I'm in as well. I'm 5'6 and weigh 195lbs. Yes that seems like alot, but I've been lifting weights for about 8 years now so I have tons of muscle mass. I've dropped about 15 lbs already (I was at 210 ), but ideally I want to get to 175. At that weight I was pretty much ripped and in outstanding shape. I live in miami beach (In my mind the most self-conscious city in the sense of how you look) and down here image is everything. Sad, but true. I've been dating my girlfriend now for about 2 years and her mother is a personal trainer so I've heard it all about diets. Let me be the first to tell you that
THE LEMONADE DIET IS A COMPLETE HOAX!. Well it does work, but in a HORRIBLE WAY. My friends do it all the time (they are models, and body builders) and people it is only a TEMPORARY weight loss solution. You lose about 15-20 lbs, but the first 6-10 is water weight, and then after the "Lemonade fast" you tend to gain back another 10 lbs. Its only good temporarily. What people dont understand is that if they wanna lose weight you need to do it the right way. And the way it starts is by changing your lifestyle. I have been in GREAT, 6-PACK AB'S SHAPE, to now having a beer belly with no abs in sight. Its all about your lifestyle. I remember that when I was in great shape I drank no cola's for like 6 months (i remember forgetting what pepsi tasted like) and the same thing went for fast food, cakes, all that junk. You forget what it taste like, so you dont crave it. I'll be real active in this thread because I feel like I know a lot about weight loss and dieting. Here are some of my tips (these have worked for me and WILL work for you):
-Losing weight is 75% diet, 15% cardio, and 10% mental
-Do cardio in the morning on an empty stomach. What happens here is that your body uses carbs first for energy, then resides to fat as the last option. In this case on an empty stomach your body will rely on fat, because there hasnt been anything in your stomach for the past couple of hours (hopefully if you didnt eat that burger or snack at 3 AM). Think about it like this as well: If you do cardio at night, your body will use ALL the carbs you've been putting in your mouth through out the day, it probably wont even get to using fat as energy.
-Drink a gallon of water a day
-Forget about all those diet-cola's, and diet this and that. They are LOADED with
Aspartame. THATS why it taste "so good"
-Lower your sodium intake (Next time your in the grocery store, compare the sodium contents of a can of vegetables, to a bag of frozen vegetables.) Amazing isn't it? High sodium levels in your body retain liquid, you dont want that. ANYTHING in a can has huge AMOUNTS of sodium in it. I havent bought anything canned in 3 years. (only during hurricane season here

)
-Don't let your psychological needs interfere with your nutritional needs. (Please dont eat that huge bowl of ice cream when your sad, why would you do this to your body?)
-Forget about all those diet pills, they are worthless.
-Try to eat a high protein, low-carb diet. This is mother of all tips. Dont follow the atkins diet, but KIND OF look at the south beach diet. The difference between both is that the SoBe diet tells you to eat SMART carbs, where as the atkins shuts you off. Thats why you see so many people yo-yo in their weight with the atkins diet. (sorry for you veggies out there, I know NOTHING about vegetarian diets)
-Eat complex carbs, not simple carbs.
-Make your weight loss goals REALISTIC. Dont try to lose those 10 lbs in 2 weeks before that big party. Thats the wrong attitude. You need to go in this as a long-term goal rather than a short, quick fix.
-Weigh yourself with the same scale, at the same time of the day. I normally do it first thing in the morning. And this is a biggie: DONT WEIGH YOURSELF EVERY DAY!. This is a huge setup for disappointment. You have to realize that you will lose about 4-6 lbs in the first week, but remember that its water weight first. The fat loss starts coming in 2 weeks after, and it will come slow, but it will come.
-Try to eat 6 meals a day. The more frequent you eat, the faster your metabolism will go, the more weight you'll lose.
-People have lost weight before you, and people will continue to lose weight after you. So why cant YOU DO IT?
-Go the mall and buy a shirt you want to fit in a couple of weeks. It might not fit tight today, but it will fit you in the future. Look at the shirt everyday your feeling lazy and dont want to exercise or eat right.
I got so many more tips but I'm getting tired of typing. Feel free to ask me whatever questions you may have. I'm in the process of writing a blog to document my weight loss. I'll post my diet on here, and also my before and after pics. I'm not embarrassed at all. You need to face the truth.
In addition I've always had one motto to go by in weight loss. If you dont lose weight, its because YOU DONT WANT TOO. You have to be strict and dedicated. No exceptions, no excuses.
Edit: Here is my diet/routine:
- Wake up at 6:30 am, and do 30-45 minutes of cardio AND weight train.
(1) 9:00am- 1 Pocket of plain oatmeal in water , 2-4 Egg whites, 1/2 grapefruit.
(2) Noon - 1 yogurt AND ½ cup of pineapple, OR 1 PROTEIN BAR. (I try not to eat the protein bar everyday because of its high sodium content, 330 grams, but sometimes I'm running around school and its tough to sit down and eat my yogurt)
(3) 3:00pm- White meat (Chicken OR Turkey OR Fish OR Tuna)- No skin on chicken, 1/2 Sweet potato, veggies, small salad.
(4) 6:00pm- Protein shake (2 scoops) in 10oz water.
(5) 9:00pm- White meat (Fish ONLY) With salad, or veggies (Green veggies)
(6) 11:30pm (Before going to bed) - Protein shake (1 scoop) in 10oz water.
- This diet was given to me by my girlfriends mom (who is a personal trainer), and it works great. People actually pay her to write diets for them, and I get them for free =). Again this works for me, but it might not work for everyone.
-Everything in that diet that I eat is pretty consistent, instead of the 3:00 pm (Lunch) and 9:00 pm (dinner) meals. I eat chicken one day, and tuna the next, etc. I switch it around a bit. Notice how there is no red meat there? red meat retains liquid, remember thats a big no-no.
-Don't get me wrong people, that diet isnt the best tasting diet. It's not as good as that fat burger, or that huge pasta dish. But you know what, YOU NEED TO SACRIFICE. It's all about sacrifice. Put it like this, when your eating all those nasty, fat foods, they might be GREAT FOR YOU, but HORRIBLE FOR YOUR BODY. Now it's time to flip things around. That diet might be HORRIBLE FOR YOU, BUT GREAT FOR YOUR BODY. Yes, you WILL GET USE TO EATING RIGHT, and let me tell you my friends there is nothing better in this world, then FEELING HEALTHY AND BEING HEALTHY.
This is the protein shake I use. It's Champions whey protein with 28 grams of protein and 2 carbs PER SERVING. It is the BEST tasting protein shake out there (I have tried them all). Even my 4 year old niece loves it, it taste that good.
This is the yogurt I eat
These are the protein bars I eat..(when i have too)