Beginner looking for advice/help

[Snoozing_Dog]

Hey. About 3 weeks ago, I started looking into (and adding) strength training and cardio as a component to my lifestyle. I don't know alot about all of this, and every time I think I do, I hear something different from just about anyone I ask. So, by chance, I went into a vitamin store to look around and the cashier told me about this forum.

My goals are to basically obtain that "Spring Break body", not get huge. Also to increase my endurance when doing cardio, and lose weight, or replace body fat with muscle tissue. [Did I mention I only have five months?]

The last three weeks or so I've been sticking to this basic outline of a routine and diet. Every other day I would work out, allowing at best 48 hours for muscles to rest. I didn't start adding cardio into the routine until about 1 and a half weeks in. (And I want to increase my endurance in running, since it's horrible right now) My diet consisted of 1500-1800 calories a day, anything more and I'd freak out.

I'm a fairly scrawny guy from what people tell me. 17 years 9 months old. 5' 7" tall. My body weight now is 131 pounds (It was 141 three weeks ago). Body mass index is 13.1% and 20 pounds of overall fat tissue. (Was 17.4% and 22 pounds, 3 weeks ago) I don't know how that worked out.


I guess an outline of what I'm eating now, generally, would be good.

1 cup KashiGoLean Crunch
1/2 cup milk
1 banana
2 scoops of whey protien and 2 cups of milk (told to get rid of that recently)
Balogna & Cheese on wheat
Balogna & Cheese on wheat
16 oz chicken breast
Then some wiggle room


All in all... 1500 at best, and that's without the whey protein shake. Reason I'm not taking them anymore is because the dude at the register of the vitamin store told me that if I take too much protein, it can hurt my kidneys. Also said that them milk I was adding to the shake made the protein absorb too slowly into my system, if any.

I don't want to eat too much because of a slow metabolism, and I hate seeing any body fat on me. It's kind of depressing.

The things I have at my disposal are a 50 minute weight training class, a bowflex (better than nothing), 25 dollars a week for food, 7 pounds of whey protein, and a sidewalk for running. I decided to take the weight training class instead of getting up at 5 A.M. to run.

I guess I want to know what I should change to meet those goals. I figure this would be the place to look, seeing as people are more experienced here.

[Shibby]

Well you seem to have a decent base to what you are doing physically. Since you are not really looking to pack on muscle, then just keep hitting the weights to keep that part active and run with your heart rate at a fat burning level. You need oxygen in your blood to burn fat. So if you start training cardio with your heart rate over, say 140 (it's going to depend on you a bit) your are going to be strengthening you cardio system more than burning fat. Read up a bit on the "fat burning zone" versus "cardio strengthening zone" to get a good idea of what's best for you. As for your diet, it can use a lot of imporvement and it can be inexpensive. But I will leave that part up to someone who is currently more experienced with that.

[Shibby]

Oh, and for the most part, don't listen to people in the "stores".

[Snoozing_Dog]

Okay, so I calculated my metabolic rate and adjusted my diet. Reason being, I read somewhere that if you starve yourself of calories, you don't gain any muscle, or start to lose it. (That true?) And because of that, I've adjusted my diet a bit, and now have a bit more of free room.

My metabolic rate is 2460 Calories a day. I put myself as Moderate Activity Level since I lift every other day, and now am doing cardio 5 days out of the week (Aiming for a fat burning level). That's right, yeah? As usual, I'm still aiming for between 1 and 2 grams of protein for every pound of body weight.

Every Day I'm trying to stay around 2000 calories. I'm not sure to what I should adjust this with the cardio. And another thing I'm still wondering about is if I can still take those whey protein shakes with the milk. Shibby, you said not to listen to the dudes in the store, right? So I can still drink those shakes with the milk in them?



Well, I don't expect an answer immediately, so I'll just give tomorrow's diet before I get off, and if anyone wants to, they can look it over/offer suggestions.


Multivitamin (0 Calories)
1 cup KashiGoLean Crunch (190 Calories) [9g protein]
.5 cup milk (60 Calories) [4g protein]
1 banana (110 Calories) {Potassium}
Bologna + Cheese on 2 slices wheat (280 Calories) [11 g protein]
Bologna + Cheese on 2 slices wheat (280 Calories) [11 g protein]
1 Lb Skinless Lean Chicken (440 Calories) [100g protein]
1 Banana (110 Calories) {Potassium}
1 cup Orange Sherbert (300 Cal) *2g fat - 1g Saturated fat* Very Low Fat
1 Scoop Whey Protein (90 Cal) [18g protein]
1 Cup Skim Milk (90 Cal) [8g protein]


All in all an accumulated 1950 Calories, 161 grams of protein, and from what I know, minimal fat intake. So I'm about 500 calories below my metabolic rate, and should be losing about a pound of body fat a week. About the orange Sherbert, it gives me something sweet to look forward to, and is very low in fat content. But if it's a bad idea let me know.

So overall, that's what I'll be having tomorrow. Any ideas/input would be appreciated.

[ROCKILLER]

Multivitamin (0 Calories)
1 cup KashiGoLean Crunch (190 Calories) [9g protein]
.5 cup milk (60 Calories) [4g protein]
1 banana (110 Calories) {Potassium}
Bologna + Cheese on 2 slices wheat (280 Calories) [11 g protein]
Bologna + Cheese on 2 slices wheat (280 Calories) [11 g protein]
1 Lb Skinless Lean Chicken (440 Calories) [100g protein]
1 Banana (110 Calories) {Potassium}
1 cup Orange Sherbert (300 Cal) *2g fat - 1g Saturated fat* Very Low Fat
1 Scoop Whey Protein (90 Cal) [18g protein]
1 Cup Skim Milk (90 Cal) [8g protein]


All in all an accumulated 1950 Calories, 161 grams of protein, and from what I know, minimal fat intake. So I'm about 500 calories below my metabolic rate, and should be losing about a pound of body fat a week. About the orange Sherbert, it gives me something sweet to look forward to, and is very low in fat content. But if it's a bad idea let me know.

So overall, that's what I'll be having tomorrow. Any ideas/input would be appreciated.

Firstof all, glad you found this site, theres tons of bogus info out there. I was talking to a guy I know from high school this weekend and he was telling me that eating more calorie than you need wont help you gain muscle and if you want to lose weight you need to cut out so much food that your stomach shrinks and you only eat 1 meal a day. Crazy stuff.

Second, seems like you have a pretty lean body so far, if it were me I would eat closer to my necessary calories to add the most muscle mass possible. As for the diet, what are the times? Generally you want protein right away. Maybe start with a protein shake made with water. I would cut out the bananas or at least 1 of them. Also, ditch the sherbert, or maybe go to once a few days. I cant see bologna being great for muscle building, how about a can of tuna instead? Look at some smaples of peoples diets, Control posted a good sample beginners bulking diet that you could modify for your needs. You want to try to eat carbs and protein or fat and protein together. The protein you use makes a big difference. Some proteins I have tried taste like crap unless you use milk. Now I only use Optimum Nutrition 100% whey and it almost makes me sick to use milk in it. Also, its way cheaper if you order online from someone like allsportsnutrition. Also, you want to look at your water intake. General guidlines, I believe, is a gallon a day. Do some more research and post up your diet in the common format with times and there are some really knowledgeable guys here who can help you tweak it.

[Shibby]

Drinking the shakes with milk isn't wrong or won't work. It depends on what you are trying to do, as to how you should drink your shakes. The fat in the milk can slow absorption, but not enough to make that a factor to me. If you are trying to find some way to add calories in a high calorie diet, then I would go with milk. But for your purposes, I would use water and replace those fat calories with something that will help build the muscle better.

[Snoozing_Dog]

Okay, I got some pictures of my upper body since this is the area I'm looking at most when judging if I need to lose fat tissue. Something happened today, though. My weight training coach basically sat me down and told me that I didn't need to lose any more weight in his opinion. He said I was healthy, and that if he was me, he'd start focusing on gaining weight by muscle mass. I have four months left in that class, and he gave me the option of focusing on that, with cardio still available.

I wanted to post these pictures up to get your opinion. If I need to lose more body fat, or if I should start working to gain more muscle mass and stop focusing on losing weight. The lighting was shitty, so I did what I could to make them visible.

Shot 1

Shot 2

shot 3

Just a bit of forewarning, I was really self conscious before. I just don't want harsh comments about the pics. Harsh comments about the shitty lighting though will be accepted.