That's still a really awesome effort, Urban. Great job, man.
Really sorry, a disclaimer: I'm really into this kinda stuff so uh, my next post is certainly going to be "TL;DR".
Unfortunately, when it comes to losing body fat (not necessarily "weight" but you know), nutrition is the key. I don't know where people get these numbers from, but it's often claimed that successful weight (body fat) loss is apparently "80% diet, 20% exercise". I believe this to be true. Ever since I got my nutrition sorted, or at the very least started eating better, I've had much better results in terms of fat loss and strength gain.
With diet, you do not have to behave 100%. I've been told to follow an 80/20 rule, so 80% good healthy food, and a maximum of 20% unhealthy food. Obviously, the less unhealthy foods we eat, the better, but at the end of the day we all have a life and we have our own indulgences. I've been told that if you're gonna scrap anything unhealthy - alcohol should be the first to go.
I don't want to disagree with you Urban but to be honest, you do not have to do cardiovascular exercise to lose body fat. You can lose body fat by weight training alone, but the weight training must be smart (e.g. three to four days a week of heavy, compound lifting e.g. squat, bench press, dead lift etc. basically lifts that utilize multiple muscles at once) and of course, nutrition is the absolute key. In saying that, yes, cardiovascular exercise can help people lose body fat, absolutely, no denying that.
Don't get me wrong. I believe cardio is still an important aspect of physical exercise, due to the physical conditioning it can provide us, e.g. increasing our overall cardiovascular fitness, oxygen intake etc. but I'm just pointing out that in regards to fat loss, it's not actually necessary.
Regarding weight training, I'm being coached to train to failure. So every single exercise I do, regardless of its weight, I just need to attempt as many reps as safely possible. For example, here's yesterday with squats, my first exercise:
- Set 1: 122.5 kg (270 Ibs) to fail = 8 reps (no belt), rest 3 - 5 minutes after, could have probably got more reps if I wore my belt
- Set 2: 130 kg (286 Ibs) to fail = 7 reps (belt), rest 3 - 5 minutes after
- Set 3: 140 kg (308 Ibs) to fail = 4 reps (belt)
In my opinion (based off my own experiences and guided training), lifting weights should probably be done anywhere three to five times a week and should be done in a matter where it's always going up. So every week, you're going to be lifting heavier weight, which will result in fewer reps. I'd suggest to train in cycles as well, whether it's four weeks, six weeks, eight weeks or even ten (personally I do four). I'll show you what I mean below, using my dead lift as an example:
Month 1 (May):
Previous 1 rep max dead lift: 170 kg (374 Ibs)
- Week 1: 132.5 kg (292 Ibs) 8 - 12 reps
- Week 2: 142.5 kg (314 Ibs) 5 - 8 reps
- Week 3: 152.5 kg (336 Ibs) 3 - 5 reps
- Week 4: 162.5 kg (358 Ibs) 1 - 3 reps
- Week 4 End: 190 kg (418 Ibs) kg new 1 rep max
Month 2 (June):
Previous 1 rep max dead lift: 190 kg (418 Ibs)
- Week 1: 152.5 kg (336 Ibs) 8 - 12 reps
- Week 2: 162.5 kg (358 Ibs) 5 - 8 reps
- Week 3: 170 kg (374 Ibs) 3 - 5 reps
- Week 4: 182.5 kg (402 Ibs) 1 - 3 reps
- Week 4 End: 200 kg (440 Ibs) 1 rep max
So as you can see, in Week 1 of May, the dead lift is quite light, with many reps. As we go further into the month, the weight increases, the reps decrease. Once the first month is over and we move into the first week of the second month (technically week 5) we drop back down to a lighter weight with many reps, but the starting weight is greater than the first month's starting weight. So when you think about it, it's like a stair case, with the aim of always trying to go further up.
Anyway. Hooray for exercise. Having a healthy balance of weight lifting and cardio is a good idea. I'd probably suggest more weights, less cardio, e.g. three to four days of weight lifting, two to three days of high intensity cardio, with at least one rest day so you can chill out and relax. Aside from nutrition, other factors that can contribute to weight loss/gain is how much sleep you get per night as well as how much water you drink per day.
Regarding food, I'll post some quick and healthy recipes a little later. Maybe in the Cooking For n00bs thread?
Madster, if you're interested, since you're in 'Straya, I can point you to the services I use to do my weight/diet program.