right sacs, manual labor is good. i am framing right now so i get paid to work out. carying 14 foot 2x12's and such on a hot slab all day is a work out.

 

what in particular didnt you like about petes suggestions?

 

Yeh, swimming is supposed to be the best all around workout.

 

Guys, thank you, this is EXACTLY what I was looking for. Everything stated here makes really good sense. Heres a few more things I need to take into account.

pcupo, I would LOVE to be able to follow your routine. The only problem is that i work 7-3:30 SO its hard to establish a "morning workout" ya know what I mean? And since i get home fairly early in the day, i'm still pretty energetic. Plus, its hard to find time in the morning to cook eggs, and grill chicken while at work, haha. I'm going to try my best tho to have stuff prepared the day before so i can bring food like that to work, and just warm it up.


So as of now i've given up "soda" as you guys call it, haha Everyone makes fun of me cause we say "pop" round these parts...

No more fast food, and if i do, grilled chicken it is.

Bread is probably a huge contributer to my weight gain, I absolutely love it, and i eat it with everything. But if i substitute whole grain or wheat bread, and cut down on the intake, is that ok?

I'll be swinging past GNC today to see if i can find the aminos and protiens and stuff that you guys are talking about (i'm a total noob in that department) Is there maybe certain name brands i should look for, or is it pretty much universal.

Sac, i will definitely look into MuscleTech, think they'll have it at GNC?


As for the manual labor, there are things at my job that I can do, and will try to be more active in that aspect.



I'll post more info/questions as they come to me, but keep the responses coming, Its greatly appreciated!!

 

Lot of good advice here and different kinds for those with different preferences. Street Sniper hit the nail on the head with the sprint suggestion. This helps to build your metabolism and in turn, burn more fat even when you're not working out. I jog 4 miles 4 times a week and sprint in small 50-80 yard intervals throughout the run. That's one thing about running, you can always run faster...

 

And like pcupo said, it's better to eat smaller portions more times throughout the day, rather than larger portions a few times a day.

 

oh yeah, and sourdough is really low on the glycemic index too, meaning the carbs are less effective, so if you like sourdough, you can eat some of that too. but even with whole wheats and sourdough, keep it as low as you can manage. and yes, GNC will have Muscletech. its a huge national brand, but seriously, its expensive. you might even try ebay. thats what im going to do when i get back into lifting.

 

Meat and eggs. Just clogging the fuel lines.

 

Wish I could give you some advice. My metabolism is just fast and my body keeps any muscle tone that I've developed. I eat whatever I want whenever I want, and haven't had a problem yet. Though I did buy a pilates thing. I just have to find time to do it on a day when I don't feel like being lazy.

 

ive got to disagree with you there. when atkins was big, i tried it for about 8 weeks (also good timing to drop a few pounds for my wedding pictures) to experiment and support a friend who was on it. i ate about half a dozen eggs, a pound of bacon, and about 1-2 pounds of ground beef every day for almost 2 months, and then right about at the end of it, I had my blood panel done, and my cholesterol was on the low side of perfect. my HDL/LDL ratio was perfect. and i have an extensive family history of high blood pressure and high cholesterol, to the point that my dad needs pills daily to keep it down. or did until he became diabetic and stopped eating so many carbs. once he cut back on carbs, while still eating quite a lot of meats and eggs, but more veggies, he got all around healthier. so i think that fat is a bit over-rated on its damage. actually, for a weightlifter, fats are VERY important, since they fuel you for workouts. fat has about 9 calories per gram, and carbs have about 4. so the same amount of caloric intake from fat will burn off faster than that of intake from carbs.