Introduction and Advice Needed ... Thx!
Introduction and Advice Needed ... Thx!
**First Post Alert**
I'm glad I found this forum! Well, I don't know what happened the last 6 months. Call it stress from work, call it being lazy but I need to put some effort into getting back in shape.
I'm currently 27, around 5'8" and weigh around 180-185. My goal right now is to drop around 15-20 lbs and then start focusing on building some muscle. (Or am I going about this the wrong way??)
As far as exercise is concerned, it just wasn't happening. I've started taking up jogging again and do about 2 miles a day. The jogging routine will be replaced with rowing as soon as my new Concept 2, Model D rower comes next week. I'm in the process of building a home gym and that is the first piece of equipment I've decided on, thinking about a BowFlex but wanted some input from the experts (yourselves) first. Not really doing much to actually build muscle though. I try and do 50-100 pushups / day and play around with some free weights. Again, nothing serious now, but would like to be, that's why I'm building a home gym.
Eating right will definitely be challenging for me since my girlfriend is such a wonderful cook and she makes the most amazing dishes. Can't use that as an excuse any longer though...
Well, today was my first "official" day of trying to eat right, and it's painful.. No pain, no gain right?
Meal 1 - Oatmeal with milk, Omega 3 fish oil - 1 pint of water
Meal 2 - Serving of Yogurt - 1 pint of water
Meal 3 - 2 Pieces of Whole Wheat Toast, egg white - 1 pint of water
Meal 4 - Odwalla Bar - 1 pint of water
Meal 5 - An Orange - 1 pint of water
Meal 6 - Almond/Spinich salad, min. dressing (about 1 tsp), 2 egg whites, couple cubes of cheese, and turkey - 1 pint of water
I'm not exactly sure, but I think my total calorie intake was around 1600 -1800. I need to build a diet where I'm not always counting everything.
^^^
Thoughts on that? I think the difficult part of my diet will be trying to find foods that are interesting to eat, but I'll find them.
Any suggestions on foods that will keep me full longer? I'm starving right now...
I'm also going to try and keep a food journal on here, just to keep me on track and stay motivated. I've tried to do this too many times and before my metabolism would make up for the times I cheated. Can't depend on that as much anymore.
Looking forward to this new endeavor and thanks to everyone in advance for their support and motivation.
*Bump for morning crew.
Welcome to the BB.com community!
First off, you say you want to lose weight (fat) and then gain 10-15 pounds of muscle. You've gotta understand that you can only focus on one of those goals at a time. If you want to put on muscle you have to eat more calories than you burn, if you want to lose fat you have to eat less calories than you burn. It's not quite as simple as that, but for the most part it's true. Most people would recommend you put on the 10-15 pounds of muscle first and then go into a cutting stage to take off the excess fat. They recommend this because your body will burn more calories naturally when it has more muscle mass. Some people just can't stand the fat on their body though and want to remove the fat first, which is fine, but maybe less efficient. Since you're relatively new to the game you'll probably see a period of a few months where you will be gaining muscle AND losing fat. These "newbie gains" are great, but it's not a longterm thing.
Next, diet is of paramount importance. Without a proper diet, your efforts in your gym will be in vain. Right now your diet needs an overhaul. You need to be eating MORE calories, which I know sounds weird, but you need to supply your body with enough calories so it can keep its metabolic fire going to give you enough energy and to continously burn calories. You say you're starving right now--you're absolutely right! Your body is CRAVING more food because it NEEDS more food--especially if you're doing any kind of physical activity. I would bump up your calories to about 2200-2400 per day (closer to the top end and up if you decide to start bulking first; around the lower end if you still want to cut first). The generally accepted principle is you should maintain a ratio of 40% protein/40% carbohydrates/20% fat. These are the most important numbers to keep in line along with your total caloric intake.
I highly recommend using http://www.fitday.com to keep a log of your diet. It will create some great graphs and things that will help you keep track of your ratios and caloric intake. I recommend creating your own custom foods on the website so that the stats are more accurate than using their estimated ones.
I would look into the nutrition articles on the main BB.com website. They will have a much more extensive list of good foods than anyone here could type out. You can follow one of the meal plans that they provide or make your own from the list of foods that they give--just try to follow the 40/40/20 ratios.
I personally don't have any experience with a bowflex machine, so I'll let someone else handle that, but I have heard good things about them. I personally prefer free-weights over any machines, but hell, as long as your lifting hard enough to push yourself, right?
Well I feel like I'm rambling a bit, so I'll try to cut it here. Other things I can recommend are try to drink somewhere around one gallon of water every day. It's amazing how different you look and feel after a few days of doing this when your body is actually hydrated for once! And make sure you figure out how you're going to deal with your girlfriend and her deliciously home-cooked meals. It's going to come up eventually so you'd better figure it out now! There's nothing wrong with a good cheat meal every now and then so don't cut her off completely, but if she tries to cook stuff for you that won't fit into your meal plan 2 or 3 or more times per week then you've gotta do something about it!
Anyways, good luck! And if you have anymore questions, don't be afraid to ask! :)
-Funk
Definitly bump your calories up, your eating less then your bmr at the moment.
If you dont know your BMR is the amount of calories you burn every day not matter what, even if you were in a coma.
Welcome to the BB.com community!
First off, you say you want to lose weight (fat) and then gain 10-15 pounds of muscle. You've gotta understand that you can only focus on one of those goals at a time. If you want to put on muscle you have to eat more calories than you burn, if you want to lose fat you have to eat less calories than you burn. It's not quite as simple as that, but for the most part it's true. Most people would recommend you put on the 10-15 pounds of muscle first and then go into a cutting stage to take off the excess fat. They recommend this because your body will burn more calories naturally when it has more muscle mass. Some people just can't stand the fat on their body though and want to remove the fat first, which is fine, but maybe less efficient. Since you're relatively new to the game you'll probably see a period of a few months where you will be gaining muscle AND losing fat. These "newbie gains" are great, but it's not a longterm thing.
Next, diet is of paramount importance. Without a proper diet, your efforts in your gym will be in vain. Right now your diet needs an overhaul. You need to be eating MORE calories, which I know sounds weird, but you need to supply your body with enough calories so it can keep its metabolic fire going to give you enough energy and to continously burn calories. You say you're starving right now--you're absolutely right! Your body is CRAVING more food because it NEEDS more food--especially if you're doing any kind of physical activity. I would bump up your calories to about 2200-2400 per day (closer to the top end and up if you decide to start bulking first; around the lower end if you still want to cut first). The generally accepted principle is you should maintain a ratio of 40% protein/40% carbohydrates/20% fat. These are the most important numbers to keep in line along with your total caloric intake.
I highly recommend using http://www.fitday.com to keep a log of your diet. It will create some great graphs and things that will help you keep track of your ratios and caloric intake. I recommend creating your own custom foods on the website so that the stats are more accurate than using their estimated ones.
I would look into the nutrition articles on the main BB.com website. They will have a much more extensive list of good foods than anyone here could type out. You can follow one of the meal plans that they provide or make your own from the list of foods that they give--just try to follow the 40/40/20 ratios.
I personally don't have any experience with a bowflex machine, so I'll let someone else handle that, but I have heard good things about them. I personally prefer free-weights over any machines, but hell, as long as your lifting hard enough to push yourself, right?
Well I feel like I'm rambling a bit, so I'll try to cut it here. Other things I can recommend are try to drink somewhere around one gallon of water every day. It's amazing how different you look and feel after a few days of doing this when your body is actually hydrated for once! And make sure you figure out how you're going to deal with your girlfriend and her deliciously home-cooked meals. It's going to come up eventually so you'd better figure it out now! There's nothing wrong with a good cheat meal every now and then so don't cut her off completely, but if she tries to cook stuff for you that won't fit into your meal plan 2 or 3 or more times per week then you've gotta do something about it!
Anyways, good luck! And if you have anymore questions, don't be afraid to ask! :)
-Funk
Hey Funk:
Thank you for taking the time to type that out. There was a lot of useful information in there. I will definitely check out some of the links / websites you recommendeded. I have a lot to learn and I'm glad there are people out there that are so supportive and helpful.
Now that I'm actually keeping an eye on what I eat, I'm starting to wonder how many calories I used to take in. *Those numbers can add up quick if you're not careful. Also, I've always thought I had been drinking a lot of water, but yesterday was my first day that I actually drank a gallon of it and it felt as if all I did was drink water all day long... =). I hope my body gets used to it and I won't have to go to the bathroom as much, otherwise, I might have more trouble in this category once I start going back to work next week (on vac. now).
Hey, thanks again. I'm going to go read up on some foods now and go grocery shopping.
Definitly bump your calories up, your eating less then your bmr at the moment.
If you dont know your BMR is the amount of calories you burn every day not matter what, even if you were in a coma.
Do you think 2200 calories should be a number to aim for as suggested by Funk? I've always thought the goal is to eat less than your BMR in order to drop the weight?
Burn more than you eat right?
I feel like such a noob (which I am) but really appreciate the help. Thanks again to the both of you.
I would not buy a Bowflex. Better as a novice to start with freeweights. Have a look at a program like Rippetoe Starting Strength.
The basic fundamentals of balance are not learned on machines, the overall neural response is lesser, and the muscular stimulation is ultimately less.
More advanced trainees can and probably should incorporate useful machines into their training for various reasons. Machines have no place in the training of a novice, however.
If you've already been defeated by the barbells, then don't bother with this program. If you want to use machines as a novice, then go get a membership at Curves or Bally's and do whatever the trainer there tells you to do. I'd recommend joining a gym or buying a power rack, some weights, and a bench.
**First Post Alert**
I'm glad I found this forum! Well, I don't know what happened the last 6 months. Call it stress from work, call it being lazy but I need to put some effort into getting back in shape.
I'm currently 27, around 5'8" and weigh around 180-185. My goal right now is to drop around 15-20 lbs and then start focusing on building some muscle. (Or am I going about this the wrong way??)
As far as exercise is concerned, it just wasn't happening. I've started taking up jogging again and do about 2 miles a day. The jogging routine will be replaced with rowing as soon as my new Concept 2, Model D rower comes next week. I'm in the process of building a home gym and that is the first piece of equipment I've decided on, thinking about a BowFlex but wanted some input from the experts (yourselves) first. Not really doing much to actually build muscle though. I try and do 50-100 pushups / day and play around with some free weights. Again, nothing serious now, but would like to be, that's why I'm building a home gym.
Eating right will definitely be challenging for me since my girlfriend is such a wonderful cook and she makes the most amazing dishes. Can't use that as an excuse any longer though...
Well, today was my first "official" day of trying to eat right, and it's painful.. No pain, no gain right?
Meal 1 - Oatmeal with milk, Omega 3 fish oil - 1 pint of water
Meal 2 - Serving of Yogurt - 1 pint of water
Meal 3 - 2 Pieces of Whole Wheat Toast, egg white - 1 pint of water
Meal 4 - Odwalla Bar - 1 pint of water
Meal 5 - An Orange - 1 pint of water
Meal 6 - Almond/Spinich salad, min. dressing (about 1 tsp), 2 egg whites, couple cubes of cheese, and turkey - 1 pint of water
I'm not exactly sure, but I think my total calorie intake was around 1600 -1800. I need to build a diet where I'm not always counting everything.
^^^
Thoughts on that? I think the difficult part of my diet will be trying to find foods that are interesting to eat, but I'll find them.
Any suggestions on foods that will keep me full longer? I'm starving right now...
I'm also going to try and keep a food journal on here, just to keep me on track and stay motivated. I've tried to do this too many times and before my metabolism would make up for the times I cheated. Can't depend on that as much anymore.
Looking forward to this new endeavor and thanks to everyone in advance for their support and motivation.
Answer:
*Bump for morning crew.
Answer:
Welcome to the BB.com community!
First off, you say you want to lose weight (fat) and then gain 10-15 pounds of muscle. You've gotta understand that you can only focus on one of those goals at a time. If you want to put on muscle you have to eat more calories than you burn, if you want to lose fat you have to eat less calories than you burn. It's not quite as simple as that, but for the most part it's true. Most people would recommend you put on the 10-15 pounds of muscle first and then go into a cutting stage to take off the excess fat. They recommend this because your body will burn more calories naturally when it has more muscle mass. Some people just can't stand the fat on their body though and want to remove the fat first, which is fine, but maybe less efficient. Since you're relatively new to the game you'll probably see a period of a few months where you will be gaining muscle AND losing fat. These "newbie gains" are great, but it's not a longterm thing.
Next, diet is of paramount importance. Without a proper diet, your efforts in your gym will be in vain. Right now your diet needs an overhaul. You need to be eating MORE calories, which I know sounds weird, but you need to supply your body with enough calories so it can keep its metabolic fire going to give you enough energy and to continously burn calories. You say you're starving right now--you're absolutely right! Your body is CRAVING more food because it NEEDS more food--especially if you're doing any kind of physical activity. I would bump up your calories to about 2200-2400 per day (closer to the top end and up if you decide to start bulking first; around the lower end if you still want to cut first). The generally accepted principle is you should maintain a ratio of 40% protein/40% carbohydrates/20% fat. These are the most important numbers to keep in line along with your total caloric intake.
I highly recommend using http://www.fitday.com to keep a log of your diet. It will create some great graphs and things that will help you keep track of your ratios and caloric intake. I recommend creating your own custom foods on the website so that the stats are more accurate than using their estimated ones.
I would look into the nutrition articles on the main BB.com website. They will have a much more extensive list of good foods than anyone here could type out. You can follow one of the meal plans that they provide or make your own from the list of foods that they give--just try to follow the 40/40/20 ratios.
I personally don't have any experience with a bowflex machine, so I'll let someone else handle that, but I have heard good things about them. I personally prefer free-weights over any machines, but hell, as long as your lifting hard enough to push yourself, right?
Well I feel like I'm rambling a bit, so I'll try to cut it here. Other things I can recommend are try to drink somewhere around one gallon of water every day. It's amazing how different you look and feel after a few days of doing this when your body is actually hydrated for once! And make sure you figure out how you're going to deal with your girlfriend and her deliciously home-cooked meals. It's going to come up eventually so you'd better figure it out now! There's nothing wrong with a good cheat meal every now and then so don't cut her off completely, but if she tries to cook stuff for you that won't fit into your meal plan 2 or 3 or more times per week then you've gotta do something about it!
Anyways, good luck! And if you have anymore questions, don't be afraid to ask! :)
-Funk
Answer:
Definitly bump your calories up, your eating less then your bmr at the moment.
If you dont know your BMR is the amount of calories you burn every day not matter what, even if you were in a coma.
Answer:
Welcome to the BB.com community!
First off, you say you want to lose weight (fat) and then gain 10-15 pounds of muscle. You've gotta understand that you can only focus on one of those goals at a time. If you want to put on muscle you have to eat more calories than you burn, if you want to lose fat you have to eat less calories than you burn. It's not quite as simple as that, but for the most part it's true. Most people would recommend you put on the 10-15 pounds of muscle first and then go into a cutting stage to take off the excess fat. They recommend this because your body will burn more calories naturally when it has more muscle mass. Some people just can't stand the fat on their body though and want to remove the fat first, which is fine, but maybe less efficient. Since you're relatively new to the game you'll probably see a period of a few months where you will be gaining muscle AND losing fat. These "newbie gains" are great, but it's not a longterm thing.
Next, diet is of paramount importance. Without a proper diet, your efforts in your gym will be in vain. Right now your diet needs an overhaul. You need to be eating MORE calories, which I know sounds weird, but you need to supply your body with enough calories so it can keep its metabolic fire going to give you enough energy and to continously burn calories. You say you're starving right now--you're absolutely right! Your body is CRAVING more food because it NEEDS more food--especially if you're doing any kind of physical activity. I would bump up your calories to about 2200-2400 per day (closer to the top end and up if you decide to start bulking first; around the lower end if you still want to cut first). The generally accepted principle is you should maintain a ratio of 40% protein/40% carbohydrates/20% fat. These are the most important numbers to keep in line along with your total caloric intake.
I highly recommend using http://www.fitday.com to keep a log of your diet. It will create some great graphs and things that will help you keep track of your ratios and caloric intake. I recommend creating your own custom foods on the website so that the stats are more accurate than using their estimated ones.
I would look into the nutrition articles on the main BB.com website. They will have a much more extensive list of good foods than anyone here could type out. You can follow one of the meal plans that they provide or make your own from the list of foods that they give--just try to follow the 40/40/20 ratios.
I personally don't have any experience with a bowflex machine, so I'll let someone else handle that, but I have heard good things about them. I personally prefer free-weights over any machines, but hell, as long as your lifting hard enough to push yourself, right?
Well I feel like I'm rambling a bit, so I'll try to cut it here. Other things I can recommend are try to drink somewhere around one gallon of water every day. It's amazing how different you look and feel after a few days of doing this when your body is actually hydrated for once! And make sure you figure out how you're going to deal with your girlfriend and her deliciously home-cooked meals. It's going to come up eventually so you'd better figure it out now! There's nothing wrong with a good cheat meal every now and then so don't cut her off completely, but if she tries to cook stuff for you that won't fit into your meal plan 2 or 3 or more times per week then you've gotta do something about it!
Anyways, good luck! And if you have anymore questions, don't be afraid to ask! :)
-Funk
Hey Funk:
Thank you for taking the time to type that out. There was a lot of useful information in there. I will definitely check out some of the links / websites you recommendeded. I have a lot to learn and I'm glad there are people out there that are so supportive and helpful.
Now that I'm actually keeping an eye on what I eat, I'm starting to wonder how many calories I used to take in. *Those numbers can add up quick if you're not careful. Also, I've always thought I had been drinking a lot of water, but yesterday was my first day that I actually drank a gallon of it and it felt as if all I did was drink water all day long... =). I hope my body gets used to it and I won't have to go to the bathroom as much, otherwise, I might have more trouble in this category once I start going back to work next week (on vac. now).
Hey, thanks again. I'm going to go read up on some foods now and go grocery shopping.
Definitly bump your calories up, your eating less then your bmr at the moment.
If you dont know your BMR is the amount of calories you burn every day not matter what, even if you were in a coma.
Do you think 2200 calories should be a number to aim for as suggested by Funk? I've always thought the goal is to eat less than your BMR in order to drop the weight?
Burn more than you eat right?
I feel like such a noob (which I am) but really appreciate the help. Thanks again to the both of you.
Answer:
I would not buy a Bowflex. Better as a novice to start with freeweights. Have a look at a program like Rippetoe Starting Strength.
The basic fundamentals of balance are not learned on machines, the overall neural response is lesser, and the muscular stimulation is ultimately less.
More advanced trainees can and probably should incorporate useful machines into their training for various reasons. Machines have no place in the training of a novice, however.
If you've already been defeated by the barbells, then don't bother with this program. If you want to use machines as a novice, then go get a membership at Curves or Bally's and do whatever the trainer there tells you to do. I'd recommend joining a gym or buying a power rack, some weights, and a bench.