Hi, I'm almost 18 and I'm very confused

[JackSharp]

Hello everyone.
I really apologize if this is in the wrong section, I am new here and really trying to get in shape.
For the past two years, I have been doing online schooling because I do not act well around other people. This being said, I obviously spent almost all day playing on the computer, drinking sodas, and eating microwaveable foods. I am very heavy for my age and I have literally zero self confidence when it comes to talking to girls or just hanging out in public as general because of me being fat and about a week and a half ago I decided to change that when I started going to the YMCA and changed my diet. First off I would like to say that I am around 5' 10" and weigh probably 220 or more (So you can imagine how heavy I look). Anyways, at first I started going to the gym doing a mix of cardio and muscle workouts because I thought you can gain muscle and lose weight at the same time but apparently that isn't the case (so I hear). So my good friend who is my age who has been working out for over a year now (and is in pretty good shape) told me that if I want to get "shredded" I should immediately start gaining muscle first so I started doing a routine of "back & biceps" then the next day "Tri & chest" and then the third day is dedicated to legs. I also bought "Universal creatine 300g" off of here because my friend had told me to do so, so I have been taking it before and after workouts. My diet consists of the following:
Breakfast:
-2 hard boiled eggs
-1/2 cup of dry oats in honey greek yogurt
-glass of milk

Lunch:
-Sandwich with ezekial bread, packaged turkey breast, mustard, banana peppers and lettuce
-granola bar

Dinner:
-Chicken breast with lemon pepper
-steamed broccoli
-1/2 cup of brown rice
-glass of milk

I don't usually find myself THAT hungry other then when I am trying to sleep, but I don't think I am getting the correct amount of calories so please feel free to give me some tips on what to add to the meals.

Basically other than tweaking my diet around, I REALLY need some advice as to whether or not my friend is telling me the right thing when it comes to gaining muscle.
Should I be just gaining muscle and eating right for several months even though I am already very heavy and fat?
Should I do cardio and muscle workouts together?
What is the most efficient way to just look "good" or "presentable" so that people don't think I'm fat but not some pinner kid? I still want muscle but I am not looking to become some huge muscley guy

My friend basically told me to eat more calories, do NOT do cardio for several months while I am building muscle, then after that period of time I will enter the "cutting" phase where I will add cardio into my daily routines.

Is my friend correct? Sorry for all the questions and how long this is, but I really new to this and want to start looking good and I am very motivated.

[JT4Rugby]

It's great to see you're going to turn your life around dude, good for you. Your friend is obviously trying to do the best for you, but I don't think he has enough knowledge, he is giving you the same tips he would follow. Message me and I'll help you as much as I can, I'm a strength and conditioning coach and personal trainer.

[SuffolkPunch]

I would say initially you should definitely eat minimally processed protein rich foods (meat, eggs, dairy, beans, lentils, wholegrains) but don't try to overly restrict what you take in and always have fruit and/or vegetables with a meal. You will likely start losing weight just from the exercise. Get on a well known barbell routine like All Pros or Fierce 5 (both are threads in this forum). Aim to get stronger and everything else will follow.

Later, when you your strength gains stop coming or you stop losing weight, it will be time to more carefully structure your diet.

[JackSharp]

My main question is would you more experience guys suggest someone that's overweight to just straight up build muscle for a few months before cutting?

[HarryFlashman]

If you get on a basic routine like for example stronglifts or similar, while eating right, then you will gain muscle and also lose fat. At first the workouts will be easy but after you've added a lot of weight to the bar you'll be sweating your balls off just getting through the workout.
I've never cut in my life, i don't have a bodybuilder physique but I look alright. Just lift more weights and concentrate on getting strong while eating less crappy food and more good food. In 6-12 months see where you're at.

[Bladerunner1811]

My main question is would you more experience guys suggest someone that's overweight to just straight up build muscle for a few months before cutting?

a good basic 20 rep squat program can work good!

Just start out light for the first few weeks on the squats and then add 10 pounds to the bar each week for the squats.



The only thing this guy on this site got wrong was where he says "It was introduced by John McCallum in 1968 and was originally coined “Squats and Milk” because old school lifters would drink a gallon of milk a day (GOMAD) while on it. " It was originally introduced in the 1930's by Mark H.Berry and worked and popularized like crazy between the efforts of him and Joseph Curtis Hise!



http://www.seriouspowerlifting.com/2...-squat-program

[DCSpartan]

A gallon of milk a day isnt going to help OP out. And there are plenty of programs better for beginners than doing 20 rep squats. He'll do it once, get so sore he wont be able to work out for 8 days afterwards.

OP, you can start lifting weights now and lose weight slowly, or focus on losing weight first for about 4-6 weeks. I recommend you just lose the weight first. Buy a kettlebell and google Pavel Tsatsouline. KBs will help you lose weight and give you some basic strength for when you are ready for barbells. And a little bit of running goes a long way as well.

[r3dt4get]

You can build muscle and lose fat at the same time. You should focus on losing the fat first. To lose fat you need to be on a caloric deficit, which means you should be tracking your calories everyday. MyFitnessPal is a great smartphone app to help accomplish this. Simply eat less than you burn everyday and the fat will come off.

[sushired360]

Hello everyone.
I really apologize if this is in the wrong section, I am new here and really trying to get in shape.
For the past two years, I have been doing online schooling because I do not act well around other people. This being said, I obviously spent almost all day playing on the computer, drinking sodas, and eating microwaveable foods. I am very heavy for my age and I have literally zero self confidence when it comes to talking to girls or just hanging out in public as general because of me being fat and about a week and a half ago I decided to change that when I started going to the YMCA and changed my diet. First off I would like to say that I am around 5' 10" and weigh probably 220 or more (So you can imagine how heavy I look). Anyways, at first I started going to the gym doing a mix of cardio and muscle workouts because I thought you can gain muscle and lose weight at the same time but apparently that isn't the case (so I hear). So my good friend who is my age who has been working out for over a year now (and is in pretty good shape) told me that if I want to get "shredded" I should immediately start gaining muscle first so I started doing a routine of "back & biceps" then the next day "Tri & chest" and then the third day is dedicated to legs. I also bought "Universal creatine 300g" off of here because my friend had told me to do so, so I have been taking it before and after workouts. My diet consists of the following:
Breakfast:
-2 hard boiled eggs
-1/2 cup of dry oats in honey greek yogurt
-glass of milk

Lunch:
-Sandwich with ezekial bread, packaged turkey breast, mustard, banana peppers and lettuce
-granola bar

Dinner:
-Chicken breast with lemon pepper
-steamed broccoli
-1/2 cup of brown rice
-glass of milk

I don't usually find myself THAT hungry other then when I am trying to sleep, but I don't think I am getting the correct amount of calories so please feel free to give me some tips on what to add to the meals.

Basically other than tweaking my diet around, I REALLY need some advice as to whether or not my friend is telling me the right thing when it comes to gaining muscle.
Should I be just gaining muscle and eating right for several months even though I am already very heavy and fat?
Should I do cardio and muscle workouts together?
What is the most efficient way to just look "good" or "presentable" so that people don't think I'm fat but not some pinner kid? I still want muscle but I am not looking to become some huge muscley guy

My friend basically told me to eat more calories, do NOT do cardio for several months while I am building muscle, then after that period of time I will enter the "cutting" phase where I will add cardio into my daily routines.

Is my friend correct? Sorry for all the questions and how long this is, but I really new to this and want to start looking good and I am very motivated.

wat

[Bladerunner1811]

[QUOTE=DCSpartan;1229621823]A gallon of milk a day isnt going to help OP out. And there are plenty of programs better for beginners than doing 20 rep squats. He'll do it once, get so sore he wont be able to work out for 8 days afterwards.

QUOTE]

Why do you think I suggested starting with light weights in the 20 rep squat program?

Lol I started with the 20 rep squat program when I started back training after 3 years away from it .
I've returned to it after a year of not being able to do much exercise due to pneumonia related breathing problems so i'm basically back at beginner status myself

[beardb]

Hello everyone.
I really apologize if this is in the wrong section, I am new here and really trying to get in shape.
For the past two years, I have been doing online schooling because I do not act well around other people. This being said, I obviously spent almost all day playing on the computer, drinking sodas, and eating microwaveable foods. I am very heavy for my age and I have literally zero self confidence when it comes to talking to girls or just hanging out in public as general because of me being fat and about a week and a half ago I decided to change that when I started going to the YMCA and changed my diet. First off I would like to say that I am around 5' 10" and weigh probably 220 or more (So you can imagine how heavy I look). Anyways, at first I started going to the gym doing a mix of cardio and muscle workouts because I thought you can gain muscle and lose weight at the same time but apparently that isn't the case (so I hear). So my good friend who is my age who has been working out for over a year now (and is in pretty good shape) told me that if I want to get "shredded" I should immediately start gaining muscle first so I started doing a routine of "back & biceps" then the next day "Tri & chest" and then the third day is dedicated to legs. I also bought "Universal creatine 300g" off of here because my friend had told me to do so, so I have been taking it before and after workouts. My diet consists of the following:
Breakfast:
-2 hard boiled eggs
-1/2 cup of dry oats in honey greek yogurt
-glass of milk

Lunch:
-Sandwich with ezekial bread, packaged turkey breast, mustard, banana peppers and lettuce
-granola bar

Dinner:
-Chicken breast with lemon pepper
-steamed broccoli
-1/2 cup of brown rice
-glass of milk

I don't usually find myself THAT hungry other then when I am trying to sleep, but I don't think I am getting the correct amount of calories so please feel free to give me some tips on what to add to the meals.

Basically other than tweaking my diet around, I REALLY need some advice as to whether or not my friend is telling me the right thing when it comes to gaining muscle.
Should I be just gaining muscle and eating right for several months even though I am already very heavy and fat?
Should I do cardio and muscle workouts together?
What is the most efficient way to just look "good" or "presentable" so that people don't think I'm fat but not some pinner kid? I still want muscle but I am not looking to become some huge muscley guy

My friend basically told me to eat more calories, do NOT do cardio for several months while I am building muscle, then after that period of time I will enter the "cutting" phase where I will add cardio into my daily routines.

Is my friend correct? Sorry for all the questions and how long this is, but I really new to this and want to start looking good and I am very motivated.

Looks like your calories are pretty low relative to your size. It's okay to eat in a caloric deficit to lose weight, but you don't want to feel starved either. There are several "sticky" tops in the nutrition section of the forum which can help you figure out calorie requirements as well as give you ideas for things you should be eating -- not that you're doing a bad job with your food selection right now. In addition, if you want to start counting calories there are a lot of websites that are stock piled with nutrition data so you can track everything and document your progress. An app/site I like to use is MyFitnessPal.

It's okay to do a traditional body building type split like your friend has you doing, but it may be more beneficial to more compound lifts and full body routines approximately 3 days per week with rest days in between. The main changes that are going to occur are going to be to your central nervous system, so even if you're not adding a lot of muscle mass right now, you're still going to get stronger, and you're still going to burn calories.

It is absolutely okay to weight train and do cardio simultaneously. Your friend seems like he is trying to help you out, but what he's suggesting works better for guys who are strictly into body building and are trying to maximize muscle THEN minimize fat. I would keep some sort of workout going and add in cardio on SOME rest days. For example, you may lift Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and perform cardio on Tuesday and Thursday if that works for you. Taking off Saturday/Sunday will allow your body to recover from the stresses of working out as long as you're eating enough and sleeping enough.

As far as your question regarding an efficient way to look "good" or "presentable:" I think this is something you have to feel out. Stick with a program. If it's getting you where you want to go, then keep doing it. If not, then adjust. Ultimately, you are going to be the one who decides that you are comfortable in your body.

There are going to be a ton of people with conflicting information, and some of them are going to be your friends. They're going to want to help you and probably think their way is the right way, and that's not always the case, so definitely show your appreciation for their help, but take their advice with a grain of salt. Don't purposely burn bridges and tell your friends they're wrong, but let them know you've been doing research and may have a way that will work better for YOU.

I also want to say good job on getting started and keep up the hard work!

[Wildtim]

You know at 44 you should feel uncomfortable about "talking to girls". Fix you age.