New to the site. Is it helpful? Lost 20 but more to go...

ahoier wrote: »

The site itself will not make the pounds fall off....I will start by saying that. I will also say, I've been on and off the site for 2 years now.....been "working out" for 4+ years.....semi-consistently....BUT, I did not start to see "progress" until I started watching my diet accordingly.

What really helped me, when I catapulted into this "lifestyle change" was:

Fasted cardio. Look it up.

N

I work basically 10-7 most days of the week, except Saturday and Sunday....typically Monday through FRIDAY I would wake up at 7.....start the coffee up. Take a cup of black, and a splash of half and half, on my way to the gym. I would hit the elliptical hard for a good 40 minutes....plus a 5 minute "cool down". This is mandatory.

After that, I would do a circuit of randomized exercises, mix of free weights, machine weights, etc.....pull ups, push ups....basically, whatever I felt like doing. This was all totally random. My gym has a lot of old timers that come in the morning, so I had to "work around" them.....if the chest press was full, I'd move to the chest-supported row machine, etc. If you read, you'll find pros and cons of "routines" - I never followed a "routine" - so I feel this helped my progress. Simply because my body could not guess where I was gonna "hit" next

If you do the same routine, day in, day out.....eventually, YES you will plateau....it's the same reason why my bodies who work hard labor are overweight.....they give the excuse, "oh but I worked out all day at work, laying drain pipes!" - what I try to explain to them, your body has "adjusted" to that day to day activity.....so that's why they are still fat,,,,and well, not to mention, most of them go home, plop in front of the TV with a bag of potato chips and watch monday night Football...with a 24 pack of Natural "Light" beer.

That was my other downfall.....the beer. LOL. When I first started working out, I was a heavy drinker lol....back when FourLOKO still had the Taurine, Caffeine and 12% Alcohol by Volume....HA. Those things were GREAT. I'd crash about 8 p.m. wake up at 7 a.m. brew my pot of coffee.....and then go burn the rest of the alcohol off at the gym!

Well.....don't get discouraged.....I still drink...but I keep it to special ocassions, And during the week I still have a glass or two of wine. Preferably red. I've acquired a taste for wine. Yes, it is delicious, at night, after a good workout.

My other secret to success. I do not eat "solid" food after 8 p.m....after my p.m. workout I may slurp down a whey protein shake......but that's it. No solid food after 8 p.m.

I then typically wake up around 8 a.m.....that's essentially a twelve hour "fast"....in which my body is burning up calories.


As far as supplements go....I will say, I've tried damn near all of them. Hydroxycut Hardcore worked in the beginning, until my body hit that plateau, and the caffeine didn't have any more effect on me......I then had to cycle off of them (yea, read the bottle, it kinda says this lol...but not straight out....it states though not to be used more than x weeks, etc..). I still take my fish oil though....and garlic in the morning (keeps mosquitoes away during my morning run, supposed to help BP and cholesterol levels too), and a probiotic 30 minutes before lunch...on ocassion I'll take a multivitamin but it's not something I take every day. I kinda base it around how my nutrient intake looks like on my FitnessPal reports.....if my Vitamin C is low...etc....

But that being said......these are all "tools" or "supplements" nothing but determination will change the way you look, or feel. Look to the stars, and you will succeed