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Originally Posted by mont
There have been a few threads lately discussing the desire for 6 pack abs and good muscle tone etc. Here is my take on the whole thing as per my own proof in the pudding.  |
After reading this I was expecting some pictoral proof!!!
Actually, I really like the way you explain the importance of the dietary component of developing an appealing physique.
I am another 'older' guy who recently decided to rebuild my body. I was too light and was becoming injury prone as a result. I have always had a fast metabolism and could generally get away with eating whatever I wanted. What people who thought I was just lucky to be able to eat whatever I wanted to eat without gaining weight didn't see, was that my daily eating habits, which I had taken years to develop, are the reason I was staying skinny. Little things like not snacking at night and often going to bed hungry without a second thought about it, eating regular meals and simply keeping physically active.
I tend to subconsciously adjust my eating based on my activity levels. When I am more active I eat more and when I am less active I eat less. I love good food but I am not obsessed with food in the least. Having said that I still had much room for improvement. I was always a bit of a carbohydrate junky and didn't place a whole lot of emphasis on eating enough quality protein. That is why I could never keep enough muscle on my bones.
Perhaps the most important contributor to keeping my weight down is the fact that I don't drink alcohol. Most people who drink do not realize how many excess calories they are putting into their bodies when they drink. While I did not drink I have been a smoker for my entire adult life so as part of my program I have quit smoking as well. I figured that if I am truly dedicated to improving my overall health that quitting smoking was the best place to start!
I recently began a weight lifting and dietary program(modelled after the Body-For-Life program) to put on some muscle weight while also keeping the fat off and lowering my body fat percentage to around 8-10%. I am 5'9" and I started at 149 lbs. I weighed myself last Sunday and weighed in at 166. The results are becoming quite visible when I look in the mirror now too.
The dietary changes I have made to effect the desired results have been to increase my protein intake with the help of using, on average, 3 meal replacement shakes per day on top of my regular breakfast, lunch and supper for a total of six or seven evenly distributed meals throughout the day. I have also supplemented with creatine to support muscle building and tribulus and ZMA to naturally increase/support testosterone levels. I believe these supplements have helped a great deal (even if only from the mental boost) but the most important changes have been the foods I eat and how/when I eat them.
For the first month or so I gained too much fat because I had increased my total caloric intake too much. Over the last couple of weeks I have made some adjustments such as increasing the carb to protein ratio in my meal replacement shakes from 3:1 to 2:1 or at times 1:1 and making them smaller and I am noticing that the initial excess fat is falling off without any drastic weight loss. That means the muscle is staying which is what I want. I plan to continue gaining up to around 175 and then I will further adjust my eating to get my body fat percentage to where I want it. I expect to reach those goals in another four weeks. Things are going as planned so far so I do not forsee any problems in getting to my desired weight.
As Mont said, working out in the gym is only one half of the equation to developing a strong lean physique. The other half is what you put into your body, or diet. Personally I don't like the word diet due to the negative associations it has with the countless fad diets that rob people of their money and self respect and do little to assist them in accomplishing any permanent weight loss.
