Thread: Clueless... But determined..

Hey all,

Been lurking for a while now, and i am just overwhelmed at the amount of information and knowledge that some of you guys on this forum have!

anyhows, its time for me to post up some stats and pics and hopefully turn this into some sort of progress thread..

... i have not really done any proper weight training at all in the past... but i have been very active in a lot of sports, and surfing/snowboarding...

current stats: (as at 22/09/2009)
age: 25
height: 187cm
weight: 80.5kg (about a year ago i weighed in at 90kg (all fat))
BF: unsure...

... my goal (albeit, probably a very far fetched goal) is to get somewhat of a 'calvin klein' model looking body... i.e. not too big, but nice size and definition..

for about the last 5-6 weeks i have managed to goto the gym 4 times a week with a mixture of weights/cardio.....and endeavor to continue this!!

i have also been on a low carb diet for the last 5-6 weeks trying to spread it accross 6 meals a day... (the most carbs i have are probably in oats for breakfast, the rest being incidental but probably no more than 50g carbs p/day)... i have a cheat day once a week..

im a complete noob.. so im probably not going about this the correct way, but my personal decision has been to cut first before trying to really gain any muscle as i have been very uncomfortable with my body fat at the beach and swimming pool and so on with the level of fat i am carrying... especially with my chest area (possibly gyno? possibly psuedo gyno and is just fat? dont really know just yet) ..but my man boobies just make me uncomfortable even wearing a tshirt!

... so if it makes any sense i would like to get down to a reasonably low BF level, and only then try and gain some lean muscle mass... i must reiterate, i am a complete noob... but determined..

... next week i will be using hydroxycut hardcore to finish off my fat loss cycle as my diet and exercise has started to plateau a little... (i used a thermogenic a few years back, and it did help me lose a bit of weight)..


the only other supps im using at the moment are:

International Protein 'amino charged WPI'
Endura 'N Acetyl Carnitine'
Fusion Energy Multi Advanced


anyways, ill stop rambling on, way past my bedtime.. im a complete noob... so open to ANY suggestions, critisisms, diet tips, workout tips, etc! open fire!

Originally Posted by FZ2H

ill stop rambling on, way past my bedtime.. im a complete noob... so open to ANY suggestions, critisisms, diet tips, workout tips, etc! open fire!

Hi FZ,

Your title has one of my favourite 3Ds. Discipline, Dedication, and Determination. I'm sure the good people here would offer you plenty of clues so that part can be remedied.

You seem to think that carbs are some boogie man that has nothing better to do except to turn you into a fat blob. Nothing could be further from the truth. Carbohydrates, just like their two brothers, fat and protein are needed by your body to help you carry out certain functions. One of carbohydrate's main functions is to provide the body with an easily accessible form of energy.


You can check this program here if you like and then give me your thoughts on it: Lose Fat / Maintain Muscles

All the best.


Fadi.

Hey mate

congrats on making the decision to change yourself. Its good that you have a picture of your goal in mind. As Fadi said, determination is a very valuable asset!

My best advice is to make up a journal or diary, either personally or online. This will make you accountable for everything you eat, and every set and rep when you train.

Best of luck


Tim

lets start off wth showing us what your current daily diet plan looks like

Welcome FZ, looks like you have the determination to succeed in your goals. Looking good mate!

Welcome!
You seem to have a great attitude which is half the battle! Do what Mino suggests - post up your diet and current workouts, and the guys will definitely be able to give you some useful pointers.

Hey FZ

Welcome to the board. I agree with what Tim said, keeping track of what you eat will makes you much more 'aware' of exactly how much and what you are putting in to your body. It makes it easier to identify what you need more or less of. Also READ the forums here, there is such an a great knowledge bank here already with lots of fantastic topics covering supps, diet, workouts etc etc from others who have been in the same position as you. :)

Good luck! and keep us posted how things go for you.

Cheers,

Jinx

Gday and welcome aboard. Apart from the information here, the forum is a great opportunity to get feedback and hold yourself accountable to keep on the fat loss/muscle gain journey. All the best.

Originally Posted by Fadi

You seem to think that carbs are some boogie man that has nothing better to do except to turn you into a fat blob. Nothing could be further from the truth. Carbohydrates, just like their two brothers, fat and protein are needed by your body to help you carry out certain functions. One of carbohydrate's main functions is to provide the body with an easily accessible form of energy.

You can check this program here if you like and then give me your thoughts on it: Lose Fat / Maintain Muscles

Fadi.

the reason im sticking to a fairly low carb diet is because i feel it works for me.. the other thing is, i feel like when i start eating carbs i get carried away and overindulge... so if i stick to low carbs i dont have the temptation...
i still get some carbs everyday through oats and fruit (i try and eat fruits like strawberries, and i often have a banana with my oats)...

i plan my diet out pretty much each day, that way i can have something different and something i feel like..

eg. TODAYS MEALS
9am oats with banana sliced on top
11.30 two small cans tuna (in springwater)
2pm chicken breast strips + salad
5.30pm salmon + salad (on the days when i have no $$ i eat cod - but i eat some form of fish at least once a day)
8pm WPI shake

(snack on few almonds throughout the day along with about 2.5L of water)

so yeah, as you can see, my diet aint that great, and it could be a little more exciting, BUT compared to my previous diet which was honestly something like (and this is no joke) first meal at like midday of something cheap at uni like a foccacia, then at like 6pm fast food of some sort, and then maybe fast food again at like 9-10pm... and i would eat lollies and chocolate all day lol.. i really didnt care..

my BF appears to be dropping, im not sure, but you can see from the first pics im a little more defined...

as of this monday i am gonna start taking hydroxycut hardcore to really try and strip some fat.. im not too sure what exactly my calorie deficit is at the moment, but i will try to consume a little less, and up the cardio...

i think i will use hydroxycut for three weeks (but depending on how it goes it may be shorter or longer) but i feel if i lose another 3-4 kilos i will be comfortable with by BF level, then may try a bulking phase...

remember guys, im a noob, so i am just doing what i think is best for me so if you have suggestions, open fire! but if you could just keep in mind the reason i did this was mainly as i was not happy with my fat belly and chest fat along with general wellbeing... the first pic i posted is actually a lot better than i was 2-3 monts before, and it was actually the first time i even had the courage to take a pic topless to see myself - i could barely look myself in the mirror, and as you can see it is pretty bad, but it was even worse!

cheers for all your responses so far

Welcome to the world of self improvement.

First off, your diet sucks. While you want to lose fat, you do need to keep your metabolism firing. Suggestions I would make as starters:

You need protein with every meal. For example, your breakfast could include eggs, cooked any which way. Four whole eggs would give you some healthy fats and a decent shot of protein, at least compared to what you are having now.

Include red meat, say once a day. You are a male and need a bit of saturated fat to support your testosterone. From your pics it looks like you are a either/or low in testosterone or high in estrogen. It need not be expensive. I just bought 4kg of topside beef for $7 kg, minced. Worked out to about $1 per meal at 200g per serve (raw weight).

Include broccoli in one meal. Include low GI vegetables in each meal to give you fibre, vitamins and all that other good stuff.

Have your WPI shake immediately after workout, not as your night time meal. You can have a meal of cottage cheese (slow digesting protein) with a teaspoon of natural peanut butter or maybe egg whites.

Keep up the fish meal. You can also suppliment with a bit of cod liver oil, flaxseed oil, macadamia nut oil, evening primrose, olive oil. These fats will not make you fat but will help you burn fat, and keep your heart and just about everything else healthy.

Finally, as mentioned by others, you need to make a food log to track your eating and fat loss progress. A training log will also be of great benefit.

Make up a spreadsheet or just note your protein, carbs, fat, calories for each meal. calorieking.com.au will help you there.

OK, thats for starters. So post up your food for today with the nutrients breakdown (protein, carbs, fat, calories) and we can help you tweak it a bit more.

Also post up your full training. There are things you can do to help boost testosterone and get rid of some of that soft "estrogen" shape you have.

Finally, good on you for doing this. In life you do not need to be talented, gifted, genetically superior, you just need to be fully determined to be the best you can.

.. oh, and PS, you are right about the carbs. Some people, me included and a few on this forum, have problems with carbs. No you do not need carbs for energy. Healthy fats and your own body fat can do that for you with a carb boost once a week to refill glycogen stores in your muscles.

There are essential amino acids (the bits that make up protein) and there are essential fats but there are no essential carbs, despite what the wheat industry would like to tell you.

Originally Posted by Hogan

There are things you can do to help boost testosterone and get rid of some of that soft "estrogen" shape you have.

^ this i am interested in...

my workout plan is at the gym and i will post it up next time i go...

.. i prob should have mentioned yesterday was a non workout day... and yes my diet sucks, but it is getting better (i have eggs most mornings 1 whole 3 just whites)

will a testosterone booster help my cause? i am probably way off the mark here but i was led to believe something along the lines of too much testosterone and it can turn into estrogen??? is there any truth behind that?

once again cheers for the constructive replies!!

Originally Posted by FZ2H

^ this i am interested in...

my workout plan is at the gym and i will post it up next time i go...

.. i prob should have mentioned yesterday was a non workout day... and yes my diet sucks, but it is getting better (i have eggs most mornings 1 whole 3 just whites)

will a testosterone booster help my cause? i am probably way off the mark here but i was led to believe something along the lines of too much testosterone and it can turn into estrogen??? is there any truth behind that?

once again cheers for the constructive replies!!

follow hogans instructions and you wont need a testosterone booster,

you will feel like a different person once you structure the right diet up as he mentioned to you,

Thanks heaps hogan,

i am in the process of re-writing up my diet.... and have signed up to calorieking which is a great site!

I will definitely include broccoli everyday, (some quick research tells me that its an E blocker so im assuming thats why you suggested it, many thanks again! )

i started taking hydroxycut on monday.. hasnt had an effect on my sleep yet which was the main thing i was concerned about, but hopefully it does help me drop a bit more fat...

i have another quick question, with regards to my shoulders/posture... are there specific workouts i should include to help push them up/back to where they should be if you get what i mean?

cheers for all the help guys!

Originally Posted by Hogan

.. oh, and PS, you are right about the carbs. Some people, me included and a few on this forum, have problems with carbs. No you do not need carbs for energy. Healthy fats and your own body fat can do that for you with a carb boost once a week to refill glycogen stores in your muscles.

There are essential amino acids (the bits that make up protein) and there are essential fats but there are no essential carbs, despite what the wheat industry would like to tell you.

Spot on Hogan!!

Once I pop with carbs I cant stop, only carbs i get are from the copious amounts of veg I eat.

Fz2h - Not fan of hydroxycut at all, way too much caffiene for any person!! Get your diet right first.