I agree largely with SugarFree...cardio is good, and is great for you, but I think you will find that doing a weightlifting routine will be your best bet to beat fat. I would suggest lifting 3-5 times a week to add muscle, and maybe do 2-3 cardio sessions (my preferred cardio is HIIT variety-not the long winded stuff LOL) and getting your diet set to a point just at or below your maintenance calories (even at maintenance or 200 calories under if you are working out you can add lean mass while dropping fat-best of both worlds). The more muscle you have, the more energy it takes to maintain that muscle. A lb of fat only needs about 5 calories to maintain, whereas a lb of muscle requires between 35-50 calories to maintain.
So, my suggestion to you:
1-figure out your BMR (basal metabolic rate) that will give you the amount of calories your body needs daily to perform basic life maintenance and start with that number to build a diet plan around.
-Make sure you are getting adequate protein in your diet, which is about 1g per lb of bodyweight (when you don't know your body composition i.e. how much is lean and how much is fat this is a decent method). So for 206lbs that would be shooting for 206 grams of protein (206x4kcal per gram =824 calories from protein)..this is going to be a bit more than you need probably-it would be better if you can get an accurate bf assessment then you can be even more precise with this number (1.2g-2g per lbm)
then divide the remaining calories into carbs and fats
it might look something like this for 1500(for examle):
752 calories (or about 50% of your calories from protein = 188g protein
500 calories (about 33-34% of your calories from carbs) = 125g carbs
remaining 248 calories from fat- =28g fat (about 16-17% ish)
2-train for muscle growth..push those weights at least 3 times a week and do it with purpose...the more muscle, the more energy is burned. Keeping in mind that lower body strength is very important to overall strength...the better trained your legs are the more muscle you can add everywhere else...plain and simple.
3-do cardio, but don't go overboard...2-3 times a week is just going to help with energy expenditure and get your body used to doing more and will help boost your metabolism..which in turn will help you burn more fat all the time. Try HIIT style cardio, it helps boost metabolism for a longer time than the traditional longer cardio sessions (according to some research).
4-try and be patient, the weight didn't show up in 3 weeks time and it won't leave that fast either....if you follow a good diet and exercise program and stick to it, you should see very visible results much sooner than you think...but don't expect to hit your target in a month..just keep on truckin and you will be there sooner than you think. And remember, the scale won't always show your progress so don't get discouraged. Muscle weighs more than fat, but is good for you
So, don't think of it as losing weight, think of it as losing fat and recompositioning your body.
And...don't get discouraged if you feel like you aren't making the progress you should...most people figure out a diet plan and stick to it and it works for a while then they stop seeing results (they get discouraged and quit)...as you lose weight and recomp your body you will need to revisit your daily calorie requirements on a regular basis-probably at least once a month...(I do mine often, especially if I lose more than a couple lbs).
Good luck! and if you need help..don't hesitate to ask for it
