Hi folks!

I'm just beginning my journey towards a fitter life. This is the first 'health' forum I have joined.

I am 5'8'' and weigh 160 lbs. In June 2004 I was weighing a massive 190 lbs and decided it was time to hit the gym. But I never realized what an important role diet plays. I used to hog on pizzas & burgers. I started losing hope somewhere in Jan 2005 when I realized not much was happening. However I continued light excercising about 2 days a week and by June 2005 I was weighing 170. Too bad for a 1 year time.

Now I diet and excercise. Here's my current schedule:

Diet -

8:30 am - Protein shake, 1/2 cup cereals (Whole grain Kelloggs or Kashi) OR one slice of bread with a little butter.
11:30 am - snack - fruits
12:30 pm - lunch - 1 cup brown rice with veggies OR 3-4 slices wheat bread with veggies/soup.
3:30 pm - snack - fruits
5:30 pm - meal - two slices of wheat bread with crushed peanut OR fruits and veggies - usually two servings. I also have coffee this time.
9:30 pm - meal - 1 cup brown rice with veggies OR 3-4 slices wheat bread with veggies/soup. Protein shake if I feel hungry.

I also sip one Protein shake all day.

As you might see I am a vegetarian so its too difficult to take in proteins. My BIG problem.

Excercise:

Weight training 1/2 hr - 3 days a week.
Cardio - 6 days a week - 1 hr minimum (usually spilt it into 1/2 hr + 1/2 hr on weight training days)
I also play tennis about 3 days a week for 1 hr.

My goal is to be around 150 lbs (maybe less) and lose a lot of flab that I have on my stomach and chest. I will try and get some 'BEFORE' pics soon.

I hope I am following the right steps - any suggestions would be helpful.

Thanks,
JK.

I do get the feeling sometimes that i eat less calories - do you think I'm eating enough? If its less, then any suggestions to increase it? I must tell you that I have tyres of fat around my stomach. I also have a lot of fat near my armpits and chest.

Too many carbs, no protein (can you eat eggs or dairy? Fish?), excessive cardio ( I would continue to play tennis but eliminate the other cardio), and I don't really know if you are hitting the weights heavy enough with the right exercises to stimulate lean muscle gains. Even with the right exercises, you have no protein for adequate recovery and repair. I am not surprised at the fat deposits of which you described.

Eating more of these foods, and I would also suggest better carb sources such as potatoes, oatmeal would give you a good start. I know many vegetarian bodybuilders who don't eat meat however they do include fish and egg whites along with 2 or 3 protein shakes a day.

Too many carbs, no protein (can you eat eggs or dairy? Fish?), excessive cardio ( I would continue to play tennis but eliminate the other cardio), and I don't really know if you are hitting the weights heavy enough with the right exercises to stimulate lean muscle gains. Even with the right exercises, you have no protein for adequate recovery and repair. I am not surprised at the fat deposits of which you described.

Eating more of these foods, and I would also suggest better carb sources such as potatoes, oatmeal would give you a good start. I know many vegetarian bodybuilders who don't eat meat however they do include fish and egg whites along with 2 or 3 protein shakes a day.

Yes, I do eat eggs - usually once in 3 days I have 1 whole egg +1 egg white omlette. Not everyday though. No fish. I do consume a lot of veggies though - and have three (10 oz) glasses of fat free milk everyday for the protein and calcium.

As far as cardio goes, I thought this was the only way to burn fat - so I do it 6 days/week for an hour. Am I overdoing it? I do have the energy for my cardio sessions and I am never 'worn out' - so I keep doing it that way.

Weight training - I just got serious about it so it will take a while for me to be a pro at it. But I target 1-2 bodyparts a day and do about 3 types of excercises for each part with the max weight I can lift for about 8-10 reps.

I am really confused as to how I increase my protein intake further than this :o Any ideas? Also if my carb intake is too much, what should I have in place of it?

Thanks for your help and replies...

Yes, I do eat eggs - usually once in 3 days I have 1 whole egg +1 egg white omlette. Not everyday though. No fish. I do consume a lot of veggies though - and have three (10 oz) glasses of fat free milk everyday for the protein and calcium.

As far as cardio goes, I thought this was the only way to burn fat - so I do it 6 days/week for an hour. Am I overdoing it? I do have the energy for my cardio sessions and I am never 'worn out' - so I keep doing it that way.

Weight training - I just got serious about it so it will take a while for me to be a pro at it. But I target 1-2 bodyparts a day and do about 3 types of excercises for each part with the max weight I can lift for about 8-10 reps.

I am really confused as to how I increase my protein intake further than this :o Any ideas? Also if my carb intake is too much, what should I have in place of it?

Thanks for your help and replies...

In your situation especially, excess cardio is going to burn muscle, not fat. Your metabolic rate is already low. Weight training is going to do a 100% better job of repartitioning your body and give you the results you are looking for.

As for the protein, I would eat 8 egg whites for your first meal of the day with some oatmeal and skim milk and another 8 egg whites as your last meal of the day along with some healthy fats such as flax oil or a tbls of natural peanut butter.For your other meals I would invest in a high quality meal replacement and mix in an additional scoop of whey powder in there too. Continue eating all the veggies you want. Add a sweet potato or 2 in there also. A great investment for you, or anyone really, would be to include 4-6 pepride bonded amino acid tablets (Beverly International comes to mind) with each of your meals to give your food meals a more complete amino acid profile. I'd also suggest taking them before and after your weight training. Good luck :tu:

As far as cardio goes, I thought this was the only way to burn fat - so I do it 6 days/week for an hour.

The best exercise for burning fat is not cardio! It is your metabolism -- you burn calories by existing, by keeping your body at 37 degrees Celcius, by forcing blood throughout your body, etc. You can increase your metabolism by lifting weights. When you build muscle, you will increase the rate your body burns calories simply by existing. I hope this makes sense. Cardio will burn calories only while you are on the treadmill (and maybe a few hours afterward). Weight lifting will build muscles that will burn calories 24 hours a day, 7 days a week!

The best way to burn fat is to eat slightly fewer (500-1000 or so) calories than you need, your metabolism will do the rest.
The second best way to burn fat is to build muscle by weight lifting.
If you've done both those things effectively and still have time and energy, you can work on cardio.

Cardio has other benefits than just burning fat, but if that's your main goal with cardio, you'd be better off with weight lifting, for sure.

Hope this helps.

Glad you're here. Welcome to JSF Forums. Keep us updated on your progress.

The best exercise for burning fat is not cardio! It is your metabolism -- you burn calories by existing, by keeping your body at 37 degrees Celcius, by forcing blood throughout your body, etc. You can increase your metabolism by lifting weights. When you build muscle, you will increase the rate your body burns calories simply by existing. I hope this makes sense. Cardio will burn calories only while you are on the treadmill (and maybe a few hours afterward). Weight lifting will build muscles that will burn calories 24 hours a day, 7 days a week!

The best way to burn fat is to eat slightly fewer (500-1000 or so) calories than you need, your metabolism will do the rest.
The second best way to burn fat is to build muscle by weight lifting.
If you've done both those things effectively and still have time and energy, you can work on cardio.

Cardio has other benefits than just burning fat, but if that's your main goal with cardio, you'd be better off with weight lifting, for sure.

Hope this helps.

Glad you're here. Welcome to JSF Forums. Keep us updated on your progress.

How's that for motivation JK :claplow:

Welcome to the forum. Like everyone said weight train (hard) and in a few months your body will change and you'll like it.

Thanks for the warm welcome folks :D

Yes I do understand that weight training is important and I do it seriously. Usually do it for 1/2 hr to 1 hr - 3 days a week - till I have no more energy to pump! But I get exhausted in about 1/2 hr or so.

Any suggestions to add up my protein intake? Also I love eating carbs in the form of brown rice/bread. Should I be substituting it for anything else? I guess these are the only carbs I eat (apart from the fruits/veggies which are the 'good' carbs). I do eat white rice occasionally (maybe on weekends).

Any suggestions to add up my protein intake? Also I love eating carbs in the form of brown rice/bread. Should I be substituting it for anything else? I guess these are the only carbs I eat (apart from the fruits/veggies which are the 'good' carbs). I do eat white rice occasionally (maybe on weekends).

For meat-eaters, there are lots of options for foods that are mostly, or only protein. For vegetarians, there seems to be few or none. So, you have to eat food that have protein with carbs or fat.

A quick search of the internet showed me chick peas, spinach and especially soy nuts (I like these a lot!) to be good sources of protein, with some carbs (and most have good fiber!). Sesame seeds are surprisingly low in fat, so they are a good source of protein, with some fat. Hope this helps.

For meat-eaters, there are lots of options for foods that are mostly, or only protein. For vegetarians, there seems to be few or none. So, you have to eat food that have protein with carbs or fat.

A quick search of the internet showed me chick peas, spinach and especially soy nuts (I like these a lot!) to be good sources of protein, with some carbs (and most have good fiber!). Sesame seeds are surprisingly low in fat, so they are a good source of protein, with some fat. Hope this helps.

Thanks I'll try and include those in my diet. I usually do include black beans/kidney beans etc which I think have the same nutrition values as chick peas. I am also planning to pump up my intake of eggs.

Do you think 2 cups of rice per day OR about 8 slices of wheat/multigrain bread (2 meals) everyday is too much carbs? Also is it advisable to eat white rice *sometimes* - maybe 1-2 times a week - this just adds variety. But I know white rice is a bad food on a weight loss diet.

Ok, here's my calorie priorities for losing fat, in order of importance:

1. Good number of calories each day. Slightly below what your body uses. If you go too low, you're body will think it is starving and conserve all fat. If you go to high, you'll add more fat. It is safe to lose about 1% of body weight each week, so for most of us, that's about 500-1000 calories deficient each day.

2. Those calories should be spread evenly across the day. Eat 5 or 6 meals. I try to eat every 2 hours while I'm awake, I always do 6 but sometimes as many as 8 meals in a day. This will keep your blood sugar at an even level, rather than dumping lots of sugar into your blood at once -- you will convert it all to fat quickly that way. Also, you'll feel energized and you are more likely to be active throughout the day, no periods of sleepiness, etc.

3. If #1 and #2 are in place, then get a good distribution of macronutrients (proteins vs. carbs vs. fats). For people who are really changing their bodies, .8 or 1 gram of protein per pound of weight per day is a good goal. Fat -- keep that between 15 and 25% of total calories.

These priorities do not take into consideration other dietary needs such as micronutrients (vitamins, minerals), water, fiber, etc.

I hope you don't mind if I answer your food-specific questions with an answer that will equip you to make good decisions about those foods and many others that you might have questions about in the future.

Thanks to your suggestions, I have made it a point to include at least two egg whites everyday in my meals. Also I will make it a point to have at least 3 protein shakes (totalling 100 g protein). I think this should help me build.

Take a look at my photos and see how bad the fat deposits are :o

Slightly below what your body uses. If you go too low, you're body will think it is starving and conserve all fat. If you go to high, you'll add more fat.

I think I'm doing well on this. Sipping my protein shake all day I never feel hungry! The small meals spread thru the day work well.

At the end of the day I end up with about 1500 cals - not too bad.

Today:
Breakfast - 1/2 cup cereal + 1/2 cup milk = 90+90=180 cals
Protein shake (sip thru the day)= 110 X 3 scoops = 330 cals
Meal 1 - 1 Egg + 1/2 cup brown rice + veggies = 300 cals (approx)
Meal 2 - Egg white omlette + wheat bread + potatoes = 350 cals
Post workout (today is not weight training day) - 1 banana + some carbs (undecided yet) = 300 cals

Total = 1460 cals
Total protein = 100 g (approx)

The only fat I get is from the 1-2 tbsp crushed peanut and canola oil (8 g) which I use to cook.