|
2005/02/06, 11:35 PM
I used to be overweight. Last year I went on a diet which helped me go from 225lbs to my current weight of 175lbs. I have spent the last couple of months going to the gym. I have made many errors as a beginner and realized I have very small gains after all that effort because of those errors. I don't want to waste more time working out, if I'm doing things wrong. So if I get can some questions I have answered it would be a great help.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Current Status
Weight: 175lbs
Body Fat: 16-18% (bodyfat scale varies)
Body Type: Some muscle is noticeable; however, I have stomach fat and muscle that is visible isn't clearly defined.
-----------------------------------------------------------
My Goal: Lose bodyfat/tone while building a good amount of lean muscle
-----------------------------------------------------------
My Questions
What to do for Cario? I read Bfit's topic on when to perform cardio. I workout x4 per week (after work) and have been doing 30 mins before each workout. According to him that's a bad thing, and I believe it based on his information. He recommends doing it on off days, which isn't really possible for myself. Come to think of it now, most guys I see lifting don't step on the cardio machines at all. Can I skip it and still get my results with diet? If not, what would be the best solution?
Diet: To lose that weight, I did all the research (3500 = 1lbs of fat, how many calories did my body burn per day, etc.) and it worked. However, I'm more confused now than ever in regards to diet and building muscle. I still need to lose bodyfat (hence why I did cardio) and ate a diet of 1,500 calories and wasn't concentrating on getting protein in me. (I'm also a vegetarian, so I wasn't getting protein from meat, hence another reason for minimal gains). This website says based on my strength building goals to consume about 2,700 calories per day. I don't think that can be right for me. So how many calories, grams of protien (I'll use soy/shakes), fat, etc should I be consuming to gain muscle while lowering my bodyfat percentage.
Thanks for all the help!!
|
|
|
|
2005/02/07, 07:53 AM
Start lifting heavy and eating more. 1,500 is starvation for most females! I would put you closer to 2,450 but you want to gradually increase your calories.
It sounds like up until now you have probably been wasting off a lot of muscle due to starvation level calories and excess cardio.
Cut out the cardio and focus on lifting for a while. If you want to do 15-20 minutes of HIIT for cardio a couple times a week - do it after you lift or on alternate days.
Up your proteinintake - there are many good whey or egg protein powders and if you are vegan, soy or rice based (though it is inferior protein).
Start with 175g protein a day, divided among 6 small meals, eat lots of complex carbs, veggies, legumes, and get fat from nuts. olive oil.
For a 2,450 cal doet I would start you at 245g carbs a day, 184g protein, and 54g fat. That is a 40/30/20 P/C/F ratio. try working up to that amount, changing your workouts and see how it goes.
--------------
Spoon feeding in the long run teaches us nothing but the shape of the spoon.
-- E. M. Forster --
|
|
2005/02/07, 08:37 AM
thanks for the advice; however, you mentioned females. I'm male, should I still go by what you recommended?
|
|
2005/02/07, 08:55 AM
My point was that you are eating less than most women. As a man you need more calories, as you carry more mass and most likely (or naturally) have a higher metabolism.
|
|
2005/02/07, 09:22 AM
ah, that makes sense. I didn't read it that way first time around. So from what I understood from your post if I increase calories/protein and focus on lifting heavier weights I should see muscle gain. That muscle gain should then help burn excess fat even though I'm not cutting back on calories? I just want to be sure, because I don't ever want to go back to being overweight (and everyone always said to cut calories)
|
|
2005/02/07, 09:25 AM
Yes.
|
