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  1. #1
    Registered User agentbob's Avatar
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    Question Newbie setting 6-pack goal - Need Advice

    Hey All,

    This community seems really helpful so I thought I'd give a shot at getting some advice. I'm 24, 6'2 and I started in Jan/06 at 220lbs and am now down to 194lbs as of April 1st. I've probably got gynecomastia, and am kind of hoping weight loss/andor chest muscles will help with that. So far I've been just restricting my diet to low calories with about 1 cheat day per week.

    My typical day would be:
    1) 1 packet Oatmeal in morning (plain)
    2) Rice cakes or apples every couple hours during the day
    3) Small whole wheat wrap w/turkey slices, cheese, lettuce, mayo, hot sauce
    4) Some meat, cheese and pickles
    5) No exercise
    6) sushi binge once a week

    I don't know what my body fat % is (scales aren't generally accurate, but the reading claimed 19.8%.. it's probably around 20-25%).

    My goal is to see my abs for the first time in my life. I don't want to get hugely built, but 8-9% bf would be nice(unsure if this is realistic for my body type). I've started doing cardio for 45min on the bike in the mornings now, and want to incorporate weights to build some muscle, though I'm at a loss of where to start.

    I'm thinking of following Bill Pearl's 20 month program at:

    http://www.billpearl.com/bpprograms.asp

    Though I'm pretty sure my diet and weight lifting wouldn't go together overly well, so I'll need to do something there as well.

    What I'm getting from reading the posts in the forum is everyone is scared of losing lean mass if they cut calories. Since I've never had a huge amount of lean mass I'm not sure if this is a huge problem for me or not.

    I need a simple program to follow. I don't really care about the food I eat (cravings are mostly psychological at this point) but I just need something easy to buy and prepare in bulk. Ideally something along the lines of:

    0) Prepare all my food the night before into 3-4 tupperware bowls. (I'm thinking george foreman some chicken, cook some brown rice, and split it up into 3-4 meals)
    1) 7:30am Wake up and goto gym for 45min cardio, then weights
    2) 9am Eat oatmeal, take vitamins, goto work
    3) 10am eat apple
    4) 12am eat chicken/brown rice
    5) 2pm eat apple
    6) 4pm eat chicken/brown rice
    7) 7pm eat chicken, small salad
    8) Yoga, sleep
    x) Drinking lots of water, green tea, and daily decaf coffee w/cream

    I'd appreciate any thoughts / feedback / criticisms / advice you guys have.

    Thanks,

    D
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    Last edited by agentbob; 04-01-2006 at 06:05 PM. Reason: added age, asked for advice in topic
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  2. #2
    Always Angry! Sadao's Avatar
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    does gynecomastia ever go away?
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  3. #3
    Registered User agentbob's Avatar
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    I guess I'll find out this year

    Originally Posted by Sadao
    does gynecomastia ever go away?
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  4. #4
    Always Angry! Sadao's Avatar
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    very curious to see if it does.
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    Not

    Not putting this as an insult, but abs for you is going to be far away. 20-25%, abs dont show until about 12 and low, some people get the lines around 14, but thats it. A full 6 pack is gonna be like 10% bodyfat. I'm 18% from 32% and thats took about a HARD YEAR. You can do it if your motivated, just don't aim to high. Shouldn't set your goal as a six pack either. For the chest, I know someone who has gyno, not gone but really improved it with the elliptical using the arm part and a lot of dumbell chest excersizes. If I had to guestimate your bodyfat I would say close to 30%. When I was 23 my arms had cuts, could see my ribs,sternum, and shoulders outlined.

    "My goal is to see my abs for the first time in my life. I don't want to get hugely built, but 8-9% bf would be nice."

    Your 6'2 and 194 and 25% bodyfat. It's going to take awhile for 8-9% at a good weight, being 8-9% bodyfat is no good if your skinny, Ethiopians are like 2%. Also, 8-9% is also below maintenance for a pro, they usually hang around 11 when their not competing. The guy you posted the ab picture of is lower than 8-9% also. Set your goals more realistically, if you shoot high your going to be dissapointed, people get dissapointed when they dont go down 10 pounds. Do it slow and lean. Clean carbs, high protein foods, healthy fats. *oatmeal, wheat and whole grains* *steak,fish,chicken etc* *almonds* Fruits good too. Also, you want the abs but don't work them HARD, it'll just make your stomach look bigger because the muscle will be underneath.
    Last edited by ByeBye225; 04-01-2006 at 07:53 PM.
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  6. #6
    Registered User agentbob's Avatar
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    Hey thanks for the reply. I'm not expecting abs overnight, but I will get there Elliptical is mostly for cardio, no? I'm guessing if I lose enough fat (mostly with dieting, just started cardio), and build up my chest (need to find optimal time/program for weights) it should reduce it a lot.
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    Always Angry! Sadao's Avatar
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    when you flex your abs in the mirror...

    2pack - 14-17%
    4pack - 11-14%
    6pack - 10% and less.
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  8. #8
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    My typical day would be:
    1) 1 packet Oatmeal in morning (plain)
    2) Rice cakes or apples every couple hours during the day
    3) Small whole wheat wrap w/turkey slices, cheese, lettuce, mayo, hot sauce
    4) Some meat, cheese and pickles
    5) No exercise
    6) sushi binge once a week
    im sorry that this comes off as rude, but there really is no other way to say it:

    there is no way at all that you could look like your goal pic while maintaining that kind of typical day. it is impossible to get a body like your goal pic without lifting weights. you need an entire turn around from what you are doing including diet and weight training. please consider reading the stickies, because if this is what you think of when you think fatloss, then you very much need to be reinformed.
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    Banned ByeBye225's Avatar
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    I'll

    I'll hook you up with my diet if you like, has been doing good so far. Might have to up cals and carbs a little for you tho. Your diet is terrible. The sushi is fine, a great cheat meal cause its not too bad, like 10 peices if like 1/4 cup of rice. Stay away from tempura, any of that fried ****.
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  10. #10
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    Originally Posted by agentbob
    Hey thanks for the reply. I'm not expecting abs overnight, but I will get there Elliptical is mostly for cardio, no? I'm guessing if I lose enough fat (mostly with dieting, just started cardio), and build up my chest (need to find optimal time/program for weights) it should reduce it a lot.
    "I will get there". Your cocky, and its good with bb'ing goals, as long as you keep the mentality that nothing will stop you. You need to get smarter first though, your diet you posted is terrible. Your weight will go down quick, but body fat will probably rise. Elliptical = cardio, try cutting the fat down in your chest. Weights = try to build muscle. Both at the same time = Recomposition, its harder then doing cutting or bulking individually and takes more time. If you eat like you posted, your going to lose muscle mass and your chest will look worse.
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  11. #11
    Registered User agentbob's Avatar
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    Originally Posted by ByeBye225
    "I will get there". Your cocky, and its good with bb'ing goals, as long as you keep the mentality that nothing will stop you.
    I have my goals and I will get there. There comes a time in your life when you decide enough is enough, and I intend to reach my goals.

    Originally Posted by ByeBye225
    You need to get smarter first though, your diet you posted is terrible. Your weight will go down quick, but body fat will probably rise.
    This is why I'm here, to get input and get smarter If my weight goes down enough, how can body fat rise? If theoretically I kept it up til I was anorexic skinny (which I don't intend to do), then my body fat should be really low, no? I would love to hear diet suggestions and improvements I could make. So far I've been staying away from sugar and fried things, mostly been eating 'clean' foods.

    Originally Posted by ByeBye225
    Elliptical = cardio, try cutting the fat down in your chest. Weights = try to build muscle. Both at the same time = Recomposition, its harder then doing cutting or bulking individually and takes more time. If you eat like you posted, your going to lose muscle mass and your chest will look worse.
    From everything I've read so far.. you can't target where you cut fat (ie chest).. has to be lost all over, is that not correct? I've also read in the FAQ that the first 6months or so should be easy to lose fat and gain muscle at the same time.

    I do appreciate all the replies and I'm all open to constructive criticisms, but just telling me I'm doing everything wrong and not offering suggestions isn't overly helpful. We all have to start somewhere.
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  12. #12
    ΛΦΕ AphtaLyfe's Avatar
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    Well you really need to read up on this forum... but... I guess all I can say is:
    You don't want to drop to 6% body fat without lifting weights, because you probably still won't have a 6pack because of your super low Lean Body Mass. (Muscle)

    Have you ever seen a anorexic person and said "WOW I want to look that THAT!"

    No? I didn't think so.

    I would say good luck... but as of right now you're going to need a lot more than luck.

    Oh and the picture you have in your post is of a guy with probably 5-8% body fat who works out at least 5 times a week. He didn't get that body by doing Yoga and dieting...
    Last edited by AphtaLyfe; 04-02-2006 at 05:08 PM.
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  13. #13
    Registered User agentbob's Avatar
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    I've never stated I intend to avoid lifting weights. In fact I said that's one thing I need help with.

    I am starting with the Bill Pearl program tomorrow and I guess I'll modify that as I go along. Need to get started somewhere. Weight loss is going fine so far from what I can see(losing gut bigtime), just need to build extra muscle with the weights.
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    ΛΦΕ AphtaLyfe's Avatar
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    My mistake then, sorry about that.

    There are plenty of journals and workout articles on this forum as well as the website you mentioned.

    Also since you said you are a newbie that diet might be a bit strict for a beginner.

    Good Luck
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    Registered User agentbob's Avatar
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    As long as the diet doesn't require lots of food prep time, it'll work for me. I've conditioned myself well the past 3 months, and I've set my goals and intend to follow them.

    Junk food is much less important than transforming my body at this point. I'll start my weight lifting tomorrow and take it one week at a time and see how it goes.
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    Your motivation is there..just fine-tune your Action Plan - If you need any help , download my e-book - http://www.louisdorman.com/download/LDbook1.pdf


    1) 7:30am Wake up and goto gym for 45min cardio, then weights
    * eat something before...oats/protein powder
    2) 9am Eat oatmeal, take vitamins, goto work
    *Need some protein with this..should be your biggest meal

    ...
    Motivation + Goals + Circumstance = Success
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    Registered User acaylian's Avatar
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    what you're doing now is fine to lose weight until you're at about 11% bodyfat or so... if you want to get further than that you're going to have to do some work however. if you want to look like Bill Pearl you're probably going to have to eat 300g protein a day along with an intense weightlifting regimen. your diet just isn't remotely sufficient to grow like him. try to get some more clean protein in the diet from good sources. perhaps try a whey supplement instead of the fruits throughout the day; this will be a lot more beneficial than fruit if you want to build some kind of lean body mass (Optimum Nutrition's Whey Gold Standard seems to be this board's favorite form of whey, though anything should work fine).

    read some of the articles and stickies on the site and obtain as much info as you can, there's much to absorb. goodluck with the transformation.
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