New to this world

[JeepMonkey]

So I have been lurking for a while now and wanted to say hello and thank you to everyone for all of the useful information here. I have about 8 different word documents full of information that I found extremely useful. And I finally figured out this Karma stuff hehe.

I'm 6'1, 227lbs, 27% bf and turned 30 last month. I only really have the spare tire and some fat in my chest, so I look ok with cothes on . My girlfriend got us a trip to Jamacia for the first week in June 2006. Obviously I'm not in the best of shape, but I have lost 18lbs since I decreased my 18pk of Budweiser a night to about 3 glasses of red wine a week, if that now.

But on to the point and not to drag this out any further, my question to guys/gals is this. How should I go about starting my transition to being not scared of the beach? I almost have my diet in check from what I have read here and have finally started the gym again. But I'm confused on if I should just kill fat all the way until then, or bulk for a couple of months and then cut the remainder until vacation time? I have a wish list made up from what I want to get from the afstore and intend on placing that order next Friday.

I would just like some opinions if any of you have some time. Thanks for your time and I look forward to seeing my abs some day.

JM

 

[Lifterforlife]

My first suggestion and it is strictly from your inference in the post that you are not happy with your current bodyfat without clothes. Asthetics play a huge role in our phyche, and this is the driving force for many of us.

Got a bit long there, but it is to make the point. I believe your best bet would be to shed fat stores first. A diet to bulk is inherently caloric surplus, meaning you will gain some fat along with any muscle, no matter how "clean" you eat. This while it may add a bit to your lean mass, will also add to your fat mass, and make it even harder to shed from experience, not to mention less appealing to your phyche.

Once you achieve a more appealing physique to yourself, then a bulking regimine would be in order. Hope this makes some sense, my take on your post, and probably how I would handle it if I were you.

 

[JeepMonkey]

You hit it right on the nose Lifterforlife, I'm not too pleased with how I look when I walk by the mirror heh. But I'm tired of avoiding it and any place that I have to have less than a t-shirt and shorts.

I know my post was a bit long, sorry about that. But I guess I needed to explain/rant, if you will. Well I obviously don't want to ad any more fat, so I do see what you are saying. So I have a good idea on what I need to do then. I think I'm going to start a journal and take some pics to help myself log my process.

One more question if you don't mind or anyone else for that matter, what should my calorie intake look like?? My job is very, very manual labor intense and from a couple of websites I've found I burn approx 1800-2900k cal per day just from work. So I just want to make sure I don't go backwards in my efforts. I'm not scared to read so if anyone has a link to some good reading material it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks again everyone!

JM

 

[KIAN]

Weight: 227
Height: 6'-1"
Age: 30
BFP: 27%

With your body fat percentage (BFP) at 27%, you definitely shouldn't be thinking of bulking, even on a short time frame. Concentrate on reducing your BFP by gradually lowering your caloric intake and increasing your level of activity.

Basic Metabolc Rate (BMR):

• Adult Male:
  BMR = 66 + (6.3 x body weight in lbs.) + (12.9 x height in inches) - (6.8 x age in years)

Use your BMR to determine your daily caloric needs:

• sedentary (little or no exercise) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.2
• lightly active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.375
• moderately active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.55
• very active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days a week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.725
• extra active (very hard exercise/sports & physical job or 2x training) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.9

The above values will represent your daily caloric requirements at the specified level of activity to maintain your current weight. Reducing your caloric intake by 500 calories per day (3500 total calorie reduction over seven days) will result in a loss of one pound (minimum) in bodyweight per week. Aim for a loss of 1-2 lbs. per week to achieve your goal in a healthy manner. If your progress slows down then consider these options:

• decrease your caloric intake but maintain your level of activity
• maintain your caloric intake but increase your level of activity
• decrease your caloric intake and increase your physical activity

Set up a training schedule for yourself so that you are performing cardio 3X per week (minimum) first thing in the morning when you wake up at a high intensity level for 30-60 minutes. Follow this up with a healthy breakfast. You will also want to perform resistance training (weights) 3X per week (minimum) with heavy weights to ensure that you help maintain and define your current mass while you are cutting.

Your nutrition ... protein intake should be set at one gram per pound of lean body mass (LBM). This can be increased to 1.5 grams /lb. LBM if your training is at an intense level. Gradually lower your carb intake and make sure that your consumption is coming from complex, low to moderate glycemic rated sources as these will leave you feeling fuller over longer periods of time and less likely to cheat on your diet. You should minimise your saturated and overall fat intake but it may be necessary to slightly raise your fat intake to offset the shortfall in carbs and meet your daily caloric requirements. You will have to play around with the numbers and monitor your progress. Use your BFP and not the scales to assess your progress. Maintain proper hydration throughout the day.

If you are looking at using supplements to help you achieve your goal, then go with a high quality protein source like Protein Factory's CFM Whey Protein. It is ideal for cutting as it is zero carb and zero fat. If you are looking at using Thermogenics then just be aware that they do come with associated risks. Water is the only other supplement I would recommend using.

If you are currently at 27% BFP and your goal is to strut up and down the beaches of Jamaica in June 2006, in your speedo, showing off your abs, then you will need to get your BFP down to atleast 12% for them to start showing through (assuming that you have trained and developed them). This will mean that your final target weight will be 193 lbs. So you have six months to lose 34 lbs. If you stick to it and work hard, you will have no problem achieving this goal.

_________________

KP--Fitness basics

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[JeepMonkey]

That is exactly what I was looking for. Thank you so much Kian! From doing a couple of searches on your information, you sure have an awesome way to inform individuals and keeping it understandable. So, I now know what I need to do and what direction I need go. Need to fine tune the diet just a tad more and I'll be set. Thank you very much.

With that said I guess I'm off to get this ball rolling

JM

 

[big49ersfan]

good post kian but would like to add i have experiment with am cardia on emtpy stomach on having whey before ahnd and i find that whey before am cardio to minisie muscle losses.

I would also say add in 2 HIT sessions after weights so if your following a basic pull, push legs regime have HIT after pull and push this shoudl eb less than 20mins on a bike or x-trainer or runner if you is fit

warm up for 2-3 mins then evry 2-3 minutes go all out for 30sec-1min up to like 18mins then cool down to 20mins. Work nicely i find. Inctrodice this slowely once bf is lower/ your fitter.

id also adive to taper your carbs and you may have heard this before so have 3-6 dyas with low carbs then a day with higher carbs lower protein and lower fat but still at or below maintence cals. The amount of low carbs will depend on your motivation and your body.

 

[JeepMonkey]

good post kian but would like to add i have experiment with am cardia on emtpy stomach on having whey before ahnd and i find that whey before am cardio to minisie muscle losses.

I would also say add in 2 HIT sessions after weights so if your following a basic pull, push legs regime have HIT after pull and push this shoudl eb less than 20mins on a bike or x-trainer or runner if you is fit

warm up for 2-3 mins then evry 2-3 minutes go all out for 30sec-1min up to like 18mins then cool down to 20mins. Work nicely i find. Inctrodice this slowely once bf is lower/ your fitter.

id also adive to taper your carbs and you may have heard this before so have 3-6 dyas with low carbs then a day with higher carbs lower protein and lower fat but still at or below maintence cals. The amount of low carbs will depend on your motivation and your body.

Thanks for the suggestions. Took a bit, but finally found some information on HIT sessions. I think I got it figured out. Seems like my first 3-4 weeks at the gym are going to be some hard core trial and error for all the info I am trying to take in. But hey, it's all part of the learning process.

So far, I have found that my biggest challange will be to continue to cut carbs out of my diet. Being mostly German and Italian, carbs are part of my heritage I just need to continue to get my priorities in check and stay focused.

Again, thank you all for all of your help everywhere I look.

JM

 

[big49ersfan]

have fun in the gym tho bro dont push too hard you dont want injuries but record everything in a diary and then you will know where you are stnding progress wise.

 

[JeepMonkey]

have fun in the gym tho bro dont push too hard you dont want injuries but record everything in a diary and then you will know where you are stnding progress wise.

Yeah man, already started a diary. Already made me realize that my diet needs more work than I thought haha! Have a good one bro.

JM

 

[JeepMonkey]

Ok, so just a quick update.

I'm down to 203lbs, 17% BF (or at least that's what the doc thinks) and am doing everything in my will power to stay on my diet. Holy crap I never thought it would be this hard. I gave myself a cheat day once a week. But on that cheat day, holy mother of god! All I want to do is drink, eat everything that smells like mom's cookin and so on. How do you guys stay with it?? My will power is fricking being tested hard core. And for the fact of giving myself this "Cheat Day" I have noticed that my diet has suffered a bit too. But it's weird. I only seem to fudge it a bit with my dinner, for the fact that it's not planned out like everything else.

And it doesn't help the matter any, that I feel like I'm starving constanly. But yet I'm eating a ton of food. It's so damn weird.

I know I can do it, but how did you guys/gals hang in there?

Thanks for the input!

JM