Please Scroll Down to See Forums Below Hmmm, I've been thinking a lot recently and I think I've come to the descision that I need to quit concentrating so much on my physique. I'm 19 years old and I'm at university and over the past 2 years I have been VERY serious about my eating and body. Between the age of 15-16 I was obese and decided to get in shape. Since that day I have been very concerned about the way I look and in my opinion, too concerned. So concerned in fact that I think I've missed out on having fun due to not relaxing, eating what I want or drinking. And in fact whenever something goes wrong, with a woman or whatever I usually blame it on the way I look. I therefore have come to the descision that I want to relax about the way I look. I know for a fact I'll never become a professional bodybuilder and I know that even if I did reach my goal of a perfect body I'd still not be happy. I therefore want to just stop. When I say stop I don't mean give up bodybuilding. What I want however is just to stop counting every calorie, stop measuring every 2 weeks, stop feeling guilty if i eat a chocolate or miss a workout. All I want to know is if i eat around abouts maintainance level calories, do cardio 3x per week and drink once per week (bout 5 pints) and maybe have the occasional few biscuits or dessert etc, can i still look good? When I say look good I mean can I maintain around a 12% bodyfat level and still build a bit of muscle. I don't want to give up bodybuilding and caring about the way I look however I do want to relax and start enjoying my life at university instead of missing out on having fun because I can't drink or can't stay out late in case I miss a workout etc etc. Anyone else feel the same way as me or am I alone in this?
Bodybuilding and enjoying life...
- Thread starter SteR
- Start date
Life is all about balance my friend. Personally, I believe that college is a time where you learn to balance the financial, romantic, physical, and educational aspects of your life. Your best bet in this manner is to find some friends with similar goals. This way you will be able to focus on other areas of life and still enjoy the social benefits of friends who also follow physical lifestyles.
MeatHead57
New member
man i heard you on that! ill be 15 fri. for the past year i have been whatching every little calorie i eat if i ate a little bit of a sweet or pizza straight down to the tredmill i went. I wanna live my life to i was over weight last year now that i have crew and i work out i have made it down to the 4-6% bodyfat range. Now every week i eat like a cup cake or cookie only once a week just dont thin kabout it look at it this way it will help me get at least one or to more sets because of the carb and calories. just make sure u eat it in the beggining of the day! i know that i have sacrificed alot to be at the state i am but i want to live my life too!!
meathead,
if you're only 15, your body is going to be following a different growth pattern than most of the people on this board. At your age, a basal met. rate of weight x 15 may not be what you need to sustain mass. Your body is growing and IMO, you should just eat clean and stay active. With growth hormones as high as they are in your body right now, I doubt you need to watch cals. Wait till your hormones level out to try and apply equations to your food intake.
if you're only 15, your body is going to be following a different growth pattern than most of the people on this board. At your age, a basal met. rate of weight x 15 may not be what you need to sustain mass. Your body is growing and IMO, you should just eat clean and stay active. With growth hormones as high as they are in your body right now, I doubt you need to watch cals. Wait till your hormones level out to try and apply equations to your food intake.
Things change bro. That does`nt mean you`ve not been doing the right thing or are making the wrong decision now. Priorities change as well. Maybe after you ease up a little you find out you don`t like it, maybe you find a newfound freedom who knows. try it.
nikolai_bolkov
New member
Bro, trust me on this...enjoy life now! You'll get to where you want to be in due time, don't worry about it.
I'm 28, I pass for 24, and I'm planning to be where I want to be with my body at the age of 32 (ripped freak).
In turns of women, unless you go after strippers their first priority is NOT your body.
Stay out all night once in a while, eat a whole pizza here and there...in the long term if you keep hitting the gym and doing cardio on a regular basis you'll be good to go.
The only thing I regret is not starting earlier to benefit from the accumulation of muscle over time.
I'm 28, I pass for 24, and I'm planning to be where I want to be with my body at the age of 32 (ripped freak).
In turns of women, unless you go after strippers their first priority is NOT your body.
Stay out all night once in a while, eat a whole pizza here and there...in the long term if you keep hitting the gym and doing cardio on a regular basis you'll be good to go.
The only thing I regret is not starting earlier to benefit from the accumulation of muscle over time.
If I could change one thing, I would have added some daily Udo's into my diet during the teenage years. Also a lot more glutamine to make sure optimal GH release is taking place. So with some Udo's and bcaa's you should be able to maximize growth potential during those crucial years.
DanielBishop
New member
I remember reading something by Dorian Yates....
.... in which he said that young people shouldn't take it all too seriously. They should live their lives, go out, drink if they want to, stay out late.... not worry about missing a meal or not getting enough rest one night a week.... have fun, enjoy your youth.... don't spend it all in the gym, in bed or in the kitchen.
And I think Mr Olympia has a deeper perspective on the matter than the rest of us.... I'd take his advice.
And in my experience, nikoli_bolkov is exactly right.... most women don't care too much about physique. As long as you're not bony like a skeleton or morbidly obese, body isn't what most girls are attracted to.... but all guys think it is. We seem to picture ourselves looking like Arnold and strutting down the beach, but I've never known a female to find ANY bodybuilder remotely attractive. In fact, my sisters, mother, wife.... all consider them completely repulsive. So just relax about it.... it's not the most important thing in life. Far from it.
.... in which he said that young people shouldn't take it all too seriously. They should live their lives, go out, drink if they want to, stay out late.... not worry about missing a meal or not getting enough rest one night a week.... have fun, enjoy your youth.... don't spend it all in the gym, in bed or in the kitchen.
And I think Mr Olympia has a deeper perspective on the matter than the rest of us.... I'd take his advice.
And in my experience, nikoli_bolkov is exactly right.... most women don't care too much about physique. As long as you're not bony like a skeleton or morbidly obese, body isn't what most girls are attracted to.... but all guys think it is. We seem to picture ourselves looking like Arnold and strutting down the beach, but I've never known a female to find ANY bodybuilder remotely attractive. In fact, my sisters, mother, wife.... all consider them completely repulsive. So just relax about it.... it's not the most important thing in life. Far from it.
