Weight training for weight loss. Advice on expediting the process.

[EntropicByDesign]

Ill try not to turn this in to a book.

My primary question is simply, What routine(s) do you all recommend for someone looking to drop a significant amount of weight as quickly as is healthy and what (if any) over-the-counter and 'under-the-counter' supplementation is recommended? I would like to keep/add muscle as I go but of course I know this is a difficult thing to achieve.

Now, I understand that this sort of topic has been covered to death in thousands of threads on thousands of forums, but, that in itself is the issue, when you search it out, the MASSIVE amount of information is just difficult to sort through, some of it is old and very little of it is listed with possible steroidal supplementation to assist in the process.

In this regard though, I am sorry to ask such a common question, but links and advice would be appreciated. Below this I will detail my goals, my general physique, experience levels, etc.

My main goal is to get down to around 210 (from 260-265) while adding as much muscle as I can on what will have to be a calorically restricted diet. Once I get in to this general area I will re-evaluate my routine, goals, nutrition, supplements, etc and decide where I go from there.

I'm 31 and Ive gotten fat. Ive always been a bigger guy, but never like this. I could insert a number of excuses, but suffice to say I got lazy and let myself go - badly - and am not trying to remedy the problem. Ive been in and out of the gym a large portion of my life, so Im not a newbie in general. I have a basic foundational understanding of what Im doing and the general principles at play.

Previous to my lazy bullshit I was 201LBS, decently cut with a good figure. I needed to drop about 6-8 more lbs, but I was mostly pretty happy with where I was. I had a 505LB deadlift (2rep), 315LB squat and my bench was ok.. My left arm has a reconstructed elbow held together with am amalgam of plastic, pins and screws so some exercises I am forever crappy on due to this, the arm doesnt completely straighten any more and when I load the elbow up it gets squirrely, I usually have my spotter cup it with his hand while I lift so it doesnt shift around on me. Its dangerous, but whatever, if I use it as an excuse due to pain I may as well not even lift, because any exercise involving the arm does that and since its held together for 10years now, hopefully it'll keep it up. I have a broad build and I usually gain strength easily. My numbers are nothing special but I was still growing and adding weight when I tapered off and I feel like I could have kept pushing my lifts steadily. This was done 'naturally', my supplements consisting of protein powder (monster milk), a multi, OxyElite and Jack3d (sadly the original formulations don't seem to be available any more).

Once I reach my goal of 210 I would like to begin looking in to cycles to see how far I can press my strength and over-all size. My goal is not to be rock-solid-body-builder-guy at all, but I want a reasonable physique that'll let me take my shirt off in public (and private) again and turn a few heads when i do it, with a lean towards strength. I always default towards being a little stronger vs being a little more cut. Consider my 65% power lifter, 35% body builder, lol.

Sorry for the book guys (and gals) but whatever recommendations you all have I would live to hear. Currently Im just going 5 days a week with a very generic routine and rep scheme (1-2 sets 10reps moderate weight, 1 set 8-10 heavy, 1 'working' set to failure around 5-6 reps, exercises consisting of large compound lifts like deads/bench/squat, then depending on what Im working that day I break the group down in to smaller isolation exercises)

 

[Creepusmaximus]

I would do it in stages. Calorically restricted diet for 10-15 lbs then up the calories to hold that weight for a month or so then restrict the diet again for 10-15 lbs. etc. etc.

Personally I don't like the idea of dropping a bunch of weight because you will lose a bunch of muscle most likely. With the add of drugs??? Cutting steroids would help with the muscle loss. I don't recommend that either.

 

[Brapbrap07]

Well basically lift heavy, five rep sets ( but for you get a base first for the first two months)
Cut out all gluten or very very very minimal
Carb intake in the morning and lunch time only
Eat healthy fats 40-60g
Get your veggies on
.8-1g per lb of lean mass of protein which should be primarily from food.
Burn your muscle milk and grab a healthier protein such as Optimum nutrition.
Cardio once a week at least.
Look up your caloric intake based off your metabolic rate. Then under cut that by 200-300cal or more if you can hang.
Take your multi v
Zinc
Mag
Calc




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[broscience]

Just run forrest run!
Before you work out you do a 15 min warm up and then when you lift you should do one excersize of your choice as a heavy set and all other excersices you should be doing medium weight high reps. And i dont mean 10 12 or 15 im talking about 20-25.

Diet is the most important factor in any goal.
Dont even take any protein shakes or anything that liquid nutrition.
You should try to eat 6 meals a day at a caloric defecit.
Protein:1.5x body weight
Carbs: .5x body weight
Fats: .33x body weight

Veggies you should eat a ton of. For every gram of veggies you basically offset one gram a carbs. Cause consuming 1g of greens your body burns more calories then taking in.

And during those times where you are really hungry just eat bananas or drink a shit ton of water. Water helps with metabolism amd helps clean out the shit you put in your body.

Sleep: 6-8 hours fat is usually caused by the lack of sleep and stress as well. So make sure you get your sleep.

Kill it in the gym till the point you have nothing more to give and then give some more. Get the garbage pale ready boy its time for you to get your ass back in shape.

Hope this helped

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[MaxxReps]

Count calories bro. People are going to argue with me here but I have considerable experience in dropping a lot of weight. Macro's and meal timing don't matter nearly as much as total caloric intake. Eat enough protein, keep lifting but you need to maintain a caloric deficit. Add in some cardio to speed things up, or let yourself eat a little more if thats your thing.

Calculate your daily caloric needs using the harris benedict formula and start by subtracting 500 and see where that takes you. If its correct you should lose a pound a week. You have to recalculate every few weeks because as you lose weight your caloric needs are reduced and you need to cut out a bit more.

Everyone is terrified to lose a bit of muscle but to be honest, losing fat is hard and it sucks. Once you have done it though you will feel so good about yourself that you can then focus on gaining lean weight. Building muscle is FUN in comparison.

If you get enough protein, keep lifting, and don't cut too drastically you will minimize muscle loss anyway. I would recommend not going below 1000 calories per day below your maintenance which would equate to about 2 pounds a week of weight loss.

GOOD LUCK

 

[militarylife20]

I'm deff no expert but I started intermediate fasting about a week and a half ago and have lost 5lbs already so that's also something else you could look into... it's supposedly the best thing for losing fat but not muscle and so far so good for me!

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[MaxxReps]

^^ Second the intermittent fasting. I just dropped 15lbs in 5 weeks. Still have to count calories though.

edit: Just want to add that the most important thing is the calorie reduction, not meal timing (including IF). The best diet is the one that you can do. Some people benefit from eating many small meals throughout the day so they don't feel like they are starving, while some can't handle the fact that using that method they are never full. Losing a significant amount of fat is difficult. Don't get lost in details when the most important thing is calorie reduction. Whatever method you find works for you long term is what you should do.

I personally like IF mostly for lifestyle reasons. With IF I don't have to prepare and carry around a ton of food - and also, I'm a big eater. Eating many small meals and never feeling full eventually wears at me. With IF I have at least one big meal per day which keeps me sane mentally.

 

[Brapbrap07]

Fat loss and muscle mass only go hand in hand with a good diet and heavy lifting.. only reason I brought up carbs and such to be eaten in the morning and lunch is so you aren't going to bed with all that in your stomach. But you have a handful of choices here good luck.

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[Nickel]

High intensity interval training (hiit)....research this training method, light to moderate weightt, 3-4 exercises in a row and short rest periods to maintain elevated heart rate...this leads to large GH release for fat loss and muscle gain simultaneously....

 

[rustilldown]

So many different replies I'm sure he is just as lost as before he started this thread. You want to lose fat? You need to WORK! And eat clean. Simple as that. I don't count calories As I basically know my body well enough to just " know"

The number one thing I have done to cut fat though is adjust my diet to protein and veggies with minimal sugars and starches. A typical day for me would be
Wake up at 5 am, have a large green tea no sweetener, or a medium black coffee ( sometimes a 20 min bike ride)
Cyto sports veggie greens shake at 8 am along with a red delicious apple and 1 scoop warrior all natural protein blend.

10 am garden salad with tomatoes,
10 -15egg whites, cucumber broccoli celery and cauliflower sprinkled with flax seeds and hemp hearts dressed with olive oil mayo, cayenne pepper and plain old mustard

130 pm
Garden salad same as above, but add about 10 almonds and subtract flax and hemp hearts. Add a can of tuna or chopped chicken breast. I'll typically eat a quest nutrition bar also at this time they are fuckin delicious

4 pm ( pre workout meal .. And only time I really incorporate starchy carbs
1/2 serving Greek yogurt 0% plain,
1 scoop warrior protein and a half cup oats and tablespoon cinnamon. Mix all together and consume

5 pm serving of white flood pre workout or whatever I have in the cupboard

5-6 pm workout ( 20 min cardio.. Sometimes hiit sometimes liss ...and 40 min 5x5 strength training)

615 pm dinner
Lean meat and veggies. Lots

8 pm last meal.

Handful celery , small amount of cottage cheese and a tbsp PB. And a handful of almonds if I still have the urge.

The modern diet today is geared towards making people obese, insulin resistant and generally of poor health.

One should eat lots of low calorie high vitamin/mineral/antioxidant packed foods vs the high calorie refined processed shit you find everywhere you look. You can eat a monster salad or stirfry packed with chicken shrimp egg whites and be stuffed as fuck, vs eating a pre maid deli sandwich off the shelf containing the same calories but1/4 of the food and about 5% of the nutrition content and enough sodium to stop a heart