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I don't understand it though. I see guys at my YMCA that I know eat like crap, and are my age and stuff that are big and they don't eat that many meals a day or eat good?

This morning I ate: Apple, eggs, pancakes

This afternoon: Salad, 6 chicken tenders, pasta, peas

This evening: A coolwrap from work, a hamburger with only cheese, and carrots.

Besides the fact that you're not really doing that many different exercises to proportion your body correctly, but you're not eating right either. 99% of what you take into your system affects the outcome of what you're going to end up with. Take it from someone who had watched her husband lift weights and do cardio 6 times a week for 3 years - and didn't get ANYWHERE! But once he started going to a nutritionist and learned how to eat 6-8 times a day with balanced, healthy food - mostly lean protein - then the results started to show. You really need to ask yourself if you are ready to make this kind of committment (giving up the junk food I mean). If you're not, than you may as well forget about getting toned because it's never going to happen with the way you're eating. Good luck.

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Stacey P. Wells
SGT, U.S. Army

Oh, and to comment on the guys that you see at the YMCA who eat like crap... you may not be taking into consideration that they have a different metabolism than you.

Well you also have to take into consideration, if you eat like crap, but you eat ALOT of crap like hamburgers, french fries, etc. you will gain weight of course but I'm sure your general health will suffer greatly. You'll gain muscle too, but ALOT of fat with those gains. ArmyGirl's story about her husband is very true, and I learned that myself the hard way when I first got into this sport, when Chinpiecedave said that nutrition is 90% of this, he obviously wasn't lieing and he knows what hes talking about take a look at the poundages in his 5x5 journal.

How many eggs? where they whole or just whites? how many pancakes, how big was the salad, you mentioned 6 chicken tenders approximately how many ounces of chicken is each one? how much pasta?

once you figured that out, then go and research what each one provides you as far as calories/protien/carbs/fat then add them all up and see exactly how much your taking in a day. Then take a look at how much your SUPPOSTED to be taking in a day, you'll be quite suprised at how little your really taking in.

AAAhhhh I just spent forever typing and didn't realize I wasn't logged in. So here it goes again.

Here is a website that I use quite often Jagsfan. Under the SUBJECTS column on the left hand side, click MY PYRAMID TRACKER. Then scroll down and click NEW USER REGISTRATION. http://mypyramid.gov/ Please keep in mind though that this website is designed to give you stats in order to MAINTAIN your current weight, so you may want to ignore the numbers they give you. It is, however, a good site to go to to get a pretty accurate count on the amount of protein, calories, carbs, and whatever else to help you get a good idea of what you're intaking on a daily basis. In case someone hasn't told you, you should be getting at least 1 gram of proetein for every pound you weigh (and probably more in your case). For example, I weigh 136 lbs. so I get at least 136 grams of protein every day. If you can't get your protein from meat and cheese, get yourself some protein shakes. Make sure you use protein shakes correctly and aren't using Meal Replacements (MRP's) instead - unless of course you're actually replacing a meal. You need to know the difference between the two. Also, you need to start weighing your food. I know it's a pain, but once again, this all goes back to how dedicated you are to this lifestyle. The amount of chicken in a cool wrap sandwich from work is probably only equivelant to 3 or 4 oz of meat, and you need between 6 to 8 oz. at each meal. Even I eat 6 oz of protein at each meal (not including all the protein shakes in between meals) and I'm a girl. So don't worry - you're not going to get fat. Take our advice and EAT! You're most likely burning off more calories than you are taking in per day (this all goes back to the metabolism thing) so your body is going into starvation mode and keeping what it needs to function. Eating more GOOD food = lean muscle.

This is getting ridiculous. You have been told all this time and time again. You have also been told that what you need to know nurtrition wise is in the stickies. Yet we keep revisiting the SAME QUESTIONS.

I doubt there are really that many guys at the Y who are HUGE and eat like crap and don't eat much etc. And when you say they are big...do you mean big as in lots of donuts big? Regardless you can't get hugely fat without taking in a lot of calories and likewise you can't get hugely muscled without doing the same thing. They are BOTH anabolic states. But there needs to be a proper combo of macronutrients and not rely on a whole lot of empty calories (which is one good way to get fat). It's all about nutrient partitioning.

As far as the exercises you are doing, you do NOT need to add more exercisese. One big mistake beginners do is TOO MANY EXERCISES. As I told you before you should be concentration on improvement on the big compound movements like squat, deadlift, bench, rows.

Worrying about proportion and putting in a bunch of beach exercises (i.e. isolation movements) is NOT going to improve your results. IMO, most extra exercises you choose should be aimed at strengthening the supporting muscles and prime movers to further facilitate those BIG COMPOUNDS. This is what is going to put on the most muscle...provided you eat enough.

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If you act sanctimonious I will just list out your logical fallacies until you get pissed off and spew blasphemous remarks.

Thank so much Army Girl!

As you all know in my first post I told you I weight 145 I think. Well now I weigh 167, whether that is fat or muscle or both.

Good?

Well, what do you think it is? I remember you saying something before that once you started eating more you were gaining it in your love handles. Okay I'm going to chart this out for you Barney-style. I understand that sometimes certain people need it to be done for them this way in order for it to sink in. I know this, because I used to be one of them. Here is an example of how I eat on a DAILY basis. Not every once in a while, you have to stay consistant with your diet and change up your exercise routine at the same time. Remember, diet and exercise go hand and hand. You can't do one or the other - it just won't work. If you're not eating properly your body will go into the "starvation mode" I told you about earlier. And when it does that, it's going to hold on to the fat and calories that your body needs to function. Problem is is that it isn't going to go where you want to go. Hence the love handles. Another question is, are you incorporating cardio into your exercise routine? You need to be doing cardio at least 3 to 5 times a week to balance everything out.

0530 Protein drink with 1 scoop Fiber and 1 oz Gamma-O (supplement)
12-24 oz. Water

0600-0700 Army Physical Training

0730 3 Egg whites scrambled or 3 Hard Boiled Egg Whites
1/2 Oatmeal (not the instant kind) with a 1/2 banana and Splenda
12-24 oz. Water

1000 Protein Shake

1200 6 oz. Grilled Chicken Breast (no sauce...too much sodium)
6 oz GREEN Salad Veggies (Romain lettuce, cucumbers, green peppers and light dressing, etc.)
1 Piece of fruit (apple, orange, 1/2 cup strawberries w/splenda)
24 oz. Water

1500 Protein Shake, Vegetable or Fruit

1700-? Gym Time!!! Drink water during workout and 24 oz. after

1900 Protein Shake

1945-2000 6 oz. Chicken breast
4 oz. Steamed broccoli w/ spray butter or Sea Salt
1 slice Light Wheat bread w/spray butter

2100 Herbal Tea w/splenda before bed

2130 Bed Time


Now remember, this is only an example of how to balance out your meals. You most likely need to add more protein to it because of your weight, especially now that you've gained a few lbs. And I know it doesn't seem like there's much to choose from as far as healthy meals go, but I swear once you really start getting into it and dedicating yourself, you'll see there's actually plenty out there. You just have to keep telling yourself that junk food IS NOT an option any longer. Now, I cheat every so often on Saturdays and I won't go to the gym the whole day, but once Sunday comes along, I'm right back on track. And missing just that one day only makes me want to hit it harder when I get back there. Oh, and by the way, you have a great advantage working at Chic Fil A... you have plenty of grilled chicken and salad right at your finger tips! Just make sure to stay clear of the extra sauces like the honey barbecue and ketchup and keep away from the original chicken breast... it's too much fat.

I also forgot to ask if you've taken any recent pictures of yourself. I'm talking the kind without your shirt so that you can compare them to what you looked like 3 months ago when you first started getting advice from everyone. I know that one problem I have is thinking that I'm not progressing, but I make sure every month on the same date that I take a picture of myself in my bikini and compare it to last month's photo. And just like clock-work, I've progressed. It's kind of a cheap motivation, but hey it works.