My SL5x5 12 week trial

HouseTonyStark

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Sorry for the MASSIVE essay, but i feel the background will help.


So, having gone through a summer of dissertation work, and general laziness, ive finally reached the point where i need to do something about my weight. having always been pretty well built(6'3wide-ish shoulders) ive always carried extra podge, but where my attention has been on my degree, and my diet has been foul, i have gotten to a stage where stretch marks are severely demoralizing me.

a bit of background:

being a computer science student, i have always been pretty chubbo, until i went to summer camp, left uk at 17 stone, came back around 14 stone. in 11 weeks i had managed to lose nigh on 3 stone due to excercise and better living.

i managed to stabilize around 15 over the time, then became an american footballer, which was pretty decent. didnt do too much excercise around my training, but i managed.

then i started placement year, which gave me access to a gym, where i was often spinning for a good 45 minutes, clocking up around 21 miles, so not without a certain ability on there.

my routine would mix it up doing bench, military, curls ab stuff, rowing some squats pushups pullups(assisted).

then i had some negative issues in my life emotionally, and i also MEGA messed up my knees/shins when i started doing running, within 3 weeks, i was able to do 5k in about 30 minutes(by which point i was near death, probably 60-40 running/jogging:walking) but the impact took its toll and i could no longer walk across the office without a getting a limp. so i toned that back a bit. but still kept up the spinning and general excercise. to about 2-3 times a week when i could.

Duroing this time though i was eating a lot of foods. often finding myself VERY hungry with the working out. so while my strength and visible muscle mass increased, so too did my overall weight.

cut to autumn 2011, i finished placement, and found myself very ill with respiratory issues all the way through until feb 2012, during which time i lost a chunk of muscle mass, because i was in bed for a large chunk of this.

by the time i had gotten over the issues(to the point i could be a bit more active) i was struggling under the weight of my dissertation, which had an extension through till summer. During this time there was a lot of late nights, a lot of junk food, and an all round lack of training.

cut to now. i wigh 18stone steady(have been the same weight for the last couple of weeks as i have tried to curb my intake) i have got my degree, and a job with a gym membership, and i aim to use it.

BUT

I am unsure how best to proceed. i need to lose the fat, and am actively trying to work on my diet to help this out. i dont want to do anything that will make me unhealthy and be detrimental to my overall performance.

so it comes to what kind of excercises i need to do to get back to some kind of point where i am able to do excercises where my actual bodymass arent working against me.

I plan to make a serious effort with this, am going to take some shots of my current body shape, would like some help of which shots will give me the best angles to judge progress on.



so im really asking for is:

help to get a decent ish training regime
help understanding progress pictures
advice on decent, cheaper foods to help with my progress(i have no experience with protein shakes and all that stuff, i figure if i can do it without then surely thats better?)
general support and advice on issues i will face given my size and shape/weight.

thanks all!
 
First up best of luck, hopefully we can help out.

Would be good if you post up a typical days food and drink intake. Be honest and include everything.

Will come back when I'm not on my iPad with some more input.
 
Seems like you're in need of a massive attitude change tbh. You must have included maybe 10 or 15 different excuses for being over weight in that essay. But there is actually only one reason that matters - eating too much and doing too little.

Don't confuse what i'm saying for being negative, but if you change your attitude and don't allow yourself to have any excuses, then you will be much more successful. Clearly, eating badly and comfort eating has done you no good, so changing that perspective is likely to benefit you.

In terms of what works:

1. Track what you eat using something like myfitnesspal
2. Get organized, plan shopping and meals
3. Prepare your own food from scratch
4. Don't start eating more to account for your exercise calories, 45 minutes spinning is nothing, probably about 400 calories (1 piece of cake). You only need to start eating more once you're doing 1.5hrs+ per day
5. Be patient, you're looking to make long term small changes, not yo yo

Plenty of good advice on here, so you're come to the right place really.
 
I should maybe have pointed out that the spinning was one part of a 2.5 hour program involving upper body weights and core stuff, and obv lower body when not spinning.

Ad yes I understand the attitude, is sort of what I was getting at. Enough is enough, but I understand the risk. Involved with going in all gung ho. Do it right, do it once.
 
As for an average day now,


I have been cutting down to,

Brevita or ceral in the morning, 1 actual portion.

Or a brunch bar mid morning.

About 4 glasses of water,

Brown baguette with chicken, chorizo, lettuce. Pack of snack a jacks, or a packet of. Crisps. And a diet lemonade, or more water.

Evening I tend to be bad, I will have a sandwich or a wrap. Then a meal around 7.

In between I will probably have some biscuits, or a mini roll or something.

It's is a dramatic improvement to what I did before the job, where I was constantly eating junk food in the form of biscuits etc.

It's this snacking of chocolate treats which is one of my larger downfalls, and I have taken massive strides in reducing this.
 
An improvement on before doesn't make it good, just less bad.

The diet is very carb heavy. Ideally:

Breakfast - you say cereal, but not what. Could be coco pops or something else high in sugar. Try to get some protein in.

Brunch bar - sugary crap

Lunch - i wouldn't be shocked if that was 800+ calories. Try a wrap or chicken salad instead. Why have crisps too? They do nothing to fill you up, you've just eaten. Just pointless carbs.

Wrap before evening meal -why??

Chocolate etc - the answer to this is obvious.

So, eat more good quality food (lean meat, veg, fruit, salad), less snacking and better meal structure. More protein and fewer carbs. Jobs a good un.
 
its habit forming isnt it.

so on the workout front, my general strategy was normally:
warm up:
stretches, 2k row.

alternate spinning session, good resistence, running their upand down programme. (new gym has x-bikes, anyone got a difference on this?)
would also do cross training(i will attempt running in a few months, but for now i am assured it is a no go)

upper body:
3/6-8 Bench
3/6-8 incline fly
3/6-8 decline pushups
3/6-8 EZ bar curls


3/6-8 lat pull down
3/6-8 assisted pull ups

Lower body workout:

3/6-8 leg press machine (working towards squats)
3/6-8 dirt digger
3/6-8 there was another leg thing i am sure of it...

other excercises i cant remember where specifically they fit in
3/6-8 military Press
3/6-8 skullcrushers
3/6-8 *the excercise where you have one leg on the bench, and leaning forward on bench you pull a dumbell up level with chest.
3/6-8 reverse row (leaning forward and lifting barbell up to chest.

NOTE, the set/reps is not absolute, weights will be at a level to give fail on final reps. These were not done all in one session, and am welcoming to any adjustements for a decent session that will reduce chances of over-work and injury.
 
I might be repeating what has already been said but here are my thoughts in red.

As for an average day now,


I have been cutting down to,

Brevita or ceral in the morning, 1 actual portion.
Cereals are generally high in sugar switch it out for porridge or scrambled egss on some dry wholemeal toast

Or a brunch bar mid morning.
Scrap it, have some low fat probitoic yogart, a bit of fruit, a 18 - 24 almonds etc.

About 4 glasses of water,
Good

Brown baguette with chicken, chorizo, lettuce. Pack of snack a jacks, or a packet of. Crisps. And a diet lemonade, or more water.
Try and switch this out for a jacket potato with protein or a prepreapred healthy meal of some form e.g. homemade casserole. Ditch the lemonade if you can. If you want to leave a snack in to start with then go with the snack a jacks over the crisps but ditch them both if you can.

Evening I tend to be bad, I will have a sandwich or a wrap. Then a meal around 7.
Have another snack from the ones I mentioned above to replace your brunch bar. Whats a typical evening meal consist of?

In between I will probably have some biscuits, or a mini roll or something.
Drink some more water :D

It's is a dramatic improvement to what I did before the job, where I was constantly eating junk food in the form of biscuits etc.

It's this snacking of chocolate treats which is one of my larger downfalls, and I have taken massive strides in reducing this.
Agree its not great but if you can make some of the tweaks, above too it will help considerably. Try not to do everything I've suggested above at once as it's more likely to end in failure. Make one or two changes get used to it then make some more changes.

At this point in time I don't think protein shakes are necessary for yourself, however when I was ditching chocolate I found it nice to have something chocolately tasting. So you might want to try throwing in one choco flavoured shake a day to see if it helps wane your cravings for the snacks.
 
With regards to the gym I think its worth considering having a few sessions with a PT you can discuss goals and if they are any good should give you a diet plan, set you up with a excercise plan and also talk you through proper form for all the excercises.

Doing 6-8 reps it's very strength building centric, for your goals I would be looking to add in some intensity by increasing your reps to the 15 - 20 range, obviously weights will need to be adjusted down accordingly.

Doesn't look like your shy of CV which is good, make it interesting for yourself by writing down times and trying to beat them. Have ever done much in the way of interval training? e.g. Row 200m flat out stop for 30 seconds and then go again repeat about five times.
 
i peaked a row time of 1:27 for 500m once...

again, cv is definately something i would want to build on. As said, my build is such that whatever i do i am going to be pretty big, in terms of body style i would want something btween bond in casino royale, and bond in QoS.

thats the long term goal and i know its going to be a.. fun.. journey.

W.R.T. Food, i think a lot of it is mindless snacking. i just realised 5 mins ago i ate a club bar... didnt even give it a second thought!

i average about 9 glasses of water a day, is that too much? or about right?
 
having re read your post Dan, no i havent done much interval stuff, the rowing could be a good one, i assume stamina increase will be one of the biggest gains with that?

a PT would probably work quite well, i have some friends at the uni(where the gym is) who should be able to help with this.
 
i average about 9 glasses of water a day, is that too much? or about right?

How big is the glass? :D

I aim for at least 2 litres a day.

having re read your post Dan, no i havent done much interval stuff, the rowing could be a good one, i assume stamina increase will be one of the biggest gains with that?

a PT would probably work quite well, i have some friends at the uni(where the gym is) who should be able to help with this.

Interval training raises and lowers the heart rate which is thought of to be more efficent for losing weight than just doing the same activity at the same intensity.
 
i guess the PT will be able to give me a realistic workout plan that will work me without killing me?
 
glasses are a little over half a pint.
 
GBDG1 said:
The diet is very carb heavy

To the op, I wouldn't stress about this btw- if you are in a calorie deficit that's really all that matters.

PS. I agree with everything else GBDG1 :)

I lost a lot of weight recently and I think my carbs were probably on the higher side as well.
Carbs don't make you fat, excess calories do :)

Foods high in protein tends
to be more filling, so if you are anything like me and like to get full at meal times, try to get food that is as filling as possible (fullness= doesn't feel like you are deprived or on a diet... Or is that just me?!)

Don't let yourself get too bogged down with the detail. A healthy diet/ lifestyle is fairly common sense.
Try and adopt a healthy lifestyle that you can keep up for the rest of your life.
I am also one very much for having an increase in calories at least once a week (a cheat meal of you want to call it that) but I won't bore you with the science behind it! It's also just to keep your sanity in check... As I said before, try and do now what you are going to do forever- and you are not going to never eat a bag of crisps again (I assume) so go ahead and eat them, but know your calorie targets etc. you will soon weigh up the pros and cons and decide if you would like to eat those 150 calories on something that isn't really going to fill you up and perhaps eat something again much sooner, or you can use it to eat something more filling... Like a couple of boiled eggs! (Off the top of my head, lol!)

Like I said above, don't get too technical with it and don't start eliminating foods completely that you enjoy (and you know you are going to crave) as that is a sure way to failure in the end.
However, know what it is you are putting in your mouth and you will soon start making the right choices, I am sure!

Good luck and keep us informed. :)
 
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To the op, I wouldn't stress about this btw- if you are in a calorie deficit that's really all that matters.

PS. I agree with everything else GBDG1 :)

I lost a lot of weight recently and I think my carbs were probably on the higher side as well.
Carbs don't make you fat, excess calories do :)

Whilst I agree with the principle behind what you are saying, I would just say that since carbs are the primary source of fuel for us, if you make a significant reduction and eat more proteins than carbs your body will reach for the fat on you for energy and you will see better results. Particularly if you are doing resistance training. And from what you want to achieve (The physique of Bond) you want to eat considerable amounts of protein to repair your muscles because ultimately you don't just want to lose weight, you want to have a different body composition.

Also, when talking about cheat meals and maybe a snack (crisps). My own personal opinion is that you should try and eradicate them completely. I understand Stoomc's opinion, but I think if you learn to cut them out totally, you are far more likely to never go back. It's a slippery road, when you think 'oh I trained hard, and I've been good with my diet all day so it can't hurt that much'. Trust me, I've been there! :p
 
Oh and for a 2 day split workout. I would change a couple things and do this:

Chest press
Incline chest press
Bent over row (the reverse row you mentioned)
Pull ups
Military press

Optional:
EZ-Bar curl
Skullcrushers

These are all big compound movements. Ignore stuff like fly's. Imo they are completely useless for beginners.

For lower:

Squats. Do these even if it is just the bar on your back or even if its just your body. Perfect the technique and start doing them from day one, no need to build up to it.
Leg press
Hamstring Curl
Calf extensions

Optional:
Quad extensions.
Deadlift. This is another big compound move, you can alternate squats and this each workout, or if you're feeling up to it.. you can try doing them both on the same day and see how it goes.
 
CoolBreeze9 said:
Whilst I agree with the principle behind what you are saying, I would just say that since carbs are the primary source of fuel for us, if you make a significant reduction and eat more proteins than carbs your body will reach for the fat on you for energy and you will see better results. Particularly if you are doing resistance training. And from what you want to achieve (The physique of Bond) you want to eat considerable amounts of protein to repair your muscles because ultimately you don't just want to lose weight, you want to have a different body composition.

Also, when talking about cheat meals and maybe a snack (crisps). My own personal opinion is that you should try and eradicate them completely. I understand Stoomc's opinion, but I think if you learn to cut them out totally, you are far more likely to never go back. It's a slippery road, when you think 'oh I trained hard, and I've been good with my diet all day so it can't hurt that much'. Trust me, I've been there! :p

I definitely agree with taking in a majority of calories via protein as that definitely serves an important purpose (lean muscle maintenance and better satiety)
After a good amount of protein has been taken in however, it really all does just boil down to taking in less calories than you burn to lose weight.

With regards to cheat meals, I will have to 100% stand by that, and I personally have not seen anyone achieve long term success with being too strict (usually end up worse than they started)- and as I said above there are other more complex reasons as to why higher calorie/ especially carb refeeds are beneficial.
I don't want to get into it but there is a terrific website that I use a lot now called body recomposition and the guy who runs the site really knows his stuff.
Basically, It all circles around leptin and bmr.

I think to say to someone to not do cheat meals, snack etc indefinitely is a bit niche in all honesty as people have a life to live at the end of the day- what about nights out, restaurants with friends etc, etc. I personally find it too unrealistic and if you can maintain that I take my hat off to you! :)
 
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I would like to add- I hope I not coming across as argumentative! That is not my intention :)

Out of interest. Roughly, what would people class as low carb. (Not really silly low) and what would people class as high carb in grams?
I have always been interested in that one... Perhaps I am not high carb at all! :)
 
Thanks guys, i understand that the biggest challenge is going to be the psychological one, learning to say no is going to be the hard part!

as for the excercise regime,

Oh and for a 2 day split workout. I would change a couple things and do this:

Chest press
Incline chest press
Bent over row (the reverse row you mentioned)
Pull ups
Military press

Optional:
EZ-Bar curl
Skullcrushers

These are all big compound movements. Ignore stuff like fly's. Imo they are completely useless for beginners.

QUOTE]

when you say incline chest, i assume you mean a slight angle above flat? what benefit would this have over a flat press, working different muscles?

one of the things i did manage to do well over my time in the gym was bench, i only peaked at 80(i know its not much!), but i was able to do solid reps with (what the trainers at the gym called) good form. obviously if incline is better then i will rock that, but if it is to do with getting into form then would i be ok with flat?

Also, some people have mentioned muscle memory. i understand its something to do with the body being in a state where returned will see slightly faster gains. but is it true?
 
also, i do rather like omelettes(3 egg) are they going to be a decent protein source for breakfasts?
 
I would like to add- I hope I not coming across as argumentative! That is not my intention :)

Out of interest. Roughly, what would people class as low carb. (Not really silly low) and what would people class as high carb in grams?
I have always been interested in that one... Perhaps I am not high carb at all! :)

Keto - <50g of carbs per day
low carb - 50g - 150g
Lower carb - 150g - 250g
Average - 250g - 350g
 
GBDG1 said:
Keto - <50g of carbs per day
low carb - 50g - 150g
Lower carb - 150g - 250g
Average - 250g - 350g


Aaah, I'm not as high carb as what I thought!
 
also, i do rather like omelettes(3 egg) are they going to be a decent protein source for breakfasts?

Defnitely, just make sure you are not having bacon and sausages on the side :smashin:

I had four scrambled eggs and two slices of dry granary toast for breakfast today delicious!
 

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