My name is Marc, Im 21 years of age from Cedar Rapids, Iowa. I come from a family where fitness is a high priority. My father is a triathlete and lifter in the winter, my mother used to be a competetive runner until she was injured a few years back. Anyway I have grown up knowing the importance of eating right etc but until recently I have not had any real motivation to get out there and do much. The past few days I have started a diet and begun to run a couple miles a day along with floor exercises and some free weight training and I plan to start off Sunday at the gym. Something just clicked in my head and I decided it was time to make a few changes in my life. Drinking 5 days a week and smoking will really catch up to you after awhile. Just in the last week of doing neither and eating a lot healthier with a little exersize has improved my moral and overall mood more than I can even explain. I am 6'5" 237 pounds, i have a little beer gut on me but have a little muscle which I would attribute entirely to when I was roofing and drywalling. Im looking forward to progressing and overall feeling better about myself as well as having a little more self confidence. Im pretty pumped up about getting bigger and am happy to have found this site, there is a ton of helpful information. I would like to post a picture of myself, the only one I really have without a shirt, not because I want a lot of critisizm and to be told how fat I am haha but to ask simply, should I be more worried about cutting down on weight or am I at a good build to just start lifting and not worrying about cutting too much? and as far as colories a day what should I be looking at for an intake? Right now Im eating a package of oatmeal in the morning around 8am with a couple boiled eggs, can of tuna around 10am, around noon or 1 I try and eat a chicken breast with a side of brocolli and or cottage cheese, then around 3 or so protien shake, workout, shake, then another meal like lunch around 6 or 7pm. SOmetimes Ill eat a fat free yogurt before bed. Any comments or suggestions are appreciated, I have looked through these forums a lot and some of the stuff is as confusing as it is helpful but Im sure it will all come in handy in due time.



-Marc