What should I be doing?

[takingbacknelso]

Alright, well I'm pretty new to these forums. I've been a member on the site for a couple months now, however just recently started to use it.

My Background:
I am 19 now and in college. During my younger years I was way over weight. Weighing 240 in sixth grade! Now, with the help of weight watchers and eating right I weight 185 and am about 6ft. I was at one time down to 160 but I lost all my muscle and looked deathly. I will be finishing up with my associates degree in December. I want to be much more cut/fit than I am right now. I would say I am in decent shape, I'm not very lazy but I'm not in the best shape either. I am golfer, also another reason I do not want to add tons of muscle.

Goals:
By the time I graduate in December (about 5 months away) I would like to lower my BF% to about a 10%. According to my scale I am 19% right now. (I know they are not the most reliable) Be more fit and in shape. Lose body fat while keeping muscle.

Tools:
I am lucky to have a lot of my disposal. My roommate has P90x (which he used for 2 weeks and quit) My girlfriend has a boflex and boflex treadclimer at her house, and I am also a member at the local Gold's Gym. I also have two Mens Health books. 2008 Muscle Chow, and 2008 Total Fitness Guide.


However even with all these tools I do not know what would work best for what I want to do. Of course I want to eat better, and work out. But I feel like I am overloaded with information, the more I read the more questions I have. Right now my diet is mostly frozen weight watchers meals. I try to eat about 3 times a day, however in everything I've read it says its better to eat 5 to 6 smaller meals a day? Also, I've read on some supplements, but have no idea what I would need to get.

Any help, tips, criticism would really help me out. I will try to post of pic of what I look right now later tonight. Thanks for any help! -Chris.

[tonni]

It takes a little work .. Diet is #1 do some reading this will help alot .Reduce your carb. intake ALOT and increase protein and good fats..Look up the Anobalic Diet ( which I'm following ) works great for lowing B.F%. Goodluck.

[takingbacknelso]

It takes a little work .. Diet is #1 do some reading this will help alot .Reduce your carb. intake ALOT and increase protein and good fats..Look up the Anobalic Diet ( which I'm following ) works great for lowing B.F%. Goodluck.

Thanks, I'll look into it! Any other ideas are more than welcome.

[ChemAg07]

Eating more than three times a day just ensures you're getting a constant stream of nutrients so your body doesn't go into starvation. No matter how many times you eat, you still need to be eating the right ratio of protein/carbs/healthy fats and sticking to your caloric goal.

Start out by adding up all the calories you usually eat in a day. Not just the weight watchers meals but also sodas, alcohol, sugar/cream in your hot drinks, juice, fruit, candy, cheat snacks, &c. You'll be suprised how much more you actually consume in a day once youstart keeping track of it.

Next, decide on your goal. Do you want to lose weight? Gain mass? Adjust your diet accordingly. I like 2500 cal for gaining, 2000 to maintain, and 1500 to cut. I do 60/30/10% when I'm bulking and maintaining, 80/10/10% when I'm cutting. (Keep in mind you have to experiment and do what works for you; this is just an example.)

DRINK WATER!!!!

LIFT WEIGHTS!!!! Done right, it's a really good workout in ADDITION to cardio 3-4x a week. Plus, more muscle + less fat = better body = randier girlfriend. ;D (Talk to the trainers at your gym, read the articles here and watch the video demonstrations on the supersite. If your not doing the exercises correctly you're going to hurt yourself and limit your progress.)

Protein shakes are excellent supplements to make sure you're getting enough protein (duh). Other than that and a multivitamin I don't use any but others here can certainly give you the advice you're looking for.

[takingbacknelso]

Eating more than three times a day just ensures you're getting a constant stream of nutrients so your body doesn't go into starvation. No matter how many times you eat, you still need to be eating the right ratio of protein/carbs/healthy fats and sticking to your caloric goal.

Start out by adding up all the calories you usually eat in a day. Not just the weight watchers meals but also sodas, alcohol, sugar/cream in your hot drinks, juice, fruit, candy, cheat snacks, &c. You'll be suprised how much more you actually consume in a day once youstart keeping track of it.

Next, decide on your goal. Do you want to lose weight? Gain mass? Adjust your diet accordingly. I like 2500 cal for gaining, 2000 to maintain, and 1500 to cut. I do 60/30/10% when I'm bulking and maintaining, 80/10/10% when I'm cutting. (Keep in mind you have to experiment and do what works for you; this is just an example.)

DRINK WATER!!!!

LIFT WEIGHTS!!!! Done right, it's a really good workout in ADDITION to cardio 3-4x a week. Plus, more muscle + less fat = better body = randier girlfriend. ;D (Talk to the trainers at your gym, read the articles here and watch the video demonstrations on the supersite. If your not doing the exercises correctly you're going to hurt yourself and limit your progress.)

Protein shakes are excellent supplements to make sure you're getting enough protein (duh). Other than that and a multivitamin I don't use any but others here can certainly give you the advice you're looking for.

I will start adding all those up. I'm going to be cutting alcohol out completely of my diet for the most part. I know I don't eat enough protein/carbs/healthy fats because I really don't have an idea what amount I should eat? (I heard 1gm of protein for 1lb of body weight?)

As for my goals. I would like to add some muscle mass, but more focus on losing fat. I play golf and will be doing so the rest of my life (I'm going to be a teaching professional) So, I don't want to add so much mass that I lose flexibility. I was thinking of a workout something like this;

P90x - 6 days a week.
Cardo - 3 days a week, 30 minutes a day.
Lifting - 3 days a week.

Does that sound like too much, too little?


I would talk to the trainers at my gym however, I don't really get there much. I was going almost 4 days a week. But my hours for work have increased and I'm taking 16 credits over the summer so its hard. The girlfriend lives just down the block, not ever 2 minutes away. With a Boflex, and a Boflex Treadclimer, I have no excuse to not go over there and work out.

I was actually thinking about running to her house, than doing my workouts. Its about 4.6 miles round trip. It'd be more of a moderate jog than a run.

However, I know that if I want to add muscle I have to be in calorie surplus correct? But if I want to cut to lose body fat, I have to be at calorie deficit? Also, I read a bunch about P90x and people said it really does help you lose body fat. But I also want to retain my muscle. Thanks again for the help!

[ChemAg07]

*Search function.

There are a lot of good articles here on diet. Find one that you think will work for you and follow it for a few week, see what you think.

muscle != inflexible; flexibility can be maintained by anyone with proper stretching. Some bb lose range of motion b/c their muscles are so huge they get in the weigh of other bodyparts. It doesn't sound like this will be a problem for you.

If you split your workouts to twice a day you should have plenty of energy to do what you're suggesting. Your body will tell you if it needs a break. Just stay motivated and keep the intensity up.

[takingbacknelso]

*Search function.

There are a lot of good articles here on diet. Find one that you think will work for you and follow it for a few week, see what you think.

muscle != inflexible; flexibility can be maintained by anyone with proper stretching. Some bb lose range of motion b/c their muscles are so huge they get in the weigh of other bodyparts. It doesn't sound like this will be a problem for you.

If you split your workouts to twice a day you should have plenty of energy to do what you're suggesting. Your body will tell you if it needs a break. Just stay motivated and keep the intensity up.

Thanks man! I'm going to start with P90x on Saturday actually! I'm really excited. I have been talking to a guy on here that is helping me with a diet plan. I understand I'll have to see what works best for me, so I will keep my fingers crossed.


The only thing I am worried about is lifting while on a cutting diet? My body won't be able to build muscle while I am in calorie deficit, so should I not lift until I am done cutting?

[FitMoney]

Plus, more muscle + less fat = better body = randier girlfriend. ;D

Thanks for the reminder of why most of us are concerned about this stuff in the first place, haha - Couldn't have said it better myself.

[ChemAg07]

Lifting will help you burn calories and slowdown how much muscle you do lose. Your body's gonna try to eat itself for the protein before it dips into your fat stores unless it knows it needs to maintain your lean mass.

Personally, I don't think there's ever a good reason to stop weight training unless you're fresh off an injury. It sounds like you realize it's going to be a process that won't happen overnight, so just get into it and keep that motivation up! You'll be glad you did.

[FitMoney]

Personally, I don't think there's ever a good reason to stop weight training unless you're fresh off an injury.

Yeah, most other reasons to stop are just excuses - same applies with business and life outside training. Goes hand in hand