New to this site, a sage of fitness.

[FlockOfChickens]

Hello there, name is Alex, and I'm a lazy'aholic.

I come from a background of fitness. I played football and swam in high school, and taught the martial art Ving Tsun for years. I used to bodybuild and was pretty darn good at it, I'd like to think. I had a DVT in right leg that almost got it amputated, and 5 years later I'm 10 pounds lighter than I used to be, but with a huge gut and stretchmarks.

If I had said I was 190 pounds back when, I would've been proud. I was that kid in high school who brought baggies of protein powder to lunch. But since incident, I've done absolutely NOTHING physically. I got married, got a sit-down job, and got fat and lazy, content to graze the cupboards with impunity and live in an illusion of comfort. I can assure you, as I'm sure many of you know, there is nothing comfortable about being... large. I have NEVER been a large person, and now I'm spilling out of pants, and the tragedy for me is that it took me 5 years to realize, rationalize, examine and reverse it.

I joined this website because I have no idea how to lose fat. I've never had to do it. I imagine it's probably a healthy calorie intake combined with lots of cardio, but since I got cocky and decided to start a running regimen without building into it, right ankle is sprained and I'm out of action for the moment.

I have not only lost muscle mass, but replaced it with rubbing inner thighs and pointed breasts. This isn't going to go further than it has, and I am dedicated to preventing the further spread of this.

Anyway, I'm consuming 2,400 calories a day broken up into 6 meals. I spend 1 1/2 hours a day, 5 days a week alternating cardio and strength training, and I'm taking it light. Once I get up to par, I'll crank up the calories and start getting into it again, but for now I have to focus on weight loss.

What tips do you have in interim? Since I cannot work out at the moment I'd like some good advice, and from what I've read you guys have it!

Thanks a million!


*P.S: metabolism is phenomenal as long as I keep the fire going. And I gain muscle VERY quickly. I have a malleable body type. If that helps.

[FlockOfChickens]

By the way, profile picture is me currently, I'm the middle one. This is me in 2007: http://i51.tinypic.com/2qa4uu8.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Boss Man]

Two simple ways to get the at off.

1. Add muscle, because 1 added lb of muscle burns an extra 45-50 calories a day.

2. Keep Carbs to around 30%.

You could go for more calories than you're having anyway, if perhaps you're sticking to the kind of ratios suggested.

So you could go 40% Protein, 30% Carbs and 30% Fat with a 3,000 calorie a day limit.

So that's 1,200 calories protein, 900 Carbs, 900 Fat.

If you eat 6 times a day, that's 200 calories Protein, (50g), 150 Carbs, (37.5g), 150 Fat, (16.5g approx).