Is this right? (lots of questions inside)

[Leander]

About almost 4 weeks ago I started training again. I've been running in the morning before breakfast for about 20 minutes, alternating between walking, jogging and all out running. I've been doing that for approx. 4-5 times per week. I've also been lifting, I started off slowly only lifting once a week. Last week I lifted twice, this week I'll lift probably about 4 times I'll also increase my cardio to 7 days a week (biking and running).

My diet is'nt really complex , basically I stick with protein and veggies with the occasional carb. I would guess that my carbs are anywhere between 20-80 grams for 6 days a week. Then one day out of the week I just eat whatever I want, but I make sure to train a little harder on those days.

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Ok so I started my training with a body weight of around 283-285, almost 4 weeks later I'm hovering between 279-281. So my question is should I weigh a little less or is this normal for a person with my training schedule?
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I used to work out a lot in my early 20's (I'm 30 now) will muscle retention still work for me even though I have'nt trained hard in more than 6 years?

I have'nt really been measuring myself but I *think* that I might be losing inches. Also I'm starting to look a bit more toned than I previously was, in fact even though my stomach has a long way to go before being perfectly flat my upper ab muscles are starting to show. The wierd thing is that I have'nt done any ab training for years, does this mean I'm shedding body fat?

If I do hard cardio in the morning, weights/ab training/light cardio in the afternoon and light cardio in the evening will I see faster results in fat loss? Or will this be overtraining? My theory is that if I'm doing 3 phases of activity through-out the day I'll be able to keep my metabolism at peak efficiency

 

[Lee]

diet, diet, diet

diet is 90% of the work in losing weight. without a good diet you wont lose shit. get on a good split diet, bodyweightx10 =cals u need. 55% protein/30% carbs/15% fat. then get on a 3 day a week workout split, monday, wednesday, friday. do cardio every day that you dont lift.

 

[bigstve12]

stick with the cardio first thing in the morning, but i would not do it 7 days a week. I would stick to about 5-6. AS far as weight training, browse the boards and develop yourself a good 3 or 4 day split. Personally I would take 1 day off a week from everything to make sure you recover(sundays are good). Are you on a low carb diet b/c 20-80g of carbs isnt very much? I would keep carbs low to help burn fat bu dont exclude them totally b/c you will need the energy for weights. Anyways, good luck and congrats on your progress you've already made.

---fellow chicagoin

 

[Leander]

Thanks for the advice bros


Lee - My diet is very clean these days. I don't eat fried foods, sweets, and very little starchy foods and breads. I also avoid sodas and other sweetened drinks, in fact the only thing I drink is water with the exception of light beer which is usually only twice a week. My fat may be a little higher than 15% but I find that if I go to low on fats my appetite is usually out of control and I don't feel my best.


bigstve12 - Would eating low carbs hinder my muscle growth? I'm a diabetic and carbs usually drive up my blood glucose levels, so I try to limit the amount that I eat.

Will I start to see faster weight loss in the future if I keep my same diet and training program?

 

[bigstve12]

you being diabetic---disregard the whole carb thing of my last post. Do you have type I or type II?? you probably know this already but exercise has the same effect on your blood glucose as does insulin. So definetly keep doing what your doing. Keep up the good work, keep us posted on your results

 

[Leander]

What would be a sign of overtraining? Especially in terms of cardio.

 

[bigstve12]

tiredness, joint pain, depression, plateau with what your doing...ie cant increase times/speed or weights. If your just getting back into it i wouldnt worry about that yet. Just remember the body gets stronger when its resting