I Need serious Help , Need to lose weight for BJJ....

OK so here is the deal I have been vegan for about 10 years but always on the chubby side, I want to know if its possible to slim down and make myself a little smaller. I have a pretty large frame as in football player style body. I dont mind being a larger guy but I would like to slim down as much as possible. I have been doing jiu Jitsu for a while now and feel as if my physique is holding me back. How should I go about doing this? I really need to know what kind of meal plan is best for slimming down? Also what is the best way to go about things excercise wise? I am great at bulking up and getting bigger which ive done before in the past. But what should I be doing to bulk down? Let me first state that my cardio absolutley sucks and when I try to run which dosent get me very far it bothers my kneeesand my ankles . Also im rather limited to just my gym in my apartments which has a treadmill and a lifecycle.

HELP ME WHAT IM A DOING WRONG???!!!

Here is where I am at currently......

6'1"

265 lbs

38-40 Waist

and very stocky I have really broad shoulders and my legs are like tree trunks

Also My flexibility is HORRIBLE!!!!!!

I try to stretch everday but I cant even touch my toes

EXCERCISE:

As of right now,

Monday: Jiu Jitsu 7-830 pm

Tuesday: Jiu Jitsu 7-830pm

Wednesday: Jiu Jitsu 6-730pm

Thursday: Jiu Jitsu 6-730 pm

Friday: 30 minute hill program on the lifecycle I am soaked in sweat by the time im done. 50 Pushups 100 Crunches

Saturday: 30 minute hill program on the lifecycle I am soaked in sweat by the time im done. 50 Pushups 100 crunches

Sunday: Rest

Also I work at home depot 3 days a week and walk approximately

7 miles in an average work day.

DIET:

Breakfast

Bowl of Cereal usually hemp granola with vanilla almond milk and a soy yogurt

Snack: Smoothie- Vanilla almond milk ,Banana, Frozen berries, 2 scoops hemp protien, 2 scoops vitamineral green powder

Lunch: varies. (i.e.)... Sandwhich with tofurkey slices, avocado, tomato, veganaise and mustard on 21 whole grain bread. sometimes I add a cup of soup or chili

Snack: Clif Builder Bar

Dinner: varies but here are a couple examples

1 "chicken" fajitas with red and green bell pepper and onion and gaucamole. Plus 2-3 taco size flour tortillas

2 vegan Potsickers boiled not fried.

3 Spanish Rice with 2 tofurkey sausages

and then usually a salad with dinner.... Dark Greens, tomato, avocado, cucumber with balsamic vinagrette or goddess dressing

ALSO: I cut soda virtually out of my diet completely about 2 months ago

If I do drink a soda its once a week MAYBE and it will be a hansens fruit soda or a blue sky. I drink 64 ounces of water a day. the only other thing I drink is juice. usually orange or tangerine.

Here is a pic of what I look like,

http://img144.imageshack.us/img144/4818/10015695gj.jpg

Workout equipment I have available:

Treadmill

Lifecycle

Weak ass weight machine

Most of the fighters I've talked to have recommended massive amounts of cardio for cutting weight. Tabatas, HIIT, sprints.

The most often repeated advice I hear is: eat clean and do a ton of cardio.

Of course cardio burns fat, but it has two disadvantages: 1. it takes a lot of time to burn a decent amount of calories, so you need to do much more than 2x30min per week to effectively lose weight, so time can be a problem, and 2. you get hungry the more you work out, thus you eat more.

I'd recommend to lift heavy 2 times per week to increase lean muscle mass, which helps tremendously with burning bodyfat. Muscle tissue burns fat 24/7, even when you're sitting on your ass. Cardio sessions get more effective (in burning excess fat) when you have bigger muscles. Weight training raises your metabolism, so go and lift heavy - not to failure. Two times per week, whole body, compound moves, heavy weights (5-10 reps), no failure. Add as much light cardio as you wish.

Diet: eat clean, never be really full, constant munching, avoid sugars and too much starches, go for fruits and veggies, drink green tea and water, no juice, and stop eating Builders Bars - you can send them to me instead

My jiu jitsu class involves sparring/rolling at 90%-100% for about 45 -60 minutes. couldnt that be considered cardio or resistance training? niether?

Sparring is a kind of cardio, if you see it that way. It doesn't burn fat as efficiently as smooth, long cardio sessions (3h bike rides), but it can be very intense. Still no resistance training

Sparring is a kind of cardio, if you see it that way. It doesn't burn fat as efficiently as smooth, long cardio sessions (3h bike rides), but it can be very intense. Still no resistance training

I understand. I really appreciate the replies. The only reason I mentioned the jiu jitsu as excercise is this....

When I was doing my cardio the same day as jiu jitsu, I would do cardio in the morning by the time I got to jiu jitsu I was sore and exhausted and would consistently get my ass kicked over and over. I was to the point where I was practically falling asleep. So I assumed I was doing too much in one day and spreading myself too thin. No? or do I just need to grin and bear it while my body gets used to it?

When I was doing my cardio the same day as jiu jitsu, I would do cardio in the morning by the time I got to jiu jitsu I was sore and exhausted and would consistently get my ass kicked over and over. I was to the point where I was practically falling asleep. So I assumed I was doing too much in one day and spreading myself too thin. No? or do I just need to grin and bear it while my body gets used to it?

You can do the latter for a limited period of time, but over the long run it will lead to overtraining. Better to reduce the cardio intensity. Even light cardio helps a great deal to get fitter.

Keep track of your fat intake. Keep it real low. 10 percent or less.

Keep track of your fat intake. Keep it real low. 10 percent or less.

I don't recommend cutting fat intake really low. Fat is essential to the body, and also key to helping you feel satisfied. As long as the sources of fat are healthy, average intakes should be fine.

If you eat a well balanced diet of whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and beans, you get all of the essential fats that you need.

If you eat a well balanced diet of whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and beans, you get all of the essential fats that you need.

Again, I would suggest healthy fat sources like nuts, avocados, and olive oil, flax oil, hemp, etc. That's all I mean. I'd hate for him to over-restrict his fat intake and run into problems.

Ok, but fat is fat and if he is trying to lose fat.... He doesn't have to keep it that low forever. Just my two cents and also the recommendation of T. Colin Campbell, Neal Barnard, Dr. John Mcdougall, and others.

It just takes time man, I was about 250 when I started doing jui jitsu about 21/2 years ago and Iam now 175 and shooting for 165. I think that rolling around can be great cardio, but going on long road rides is what really me lose even more weight. I just got done reading Brendon Brazier's book Thrive I think it is a great book for athletes of all kinds.

I can tell you from my experience that adding that going to low on fats is a mistake. I would add a few nuts and olive or other oil to the diet. You do not need much. Maybe a couple tables spoons twice a day. There is enough evidence to support this.

I still have more weight to lose. I am starting to eat vegan now. I have more energy now. It is good to hear everyone here tell about their experiences going and eating vegetarian. I am making this change because of the suffering that animals endure and also for health reasons.

My fianceee also has to lose weight . He is about your size. He has switched to green iced tea and although he is still a meat eater now I am cooking vegan meals for him. Sometimes change has to be gradual.

Long walks/hikes helped me get in shape. It is relaxing also.

I've had no problems with my low fat diet...I eat maybe 2300calories a day and eat maybe 15-25%(40% when I'm careless) of my DV in fat. It mostly comes from flax meal, sunflower seeds(raw), or olive oil. Riding my bike along with that diet has made me go from a bit over 270(have been 320) down to 195 and I actually feel like I have more energy than I did when I ate alot of food with a normal amount of fat in my diet. Now my body fats probably 7-10%(can't tell with all this damn skin). I do even better when I have less fat but I like olive oil way too much to give it up. If you eat enough your body will turn any unused food into fat anyway so I don't think you really need much of any of it in your food. Also without that fat in my diet I still manage to ride 3-4hrs a day without any trouble...getting a bit faster every single week!