Standard weight loss / muscle gain (complete beginner)

[Oceanic]

Hi guys. This will probably bore everyone to death but it'll give me some incentive to keep going! I'm 21, 5'11", and weigh 185lbs (84kg). Last year I was weighing in at about 12 and a half stone and was still very chubby so you can imagine what I look like now at over 13 stone! I have quite a busy lifestyle so in the past I've tried dieting and exercising but it tends to peter out after a few weeks. This time round I'm determined to make some long-term gains. Another hindrance is that I'm hopelessly weak (I can 5x5 bench about 50kg max) and my left arm is absolutely hopeless.

My workout's going to consist of hitting the gym 5 days a weak and alternating between cardio and strength each day. On cardio days I plan on doing 20 minutes each of crosstrainer, rower, bike, and treadmill.

On days when i'm going to be in the weights room i plan on following the stronglifts 5x5 routine (although i'm a little bit concerned about starting with really light weights and increasing it each time, seems like kind of a waste but i don't know my limits at the moment).

I've tried to sort my diet out, but would REALLY appreciate any tips on how I can change it for the better. Bear in mind I absolutely can't stand the sight of fish and i'm allergic to nuts!

Breakfast: 3 scrambled eggs with a fairly hefty portion of spinach - cheeky can of diet red bull

Snack: 150g of cottage cheese with 2 tablespoons of flax seeds + some frozen cranberries

Lunch: This is where I'm kind of stuck. Ideally I'd want it to be something that doesn't take a great deal of time to prepare. Yesterday I just had an apple! Rubbish! I'm thinking I need some protein from somewhere.

Post workout: 2 scoops of ***-** lean gain powder (not really ideal but will it do)?

Snack: Banana with?

Dinner: Large chicken breast, wholegrain rice, mixed frozen veg

Snack: About a third of a big pot of 0.1% fat yogurt with mixed berries

Any advice would be appreciated! I've just made this up off my own back so It's probably horribly wrong. Sorry!

Dave.

ps. I'll post some pictures at some point

[Was_once_fat_dave]

howdy dave, firstly, congrats on making the step up.

you answer this

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a little bit concerned about starting with really light weights and increasing it each time, seems like kind of a waste

with this

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Another hindrance is that I'm hopelessly weak

start with the empty bar, it'll still work your muscles, especially if you ain't done the lifts before. Starting with the empty bar helps you with your form, too many times people cme buldozing in on heavyier weights but poor form and injure them selves and so never squat/deadlift again as they think its dangerous. Spend the 1st couple of months slowly going up through the light stuff, concentrating on gettin gthe correct form, this way youll be less likely to damage yourself later on.

unfortunatly the food you eat is 70-80% of the bigger picture, therefore you going to need to put the effort into it. even if its just a case of making one huge meal in bulk on a sunday and seperating into 5 smaller meals for the rest of the week in tubaware containers. Mince and veg works a treat for this.

[aBhorsen]

Do you have access to anything to cook with at dinner? Microwave?

Breakfast looks decent, maybe throw some cheese in with the eggs? Rasher of Bacon?

Do you enjoy your morning snack? Thats looks like it'll taste horrid to me!

A shake post workout is fine, tho you gotta remove competitor brand names from your posts. Your banana isn't really offering you any benefits there. I find Paté on Ryvita's nice.

Change your evening Yoghurt to the full fat version Good fats are not your enemy.

As for your workout, +1 for the stronglifts and don't be worried about the weight, it soon builds up and you will miss those easy days, take it slow but your gains will be very noticeable.

Last but not least, Your not particularly overweight. I'm 5'10 and 179lbs and i am in very decent shape. Once your muscle size starts to build up you'll probably be the same weight and you won't think your chubby!

[Oceanic]

thanks for the input guys, like I say i really appreciate it as i'm more or less clueless. So I'm thinking with breakfast chuck in some cheese, for Lunch maybe some lean mince with veg, and swap out the random banana for some ryvita with something. Once the low fat yogurts gone i'll get some of the fattier stuff in. And yeah aBhorsen that snack is pretty disgusting but to be honest I've never really been one to worry about how stuff tastes heh. The only reason I don't eat fish is more because of some kind of irrational hate i have for them (leave them in the sea). I did buy some cod liver oil which i had a tablespoon of last night and it nearly gave me a stroke but i'll try and stick with it.

Thanks again guys! Do you think those changes will do?

I'll also start light and gradually work my way up with the stronglifts.

Edit: Yeah, i have a microwave/oven/grill. Is it worth getting in one of those george foreman badboys?

[comanight2]

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Thanks again guys! Do you think those changes will do?

Keep changing and evolving, always be getting better

Ditch the george foreman. Its for the antifat people, your not one of those anymore.

By the way, Myprotein do the cod liver caps, they are much easier than necking a spoon of it!

Work out your calorie requirements, and use Food Focus - Permanent Weight Loss to figure out how many you have had. Almost everyone here uses it!

Work out you calorie requirements using this : Bodybuilding.com - Energy Needs... What Are Your Calorie Requirements? - BiologyBabe

Weigh in every week. Its a craft nor a science...

[Was_once_fat_dave]

my george foreman rocks

don't be scared of fats in food, if there meant to be there that is. Nowt wrong with the fattier cuts of meat and forget all the lowfat nonsence on packaging, they replace it with sugars which is the main problem.

aslo step away from the rivitas. empty kcals

[Oceanic]

Hi all, the 5x5 routine is going reasonably well and I'll type out a proper update next week. For the time being I just have a quick question about squats. From what I've read and from the experiences of friends I should really be feeling them in my quads. No matter how hard I try though, when I drive through my heels to stand up midway through them I only feel it on the inside/back of the top of my legs. I'm not a scientist so I don't know what muscle that is but it's basically the area a third/half of the way round the circumference of the leg going from the quads inwards. The other day it almost felt as if something was about to go so I thought I was wondering if anyone could clear up whether or not this is normal for me? Thanks!