Starting weight loss and want to bulk up.

[Deleted]

So I am 6ft 2, 20 years old and I currently weigh 14 stone 10 pounds or (206 pounds) so I am technically obese even though I'm not fat just podgy around the belly/legs.

I intend on dieting down to around 190-200 pounds in the next 2-3 months so around 6-16 pounds total I have such a large time scale as I will be having major knee surgery in the next 2 months and will take me over 1-2 months to get to the stage where I can do any sort of "real" exercise.

Once I reach my "goal" weight I want to bulk up, what is the best way to do so due to the fact of I wont be able to run or do any heavy leg exercise, however I can still swim and cycle, I've heard making sure you eat the right amount of certain foods at certain time before/after workouts etc is critical.

I'm basically just looking for what are the best kinds of exercises I can be doing to get the maximum results and also the types of food I should be eating and when, also would like to get some opinions on protein powders etc.

Also do you think my goal is reasonable? or should I be heading for <190 I know nothing about what is a healthy weight just seems that my supposed ideal body weight of 148 - 185lbs seems drastic?

All the comments and advice are much appreciated. After my op and I have all my stuff sorted may take before/after pic to show you all how much of a positive result has come from all of your information.

Thanks all.

[Cowt]

Perhaps I've misunderstood you; but you're interested in losing weight, right?

So why would you 'bulk up'? And bulk up on what exactly?

EDIT: Nevermind me. You're talking about adding muscle mass after your surgery is done. I should go to bed.

Also do you think my goal is reasonable? or should I be heading for <190 I know nothing about what is a healthy weight just seems that my supposed ideal body weight of 148 - 185lbs seems drastic?

Rather measure your body fat percentage, instead of body weight.

[freelapdance]

You could try the velocity diet but be warned that thing is hard to do. Make sure you do some cardio each day and aim for 500 cal less than the recommended intake. That way you should be dropping around 1lb a week. As for what specific exercise swimming or the cross trainer would be good.

[Vinho]

Your recommended weight is a poor indication of what your target weight should be.

We're all built differently, Right now I'm on the heavy side and a bit chubby at 6'3 and 270 pounds, but a few years back when I was exercising regularly and eating well I was around 230 pounds and honestly I felt... skinny almost unnaturally skinny, even though I was 40 pounds over my "recommended" weight. You may find that once you start building muscle mass you won't change in weight at all, as you'll just be reducing fat while gaining muscle.

A lot of people have the misconception that they need to lose the weight first and THEN try to bulk up thereafter...

But the hardest way, but also the best way to do this, is by doing both at the same time through calorie, protein, and carb counting... There are many calculators on the internet that help you do this, but ideally you want to reduce your total calories by about 250-500 per day, to help you cut down the fat / lose some pounds, but at the same time eating sufficient grams of protein each day to keep your muscle mass.

If you only focus on losing weight, a lot of that weight in addition to fat, is going to be muscle loss as well.

The Best way to achieve your goal is to Lift weights 3 days a week; (Day 1) Legs, Day 2) Off, Day 3) Chest and Triceps, Day 4) off, Day 5) Back and Biceps, Day 6 & 7) Off) As well as working in 30-45 minutes of Cardio each day. Since you'll be undergoing knee surgery, make sure they're wrapped and coddled properly and take it easy on Leg workouts -- but be sure not to leave out your legs. Bodybuilders that ignore their Legs are doing it wrong and look ridiculous with massive upper bodies and chicken feet....

When I lost all my weight I didn't Lift at all and lost muscle as well. I achieved the results in weight loss I was looking for simply by reducing my daily caloric intake, as well as burning additional calories through exercise!

I can't stress enough how important drinking abundant amounts of Water is as well, Water and a high fiber intake are your best friends.

Check out these guys and their videos on YouTube, they tell you it straight and give really good advice for whatever your goals may be: http://www.youtube.com/user/twinmusc...?feature=watch

[MirielTheMage]

If you're serious about this I'd spend the $20 for a copy of bodybuilding revealed. It's full of information that's from peer reviewed sources. It's worth it to see what science has proven works. Also, the online tools are good for getting an idea of what constitutes a real diet with proper macro nutrient balance. I'm assuming you don't want to live exclusively on whey protein, raw vegetables and brown rice.

Btw, I'd ignore lifting legs until it feels fully recovered. Your daily low impact cardio should be enough to tone it and prevent atrophy. Permanently ruining your knee will make it really challenging to to stay in shape. You're not going to gain so much mass in 2-3 months that you'll look out of proportion.

[Deleted]

Vinho, just like recommended weight is poor indicator of how he actually looks or should be aiming at, it's same with "bulking up while losing weight". Generally that's hard for people who aren't genetics for muscle gaining. If you have too much estrogen in your body (fats) it will just slow your muscle growth down by a lot. Best way to do it is just sorting diet out and aiming for burning fats first. He'll gain some muscles while doing so anyway.

Also, R0AM3R, remember to exercise your legs a bit even when you're working out upper part of your body. Even tho most people just say you look silly if your buffed in your upper part and have weak legs, the truth is, working your legs out will boost your average testosterone level by miles, since it's biggest muscle group in your body. And increasing your testosterone level and decreasing level of estrogen in your body is what will speed up muscle growth and fat burning anyway. Include vegetables with iron in your diet to boost it up even more like broccoli, spinach, cauliflower, etc.

[Sinshroud]

So I am 6ft 2, 20 years old and I currently weigh 14 stone 10 pounds or (206 pounds) so I am technically obese even though I'm not fat just podgy around the belly/legs.

I'm sorry to tell you, but almost every overweight person out there thinks "I'm not that bad, just a little chubby" - I've been there and felt like that and so have many of my friends. 2 years later I'm not fit, loving gym and fitting into all the skinny clothes I could possibly want.

Granted you are 6ft 2 which is pretty tall, and I haven't seen any pictures of you so I won't judge you I just wanted to put that above bit out there.

You know what got me going, kept me going and gave me the results that I wanted? http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/kris...y-trainer.html

Kris Gethin lays out a plan for you to follow in terms of weight lifting, cardio and nutrition - and then does it along with you. He filmed himself every single day of those 12 weeks doing it with you. He shares challenges and tips on how to overcome them, it's great because it truly feels like you always have someone with you.

The program also has a great forum where people participating share tips and success stories: http://forum.bodybuilding.com/group.php?groupid=272

Good luck.

[Masark]

Also do you think my goal is reasonable? or should I be heading for <190 I know nothing about what is a healthy weight just seems that my supposed ideal body weight of 148 - 185lbs seems drastic?

Take that BMI chart, crumple it up, and toss it in the trash. it's a pile of 200 year old nonsense with a bad scaling factor (a square factor works great if you're measuring a drawing of a person, but most people i know aren't 2 dimensional characters and have a bit of depth to them) and produces garbage for any height past about 5'8".

Me being 6' even, if i got rid of most of my fat and got down to 13% body fat (a percentage you'd expect to find in a professional athlete) and didn't gain a single ounce of muscle in the process (hahaha), i'd still be overweight according to BMI.

I'm sorry to tell you, but almost every overweight person out there thinks "I'm not that bad, just a little chubby"

By BMI, his assessment is correct. He's only a little above "normal" weight. BF% and general cardiovascular health may be a different story, but we're working with the info given.

[Penatar]

So I am 6ft 2, 20 years old and I currently weigh 14 stone 10 pounds or (206 pounds) so I am technically obese even though I'm not fat just podgy around the belly/legs.

I intend on dieting down to around 190-200 pounds in the next 2-3 months so around 6-16 pounds total I have such a large time scale as I will be having major knee surgery in the next 2 months and will take me over 1-2 months to get to the stage where I can do any sort of "real" exercise.

Once I reach my "goal" weight I want to bulk up, what is the best way to do so due to the fact of I wont be able to run or do any heavy leg exercise, however I can still swim and cycle, I've heard making sure you eat the right amount of certain foods at certain time before/after workouts etc is critical.

I'm basically just looking for what are the best kinds of exercises I can be doing to get the maximum results and also the types of food I should be eating and when, also would like to get some opinions on protein powders etc.

Also do you think my goal is reasonable? or should I be heading for <190 I know nothing about what is a healthy weight just seems that my supposed ideal body weight of 148 - 185lbs seems drastic?

All the comments and advice are much appreciated. After my op and I have all my stuff sorted may take before/after pic to show you all how much of a positive result has come from all of your information.

Thanks all.

I hate to bring bad news, but you are too light to lose weight and bulk up. As of last week I am 250, and I'm not even bulk compared to a couple of my friends.

The first thing to realize is fuck BMI. Do not worry two shits about what the BMI says, it's only used for a rough estimate. I have 15% body fat at 250 pounds, that's normal body fat range, where as someone at 200 can have 30% body fat and have a lower BMI than me.

---------- Post added 2012-05-15 at 03:43 PM ----------

why can't you do anything with the legs? Most of lifting's results come from legs. If youi want strength anywhere in the body, you need to work legs as working the legs promotes growth hormone development.

As far as food. 1 gram of protein and 1 gram of carbs per pound you weigh a day. I do almost 2 grams of protein though, but 1 and 1 in the minimum. Do not take creatine as that will make your muscles look bigger due to water retention, but also bloats around the waste. I stopped taking it and went from 290-260 in one month losing 4 inches around my stomach.

As far as what you should weigh, you won't put on muscle until you stop worrying about weight. Weight is not important to keep down. You will not find a strong body builder or lifter who weights less than 200. I have only been lifting seriously for 10 months(met my trainers last june) and I am 100% confident I can outliuft anyone under 200 pounds, regardless of how long they have been lifting.

So when it comes down to it, your choice is, "do I want to be light, or do I want to be strong?"

Message me if you have any questions, I'm heading to the gym now so won't respond any time soon, but will later today.

EDIT: sorry, in my hurry to respond and get out of the house, I missed your statement about the knee surgery. There are exercises you can do for your lower body during that time, you are just limited. I'd say do calf exercises as you can isolate the knee away from any strain or movement.

[Rdx]

[QUOTE=R0AM3R;16807346Also do you think my goal is reasonable? or should I be heading for <190 I know nothing about what is a healthy weight just seems that my supposed ideal body weight of 148 - 185lbs seems drastic?[/QUOTE]

I think your goals are quiet reasonable. Is this your first time attempting weight loss/muscle gain? I assume so as you are asking advise and as such I wouldnt set a ambitious goal. All that would happen is that you would not see the results you want and get down about it. Better to achieve a goal and then set new ones than set high goals and feel down that you didnt achieve them.

I'm basically just looking for what are the best kinds of exercises I can be doing to get the maximum results and also the types of food I should be eating and when, also would like to get some opinions on protein powders etc.

As a few others have said I would try to do resistance training and cardio at the same time. Dont focus on just cardio or just weights. Balance them out. Personally I would stay away from protein powders in your case. There is plenty of good natural sources of protein that will fill you up a lot more than a protein shake.

Nutrition is important just as important as working out and as such you should devote just as much effort towards it as you would to your workouts. IMHO don't do diets. Diets give a idea of restraints or rules of what you can and can't eat. While this may work short term in the long term they are not sustainable. It is better to change your eating habits into more healthy ones than it is to try something drastic. I will try post more about this in my post bellow.

Take that BMI chart, crumple it up, and toss it in the trash. it's a pile of 200 year old nonsense with a bad scaling factor (a square factor works great if you're measuring a drawing of a person, but most people i know aren't 2 dimensional characters and have a bit of depth to them) and produces garbage for any height past about 5'8".

I agree. The BMI is not a very good measure of a persons situation. I wouldn't completely disregard it but take it with a grain of salt.

Rather measure your body fat percentage, instead of body weight.

I agree with this post. Body fat percentages are a better gage of your state. These can be calculated in numerous ways depending on your restraints. If you want a super accurate method try a BodPod or a DEXA scan. Both are a bit costly and DEXA have a limitation on the number of times you can do them per year due to the radiation (in Australia anyway). The upside is they are probably the most accurate methods.

You also have skin callipers. Cheap, pretty accurate but they also have there flaws. For people on the lower end of BF they loose accuracy (not a issue for you). The other issue is the accuracy depends on the skill of the person using the callipers.

Lastly you have electronic gizmo's (like something a gnome would make ^_^ ). I would try avoid these as they are not very accurate at all and tbh are fad products.

If you do want to track your weight don't look solely on day to day weight. Your body has daily weight fluctuations due to numerous factors. If you do want to use these then it is better to track a 7day mean (average) of your weight.

The Best way to achieve your goal is to Lift weights 3 days a week; (Day 1) Legs, Day 2) Off, Day 3) Chest and Triceps, Day 4) off, Day 5) Back and Biceps, Day 6 & 7) Off) As well as working in 30-45 minutes of Cardio each day. Since you'll be undergoing knee surgery, make sure they're wrapped and coddled properly and take it easy on Leg workouts -- but be sure not to leave out your legs. Bodybuilders that ignore their Legs are doing it wrong and look ridiculous with massive upper bodies and chicken feet....

I can't stress enough how important drinking abundant amounts of Water is as well, Water and a high fiber intake are your best friends.

The above is very good advise. As he says take it easy on your legs due to your operation coming up. A injury is going to set you back a lot further than what that little bit more of training is worth.

As far as how many times per week you do resistance training and what your split is like I would recommend something a little different. To be honest without more information about you it is hard to determine this split. What experience do you have in the gym. Do you know different exercises for the different muscle groups? What is your form like? How long have you been lifting? If you are not sure then try this. Without referring to any other sources of information try think of 3 different exercises for your back, 3 for your legs, 3 for your triceps, 3 for your biceps, 3 for your chest and 3 for your shoulders. You could also do a little work on lower back and abs but these are minor muscle groups. If you can't think of 3 for each then I would tend away from a 3 day split and focus on getting good form on a few exercises rather than trying to learn a lot of new ones. Free weights require more stabilisation than that of machines. So both have pros and cons but depend on you as a individual.

One other factor we do not know is how often do you think you will be working out/can you actually work out?

As for cardio I am a firm believer in doing the cardio that you enjoy. A lot of people think walking is a bad cardio but the real answer (as most things) is it depends. Sure you burn less cal/hour doing it but a higher % of these are from fat. In addition you are putting less stress on your joints (like your knee) than you would from running. The downside is to get the benefit from it you normally have to do it for longer. So once again it comes down to how much time you have. I personally like listening to a audio book while in a controlled environment (such as a gym) but you could do it anywhere. Theres nothing wrong with walking down to a park and back again or something similar.

The reason you can still swim and cycle is because these are weight supported exercises. This isnt a bad thing but generally you burn more from exercises which dont support your weight. Overall do what you enjoy as you are going to do it a lot more and feel better than something you hate.

So from the limited information what do I recommend...
For exercise:
2-3 per week resistance training. Cant say what split without more knowledge on you as a person.
As for cardio try do more of it. Sounds silly but if you cant get to the gym just try to do more in day to day life. Park further away from the shops and thus walk a little bit further. Other than that do what you enjoy and try do it 4-5 times a week if possible.

As for nutrition.
Change your eating habits. I know a lot of people in the USA that like drinking soft drink (aka soda pop?). Try change this out for water. In fact try to consume nothing but water as liquid. Even things such as orange juice is empty calories. Try eating carrot sticks as a snack instead of cookies or potato chips. Try eat 5 servings of veg per day. Already these types of foods are going to make you feel full. Try incorporable lean meats into your diet. Grilled chicken breast, fish such as salmon or tuna, turkey etc. These are good sources of protein. Same as eggs and nuts, very good sources. IMHO most people put too much emphasis on eating protein that they forget about other important things in there diet such as mono and poly unsaturated fats and carbs. Each play a role in a diet and as such each must be given equal attention. In generally if you think something is bad to loose weight, then chances are it is.

Hope this has helped you in some way. My last piece of advise is universal and that is take what everyone (myself included) says with a grain of salt. No body knows your body better than you.

Regards,
Rdx

[Projali]

As far as what you should weigh, you won't put on muscle until you stop worrying about weight. Weight is not important to keep down. You will not find a strong body builder or lifter who weights less than 200. I have only been lifting seriously for 10 months(met my trainers last june) and I am 100% confident I can outliuft anyone under 200 pounds, regardless of how long they have been lifting.

Yeah, all of those weight classes in power or Olympic lifting that are under 200lbs must be a bunch of weak dudes. Having a bunch of excess body weight isn't necessary to move some ridiculous weight.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&fe...&v=vIDbQD7MikQ