The first thing to do is figure our your daily caloric intake to maintain your current weight. Several calculators out there but you will need some trial n error to figure out how to reduce gradually until you lose at least 1 pound a week. DIET IS FIRST!
Go to Bodybuilding.com and find a workout routine. A basic split is fine but the second most important thing is to change your lifestyle and incorporate a weight training program from here on out. Building muscle is key! The more muscle you have and grow the more calories you will end up burning while at rest. Cardio helps but it is NOT necessary! Most beginners ALWAYS do this and spend hours and hours busting their ass and they don't understand this whole journey. I did this instantly in the beginning and failed!
Think of it this way. Body builders have muscle and no fat. Forget about their steroid use for a second. The average JOE like me starts out with little muscle and more fat aka skinny fat. They have intense workouts obviously which burns the hell out of calories while working BUT keeps burning calories while at rest so the MORE muscle your build and have continues to burn fat while sitting around and sleeping especially.
It took me a while for the light to come but its so simple and works.
The formula to build muscle is as follows:
You must eat at a caloric surplus to gain muscle. If you weight 185lbs, you must take in at least 185 grams of protein daily to have a chance because protein builds muscle. Some say 1.25grms of protein to assist. The rest is Carbs (energy) and GOOD FATS ( nuts, fish-salmon, etc.) No potato chips!
I eat chicken, fish and tons of green veggies every day. I weigh and measure my food and figure out the calories I take in every day. I am eating 200 cals a day less than my daily caloric intake so I can lose fat slow! I am working out intensely, protein intake spot on, whey protein to assist and making sure I get 8 hours of sleep (KEY) and drinking to stay hydrated.
Remember you can't out exercise a bad diet! Screw the cardio and get a proven workout body building routing started. Always progress on your lifts. Upper body-increase weight 5 lbs each week until your plateau, drop down, reset and start at a little higher weight then when you started. This will make your muscles grow and you will get stronger and bigger. On leg day, increase weight 10lbs each week and repeat. Remember to start both at about 50% of your max on each lift and then progress accordingly.
I screwed up and did T25 video, ate very little (big mistake) and lost 35lbs of fat! I looked like shit, felt like shit and still had no decent muscle tone. Thats called skinny fat. I pulled my head out of ass, got educated on this talking to trainers and some nutrition gurus and its very very simple to do BUT YOU HAVE TO WANT TO CHANGE YOUR LIFESTYLE for this to work. I'm now addicted so to speak but its a very simple part of my daily life style. Change sucks but this is so much fun once you stay patient and progress. It's a marathon not a sprint. If you do it correctly you will definitely grow and get stronger. At the end you will look better than could ever imagine.
