how to achieve?

jamesr123

The reason I don't consider myself fat is because i'm 22, 6 foot 1 and only 11 stone 7 which from what i'v read is a healthy slim weight.. I don't workout and wouldnt even know where to start but I really wanna lose this flab and get a flat smooth stomach.. I'v also lots of cellulite around the stomach area which I wanna get rid of.

I have pics if I could get opinions on my condition please... How much work will I need to get a more fit or 'toned' look..

The last pic is the rolls of fat that appear when I sit down.. It's really depressing me atm



Thanks..

Ri_Nollaig

You are whats known as "skinny fat".

Whats the diet like...?

Either way, to achieve what you want you would probably want to increase your protein/fats while doing a program like Strongh Lifts or Starting Strength first and then try to diet off the belly fat later, once there is a good base of muscle there it probably wont look at bad either. You are the perfect age/weight to make this change now before it could get worse. Good luck.

Good website here http://simplesciencefitness.com/

As for "how much work?" well how long is a peice of string? Try [and follow it exactly!] Strong Lifts 5x5 for 12 weeks, its 3 sessions per week, will take about 45 mins once the weight gets heavy. From there its up to you.

jamesr123

Thanks for the advice mate.

As far as my diet goes it's all over the place and not very healthy, Most days i'd get a chicken subway, wheat bread with a bottle of coke and crisps. Recently i have cut coke out and i'm sticking to coke zero..

i really don't look after myself and would not have a clue about protein, fats or what i should and shouldnt be eating..

If i'm honest i'm amazed i'm still at this skinny 11 stone 7.... your right about the muscle issue.. my arms are extremely skinny. i'v no muscle for my age..

colossus-x

You need to educated yourself about healthy food and exercise. Too big a topic to go into here - 1001 resources on the web.

From what you said you eat that is the the category of "total crap". I couldn't eat that type of food now it would make me throw up or at the very least sick in the stomach once i'd started digesting it. As you get older the bad effects of such a diet will increase even multiply.

The good news is your only 22. You have plenty of time to get into fitness and at least good diet and your not too fat yet so getting into shape for you shouldn't be too difficult.

At least learn how to cook. Buying meals from centra/spar/subway is a recipe for disaster. Once you get into eating healthy food you'll realize how disgusting fast/junk food is. Except chips...we all like chips : ) Good luck.

Ri_Nollaig

jamesr123 wrote: »

Thanks for the advice mate.

As far as my diet goes it's all over the place and not very healthy, Most days i'd get a chicken subway, wheat bread with a bottle of coke and crisps. Recently i have cut coke out and i'm sticking to coke zero..

i really don't look after myself and would not have a clue about protein, fats or what i should and shouldnt be eating..

If i'm honest i'm amazed i'm still at this skinny 11 stone 7.... your right about the muscle issue.. my arms are extremely skinny. i'v no muscle for my age..

To be honest this sounds exactly like me when I was 22. My only regret was not taking fitness/healthy eating more serious sooner.

So first step really should be to try and sort the diet.

You don't need to go overboard but it should be fairly obviously that crap like subway/coke or any fast food is ...well, crap. I am not saying to go cold turkey on them and completing avoiding all easy/fun options but you would want about 90+% of your average weekly diet to be "proper" food. How far you go with this and how fast you want to see results is really down to how seriously to take the diet side of things. But its best to take it handy and make slow changes over time.

Are you working?
If so try and ensure you have a proper set breakfast and lunch every day. In the evenings then just learn a few basic meals. Take it handy and don't get too bogged down on carbs/protein/fats yet, your understanding of them will come more in time.
But for example, good sources of protein: red meats, chicken, fish and eggs and good sources of fats: eggs again, dairy, olive oil, nuts etc. Try to have a good protein source [40% of the food] with every meal and you'll be surprised how the rest will fall in place.
Don't fall into the marketing trap of "eating fat makes you fat" its eating more then you need makes you fat!

http://stronglifts.com/stronglifts-diet-muscle-gains-strength-building-fat-loss/ Have a read through here, even if you don't follow this workout plan its diet sounds good for you.

As for the workout.
Well what do you have access to? Would you join a gym?
Given your height and current weight I think strength training is really needed [you are under weight!].
You could consider just some body weight exercises for now. Either way, take it slow and handy and don't expect results over night.

jamesr123

I'm not working atm( student) and I have no real routine right now as it's summer.. As I said my diet isn't great but I certainty don't think I over eat but it's something I will really need to work on. No doubt it'll be cheaper to cook my own food aswell?

I have weights out my shed there 6 dumbbells 2.5kg weights on a bar.. which feel heavy as I lift them. would they do me for lifting?

Ri_Nollaig

jamesr123 wrote: »

I'm not working atm( student) and I have no real routine right now as it's summer.. As I said my diet isn't great but I certainty don't think I over eat but it's something I will really need to work on. No doubt it'll be cheaper to cook my own food aswell?

I have weights out my shed there 6 dumbbells 2.5kg weights on a bar.. which feel heavy as I lift them. would they do me for lifting?

You probably don't over eat, just most of the existing diet is probably carb heavy.
"Does a bear shít in the woods?" ofcourse its cheaper to cook your own food.
Just try and have a set routine for most days, obviously I'm not saying to ignore going out with friends for pizza or something but its what you do on every normal day that matters here.

As for the weights in the shed, at a guess something bought from argos with grand ideas. They might help for now but I would imagine they would quickly become door stoppers if you take this seriously. You should check out some of the body weight based programs, I have never tried them myself but could be more beneficial then investing in proper weights/home gym or joining a gym first.

Combined with improving the diet I wouldn't be surprised if you saw some nice improvements, the belly fat might take a long time to get rid of but I wouldn't be surprised if you have no issues lifting those weights in the shed then

generic2012

You're not a healthy slim weight, you're just light, that says nothing about health, and I wouldn't call you slim either. Not trying to be rude, you seem to know your position, I just don't want you to think that because you're light you're healthy. The photos show you have a lot of fat and the scales show you don't have much muscle. Again not trying to be rude!

I'd advise you to get into resistance training as soon as you can. If you think you can fix your diet and get in to consistent training at the same time, go for it, but I think one at a time is better for a beginner. The extra calories you're consuming will help you put on muscle faster anyway. You should put on a lot of extra muscle pretty fast because of your nearly lack of any at the minute and the extra calories.

It is healthier to be slightly overweight and trained/fit than a 'healthy' weight and untrained. Fitness is more conducive to health than weight.

Zamboni

jamesr123 wrote: »

The reason I don't consider myself fat is because i'm 22, 6 foot 1 and only 11 stone 7 which from what i'v read is a healthy slim weight.. I don't workout and wouldnt even know where to start but I really wanna lose this flab and get a flat smooth stomach.. I'v also lots of cellulite around the stomach area which I wanna get rid of.

I have pics if I could get opinions on my condition please... How much work will I need to get a more fit or 'toned' look..

The last pic is the rolls of fat that appear when I sit down.. It's really depressing me atm



Thanks..

You look like an average Irish male 22 year old.
This is not good.

You are skinny fat and have two choices.
Bulk up through proper eating and training - downside, you will get fatter too.
Or
Trim down through calorie deficit through proper eating and training - downside, you will look ridiculously skinny.

I was in your position and chose the trim down option. I looked like an extra from Schindler's List.
If I went back in time, I'd probably go the bulk up option and then trim down once you have some proper lean muscle mass.

Fat loss is easy compared to muscle gain in my opinion.

Rough Sleeper

jamesr123 wrote: »

The last pic is the rolls of fat that appear when I sit down.. It's really depressing me atm

Not that there isn't room for improvement, but nearly everyone looks kinda fat when they sit down.

conzy

Zamboni wrote: »

You look like an average Irish male 22 year old.
This is not good.

You are skinny fat and have two choices.
Bulk up through proper eating and training - downside, you will get fatter too.
Or
Trim down through calorie deficit through proper eating and training - downside, you will look ridiculously skinny.

I was in your position and chose the trim down option. I looked like an extra from Schindler's List.
If I went back in time, I'd probably go the bulk up option and then trim down once you have some proper lean muscle mass.

Fat loss is easy compared to muscle gain in my opinion.

You can go somewhere in the middle for the first year or so.

By cleaning up his diet and eating at maintenance calories. All the noob gains / hormonal changes that come with heavy lifting will change his composition hugely over the next year. When he has a decent base of strength then he can decide what to do.

A bulk or a cut are the wrong options here as one will have him looking like a shindlers list extra like you said :pac: and the other will have him gaining unnecessary bodyfat

Blacktie.

conzy wrote: »

You can go somewhere in the middle for the first year or so.

By cleaning up his diet and eating at maintenance calories. All the noob gains / hormonal changes that come with heavy lifting will change his composition hugely over the next year. When he has a decent base of strength then he can decide what to do.

A bulk or a cut are the wrong options here as one will have him looking like a shindlers list extra like you said :pac: and the other will have him gaining unnecessary bodyfat

Wouldn't this just be spinning your wheels essentially? Not enough calories to gain any significant muscle and not losing much bodyfat with no deficit. It would just be a slow body recomp.

conzy

I still think eating at maintenance or at a tiny surplus would be the way to go, He will lose fat and gain muscle like everyone does for the first few months. By the time he stops making linear progress in the main lifts he should be educated enough as to where to go from there

OP it would be worth throwing your details in here http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/ to get a good idea of your calorie intake

Probably around 2750 cals 200g of protein, 300g of carbs and 80g of fat would be decent starting point

Gi joe!

Blacktie. wrote: »

Wouldn't this just be spinning your wheels essentially? Not enough calories to gain any significant muscle and not losing much bodyfat with no deficit. It would just be a slow body recomp.

That would usually be the case, but the OP is a complete beginner where it's possible to gain muscle while losing fat. If his nutrition is dialed in and he's training hard enough he'll be amazed how quickly his body will transform.

To the OP, I'd echo other posts here: learn the basics of resistance training and nutrition but don't get bogged down in the details. There's no perfect program or diet. If you choose a sensible program, train hard and most importantly eat right you'll be well on your way.

Good luck!

jamesr123

A few terms that's been used are new to me lol but i did google the 'skinny fat' description and found this explanation which describes me perfectly

''A person who is not overweight and have skinny look but still have a high fat percentage and low muscular mass. Usually those people have a low caloric diet, that's why they are skinny, but are not involved in any sports activities or trainings and that's why they don’t have any muscle. Since between the bone and the skin those people only have fat, the skin can be deformed easily because the skin layer is located on an unstable matter (fat).''



generic2012: The reason I said i considered 11 stone 7 a skinny weight was because i know lots of friends and family who are well over that weight and look very skinny. plus i'm forever been told i look anorexic. you are right and I do accept that the bulk of that is fat and very little or no muscle:o

i'v always like the look of lads having flat stomachs but From the comments recieved i think building muscle may be the best route to go..

Ri_Nollaig

"Skinny fat" is a bit of an oxymoron alright but it does describe a surprisingly large percentage of the population. I would have been the same at 22 and by 25 had lost the "Skinny" part...

To reiterate what I said earlier and what others are saying, a change of diet combined with some good strength training will make a massive difference. It would be worth while to go to a proper gym to have access to proper weights. If you do, its critical to have a proper workout plan in your mind and know what you want to do, otherwise you'll feel lost and intimated by the various weights/machines. Even just try some "pay as you go" places for now.

I wouldn't get too bogged down on trying to loose weight for now, instead you want to gain [as muscle], otherwise you will be completely bombarded with "you look anorexic" comments so heads up there. Once you have a good basis of strength training and understanding of the role your diet has you'll find it a lot easier to cut later.

agent graves

you should try a program like p90x or insanity.. they will get you trim and toned in no time. they also come with nutrition guides aswell so you cant go wrong.. each day is 30-40 mins. look them up on youtube..