new here, need help...

[troubleBound]

Hi everybody. Alright, where do I start? Back in summer 2005 I was a 245lbs chubster, when I started to diet and do cardio, however, I made the mistake of not lifting. It was like that for about a year and after several pauses, several weight gains and several weight losses, I lost about 45 lbs. Problem is that at first my goal was to reach 200lbs, and I thought I would look decent enough already (I wasn't half as ambitious as I am now). At 200lbs I still looked like crap, so 180lbs was my new goal.

At 185lbs, still looking terrible and already too damn close to my 180lbs goal, I thought 175lbs would be alright. However, after visiting a nutritionist, I was told I should stay between 185-190lbs, since I'm about 6'1" and that according to doc, that was the healthy weight range for me. However, I was deeply bothered by my appearance since before that they, which is why I had started lifting in hopes that maybe all that fat and flab hanging on my chest and butt would be replaced by muscle.

So it was around november 2006, and I started to eat a lot more (looking back, my old diet, the one which lost me the first 40 lbs, was probably killing me, and I probably lost a lot of muscle, which I never had that much of since I never lifted very seriously before november 06) and to lift seriously, and always doing cardio. I am convinced that I've probably got a pretty high BF% despite weighing between 176-180lbs at the moment (it has been fluctuating there these last few weeks), because I look terrible. I mean, the other day some kid who was organizing some soccer activity wanted me to participate since he thought I looked athletic and all. However, I wouldn't be caught dead without a shirt in public, because I know that even though I've got some muscle, I've still got all that annoying flab (dammit, especially the one on my chest which is the one that has always bothered me most. I thought it would be gone someday, back when I was starting as a fatty at 245lbs. But it's still there! It's smaller, but still existent). I also wear sorta baggy tshirts, etc, because of that.

Anyway, my problem is that in these 4-5 months I haven't progressed much, man. I mean, the first 3 weeks, I got a little stronger, but pretty quickly, after that, I became stagnant. I've tried some different workouts (although I think maybe I should change more often, or something. We'll see). I don't know if it's that I don't vary as often as I should, or if it is my diet (I eat a lot... I haven't gained any inches in my waist, tho. I wear size 34" jeans, and before I started to lift I wore 36"... I know, I could lose some more fat there, but it's what I've been tryin to do. Plus, if it weren't for my butt which just hangs there and looks terrible, I would even dare wear something a bit tighter). Either way, I notice I've gotten a wee little bit more defined everywhere. But it's barely noticeable, expecially because its under all the flab.

Ok, in the beginning I just worked out 3 times a week, I did both cardio and weights on the same day those 3 days (I know, probably not the best idea). Then I started to lift, but do like 4 different exercises in every freaking muscle 5 days a week, but I also did cardio 5 days a week (I alternated body parts. For instance, I'd do bicep, tricep, back and cardio on mondays and thusdays. Then neck, shoulders, obliques and cardio on tuesdays and fridays, then mostly legs and more cardio on both wednesdays and saturdays). Finally, and currently, I've been doing the body for life program (I know there are better ones out there, so I'm willing to change). Like I said, I'm pretty new to this, as you can see. Anyway, before starting to lift, I did pushups on a daily basis. And I'm not sure when it happened, but my left pec is noticeably smaller than my right pec (I mean, despite the flab, my right pec looks almost decent, but my left pec is far from). So, yeah, my left side in general (especially when it comes to chest and also my bicep) has been slowing me down big time. My right arm has been ready for curling much bigger weights since like 3 months ago, but my left is stuck at the insignificant 30 lbs dumbbell (hell, I can't even do a complete set with 30 on my left hand, while with my right hand I could probably do a complete set with 35 lbs), even though I always do more reps with my left side. Anyway, when it comes to the bicep curl, I think my problem might be related to my Brachioradialis, which I can almost feel is too weak on my left hand (there is certain point beyond which my left hand just doesn't want to curl and it get stuck, and I am pretty sure it is because of that muscle that's just too week to finish the job), so I started to do hammer curls, especially with my left hand, and I'm gonna see if there are any changes...

I've got several goals. But first one is to get my BF% low, as fast as possible, and I think lifting is going to help. I want to get big (not HUGE, but at least bigger than the average dude), but most importantly strong. That is my first goal, fitness-wise. I'm probably doing lots of things wrong, so any pointers and any advice would be much appreciated. I don't have access to barbells, but in the next couple of months I'll try to buy one of them bench and bar sets, because I'd like to try Rippetoe's program someday (I recently saw about that program, and I've even seen threads about it on these forums).

[jdmalm123]

Whew...just finished reading this...started on Monday...

Your doctor is referring to BMI...it's fine for sedentary fools whose only goal is to postpone their heart attack a few years. You made great progress so far.Your a fitness conscious person now. BMI is meaningless to you going forward.

Here's the deal. For you, it's all about going to the next level. I'll explain...

Education - Do your own reading and research. It's great to reach out for advice, but in the end, you have to do what you believe in and you'll have to experiment a little. Nothing beats experience.

Diet - You probably made some hard changes at first. Saw some results and put your diet back on auto-pilot. Time to get to know food a little better. Read and understand nutrition labels. Research adequate protein intake and even talk to a nutrtionist.

Intensity - You not only need to eat cleaner, you also need to work harder. That may mean heavier weights, but not always. You can add intensity by using less rest, more reps, sets, trying new moves, etc. The best moves for fat burn are moderately heavy reps in the 8-10 range with compound exercises using the largest muscle groups. Get to know the dead lift, the pull-up and dips.