HankHill's make over thread

[HankHill]

Rather than hijacking this thread, open a thread in the Health and Fitness section. Write down your current diet, meal by meal along with serving sizes. I'll share a diet and cardio routine. I'll also add in a workout routine to increase muscle mass while dropping bf which IMO is more important for you.

Starting a thread here after a discussion on another thread. I posted pics in another thread temporarily.

Age: 42
Height: 6
Weight: 155lbs
Workout routine: 3-4 days in my home gym
Goals: Athletic body (not bodybuilder) - meaning add a few lbs of mass/muscle to the key areas (arms, chest) and get somewhat flatter stomach.

Diet: ha! ok I'll try
Bfast: coffee with cream and sugar when I get into work at 7:15am
Snack: 16g protein Atkins Choc PB (250 cal) bar at 10am
Lunch: eat out every day...usually spring for salads (grilled chicken, Ahi salad etc)
Snack: low sodium mixed nuts (about fist full)
Dinner: depends...most times frozen food like Lean Cuisine, I tend to pick higher protein stuff (16+g). Other times a pre-packaged salad bowl with boiled eggs (no yolk, my stomach can't handle it, similar to beans but worse lol).
Snack: something sweet - this is the worst habit, I'll spring for ice-cream, cookies, candy etc

My diet is currently as healthy and efficient (minus the late night sweets snack habit) as I can possibly make it without sacrificing too much time on it as I have a kid to raise, a demanding job to keep, do my hobbies and still find time for dating. If I have to do too much work it ain't gonna happen...just being honest.

 

[guru1000]

Starting a thread here after a discussion on another thread. I posted pics in another thread temporarily.

Age: 42
Height: 6
Weight: 155lbs
Workout routine: 3-4 days in my home gym
Goals: Athletic (not bodybuilder) body - meaning add a few lbs of mass/muscle to the key areas (arms, chest) and get somewhat flatter stomach.

Diet: ha! ok I'll try
Bfast: coffee with cream and sugar when I get into work at 7:15am
Snack: 16g protein Atkins Choc PB (250 cal) bar at 10am
Lunch: eat out every day...usually spring for salads (grilled chicken, Ahi salad etc)
Snack: low sodium mixed nuts (about fist full)
Dinner: depends...most times frozen food like Lean Cuisine, I tend to pick higher protein stuff (16+g). Other times a pre-packaged salad bowl with boiled eggs (no yolk, my stomach can't handle it, similar to beans but worse lol).
Snack: something sweet - this is the worst habit, I'll spring for ice-cream, cookies, candy etc

My diet is currently as healthy and efficient (minus the late night sweets snack habit) as I can possibly make it without sacrificing too much time on it as I have a kid to raise, a demanding job to keep, do my hobbies and still find time for dating. If I have to do too much work it ain't gonna happen...just being honest.

1) Your current protein intake:

Snack: 16 grams of protein
Lunch: Salad with chicken: Maybe 20 grams of protein
Snack: mixed nuts fist full: 10 grams of protein
Dinner: 16 grams of protein
Snack: Junk

You are ingesting 62 grams of protein per day. Way too little!

2) Given you do exercise, it doesn't seem you are ingesting enough total calories unless you can be more specific as to the junk you are eating. Therefore, your caloric intake might be insufficient which incited a metabolic shut down. Hence, why you are "skinny fat." You will slowly need to increase your calories with health carb/protein/fat ratios to get your metabolic rate spinning and adding lean muscle.

3) If you are 155 lbs, and I guesstimate 20% bodyfat, your lean body mass is 124 lbs at 6'0! That is what too skinny. You will need to add at least 15-20 lbs of muscle, preferably more to your frame.

Tomorrow, I will add a sample diet. The day after a workout routine. Others feel free to chime in.

 

[HankHill]

Thanks man! I can't wait to see the diet plan!

BTW I was taking this (about 25g of protein after workouts): https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00OV0VYHI when I was working out hard (I got to almost 160lbs) but I noticed it was making me fatter right in the stomach area where I didn't want it so I stopped.

Lunch varies too, some days end up going to say the Indian restaurant or some other place where there's no salad or good salad so I'll get a sandwich or a hamburger etc.

 

[guru1000]

Here is my current diet. Adapt yours accordingly.

Meal 1:

• 4 egg whites, 2 yolks cooked in virgin coconut oil;
• Two sweet potatoes;
• One tablespoon (TS) of flaxseed oil

Meal 2:

• 30-35 grams whey protein isolate;
• 1 serving green food powder;
• 1 tbsp fiber powder;
• 1/2 pint blueberries

Meal 3:

• 6 oz lean beef (medium rare);
• 4 oz low fat cottage cheese;
• Large serving green salad with vinaigrette;
• One tablespoon (TS) of flaxseed oil

Meal 4: Pre Workout

• 30-35 grams of whey protein isolate;
• 1 tbsp green food powder;
• Two Sweet Potatoes;
• 30 almonds

Meal 5: Post Workout

• 35-40 grams of whey protein isolate;
• 1 tbsp green food powder;
• One Sweet Potato

Meal 6:

• 6 oz fish
• 2 unlimited portions sautéed vegetables
• 2 scoops powdered fiber
• One tablespoon (TS) of flaxseed oil

One cheat meal of whatever I desire every 2-4 days;

I also drink 2-4 glasses of tequila on weekends.

The goals are:

1) Sufficient protein intake spread among enough meals where your body actually utilizes the protein you are taking in;

2) Eliminating all/most inflammatory foods. See Paleo diet for reference. This is key as when you are building mass and staying lean, you don't want the bloated/puffy look that most weightlifters carry. You desire to be aesthetically lean and dry even while adding muscle. You have to experiment and see which foods bloat you, and eliminate those foods from your diet.

Some protein powders may also bloat you, and you have to be cognizant of your body's response to everything you ingest. For example, oatmeal and brown rice bloat me slightly so I eliminated them from my diet. Most refined carbs, flour, and starch will bloat you, so this is most significant to cut from your diet;

3) The above diet is my maintenance requirement and I'm at 194, 10%bf so adjust your calories lower. When you begin, stick to one diet plan, and monitor whether you are maintaining, adding or subtracting mass--and adjust your calories accordingly. At 155 lbs, 20% bodyfat, your lean body mass is 124 lbs at 6'0. You are skinny fat. Accordingly, I advise that your caloric intake should be 200-300 calories above maintenance levels;

4) The aesthetics of your physique is 80% diet, 20% working out (assuming your muscles have sufficient resistance while training), so most of the work will be in the kitchen.

 

[Red Legg]

Starting a thread here after a discussion on another thread. I posted pics in another thread temporarily.

Age: 42
Height: 6
Weight: 155lbs
Workout routine: 3-4 days in my home gym
Goals: Athletic body (not bodybuilder) - meaning add a few lbs of mass/muscle to the key areas (arms, chest) and get somewhat flatter stomach.

Diet: ha! ok I'll try
Bfast: coffee with cream and sugar when I get into work at 7:15am
Snack: 16g protein Atkins Choc PB (250 cal) bar at 10am
Lunch: eat out every day...usually spring for salads (grilled chicken, Ahi salad etc)
Snack: low sodium mixed nuts (about fist full)
Dinner: depends...most times frozen food like Lean Cuisine, I tend to pick higher protein stuff (16+g). Other times a pre-packaged salad bowl with boiled eggs (no yolk, my stomach can't handle it, similar to beans but worse lol).
Snack: something sweet - this is the worst habit, I'll spring for ice-cream, cookies, candy etc

My diet is currently as healthy and efficient (minus the late night sweets snack habit) as I can possibly make it without sacrificing too much time on it as I have a kid to raise, a demanding job to keep, do my hobbies and still find time for dating. If I have to do too much work it ain't gonna happen...just being honest.

I would kill a whole small village in Africa in cold blood to be under 215 pounds lol.....I am on a 10 carb a day diet and I walk 5 miles a day I am in pretty good shape for 47 went from 350 down to 220 after my divorce b!tch was trying to kill me (I am 6'3) and cured a host of physical ailments.I just started walking with a rucksack with weights we will see..

 

[HankHill]

@guru1000 appreciate the meal plan and info, thanks. Unfortunately, that's what I was afraid of...i.e. 80% work in the kitchen, 20% actual workouts...that's been my biggest challenge and I guess there's no way around it. I'll see what I can do, I can probably set a goal of taking say a 100g of protein a day and cutting out sugar and sodium where I can. My workouts are fatiguing lately too, meaning after about 20mins I'm done. I just got a new workout bench to go with my weight cage so may be that'll motivate me to pace myself and spend more time there.

@RedLegg good for you man. We all have our own mountains to climb especially as we start to age...but in the end staying healthy is for yourself, impressing chicks is just a side benefit.

 

[switch7]

@guru1000 appreciate the meal plan and info, thanks. Unfortunately, that's what I was afraid of...i.e. 80% work in the kitchen, 20% actual workouts...that's been my biggest challenge and I guess there's no way around it. I'll see what I can do, I can probably set a goal of taking say a 100g of protein a day and cutting out sugar and sodium where I can. My workouts are fatiguing lately too, meaning after about 20mins I'm done. I just got a new workout bench to go with my weight cage so may be that'll motivate me to pace myself and spend more time there.

@RedLegg good for you man. We all have our own mountains to climb especially as we start to age...but in the end staying healthy is for yourself, impressing chicks is just a side benefit.

Get in to a meal prep routine, it will save you so much time. I spend literally 40 mins, once a week cooking. Then it goes in the fridge or freezer in tupperware. I spend less time cooking now than I did when I was eating less and not working out.

 

[switch7]

Here is my current diet. Adapt yours accordingly.

Meal 1:

• 4 egg whites, 2 yolks cooked in virgin coconut oil;
• Two sweet potatoes;
• One tablespoon (TS) of flaxseed oil

Meal 2:

• 30-35 grams whey protein isolate;
• 1 serving green food powder;
• 1 tbsp fiber powder;
• 1/2 pint blueberries

Meal 3:

• 6 oz lean beef (medium rare);
• 4 oz low fat cottage cheese;
• Large serving green salad with vinaigrette;
• One tablespoon (TS) of flaxseed oil

Meal 4: Pre Workout

• 30-35 grams of whey protein isolate;
• 1 tbsp green food powder;
• Two Sweet Potatoes;
• 30 almonds

Meal 5: Post Workout

• 35-40 grams of whey protein isolate;
• 1 tbsp green food powder;
• One Sweet Potato

Meal 6:

• 6 oz fish
• 2 unlimited portions sautéed vegetables
• 2 scoops powdered fiber
• One tablespoon (TS) of flaxseed oil

One cheat meal of whatever I desire every 2-4 days;

I also drink 2-4 glasses of tequila on weekends.

The goals are:

1) Sufficient protein intake spread among enough meals where your body actually utilizes the protein you are taking in;

2) Eliminating all/most inflammatory foods. See Paleo diet for reference. This is key as when you are building mass and staying lean, you don't want the bloated/puffy look that most weightlifters carry. You desire to be aesthetically lean and dry even while adding muscle. You have to experiment and see which foods bloat you, and eliminate those foods from your diet.

Some protein powders may also bloat you, and you have to be cognizant of your body's response to everything you ingest. For example, oatmeal and brown rice bloat me slightly so I eliminated them from my diet. Most refined carbs, flour, and starch will bloat you, so this is most significant to cut from your diet;

3) The above diet is my maintenance requirement and I'm at 194, 10%bf so adjust your calories lower. When you begin, stick to one diet plan, and monitor whether you are maintaining, adding or subtracting mass--and adjust your calories accordingly. At 155 lbs, 20% bodyfat, your lean body mass is 124 lbs at 6'0. You are skinny fat. Accordingly, I advise that your caloric intake should be 200-300 calories above maintenance levels;

4) The aesthetics of your physique is 80% diet, 20% working out (assuming your muscles have sufficient resistance while training), so most of the work will be in the kitchen.

@guru1000

A couple questions..

Do you count protein from food sources that don't have a complete amino acid profile? i.e. Non meats.

Do you adapt your diet when you have a heavy session scheduled? ie. Loading up on carbs the day before a heavy leg session.

Cheers

 

[HankHill]

OP here...so some diet related questions:

1. Based on what I posted as my current diet (in the first post) what are the obvious/glaring issues or no-nos (besides the junk sweets etc)?
2. Can I simply start taking the mass builder supplement I posted above to bring my protein and calorie intake up and leave the rest as is? that would be the easiest thing for me to do.
3. How much protein and calories do I need to take on a daily basis (assuming workouts every other day) to go from 155lbs to say 175lbs. That would be my ideal weight...I think. So if my current intake is 60g of protein and I add another 40g, will that be enough for my desired results?
4. How do I keep the belly fat at bay when upping the calories, that's always been an issue for me, I just got belly fat whenever I ate more.
5. I see your pre and post workout both include the protein supplements, I was only taking it after the workouts. Not sure if that makes a difference but I do notice that I get tired/fatigued fairly quickly during the workouts so I really only spend about 20mins of actual working out.

 

[guru1000]

@guru1000


Do you count protein from food sources that don't have a complete amino acid profile? i.e. Non meats.

I generally try not to count protein grams per day, but rather count per meal. The way my diet is tailored works specifically for me, and may vary or now work as effectively for others. For example, I can only digest 30-35 grams or protein per meal. Any more than that I retain water, bloat/inflame, or convert the excess to fat. The only exception is post-workout I can get as high as 40-45 grams of protein. I can also digest protein every 2-2.5 hours while looking "dry." Accordingly, my diet is tailored to provide 30-35 grams of protein every 2-2.5 hours if possible.

Going further, the diet I outlined provides 6 meals per day. At 8-9 meals per days of 30-35 grams of protein, I'm at my leanest, dryest, and appear most shredded. But due to time constraints of business/personal, only the 6 meals per days is somewhat manageable. So in a nutshell, ingest enough protein per meal as your body can handle, with the most frequency per day in accordance with your time allowance.

As to incomplete proteins, I haven't saw much or any difference in my physique between swapping one meal of egg whites/yolk with meat protein. As to protein shakes as an alternative to meat proteins, there is a slight difference, but out of time and convenience, I'll supplement with the shakes.

Do you adapt your diet when you have a heavy session scheduled? ie. Loading up on carbs the day before a heavy leg session.

The diet is entirely fluid in accordance with my needs.

For example, Mon and Tues when I get quite busy at the office, I may only get 3-4 meals in. Other days when I have lots of time, I'll shoot for 6-9 meals.

On non-workout days, I'll have 1-2 sweet potatoes per day max; just enough to keep me out of ketosis (carb-burning), yet have just enough energy for the days. On heavy workout/cardio days, I'll eat the five sweet potatoes as outlined in my plan. I stay away from high-glycemics, sugars, refined carbs, starches and/or flour as my physique tends to hold water with these carb types even post workout.

In a nutshell, trial and error, tweak the diet, and tweak some more until you ascertain what works best for you.

 

[guru1000]

OP here...so some diet related questions:

1. Based on what I posted as my current diet (in the first post) what are the obvious/glaring issues or no-nos (besides the junk sweets etc)?

Not enough protein per meal;
Not enough greens;
Not enough carbs for energy or to fuel an anabolic workout;
Not enough good fats;
Too much junk of meaningless calories that serve no purpose other than getting you fat.

2. Can I simply start taking the mass builder supplement I posted above to bring my protein and calorie intake up and leave the rest as is? that would be the easiest thing for me to do.

Absolutely not, 200 grams of carbs (likely mostly sugar) in one serving at 155 lbs?? This is why you are at 20% bf.

It's easiest because it doesn't work. What works best will be the hardest.

3. How much protein and calories do I need to take on a daily basis (assuming workouts every other day) to go from 155lbs to say 175lbs. That would be my ideal weight...I think. So if my current intake is 60g of protein and I add another 40g, will that be enough for my desired results?

Focus on trying to get at least 25 grams of protein per meal at 6 meals per day.

As per calories, this depends on how fast you burn them, and your daily expenditure. Start with the diet I outlined minus 25% on all the macros, figure out your caloric maintenance level, and adjust 200 calories above maintenance.

4. How do I keep the belly fat at bay when upping the calories, that's always been an issue for me, I just got belly fat whenever I ate more.

Eat protein every meal at 6 meals per day. Ingest non-inflammatory carbs at breakfast, pre- and post-workout, with a moderate healthy fat intake every other meal via nuts, flaxseed oil, fish. Basically, look at the diet I provided lol.

5. I see your pre and post workout both include the protein supplements, I was only taking it after the workouts. Not sure if that makes a difference but I do notice that I get tired/fatigued fairly quickly during the workouts so I really only spend about 20mins of actual working out.

Proteins should be taken every meal spread among many meals, not when you feel like eating it.

 

[HankHill]

So I thought I'd update this thread. After 4 weeks I've gained 5lbs of weight which is huge for me as my body just wants to stay at 155lbs. Went from 154.x to 159.x. All I did was started taking the full serving (two huge scoops) of Serious Mass protein powder I linked above as opposed to just one scoop. The rest of my diet mostly stayed the same (semi healthy).

My protein intake is about 110g a day now
Total calories intake is approx 2100 kcal - initially I felt like throwing up from the amount of food (mostly the protein shake) but now I'm getting hungry when it's time to eat.

My work out has mostly stayed the same too but I'm trying to lift slightly heavier. I alternate doing:

One day cardio, in place jog for 13-mins and then in the evening a 45 min bike run.
Next day working out, bench press, pull ups, chin ups, push ups, preacher curls and leg extensions (about 30 mins).

My biceps are 14.25", up from about 14". My arms and upper body has more definition and I can see it in the right lighting. So far I'm pretty happy with the overall results in a short time even though my BF went up 2.5% (approx 16 to 18.x% according to the scale) and I can feel the added 3/4" in the waist but it's expected from the weight gain shake. Hopefully in a couple of months I'll be in a position to start cutting.

 

[Bible_Belt]

It sounds like it is going well. Most people these days are fat, especially over 40, so congratulations on not being one of them.

I don't know how people add much mass on a home gym by yourself. You can get ripped and look like a Soloflex commercial, but from what I understand, the path to mass is high weight and low reps. At some point, you're going to need a spotter to keep adding weight, which seems like the limitation of the solo home workout, regardless of what machines you have.

 

[HankHill]

Yeah, you're right - I'm just going for a fit/tone athletic body - so the Soloflex commercial would be awesome! If I didn't have a gym at home I'd probably skip it a lot- at home I have no excuse to not put in 30mins for the workout.

I just have a Goldsgym XRS 20 bench and a weight lifting cage- along with the usual free weights, barbells, workout bands etc. Free weights stress the muscles harder than machines in my experience since you have to balance the weight.

 

[Banelord]

Go on gear. Everything else is bull****.

 

[HankHill]

So I thought I'd update this thread. After 4 weeks I've gained 5lbs of weight which is huge for me as my body just wants to stay at 155lbs. Went from 154.x to 159.x. All I did was started taking the full serving (two huge scoops) of Serious Mass protein powder I linked above as opposed to just one scoop. The rest of my diet mostly stayed the same (semi healthy).

My protein intake is about 110g a day now
Total calories intake is approx 2100 kcal - initially I felt like throwing up from the amount of food (mostly the protein shake) but now I'm getting hungry when it's time to eat.

My work out has mostly stayed the same too but I'm trying to lift slightly heavier. I alternate doing:

One day cardio, in place jog for 13-mins and then in the evening a 45 min bike run.
Next day working out, bench press, pull ups, chin ups, push ups, preacher curls and leg extensions (about 30 mins).

My biceps are 14.25", up from about 14". My arms and upper body has more definition and I can see it in the right lighting. So far I'm pretty happy with the overall results in a short time even though my BF went up 2.5% (approx 16 to 18.x% according to the scale) and I can feel the added 3/4" in the waist but it's expected from the weight gain shake. Hopefully in a couple of months I'll be in a position to start cutting.

Well that didn't end well. I woke up one day and my work pants wouldn't button...WTF? Yep the belly fat is back (always been my problem when I eat more to gain weight). This happened 2 weeks ago, since then I stopped taking the mass gainer supplement and added an elliptical machine to my home gym. In the last two weeks I went from 161lbs down to 157lbs Pants are still tight around the waist but not as bad as they were 2 weeks ago.

So now I plan to keep up the workout, elliptical 20 mins every day and I've ordered the Optimum Nutrition's Whey Protein which has only 3g of carbs vs. over 200carbs.

My goal is to be approx 170lbs with 14% BF.

 

[Banelord]

Why are u using mass gainer? They dont work at all. They don't add lean gains.

 

[HankHill]

Why are u using mass gainer? They dont work at all. They don't add lean gains.

Because my daily meals add up to only about 1500kcal and in order to gain .5lbs per week I had to pack in about 2300kcal and up my protein intake by a lot. So I decided to use the mass gainer which provided 1200 easy calories and 60+g of protein (it has lots of great reviews on Amazon). Unfortunately as you said and also guru1000 said above 230g+ of carbs from each serving was just too fattening for my skinny 155lbs body.

Now the plan is I'm going to try to do 2000kcal a day eating normal meals and one serving of this for a little extra protein: http://a.co/d/aT00hk6

Another thing, I'm feeling the burn out after two sets and I must admit that on my last two weights-workout days I gave up after two sets, I felt disappointed in myself as that's never happened before. I even dropped my bench press weight by 10lbs and still felt like I didn't have the energy/will to do another set. Must be the age finally creeping up on me.

 

[Banelord]

Mk677 google it. It legal.

 

[HankHill]

Mk677 google it. It legal.

Thanks man - do you have any personal long term experience with it? Also, which particular source do you recommend, I see them on ebay for cheap vs. $220 from some sites.

I was considering this until you mentioned MK677 - not sure if this is the same thing under a different label? http://a.co/d/5uJ5pNS