Dieting

Sup everyone, I am pretty new to these forums but as soon as I saw the MMA section here I just had to pop some questions. MMA is a great passion of mine, I do not take any classes (yet) but I have been following MMA for about 4 years now. I am 19 years old and recently being out of school has put into a bit of a lul as far as health goes.

I have always been the average weight, tall kid. I'm currently at about 175 lbs 6,2. Definately NO 6-pack showing! My question to anyone that wants to help me get back on track, what should I eat?

I have been wanting to get into good shape since the day I realized I wasn't fit anymore. I am by no means fat or overweight but I want to get ripped. My body is strong but my muscles are not cut, if that makes any sense.

So I am looking for someone to tell me what to eat, literally. I need a plan for what to eat pretty much everyday. If someone can tell me what will help lose the fat and build muscle I will stick to it religiously. Also if anyone has a good workout routine that would be good too. I have some freeweights here at home (not much weight, maybe 150 lbs at most) and a treadmill and stationary bike.

I know that I just wrote a damn novel and am asking for alot but if anyone has any advice let me know!

First off, welcome to BP.net :salute:

First thing you should do is check with your doctor and make sure you are good to go to start a work out routine. How many days a week are you looking to work out? I take it you are lifting at home? Do you have a work out partner? What equipment do you have at home to use other then 150 lbs. of weights: ie, a weight bench, a staright bar, dumbells: do you have pre-made ones or ones you can put plates on and make your self, a lat machine, ez curl bar etc.

And as far as diet goes, I personally used a weight watchers point counter and just watched what I ate and cut back how much I ate when I was dieting. I drank water 95% of the time. The other 5% of the time I drank a little bit of milk but sparringly (it was a lot of points). I would make sure I did not eat close to bed time so I did not have any food sitting on my stomach over night. I would also always drink 1-2 protein drinks a day (dieting or not). Make sure you get at least 1 gram of protein per lb of body weight. If I wanted to drop weight faster I would up my cardio and/or eat the low end of my alloted points for the day. A few years ago when I was doing this diet I dropped from 260lbs. to 198 lbs over time. My wife would be the first to tell anyone though that when i set my mind to something my will power, dedication and determintion is second to none. I did this diet because I was tired of fighting the big dudes in class and I was thinking about competing and did not want to compete at heavy weight. I ended up still having to fight the big dudes in class even at that weight and I had a scheduling confict with my new job and my mma class so I had to stop going. So I bulked back up because I really didn't like being that size. You might want to check this thread out too: http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...ad.php?t=44847 Hopefully some more people will chip in about thier diets, tips and secrets!!!

Anyways, what ever you decide just be patient, safe, smart and stick with it!!! Keep us updated on your progress :gj:

Op...check out www.t-nation.com :gj:

Ok well thanks for all the info so far guys, most of it has helped.

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Originally Posted by boanerges

First thing you should do is check with your doctor and make sure you are good to go to start a work out routine. How many days a week are you looking to work out? I take it you are lifting at home? Do you have a work out partner? What equipment do you have at home to use other then 150 lbs. of weights: ie, a weight bench, a staright bar, dumbells: do you have pre-made ones or ones you can put plates on and make your self, a lat machine, ez curl bar etc.

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I have been pretty healthy my entire life, and I'm sure the doctor would say the same. I'm looking to workout maybe 4-5 days a week, with weights and equipment that is. I will probably start running everyday. Yes for now I would just be lifting at home, my gym membership expired and I don't have the funds to renew it right now (maybe in the near future). A workout partner....well, I do have a buddy that is as adamant about getting into MMA as me but like I said with the funds, he is in the same boat. As far as equipment at home, I have one long bar (very old, only weighs about 40 lbs I think if that) and one short curl bar. Weights - I only have about 80 lbs of weights that I know of, all of this is very old but it's just free weights so I don't think there is anything wrong with it. I do not have a bench, I have just been checking out quick workout routine videos on the internet that you can do without a bench. And other than that all I have is a treadmill and stationary bike. Pretty much I'm trying to get into shape with welfare equipment here haha, I am only 19 though and going to school so getting new stuff is gonna be slow. And also the weights/bar I have are not pre-made I can take weight off and put it on as I want.

As far as the dieting goes, I checked out that site drees. It looks pretty legit for a dieting program but I was looking for someone just to tell me a good meal plan week by week maybe other than having to buy it. Also I do plan on getting some supplements so I will look into that.

Op, I see what you're saying, but if you start posting the the forums over there, there's a ton of help available. Especially in the beginners section. They're probably going to be able to help you more than anybody.

A few things I can tell you,

Don't be afraid of fats
Get at least 1 g of protein per pound of body weight
To get big you have to eat big

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Originally Posted by dreese88

Op, I see what you're saying, but if you start posting the the forums over there, there's a ton of help available. Especially in the beginners section. They're probably going to be able to help you more than anybody.

A few things I can tell you,

Don't be afraid of fats
Get at least 1 g of protein per pound of body weight
To get big you have to eat big

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I see what you are saying man, thanks alot for the info and the link! I plan on starting my dieting very soon, I may wait till the beginning of the month so I can be pinpoint accurate on it (I'm kind of OCD about things when I start doing them, I want it to go perfect). But yeah I will definitely start posting on that site, thanks!

If you guys dont mind, I'll throw in my 2 cents...one of the guys in my BJJ class is a personal trainer and nutrition store owner. I asked him pretty much the same question one night and he told me to simply watch my carb intake...what I try to do is cut down my carbs after lunch time...for dinner I try to go with protien mostly... just meat. It gets hard to do sometimes but the thing is, I found that I dont have to limit carbs all the time. Just let the body get a little depleted (I stopped eating carbs for a full week)...not the easiest thing to do!! But once that week was over, I moderated all intake. In recent months, I have gotten down from 186 to 164. I did it slowly...and I even ate cookies and cake every once in while and I still love beer!!! I know that very few guys want to get that low in weight but I want to compete at the lighter weight because I got tired of big guys laying on me and smothering me!!:O I even once had a guy in class tap me out from laying his belly and chest on my face:puke2:...disgusting!! Last time Iever tried to pull guard with that dude!!

Anyhow, stopping the carbs the first week seemed to kick my metabolism into gear...even when I miss a work out, I still lose a bit of weight because I also watch my calories as well. I hope this helps!

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Originally Posted by Flatheadhunter33

If you guys dont mind, I'll throw in my 2 cents...one of the guys in my BJJ class is a personal trainer and nutrition store owner. I asked him pretty much the same question one night and he told me to simply watch my carb intake...what I try to do is cut down my carbs after lunch time...for dinner I try to go with protien mostly... just meat. It gets hard to do sometimes but the thing is, I found that I dont have to limit carbs all the time. Just let the body get a little depleted (I stopped eating carbs for a full week)...not the easiest thing to do!! But once that week was over, I moderated all intake. In recent months, I have gotten down from 186 to 164. I did it slowly...and I even ate cookies and cake every once in while and I still love beer!!! I know that very few guys want to get that low in weight but I want to compete at the lighter weight because I got tired of big guys laying on me and smothering me!!:O I even once had a guy in class tap me out from laying his belly and chest on my face:puke2:...disgusting!! Last time Iever tried to pull guard with that dude!!

Anyhow, stopping the carbs the first week seemed to kick my metabolism into gear...even when I miss a work out, I still lose a bit of weight because I also watch my calories as well. I hope this helps!

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Great advice, interesting mma story - lol and always feel free to post your 2 cents in any thread here :gj:

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Originally Posted by Boanerges

Great advice, interesting mma story - lol and always feel free to post your 2 cents in any thread here :gj:

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Thanks. Been training BJJ for a few years now off and on. Kind of hard to stay consistant with my deployment schedule. I tried my hand at MMA and and found out really quick that I dont like gettin punched in the mouth!:colbert::D

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Originally Posted by flatheadhunter33

thanks. Been training bjj for a few years now off and on. Kind of hard to stay consistant with my deployment schedule. i tried my hand at mma and and found out really quick that i dont like gettin punched in the mouth!:colbert::d

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lol :d

Hey thanks for the advice guys! So far I have quit smoking!!!! I do still drink a bit but I think the smoking was really holding me back from getting my diet & gameplan into action!

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Originally Posted by DannN

Sup everyone, I am pretty new to these forums but as soon as I saw the MMA section here I just had to pop some questions. MMA is a great passion of mine, I do not take any classes (yet) but I have been following MMA for about 4 years now. I am 19 years old and recently being out of school has put into a bit of a lul as far as health goes.

I have always been the average weight, tall kid. I'm currently at about 175 lbs 6,2. Definately NO 6-pack showing! My question to anyone that wants to help me get back on track, what should I eat?

I have been wanting to get into good shape since the day I realized I wasn't fit anymore. I am by no means fat or overweight but I want to get ripped. My body is strong but my muscles are not cut, if that makes any sense.

So I am looking for someone to tell me what to eat, literally. I need a plan for what to eat pretty much everyday. If someone can tell me what will help lose the fat and build muscle I will stick to it religiously. Also if anyone has a good workout routine that would be good too. I have some freeweights here at home (not much weight, maybe 150 lbs at most) and a treadmill and stationary bike.

I know that I just wrote a damn novel and am asking for alot but if anyone has any advice let me know!

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Congrats on choosing to get back into fitness! I am a certified PT and would be willing to help you out a bit.
first off, post your current diet. I would like to see what a normal day of eating looks like, diet is a huge part of the game and hitting the weights without proper nutrition is setting yourself up for failure. And there is ALOT of "broscience" around on the net and in mags so its sometimes tough to filter.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Flatheadhunter33

If you guys dont mind, I'll throw in my 2 cents...one of the guys in my BJJ class is a personal trainer and nutrition store owner. I asked him pretty much the same question one night and he told me to simply watch my carb intake...what I try to do is cut down my carbs after lunch time...for dinner I try to go with protien mostly... just meat. It gets hard to do sometimes but the thing is, I found that I dont have to limit carbs all the time. Just let the body get a little depleted (I stopped eating carbs for a full week)...not the easiest thing to do!! But once that week was over, I moderated all intake. In recent months, I have gotten down from 186 to 164. I did it slowly...and I even ate cookies and cake every once in while and I still love beer!!! I know that very few guys want to get that low in weight but I want to compete at the lighter weight because I got tired of big guys laying on me and smothering me!!:O I even once had a guy in class tap me out from laying his belly and chest on my face:puke2:...disgusting!! Last time Iever tried to pull guard with that dude!!

Anyhow, stopping the carbs the first week seemed to kick my metabolism into gear...even when I miss a work out, I still lose a bit of weight because I also watch my calories as well. I hope this helps!

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If low carbs is working for you then I hope you stick with it. that being said, you can still drop weight even with keeping carbs in your diet. Its overall calories that determine weight loss not just carbs. Carbs are important to and athlete because they provide energy and most low CHO diets have you re-feed 1x a week to so you dont get flat and "fire up your metabolism" and increase leptin levels. plus long derations of low calories can effect thyroid function.

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Originally Posted by djansen

Congrats on choosing to get back into fitness! I am a certified PT and would be willing to help you out a bit.
first off, post your current diet. I would like to see what a normal day of eating looks like, diet is a huge part of the game and hitting the weights without proper nutrition is setting yourself up for failure. And there is ALOT of "broscience" around on the net and in mags so its sometimes tough to filter.

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You need to post in here more then :gj: Not just this post either :D

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Originally Posted by Boanerges

You need to post in here more then :gj: Not just this post either :D

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Haha thanks, one thing I noticed even getting certified is the amount of false info people just hear from some big dude and take it as the gospel.
I will post some articles and studdies to hopefully help some bros out :D

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Originally Posted by djansen

Haha thanks, one thing I noticed even getting certified is the amount of false info people just hear from some big dude and take it as the gospel.
I will post some articles and studdies to hopefully help some bros out :D

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Looking forward to it :gj: :gj:

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Originally Posted by djansen

Haha thanks, one thing I noticed even getting certified is the amount of false info people just hear from some big dude and take it as the gospel.
I will post some articles and studdies to hopefully help some bros out :D

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Don't forget about the women! There are alot of gullible women out there!

My friend (who used to be in shape before she had to go through some experimental drugs to carry a child) is one of these women. She was trained 3-4 years ago by this guy who owns the well known muscle shop in town, and she now worships the ground he walks on. I lost all my weight (35 lbs so far) just by working out and not eating like crap. Now she's on the wagon again, trying to do his diet he had her on before, and hasn't lost more than 10 lbs in almost 4 months! Granted, she's 41 and I'm 21, so our bodies are a little different. Also my diet is ALOT better than hers.

One thing people to remember is not one diet is going to be the magic trick for everyone. Everyone is different. I'm a firm believer it's all about the calorie in-take though!

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Originally Posted by Elise.m

Don't forget about the women! There are alot of gullible women out there!

My friend (who used to be in shape before she had to go through some experimental drugs to carry a child) is one of these women. She was trained 3-4 years ago by this guy who owns the well known muscle shop in town, and she now worships the ground he walks on. I lost all my weight (35 lbs so far) just by working out and not eating like crap. Now she's on the wagon again, trying to do his diet he had her on before, and hasn't lost more than 10 lbs in almost 4 months! Granted, she's 41 and I'm 21, so our bodies are a little different. Also my diet is ALOT better than hers.

One thing people to remember is not one diet is going to be the magic trick for everyone. Everyone is different. I'm a firm believer it's all about the calorie in-take though!

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Thank you for posting!!! I think your only the third girl to post in my sub-forum. This is possibly the third girl post to - lol

Lol. I love talking about working out and stuff. I'm always open to new suggestions on work out tips and diets.

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Originally Posted by Elise.m

Lol. I love talking about working out and stuff. I'm always open to new suggestions on work out tips and diets.

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what are you doing currently?

Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays I take a weight lifting class at my gym called Iron Grip. They're awesome, the trainers like to keep your heart rate up for majority of the time.

Tuesdays and Fridays I do an hour of cardio. 30 mins on the treadmill, max incline, 3.2 mph. I have short legs! Then 30 mins on this new machine they just got, it's basically an elliptical but your knees come up higher.

My diet could be better, but I'm not trying to build for a competition or anything. I try not to take in more than 1000 calories a day, and will have one "cheat" day a week.

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Originally Posted by Elise.m

Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays I take a weight lifting class at my gym called Iron Grip. They're awesome, the trainers like to keep your heart rate up for majority of the time.

Tuesdays and Fridays I do an hour of cardio. 30 mins on the treadmill, max incline, 3.2 mph. I have short legs! Then 30 mins on this new machine they just got, it's basically an elliptical but your knees come up higher.

My diet could be better, but I'm not trying to build for a competition or anything. I try not to take in more than 1000 calories a day, and will have one "cheat" day a week.

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1000 calories in a day!? I eat close to 1000 calories in the first 5-6 hours of my day lol

Wow thats verrryyy low

For someone like me who's just trying to lose weight, it's recommended to not take in more than 1200-1500. I most likely hit 1000 a day, but definitely don't go over 1500.

And I drink alot of water to keep me from grabbing "Just one" of something... Which normally turns into "Just ten".

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Originally Posted by Elise.m

For someone like me who's just trying to lose weight, it's recommended to not take in more than 1200-1500. I most likely hit 1000 a day, but definitely don't go over 1500.

And I drink alot of water to keep me from grabbing "Just one" of something... Which normally turns into "Just ten".

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Recommended? By who?

It depends on your body weight. 1000 calories a day probably means your losing a lot of muscle along with the fat your losing. A good ammount of your weight loss might actually be muscle that your losing :weirdface

I'm not sure, my BF looked it up. He researches extensively and will come up with his own verdict. It's worked for me.

I've recently just put on 3 pounds of muscle, so I'm not losing muscle. I'm gaining/maintaining.

I've looked at this website before, and put in how much I should be consuming. There's no way I can take in 2508 calories a day. Unless I ate like crap and way too often.

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Originally Posted by Elise.m

I'm not sure, my BF looked it up. He researches extensively and will come up with his own verdict. It's worked for me.

I've recently just put on 3 pounds of muscle, so I'm not losing muscle. I'm gaining/maintaining.

I've looked at this website before, and put in how much I should be consuming. There's no way I can take in 2508 calories a day. Unless I ate like crap and way too often.

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lol as long as it works for ya :gj:

Honestly thats very odd that your taking in so little calories but still gaining muscle. Thats an extremely tough thing to do :O

I think I gained all that muscle in places that never had muscle before, and that's why it popped up as gaining pounds. My legs don't get sore from doing walking lunges or swuats anymore, so it could be they're maxed out. Which is possible cuz sheesh... The way it looks when I flex is crazy! Nothing compared to my BF though. I've still got some fat covering it up! lol.

I think it was my abs, legs, and back that contributed to gaining pounds. It ticked me off seeing that number raise. But I know I didn't gain any fat.

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Originally Posted by Elise.m

Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays I take a weight lifting class at my gym called Iron Grip. They're awesome, the trainers like to keep your heart rate up for majority of the time.

Tuesdays and Fridays I do an hour of cardio. 30 mins on the treadmill, max incline, 3.2 mph. I have short legs! Then 30 mins on this new machine they just got, it's basically an elliptical but your knees come up higher.

My diet could be better, but I'm not trying to build for a competition or anything. I try not to take in more than 1000 calories a day, and will have one "cheat" day a week.

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Elise.m

For someone like me who's just trying to lose weight, it's recommended to not take in more than 1200-1500. I most likely hit 1000 a day, but definitely don't go over 1500.

And I drink alot of water to keep me from grabbing "Just one" of something... Which normally turns into "Just ten".

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Wow, for someone as active as you sound 1000 cals does seem very low. I loose weight at 2300 cals and if I at 1000 I think I would waste away haha.
have you checked your BMR using some more proven formulas?

Never heard of the BMR, but I just googled it. Came up with 1531.35, and another website said 1487. So if I burn ~1500 calories just going about my daily routine, and only burn about 1000 (at the most) at the gym, making a total of ~2500 calories a day... If I ate 2000 calories a day, it would be a waste of my time.

I'm assuming.

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Originally Posted by Elise.m

Never heard of the BMR, but I just googled it. Came up with 1531.35, and another website said 1487. So if I burn ~1500 calories just going about my daily routine, and only burn about 1000 (at the most) at the gym, making a total of ~2500 calories a day... If I ate 2000 calories a day, it would be a waste of my time.

I'm assuming.

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wow, you must not be a very big person lol ;)

Here is an EXCELENT writeup that I suggest you read when you get a chance.

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=121703981

And depending on how long you have been running in a caloric defecit I would throw in a re-feed day once a week where you eat slightly above maintenance, try to have it on a tough day in the gym and eat higher carbs with lower fat intake for this day.

Well, first I'm a girl. I'm only 5'4. Right now I weight 155. Yeah, I said it! Down from 185-190 so I'm damn proud of it!!!

Thanks for the link! I'll be looking over it.

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Originally Posted by Elise.m

Well, first I'm a girl. I'm only 5'4. Right now I weight 155. Yeah, I said it! Down from 185-190 so I'm damn proud of it!!!

Thanks for the link! I'll be looking over it.

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First off, congrats on the weight loss! thats pretty impressive. :gj:

whats kinda sad is my junior year of high school I wanted to loose some weight for basketball and I got down to 140 at my lowest and im 6ft. I looked more like a prisoner then a athlete. My parents showed me some pics of myself and looking back its shocking to see how I looked back then. I am 185 now and my goal is to hit 195-200, I have a long lanky build (long legs and arms, narrow shoulders) so im not going to be one of those big guys no matter how hard I try but its really all about setting realistic goals for yourself and going after them. Its because of that I got into weights and nutrition. its addicting haha!
good luck! :)

I'm not paying much attention to the number on the scale anymore. I just want to lose enough weight to where I'm happy with my body. I've started measuring my areas where I need to pay attention to, and that's what I''m going to focus on. I think too many people get caught up on that number that comes up on the scale.