Quote:I went from upwards of 305 pounds down to the low 160s from late 2011 to mid 2013.  I lost almost all of the weight at home, I started with simply walking on the treadmill (that's all I could manage anyway, I was severely out of shape) and a few diet changes.  I had no real idea what I was doing and I can't tell you how many hours of internet searching, reading, and fitness magazine reading I did to learn what I know now.   My diet largely consisted of Taco Bell, horrid Subway sandwiches and large amounts of Mt. Dew every day.

 

I phased that stuff out little by little, I found doing small things, setting small goals and rolling them to bigger goals worked best for me.  I tried to do too much at once before and it set me up for failure.  Conquer one goal and move on to the next.  Eventually I cut out all of my Mt. Dew (all soda for that matter), all my fast food and was working out almost daily.  I didn't get into the gym until late summer of last year and since then have gained a considerable amount of muscle and the time I spend in the gym is my stress relief from a stress packed job.  I weigh about 170 right now, not far from what I did when I started in the gym but I've cut out a large amount of the fat I had left and picked up several pounds of muscle.  I don't do much as far as cardio other than a warmup and cool down.  My cardio involves upping the reps and sets as well as lowering my rest time.  

 

I change up my routine all the time, that's important in my opinion.  Too many people get fixed on something and your body will plateau.  Your muscles need confusion.

 

As far as supplements, up until recently I didn't take a pre workout.  Right now I'm about done with a tub of 1MR and will cycle off of it for a month or more.  It's the only caffeine I get anymore so I don't worry about it too much.  I take protein and a multi-vitamin, that's it.

 

My diet is bland, I go through enough chicken, rice, bananas, oatmeal, chocolate milk and chicken breasts for an entire family.  Oh and eggs, lots and lots of eggs.  Hardboiled usually but sometimes I'll cook up a huge omelet.

 

My diet probably wouldn't work for a lot of people but it works for me.  I don't get bored with the food I eat.  I also eat mustard on just about anything anymore.