Hi there,

Well here's my situation, maybe some of you might have some advice for programs/plans, etc. that may have worked for you.

I am 5'6", 158 lbs, healthy, and wear in means jeans a 32x30.

I have always been a little on the "heavy number" of weight side as throughout my exercise and professional career (us army, rock climber, firefighter, etc.) I tend to lift weights a lot.

 My diet I think was my biggest problem. That and cardio. 

I am hovering around 1500 calories a day, on GOOD food, fruits, veggies, fish, chicken, beef, 32-64 oz. of water + other beverages, alcohol maybe 2-4 drinks a week 1-2 nights.

I exercise 6 days a week, usually 30 minutes of weights/cardio with a day of skiing and an hour long indoor soccer session (at target heart rate + for about an hour) but I'm not seeing results anymore. I'm 28, and this used to work pretty quickly, I've only been on the plan for about a week, and feel great, getting sleep, getting tired when it's time to sleep.

Can anyone give me any advice on how to beef up my cardio slowly? I need to be able to run 2-3 miles a day 5 days a week in about 3 months.....and would like to lose some weight as well......

I've seen so many plans, so many diet theories and exercise programs I am not sure what to do next!

Any advice? 

Learn to Run!  You can do the Couch to 5k Plan or the Learn to Run thread in the Fitness section of the forums.  

Learn to Run 

But more than cardio you absolutely need to add in more weight training and/or more intense weight training -- I highly recommend starting with a body weight routine and adding in more weighted exercises as you feel up to it.  As far as weight loss is concerned, from what I can tell, you do plenty of cardio.  PLENTY.  More cardio won't help you much in losing weight, but stronger, denser muscles will.  

 Body Weight Routines

Best wishes. 

Oh, I see that you do or have lifted weights before.  That's great.  If you are having trouble losing weight, you may want to try doing more intense routines, adding more weight, and doing more body weight exercises as well.

You are well on your way to losing weight.  I say just stick to what you are doing but make your weight training more intense and stick to your eating plan.

My own routine and eating plan is very similar, running, weight training and 1500 Cal limit, and I can tell you it is absolutely working.  You just need to give it some time.  You need at least a month before you re-evaluate your plan to see if it is working.  Maybe even longer than that.  Don't give up!

You're probably not eating enough for the amount of exercise you are doing.  I know this sounds counterintuitive, but it is demonstrably true.  At your weight, if you are burning more than about 1200 calories more than you are eating, your body may revolt by turning down your metabolism to "starvation mode" levels.  This will affect your workout results, your stamina and your ability to lose weight. 

It happened to me.  I lost 10 lbs/month in 2006.  Then I added exercise and only lost 1 lb/month after that.  I neglected to eat more calories to compensate for the exercise.  I am now eating more and the weight is coming off again (6 lbs/month). 

It really doesn't sound like you need to lose much weight.  Your weight loss may be slower since you are closer to your target already.

The Couch to 5k plan is a good one.  I used that, too, and I currently am running 5k three times per week.