New to Site/Looking for Advice!

Bigger Stronger Leaner
1

Hello everyone,

Just officially joined this site after poking around the last week or so, reading over a lot of the beginner stickies.

I joined primarily to get advice on my current situation. I am 24 years old, and during my college years went from just being plain tall and skinny (6’5" 175lbs - Sept. 2005) to being plain tall and skinny fat (240lbs - May 2009, most of the weight gain going to my waistline).

Since May 2009, I have been better about eating and exercise, however extremely inconsistent. While I was at one point back down to 195lbs, with a 39" waist a year or so ago, I have struggled with my weight and am now back to 220lbs with a 44" waist.

Even before gaining all of the weight in college, I was never very strong for my size. Over the past few years, I have been lifting weights on and off, but never really making any progress. I am overall more active, playing deck hockey a couple times a week, as well as occasional other cardio.

Enough with the above though, I suppose what I am really looking for here is any advice on what would work best for losing the gut. I am tired of going through the same old start/stop/fail cycle on my own, my weight is really starting to bother me.

That being said, what kind of weight training programs would some of you recommend to help me out? I realize it is best to pick one goal (fat loss/muscle gain) and stick with it. I do not feel comfortable trying to add muscle until I get the bf% under control.

I have tried (and liked) 5x5 beginner strength programs, however squatting 3x a week tends to be too much for my quest to lose weight (very poor recovery). I was thinking about trying something such as Lyle’s General Bulk Routine, so that I would only be hitting the legs 3 times every 2 weeks, and still be able to balance jogging/hockey in on the off days.

Sorry for the long post, I tend to ramble when it gets late. To summarize, extremely skinny fat individual looking to change for the better, and tired of trying to do it alone. Any and all advice is welcome, I look forward to seeing what you guys have to say.

If it is any help, my stats are:

Age: 24 Height: 6’5" Weight: 220lbs Waist (at navel): 44"
Lifting stats (1rm): Barbell Bench Press: 165lbs Barbell Squat: 145lbs Barbell Dead Lift: 185lbs

2

fuck that shit - if you squat x3 a week, you will get used to it. You’re currently squatting my warm up overhead press weight, its nothing.
Starting strength is perfect for you right now. do cardio on the off days and get your diet in check - you’ve read the stickies

3

If you are truly serious about getting in good shape and being healthier:

-Pick a program you like and one your body can handle.

Quote:
“Since May 2009, I have been better about eating and exercise, however extremely inconsistent. While I was at one point back down to 195lbs, with a 39” waist a year or so ago, I have struggled with my weight and am now back to 220lbs with a 44" waist."

-find out what caused you to be inconsistent and if possible eliminate it from your life.

Quote:
“Over the past few years, I have been lifting weights on and off, but never really making any progress.”

-again the pattern of failure here is not being consistent. If you lift weights consistently and try to you will progress. It’s just science.

-An important life lesson I have learned is at the very least just show up, give what you got to give that day. Your gonna not wanna go to the gym on leg day, it hurts and it makes you walk funny the next day. Show up anyways and at least try, worst case scenario you can always feel good knowing you at least showed up.

-6’5" 220, don’t worry so much about losing weight, worry about filling out your frame the right way. Train hard and eat real food.

That is all I got for you, post what you ate today that will help us help you.

4

5/3/1, starting stregth, madcow, rippetoe, juggernaut method, WS4SB, texas method.

5

Thanks for the replies guys! I am not so much worried about what the scale says, but what I see everyday in the mirror. I could honestly care less if the scale ever budges, as long as I’m losing inches from the waist. I am well aware of the risks of having too much fat around the midsection, so this is obviously just as much for health reasons as looks.

That being said, what would an appropriate caloric restriction be for my situation? In the past, I have always attempted to set it around 1,000 per day (roughly) to shoot for 2lbs of fat loss per week. I base this off of the notion that losing 2lbs/fat per week is more do-able at higher bf%, and once you get around 15% you should knock it down to 1lb/week or less. Any thoughts on this? How would “noob” gains factor in on a deficit, would I be able to get away with losing more inches from the midsection despite a smaller deficit?

I see that you guys are recommending some form of beginner strength program (see a lot of starting strength, Madcow, Texas Method, etc). How long would I be able to benefit from a program like that on a cut? I seem to burn out quickly/and my ability to recover seems to diminish after a couple of weeks (too big a deficit?).

I suppose there are a lot of things I need to work out, but I guess I just want to have confidence in what I am doing. While I would absolutely love to jump right into a clean bulk and get bigger and stronger, deep down inside I still feel it necessary to get rid of the fat first.

I can post pictures, and I suppose I should eventually regardless. Will help you to visualize what a 6’5" kid weighing 220 looks like with a 44" gut hanging over him!

As far as what I’ve eaten today, see below. Everything (portion sizes measured with food scale) was tracked with Fitday.

Breakfast 8:30am: 662 Calories - 21g fat (6g saturated); 74g carbs (11g fiber); 44g protein

-1 cup oatmeal nuked in water, added about 1/4 cup of skim milk to it after it was done. Also added 4oz blueberries and cinnamon in it.
-2 whole eggs, scrambled, mixed with 1/2 cup of Southwestern Egg Beaters. Added 1/2oz of low fat shredded cheese to them.
-Multivitamin, fish oil capsules.

Snack 11:30am: 375 Calories - 29g fat (4 saturated); 27g carbs (7g fiber); 14g protein

  • 1 small apple
  • 2oz unsalted dry roasted peanuts

Lunch: 2:30pm - 465 Calories - 17g fat (3 saturated); 47g carbs (7g fiber); 35g protein

  • 2 slices of Nature’s Pride 100% whole wheat bread w/1 serving of JIF natural PB
  • 1 cup of Fage plain Greek Yogurt, w/ 4oz blueberries added in

Snack: 5:30pm - 261 calories - 1g fat(1 saturated); 31g carbs (3g fiber); 33g protein

  • 1 scoop of whey protein (ON gold standard) mixed in 8oz skim milk
  • 1 small apple

Dinner: 8:00pm - 286 calories - 5g fat (1 saturated); 8g carbs (4g fiber); 44g protein

  • 8oz grlled chicken breast, 2 cups of steamed mixed veggies

Bedtime snack (around 11pm, not there yet!) - 206 calories

    • 1 scoop of whey protein (ON gold standard) mixed in 8oz skim milk

Totals for day: 2,254 cal—75g fat (16 saturated); 203g carbs (31g fiber); 202g protein

Thanks, sorry if this is another long post, but appreciated in advance for sticking it out and providing any inputs!!!

6

your nutrition really is not terrible if that is truly how you always eat you need to train much much harder. Stop over thinking your program, to make this a longevity thing it needs to be fun. Go in the gym and kick ass then eat like what you posted above and you will lose fat. When you get to a composition you are happy at reassess your goals.

deficit of 1000 calories… your already kinda weak for your weight you do not wanna get weaker I would hold a little bit lower and try to sustain or elevate the little strength yo have built.