ExRx.net

Hi guys, I'm a total newbie at this. I've been doing some exercises at the gym, and I find that my muscle firms up, but I'm getting fatter and fatter across the waist.

When I get up in the morning, I have about maybe 600 ml of Corn soup.
I have 6 pieces of california roll for lunch, and I usually eat a pack of microwave package noodles (600 cal) for dinner around 9:45pm. I sleep around 1am and get up around 7 am.

I usually do my cardio around 6:15 when I have my break at work.
I do about 300 cals on the machine, and some weight training-target most of my muscle groups until it's sore.

My food intake can't be more than 1200 cals in my estimation. My fat used to concentrate more on the chest area than waist (not necessarily a good thing, as I'm a guy) but what could've cause this fat proportion change? Now I have a whole bellyful of fat to get rid of, but I'm already doing a lot of exercises, and eating very little relatively.

My height is 5"5' and I am about 150 pounds currently.

Please help! Thank you!

You're eating very little and what you do eat is starch. It's no wonder you're having trouble. You don't give your age but that has an impact on your body composition. You actually have to make an effort as you get older.

Read this thread: http://exrx.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4616

Read John Berardi's articles.

Here are the most important commandments:



By the way, don't think of corn as a vegetable. It's a grain and is high in sugar.

Get more sleep.

Stu

Sorry to be so blunt but that diet of yours is very, very poor. Wheres the veggies? Fruits? Meats? Healthy Fats? Supplements?

Those microwave packaged microwave noodles are no good. Whats the sodium content in that crap?

Your metabolism is in this slump at the moment where it is acustomed to your low calories consumption & composition of calories (all carbs). To lose weight you needs to uptake your fats and protein and lower the carb intake to mostly miniscule levels.

Whats this cardio of yours like? very short and intense? a brisk long (worthless) walk? Give an an example of what a typical weight routine would be. Sounds like circuit training but numbers would help out alot. If you didn't yet read my diet tips page that stu linked.

Have more whole foods. Eggs, nuts, salad w/ added veggies, meats (not hotdogs!), HEALTHY oils (ex: olive oil), whole wheat based foods. Have one day a week of higher carb intake.

Give us more info/details.

As the other guys said, you're eating way too little and it's primarily carbohydrates. Very little fat or protein. You won't lose much fat because your body is going to conserve as much as possible - it's down-regulating your metabolism. You won't get bigger or stronger because you aren't giving your body any fuel to use to get bigger.

If you plug your diet into this:
http://whfoods.org/foodadvisor.php

...you'll find that you are really getting very little actual nutrition. That site promotes the eating of healthy whole foods, and it's a good resource. Eat more food from that site's list and you'll be much better off.

It seems counter-intuitive, but if you are working out hard, you need to eat a lot of protein and fat and get lots of nutrients to lose fat. It can be hard to get your head around - "I need to eat more or I'll be both skinny and flabby" - but it's true.

Peter

Hi, sorry about the missing information. I'm 23 right now.
The thing about my lifestyle is that I leave for school early morning, and then go straight to work, so I'm trying to find time to exercise, because of my current situation, I find that the 45 min lunch break I have at work is the only time I can workout. Do you have any suggestions for the things that are nutritious but portable? I'm thinking about bringing a bag of raisin bran and those fiber cereals with me in a bag, along with thermos filled with soy milk, and maybe some bananas. Would that be balanced enough? What about hard boiled eggs?

There is a lot you can do in 45 minutes. Take a look at the beginner's routines sticky in the main forum and look for "simplefit." It's a routine of pushups, pullups, and squats. You don't need weights, just a place to do pullups, and it's plenty challenging for someone starting out. You won't get big on it, it's not that kind of routine, but you'll get stronger and get stamina as well.
Heck, here it is:
http://www.simplefit.org/

Read their diet suggestions, too. The guy who runs it basically endorses "The Zone" by Barry Sears, but it's good eating advice to keep in mind even if you don't eat that way.

You diet will need more work than that. Bananas are good, but you'll want more fruit than that, and more varied fruits - oranges, apples, pears, whatever else you can get. Mix it up. Same with vegetables. Get lots and get varied - try to eat a good mix of green leafy veggies (spinach, romaine lettuce, etc) and cruciferous veggies (broccoli, cauliflower, etc.).

Eggs are fine. Hard-boiled eggs are just handy. Eat the whole thing, don't toss the yolk, it's the fattiest portion but it's also where all the nutrients are. Don't be afraid of fats.

The raisin bran is okay, but where is the protein? That's all carbohydrates (bran, raisins). Add a few nuts (almonds and walnuts aren't expensive and are good sources of nutrients) and some protein - dried meat is good for that, so is whey protein power. Bring some dry whey powder and a shaker cup and you can mix it up on the spot. Cans of tuna in water are also good, although I doubt it'll taste so great with the raisin bran.

Whenever you eat, try to get some protein, some carbohydrates, and some healthy fats (omega-3 fatty acids, mono- and polyunsatured fats, it's easy to get saturated fats). Check that website I referred you and look at their "healthy foods" list.

You should also read through ALL of the stickies on this forum. It's good stuff, and the admins have done a good job of sticking stuff up there everyone could benefit from reading. You've got to do your homework to really benefit from these forums, but you'll learn a LOT about eating properly in the process.

Hope that helps,

Peter

Throw out the raisin ban. Here's what I woud suggest doing. Go out to the store, get some wholewheat wraps, tortillas, or prefereably those flax/oat bran/ whole wheat Lavash wraps. They light, flexible full of fiber and light in calories. Stuff those babies full of meat anf some veg condiments and carry them with you. For veg, here's what I take to work with me every day, get some tupperware. Get some canned or frozen veg you like, mix some up in a big bowl so you can save it for 3-4 days in the fridge. Dress it up w/ some olive oll and lemon juice or vinegar. Take portions w/ you in tupper ware. Cook ahead and bing some cooked meat fish/chicking in zip lock bags. Bing some fruit w/you. Just use a little common sense and imagination. The wraps I mentioned are great for breakfast. The night before, scramble up some eggs w/ whatever else you like, stuff it in a wrap. Next morning, toss it in a microwave; viola, breakfast. Finish w/ a banana.
Tim