I need a game plan

I would like to tell a little about myself and what I have been doing and maybe a few kind members here can help me come up with a work out program.

I am 5'11" and weigh 197. When I started running I was @ 225. You can see a pic here if you wish.

http://shapefit.com/forum/viewtopic.php ... highlight=

I wish to get to 180, get my arms a little bigger and a lot more toned and defined, and flatten my chest.

Right now, I want to concentrate on arms, chest and back. I'm not really worried about my legs right now. For now, I think all the running is enough for them. Right or wrong? Maybe forearms some also.

Anyway, I have been running and eating a lot less and a lot better. I run 4 or 5 days a week. I run between 4 1/2 and 6 miles each time. I run at around 7 mph or a little faster. I can run 4 miles and then stop and catch my breath for a few minutes @ 3 mph and run more.

This is my times so far:

1 mile @ 7:07
2 mile @ 15:08
3 mile @ 25:00
4 mile @ 32:34
5 mile @ 44:01
6 mile @ 57:46

Should I just keep running the way I have been? I think I can get an exercise bike and use that also. Should I change it up with that also?

I just got myself a weight bench with a lat pull and a preacher pad. Got dumb bell bars, bench press bar, and an ez-curl bar.

I should be able to lift at least two days a week, maybe three some weeks. What I need to know is what would a good lifting program to start with. Before I got the bench and weights I was doing push ups and had a 25 pound dumb bell and was doing sets of push up and sets of different curls once a week.

What lifting exercises would be good for each body part? How many reps? One thing I think I need to work on is my middle chest. I got baby man boobs. Would working on the middle chest make those go away?

This is my eating habits since I have changed. I work nightshift by the way.

I wake up around 3 pm and start running about 3:30pm. I eat about six. I pretty much eat chicken, steak, or fish with veggies. No bread anymore.(boy I miss bread) I do eat other things sometimes as well. I am not too strict with this meal. I just don't eat near as much as I used to and no bread, unless I eat something with a bun.

At work, I eat a turkey sandwich with mustard lettuce, no cheese, on that 35 calorie bread, a pickle or two, (kosher dills) an apple or banana or sometimes both. On the way home I eat another apple or banana. Sometimes I eat a bowl of cereal instead when I get home with skim milk. Cherrioes, corn flakes, or crispex. I use some splenda sweetener instead of sugar.

I have one cheat day on the weekend and eat a little more and have something sweet. Cake, brownie, cookies, pie, etc. When I say I eat a little more I don't mean I have a big breakfast or anything like that. I may have a little more for lunch or bread with dinner or we may go out and eat somewhere. No fast food.

Anyway, sorry for the long, long post. I just sorta feel lost and would like a workout plan, maybe some better meal plans, and any other advice anyone may have.


I forgot to mention that I take a B12 complex vitamin each day.

Anyone have any suggestions for me?

I'm going to let some of the more seasoned members take care of your workout plan but the advice I've gotten regarding diet is based around these points:

1. Protein with every meal (solid protein)
2. Every meal except breakfast should have some sort of vegetable involved (not including corn)
3. Eat sweet potatoes instead of regular baked potatoes
4. If you're going to give yourself a "treat" (you're not cheating if you're living a new lifestyle) do it for one meal a week. Pick a day that is going to be a little more relaxed for you and "treat" yourself to something sweet!
5. Give your fruit 15 whole minutes to digest by itself before you eat anything else.

You gave some pretty good details in your post as far as what you eat but can you lay it out specifically at what times you eat and what you eat for your small meals in between the sandwich and meat breakfast? According to your post it looks like the only thing you eat is a meal when you wake up (too late - should be within the first hour of waking) of meat and veggies and then a sandwich at work with 2 pieces of fruit and then a bowl of cereal when you get home?

I'm going to let some of the more seasoned members take care of your workout plan but the advice I've gotten regarding diet is based around these points:

1. Protein with every meal (solid protein)
2. Every meal except breakfast should have some sort of vegetable involved (not including corn)
3. Eat sweet potatoes instead of regular baked potatoes
4. If you're going to give yourself a "treat" (you're not cheating if you're living a new lifestyle) do it for one meal a week. Pick a day that is going to be a little more relaxed for you and "treat" yourself to something sweet!
5. Give your fruit 15 whole minutes to digest by itself before you eat anything else.

You gave some pretty good details in your post as far as what you eat but can you lay it out specifically at what times you eat and what you eat for your small meals in between the sandwich and meat breakfast? According to your post it looks like the only thing you eat is a meal when you wake up (too late - should be within the first hour of waking) of meat and veggies and then a sandwich at work with 2 pieces of fruit and then a bowl of cereal when you get home?

Yes that is about right. I wake up around 3pm and sit around for 30 minutes to an hour to wake up and then run for 45 minutes to an hour. I run between 4.5 and 6 miles.

Right now I run at 7.1mph but I walk a little also so I am running 8 1/2 to 9 minute miles right now.

I have started running at 8mph but can only so for 10 minutes or so and have to slow down to the 7.1

I eat dinner between 6:30pm and 7:30pm.

At work, I eat at different times but most of the time I eat fruit around 12:00am, sandwich and pickle between 1:00 and 2:00am. More fruit sometimes. That would be around 4:00am

On my way home, I eat more fruit. Between 7:30 and 8:00am.

If I eat cereal, that is around 8:30am or so. A lot of times if I eat cereal, I don't eat the fruit on the way home. Asleep by 9:30am.

Sounds like I need to eat more protein. What do you suggest. Replace fruit with protein? The fruit I eat is always banana or apple.

if you were going to train 1 muscle for fat loss, strength or muscle gaining, legs would be it by a mile

get on them x 2/week (deadlifts, squats, lunges and step ups)

ww.uponlinetraining.com

if you were going to train 1 muscle for fat loss, strength or muscle gaining, legs would be it by a mile

get on them x 2/week (deadlifts, squats, lunges and step ups)

ww.uponlinetraining.com

I'm not trying to train a muscle for weight loss. The cardio and new way of eating is for weight loss. I want to work my upper body to get a little bigger and very defined and ripped somewhat.

I want to work my legs later on. Just not intill I get to the weight I want.

What swanso was trying to say is that working the legs is great for fat loss. Muscles burn calories so when you build muscle you will lose fat at a more rapid pace. And, you won't have that loose skin syndrome. They say that cardio is great for losing weight but then you'll just be skinny fat. The look you are attempting to acheive is muscle gain and fat loss right? So build muscle and use your cardio as a supplement. It will be much more effective!

Weight training is a very important part of weight loss. Check out the other workout threads and see an example of a full body workout 3 days a week and do your cardio 2-3 days. (alternating) Also High intensity cardio burns more calories and has a lasting effect boosting your metabolism after workouts so it's more effective than your long running times. To make the most of the HIIT run as fast as you can for 3 minutes, slow down for 2 minutes, rotate these for 30-40 minutes. Remember to have a warm up and cool down session.

As far as your diet is concerned how about having a couple of hard boiled eggs in between meals, maybe some low fat cottage cheese or low fat string cheese. Introduce more veggies into your diet as well. You should have solid proteins, slow carbs, and good fats in with your meals.

Solid proteins: chicken, turkey, lean ham, fish
slow carbs: brown rice, whole wheat english muffins, whole grain pasta, green veggies
good fats: avacado, olives, olive oil, nuts (almonds are great)or sunflower seeds, and some dark chocolate.

Don't be focused on your caloric intake so much as what those calories are. Don't eat empty calories.

Swanso loves the "your body is a barbell" program and you could try to do some of that for your workouts.

google your body is a barbell by alwyn cosgrove

What swanso was trying to say is that working the legs is great for fat loss. Muscles burn calories so when you build muscle you will lose fat at a more rapid pace. And, you won't have that loose skin syndrome. They say that cardio is great for losing weight but then you'll just be skinny fat. The look you are attempting to acheive is muscle gain and fat loss right? So build muscle and use your cardio as a supplement. It will be much more effective!

Weight training is a very important part of weight loss. Check out the other workout threads and see an example of a full body workout 3 days a week and do your cardio 2-3 days. (alternating) Also High intensity cardio burns more calories and has a lasting effect boosting your metabolism after workouts so it's more effective than your long running times. To make the most of the HIIT run as fast as you can for 3 minutes, slow down for 2 minutes, rotate these for 30-40 minutes. Remember to have a warm up and cool down session.

As far as your diet is concerned how about having a couple of hard boiled eggs in between meals, maybe some low fat cottage cheese or low fat string cheese. Introduce more veggies into your diet as well. You should have solid proteins, slow carbs, and good fats in with your meals.

Solid proteins: chicken, turkey, lean ham, fish
slow carbs: brown rice, whole wheat english muffins, whole grain pasta, green veggies
good fats: avacado, olives, olive oil, nuts (almonds are great)or sunflower seeds, and some dark chocolate.

Don't be focused on your caloric intake so much as what those calories are. Don't eat empty calories.

Swanso loves the "your body is a barbell" program and you could try to do some of that for your workouts.

google your body is a barbell by alwyn cosgrove

OK. I see what you are saying. The legs have the biggest muscles so working them will eat up the most calories?

I have searched and searched for some meals plans and found a ton of them here. I am gonna look at them more closely and make some of my own with foods I like. I'm not that picky when it comes to food but there are some things I don't like. Two things that were mentioned, sweet potatoes and cottage cheese. yuck!

Few questions about food.

Why are they called "slow carbs"?

Is peanut butter ok for protein and the good fat? It's full of calories.

Which fats are the food fats?

Does anyone know of a website that has a breakdown of what food contains what? Calories, fat, protein, carbs, etc.? I know most things have it listed but not everything does.

Again, thanks for the advice!

About the running?

When you say HIIT, that is running as hard as I can? Sprinting?

I have been doing that some, I think. I normally run at 7.1 mph for the long distance that I have been running, with a little walking at 3 mph as well.

Recently, I have been trying to run at 8 mph. I couldn't run anymore than three or four minutes at 8 mph when I started but now I can run 2 miles, which is 15:00.

Is that now Low In. instead of high?

The more I run, the faster I can run. Does that mean that to achieve HIIT, I have to continue to run faster and faster?

The way to get the most out of your cardio, as far as fat loss is sprinting. According to Chad Waterbury (a fitness master) you should be going (on a scale 1 to 10 ten being the fastest and hardest you can run) you should be at a 3 for warm up, a 6 for your slow downs and a 10 for your sprints. By running at a constant pace for a long period of time your body is getting used to that exercise and you're burning less calories the easier it gets for you. I read in another post on here that compared it to a person in rehabilitation for walking- at first you can only take only a few steps but the more you step the easier it gets. Long and slow cardio gives your heart and lungs a good workout but the HIIT hypes up your metabolism so you burn more calories during your workout and it keeps your metabolism high long after. Chad Waterbury has a program based on this called "Afterburn".

The cottage cheese and sweet potatoe were just suggestions but its important that you eat things that you'll enjoy because if not you're going to be miserable all the time. Just know that there are healthy options for everything!

Peanut butter is a good sources of protein but it is high in calories and usually sugar too so take that into account for your daily intake.

Slow carbs are carbs that fuel your body, fast carbs are empty calories like white bread or sugary cereals that enter the body quickly and turn into sugar that stores as fat.

Good fats are olives, olive oil, nuts or seeds, avacados, dark chocolate they contain monounsaturated fats.

It's good that you're looking at different diet posts but don't make the mistake of getting caught up on eating a low calorie diet for weight loss only. The ideal weight for someone of your size is probably between 180- 200 (right where you're at) but the key is to have that weight be lean muscle mass. Muscle lays as a smaller, smoother surface that gives us that "fit" look.

If you cut yourself too short on your calories you're going to be counter acting against all the work you're doing. When you get below 2000 calories your body does not have enough energy to keep you functional and able to support the workouts you're doing and it will go into starvation mode. Once the body goes into starvation mode it will store more fat and eat muscle.