Need to save money and lose fat in NYC

[Whartonite]

Some stats:

Age: 23+8.5/12 years to be specific (October '86 = birthdate)
Height: 6 feet 2.5 inches tall
Weight: Around 220 pounds
Body fat %: I had this tested years ago but I was slimmer then... if you can call 25% "slimmer."
Goal: To cut a lot of fat and get a flat/lean chest -- I have stomach rolls and man boobs I want to get rid of. I am likely aiming for a 40/40/20 p/c/f split.

Metabolic Rate using Mifflin St. Jeor = ((9.99 * 220) / 2.2) + (6.25 * ((6 * 12) + 2.5) * 2.54) - ((4.92 * (23 + (8.5 / 12))) + 5) = 2060.0425 kcals

Activity Level: Likely 1.2 right now (only walk a few blocks per day for transportation to/from work), currently no exercise

Current Maintenance Calories: 2060.0452*1.2 = 2472.051 kcals

Free money per month after rent/loan/phone/travel expenses: ~$1500
Work schedule: M-F, leave apartment at 8 -- return to apt at ~6-6:30.


Plan:

I've done some reading on the math at least, so I hope what I've posted so far is relevant. I otherwise know nothing about working out or nutrition. I find myself spending far too much money on too much food that is largely unhealthy. I'd like to make an exercise schedule for myself and a diet plan. Will power isn't an issue for me. I just need a plan I can stick to because I absolutely need to get in shape and save money.

My questions: What should I aim for? I am willing to lose fat as healthily as I can and as quickly as I can. I am assuming that this means 2 pounds per week at ~7000 cals lost or a 1000/day deficit average, correct? How should I structure my diet and workouts to hit this goal effectively, and how can I do this as cheaply as possible?

In short:
-How often should I do cardio and for long each session? When during the day is this effective?
-Likewise for weightlifting -- how often/how long/when?
-What kind of foods should I eat, how much, and when?

Thanks so much, guys.

-Whartonite

[Whartonite]

Is a post like this too detailed?

[Pennyw1se]

Read this: http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showpo...postcount=4389

[frank112]

You live in Manhattan and still have $1500 left at the age of 23?! big congratz man

Anyway, if I were you, i'd join a NYSC or some other type of gym near your apartment or work. And pay close attention to your diet because that is 80% of the equation of your ultimate goal.

Find our your maintenance, eat 500-1000 cals below that by eating lean meats for your protein (and protein shake) and some healthy fats.

[Whartonite]

How many calories is generally considered starvation?

I feel like I overeat and need to eat less -- the problem is that I find myself always hungry and I wind up eating more than I'd like. I need to eat less if I am to lose all this fat, but I don't want to overdo it, esp if I am shooting for a 1k deficit.

[Whartonite]

Thanks for the link as well.

Should I make any adjustments to it though, considering that my bf% is likely quite high?

[STFUandTRAIN]

Find maintenance caloric intake. - 500 from that number.

Join a gym. If thats too much cash, walk/jog/run (HIIT comes to mind) and do body weight exercises like pushups, situps, chin ups in the park (they always have jungle gyms you can use to do chin ups)...

Drink plenty of water, eat plenty of protein.

Don't forget. You didn't become fat overnight. You won't get lean overnight either.

[Whartonite]

Say I do no exercise and just reduce my caloric intake. If I take -500 from my current maintenance, that would mean eating 2472.051 - 500 = 1972.051 kcals per day, which is less than my BMR of 2060.0452 kcals. Would this technically be dangerous?

If I wanted a 1000 cal deficit, would this be why I'd need to exercise on top of eating? Say if I exercise a few times a week and bring my multiplier to 1.4, putting me at (2060.0452 * 1.4) - 500 = 2384.06328 kcals to eat.

If I eat below my BMR to create a deficit, am I going to lose lean mass? At what point does the body kick into starvation mode? What are the safe thresholds?

[MKP_Mike]

One thumb rule is (Bodyweight X 12) - 500 to 1000. Best to start at -500 and see how it works for 2-3 weeks and go lower if needed. For you I'd suggest 1900-2100 to see how it works (I'm at 235 lbs and eat 2000/day and have steady results 2 lbs/week). Easy ballparks for macros are 1g/lb bodyweight (or lean body mass) for protein and (0.25 x bodyweight) in fats. Don't try to hug a "starvation line" as there's no need and it'll only make you feel poorly.

Cardio I'd suggest min 20 minutes for a session, but 30-60 mins as you can handle it for light-moderate intensity.

Lifting 2-4 days per week depending on how much time you have and how you split the lifting.

Hope this helps and best of luck getting started!

[Whartonite]

How can I check my bf%?

[MKP_Mike]

That's one I'm still working on learning better haha. Some of the guys on here can help you but a picture would help a lot. I know there's a ballpark formula involving your age, height, weight and waist measurement (taken around the navel, not pant size). So if you post a picture or take that measurement and post it you'll probably get some feedback on here.

[El Gilbro]

How many calories is generally considered starvation?

I feel like I overeat and need to eat less -- the problem is that I find myself always hungry and I wind up eating more than I'd like. I need to eat less if I am to lose all this fat, but I don't want to overdo it, esp if I am shooting for a 1k deficit.

I'm in the same boat as you when it comes to "always hungry". What I've started doing is really cranked up the amount of veggies and fruit I eat (moreso the veggies) to "fill the void". In the past I've increased the cooked veggies I eat with a meal, but then I'd get hungry later and I'd snack on crap like buttered popcorn, pretzels, etc. I've recently starting buying raw broccoli, cauliflower, celery, and even carrots and replaced my snacks with them. A little bit of lite ranch dressing for flavor, and I can eat until I'm full and not rack up hundreds of calories.

Last night, I ate some raw broccoli and two oranges when in the past I would have eaten two bags of microwave popcorn and then start looking for pretzels or Doritos. I also found I'm satisfied on less with the brocoli and such. I'd feel full but keep eating doritos because I liked the taste. I like the taste of the veggies and fruit, but not so much that I want to keep eating after I reached the point of feeling full.


These things are also relatively cheap compared to what I'd be paying for the junk snacks.

[Whartonite]

For someone like me, how much $$ per day or week do you think it'd cost me in NYC, minimum, to get all the foods I'd need for someone of my type?

[MKP_Mike]

I can't really speak to NYC grocery prices, but using VA prices and shopping smart it would be under $100 a week. That's including eating out once a week as a cheat.

[flipkev]

For someone like me, how much $$ per day or week do you think it'd cost me in NYC, minimum, to get all the foods I'd need for someone of my type?

I don't know about the cost of living in NYC, but I'm in the same situation of saving money while trying to hit my macros. I was told get all my protein from fish, but damn I have to eat about $15 worth of the stuff a day! I switched to eggs, the more you can buy in bulk the better. One 12 egg white omelet is 48 grams of protein, so if you buy a big box from Wal-Mart ($7 for 5 dozen here) or Sam's Club ($15 for 15 dozen here) you can save a lot of money while getting your protein.

Cheap greens are broccoli, baby spinach and romaine lettuce. Even the steamable bags of greens such as broccoli, green beans, okra, etc. you find in your grocery's freezer section (which will still be good, nothing added to the vegetables, just frozen and bagged) are about $1.25 (here in VA) for 4 servings.

Cheap fish would be tilapia, next to flounder. Salmon was always been on the expensive side :/ Also check for deals on protein powders here:

http://www.wheycheap.com/

Sometimes you can find really good deals, depending and you have to check every so often, but to save 50% and up off it's worth the hassle.

[ChiefRocka]

Where in NY do you live? Planet Fitness is dirt cheap and they got some in Manhattan and other boroughs. I'm a member of NYSC but got a corporate discount through my job which I only pay 200$ for the whole year but otherwise it will be 60 + bucks a month. Although I love it, theres an NYSC on every block!

Saving money and being fit well...you have to shop right and choose a cheap gym. Not to mention if you are cutting calories you should be eating a lot less so you should save money on food. Its not too hard really.

You live in Manhattan and still have $1500 left at the age of 23?! big congratz man

He didn't say he lived in Manhattan...but if he does and has $1500 left over each month he's either a CEO of a successful internet company, lives with 4 friends in a broom closet in SOHO or lives in Harlem lol.

[Whartonite]

Where in NY do you live? Planet Fitness is dirt cheap and they got some in Manhattan and other boroughs. I'm a member of NYSC but got a corporate discount through my job which I only pay 200$ for the whole year but otherwise it will be 60 + bucks a month. Although I love it, theres an NYSC on every block!

Saving money and being fit well...you have to shop right and choose a cheap gym. Not to mention if you are cutting calories you should be eating a lot less so you should save money on food. Its not too hard really.

He didn't say he lived in Manhattan...but if he does and has $1500 left over each month he's either a CEO of a successful internet company, lives with 4 friends in a broom closet in SOHO or lives in Harlem lol.

I live in the Financial District in Manhattan -- rent's about $1200/mo and loans are like $500/mo, phone's $70, travel's like $80, etc. After all that there's like $1500 left over for everything else (including food). By no means am I rich or anything. My apartment has a gym in it though so I don't need to buy a separate membership or anything.

I do want to save money and eat less because I find myself taking in way too many calories and spending anywhere from $10-$25 a meal, and sometimes way more if I am taking my girlfriend out to a restaurant where the total can hit as high as $100 if I want to go somewhere awesome.

But in the meantime, I don't need or want to spend that much eating an abundance of unhealthy food. I'd like to spend as little as possible eating as healthy as I can while hitting all my necessary marks.

[Pennyw1se]

I dont know about NYC but chicken breast in Phoenix is at about $1.70-$1.80 a pound. I usually buy in 10 pound increments. Frozen veggies, lentils, beans, fruit. Im not a picky eater and I can eat the same thing M-F with no problem.
Slow cookers are a life saver if you dont have the time to cook. I throw chicken breast with either water or chicken stock and salt and some onion and let it cook overnight. Ready to go the next morning.

[pphil09]

im in LA so im guessing the costs are about the same. Look into getting a costco membership and buying healthy foods in bulk is my best advice.

and im cutting and aiming for 1600 cals per day.

[SKRJPR99]

Some stats:

Weight: Around 220 pounds
Goal: To cut a lot of fat and get a flat/lean chest
Metabolic Rate = 2060 kcals

Plan:

I just need a plan I can stick to because I absolutely need to get in shape and save money.

My questions: What should I aim for? I am willing to lose fat as healthily as I can and as quickly as I can. I am assuming that this means 2 pounds per week at ~7000 cals lost or a 1000/day deficit average, correct? How should I structure my diet and workouts to hit this goal effectively, and how can I do this as cheaply as possible?

In short:
-How often should I do cardio and for long each session? When during the day is this effective?
-Likewise for weightlifting -- how often/how long/when?
-What kind of foods should I eat, how much, and when?

Aim for a healthy loss of 1% of your bodyweight per week; though typically one loses a little more their first week because of water weight loss. 2 lbs per week is 7,000 cal as you stated. Eat 2,000 cal a day and add an average of 500 calories of cardio to get your 1,000 cal deficit (I personally think that’s easier than trying to cut 1000 calories out of your diet or trying to do 1000 calories of cardio). At 220 * 0.75 = ~3 mi per day in walking/running. Do the 3 mi in addition to the miles you probably walk living in NYC and you’ll meet your goal for sure.

When you do your cardio doesn’t matter. How long you take to do your cardio is up to you. Point being, you just have to do it.

Most people will advocate weight lifting in a three day split, i.e. chest/back/legs. Doing this once per week would be sufficient to maintain your muscle mass while you’re cutting, plus it allows enough recovery on a calorie deficit so that overtraining wouldn’t be an issue. When you do this doesn’t really matter, you could split it MTW or MWF for example, though perhaps you might adhere to it better if you do it MWF again because of recovery. I don’t know your personal psychology so maybe doing it MWF would be bad because you might tend to skip out on Friday’s workout.

I advocate 1g of protein per pound, so for you that would be 220g of protein which nearly fits your 40/40/20 split. Chicken tends to be pretty cheap, and generally has about 20 g of protein per 4 oz. That means you would have to eat 2.75 lbs of chicken a day which I would find gross after a while which is why I drink a few protein shakes to offset the amount of chicken I consume. Of course any lean protein source will suffice. You could get your carbs from any source, though obviously veggies and fruits would be better options. Make sure you take a fish oil supplement simply for the sake of combating inflammation (and count the fat in it as part of your daily macros). I like to take Vitamin B complex and Calcium + Vitamin D supplements as well (B complex because my carbs are lowered and most B vitamins come from veggies, grains, etc. and Calcium + Vitamin D because I drink less milk and consume less dairy while cutting).

You could eat three times a day, and that’s fine. Some people will advocate protein sparing meals throughout the day, i.e. 40g protein shakes, with a large meal for dinner because that’s what worked for them (Intermittent Fasting or IF). Other people swear you have to eat six times a day, or more, because that’s what worked for them. If it’s easier for you to adhere to your diet via eating three times, then eat three times.

[Whartonite]

Would I lose more calories running 3 miles or walking them? Does it matter for the sake of cardio, out of curiosity?

I do have treadmills and ellipticals, however.

[SKRJPR99]

Would I lose more calories running 3 miles or walking them? Does it matter for the sake of cardio, out of curiosity?

I do have treadmills and ellipticals, however.

My recollection from other threads is that you would burn more calories running those miles because of the after effects and because of the amount of effort.

[Pennyw1se]

Would I lose more calories running 3 miles or walking them? Does it matter for the sake of cardio, out of curiosity?

I do have treadmills and ellipticals, however.

Running, of course.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15570150

[Whartonite]

How can I tell that I've done 500 cals of cardio in a given day? I've always heard that machines are fairly inaccurate.

[SKRJPR99]

How can I tell that I've done 500 cals of cardio in a given day? I've always heard that machines are fairly inaccurate.

I think I caused confusion by my 0.75 * bodyweight per mile. That should be used for running. So you would have to obviously walk further than the 3 mi I suggested if you wanted to walk those calories off. However, running the 3 mi and doing your daily walking will take care of the 500 calories.

[MKP_Mike]

My advice - don't stress too much the amount of calories burned during your workout. If you get the diet along the lines of the other responses and do 30-60 mins cardio and lifting a few times a week you'll see the results you want. Just push yourself to train hard safely and know that it's going to be enough calories burned.

[Whartonite]

My advice - don't stress too much the amount of calories burned during your workout. If you get the diet along the lines of the other responses and do 30-60 mins cardio and lifting a few times a week you'll see the results you want. Just push yourself to train hard safely and know that it's going to be enough calories burned.

I know this will be a noob question, but how can I tell that I've lifted hard enough? Should I be *trying* to tire myself out to the point of near-exhaustion such that I can barely move my arms/etc? Or should I just fatigue out and call it good, etc?

How long should I expect to see results if I follow a cardio + walking everyday + lifting three times per week + 1800-2000 cal diet?

[SKRJPR99]

My advice - don't stress too much the amount of calories burned during your workout. If you get the diet along the lines of the other responses and do 30-60 mins cardio and lifting a few times a week you'll see the results you want. Just push yourself to train hard safely and know that it's going to be enough calories burned.

He shouldn't stress about it, you're right. However advocating a time amount for cardio isn't helpful. A calorie parameter gives him something to aim for, and how long he takes to do that is up to him. If he's not losing weight as quickly as he would like, he can further deduce whether to cut more calories or increase the amount of calories he's burning doing cardio.

[SKRJPR99]

I know this will be a noob question, but how can I tell that I've lifted hard enough? Should I be *trying* to tire myself out to the point of near-exhaustion such that I can barely move my arms/etc? Or should I just fatigue out and call it good, etc?

How long should I expect to see results if I follow a cardio + walking everyday + lifting three times per week + 1800-2000 cal diet?

There are lots of lifting protocols you could follow. General rule of thumb is 12-16 sets for a major muscle group, with a most basic routine following linear progression in weight, i.e. 135, 155, 175, 195 poundage increments on bench press for example, with the last set you only being able to lift the weight 4-6 times. More advanced lifters will do the same number of sets, 12-16 or perhaps more, however they'll do all their sets in the lower rep range and increase weight accordingly.

Well, you don't even know your bodyfat percent, so it could takes many months before you're low enough to be what you consider "lean". For example, if you're 30%, it would take you 5.5 months to drop to 12% bodyfat (assuming you kept all 154 lbs of lean mass).

[MKP_Mike]

You have a solid point also. I think both approaches to cardio (time spent or calories burned) are good and which outlook is preferable may vary person to person.

Whartonite for your lifting I'd suggest reading some of the articles posted on the site for working different muscle groups. Many of them have sample workouts you could pick through to see what you like and what you can handle. How to structure your workout varies greatly and there are many different beliefs on what's "best".