Total Beginner

[gustopho]

Okay Guys,

I am totaly new to all this but heres what I have going on.

I started P90X 7 weeks ago. I know I shouldnt have, but I did, I went to 500 calories a day. I went from 234lbs 02/18, to 209lbs today, 03/28. I use the P90X recovery drink after each workout along with 1 P90X Activate pill. I stopped doing at and did the equasion below:

My calorie intake should be 2140 to self Sustain

If I add 300 to add bulk it should be 40% 40% 20%

protien 976 cal/ 244g
carbs 976 cal/ 244g
fats 488 cal/ 52g

does this seem right to you?



I also take 2 total control, 2 cell-u-loss, 2 appetite control, 1 b-6, 1 b-12 mid day, these are all herbalife brands along with these pills I take 1 ultra mega gold GNC multi vitamin and 2 fish oil pills.

I do the workouts 6 days a week, except for Sunday around 9:30pm, then from there I tan for 20 minutes.

I was talking to a friend at work (and after a long group ass chewing) who introduced me to the USPLabs line of products. I currently bought Powerfull and the Jack3d.
I started taking the Powerfull 2 days ago, 1 a night before bed and tonight was the first time for the Jack3d, and let me tell ya my face is on fire (2 full scoops). Might be to much for starters. It feels like I just took a bottle of niacine.

I plan to start the Asteroid stack with the addition of the pink magic, jack3d, and recreate. What should I stop taking of the others, or is all okay together.

I know that I can no longer keep up with eating 2 fatfree yogurts 2 fat free cheese sticks and 1 recovery drink.

I know that some of you probly want to reach thru the fiber optics and chole me, but like a I said, I am totaly new to all this but want to get the most I can in the next 90 days.

Any and all scrutiny, fine tuning, reco's, ass chewing, strait talk, and name calling wanted here please.

neck 16
shoulder girth 49
bicep bent 14
bicep relax 13
bicep flex 15
chest 16
waist 38
hips 42
thigh 23
calf 15

209 lbs
25.25 body fat
6 foot 1
30 years old


Do I need to even focus on losing weight or can I just start right into putting on lean mass??

Is it possible to lose fat and gain mass at the same time.

Thanks to you all in advance.

I know this is alot, but I am so F$%^ing tired of being fat, lazy and a couch lounger. I want to be someone that others look at want to be like.

Chris

 

[kagenical]

I'm going to reply to you because you seem to have done your homework. Congratulations at passing the first milestone every beginner seems to neglect.
Some general comments here...
52g of fat is too little IMO. I'd exchange a few of those carb calories for healthy fat calories. Aim to include more sources of omega 3 fatty acids, like salmon and ground flaxseed. Aim to include more healthy omega 9 fatty acids such as EVOO. Try to keep your intake of O3,6,9 balanced, if not biased towards O3.

IMHO, the cell-u-loss, appetite control and Total control pills... Well, I'd skip on those were I you. Unless you honestly (and be honest) notice a difference in important physiological markers, I'd replace them with an EC stack, taken responsibly for appetite control. I don't trust many herbal products for many reasons, and although the dangers of ephedrine are established, they are well established. Very important compared to the unknowns of various herbal cocktails...
You seem to have an over-reliance on supplements... I would suggest you re-evaluate that approach and focus on proper nutrition instead. Even if you were to find the magical mixture of supplements, the apex or pinnacle of supplement mixtures, I doubt the difference in your progress would exceed a (very optimistic) quarter or third. Compared to an absolutely perfect diet, which could improve your progress twofold, if not better.

Jack3D is my favorite pre-workout stimulant. But be careful not to mix it with other fat burners... I have no experience with the other supplements and products you mentioned.

You, however, failed to mention your diet completely, other than the brief 500Kcal stint you've been on recently. You need to incorporate as much lean protein, healthy fat and vegetable matter in your diet as possible. Fat-free yogurts are great for GI health, and you can even find some brands that provide 26g protein per 650ml in 230Kcal. Not too bad, and I eat one of these containers a day. Try to eat whole foods, vary your protein sources. Tuna, salmon, white-fish, turkey, chicken, pork, beef/veal, egg, isolates (like whey or casein), skim-milk (natural source of whey+casein). Try to bias your carbohydrate to the pre and post workout period, and perhaps at breakfast if you respond well to carbs (I, however, do not).

Personally I cook a whole whack of food on sundays... Usually a pot of chili, a 2-3lb pot roast, 9-10 chicken breasts, a weeks worth of brown rice, yogurt (I make my own) etc. I portion and freeze each day's worth of food so I'm not scrambling to cook healthy, high protein dishes day in and out. Turkey burgers, taco-beef quiche (1lb extra lean ground beef browned with taco spices and 1L eggwhites in a pie tray) Simple high protein dishes with wholesome ingredients are THE shortcut to a better body. Invest in a scale if you must to weigh out your portions and you'll do yourself wonders.

It is HARD to gain LBM and lose BF% at the same time... The ONLY way I've been able to do this was through a strict intermittent fasting program, biasing ALL of my food intake to the 2hr pre-workout and 6hr post workout periods... Beginners like yourself can gain lean tissue very quickly while losing fat at the start of their routine. Were I you, I'd focus on doing good, full-body workouts often, and try to lose fat by counting calories. Ease your muscles into mass gaining, and drop the BF to around 20% before starting as lean a bulk as you can, and cut further afterwards. Gaining LBM now might make fat loss easier, but it's psychologically harmful when the scale keeps increasing, you appear larger and you're main goal is to repartition your body... Shedding some fast pounds then hammering your body in a lean bulk is the most rewarding "3 months" you can get IMO. An overall balanced program to get yourself in better "fighting shape" should be employed for the first month, before working on specifics that almost always go un-rewarded early in a training regime.

Sorry for the long post, I'm waiting in line at the DMV, couldn't help myself, and I've been exactly where you are. Good luck.

 

[red head]

from you wrote your about 150 lb lbm . all the advice kagenical wrote sounds solid n good . 500 cals W T F . youve only got 150 lbs lbm so ditch that p90x stuff and all their snake oil n start doing a basic prgramme ( as mentiond tbw can be exellent for fat loss) with HEAVY weights about 4/6 reps and normal low intensity cardio while dieting SLOWLY to retain the muscle you have until you get down to about 10/15% bf then re evaluate your diet/training .
imo aim for about 1lb a week MAX weight loss to be safe any more and you could be losing muscle . it is possible to lose faster but with your inexperience you may crash diet n end up skinny fat .