Confused!!! (Please help)

[markm07]

Hey everyone...
I wanna clear some things up for myself, and possibly anyone else who is confused about the proper way of balancing nutrition...

As you can see from my bodyspace, I have some fat that needs losing. My goal was to lose weight before worrying about building muscle, since the muscle won't be seen till the fat is gone. However, I received advice from another BB.com member encouraging me to use the current fat I have now to turn into muscle. The problem is this --- Though I can continue to workout, and turn fat into muscle, I know that a balanced diet is of major importance. So, what type of diet do I need to follow? I take whey protein, for example... But logically to me it seems that if I'm trying to shed pounds and build muscle that whey might not be good for me...???

I'm just really hoping that someone can shed some light on this for me, because the importance and my own personal confusion about the nutrition has always been a huge discouragement to me because I don't understand what to eat, how much to eat, what foods are good or bad for me to reach my goals, etc.
Any articles are appreciated, but I'm VERY interested in personal advice from BB.com members especially, so that if I have additional questions, I can ask (which is something you can't do with an article or book.

Thanks so much you guys, I really appreciate it!

~Mark

[Shirtripper]

This is what is working for me:

1. buy a pedometer--start walking/running 20,000 steps/day
2. lift weights with high intensity for 1.5 hrs/day
3. use my-calorie-counter.com to keep track of everything you eat against these daily targets:

Protein: 220g
Fat: 35g
Carbs: 100g
Sugars: 30
Calories: 1800

Originally Posted by markm07

Hey everyone...
I wanna clear some things up for myself, and possibly anyone else who is confused about the proper way of balancing nutrition...

As you can see from my bodyspace, I have some fat that needs losing. My goal was to lose weight before worrying about building muscle, since the muscle won't be seen till the fat is gone. However, I received advice from another BB.com member encouraging me to use the current fat I have now to turn into muscle. The problem is this --- Though I can continue to workout, and turn fat into muscle, I know that a balanced diet is of major importance. So, what type of diet do I need to follow? I take whey protein, for example... But logically to me it seems that if I'm trying to shed pounds and build muscle that whey might not be good for me...???

I'm just really hoping that someone can shed some light on this for me, because the importance and my own personal confusion about the nutrition has always been a huge discouragement to me because I don't understand what to eat, how much to eat, what foods are good or bad for me to reach my goals, etc.
Any articles are appreciated, but I'm VERY interested in personal advice from BB.com members especially, so that if I have additional questions, I can ask (which is something you can't do with an article or book.

Thanks so much you guys, I really appreciate it!

~Mark

[1point21]

Originally Posted by markm07

Hey everyone...
I wanna clear some things up for myself, and possibly anyone else who is confused about the proper way of balancing nutrition...

As you can see from my bodyspace, I have some fat that needs losing. My goal was to lose weight before worrying about building muscle, since the muscle won't be seen till the fat is gone. However, I received advice from another BB.com member encouraging me to use the current fat I have now to turn into muscle. The problem is this --- Though I can continue to workout, and turn fat into muscle, I know that a balanced diet is of major importance. So, what type of diet do I need to follow? I take whey protein, for example... But logically to me it seems that if I'm trying to shed pounds and build muscle that whey might not be good for me...???

I'm just really hoping that someone can shed some light on this for me, because the importance and my own personal confusion about the nutrition has always been a huge discouragement to me because I don't understand what to eat, how much to eat, what foods are good or bad for me to reach my goals, etc.
Any articles are appreciated, but I'm VERY interested in personal advice from BB.com members especially, so that if I have additional questions, I can ask (which is something you can't do with an article or book.

Thanks so much you guys, I really appreciate it!

~Mark

Hey Mark, Most people will probably tell you that diet isn't that important if your working out, doing cardio, etc. Fact is what you put in your body is about 80% of the puzzle for getting fit. 10% is working out and 10% is your genetics. Even if your genetically inclined to have a slow metabolism and carry some fat around don't fret because you can still achieve greats results, you just have to work harder then others and really focus on the diet part. My first suggestion is going to the book store and buying the book Eat Clean Diet for Men. This book will definitely get you motivated and heading in the right direction. Its hard to give others diet advice because what works for me is based on my body, height, metabolism, genetics. A good starting point for anybody would be the following.

1. Eat 5-6 smaller meals per day. Space each out every 2-3 hours. Each meal should have some lean protein, complex carbs, minimal healthy fats. Lean proteins include: chicken, whey protein, tunafish, fresh turkey, lean cuts of beef, some fish(I only eat tuna so not really sure which others are best). Complex carbs include: brown rice, quinoa, whole grains, oatmeal, sweet potato, fresh vegetables (especially green ones) fresh fruits(also contain natural sugars so don't go crazy here) Healthy fats include nuts butters, almonds, olive oil. These are small lists you can find more in the eat clean diet for men or online in a forum, etc.

2. Get 8 hours sleep each night.

3. Avoid alcohol and sugary drinks like soda, juice. (even a 8 ounce glass of 100% natural juice is too much sugar at once for your body to handle healthly.

4. Avoid all fast food.

5. Avoid all processed meats, deli meats, sugary cereals and other **** you find in the grocery store. (shop the perimeter is a good way to find the "cleanest" foods. Also foods high in trans fat and saturated fat need to be avoided.

6. Avoid eating late night. If you usually go to bed at 11:00 pm or so then stop eating between 8-9pm. This allows you to go to sleep fully digested so you start of fresh the next day.

7. Avoid empty calories, this is refering to something that you eat but get no nutritional value from, Examples being white bread and white flour products, donuts, soda, regular pasta, etc. This list is VERY long here!

This should be a good starting place to look at what you are doing now and compare it to some of these key points. I wouldn't worry so much about counting calories because if your eating clean your calorie count will be lower on its on. Any other questions feel free to message my bodyspace and I hope this helps, Keep me posted!
~george

[NDame616]

You have as much chance as converting fat to muscle as you do converting shoelaces to a Ferrari.

losing fat and gaining muscle is another story. But you don't simply "convert" it

[Thebigcorbowski]

logically whey makes no sense to you?


What new logic is this that you are using that I have not heard of....


First, whey will do nothing to keep you fat, it is your friend, utilize it.


Second, you can't convert fat into muscle.


Just eat 1 gram protein/lb of body weight and keep yourself in a 500 calorie deficit. Once you add the protein to your diet as needed, fill the rest up however you want in carbs and fats. You'll get there.


Good luck.

[markm07]

I'm only going by previous info that i was given from other bb.com members... jesus.

[Confuzzl3dOn3]

Originally Posted by 1point21

Hey Mark, Most people will probably tell you that diet isn't that important if your working out, doing cardio, etc. Fact is what you put in your body is about 80% of the puzzle for getting fit. 10% is working out and 10% is your genetics. Even if your genetically inclined to have a slow metabolism and carry some fat around don't fret because you can still achieve greats results, you just have to work harder then others and really focus on the diet part. My first suggestion is going to the book store and buying the book Eat Clean Diet for Men. This book will definitely get you motivated and heading in the right direction. Its hard to give others diet advice because what works for me is based on my body, height, metabolism, genetics. A good starting point for anybody would be the following.

1. Eat 5-6 smaller meals per day. Space each out every 2-3 hours. Each meal should have some lean protein, complex carbs, minimal healthy fats. Lean proteins include: chicken, whey protein, tunafish, fresh turkey, lean cuts of beef, some fish(I only eat tuna so not really sure which others are best). Complex carbs include: brown rice, quinoa, whole grains, oatmeal, sweet potato, fresh vegetables (especially green ones) fresh fruits(also contain natural sugars so don't go crazy here) Healthy fats include nuts butters, almonds, olive oil. These are small lists you can find more in the eat clean diet for men or online in a forum, etc.

2. Get 8 hours sleep each night.

3. Avoid alcohol and sugary drinks like soda, juice. (even a 8 ounce glass of 100% natural juice is too much sugar at once for your body to handle healthly.

4. Avoid all fast food.

5. Avoid all processed meats, deli meats, sugary cereals and other **** you find in the grocery store. (shop the perimeter is a good way to find the "cleanest" foods. Also foods high in trans fat and saturated fat need to be avoided.

6. Avoid eating late night. If you usually go to bed at 11:00 pm or so then stop eating between 8-9pm. This allows you to go to sleep fully digested so you start of fresh the next day.

7. Avoid empty calories, this is refering to something that you eat but get no nutritional value from, Examples being white bread and white flour products, donuts, soda, regular pasta, etc. This list is VERY long here!

This should be a good starting place to look at what you are doing now and compare it to some of these key points. I wouldn't worry so much about counting calories because if your eating clean your calorie count will be lower on its on. Any other questions feel free to message my bodyspace and I hope this helps, Keep me posted!
~george

Gotta question your number 6 about not eating late at nite. A lot of BBers will eat, especially before bed, in order to maintain muscle mass as you will essentially be not feeding your body for around 10 hrs+ if u eat like u said.

[signature166]

Originally Posted by markm07

Hey everyone...
I wanna clear some things up for myself, and possibly anyone else who is confused about the proper way of balancing nutrition...

As you can see from my bodyspace, I have some fat that needs losing. My goal was to lose weight before worrying about building muscle, since the muscle won't be seen till the fat is gone. However, I received advice from another BB.com member encouraging me to use the current fat I have now to turn into muscle. The problem is this --- Though I can continue to workout, and turn fat into muscle, I know that a balanced diet is of major importance. So, what type of diet do I need to follow? I take whey protein, for example... But logically to me it seems that if I'm trying to shed pounds and build muscle that whey might not be good for me...???

I'm just really hoping that someone can shed some light on this for me, because the importance and my own personal confusion about the nutrition has always been a huge discouragement to me because I don't understand what to eat, how much to eat, what foods are good or bad for me to reach my goals, etc.
Any articles are appreciated, but I'm VERY interested in personal advice from BB.com members especially, so that if I have additional questions, I can ask (which is something you can't do with an article or book.

Thanks so much you guys, I really appreciate it!

~Mark

Alan Aragon on a well-balanced diet:

"A ?well balanced diet? varies with the individual?s preferences and tolerances. What tends to be universal (off the top of my head) is that everyone should a) achieve a maximal degree of variety within and across food groups within practical reason b) get enough protein, considering of course the given goal, c) get enough essential fatty acids, d) get enough carbohydrate ? which will obviously vary according to the goal, e) keep most of your food intake as minimally refined as possible, f) stick with foods you personally like the taste of."

From http://www.ryanzielonka.com/nutritio...-balanced-diet