PLEASE HELP - Pics of me inside and How can I lose weight/gain mass?

[johnnyblaze]

Hi everyone. I need your help and expertise. I am 6'1 and 255 lbs. I believe I am abot 50 pounds overweight.

Last week I started a weight lifting and a cardio plan to get my body in shape. I use to lift weights in my early 20's but then drifted away. I am 32 now and I am dedicated to get my body in shape. My plan is mon,wed,fri lift weights and tues,thurs,sat do cardio. Sun Is off day.

I am enclosing some pics of what I look like now. I took these tonight. As you can see I have a long way to go. I believe I do have some muscle under all this fat from my years of lifting and I would like to see it.

My question is how can I best achieve my goal of losing my weight but still adding muscle at the same time? I started keeping a journal last week and my average caloric intake is about 2400 calories. I also get about 250-260 grams of protein a day, 60-70 grams of fat and around 240-270 carbs a day.

Should I be doing low reps heavy weights or high reps lighter weights? Is it best that I focus on losing weight rather than building muscle right now? If so how is the best way I should approcah this plan? If I did lose the pounds first, how do I ensure I dont put them back on trying to gain mass.

Well any help is much appreciated on how I can reach my goals.

Thank you for your help.

[epote]

ok, you do are overweight, but not teribly, so.

your nutrition sounds VERY good, so keep it up. As you get more excperienced and fit you might want to raise your caloric intake a bit, but not yet, unfortunately overweight people react rather good to low calorie diets.

anyway, those 2400kcals should be distributed among 5-7 meals spaced 2-3 hours apart.

your training should be a bit periodized for the begining so you dont injure your self.

i would go for 5-6 weeks of general preparation. That would involve mainly cirquit type resistance training-full body for the firs two weeks, then progresivly start increasing weights and recovery times. You sould do 3/week at least cardio, that would again progressivly intencify over the cource of those five weeks to allow your connective tissue to adapt and avoid overuse injuries.

in the end, you sould focus on getting your body ready for heavy weights in the small rep number, that is bellow 10 reps. But dont jump into it at once cause you will moste likely hurt your soulders and back.

cheers, if you want any more details say so

[johnnyblaze]

Thank you for your suggestions. Should I still be trying to get at least 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight at this early stage?

Thank you. I guess it's just going to take awhile. Any idea of how long I should do cardio for? and how long until I would start seeing some results?

[skelooth]

personally I think that is way too much protein. My personal recommendation would be to eat one gram of protein per pound of Lean body mass, with the extra calories that frees up, I would bump the fat intake up a little bit. (But with healthy sources, nuts, oils, etc).

and i agree with epote about training, you need to do low weight high rep full body workouts at first, so that your ligaments get stronger. Otherwise you'll pull/tear/hurt something

On cardio: it depends on what your weight lifting routine is, but you should be doing a minimum of 20 minutes 3x a week (That is the very minimum). For a ballpark number, 30 minutes 4-5x a week is good, especially if you're lifting weights 3 or more times a week.

On results: What type of results do you want to "see"? The scale will move down slowly at the rate of between 1-3lbs a week. Visually, you yourself will not see a difference in the mirror, which is why it's important to take progress pictures if you can. Every two weeks take pictures in the same lighting, same room, same poses. If more than a month goes by w/o your body changing, you're doing something wrong and need to re-evaluate your fitness plan.

Most important of all. Read! Read these forums, the articles on bb.com, and articles elsewhere. Knowledge is power.

[johnnyblaze]

Thanks, Skelooth. Believ me I have been reading alot. I have information overload and got confused at what to do. My ultimate goal is to drop about 50 lbs and have a well defined muscular body. I dont really have a desire to be a competitive bodybuilder someday but I would like to put on some more muscle mass though.

My whole dilema was trying to figure out how I should go about losing this fat. I read it's very hard to gain muscle and lose fat at the same time. I guess I will take you guys advice and stick to the low weight higher rep circuit type training for a few weeks. After that should I increase the weights and lower the reps?

I have started taking photos to keep a visual journal of my progress. I will take pics every two weeks. I really want to change my body and have a healthier lifestyle. I dont drink or smoke but I did eat alot of junk food. So far I have been eating right for two weeks.

How far should I drop my protein intake? I heard that when building muscle you should strive for at least one gram per pound so thats what my thinking was there. How do I determine how much lean bodymass I have?

Thank you

[jaymed]

I'm going to attempt to give you a different perspective. (just to confuse you...J/K!) From reading your original post, it looks like you want everything...muscle gain and fat loss. A very honorable and difficult task.

As far as the lifting....you said that you used to workout in your 20's. That tells me that you should have a basic idea of exercises and what muscles you like to work together. My question to you is what motivated you during that time....lifting heavy, going with more reps, or a combo of those 2? Whatever your answer is, do that! Regardless of what you decide, you're going to see initial strength gains just because you're starting from scratch.

Diet is a trickier topic. Like Skelooth said, knowledge is power. Read up on this site and tweak your diet as you see fit. IMO, if your goal is to maintain muscle, I think the 1g protein for your BW will work well. I'm not sure if you've thought about supplements but glutamine has been a god send for me maintaining muscle during my latest cut. Back on the diet. I'd suggest weighing yourself once a week at the same time and log your weightloss. As you're currently composed, if you're not seeing 1-3lb weight loss for 2 consecutive weeks, you need to reduce calories slightly or increase cardio.

I also noticed that you're now in your early 30's. That is also my age. Are you married and/or have kids? The reason I ask is because these things greatly reduce that amount of gym time you have. I used to be able to go to the gym for two hours at a time everyday. Unfortunately, my wife and son have changed that to about an hour a day. (hour and a half if I'm lucky) This will impact your cardio a lot. If you're strapped for time, I'd suggest looking at interval training to maximize your fatloss. This isn't the best way to maintain muscle however. From what I've seen, the best method for fatloss is low intensity cardio (65%-70% of your resting heartrate) for 45 min to an hour. That usually puts you at about 3.5MPH at a 10% incline.

Hope what I've written gives you some things to think about and helps you figure out what you want/need to do!

[johnnyblaze]

Jaymed, thanks for your help. The more advice I can get the better! I appreciate everyones input. When I lifted in my 20's it was to get as big as I could. I was hardcore into lifting and looked pretty good for awhile. I then had a bad back injury, a herniated dic in my lower back which forced me from doing anything for a full year. I gained ALOT of weight then. I slowly recovered took up light weight training and martial arts. My back is 100 % now. I am 32 and I realize I need to make a life change to get in shape, get better health and just look better.

I would like to gain as much mass as I can but still lose this excess weight so I dont look soft and pudgy.

i have a girlfriend but I am not married. I have an indoor gym at my house. 2 years ago I bought a bunch of equipment, Squat rack, 355 lbs of plates, dumbells up to 75 lbs, incline, decline bench, preacher bench, lat row and calf raise machine. I use to go to the gym until they closed down. One day i will go back to another gym but i figured since i have the equipment i will start at home.

I'm going to look into glutamine. What does it do exactly?

Thanks!

[jaymed]

Glutamine is an amino acid that helps preserve muscle. Here's an article with a lot more information about it.

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/inmag6.htm

[skelooth]

another pointer, just as you keep getting 'information overload', it is soley up to you to experiment and find not only fits in your schedule the best, but what WORKS for you best. Everyone's body is different, so different things work better for different people. I highly highly recommend doing endomorphic style training and diet, once I started doing that my strength went up and I started losing weight like butter on a hot plate.

To find out your lean body mass, go to a local gym and have a caliper test done and a tanita scale test done. Take both bodyfat %s and average them together to get your approximate BF%. As you read more, you will learn about what bodyfat% is and all that. I honestly think you could get away with eating 180g of protein a day, and still make a newbie gains / retain muscle. Your kidneys are probably screaming for you to lower the protein, lol.

[johnnyblaze]

Thanks! I read the article. I'm definatly going to get some Glutamine. I also think I will get some Optimum Pro complex. I just learned that Caesin protein is better for repairing your muscles when you sleep because it absorbs alot slower than Whey protein.

I've been at this website just one week and I've already learned alot that will help me achieve my goals. Thanks for your tips everyone! I'll keep posting pics of my progress.

[johnnyblaze]

Skelooth - Does too much protein damage your kidney's? I havent heard this before. I heard if you take too much creatine it can do some damage to your kidneys. i dont take creatine.

[epote]

Skelooth - Does too much protein damage your kidney's? I havent heard this before. I heard if you take too much creatine it can do some damage to your kidneys. i dont take creatine.

no, proteinuria is overstated. You have to have a very ****ed up nutrition (lots of sodium, lots of fats little water) to have any kidney problems while eating alot of protein.

though, 1gram of protein for your weight is overkill, 1gram/lb of lean body mass is more than enough, healthy fats and low GI carbs should still consist more than 60% of you caloric intake.

Glutamine is an amino acid that helps preserve muscle. Here's an article with a lot more information about it.

you really dont need spending money on suplaments yet. Glutamine does not magicaly preserve muscle, it is the most abundand amino acid in the human body, and some athletes do need glutamine suplamentation, but excpect no miracles from it.

invest in good food sources, gym subscription, some whey protein and later on you will see how things go.

as far as progress goes.

initialy you wont see much of a difference, STICK TO IT though, its worth it.
you need a rather experienced eye to see bf% differences initially, i know ive been there

My ultimate goal is to drop about 50 lbs and have a well defined muscular body.

anything is possible mate, i used to be 260+ and now im a fairly competitive sprinter, there you go (btw, thats my first pics i post in here)

[johnnyblaze]

Thanks for all the advice Epote. Wow! Congrats on your body change! Wow. Seeing your pics is a huge inspiration. How long did it take you to get where you are now? You look great! I hope I can achieve my goals also. I will definatly stick with it. I really want to transform myself and I know it will be a long journey.

Did you focus first on losing weight? Did you try to put on muscle at the same time? Thats my dilema, I want to shed 50 lbs but also put on mass.

Until I can properly get measured for bodyfat. Do you or anyone have any idea of how much protein I should get if I weigh 255 for lean body mass? I dont know what my BF% is. Maybe some rough figures?

[Bob G 77]

no, proteinuria is overstated. You have to have a very ****ed up nutrition (lots of sodium, lots of fats little water) to have any kidney problems while eating alot of protein.

though, 1gram of protein for your weight is overkill, 1gram/lb of lean body mass is more than enough, healthy fats and low GI carbs should still consist more than 60% of you caloric intake.



you really dont need spending money on suplaments yet. Glutamine does not magicaly preserve muscle, it is the most abundand amino acid in the human body, and some athletes do need glutamine suplamentation, but excpect no miracles from it.

invest in good food sources, gym subscription, some whey protein and later on you will see how things go.

as far as progress goes.

initialy you wont see much of a difference, STICK TO IT though, its worth it.
you need a rather experienced eye to see bf% differences initially, i know ive been there



anything is possible mate, i used to be 260+ and now im a fairly competitive sprinter, there you go (btw, thats my first pics i post in here)

Impressive - congrats on your change and dedication.

[jaymed]

you really dont need spending money on suplaments yet. Glutamine does not magicaly preserve muscle, it is the most abundand amino acid in the human body, and some athletes do need glutamine suplamentation, but excpect no miracles from it.

This is a fair point. Some people don't believe in glutamine, some do. I think it's clear which side of the fence the two of us stand on!

invest in good food sources, gym subscription, some whey protein and later on you will see how things go..

I agree here. I apologize because I didn't realize you were literally starting from ground zero diet wise. Whey protein, a good multivitamin, and EFA's should be purchased before you even begin to think about glutamine.

as far as progress goes.

initialy you wont see much of a difference, STICK TO IT though, its worth it.
you need a rather experienced eye to see bf% differences initially, i know ive been there.)

Once again, very good advice. As I suggested earlier, log your weight loss once a week. You should see yourself dropping 1-3 lbs a week once you get everything in order. (for awhile anyway) The look may not go away initially but your clothes will start fitting differently and keeping track of your weight loss will allow you to look back and realize "hey, I've already lost 20LBS, this wasn't so bad" after a few months.

PS- I noticed you mentioned buying caesin protein to take before bed. If memory serves me correctly, this can get pretty pricy. A cheaper alternative may be to simply have some cottage cheese before bed.

[skelooth]

yeah, the high protein being bad for your kidneys is a little overstated at times, but my mother underwent kidney failure and ultimately had to have a transplant.... I don't want anyone to have to go through something like that, it's scary. Remember that health should always be #1, otherwise you kill the purpose of a body transformation. (Okay, we do it for women, but shhhh, we keep that to ourselves, we just say it's about health)

[Man_of_Men]

You can not put on noticable mass while trying to lose 50 lbs. The best you can do is retain the muscle you have while cutting, which requires a lot of committment and dedication to your diet.

[skelooth]

You can not put on noticable mass while trying to lose 50 lbs. The best you can do is retain the muscle you have while cutting, which requires a lot of committment and dedication to your diet.

*agree*

after losing 50 lbs you will be FORTUNATE if you lost only 5-6lbs of lbm. You will make newbie gains at first, but they stop, then you will be fighting to keep your muscle.

[johnnyblaze]

*agree*

after losing 50 lbs you will be FORTUNATE if you lost only 5-6lbs of lbm. You will make newbie gains at first, but they stop, then you will be fighting to keep your muscle.

I was afraid of that. So after I lose the weight I want, how do I put on mass without gaining all that weight back?

And should I be paying more attention to keeping low fats or low calories while I am trying to shed these pounds? What would a good number of fats and calories be considering i am 6'1, 255 lbs?

You guys are saying the key to losing the weight is higher rep, lower weight circuit type training in addition to cardio, correct? And I should leave the heavy lifting until after I have lost my 50 pounds?

Thanks

[Kid Handsome]

Once you got the nutrition and training down, the hardest thing is going to be sticking at it, its a mental challenge to work out every day and eat the right foods all the time. Setting long term and shot term goals and tracking your progress week by week well help.

Stick at it bro, the only person who can stop you from archiving your goals is you.

[skelooth]

I was afraid of that. So after I lose the weight I want, how do I put on mass without gaining all that weight back?

And should I be paying more attention to keeping low fats or low calories while I am trying to shed these pounds? What would a good number of fats and calories be considering i am 6'1, 255 lbs?

You guys are saying the key to losing the weight is higher rep, lower weight circuit type training in addition to cardio, correct? And I should leave the heavy lifting until after I have lost my 50 pounds?

Thanks

whhhhhhhhhhooooooooaaaaaaa you are all sorts of confused right now

You should be eating about 2500 calories a day, 20% of those calories should come from fat, and the rest should come from protein and carbohydrates. Work it out on paper and get a feel for it. Write down some mock meals, log everything you eat, and eventually you'll get a hang for it. Do NOT eat low calories! and DO EAT fat! You must eat fat!

For weight training you want to lift heavy and hard. Your rep range as an endomorph should be between 8 and 12 reps, but find the rep range that works good for you. Do not do "light" weights, and do not do "circuit training". We are recommending you do that for ONLY A COUPLE OF WEEKS while your ligaments get stronger/adapted, otherwise you will hurt yourself.

[Kid Handsome]

OK as for the diet, make sure you have something like 45/40/15 (protein/carbs/fat) avoid simple carbs and saturated fats and try not to eat processed foods, even if they seem good for you, start cooking your meals not just re-heating them in the microwave, stick to lean meat, eggs, brown rice, whole meal cereals and fresh vegetables and fruit (but don't over do the fruit, too many simple carbs).

As for weights, start lifting with a 3 day split lifting range of 8-10 reps (forget what everyones saying about high reps), stick to basic compound movements for the moment.

As for cardio, do at least 3 sessions a week, running is the best and the best time to do it is in the morning, but if not any time is good.

Hope that helps.

[johnnyblaze]

whhhhhhhhhhooooooooaaaaaaa you are all sorts of confused right now

You should be eating about 2500 calories a day, 20% of those calories should come from fat, and the rest should come from protein and carbohydrates. Work it out on paper and get a feel for it. Write down some mock meals, log everything you eat, and eventually you'll get a hang for it. Do NOT eat low calories! and DO EAT fat! You must eat fat!

For weight training you want to lift heavy and hard. Your rep range as an endomorph should be between 8 and 12 reps, but find the rep range that works good for you. Do not do "light" weights, and do not do "circuit training". We are recommending you do that for ONLY A COUPLE OF WEEKS while your ligaments get stronger/adapted, otherwise you will hurt yourself.

Thanks Skeeloth - I've actually started a exercise journal and for two weeks I've been logging every meal. I am average just around 2500 calories actually. I gotcha on the exercises. I forgot you guys said only do that for a couple of weeks.

Kid - Thanks. Thats exactlly what I'm starting with. A 3 day split. 3 days of weights and 3 days of cardio.

My weakness has been fast food. I went from eating it about every day to now just once a week and when I do that I usually get a chicken sandwich no mao and salad. I know I am saving myself from alot of fat and excess calories. That is how I gained my weight in the first place. Hopefully since I cut most of that out I'll see the benifits combined with exercise now. I know it may take awhile but I'm determined to get in shape, drop the weight and gain muscle.

[epote]

Did you focus first on losing weight? Did you try to put on muscle at the same time? Thats my dilema, I want to shed 50 lbs but also put on mass.

it took a fair amount of time, a year or so till i got to the "healthy overweight" region, a year more to become fit.

i will have to dissagree up to a point with most people here regarding newbie gains.

In personal excperience and by training others i have come to the conclusion that
a)very few people are naturaly fat, most become fat through years of superficial nutrition
b)an overweight body responds very rapidly to proper nutrition and excersise
c)most people have above average bodys when the newbie gains end. For most people newbie gains end at a 9-12% bf, which is rather acceptable, and quite possibly the point at which they are the healthiest.

reach for your equilibrium first, have a solid base to build upon, bulking and cutting sould come *if* you feel nececery later on. I dont cut and bulk cause it hinders my sprinting performance, though i still have gains on a maintenance diet

do not underestimate your bodies ability to direct nutrients where they need to be directed, especially when you are very untrained.

clean up your diet, eat a fair amount of food (2500 sould suffice) train in a pregresivly tougher way, begin slow to adapt then go heavy, do cardio for recovery and fat loss. Results will come

i reapeat, at this point you sould not worry about loosing-adding muscle, your body will take care of that given the proper building blocks and adequate stimulus

[skelooth]

OK as for the diet, make sure you have something like 45/40/15 (protein/carbs/fat)

Disagree: Endomorphs do better with higher fat lower carb diets.

As for weights, start lifting with a 3 day split lifting range of 8-10 reps (forget what everyones saying about high reps), stick to basic compound movements for the moment.

Disagree: You're recommending heavy squats to someone who hasn't lifted weights in years. It is very easy to hurt yourself lifting weights even when your body is used to doing it.... much less when it's not.

As for cardio, do at least 3 sessions a week, running is the best and the best time to do it is in the morning, but if not any time is good.

Disagree, I'd be shocked if he could run at his size, much less not blow a knee out.

in conclusion, he is not superman... he's gotta build up to all of that. This is not a race.

[Kid Handsome]

Disagree: Endomorphs do better with higher fat lower carb diets.

I don't consider 40% high carbs

Disagree: You're recommending heavy squats to someone who hasn't lifted weights in years. It is very easy to hurt yourself lifting weights even when your body is used to doing it.... much less when it's not.

I didn't say heavy I said basic, obversely he should start off at were he is comfitable and work up

Disagree, I'd be shocked if he could run at his size, much less not blow a knee out.

Running doesn't define a set speed he can run as slow as necessary (4 miles an hour if he wants) then slowing build up

in conclusion, he is not superman... he's gotta build up to all of that. This is not a race.

I really don't think anything I have said requires him to be 'superman', this kind of attitude is the main thing that holds people back from archiving there goals, nothing worth having comes easy you've got to work hard and you can make all the excuses in the world but if you don't work hard you woNT reach your goals plain and simple. To quote Ronnie Coleman "everyone wants to be a bodybuilder, but no one wants to lift no heavy ass weights"

[skelooth]

I don't consider 40% high carbs

I'd recommend he do something more like a 40/30/30 long before a 45/30/15. I tried to lose weight like that and it just doesn't work. I needed more fat in my diet and I'd have to argue (going by his body type) that he is the same.

I'm not 'fighting you' over it, but i definitely disagree. We both have our views on how best he should approach the situation. Ultimately it's going to be up to him to research and decide.

[epote]

a 15% fat diet will leave him starved and craving for fats regardless if it works or not, imho 15% fats is too little by all means and purpoces.

I have personaly and through people i have worked with witnessed that i very low volume of any of the basic macros leaves you craving for it, at some point the craving is just irrisistable

I didn't say heavy I said basic, obversely he should start off at were he is comfitable and work up

he will hardly be able to squat his body weight properly, dont forget that squat is prety demanding on the abs, back and takes a great deal of elasticity, at this point even simple body weight squats will be chalenging more likely to his posterior chain when trying to reach bellow parralel height. Not going bellow parralel for a noob, is imho the stupidest thing you can do, if you cant properly squat a weight, your knees are not ready for the higher load the partial squat will enable

I would inittially build up strength with med ball and some bodyweight along with cirquit type of training, then move on to squating and dead lifting, but given that medicine ball drills are hard without a trainer, one must work with that he can

[johnnyblaze]

Great news! I am down 2 pounds since I started about 2 weeks ago! Slow and easy.

Unfortunately I was just called to jury duty for 2 weeks and thats gonna hurt my workouts! I'm ticked off. Hopefully I can get out of it.

Thanks again for everyones advice. I'm gonna start easy like most suggest and work my way up to heavier weights. I'll stick with the 3 day weights and 3 day cardio for a bit as well. Hopefully in a few months I'll really start seeing a change. Just seeing I dropped 2 pounds makes me think I'm on the right course. It's probably just water weight but I'll keep on trucking along, I'm bound to burn those 50 lbs eventually.