Newbie looking for some advice

[Hullboy]

Hi there, im Chris, 20, and just joined the forum as im hoping to make a change to my diet and excercise next year cos at the minute im doing none what so ever.

Bit of a background....Im a 20 year old male student that moved to New Zealand from UK six months ago. Obviously with the student life comes the excessive alcohol, and the crappy foods that are simple and easy like noodles, toasted sandwiches (white bread) etc, you get the idea. Well 6 months have taking its toll on my and iv now got what i would call, alot of "belly fat" which sucks!

My current weight is around 12st (168lbs) and my height is 6"3.

Because of my height, when i stand up, i can get away with my belly not been noticeable but when i sit down i can almost feel its there and it gets uncomfortable at times.

My plan for the new year is to join a gym, and considerably change my diet but im just wanting some advice of people that have been there and done it.

Im looking for a simple weekly routine diet and excercise regime for the gym to get me started.

Here are the pics:

I signed up to bodybuilding.com and alot of people have said to me to bulk up first and have advised me to use Mark Ripptoes program to start with as it will be alot easier then dieting, and i cant cut cos iv got nothing to cut too.

I was just wondering what you guys reckon.

Any help is appreciated, thanks guys!

[teamfatboy]

welcome Hull Boy

If you want to shed the belly, or any bodyfat, a bulk's the last thing you want. Sure, you might add muscle mass under that bodyfat, so you'd look bigger but just as fat.

Instead, I'd suggest getting a modest training plan, along with a diet you can live with, which has the protein/carb/fat/calories to deliver the results.

Have a good read of the materials under the Resources Tab at the top, and also post an ACTUAL day's diet, along with a quick summary of your exercise history - any running/ rugby/ whatever in there ?

[MyPTChch]

Lol - that's better than i used to look

i'd be cutting out sugar and salt (added to food) and learning when to eat rather than anything else at moment

Get a good exercise regime started (it's a new year and perfect time to get motivated)

Make sure you exercise for 20-30 minutes daily to begin with and build up to 40-45 minutes next week and so on

Start doing some natural weight stuff - pump out 10-15 pressups rest for a couple of minutes do it again and again and again lol

forget situps unless you want bigger tummy now!! work on prone holds and the like for core strength for now

JMTCW at first glance

[Yeah-Buddy]

forget situps unless you want bigger tummy now!!

Oh good god.

[Hullboy]

Well heres an example of what iv eaten today (bear in mind this is my 1st day on trying to eat healthy to get rid of some body fat):

Breakfast- 2 Slices of wholemeal toast with 2/3 poached eggs

Lunch- 1 larged backed potato with either can of tuna or cottage cheese

Dinner- Chicken with brocolli, green beans, Kumara, onions, gravy

I guess at the minute im just buying food which i think is good for me but dont really know what stuff i should be eating when (or any good recipies!). Heres some of the list of things i bought at the supermarket today-

Chicken

Beef

Colby Cheese

Cans of tuna

Eggs

Wholemeal bread

Potatoes

Red potatoes

Kumara

Brocolli

Green beans

Garlic

Onions

Salad

Capsicum

Cottage Cheese.

I know its probably not perfect but it beats me eating noodles, white bread, forzen chips, lasagne toppers etc

I am hoping to start doing some cardio to accompany my diet, maybe a run 3 times a week might be a start?

Do you guys advise signing up to a gym now whilst im trying to lose the body fat, or start going to the gym after say a month of dieting and cardio?

Any help is appreciated

Cheers guys!

[teamfatboy]

Heya Hullboy....

I am hoping to start doing some cardio to accompany my diet, maybe a run 3 times a week might be a start?

Do you guys advise signing up to a gym now whilst im trying to lose the body fat, or start going to the gym after say a month of dieting and cardio?

Since your primary objective's to lose the gut, but you're concerned about

i cant cut cos iv got nothing to cut to

what you need is a programme which combines cardio and weights with a sound diet so that you can conserve lean muscle mass - cardio on its own would probably result in your lean muscle mass taking a hit.

By all means start with the cardio now, but consider adding in a weights routine early on. You don't necessarily need to join a gym to do that...bodyweight exercises, or exercises using stuff around the house, would be a start.

Adding the weights routine under balanced diet conditions will help build lean muscle in the face of the demands the cardio will make on your system.