How long has it been since you have exercised? How old are you? What physical activities have you participated in the past? What are your eating habits like?

I am all for jumping in with both feet, but you have to be careful not to "over-do-it" in the beginning of your training. It starts with diet. You have to reduce your calories and increase your physical activity.

Consistency will help you toward your goal. You are talking about a 20% reduction in body weight. That is pretty significant, and it won't happen overnight.

Originally Posted by jiflix

Hi, I'm looking to get back into shape and lose some weight. I was 130 pounds 3 years ago, but since then I'm at 165, so I've gained a few pounds. I'm looking to hopefully get down a few weight classes and lose some fat, but also I want to put on some muscle too and build some strength. Any suggestions on a workout routine designed for this as well as what foods I should eat catered to my goals? I want to get into shape fast and I've been told circuit training is good, going from station to station doing as many reps as you can for 30 seconds. etc.

to put on muscle you should go heavy with fewer reps. not circuit training as much. adding muscle will help burn fat. eat like a caveman. meats, green leafy stuff, nuts and berries. find a hill near you and run up it. do sets of push ups through out the day. you can drop and give it twenty any where any time.

518 is right. Chuck the potato chips and soda and suck down as much protein as you can. Don't forget the greens, and no Atkins either. Lean proteins : fish turkey breast chicken breast and the occasional steak. Think of yourself as a modern day hunter-gatherer. Water...

That dinner's gonna mess you up, friend. Seriously. You can have a one cheat meal PER WEEK. You should read what I wrote in Diet and training thread about nutrition.

Now, about the working out. DITCH THE CARDIO! Right now! If you wanna know why read the "Chronic cardio" at marksdailyapple.com. I'm serious about this because I've been there, running 5 miles every second morning at 6 a.m., wether sun was shining or snow falling (rain never made me think about canceling my running session, only snow).

What you wanna do is build muscle because muscle burns fat and avoid OVERTRAINING at all costs. 99% of zealous begginers is overtrained. That 1% did some reading before they started working out

In the immortal words of Francis Bacon: KNOWLEDGE IS POWER!

Peace out.