Help needed for a desperate newbie

[wbens]

Hello everyone. I was recommended to this site by some friends. I will tell you my story and then list some questions that I have. I appoligize in addvance for the long post. Sit back, kick your feet up, and enjoy, laugh or do what ever.

On June 3 of 2003 I wieghted 292 lbs. I then started collage later that fall. At the time I was driving an old gas guzzling truck and working only about 10 to 12 hrs a week, so the money I earned went mostly to putting gas in my truck. As a result of this I was only eating lunch a couple times a week with no breakfast and I was eating dinner. Well as a result of this I started losing wieght, which I desperatly needed. People started commenting on how good I looked. And, well I liked it. It got to the point that I just wouldn't get hungry for a day or so and not eat anything. Then I started basically skipping meals, only making a sandwhich for dinner everyother night and not eating anything else. One week I ate on a Sunday, Wednesday and Saturday. I lost 5lbs that week. I continued this through the end of this last summer when I noticed that my wieght wasn't dropping near as fast. By this time I was at 6 ft tall and 130lbs.

About the begining of this fall my wieght started varying, first by a couple pounds and I kept it fairly under control. I also started walking for atleast an hour a night. I tried to get atleast 3 miles each night. Sometimes more, sometime less. And it worked to keep the wieght down around the 135 mark for a while.

Well, for the last couple of months my wieght has gotten out of control, at least in my mind. I am know up to 160lbs and eating more than I have in a long time. I do not like the way I look standing infront of the mirror anymore. I have several pairs of jeans that will not fit me anymore.

I have started doing wieght lifting. I lift 3 times a week for 1hr. and am noticing some results. I am also drinking whey protien a couple times a day.
My diet consits of either an apple or banana and the protien drink for breakfast. The same for lunch, and then a chef, taco, or grilled chicken salad with fat free or light dressing on it, and sandwich with a piece of fruit, or a can of tuna with crackers and a piece of fruit. Here are my problems. I LOVE hot chocolate. I was driniking a cup a day. I also chew alot of gum. Big red mostly. I am trying really hard to stop driniking the hot cocco and have switched to sugar free gum to help cut down on the sugars. My other problem is that when I am sitting around I get bored, so what do I do. Yep, you guessed it I eat. I went out and bought a word find book(yes laugh all you want) as a way to keep my mind busy and off of food. It hasn't really worked. I am trying to drink more water, just as a way to fill my stomach up so I will fill full sooner. I have not had a pop in over a year, and I can not eat fast food any more. My stomach gets up set.

Here are my questions.
1)Should there be something I should do on my off days of wieght lifting to keep my body active? I can't run very far do to my asthma. I do situps, pushups and I have a small set of 10lbs dumbells that I do on my days of before I go to bed. I still feel that there should be something more.
2)How can I tell if the wieght I am gaining is from food or from the added muscle? I know that muscle wieghts more than fat.
3)Should I up the length of my work out? Is one hour long enough?
4)The tuna and meat are good for protien. Is there anything else that you can suggest that I eat to help with muscle development?

I am trying my hardest to eat healthy and get exercise. I have always been heavy and, now that I am skinny, I don't want to go back to being the way I was. I am SCARED TO DEATH that I am going to back to that wieght and I REALLY REALLY REALLY don't want that to happen.

What I am wanting to do is slim down but increase my muscle strength. I do 4 sets of 15 with lighter wieghts. From what I have read this is what I need to do to get lean muscle mass. I would like to lose about 10 to 15 lbs but gain muscle. Is this possible? or more importantly, is this healthy? I saw the effect that my lack of eating had on my family and friends, and quite frankly I didn't like it.

PLEASE HELP ME!!!!. If there is any more suggestions that you could make, please feel free.
Thanks you all a bunch in advance

William

Sorry for the long post.

[.V.]

I was 300 lb in sept '03 at 67%BF - I lost the fat by eating a ketogenic type diet - plenty of meats, salads, and other green vegetables. Don't totally abandon your healthy natural carbohydrates to while trying to loose the last of that weight and build muscle. The right amount of carbohydrate to fuel your lifting and muscle recovery is beneficial - but just like protein and fat - too much will not be good for you.

Lifting weights and doing cardiovascular exercises. Starting with an easy walk of only about 1/4 of a mile and working my way up.

Weights were totally sad and pitiful at the beginning. I have maintained my new 10%BF this way and am adding a little lean tissue gradually. 160 lb fat loss - over 45 lb lean tissue increase since I started.

There are many ways to accomplish what you say you want to do, just pick one and stick with it. What I'm currently using that seems to work the best for me is the MAX OT training style.

Here is a link to their site to get some information from to see if it interests you. http://www.ast-ss.com/max-ot/login.asp

The not eating enough thing is just not a good way to go - at my fattest, I was only eating less than 900 cal a day and still gaining about 20 lb of fat a month. And I lost all of the muscle mass that I had before I got fat and am now trying to rebuild it.

Just some ideas - hope you find them helpful.

[wbens]

Thanks, I'll give it a try. Does anyone else have any suggestions?

William

[ACEHOLE]

William.


You dropped 150lbs by not eating! That wasnt good for thee ol metabolic rate...but you can recover.



Firstly...you need to realize that you can look better at 160lbs being as lean as you were at 130. Youve got some issues with body image...but hey we all do to an extent.

"1)Should there be something I should do on my off days of wieght lifting to keep my body active? I can't run very far do to my asthma. I do situps, pushups and I have a small set of 10lbs dumbells that I do on my days of before I go to bed. I still feel that there should be something more.
2)How can I tell if the wieght I am gaining is from food or from the added muscle? I know that muscle wieghts more than fat.
3)Should I up the length of my work out? Is one hour long enough?
4)The tuna and meat are good for protien. Is there anything else that you can suggest that I eat to help with muscle development?

1) Forget cardio, you should lift 5 days per week keeping rest times low. Make sure diet is in order and youll fine. Also...working out before bed...not eating....is going to canabilize any muscle youve got all night long.....you want muscle to burn cals.

2)The Mirror will be the best judge of this.

3) 1hr is pefect...dont extend this....cortisol to an extend is your enemy

4)Eggs, Peanut butter, Lean steaks, low carb milk

[wbens]

I am eating alot more now, 3 meals a day, with a snack here and there. Usually an apple or banana. So I shouldn't work out before I go to bed correct?
Thanks

William

[.V.]

Everyone is different. Some people like the evening workout so that their recovery time is at night while sleeping - they feel they get better recovery and muscle growth that way.

I prefer the morning workout and evening cardio myself - lifting around 8 or 9. then cardio somewhere between 3 and 5. Just experiment and find out what works for you.

I have to say that for overall health and fitness - don't go without cardio. It is not going to put any extra muscle on you, but it will keep the fat burned off - and it will keep the heart healthy - the real reason for doing it.

[wbens]

Ok so this is what I am thinking. Lift Mon, Wed, Fri for an hour. On Tues, Thurs do cardio. Rest on weekend, possibly doing some more cardio.

William

[.V.]

Sounds like a very good start. Try it - see what happens. In 6 or 8 weeks, if you need to make any changes - then make them.

There is a new book out call The Volumetrics Weight Control Plan written by Dr. Barbara Rolls and coauthor Robert A. Barnett. Many years of research have gone into her book and at first blush it looks like a great way to go. I'm going out this week to try and find a copy to see if it lives up the reviews I've been reading the past two weeks.

[abarlament]

The mirror by itself is too subjective of a measuring tool. If you have some tape, do tape measurements in addition to the mirror, ditto to a caliper.

[sicklyscot]

Just to put things in perspective William, I am 6ft tall also and weigh in at about 180 and am a pretty skinny dude, so don't be too worried about the weight gain. I can't imagine what a 6ft tall guy would look like weighing only 130, seems bean poll-ish, not to knock on you at all though, losing that weight is probably the best thing you have ever done, will do for yourself, even though it wasn't the healthiest way.

As said above, work out 5 days a week and keep the length to 1 hour, this should do wonders for you.

Also as said above, different things work for different people. I personally right now am eating 6 meals a day and consuming more calories than I did when i was eating 3 meals and day, and I'm slimming down ( go figure), but I think the lesson I've learned out of that is that you're body needs the calories and when you don't supply them, you metabolism will slow down.

One method that i've seen lots of people use to get some cardio and some extra calorie burning is doing 5 minutes of cardio before their weight lifting routine. This will raise your heart rate and hopefully keep it there throughout the workout. Not the best for bulking, but great for cutting.

Everyone is looking for that magical food that will help them lose weight but provide all the protein and nutrients they need...the problem is it doesn't exist. You will need to find the right combo for your lifestyle and taste, although it seems you're on a good track. I have found that sliced turkey seems to fit well for me, high protein and low carbs and its so easy to eat.

Just remember, you ultimately have control over how you look (to an extent anyway) and if you are dedicated enough, you'll see the results.

Oh, and definately do the measurements thing, mirrors are way too tricky.

[threenorns]

there seems to be some confusion here: cardio is heart-strengthening exercise first and foremost with a bit of fat-burning. examples of cardio are brisk walking, stair climber, treadmill set on an incline, etc. you're sweating pretty good and can carry on a conversation in sentence halfs ("i do this...exercise once a day"). your heart rate is 60 - 70% max.

to keep the pudge off, you need *low- to moderate-* intensity exercise a minimum of 30 minutes four times a week: moderate walking on the treadmill, light weights in sets of 20, stationary bike on the flat, etc. your heart rate is at 60% max, you can carry on a conversation in full short sentences, and you're sweating lightly.

when you do fat-burning exercise, you jack up your metabolic rate and it *stays* jacked up over the next six to twelve hours, which means you burn more calories doing nothing at all.

6 feet at 130 is pretty, well, not big, let us say. at six feet, even a slim man would look best at no less than 165. an average man would look best at 175, while a man with a large frame would carry an extra ten pounds with ease.

to get your mind off your food addiction, you need to replace it with another. in my case, it was reading everything i could get my hands on about bodybuilding. i spent *hours* researching and developing different routines.

whatever helps, right?