I am 6 feet tall, weigh 240 pounds and I’m looking to lose about 30 pounds. I’m new to all of this fitness stuff and when I went to the doctor before I started a diet she told me to eat under 1,400 calories a day but did not mention anything about fat content or sodium intake. I find it hard to eat healthy because I simply don’t know how to. I’m not sure which foods to eat or how much of them to include in my diet. I currently exercise for about an hour every day and I run every night. I also do sprinting workouts but I don’t know if this is the best exercise plan for me. I just kind of do whatever until I’m either bored or I just get sore.
I was hoping you could help provide me with some sort of exercise routine or food plan so I can avoid over-exercising and wearing myself out. I have a hard time knowing what to eat because most of the things the dietitian suggests to eat are hard to make and I simply don’t have the patience to make them. Can you help me?
At your size, I’m shocked that a certified nutritionist would actually recommend such a low-calorie diet. 1,400 calories is about the minimum amount of daily calories for a woman and it’s simply way too low for you. You need to supply your body with enough calories from nutrient dense foods in order to provide adequate energy levels during the day. I would recommend eating at least 2,500 calories per day to make sure you get the right amount of key macronutrients your body needs. Remember, I’m talking about whole foods that are nutrient dense which includes lean protein, clean carbs and healthy fats. You will need to make sure that your overall diet and calories consist of these high-powered super foods in order to build lean muscle and burn body fat. Eating 2,500 calories from chicken breast, yam and broccoli is very different from eating 2,500 calories from pizza and French fries. The quality of the foods you put into your body is paramount when it comes to achieving a lean physique.
In terms of the specific types of foods to include in your diet, our nutrition 101 article provides a large list of nutrient dense super foods for you to choose from. Tracking your food intake and overall calories is also very important for maintaining a successful nutritional plan. The old saying, “What gets measured, gets managed” is so true when it comes to getting the best results from a healthy diet and exercise plan. ShapeFit offers a fitness tracking app called FitTracker which allows you to easily track your workouts and weight loss progress.
It’s also very important to have a game plan or roadmap to follow when implementing an exercise routine into your fitness plan. You should avoid “just doing whatever until you get either bored or sore”, as you noted earlier. When you go into the gym and have no idea what exercises to do and how to structure a specific workout routine, you leave so much room for error and this is the last thing you want to do when your goal is to perform a great workout in a certain amount of time and then get out of the gym in order to recover and grow.
If you are able to weight train 5 days per week, I recommend a 5 day split routine where you train different muscle groups on different days. Since you are 240 pounds and want to lose body fat, it’s important to also include cardio exercise into your overall routine. I recommend doing 1 hour workouts which consist of 30 minutes of weight training and 30 minutes of cardio. Always do cardio AFTER weights in order to optimally tap into your body fat stores. Below is a sample weekly workout routine for you to follow:
Monday (Chest):
- Barbell Bench Press (3 sets of 10-12 reps)
- Incline Dumbbell Press (3 sets of 10-12 reps)
- Cardio: Walking on the treadmill (30 minutes)
Tuesday (Back):
- Bent Over Barbell Rows (3 sets of 10-12 reps)
- Seated Cable Rows (3 sets of 10-12 reps)
- Cardio: Elliptical machine (30 minutes)
Wednesday (Legs):
- Barbell Squats (3 sets of 10-12 reps)
- Dumbbell Lunges (3 sets of 10-12 reps)
- Seated Hamstring Curls (3 sets of 10-12 reps)
- Seated Calf Raises (3 sets of 10-12 reps)
- Cardio: No cardio today
Thursday (Shoulders):
- Dumbbell Press (3 sets of 10-12 reps)
- Side Lateral Raises (3 sets of 10-12 reps)
- Cardio: Stationary bike (30 minutes)
Friday (Biceps and Triceps):
- Barbell Curls (2 sets of 10-12 reps)
- Preacher Curls (2 sets of 10-12 reps)
- Skull Crushers (2 sets of 10-12 reps)
- Triceps Pushdowns (2 sets of 10-12 reps)
- Cardio: Walking on the treadmill (30 minutes)
Saturday (Cardio only):
- Ride bike outside for 45-60 minutes.
Sunday (Rest day):
Relax and enjoy the day!
