New to the site and need some help

[bwake]

Hi all,

I joined up a few days ago and have been looking around and doing lots of reading, however thought id now post up some questions as i dont seem to be getting much help from my gym. I've had programmes done by personal trainers etc in the past however im saving to go back to Uni next year, so dont really have the available $$$.

Im 6'0 (or 184cms) and around 91kgs. Ive beent training for around a year and havent really worked towards much, however have been just trying to keep my strength up and stay reasonably fit. My strength has risen hughly, my weight about 2kgs and my bodyfat has really stayed around the same.

Im now wanting to turn that around, get up to around 95kgs and lose some fat. I initally came on here looking for info after a friend reccomended buying Clenbuterol, however im really not too sure about that now!

From reading the forum it looks like im not eating remotely enough, and I may be overtraining.

I will train 4/5 times a week at present starting with 10mins running or on the cross trainer followed by weights. My running or cross training is pretty high intensity.

What I eat:

8am - 35g Dry Oats Sachet with 1/2 cup of milk (normally light blue)

11.30am Protein Shake - Dymatize

1.30 -2.30 Workout

2.30- I sachet of Rice (2 serves) with 95g Tuna Lite (other stuff looked too fatty)

Protein Shake - Dymatize

7.00- Dinner - As below

My g/f normally cooks so i dont have much choice but we dont typically eat too poorly. My portion as below of what we will normally eat:

*Stir fry with 200g Sirloin steak cut up, Watties teriaki sauce, heaps of veg

*Sirloin steak 200g with veges

*Pasta bake (200g Chicken breast with veges baked, too much cheese :oops: )

*Fish (3 pieces of baked fish with veges)

*Occasional Thai Green curry with coconut cream (need to cut that out) with chicken breat and peppers.

Questions:

If im not eating enough (which by all accounts im not) why are my bodyfat levels still high?

What extras can I eat (and when) that will help bring up my daily food intake? I work in an office so cooking 4 steaks a day is unfortunately out of the question, and ill have to stick with canned stuff.

If im wanting to build another 4/5kgs of muscle and drop bodyfat should i do doing sets of 12 like the personal trainers are suggesting or lower? They also have me doing the same weight for each set whereas most people on here seem to be building up. Eg for bench i will do 3 sets of 85 @12,10,10 and leg press 3x12 of 160?

I will take home exercise notes in the next few days and post them up for everyone to critique.

I've had some issues with my right shoulder so thought it a perfect time to ask for some information before I start going for it.

I look forward to any help/suggestions.

[runveerun]

Hi There, Welcome to this site! Yep to me it sounds like you aren't eating enough protein. I eat at least 600grams of meat/fish a day and I'm a 60kg girl!

If you cook up some meat/fish n the evening ready to take to work the next day if you get bored of the canned stuff or for a change.

You need to be eating 5-7 meals a day, I eat a protein shake as soon as I get up in the morning, you need to start yourself off in the morning with some protein, or stick some in you oats.

I think the way to work out how much protein to eat is 1.6 grams per pound of body weight ( from memory)

For body building it's usually reccommended to leave the cardio till after weights so you can use all your strength for that (as it's more important!) OR do cardio in the morning and weights in the arvo if possible.

Have a look through some of the guys workout journals to see what they are eating.

[GreekAdonis]

You hit the nail on the head, youre not eating enough.

Add some more meals during your day. Tuna or chop chop if you cant prepare stuff at work.

You dont need clen to drop bodyfat you probably just need to exercise with more intensity and eat a bit cleaner. 8)

[teamfatboy]

Yep - good advice.

Don't waste money on chemicals at this point - fix your diet, fix your training and you'll get the results. Spend the money on good quality food, or a George Foreman grill for easy cooking.

Increase the protein - Vee's advice to use a shake in your oats instead of milk is a simple easy way. Another shake maybe 30min before your workout (if your gut can take it), and another one last thing before bed. Right now, you're fasting for almost twelve hours, that's not desirable.

If you're not enthusiastic about that many shakes or you want to eat 'real food' - consider cold beef/ cold chicken - a half-chicken breast (around 80g cooked) would give you a serve of protein, doesn't have much smell and you can take it to the office in some gladwrap/ tinfoil/ etc. Same with beef.

Cardio after weights is much more effective than vice versa. Work the muscles hard while they're full of glycogen, then do cardio afterwards.

As for sets of twelve versus more or less, the advice tends to be that 12's a useful number for growth, fewer reps for strength. Read the journals, tho - some folks do 5x5 (five sets of five) but they tend to be more at the powerlifter end. Others do one exercise, but 10x10, so for quads: do BB squats, same weight, 10 sets of 10, but with good form all the way to the end. Sounds simple, the first set's a breeze but by set number nine...

For fatburning, keep rests between sets to a MAX of 60s, not 3-5 minutes - and if moving between machines (ie from squats to lunges) to no more than 120s.

[agent86]

It looks like you need to eat more if your goal is to put on muscle especially to fill the gap between your post workout meal and dinner. A mass shake straight after the workout is good for recovery.

However you are getting confused like many others about putting on muscle and losing fat. You must choose one or the other and for putting on mass eat more calories and for losing fat eat less than maintenance.

Exercise or Clenbuterol will not help lose fat if you are eating too much.

Despite all the threads on this issue people still want to put on muscle and lose fat at the same time. If it was that easy bodybuilders would not need to diet for competition.

People using Clenbuterol are also dieting and it is not a magic bullet for bad eating.

The principles of 5-6 meals a day with protein at each are good but the calorie intake must match your individual metabolism and activity level which we don't know. Use as a baseline your calorie intake on which your weight stays constant for a period of a month and tweek it from there either up for mass or down for fat loss.

[rose]

Hi all

Hi :grin:

Im 6'0 (or 184cms) and around 91kgs... If im not eating enough (which by all accounts im not) why are my bodyfat levels still high?

Only reiterating what others have said, eat moar.

Your body is likely fat storing because it's starving on that small amount of food, with the heaviest stodge hit at the end of the day.

You need to ramp up your metabolism by eating moar and eating moar often. Eat more thermogenic food (i.e. protein). And eat more good fats, your body needs them.

If you get up earlier than 8, eat earlier. Your breakfast is too light on protein. Have another meal between breakfast and pre-workout shake. Personally I'd ditch the pre-workout shake and have some food (protein and complex carbs) with enough digestion time to make sure you don't hurl it up while working out if that's an issue for you. Have another meal between 2 and 7. And have a protein hit before bed.

What extras can I eat (and when) that will help bring up my daily food intake? I work in an office so cooking 4 steaks a day is unfortunately out of the question, and ill have to stick with canned stuff.

If you can't cook it there, get organised and pre-cook it at home. Use a thermos or some kind of portable insulated bag thingy if no fridge/microwave at work. They're available, and cheap as.

I wouldn't even think about supplements until you sort the food.

And as TFB said, leave the cardio til after you've done the weights, especially if it's high intensity.

[bwake]

Thanks everyone for all the help. Im going to bundle up everyones ideas and start a new plan once my physio fixes my gammy shoulder.

It wont be any problem adding in another meal before bed, more in the morning or another in the afternoon so thats a good start.

If I were to say cook 4 eggs with my oats in the morning, added in another tuna meal in the morning and perhaps another shake mid afternoon, with another before bed, is that likely to be enough, or should i be eating something further with my mid morning meal?

I also tend to eat the smaller 85g Tuna sachets (low fat ones), however after reading some peoples journals here it looks like most are going for the 185g ones that typically have a pretty high fat content. Whats the reason for this?

Is it always true that the bulk shakes (eg Mutant Mass) will put on heaps of weight, but do it mostly as fat?

Thanks again

[GreekAdonis]

Start with adding a big can of tuna mid morning and mid afternoon until your appetite increases. Dont worry too much about the fat content in tuna. Its almost impossible to gain muscle without putting on a little bit of fat.

I like the Mutant Ass powder but there is another thread on here you should check out about mass gainers. 8)

[bwake]

Thanks, Have had a look around and think i may approach things this way.

8am - 35g Dry Oats Sachet with 1/2 cup of milk (normally light blue)

Protein shake with light blue milk and perhaps 2 eggs with mushrooms

10.30am Rice sachet with 85g Tuna Lite

12.30 Protein Shake

1.00 -2.00 Workout (changed time to work with meals better)

2.00- I sachet of Rice (2 serves) with 95g Tuna Lite (other stuff looked too fatty)

4.00 Protein Shake - Dymatize

7.00-7.30- Dinner - Ive brought a new low fat cookbook, but will focus on the items with high protein levels as well.

9.30-10.00 Protein Shake

I also now eat White rice or the wild rice. Is changing to brown rice going to be much better for me? How does this eating plan look? Is there anything anyone would reccomend changing and are there enough calories to keep me going?

Thanks

[bwake]

anyone? :oops:

[roadie]

i'm about the same size as you.....to bulk i was aiming for 400g of protein and about 400g carbs......dont count the fat but dont eat any except whats in the meat and about 6 yolks a day

on training days thats 6 meals + a shake either side of training.

AT EACH MEAL YOU NEED CARBS TOO

my 2 yr old eats 2 eggs for breakfast - YOU NEED TO EAT 6 (throw away half the yolks). you choose the carbs - 50gms(of carb)

double the meal 2 quantities, eat it at 10am

drink shake before gym - ADD SOME BLOODY CARBS LIKE FRUIT

drink another shake after the gym - WITH 50 gm carb

3pm.... MEAT BABY 200gm and 200gm something carby (50gm of carbs)

5.30pm MORE MEAT same as previous with carbs

8.00pm you now know the drill - same as last 6 meals fella

10.30pm ditto - real food if you can but a shake is OK.

**BULKING CONDITION - WEIGH YOURSELF BEFORE BED IF NOT HAPPY WITH WEIGHT GO BACK TO THE FRIDGE AND EAT ANOTHER MEAL

**BULKING CONDITION 2 - ON SUNDAY FOR LUNCH ATTEND BUFFET, DO NOT LEAVE UNTIL IT CLOSES, 3 MAINS 2 DESSERT MINIMUM. NEXT MEAL 2.5 hours later also

come back in 4 weeks once you are 95.....do not follow this diet past 100kg without review....

also i would say move your training 1 hour later, and move one of the afternoon meals to the morning before training.....get up earlier to begin eating......but thats just me lol

[laurasaur]

**BULKING CONDITION 2 - ON SUNDAY FOR LUNCH ATTEND BUFFET, DO NOT LEAVE UNTIL IT CLOSES, 3 MAINS 2 DESSERT MINIMUM. NEXT MEAL 2.5 hours later also

rotflmao thats how you do it huh.

these meals

10.30am Rice sachet with 85g Tuna Lite

12.30 Protein Shake

1.00 -2.00 Workout (changed time to work with meals better)

2.00- I sachet of Rice (2 serves) with 95g Tuna Lite (other stuff looked too fatty)

4.00 Protein Shake - Dymatize

Are girl meals. I eat 85/95g tuna 2x a day. And a protein shake. And I'm 65kg. You need to eat so much more, all the time. But yeah ease into it if you must Pretty soon you will get hungry all the time.

[roadie]

your allowed 1 cheat a week.....lol, and only till you get to the goal......

[bwake]

Hah ok this is definitley going to take some getting used to.

I ate that diet today for the first time and i spent most of the day feeling rather bloated.

I'll try and increase my meat portions, however gaining fat is really what i dont want to do so im not too sure about the buffet lunches. If anything if like to drop my bodyfat. I know typically its either one thing or the other, but is it not possible to get reasonable (i never want to be a bodybuilder) increases whilst also staying reasonably lean?? I was hoping having a somewhat better diet would help tone me up somewhat.

That said i really only need to gain 3kgs to get to my target. Im just concerned that ill do my "bulking" phase and then spend more effort trying to work off the fat rather than slowing working towards it???

[1day]

your allowed 1 cheat a week.....lol, and only till you get to the goal......

1 cheat 'meal' only ? ive been dieting last 6wks with 1 cheat 'day' every wk, and it works great provided u keep to ur clean, lower carbs threw the rest of wk. :wink:

[bwake]

Thanks for the tips.

When i work out the amount of calories in my food what do i look at on the back of the packets? Is it the Energy piece?

Bit of a dumb question, but just getting into trying to eat right.

[nicksmith3]

your allowed 1 cheat a week.....lol, and only till you get to the goal......

1 cheat 'meal' only ? ive been dieting last 6wks with 1 cheat 'day' every wk, and it works great provided u keep to ur clean, lower carbs threw the rest of wk. :wink:

and how is that working for you? - I'll be looking out for some dialled hamstrings come show day. :grin:

Thanks for the tips.

When i work out the amount of calories in my food what do i look at on the back of the packets? Is it the Energy piece?

Bit of a dumb question, but just getting into trying to eat right.

If you want to eat 'right' you need to find out what works for your metabolism and body.

Take a look at my journal and hit me up if you have any questions.

[1day]

your allowed 1 cheat a week.....lol, and only till you get to the goal......

1 cheat 'meal' only ? ive been dieting last 6wks with 1 cheat 'day' every wk, and it works great provided u keep to ur clean, lower carbs threw the rest of wk. :wink:

and how is that working for you?

just put sum pics up in nzbb challenge, but lookin back 10wks ago 'wait wut' wen first set were taken, id say its workn fine(absolute minamal muscle loss too) + its mentaly satisfying to be able indulge in those cravings uve had during the wk, then make ur self sick of sweet foods on cheat day then ur acually lookin forward to getin back into strick low carb diet the other 6days/wk

[roadie]

hi bwake,

not surprised you feel a bit full after starting a major increase in food....

i am just giving some feedback as you sounded a bit like me not so long ago.

starting in the 8-12% fat range on tanita scales i actually preferred the changes in appearance once i got to the 12-15% range as it does give you a few extra kgs of mass (i know its fat but i'm not a competitor)

i have changed my diet a bit over the last few weeks trimming out about 20% of the intake and with a bit of increased cardio its easy to shape up.

as i said in my initial post you need to set a goal....mine was 100kg - 15% (on my scales) once you get there you need to review what you are doing......otherwise things may go bad...mr tubby!!

dont worry to much about the cals on the packets - i look for protein and carbs per 100gm.

you need to weigh everything for a while to get a grip on what quantities to eat......judge performance of diet by your measurements and scales, and adjust as required.

and i didnt say just one cheat a week dudes....you can cheat every day on the way up.....but only if progress is slow....and at my buffet 3 main of meat and 2 of sweets is 60/40 protein/carbs(with a nice fat blowout).............yeah baby. it is easy to screw things up by rushing and gaining to much fat.....but if you are on the scales then reign in the cheats and do a bit more cardio before it gets away

ALTHOUGH if you are needing to cheat each day then adjust each meal up 5 or 10%

lastly, you can put 3 or 4 kgs on by simply taking some creatine.....