OK, I will write this post so that it can be used by other people, since this kind of question gets asked a lot.
First off, there are three things I will address:
Diet, Weight Trainining and Cardio.
1. Diet:
Current weight: 240 equals: 109 kilos
BF: 23%
LBM (everything whis is not fat): 240 - 240*23% = 184,8lbs = 84 kilos ( I needed in kilos for the BMR calculation)
The preferred formula for calculating your BMR is based on LBM ONLY, not on total weight, since fat is not metabolically active. The formula is:
BMR = 370 + 21.6 x LBM in Kilos
370 + 21.6*84 = 2184 cals. (this is what you need just to be alive).
now we need your daily expenditure. Based on the amount of excercise you do (4 days WT+2 days cardio) that falls in the 3 ~ 5 days, so the multiplier is 1.55
TDDE: BMR * 1.55 = 3385 cals. This is the amount of cals you need to MAINTAIN with your current activity level.
Now, a not so radical program would call for a 20% decrease of TDDE for cutting, paired with 2 days refeed at some 10% below TDDE.
I did my cutting with -30% and -15%, so I will propose those. Remember, you need to try and adjust according to results.
On that basis we have:
Low Carb days: 2370 cals (-30% below TDDE). The ratios that work wonders for me (because I am a bit carb-sensitive are: 45% prot, 25% carb, 30% fat).
High Carb days: 2878 cals (-15% below TDDE). The ratios for this are: 35% Prot, 50% carb, 15% fat
since
1gr prot = 4 cals
1 gr carb = 4 cals
1 gr fat = 9 cals
1 gr alcohol = 7 cals (you don't need this, but just so you know)
we then have:
Low carb day: 2370 cals with a split of 45%P 25%C 30%F
267 gr Prot
148 gr Carb
79 gr Fat
Now, for your High carb days we are going to drop the fat (since you don't want all that fat to mix with the carbs, right???)
High carb day: 2878 cals with a split of 35%P 50%C 15%F we have:
252 gr Prot
360 gr Carb
48 gr Fat
Now, how you get these numbers in, that is your business, depending on the things you normally eat. What I eat is:
Carbs:
Oats, Whole grain bread, Dextrose, Maltodextrin, Brocolli
Protein:
Chicken Breast, Tuna, Steak, Salmon, Whey
Fat:
Olive Oil, Flax Oil
The Post Workout shake rewuires special mention. When cutting, the formula is 2.5 gr carbs per evcery 10 pounds of body weight. THe protein should be the same quantity as the carbs. Moreover, split the carbs 50-50 in dextrose and maltodextrin
Your PWO should look like for your weight like: 60 grs Whey, 30 grs dextrose and 30 grs maltodextrin, all in 1 ltr water.
If this is too much sugar, you can try cutting the carbs in half or until you find what gives you the best results.
Final thing with the diet: Make sure you implement Carb Tapering and Calorie Tapering during the day.
Your schedule could look like this:
Mon: Low Carb
Tuesday: Low Carb
Wednesday: Low Carb
Thursday: High Carbs (never go over 3 days in a row low carb)
Friday: Low Carb
Saturday Low Carb
Sunday: High Carb
A clever thing to do is train your large muscle groups (like legs and back) on the day (or the day after) your high carb days. (I used to do Legs on fridays and back on Mondays)
2. WEIGHT TRAINING
Not much to mention here, if you are training 4 days, I hope you are doing a 4 days split. Make sure every muscle group gets at least some 12 ~ 18 reps (normally 3 sets) and stick to compound movements. Also, keep your rest time short.
3. CARDIO
Major work here. The reason why we burn fat is because we BURN it with cardio. I do cardio 6 days/week, after weight training, so I cannot compare the eficiency with early morning fasted cardio, but it would be damn hard that fasted cardio would give me better results, since I am doing my cardio already on a glycogen depleted state.
What I do is 6 times per week, 45 minutes @ 75~ 85 % of my MHR (which in your case is 202 bpm). Meaning you should aim at keeping your heart ticking at aprox. 152 ~ 160 bpm. If it sounds easy, try doing that for 45 minutes straight. (if you feel ill, take it easy, cardio at this intensity needs some getting used to, the heart is another muscle that needs to be trained)
A lot of people will say: "that is way over the fat burning range"... I am firm believer (and walking proof) that what it really matters is Cals in vs. Cals out. If you do 45 min at 65% you will burn a higher % of cals from fat than when you do it at 80%, but the TOTAL number of cals burned will be higher when you do your cardio at 80%.
so, get your butt in that threadmill and leave the books/mags home.
OK, think it is enough to get you started in the right direction.
10% in 3 months is relative. for you In my experience, I was dropping .2 kilo of LBM for every 800 grs fat. Meaning, that if you were to be around that, you would weight some 205 lbs with 13% BF. That is 35 lbs less. I would aim for 5 months so as not to be so maniac about this (we all need have a life to live!!!)
Oh yeah, almost forgot: Save the gear... you are way too young for that, you are risking, being 18, messing with your own endocrine system. Your own hormones are still raging. Problem is we are living in a world that teaches us that instant gratification and reward is the norm. Some things take a little time, but the feeling when you get them and you look back and say " I did this on my own, with no additional help" is worth it.
OK, enough said.
Let the green roll
Pintoca
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So I have no idea how it will effect me. I am thinking of trying HST as I have been doing mostly max-ot for the past several months.
