New Member looking for a little advice

[bthorn86]

Hey everyone i heard about this site from a good friend in the junior bodybuilding circuit and really wanted to get some good advice on loosing body fat but keeping muscle and/or adding some more lean muscle. I've been lifting for about 3 years now (I'm 21) I'm in the military and deployed as of right now but i keep up my diet pretty well and my routine. Let me say I'm 6'4" 240 lbs. with roughly 12-15% body fat. I'm looking to get down to 6-9%. My diet consists of a protein shake the moment i wake up 40-45 grams of whey. About an hour later i take a green tea extract and or chromium piccolante and then eat either 2 skinless chicken breasts/a serving of veggies/pinneapple or tunafish on wheat bread with either pinneapple or another fruit. I follow that about 2-3 hours later with a can of tunafish with either a fruit or some wheat thins(I don't have access to many veggies in the middle of my day) I'm usually lifting after that and right after i take a scoop of cell-mass and 40-45 grams of whey mixed with gatorade. About 45 minutes later im eating again, usually some veggies and chicken breasts(2) or tunafish. I'll snack an hour or 2 after that on peanut butter(usually with an apple or a banana) My final meal is usually a couple more chicken breasts,tuna with some brown rice. I never have kept track of the number of calories i intake but i always try and get at least 30 grams or protein and 50 grams of carbs a meal. Any advice on some different foods/snacks i can get? I really am curious as to what suppliments can help me. I just ordered the Nutrex stack that dennis wolf endorses so im pretty siked about that. I've been taking BSN for a couple months now (nitrix,cell-mass,no-explode) i liked it a lot but its time for something new....ANY advice will help THANK U

 

[STEEDA69]

Well, first off, a lot depends on how serious you are to accomplish your goal and second, what nutritional limitations do you have (if any) given your current situation?

If you're looking to shed BF and maintain muscle, you must first realize that this is not an easy task! Most individuals lose some muscle along with BF but the goal is to keep muscle loss to a minimum.

The first thing you need to do is get on a diet where you are basically maintaining body weight (neither gaining nor losing) so you can figure your "baseline" caloric intake. After you've reached that point, you then need to write down EVERYTHING that enters your mouth for 3-4 days (the longer the better) and then add up how many calories you consumed over that time. Then, divide that number (total calories) by the number of days you were recording your intake.

EXAMPLE: Lets say you recorded your intake for 5 days. You would then total up ALL calories consumed for 5 days (I'll use an arbitrary number of 15,000 to illustrate this) and divide that # by 5 (total # of days). Which would give you 3,000 calories (which would be your average number of calories to sustain BW per day).

When you've figured out what your daily calorie requirement is, you then need to establish another meal plan with a ratio of Protein/carbs/fat indicative of a typical BB's diet. (start at 35/45/15). SO, now your diet should contain 35% Cal's from lean protein; 45% Cal's from low glycemic carbs; 15% from fats (you will cover this total from the dietary fat you consume with the meat, eggs, dairy, carbs you already eat) No need to add any additional fat! (these numbers/% are approximate; use them as a guideline and try to stick as close to it as you can but you need not be perfect)

Protein: Chicken, lean beef, tuna, eggs, low fat cottage cheese.
Carbs: Brown rice, yams, sweet potato, oatmeal, whole grain bread, banana.
Fats: you will meet your daily requirement from meat, eggs, cottage cheese.

Get started on this and then you can start to tweak it accordingly!

I know this sounds like a lot to do and this is probably why most of the guys I see in the gym, day to day, never seem to change one year to the next. To be successful in this sport, YOU must understand the importance of nutrition! Some people discover this after years and years of trial and error and some never realize the necessity for proper nutrition. My advice would be, start now! Don't let you circumstances become excuses for not adhering to a sound nutritional program. This is probably why no-one has answered your post yet (with the exception of me) because individuals come on here everyday, ask these same basic questions and either say "forget that shit" or "nah, I can get away with eating whatever and still get results." So, the members who spend their time answering these questions soon realize that for the most part, it's a waste of time, and therfore they quit answering them!

If you have any further questions you may ask or PM me. Up to you!

PS: you should also use the "search" option on this board to look up additional iformation. There are literally TONS of posts out there on this very topic!




STEEDA~

 

[alecaf]

Well, first off, a lot depends on how serious you are to accomplish your goal and second, what nutritional limitations do you have (if any) given your current situation?

If you're looking to shed BF and maintain muscle, you must first realize that this is not an easy task! Most individuals lose some muscle along with BF but the goal is to keep muscle loss to a minimum.

The first thing you need to do is get on a diet where you are basically maintaining body weight (neither gaining nor losing) so you can figure your "baseline" caloric intake. After you've reached that point, you then need to write down EVERYTHING that enters your mouth for 3-4 days (the longer the better) and then add up how many calories you consumed over that time. Then, divide that number (total calories) by the number of days you were recording your intake.

EXAMPLE: Lets say you recorded your intake for 5 days. You would then total up ALL calories consumed for 5 days (I'll use an arbitrary number of 15,000 to illustrate this) and divide that # by 5 (total # of days). Which would give you 3,000 calories (which would be your average number of calories to sustain BW per day).

When you've figured out what your daily calorie requirement is, you then need to establish another meal plan with a ratio of Protein/carbs/fat indicative of a typical BB's diet. (start at 35/45/15). SO, now your diet should contain 35% Cal's from lean protein; 45% Cal's from low glycemic carbs; 15% from fats (you will cover this total from the dietary fat you consume with the meat, eggs, dairy, carbs you already eat) No need to add any additional fat! (these numbers/% are approximate; use them as a guideline and try to stick as close to it as you can but you need not be perfect)

Protein: Chicken, lean beef, tuna, eggs, low fat cottage cheese.
Carbs: Brown rice, yams, sweet potato, oatmeal, whole grain bread, banana.
Fats: you will meet your daily requirement from meat, eggs, cottage cheese.

Get started on this and then you can start to tweak it accordingly!

I know this sounds like a lot to do and this is probably why most of the guys I see in the gym, day to day, never seem to change one year to the next. To be successful in this sport, YOU must understand the importance of nutrition! Some people discover this after years and years of trial and error and some never realize the necessity for proper nutrition. My advice would be, start now! Don't let you circumstances become excuses for not adhering to a sound nutritional program. This is probably why no-one has answered your post yet (with the exception of me) because individuals come on here everyday, ask these same basic questions and either say "forget that shit" or "nah, I can get away with eating whatever and still get results." So, the members who spend their time answering these questions soon realize that for the most part, it's a waste of time, and therfore they quit answering them!

If you have any further questions you may ask or PM me. Up to you!

PS: you should also use the "search" option on this board to look up additional iformation. There are literally TONS of posts out there on this very topic!




STEEDA~

Wow steeda, thats about the most knowledgeable advice i've read on this subject. Great advice