Sport *confused newb warning* Need some help.

Sport Fitness
G

generalgrant

0
ok heres the deal Im 6' 185lbs 25 years old. I think my calorie intake should be around 2400 if i want to maintain my weight. Before I get into what Im doing/planning, here is my first problem. I have never been athletic or active, never played a sport past 12 and it shows. I am shaped very poorly, I have a pot belly and skinny arms not a great combination. So my problem is I dont know if i should be bulking or cutting. My beer belly is a major issue for me but so are my skinny arms.

So heres what i have been doing for the past 4 weeks. Ive just been trying to eat better in general, I do 45 min of cardio every morning on an empty stomach. then I come home and eat a chicken breast and some brown rice and hit the gym to lift. when i get back i snack again. And Ill try to eat a decent dinner.

Starting tommorow, I was going to make the following changes. After my cardio I was planing on a bowl of oatmeal with an 8 ounce shake (20g protien). Lift. 16 ounce shake after wards with my ce2.

Meal wise I picked up a ton of boneless chicken breasts, tilapia fillets, brown rice, whole wheat pasta, and wheat thins.

But I dont really know what Im doing how many shakes a day i should take how big each meal should be. I eat like a horse, I have all my life. When I was in school i ate the same ammount of food as people twice my weight regularly.
 
What's up man? Sounds like you're really in a dilemma, but perhaps I can help you out a little. :)

First off, you shouldn't really worry about your current body condition. Unless you have some kind of medical ailment, then with time and proper training, you'll be able to shape your body into something which you'll be more happy with.

I see that you complain about your beer belly (excess bodyfat), and your skinny arms (lack of muscle). I'm not sure if you know, but it's somewhat difficult to gain muscle and burn fat at the same time, since gaining muscle requires taking in excess calories, and burning fat requires failing to consume adequate calories.

Since you mentioned your beer belly first, I think you'll be happier and more motivated if you can get rid of that first...

The foods which you've bought are great food to start out with. You'll get adequate protein, healthy carbs, etc. from them. At this point, if all you're eating are those healthy foods, then you really shouldn't worry about how much you eat. Just eat until you get full, then STOP! Eat only enough to get by, and that should carry you over for a while.

As for your aerobics, I would suggest that you eat a small snack BEFORE you workout because working out on an empty stomach will reduce the effectiveness of your workout.

I know that you're probably thinking that working out on an empty stomach will allow you to burn extra calories, but trust me, it's not worth it. With no calories in your stomach, your body WILL burn calories, and they will most likely come in the form of muscle tissue (your body would rather burn muscle because it likes to store fat.) So, to make a complicated explanation short, consume a small snack like your shake and a piece of toast, then proceed to do your cardio.

On that note, if possible, then you should perform your weight training first, then do your cardio. This allows you to give 110% in the gym, while still getting your cardio in. Weight training gives your muscles a better workout, so they will continue to burn calories throughout the day. The cardio will burn calories while you're doing it, but once you stop, shortly thereafter, so does the calorie burning.

When you finish your workout, then feel free to consume to consume your oatmeal and perhaps another protein shake. This will refuel your muscles, and give you a jump start on the recovery process.

Alright, I think that should get you going in the right direction! Remember that you should eat until you get full (or even a little less than that), then STOP. This will allow you to restrict your caloric intake enough to burn fat, but not so much that your starve yourself, then have to binge out later.

Good luck!
 
thx

thx for the info. My workout partner seems to think i am overly obsesses with the stomach. And after reading the fitness forum I think im gonna try a more well rounded approach. Im gonna go the fbw 3 times a week, and cardio 2x a week route.

I did the formula above and it said that i should intake around 2400 calories to stay the same body weight. So i was thinking of taking in 2500 calories this way:

Meal 1: Oatmeal and shake
Meal 2: shake
Meal 3: 2 cups of brown rice and 2 chicken breasts
Meal 4: Shake
Meal 5: 2 cups of brown rice or wheat pasta and 2 chicken breasts or fish filet's.

Sprinkle in some veggies and a multi-vitamin somewhere.

How does that look?
 
newbie,
wait for more replies dude!

eating until you feel full is risky advice

cardio verses weights is a results difference not so much a "better than" difference.

I am no expert. you responder claims to be with his tag line, and I do not debate.

I am just recommending you get more opinions before you begin to establish your own.

signed,
know nothing except thru experience jackash poster on a fitness board,

FF
 
Hey newbie,

There may be some confusion with what I was saying, so let me clear some things up...

When I stated that you eat until you get full, I was only using that as a general guideline. I don't know what your recommended caloric intake is, so I can only give you general idea.

However, as flyinfree stated, eating until you feel full is a risky deal-if you're not going to be honest with yourself. You say that you have large appetite, but if you eat slowly and chew your food completely, then you'll be able to hear your body when it tells you that it's full. However, if you eat at a raging pace, then you stand a very high chance of overeating....

As for the cardio thing, I personally feel that weight training is more effective in fat loss than cardio. Nevertheless, you need cardio to keep your heart healthy. So both training methods do very important but different things.

I find it easier and more effective to lift then do cardio than I do to do cardio then lift. I've done it both ways, and personally, when I get done with a hard run, I don't care to go lift heavy weights. However, you're more than welcome try things out for yourself to see which you prefer doing. As long as you do them both at some point, then you should be alright.

As for me claiming to be an expert, I do not... I don't have a degree in the health and fitness field, but I do have a lot of hands on experience and trial and error. I don't speak about what I heard; I speak about what I know... But no, if you really want an expert opinion, then you should check with your doctor because he's about as expert as you can get...

Good luck to you man!

The diet looks good by the way...
 
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