Hey guys, this is my first post here, and I'm currently tying to lose weight until September, after September I will start to bulk and try to gain a good 10-15 pounds of muscle. Right now im 17 yrs old, 168 pounds, 5 feet 10 inches tall.

But anyway, here is what my diet looks like, all meals are spread our 4 hours from each other.

Meal 1 8:00 AM
1/2 cup old fashion oatmeal
1 cup chopped strawberries
1 regular size banana

Meal 2 12:00 PM
Whatevers for dinner, but never exceeds 400 calories
1 apple

Meal 3 4:00 PM
1/2 cup Original Fiber One
1 Cup Fat Free Milk
1 Slice Whole wheat Toast w/ 1 Tablespoon Peanut butter

Meal 4 8:00 PM
Chocolate Protein Shake W/ Milk - Total 230 calories, about 30 grams of protein in the shake.

I work our twice a day. In the morning, right after my breakfast i go to the gym and do an hour and a half of weights. and at night after my protein shake i go and do one hour cardio on elliptical and a 30 min sauna session.

So iv been doing this for about a week and a half and looks like iv lost a little bit of weight, maybe a pound or 2. But i just wanted to see if you guys have any tips for me to have a more effective plan.

- THANKS =]

diet looks ok as long as there is some veggies and lean meat in your lunch. I think your workout tends to be extreme more on the weight training, im assuming cuz its takin so long that your doin a full body w/o but i think u should consider splitting it up lower body one day upper body another. Or chest back and shoulders one day, triceps/biceps the next. Your spending so much time that there is no way your gettin max efficiency out of all of it. keep it under an hour. Splitting your cardio and weight training is a good idea though if u wanna do it every day. If your a newb youll get results fast. Make sure your eatin enough though or all your weight training will go to nothing, check your cal intake with the harris benedict equation. u got to be burning at least 1500cals aday therefor you should be eating aton just to lose weight. Im cuttin right now with cardio everyday but weighttraining 4 days a week not nearly asmuch time as your spending but am eating 2700 cals aday. Go for defecit of about 20%

I do split up my weight training. I do back/biceps, chest/triceps, abs, shoulders/forearms, legs.

Im eating currently about 1500 - 2000 calories a day...

thats definitely way to long then. Make sure you start out with proper compounds and youll only need a few isolation excercises. in doin cardio for an hour and weightlifting split everyday for an hour that has to top around 1500 cals if your doin it effectively that would mean your body is only getting a net 0-500cals a day does that sound healthy to you. Since your a bit shorter and weigh less than me im assuming your mantenance is around 2100-2200 cals+ 1500 so lets just call it roughly 3500cals. you should be eating at least 2700cals aday for an effective plan, your starving yourself and your muscle. If you arent constantly feeling tired on your regimen currently either your workouts are completely ineffecient or your not counting your calories properly and consuming more than you say there is no way this regimen can last. For the most effective weightloss (lose more fat than muscle) stay w/ 20/25% cut

Why is an hour and a half too long?

Mjohn,

I think you could up your fiber. You're also lacking in the protein department.

Can't tell much from what you listed with your workout program. Specifics.

um, mdawson2 i kind of understand what your saying, but personally i think i'm very fit, i'm not new to lifting weights or cardio. 1500 is the minimum I eat. usually i hover around 2000. But I see your point.

I checked my stats today, so far been controling diet and exercising like this for 2 weeks. 5 pounds lost. my body fat went from 22.5% down to 19.9%.

My weight lifting program doesn't seem to have suffered at all, im still able to lift everything i did 2 weeks ago. Would you recommend immediately upping my calories by lets say another 300 or 400. or should i keep up with this since im seeing some very healthy and good results.

Any evolution, that's just what i ate on the day i posted, everyday different for me, sometimes i get more protein then others, just depends but i try to balance everything as much as possible.