help me shred weight naturally :)

[joshh]

hi guys

im a former cyclist who used to ride competitively a few years back. I was only 14/15 at the time but i was very active riding 6-7 days a week (250-300mi) along with 1 boxing a 2 gym sessions a week. my training weight was 155lbs. when i stopped a few years back, i gained roughly 45lbs and have been trying to loose it ever since. i have had ups and downs, anywhere from 175 to 200lbs. but this is just due to work and a busy lifestyle as i am a builder.

at the moment i am 18 years old (nearly 19), 178lbs and 5'6". I am hoping to get down to 155-160lbs and then I want to start bulking up.

i have a fair bit of spare time at the moment so i will have the time to prepare the meals necessary and work out accordingly in order to loose the weight. im just not too sure what kinds of foods i should be eating and if i should try to have 5-6 small meals instead of 3 main meals like you do when you want to bulk.

normally i do eat pretty unhealthy as i dont have the time to prepare, but the past week i have just been eating a lot of fruit and veg, not much meat and not much carbs apart from a bowl of rice for dinner.

this has been my daily diet for the past week:

11am- 1 bowl of wheeties with a small handful of sultanas and low fat milk. 1 banana. 2x 1500mg fish oil capsules and 1 swisse mens ultivite tablet
2-3pm- assorted fruits, eg. apple, grapes. nectarine, apricot
5-6pm- large salad with either tuna or chicken breast with mini tomatoes.
9-10pm- bowl of basmati rice with assorted vegetables, eg. broccoli, cauliflower, mushrooms, carrots, beans

that is pretty much what i have been eating on a daily basis the past week. i do sleep and wake up late due to work which is why those meals times may look strange.

having a proper daily diet/meal routine worked out with correct intake conbined with daily cardio (running or boxing) i think would help me loose the desired weight, so any help on a diet or what foods i should be eating more of less of would be great!

here is my current figure, as you can see i still have my arm tan from when i was riding haha



thanks, josh

[tbody66]

thanks for posting here, we will help to get you fixed up, just take the advice and make the progress.

[bigslick7878]

Dude you need a lot of work on the diet and routine. What you posted is not a diet.

I like the idea of cutting down first, you have a lot of fat to lose that would probably be the best approach.

When you say you have spare time how much and what is your schedule like? How long will you have this extra time?

How much can you afford for food and supplements every month?

What foods do you like to eat?

Help us out here a little bit.

[joshh]

When you say you have spare time how much and what is your schedule like? How long will you have this extra time?

hey mate, i start work at 2pm monday to friday and finish at 9-10pm so I generally have the whole morning free. Weekends I work 9am-2pm normally. monday to friday i can normally eat anytime during work.

How much can you afford for food and supplements every month?

to be honest, what ever it costs. im really keen to get it done properly.

What foods do you like to eat?

im not really to fussed, i will eat anything if i know its good for me. i dont really like eating salad, even though i need to some what force it down, i eat it every day because i know it is good for me. however i do like my dinner of stir fried veggies on a bed of rice.

[gbrice75]

Congrats for posting here, you'll find alot of great informative and helpful members.

Wow bro, the diet is really bad. I mean, I see almost nothing of value in there. Not knocking you, just pointing out.

Use the info below to educate yourself on proper diet and nutrition. I have also included my current diet at the end just as an example. Thanks to Damien for putting the info packet together:

__________________________________________________ ______________________


I love analogies. Let’s use a good one. Think of your perfect body as a house that you must build. You’ve figured out your BMR and TDEE, so you know the exact specs of the property you have to work with. You know how exercise affects weight loss and how much of a caloric deficit/surplus we must create to lose/gain said weight; so you know how to build - you understand architecture. You also know the pace you intend on losing/gaining weight at based on these other factors, so you know it will be harder to get your house built in weeks as opposed to months. The only thing left is the tools/building material you must use and because you don’t know how to eat, you still can’t build anything. At least, not well. Sure, you can starve yourself for a few months but you’ll just gain all the weight back in a couple weeks of binge drinking and shitty eating on a vacation – you’re house will fall down!

So, let’s talk tools baby. Let’s talk food. First off, there are only 3 types of foods/macronutrients. Protein. Carbohydrates. Fat. That’s it.

Protein – 4 calories per gram - Building material. Bricks. You can’t gain energy from protein, you can only use it to build muscle/skin/hair/nails. It’s basically just amino acids and it’s what our bodies are made of. As such, we need lots of it. 1g of protein per body lb is a good number to shoot for . Go as high as 2g per body lb if you’re lifting weights and trying to build muscle. For example, I am 207 lbs and I eat between 300-400 grams per day. Our body can only break down so much at one time however, so we want to eat 20-40 grams of protein in every meal, several times per day. Protein, being building material only and not energy/labor – the body can rarely find a reason for it to be stored as fat. If you must over-eat – make it lean meat/fish.

Carbs – 4 calories per gram - Think of these as human labor for your house. Think of sugar as dudes you pick up out front of home depot and oatmeal as a skilled carpenter. Both are carbs, both serve very different purposes. Carbs help transport essential nutrients to the muscles, create glycogen stores, and as such, increase protein synthesis but do not build muscle; they are simply an energy source. As such, they should only be eaten/used when we need energy. Any carbs we ingest before bed or before watching a movie, or something sedentary are not used as energy, and as such, are more likely to be stored in the body as glycogen (glucose/water in our muscles that we will use when doing high-intensity exercise). Once our glycogen reserves are full, they will spill over and be stored as fat. Yes, they will make you fat. Carbs can be your best friend or your worst enemy.

Fats – 9 calories per gram - Like carbs, fats are an energy source, not a building material like protein. They provide nowhere near as much energy as carbs however. Ask anyone who's on a ketogenic diet. With regard to our house, think of fats as the glue/cement. They provide much needed essential fatty acids, which are great for joint/organ health and increase our protein synthesis. Going back to our analogy, cement/glue increases the effectiveness of bricks! If we give our bodies the right fats, it will be able to burn stored body fat quickly as it won’t see any use in keeping it. Remember, like carbs – not all fat is good and ALL fat is high in calories so watch out. A tablespoon of peanut butter can be a good addition to a meal. Snacking on 5-6 tablespoons, however, means you’ve just eaten over your TDEE for the day.

Acceptable proteins for your healthy lifestyle diet:

The goal is to eat lean protein. Meats/other sources low in fat/carbs.

§ Ground beef (93% lean or better)
§ Lean steak (Flank, flat iron, or top sirloin)
§ Bison sirloin (the highest quality red meat)
§ Chicken breast
§ Turkey breast
§ Tuna (canned or sushi grade)
§ Salmon
§ Tilapia (mostly all white fish)
§ All shellfish
§ Venison
§ Whey protein (post-workout recovery purposes only)
§ Casein/Cottage cheese (before bed only)

Black-List Protein sources. Do not eat these because they are high in fat. And not the
good kind we find in nuts and olive oil – I’m talking about cholesterol raising saturated
fat!

§ Bacon
§ Sausage
§ Expensive fat-marbled Steaks (Ribeye, Strip, Filet)
§ Pork and beef ribs
§ Pork/Lamb chops
§ Restaurant ground beef (80/20 fat – most burgers)
§ Duck
§ Chicken legs/thighs
§ Chicken skin
§ Cheese

Acceptable Carbs for your healthy lifestlyle:

Complex carbs are now your creed. These are slower-digesting, natural, low on the glycemic index carbohydrates that digest slowly and provide us with sustained energy. They do not drastically affect our blood sugar and do not cause insulin spikes. Thus our body sees no reason to store them as fat, it would rather burn them for energy. Simple carbs such as enriched white breads/pastas/rice/potatoes/sugars (including most fruit) cause insulin spikes and are high GI foods. They should not be eaten when on a strict diet. Fruit can be consumed early in the day or pre/post-workout because of it’s high nutritional value but should usually be avoided due to being a form of simple sugar. Remember, healthy, low-calorie foods aren’t always the correct foods and such is the case with fruit.

§ Oats/Oatmeal
§ Grits/Cornmeal
§ Unsalted/non-buttered popcorn (great, low-cal snack)
§ Sweet potato (the best choice)
§ Butternut squash
§ Whole wheat pasta (not enriched)
§ Organic whole wheat bread (not enriched wonder bread crap)
§ Brown rice
§ Ezekiel bread
§ Swedish grain bread
§ Gluten free bread
§ Wheat couscous
§ Corn
§ Quinoa
§ Lentils
§ Beans
§ Many more, look up the GI (glycemic index) for healthy choices

Black List:

§ White pasta
§ White bread
§ Baguette
§ Bagels
§ Cookies, cake, muffins, cupcakes, all sweets basically.
§ White couscous
§ White rice
§ You get the idea…

Don’t get discouraged upon reading this list. I still make desserts all the time with whole
grain flour and splenda. I buy bagels and baguettes at the health food store that use
complex carbs as a base. If you’re dedicated, you don’t have to miss out 100%

Acceptable fats for your healthy lifestyle:

We look for fat sources that are high in omega-3, 6, and 9 fatty acids. Also, many are high in protein. We do not want saturated fats such as butter, cream, meat fat. We don’t want test tube fats like trans (the worst). We want mono/polyunsaturated fats that our body can use for something other than calories. Remember, even good fats are high in calories.

§ Natural peanut butter (no sugar added, just roasted peanuts)
§ Natural almond butter
§ Cashews
§ Almonds
§ Peanuts
§ Flax seeds
§ Flax seed oil
§ Salmon and Trout (great fatty proteins)
§ Fish oil
§ Extra virgin olive oil (should be used on all veggies/salads)
§ Chia seeds
§ Grapeseed oil
§ Macadamia nut oil

Acceptable miscellaneous foods:

These foods don’t provide much as far as macronutrients but are great for adding vitamins/minerals and taste. Notice some of these other foods are dairy. Dairy is another animal’s milk. We lack the enzymes to digest it as they do and it’s high in fat/sugar. It should only be eaten early in the day for nutrient purposes with the exception of whey and casein (cottage cheese).

§ Skim milk (Hood brand is only 45 calories and 3g of sugar per cup)
§ Greek yogurt (no sugar added)
§ Berries (all berries are much lower in sugar than other fruits and packed with fiber/nutrients – eat berries)
§ Green Vegetables. These are technically carbs but they are packed with fiber (a type of carb that isn’t used as energy or stored). In bodybuilding/nutrition – we refer to most vegetables as fibrous carbohydrates. While a serving of Broccoli may have 6g of carbs, 5 are from fiber. Meaning that it contains only 1g of storable carbohydrates. In addition, green vegetables are a calorie neutral/negative food (our body uses more calories to digest them than they contain – think celery). Veggies should be eaten with every meal. Every day. If you do this, you can become almost impervious to getting sick. Some vegetables are better than others for healthy diets.
§ Many non-green vegetables. Most are fine – just check labels, some have a good bit of sugar and should be eaten in moderation only (carrots)

__________________________________________________ _______________

Gbrice's Current Diet:

protein/carbs/fat/total calories

5am: MEAL 1 - PRE WORKOUT
1 extra large egg, 4 extra large whites - 27/0/5/160
1/2 cup oats - 5/26/2.5/140
1/4 cup blueberries - 0/5/0/20

TOTAL: 32/31/7.5/320

WORKOUT followed by 1 hour of cardio

8am: MEAL 2 - POST WORKOUT
1 Scoop Myofusion - 25/5/3/160
1 Premier Protein Shake - 30/5/3/160
1 cup oats - 10/52/5/280

TOTAL: 65/60/10/600

10am: MEAL 3
6oz broiled tilapia - 35/0/3/165
3/4 cup brown rice - 3/22/1/110
3/4 cup black and red beans - 5/18/1/105

TOTAL: 43/40/4.5/380

1pm: MEAL 4
5oz chicken breast - 34/0/2/140
1/2 cup oats - 5/26/2.5/140
1/4 cup blueberries - 0/5/0/20
2 cups baby spinach - 1.5/1.5/0/10

TOTAL: 40/33/4/310

4pm: MEAL 5
4oz 93/7 lean ground beef - 23/0/9/180
1oz (dry) Barilla Plus Multigrain Pasta - 5/20/1/105

TOTAL: 30/20/10/285

7pm: MEAL 6
2oz Flank Steak - 15/0/6/120
1 extra large whole egg - 7/0/5/80
3 extra large egg whites - 15/0/0/60
2 cups baby spinach - 1.5/1.5/0/10
2 Fish Oils - 0/2/0/20

39/1.5/13/290

10pm: MEAL 7
1 scoop ON Casein - 24/3/1/120
1 tbsp natty PB - 4/3/8/105
2 Fish Oils - 0/0/2/20

TOTAL: 28/6/11/245


DAILY TOTAL: 271/195/62/2425

[joshh]

hmm ok, well that seems to be a diet for weight/muscle gain? from looking at that diet, it looks like the fat/carb/protein intake is in check, but what about vitamins and minerals? these are the most important thing for out body to function 100% and from the look of it, the diet is lacking vitamins.

im purely after a diet here to shred fat FAST not weight/muscle gain.

[POPS]

ok then, just throw in a good quality multi and youre set. As far as his numbers hes right on. Just because his cals are 2425 does not mean that he will not shed bf.

I bet if you calculate your bmr and tdee your numbers wont be that far off as G's.....

unless youre one of those guys that thinks that eating 1000 cals/day will help you lose fat???

[POPS]

I love this post!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I actually saved this to a file incase i get stuck....thanks bro!!!

congrats for posting here, you'll find alot of great informative and helpful members.

Wow bro, the diet is really bad. I mean, i see almost nothing of value in there. Not knocking you, just pointing out.

Use the info below to educate yourself on proper diet and nutrition. I have also included my current diet at the end just as an example. Thanks to damien for putting the info packet together:

__________________________________________________ ______________________


i love analogies. Let’s use a good one. Think of your perfect body as a house that you must build. You’ve figured out your bmr and tdee, so you know the exact specs of the property you have to work with. You know how exercise affects weight loss and how much of a caloric deficit/surplus we must create to lose/gain said weight; so you know how to build - you understand architecture. You also know the pace you intend on losing/gaining weight at based on these other factors, so you know it will be harder to get your house built in weeks as opposed to months. The only thing left is the tools/building material you must use and because you don’t know how to eat, you still can’t build anything. At least, not well. Sure, you can starve yourself for a few months but you’ll just gain all the weight back in a couple weeks of binge drinking and shitty eating on a vacation – you’re house will fall down!

So, let’s talk tools baby. Let’s talk food. First off, there are only 3 types of foods/macronutrients. Protein. Carbohydrates. Fat. That’s it.

Protein – 4 calories per gram - building material. Bricks. You can’t gain energy from protein, you can only use it to build muscle/skin/hair/nails. It’s basically just amino acids and it’s what our bodies are made of. As such, we need lots of it. 1g of protein per body lb is a good number to shoot for . Go as high as 2g per body lb if you’re lifting weights and trying to build muscle. For example, i am 207 lbs and i eat between 300-400 grams per day. Our body can only break down so much at one time however, so we want to eat 20-40 grams of protein in every meal, several times per day. Protein, being building material only and not energy/labor – the body can rarely find a reason for it to be stored as fat. If you must over-eat – make it lean meat/fish.

Carbs – 4 calories per gram - think of these as human labor for your house. Think of sugar as dudes you pick up out front of home depot and oatmeal as a skilled carpenter. Both are carbs, both serve very different purposes. Carbs help transport essential nutrients to the muscles, create glycogen stores, and as such, increase protein synthesis but do not build muscle; they are simply an energy source. As such, they should only be eaten/used when we need energy. Any carbs we ingest before bed or before watching a movie, or something sedentary are not used as energy, and as such, are more likely to be stored in the body as glycogen (glucose/water in our muscles that we will use when doing high-intensity exercise). Once our glycogen reserves are full, they will spill over and be stored as fat. Yes, they will make you fat. Carbs can be your best friend or your worst enemy.

Fats – 9 calories per gram - like carbs, fats are an energy source, not a building material like protein. They provide nowhere near as much energy as carbs however. Ask anyone who's on a ketogenic diet. With regard to our house, think of fats as the glue/cement. They provide much needed essential fatty acids, which are great for joint/organ health and increase our protein synthesis. Going back to our analogy, cement/glue increases the effectiveness of bricks! If we give our bodies the right fats, it will be able to burn stored body fat quickly as it won’t see any use in keeping it. Remember, like carbs – not all fat is good and all fat is high in calories so watch out. A tablespoon of peanut butter can be a good addition to a meal. Snacking on 5-6 tablespoons, however, means you’ve just eaten over your tdee for the day.

Acceptable proteins for your healthy lifestyle diet:

The goal is to eat lean protein. Meats/other sources low in fat/carbs.

§ ground beef (93% lean or better)
§ lean steak (flank, flat iron, or top sirloin)
§ bison sirloin (the highest quality red meat)
§ chicken breast
§ turkey breast
§ tuna (canned or sushi grade)
§ salmon
§ tilapia (mostly all white fish)
§ all shellfish
§ venison
§ whey protein (post-workout recovery purposes only)
§ casein/cottage cheese (before bed only)

black-list protein sources. Do not eat these because they are high in fat. And not the
good kind we find in nuts and olive oil – i’m talking about cholesterol raising saturated
fat!

§ bacon
§ sausage
§ expensive fat-marbled steaks (ribeye, strip, filet)
§ pork and beef ribs
§ pork/lamb chops
§ restaurant ground beef (80/20 fat – most burgers)
§ duck
§ chicken legs/thighs
§ chicken skin
§ cheese

acceptable carbs for your healthy lifestlyle:

Complex carbs are now your creed. These are slower-digesting, natural, low on the glycemic index carbohydrates that digest slowly and provide us with sustained energy. They do not drastically affect our blood sugar and do not cause insulin spikes. Thus our body sees no reason to store them as fat, it would rather burn them for energy. Simple carbs such as enriched white breads/pastas/rice/potatoes/sugars (including most fruit) cause insulin spikes and are high gi foods. They should not be eaten when on a strict diet. Fruit can be consumed early in the day or pre/post-workout because of it’s high nutritional value but should usually be avoided due to being a form of simple sugar. Remember, healthy, low-calorie foods aren’t always the correct foods and such is the case with fruit.

§ oats/oatmeal
§ grits/cornmeal
§ unsalted/non-buttered popcorn (great, low-cal snack)
§ sweet potato (the best choice)
§ butternut squash
§ whole wheat pasta (not enriched)
§ organic whole wheat bread (not enriched wonder bread crap)
§ brown rice
§ ezekiel bread
§ swedish grain bread
§ gluten free bread
§ wheat couscous
§ corn
§ quinoa
§ lentils
§ beans
§ many more, look up the gi (glycemic index) for healthy choices

black list:

§ white pasta
§ white bread
§ baguette
§ bagels
§ cookies, cake, muffins, cupcakes, all sweets basically.
§ white couscous
§ white rice
§ you get the idea…

don’t get discouraged upon reading this list. I still make desserts all the time with whole
grain flour and splenda. I buy bagels and baguettes at the health food store that use
complex carbs as a base. If you’re dedicated, you don’t have to miss out 100%

acceptable fats for your healthy lifestyle:

We look for fat sources that are high in omega-3, 6, and 9 fatty acids. Also, many are high in protein. We do not want saturated fats such as butter, cream, meat fat. We don’t want test tube fats like trans (the worst). We want mono/polyunsaturated fats that our body can use for something other than calories. Remember, even good fats are high in calories.

§ natural peanut butter (no sugar added, just roasted peanuts)
§ natural almond butter
§ cashews
§ almonds
§ peanuts
§ flax seeds
§ flax seed oil
§ salmon and trout (great fatty proteins)
§ fish oil
§ extra virgin olive oil (should be used on all veggies/salads)
§ chia seeds
§ grapeseed oil
§ macadamia nut oil

acceptable miscellaneous foods:

These foods don’t provide much as far as macronutrients but are great for adding vitamins/minerals and taste. Notice some of these other foods are dairy. Dairy is another animal’s milk. We lack the enzymes to digest it as they do and it’s high in fat/sugar. It should only be eaten early in the day for nutrient purposes with the exception of whey and casein (cottage cheese).

§ skim milk (hood brand is only 45 calories and 3g of sugar per cup)
§ greek yogurt (no sugar added)
§ berries (all berries are much lower in sugar than other fruits and packed with fiber/nutrients – eat berries)
§ green vegetables. These are technically carbs but they are packed with fiber (a type of carb that isn’t used as energy or stored). In bodybuilding/nutrition – we refer to most vegetables as fibrous carbohydrates. While a serving of broccoli may have 6g of carbs, 5 are from fiber. Meaning that it contains only 1g of storable carbohydrates. In addition, green vegetables are a calorie neutral/negative food (our body uses more calories to digest them than they contain – think celery). Veggies should be eaten with every meal. Every day. If you do this, you can become almost impervious to getting sick. Some vegetables are better than others for healthy diets.
§ many non-green vegetables. Most are fine – just check labels, some have a good bit of sugar and should be eaten in moderation only (carrots)

__________________________________________________ _______________

gbrice's current diet:

protein/carbs/fat/total calories

5am: Meal 1 - pre workout
1 extra large egg, 4 extra large whites - 27/0/5/160
1/2 cup oats - 5/26/2.5/140
1/4 cup blueberries - 0/5/0/20

total: 32/31/7.5/320

workout followed by 1 hour of cardio

8am: Meal 2 - post workout
1 scoop myofusion - 25/5/3/160
1 premier protein shake - 30/5/3/160
1 cup oats - 10/52/5/280

total: 65/60/10/600

10am: Meal 3
6oz broiled tilapia - 35/0/3/165
3/4 cup brown rice - 3/22/1/110
3/4 cup black and red beans - 5/18/1/105

total: 43/40/4.5/380

1pm: Meal 4
5oz chicken breast - 34/0/2/140
1/2 cup oats - 5/26/2.5/140
1/4 cup blueberries - 0/5/0/20
2 cups baby spinach - 1.5/1.5/0/10

total: 40/33/4/310

4pm: Meal 5
4oz 93/7 lean ground beef - 23/0/9/180
1oz (dry) barilla plus multigrain pasta - 5/20/1/105

total: 30/20/10/285

7pm: Meal 6
2oz flank steak - 15/0/6/120
1 extra large whole egg - 7/0/5/80
3 extra large egg whites - 15/0/0/60
2 cups baby spinach - 1.5/1.5/0/10
2 fish oils - 0/2/0/20

39/1.5/13/290

10pm: Meal 7
1 scoop on casein - 24/3/1/120
1 tbsp natty pb - 4/3/8/105
2 fish oils - 0/0/2/20

total: 28/6/11/245


daily total: 271/195/62/2425

[joshh]

ok see, im not really too sure how many calories i should be consuming a day. iv just seen and heard about all these weight loss diets that consists of heaps of salad and veg.. you even see those "liquid only" diets haha.

I think my personal problem is im eating too much. when i was riding i was eating 4 big main meals a day + snacks, i was doing this for a couple years. when i stopped riding i did not change my diet and eat garbage, i was just still used to eating a lot of food.. so wouldnt i need to cut back on how much i eat?

[POPS]

ok see, im not really too sure how many calories i should be consuming a day. iv just seen and heard about all these weight loss diets that consists of heaps of salad and veg.. you even see those "liquid only" diets haha.

I think my personal problem is im eating too much. when i was riding i was eating 4 big main meals a day + snacks, i was doing this for a couple years. when i stopped riding i did not change my diet and eat garbage, i was just still used to eating a lot of food.. so wouldnt i need to cut back on how much i eat?

you should post up your diet with times and macros for the day. And then and ONLY then will someone jump in and help you out. Look at how Gbrice has his set up. Untill you figure out your bmr and tdee you will not truly know if youre eating too much. You might be eating the wrong foods at the wrong times or POSSIBLY not enough..

[joshh]

i will write it up properly when i have time and post back.

one question, why doesn't anyone ever record milk in their diet? unless everyone is eating their oats raw, no one is recording milk as part of their diet..

[jngymrat]

Hey Josh, Let me say congratulations on getting back in the saddle (so to speak) your body type and age are the best tools you have right now and believe it or not your goals are well within range. You just need a little wisdom to get started.

First of all, the information that gbrice provided is golden, its not just for body building, it is a foundation for proper nutrition and a healthy lifestyle. Gbrice has put a ton of common research together and this is all solid direction so print it and for now, make it your reference guide.

Just a little reminder about 6-8 meals rather than 3 big meals. Many University study's have been done regarding eating 3 meals a day or 6-8 meals a day, the conclusions have been unanimous for two decades, 6-8 smaller meals with proper nutrition (gbrice's info, your new reference guide!) combining a variety of protein/carbohydrates/fat in a relative portion size, will cause you to lose fat, control hunger by maintaining insulin levels, increase lean body mass and the list goes on.

Now, when you eat three meals a day that are roughly 500-700 calories each, you create a terrible imbalance of energy. Between meals, your burning many more calories than your taking in and at mealtimes your taking in many more calories than your burning, this is the very recipe for obesity. And when you add unhealthy snacks between your 3 big meals, you will stay fat and unhealthy and a ton of other things we don't have to mention. So get in the frame of mind on eating 6-8 small meals, snacks (healthy) protein shakes, etc. this will keep you from getting hungry and give you plenty of energy throughout the day, coupled with a exercise program, you'll be ripped in no time.

One last thing, at your age, I personally would forgo the bulking unless you have other goals in mind we don't know. Enjoy your youth, get in the best shape of your life, take the next 5-6 year educating yourself on proper exercise and nutrition. By then you probably would have gained a good ten pounds of solid muscle while maintaining lean body mass. Good luck and continue to ask questions.

[POPS]

i will write it up properly when i have time and post back.

one question, why doesn't anyone ever record milk in their diet? unless everyone is eating their oats raw, no one is recording milk as part of their diet..

the only times where I see guys here using milk is during a bulking phase. But for us cutters, STAY AWAY!

WE make our oats with water.......

[Tigershark]

Drop the Wheaties and switch to oatmeal with cinnamon on it Josh.
Make fresh green veggies like celery and brocoli yor new friend.
If you want to shred pounds you are going to have to burn more then what you are taking in. Try to get down to about 1800 calories a day and do cardio every day man on an empty stomache. Once you start loosing the weight drop more calories but make sure you stay in the safe zone which is around 1500 calories. When you have lost the weight you want then you v=can work on bulking and increase your calories.
You did the right thing by coming here Josh and you are asking all the right questions. Keep them coming.

[joshh]

thanks for the response guys.
I will drop the wheaties, I just bought a few packets of wholemeal quick oats. so just add water and half a cup of blueberries and microwave?
i also want to know what's the best way of cooking chicken fillets. I bought 70oz of free range skinless chicken fillets but im not sure the healthiest and easiest way to cook them. im thinking grilling them? i have one of those vertical grilles, however im afraid this will leave the fillets too dry..? maybe lightly sprinkle them with olive oil?

[Tigershark]

Grilling is always good. I usually throw mine in the oven at 350 for 20 minutes.

[joshh]

do you cover in any oils etc? or just wack em in?

also what would be the best way to cook the oats? just bring water to boil then add oats and cinnamon, then top with blueberries?
sorry about all the questions but im not the best chef

[POPS]

do you cover in any oils etc? or just wack em in?

also what would be the best way to cook the oats? just bring water to boil then add oats and cinnamon, then top with blueberries?
sorry about all the questions but im not the best chef

no problem, that why we are all here.....

You can do it a few ways but the easiest is to get a microwavable safe bowl, throw your oats and water together and nuke them for about a minute. Stir them until cooked. Add a dash of cinnamon/splenda and youre gtg.

For chicken I add a small amout of evoo, salt, pepper, onion powder in the morning. When I get home from work Ill grill them ( 10-12 breasts ) then tupperware them. Lasts me a good 4-6 days....

[joshh]

diet update, what do you guys think?

8am - 30-40min intense boxing on empty stomach.
9am - 1/2 cup wholemeal oats with small handful of blueberries and pinch of cinnamon. 2 fish oils + multivitamin.
12pm - bowl of basmati rice with broccoli.
3pm - 5oz chicken breast with salad.
6pm - 3oz tuna with salad
9-10pm - bowl of basmati rice with broccoli.
midnight (bed time) - large chamomile tea

[POPS]

Youll have to get Gbrice's expert advice but for now you need protein in ALL your am meals. And your 9-10 meal should be a slow digesting protein like casein or cottage cheese..

[gbrice75]

I love this post!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I actually saved this to a file incase i get stuck....thanks bro!!!

Other then my diet at the end, this is Damien's post, so you have to thank him! =)

There was a time where Damien and I were pretty much the only 2 people critiquing diets here, and every day we had noobs asking the same things (not much different from now I guess). I found myself typing out the same basic reply all the time, and it got tiring fast. It was all the same basic principles of this compilation, but not nearly as detailed, so I started posting this instead as a 'cookie cutter' reply for noobs. I did this with Damien's permission of course. It's all solid info, much of it compiled from various sources on this board, so you know it's gtg! =)

[joshh]

Gbrice, did you have any recommendations/feedback on my updated diet? cheers

[Tigershark]

diet update, what do you guys think?

8am - 30-40min intense boxing on empty stomach.
9am - 1/2 cup wholemeal oats with small handful of blueberries and pinch of cinnamon. 2 fish oils + multivitamin.
12pm - bowl of basmati rice with broccoli.
3pm - 5oz chicken breast with salad.
6pm - 3oz tuna with salad
9-10pm - bowl of basmati rice with broccoli.
midnight (bed time) - large chamomile tea

Switch to brown rice because it has a higher fiber content.

[joshh]

Switch to brown rice because it has a higher fiber content.

ok done.

what about calories? i thought brown rice has a higher calorie count than basmati and is also lower in GI?

[bigslick7878]

ok done.

what about calories? i thought brown rice has a higher calorie count than basmati and is also lower in GI?

Sweet potatoes work well too. Better than brown rice IMO. Not going to find a better complex carb source.

[joshh]

Sweet potatoes work well too. Better than brown rice IMO. Not going to find a better complex carb source.

sweet potatoes on the shopping list

[joshh]

just a quick question about salads.

i dont have time to make my own salad, so at the moment i just buy bags of pre-washed salad mix. Are these any good?
Would pre-washed bags of spinach leaves be better a better option?

thanks

[RaginCajun]

i am sure GB will chime in again, but he will tell you the same thing he told me. you need more protein. you also need to do the BMR and TDEE. it will help them determine how much you need to eat and when. they will prob want you to list all the macros (pro/fat/carb) for each meal. trust me, this is not easy and i am still trying to get my diet fine tuned.

bag of spinach is good to go, just easier in my opinion.

[Damienm05]

Other then my diet at the end, this is Damien's post, so you have to thank him! =)

There was a time where Damien and I were pretty much the only 2 people critiquing diets here, and every day we had noobs asking the same things (not much different from now I guess). I found myself typing out the same basic reply all the time, and it got tiring fast. It was all the same basic principles of this compilation, but not nearly as detailed, so I started posting this instead as a 'cookie cutter' reply for noobs. I did this with Damien's permission of course. It's all solid info, much of it compiled from various sources on this board, so you know it's gtg! =)

I appreciate the credit but I don't care who thinks you compiled it because you could have. It's not like the info is stuff that I discovered on my own via scientific experiment. Hell, we learned it together, right here. As long as people see benefit in the info, I don't care if they think it came from a talking Octopus.

Sorry for the hijack!

[gbrice75]

I appreciate the credit but I don't care who thinks you compiled it because you could have. It's not like the info is stuff that I discovered on my own via scientific experiment. Hell, we learned it together, right here. As long as people see benefit in the info, I don't care if they think it came from a talking Octopus.

Sorry for the hijack!

Lmao, I hear ya bro. But i'd never feel right taking credit for something another member took the time to put together. Could I have compiled a similar piece from the myriad of info we've learned on this board alone? Probably. Would it have been as fun of a read? Doubtful. Am I too lazy to take that on? Definitely! =P

So, thank you!

[gbrice75]

i am sure GB will chime in again, but he will tell you the same thing he told me. you need more protein. you also need to do the BMR and TDEE. it will help them determine how much you need to eat and when. they will prob want you to list all the macros (pro/fat/carb) for each meal. trust me, this is not easy and i am still trying to get my diet fine tuned.

And yes, this ^^

[joshh]

here's a long awaited update, I am currently at 166lbs (from 178lbs), so i have dropped 12lbs in 8 weeks. still a fair way to go as my goal is 145lbs then start bulking. but so far im happy with my results.

here's my current diet. to be honest, i think i may be under eating quite a fair bit, feedback would be great.

8.30am - 30 mins intense boxing
9am - 1/2 cup oats 3/26/1.5/129
12pm - 2.5oz tuna 18/0/1/80
3pm - 7oz chicken breast, 1 cup spinach 35/5/0/172
6pm - 2.5oz tuna 17.5/0/1/80
9pm - 1 cup brown rice, broccoli 12/65/3/314
total - 86/96/6.5/777

lol holy shit thats low, dont flame me please

[gbrice75]

Not trying to flame - but 777 calories?? Really? Why are you just realizing this now, as if it took you having to post the diet to realize what you're eating? Shouldn't you be making a meal plan ahead of time, and then sticking to that and making adjustments when necessary?

I would say congrats on the 12lbs lost, but before I do, i'd be very interested to know how much of that was bodyfat, and how much was LBM.

Up your calories immediately, this is ridiculously low and you are slowing your metabolism to a crawl.

[joshh]

ok so lets work out a diet that's easy and will work for my needs.

i like tuna because it is easy and takes no preparation and i can bust it out whenever. also my chicken/spinach salad is easily prepared.

would doubling my tuna and chicken salad be a start? no, that would give me way to much protein right? maybe adding to these current meals is the best bet?

i need immediate help with this diet gbrice

[gbrice75]

bold

here's a long awaited update, I am currently at 166lbs (from 178lbs), so i have dropped 12lbs in 8 weeks. still a fair way to go as my goal is 145lbs then start bulking. but so far im happy with my results.

here's my current diet. to be honest, i think i may be under eating quite a fair bit, feedback would be great.

8.30am - 30 mins intense boxing

I wouldn't be doing intense cardio on an empty stomach. ^ ^ - you can up your calories right off the bat by adding a meal before this cardio session. At the very least, get some protein in, although i'd add carbs as well.

9am - 1/2 cup oats 3/26/1.5/129

Why is there no protein in this meal?

12pm - 2.5oz tuna 18/0/1/80

Double the tuna, add carbs or fats + veggies

3pm - 7oz chicken breast, 1 cup spinach 35/5/0/172

Good meal, add some fats - olive oil to the spinach for instance

6pm - 2.5oz tuna 17.5/0/1/80

Double it and add some fat and veggies

9pm - 1 cup brown rice, broccoli 12/65/3/314

Why the rice at 9pm - is this PWO? You didn't specify where the workout fits in, so it's hard to advise on this diet

How about a meal before bed?

total - 86/96/6.5/777

lol holy shit thats low, dont flame me please

[joshh]

was the info in bold taking into consideration that i want to loose weight asap? i dont recall if i outlined this before, but this diet i am trying to loose around 20lbs as quick as possible, shredding fat is my main goal as i am currently ~30% BF.

why add fats and carbs if i am focusing mainly on loosing weight?

i have been told that a good way shred fat is to do cardio on an empty stomach?

what kind of daily macros am i aiming for to still shred fat?

oh and the only workout is the intense 30 minutes boxing in the morning

[gbrice75]

was the info in bold taking into consideration that i want to loose weight asap?

i have been told that a good way shred fat is to do cardio on an empty stomach?

what kind of daily macros am i aiming for to still shred fat?

oh and the only workout is the intense 30 minutes boxing in the morning

Absolutely - you don't lose fat by starving yourself, I can tell you that much.

Cardio on an empty stomach is generally a good method for fat loss - however, all cardio isn't created equal. Empty stomach should be lower intensity/steady state. High intensity cardio like boxing will torch LBM.

To answer the macro question - what are your full stats again?

So you do the boxing and that's it - no weight lifting routine?

[joshh]

To answer the macro question - what are your full stats again?

19 years old, 5'6, 168lbs and im assuming still over 30% BF

So you do the boxing and that's it - no weight lifting routine?

yep only boxing at the moment. i dont plan to start weights until i am at a healthy weight first

[gbrice75]

19 years old, 5'6, 168lbs and im assuming still over 30% BF

Based on this alone, i'd say you need to aim for around 1500 calories/day, which still sounds low but at 30% BF (I rounded it off), you have a LBM of 120lbs. This comes with the stipulation that you monitor your progress closely and make caloric adjustments (up or down, most likely up) as needed.

yep only boxing at the moment. i dont plan to start weights until i am at a healthy weight first

Well this is a HUGE mistake. Muscle is the number 1 fat burner. The more LBM you have, the more your body burns. You will get to a healthier weight quicker with a proper workout regimen. Plus, the workout itself will help expend even more calories.

[joshh]

Well this is a HUGE mistake. Muscle is the number 1 fat burner. The more LBM you have, the more your body burns. You will get to a healthier weight quicker with a proper workout regimen. Plus, the workout itself will help expend even more calories.

Hmm ok now this has really confused me now. When I came to these forums I was told that according to my pics and stats, i would need to do heaps of cardio and get my diet in check before i start on weights..

I'm quite confused. I thought the best way for me to do it would be to do cardio and eat minimal carbs to thin myself out, then start weights. If I was to do weight training, wouldn't I need to base a diet around this? I thought for now = low calories, minimal carbs; loose weight, then later on high calories, high protein, high carbs; gain weight/muscle. I didn't think we could combine these