This is my first post on this site, how exciting!

First off, a little about me:

19 years of age, male, i live in Canada, currently in college, 5 feet 7 inches tall, and 156 pounds. A little over a month ago a was like 167 pounds, and that was when i decided to lose some weight / tone up. Since then, i've completely changed my eating habits, and have been attending the gym with friends on average 4 times a week.

Back then, i use to eat absolutely anything i wanted with no regard for my health, or nutritional value of the foods i was consuming, i just ate whatever i liked. This of course, consisted of fast food places almost everyday for lunch ( like Mcdonalds, or some pizzaria) and some more junk for supper. Then it just hit me, i didn't like the way my body composition was, and how out of shape i was.
This was when i decided that things had to change. Since then, i am proud to say that i have not ate at any bad fast food place i use to go to frequently, have not been eating frozen foods, and have been working out.

After 32 days of dieting, and attending the gym, i have dropped about 11 pounds and see a very noticable difference in my physique. I use to be able to feel the fat all over my stomach, now, i still feel some fat obviously, but ALOT less, and it shows as well.

Now, although i'm happy with my success so far, i would like to know if what i am eating is good, or if there are any things i should be changing. Since i started dieting, i've already switched things up. For instance, in the beginning, i use to eat these supposedly healthy cereal, but later found out that cereals generally have alot of sugar in them, and sugar is no good... so i cut that out... and also the milk, i don't think that was beneficial. And the other change that i made was that i use to eat alot more bread, ( like i use to make myself turkey sandwiches, but now, for lunch, i'll just have turkey with no bread). I do that because i was told that bread had alot of carbs, and its no good, so i cut that out ( but i still eat it sometimes just not as much.... The bread i was eating was brown bread, but was told that was still no good... so i reduced my consumption of it). Other than that, i haven't changed much. I'll now list what a normal day consists, and i'd appreciate some feedback.

For breakfast, i'll have like 4-5 egg whites. Or sometimes i'll have a fruit like a banana or tangerine. Between breakfast and lunch ( 7AM to 11AM) i'll generally have like 4-7 fruits ( tangerines and bananas most likely). I've also heard that fruits contain sugar, and i eat alot of fruits a day, so i am worried that i might be consuming too many fruits.. what do you guys think? In on day i'll probably consume like 8-13 fruits throughout the day, is that too much?

Since i go to college, my choices are very limited for lunch. Sometimes i just pack some turkey slices and eat those ( like 4 or 5 slices).. 2 slices contain 60 calories with 13g of protein, and 0g of fat. I think those slices are awsome no? I'll also have some more throughout the day, like when i get home and at night. Generally, i'll consume around 6-12 of those slices a day. When i don't have that for lunch, i'll usually eat at Subway.... i've heard its a good choice.. but is it really?

At Subway i'll have a 12 inch, brown bread, grilled chicken sandwich with swiss cheese and lettuce. No sause. And i'll have some water with that. I consume like 2L of water a day because i continuously read that drinking water is good. I drink nothing else.

Oh, and sometimes i'll have the Tim Hortans chicken salad sanwich for lunch. Is that good, or should i be avoiding this?

Between lunch and supper i'll have some turkey slices, some fruits, and sometimes canned turkey. It's almost the same as turkey slices except a can of turkey has like 1.5g of saturated fat, but like 65g of protein. Is this alright?

For supper, i'll have chicken ( mom makes it), sometimes i go to Subway to eat like i did tonight,sometimes i'll have fish that she makes, or sometimes i'll just have more turkey when she makes something i know i should not be eating like pasta, or pizza.

I also try to eat alot of vegetables for supper seeing as i know that i don't eat enough of those, i just really dislike vegetables. I really wish i didn't. And after supper.... i don't have much.. maybe a fruit or two with some more turkey slices... And that's an average day of consumption for me.

Do you guys see anything wrong with this diet?

My goal in all of this is to tone up, mainly get abs ( 6 pack.. lol like almost every other guy on this planet), and tone up my arms and stuff. I know to get abs i need to lose the belly if i have one, or the fat around my stomach, but to be honest.. i really don't know if i have a belly... my stomach sticks outwards abit, but its not like a beer belly. But i still do cardio in case i need to get rid of that.


My workouts consist of 20 min cardio on the treadmill after every workout, and during this time, i usually burn like 180 calories.

My workouts consist of working my Biceps/Chest one day, Triceps/Back another, Legs/Shoulder another day, and the other day or two that i go at the gym... i just pick something to do and i do it. Also, everytime i go to the gym i do the ab workouts. I have a friend who's been attending the gym for like 9 months now and is absolutely ripped. That's how i want to become. So he showed me all the machines, how to use them, and what to do etc. He basically gave me the workout, and i think its good.

However, if you guys see anything wrong with my diet and/or workout PLEASE tell me. I'd like to achieve my goals ( tone up, maybe lose belly if i have one, lose some body fat percentage etc etc), and i'd like to know if i am on the right path to achievieing these goals.

Almost forgot, i would really want to know what my Body Fat percentage is, is there any store where i could buy a device that would tell me how much Body Fat percentage i have? i really need to know this.

Thanks in advance guys, and sorry for the long thread. Jesus, i didn't expect to write so much.

Edit: i just remember, i've heard alot about supplements like protein shakes. Should i be taking those? would they help me?
Thanks again.

1. Congratulations on the 11 pounds..its good that you've changed to a healthier lifestyle.

2. While fruits are not generally good on a cut, do not cut them out, as they are very good for you. The idea that eating fruit is going to make you fat is stupid. Just be conscious of how many you're eating (which seems to be a lot right now. Switch some fruits with veggies, take a multivitamin, and have 1 or 2 pieces of fruit a day.

3. I eat whole wheat bread as my primary source of carbs. It is perfectly fine to eat, as long as you do not eat above your scheduled amount of carbs for the day. Wheat bread has a low GI, which means it takes longer to be absorbed, aka less likely to turn into fat.

4. I'd recommend cutting the cheese out of the Subway sandwich, and you could add a sauce that doesn't carry any calories to make it better. Also, if I am correct, doesn't chicken salad have mayonnaise in it? Better off without that..

5. That's a lot of turkey, I wonder if you get tired during the day from the tryptophan in it? Turkey is fine to eat. Just make sure you eat your bodyweight in protein (so that'd be roughly 156 g a day).

6. Weight training sounds fine, although it's not very specific. Legs and shoulders on one day is a lot to tackle. I have a specific day for legs and one for shoulders and biceps. Make sure you stick to compound movements first (like squats, bench press, dips, pullups, deadlifts, etc), and then supplement with isolation exercises such as bicep curls.

7. I can't really tell with your height and weight, but it sounds like you may need to pack on some muscle, otherwise you'll keep losing weight and be "skinny fat" - where you are at a fine weight, but have little lean muscle underneath to show (ala, your 6 pack).

Could you post some pictures?

Here's a useful site for calculating bodyfat %, its within 2% correct. But, I wouldn't worry about it.

http://www.healthcentral.com/cholesterol/home-body-fat-test-2774-143.html

Good luck! :tucool:
Brian

1. Congratulations on the 11 pounds..its good that you've changed to a healthier lifestyle.

2. While fruits are not generally good on a cut, do not cut them out, as they are very good for you. The idea that eating fruit is going to make you fat is stupid. Just be conscious of how many you're eating (which seems to be a lot right now. Switch some fruits with veggies, take a multivitamin, and have 1 or 2 pieces of fruit a day.

3. I eat whole wheat bread as my primary source of carbs. It is perfectly fine to eat, as long as you do not eat above your scheduled amount of carbs for the day. Wheat bread has a low GI, which means it takes longer to be absorbed, aka less likely to turn into fat.

4. I'd recommend cutting the cheese out of the Subway sandwich, and you could add a sauce that doesn't carry any calories to make it better. Also, if I am correct, doesn't chicken salad have mayonnaise in it? Better off without that..

5. That's a lot of turkey, I wonder if you get tired during the day from the tryptophan in it? Turkey is fine to eat. Just make sure you eat your bodyweight in protein (so that'd be roughly 156 g a day).

6. Weight training sounds fine, although it's not very specific. Legs and shoulders on one day is a lot to tackle. I have a specific day for legs and one for shoulders and biceps. Make sure you stick to compound movements first (like squats, bench press, dips, pullups, deadlifts, etc), and then supplement with isolation exercises such as bicep curls.

7. I can't really tell with your height and weight, but it sounds like you may need to pack on some muscle, otherwise you'll keep losing weight and be "skinny fat" - where you are at a fine weight, but have little lean muscle underneath to show (ala, your 6 pack).

Could you post some pictures?

Here's a useful site for calculating bodyfat %, its within 2% correct. But, I wouldn't worry about it.

http://www.healthcentral.com/cholesterol/home-body-fat-test-2774-143.html

Good luck! :tucool:
Brian


5. I guess i do feel tired sometimes throughout the day, didn't think it was because of the turkey. I'll keep that in mind thanks.

6. Damn. I've been doing a mixture of both, ( compound and isolation exercises). So are you saying that i should only be doing compound exercises from here on out?

When will i be able to add in some isolation exercises?

Thanks alot.

I guess i could post a picture. I've never posted a picture online so am not really familiar with it, but i'll figure it out.

First off nice weight loss!

Diet is pretty simple and don't over think it or it can frustrate you. Eat as many in the raw items as you can. Sometimes that will be difficult depending on how much time you have to prepare meals. Stick with the Meat, Veggie, Fruit, and Fat train of thought. When shopping if it takes you more than 1-2 seconds to understand what it is you are picking up and putting into your car, don't do it. This means that you are not sticking with the essentials foods and chances are it will have "junk" in it instead of nutritional items.

What are your diet macros>? Have you tried www.fitday.com to (http://www.fitday.com to) log your foods?

Figure out how many calories you want/need to eat per day and then find a macro you want to try.

Macro= (example) 60/20/20 means 60 % of your diet will be carbs, 20 % would be protein, 20 % would be fat out of the daily calorie count you choose.


Drinking water? I have great success on superhydration. Might be worth checking into if you want to try it.





Just some of my 2 cents. :whistle:

6. Damn. I've been doing a mixture of both, ( compound and isolation exercises). So are you saying that i should only be doing compound exercises from here on out?

When will i be able to add in some isolation exercises?


No, keep up what you are doing. I am saying, focusing on compound exercises is your best bet, because you work more than just one muscle group. But isolation exercises have their place, too. You're best bet is to do a mixture of both, buth focus mostly on compound.