Starting Nutrition and Bodybuilding. Need advice.

[YorkTown]

Hi, I've gone through a few threads and really like this website. Lots of great info so I decided to register

I'm in my early 30's and for the second time in my life became pissed off that I was going to need size forty(inch waist) pants
The last time this happened, I went on a serious low cal/fat diet and weight trained in my home gym. I got down to size 34 pants and was really happy. Then after about 6-7 months of dieting and weight training I quit. Now I'm once again hitting the size 40 pants.

So it's starts once more for me. I've been on a low cal diet for the last 10 days. I was 209lbs 10 days ago and am 200-202 now. I pulled this off by being mostly under 2,000 calories a day. I estimate I was in the 3,500 calroie area before. Bad calories too


I'm thinking I should go down to 190lbs before I start weight training?
190-195lbs has been a pretty normal weight for me the last few years. So I figured it would be a good starting point to workout from. The last time I dieted and worked out I went as low as 180lbs. That was specifically to drop weight and look more cut.

My goal is to eventualy climb back up to 205lbs but be more muscular.
Im going to deit properly to complement my training.
Looking into joining a gym so that I can do plenty of cardio.
Plus my home gym is only good for bicept, tricept and a little shoulder chest training. Freeweights

I guess besides wondering if dropping to 190lbs is worth it, I just need some tips/advice.  I like using whey protein powder and slim fast shakes. For now meal replacent bars are keeping me full between meals

[jmt1]

Hi, I've gone through a few threads and really like this website. Lots of great info so I decided to register

I'm in my early 30's and for the second time in my life became pissed off that I was going to need size forty(inch waist) pants
The last time this happened, I went on a serious low cal/fat diet and weight trained in my home gym. I got down to size 34 pants and was really happy. Then after about 6-7 months of dieting and weight training I quit. Now I'm once again hitting the size 40 pants.

So it's starts once more for me. I've been on a low cal diet for the last 10 days. I was 209lbs 10 days ago and am 200-202 now. I pulled this off by being mostly under 2,000 calories a day. I estimate I was in the 3,500 calroie area before. Bad calories too


I'm thinking I should go down to 190lbs before I start weight training?


190-195lbs has been a pretty normal weight for me the last few years. So I figured it would be a good starting point to workout from. The last time I dieted and worked out I went as low as 180lbs. That was specifically to drop weight and look more cut.

My goal is to eventualy climb back up to 205lbs but be more muscular.
Im going to deit properly to complement my training.
Looking into joining a gym so that I can do plenty of cardio.
Plus my home gym is only good for bicept, tricept and a little shoulder chest training. Freeweights

I guess besides wondering if dropping to 190lbs is worth it, I just need some tips/advice.  I like using whey protein powder and slim fast shakes. For now meal replacent bars are keeping me full between meals.

there is no reason for you to drop to 190 before you start training.

you dont have to lose weight first then put on muscle second...if you are on the right track as far as training and dieting you can start adding lean muscle as you are losing bodyfat...gaining muscle will actually speed up the process...and dont get that caught up on the scale rather focus on changing body composition.

if you want more detailed advice post the diet you plan to follow...there is more to it than just being in a caloric deficit.

[YorkTown]

I don't actualy have a trendy diet to follow.

For now I'm going to try and keep to the below 2,000 calorie a day diet.

30-35% from fat, 20-25% from protein 40-50% carbs. These percentages arent exactly as some peoples recomendations on this website. But for me at this point in time they are accurate. I defintly want to pump up the protein to 1 - 1.5 mg per pound of body weight. That makes sense to build muscle.

I chekced out the posted thread about eating foods like fish, meat and milk. I've been mostly into drinking soy milk, but could swap in some skim milk. something a vegatarin once told me though, was that you shouldnt eat meat more then once every 3 days. He said there is some agent in meat that the body can only deal with in small quantities. if you go over the limit the body stores this agent in the joints, causing arthritis. true or not I dont eat much red meat.

I'm definitly going to make a few recipes that give me a good balance of carb/fat/protein at every meal. I'm already eating 6 times a day. calories per meal/snack are from 222 - 600.

Been mostly drinking water too. today being the 11th day of this diet I'm pissin pure white lol. It's been a while since I seen that. I had forgoten how many calories are hidden in drinks. drinking water is saving me an easy 700calories a day

At this point I'm doing zero areobics or weight training. Presently looking for a gym and training partner. Will probably do this solo like last time.

[MidniteRambo]

30-35% from fat, 20-25% from protein 40-50% carbs. These percentages arent exactly as some peoples recomendations on this website. But for me at this point in time they are accurate. I defintly want to pump up the protein to 1 - 1.5 mg per pound of body weight. That makes sense to build muscle.

There are more approaches to percentages than there are people posting on this site.  As someone who lost 30 lbs over the last year and a half while adding muscle, my protein tends to be over 50%, fat around 20%, but a good percentage of that fat comes from fish oil.  You want the majority of your carbs to be complex carbs as well.  Also, the prior poster is right, don't wait to build muscle.

I highly recommend John P. Hussman, Ph.D.'s site, particularly the "effective nutrition and supplements" section and "making and measuring progress" section.  No nonsense easy to understand and follow and cutting edge not only for losing fat but putting on muscle in the process.

http://www.hussmanfitness.org/

[efirkey]

What state are you from?  There must be others who could use a lifting partner.

[Princess L]

I hope no one gets too caught up in percentages.

Lyle has a good article on why you don't want to base your diet on percentages.

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/Articles/percentages1.html

[darksol]

I am in Pearland TX.
I am currently setting up a home gym, ( elliptical and dumbells ), so I don't have to drive to 24 hour Shitness.  They are opening a new SHAQ branded location close by me, so I will give that location a shot when it opens in november.  If I like it, having a lifting partner wouldn't be a bad idea.  If anyone goes to the friendswood location and needs a lifting partner let me know, as I might be up for it.

[YorkTown]

Thanks for all the links. Theres no shortage of info on this site :-)

Im noticing that calories and the fat/carb/protein contents dont allways add up properly.

for example, on my atkins bar it states 220 calories.

yet it also claims to have
9G fat X9 cals = 81 cals total

24 carbs + 19 protein = 43 X 4 cals = 172 cals

81C from fat and 172C from carb/prot equals 253 total calories, not 220 as stated on the wrapper.

What gives? I've noticed imbalanced totals like this on other things too. like on one web site that stated chicken had zero carbs. yet once the total cals from fat and protein were added there was a remainder compared to total calories.

a little confusing, but I am trimming down.

[efirkey]

Thanks for all the links. Theres no shortage of info on this site :-)

Im noticing that calories and the fat/carb/protein contents dont allways add up properly.

for example, on my atkins bar it states 220 calories.

yet it also claims to have
9G fat X9 cals = 81 cals total

24 carbs + 19 protein = 43 X 4 cals = 172 cals

81C from fat and 172C from carb/prot equals 253 total calories, not 220 as stated on the wrapper.

What gives? I've noticed imbalanced totals like this on other things too. like on one web site that stated chicken had zero carbs. yet once the total cals from fat and protein were added there was a remainder compared to total calories.

a little confusing, but I am trimming down.

Two things come to mind as far as the calories not matching up to macronutrient breakdown.

Companies like Atkins will tell you lower calorie figures based on taking out the carbs that humans can't digest

And the other is the USDA food database doesn't always match up correctly which is were a lot of websites get their nutrient breakdown like mine.  http://www.firkey.com/food/NutInfo.php

Also, the numbers can get fuzzy if the calories are low.  They may round down if they are using whole numbers.  Say for instance chicken has 0.30 carbs for a 1 oz portion.  A lot of labels will show you 0 carbs when that actually isn't the case.  A lot of spray butters show zero calories for a serving size (1 squirt), but who uses 1 squirt.  If you squirt 20 times it probably is more like 20 calories which is still pretty negligible.

[injuryprone]

First, lose the meal replacement bars. Switch to Nature Valley granola bars and 8oz of skim milk. More wholesome and probably tastes better. g-bars are 180 kcal for the 2 in the pack.

[YorkTown]

So the "meal replacement" stuff is no better then any other granola/nature valley/etc bar out there? I allways figured meal replacement bars would be a bit better.

I'm still in my training and diet infancy here. getting my menu together, training lightly to reaquaint myself and trying to sort out what supplements are worth getting.

I got whey protein powder for after workouts.
Bought a bottle of multi vitamins and started taking them yesterday.

I've been hearing about taking a casien shake before sleep. sounds like I might add this to my list.

[DK II]

So the "meal replacement" stuff is no better then any other granola/nature valley/etc bar out there? I allways figured meal replacement bars would be a bit better.

I'm still in my training and diet infancy here. getting my menu together, training lightly to reaquaint myself and trying to sort out what supplements are worth getting.

I got whey protein powder for after workouts.
Bought a bottle of multi vitamins and started taking them yesterday.

I've been hearing about taking a casien shake before sleep. sounds like I might add this to my list.

don't worry too much about supplements.
Try to get real food, whole food, lots of veggies and try to drop the meal replacement stuff.
If you need a quick meal inbetween, get a whey shake mixed with low fat milk.

[Princess L]

First, lose the meal replacement bars. Switch to Nature Valley granola bars and 8oz of skim milk. More wholesome and probably tastes better. g-bars are 180 kcal for the 2 in the pack.

Ahhh, yah

All that sugar and high fructose corn syrup has got to be more wholesome
 

[Jr. Yates]

Hey princess L is that why i like those so much??  but seriously though, i can see you posting that if this person was 9 weeks out of a show but one of those now and then isn't going to hurt.

[Princess L]

Hey princess L is that why i like those so much??  but seriously though, i can see you posting that if this person was 9 weeks out of a show but one of those now and then isn't going to hurt.

True.
But the person was recommending he trade the Atkins bar for these, which is not a fair trade IMO. 

[Jr. Yates]

True.
But the person was recommending he trade the Atkins bar for these, which is not a fair trade IMO. 

isn't Atkins really high carb?? or is High fat? i dont even remember.    doesn't really matter to me i could care less about that diet.

[DK II]

isn't Atkins really high carb?? or is High fat? i dont even remember.    doesn't really matter to me i could care less about that diet.

atkins is dead.

The guy died fat as a barrel of lard on a new york pavement.

[Jr. Yates]

atkins is dead.

The guy died fat as a barrel of lard on a new york pavement.

oh

[DK II]

oh

lol.

[YorkTown]

Princess L - thanks for posting the ingredients label. I had gone to nature valley's website and noticed the ingredients were kinda crappy too. for now I like these meal replacenment bars for 2 reasons. I can easily count the calories and they better then getting a quick bite somewhere.

Jr. Yates - atkins is low carb. I like the atkins bar because the protein and carb levels are balanced. it's helping me alot in to balance the percentages of my diet.

speaking of diet, I'm happy to report that after 2 days(48hrs) of not counting calories and just eating what I felt like, I have gained no weight :-)