I'm fed up with my body. I've been working out for about 5-6 months now and have seen gains in my arms, shoulders, and legs, but my biggest concerns are for my abs and pecs. I have manboobs, and unless I have a hard abbed stomach I'm pissed. This is rediculous, I've been working out for half a year and I still have manboobs. I really want to get rid of them. I'm ready to start taking fat loss supplements or steroids, I really dont care anymore. Whatever it takes.

Age:19
Weight:165
Height:5'10"

What do your workouts and diet look like? Have you been losing weight over the past 6 months?

What do your workouts and diet look like? Have you been losing weight over the past 6 months?

I've been bulking, but my pecs have gained no muscle whatsoever. I really want to get rid of them.

my diet is pretty good, I dont count my intake, but I dont eat things like popcorn and pizza and chips. I eat pretty healthy. I just dont know how much calories and carbs I'm taking in. Protein wise, I do good, I take supplements.

I've been bulking, but my pecs have gained no muscle whatsoever. I really want to get rid of them.

my diet is pretty good, I dont count my intake, but I dont eat things like popcorn and pizza and chips. I eat pretty healthy. I just dont know how much calories and carbs I'm taking in. Protein wise, I do good, I take supplements.
Well, if you want to lose that chest fat, you'll have to lose the fat everywhere. Eat at a caloric deficit, keep up the weight training, and you'll see results. You don't have to monitor calories or macros specifically, but it will make the process go by faster and more effectively. :)

you posted so we'll assume that you want an honest response so dont be offended when you get one.

what you are wanting, a hard abbed stomach, does not come easily, even if you are 5'10 165. youve got man boobs so you obviously have a relatively high body fat for being 165lbs. you are going to have to be more diciplined when it comes to your diet. you were asked what it looked like. we need this info to help. generalizations about you diet dont tell the experts here(no im not one) what exactly youre doing wrong so they can help you efficiently.

there is another post in the media forum called upper abdominals i believe that you can get some good info from. that which you seek is the holy grail of fitness. its a lot, excuse me, a LOT of hard work to achieve and even harder to maintain. it requires dedication and a strong commitment to get there. you can do it, and given your age and stats it should be easier for you than most, but its going to suck.

as to the statements about the steroids, thats just an insult to most of us here. we work very hard to get where we are and where we want to be. if your committed to your goal the guys here will be committed to helping you reach it. if its half hearted so will be your return from us.

As the expression goes around here, Abs are made in the kitchen, not at the gym.

Chatter about steriods is a no-no. :nope:

If you want results, you're going to have to do what everybody else does around here. Watch what you eat, workout hard, drink lots of water and rest.

I've been bulking, but my pecs have gained no muscle whatsoever. I really want to get rid of them.


To stop bulking would be a good first step if your real priority is to lose fat. You need to spend more calories than you eat to lose it, and by definition, bulking is the other way around.

I am a complete newbi to the whole weight lifting and fitness thing. I weighed 275 pounds last May 20th when I started all this. I had a serious pair of moobs my friend.
I now weigh 160 pounds and my moobs are gone. Like you I want a six pack but I am pretty honest with myself and I know I may never have six pack abs. I am 39 and I was fat for pretty much my whole life until the age of 38. I will just be happy when I get rid of the jiggly fat on my gut area. It takes time. I still don't know what I am doing but, what I am doing seems to be working, but slowly. This fat isn't going to vanish overnight no matter how much I want it to.

I intake about 1600 to 1800 calories a day and I burn way more than that. That is the only secret to weight loss that I have found. Intake fewer calories than you burn. The bigger the deficit the greater the weight loss.

I asked some questions when I first joined and I got a lot of the same replys. You need to loose fat all over to loose the fat on the torso. It is that last fat to be burned up. That is the way the human body works guy.

Don't go doing anything dumb like 'roids. That is just going to damage you.

Keep your chin up and start counting your calories. It makes a big difference.

I have started to cut about 2-3 weeks ago. I eat the best I can. I'm gonna try working out my abs twice a week now.

should I take a supplement like hydroxycut?

Look, diet is numero uno. Sure, all the sit ups and ab work will make your abs stronger, but until you shed the fat with a good diet, your abs will not show, and bigger ab muscles will just push the fat outward making your midsection appear fatter. Post an example of your diet on here, people will help you.

As for hydroxycut and other "fat burners", they worthless for all practical purposes unless your diet is in check.

ok first of all I would just like to apologize for the roids comment. I would never take them. I'm just really frustrated because of what someone said to me.

Diet Plan:

I really dont have a diet plan, so I'll just set my rules

1. I only drink water (except when I use milk (as a carbohydrate) in my protein drinks
2. I dont eat fattening foods like pizza and chips
3. I eat as mmuch chicken as I can and meats

I try to get about 180g of protein and 180g of carbs. Calories wise, I have no idea what I'm getting or what I should get.

Ok, first you need to determine the amount of calories your body requires to maintain your current weight. You want to create a deficit of about 400-500 below your maintenance to lose about 1-2lbs per week. You could do less of a deficit, depending on how fast you want to lose the fat and how much muscle you are looking to retain.

I went ahead and calculated your BMR, and your maintenance calories based on your avitivty level (Note, these calculations are not exact and can differ on a person to person basis, but it is a good starting place) At your age, height, weight, and having moderate activity 3-5 days per week of working out. Your maintenance is about 2800 calories a day. Like I said before these calcs are NOT exact, your maintenance maybe more or less depending on how much activity you actually have and your body. But its a start.

I would suggest you eat 5-6 meals per day. You need to make sure your getting good fats in your diet and not only eating Proein and Carbs. Almonds, Natural PB, Fish Oil Caps, Flax Seed, Olive Oil, etc. Are all good sources of healthy fats. Try to get yoru carbs sources from good carbs, like brown rice, oats, sweet potatoes, 100% whole wheat bread, etc.. Look to the stickies for more information about Fats, proteins, and carbs becuz it will take me forever to think of all the possible foods that are good to eat.

Also, your body will adapt to your diet after awhile, so once you feel like your body is begging to platuea, you will have to adjust your calories accordingly.

As far as roids go, they will build muscle, but they aren't the magic potion to get lean and ripped that people seem to think they are.

Doer.....got any HIIT going on in your weekly workout?

Also try drinking some Green Tea on a regular basis. If you don't like the taste sweeten it with Stevia.

165lb. for a 5'10" guy doesn't sound like much fat....??!!??....

You need to post your workout routine....and....tell us what you eat (on average) on a daily basis. Never mind the calorie count...just post what you eat and how much of it.

Also, do you drink? (Beer that is...or any other alcohol product).

Are you an Ectomorph basically? In other words , what have been your mean bodyweights in times gone by especially when you were a non-lifter?

I assume you have read the stickies. If not, that's the first place to start (marcus' nutrition sticky (http://forums.johnstonefitness.com/showthread.php?t=1222) and gravityhomer's fat loss sticky (http://forums.johnstonefitness.com/showthread.php?t=19229) in particular). It's a lot of information to digest but it's important to understand how and why (at least in a general sense) everything works. I think you'll find most of the JSF veterans are willing to meet you half-way on developing plans; you're going to get some fantastic help as long as you demonstrate a willingness to learn.

On that note, it would be best to give some specifics on your current nutrition and workout plans. You said you don't keep track of calories, so think about what you eat on an average day, meal by meal, and list it out. Ditto with your workouts. Generalized rules are fine to have, but you're going to get more valuable help if you can be specific with what you're doing on a day-to-day basis. The devil is often in the details.

It's already been said at least twice in this thread alone, but abs are built in the kitchen, not the gym. You need to get your nutrition spot-on to get a low body fat %, otherwise your abs, no matter how developed they are, will never be visible because they'll be hidden under a layer of fat.

At this point I should mention that the most important thing is to find what works for you. Karatetricker follows what many would consider an unorthodox plan, yet he has seen some amazing results. Take a look at his Waterbury Summer Project journal (http://forums.johnstonefitness.com/showthread.php?t=27056) linked in his sig. His nutrition during WSP wasn't 100% clean, and he doesn't use supplements, but just take a look at his results. He has found what works for him. Eventually, with experience, you will learn what works for you and you can make adjustments accordingly.

For now, getting a critique from the experts would be a good place to start...

Also, it sounds like you received some negative comments on your fitness progress from someone in your life (at least that's how I read it). If so, the best way of dealing with it is to let the comments slide right off. Smile, nod, thank them for their concern, and go back to your program. Don't allow someone else's negativity to infect your positive attitude towards life/fitness.

:gl:

Thanks for all the replies guys.

Specific diet:

Morning:(7)Protein drink (high carb)
Afternoon: (12-2)Normally like a chicken lunch or steak lunch
HOme from work:(about 5) High carb protein drink before I work out)
After workout:(about 7) Low carb whey protein drink
Night: High carb protein drink

WOW, I cant belive this. I hardly eat, I take so many protein drinks I'm not even hungry during the day.

Get rid of most of the shakes and start feeding yourself some real food.

http://forums.johnstonefitness.com/showthread.php?t=1222

It's okay to have a shake before you workout, and have one post workout as your body will need it.

For starters get rid of the "high carb" protein drink at night and drink it post workout at 7 'oclock.

Do not drink a high -carb shake before you work out. Drink a shake with no carbs in it before workout.

At night eat some low fat cottage cheese. Do not put carbs in it.

In the morning eat things like eggwhites with carbs like oatmeal etc.

Frontload your grain and sweet carbs during the first half of the day and switch to wet carbs like fruit and veg during the second half (along with your protein.

Do not eat any carb other than veggies 3 hours before bed.

At night, 90 minutes after you fall asleep, Growth Hormone is released.

Carbs interfere with the GH process.

Get rid of the protein drink in the morning and have some real food instead.

Or at least have some real food with your protein drink. In the morning, eliminate the fast carbs from your protein drink and change to food with basically complex carbs. If you are going to "carb cheat" and go sweet/simple, it is better to do it at this time of day than at night.

Carbs are one of the best things on the planet for a bodybuilder.

However, in your case you are using the wrong type of carb at the wrong time.

Don't bother with roids. This isn't a roid thing....it's a diet thing.

You are going to have to put a little variety in your diet..:)

Whey shakes will only get you so far.

Real food is really important..Add eggs, fish and lean meat to the mix.

Take your multi with your biggest meal of the day.

Do not use your multi as a crutch for bad nutrition.

Eat more salads and fruit.

Your diet, based on info you gave, is atrociously sub-par..:(

so should I still take fat burners? I want to do this as fast as possible.

so should I still take fat burners? I want to do this as fast as possible.

Take Heavy metals advice with the diet, do'nt waste your money on fat burners, use the money on Food instead, if you get the diet right, and i mean right then you will start to loose the fat and also feel a lot healthier with it.

It is not a race in a life style change, make the change the rewards are huge believe me.

For the record, roids are more likely to cause manboobs, not get rid of them. :D

Also, part of the problem is that all those shakes is that unlike food your body burns almost no energy digesting them.

I'm pulling these #s out of my ass, but 1000 calories in shakes is probably equivalent to 1400-1500 worth of "real food".

T