Routine Advice

[athena]

HI EVERYONE, I AM NEW ON THIS BOARD AND SO EXCITED TO HAVE SOME REPLIES ABOUT MY QUESTIONS, I HOPE THAT SOMEONE CAN HELP ME BECAUSE I AM VERY CONFUSED!!!!!

I AM TRYING TO LOOSE FAT IN MY WHOLE BODY BUT AT THE SAME TIME I WANT TO PUT MUSCLE SPECIALLY ON MY LOWER BODY, I WANT TO GROW MY LEGS AND BUTT BUT I THINK I AM DOING SOMETHING WRONG BECAUSE I AM LOOSING WEIGHT EVERYWHERE BUT MY BODY DOESN'T LOOK TONE........... I EAT VERY CLEAN, I HAVE BEEN WORKING OUT FOR 8 MONTHS, I DO MON: HEAVY LEGS, TUE: UPPER BODY, WEN: LIGHT LEGS, THUR: UPPER BODY AND CALVES, FRIDAY: HEAVY LEGS, SAT: WHOLE BODY OR EXTRA CARDIO........ I DO CARDIO FOR 30-45 MIN 5 DAYS A WEEK IN THE MORNING AND I WORK OUT MY ABS AS WELL WITH CARDIO....... I HAVE 4-6 MEALS A DAY INCLUDING PROTEIN SHAKES.......... I JUST WANT TO PUT SOME MUSCLE ON AND GET RID OF SOME FAT BUT I DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH WEIGHT TO LIFT AND WHAT TYPE OF SETS AND REPS...... I READ A LOT OF MAGAZINES AND WEBSITES BUT ALL I GET IS MORE CONFUSION WITH HIGH REPS, LOW REPS, SUPERSETS, PIRAMID SETS, THREESETS, AND SO...........I HEARD THAT YOU SHOULDN'T GO LONGER THAN 3 MONTHS WITH THE SAME ROUTINE, IS THAT RIGHT???

IS THREE DAYS FOR LEGS TOO MUCH???

HOW LONG DOES IT USUALLY TAKE TO SATART SEEING RESULTS???

I'VE ALSO BEEN READING A LOT ABOUT CREATINE AND GLUTAMINE AND IT SEEMS LIKE IT WORKS GOOD FOR MUSCLE WROWTH AND I WAS WONDERING IF 8 MONTHS WORKING OUT IS ENOUGH TIME TO START TAKING THEM, IF SO, WHAT IS THE BEST WAY AND TIME TO TAKE THEM AND SHOULD I TAKE THEM TOGETHER OR SEPARATELY AND WHAT WORKS BETTER, POWDER OR PILLS?



THIS IS WHAT MY DIET LOOKS LIKE

1. Protein shake with 4 strawberries before cardio

2. 6 egg whites and 1/2 cup oat meal with a medium banana

3. 1 protein shake with strawberries

4. tuna salad and 1/2 cup brown rice or tuna sandwich with wheat bread

5. 1/2 shake before lifting and 1/2 shake after

6. fish or chicken (mostly fish) with lots of veggies (asparagus, green beans or broccoli)

I drink 4lt of water every day and i take multivitamins, flax oil and glucosamine 2 times a day.

I'VE BEEN DOING THIS FOR 8 MONTHS AND I HAVENT SEEN THE RESULTS I WANT PLUS I AM STARTING TO GET TIRED OF THIS DIET.......

I HOPE THAT YOU CAN HELP ME REACH MY GOAL, ANYTHING WOULD HELP, I KNOW THAT THERE ARE HERE SOME GIRLS THAT HAVE BEEN WORKING OUT FOR A LONG TIME, SO I HOPE YOU CAN GIVE ME SOME IDEAS.

THANK YOU

[CubanChick]

Looks like you are eating pretty good. Make sure you watch your portions. Ok, so how what are your stats? weight, height etc...
How about your cardio? You can do all the cardio in the world, but if you are not doing high intensity interval training, it won't work. Post your cardio workout. Legs 3x a week, that sounds like too much... especially if you have fat to burn. How about your reps and weight? I usually start light with alot of reps and then increase the weight and lower my reps... as I go. At the end I usually drop the weight to where I started and hit it for about 2 sets of 15 reps or failure.....

Give a little more info on your cardio, etc...

[jsewell0203]

It sounds like you are doing all the right things. However one thing you seem to lack to truly trim the fat is a low-carb approach. Your diet is essentially low-carb but it doesn't sound low-carb enough to get radical results. You should not be afraid to push the envelope a little by reducing carbs.

Oatmeal, Banana, Strawberries, all must go if you want to really drop the body fat. Focus on egg whites, tuna packed in water, no sugar whatsoever. Use Splenda in your Coffee or Tea if you want a sweet drink once in a while. For a normal meal try the following;

6 ounces Sausage, Beef or Chicken
4 ounces Broccoli
1 or two eggs (depending on appetite)

I do not strip out the yolks. If you are getting the Cardio you say you are the extra cholesterol won't hurt you at all. You also need to ingest fats and proteins to burn body fat. It sounds worng - but it is exactly right. It works.

This is a Spartan diet but here is why it works so well. The Broccoli has the dietary fiber you need with a minimum of net carbs. The meat of course provides you with necessary protein as do the eggs. You can supplement also with protein shakes but you have to be careful about how you mix them. If you use milk it can be a lean diet buster because milk is loaded with sugar.

So be careful because you are doing everything right, it just happens to be frustratng when the little mistakes cost you as far as gains. I have lost about 35 pounds of body fat and gained about ten pounds of muscle eating essentially the following foods in moderation. Portions need to be small or you will not see any gains.

Sausage (great to cut up and steam along with broccoli, green beans, squash - all high fiber veggies).
Beef - I do a little, not a lot.
Tuna - Fantastic high quality protein that is good for you. You can even mix it with mayonaise which is pure protein and fat. Remember I beleive wholeheartedly in Atkins approach and I am walking proof that a high protein diet with moderate fat intake will not prevent you from getting lean.
Broccoli, Green Beans, Squash, Cabbage (fresh never frozen)
Eggs
Cheese - It is delicious, Most varieties has almost zero carbs and relatively high amounts of protein. I do not eat it regularly but when I feel like I need a snack I treat myself.
Peanut Butter - Is a great pre-workout snack as it gives you a small blood sugar rush but it has good quality fats and protein and I love it so it is one of my snack foods - mostly pre-workout so I can burn the carbs right away.
Coffee - Is my lifesaver. Quality strong coffee for flavor with a small amount of cream and sweetened with Splenda.
Shakes - are a great way to supplement your diet but avoid using milk to mix them. I use whey protein and water. To sweeten it, give it a creamier texture I add raw eggs, raisins and Splenda. It is delicious. Again you cannot eat this frequently but some carb intake is necessary to support an active excercise routine.

To drop the body fat however you have to reduce the carbs to almost zero, especially during inactive periods such as during the workday.

Best of luck!

[meera]

4 litres of water? Really? Wow! I can't get 1 in without "living" in the bathroom.

Your diet looks solid.

Oh! Where are my manners!!! Welcome to BB4U athena.

[athena]

THANK YOU SO MUCH for your replies guys, here is a little bit more about me.

CUBANCHICK..... I usually do 30 min of sprints on the treadmill or the step machine I do this 4 times a week and after that i do abs, i also like to do tae bo dvds once a week it works my whole body, when i say legs 3 times a week I do monday and wendesday 3 sets of threesets (3 defferent esersices) with no rest in between, 15 reps..... dumbell squats 15lb, lounges with 20lb barbell, step ups 15lb dumbells, reverse lounges, split squat, dead lifts, butt blaster 35lb, inner and outer thighs and then on friday I do heavy squats 4 sets of 12, 10, 8, 6 reps 45lb, leg press 4 sets of 12 reps 90 lb, lounges with 30lb barbell and leg extension 4 reps of 12, 10, 8, 6 I also do 2 exersices for hams, laying curl and seating curl 4 sets of 12.

JSEWELL0203 THANK YOU for the tip about carbs, I make my shakes with water i dont drink milk and if i have to, i drink sugar free soy milk, I dont like chees I prefer avocado I also love fruit and when I am craving something sweet I eat fruit.... is that bad???

MEERA I know 4lt of water is alot and you are right I "live" in the bathroom but I am used to it, I have this 2Lt bottle and i drink one at home and one when i work out is good for my skin, you should try........THANK YOU for welcoming me that was nice!!

Last but not least....... I am 27 years old, 5'2, 120lb I've been slim my whole life, I have a nice little figure but my muscles are very small and I have a lot of fat all over, my butt is not flat but when i loos weight it desappears and no matter what i do or eat i just can not get rid of my love handles

I for got to ask you guys..............WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THE CREATINE AND GLUTAMINE???? ............. I alredy bought them....

THANK YOU ALL AGAIN