please help with my Body Transformation - enough is enough!!

[mosdel]

ok, so its been nearly 14 years of me trying to get the body i've wanted, and enough is enough. i'm sick of it and i'd love your help and input.

a little background

I've been working out off and on for years. I do HIIT for cardio, i play a ton of sports, and I believe in body changing excercies like Squats, Deadlifts, Snatchs, Kettle bell swings, Pullup/Chinups and other various core excercises.


I'm 5'8, and i weigh 185 pounds. I have a serious case of Manboobs (with muscle underneath, cause i can feel it when i flex! lol). i believe i'm about 24% body fat. I'd like to get under 10%.


I also have incredibly big love handles. at the widest my waist is 40 inches. But I do wear 34 to 36 inch jeans, cause i mean really, who wears there pants that high.


i'm very subconcious about my body with my shirt off but i'm posting pics for you guys to see, which if you knew me, takes a lot of courage.


For me, working out and being active is never a problem. i'm the guy on the field who looks out of shape, but is fast as hell and doesnt get tired. i know my diet is a major issue and my metabolism seems to be crap.

i'm also working with a chiropractor to straighten my posture, and was told that would also significantly change once my body starts to change.


Based on the research I've done my BMR is 1650. I do work out very hard so if I had to guess, would say I would use a factor of 1.6 to 1.8 to determine my daily calory expenditure. However I also have a desk job. So I have no idea, I could be burning 2500 calories, or I could be burning 2800 calories??


Here is the calorie defict diet I started 2 months ago, which got sidetracked by a week vacation, and then another week of simply bad eating and too many patio's.

I've restarted it yesterday. I also have a scale I've started to use.


meal #1 1.5 protein shake: 180 calories
half large banana: 80
4 ounce bluberries: 50
half spoon cod liver fish oil: 60


meal #2 10 ounce lentils: 250 calories
8 plain ounces lowfat yogurt: 140

meal #3 50 grams of avacado: 85
4 ounces extra lean beef: 160
veggies: 60 (celery sticks, carrot, cucumber)

meal #4 1protein shake: 120 calories
half large banana: 80
4 ounce bluberries: 50
half spoon cod liver fish oil: 60

meal #5 4 ounces organic chicken: 150 calories
organic dressing, 1/2 tbsp: 40
veggies: 100 (steamed brocholi, zuchinni)

Snack that fits in the day sometime
3 rye crackers: 120 calories
cheese: 120


So that equals to about 1850 calories intake per day, with some give or take i'm sure.

[mosdel]

ok so my guestions:

1) will I need surgery for my gyno, or is my body fat % much too high, causing the man boobs
2) thoughts on my diet and my calory intake? too much, too little?
3) when should i be doing my cardio. in the morning on an empty stomach (as I am doing now)


any other helpful thoughts would be great. i just really want to make a change and am sick of spinning my wheels

[ejthomp]

Dude....

Did you start with the sticky?

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=113693871

Everything you need to know and more.

It is ALL about the diet and yours sucks. Read and start over.

[mosdel]

ok i'll start there. jeez, my diet sucks? i didnt think it was that bad. i'm eating protein, veggies, and very little carbs

[ejthomp]

ok i'll start there. jeez, my diet sucks? i didnt think it was that bad. i'm eating protein, veggies, and very little carbs

Exactly how many grams of protein, carbs and fat? (And upon further review....Your diet doesn't totally suck....My bad... At least you eat some veggies, which says a lot)

Answer me this:

Why haven't you been able to follow a diet in the past and what is different this time that makes you think you will?

[ejthomp]

One more thing.... No BS here.... You've been trying for 14 years....

What you have been doing is not going to work!

Again, no BS.... you've got about 130 pounds of lean body mass...55 pounds of body fat...

If you are serious about this, you should be targeting a starting body weight of 140-150 pounds. From there you can start adding some muscle, but first you need to get rid of a lot of fat....

Over the next six months you need to lose 40 pounds of body fat. You do that through a good DIET and heavy weight training with some cardio thrown in for fun.

[mosdel]

to be honest i dont know my mix of protein/carbs/fat. doing a very quick look at that diet, i would guess for my protein:

-60grams from shakes
-28grams from the chicken
-28grams from the extra lean beef
-12grams from the plain yogurt
-maybe 6 to 10 grams from the lentils?
-8 grams from cheese

about 146 grams, which i take it is much too low.


and yes please give it to me straight, dont bs me. i agree i need to cut a TON of fat for my body.

with regards to trying for 14 years and not succeeding. i've never done a proper diet plan to be honest. This is the first time i've actually wrote out a diet plan, calculated the calories, spread my meals out throughout the day. so in fairness, i've never broken it down like this before. but yes i see your point

[ferdo]

ok, so its been nearly 14 years of me trying to get the body i've wanted, and enough is enough. i'm sick of it and i'd love your help and input.

a little background

I've been working out off and on for years. I do HIIT for cardio, i play a ton of sports, and I believe in body changing excercies like Squats, Deadlifts, Snatchs, Kettle bell swings, Pullup/Chinups and other various core excercises.


I'm 5'8, and i weigh 185 pounds. I have a serious case of Manboobs (with muscle underneath, cause i can feel it when i flex! lol). i believe i'm about 24% body fat. I'd like to get under 10%.


I also have incredibly big love handles. at the widest my waist is 40 inches. But I do wear 34 to 36 inch jeans, cause i mean really, who wears there pants that high.


i'm very subconcious about my body with my shirt off but i'm posting pics for you guys to see, which if you knew me, takes a lot of courage.


For me, working out and being active is never a problem. i'm the guy on the field who looks out of shape, but is fast as hell and doesnt get tired. i know my diet is a major issue and my metabolism seems to be crap.

i'm also working with a chiropractor to straighten my posture, and was told that would also significantly change once my body starts to change.


Based on the research I've done my BMR is 1650. I do work out very hard so if I had to guess, would say I would use a factor of 1.6 to 1.8 to determine my daily calory expenditure. However I also have a desk job. So I have no idea, I could be burning 2500 calories, or I could be burning 2800 calories??


Here is the calorie defict diet I started 2 months ago, which got sidetracked by a week vacation, and then another week of simply bad eating and too many patio's.

I've restarted it yesterday. I also have a scale I've started to use.


meal #1 1.5 protein shake: 180 calories
half large banana: 80
4 ounce bluberries: 50
half spoon cod liver fish oil: 60


meal #2 10 ounce lentils: 250 calories
8 plain ounces lowfat yogurt: 140

meal #3 50 grams of avacado: 85
4 ounces extra lean beef: 160
veggies: 60 (celery sticks, carrot, cucumber)

meal #4 1protein shake: 120 calories
half large banana: 80
4 ounce bluberries: 50
half spoon cod liver fish oil: 60

meal #5 4 ounces organic chicken: 150 calories
organic dressing, 1/2 tbsp: 40
veggies: 100 (steamed brocholi, zuchinni)

Snack that fits in the day sometime
3 rye crackers: 120 calories
cheese: 120


So that equals to about 1850 calories intake per day, with some give or take i'm sure.

Your diet that you have come up with is not too bad. Your man boobs is not the first thing i noticed in pics. Its the belly. Chest actually doesnt look like it belongs with the belly. You got alot of fat to loose. Keep going with this for a cople weeks if not loosing lower it down a bit more. Make sure you get enough protein.

Im think bodyfat is near 30 percent.

But Weird looking from the side it looks alot smaller, so maybe not 30. Are you sucking in the picture from the side?

[mosdel]

i'm actually not sucking it. i never found that my "gut" sticks out that much, but my love handles are massive! if u were to pinch the fat on my gut vs. love handles its such a big difference.

that being said theres still way too much fat on my gut as well, i'm definitely aware of that

[ejthomp]

.....i dont know my mix of protein/carbs/fat.....

.......i would guess.....

.......i've never done a proper diet plan......

......This is the first time i've actually wrote out a diet plan, calculated the calories, spread my meals out throughout the day.....

........i've never broken it down like this before.....

Your future success (and past failure) is completely summarized right there.

For your size, you can start at 1800 calories with 180 grams of protein and ease yourself into 1500 calories and 150 grams of protein.

ALWAYS EAT GOOD FOOD. MAKE GOOD FOOD YOUR PASSION.

"Good Food" is grown, not processed.

[mosdel]

well at least i started to write down my diet plan. i'm on somewhat of a right track lol.

180grams of protein? wow, i was reading that link you added and it stated 1 gram per 1lb of lead body mass, so I was thinking 130 grams of protein?


I also read that 1500 calories is way to much of a deficit and in the long run i'm ruining my metabolism. would you not agree?

[ejthomp]

You're 185 pounds....about 130 lean....1 to 1.5 grams of protein per pound of lean body mass.

I say 1800 and 180 grams because starting out I want you to be full and happy with your new diet. 180 grams of protein will keep your appetite in check while you ease into a new life style. Nothing wrong with a little extra protein. The worst thing you can do is start too low and set yourself up for failure.

Don't believe that "starvation mode" bs. If you want to worry about starvation mode, let me know when you are under 100 pounds and eating less than 800 calories per day. Then we can talk.

1500 calories is not too much of a deficit for you. Your metabolism will be just fine. And I've never met anyone that doesn't cheat a little from time to time. 1500 calories gives you a little wiggle room.

The key will be getting you to be consistent with a diet for AT LEAST 3 FULL WEEKS before thinking about changing anything.

1st week is meaningless (You may lose a lot of weight, you may even gain some weight)
2nd week shows direction (Now you should know whether you will lose or gain at this calorie level)
3rd week shows trend (Now you should have an idea as to pounds per week change)

[mosdel]

got it. so simply eating more protein in the beginning of this diet, so i dont feel like i'm cheating or starving. i'll definitly have to up my chicken/beef intake. maybe another scoop of whey protein as well.

interesting about the 1500 calorie plan. i didnt realize i could go that low. good advice man, thanks

i've been reading a lot of the forums and i noticed that cardio is not recommended by a lot of people in cutting fat. its more so proper diet, and high intensity lifting.

currently, i've started doing cardio 3 times a week in the mornings on an empty stomach. and then i do weight/core training later at night 4 times a week (with sunday off, so on one of the days i'm doing both cardio and weights).

how would you (or anyone who's reading) recommend i set up my week. I dont want to over nor undertrain

[OrbitalBurn]

I have a lot more mass than you (195-200 pounds LBM) and I have been eating around 1800-2000 calories per day and a 1500 calorie daily deficit since February and I have never felt better...you'll be just fine on 1500 per day. Don't listen to anyone who talks to you about 'starvation mode' bs.

[ejthomp]

......
how would you (or anyone who's reading) recommend i set up my week. I dont want to over nor undertrain
.......

You haven't had success for 14 years because you've never been on a good diet.

I don't care what you do in the gym. What you have looks fine. Get the diet right, and you will succeed.

Spend 75% of your time worrying about your next meal and 25% worrying about your next workout. Do that for six months and you will be amazed at your progress.

[mosdel]

i'm hearing ya. get my diet sorted out and on track, otherwise everything else is pointless.


well i just made a big discovery, and being the noob that i am, i was calculationg the calories on my chicken and beef all wrong.

when i make food, i'll cook enough to last 3 or 4 days and put it in the fridge. so when i take it out, i'll weigh it with my scale to see how many ounces to eat.

but i made a dumb mistake; measuring the weight in ounces before i ate (ie 4 oz of extra lean ground beef, COOKED), but recording the calories based on UNCOOKED.

so what i thought was 160 calories from 4 oz of extra lean ground beef, was actually 300 calories, because i was weighing out 4 oz cooked when about to eat it.


doh!

so i'm consuming probably more like 2100 per day as opped to the 1850 i thought i was eating.


haha, such an idiot mistake

[mosdel]

so as per your advice, i sat down last night and figured out the exact numbers of my protein, carbs, fat.

Based on that above diet, I am actually taking in 158 grams of protein (163 grams depending on what nutrition guide used for a cup of cooked lentils).

This is based on 1850 calories coming in.

right now my ratio looks like 43/46/12. so it seems i need to make some adjustments and lower my carbs and increase my fat.

One way for me to cut my calories even more is to take out the cheese and 3 rye crackers, reducing my intake to 1610 calories.

if it really is as simple as calories in/out to lose the fat, what about the days that i'm not working out? My calorie expenditure is obviously less during those days. does that mean i have to adjust my diet by 600 calories less (the assumed calories i would burn during my training)?

[mosdel]

I have a lot more mass than you (195-200 pounds LBM) and I have been eating around 1800-2000 calories per day and a 1500 calorie daily deficit since February and I have never felt better...you'll be just fine on 1500 per day. Don't listen to anyone who talks to you about 'starvation mode' bs.

i appreciate that input, good to know, thanks

[frank112]

OP, I was in your same exact situation a year ago (look at my before photo, we looked relatively the same although I can argue I still have bigger manboobs than you).

I am almost at the end of my cut and I got here by being consistent with my workout and diet for the first time in my life. Truly and honestly that's all you need.

I also worked out off and on since the age of 18 but didn't pay any attention to the diet aspect of it which is where it counts the most. The only way to get into a consistent routine (if you're anything like me) is to ease into it. Start with 1800 calories a day for 3 weeks and if you lose 6 pounds or more than it's perfect. Eventually as you lose more and more, you'll have to cut more and more cals off your diet so starting at 1500 might hurt more than it'll help. Also, starting that low at your weight, you have a greater chance to say "F it" the first time you cheat and shoot back up to where you were.

Again my friend, it just takes consistency.

[seifelbadrawy]

Hey man, for the first time in my life i noticed real progress in cutting starting 3 months ago..

Your diet is alright. Your bodyfat isn't low enough for you to start worrying about cutting carbs or any of that. But I want you to know one thing, one cheat day will ruin your whole weeks worth of progress. Your metabolism slows down when dieting so no one's deficit is ever nearly as big as they think it is. Thats why a cheat day can have a much bigger impact than you think it will. And judging by your eating habits (and the way you look, no offense), you probably go well overboard when you cheat.

This isn't rocket science. Your defnately not following your diet consistently if you don't get the results your looking for. It doesn't mean your a bad person, or you're a failure, but your just facing challenges adjusting to a new lifestyle.. I was like this too.. As the guy before me said, your going to need to love healthy food if you ever want to get lean and ripped, NATURALLY. so on your "cheat day" only have one cheat meal, and continue to eat nothing but healthy foods throughout the day. Once you get adjusted to this new lifestyle, you'll look better, feel better, and will be saving loads of money as you'll eat out less..

[mosdel]

OP, I was in your same exact situation a year ago (look at my before photo, we looked relatively the same although I can argue I still have bigger manboobs than you).

I am almost at the end of my cut and I got here by being consistent with my workout and diet for the first time in my life. Truly and honestly that's all you need.

I also worked out off and on since the age of 18 but didn't pay any attention to the diet aspect of it which is where it counts the most. The only way to get into a consistent routine (if you're anything like me) is to ease into it. Start with 1800 calories a day for 3 weeks and if you lose 6 pounds or more than it's perfect. Eventually as you lose more and more, you'll have to cut more and more cals off your diet so starting at 1500 might hurt more than it'll help. Also, starting that low at your weight, you have a greater chance to say "F it" the first time you cheat and shoot back up to where you were.

Again my friend, it just takes consistency.

thanks frank this was great to see someone who had the same body type as me a year ago and has made an incredible change. gives me hope!

i'm in the same boat as, as when i said i've been trying for 14 years, looking back i was simply working out hard with no real regard for calorie intake. i'm happy that with the changes i should finally be seeing some great results.

yah i figured i shouldnt drop my calorie intake to 1600 just yet, until i get a few weeks into it.

[mosdel]

Hey man, for the first time in my life i noticed real progress in cutting starting 3 months ago..

Your diet is alright. Your bodyfat isn't low enough for you to start worrying about cutting carbs or any of that. But I want you to know one thing, one cheat day will ruin your whole weeks worth of progress. Your metabolism slows down when dieting so no one's deficit is ever nearly as big as they think it is. Thats why a cheat day can have a much bigger impact than you think it will. And judging by your eating habits (and the way you look, no offense), you probably go well overboard when you cheat.

This isn't rocket science. Your defnately not following your diet consistently if you don't get the results your looking for. It doesn't mean your a bad person, or you're a failure, but your just facing challenges adjusting to a new lifestyle.. I was like this too.. As the guy before me said, your going to need to love healthy food if you ever want to get lean and ripped, NATURALLY. so on your "cheat day" only have one cheat meal, and continue to eat nothing but healthy foods throughout the day. Once you get adjusted to this new lifestyle, you'll look better, feel better, and will be saving loads of money as you'll eat out less..

no offense taken and you're absolutely right, i do go welllll overboard when i cheat. i find myself to be very extreme like that. i can eat great for a week, then when i cheat, i'll end up having way too many drinks and just eating whatever throughout the day. you nailed it there.



Any recommendations on my diet plan? looks like i got the calorie deficit part figured out, but should i change anything that i'm eating?