1StGenCL

Hey all let me start by saying I never did a lot of working out and have always stayed pretty skinny but decided I wanted to tone up a bit. Everyone says I am thin (5'10" about 150) but i have some fat around my waste. I put on jeans and I feel like a girl for saying this but i have a slight roll so I decided to hit the gym and diet. I would randomly go to the gym 2-3 times a week for the past few months but now I am really getting focused.

Diet: Cut out the following for almost 3 weeks so far
Caffeine
Alcohol
Added Sugar
Dairy
Wheat
Gluten
Eggs
Red Meat
Shell Fish
Corn/corn products

Breakfast is usually a banana, kiwi or two, handful of strawberries, and a splash of pomegranate juice smoothie plus I have been trying to force myself to eat plain oat meal.

Lunch a veggie, ground chicken or turkey with homemade salsa, and rice.

Snack green pepper dipped in humus or something along those line

Dinner is usually half a bag of cooked spinach, white rice, fish, or lime grilled chicken.

5-6 bottles of water a day

Now this started because my gf gets migraines and they have her eliminating stuff to try to narrow down her triggers so there are some things I will bring back once she is off this crazy diet. Now I have been hitting the gym every other day and running 20 mins or so only twice a week. I absolutely hate to run but know I need to work on that area.

The gym is in my building and has all the standard machines and free weights but being a noob I only do the machines (3 reps of 12 on each). Now I have def. noticed a difference in my arms, shoulders, and chest and my stomach is slimmer and getting harder but it is becoming a hard lump, no shape. I know this is early on but I am worried I will have one of those weird stomachs if i keep this up.

Any ideas on exercises for this? Currently do sit ups on an elevated bench at about a 45 degree angle or so and an ab crunch machine but I really need to do more. I also live by the beach and bought a surf board recently that I hope to use more in the up coming months for some exercise. I can always feel my abs after going so I'm assuming this will help too.

Thanks

GIBSON6594

hmm, you're doing pretty well. Abs are made in the kitchen, having a six pack has very little to do with ab exercises. You probably have a six pack under your stomach fat. Thing is your diet is pretty solid.

A couple recommendations:

Put eggs back in your diet, just cut out the yolk.
Cut back on the fruit a little, it's really good for you, but it also has a lot of sugar.
Cut out the white rice. Try brown.

1StGenCL

Thanks, eggs will be coming back soon and I picked up some brown rice, I just hate cooking it because it takes double the time of white.

BraveDemon

Quoted for Great Truth. Chances are that many people have a six pack, its just hidden under a layer of fat. Fixing your diet is the only real way to get a six pack. Cut out carbs and foods that have a high fat/calorie ration and you're golden.

CarbonGray Earl

2 things for brown rice:

1) A rice cooker with a timer works wonders for "cutting down" the time for cooking brown rice. Prep the rice you're going to eat for dinner when you leave for work, or if you have a cooker with a long enough timer, you can prep it the night before for whenever you anticipate needing brown rice.

2) Cooking alot at a time helps. that way you can reheat it in the microwave.

incredulous1

cardio will also help you get rid of the fat

Josh99CL

Calories out > Calories in

1StGenCL

Thanks for all the advice but I feel like I am doing pretty well on the diet part of things and it is def. working. I have stuck to it and have only cheated once in the three weeks with a few mixed drinks one night and will def. be adding egg whites back to the mix soon and cutting down on the fruit.

My "love handles" if you will are gone and my stomach is getting there. I am confident in a few more weeks I will be fat free (well very lean) but again I feel like I am getting a solid mass in the ab area. My stomach is def. getting firmer but I feel like I am doing something wrong because I don't think I will ever have the six pack kind of look the way I am going. Sure it will be solid but...

Someone told me I have to clench my abs or something when working on them? Is this true? I have tried to concentrate on them and flex them while working out but I can't seem to do it.

GIBSON6594

When you contract the muscle during the excercies, breathe out as deep as you can.

I hate cars

The number one thing is to be consistant on your diet and don't give up. That last little lower belly fat is the last to go and can take 3 weeks after the rest of my body is very lean.

FiftyFive

I have a six pack, its just hiding Keep up the good work.

burtonblue75

add more or add weight to your ab work out. I was in your possition, and it seemed no matter how many crunches I did it just looked the same, try doing squats... what? ya do squats and try focusing everything on your abs, it works!
Also try doing leg lifts while either doing skull crushers or while doing bench press.... sounds crazy too but has also worked... umm.. get in the pull up position while in the up position keep your arms stationary and do side and front leg lifts
Anyways thats the stuff that finnaly put me where I am now... I am sure I will never be completely satisfied but I am at least content..

imj0257

iTrader: (1)

Same with me, I'm sure I will never be completely satisfied but I love where I am at compared to where I was about... a year ago.
I've been doing massive cardio which got my weight in general and my waist line and belly fat down to almost where I want it now (still trying to get rid of a little of that pesky side fat in the abdominal region) and also I've been eating better than I was. I used to eat like at least 5 fast food meals a week and now that is probably down to 1 a week (I will NOT give up that one 'vice' meal a week).
If I stand in front of a mirror and do nothing then I generally can't see much of my six pack but if I tighten my abdominal region I can see my six pack, or if I 'lean back' a little bit I can see it too lol. So I know what I'm doing is working because that wasn't the case a year ago.
Also I've been working on different ab workouts such as planks, bicycles, and crunches on the swiss ball. Also when I do pull-ups or chin-ups it works my abs a big because I cross my legs and use my core region to keep straight and not sway back and forth.

Btw I still eat dairy, shellfish (shrimp), and sorry but I CANNOT give up alcohol

1StGenCL

Thanks for the tips, this is exactly what I was looking for.

As for giving up alcohol, yes it was def. not an easy thing especially when you go out with friends and don't drink but I think that is the single best thing I have done to cut weight. I would say I had a drink or two a few times a week and have a night or two when I have 10 plus beers. At the very least you are looking about 100 calories in a light beer so that is a 1,000 calories right there not to mention the half a pizza I eat after going out.

Alcohol makes a huge difference IMO

imj0257

iTrader: (1)

Yea I won't deny that alcohol is one of the biggest if not the biggest factor for guys and getting rid of body fat/getting lean. I've heard it many places including Men's Health magazine. I don't drink as much beer and instead started drinking rum n diet's so now I'm only taking in half as many calories with each drink, and it tastes good too

amisconception

FYI Trader Joes, not sure if you have one where you live, has microwaveable brown rice that's already cooked. It takes two minutes literally.

burtonblue75

AMEN brotha! or.... yea uh Wally World. Love that stuff, I cook up some vegies steamed, and just make double grilled chicken goes great..
Or they also make already cooked salmon in the same type pouch woot woot!