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Beginner looking for advice please


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firstly I am sorry if I am posting this in the wrong place, I wasn't really sure of the best place.

 

I am really hoping I can get some help and support from people in the know, especially as I tried signing up to another bodybuilding forum and got spoken to awfully, belittled, judged and called stupid just because I am a beginner with limited knowledge and understanding, Not to mention being told I need to eat meat fish and dairy because vegan bodybuilders are fake. So I'm really hoping I will find a more understanding home here.

 

So my name is lexie. I'm 26 from the uk, After seeing numerous pictures of women lifting heavy weight I got inspired to get in to power lifting specifically dead lifting and squats . so I joined a gym at the end of march and have bin working hard but am now needing some advice from people in the know so my questions are as follows.

 

1) How do i loose fat without loosing muscle:

I have bin being weighed periodically at the gym on fancy scales that tell me my fat mass muscle mass etc, Now i have read these can be fairly inaccurate but am a little concerned as since joining it says I have lost 5lbs with 1lb of that being muscle

since joining the gym I am feeling fitter and stronger and my clothes are fitting better so physically I feel like everything is headed the right way, I am starting to get definition in my arms for the first time EVER which is awesome

I am trying to loose about 2 stone of fat that I gained during/after the birth of my children so really need some advice on how to loose fat while holding on to my muscle/ building more muscle

 

2) Calorie counting advice

I keep being told I need to count calories however we cook everything from scratch and I physically do not understand how I am meant to workout the calorie content of a meal that is all fruits vegetables nuts seeds etc all from scratch and not pre made packaged food I just cant get my head around it ( also to add we cook as a family so I cannot afford financially or time wise to be making myself a separate meal to what every one else is eating we do eat imo fairly well though, i even sore a nutritionist for advice b4 joining the gym but am here for pointers etc, I am trying to make this a lifelong change vs a quick diet.

 

3) Protein

I keep being told (always by meat eaters) that i need more protein, I am still unsure if a protein shake would be good for me or not as i have always tried to get everything I need directly from food.

 

4) what else can I be doing to help with burning fat/Building muscle

 

 

At the moment i go to the gym 4x a week, first thing when I wake up , i have bin doing cardio, legs, cardio, arms, my plan is currently being re written though to change it to doing upper body 2x a week and lower 2x a week with a bit of cardio in each session

 

Food wise

 

I wake up go to the gym, drink loads of water usually with lemon while im their. come home have a green smoothie full of kale, cabbage, carrots, kiwis, ginger, ground nuts and seeds and hemp oil. then i will have my lunch and we have our main meal at lunch time. then dinner is usually leftovers of lunch or something else entirely. I try not to eat much bread pasta pastry etc , i try and put beans in as many things as I can

 

I have bin vegetarian for 5 years , I am still a work in progress vegan as occasionally have eggs but am working my way around finding substitutes for them which si going well at the moment again would love support in ironing out any kinks I am having with becoming fully vegan

 

I'm just really lost and really want some simple understandable advice from people who get all of this ^^^^

Please don't hate me for being a beginner and not understanding

 

Thank you in advance xxxx

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  • 2 months later...

I don't have much advice for losing fat without muscle, as I seem to not be able to lose any fat but keep gaining muscle, hah.

 

Honestly I think you should find a coach to get macros from. You can use MyFitnessPal to track, but i admit it's quite annoying to have to weigh and portion everything and log it when you're eating mostly raw fruits/vegetables. It takes a big commitment to do that (although, planning your meals beforehand makes it easier, and if you're down to eat the same thing for months- go for it.) Eventually I hear you get good enough at guessing the macros to things and doing macro-math in your head that you won't necessarily need a meal plan, but I do think it's really helpful to have macros when you're trying to reach a goal and starting out.

 

I, personally, use protein shakes, but I've been lifting for a good year, consistently, and i'm trying to build as much muscle as possible right now, and my protein macros are pretty high.

 

Also, I don't know how true it is, but I've been told by numerous coaches to only do cardio AFTER weight training. Maybe try that out and see if you notice a difference in a few weeks.

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