My predicament

[Daran]

(If you don't feel like reading this post (tl;dr) then just skip to the bottom for the summarized version)

Hi everyone, I've been reading this forum for the better part of two days now and there's some really good stuff in here, but I've got somewhat of a unique situation. (No, not that kind...)

I'm 17 years old, 5'8, 160 pounds. I currently bench 120 lbs. 6x3 (setsxreps?), leg press 360 lbs. 10x5, etc.

About a year and a half ago, I used to be a pretty chunky kid, I was 160 lbs. with alot more body fat, not to mention I was about 2 or 3 inches shorter. I had a pretty anorexic mentality about losing weight back then and ate 1100 calories a day and ran every single day for 30-45 minutes daily. I lost about 18-20 pounds doing this and a ton of muscle. Although I did slim up.

I've gained a little back now, as i've said before im 160 pounds now. When I first hit the gym about 5 months ago, I could bench 65 pounds, curl 15 pound dumbells, press 180 pounds on the legpress, etc. I've doubled what I was originally able to do and then some. (traps and back in particular)

I'm still really concerned about becoming fat again if I let myself eat too much. I try to eat 1500 calories a day on the days I workout and 1300 on the days I dont. Not to mention that I do cardio for 20 minutes immediatley after my workout. Now sometimes this doesnt work out and I just heap on the food some days,(averaging like 2500 daily sometimes) so I guess I balance it out with my 1500 calorie regime and don't really gain too much weight.

After all this though, I still don't have a flat stomach, have tits that stick out, but i'm much noticebly thinner than I used to be.

I just want to know if anybody could think of anything, any kind of plan, any kind of different way of eating that I could do to achieve a flat stomach, and still gain a little bit more mass? I'm stronger than i've ever been now and I really don't want to lose the mass ever again.

Also a little information on my diet: I do eat alot of lean meats, sometimes I eat some junk foods. Like some chocolate here and there or some ice cream. But most of the time when I eat alot more food, I just fill up on whole wheat bread or alot of turkey.

(Also sorry if some of these sentences are run-ons, i'm pretty tired.)


Summary: I used to be fat and now i'm skinny through an anorexic like diet. I hit the gym 5 months ago and have gained all my muscle back and then some. I only eat 1500 calories daily and I don't have a flat stomach yet. I'm wondering if someone could help me out with a plan where I could shed the last of my excess body fat and still gain mass.

Thanks to all that decide to help.

 

[TSO]

Bro, how long did it take you to get fat? It takes longer than 5 months to go from fat to lean. It sounds like what you are doing is working, but I'd like to see you eat a few more calories. Read the stickies at the top of the forum. Find a lifting routine that seems to work with your schedule and your goals, and then just keep working.

Good job.

 

[Daran]

Yeah, people have told me that too. "It took alot longer for you to gain it, you're not going to burn it off all at once."

But as I've said, i've been doing this for a year and a half, lifting for only five months though.

But alright, i'll check the stickies.

 

[Mercere]

(If you don't feel like reading this post (tl;dr) then just skip to the bottom for the summarized version)

Hi everyone, I've been reading this forum for the better part of two days now and there's some really good stuff in here, but I've got somewhat of a unique situation. (No, not that kind...)

I'm 17 years old, 5'8, 160 pounds. I currently bench 120 lbs. 6x3 (setsxreps?), leg press 360 lbs. 10x5, etc.

About a year and a half ago, I used to be a pretty chunky kid, I was 160 lbs. with alot more body fat, not to mention I was about 2 or 3 inches shorter. I had a pretty anorexic mentality about losing weight back then and ate 1100 calories a day and ran every single day for 30-45 minutes daily. I lost about 18-20 pounds doing this and a ton of muscle. Although I did slim up.

I've gained a little back now, as i've said before im 160 pounds now. When I first hit the gym about 5 months ago, I could bench 65 pounds, curl 15 pound dumbells, press 180 pounds on the legpress, etc. I've doubled what I was originally able to do and then some. (traps and back in particular)

I'm still really concerned about becoming fat again if I let myself eat too much. I try to eat 1500 calories a day on the days I workout and 1300 on the days I dont. Not to mention that I do cardio for 20 minutes immediatley after my workout. Now sometimes this doesnt work out and I just heap on the food some days,(averaging like 2500 daily sometimes) so I guess I balance it out with my 1500 calorie regime and don't really gain too much weight.

After all this though, I still don't have a flat stomach, have tits that stick out, but i'm much noticebly thinner than I used to be.

I just want to know if anybody could think of anything, any kind of plan, any kind of different way of eating that I could do to achieve a flat stomach, and still gain a little bit more mass? I'm stronger than i've ever been now and I really don't want to lose the mass ever again.

Also a little information on my diet: I do eat alot of lean meats, sometimes I eat some junk foods. Like some chocolate here and there or some ice cream. But most of the time when I eat alot more food, I just fill up on whole wheat bread or alot of turkey.

(Also sorry if some of these sentences are run-ons, i'm pretty tired.)


Summary: I used to be fat and now i'm skinny through an anorexic like diet. I hit the gym 5 months ago and have gained all my muscle back and then some. I only eat 1500 calories daily and I don't have a flat stomach yet. I'm wondering if someone could help me out with a plan where I could shed the last of my excess body fat and still gain mass.

Thanks to all that decide to help.

Congratulations on your progress so far.

My suggestions. First, read this:
http://www.geocities.com/elitemadcow1/Topics/Diet.htm
http://www.geocities.com/elitemadcow1/Topics/Training_Primer.htm

Reading your post, you seem like a literate person who can concentrate on reading more than 20 seconds. Read these two topics, understand them and you've put yourself ahead of 99% of your peers in terms of training knowledge.

Second, you want to start a sensible program for your age and experience. Do the Rippetoe 3x5 (It's in the training vault sticky) to build a solid strength foundation and learn the basic compound lifts. Increasing those lifts will make you gain mass faster than anything else. Leg press is worthless for you at this point. You need to be squatting 3x per week, benching and pulling from the floor. When you can olympic squat 1.5 x your bodyweight, you can look into more specialized training goals.

Now, you want to be lean. That anorexic diet probably wrecked havoc on your metabolism. Eating 1300 then binging on 2500 isn't helping either. It doesn't balance out, it will make you gain fat. Body will eagerly store those excess calories as it thinks it's starving most of the time. A

A good plan of attack is: Start doing the 3x5. Increase your calories 100 per week until you are neither gaining or losing weight. Your body needs a break at this point. Since you are 17 years old and still a novice in terms of lifting, your body composition will change even if you don't plan specific cutting or bulking cycles. Increase your lifts and strength steadily for 3-4 months this way, while staying around 160-170. Then, in february or march, reevaluate your situation.

How is your diet (as in what to eat when lifting) knowledge?

 

[Daran]

Honestly, what I basiclly do is I try to eat pure foods. I try to stay low on the fat (which I know isnt the best for gaining mass) I eat alot of turkey, chicken, egg whites, boca burgers, etc.

I've heard of people on this board eating like 20% fat, 40% protien, 40% carbs, that's alot of managing though. Although i'm pretty much OCD as to how many calories I eat, I know that I cannot go to sleep starving and I need to eat to gain.

I've always wanted to talk to a nutritionist, but our insurance doesnt cover it. =[

 

[Mercere]

Staying low on fat is bad for you in every aspect. Your body probably doesn't handle carbs well like mine. Stay away from processed carbs like sugar, white bread, white flour, bagels etc in your regular meals. No sugar. I mean it, absolutely positively NO sugar.

Eat fibrous, whole grain carbs before you train. You can eat processed carbs only in the meal immediately following your workout. After 6-7 pm or so, just eat green veggies for carbs. Try to get the rest of the energy from good fats like olive oil, oily fish, nuts and egg yolks. Contrary to popular belief, eating fat doesn't make you fat. You don't have to calculate macros, especially at your age. Just don't go crazy with your carb intake.

 

[Daran]

Staying low on fat is bad for you in every aspect. Your body probably doesn't handle carbs well like mine. Stay away from processed carbs like sugar, white bread, white flour, bagels etc in your regular meals. No sugar. I mean it, absolutely positively NO sugar.

Eat fibrous, whole grain carbs before you train. You can eat processed carbs only in the meal immediately following your workout. After 6-7 pm or so, just eat green veggies for carbs. Try to get the rest of the energy from good fats like olive oil, oily fish, nuts and egg yolks. Contrary to popular belief, eating fat doesn't make you fat. You don't have to calculate macros, especially at your age. Just don't go crazy with your carb intake.

Whoa whoa whoa, good fats eh? I'll research that.
Also, how much fat should I eat? Like make 10% of my calories fat?

 

[TSO]

More like 20-25% If you go lo-carb, good chance you are looking at much more.

 

[fortunatesun]

The F-Word

All about dietary fats. It gets just a little technical but has all the information you need in one place and it's not long. In terms of cals you should aim for 25%-35% of dietary intake.