gym/eating advice

[geogge]

I'm 5'11 and 80kg's but 25% fat :(
I want to loose fat in stomach, sides and chest and get my bf% well down.
I know i can't decide what part of my body that will loose weight.

At the gym i do 10 mins on the bike to warm up, get upto 120 bpm
15min 9kmh jog on the treadmill, 180 bpm
10 mins random resistance on the r bike, 180 bpm.

then do weight machines, chest press, shoulder press, row, pulldown, leg press and abdominal. 12 reps, 30-60 sec break, and 3 sets

then cool down on any exercise machine. Adds upto over an hour workout.

What's the most amount of times i should go to the gym? I'm going everyday atm and have loads of spare time on my hands unfortunately.

Is it better to go morning or evening? Some say before breakfast is good, but is it wise to workout on an empty stomach.

My diet consists of chicken, turkey, ham, steak, eggs, pasta, beans, brown rice and oatmeal porridge. Adds upto 2000 calories, average 34% carbs, 38% protein and 29% fat.
About 200g of protein without any shakes.

Any advise or pointers would be much appreciated.

[sxbaz]

seems u got it pretty sorted tbh, dont miss brekkie when u train, and dont forget a protein shake directly after training. id take 1 or 2 days off in the week as you need rest and change exercises from time to time, maybe write a 6 week plan

[sxbaz]

oh and keep off the beers

[SHELLAC]

You'll get loads of advice on this, and I guarantee it's going to vary.
So, i'll tell you what works for me.
Exercise at the gym 4-5 times a week
Evenings is best
Concentrate on specific muscle groups for each day of your workout (back one day, legs another ect)
Do all your CV work at the end (I would say to lose fat you need to lower your intensity)
As for your diet, less fat more complex carbs. Up your shakes to one first thing in the morning, one during the day and definitely pre workout and one half hour after.
Horses for courses though.

[Petrolhead]

i have a few mate that are competitive bodybuilder and swear nothing beats early morning cardio for shifting fat

get up early and do 30-45mins befroe your first meal

[geogge]

That's my schedule for the next 5 weeks. I'm thinking of leaving the weights to maybe 4 times a week, but can i do cardio morning and evening? I really want to get the bf% down.

My worry is that i may burn muscle aswell as fat. My priority is get the bf% down, but i don't want to get all skinny. I would like to build up some muscle too.

If i eat before a workout in the morning i feel sick after the running. But people do say it's a good time to burn fat. But, is it wise to do weights on an empty stomach, as it's part of my current schedule?



As for your diet, less fat more complex carbs. Up your shakes to one first thing in the morning, one during the day and definitely pre workout and one half hour after.
Horses for courses though.

I don't mind if it varies, just want to get good advice and find what works for me. I never looked at protein shakes before. What's good, how much do they cost and how long will that last?

I can't really get the fat % down from my diet. 34.7g comes from 450g of chicken and 21.5g comes from 4 eggs which makes up most of the 29% fat that i eat, but supplies alot of my protein. I think shakes are the only way i may be able to do this or is there any other food you would recommend that's less fatty and supplies protein?

Thanks all for the advice :thumbs:

[SHELLAC]

Use just egg whites, omelettes or scrambled. Yolk is pure cholesterol.
Whey protein isolate from http://www.bulkpowders.co.uk is as good as anything else.
Do you eat fish?

[Gymbob]

i have a few mate that are competitive bodybuilder and swear nothing beats early morning cardio for shifting fat

get up early and do 30-45mins befroe your first meal

depends how you want to do this but imo... you want to lose fat... therefore... id be training twice a day.

for example as petrolhead has said morning cardio is the best by far and make sure u've had NOTHING to eat.. maybe have a protein shake with no carbs... when you do this you have no carbs to burn and therefore are burning fat.

With the cardio your doing keep your heart rate around 150-160bpm and do like a HRT workout which is where you spike it.. for example do 3 mins with your heart rate around 140 then increase the pase for 2 mins to around 165 (heartrate) then decrease the level for 3 mins again to allow your heart rate to slow back down and repeat...

You should be looking to do at least an hours cardio a day as well as if you want to do weights. But split it so you do cardio in the morning weights at night, also take half your calories from food and half from exercise (what your cutting down on)

try to decrease your calorie and carb intake and only have around 1g per 1lb of bodyweight of protein a day as your not trying to build muscle just maintain it

[frisbee]

What about circuit training and classes?

I don't really like doing cardio in the gym, I much prefer to run or cycle outside.

[Gymbob]

What about circuit training and classes?

I don't really like doing cardio in the gym, I much prefer to run or cycle outside.

lol i wouldnt advise that in this weather spend more time on your ass than your feet :D

[Cluck]

When I was in my prime (which was still nothing to write home about, but I was a lean no-fat machine), I used to just use a rowing machine every other day for 4 bursts of 15-minutes with a break of 2 minutes between each burst to hydrate (made sure that I rowed at least 1.1 miles every 5 minutes). Food intake was basically muesli (with semi-skimmed milk) for breakfast, a couple of ham & cheese rolls for lunch and a pasta dinner (durum-wheat pasta, mushrooms, carrots, peas, cauliflower, shallots, spring onions, mange-touts and a slice of ham, all mixed with various sauces and spices to add flavour). I lost nearly 2 stone after following that routine for 3 months (down from 13½ stone to just over 11½ stone with very little body fat). I drank and eat like a trooper at the weekends but made sure that I didn't ever miss the routine.

It was hard work but I never felt better. Happy days :o

EDIT : By the way, that was on a rowing machine at home. I stuck it in front of the TV and would either listen to music, whilst watching the news, or would watch a film. An hour of rowing was never a chore that way :no:

[geogge]

depends how you want to do this but imo... you want to lose fat... therefore... id be training twice a day.

With the cardio your doing keep your heart rate around 150-160bpm and do like a HRT workout which is where you spike it.. for example do 3 mins with your heart rate around 140 then increase the pase for 2 mins to around 165 (heartrate) then decrease the level for 3 mins again to allow your heart rate to slow back down and repeat...



Thanks gymbob. Some good information there :thumbs: I will start cardio twice a day.

lol at my bpm. I do try to keep them below 160bpm, but i'm not really able. I'm very unfit. To climb two flights of stairs and i'm out of breath :o

Even cutting down my rpm on the bike to 90 and decreasing the levels my bpm stays high. It's even worse on the treadmill, once i go over 7.5kmph my bpm goes very high. Is this something to be worried about or am i over doing it? I just thought a high bpm meant i was burning fat.


Use just egg whites, omelettes or scrambled. Yolk is pure cholesterol.
Whey protein isolate from http://www.bulkpowders.co.uk is as good as anything else.
Do you eat fish?

Just like fresh salmon on brown bread or at a push a filet of salmon. Thanks for the link for the whey protein. Think i'll get some for after a workout. :thumbs:

Is too many eggs a day bad for you in any way :confused:


What about circuit training and classes?

I don't really like doing cardio in the gym, I much prefer to run or cycle outside.

I prefer to cycle and run outside as it feels more natural, but i quite like the gym aswell.

[frisbee]

I'm not convinced loading yourself up with extra protein when you are trying to loose weight is a great idea. Your not training to be an athlete or bodybuilder, you are just trying to add physical activity back into a sedentary lifestyle.

[Quail]

I had to cut quite quickly in a month (for a holiday), and the following really worked for me:

Morning (before breakfast):

Low intensity cardio for 50 mins.

Afternoon (before dinner):

Weight training (split muscle groups)

Evening (before bed):

HIIT (15mins, 2 min rest vs 1 min sprint)


I was also on thermogenic fat burners, but the effectiveness of these is questionable, so they're not essential. I know 3 times a day is a lot of time to commit to the gym, but if you have the spare time you may as well make the most of it :nod:. You will drop fat quickly, as long as you're eating right. I didn't lose any muscle either. I was doing this about 5 days a week.


Is too many eggs a day bad for you in any way :confused:


Not the whites :D

[ferretca18]

Im getting rid of my beer gut from my lazy eating habbits and having time off my bike (also need to look as good as i can for getting on sper yachts this comming season)

Im gonna be doing 2 cardio sessions a day (one in the morning ~30 mins) then an hour or so in the evening (i change this around if i go for a ride during the day as a 4 hour session in the woods does a hell of a lot more than the exercise bike) Then have the weekends off (i usually ride on the weekends as well but im not counting that)

Diet wise, im just cutting out the fast food (i hate doing this as im a glutton for fast food, i know how crap it is but i love it..) and eating sensibly at home, all home cooked, no ready meals (well, somtimes i can be arsed to cook so have one with sensible levels of fat)

Beer is the worst thing i think, it adds a hell of a lot, cutting out drink can do wonders in itself..

Mainly, i wanna get back to the point i was before, im pretty lean normally, and i need to get my fitness back on par with about a year ago when i was training daily on my bike. Just got lazy the last year (in my old job that i hated) now have stupid love handle things lol
The one biggest hurdle, which to me sounds like you have it cracked is getting the motivation to keep going. So many people start for a week and then give up as they dont see results. Its after the first month and you see the results and feel so much better:) All it takes it a little dedication:thumbs:

[sunnybono]

Get your ass on the bike for 60min at 160bpm plus then you will be doing some real work. 120bpm for 10mins is nothing.

[geogge]

Beer is the worst thing i think, it adds a hell of a lot, cutting out drink can do wonders in itself..

The one biggest hurdle, which to me sounds like you have it cracked is getting the motivation to keep going. So many people start for a week and then give up as they dont see results. Its after the first month and you see the results and feel so much better:) All it takes it a little dedication:thumbs:

I don't drink or smoke so that has helped. I actually love going to the gym, i can't wait until morning so i can go again. Just feel good after a workout.


IYou will drop fat quickly, as long as you're eating right. I didn't lose any muscle either. I was doing this about 5 days a week.

Not the whites :D

I'll try get in as much cardio as possible so, as i have the time and burning bf is my goal at the moment. Did you take in much protein on your diet or have shakes while you were training for that month?

Am i right in thinking the the extra protein will help keep or build some muscle while trying to lose bf?

[geogge]

Get your ass on the bike for 60min at 160bpm plus then you will be doing some real work. 120bpm for 10mins is nothing.

That's just to warm up. I was told to stay at 120bpm.
After that i have 25mins on the treadmill and r bike at 160bpm.

My problem is keeping it below 160bpm, even taking it easy it's about 180bpm.

Is that bad. maybe until i get my fittness up it will settle back to 160bpm.

[ferretca18]

i think people heart rates vary so its more of a guideline.. Best bet is to see if there is someone at the gym you can chat to about that!


As youre at the stage where you enjoy the gym and the feeling you're half way there mate! keep at it, you will see results:)

[SHELLAC]

You could always train to another target rather than heart rate. Such as overall calories used or distance travelled. Often people trying to lean out but retain as much muscle mass as possible try to work for longer at a lower intensity when it comes to CV. When I was wavering between 12 and 14% body fat I was running 3 miles in 25 minutes at the end of my workout and cycling for 20 at a medium intensity also.
Not so easy as I get older though.
As the Ferret says, get some advice from a trainer at the gym maybe, although the ones at the gym I use seem to have got their keep fit scout badges from completing a six week course.
Your other option is to buy a leopard and wrestle it every evening, one of the best workouts you can get.

[Quail]

Did you take in much protein on your diet or have shakes while you were training for that month?

Am i right in thinking the the extra protein will help keep or build some muscle while trying to lose bf?

I was on 3 shakes a day when cutting, and I was eating well, so lots of meat. I wasn't trying to lose weight, just burn fat. If you don't want to lose muscle, just make sure you're weight training hard, and consuming lots of protein. The problem is, building muscle doesn't really go hand in hand with losing weight, so its easier to concentrate on one at a time. If you're doing lots of cardio, you'll find it hard to put on any muscle mass, but you can atleast minimise the damage.

[geogge]

I was on 3 shakes a day when cutting, and I was eating well, so lots of meat. I wasn't trying to lose weight, just burn fat. If you don't want to lose muscle, just make sure you're weight training hard, and consuming lots of protein. The problem is, building muscle doesn't really go hand in hand with losing weight, so its easier to concentrate on one at a time. If you're doing lots of cardio, you'll find it hard to put on any muscle mass, but you can atleast minimise the damage.

I want to do the same. Don't want to lose weight, just burn fat as i'm at 25% bf atm.
I had a taste of some natural cottage cheese earlier. Christ it tastes terrible :(
Is all cottage cheese natural as it reminded me of natural yoghurt and i don't like that either. Are the flavoured cottage cheese any better?

What type nuts are good to snack on? Is peanut butter good to take or is it too fatty?

how long should you leave after a meal before going to the gym, and what foods are good before working out?

Is there any sites to check out for meal ideas for a good diet.

[geogge]

You could always train to another target rather than heart rate. Such as overall calories used or distance travelled. Often people trying to lean out but retain as much muscle mass as possible try to work for longer at a lower intensity when it comes to CV.
Your other option is to buy a leopard and wrestle it every evening, one of the best workouts you can get.

i'll keep that in mind thanks. I'd love leopard or a tiger as a pet to guard the house :D

[Gymbob]

I want to do the same. Don't want to lose weight, just burn fat as i'm at 25% bf atm.
I had a taste of some natural cottage cheese earlier. Christ it tastes terrible :(
Is all cottage cheese natural as it reminded me of natural yoghurt and i don't like that either. Are the flavoured cottage cheese any better?

What type nuts are good to snack on? Is peanut butter good to take or is it too fatty?

how long should you leave after a meal before going to the gym, and what foods are good before working out?

Is there any sites to check out for meal ideas for a good diet.

basically you've got your training sorted with what i said earlier diet wise i said about protein... if you weight 200lbs put in around 200'g's a day... this help you maintain your muscle if your doing weights as your still snapping muscle fibres... but your not having enough to bulk etc make sure if you have protein powder theres f'all carbs in it...

But basically in the morning protein shake... gym (cardio for a hour)

come back have some porridge and some fruit apple and something else (apple for the sugar)

then for dinner have A chicken fillet with a few veg and f'all brown rice..

then at around 2 or 3 A chicken fillet or 1 fish fillet etc with a small amount of pasta...

Then go gym do your weights...

protein shake...

more cardio if you can

a light meal before bed such as cottage cheese (casein protein) good for sleeping as it digests slowly and something very low in carbs...

Try that... see how you get on

Or if your going to go extreme rice cakes baby!

[Quail]

^ I'm on a pretty similar diet atm. Sent you a link to my blog :)

[frisbee]

How have you measured fat? If its just with a pair of scales rather than a proper test I wouldn't worry too much about it. I would go off appearance and fitness.

[Gymbob]

^ I'm on a pretty similar diet atm. Sent you a link to my blog :)

to me? and as you said before Quail if he's cutting he doesn't want 'lots' of protein becuase its just more calories and carbs you need to slowly cut it down if cutting but id say 200g's is about right for a 200lb person

[geogge]

While buring fat and retaining muscle, how many g's of carbs per kg should one intake as a guideline?

What food's have high fibre starchy carbs other then brown rice and wholemeal bread?

[CamInHead]

When I was doing karate & kickboxing I just ate whatever I wanted tbh. I'd forget the protein 'shakes too.
You've been doing hard exercise, get some proper food in you!

[geogge]

I asked at the gym about my high heart beats per minute. I also google it, but could only find about ways to calculate it, but no information about bpm and optimal bpm during cardio to burn fat.

The guy at the gym suggested HIIT, so i tried that, but my heart still hits 200bpm and settles to 170 before going hard again.

To keep it around advised 160, i will not break a sweat and my exercise would seem pointless.

Do i need to pay attention to my hearts bpm during cardio for fat burning and what difference does it make if it's 140, 160 or 200 in my case :confused:


When I was doing karate & kickboxing I just ate whatever I wanted tbh. I'd forget the protein 'shakes too.
You've been doing hard exercise, get some proper food in you!

I'm not replacing any of my meals with the protein shake. I eat 6 small meals a day. I just have a shake just after training to aid growth and repair., followed by my dinner about an hour later.

[frisbee]

I would go off perceived exertion rather than heart rate.

Fat burning would be sweating a little bit but can still talk easily for example. Its not strenuous exercise at all.

If its at 200 for 30 minutes thats not right, if its for 30 secs I wouldn't worry about it. If you are concerned about your heart rate maybe go talk to a doctor.

[raziel]

Exactly as somebody already mentioned - if u wanna loose fat - nothing is more effective than cardio in the morning before first meal - its simply because : during the night ur body lacks the nutrients - u dont eat during sleep - thus body uses all of the glucose u v got in the blood and also 'eats' lots of glycogen (glucose is basic simpliest sugar u got in blood , glycogen is complex sugar stored in liver as a second energy supply... When u wake up in the morning, u aint got any of glucose and glycogen - when u go do cardio training - the only energetic supply ur body can use is fortunately FAT > plus, when u do it this way, for the rest of the day ur metabolism will be in catabolism - due to the stress that u put on ur body in the morning... (than even ur diet aint need to be that frastic - > therefor in the end , when u loose what u wanted and u'll be comin back to normal food - it wont be that easy to gain already lost weight back again... (as usually when people start drastic diet - then after weeks start normal feeding - and weight's back in three weeks and even more kgs are gained...
of course, there are also ways of extremely quick weight reductions (like Atkinson diet .... but wuldnt recommend that...
try to eat healthy, do such a cardio training three times a week (plus some gym exercise in those days, when u aint got morning cardio...;) (or if u aint got chance to do it in the morning - than do it after weight-lifting exercise (when u lift weights> its anaerobic activity - the body burns glucose > when u go cardio afterwards - body will utilize glycogen along with fat (cardio is areobic process - different energy supplies are used as a fuel than during normal training with weights;) (typical mistake of people when they think hat for loosin of weight is best go to gym and take the heaviest dumbbell they can find... (its totally wrong..
good luck;)

[TAS]

Im in the same position.

Since xmas, I havent riden my bike once, so with the drinking and eating, I have put on some serious weight.

I wanna loose it, so will start with this.

30km every day - which takes me about 1hr 10mins. My heart rate is above 160bpm for the entire trip (peaking at 191bpm which is 99% of my heart rate :eek:)
Stop eating pastries and start eating properly, which means more fruit and pasta/chicken/rice in the evenings..

And stop ordering Pizza!!!!!

[shaboy]

i'm no body builder but i use ironmanmagazine.com and bodybuilding.com for loys of exercise and health tips as well as the infamous 'lose fat but gain muscle' debate.

using BCAA's (branch chain amino acids) can help a lot, they reduce the amount of muscle break down which is very helpful in a high cardio routine. If you're looking to loose fat then they, along with other stuff, will help keep the muscle you currently have.

the cottage cheese with chives and stuff is pretty good and peanut butter FTW, well, i really like it :D

good rule of thumb about cardio pace is to go at a pace that makes you sweat but where you can still string a sentence together without having to gasp for breath, but might be a bit laboured (if you get me)

[geogge]

Thanks again for the information, very good advice there :thumbs:

What sort of foods are fine to snack after 8pm? Low calorie, or low in carbs, or low in fats?

Every night i'm snacking on peanuts and peanut butter, but it's not really that filling. Would fruit and yogurt be fine?


i'm no body builder but i use ironmanmagazine.com and bodybuilding.com for loys of exercise and health tips as well as the infamous 'lose fat but gain muscle' debate.

the cottage cheese with chives and stuff is pretty good and peanut butter FTW, well, i really like it :D



Checked out body building. com and found the cutting meal plan :eek: Surely if you took that as a guideline you would put on weight as i don't eat have that much meat. 530g a day :eek:

I tried the cottage cheese, but can't stomach it. Anyone have any ideas what would make it more edible?

Wake 6.30 am Strong black tea / coffee

40-50 mins low intensity cardio

7.30 breakfast Porridge: 30g oats + skimmed milk + tsp sugar
3 egg whites + 1 egg yolk scrambled
200ml fresh fruit juice

10.00 100g chicken breast
2 oatcakes
Fruit
Mug green tea

12.30 180g tuna or mackerel salmon or chicken breast
30g wholemeal pasta or basmati rice
Large mixed salad
Mug green tea

15.00 100g chicken breast
2 oatcakes
Fruit
Mug green tea

45 mins pre-workout 20g whey protein powder in water
2 oatcakes
Banana
Drink water

45 mins intense weight training

Immediately post workout 40g whey protein powder + 5g glutamine in water

Evening meal
60 mins later 150g lean red meat or 180g salmon steak
40g wholemeal pasta or 40g basmati rice or 2-3 small boiled new potatoes
Large serving mixed vegetables

22.00 Serving James' Super Smoothie – The JSS Cutting Shake

Bedtime 200g cottage cheese