Since hearing from my recruiter that military is about to select me for OCS in about a month, I'm now in a hurry to lose 20-30 pounds or 8% body fat to make the cut or else they'll change their mind on picking me. I already know about mixing in even amount of lifting and cardio days each week. I hear better to do cardios on empty stomach cuz your body will fuel up on some of your body fat rather than calories you may have taken in from eating first.

With the dieting, I know I gotta lay off foods that are junk, got flour, starch, or sugar. I heard it's ok to indulge one day a week; should I even keep those cheat days moderate as well? So far I've been eating 5-6 portioned meals/day (spread out by 1.5-2 hours apart): fruits/veggies, soy protein powder mixed with milk, protein RTDs, protein bars, etc...

Recruiter suggested I double (or even triple) the cardio workouts to double (or triple) the calorie-burning, even wear a trash bag on me.
I also hear trying to get enough sleep helps with a speedy weight loss as well. What if I have some scheduling conflict (summer classes in morning and work in late night)? On top of proper diet and exercise, would I lose weight faster working out first thing for the day on empty stomach and not enough sleep, or get enough sleep by another hour or two, eat first, and then workout some time later?
I know definitely good idea to stick with water for fluids. Will drinking diet soda on cheat days interfere with the weight loss effort?
I've heard from this one Army guy (I'm trying out for Navy) that besides proper diet and exercising regularly, he sometimes lay an iron (low heat) on his stomach. Does that really help in the weight loss or burning fat?

Nobody still answered this question. Which way is faster in losing weight?
a) Not enough sleep, workout on empty stomach, and then eat after
b) Enough sleep, eat first, workout after

I know that most OTC diet pills (i.e. Metabolife) are designed to increase resting metabolism, burning more calories and fat. What I’m wondering is if they increase daily calorie expenditure- such as the totals you’ll get from running your BMI and activity level through a website calculator. If so, about how much? Any ideas?

I'm finalizing my weight loss plan and I'm looking for a supplement that will help achieve my goals. I find it incredibly hard to maintain the energy needed to workout. I work out at the gym on my college campus, but by the time I'm done I'm so tired it's hard for me to make the 30 minute drive home. ALso, usually about 10 minutes into my cardio, I'm tired! It takes so much to push myself for another 5! As we all know, 15 minutes of cardio won't do much for effectively burning fatty calories. I'm assuming that many diet supplements generally assist with overally energy to boost the effectiveness of a workout. Any insight would be great! Your personal success stories, websites with ACCURATE reviews (i.e. they didn't get paid to positively review a product) or suggestions would be appreciated!
Also: I've tried Mega-T Green Tea pills and only experienced extreme hyperness (not the kind of energy that will make you work out, just the kind that makes you talk way too much- haha), frequent urination, extreme hunger and eventually indigestion. So.. yeah. Any kind of supplements that follow that sort of ingrediants probably won't work for me.

Thanks again for any advice the Yahoo answer community might offer!

People tell me that I shouldn't be running while working out, because I'll lose the calories and won't gain any muscle mass.

I don't have much muscle mass, and I'm very lanky/skinny.
I have been working out lately to gain more muscle mass, but I also want to stay in peak running shape. I know i need my protein for maximum protein synthesis after working out, but I feel that the protein isn't an adequate fuel for running.

Any help/suggestions would be great.

I work out for an hour a day and eat about 1500 calories/day....So I am doing my part. I got a bottle for free and was wondering if it is worth trying in addition to my current efforts...