Yea that was something else I was going to say, can the cardio. The fat burning effects of pounding the weights is far more beneficial then cardio. Before I came to this site I was doing cardio daily for 2 weeks with minimal results at best. As soon as I came here and read whats really up, I ditched the cardio and started hitting the weights 3 times a week. Try Waterburys TBT, that will burn your fat off. If you really feel the need hit some minimal cardio on the off days, but concentrate and hitting the iron that will yeild your best results. Undo the years of brainwashing that the health magazines have been preaching, and read the articles here, you will see what really counts. Good luck dude!
I’m much of a newbie, and fighting my own diet battles, but some of the things I’ve learned from reading around this site include:
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Clean up your diet. Cut out sugars, and try to stay away from anything pre-packaged - chances are its bad for you.
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Increase your protein. Go for ‘clean’ sources like egg whites, 1% cottage cheese, tuna, chicken breasts, etc.
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Eat more often. 5-8 little meals will keep you full (Especially if you load them up with lots of fiberous veggies), and will keep your metabolism running.
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Make sure your cardio is high intensity - add in sprints, incline, any sort of added resistance will really help in the long run.
Hope these help!
Just to give you an idea of why you should increase your calories, like everyone here has already mentioned - I’m 5’8", 115lbs, female - I currently eat 1600-1800 calories, and should be eating more just to maintain.