[AnonymousBosch]

I've been helping Kaii with a Beginner 6 month workout plan tailored to the specific equipment he has available in his home, initially-focused on weight loss and muscle growth rather than strength. The other four goals for this six month period were: to learn correct form and the ability to isolate; to increase growth hormone and testosterone production; to re-programme the motor units so the nervous system adapts more quickly; and, obviously, correct dietary change to keep him fuelled and growing without him feeling hungry.

I'd called in a personal favour from a trainer mate for the diet side of things, but he hasn't delivered. As I've mentioned in the past, my own diet is very specifically-tailored around my allergies to both egg and milk due to a genetic defect at birth. I've been monitoring my diet for at least 24 years now to the total exclusion of both of these, meaning a lot of my substitutions are expensive, or involve the Dreaded Soy, which hasn't decreased my T-Levels, as of yet. (To some degree, I don't really know what Normal People eat anymore, other than it generally looks like unhealthy crap full of empty kilojoules).

Would anyone be interested in stepping up and offering nutritional and dietary advice for a normal system? He has access to and can afford fresh food. As he's an American, focus on Calories.

Remember, don't take him too far, too quickly. He's a Beginner. Don't dump him under a tonne of information meant for Advanced Bodybuilders. He needs to be properly-grounded in the basics of a training diet, before he gets into the realm of extensive supplementation.

Don't shred him yet. Whilst his goal is to eventually be Big and Lean, I see that as a Long Term Goal better addressed after the first initial year of training. Think Lose Weight, Add Size for now.

His stats and what he's initially doing so you know what to address:

Age: 40
Height: 5'8"
Weight: 262 (down from 300)
Weight lifting experience: beginner

Since the Initial Goals of this period are best addressed by Whole Body Training, he'll be doing that for the initial 12 weeks, three days a week. He'll move up to Split Training 4 days a week after that.

Weeks 1-4 are about initial training of the nervous system: 8 exercises, a mix of compound and isolation movements, 3 Sets x15 reps, focus on correct form to avoid injury and maximise results, and mastering isolation where necessary.

Weeks 5-8 are about adding volume and variety to the training: adding another 8 exercises on top of the initial 8, new exercises are 2 Sets x15 reps, 2x12-15 reps for the old, 15 for calves and abs, focus as before.

Weeks 9-12 are about targeting all the muscle fibres in a group within a week, by adding another 8 exercises into the mix, but doing three different 8 exercise programmes a week, . Sets are increased to 4 for each exercise, reps are dropped to 10-12, but a fixed target of 12 for the final day each week, calves and abs remain at 15, focus as before.

This should have him ready for Split Training by Week 13.

Hopefully, that's enough background for anyone who is interested in helping. It'd be much appreciated.

[H1N1]

I don't feel qualified to give better advice than you could, AB, so I wouldn't put myself forward.

This is generous of you, and I'm certain Kaii will see great progress under your direction - respect for this act of kindness.

[StrikeBack]

The very first step I use to help anyone with nutrition is to get them to write down everything they eat (all meals, all snacks, all drinks) for one week. Tag each of them with: Home Cooked, Take Away (or Take Out for Americans), Social and Snacks.

This helps immensely with their awareness of what they are actually eating vs what they think they're eating. It also tells them right away what they need to change first (i.e the low-hanging fruits). For example, if they snack on calorie-dense foods a lot, snacks should not be available in the house. Or if Take Away is a huge percentage of weekly meals, they need to cook more.

Then I make gradual small changes from there until all the good habits are in place.

I find that big changes right from the start never stick. I also find that people who don't have the discipline to do this never make any long lasting change to their diets.

[Kaii]

First, a huge thank you for AB for helping me out. He is really taken the time to give me tons of information and a great starter program, I am very grateful.

I am also thankful for the help you guys are giving me, I really appreciate it.

Sincerely,
Kaii

[kosko]

Yes I second the advice of getting a inventory of what you currently eat. Apps like MyfitnessPal make this much more easy and will spit out the calorie and Marcoicro information for you.

Next write down a list of healthy foods you enjoy. Maybe you like green beans but hate green peas, everybody will have prefences so the goal is to get a list of healthy staples you can use to build a solid meal plan with.

Now decide if its time or price to adhere to for food. Some people don't have the time to cook meals and then buy healthy foods and meals which is pricy and sometimes does not give you want you want. Ideallly if you can roast your own fish and veggies for meals it would be more easy for you to track and you can make a meal you like 100%.

Take a moment to think about those and then when you reply I can offer some more advice.

[Ringo]

Congratulations on deciding to get in shape.

Most people I know who have issues with their diets have a hard time preparing meals - either because they don't have the time, the will or know how to cook.

I've recently discovered crockpots and slow cooking and they can be immensely helpful if you have have issues with any of the above.

There is a plethora of knowledge and recipes around, like the Who needs a wife when you've got a slow cooker? thread and Crock-Pot.com.

Bottom line: there is no better way to save money and eat healthy than cooking at home. If doing so is an issue, invest in a crock pot, throw meat and vegetables in there for 4-8h before bed and wake up to an awesome, wholesome, healthy meal.

[StrikeBack]

^^ I just got a Breville slow cooker which can also do pressure cooking and steam. Highly recommend! Save time, money and eat healthy foods!

Yes if you can get straight into logging macros via MyFitnessPal or the likes (I use that too) then it's fantastic. Ultimately with nutritions, the following is roughly the impact each will have on your results:

1: Total calories 50%
2: Macros (Protein / Carbs / Fats ratio) 30%
3: Food Quality 10%
4: Others e.g Intermittent Fasting, insert diet strategy here 10%

By logging your meals, you're already taking care of 1 and 2, which is 80% of your results. By cooking and choosing quality foods, you will take care of 3. The rest (4) is just gravy.

[Lagavulin]

Two good bits of advice I can think of with respect to nutrition are to buy your food in bulk and to pre-prepare it in bulk. It's easy to eat clean for a period of time but nothing will derail your diet quicker than those unexpected periods when you're really busy and have to eat on the move - it can hard to find good quality, clean food to take away when you need it quick, so you need to be committed and you need to be prepared.

Buy your meat in bulk from a butcher and freeze it. I phone my local butcher and he makes me up a pack, usually 5-10kg of chicken breast and 5-10kg of steak mince (I believe you call it ground beef in the US). This way I get a discount and guarantee the quality. Chicken breasts in supermarkets are often full of water, and minced beef has a higher fat content than from the butcher - poorer quality. Just remember to defrost it before you plan to cook - because it's a bitch when you forget!

Another thing I buy in bulk is natural nuts. I order them online and usually get them in kilo packs. I buy mainly cashews, brazils and almonds and mix them in a plastic tupperware box which I use to refill a small tub that I take to work each day and a larger tub that I keep in my car. I normally keep a protein shake ready to go in the car too, these help to stop me getting caught out from time to time.

How often you spend cooking will depend on how much you prepare at a time. You can prepare enough meals for a week in just 1-2 hours on a Sunday morning, or whenever is convenient for you. If you want to cook less, you'll need to prepare more, hence spend a larger chunk of any given day doing the work. It really is worth the effort though. Every once in a while I will spend some time cooking up a lot of food for freezing, then usually I do an hour or so on a Sunday keeping my supply topped up.

There's nothing fancy about the meals - chilli or stir fried chicken/sweet potato/broccoli served into a pyrex dish. I used to use plastic for this until I read that the plastic degrades through time in the microwave and leaches chemicals into your food. To what extent I don't know but it seemed prudent to buy some decent pyrex food storers for long term peace of mind (square shaped so they fit nicely together in the freezer to maximise space). Anyway I digress.

My lunches are all prepared the night before. When I get home from work I will chop and roast 2 x sweet potatoes. Once they've cooled they go in a tub with a good helping of spinach, handful of cherry tomatoes, chunk of cucumber and good portion of whatever meat I've bought at the deli. That box is enough for 2 meals throughout the day. I will also make up a bagel with good quality deli meat. 3-4 rice cakes, small tub of nuts, banana, apple and kiwi fruit helps see me through the day.

Quality food is more expensive so I will buy my meat from the butcher, nuts and whey protein in bulk usually when I've just been paid. This keeps my weekly food bills down. My weekly shopping list would then look something like this:

2.5kg bag of sweet potatoes (around 5.5 pounds)
Rice I will have have in bulk at home
Oats I will have in bulk at home
6 pints of milk
10-15 bananas - half yellow, half greenish
Bag of apples
Box of kiwi fruit
Bagels
Good quality cold / cooked meat from the deli counter at supermarket
Celery
Avocados
Bag of spinach
Bag of kale
Ginger
A pineapple
Rice cakes
Eggs and anything else I fancy throwing in my omelettes that week
Tomatoes
Cucumber
Frozen berries
Green tea
Peanut butter
Any other ingredients I need for any food I plan to prepare on Sunday

For breakfast I make a smoothie in my blender which will include:
A banana
Handful of frozen berries
Small cup of oats
2 scoops of whey protein
Scoop of peanut butter
Milk

I train before work in the morning. I'll have a protein shake and a banana after my workout.

When I get into work I'll have my bagel and an apple - within an hour of finishing my workout.

Late morning I'll have half of my prepared lunch, the other half will be eaten mid afternoon, and in between I'll have my rice cakes, nuts and kiwi fruit.

When I get home my sweet potatoes go in the oven, I get my gym kit ready for the next day, prepare the rest of my lunch and that nights dinner - either an omelette or pre-prepared meal out the freezer.

Whilst I'm doing this I will throw a few ingredients in the blender and knock that back - 2 sticks of celery, half an avocado, a good slice of pineapple, handful of kale and some ginger.

That's pretty much how I eat, I'll relax a bit at the weekend but I'll still aim to eat 5 high protein meals a day consisting of good quality produce. I usually get 10-11 portions of fruit and veg - this balances out my diet and ensures I'm getting plenty of micronutrients.

Point to note - I was skinny growing up so I never have to worry about watching my weight or counting calories. I train and I eat as much good food as I can.

It may seem a lot of effort but it really isn't. In a nutshell - bulk buy more expensive items, shop once a week thereafter, pre-prepare your main meals and pre-prepare the next days lunch the evening before. Piece of piss.

Cut ready meals, bread, sugar and any processed food out of your diet. It's no good for you. Even so called healthy cereals have various additives that you just don't want. If you eat cereal buy some oats, seeds and dried fruit and make up your own muesli.

Consistency is key. If you fall off the wagon for a few days it doesn't matter too much if you get right back on it. It's not a diet, or a regimen, it's a lifestyle, and it's simple to maintain once you're in the groove. I've got friends who train intermittently and go though phases of trying to eat healthy then it all falls apart after a heavy weekend - ridiculous. You can still enjoy yourself, just don't let a 1-2 day hangover turn into the disintegration of your plans and progress.

Plenty of good quality protein and the right carbs in the right amounts, meals 2-3 hours apart, and lots of fruit/salad/veg - that's good enough for me.

Other guys can probably give you more detailed advice. If you need to measure portions, count calories etc buy some digital scales and factor it into your preparation. But if you find a routine that works for you similar to what I've described you will be streets ahead of 99% of the population.

As previously mentioned in this thread - slow cookers / crock pots are great! Buy one.