Hi, im new here and need a little help

[Paolo]

Hello everyone, real nice forum you got going on here.

as the title suggests im new to all this and i could do with a little advice and guidance.

Im a 200lbs, 6 feet tall 29 year old male. In the last year ive lost around 112lbs in bodyweight by dieting and doing mostly cardio work (swimming, running, excercise bikes and lifting small weights).

im really proud of thsi achievment but i now want to take it to the next level.

Ive been upping my calorie intake gradually from around 1750 per day when i was losing weight to 2500 at the moment, altho i still seem to be dropping a bit of weight. The bulk of what i lost was fat, but im not stupid enough to think that i kept all my lean muscle.

The reason ive joined these boards is to draw off your expertise in this area.

I have recently purchased some 1000mg Creatine tablets, altho they have not yet been delivered. I was wondering if creatine is a good idea.

Im also after some dietary and workout tips as im really worried about putting weight back on, after all the hard work i put in, in losing the weight.

I work out 3 times a week in my local gym, and i also have a bench in my front room, which i use pretty much every night im not in the gym.

Im looking to have a nice defined body, with big arms and chest. Obviously id also like a flat stomach. I dont want to get too big tho, cos i dont like the look when bodybuilders get TOO big! At the moment i have a fair bit of size, but i still have a small amount of fat around my midsection. Not too much but i seem to be struggling to lose it.

Ive been reading up on the ideal eating habits for a bodybuilding routine and it seems you need to eat little, but approx 6 times a day. I work full time in a bank and im currently eating 3 times a day. Im not sure if i could do 6 times!

My current diet is normally like this

Breakfast

100g Cheerios
400l Skimmed Milk
4 Pieces of granary toast with a small amount of low fat spread.

Lunch

1 footlong Subway Turkey & ham sandwich with salad and bbq sauce
2 Cheerios bars

Dinner

Spaghetti Bolognese
2 cheerios bars

This works out to around 2500 calories and it very low fat. Im not too sure about the carbs and protein tho.

if you need any more info to help me out please ask.

Thanks

Paul

 

[Paolo]

Just a quick follow up to my original post.

I was thinking of leaving the Breakfast the same, as i feel it is a good start to my day.

i was thinking of replacing my lunch with maybe a baked potato (no butter) and 2 cans of tuna! followed by a protein bar. And swapping my dinner to maybe a mixed grill of lean chicken and steak. Im not sure what to have with the chicken and steak that wont have too much carbs in it.

Ive also read about having a post workout protein shake. Ill have to pay a visit to my local health shop for that! Any good brands that i should keep an eye out for?

let me know guys and gals, id really appreciate a bit of help!!!

thanks

Paul

 

[6_pak]

Hello everyone, real nice forum you got going on here.

as the title suggests im new to all this and i could do with a little advice and guidance.

Im a 200lbs, 6 feet tall 29 year old male. In the last year ive lost around 112lbs in bodyweight by dieting and doing mostly cardio work (swimming, running, excercise bikes and lifting small weights).

im really proud of thsi achievment but i now want to take it to the next level.

Ive been upping my calorie intake gradually from around 1750 per day when i was losing weight to 2500 at the moment, altho i still seem to be dropping a bit of weight. The bulk of what i lost was fat, but im not stupid enough to think that i kept all my lean muscle.

The reason ive joined these boards is to draw off your expertise in this area.

I have recently purchased some 1000mg Creatine tablets, altho they have not yet been delivered. I was wondering if creatine is a good idea.

Im also after some dietary and workout tips as im really worried about putting weight back on, after all the hard work i put in, in losing the weight.

I work out 3 times a week in my local gym, and i also have a bench in my front room, which i use pretty much every night im not in the gym.

Im looking to have a nice defined body, with big arms and chest. Obviously id also like a flat stomach. I dont want to get too big tho, cos i dont like the look when bodybuilders get TOO big! At the moment i have a fair bit of size, but i still have a small amount of fat around my midsection. Not too much but i seem to be struggling to lose it.

Ive been reading up on the ideal eating habits for a bodybuilding routine and it seems you need to eat little, but approx 6 times a day. I work full time in a bank and im currently eating 3 times a day. Im not sure if i could do 6 times!

My current diet is normally like this

Breakfast

100g Cheerios
400l Skimmed Milk
4 Pieces of granary toast with a small amount of low fat spread.

Lunch

1 footlong Subway Turkey & ham sandwich with salad and bbq sauce
2 Cheerios bars

Dinner

Spaghetti Bolognese
2 cheerios bars

This works out to around 2500 calories and it very low fat. Im not too sure about the carbs and protein tho.

if you need any more info to help me out please ask.

Thanks

Paul

To build muscle, which is now your focus, you need to eat wayyyy more protein. Protein is essential for muscle. You dont have nearly what you need. Your diet should change as your goals change. You say you can only eat 3 meals a day? Thats not going to be nearly enough and you will be very disatisfied with your progress. You need to keep nutrients(specifically protein) flowing through your system throughout the day, eating every 3 hours. Here is a sample diet for you.
Meal 1- cherrios is ok but oatmeal is better
6-8 egg whites, with 2 yolks
milk, fruit
Meal 2- grilled chicken
baked potatoe
Meal 3- protein shake w/ milk
Workout
Meal 4- PWO- 75g of dextrose/ 40g of whey protein
Meal 5- lean meat
sweet potatoe

You should get at least 200g of protein a day, 250-300 would be better. When you start eating more your appetite will get bigger so just keep eating. If lack of time is preventing you from eating, plan ahead with a premade meal or shake. It sounds like in your last diet you were more concerned with fat content, that isnt what helped you loose your weight, it was total calories and cardio. Protein, fats, and carbs are all important in your diet. You'll need to do more research to learn the importance and necessity of these.
Creatine is a good supplement to take for strength/muscle gain. I, personally wouldnt buy the pill form, i believe powder is more effective, but do finish your bottle. Make sure to drink plenty of water throughout the day. I would shoot for 2-4 liters/day, if not more.

Also with your current diet(3meals, 2500cals), like i said earlier, not enough, you could get the amouont of nutrients you need at that calorie range if you ate the right foods. You need to do more research on the better muscle building foods.

 

[Paolo]

Thanks a lot for your reply, i appreciate it.

Ive looked at your plan and it seems achievable, just a couple of things concern me!

I get up around 6:45am each morning and i will eat my first meal around 7:15. I love cheerios, so i will eat a big bowl of them along with 2 bananas and scrambled egg made with 3 eggs.

Around 11 i will have a packet of sliced meat

1:30 is luch time and i will have a big baked potato with 2 cans of tuna (around 280 grams of tuna) i will also have a protein bar which gives me around 17g of protein)

Around about 4pm i will have another 2 bananas

when i get home from work around 6-7pm i will have chicken breast cooked on my george foreman grill along with either 2 baked potatoes or rice. After this i will also be having a protein barwith another 17g of protein

I will have a handful of cashew nuts and a can of sugar free red bull about 30 mins prior to my workout, my workout tends to be around 8pm for an hour.

immediately afterwards i will have a protein shake made up with 2 scoops of powder and 400ml skimmed milk. This gives me approx another 35g of protein.

That will be the last thing i have before bed.

I am currently loading up on creatine, (9 tablets per day) and am drinking about 2-3 litres of water per day.

Can you give me advice on what you think of my diet, also what is Whey Protein and dextrose? are they separate products or can you get em combined? also would i make up this shake with milk?

One last thing, what is PWO and what does it stand for? sorry for being dumb, but like I said im a newbie!


Thanks

Paul

 

[sublime35]

SCROLL TO BOTTOM AND READ ABOUT PWO FIRST!
my comments are in ().

Thanks a lot for your reply, i appreciate it.

Ive looked at your plan and it seems achievable, just a couple of things concern me!

I get up around 6:45am each morning and i will eat my first meal around 7:15. I love cheerios, so i will eat a big bowl of them along with 2 bananas and scrambled egg made with 3 eggs.

Around 11 i will have a packet of sliced meat (Take one of the bananas from 4 and put it here.)

1:30 is luch time and i will have a big baked potato with 2 cans of tuna (around 280 grams of tuna) i will also have a protein bar which gives me around 17g of protein) Lose the protein bar and move it to 4. That's kind of over kill on the Prot. and you don't have any at 4.)

Around about 4pm i will have another 2 bananas (Follow the above changes)

when i get home from work around 6-7pm i will have chicken breast cooked on my george foreman grill along with either 2 baked potatoes or rice. After this i will also be having a protein barwith another 17g of protein (Once again lose the protein bar and move it to pre-workout or some eggs whites would be better there)

I will have a handful of cashew nuts and a can of sugar free red bull about 30 mins prior to my workout, my workout tends to be around 8pm for an hour.

immediately afterwards i will have a protein shake made up with 2 scoops of powder and 400ml skimmed milk. This gives me approx another 35g of protein.
(Most say lose the milk pwo but thats up to you. I would take your protein powder with water and have some oats instead)
That will be the last thing i have before bed.
(depending on how long your last meal is before bed i would add a little cottage cheese and some natty pb or some kind of fats)
I am currently loading up on creatine, (9 tablets per day) and am drinking about 2-3 litres of water per day. (I dont know anything about creatine so i can't help you here.)

Can you give me advice on what you think of my diet, also what is Whey Protein and dextrose? are they separate products or can you get em combined? also would i make up this shake with milk?
(Dextrose is sold at health food stores and is a quick digesting carb. If you follow a PWO spike then you could take some dextrose and get some maltodextrin to go with that. Use half of each of your desired amount of carbs. so half malto and half dex.)
One last thing, what is PWO and what does it stand for? sorry for being dumb, but like I said im a newbie!
PWO is Post Workout. As in after you get done lifting.)


Thanks

Paul

 

[6_pak]

Sublime gave some good advice for your diet. You need to have protein in every meal. The only other thing i want to add is that i am a believer in pwo shake consisting of simple sugars, dextrose being the fastest digesting sugar, which is ideal for post w/o. Although you may be ok with the skim milk, as it doesnt have any fat, the sugars are lactose, which isnt ideal for pwo, so i would consider either using dextrose or fruit. You can order a 4lb bag of dextrose from kentnutrition.com for real cheap. Whey protein should be a staple in everyone's supplemental bbing repoirtoie(sp.). Whey is the fastest digesting protein, which is ideal for breakfast and post workout. Other times of the day milk mixed with whey will be sufficient.
Another point i want to make is that there are 3 main meals of the day that one should be concerned with foremost. Those 3 meals consist of breakfast, pwo, meal after pwo(ppwo). PPWO should be eaten an hour after pwo. Your body is still in a state where it can assimilate all the nutrients you take in, so you need to take advantage of it. Eat lean meat and complex carbs in this meal(ppwo), before you go to bed.