Help-I don't know where to start

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lnorman08
lnorman08 Posts: 77 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Ok so I am trying to figure out what to do I am not overweight I have lost about 120 lbs but I would love to get a flatter stomach/more muscles and possibly cut down my gym time. I need diet recommendations as I know my diet sucks I am making up for that in the gym but I am looking to cut back. I can't decide on iifym, maybe carb cycling, or something else? Any and all recommendations are great :)

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  • tillerstouch
    tillerstouch Posts: 608 Member
    edited February 2017
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    Just eat a balanced high protien diet (personally id recommend 1 gram per pound of lean body weight, but you can get by with less), carb cycling wont do anything magical for you.

    Fat loss and muscle building are kind of conflicting goals. Deficit gor fat loss surplus for muscle building. Typically you dont want to bulk (just the term for eating a calorie surplus and lifting to build muscle, Doesnt mean youll get bulky) until you are at your desired body fat percent because some fat will come with the muscle when eating a calorie surplus.

    You probably want to do a very slow cut (like .5 pounds per week) and do a progressive lifting program. If youre new to lifting you will most likely see strength and maybe some muscle gains even in deficit.

    Another option would be a recomp. I dont have the link to it, but essentially you eat around maintenance calories while lifting. Its a very slow process but it allows you eat lose fat and build muscle.

    Are you on a structured lifting program? Id recommend strong lifts 5x5.
  • lnorman08
    lnorman08 Posts: 77 Member
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    Not necessarily strong lifting but I have gotten myself to cut back on the cardio and lift about 4 times a week now I am assuming I need to make that more lifting?
  • zheeduh
    zheeduh Posts: 25 Member
    edited February 2017
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    If you want a flatter stomach, you don't need to lift more. You really just need to cut calories. IIFYM is great, but do you know what macros/calories you are looking to target? Find out your maintenance calories and cut that by 500. Aim for that every day and you should lose 1 pound a week.

    "Abs are made in the kitchen, not the gym."
  • lnorman08
    lnorman08 Posts: 77 Member
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    zheeduh wrote: »
    If you want a flatter stomach, you don't need to lift more. You really just need to cut calories. IIFYM is great, but do you know what macros/calories you are looking to target? Find out your maintenance calories and cut that by 500. Aim for that every day and you should lose 1 pound a week.

    "Abs are made in the kitchen, not the gym."

    Thank you! I am so confused by tracking macros though for some reason it totally blows my mind when I read it kind of like football
  • tillerstouch
    tillerstouch Posts: 608 Member
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    lnorman08 wrote: »

    Thank you! I am so confused by tracking macros though for some reason it totally blows my mind when I read it kind of like football

    Macros arent that important in terms of weight loss.

    Protien is important for building and maintaining muscle. If you just make sure protien is good fats and carbs should fall into place. Typically people suggest low carb high fat because fats and protien usually keep you full for longer.

    You didnt give your stats but based on your profile picture it doesnt look like you have much to lose. I would go .5 pounds a week and be very accurate with your calorie counting.

    Cardio is great for heart and lung health so i would stop it completely.

    As for lifting i dont know what youre doing but my guess is that if you arent following a programs its not more that you need, its a structured program you need.

    Stronglifts 5x5 is a full body routine using compound lifts (lifts that work multiple muscle groups) and it increases how much you lift in a structured way.
  • prattiger65
    prattiger65 Posts: 1,657 Member
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    If you want to get "flatter", you mean you want to lose body fat. You may be at your goal weight, but you "might" be skinny fat. That means you still have a high-er body fat %. I would recommend a heavy, progressive lifting program, Strong Lifts 5X5 is a good one, but there are others. Macronutrient goals are important and not really all that hard to understand. Protein helps keep and build muscle, fats help carry nutrients and carbs are fuel. This is overly simplistic, but its a starting point. Now, the heavy lifting with proper nutrition (enough protein) will help you keep the muscle you have while a small calorie deficit will help you reduce body fat. We all have a six pack, some of us just have more insulation over it. If you want a quick "rough" idea about setting your macros, set protein and fat to 30% of your calories and carbs at 40%. Again, that is a generic "get you close" number.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,872 Member
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    Some potentially relevant, good threads:

    So you want a nice stomach

    Recomposition: Maintaining weight while losing fat
  • prattiger65
    prattiger65 Posts: 1,657 Member
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    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    Some potentially relevant, good threads:

    So you want a nice stomach

    Recomposition: Maintaining weight while losing fat

    I highly recommend both of these threads a "must read". Thanks Ann, this is where you need to start Op.
    /thread

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