BrianV
April 16th, 2007, 06:42 PM
Did a search but didn't turn up anything specific to my body. For those who are willing to read my life story and comment accordingly, I thank you in advance.
Anyways, here's my story:
Growing up, I was always picked on for being too skinny. I have a small frame and am quite lanky. By time I was a freshman in high school I was 6'0" and about 118 lbs. I filled out a little in school and probably graduated high school at 122-125 lbs. As you can imagine, I was quite a track star. Without training, practice, or dedication I was the second fastest track runner in the 400m the first time I ran it. My first long jump ever was 15'9" and within a week I was jumping 17'10". I never put much heart into it, and only did track for two years, but this just shows the type of body I had. I actually got kicked off the track team my freshman year for not showing up for practice, despite I was the best freshman long jumper by over 18"'s. Not bad for a white boy of Russian ancestry. Anyways, that and basketball were the only benefits of my skin and bones body.
Sometime around freshman year I visited my general family doctor and discussed how I could gain weight. We decided to try and get me on a 4000-5000 calorie a day diet. That had no effect on me at all.
I remained that skinny through college and moved from Los Angeles to Texas when I was 20.5 years old and about 128-130 lbs. I worked for just over a year and blossomed to a then record high 133 lbs.
In July of 2002 I took a new job which changed my life style a bit. I worked later hours, was involved in a relatively social group, and traveled quite a bit. Perhaps the most damaging effect of this new position was that I began drinking beer. I had made it 8 months past my 21st birthday and had mainly avoided drinking, and when I did drink it was vodka based mixed drinks. However, after starting this new job I started drinking beer, and lots of it. We'd have 3-5 beers after work several times per week (2-3 times per week). I still have the same job although the afterhours’ drinking has been completely annihilated.
Within a year I porked up to 145-150, and over the next year or two I porked up to 170 (this weight was achieved and maintained through most of 2006). Although I still appeared skinny to my friends and family, I had developed quite a gut; not one that was visible under clothes but one that was visible without a shirt on. It's like a mini beer belly. I went from a size 30 to a size 34 waist throughout my 5 year Texas life. Although I put a little weight on around my face and neck, it appears most of my weight went into my belly (and a little into my pecks).
I've always worked out my arms in moderation. Thus, my arms don't have an ounce of fat on them and are decently toned given the effort I've put into them. My legs are in great shape due to extensive skiing and mountain bike riding. However, my gut is a different story. In high school I had a defined six pack (not perfect but defined enough). That has since turned into a single keg.
In December of 2006 I decided to be at least slightly conscious of my physique. After extremely minimal research, I decided I could cut out candy (which I ate large amounts of) and switch from Soda to Diet Soda. I lost about 5 lbs in one month and sat at 165 lbs for the majority of Jan and Feb with no substantial appearance difference.
Prior to this stint, I never cared at all what I ate. I ate tons of fast food, tons of french fries, lots of soda, lots of candy, and only minor amounts of veggies. I've always ate a lot of fruit, but not for dietary reasons, only because I liked the taste. I cooked using a lot of butters and oils, ate Ribeye as my choice steak, etc.
Over the past month I decided to cut carbs. For the most part I've given up potatoes and fries (and other similar items). I've tried to eat with a little more moderation as well. Since then I've actually started looking at calories and carbs, with this past weekend being the most significant mental accomplishment of this diet.
I ate romaine lettuce, spinach, carrots, celery, and an apple for dinner on Friday night. Beef broth and sliced sirloin (maybe 4-6 oz. of meat) for lunch (Vietnamese Pho Noodle Bowl w/o the noodles), carrots and an apple for lunch, and no dinner. I had half an omelet and 8 strips of bacon for breakfast on Sunday, another beef broth/sirloin for lunch and 6 oz. of pork, carrots, and celery for dinner last night.
I'm now at 155 lbs and feel pretty good, but my gut is still there. Although my pecks and gut have shrunk down a very little bit, I want to know if I'm on the right path to continue this.
Starting today, I'm monitoring my caloric intake. I'm not doing the anti-carb (Atkins) diet, but I am keeping an eye on unnecessary carbs as well. Basically my new diet consists of: Lots of veggies and fruit (mainly carrots, celery, broccoli, apples, and strawberries) with leaner cuts of meat. This weekend's diet was more of a mental experiment. For instance, today I've already eaten a 210 calorie Zone Diet Nutrition bar, 1/4 white chicken breast, 4oz fajita platter (just ate the beef and onions) w/ Pico salsa, and carrots as my afternoon snack. So far, that's 818 calories and 41g of carbs (most carbs from the zone bar). My dinner tonight is planned for 6-8 oz. of grilled chicken breast, carrots, and celery. Based on my prediction for the day, I will consume around 1,400-1,500 calories today. I will not be working out or doing aerobic today due to late meetings with people overseas.
Additional pertinent info. I go to the gym 2-3 times per week. I try and do 30 minutes of cardio on at least two of those visits (using a heavier resistance machine: http://ecybex.com/Products/displayproduct.aspx?id=600A ). I set it at a pretty high level of resistance. I'm pretty spent after 30 minutes on it. It's worth noting that I only began this in January. Prior I had no regular exposure to cardio, other than mountain bike riding 2-3 times per month (in spring and summer), basketball a few times a year, and 15 days of skiing; none of which resulted in sustained cardio like on this machine.
I also do various arms/shoulders weights on almost every visit in addition to the ab machines. Underneath my layer of gut fat, I can feel my ab definition very clearly; hence I'm even more excited about losing this fat. I feel that if I can kill this layer of fat, I'll have a flat and defined stomach.
Right now my primary goal is losing the gut. I don't have a weight target due to already being underweight. I have additional goals of bulking up, but I want to achieve my first goal before I put significant focus in that. I will have to change my diet some when I do that. In the meantime, I'm going to continue working out my arms, shoulders, and stomach.
Based on my research here and at other online sites, it appears that cutting the gut is going to be really based on diet and aerobic/cardio exercise. Bottom line, I need to consume fewer calories than I use in any given day. I estimate my previous caloric intake at around 3500 calories per day. Over the past six weeks or so I've slowly brought that down to 1500-2000 in a few different steps; my last step being the most drastic.
With my specific story now told, do any of you more seasoned individuals have any comments or advice? There's tons of contradictory information out there so I don't expect a miracle cure here, but I want to know if I'm on the right track or not.
Anyways, here's my story:
Growing up, I was always picked on for being too skinny. I have a small frame and am quite lanky. By time I was a freshman in high school I was 6'0" and about 118 lbs. I filled out a little in school and probably graduated high school at 122-125 lbs. As you can imagine, I was quite a track star. Without training, practice, or dedication I was the second fastest track runner in the 400m the first time I ran it. My first long jump ever was 15'9" and within a week I was jumping 17'10". I never put much heart into it, and only did track for two years, but this just shows the type of body I had. I actually got kicked off the track team my freshman year for not showing up for practice, despite I was the best freshman long jumper by over 18"'s. Not bad for a white boy of Russian ancestry. Anyways, that and basketball were the only benefits of my skin and bones body.
Sometime around freshman year I visited my general family doctor and discussed how I could gain weight. We decided to try and get me on a 4000-5000 calorie a day diet. That had no effect on me at all.
I remained that skinny through college and moved from Los Angeles to Texas when I was 20.5 years old and about 128-130 lbs. I worked for just over a year and blossomed to a then record high 133 lbs.
In July of 2002 I took a new job which changed my life style a bit. I worked later hours, was involved in a relatively social group, and traveled quite a bit. Perhaps the most damaging effect of this new position was that I began drinking beer. I had made it 8 months past my 21st birthday and had mainly avoided drinking, and when I did drink it was vodka based mixed drinks. However, after starting this new job I started drinking beer, and lots of it. We'd have 3-5 beers after work several times per week (2-3 times per week). I still have the same job although the afterhours’ drinking has been completely annihilated.
Within a year I porked up to 145-150, and over the next year or two I porked up to 170 (this weight was achieved and maintained through most of 2006). Although I still appeared skinny to my friends and family, I had developed quite a gut; not one that was visible under clothes but one that was visible without a shirt on. It's like a mini beer belly. I went from a size 30 to a size 34 waist throughout my 5 year Texas life. Although I put a little weight on around my face and neck, it appears most of my weight went into my belly (and a little into my pecks).
I've always worked out my arms in moderation. Thus, my arms don't have an ounce of fat on them and are decently toned given the effort I've put into them. My legs are in great shape due to extensive skiing and mountain bike riding. However, my gut is a different story. In high school I had a defined six pack (not perfect but defined enough). That has since turned into a single keg.
In December of 2006 I decided to be at least slightly conscious of my physique. After extremely minimal research, I decided I could cut out candy (which I ate large amounts of) and switch from Soda to Diet Soda. I lost about 5 lbs in one month and sat at 165 lbs for the majority of Jan and Feb with no substantial appearance difference.
Prior to this stint, I never cared at all what I ate. I ate tons of fast food, tons of french fries, lots of soda, lots of candy, and only minor amounts of veggies. I've always ate a lot of fruit, but not for dietary reasons, only because I liked the taste. I cooked using a lot of butters and oils, ate Ribeye as my choice steak, etc.
Over the past month I decided to cut carbs. For the most part I've given up potatoes and fries (and other similar items). I've tried to eat with a little more moderation as well. Since then I've actually started looking at calories and carbs, with this past weekend being the most significant mental accomplishment of this diet.
I ate romaine lettuce, spinach, carrots, celery, and an apple for dinner on Friday night. Beef broth and sliced sirloin (maybe 4-6 oz. of meat) for lunch (Vietnamese Pho Noodle Bowl w/o the noodles), carrots and an apple for lunch, and no dinner. I had half an omelet and 8 strips of bacon for breakfast on Sunday, another beef broth/sirloin for lunch and 6 oz. of pork, carrots, and celery for dinner last night.
I'm now at 155 lbs and feel pretty good, but my gut is still there. Although my pecks and gut have shrunk down a very little bit, I want to know if I'm on the right path to continue this.
Starting today, I'm monitoring my caloric intake. I'm not doing the anti-carb (Atkins) diet, but I am keeping an eye on unnecessary carbs as well. Basically my new diet consists of: Lots of veggies and fruit (mainly carrots, celery, broccoli, apples, and strawberries) with leaner cuts of meat. This weekend's diet was more of a mental experiment. For instance, today I've already eaten a 210 calorie Zone Diet Nutrition bar, 1/4 white chicken breast, 4oz fajita platter (just ate the beef and onions) w/ Pico salsa, and carrots as my afternoon snack. So far, that's 818 calories and 41g of carbs (most carbs from the zone bar). My dinner tonight is planned for 6-8 oz. of grilled chicken breast, carrots, and celery. Based on my prediction for the day, I will consume around 1,400-1,500 calories today. I will not be working out or doing aerobic today due to late meetings with people overseas.
Additional pertinent info. I go to the gym 2-3 times per week. I try and do 30 minutes of cardio on at least two of those visits (using a heavier resistance machine: http://ecybex.com/Products/displayproduct.aspx?id=600A ). I set it at a pretty high level of resistance. I'm pretty spent after 30 minutes on it. It's worth noting that I only began this in January. Prior I had no regular exposure to cardio, other than mountain bike riding 2-3 times per month (in spring and summer), basketball a few times a year, and 15 days of skiing; none of which resulted in sustained cardio like on this machine.
I also do various arms/shoulders weights on almost every visit in addition to the ab machines. Underneath my layer of gut fat, I can feel my ab definition very clearly; hence I'm even more excited about losing this fat. I feel that if I can kill this layer of fat, I'll have a flat and defined stomach.
Right now my primary goal is losing the gut. I don't have a weight target due to already being underweight. I have additional goals of bulking up, but I want to achieve my first goal before I put significant focus in that. I will have to change my diet some when I do that. In the meantime, I'm going to continue working out my arms, shoulders, and stomach.
Based on my research here and at other online sites, it appears that cutting the gut is going to be really based on diet and aerobic/cardio exercise. Bottom line, I need to consume fewer calories than I use in any given day. I estimate my previous caloric intake at around 3500 calories per day. Over the past six weeks or so I've slowly brought that down to 1500-2000 in a few different steps; my last step being the most drastic.
With my specific story now told, do any of you more seasoned individuals have any comments or advice? There's tons of contradictory information out there so I don't expect a miracle cure here, but I want to know if I'm on the right track or not.