Fastest way to get rid of my beer belly?

[jinduy]

for the past 2 months i've resumed hitting the gym (after a 2 year layoff) in an attempt to get back in shape. i hit the gym at 3-4 days a week rotating thru

bis/tris 6 exercises total
legs 4 exercises
back 4 exercises
chest 4 exercises
shoulders 5-6 exercises

each workout ends with me doing some situps and then hitting the treadmill and occasionally the elliptical for about 20 minutes (burning about 200 calories).

my friends always think i'm all sticks n bones cuz i have that figure where i look skinny, but all my fat is in mah belly.

looking for some pointers on how i can get quicker results:

less/no weights and more cardio?
diet? <=== really tough for me

my weekday eating habit:
I TRY to cut corners on the calories. i dont give a damn about carbs and i eat them as i plz.
breakfast: usually none, maybe cereal n milk or some nestle chocolate milk

lunch: i go all out with my coworkers and usually grub it out.. greek, chinese, fast food, lunch truck, you name it

2pm snack: smoothie/crackers/coffee/crystal light depending on how hungry i get

dinner: a bowl of honey bunches of oats with milk aka cereal n milk

 

[thecoolnessrune]

Don't drink beer.

/thread

 

[everman]

Diet is the most important part.

 

[KarmaPolice]

dont eat



jk


Exercise and eating right.

 

[jinduy]

yeah i been trying to watch my eating habits but essentially this is my daily diet

breakfast: usually none, maybe cereal n milk or some nestle chocolate milk

lunch: i go all out with my coworkers and usually grub it out.. greek, chinese, fast food, lunch truck, you name it

2pm snack: smoothie/crackers/coffee/crystal light depending on how hungry i get

dinner: a bowl of honey bunches of oats with milk aka cereal n milk

that's my avg day. i'm guessing my lunch and 2pm snack are killer. i hate fruits n veggies.

 

[Kirby]

light beer

 

[NGC_604]

..

 

[mb]

Skipping breakfast is bad, mmmkay.

Also, try just drinking normal milk. The chocolate just adds more sugar and calories.

 

[JS80]

my secret is a caffeine drink every hour or two.

 

[EXman]

I lost 50lbs in 3 months I drank 2-3 slimfasts a day and had 1 meal of a vegetable sandwhich with spicey mustard. NO-fat and delicious! you cannot maintain that and I didn't...

I am going to start again though.

 

[SludgeFactory]

List your height/weight/bodyfat.

Total up your calories. What you list there doesn't seem like a lot (probably not enough), but it's crap food. Where's the protein? You must be hungry a lot of the time with those carb-only cereal meals. You gotta fix your diet.

 

[BatmanNate]

I am a brewer so I drink a ton of beer but don't have a gut, I'm fairly sure that association is a myth. I cycle to keep in shape.

 

[jinduy]

Originally posted by: SludgeFactory
List your height/weight/bodyfat.

Total up your calories. What you list there doesn't seem like a lot (probably not enough), but it's crap food. Where's the protein? You must be hungry a lot of the time with those carb-only cereal meals. You gotta fix your diet.

interesting. i used to take protein shakes, optimum whey and isopure, but i decided against it because i felt like it just added more calories to my diet and my priority was to get rid of the gut rather than build bigger muscles.

i'm

5'8
160 lbs
body fat i dont know and never checked but i'd guestimate somewhere in the mid to high 20s.

 

[petejk]

running is def good..

i do a 8 mile jog on the weekends...and do a 4.5 mile run a couple times on the weekdays..it feels gooooddd

 

[Special K]

You need to take a methodical approach to this and actually track what you eat each day using Fitday

I get really tired of answering this same question every week so rather than writing yet another treatise on losing fat and building muscle, I will just refer you to the link in my sig. Join, read all the stickies, and ask questions as necessary. The members there are very knowledgable and are happy to help beginners.

 

[iamaelephant]

Originally posted by: jinduy
breakfast: usually none, maybe cereal n milk or some nestle chocolate milk

lunch: i go all out with my coworkers and usually grub it out.. greek, chinese, fast food, lunch truck, you name it

2pm snack: smoothie/crackers/coffee/crystal light depending on how hungry i get

dinner: a bowl of honey bunches of oats with milk aka cereal n milk

You're not even trying. You don't have to be a nutritionist to see there's something seriously wrong here. Also, I call shens on you doing 24 exercises per workout, and if you do, you're an idiot. Have a look at some pre-made full body workouts, I recommend T-Nation's Total Body Training.

 

[jinduy]

Originally posted by: iamaelephant

Originally posted by: jinduy
breakfast: usually none, maybe cereal n milk or some nestle chocolate milk

lunch: i go all out with my coworkers and usually grub it out.. greek, chinese, fast food, lunch truck, you name it

2pm snack: smoothie/crackers/coffee/crystal light depending on how hungry i get

dinner: a bowl of honey bunches of oats with milk aka cereal n milk

You're not even trying. You don't have to be a nutritionist to see there's something seriously wrong here. Also, I call shens on you doing 28 exercises per workout, and if you do, you're an idiot. Have a look at some pre-made full body workouts, I recommend T-Nation's Total Body Training.

yeah i would be. that was a daily rotation list. i focus on one muscle a day, with the exception of the arm muscles.

 

[iamaelephant]

Originally posted by: jinduy

Originally posted by: iamaelephant

Originally posted by: jinduy
breakfast: usually none, maybe cereal n milk or some nestle chocolate milk

lunch: i go all out with my coworkers and usually grub it out.. greek, chinese, fast food, lunch truck, you name it

2pm snack: smoothie/crackers/coffee/crystal light depending on how hungry i get

dinner: a bowl of honey bunches of oats with milk aka cereal n milk

You're not even trying. You don't have to be a nutritionist to see there's something seriously wrong here. Also, I call shens on you doing 28 exercises per workout, and if you do, you're an idiot. Have a look at some pre-made full body workouts, I recommend T-Nation's Total Body Training.

yeah i would be. that was a daily rotation list. i focus on one muscle a day, with the exception of the arm muscles.

Don't do that. You want to do a total body workout 3 times a week with a minimum of 72 hours between workouts. Google T-Nation's Total Body Training, Home Grown Muscle or visit some weight lifting forums for more advice on a workout that will work for you.

 

[jinduy]

Originally posted by: iamaelephant

Originally posted by: jinduy

Originally posted by: iamaelephant

Originally posted by: jinduy
breakfast: usually none, maybe cereal n milk or some nestle chocolate milk

lunch: i go all out with my coworkers and usually grub it out.. greek, chinese, fast food, lunch truck, you name it

2pm snack: smoothie/crackers/coffee/crystal light depending on how hungry i get

dinner: a bowl of honey bunches of oats with milk aka cereal n milk

You're not even trying. You don't have to be a nutritionist to see there's something seriously wrong here. Also, I call shens on you doing 28 exercises per workout, and if you do, you're an idiot. Have a look at some pre-made full body workouts, I recommend T-Nation's Total Body Training.

yeah i would be. that was a daily rotation list. i focus on one muscle a day, with the exception of the arm muscles.

Don't do that. You want to do a total body workout 3 times a week with a minimum of 72 hours between workouts. Google T-Nation's Total Body Training, Home Grown Muscle or visit some weight lifting forums for more advice on a workout that will work for you.

ill check it out. i used to read their site 2 years ago and they inspired me to actually start working on my legs

http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=508031

 

[ch33zw1z]

Strict diet, hit the weights before doing cardio. Doing that will get your metabolism going and burn all your immediate fuel before doing the cardio, leaving cardio to burn fat faster...

edit: AND dood, you gotta eat protein. Muscle burns fat, all day long. build up those muscles and watch the fat drop..not eating is NOT healthy/a good way to cut calories.

 

[49erinnc]

Definitely alter your diet which is very poor from a nutritional standpoint. You need a lot more protein and cut back on sugars where you can. Also take in more "good" fat. And based on what you listed, you are really lacking inbetween lunch and breakfast. Your body isn't getting proper nutrition on just crackers, coffee, cereal and a smoothie. You need to eat a much better dinner and maybe a casein protein shake before bed.

And when you do cardio, try to stay closer to the fat burn stage instead of the cardio stage. You're going to get a good cardio workout from weight training (if done properly) anyway so you don't need to overdo it on the treadmill/elliptical.

I have a similar problem as you (only gain weight in my midsection) and one thing that has really helped me is cutting back on evening consumption of carbs/sugars. I used to eat a very carb-heavy dinner around 7:30pm or so, followed by a bowl of sweet cereal around 9pm. And then bed at 10-10:30pm. That stuff just goes straight to the gut due to the lack of physical activity at night. Now I try to cram in most of my carbs in the morning or at lunch, prior to workouts. I've gone down to the next hole in my belt, which is about an inch, just in a month's time.

 

[bobsmith1492]

Run a marathon. Train first, of course.

 

[Fingolfin269]

Your diet sucks. You need protein! The listed diet assures that you lose all of your muscle when you do that cardio. Less muscle = lower metabolism.

(Yes, I know it is a lot more complex than that... but does it really matter? )

 

[Kelemvor]

Originally posted by: iamaelephant

Don't do that. You want to do a total body workout 3 times a week with a minimum of 72 hours between workouts. Google T-Nation's Total Body Training, Home Grown Muscle or visit some weight lifting forums for more advice on a workout that will work for you.

72 hours is 3 days. If you wait 3 days between workouts, you can only do 2 per week.

I've always been told to just not work out the same major muscle groups two days in a row. So if you go to the gym on back to back days, to upper body one day and lower the next or something like that. I never go two days in a row so I do everything on the days I do go.

 

[Wapp]

Originally posted by: Fingolfin269
Your diet sucks.

:thumbsup:

Go to Fitday and start tracking your meals. Also, pack your own lunch, saves money and you control the nutritional content. I'm not sure if you drink soft drinks or juice but I recommend you strictly drink water and green tea.