Weight Loss / Muscle Building Guidance

Well, for as long as I can remember, since 6th grade, 7 years ago, I've always been chubby/on the larger side.

In 6-8th grade it was nothing drastic/bad I was just a chubby kid, had the cheeks and the belly, but nothing bad.

In 9th grade things got pretty bad, I put on a lot of weight, I wasn't very happy with myself, but as a late bloomer/late hit to puberty, I didn't really care about my looks. Summer of 9-10th grade I worked as a camp counselor and I lost a LOT of weight. I was barely on the computer, always out and running with kids, went back to school in 10th grade the best I'd ever looked in my life. I stayed away from the computer that year, I was fine till about mid 11th grade, then it went downhill. That summer I worked at the camp again but was constantly eating shitty food, not focusing on a diet, I just got careless.

Finally in senior year I buckled down and began working out and I started to get in better shape, but never really skinny, never comfortable enough to take my shirt off infront of others etc.

That summer(the one that passed recently) I started doing a lot better. Worked at the camp again, got a girlfriend who I'm still with, etc. Things went well, but then freshman year of college began, and freshman 15 slapped me right in the fucking face. I love food, who doesn't. I love eating junk food, a slice of pizza for lunch or a burrito or some shit. I know its not good for me, but hey I enjoy eating.

Basically, my current situation is like so: I'm at a point where I don't like looking at myself in the mirror. I haven't publicly taken my shirt off infront of ANYONE(friends, pool, beach) minus my family and up until last week my girlfriend. We've been together for around 10 months and I finally decided to take my shirt off while we were together. I've always wanted to be able to walk around comfortably with my shirt off. I see people on the beach walking around shirtless and I'm jealous because I wish I could be that confident with my body.

What this entire thread is about: I want to learn how to lose weight, build muscle, and I REALLLY need help with what I eat/watching and monitoring my diet.

I go to the gym every M/T/Th/F/Sunday.

I play soccer with some friends every wednesday. I'm active, for the past 3 weeks I've been making sure to be working out constantly. When at the gym, I usually work out on the muscle building machines/use weights. I work my legs for a bit, then upper body, ie. Curls, chest presses, pullups, flys, rows. I can see the change in my upper body, I can feel myself getting stronger which is awesome. But I want to lose weight as well. For those who have ever been fat and lost weight, you understand what I mean when I say losing weight AND putting on muscle at the same time isn't easy. Being skinny and bulking up is a lot easier then losing fat, so I need advice on what exactly to do while working out. I've been told to do a lot of cardio, sweat more, but I don't really enjoy it. I know, I know, I NEED to do cardio, there's no ifs or buts with that. So recently I've been going on the stairmaster for 15 minutes and boxing with a punching bag for about 30. I swear like hell on the stairmaster, but I'm so out of shape that its difficult to push myself to stay on for more than 20 minutes at a time.

Basically, for the working out, I need advice on good excersizes that help lose weight/tips/techniques for what to do and focus on while working out in order to BURN FAT.

Now for the harder part. Eating....

What should I eat? What should I at all costs stay away from? When should I eat, how big are the meals? What if I'm still hungry? I need help with all of that. What kind of food should I have at home waiting for me when I get home from class. I'll cook myself if I have to, I just need to know what to eat.

I like to eat a power bar as a breakfast replacement. Its an energy bar with a lot of protient but a lot of fat as well, is that smart? What should I eat for lunch? Dinner? What's a good snack that will fill me up? Are there pills/suppliments I should take?

All these questions and more. I'm not a smart eater, I have no knowledge on how to be. ANY help would be appreciated.

Thank you for taking your time to read.

I'm sure I'll be adding more as time goes on, if you have any questions, ask.

Edit 1: Pockets has decided to be my partner in this. His problem is near the opposite of mine because he's "too skinny," as he'd say. If he asks any questions on this thread, please help him out as you'd help me .

 

I also had the same problem last year Dave. What I did was LOTS of cardio. Running/jogging is probably the best thing you can do cardiowise. Right before every work out, run a mile or two. Or if you have the time, run in the morning when it's cool.

Remember to build muscle, try not to do everything on the same day every day. Make a schedule with the muscle groups you want to train each fray. Say Monday work chest, Tuesday legs, or what not. Just don't overwork yourself.

Now for eating. Eat lots of lean protein, for example chicken. Drink protein shakes too. Get your fruits and vegetables in. Before a workout, try eating some pasta to get some carbs for more energy.

If you want more tips, just let me know next time we Skype.

 

To put in a really simple way.
You can run nonstop, you can workout for days on end, but unless you diet/change eating habits.
You WILL NOT see the changes you want.

Simply when it comes to eating, eat 6 meals a day. 6 SMALL meals.
If you eat 3 big meals a day you get 1 days worth of servings in 1 meal.
So you eat 3 days worth of food, in 1 day.
Thats why 6 small meals, consisting mainly of lean protein (i.e. turkey, chicken breast, tuna, etc) and fiber will keep your metabolism up and keep you on a daily limit.

If you want to change a life style up, do small things.
Like if you drink soda everyday, maybe cut that out first. Maybe instead of fries you order a salad this time.
Little changes at the start allow your body to adjust slowly instead of rapidly causing you to relapse.
The best part about me telling you what is good is the fact that I was 240 and now im down to 190 and i have more muscle than ever.
So I was in your shoes my friend. I know the feeling, the self consciousness, etc. I was there dude. PM if you need any kind of other help.

I would recommend doing a workout routine instead of trying to make or follow something online. I would HIGHLY recommend P90x.
I am currently on that (day 51) and the results are amazing. PM if you want a few before and after pictures. A lot of results in only 51 days.
If you can't afford P90x or the Resistances Bands, etc you can make your own workout.
I personally am a P90x LOVER, so whatever you are hearing from me, you'll mostly being hearing from Tony Horton on P90x.

Also if you do start to workout, make sure to rest.

When it comes to dieting this is a saying everyone knows "It isn't bad to eat this every once in awhile"
You can't have that mentality... That mentality is allowing you to fail.
If you mess up and eat something unhealthy, than oh well, workout harder next time. Don't allow it to become an "Ok" thing.
You need to have the right mind set to do this.

PM if you need any other advice or wanna talk.

 

For the hunger part, just don't eat. After a while, the hunger will go away.
Or you can eat a banana; those things take a while to digest and you wont feel hungry for a while.

Replace any junk food with something nutricious or ess harmful to your body. It can be salad, more fruits, breakfast cereal or so. Cooking your own meat isn't a bad idea, either.

Those are my two cents.

 

Not eating is a horrible idea. 1. It'll destroy my metabolism I'll just be more hungry once I do eat, 2. My body will recognize the lack of food/caories/energy being put into my body and will save every last bit, those saved amounts/deposits of energy/calories/lipids/other substances will just sit there and turn into more fat. Not eating isn't a solution, I know that much for sure.

 

I'm glad you the know the above for a start. The best workout to lose weight is cardio as you know. If you find running the treadmill to be boring, play more sports and make sure you run your ass off when you're at it. For example in soccer, when someone runs open towards your goal and you're behind him, try to outrun him for the ball. Don't have the "fuck it" attitude. It will only bring you down. Listen to some music while running on treadmill as that helps a lot. As it was mentioned, you will not see any changes unless you change your eating habits. Make sure you look at everything you eat and the "once a while is okay" attitude is unacceptable. Everything else was covered by the users above.

 

I meant in between meals, when you crave junk food

note:
clubbing, although not a very good option can help out.

 

Eat Low carb food and Work out

 

Yea Cardio is mainly coming out of my boxing and stairmaster at the gym. I play soccer every Wednesday with my friends but I tire out depressingly quickly. I'm slowly being able to run more and more though. The "once in a while is okay" is probably what destroys me the most. Like tomorrow, I'm having a family dinner and I KNOW I'm going to stuff my face, I want to be able to not do it, but I see it as my favorite food and I can only eat it once every two weeks. I'll just work my ass off to burn it off, I don't have the will power to do otherwise.

Ahh so for fillers? Yeah I usually eat a like, string cheese, banana, some lettuce with vinegar, etc.

It's just when I'm low on time and running late, instead of taking the extra 3 minutes to get the lettuce and clean it and eat that, I'll pull out half a pop-tart and be like, "oh no biggie it's just HALF of one."

 

Not exactly true. While yes, not eating period will slow your metabolism down, as opposed to eating small meals every 2-3 hours which keeps your metabolism going. If you eat below your BMR, you WILL lose weight, and usually fat will be among that weight lost. Your body will not 'save every last bit' of energy, it will turn to your fat stores, and protein stores (muscles) to use as energy. The only time your body quite literally saves every last bit of energy is when your about to die.

That said. What's your height and weight? What's your body fat percentage? How big are your wrists (in inches)? Gaining muscle and losing weight simultaneously is an arduous task, I daresay it's impossible once you've been lifting for some time. Your best bet is to focus on one, or the other.

 

Yea, exactly what he says.

Also there's a documentary which says that you being fat is largely affected by the type of genes you have. So having the will-power to surpass this natural instinct in you to eat more is definitely a plus.

 

Im in the same boat as you as far as losing weight. we arent the same build but similar positions. Ive been drinking a lot of water for the past 3 weeks and changed my diet drastically. Itll be hard at first but when you see the first sign of progress it becomes worth it.

Im no health guru but i just eat a sandwich whenever i get hunfry followed by a lot of water. Mix the sandwiches up every time. PB & J, Turkey and Cheese ect. And maybe one small junkfood item. Youre trying to ween yourself from junkfood so completely stopping wouldnt be that efficient, but just eat a small snack a day and gradually move to no junkfood at all. I did that and about a week after no sweets i tried one and my tastebuds have adjusted so much that i dont have the tase for it or the tolerance of all the sugar.
Hope i helped.

 

That is false. It is a lot harder for someone to have to eat more compared to just eating less. Don't use your personal lack of will as an excuse (no offence). Obese people can already have muscle under all the fat it is just a matter of losing the fat, whereas skinny people have no muscle base to begin with.

As for losing weight, it really just is a science. I suggest calculating your maintenance level and going from there. Read this over:

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=121703981


If you just starve yourself you will run into many problems. First, you will lose a lot of muscle (if you have any under your layers of fat). Second, you need the carbs to have an effective workout. If you can't discard your passion for food, just be more active.

Good luck

 

If you have a friend in cOllege athletics thy have great workout plans an eating plans. I played college baseball last semester and the workout and diet booklet was 300 pages and had each meal planned out I put on 18 pounds of muscle and got up to around 215. The workouts also help burn off that fat and turn it around into muscle. So If you can find an athlete

 

This really helped me as I have the same problem as the OP but what carbs should I eat? I workout a different muscle group each day and I do have quite a lot of muscle but I'm also overweight.

 

A little tip if you don't want to eat all the junk food is to drink a lot of water.
I used to be chubby in school until I knuckled down an worked out and did a lot more sports, I've been active for about 8 years now and I think I look great.
I'm not a muscle nut, but I like to look good and I like to eat too
Basically, I'd eat my breakfast, lunch and dinner, but in between is drink a load of water, it filled me up and I didn't really want to get snacks, so it stopped me from eating junk in between meals

 

skip breakfast and drink alot of water... you should be good

 

You should not skip breakfast. It is very vital to losing weight. Breakfast gets your metabolism going from the overnight fasting. You need to keep your metabolism going to lose weight much efficiently.

 

Thats untrue, you are allowed a calorie deficit of between 500-1000 calories before you go into "starvation mode". Which basically means you can eat less, or work more. I have never been fat my entire life, because when I was younger and ate a lot more I did a lot of physical work so I never had much surplus. I did and still do eat junk food whenever, however I never end up with more than a 2 digit surplus.

 

Work hard, eat protein, fast. There's this fasting program called "the master cleanser" which essentially cleans out most of the shit in your body. You drink a mixture of water, cayenne pepper, lemonade And syrup.
Start slow. Don't do a month fasting right off the bat (which you never really should do anyway) Try it for a few days. I recommend doing about 10 days. It essentially shrinks the stomach down due to you not eating anything solid. When you come off, don't eat on the first few days because it could damage your stomach. Drink liquids and soups. Start eating small stuff, baby food. Don't go back to eating meat until you can finish an actual meal