Where to start? Skinny-fat 24 year old male.

ocmdiaz714

I am 24, weigh 160lbs and I am 5"11 tall. My waist and hip measures 37 inches, and my waist measures 36 inches. I don't do cardio, and the only walking I get done is at work, a part-time job at that. I mostly stay online when I'm not at work, so I don't exactly do any exercise either. But, I don't think that should be the biggest of my concerns as I don't even have all that much fat or whatever is needed to build muscle.

My diet is pretty much a fast-food meal a day, and usually that would be it. At times I do try and take a breakfast essentials milk shake in the morning. I've gone to markets and have literally gone through every lane and it's so hard for me to find something I would enjoy eating. I like cooking fast food like mashed potatoes, mac-n-cheese, chicken breast sandwiches on white, and maybe some hot dogs, and can't think anything else I could eat home.

My goal is to at first shed off 7 inches of belly fat. I want to do this as I'm close to being overweight/high body fat according to a body fat percentage calculator online. So I want to shed off the inches, to bring me down to an ideal 29" waist, or 10% body fat. And I've heard this is possible to accomplish in a matter of a month. Is that true?

Then after shedding off the fat I want to start working out or do whatever is necessary to bulk my arms, to compliment the six pack that's to come with trimmer waist. I have no idea of what work-out equipment is needed, so I plan on purchasing a membership for Planet Fitness.

How many calories should I intake? I weight 160lbs, and I believe that's a healthy weight, but after I lose the belly fat I suppose I will loose a good amount of pounds, and thus bringing my weight to an unhealthy level? I'm fine with my weight. I'm not looking for a weight loss program, but for a way to shed off my belly fat. Should I stick to myfitnesspal's recommended 2,140 calorie intake?

No troll goal:
http://www.rickey.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Justin-Bieber-Shirtless-Birthday-Photo.jpg

4legsRbetterthan2

I am sure there are some guys on here with better advice than me but you descritpion of yourself really reminded me of my boyfriend. He is a little pudgey but not what you would call overweight and refuses to eat healthy and diet. He started lifting weights a few months ago and you really can tell in his arms, back, and chest. So far without dieting at all he has burned a good bit of fat and replaced it with muscles in these areas. Unfortunately if you want the 6-pack I think you really will have to try to diet to get rid of some of the belly fat for that. You said you are happy with your weight so for a start it might be worth just setting your calories to maintenance and focus on your macros; up your protein and fat and lower carbs a bit and start a lifting program at the gym. That should promote muscle growth. Give that maybe 6 months and then see what you look like and re-evaluate from there.

Take a look at these

http://scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/ this website has a calorie/macro calculator and also helpful info on lifting and dieting

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/974888-in-place-of-a-road-map-2k13 this guy outlines an eating plan that I think would probably be up your alley and has some useful info for customizing your own MFP goals

Best of luck to ya!

laddyboy

Good Advice from CDFlinn. You want to lift and lift heavy starting today. Muscle Burns Fat. Also keep in mind these words I'm about to say. Write them down, hang them where you can see them but remember them. Abs are made in the kitchen. Unless you get your diet in line your going to have a really hard time seeing them.
If you are not going to a gym and you want a really good program you can do at home look into P90X. It give you everything you need to get that body you want and in 90 days. You have to follow it to a T...nutrition and all.

Lift Heavy My Friend.

KeViN_v2pt0

CDFlinn gives great advice. I really like the scooby calculator better than anything MFP has. MFP is just a tracking tool for me.

You should be able to lose plenty of body fat provided you use the calculator and get proper caloric/macronutrient intake.

As far as shredding goes you may want to look into some type of exercise whether its Strength Training or just getting off your azz and playing the Wii. Sitting down all day doing nothing the only shredding you are going to be doing is this...

rileyhall00

I just wanna start off saying good on you for taking the first step towards an better you.

Now, you cant target where the weightloss will be. You might want a six pack and loose the inches around the stomach but every human body loses weight differently. I've lost 15kgs (35lbs?) in 12weeks and still have a bit of a tummy going on. I went from 107kg to 92kg. Just into the average BMI, @ 24.2 I think for my height (6"5').

I'd begin by using the app/site to track what you eat, Eat less (-20%) then you TDEE (google tdee calc's to determine how many cal's to eat). Set a realistic goal and try to loose 1lbs a week. Start small by eating right and daily walks. Build a routine and go from there. If your keen join a sporting group. I subscribed to a men's fitness mag and that helped my motivation. Do stuff with a friend if you can.

Once you have cut the fat then you can bulk, by lifting heavy and eating more then your tdee (+5-10%).

I think overall you benefit more from joining a gym. It really motivated me to keep at it and exercise and eat right. IT's not a waste of money, unless you don't go, I'm a tight *kitten* so it motivated me in that way too.!!

ndj1979

IF you want to get to 10% body fat you are going to have change up a lot of what you are doing.

First, you need to figure out what your maintenance level is and then cut 500 calories a day off of that and eat that amount of calories per day.

Two - you are going to need to make some adjustments to diet. Like others said, abs are made in kitchen. You can still have ice cream, some pizza, candy, etc, but you need to make sure that you build that into your daily deficit. I would go with eggs, greek yogurt, grilled chicken, steak, potatoes, vegetables, pork, turkey, etc....chicken does not have to boring..Saturday I made buffalo chicken fajitas...peppers, onion,black olives, flower tortilla (2), and then added some franks red hot buffalo sauce (0 calories). Figure our your macros..probably best to do about 40% protein/30% fats/30% carbs

Three - you are going to have to start a work out regimen that will get you where you want to go. Would recommend compound lift program of deadlifts, squats, overhead press, barbell squats, chin ups/pull ups, rows, bench press, etc. Once you have these moves down incorporate them into a total body workout where you hit arms/legs/shoulders/back/legs and then do cardio about two to three times a week.

good luck to you ...

ExtremePhobia

A couple of things. First, you are right that your weight is in the "healthy" range (I'm 5'11"). However, if you are trying to maintain your weight without adding muscle then you can't lose the fat either. To stay at your current weight, you'd need to offset the weight you lose with muscle gains. This is essentially what you are trying to achieve by "losing fat, not weight".

And this is good. You've got a lot less distance to go than most. Basically, if you eat enough to maintain your weight and work out, you will simply start converting the fat to muscle (not directly, mind you).

So, as for what you need to do: 1) Work on your muscles. Depending on what your day job is, you may actually be getting a good amount of cardio and not know it. I work in retail for instance after aggressive calorie tracking, I realized that in my little store, I still burn about 400 calories more a day when I work than when I don't. So you may not need cardio. Work on your muscles for sure and if you still feel compelled to do cardio, extra never hurt .

2) Eat a little healthier. This is particularly important if you want to add muscle so you can be sure you're getting adequate protein. More importantly, everything you can get at a Fast Food place, you can get in a grocery store. In fact, a lot of sit down restaurants have things in the frozen aisle so it seems rather unlikely that it's the "taste" of the food that is holding you back. Aside from the obvious (exhaustion or laziness, speed of getting the food, lack of cooking skill, etc.), your body is likely starving. Even if you get a Large meal from McDonalds, you're looking at about 1500 calories for the Drink, course, and fries.

At 24 years old, you should be eating more than that and eating it spread out. When you consider you're eating so little you could probably lose as much as 2lbs a week and that you are only eating once every 24 hours, it's not surprising that when "meal time" rolls around, you are absolutely famished and craving a huge calorie load. At least try to eat a protein rich breakfast.

You just need one thing you like for each meal to get you started. Bagel is actually a surprisingly good source of protein in the morning (generally) if you are looking for ease but nothing is going to beat an Omelette. Lunch? How about a sandwich. You could eat like a king for breakfast, have a fat sandwich for lunch and still possibly even get away with your Fast Food dinner as long as you are exercising.

ocmdiaz714

CDFlinn gives great advice. I really like the scooby calculator better than anything MFP has. MFP is just a tracking tool for me.

You should be able to lose plenty of body fat provided you use the calculator and get proper caloric/macronutrient intake.

As far as shredding goes you may want to look into some type of exercise whether its Strength Training or just getting off your azz and playing the Wii. Sitting down all day doing nothing the only shredding you are going to be doing is this...

Scooby's calculator looks useful. Thanks for the tips.

ocmdiaz714

A couple of things. First, you are right that your weight is in the "healthy" range (I'm 5'11"). However, if you are trying to maintain your weight without adding muscle then you can't lose the fat either. To stay at your current weight, you'd need to offset the weight you lose with muscle gains. This is essentially what you are trying to achieve by "losing fat, not weight".

And this is good. You've got a lot less distance to go than most. Basically, if you eat enough to maintain your weight and work out, you will simply start converting the fat to muscle (not directly, mind you).

So, as for what you need to do: 1) Work on your muscles. Depending on what your day job is, you may actually be getting a good amount of cardio and not know it. I work in retail for instance after aggressive calorie tracking, I realized that in my little store, I still burn about 400 calories more a day when I work than when I don't. So you may not need cardio. Work on your muscles for sure and if you still feel compelled to do cardio, extra never hurt .

2) Eat a little healthier. This is particularly important if you want to add muscle so you can be sure you're getting adequate protein. More importantly, everything you can get at a Fast Food place, you can get in a grocery store. In fact, a lot of sit down restaurants have things in the frozen aisle so it seems rather unlikely that it's the "taste" of the food that is holding you back. Aside from the obvious (exhaustion or laziness, speed of getting the food, lack of cooking skill, etc.), your body is likely starving. Even if you get a Large meal from McDonalds, you're looking at about 1500 calories for the Drink, course, and fries.

At 24 years old, you should be eating more than that and eating it spread out. When you consider you're eating so little you could probably lose as much as 2lbs a week and that you are only eating once every 24 hours, it's not surprising that when "meal time" rolls around, you are absolutely famished and craving a huge calorie load. At least try to eat a protein rich breakfast.

You just need one thing you like for each meal to get you started. Bagel is actually a surprisingly good source of protein in the morning (generally) if you are looking for ease but nothing is going to beat an Omelette. Lunch? How about a sandwich. You could eat like a king for breakfast, have a fat sandwich for lunch and still possibly even get away with your Fast Food dinner as long as you are exercising.

Thanks for all of the information.

astronomicals

Shouldn't this guy bulk first? You have a 36 inch waist at 160 and 5'11"?

is that even possible?

No offense, but at 5'11" and 140 you're going to be frail and skeletal. If you bulk first I think you'd reach your desired physique faster.... Its easier to lose fat when you have more of it.

lauren3101

You might have a high BF% but you are actually at a healthy weight, so I wouldn't cut calories.

You need to get up and start doing some exercise, I'm afraid. Lifting, to be precise, and eat at maintenance, or, if you want to build muscle, a small calorie surplus.

Try keeping your protein and healthy fats high and you will see some results - but you aren't going to get to 10% BF in a month. If you are going to succeed at this the first thing is to accept this is a lifestyle change (that may take some time!) and not a quick fix.

ocmdiaz714

I'm planning on doing some jogging as I don't have a gym membership or the slightest idea of what to do at a gym, but I don't want to go on not doing anything to better myself. How many calories should I burn? I told MyFitnessPal my activity was sediratery (typo), and the app recommends a 2140 calorie intake.

I will try and make sure to get those calories from foods high in nutritional value, but how much should I burn? Should I intake, say 3,000 calories, and burn 860?

I'm lost.

Also, what I'm planning on doing is jogging for a couple of minutes, sprinting the next, and so on. Is 5 miles a day pushing it for a beginner?

MaritzK

Just change your eating habbits, that's why your BF is high. It reflects pretty well how much you exercise and how much fat you eat. (You are what you eat) Anyways if you want to do it in a month, look up some body builder tips on youtube because that's the section you must search in and be prepared for 2 hour workout a day, set meal times and lean protein and vegs and nothing else. Good luck!

ocmdiaz714

I just picked up the "Flat Belly Diet for Men!" book, and it suggests a 1200 daily calorie intake. But, MFP suggests 2210. What should I do here?

By the way, anybody want to check out my diary? You're free to do so.