For all those trying to lose weight I may be some help. Used to be 225lb my sophomore year of high school. 4 years later I'm 180 8% bf and the leanest/strongest I've been all my life. Here is my little "guide".
Side note before i get started: Losing 45lb in 4 years seems like decades, and it is. Keep in mind though that there were points where i was skinner than 180lb, times where i was heavier but stronger, and times where i was skinner but weaker. Also keep in mind I did all this while still living a high school and college lifestyle consisting of eating out with friends and drinking on weekends. In 4 years i completely transformed my body, I'm not only a lot healthier than I was before but I look amazing (abs,chest, arms, etc).
Weight training: I never really went on a particular routine or diet, instead I've stuck to variations of this routine
Back/Tri
Chest/Bi
Shoulders/Legs
Working opposing muscles because I felt like when I hit Chest and Triceps the same day my Triceps were sore by the time I was finished with chest causing me to do less weight.
Rep ranges were done like so... 12, 12, 8 Increasing the weight for the 8 reps. Also, for the more compound workouts such as bench press, shoulder press, dead lift and squat I would do 4 sets, usually pyramid's 12,10,8,6 Increasing the weight every time.
*Also it's always good to throw in pull ups on back day and dips on chest day. They might be hard for some at first but you'll be amazed of how quickly you can advance in them.
Cardio: HIIT
Cardio was done three times a week consisting of high intensity interval training. I REALLY like this type of cardio. Its short and really works.
I set the tredmile at an incline of 3.0 and did 1 minute sprints (9.0mph) followed by 1 minute fast walks (4.5 mph). Up until 12 minutes followed by a cool down of 3 minute walk
If you're feeling like you want to push yourself, doing outside cardio consisting of Sprinting the straights and jogging the curves for up to 2 miles (8 laps) does wonders as well.
Diet:
Never went on a real diet program like carb cycling or keto...instead i did it the simple way. EAT HEALTHY
Example:
Breakfast- Shake with banana and toast
Snack- yogurt
Gym
Post workout snack- Protein shake
Dinner- as much meat as I can get my hands on and a small amount of Carbs and also some type of green (brocoli, ect)
i have a big sweet tooth so for desert at times I would add
Desert- Cottage cheese with a tiny bit of strawberry jelly or protein shake
Eating healthy isn't hard. Just try your hardest to have more proteins than carbs, keep the fat low, and try to have your last meal 3-4 hours before bed.
Also, I did have cheat meals once or twice a week and I usually tried to plan on having it the day before a really hard workout day/cardio day so I thought I could try and burn it off the next day. DONT BE AFRAID TO CHEAT. Theres no way I could have stayed on track without it.
Supplements:
Multivitamin, Whey protein, ECA stack cycled , and JACK3D pre-workout, and a gallon of water a day.
People should look into the ECA stack. Stands for ephedrine, caffeine, asprin. Google it, it can be a BIG PUSH to those who are already dedicated and doing cardio, you'll be amazed. Google it. Its usually cheap too. Caffeine shouldnt run you more than 8 bucks, asprin 2-3$, and th ephedrine i got in the form of BRONKAID which is over the counter asthma medication
Any questions feel free to ask.
