6 Feet Tall, 170 Lbs, Trying to Lose Gut/Gain Mass/DEFINITION

[GiveMeAdvice]

Ok.. I have 3 pictures posted as you can see.

The goal is listed above.

So far, from what I gathered I need to:

FOOD:
Eat about 3,000 calories (some suggest up to 4K)
40/40/20 Carb/Prot/Fats (Still looking for the 'perfect' formula)
6 meals a day (still looiking to distribute them evenly and work on proper distribution based reading about BREAKFAST, Post and Pre Workouts)
Gathered that peanut butter and cottage cheese great items to eat before sleep

WEIGHTS:
I see suggestings for RIPPLETOE or 5 X 5 workouts. I am a beginner I would say. I've done some bench and arm work about 8 years ago.

Problem: I work nights. 5 to 6 days a week. Hard to get a good schedule. Was hoping to work out 2 days a week.

CARDIO: Still undecided.

Any suggestions folks?

[DJC]

At 6 ft and 170, you are fairly thin. However, judging from your avatar pic, your bf is a bit high, meaning that you don't have very much muscle. I would concentrate on eating 3000+ calories and lifting on a consistent basis. Since you are a beginner when it comes to bb'ing, your intial muscle gains will come quickly. Just be sure to maintain a balanced diet, high in protein.

For someone as yourself, who hasn't worked out in 8 years, i would begin working out around 3 days a week. You will probably feel very sore after your intial workouts!

And it is damn near impossible to build muscle mass and lose definition at the same time (save for anabolic/steroid assistance). IMO, i would concentrate on building muscle then "cutting" off the excess bodyfat at a later time.

Good luck man,

[GiveMeAdvice]

Thanks! That is in harmony with everything I read so far. But, all put in a nutshell very well. I appreciate your response

[JCAZ2010]

I'd say do light to medium cardio 2-3 times a week. You should see some change pretty fast.

[Cuchulainn]

I agree. Do cardio 3 times a week. What does your current diet/nutrition look like? Give us as much detail as possible about what you eat and drink throughout the day including time. Do you carb cycle? Are you doing cardio? If so how much and what kind of cardio? And for how long?

I'm not trying to be mean or anything. Its just that we can't do much to help you out until we have more information from you.

If you can only workout a couple days a week I highly recommend some kind of full body training.

[GiveMeAdvice]

I will do cardio 3 times a week.

I would eat whenever, whatever, before stumbling upon this website and forums.

Currently, I am not keeping numerical stats. However, I am increasing in proteins and carbs. I eat cottage cheese and peanut butter before I sleep. Trying to eat 6 times a day. Will eat chicken breast in a few minutes.

I work at a facility where we move mail. Doesn't really make me sweat. Currently do no cardio. I am planning on running. Will buy running shoes today.

I will keep reading. I appreciate all the responses as I am new to bodybuilding. The only reason I keep asking is I keep getting lost with information overload reading all these posts. I need to sit down, search, and open a word document and start cutting and pasting.