Losing the beer gut

S

SamAdamz4me

0
Hi everyone, I'm new to the forum (just posted my first thread in the new members forum) and wanted to get some advice on my current diet/excersize plan so that I will know I'm on a path to seeing results. I'm 29, 5'9", 185lbs (up from 160lbs 8 months ago)

I work 2nd shift, so my schedule is a little unorthodox.

I wake up at noon(5 days a week), shower, pack a bag, and head off to the gym. At 1pm I start my workout, which consists of:

Squats - 3 sets of 10-12 on the smith machine
Seated dumbbell press - 3 sets of 10 - 12
Pulldowns - 3 sets of 10 - 12
Dumbbell bench press - 3 sets of 8 - 10
Dumbbell lunges

I finish each workout with either calf raises, forearm curls, or crunches (rotating days) and then 15 minutes of low intensity cardio.

After my workout, I grab breakfast around 2pm which is almost always a antipasto salad with lite ranch dressing.

At 2:30 I start my desk job. Then at 7pm I take my lunch break where I almost always have a turkey, lettuce, tomato, and mayo on a spinach wrap.

At 11pm my shift ends and I grab dinner on my way home. I usually stop for an italian cold cut sub, a chicken ceaser wrap from d'angelos, or chicken nuggets from any fast food restaurant I happen to pull into.

At around midnight I end my day with 2 sets of 30 pushups or 3 sets of dumbbell curls and then as many crunches as I can bang out before failure.

I do my various chores around the house, watch tv, surf the internet, go out with friends, ect... to end my night and am usually in bed between 4 and 5am.

All I drink during the day is water, except for when I go out with friends in which case I usually drink 4 to 5 beers (never light beer).

I've been using this routine for about 3 weeks now, and I know there are a lot of areas that could be improved. What I'd like to know is am I burning enough calories during my day to maintain this lifestyle and lose the extra belly fat that I've gained over the previous 8 months of sedentary lifestyle?

Thank you in advance for any replies/advice/ect...

-Andy
 
Last edited:
Please help. From what I've calculated, I'm only eating about 1200 calories per day (1700 on the nights I go out) and still I'm not losing inches.
 
Last edited:
For starts, your diet isn't that great. Antipasto...isn't that mostly veggies...i.e. no protein? that needs to be remedied if that's the case.

I also see a LOT of processed carbs...breads, pastas...you're better off with whole grains...oatmeal (NOT the instant kind), brown rice...carbs where you can SEE the grain.

Is that your workout EVERY DAY? cuz the body can't handle you working the same body parts every day like that. one easy solution is split weights and cardio to separate days, since 15 mins of cardio is barely getting going unless you're doing HIIT...and after a good weight session HIIT isn't gonna be optimal.

i'd do cardio on separate days, and add some better exercises. do REAL squats, not smith squats. do some pullups or assisted pullups.

do chest pressing before shoulder pressing. forget pushups before bed, and only do abs 3x a week (they need recovery too after all).
 
i think you may have miscalculated your intake but even so why dont you try lifting and doing cardio on alt days and spend more time on cardio but diet is #1 and you have a lot of work to do in changing that read some of the stickies, just start by optin for healthier choices like especially in your dinner make a tuna sandwich or something especially with tthe fact that your not getting enough protein
 
Last edited:
Thanks for the tips on my routine. I'll change up some of the exercises and alternate days with cardio and lifting.

As for my diet, I need a little more help understanding why I can't shed fat.

1st meal: Antipasto salad (which is basically a garden salad with slices of ham, salami, and provolone rolled up and cut into pieces on top) - 340 calories

2nd meal: Turkey wrap w/mayo - 400 calories

3rd meal: Italian sub (6") - 522 calories or
Wendy's crispy chicken sandwich + 5 piece chicken nugget - 560 calories or
D'angelos chicken ceasar salad wrap - 830 calories (which kind of surprised me)

So my daily intake varies from 1262 to 1570. Add 640 - 800 for the saturday nights I go out and have 4 - 5 beers and I should still be at a caloric deficit for the week, right?

According to the BMR calculator my BMR is just over 1900, so my question is, what am I doing wrong?

Should I add a meal? If I add a meal, could I get away with hard boiled eggs (minus the yolks)?
 
Last edited:
i do alot more cardio than u and im on a cut right now but ill give you an examle of my day and even mines not perfect im not strict on the nurtrient ratios yet total around 2500cals
breakfast: 3 servings oatmeal and an apple
lunch: tuna sandwich and turkey sandwich and a serving of vegetables
snack: peice of fruit
snack: 2 pb&j's
preworkout shake
workout
dinner: protein shake, chicken and brown rice or whole wheat pasta w/ red sauce
 
Ok, so I'm starting to get it... eating bad food (no matter what the calorie count) isn't a recipe for losing fat. I don't know anything about nutrient ratios or what time of day is best for protien, carbs, fats, ect..., but from what I've learned in my short time on this forum, here's what I'm thinking of changing my diet to.

breakfast: 2 cups oatmeal, 2 egg whites, serving of berries
snack: apple and peanut butter
lunch: grilled chicken, brown rice, sweet potato
snack: 2 hard boiled eggs (minus the yolks)
dinner: antipasto salad w/ lite ranch

I haven't done the math, but I'm certain this'll be a huge increase in my daily caloric intake. I hope my metabolic rate sees a large boost with this new diet and increased cardio (three 45 minute sessions a week), but I'm skeptical.

Thanks for the replies to my questions.
 
Last edited:
It's not so much about how "healthy" you eat. You can eat very unhealthy and still lose weight and fat. It's not about how "healthy" you eat, but rather how much of it you are eating. My guess is that you are either not giving yourself enough time, or eating too much or too little, or exercising too little or too much.

On your original post, the only hard exercise I see is the squat. Other than that, your exercise is very much pointed toward the arms which will do nothing. You need to start either running, swimming, bike riding, rowing, or something along those line.

You also need to become more active. The gym isn't the only place you need to do exercise. If you just go to the gym and exercise, and for the rest of the day, you sit around and do nothing, it's pretty much going there for nothing. Make an effort to increase your activity. I'm not talking about forced labor. Just do more things... such as fold clothes, hang clothes outside instead of the dryer, use the stairs some of the times, park farther out, etc, etc, etc. Just doing a little bit here and there can really add up. You don't have to be sweating or exhausted.

As for your diet, it seems mostly carb based. You need to mix it up. Protein, carbs, and fat needs to go together. Basically, find a balance. Remember, you don't have to eat 100% healthy to lose weight and get the body you want. You just have to mix it up. If you go outside to a restaurant, you'll see that mostly the larger group of people eats things like salad and that, then the fit people are eating tons of "bad" food. The point is, the more effort you make to eat "only" healthy food, the more likely you will remain where you are. Just mix it up, and make an effort to eat less while still feeling full and enjoying the food you like to eat. You don't have to count calories or any garbage like that. Just use common sense, apes been doing it for millions of years. Remember, eat constantly, and make an effort to eat lesser. Basically, eat throughout the day, drink plenty of water, and you'll be fine.

For example, this week I'm at 176. I'm actually losing weight which isn't a good thing. I suspect it is a bit of water so my plan is to try and retain a little water and add a bit of weight. So this week my effort is to eat a bit more than usual to get back up to 180 by the following week. I'm not going to do it by eating salad and wraps all day. I plan to do a one mile swim tonight then go with a larger meal throughout the day.
 
Last edited:
SamAdamz4me said:
Ok, so I'm starting to get it... eating bad food (no matter what the calorie count) isn't a recipe for losing fat. I don't know anything about nutrient ratios or what time of day is best for protien, carbs, fats, ect..., but from what I've learned in my short time on this forum, here's what I'm thinking of changing my diet to.

breakfast: 2 cups oatmeal, 2 egg whites, serving of berries
snack: apple and peanut butter
lunch: grilled chicken, brown rice, sweet potato
snack: 2 hard boiled eggs (minus the yolks)
dinner: antipasto salad w/ lite ranch

I haven't done the math, but I'm certain this'll be a huge increase in my daily caloric intake. I hope my metabolic rate sees a large boost with this new diet and increased cardio (three 45 minute sessions a week), but I'm skeptical.

Thanks for the replies to my questions.
Click to expand...

That's a little better than before. But you need more veggies. Also, you do know that the yellow part of the egg is the best part? When you take it out, you are losing a lot of vital parts and basically eating the white parts is not ideal. Eat the entire egg: yoke and everything unless your doctor said not to.
 
Increase cardio, decrease antipasto salads.

I love the 4 peice nugget as a snack, it's underrated IMO.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top