# Getting back into it...



## BronzeGuy (May 24, 2005)

Hello all...

I'm new and not exactly new to bodybuilding.  I used to be fairly well into lifting weights about 15 years ago...  Worked well for me back then, but since then school, work and family have interevened... that and health issues.

Anyway, my situation is that I am still benefiting from the weightlifting I did as a teenager... The wide shoulders and fairly broad chest I developed helps to keep the weight I've gained since then from looking too grotesque.

Now, I'm nearing the end of my final (I hope) degree, and have decided that I'm going to get fit... to help professionally and for personal reasons.  I have about 30 lbs of fat I need to lose, even if I don't gain any muscle, but I would like to get an athletic look once again.

Medical issues still limit some of my options, though it seems with practice and patience I can move the limits.  Basically, the big thing that limits my exercise (besides lack of time to get to the gym often enough) is that my body won't absorb calcium very well.  For those of you who think that calcium's only job is making your bones strong: the import of this condition is that low syrum calcium in my blood reduces my nervous system's margines.   Calcium ions are used in nerves' electro-chemical transmissions, so when I use up what's available, my muscles cramp-up and I get all tingly (like when your foot falls asleep) all over.

I've found that since I've gotten back into the gym, the point at which the low-calcium limits me has slowly pushed back, and that's good news.  I'm now at the point that I can get a good enough workout in that I can seriously think about loosing weight and getting fit.

So...  I've recently purchased some supplements and I hope I picked well...  I bought the Redline VPX pills and the Bally's brand fat-blocker.  I would love any advice anyone can provide on maximizing their usefulness and advice on what other supplements I can use to first cut fat and second build muscle.

My workouts currently involve of brisk-walking about 1.5 miles on the treadmill and 30~40 min. of weight lifting (mostly upper body).  I do sit-ups and crunches every day at home.


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## Dante (May 24, 2005)

it's all diet... dont expect those fat burners to help much.  start keeping track of your calories, fat, protein, carbs, sugar, fiber, etc.  this site might help 

also read the stickies in the diet & nutrition forum.  you will probably want to pick up some essentials like-- whey protien, efa's, creatine, bcaa's..good luck


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## AnnaDTX (May 24, 2005)

Good luck to you!


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## BronzeGuy (May 24, 2005)

Dante & AnnaDTX, thanks.

BTW, I've actually started to get a handle on calorie intake.  I'm averaging about 1800 Calories per day, and it might not be the optimal balance of nutrition, but it's at least moderately healthy.  About 2 years ago my doc gave me a prescription for phentermine (15 mg) and that helped me cut about 15 lbs... just controlling my appetite, but he didn't want me to stay on it for too long.  Through force of will, I've been able get my consumption back to what it was when I was on phentermine.

So... If the supplements I bought won't help *much*... will they help in conjunction with holding back my calorie consumption?

Thanks again for the responses.


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## Arnold (May 24, 2005)

BronzeGuy welcome to IM!


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## Dante (May 24, 2005)

1800 is very low. how much do you weigh?  one of the biggest mistakes people make when trying to lose weight is drastically decreasing their cals.  the best way to  cut fat is to SLOWLY decrease your calories.  i know for myself(i weigh 180lbs.) i can stay around the 3k mark and not gain any fat.  make sure you are spreading your calories through out the day and eat clean.  

http://www.ironmagazineforums.com/showthread.php?t=21113


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## BronzeGuy (May 24, 2005)

About 220lbs.  I have a schedule from hell (full time job... law school... family obligations...) so I've been relying on calorie reduction for as the main thing in losing weight so far with work in the gym when I've been able to get there to keep from losing muscle.

As mentioned I've had medical issues.  I take my meds in the morning and can't eat for an hour afterwards... by then, I'm not hungry, so I generally don't eat much in the mornings till 11~12.  Then I try to have something small, like some yogurt w/ granola, or a can of soup.

I generally have a "normal" dinner when I get home after classes (~9:30).  My situation isn't great for training, and that's one reason why I'm interested in primarily cutting fat, and not gaining muscle for now.  Over the summer, I only have classes two nights per week, so I'm actually getting into the gym about 3x per week.

If you've got suggestions on how I can more wisely spread my calorie intake, I'm open to it.  FWIW, don't worry about my schedule throwing off my thyroid and slowing my metabolism...  Thyroid's out and it's function is replaced by medication.  Nothing that's supposed to ramp-up my thyroid will accomplish anything, as I have no thyroid to ramp-up...


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## Dante (May 24, 2005)

read the link i posted, i think it will be helpful.  devise a basic meal plan that you can maintain.  and we'll critique  it, keeping your goals in mind.


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## BronzeGuy (May 25, 2005)

Well...  I've read the link and I know that I don't have the flexibility in my schedule that will allow for optimal weight loss...  So this is what I've decided I can do.

1.  I've moved my daily medication that has to be taken sufficiently removed from food to midnight  (I'm gonna be up till then studying anyway.)

2.  By moving my medication time to midnight, I can have a breakfast when I get up  (Today I had two scrambled eggs w/ 2 deli-thin slices of ham and a buttered English muffin.)  I also took my supplements (espec. redline).

3.  After breakfast; a short workout...  (approx 25 min... bench, inclined bench, pull-ups, curls and the like)

4.  Mid-morning (10:30 ~ 11:00) snack... yogurt (maybe w/ granola)

5.  Noontime exercise (approx 3x per week)... walk office building stairs (currently climbing 16 floors each way), quasi-dips on my office chair & push-ups

5.  Mid afternoon (2:30 ~ 3:00) light lunch... can of soup usually (or leftovers) & diet soda.

6.  Evening  (8:00 ~ 9:30) Dinner  (generally starch, protein & veggie)

7.  Evening (~9:00 3x per week) workout: 30~40 min of resistance training (mostly upper body) and ~25 min. treadmill.

8.  Evening (~11:45) abs:  sit-ups, crunches, "bicycle"

I know, I know... this is not a great diet & workout plan.  If you can suggest some tweaks, I'm all for considering them.  I'm fairly certain that I can make this schedule work.  I work a full time job and attend law school in the evenings, so I don't think I can really dedicate much or any more time to exercise... at least until I graduate in December.


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## Dante (May 25, 2005)

ok, there is a lot of room for improvement in your diet.  you have a lot of stuff you dont need and not enough of what you do need to loose fat and gain muscle.  here are some of my thoughts on what to change...

meal 1.  "(Today I had two scrambled eggs w/ 2 deli-thin slices of ham and a buttered English muffin.) I also took my supplements (espec. redline)".

im sure youve heard this before, this is perhaps your most important meal of the day.  you need to fuel your body for the rest of the day..which means protein, and a variety of carbs.  for protein you can up the eggs to at least 5 or 6 and get rid of the yokes.(egg whites)you can have one or two yokes.  make sure the ham is lean and low sodium.  you should add some complex carbs..like oats in stead of the english muffin, or exchange it with whole wheet toast.  no butter.-you can use sf jelly, or natural peanut butter.  watch out for sugar.

meal 2.  too much sugar in yogert.. and i think granolla has a ton of fat and calories..  you can get sf yogert, you still need protein and complex carbs.

when i first started writing this i didnt realize how many changes you need to make.  id suggest going back and reading that link again and starting over.  i seriously doubt you'll get the results you are looking for with this diet you have.


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## BronzeGuy (May 25, 2005)

I did forget to mention that the yogurt is diet yogurt  (15g of sugars), and I try to be sparing w/ the granola...  I use it to give the yogurt some character.

Maybe you know the answer to this, would eating lots of protein in the mornings actually help ramp up MY metabolism?

Remember I have no thyroid, so if the effect is primarily one that encourages the thyroid to be more active, it won't do anything for me.  I do notice that when I eat in the mornings, it has the potential for monkeying with my blood-sugar and I am more likely to feel hungry throughout the rest of the day.

An optimal diet is easy to come up with, but I've got to fit it into my life.  I really do attempt to limit my simple carbs, and have concentrated on limiting my total calorie intake up to this point.

I can cut the English muffin out.  I can add extra egg-whites to my breakfast, and I can eliminate the granola.  I can even demand that my wife not make a plate of dinner for me with rice, pasta, or potatoes.  If tweaking my basic plan won't work, then I guess I'm screwed, at least until I graduate from night school and have (a little) more flexibility.

I don't need "the best" plan, but I would like to find something that's good enough to help as much as can be expected within the parameters of my life.  As they say, perfect is the enemy of good, and I would rather have some improvement than wait for a time when I can do everything right for the best improvements.

I don't mean to seem ungrateful for your advice, but I cannot afford to make bodybuilding "my life."  I have a life, and I would like the life I have to become a more fit one.


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## Dante (May 25, 2005)

sorry i didnt mean to sound negative..sure you could adjust what you have.


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## Dante (May 25, 2005)

dont cut out carbs, just eat "brown" carbs instead. and sweet potatoes


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## BronzeGuy (May 25, 2005)

that I can do.  I'll have about 2 months this summer (July and August) in which I will be able to fashion a more optimal diet and workout plan, but it will have to collapse back to something sustainable during the fall.  after that... we'll see.


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## joesmooth20 (May 27, 2005)

welcome to IM. You have all the information you'll need availible on this site and from
here on out it's all up to you. Good luck with your goals 


Joe


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## BronzeGuy (May 27, 2005)

Thanks Joe.  The quality of information and vibrancy of the online community I saw on this site is why I bothered to register.  I know my fitness falls on my shoulders, and, damnit, I'm not going back to the soft, fatass that I had let myself become.

U may be gettin ripped to steal girlfriends... I'm gettin' fit to help keep the attention of my wife.  Lucky for me, I'm in Baltimore, so no matter how ripped u are, I suspect she's at least safe from you!

Later.


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