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Old 11-26-2005, 07:41 PM
ryancw ryancw is offline
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Question Complete Newbie questions

Hi everyone-

I am about as completely new to the world of health/nutrition as it gets. Lets see...29 years old, 5'11", 180lbs, carrying a little gut, decided it was high time to see about getting in a little better shape. So, I've been reading some in the various forums, doing research online, etc...and have some ideas...was looking for advice, as well as critiques on some of my ideas, so here goes.

1) Change my diet...big one, work in a restaurant, eat whatever is near. Not the best way to go...need to restrict my diet, eat less fat. I see the 6 meal a day idea seems important. Maybe oatmeal/grapenuts, fruit??, low- or no-fat yogurt for breakfast, protein bar or shake for snack, salad for lunch, another snack...chicken breast, lean cut of steak for dinner? Like I said, REALLY new...not even sure of good, low-fat meals, etc.

2) Exercise more...right now I get basically none outside of work and kids. I'm in a small town on an island with population of 1800 in Alaska, so my choices are limited, but we do have a public gym/pool with nautilus equipment, treadmills, etc. I work split double shifts, so my time is limited, but Im hoping to put in at least half an hour a day between shifts, maybe an hour on my days off...hoping this will be enough to help?

3) Looking at supplements, etc. Pretty sure I want to avoid steroids, even though they are legal here in Alaska. However, what about a combo of Clenbuterol/Cytomel? From what I've read, they seem effective and pretty low-risk. Any advice/other ideas?

What I really want is just to get in better shape, not looking for professional body-building size/shape, just want to lose my gut to start with, then maybe add some mass later. The hardest part is having no real idea where to start, and having little time, what with kids and 2 jobs.

So, thanks in advance for any help and ideas, sorry if this all seems a little basic, but when I say newbie, boy do I mean it

Thanks again!!

-Ryan
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Old 11-26-2005, 07:43 PM
ryancw ryancw is offline
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Heh-

PS-Guess I should post this in the anabolic forum as well, for the Clen/Cyto question, sorry about that. Is there a newbie forum I am missing?

Thanks again!!
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  #3  
Old 11-26-2005, 08:08 PM
verbatimreturned verbatimreturned is offline
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welcome to the forum
1) try to eat small meals every 2 hours. make sure that you hit at least your bodyweight in grams of protien daily.
2) its not nessarily how much your exercise IMO its how hard you exercise really. 30 minutes in the gym between shifts and then an hour on days you dont work but of what (cardio, lifting) i suppose you dont have any program laid out at this point (check out the stickies in the training forum) since your trying to lose weight try to do some morning cardio i dont know what time your shifts are so this could be hard for you but i highly recommend it. oh i noticed that you mention that you would lose weight now and then put on some mass later dont completely forget about lifting weights dont always go to the gym for cardio mix things up workout 6 days a week 1 day lifting the next day cardio and repeat the cycle and take sunday off. take things easy at first and ease your body into working out.
3) as far as supplements i wouldnt go straight to something like clenbutrol if your new to this (you might be able to lose weight without stuff like that, you never know until youve really tried) diet hard for a month or two and see where it gets you. Steriods are legal in alaska...really lol i never knew that

but anyway i tried to answer some of your question quickly but im sure you have tons more feel free to ask and im sure the other people here will give you some more tips
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Old 11-26-2005, 08:29 PM
ryancw ryancw is offline
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Thanx, Verbatimreturned, that was a helpful, as well as fast response...may I ask a few questions? So...cardio-wise...running on a treadmill, swimming, etc? Used to be on swim team...about 12 years ago. *sigh* I really know nothing here...need to go to the library Monday, look for a few more books. Meals...heh...what defines a meal? Not being sarcastic, really not sure....ie, is a protein shake/bar a meal? Or sandwich, bag of pretzels? Unfortunately, my shift starts at 5am, and the gym isnt open until 10 or 11, so that'd probably be the soonest for cardio...I thought about running to work, but freezing temps combined with ice and snow are a little discouraging...and its dark here. A lot. Until around 10am, so that makes it even more unpleasant. Hmmm....maybe stair climbing here in the hotel? I imagine I could get here early. Any links to anything would be useful...:(

Thanks again!!
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Old 11-27-2005, 05:56 PM
verbatimreturned verbatimreturned is offline
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what defines a meal well im kind of confused on that myself lol. i would assume it depends on how many calories your looking to take in a day and then i guess divide that by 6 or howevery many meals your looking to have a day. i would just recommend that you take in a little bit of protien everymeal, and by the end of the day it will add up to your bodyweight. i guess a sandwich would work depending on whats on it, but a bag of pretezels i dunno about that. since the gym doesnt open up until 10 or 11 i guess you could do running or fast walking up and down the steps just make sure you dont fall or wake up anyone lol swimming is great also
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Old 11-27-2005, 06:07 PM
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I would read the articles and stickys. they could answer alot of questions. and probably make you ask more questions . but that is one of the things BB is all about.
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Old 11-28-2005, 02:27 PM
SLDCHC SLDCHC is offline
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Newbee to health and fitness? well congradulations and welcome to the forum. What's eatting healthy? I'm big into health and fitness- work out at least 4-5 times a week cardio, strength training. But when it comes to eatting healthy-I think I do alright. With dieting throughout my life i've come to the conclusion that seriously restricting diets cause you to crash....eventually....I've learned the change my ways of eatting forever...allowing myself a day off here and there.
A normal day for me would consist of
egg whites turkey american cheese on whole wheat,
steamed chicken and vegetable w/ steamed brown rice,
dinner can get a little complicated but i try my best followed by
low fat ice cream... (sometimes)
basically what i'm getting at is to change your diet with the little things little to no butter, skim milk vs whole milk, whole wheat breads....that way you'll stick with it
i hope i help somehow
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Old 11-29-2005, 05:16 PM
ryancw ryancw is offline
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Thanz to everyone who replied, this has been helpful Went shopping yesterday, discovered a fair amount more stuff than I expected, since we only have 2 grocery stores on our island...also each store is the size of the average 7/11 down south. Still, suprising amount of stuff, considering...as long as I make time to prepare most of the stuff myself. So, here I go,

Thanx again!!
-Ryan
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Old 11-30-2005, 01:25 AM
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This is something I've saved from a pretty knowledgable guy in regards to nutrition that might be of some help. It's really broken down to help you understand at least the basics of nutrition. ;)

Dr. John M. Berardi has co-authored 2 new books, Gourmet Nutrition — an optimal eating manual complete with tricks, tips, strategies, and recipes for getting in your best shape ever and Scrawny to Brawny — a guide to building muscle mass the natural way.

GROCERY LIST*
7 large bags fresh spinach
3 large bags fresh carrots
2 pineapples, either fresh or precut
7 apples
7 plums (or oranges, pears, etc.)
4 bananas
7 potatoes/yams
1 bag of quinoa (ancient grains)
1 lemon
1 clove garlic
4 large red bell peppers
1 onion
1 lb walnuts

1 container non-stick cooking spray
1 box high fiber cereal
1 jar of pesto
1 box green tea
1 container apple cider vinegar
1 bottle flax oil
1 bottle extra virgin olive oil

7 lbs extra lean beef
3 packages of chicken or turkey sausage
7 containers egg whites
1 dozen omega 3 eggs
1/2 lb sliced cheese
2 large containers plain yogurt
1 bottle salmon oil/fish oil capsules

Eating over your maintenance level will add bodyweight but it is where these additional calories are coming from and how they are utilized which are the important things. A 'calorie' is a sum of the potential available energy contained within a food source. This is further broken down into carbs, proteins and fats.

Caloric Equivalents:

-one gram of protein = 4 calories
-one gram of carbs = 4 calories
-one gram of fat = 9 calories

When carbohydrates are in our body, they are being broken down and used as energy. When the body doesn't need to use the carbohydrates for energy, it stores them in the liver and in muscle tissue as glycogen. When the liver and muscle tissues are saturated, the excess is stored as fat. When your body needs a quick boost of energy, it converts glycogen into glucose (energy) but when it needs a prolonged burst of energy, it taps into your fat reserves.

It comes down to striking a balance between what your body requires and what your body utilises through everyday activity and/or physical exercise. In general, the addition of 500 calories per day over your maintenance level at a specified level of activity will result in an increase in bodyweight by one pound. If your level of activity increases, then your caloric intake will have to reflect this by also increasing. If your progress has slowed, then these would be your options:

·maintain your level of activity but increase your caloric intake
·decrease your level of activity and maintain your caloric intake

Your protein intake should be at a level of one gram per pound of lean body mass. Your fat intake should be under 60 grams per day. Carbs should primarily be complex with simple carbs, in the form of dextrose/maltodextrin, confined to pwo. Monitor your body fat percentage (BFP) as you bulk. Expect it to go up but if it starts getting out of control then make the necessary adjustments to your nutritional intake and/or increase the level of your activity.
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