Weak and Overweight - Focus on weight loss or Building muscle base??

[GMEN126]

Hi all,

New member here - 30 year old male, little to no training experience to speak of but my mind is in the right place and I'm ready to start. I'm currently an overweight weakling, the unfortunately all-too-common American body type. 5'10", 235 lbs., 31.6% body fat (yes, that's possible if you commit yourself to an extremely unhealthy lifestyle for an extended period of time). I am now ready to commit myself to a healthy and productive lifestyle... for the rest of my life. I understand the changes I want will take time and that there aren't shortcuts. I'm willing to put in the time and effort needed to reach my goals. I'd like to do this naturally (for the foreseeable future at least). I've done a lot of homework - although I'm a new member I've been perusing these forums for a long time.

I know what I need to do to either build muscle or start losing fat, however I'm not sure which direction I should start in - should I first focus on shedding as much of this fat as I can (option A), or should I start by building a nice base of strength/muscle (option B), since the muscle will help speed up the metabolism and aid in the fat loss when it's time to cut?

Option A would look like this:

• Morning Cardio 6x week (treadmill, elliptical, stationary bike, etc.)
• Evening Weight Training 4x week, 3 sets, 10-12 reps
  
• Mon - Chest (Barbell Bench Press, Dumbbell Incline Bench Press, Dumbbell Flye), Triceps (Cable Triceps Pushdown, Lying Triceps Extension, Seated Triceps Extension), Abdominals (Ab Crunch Machine)
  
• Tues - Back (Dead Lift, Lat Pull Down, Cable Seated Row), Biceps (Standing Barbell Biceps Curl, Seated Dumbbell Biceps Curl, Hammer Curl), Abdominals (Hanging Knee Raises)
  
• Wed - Shoulders (Smith Machine Military Press, Arnold Press, Dumbbell Lateral Raise, Seated Front Raise), Traps (Barbell Shrug, Dumbbell Shrug), Abdominals (Crunches)
  
• Thur - Upper Legs (Smith Machine Squat, Machine Leg Extension, Machine Leg Curl), Calves (Barbell Standing Calf Raise), Wrists (Barbell Wrist Curls), Abdominals (Dumbbell Torso Twist)
  
• Supplementation would include ECA stack, multivitamin, fish oil

• Diet would be as follows:

Meal	Time	Food/Beverage	Calories	Fat (g)	Carbs (g)	Protein (g)
Meal 1	08:00am	1 cup Egg Whites	120.00	0.00	0.00	23.90
Meal 2	10:00am	1 scoop GNC Pro Performance Whey Protein	110.00	1.50	4.00	20.00
Meal 3	12:00pm	2 cups Ready Pac Garden Salad 4 oz Grilled Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast 1/2 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil 1 tbsp Balsamic Vinegar	204.50	8.35	3.00	25.00
Meal 4	02:00pm	1/2 cup 4% Milkfat Cottage Cheese	120.00	5.00	3.00	15.00
Meal 5	04:00pm	4 oz Lower Sodium Turkey Breast	120.00	1.00	0.00	24.00
Meal 6	06:00pm	1 can Chunk White Albacore Tuna Fish In Water 1 tbsp Reduced Fat Mayonnaise	185.00	5.50	1.00	32.50
PWO	PWO	2 scoops Wheybolic Extreme 60	187.00	0.70	4.70	40.00
Meal 7	08:00pm	2 Lean Ground Turkey Patties 1 cup Organic Spinach	190.00	9.00	2.00	22.00
TOTAL			1236.50	31.05	17.70	202.40

• Summary - Low carb/calorie, high protein, cardio-focused

Option B would look like this:

• Morning Cardio 6x week (treadmill, elliptical, stationary bike, etc.)
• Strength training program would be StrongLift's 5x5 - 3 workouts/week, 5 sets, 5 reps, compound lifts (squats, deads, bench, rows, etc.), with focus on adding weight each workout
• Supplementation would include multivitamin, fish oil, creatine, glutamine, N.O. Xplode, Scivation Xtend and ZMA
• Diet would be as follows:

Meal	Time	Food/Beverage	Calories	Fat (g)	Carbs (g)	Protein (g)
Meal 1	08:00am	2 cups Egg Whites 1 cup Uncooked Quaker Oats 1 scoop GNC Pro Performance Whey Protein 1 tbsp Flax Seed Oil	890.00	33.50	58.00	77.80
Meal 2	10:00am	1/2 lb Lower Sodium Turkey Breast 2 Slices Ezekiel 4:9 Sprouted 100% Whole Grain Bread	400.00	3.00	30.00	56.00
Meal 3	12:00pm	8 oz Grilled Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast 1 Medium Baked Yam 1 Bag Simply Steam Sugar Snap Peas	513.00	5.30	67.00	54.00
Meal 4	02:00pm	2 scoops GNC Pro Performance Whey Protein	220.00	3.00	8.00	40.00
Meal 4	04:00pm	1 cup Borden Lowfat Cottage Cheese 1/2 Cup Frozen Berry Medley (Shoprite)	195.00	2.55	14.50	28.50
Meal 6	06:00pm	1 can Kirkland Signature Solid White Albacore Tuna 2 tbsp Kraft Mayonnaise with Olive Oil 1 cup Cooked Quinoa	589.00	15.50	50.80	61.50
PWO	PWO	3 scoops Wheybolic Extreme 60 120 g Dextrose Powder	760.00	1.00	127.00	60.00
Meal 7	08:00pm	8 oz High Plains Bison Burger 2 cups Brown Rice	894.00	32.00	74.00	62.00
TOTAL			4461.00	95.85	429.30	439.80

• Summary - High protein/calories (yet clean), with a focus on building strength/muscle through core, compound exercises

---

I don't really have a base of muscle to speak of, so I'm really leaning towards Option B, however I'm afraid I'll put on even more fat with the muscle which would be discouraging.

Please let me know what you would advise. Thanks in advance for the help, it's truly appreciated. Hopefully I can repay you with some before and after photos a year from now that will show you the tangible effect you've had on my life!

Thanks,

GMEN

[Bertuzzi]

Welcome to the forum.

I will keep this simple.

Go with Diet idea number one, but ad an addition 500 calories and I would do it with pretty much all carbs... especially in the Morning ad another 100g of carbs and 25g of protein to that diet and you're set.

Thanks for the detailed post.

[--->>405<<---]

gmen welcome man!

if ur 31.6%bf u need to cut no question about it!

where did u get ur bf% chekd?

1200cals is too little for u

read this sticky:
http://forums.steroid.com/showthread...g#.UOjb9W_edP8

[Bertuzzi]

gmen welcome man!

if ur 31.6%bf u need to cut no question about it!

where did u get ur bf% chekd?

1200cals is too little for u

read this sticky:
http://forums.steroid.com/showthread...g#.UOjb9W_edP8

^^ 100% agree with 405... on everything

[coonhunter]

Welcome brother.
Good for you my man. You are right! you have been dedicated in the wring direction. Good news is its just as easy to go the other way. Based on your stats I would say go hard to lose fat first. Its what will keep you motivated and people will notice a lot faster than adding muscle under BF that high. Also consider a trainer. I am a huge advocate for trainers especially at first. getting back to the gym sucks and can be hard without accountability but you will be good to go after a month to 2. I have been training for a while and we are the same height and weight but I'm in the 10% bf range and still use a trainer when I get in a slump or want to change things up.

[taaa]

you can build up strength while cutting especially as beginner
focus on cutting and getting stronger once your cut down focus on building muscle

[GMEN126]

Thanks guys, I appreciate the feedback. I bought a Vitagoods Digital Body Analyzer to track my weight, bf%, muscle mass, water weight, etc. I know they don't provide the most accurate measurements, but I thought it would be nice to be able to track these at home.

I'm definitely going to take your advice and focus on fat loss first. I know 1,200 calories is extremely low for my weight - I was going to shoot for little to no carbs at first to try and hit ketosis for the fat loss, but I was kind of worried that if I kept the calories this low I'd probably put a bunch of fat back on once I up the calories and carbs and try to build some muscle. I'm going to re-read the sticky and rework the cutting diet - no shortcuts, need to do it right, slow and steady! Thanks again for the suggestions - I'm taking it all in!

[--->>405<<---]

at 235lbs 31.6%bf u have 160.74lbs LBM

rough maintenance (LBM x 15) for u this is:

160.74 x 15 = 2411cals

start at 2400cals 50/30/20 pro/carb/fat

2400cals
300g pro
180g carbs
53g fat

post a diet hitting these macros. with as much fat as ur carrying and assuming the fact that u have not worked out and probably eaten like crap u should see good results off these numbers for awhile. u dont want to start off too strict because u have not been strict at all in ur lifestyle and being really strict right now is unnecessary!

just by moving around and cleaning up ur diet u will get results. plus (and more importantly) u will be cutting for awhile and want to leave plenty of room to make adjustments down the road when ur progress slows. and trust me it will slow. if u do everything strict now u will have less options to make changes.. these changes are what will push u thru plateaus..

now lets see that diet!

id also suggest posting a pic so we can see how close u are to ur actual bf% because its important to be in the neighborhood due to the fact that everything (amount of required calories) depends on LBM.

[Ajc330]

Hey Gmen we are in similar positions, its day 5 on my diet but im not new to dieting. I weigh 280 lbs at 5'11 due to a certain medication i was taking. Im off the med and im ona strict diet with around 2000 calories a day, as soon as my ankle heals im gonna start workin out w my buddy in his basement. ill be doin a lot of jump rope and spinbike? so i cant wait to see the fat shed off, eat lean protein sources with complex carbs and unsaturated fats, 24/7 ull see results def, good luck!





*EDIT*

P.S. I forgot to mention if you can, invest in a george foreman grill, theyre inexpensive and you can grill almost anything on it, i got one for Christmas and i use it atleast once a day for healthy grilling, if u need recipes let me know

[Soar]

Welcome

[thex95]

how did your make those sexy charts??!!

[GMEN126]

Alright, the diet is done (below)! The sexy charts were done in Microsoft Excel - I do a lot of financial analysis at work so my nerd skills are on point haha

Day 1 photos will come a week from today. I'm heading out to Phoenix tomorrow for work so starting this exact diet tomorrow would be damn near impossible, although the plan is to eat as clean as possible while I'm out there. I was planning on taking progress photos anyway - wasn't planning on sharing right away, but I think sharing will help me stay motivated as I go so I'm all for it! Thanks again guys, the responses are motivating.

Meal	Time	Food/Beverage	Calories	Fat (g)	Carbs (g)	Protein (g)
Meal 1	08:00am	1 cup Egg Whites 1/2 cup Uncooked Quaker Oats 1 scoop GNC Pro Performance Whey Protein 1/2 tbsp Flaxseed Oil	440.00	11.00	31.00	48.90
Meal 2	10:00am	1 cup Borden Lowfat Cottage Cheese 1/2 Cup Frozen Berry Medley (Shoprite)	195.00	2.55	14.50	28.50
Meal 3	12:00pm	8 oz Grilled Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast 1 Medium Baked Yam	378.00	5.30	37.00	48.00
Meal 4	02:00pm	1 can Solid White Albacore Tuna 2 tbsp Kraft Mayonnaise with Olive Oil 1 cup Brown Rice	522.00	12.50	41.00	56.50
Meal 5	04:00pm	1 scoop GNC Pro Performance Whey Protein	110.00	1.50	4.00	20.00
Meal 6	06:00pm	4 oz Lower Sodium Turkey Breast 1 Slice Ezekiel 4:9 Sprouted 100% Whole Grain Bread 1 tbsp Kraft Mayonnaise with Olive Oil	245.00	5.50	17.00	28.00
PWO	PWO	2 scoops Wheybolic Extreme 60 1/2 cup Uncooked Quaker Oats	337.00	3.70	31.70	45.00
Meal 7	08:00pm	2 Lean Ground Turkey Patties 1 cup Organic Spinach	190.00	9.00	2.00	22.00
TOTAL			2417.00	51.05	178.20	296.90

[Ajc330]

looks really good lookin forward to hearin you lose that weight!

[thex95]

I do my charts on excel too, but I can never import them in here with them looking like shit and losing the cells and columns.

Also diet is looking good, your gonna do great man

[GirlyGymRat]

Welcome GMEN...you are in the good hands with the likes of 405

[GMEN126]

Thanks GirlyGymRat - I can tell I'm in good hands here and am very thankful for all the helpful posts, especially 405's macro recommendations! I'm very excited to get started on Monday.

thex95 - I had some issues importing the charts as well. If you just copy all the cells in Excel, then paste them into the text input box here, you can then highlight the entire table (that looks like crap at the time) and then in the advanced editor you click on the "Table Properties" icon (bottom row, second icon from left) change your table style to "Full Grid" and adjust the width until your chart is no longer compressed and crappy looking. I used "1000" for the tables above. Voila - nerdy Excel sexiness haha

[RaginCajun]

Thanks GirlyGymRat - I can tell I'm in good hands here and am very thankful for all the helpful posts, especially 405's macro recommendations! I'm very excited to get started on Monday.

thex95 - I had some issues importing the charts as well. If you just copy all the cells in Excel, then paste them into the text input box here, you can then highlight the entire table (that looks like crap at the time) and then in the advanced editor you click on the "Table Properties" icon (bottom row, second icon from left) change your table style to "Full Grid" and adjust the width until your chart is no longer compressed and crappy looking. I used "1000" for the tables above. Voila - nerdy Excel sexiness haha

Why not start today instead of Monday?

[GMEN126]

I had to fly out to Phoenix/Tucson this week for business - I've been eating as clean as possible but I can't adhere to the diet/macros I've put together until I'm back so I'm not "officially" starting until Monday. I think it's a mental thing as well - don't want to say I've started and then feel like I'm cheating right off the bat because I can't follow my diet exactly as I laid it out. Luckily these trips are rare, I have a beautiful new, free gym waiting for me in our new office building back home, and after a trip to Costco for some clean food I'll be ready to make some progress!

[RaginCajun]

I had to fly out to Phoenix/Tucson this week for business - I've been eating as clean as possible but I can't adhere to the diet/macros I've put together until I'm back so I'm not "officially" starting until Monday. I think it's a mental thing as well - don't want to say I've started and then feel like I'm cheating right off the bat because I can't follow my diet exactly as I laid it out. Luckily these trips are rare, I have a beautiful new, free gym waiting for me in our new office building back home, and after a trip to Costco for some clean food I'll be ready to make some progress!

just checking!

[SlimmerMe]

Welcome to changing your life!

Remember: Slow wins the race and consistency is key!

GOOD LUCK!

[Edwin23q]

Good luck champ, your in good hands here, just keep us posted regularly on your progress as you will need to modify your diet as your body starts to change.

Sent from my iPhone using Forum Runner

[donk_316]

Hello,
Just wanted to say thank you for posting your corrected diet in excel. I hope its ok that i basically stole it (cut n paste into excel) and named it base diet.
Gotta get back on the wagon!