Personal Recommendations

GaryL

Right, my brother got a weights bench recently so I've decided to start using it and get myself in shape. I'm 20, 6'3 and am 12 stone 2 1/2 atm. I say atm because my weight fluctuates a lot depending on the time of day (or how much I drank the night before). What's the best time of day to weigh yourself?

Anyway, I've never been to a gym, I've a terrible diet and drink every weekend. I'm lucky enough that I don't put on any weight no matter what I eat. A specific example of my daily diet would be:
9.00.. Large bowl of cerial (cornflakes, weetabix, shredded wheat) - By large I'd say 2 of those mini Kellog boxes that you can buy. Also, loads of sugar.
1.00.. A roll with chicken fillet, egg mayonese and lettuce usually. A bottle of club orange and a chocolate bar.
4.00.. I'd probably get 3 or 4 packets of crisps on my way home from college.
7.00.. Dinner. It's usually packaged food like chicken, pizza or anything that can be thrown in an oven. My mam used to make a proper dinner daily until she went to college and is now working 50 hours a week. Usually she'd make a proper meal once or twice a week now.
9.00.. I'd be pretty hungry again by 9 and probably put something else in the oven like, eg. sausage rolls.
12.00.. Easily another bowl of cerial.

To be honest I found it tough trying to think of my diet as I just eat once I'm slightly hungry. Even with all the above I'd still eat a banana, yougurt, biscuits, etc. aswell. It's a crazy diet but my brother is worse and doesn't put on any weight either. I honestly ate about 4-5 easter eggs in the week after easter aswell. I'd eat the 1 easter egg in one "sitting". That'd be usually around 3-4 o'clock if I'm at home.

I don't necessarily want to eat much less than I eat at the moment, I'd just like recommendations on what to eat instead of the junk so I won't be going hungry. If I hadn't read this forum I wouldn't have given my diet a 2nd thought, I'd have just done the excercises.

Anyway, I've a decent frame to build on and I tend to put on muscle easily enough. I'm actually often asked if I work out because I have a decent build. My thighs are very big though and my chest could do with a better build as I'm well on the way to getting man boobs. Other than that I'd just like to build up what I have.

So as an absolute beginner what should I be doing? Try to avoid all the terms that I read in other threads as I haven't a clue what they are. I don't just want to be doing weights. I walk to and from college every day which is about 2 miles away. I have a mini stepper in the house too which I could use.

What I'll do is post a picture of my upper body tomorrow and keep this thread updated as it'll be an extra bit of motivation to see the progress.

Boru.

Hi,

The best time to weight your self is first thing in the morning after you've emptied your bladder, but before you have eaten.

You are right about your diet, it is terrible. My advice is to read the stickies and Google any terms you don't understand.

The reason you get hungry so often has little to do with the quanity of your food, but it's quality. You're taking in an awful lot of simple sugars, which get used up very quickly, cause insulin spikes which store fat and leave you needing more food. I'd scrap your entire diet. I know that may sound harsh, but you need to break the bad habits.

I'd also suggest you learn to cook for yourself, and learn to prepare your meals in advance. Take responsability for your food intake, and don't leave it to your mother to provide for you. That means, get a shopping list together, buying the right food, preparing it and cooking it yourself. If your meals are prepared and organised there is NEVER any excuse for a bag of crisps or junk food of any kind.

Knock the drink on it's head. The only fluid you need is green tea and water. If you need it to have a good time, then it's not a proper diet you need.

All your meals should contain lean protein, ( eggs, chicken, fish, lean beef), vegtables and healthy omega 3,6 and 9 fats. No carbs like rice, pasta, potatoes unless it's after a workout.

empirix

GaryL wrote:

Right, my brother got a weights bench recently so I've decided to start using it and get myself in shape. I'm 20, 6'3 and am 12 stone 2 1/2 atm. I say atm because my weight fluctuates a lot depending on the time of day (or how much I drank the night before). What's the best time of day to weigh yourself?

Anyway, I've never been to a gym, I've a terrible diet and drink every weekend. I'm lucky enough that I don't put on any weight no matter what I eat. A specific example of my daily diet would be:
9.00.. Large bowl of cerial (cornflakes, weetabix, shredded wheat) - By large I'd say 2 of those mini Kellog boxes that you can buy. Also, loads of sugar.
1.00.. A roll with chicken fillet, egg mayonese and lettuce usually. A bottle of club orange and a chocolate bar.
4.00.. I'd probably get 3 or 4 packets of crisps on my way home from college.
7.00.. Dinner. It's usually packaged food like chicken, pizza or anything that can be thrown in an oven. My mam used to make a proper dinner daily until she went to college and is now working 50 hours a week. Usually she'd make a proper meal once or twice a week now.
9.00.. I'd be pretty hungry again by 9 and probably put something else in the oven like, eg. sausage rolls.
12.00.. Easily another bowl of cerial.

To be honest I found it tough trying to think of my diet as I just eat once I'm slightly hungry. Even with all the above I'd still eat a banana, yougurt, biscuits, etc. aswell. It's a crazy diet but my brother is worse and doesn't put on any weight either. I honestly ate about 4-5 easter eggs in the week after easter aswell. I'd eat the 1 easter egg in one "sitting". That'd be usually around 3-4 o'clock if I'm at home.

I don't necessarily want to eat much less than I eat at the moment, I'd just like recommendations on what to eat instead of the junk so I won't be going hungry. If I hadn't read this forum I wouldn't have given my diet a 2nd thought, I'd have just done the excercises.

Anyway, I've a decent frame to build on and I tend to put on muscle easily enough. I'm actually often asked if I work out because I have a decent build. My thighs are very big though and my chest could do with a better build as I'm well on the way to getting man boobs. Other than that I'd just like to build up what I have.

So as an absolute beginner what should I be doing? Try to avoid all the terms that I read in other threads as I haven't a clue what they are. I don't just want to be doing weights. I walk to and from college every day which is about 2 miles away. I have a mini stepper in the house too which I could use.

What I'll do is post a picture of my upper body tomorrow and keep this thread updated as it'll be an extra bit of motivation to see the progress.

LOL dude you must be putting on some weight eating like that, cut most of that **** out, gym or no gym - it will catch up!

blow69

3 or 4 bags of crisps on the way home from college. Barf! I wouldn't eat that amount of crisps in 3 months!

GaryL

I've read all the stickies and have been googling for a while so have got quite a bit of info. I have to say getting into the nitty gritty of knowing how much fat, protein, etc. I'm eating is a bit of a step in 1 day so tomorrow I think I'll just cut out the junk completely and see how I get on.

This seems to be a good reference:
http://www.eatwellbeactive.qld.gov.au/eatwellbeactive/eatwelltips/menu_ideas.asp

Money Shot

Life is about enjoying yourself too. You are twenty years of age and have no aspirations to wear fake tan and pose on a stage wearing skimpy briefs just yet. Small steps - cut out the crisps for starters, then gradually change to where you want to get. it's not easy, and it takes time. You will have many false starts. I find people who go headfirst into 'healthy eating' try to do too much at once and it's simply not sustainable.

P.S Most importantly, don't go down the road of racking yourself with guilt over a packet of crisps or a bar of chocolate. it's ok to have a bag of crisps or a bar of chocolate or a few drinks. A lot of people on this forum seem to live like monks and are very serious about their diet and exercise - I honestly don't know how they do it, but I think it's good to have a balance. As a rule of thumb if you eat well most of the time, you can enjoy a few luxuries in your life.

Although, it doesn't always seem like it, this forum is about fitness. If you exercise regularly and improve your diet to the point where you are eating well 80% of the time, you will be far fitter and healthier than you are now - which is a great result surely. You can take any other goals you want to achieve from there.