I'm not sure if I should gain weight or lose it

[srw0701]

Hey everyone, I could use a bit of help here. I've been looking for information but it seems impossible to find a good reliable source, as everyone seems to have a different situation and everyone has different advice for each situation.

To start, I didn't play sports in high school, and actually put on a few pounds around the 10th grade. I think at the time I was about 5'9 and 180 pounds. Right after senior year, I grew to 6'0, where I've stayed and seemed to lose some weight. current weight is now about 160 pounds. (I've weighed myself throughout different parts of the day. At most, I weighed around 162, at the least 154. But it's usually closest to 160.)

Anyway, I'm 20 now, and I want to get in better shape. I'm a slender guy, everyone says I'm skinny, but I still have more fat than I'd like to have (at least the way it sits on body.) I figure I have to have at least 12 percent, as I can't see abs. (The veins is forearms are clearly visible though. I don't really know how to tell. Online measuring tests have given me results from 6 percent to 22 percent? What? When I flex stomach I can start to make out the top few abs, but that's about it.) Anyway, I hate the stomach fat and want to lose it. However, I'm also kind of disgusted with how small shoulder area is. target weight is 170 pounds, I'd like to get there with about 10 percent of body fat or less too.

I can't tell for sure if body type is thin or medium framed, but I'd guess thin. (I've tried wrapping hand around wrist to tell. thumb overlaps finger, but only by about half a fingernail's length.) Basically, I want to be in good physical condition, and I feel 170 pounds with 10 percent body fat is where I should be. I was trying to build muscle for a couple of months (I never gained nor lost weight, but I did tone a bit.) This past week, I decided maybe I should burn the fat first and then bulk up, so I've been running 3 miles everyone morning and eating less. However, I figure before I completely change strategy to achieve fitness, I should consult with some people who know more about it than I do.

As far as diet, I haven't really been keeping track of calories and all that. I've just been eating the best I can. Everyone morning I have a small bowl of multigrain cheerios with 2% milk, and a small bowl of yogurt. For lunch I usually have a piece of meat (like veal or something. I eat healthier meats like chicken and fish when I can), fruit (banana or grapes), a can of vegetables, and water. I only drink water (and milk with cereal and protein shakes). I haven't had any pop in over two years, I don't drink juice or anything with sugar. Dinner's usually about the same, but I tend to eat more meat then. For snacks I eat fruit or pretzels.

I don't have a gym membership or access to weights. I've been taking protein shakes (get the powder from walmart), and doing pullups, chin ups, situps, and varied pushups (lifted, weighted with a backpack.. just started trying to get strong enough to do hand-stand pushups.) So basically, I don't know if I should focus on gaining weight right now, or focus on cutting body fat and worry about building muscle later. Putting on weight appeals to me more, as I'm hungry all the time and love to eat lol. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Just not sure if I should be lifting/eating more or running/eating less, or maybe doing some kind of combination?

[Boss Man]

Here's a basic diet plan that should help you.

Breakfast

Option 1.

Bowl of Whole-grain Cereal + grilled Bacon and scrambled Eggs, (Fat trimmed off the Bacon, 2 Egg Whites + Yolk)

Option 2.

Protain shake, small portion of Nuts, (excluding higher carb ones like Cashews, Chestnuts and Grapenuts), + Apple. Give the Apple 10-15 minutes to digest to improve digestion.


Snack

Option 1.

Portion of Turkey + Orange

Option 2.

Small Portion of Peanuts, some Chicken + Raw Carrott.


Lunch

Option 1.

Large Beef Sandwich with trimmings, I.E. Tomato, Lettuce, Cucumber etc.

Option 2.

Bowl of Chicken Soup, + Pot of yoghurt.


Snack

Option 1.

Turkey + Cashews

Option 2.

Ham + 2 large Tomatos


Dinner

Option 1.

Pork with Peas + mashed Potato.

Option 2.

Chicken and Mushroom with Rice

Option 3.

100g Halibut + Broccoli


Snack

Option 1.

Beans on Toast

Option 2.

Ham Sandwich, no trimmings.

Easy on the bread with both options.

You should be aiming for around 2,500 calories initially, but could increase a bit at a later stage.

You could add a few things to certain meals, like Sea Salt, Cracked Black Pepper. Parsley, Mustard, Herbs, Garlic.

As for the training you could do a schedule something like this.

Day 1. Weights

Day 2. Cardio

Day 3. Weights

Day 4. Day off

Day 5. Cardio

Day 6. Weights

Day 7. Day off.

Cardio days you're looking at interval training for 30 minutes a time or maybe something like Sprints or HIIT.

For weights you can then do a TBT where you're hitting every muscle group 2x with 8-10 repetitions per set. Usual things like Squats, Deadlifts, Chins etc etc, but a Gym instructor should be able to sort that out for you.

Hopefully that all makes sense.

[scottgaran]

Hey Steve, 6' 160 seems a little thin, but I must admit i am a meathead and love lifting weights. One thing I would suggest hitting the weights and building muscle, especially while you are young. Your body is primed right now for adding muscle and I would take advantage of it. As you grow, assuming you are keeping your body fat levels in check, the extra muscle will give you an illusion of tighter abs, because your shoulders will be bigger.

As Boss said, keep it simple with a 3 day total body workout. I would suggest bench, pull ups/pulldowns, lateral raises, rear delts, squats, bi's tri's and abs. This will hit everything. I like the 10-12 range for beginners, but try Boss' 8-10 as well. Your body will let you know what is right.

Good luck
Scott