out 3 times a week. Got no where fast.

In 2005 I started working out at the college gym where I went to school. Got stronger, stayed skinny - it took me 3 years to put on 20lbs.

in 2008 I started a desk job, gained weight but never stopped working out.

in Jan 2012 I noticed that my workout wasn't cutting it any more. I was up to 250lbs, barely fitting into a size 38 pant comfortably. I started Six Pack Shortcuts by Mike Chang. He covers most of the same concepts that you teach minus the carb sources. He sticks to brown rice for the most part. I stuck to it from Feb to present day. I lost about 15lbs very quickly and never seemed to drop any more. I can say my looses haven't appears in inches either as my size 36 pants are a little tight.

I've had a battle with fat my entire life. I've only seen my abs once in my life back when I was 150lbs. I've tried everything else, I'm ready to kick my own ass in the kitchen and the gym. My problem area is my rear. Fixing that? Loose the fat!? Lot of my rear is pure strength so I have no idea what to do.

I currently workout 4-5 days a week, rotating through exercises to keep my body confused. Bodyweight exercises are included with every workout. low rest times (60 seconds) with active rest exercises (body weight exercises in between sets) ending with functional cardio (burppes, prone cobras, jumping jacks, ect.)

Typical lifts:

Dead lift: 3x12 @ 275lbs

Bench (dumbells): 4x8 @ 85lbs per arm with 10-15 push ups during rest (pure insanity btw owch)

Squat: 5x12 @ 225lbs

Leg press: 5x8 @ 540-630lbs (never tired to max it out, this isn't too hard :S)

Pull ups/dips - I struggle with these, 8 max on the pull up 4-6 max on the dip.

Shoulder press: 5x8 @ 115lbs (and counting, let to max it out - form form form!)

I'm ready to change what ever I have to. I'm sick of being fat!.

[cara]

Hello djm0! I think your workout sounds awesome! I am not a weight lifter, but I do enjoy weights and interval training. One key element for me to losing weight and keeping it off has been the paleo diet. I really, really did not want to give up sugar and bread, but I have done a lot of research on what these foods do to your body and internal organs. Our diet of whole grains and processed foods is killing us.

I was like you and I would limit my food intake and then drink diet soda when I was hungry. I could never lose belly fat that way. Once I made protein and healthy fats the main staples in my diet, did I see the fat literally melt away.

My advice to you is to keep your workouts they way they are, but change your diet to eliminate processed foods, sodas, and grains. You will see a DRASTIC change in the way you feel and look. I lost 6 pounds in one month, and it was pure fat that I lost.

I hope this helps and good luck on your weight loss journey!!!

[djm0]

Hello djm0! I think your workout sounds awesome! I am not a weight lifter, but I do enjoy weights and interval training. One key element for me to losing weight and keeping it off has been the paleo diet. I really, really did not want to give up sugar and bread, but I have done a lot of research on what these foods do to your body and internal organs. Our diet of whole grains and processed foods is killing us.

I was like you and I would limit my food intake and then drink diet soda when I was hungry. I could never lose belly fat that way. Once I made protein and healthy fats the main staples in my diet, did I see the fat literally melt away.

My advice to you is to keep your workouts they way they are, but change your diet to eliminate processed foods, sodas, and grains. You will see a DRASTIC change in the way you feel and look. I lost 6 pounds in one month, and it was pure fat that I lost.

I hope this helps and good luck on your weight loss journey!!!

Thanks for the helpful advice. Last night I went to coscto - loaded up on greens, olive oil, spices, Omega 3 eggs and natural sliced nuts for small snacks. I'm going to start into this 100% full throttle, although the weekends are hard... I love drinking beer on nights I don't need to work the next day! Any idea on a fat measuring device? I'd prefer to use some electronic tool.

[JodeasXD]

Any idea on a fat measuring device? I'd prefer to use some electronic tool.

There are many scales that will give you a body fat percentage when you get on it, along with weight, water weight, bone weight, etc. all based off of your height/weight. I cannot, however, attest to their accuracy as I've never double checked using any other devices.

I'm happy that you found us, I just joined too, about 8 hours ago. Just keep this in mind, this is what my mother, whos a massage therapist/trainer, always tells me, "What you put in is what you get out". And I've seen the results, even if I get lazy at times. Constant movement to burn through all of that energy and good-for-you-food will melt away that fat.

If you need anything let me know, you can message me anytime.

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

Check out Steve's blog about the Paleo diet and the 80/20 concept, you'll get some interesting ideas. Beer is not in and of itself bad, but only if you drink it in moderation. One beer has less than 200 calories. Many beers on the other hand...

The best device for measuring fat is the Mark I eyeball. When you lose fat, your gut will shrink. With the weights you are blasting if you get your diet in line the fat should melt away.

Good luck