I'm getting flabby

[Branical]

I've been around 135 lbs. for the past 8 years and no matter what I ate, I couldn't gain weight. Now that those days are over, I've gained about 15 lbs. in the past 3 months, mostly around my waist. I've never really "exercised" and I could use some pointers, like how often I should work out, when to rest, what to eat, etc.

My main goal is to work on my (nonexistant) abs and arms. For the past week I've been doing 10 sit ups and 10 push ups during commercial breaks, averaging around 100 of each a day, but like I said, I don't know exactly what a good number is and how many days I should rest per week.

[Piston]

First, you need to change the way you eat.  A lot of fat, disgusting, obese Americans eat for sport. Dieting is always going to fail if you are hungry.  Hunger makes people irrational so even if you have great willpower when full, you will always fuck up your diet while you are hungry.  The hunger says "feed me, you only live once, etc etc." So eat to relieve hunger, when you are no longer hungry, stop.  The best way is to eat several small meals a day, instead of three. I eat about ten times a day.

Second, what do you eat? This is the hardest part because if you are used to rich fatty foods this can become a shell shock.  The bad news is that eating healthy is more expensive. I saw one of your pics and you were wearing a hard hat.  People in hard hats usually make at least 5 dollars more an hour then those that mop floors so maybe this is not an issue for you.  The good news is that you are eating less so your fat ass is no longer consuming as much, so you can buy the more expensive foods.  The good news is that once you get used to eating healthy things that taste good you no longer craze fatty disgusting foods.  This is good for people with addictive personalities ( those that get the fucking "insane title" ) because eating healthy now becomes a hobby.  Ok, so what do you eat?  If you like cooking allrecipes.com has some really good healthy recipes, but like, you are  a guy, ok so all I can share is what I eat...

Lite Silk Soy Vanilla milk. The shit is tasty as fuck.  It is like a vanilla milkshake, but not thick.  Kaishi makes a cereal called "Golean Crunch"  As a new bodybuilder you will generally want to consume about 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight so a breakfast high in protein is great.  The other Goleans are really bland. I cut up fruit, blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, etc.  I cycle in the bland goleans so that crunch doesn't lose its "zaaz".  

A protein powder.  Don't get the cheap jew stuff, get something in a small bottle and make sure you like the flavor first, mix it with a blender with fruit.  Again, this is how you get your protein.  You need to feed those muscles protein so they can regenerate.  Muscle's build by scarring.  You need to repair them.  It is also a meal replacement.  Note: protein bars are shit, total shit, some of those fucking bars have 400 or more calories.  

Granola bars.  Kaishi is the cheapest brand that have protein and are not terrible for you.  They are bland compared to Quaker but that is because those are like repackaged candy bars.  You will need granola bars to get you through the day because you will fail a diet if you are hungry.  Keep them handy so you can eat a half or a whole bar if eating a small meal is inconvenient.(like work)  You will get hungry way more often since you are eating less at meals.

Fuck bread. Sorry but bread is shit.  A lot of companies are making "flat rolls". They are your new God.  They are like 100 calories and make good sandwiches.  Seriously.

Soy meat.  Most soy meat products are fucking terrible. Like, I have bought them all once...Morningstar makes the best ones.  Even so, a few of them are total shit.  The grillers prime, the gardenburger, and the spicy bean blackburger are always in my house.  For 120 calories then are really good.  

Vegetables. Someone had to say it.  Put them on all your sandwiches as filler.  Get the ones you like. Spices.  Spicy is good. Jalepenos, red pepper flakes help many bland dishes good.  

Lean Cuisines. They are tasty, they have variety, they are quick. They have low calories and decent protein. Man cannot live on lean cuisines alone because those niggers add 10 pounds of sodium in each one.  They are good, but its fucking annoying how much sodium are in prepackaged meals.

I am going off on a tangent so I am just going to spit everything else in one small category because I still have way more to talk about in the weight lifting department.  Other things I eat: A handful of almonds a day, subway is good fast food, hummus, tuna without mayo (good mustards are awesome), lean chicken cooked a million different ways.

Also, eat right away when you wake up.  The reason you don't wake up screaming hungry from sleep is that your body slows down your metabolism.  Spark that metabolism into high gear right away.  Also, don't starve yourself. When you are hungry the body is afraid it will starve so it slows down the metabolism again.

The best part about being an elitist with your food is watching all the sorry, sad, fat Americans hustle to Wendy's to speed up the number one cause of death, heart disease. You can mock them with your superior eating habits as they chose a McDouble without a thought regarding the calorie count.  Your poor eyes have to envelop their nauseating obesity.  Just like the disclosure of AIDS right before a one night stand, a fatso plopped down right in front of your pretty scenery is a day ruining event.

Ok, lifting stuff. I have been working out the past 12 years to stay fit and to keep toned.  If you have dreams of becoming the next Arnold, then this is not for you.

First, going to the gym.  It helps, but you don't neeeed it.  You can decently tone without one.  If you have access to it, awesome.  I go to the gym and supplement it with many home exercises.  

How to work out:  Starting, only work out one muscle in one day.  You will be sore as fuck so if you do a whole body workout the correct way you will be calling out of work the next day.  I once had a friend ask me for advice and I specifically had him work out every muscle really hard.  We are no longer friends.  Seriously.

Muscle groups, Abs(side abs as well), legs ( if you run correctly these will develop on their own, you can also work them out by themselves), biceps, triceps, traps, lats, pecs, shoulders, forearms ( most bicep workouts will take care of your forearms so don't worry about them until much later)

The thing with building muscle is challenging your muscles.  After your body gets used to a workout you need to change it up.  If you no longer get sore after a workout you are doing it wrong.  There are lots of controller muscles that develop with a specific exercise.  You will stop getting results if you do the same thing every day forever.

Ok, home exercises. If you can use a fucking gym, use the machines, they are usually idiot coded so I won't go into what works because like I said, you want to change it up.  However, toning is high reps, 4-5 sets, 10-15 reps. Highest weight you can do for x number of reps.  Remember, you want to take it easy until your out of shape shitbox body gets used to the idea of working out.  Take it easy to start.

Pushups.  These are good to start on your chest, back, shoulders, and triceps.  You can move your hands farther apart or closer together to target different muscles with different intensity.  

Sit-ups, crunches, and side situps. Make sure to hit those side abs. I didn't hit the side ones for years and I looked retarded.

Pull-ups. Find something you can use as a pull up bar.  I used to have a playground next to my house. The best part about a pull up is that you can position your arms in different positions and you can change a few muscles targeted. ( you will always challenge your back with a pull up)

biceps. You will need props. Fill up gallons of water and hold one or two and curl them.  You can also do shoulder raises and "butterflys" with them.  Look up what a butterfly is because I don't feel like explaining it.

Running.  I like running 1.5 miles as fast as I can.  Any longer and I get bored.  I do it every other day.  It works out your legs if you run correctly.  

With your original question "how many should I do and how long should I rest" There is not solid answer. You need to "read" your body.  If you get sore, you are doing work, if not, you need to change it up. Don't workout a body part if it is sore, it is still repairing. You don't want to fuck it up.

I am tired of typing so this is done.

[Himeko]

I think Piston pretty much summed up most of it, except a couple of things:
Drink water. More water, like there should almost be a glass or bottle in front of you at all times. Not soda, not energy drinks, not coffee, but water. Constantly drinking cuts down on hunger pangs, helps flush your system, and keeps you regular. Your urine should be clear enough that you could almost get away with taking a piss and not flushing because it doesn't even tint the bowl.

[Dleduc02]

Strongly agree with the comments made in regards to eating first thing in the morning and drinking water like it's oxygen. I've recently made a few small changes to my routine, and thrown in a good 2 hour walk daily and I've lost 15 pounds this month alone.

[Branical]

Wow Piston, thanks for taking the time to write that all out! My hardhat actually says Visitor on it, and I more likely fit the profile of broke college student. I've pretty much been doing the exact opposite of what you've said; Since I've never had to worry about weight before I've developed some pretty bad habbits, like almost never eating breakfast. I tend to go long periods without eating because I don't feel hungry, but when I do eat, it's stuff like Digiorno pizzas, corndogs, and canned food. One good thing though is that I very rarely eat at fast food joints, maybe In-n-Out once every 2-3 months.

I really like my fruits and vegetables and I try to eat healthy, but it mainly comes down to cost. I don't buy junk food like soda, chips, candy, ice cream, etc., but on my income it's hard to buy enough healthy food for 3 meals a day. If you have any cost-effective recipes, I would love to try them out.

What exactly should I look for when buying protein powder? It seems like there's 500 different kinds, some with beta carotine, some without. I have no interest in become ripped like Arnold, just toned enough so I don't look like a flabby weakling.

Does tea count the same as water?

All this help is greatly appreciated!

[emi]

I notice Asmo didn't reply but he's really been inspired by your post, Piston. He, and I, thank you for that.

[Piston]

Ok.
First, protein is a matter of educating yourself.  There are some companies that pack it with sugar as a "weight gain/protein" which is junk. Any idiot can have a spoonful of sugar as a weight gainer.  Look at calories and protein content. I really like Myoplex.

Cost means you are going to have to start cooking.  Beans are super cheap and can be flavored many different ways. Allrecipes.com is amazing for that.  Cheap protein is beans and shakes. Anything else is lean meat. Chicken, tuna, etc.

One example is http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Homemade-Black-Bean-Veggie-Burgers/Detail.aspx?src=etaf

They are really good and really cheap.  You can spice them up 100 different ways to make them taste totally different. That is what I would do on a budget. 

You are welcome Bran, Asmo, and Emi.  It makes eating a hobby so it is fun. 

p.s. right, water.  water is super.

[Binks]

[Digo]

Tea is a diuretic and will dehydrate you. Drink water. Get a canteen and keep that sucker in front of you all the time. I probably drink like 15 glasses of water a day.

This site is more aimed at girls (and there are often vids of hot chicks working out), but the advice is solid and applies to men as well. He really knows what he's talking about. http://joshsgarage.typepad.com/ Check out the old archives videos about the 300 workout.

[Binks]

[Branical]

I just made the black bean burgers and they are good as fuck. I had a problem with them sticking to the foil and disentigrating when I tried to flip them, so I had to eat them sloppy joe style.

[Piston]

Yeah, no one said eating healthy was pretty. They are great though.

[Arkada]

Everything Piston told ya was spot on.  One thing I would add, is using the Harris-Benedict formula to figure out how many calories you should be consuming.  I made the mistake of trying to diet and go to the gym, and wasn't getting any results.  Turns out, I wasn't eating enough.  I was tricking my body into storing more than it should have been.  I increased my caloric intake to 2500-3000 calories a day (total) and lost 30+ pounds over a ~6 month period.  This was all weight gained by sitting around raiding for retarded amounts of time!  I have sinced gained back about 7 pounds (not fat this time!) and am sitting at 5' 8" and 212 lbs now (under 19% BF)

I eat  5-6 times per day - no way could I do 10.

If you're interested in building size, figure out 4-5 different exercises for each body group, and use a different exercise every time you hit the gym, never let your muscles get used to anything.

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