Help me get out of the cutting/weight loss mindset!

[nd9979]

I've lost 110lbs over this last year. I've been working out for about 8 months concentrating on a lot of cardio. Now that i'm down to my goal weight and want to build muscle, what do I change?

I'm 6'2, 190lbs. I still struggling to lose some fat around the bottom of my stomach, but i'm confident that a change in my body fat % would do the trick.

Right now I eat about 2,000 calories a day.
Breakfast: Oatmeal
Lunch: Protein bar/shake and a piece of fruit
Dinner: Well rounded healthy meal

I don't want to gain a lot of size/weight. I'm wanting a lean look. I've been fat my whole life, so no more bulk!!!!!

Thoughts? I'm a pro at counting calories, fat, etc. so the more info the better.

[gto2789]

well you should be spreading you meals out throughout the day(6 meals a day). Try to limit your carbs at night or try some carb cycling.

[Mr13percent]

^^^ What he said, also you sure you shouldn't be eating more? I'm a lot smaller than you and eat more when cutting.

[Crunchbar]

your probably skionny fat at this point

post some pictures

also eat 4-6 meals a day or starters and up your cals a bit

[NY5000]

Doyou have a lot of loose skin? 110 pounds is a lot to lose.

[1quick1]

First off congats on the weight lose! That is truely an astonishing feat.

Now if you are looking to add some muscle don't be afraid to eat some more calories but do it spaced out in six meals. If you can, pick up some whey powder and mix some oats with milk and whey and have a shake for a couple meals. Check out the thread in my signature.

You are at the point now that if you start hitting the weights hard 3-5 times a week, eating a lot of clean food, and sleeping you look a lot leaner and thinner due to the extra muscle.

[Luke530]

be careful.

losing lots of weight, enjoying the change, not eating alot and being used to it, worrying too much about nutrition, becoming too "anal" can turn into an eating disorder without you even realizing it.

don't let it happen to you.

if you know how to count calories, eat more often! eat more often! eat more often!

[nd9979]

Thanks for the tips.

I don't really have any loose skin from the weight loss. A little bit directly under my belly button, but no where else.

How many calories should I consume daily? I'm going to start doing the 6 meals a day starting today. I always eat oats for breakfast. Besides the added sugar, is there any problems with using the instant Quaker flavored oats? I love those and could easily eat those for 2 or 3 meals every day.

Right now I can only hit the gym 3 times a week. I do fully body and cardio in these sessions. Is that enough? Can I afford to eat more with only working out 3x/week?

[Got2Bhuge]

Before you start lifting for mass gains, determine your diet for gains. Get an accurate measurement of your current body composition. When you find out your body fat %, multiply it in decimal form by your total body weight. The result will be the weight of your body fat. Then, subtract the weight of your body fat from your total body weight. This will give you your lean body mass. Here's my example (195lbs, 14% body fat)

.14 x 195 = 27lbs of fat

195 - 27 = 168lbs (lean body mass)

Now multiply your lean body mass by 18. The result will be an approximate amount of how many calories you should be consuming for lean mass gains.

168 x 18 = 3,024 calories for lean mass gain

My advice - quit obsessing with fat loss. You need muscle to effectively change your metabolism. Remember, the more muscle you have, the easier it is to burn fat. Therefore, follow the above calculations with your stats and start gaining some muscle.

[Got2Bhuge]

Don't forget to spread the calories across 6 meals a day. If that's not possible with your schedule, at least eat 5 meals. 5 meals seems to work well, too. Especially for gains.

As for your workout sessions... you do full body each time? Try dividing the entire body into 3 sections and exhaust each section once per week. Perhaps Day 1 - Back and Biceps, Day 2 - Chest, Shoulders, Triceps, and Day 3 - Legs (Quads, Hams, Calves). Warm up with light weight for a couple sets, then do 4 sets of moderate/heavy weight until failure. That seems to be an effective split for beginners. Spread the days out across the week and make sure to rest well the other 4 days.

[nd9979]

Don't forget to spread the calories across 6 meals a day. If that's not possible with your schedule, at least eat 5 meals. 5 meals seems to work well, too. Especially for gains.

As for your workout sessions... you do full body each time? Try dividing the entire body into 3 sections and exhaust each section once per week. Perhaps Day 1 - Back and Biceps, Day 2 - Chest, Shoulders, Triceps, and Day 3 - Legs (Quads, Hams, Calves). Warm up with light weight for a couple sets, then do 4 sets of moderate/heavy weight until failure. That seems to be an effective split for beginners. Spread the days out across the week and make sure to rest well the other 4 days.

Some great advice. I really appreciate all the info. Whats the best way to test your body fat %? Can you guess as to what my body fat % is?

2 pics from last night:
http://img205.imageshack.us/img205/8222/new1jj1.jpg
http://img243.imageshack.us/img243/8605/new3jr4.jpg

Any guesses?

[zergling]

calipers are convenient way of tracking fat, although it may not be 100% accurate. The trick with it is to just keep track of the caliper readings, see if it goes down or up, to measure progress. As for your nutrition, here are some links that might help:

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=947575
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/layne36.htm
http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/prima/game.html