Thread: New here

Make successive changes to your diet which are small, and cumulative, and permanent.

For me it was half sugar in my coffee (and half artificial stuff)
Then lowfat milk.
Then no more spreads on sandwiches (no mayo, no butter, etc.)
Then NO sugar in my coffee (all artificial)
Then low fat foods where possible (e.g. switched to low fat yogurt)
Then fried foods no more than once per week.
Then fried foods no more than once every 2 weeks.

Make the changes small, so you know you can stick with them, remember they're PERMANENT changes to your diet for the rest of your life.
Don't change a lot all at once. Each small change must be allowed time to become a habit before you make another small change. DO NOT try to change big things in the beginning, just small, seemingly insignificant things. And no cheating.

Remember, if you want permanent changes in your physique, you'll need to make permanent changes in your diet. Otherwise you'll be YoYo-J.

Originally Posted by jstagich97

I eat relatively well

What does this mean?

Are you tracking what you eat?
If you are not, that is the problem. go to fitday.com input what you eat and post up your macro's.

Originally Posted by ThreeGigs

Make successive changes to your diet which are small, and cumulative, and permanent.

For me it was half sugar in my coffee (and half artificial stuff)
Then lowfat milk.
Then no more spreads on sandwiches (no mayo, no butter, etc.)
Then NO sugar in my coffee (all artificial)
Then low fat foods where possible (e.g. switched to low fat yogurt)
Then fried foods no more than once per week.
Then fried foods no more than once every 2 weeks.

Make the changes small, so you know you can stick with them, remember they're PERMANENT changes to your diet for the rest of your life.
Don't change a lot all at once. Each small change must be allowed time to become a habit before you make another small change. DO NOT try to change big things in the beginning, just small, seemingly insignificant things. And no cheating.

Remember, if you want permanent changes in your physique, you'll need to make permanent changes in your diet. Otherwise you'll be YoYo-J.

Why no fats? Fats don't make you fat.

Originally Posted by Powermaster

Why no fats? Fats don't make you fat.

I agree, I am also new to body building but definatly not new to dieting, from what I know excess callories make you fat (Calorie Suluprus), in a way fats make it easier for you to get fat because 1g of carb or 1g of protein only had 4 cals and 1 g of fat has 9 cals meaning you can heat a bit more than double of pro/carb than you can of fat but fats keep you full longer (personal opinion) and are esential in a healthy diet, I had to learn the hard way so dont make the same mistake I did...

Originally Posted by Powermaster

What does this mean?

Are you tracking what you eat?
If you are not, that is the problem. go to fitday.com input what you eat and post up your macro's.

I was tracking what I ate using myfitnesspal.com, but haven't for the past 2 months. I just meant that I wasn't eating a lot of fast food or fried food. Tried to eat somewhat clean.

Originally Posted by jstagich97

I was tracking what I ate using myfitnesspal.com, but haven't for the past 2 months. I just meant that I wasn't eating a lot of fast food or fried food. Tried to eat somewhat clean.

You should start tracking again to see where your macro's are. That will give you clues as to why you are losing or not losing weight.

Don't want to sound stupid, but what are macros? I've trained and dieted for years, but never heard of macros. I used to work out to stay in shape and get stronger, which was never a problem. Now I'm looking to do that, but at the same time I'd like to see some of the muscle. My arms get bigger, my legs get bigger, and my shoulders are as wide as a door frame, but unless I flex, not seeing any cuts. If I could walk around with 75 lb dumbbells all day, my arms look amazing...LOL

Macros = Proteins, Carbohydrates and Fats...

Gotcha, thanks djlance. I have started keeping track. I guess that's where the 40/40/20 comes in?

Correct

GICH

Originally Posted by Powermaster

Why no fats? Fats don't make you fat.

Where did you get the idea about no fats? Not no fat, just low(er) fat.

90% lean ground beef as opposed to 75%. Lowfat yogurt. Reduced fat cheese. Etc.

Fats are very calorie dense, so reducing them is an easy way to reduce overall calories. Cutting 50 grams of fat a day saves you 450 calories. That either gives you a pound of fat a week, or 450 calories you can apply toward carbs for glycogen replenishment.

Originally Posted by ThreeGigs

Where did you get the idea about no fats? Not no fat, just low(er) fat.

90% lean ground beef as opposed to 75%. Lowfat yogurt. Reduced fat cheese. Etc.

Fats are very calorie dense, so reducing them is an easy way to reduce overall calories. Cutting 50 grams of fat a day saves you 450 calories. That either gives you a pound of fat a week, or 450 calories you can apply toward carbs for glycogen replenishment.

Sure excess fats can be stored as fat but the only problem is with your analogy is that fats are preferred and stored in the liver for energy while carbohydrates are preferred stored as body fat then energy when all else is depleted. Also, it doesn't take much to replenish glycogen.
Cutting fats too low for the sake of saving a few calories for carb intake is a bad idea IMO.

definitely cardio will help you a lot. You could involve in HIT too.