new, looking for help

[wynterskye]

hi. i am 25 and pretty out of shape right now, which is kind of a first in my life. was going thru personal stuff and i guess things got let go, but now its time to fix that!

i am about 25% body fat and 195 pounds, 5 foot 11. i am not new to working out, although i am new to working out with a good knowledge of proper routine and diet :S

i have been reading for a few months on diet and weightlifting and this week would like to buy a ledger and write out a meal plan and workout routine to keep track of everything and get going asap.. i find once it is written it is official. like a to do list, i wont do it if i dont write it down. where i am still confused is what i should exactly be aiming for to reach my goals:

i am not an athlete or a bodybuilder... basically i just want to be attractive looking, healthy and in good shape, and strong.. not like bodybuilder strong but much stronger than an average guy who doesnt workout. i dont want to be big. ideally i would like to be about 180 pounds at like 10% body fat.. or a % that i can maintain all year with proper dedication. so i just do a cut? 5 day a week split, daily cardio, and eat a couple hundred calories below maintenance, and healthy obviously? ketosis? or do i eat big and clean to get strong and build muscle and then maybe worry about cutting over the winter so i can possibly look quite decent come next summer?

i would also love to try alot of these supps like the shred stack in someone else's thread i read about but at the moment i can not afford much. protein powder, creatine, good food, and gym pass is my expenditure plan.. and i would possibly try bcaas if i was to do a big cut. so those are currently not a solution for me right now

 

[C0LUMB0]

Welcome to elitefitness bro. we can definitely help you here...

Lets keep this real simple - your only goal at the moment will be to drop bodyfat through training and eating high protein clean meals .

you need to work out your BMR - If you dont know what that is ? google it !

use this to calculate it : Harris Benedict Equation

when you have worked out you maintenance calories you can subtract 500 calories from that to give you your total daily calories for cutting/losing weight.

macros ( google if necessary ) i suggest would be 50 % protein 30 % carbs and 20 % fat.

for food types you need to include in your diet read this little nugget of information courtesy of RADAR ----> http://www.elitefitness.com/forum/a...-build-muscle-loose-fat-then-read-712503.html

supps wise there are great ones available from needtobuildmuscle , seems you are on a tight budget stick to whey protein,multi vits and fish oil for the moment.
we can look at cutting stacks further down the road !

RADAR can hook you up with a discount code for a better deal on your supps

calculate the above and post up your proposed meal plan and we can critique and fine tune it .

 

[TheSVPdeal]

I'll throw in my two cents as well when that info comes in.

 

[wynterskye]

i greatly appreciate the help. i am familiar with these terms, and after i checked my BMR, used the Harris Benedict equation, and subtracted 500 calories it states that to lose weight i should eat about 2200 calories.(2206 to be exact) with this info and macro goals, the link you posted to a proper shopping list and another thread on here about foods for cutting by Dylangemelli i will come up with a diet for you to critique.

One other thing i was curious of is i know that high sugar amounts in diet, even on low calories can prevent weight loss. what amount of sugar is acceptable in a diet?.. i know all bodies react differently but is there a general number that is aimed for to be lower than, other than just as low as possible?

 

[wynterskye]

it will be quite similar to the list by RADAR, spinich, chicken, eggs, white fish, green veggies, etc

it will just take some time to add/subtract various macros and calories to have everything fit the proper criteria of macro ratios and total caloric intake as this is the first time i have done this.

once again thank you

 

[overgreen]

radar15 will fix you up at needtobuildmuscle.com. Lots and lots of good people and advice here man. You're in the right place. Read read read like you're doing and you'll be down and seeing results in no time.

 

[dvoted]

Look up a Ketogenic diet it works great 3 - 4 days HILT training and your set!

 

[wynterskye]

breakfast 1

4 eggs = calories 360, fat 28, carbs 1, protein 24

breakfast2

plain oats = calories 102, fat 2, carbs 18, protein 4
1 cup
fat free plain yogurt = calories 63, fat 0, carbs 9, protein 6
1 serving
protein powder = calories 120, fat 1, carbs 2, protein 24
i scoop

snack

plain raw spinach = calories 14, fat 0, carbs 1, protein 1
2 cups

lunch

chicken breast = calories 143, fat 3, carbs 0, protein 27
mixed berries = calories 70, fat 0, carbs 17, protein 0
1 cup

snack2

chicken breast = calories 143, fat 3, carbs 0, protein 27

dinner

whitefish = calories 530, fat 22, carbs 0, protein 60
2 fillet
mixed veggies = calories 120, fat 0, carbs 12, protein 3
1 cup

late night protein shake

protein powder = calories 120, fat 1, carbs 2, protein 24
ex virg olive oil = calories 120, fat 12, carbs 0, protein 0
in shake

totals = calories 1905, fat 72, carbs 55, protein 200

well, that is my first shot. this is really hard! my calories are a little low (300 calories) and my ratios are a little off. i was thinking of something along these lines. i would also drink about 6 liters of water a day. the only other thing i drink is milk, but i cut dairy to help cut. maybe a small glass would help with calories? maybe add an orange as another option? or should carbs be lower?

for mixed veggies i was thinking of rotating between frozen peas/carrots/green beans, straight green beans some nights, and broccoli and cauliflower, and asparagus. mixed berries are fresh blueberries, raspberries and blackberries, maybe sometimes strawberries. i usually buy whitefish like sole and basa. maybe having a steak one night for a cheat meal. i tend to add either franks or crushed chilies to plain chicken breast to give it a little flavor and the calorie counter said there are no calories or anything, just a little sodium.

thanks for your help and advice in advance

Wynter

 

[wynterskye]

anyone with critiquing or substitutions?

 

[oxymoron]

This is whats working for me. Im purely focused on body fat reduction and keeping strength. It took some experienced assistance from a good diet nazi but I got my diet where it needs to be. He'll prolly chime in on this lol.
Im down to my main source of carbs being shitloads of veggies. No breads, no rice of any kind, no potatoes (except a little sweet pots), minimal beans and definitely low to no sugars (berries). I do still do shakes but mainly preworkout. Lots of lean meats and I try to avoid any fats except maybe some nuts now and then. No late night shakes or snacks and then I hit the cardio hard in the morning and again in the evening. My calorie intake is probably closer to 700+ below maintenance than the standard 500. I take forged burners to keep energy up. I think u need to feel things out more and this possibly wont work for u but I do think u gotta go more drastic with ur approach.

Sent from my htc t-bolt using the elitefitness app.

 

[wynterskye]

i appreciate the advice, and i know everyones body is different. i am just looking for a good guideline to get started really. and there are many misconceptions about some foods that are good but really arent, so i am at least looking to make sure i am on the right track. i know for me at my bodyfat if im active and eat lower calories i should lose at least the first 5-10% pretty easily anyways. but im basically out of food, literally got nothing left in the fridge.. well not quite nothing but im getting rid of everything then probably thursday i will have to go buy all my groceries, and it will be along these lines. nothing else will even be in the house!

after the harris benedict equation -500 i am at 2200 cals. i am fine with doing 2000, my first go at a meal plan has me at 1900. i have also read that going below 1800 calories a day though is bad because below that is too little and your body will go into fat saving mode, is there truth to that. i will try my diet at 2000 cals, (700 below maintenance) up my activity even outside the gym and adjust from there i suppose

 

[wynterskye]

Well I bought all my groceries today. And every food i previously bought was gotten rid of. Pretty much how i wrote my diet plan. Eggs, lots of chicken and mixed veggies, lots of white fish. Oats and granola. Going to up my activity level, try and get an extra run in every day. Hopefully working out with an experienced partner will do really well too. So thank you for all your help everyone. Today is day 1 to being a skinnier me!

Wynter

 

[oxymoron]

i have also read that going below 1800 calories a day though is bad because below that is too little and your body will go into fat saving mode, is there truth to that.

yep it's a medical fact. you can go low for a little while but if you keep it up your body will just adjust and store more. a method to rememdy this is to have one moderate calorie day to trick your body into thinking it's not starving. maybe pick a really active day in your schedule and take in just above maintenance. everyone's different so you'll have play around with this.

 

[TheSVPdeal]

yep it's a medical fact. you can go low for a little while but if you keep it up your body will just adjust and store more. a method to rememdy this is to have one moderate calorie day to trick your body into thinking it's not starving. maybe pick a really active day in your schedule and take in just above maintenance. everyone's different so you'll have play around with this.

Actually, a moderate day wouldn't work. You would need to over feed once per week. That will keep leptin levels up.

Sent from my SGH-T989 using EliteFitness

 

[wynterskye]

thanks guys, definitely good to know! So obviously on an active day would be best to help burn off the extra calories, but can you specify what you mean by overeat. How I am understanding this, is would be just eat like a normal person would?? but still clean!! If my fat loss diet is about 2000 calories, is there an approximate goal i should be looking for, say 3000? Or I am just over thinking this, and I should just enjoy a nice day of fulfilling clean eating?

Like for example currently wednesday is a bigger workout day, where i hit my cardio plus it is also my back workout day, so I am hitting some bigger compound movements. Wednesday is currently going to be my cheat day, and by cheat I mean instead of poultry or white fish, I have a small serving of steak and asparagus for dinner: with my breakfast, snacks and lunch remaining the same. So could i just have a nicer portion of steak and asparagus, and add in a nice vegetable filled chicken sandwich on a 12 grain bread as a hefty lunch?