My situation, I would be grateful for any advice.

stuckandstuck
stuckandstuck Posts: 4 Member
in Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
Hello! I previously made a posting in the weight loss section and was told I should make my way over here. This post might turn out long but it would mean so much to me if you could read and reply with your advice. I do not have anyone to go to for physical fitness advice and I so desperately want to change my body so I can chase my dream job.

Currently I am a 148lb 5'7 male who has little to no muscle with more than enough fat in the worst places.

When I first started I was pushing 190lbs+ of fat. I never exercised in my life prior and did not have anyone to talk to for advice. So being a complete clueless idiot I thought up my own plan. I started to dramatically cut my food (one medium meal a day, scary low calories) and incorporated daily cardio. The results were awesome at first! I lost weight FAST.

Eventually it gets to a point where I am near my goal weight but I was still fat. So what right? I kept with the program surely it would come off! The genius I am keeps at it until I finally realize my mistake. All my muscle was gone and I now had a body of a teenage boy again and without clothes I looked possibly worse than when I started.

That brings us to today. The past month I have increased my protein intake (140 grams a day) however my calories in general have been pretty low... in the 1500 range on average. I am deathly afraid of eating and getting fatter. I just don't know how any of this works to be brutally honest.

Also this past month I have spent doing many different exercises for my core, arms (dumbells), along with adopting bike riding and yes... still running. Problem is I have been feeling totally exhausted with only will power pushing me into the next day. I know I am burning a *kitten* ton more than I am eating and well im back to square one again.

What I mainly need help with is the following

1) How much should I be eating?
2) How much/long should I be exercising?
3) What the hell should my workout program look like?

Number three is my biggest issue at the moment. I can ONLY workout at home with dumbbells up to 25 lbs and using my own body weight. A gym is 100% out of the option unfortunately. There is simply so much out there that I do not know where to start. I would love to build a schedule Mon - Sunday that I can print out and follow to the letter. Maybe we can build one together?

If you made it this far thank you... I look forward to reading any responses.

Replies

  • casinsf
    casinsf Posts: 2 Member
    What is your fitness goal? To add muscle? I would not worry too much about what the scale says, as it doesn't measure body fat or muscle. If you do not eat enough calories, your body will go into ketosis and use it's muscle for energy and store the fat. Hopefully you are over 18? If not, then you should see a doctor before doing any sort of diet or exercise. Everything takes time. You can look up exercise routines online. I would recommend trying to find a gym through the Y or local community center or looking for some sort of online coupon deal. I believe Planet Fitness has memberships for $10 a month. If that is still out of the question, then do what you can with your dumbbells. I would start with a circuit workout, 3x per week. Do every body part (six). Start with one set, 10 reps at a weight you have currently been using. One you feel comfortable with that, I would suggest doing three body parts a day, alternating days. You don't want to work the same body part two days in a row. Work out 3-5 times per week. I would concentrate more on weight training than cardio. For cardio, I would suggest 30-45 minutes, 3-5 times per week. Change it up so your body doesn't get too used to any exercise.
    I hope this helps!
  • Chieflrg
    Chieflrg Posts: 9,097 Member
    If you are 148lbs you don't need that much protein, I can't give you a near exact number without your bodyfat% or at least a couple pics to go by, but its safe to say you need around 120g or less of protein.

    How much you should be eating can be determined by how much you are losing/gaining/maintaining on average the past 3-4 weeks if you've been eating really close to the same calories and you are using a food scale.

    Exercise is up to you. There are a few programs such as "You are your own gym" & "Convict workout" that focuses on body weight routines since you don't have an extensive selection of weights.

    You might decide to buy weights, bar, bench etc at garage sales or craigslist eventually.
  • janedakota
    janedakota Posts: 1 Member
    I have never posted on this message board before, but I am now because a few of your comments set off warning bells for me. I strongly recommend you at the very least speak to a doctor about your diet and exercise plans. When you say you are "deathly afraid of eating," that sounds to me like an eating disorder. Eating disorders aren't something that only women get - men can get them too, especially if they have been starving themselves and have developed unhealthy diet and exercise habits.

    You need to fuel your body properly,and if you are feeling exhausted all the time, it sounds like you still aren't eating enough. You need to ease way back on the calorie restrictions and just focus on rebuilding muscle right now. Don't weigh or measure yourself until you feel better physically and mentally, and have more energy. It's not just about your appearance, but about your HEALTH. And if you totally wreck your metabolism now (which will happen if you keep this up), you will never attain the body you want.

    Sorry if I am overreacting to what you said - maybe you were just exaggerating - but it sounds like your diet has gotten a little out of your control. If that is the case, I hope there are people in your life you can talk to about what's going on with you. Please take care and don't throw away your health.
  • PrizePopple
    PrizePopple Posts: 3,133 Member
    janedakota wrote: »
    I have never posted on this message board before, but I am now because a few of your comments set off warning bells for me. I strongly recommend you at the very least speak to a doctor about your diet and exercise plans. When you say you are "deathly afraid of eating," that sounds to me like an eating disorder. Eating disorders aren't something that only women get - men can get them too, especially if they have been starving themselves and have developed unhealthy diet and exercise habits.

    You need to fuel your body properly,and if you are feeling exhausted all the time, it sounds like you still aren't eating enough. You need to ease way back on the calorie restrictions and just focus on rebuilding muscle right now. Don't weigh or measure yourself until you feel better physically and mentally, and have more energy. It's not just about your appearance, but about your HEALTH. And if you totally wreck your metabolism now (which will happen if you keep this up), you will never attain the body you want.

    Sorry if I am overreacting to what you said - maybe you were just exaggerating - but it sounds like your diet has gotten a little out of your control. If that is the case, I hope there are people in your life you can talk to about what's going on with you. Please take care and don't throw away your health.

    This.


    janedakota is correct. Men need to eat a minimum of 1500 calories a day. That's a very generic bare minimum. My husband is 5'7" and his calorie goal is just over 1900 every day for losing 1 pound per week and he is 38. He has a low activity level (a short walk almost every day) but he still makes sure he doesn't go below 1500 net calories. The fact that you are quite active with exercise means you need to eat properly to fuel your body. You're pushing yourself despite your body giving you very clear indicators it's not happy, continuing on that path will be nothing but trouble.

    Running your numbers - 21 y/o 5'7" male at 148 pounds your BMR is 1696. That's the calories your body would burn if you did nothing but lay on the couch (or if you were in a coma). With 3-5 hours a week of moderate exercise you would have to eat 2629 calories per day to maintain your weight as it is now. Your 1500-ish is not enough.

    I would also suggest you start lifting, though I'm not in a place to give any brand of advice there, but there are plenty of people who could help you there.
  • awesomejdad
    awesomejdad Posts: 493 Member
    You need to lift weights! Period, nothing else. Just lift weights! Look up info online, like youtube. There is a million ways to do bodyweight exercises at home and those dumbbells of yours can be used in a million ways. Maybe you can even splurge and buy a few more weights sometime soon. Ways to lift weights with your dumbbells:

    Triceps kickbacks:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6SS6K3lAwZ8

    Dumbbell fly:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlDUqk3Ttkk

    Dumbbell pullover:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZhPOEQJRzBU

    Dumbbell shoulder press:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEwKCR5JCog

    Dumbbell squats:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YqYi90vp8m4

    Lunges:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8OYsCRAb5c4

    5 dumbbell Triceps exercises:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s86oyVPIiME

    Just for starters, there are a million more.
  • awesomejdad
    awesomejdad Posts: 493 Member
    Watch this one as well!

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1r9toPQNkM
  • 3laine75
    3laine75 Posts: 3,070 Member
    1. You need to eat a lot more than you are now. There are loads of online calculators for working out TDEE but seeing as you're here, try setting MFP to maintain and sit there for a few weeks (then reevaluate your goals).

    2. How long you exercise for is entirely up to you (but bear in mind, if you do hours of cardio you should be eating back most of what you burn off). 3 x 1 hr strength training a week should be ample with maybe a couple of hours cardio thrown in during the week.

    3. There are tonnes of good beginner programmes out there, 'starting strength', 'Stronglifts 5x5', 'ICF 5x5', 'AllPro' plus the ones mentioned above for using bodyweight - have a google and pick one you think you'd enjoy.
  • iofred
    iofred Posts: 488 Member
    1. Eating not enough makes your body retain fat, so use the MFP guideline on the amount of calories. That's why it is there. Make certain you only eat the base calories (not the ones you get back from exercise) and you should loose weight. Too much too quick means you will regain it fast as well, so steady does it.
    2. As mentioned, exercise time is up to you and how you feel. I work out 5 - 6 days a week, but that might be OTT, but I love it, so it is an addiction
    3. Depends on what you want to achieve. Weights weights weights might work for you (I know it did for me for a long time), but I have swapped to cardio (triathlon), and now miss the cardio if I only concentrate on weights. Do whatever rocks your boat. the important part is that you (start to?) enjoy what you are doing. Also, a bench is not that expensive, and would give you a good base for your dumbbell workouts, plus a pair of running shoes would get you outside for your cardio.

    Hope that helps
  • SideSteel
    SideSteel Posts: 11,068 Member
    iofred wrote: »
    1. Eating not enough makes your body retain fat, so use the MFP guideline on the amount of calories. That's why it is there. Make certain you only eat the base calories (not the ones you get back from exercise) and you should loose weight. Too much too quick means you will regain it fast as well, so steady does it.
    2. As mentioned, exercise time is up to you and how you feel. I work out 5 - 6 days a week, but that might be OTT, but I love it, so it is an addiction
    3. Depends on what you want to achieve. Weights weights weights might work for you (I know it did for me for a long time), but I have swapped to cardio (triathlon), and now miss the cardio if I only concentrate on weights. Do whatever rocks your boat. the important part is that you (start to?) enjoy what you are doing. Also, a bench is not that expensive, and would give you a good base for your dumbbell workouts, plus a pair of running shoes would get you outside for your cardio.

    Hope that helps

    Number 1 above is incorrect.

    Eating "not enough" does not cause fat storage. It CANT. Additionally, if you are using MFP the way it's intended then you should be eating back some or all of the calories burned during exercise.
  • iofred
    iofred Posts: 488 Member
    To effectively lose weight, you must burn more calories than you eat. Cutting your calorie intake is often the best way to shed pounds. However, eating too few calories can contribute to negative side effects. Unless medically supervised, avoid following very low-calorie meal plans.

    Effects on Weight Loss

    Eating too few calories won’t prevent you from losing weight. However, it can slow down your body’s metabolism, making it more difficult to shed pounds
  • iofred
    iofred Posts: 488 Member
    edited May 2015
    too clever for me though

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