Cutting Fat: Low Carb vs Low Fat? Cardio vs Weights?

Eat more often in smaller portions. No simple carbs before bed. No refined grains such as white rice or white flour. Whole grains are fine since they do not spike your insulin levels. Definitely more fibers (celery, broccoli, green beans, etc). As far as meat is concerned, chicken and turkey breasts are good and they are not red meats. You said you eat alot of fish which is great and continue to do so. As far as work out is concerned, you should try out high intensity interval training. But I would suggest weight lifting instead.

When you buy bread, look for the ingredient list, it should not contain high fructose corn syrup as a part of the list. That defeats the whole purpose of eating whole grain or wheat bread.

I think the best way for a beginning dieter/lifter to make gains is to record what they eat and look at the ratios of proteins, fats and carbs. A gram of fat has 9 calories, protein and carbs each have 4 calories per gram. For someone of your size and fitness level the best way to lose fat is probably going to be a combination of weightlifting and a low carb diet, something in the realm of 40% of your calories from proteins, 40% from fats, and 20% from carbs.

30-45 minutes of cardio is a decent start, but unless your intensity is that of an athlete in training you will not make significant improvements in body composition. Weightlifting is better because it will likely burn more calories during the exercise itself, will definitely burn more calories afterwards as your body repairs itself, and will help you add a little bit of muscle which will add to an overall more athletic appearance.

For a weightlifting program, google "starting strength" and read everything you can about it. Then follow the information to a T. It is the best program out there for beginning/intermediate lifters that don't want a huge commitment but still want to see gains fast.

As for diet, be stricter than what Prada_Ferragamo said. He's right that you want to avoid spiking your insulin which coincides with your body storing fat, however just because something is "whole grain" doesn't mean that its good to eat. Whole grain rice still spikes your insulin more than you'd like, as do most whole grain breads. Google "glycemic index" and try to base your carb consumption around foods that have low glycemic indexes. A diet that does a good job of controlling high glycemic carb intake is a "paleolithic diet," where the philosophy is to eat only the things that monkeys evolved into humans eating. Tons of fruits and veggies, as well as lean meats and oils, with the occasional dairy or flour product.

For someone of your size, if you start doing starting strength and eating 2500 calories per day, I'd expect that you can lose 2 lbs a week for the first couple of weeks, then keep on at around a pound a week of fat lost until you hit your goal. 2500 calories at the 40/40/20 ratio breaks down into 250 grams of protein, 110 grams of fat, and 125 grams of carbs a day, which is likely way more protein and fat than you're used to, and probably many fewer carbs.

So in summation google:
starting strength
paleolithic diet
glycemic index

Also keep a log. Post it here or on a bodybuilding forum. Even though the people there may be in way better shape than you, the fitness community is very supportive of new comers, especially when they listen to advice and choose a smart program and diet.

Good Luck.

Eat less and exercise more

Glycemic index, paleo diets, high fat, high carb....doesn't fucking matter. Get off the couch, go for a long run, lift some heavy weights, and eat enough protein. The rest

DOES

NOT

MATTER

why is a pistol, but it's good advice. lefty

+1, the important thing is use more calories than you take in, your weight will go down.

But you don't really want to lose weight, you want to lose fat, which is only part of your weight. If you add strength/resistance/weights training to your cardio, you will be able to preserve your muscles and a bigger proportion of what you lose in bulk will be the stuff that makes you tubby.

Also, a muscly frame uses calories even when its sitting around and not actually exercising, but a hunk of blubber uses nothing.

So adding (or preserving) muscles through weight training is going to help you change your body to what you want and burn off fat, even though an hour of weights doesn't use as many calories as an hour of running. You need both, like why says.

As to cutting fat vs cutting carbs you will hear conflicting things. I have upped my protein a lot but gone the opposite way to what doug funnie suggests, still taking 40% protein but 40% carbs and 20 fat rather than 40 fat,20 carbs. The carbs are generally lower GI ones or ones with fibre and real nutrients rather than the 'white' refined processed stuff.

Still, since last summer I have gone from 249lbs down to your weight. Like you I still have fat thighs/belly but they are shrinking monthly.

Fat burns extra calories too. It's just not as thermogenic as muscle.

How do you guesstimate the calories you need for maintenance and how much to cut for healthy weight loss?

Just do 2000/day and lift weights and do cardio...your body will acclimate. To answer your question: get your body fat measured.

ya, Ill simplify what worked for me. 1. cut out the stuff that i Just Know is crap. Don't overthink this, you know what junk food is. 2. Start doing major muscle group lifting. All I do is crunches, pulldowns, bench presses and leg presses. Big compound muscles, Im outta the weights room in 20 mins. 3. Do some cardio. Run. Jump rope. Or - my standard advice follows - boxing

Holler at your boy. Other good ones are dips, step-ups (with weights), and squats squats squats. But you're not going to see any results if you say "oh, today is my biceps and calves day." All that stuff about muscles burning calories is true. Now, think of what happens if the big muscles get bigger.

I've lost about 75 pounds in the past year, mostly due to an extremly low carb diet, with large muscle group wieght lifting and krav maga.

+1. All the percentages and specialty diets are pretty much crap - or at least of minimal incremental benefit. Don't be hungry or you'll fail - eat bulky food and make sure you snack. If it grows in the ground (with few exceptions), and hasn't been to a factory or mill, eat lots of it. If it swims, eat it daily. If it flys, eat it weekly. If it walks, eat it monthly. Don't expect miracles, you don't gain 10 lbs in a week, don't expect to lose it in a week. If you follow those general rules you shouldn't need to count calories.

And as m@t recommends: concentrate on major muscle group lifting. Get the maximum benefit from the minimum amount of time. Do whatever cardio works for you, and push yourself.

That's what's worked for me: I'm now 50 lbs lighter than I was a year ago and significantly healthier by all objective measurements.

can you elaborate on large muscle group weight lifting? Exactly,what do you mean?