Some Advice would be Awesome :)

Hi there,

I am 17 and I have decided I need to completely change my lifestyle. I sat down the other day and had a good think about how I treat my body and how bad I have been about it. I am quite a fit person; I have trained in a martial art for 9 years and I train 5 times a week. I also go to the gym 2 - 3 times a week, I love cardio. I am a vegetarian, because I care about animals not for weight loss reasons. However, I just don't feel like I am doing it right.

My family eats a lot of junk but luckily I my mum has just come back from visiting my very healthy cousin and has decided to go organic. I am a very confident person but I have major insecurities about my body. I have suffered from Bulimia and EDNOS in the past, but I am 100% over that and I never want to go back there again.

At the gym, I either run at 10kmph for 15 minutes or interval train on the bike for 10 minutes and then walk on a high incline. I usually do the leg press (70 kg) and then do 30 sit ups.

My diet is a little wacked and I would really appreciate some advice on what I should eat.

Once again, I am chubby (71kg 175cm) and I find myself hating my body. I feel like I am not quite doing what I need to do. Does anyone have any advice on what I should do at the gym? Or what I should eat?

Thank you so much.
Sorry if I sound whingy, I don't mean to be.

Not whiney (:

Can you post a typical day of you diet, with what you eat and at what times? There are plenty of veggies here, and you can definitely be a vegetarian and get everything you need!

Do you only do the run, abs and leg press at the gym, or other exercises as well?

Firstly. No apologies necessary. It would be rude to accept so I won't .

Also, WEL DONE on conquoring your problems. I can appeciate it's not easy to come back from such issues, but I am certain you have changed your emotional and mental attitude as stated, and can make this stick.

Whatever Les asked, it's preferable to admit, so we can help you progress, but in the mean time, welcome and good luck .

Ah, ok, now worries, thank you so much for your help.

Well food wise:

7am: Breakfast - Oats with lite soy milk
11am: Morning Tea - Sultanas and Sesame Snaps
1pm: Lunch - Minestrone Soup
4pm: Afternoon Tea - Chocolate soy milk, Choc chip muesli bar, k-time twist, honey toast (this is my weak time)
8.30 pm: Dinner - Pasta OR Fake Meat with veggies OR Tofu stir fry

I know I eat dinner kind of late, but I start training (MA) at 5 and it goes till 8, so I can't really find a way around it.

At the gym I usually:

Stationary Bike: interval train for 10 minutes going back and forth between an RPM over 100 and 80, changing the resistance from 8 to 10 (that means nothing, I know, sorry)

Isometric Squat: For 1 minute, starting the second I get off the bike

Treadmill: Run for 15 minutes at 10kmph

Leg Press: Reps of 15 x3

Abs: Just the machine thingy, I don't really use it properly, and just basic crunches and lifts.

Then I stretch out and bail, haha.

I hope that makes things a bit clearer, my food plan is what I would eat on an average day, but I have bad days every now and then. I need to learn some serious self-control.

Thank you!

What kind of marial arts do you do?
How many calories do you intake daily? (it seems like you eat so little and you seem to be very active)
Also... Try to have wheat pasta as it's less starchy...

It seems like you should be working your entire body, chest, back etc, and not just your legs and abs. Have you tried anything like a full body routine before?

Haha, I have tried to do some full body work, but my arms are so weak! They don't work and it is embarrassing. My back and chest are fairly strong already, but that is just from the martial arts. I have also completely destroyed my shoulder, and it is out of action at the moment so that makes upper body work really difficult.

I do Tang Soo Tao, it is an australian martial art but it has a chinese/korean root. It's a high intensity martial art, that's for sure.

I eat whole-grain pasta, is that what you are talking about or it is something else? I think I am getting enough calories, and even if I am not, I eat A LOT in the afternoons. It is all muesli bars and that sort of thing too, so I should be getting quite a few from there.

What kind of supplements or recovery strategy are you on at the moment, for the shoulder?

I would suggest Hyaluronic Acid, light weights if possible to stem atrophy, and mild stretching exercises, coupled with the RICE method, Rest, Ice, (3-4 times, 10-15 minutes daily), Compession and Elevation.

Not sure if this is similar or different to your protocol though.

Also perhaps consider increasing Apple, Onion and Pepper consumption and maybe Pineapple too. The Quercetin in the first three and Bromelain in the Pineapple, can have anti-inflammatory properties, so perhaps consider those.