As you can all see, my account is from 2016. I literally started posting again today for the first time since 2016, just a few minutes ago, but if you look at what I posted in 2016, you will be able to tell that I was a skinny teenager looking for advise, like a desperate puppy in search of his owners. Today, I am a 197 lbs 5'11" man, and my body fat is only 13% (or what would be considered 10% in Internet terms, since everyone underestimates their body fat).
Attached is a picture of my body 3 years ago, when I was 182 lbs.
How did I get to this level?
Let's start with my teenage years. All of my teenage years, I had been called anorexic and super skinny. That put a chip on my shoulder, and I was tired of being the skinny guy. As a result, I started eating a bunch of junk food, and I got skinny fat (183 lbs at age 17). It was only around November 2017, at age 18, that I started lifting weights at my local YMCA, and I worked purely to shred the fat that I had gained. Talk about redundancy.
With that being said, it was also in November 2017 that I started eating only healthy foods. Truth be told, my first year of lifting, I was so obsessed that not only did I learn how many calories and macronutrients almost every food out there had, but I also purely ate 6 cups of oatmeal with just water (no sugar or fruits), as well as chicken cooked on the George Foreman Grill and chicken, both without any salt (as well as other nasty stuff that I cannot recall).
Yes, that was a stupid diet, even though I went from 140 to 172 pounds of pure muscle. It was my most methodical year, and also the most painful diet wise.
Over the course of the next couple of years, I normalized my diet, with it still being super healthy - just not silly anymore. I have bulked up to 210, cut to 175, bulked to 199, cut to 183, and so on. You know, it was a process of bulking and cutting. Now, years later, I am 197 with little body fat, and I am stronger and healthier than I have ever been.
Here are the tips I have for you.
1. You do not have to meal prep. I NEVER, ever meal prep. I merely consume items that can be prepared in a matter of minutes. Today, my diet consists of two smoothies, 3 fillets of tilapia, spinach with 3 tablespoons of olive oil, and a cup of walnuts. It doesn't sound like a lot, does it? Well, it's over 3000 calories.
7:30 AM: Smoothie (8 tablespoons of almonds, 1 whole egg, strawberries, and 2% milk - 800 calories), 1 banana (~100 calories)
4:00 PM: A little over 1 cup of walnuts (pass it down with water if you do not like walnuts, or you can eat salted peanuts instead - 500 calories).
5:00 PM: 3 fillets of tilapia cooked with extra virgin olive oil (500 calories), as much spinach as you want with 3 tablespoons of olive oil (360 calories)
7:00 PM: Smoothie (8 tablespoons of almonds, 1 whole egg, strawberries, and 2% milk - 800 calories).
Total: 3060 calories (conservative estimate).
Verdict: No meal prep - takes minutes to prepare each item that I consume. Also, be conservative with your calorie estimates.
Keep in mind, you can eat other stuff too, but that's just the baseline that you must meet.
2. Get decent sleep. Getting sufficient amounts of sleep helps your metabolism work. It also reduces inflammation, improves testosterone levels, and triggers muscle growth. If you have sleep apnea like I do, then you must aim for 9 hours of sleep.
3. Keep a positive mindset, and have patience. There will be many times when you will want to throw your hands in the air, or give up because you think you can't be successful at this. That's normal. However, that doesn't mean that you can't succeed. I remember being frustrated at times when I saw people lifting 15-20 pound weights who I had just started lifting, and thought that they had been spending too much money to be wasting their time. However, it only took a few months for me to develop a method of executing my exercises correctly, and suddenly I was one of the heaviest lifters in my gym (I'm talking a competitive-sized gym).
Remember, it takes months to develop muscle, years to develop strength, and you can develop a great physique while maintaining a positive mindset. Believe in yourself.
4. Take Vitamin-D. You might not think it makes sense to supplement your diet, but what I have found is that you will get a lot more out of it than you think. I do not take them for endurance, but they help with recovery, including increasing my cellular turnover and repairing damage done from heavy training. I take 2,000 IU each day - check with your doctor if you are under 25, since it might not be safe to exceed that.
5. Don't listen to music. My experience is that music will distract you from your mission, and help to distract your focus. It is more about your inner focus and state of mind than what you are listening to. Focus on the task at hand.
6. Do heavy compound movements. While traditional lifts are a part of this plan, I do not recommend relying solely on traditional lifts. You should do them to supplement the traditional lifts, and not to replace them entirely. I want you to maximize your ability to maximize your potential. With heavy, compound exercises, you can hit a number of muscles, and have more control over your body's movement. The movements should be compound (such as squat, deadlift, bench press) or, if you're more traditional, then the movements should be isolating (such as strict bench press, incline press). If you focus primarily on the isolation lifts, you will lose your efficiency in other areas.
7. Shrug your shoulders! The shoulders are the primary muscle group that extends your arms, and it's very important that you train them well. One of the most important moves is the half-brother of the barbell overhead press: the cable curl. Don't neglect this exercise.
8. Treat yourself. While this is not a cheat meal, you deserve it every now and then. Eat whatever you want, but go light on the alcohol and carbs (if you have no problem with that). You deserve it!
9. Train like you play games. Don't become frustrated if you can't do certain exercises, especially if you have already been lifting for a while. Sometimes it takes a few tries to get the technique right, and if you are frustrated, you are not going to lift as much as you can.
10. Last but not least: Focus on the small details, such as form, speed, technique, and posture. You have to focus on the little things that build up to the big lifts. You can execute these movements perfectly, you just need to build the foundation first.
Good luck, and have fun! If I made it, so can you.
Attached is a picture of my body 3 years ago, when I was 182 lbs.
How did I get to this level?
Let's start with my teenage years. All of my teenage years, I had been called anorexic and super skinny. That put a chip on my shoulder, and I was tired of being the skinny guy. As a result, I started eating a bunch of junk food, and I got skinny fat (183 lbs at age 17). It was only around November 2017, at age 18, that I started lifting weights at my local YMCA, and I worked purely to shred the fat that I had gained. Talk about redundancy.
With that being said, it was also in November 2017 that I started eating only healthy foods. Truth be told, my first year of lifting, I was so obsessed that not only did I learn how many calories and macronutrients almost every food out there had, but I also purely ate 6 cups of oatmeal with just water (no sugar or fruits), as well as chicken cooked on the George Foreman Grill and chicken, both without any salt (as well as other nasty stuff that I cannot recall).
Yes, that was a stupid diet, even though I went from 140 to 172 pounds of pure muscle. It was my most methodical year, and also the most painful diet wise.
Over the course of the next couple of years, I normalized my diet, with it still being super healthy - just not silly anymore. I have bulked up to 210, cut to 175, bulked to 199, cut to 183, and so on. You know, it was a process of bulking and cutting. Now, years later, I am 197 with little body fat, and I am stronger and healthier than I have ever been.
Here are the tips I have for you.
1. You do not have to meal prep. I NEVER, ever meal prep. I merely consume items that can be prepared in a matter of minutes. Today, my diet consists of two smoothies, 3 fillets of tilapia, spinach with 3 tablespoons of olive oil, and a cup of walnuts. It doesn't sound like a lot, does it? Well, it's over 3000 calories.
7:30 AM: Smoothie (8 tablespoons of almonds, 1 whole egg, strawberries, and 2% milk - 800 calories), 1 banana (~100 calories)
4:00 PM: A little over 1 cup of walnuts (pass it down with water if you do not like walnuts, or you can eat salted peanuts instead - 500 calories).
5:00 PM: 3 fillets of tilapia cooked with extra virgin olive oil (500 calories), as much spinach as you want with 3 tablespoons of olive oil (360 calories)
7:00 PM: Smoothie (8 tablespoons of almonds, 1 whole egg, strawberries, and 2% milk - 800 calories).
Total: 3060 calories (conservative estimate).
Verdict: No meal prep - takes minutes to prepare each item that I consume. Also, be conservative with your calorie estimates.
Keep in mind, you can eat other stuff too, but that's just the baseline that you must meet.
2. Get decent sleep. Getting sufficient amounts of sleep helps your metabolism work. It also reduces inflammation, improves testosterone levels, and triggers muscle growth. If you have sleep apnea like I do, then you must aim for 9 hours of sleep.
3. Keep a positive mindset, and have patience. There will be many times when you will want to throw your hands in the air, or give up because you think you can't be successful at this. That's normal. However, that doesn't mean that you can't succeed. I remember being frustrated at times when I saw people lifting 15-20 pound weights who I had just started lifting, and thought that they had been spending too much money to be wasting their time. However, it only took a few months for me to develop a method of executing my exercises correctly, and suddenly I was one of the heaviest lifters in my gym (I'm talking a competitive-sized gym).
Remember, it takes months to develop muscle, years to develop strength, and you can develop a great physique while maintaining a positive mindset. Believe in yourself.
4. Take Vitamin-D. You might not think it makes sense to supplement your diet, but what I have found is that you will get a lot more out of it than you think. I do not take them for endurance, but they help with recovery, including increasing my cellular turnover and repairing damage done from heavy training. I take 2,000 IU each day - check with your doctor if you are under 25, since it might not be safe to exceed that.
5. Don't listen to music. My experience is that music will distract you from your mission, and help to distract your focus. It is more about your inner focus and state of mind than what you are listening to. Focus on the task at hand.
6. Do heavy compound movements. While traditional lifts are a part of this plan, I do not recommend relying solely on traditional lifts. You should do them to supplement the traditional lifts, and not to replace them entirely. I want you to maximize your ability to maximize your potential. With heavy, compound exercises, you can hit a number of muscles, and have more control over your body's movement. The movements should be compound (such as squat, deadlift, bench press) or, if you're more traditional, then the movements should be isolating (such as strict bench press, incline press). If you focus primarily on the isolation lifts, you will lose your efficiency in other areas.
7. Shrug your shoulders! The shoulders are the primary muscle group that extends your arms, and it's very important that you train them well. One of the most important moves is the half-brother of the barbell overhead press: the cable curl. Don't neglect this exercise.
8. Treat yourself. While this is not a cheat meal, you deserve it every now and then. Eat whatever you want, but go light on the alcohol and carbs (if you have no problem with that). You deserve it!
9. Train like you play games. Don't become frustrated if you can't do certain exercises, especially if you have already been lifting for a while. Sometimes it takes a few tries to get the technique right, and if you are frustrated, you are not going to lift as much as you can.
10. Last but not least: Focus on the small details, such as form, speed, technique, and posture. You have to focus on the little things that build up to the big lifts. You can execute these movements perfectly, you just need to build the foundation first.
Good luck, and have fun! If I made it, so can you.
from Bodybuilding.com Forums - Nutrition https://ift.tt/do2nObk
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