Hello. So let me just put my information here real quick:

1. Age: 26
2. Height: 5`9
3. Pounds: 228 lbs
4. Bodyfat: 25% BF
5. My goal: Lose weight (tone up)
6. How long have you been exercising: I exercise and lift weights with my friend a few times a week. Thats about it. But through this website and Scott Herman, I have found out that i am probably not eating enough of what my body needs in macros...
7. BMR at rest:     2185 calories/day   BMR in motion: 3388 calories/day
8. Calorie goal: 3138  Protein: 257  Fat: 94  Carbs: 316
9. No injuries or restrictions

So there are the details and my goal. Right now, im doing the 12 Week Fat Loss Home Program. I started last week and they do make me sore and they work. But now im looking into doing some of these HIIT 15-20 minute workouts im finding on the site and i did one after my lower body yesterday and it was exhausting. So any advice on the workouts from anyone would be appreciated. And is it ok to do the HIIT workouts about 3-4 days a week after Abs, Upper, or Lower? Or do i need to drop the HIIT days?

So my Meal plan im still trying to figure out. Im gonna show an example of yesterday what i have eaten and it added up close to 2600 calories. Oh, and the macros im currently using are

Proteins: 270 g. (40%)

Fats:105 g. (35%)

Carbs:169 g. (25%)

Another thing is that i have a weird schedule also. I work 12 hour days Wed-Sat 7am-7pm and Thur-Sat 7am-7pm alternating weeks and am off Sun-Wed and Sun-Tues alternating. Where i work they have a cafeteria and they have decent food. I just have to search for what I specifically need. But my home meals can stay the same. I just need some guidance from anyone who will help please. And also I find it difficult to pack calories on without adding a few more carbs unless there are seeds or other fat foods that i can add to add more calories. And one last thing is that I get so discouraged sometimes because I've been overweight and unfit most of my life. It's really hard to see any kind of results when I look in a mirror. I pay too much attention to the scale which can lie also.

This is just one day. I can change it up if needed on my days off...

I'm glad to see you made some changes to your macros, because you made the changes I was going to suggest, which was to take the fats over 100g and reduce the carbs. Great work!

It is OK to do some of the HIIT circuits AFTER the home program workouts a few times a week. I'm not surprised you were exhausted, because they're pretty much both HIIT circuits. If you can it might be a good idea to do one in the morning and one at night when you do 2 in one day, just to give yourself a bit more time to recover. Of course you could also do 15-20 minutes of HIIT cardio if you didn't want to do the 2 circuits as well.

Your @mealplan looks good, lots of great food choices there. If you're finding it hard to increase calories without carbs, you should think about things like more nuts for easy fat sources. They are something you can take with you pretty easily on the go. Walnuts and cashews are good options, along with more almonds if you want.

You can also add things like peanut butter in there - if you don't have anything to put the peanut butter on, just use celery stalks for basically no extra calories. Plus if you need more protein, Greek yoghurt is a good option (which might also have some good extra fat), or a can of tuna would be another easy food to take with you on the run.

Hope that helps! Are you seeing good weight loss with the 2600 calories daily? Even though you might not be able to see it yet (because it takes time for you to notice changes to your own body), I know you will see results if you stick with it!

I Appreciate the response and help. So I have been doing the Fat loss program for about 2 weeks (this week is my second) and the workouts work but I don't know if I'm just impatient or something But I don't feel like they are doing anything on the weight loss side. Cuz I look at the scale here and there and it's stays round 230 mostly. But I also don't notice any change on me either. Unless I have to stick with 2600 calories every single day and don't skimp on a day or something..

If you are just starting you have to build your deficit to lose weight. This could take you a good 3-4 weeks to establish this and then the weight loss will start. You need to keep your calorie intake the same. To lose weight you need to establish a calorie deficit and you have to sustain this deficit. I was 290 pounds before I started my transformation a couple years ago now. I have logs of everything and looking back over them it took me about 3 weeks before weight started to come off.

A few tips

*Try to avoid added sugars

*Dont crash diet

*Eat healthy wholesome foods

*water and vegetables are your absolute best friends

*Find foods you ENJOY eating. This makes everything so much easier to sustain.

*Hard work and effort do pay off

*Dont quit

Good luck!

Thank you. I will follow those tips! And and I guess it takes maybe about a month to have my body get used to the deficit which in my case is about 2600 calories I think. So I will stick with it. If you were 290 @nemacyst and you lost all that weight and gained muscle, I know I can do it then. It is possible. I just think I've been looking for answers in the wrong places but I might have just found it. I just need to stick with it. But I will update down the road. I just never knew I had to eat more healthier calories and the certain amount macros my body needs to change it. I always thought it was eat less and workout. Nope ive learned in the past few weeks watching Scott's videos that that is wrong. And it took me so long just to figure it out. I feel stupid. But I will update when I see progress. Thansk again guys

That's it man, you have to be consistent. These things don't happen overnight. Fat loss and muscle gain take time and patience but if you put in the effort, then you will get the rewards!

Eating less overall will always help you lose weight (if you put yourself in a deficit), but that quality of food is just as important, esepcially when it comes to body composition. If you're feeding your body garbage, you can't expect it too look amazing (unless you are on drugs). Everything in moderation though - you can still enjoy 'bad' food, just so long as the majority of your diet is made up with wholesome, nutritious options 😊 

Don't feel stupid either - we all started with little to no knowlede on these subjects at some point. You just have to learn as you go. That's why I have this site, so that people have a way to figure things out as early as possible to maximize their results! 💪 ðŸ™Œ 

Thanks Scott. And I will be consistent. There's just a slight problem also when it comes to my job. They have a cafeteria there and they have certain vegetables and they always have chicken at the salad bar there which I can measure on a scale and they have nutrition facts on our website for them(the company who makes the food) so I try to get the nutrition facts of off the site which I think is accurate. So 3 to 4 days out of the week I might not be able to stay 100% on track with my calories and macros to stay 250-500 below my deficit of. My daily calories of 3100 calories. To stay around 2700 calories. Any tips on that? I mean I can bring with me nuts and yogurt to help and my protein shake usually. That's about it. **Well I just thought of this. I could probably not eat any of the food at work and bring cans of tuna to substitute for the chicken I eat at home on my off days and bring rice also. Vegetables I can probably get in the cafeteria.

And also another question. When you guys say you have to be in a deficit, that means 250-500 below what your bmr in motion is like mine is 3100 calories right? Not 1000 calories below because that's just unhealthy right? Plus your not getting enough macros to help u grow muscle or lose weight in general correct? Could someone actually explain that to me? I know the answer mostly I just want to be more educated.

I would suggest bringing your own food, yeah. Although if it's vegetable and chicken etc., it's probably macro friendly food isn't it? If you did want to have it a few times a week, just have a smaller portion, or cut back on other foods throughout the day so that you still finish the day in a calorie deficit. Make sense?

Yes, on the days you workout, you need to be in a 250-500 calorie deficit below your BMR in motion. If you're at 2700 calories on workout days, on your rest days, it can probably be about 100-200 calories lower because you won't be burning quite as many calories, and typically it's a good idea to just cut out more carbs on your off days.

But you're right - you don't want to be in a 1000 calorie deficit because you don't want to lose weight too fast. That's what can lead to loose skin and unwanted muscle loss.

So I'm just trying to understand this. So as long as I eat the right macros which I posted above for losing weight and eat around 2700 calories in my workout days, and on my off days I eat around 2500 calories (which is about 1 day a week) it should take about 3-4 weeks for me to see my body changing from what @nemacyst said above because my body has to get used to the healthy deficit and not the unhealthy deficit right? Cuz from what I have read on these forums and researched what you have also said Scott in your videos, being 1000+ calories below in the unhealthy deficit makes your muscles lose mass and gives you loose skin correct? And being in a healthy deficit of 250-500 below my bmr in motion of 3100 calories, my muscles will grow and make me healthier And get stronger the right way basically.

Again I'm sorry I'm asking the same questions over and over. In just trying to understand everything as best as I can.

If you get yourself really dialed in youll probally notice weight loss sooner than I did. I would say 2-3 weeks will give you an ideal buffer to realize if things are working for you though. You dont wanna switch things up without giving it a real chance.

Well.. you are mostly right. You still want to keep your diet filled with MOSTLY wholesome and nutritious food, but yes if you are sticking to your macros you will see weight loss. It can take time to notice changes in your own body, but depending on how much you lose yes, after about a month you should notice differences for sure.

If you are stick to about a 250-500 calorie deficit, then yes the weight loss will be 'better' weight loss, because although some of it will still be muscle, as long as your protein is high (which it is then you will minimize muscle loss, and the slower weight loss will help reduce the chance of loose skin being left.

However, because you are in a deficit, you may not gain muscle.. it depends how long you have been training overall (how many years). Because you are at a bit of a higher bodyfat %, it may still be possible for a little while though, so all you can do is stick with the plan, train hard, and watch the results roll in!

 Thanks. And honestly I've never trained before if really wanna get technical. That's Why I look the way I look. So hopefully I get the newbie gains since I'm new. And ya I don't want to lose muscle but I'm gonna probably grow in muscle after I tone up. That's what I'm planning. And thanks for the info also to nemacyst. Ya I'll stick to what I have for about 3-4 weeks. Hopefully I'll see something good

In that case, yeah you might be able to get some newbie gains.. maybe. If fat loss is the main goal just stay in that small deficit with the training though, and if they body is up to it, you'll see some muscle gains while you're at it! Change takes time, keep that in mind, so even when you notice small changes or no changes quickly, it doesn't mean what you are doing isn't working.. it just means you need to give it more time 😊