Transform this aging man!

[GotGut]

Let me first tell you a little about myself.

I'm 35yrs old with 4 kids and currently a stay at home dad.Since 1998 I have been plagued with surgeries from carpal tunnel in both hands, rotator cuff surgery, and finally, last year had a 10lbs tumor removed from my small intestine.The first two came from commercial work and ignoring for years.I waited a bit too long to do anything so I would say they were about 75% success.
The tumor came out of nowhere.A big scare in my life and it was then, after I got the good news that everything was OK after removal, it's time to take better care of myself.Well that time is NOW!

I'm looking to you, for a little help in getting into shape.
I'm currently 6' and bounce between 160 - 170lbs
I don not know my fat % as I have no way to measure.
My food intake is that of an everyday American.... CRAP! although I try and eat good things here and there.

I'm not looking to get big and bulky.I would just like to lose my belly and gain muscle.Add some sort of muscular shape.Maybe this year I can take my shirt off at the beach and not have to suck in my gut.

I have read all sorts of threads on supplements and stacking along with diet but with so many different styles I don't know where to begin.What supplement is right for me.Which diet is going to work.How much of what do I eat.What workout is going to be sufficient in my goal.

I have a few thoughts on what supplements to take but would like opinions on if they are the right ones in my situation.I was going to try a stack of CL products ( White Flood/Green MAGnitude/Purple Wraath Combo ) and Optimum 100% Whey Protein.

Appreciate any help and guidance in transforming my body.
I have a wedding coming up in a few months and would be great if I could look and feel healthy.

* I will try and add a picture later to see what I have to work with.

[akasp]

You're asking everything at once. Start easy.

Start jogging a few times a week.

Start weight lifting 3-4 times per week. Read exrx.net for some instructions. Before designing a program, fool around for a couple of weeks experimenting with different exercises, learn some technique and how much weight you can manage (try to repeat the exercise 8-12 times, add or remove weight till you get there). After you have a little bit of experience, it will be easier to craft a program.

As for diet, a certain amount of calories is required to maintain your current weight. Eat less calories, and you'll lose weight. Exercising also burns some calories. If you aim to give your body 500 less calories daily than it needs, you'll be on the road to losing 1 pound per week (3500 calories = 1 pound). How much calories food contains can be found through the package (kcal) or you can try to look it up online. Yes, it's sometimes impossible, and altogether boring.

And as you realize yourself, try to eat more good food, and less bad food. What good food is and is not is a matter of opinion of course but you probably have some idea. Minimize junk food, chips, candy, overprocessed food, soda (if you must have soda, do diet soda), beer... you get the picture. Also try to eat a bit of food which has protein. You'll need protein to build some muscle. Like chicken, fish, egg, milk, cheese, wholegrain cereals, good breads, some types of nuts... you can supplement protein through whey shakes and other types of protein drinks.

But supplement means SUPPLEMENT. Try to eat well enough so you don't need supplements, or if you're taking them, it's to be on the same side. Many use protein shakes, taken right after the workout. Other than that, you could do a multivitamin (especially if you don't get enough from fruit/veggies). And fish cod oil (or omega 3 pills), at least if you don't eat much fish. Creatine is also very popular because it's cheap and has some documented effect (unlike many other supplements), but it's in no way critical. I see you're already getting fancy with supplements but maybe you should take a step back and think about what the word actually means.

Anyway, keep it simple. Just start eating better (and less calories to reduce weight), doing some jogging and some weight lifting. Don't worry too much about organization and programs in the beginning. You'll get a better idea soon, so why not delay those sort of things till then.

Good luck! Also, one more suggestion. Don't set some big goal. Make this into a new lifestyle, a healthier one. You're not lifting and running because you have some special number you have to reach. Make your only focus being healthy. And a better body will come with that sort of lifestyle and focus. Too many get too focused on goals, and when they reach those goals, they slack off, or when they don't reach those goals, they lose motivation. Don't do that.

And don't make things too hard on yourself. Try to do things in such a manner that you can keep up with it for the rest of your active life. Don't design something you can only keep up with for a few months (also a common problem). Remember: It's indefinitely better to do 50% for 1 year, then to do 100% for one month

Also, at your age, things might take more time than it will for many youngsters. Keep that in mind. Don't get disappointed if it takes longer than you like. Eventually you'll get there. You just don't know how long it will take yet, so why set yourself some strange and potentially unrealistic goals?

Remember, it's a lifestyle and a marathon, not a sprint. Look at the pictures section. Some have incredible transformations in a year. Some don't look that much different in a year. Also remember that most that point 1 year pictures did in fact have a good transformation... those who didn't, are probably not so eager to post pictures

As for your body fat, judging by your height, weight, age and the fact that you have a belly (not a big one I assume), it's probably 20-25%.

[GotGut]

Thanks for your reply and input.
I have never taken any of this seriously and now it is hitting me as I get older.
I just want to do things right so I don't waste my time getting little to no results by not doing it right.

I have included some images this time.Click for larger if needed.
( I don't think I can lose the scare though )

[akasp]

Doesn't look too bad. Looks like a lot of the fat you've gained, went straight to your stomach, as most of your body looks slim.

I'm thinking you've added this belly slowly to your frame. Basically, if you ate one medium meal less each day with your current diet, you'd lose it in some months.

But you want to change your diet for health benefits. Ideally, you'd like to calculate how many calories you need to maintain your current weight, and then substract like 500 from that total and try to aim for that daily. There are calculators online to help you with this (search for calorie calculator). They're not neccesarily accurate for your body though (they're just a simple model), and you might not neccesarily input the correct information.

There's also the quick and dirty method: multiply 12 with your bodyweight, and that's the number of calories you should aim for daily to lose weight. If you weigh 170, 170*12 is 2040 calories.

If you aim for 2000-2100 calories daily, with a good amount of good food, lift some weights and do some jogging, you'll have lost 10-15 pounds of weight (and most of it bodyfat, if you keep lifting at the same time) in 3 months. Obviously, you'll be looking a lot fitter! Not very muscular tough, as that takes a lot more time, but you'll have gained a small amount of muscle (it might not be very noticeable though).

Remember to take enough protein. Many bodybuilders would suggest 1 gram protein per lbs. Frankly, that's A LOT of protein and a matter of debate. Other suggestions say "1-1.4 grams of protein per kilogram of bodyweight for enhanced athletes or those with a large muscle mass." Ie. approx. at least 0.5 gram protein per lbs. I'd stick with the latter.

As for the weight training, read exrx.net. That'll get you started and interested. As I said, in the beginning just fool around with lots of excersises. Use some time on it and it will surely make you very sore, so it's serious fooling around.

You said you're serious and want to get it right. Well, it does take a bit of experimentation so you'll have to learn along the way. The good thing is, beginners tend to do good in the first period of their training no matter how bad the actual training might be, because the body reacts violently to actually having to do something for a change! So you have time to learn in the beginning. That's why I say you should experiment first, and then make it more systematic when you actually know a bit more.

Anyway, good luck to you. You'll make it as your body has not detoriated too much yet.

[GotGut]

Thanks again for your reply and help.

I was doing some thinking after reading your posts and had this thought.
Would it be a good idea to first work on a low cal diet and strictly cardio to first lose the fat.I know I would end up losing some muscle in the process.
After I were to lose the fat I desire, I could then start a high cal diet and start hitting the weights to add bulk and muscle.
This is just an idea I had rather than try and do both at the same time.
I know I can lose the fat with massive cardio.Heck, a week in the hospital after having my tumor removed my stomach was more than half the size it is now.I lost muscle as well but once I started eating more when they said I was good to go is when I gained that belly back.

My main goal right now is to lose that fat and I think it may be the easiest part right now.

[rbtrout]

No, no low cal diet should be required.
If you eat properly (get your kids to, as well) and exercise properly, there should be very little reason for "dieting". As akasp has said, there's really no need for supplements. A daily multi-vitamin and joint supplement is all I take. Healthy eating, good training (including some cardio) can solve most of your problems.
I'd start eating right and training and see what happens to you in 4-6 months. You might find that you don't need to do much else.
EDIT: diet is about 70% of all of this, so getting your diet in check will really help.