Hey all. I've been reading the boards for a while but am now looking for some help and advice. I'm looking to lose about 10-20 lbs and tone up. I am currently 6'1", 208 lbs. I don't know my body fat. I've changed my dieting and workouts lately but need to know if I'm on the right track.

Food Intake:

Breakfast (6:30) - 2 eggs, wheat toast w/PB, OJ

Snack (10:00) - handful of pretzels or mixed nuts

Lunch (12:00) - Small lunch serving (ex: Chili, Curry beef and rice)

Snack (3:00) - Banana

Dinner (6:00) - Lean meat/fish with veggies

I've cut out a lot of carbs I used to eat and now eat much more protein.

Workouts:

Lifting - 3 days a week usually doing full body workouts. I really hate lifting legs so somedays I just work upper body.

Cardio - 3 days a week running for 30 min on the elliptical (usually 4 miles)

I've gained a lot of strength lately but need to cut the pounds. Any advice would help. I added pics to give a better idea of how I look now. Thanks in advance!

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Hey mate,

To make things easier, you need to calculate your calorie maintenance level so you know what you should be eating. Secondly you need to calculate what you ARE eating to see whether your diet needs tweaking. To do this you can use FitDay - Free Weight Loss and Diet Journal

Depending on portion sizes, it doesn't sound like your are eating a lot compared to your size and activity level. Your body may be holding on to what its got.

Don't neglect the legs. Yes we all hate leg day but it is really beneficial to work the big muscles as it is very taxing and promotes the release of more testosterone.

If you aren't already, try doing HIIT or interval training instead of steady state for your cardio.

Lastly, post your exact workout routine in case this also needs adjusting.

protein at every meal.

When I stick to the plan, each workout is three supersets. I do each exercise one after the other without rest, then rest for 60 seconds after each superset. Each exercise is 3 sets and most sets are 8-12 reps depending on how heavy I am going.


MONDAY:
Dumbell Chest Press
Dumbell Row

Dumbell incline chest press
Wide Grip Deadlift

Bench press
Planks

WEDNESDAY:
Squat
Romanian Deadlift

Split Squat/Lunges
Bent-over Lat raise

Dumbell Shrug
Roman Chair/ Back raises

FRIDAY:
Pullups/Chinups
Front Squat

Dumbell Close grip bench press
Barbell Row

Kneeling cable crunch
Barbell rollout/ Ab wheel

The only thing I dislike and the reason I switch up some weeks is because of the lack of direct work on my arms. I get the bi's on back work and tri's on chest work but sometimes a good solid arm workout feels great. Let me know what you think.

Man you're not getting enough protein. A rule of thumb is to get 1 gram of protein per lb , which in your case is 208 grams of protein.
Make sure you have protein in every meal, if you have trouble getting enough protein get a protein powder. Grilled chicken breast, egg whites are great sources of protein.
Eat a deficit diet, around 500 under your mainentance level.
You've got a good starting point. GOOD LUCK!

canned tuna 120cal, 30g protein.

Hey Guys. Thanks for the help so far! After missing the gym most of last week with a nasty cold, I'm finally feeling better and got in some cardio/abs tonight. I'm down 3lbs from when I started and while it's not noticeable, it is motivating

dont let a cold get in your way, unless you cant leave your bed, you can hit the gym.

I dont agree if your feeling under par i believe it will have a detrimental effect on your workout and may even prolong your recovery time.

Take a couple of days off let your body rest and then come back stronger.

Listen to your body it knows what it wants.

I'm with you. I normally just try to sweat it out but this one was rough. The down time helped for sure and I'll be back hitting it hard this week!

I'm just curious, do you know what your body fat percent is?

I don't know my body fat, unfortunately. I don't have a body fat scale at home but I'll have to ask my gym if they have one. I'm doubting it though.

bfryer, thanks for the links. I definitely know about circuits and have done several of them in the past. The one I currently run is the most intense for me and I've seen good results from it when I did it before. Abs are a definite must and I've started doing more of them. I've never seen that exercise before so I'll have to give it a try. Thanks!

Body fat scales IMHO are worthless to determine body fat. If you don't have calipers, you can estimate your body fat with a tape measure. The latter is used by the Navy and they swear by it.

Body Fat Calculator

Calculate Your Body Fat Percentage

by looking at your diet I would say that needs the most work your lunch especially try chicken or tuna instead and make sure its brown rice or at least whole wheat, for breakfast try egg beaters alot less fat and especially cholesterol, also might be suprising but cut out the orange juice and just have an orange instead, drink water or skim milk. you should also add a little bit of low fat dairy to your diet by the looks of it. IT also seems like your not getting very many cals by your routine you should probably at least be eating about 2300 calories a day and thats with a deficit just eat your biggest meal in the morning. I didnt see any core in your workout so make sure and add that in about 3 days a week. I personally like to do core on the days i do cardio