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[theantipop]

Hey guys,

Now, I need some advice on quite a few things.  Sorry, if a lot of these are regular questions, but I guess I'm new to this whole thing, and would love some advice from people who know what they're talking about.
Okay , firstly, last year I was in the Australian Infantry, so let's just say I wasn't "huge", but I wasn't "small" either.  I didn't go to the gym, but we had Physical Training every day which usually consisted of hill sprints, pushups, chinups, heaves, situps, etc.  Stuff outside.

Now, I've been home for a few months, and since a hectic Army schedule, I've "let myself go" a tad.  Now, I'm about to head off to Europe for 4 weeks, and my plan was that when I got back, I was going to purchase a year gym membership to Jetts (There are quite a few around where I live), and get into Shape.

Now advice.  I'm looking at loosing excess body weight (aka fat), as well as put on, if possible, a fair amount of muscle in all areas of my body, not just my arms (Muscle building would be spread across the year, fat loss is probably at the moment the more important option ).  Now, it will be difficult to change my diet at, which at the moment, consists of 2x Weet-bix for breakfast, then either a sandwich or left over dinner for lunch, then dinner is something the parentals whip up, which may range from steak to spaghetti.  Now, if at all possible, I don't want to alter my diet, but add supplements into it (Or anything else I can add to the meals in order to help my training program).  I am planning on hitting the gym, if possible, at least 5 times a week.  Especially with Jetts 24/7 opening times, which allows me to fit it around Uni.  Enough Rambling, now, what kind of rough plan would you suggest for someone like me (What specific weights/exercises in a gym should I concentrate on)? What kind of weights to start with, then build up to? And for fat loss, is cardio post workout the best option? Hitting the treadmill for a good 30 mins after a solid weights session, is that ideal? Any other good options for fat loss?

Also, what supplements would you recommend? I was looking at some kind of Fat Burner and a extremely low fat Protein, but unsure which ones to use and when/if I should take them? Do I take fat burner pre workout, then a protein shake post workout? All is unclear.
Thankyou for any advice you might have for me.  I would really appreciate any tips and tricks!

Thanks
Matt

[maradona]

hate to tell you that supplements wont do anything for you if your diet is not up to scratch...

if you look into the beginners section, you'll find some good info. Also look at diet discussion.

protein powders are a good addition to a proper diet...that's all...

fat burners...they give you energy and maybe thermogenic...but really...nothing beats a good training sessions...if you are wanting to loose bodyfat and increase muscle mass...maybe look at HIIT (high intensity interval training) sessions. That should help you.

[DanOz]

If your goal is losing fat, you MUST focus on your diet imo. Caloric deficit to lose weight, high protein intake within that caloric deficit to maintain muscle mass. That is where your protein powder can come in handy if your diet is lacking which it sounds like it is. A decent, well rounded weights program. Include cardio to assist if you want, but diet is the main factor in losing fat unless you are doing crazy amounts of cardio in which case you will find it hard to maintain muscle mass. There are no magic pills that are legal. There are no short cuts. Sorry if this was not the answer you wanted.