Help appreciated with regards to: Exercising, meal plans etc

[Mattyboy]

Age: 18
Weight: 14.2 stone / 198 pounds
Height 5’11 – 6’0

Typical day:
Get up for work at 6am, start work at 7.30am, have first break at 09:30am, lunch break at 12.30pm, 3rd and final break at 03:00pm. Go home at 5pm, have dinner about 5.30pm, sit on my **** and play playstation 3 or listen to music till about 9. Im a painter and decorator.

Typical days food:
06:30am – Bowl of high fibre cereal / Cornflakes / Chocolate hoops with semi skimmed milk
09:30am – 2 rounds of sandwiches with tesco white bread containg cheese & pickle / Tune / Ham
12:30 am – Maybe finish of sandwiches from earlier if I hadn’t finished them
03:00pm – usually nothing
[Note] Sometimes I wont eat anything from 06:30am right up until 5.30pm

The supplements I currently use are: Green tea extract capsules, <competitor brand's whey protein powder>, <supermarket vitamin>, <supermarket fish oil> – I would prefer to get vitamins and fish oil form a reputable health store…

Tomorrow, I will be hopefully going to buy ZMA, <competitor's vitamins>, fish oil concentrate and Ginseng complex capsules from <high street competitor store name>.

So by tonight my supplements will be the following: ZMA, <competitor's vitamins>, fish oil concentrate capsules, green tea extract capsules, ginseng complex capsules, <competitor brand's whey protein powder>.

From reading the above, its pretty obvious why im like I am. To put it simply I work long hours and feel pretty tired when I get in, so I sit on my bed and play ps3. I know that’s pretty bad, but I cant seem to get out of the lope. I hate running, in fact I hate just about every form of cardio, never really got into it.

I don’t know whether I look fat from the pictures ive provided, but I feel fat. I don’t feel good looking, and that will obviously bleed through in my day to day life. I have plenty of friends, but I don’t make the effort to go out to spend time with them, that being said a lot of them don’t work, or don’t work long hours – So they have a lot more time.

My main problem is lack of motivation – I have a weights bench in my room with about 80kg in weights, a bunch pag with wall bracket/chin-up bar, an exercise bike and a raised sit up bench – Problem is I rarely use them, if I use the situp bench, I wont touch it again for like 3 days afterwards, ive used the exercise bike about 3 times and I bought it about 2-3 months ago.


I wouldn’t class myself as an amateur when it comes to weights, I currently lift 55kg for bench press, but to be honest ive never really got into a routine, and that’s my problem – If someone could show me what to do to lose say a stone, and replace that with muscle than I would be happy. I just want to be a lot slimmer, I don’t feel healthy like I am currently.

Sorry for all of the above, but I thought I should give you some background info before asking for help so here goes;

I would really appreciate it if someone could;

- Design me a meal plan
- Design me a workout plan
- Tell me when the best times to take the specified supplements are.


Photos
I can post photos of my body yet, but there are pictures in my album, under my profile

[Skullcrusher]

You can't just expect someone else to do all of the work for you.

If you want to make the transition that you have mentioned, then you have to change your lifestyle considerably.

You need to;

a) Join a gym (because you don't have the motivation to do it at home)
b) Get to the gym ATLEAST 3 times per week and do a mix of cardio and weight training
c) change your diet, but this needs to be a permanent change, ie ditch the white bread, eat between 5-7 small meals per day (all containing protein) e.g. chicken breast and vegatables, tuna and wholemeal pasta etc.

Basically, if you're not eating ANYTHING from 6:30am right up until 5:30pm, you are doing more damage than you realise. You might think that this will help you loose weight but it will actually have the opposite effect, as your metabolism will slow right down and store more fat.

If you stick to the 3 things that I have mentioned, you WILL see good improvements, but more importantly than anything, you need to have the dedication to stick to it, otherwise you never get the results that you want.

There are plenty of different programmes out there to choose from, just find one that sticks to the basic weight training exercises.

[LionHair]

And... Stickies for ya:-

Food/nutrition
Sticky: Beginners Diet & Nutrition: StrongLifts.com (Tips, Logging your diet & calories)

Sticky: Calorie Requirements advocated by top coaches...?

Sticky: Useful diet links. Read before posting. ALL PREVIOUS STICKIES HERE

Training
Radicalry00's stickie Training and diet for the beginner
Luffer's stickie: How to build muscle : The Definitive guide.
And this sticky too http://forum.myprotein.co.uk/bodybui...d-routine.html

Stronglifts does have a minimalist routine too (for those with less training equipment available to them)...

Quote

StrongLifts Minimalist 5×5. Same approach as StrongLifts 5×5, but with dumbbells. Try Minimalist StrongLifts 5×5.

Also good find by HTTK: The Truth About Bulking - article

Q: What on Earth does DE/ME/RE mean ?...http://forum.myprotein.co.uk/power-s...on-effort.html

[aBhorsen]

I'd agree with Skullcrusher. If you feel like that all those things are a little drastic to go into all at once then do things slowly.

I personally never used to have the motivation like i do now, But i have a similar working day to yourself and manage to fit it all in easily.

As stated above, eating nothing is the worst thing you could be doing, you won't have energy to do anything if you don't give yourself some!

Simple changes are like changing the white bread for Wholemeal..

Join a gym, don't rely on home weights. I find it impossible to go to the gym after working a long day like yours, if i go home first. I used to go 1-2 times a week, now i go 4-5 times a week. Mainly straight from work, I leave work at 5.45pm, i'm at the gym 6-8pm and it no longer feels a chore, it is part of my routine and it has got to the stage where if i don't go it feels worse than it does when i'm struggling to motivate myself while there. (Also if i wasn't in the gym, i'd also only be sat on my **** on the xbox!)

Start with getting the diet right and the energy and motivation will come.

You might find it useful to read my thread i posted about my diet and routine a few days ago. Because like i said, i have a similar working day to yourself.

Good Luck, aB

[dope540]

pretty much been said above.

read the stickies. we can offer advice with training and diet, but it all comes down to you to do it. we're not gonna help you eat it or spoon feed you it or help you workout.

start off by making small changes to ge the ball rolling first of all.

[Check1]

You have the benefit of a relatively active job. You'd be amazed how much energy you expend throughout your working day compared to say an office worker. Low-intensity movements or Non-Exercise Physical Activity (NEPA) is great as the rebounding effect upon appetite will be relatively low and you will not need to recover in the same way as from an exercise session. Free expenditure of energy. Relaxing in the evening is totally acceptable for you tbh! You will need the rest. Sort out the other aspects of your plan and your profession will work in your favour.

Stick to satisfying foods. Processed carbs should be out (i.e. anything white). Per calorie these will not fulfil you as much, so you either end up eating more calories throughout the day for the same sense of fullness or feeling hungry and tempted.

For the same reason, all other empty calories should be out. For those not used to exercise it's a lot easier to not eat a Mars bar than it is to do 30 minutes on the X-trainer. In terms of efforts to results, this is the most effective change that those who are starting out should make. If you need a 'cheat day' to give you a boost to carry on, this is fine. Just be sensible about it, plan it once a week say, and don't shatter all your hard work.

Getting the ball rolling is by far the hardest part. In a month's time you could be sailing your way towards any goal you want. Good luck.

[aBhorsen]

Agreed with the Cheat day, You may find it better for motivation if you say, stick to your healthy eating plan Monday-Friday and then Sat/Sun allow yourself some freedom.

That is what i used to do and i found it much easier to be strict during the week and then eventually you may not feel the need or desire to cheat at weekends. Thats what i found.

[pompeygaz]

Absolutely agree with all above. I am 40 and a newbie, I have a demanding job, wife and kids, and know EXACTLY how you feel when you get in from work. Solution....DONT GO HOME straight from work. I got motivated by starting off swimming lengths 2-3 days a week, its true what they say, the more energy you use, the more you have!! Dont get to my age, high blood pressure, over weight, knackered and getting P***** up every night. Start now, its easier....trust me! Good luck!

[SpiderDan]

Put the PS3 away

read the stickies given to you

go join a gym

go at least three times a week

stop eating rubbish

Do this first then worry about the details, no one can give you the motivation you have to find that yourself....you have to show some willingness before people will start giving you more advice

[dave miles]

Quote

Age: 18
Weight: 14.2 stone / 198 pounds
Height 5’11 – 6’0

Typical day:
Get up for work at 6am, start work at 7.30am, have first break at 09:30am, lunch break at 12.30pm, 3rd and final break at 03:00pm. Go home at 5pm, have dinner about 5.30pm, sit on my **** and play playstation 3 or listen to music till about 9. Im a painter and decorator.

Typical days food:
06:30am – Bowl of high fibre cereal / Cornflakes / Chocolate hoops with semi skimmed milk
09:30am – 2 rounds of sandwiches with tesco white bread containg cheese & pickle / Tune / Ham
12:30 am – Maybe finish of sandwiches from earlier if I hadn’t finished them
03:00pm – usually nothing
[Note] Sometimes I wont eat anything from 06:30am right up until 5.30pm

The supplements I currently use are: Green tea extract capsules, <competitor brand's whey protein powder>, <supermarket vitamin>, <supermarket fish oil> – I would prefer to get vitamins and fish oil form a reputable health store…

Tomorrow, I will be hopefully going to buy ZMA, <competitor's vitamins>, fish oil concentrate and Ginseng complex capsules from <high street competitor store name>.

So by tonight my supplements will be the following: ZMA, <competitor's vitamins>, fish oil concentrate capsules, green tea extract capsules, ginseng complex capsules, <competitor brand's whey protein powder>.

From reading the above, its pretty obvious why im like I am. To put it simply I work long hours and feel pretty tired when I get in, so I sit on my bed and play ps3. I know that’s pretty bad, but I cant seem to get out of the lope. I hate running, in fact I hate just about every form of cardio, never really got into it.

I don’t know whether I look fat from the pictures ive provided, but I feel fat. I don’t feel good looking, and that will obviously bleed through in my day to day life. I have plenty of friends, but I don’t make the effort to go out to spend time with them, that being said a lot of them don’t work, or don’t work long hours – So they have a lot more time.

My main problem is lack of motivation – I have a weights bench in my room with about 80kg in weights, a bunch pag with wall bracket/chin-up bar, an exercise bike and a raised sit up bench – Problem is I rarely use them, if I use the situp bench, I wont touch it again for like 3 days afterwards, ive used the exercise bike about 3 times and I bought it about 2-3 months ago.


I wouldn’t class myself as an amateur when it comes to weights, I currently lift 55kg for bench press, but to be honest ive never really got into a routine, and that’s my problem – If someone could show me what to do to lose say a stone, and replace that with muscle than I would be happy. I just want to be a lot slimmer, I don’t feel healthy like I am currently.

Sorry for all of the above, but I thought I should give you some background info before asking for help so here goes;

I would really appreciate it if someone could;

- Design me a meal plan
- Design me a workout plan
- Tell me when the best times to take the specified supplements are.


Photos
I can post photos of my body yet, but there are pictures in my album, under my profile

hi mate, google lyle macdonald, he is the man for diet info, he wrote the UD2 book (google it)