I went back to the gym today to ask them about that body fat muscle mass index stuff and they said they'd have a trainer call me in a day or 2, measure me. The guy talking to me proceeded to magically become a salesman and started talking about training programs that cost $800+ dollars.

Everywhere you f'in go man. Everywhere you f'in go.

BTW, I don't know what kind of aerobic exercising if any you're doing, but I highly recommend HIIT (high intensity interval training). You'll burn FAR more fat than just exercising at a steady pace or going at the pace some expensive machine tells you to go at. There's a lot of scientific research behind it. You can look it up online but basically (like the name sounds) you have brief intervals of very high intensity followed by low intensity recovery intervals. When I do HIIT running, for example, I might run almost as hard as I can (maybe 95% effort) for 20 seconds followed by 60 seconds of low intensity. Then 20 seconds of high, 60 of low, etc. You'll want to vary things up: after a couple of weeks, do 15 high/45 low intensity, then maybe 30/90, etc. The Concept II rowing machines are good for this type of workout too, and you may find others that work well. Some aerobic machines don't work very well for the high intensity periods though.

A couple of notes:
-Make sure you warm up for a few minutes before going at a high intensity and cool down for a few min before stopping.
-HIIT training works very well but it's tough on your central nervous system. I think most trainers would recommend that you not do HIIT on two consecutive days. If you're also weight-lifting, I'd say don't do both on the same day and make sure you have one or two days a week of just rest.
-Unless you're in very good shape already, you're probably gonna feel pretty wiped out after just a few rounds of high then low intensity intervals. That's fine. You'll get more out of 10 min of that than an hour on the treadmill at a slow pace. Basically, HIIT and weight-lifting are the only two ways to speed up your metabolism and help you burn fat not only during but even for many hours after exercising. Even when I was exercising pretty hardcore and at a very low bf% (around 6 at one point), I wouldn't do more than eight rounds of high and low intensity. It would be an exhausting but rewarding 20 or 25 min workout.

Allanfan: Your welcome for all my helpful advice.

Alanfan, what I've heard from many good people is that cycling is a great way to lose weight.

You can use it for transportation, recreation, or just fitness. Everyone can ride. The start-up is low. And it's FUN, so it will keep you coming back for more and feeling good.

Running is boring, all that stuff is boring. Just get a nice road bike and cruise around, man. You'll be good.

Edit:

don't weigh yourself. Weight fluctuates for many reasons, maybe even water. How much water you have in you. Also, always weigh yourself naked, clothes weigh a lot. Just weigh yourself every 2 weeks. And get on a road bike, not a mountain bike. Just do it bro..

Edit:

I just read SC's post. I disagree that you need strength training, at least not right now. Just do the cycling, nothing else, and that's it. You can always hit the weights when you lose some pounds. Your goal isn't to build muscle mass, it's to slim down and tone down. Get on a bike, get on a road bike, dude.

Edit:

Dude, another way to lose weight, although not very popular or appealing, is to go on a FAST!! I read it in this great book, called 'The Santa Barbara Diet'..this guy knows what he is talking about. He lost 40 pounds in 6 weeks.

He says that fasting is only hard the first 2 days. You get used to it after that. And you drink lemmon water. It might not be the healthiest, you will probably suffer a little, but the human body and mind are resilient. You will recovery quickly and be much lighter. The long term benefits far outweigh the short-term suffering and damage a fast inflicts.

If you're really serious about changing your life then you will fast, and you will endure the suffering. Just think of how great it will be to be 40 pounds lighter in 6 weeks. Unbelievable, bro.

Dude just fast
[Edited by - orangeblobman on 06-24-2009 12:56 AM]

[Edited by - orangeblobman on 06-24-2009 12:57 AM]



[Edited by - orangeblobman on 06-24-2009 01:06 AM]

PS: My long term goal is to tone up. Just get in good shape. I don't want to be a skinny minny. I'm going to keep doing my cardio training for now though, b/c what I'm doing is really good. My first goal is to just burn the gut off. When that's making some real progress, I'm going to start doing a little less cardio and I'm going to lift weights.

I found a picture that I think will help you

allanfan, you're being a girl about all this. just remember that wings and suds are the basic building blocks of a happy and fulfilled life and stop watching so much oxygen and lifetime tv.

you're welcome.

It looks like water, hence the towel. The person on the scale obviously just got out of the shower.

[Edited by - orangeblobman on 06-24-2009 08:40 AM]

Posted by jimimou:

Posted by orangeblobman:

It looks like water, hence the towel. The person on the scale obviously just got out of the shower.

[Edited by - orangeblobman on 06-24-2009 08:40 AM]

can anyone say leaky faucet?

LOL, like drippings??

Posted by Bippity10:

Allan: I just wanted to say your welcome again. Since you said thank you so many times, I feel like I should say your welcome again.

INGRATE!

If you read my last post, you would have seen that my thank yous are directed towards everyone in this thread towards you.

Stop being such a malcontent and just accept my slap in the face to you.

OK. I bought a new scale today. I weighed myself and I'm 259 lbs. This is THE scale I'll be using from this point foward.

Total official weight loss so far: 17.5 lbs.

[Edited by - Allanfan20 on 29-06-2009 12:01 PM]