Please Scroll Down to See Forums Below Have been lifting for 3-4 years and am yet to hit current goals. I am 6' and 215 pounds. 21 year old male. 16.6% body fat. I am curious what a good percentage is at my size? When Im at my biggest I am unhappy with my fat as my build makes it nearly impossible to loose the pudge at the bottom of my abdomen. However, when I "cut" I usually just clean up my diet and end up getting comments about how "skinny" I am which is depressing to anyone who lifts regularly. My question is what is a good weight at my height and given my body type, what can I do to reach a happy medium. (having both size and flat stomach) I realize we are our biggest critics and I may never be fully satisfied but I am very depressed with where I am at right now and have been slacking due to my unsuccessful attempts at finding this happy medium. Also any dieting advice would be appreciated. and I seem to hold water because even when I grow my muscles seem soft rather than solid in the tricep area on my inner arm. Advice? I appreciate any and every response in advance.
NEED HELP. Please help?
- Thread starter BigBoy89
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Im 21 year old male 6' 220 pounds and 12% b/f so a pretty close match to yourself.
How many times a week do u lift weights and how much cardio do u do?
I lift 5 times a week recently added a rest day every week for a break after a strenuous day providing my body with more rest. However, cardio was my weakness for awhile but just started gettin up at six every morning and doing interval sprinting. I'll walk the curves at a local track and sprint the straights as I have heard interval training is among the elite in fat burning. any critique and/or advice is appreciated thanks for responding to my post.
gymjunkie09
New member
Post ur cutting diet, I'm willing to bet its a combination of that and overtraining
Its good you getting up at six that shows dedication. I too do that. i run twice around my block and then do a small curcuit in my garden, punchbag, pullups, squats, leg raises and push ups all in an intense half an hour. The trick is to keep it short and simple but intense to get the heart rate going.
Do u eat before you run in the morning?
If u are then DON'T! It feels like shit on an empty stomach but man the rewards are better.
Dont eat straight after either i normally wait about 30 mins just so my body feeds off my fat for a bit. Then eat.
What do you eat after your run?
Cutting diet usually consists of just eating leaner meats rather than all out grubbing. add assortments of nuts for my snacks and usually couple protein shakes. meats such as chicken, maybe a steak meal, some greens, and tuna fish. havent been on strict diet in long time because has been hectic with college but Im willing if I receieve some good recommendations or a basic layout on what I should be eating.
Yes bro natural is the the way forward!
Eat less basically instead of two sandwiches have 1 try and lower your calories per day by 500, it feels weird but it is benifiting me. I've just started cutting about 2 weeks ago and already im seeing change my abs are starting to come through and everything else will follow beleive me. Try not to eat any carbs after 6. Do you eat turky steaks? There alot more benificial to i cutting diet then chicken. At the moment for my eveing meal im just having 2 smallish turkey steaks and a handfull of veg. I used to eat so so much to get to where i am now, i bet you did as well. Is this ur first time cutting? It is tricky but if u get the diet right now you'll do it much easier next time.
Eat less basically instead of two sandwiches have 1 try and lower your calories per day by 500, it feels weird but it is benifiting me. I've just started cutting about 2 weeks ago and already im seeing change my abs are starting to come through and everything else will follow beleive me. Try not to eat any carbs after 6. Do you eat turky steaks? There alot more benificial to i cutting diet then chicken. At the moment for my eveing meal im just having 2 smallish turkey steaks and a handfull of veg. I used to eat so so much to get to where i am now, i bet you did as well. Is this ur first time cutting? It is tricky but if u get the diet right now you'll do it much easier next time.
I have "cut" before but I have never been big on counting calories so I always just based it on how lean my meals were. So a "cut" to me is probably a little different than it is to an amateur/pro bodybuilder. I have never tried turkey steaks however have had turkey burgers. I tend to turn to turkey when cutting due to how lean it is. If you dont mind when u get a chance msg me an outline of ur basic diet plan for one day? if its too much trouble dont sweat it just need an idea where to start. Im aiming to be in better shape come may/June for the summer. hate walking the beach with my shirt on haha
No prob bro it's cool im happy to help.
A normal day for me would be:
6:00 15min fast paced run followed by a circuit of pull ups, abs, push ups and punchbag for another 15 mins
7:15 30g unflouverd whey with milk poured over porridge oats, raisens and crisp banana
9:15 2 slices of brown toast, small portion of beans and egg, and 2 tomatoes
Piece of fruit
12:00 fish or chicken or beef or turky with brown rice or pasta or potato and veg
14:30 tuna sandwich
16:15 30g whey skake with 5g creatine
17:00 train heavy weights
18:00 straight after training, 30g whey, 70g maltodextrin, 5g creatine all in a shake with water.
18:45 turkey steak with veg
Piece of fruit
21:00 maybe an ommlet or 30g whey shake with milk
i mix it up day to day so i dont get bored, but this menu is pretty average.
What do you think?
Post your diet
tonytooagain
New member
If you dont mind me asking do you find that eating every 2 - 2 1/2 hours like you do helps you add more muscle/stay leaner then if you were to space your meals farther out? I mean is the effect noticeable?
When most people begin a weight loss programin order to burn body fat and get into shape, the notion of eating more often throughout the day would probably be the last thing on their minds.
For the majority of individuals, the prospect of eating a greater number of daily meals in order to lose body fat would seem counter-intuitive.
However, what may seem logical on the surface isn’t always the correct way to go…
What if I told you that the generally accepted approach of “3 square meals a day” is actually one of the primary reasons why so many people fail miserably when attempting a fat loss program?
In fact, when you don’t eat often enough throughout the day, you actually program your body to become a low-energy, food-craving, fat storing machine.
How could this be?
All it takes is a very basic biological explanation to understand why this is so…
From a purely physical standpoint, your body is only concerned with one ultimate goal: to keep you alive and healthy at all times. The body is absolutely riddled with all kinds of fancy “defense mechanisms” to aid in accomplishing this. These defense mechanisms automatically kick into action during times of stress.
One of these mechanisms is referred to as the “famine response”.
You see, although your mind is consciously aware that you could sit down for a meal at any time, your hardwired genetics are not. They simply act in a mechanistic way and automatically make adjustments in the body based on certain conditions.
Since your body has no idea when its next meal is coming, and since our bodies evolved and developed during times where food was scarce and eating patterns were uncertain, it must take the proper precautions in order to preserve energy in between meals.
If you go for too long in between “feedings”, the famine response kicks in.
What happens as a result?
To put it simply, the two major adjustments made are the 2 things that are the most harmful and counterproductive to your bottom line progress…
First of all, the fat burning metabolism slows down.
Remember, body fat is simply a stored form of energy. If your body is not provided with an external source of energy through the food that you eat, it will do whatever it can to preserve and maintain its stored forms for when it needs them most.
In other words, when you don’t eat frequently enough, you stop burning fat at an efficient rate.
Secondly, you lose muscle tissue.
The body requires a certain amount of protein in order to carry out its regular daily tasks, and when you fail to provide it with a steady stream of protein through your diet, it will enter into a state of “muscle catabolism”.
Housing a large amount of muscle tissue is low on the body’s list of priorities, and when dietary protein is insufficient, it will literally begin eating away at your muscles in order to obtain a useful source.
If you didn’t already know, the amount of lean muscle tissue that you have on your body has a direct effect on your metabolic rate. The more muscle you have, the more fat you burn.
The muscles basically act like giant furnaces where fat can be burned around the clock, and any properly structured fat burning program places its emphasis on maintaining as much muscle tissue as possible.
To sum up what we've covered so far: when you don't eat frequently enough throughout the day, the body's famine response kicks into gear, which in turn causes you to burn less fat and to lose muscle tissue.
How long does it take for this famine response to kick in?
It depends on the contents and size of your previous meal, but as a general guideline, it will take about 3-4 hours to settle in.
The solution?
Aim to consume a small meal at least every 3 hours!
Your overall daily food intake does not necessarily have to change, but you should simply aim to spread out all of your meals over this set interval.
This means that on any given day, you should be consuming around 5-7 small meals. It may sound like a lot, and the truth is that it will require some discipline and willpower to initially get started on.
That being said, frequently grazing on small meals throughout the day truly is one of the real “secrets” to developing the lean, energetic and healthy body you’re after.
Not only will this method keep your fat burning metabolism working on overdrive and allow you to preserve a high amount of lean muscle tissue, but it will also:
- improve the digestion process
- keep your blood sugar levels balanced
- control your food cravings
- keep your strength and energy at top levels
If you really want to see dramatic results as quickly as possible, this is one fat burning guideline that you cannot go without.
For the majority of individuals, the prospect of eating a greater number of daily meals in order to lose body fat would seem counter-intuitive.
However, what may seem logical on the surface isn’t always the correct way to go…
What if I told you that the generally accepted approach of “3 square meals a day” is actually one of the primary reasons why so many people fail miserably when attempting a fat loss program?
In fact, when you don’t eat often enough throughout the day, you actually program your body to become a low-energy, food-craving, fat storing machine.
How could this be?
All it takes is a very basic biological explanation to understand why this is so…
From a purely physical standpoint, your body is only concerned with one ultimate goal: to keep you alive and healthy at all times. The body is absolutely riddled with all kinds of fancy “defense mechanisms” to aid in accomplishing this. These defense mechanisms automatically kick into action during times of stress.
One of these mechanisms is referred to as the “famine response”.
You see, although your mind is consciously aware that you could sit down for a meal at any time, your hardwired genetics are not. They simply act in a mechanistic way and automatically make adjustments in the body based on certain conditions.
Since your body has no idea when its next meal is coming, and since our bodies evolved and developed during times where food was scarce and eating patterns were uncertain, it must take the proper precautions in order to preserve energy in between meals.
If you go for too long in between “feedings”, the famine response kicks in.
What happens as a result?
To put it simply, the two major adjustments made are the 2 things that are the most harmful and counterproductive to your bottom line progress…
First of all, the fat burning metabolism slows down.
Remember, body fat is simply a stored form of energy. If your body is not provided with an external source of energy through the food that you eat, it will do whatever it can to preserve and maintain its stored forms for when it needs them most.
In other words, when you don’t eat frequently enough, you stop burning fat at an efficient rate.
Secondly, you lose muscle tissue.
The body requires a certain amount of protein in order to carry out its regular daily tasks, and when you fail to provide it with a steady stream of protein through your diet, it will enter into a state of “muscle catabolism”.
Housing a large amount of muscle tissue is low on the body’s list of priorities, and when dietary protein is insufficient, it will literally begin eating away at your muscles in order to obtain a useful source.
If you didn’t already know, the amount of lean muscle tissue that you have on your body has a direct effect on your metabolic rate. The more muscle you have, the more fat you burn.
The muscles basically act like giant furnaces where fat can be burned around the clock, and any properly structured fat burning program places its emphasis on maintaining as much muscle tissue as possible.
To sum up what we've covered so far: when you don't eat frequently enough throughout the day, the body's famine response kicks into gear, which in turn causes you to burn less fat and to lose muscle tissue.
How long does it take for this famine response to kick in?
It depends on the contents and size of your previous meal, but as a general guideline, it will take about 3-4 hours to settle in.
The solution?
Aim to consume a small meal at least every 3 hours!
Your overall daily food intake does not necessarily have to change, but you should simply aim to spread out all of your meals over this set interval.
This means that on any given day, you should be consuming around 5-7 small meals. It may sound like a lot, and the truth is that it will require some discipline and willpower to initially get started on.
That being said, frequently grazing on small meals throughout the day truly is one of the real “secrets” to developing the lean, energetic and healthy body you’re after.
Not only will this method keep your fat burning metabolism working on overdrive and allow you to preserve a high amount of lean muscle tissue, but it will also:
- improve the digestion process
- keep your blood sugar levels balanced
- control your food cravings
- keep your strength and energy at top levels
If you really want to see dramatic results as quickly as possible, this is one fat burning guideline that you cannot go without.
