Casey Evans3 said:I'm tall and not overweight, but I have a little belly and those extra rolls are bothering me. So, I want to lose that and maybe pick up some muscle along the way, though I'm not looking to become a bodybuilder.
Running? Yeah, I do that at the local park a few times a week, just doing a lap or two around the trail. It works for me.
So, running, hitting the gym, and maybe a diet (which I don't really need since I don't eat nearly as much as I used to 😁
Rhett, I've been hitting the gym for years and have tried all sorts of sports. Sometimes I even design workout programs and coach people.
You can't get huge in just a few months. If someone wants to build real muscle naturally, it’s a multi-year grind involving hard training and a very disciplined diet.
Anyone who knows what they're doing will tell you that diet is way more important than most people realize. Personally, my issue isn't eating junk food—it's being inconsistent. I'm incredibly disciplined when it comes to lifting, but my nutrition is hit or miss. That's why my abs are rock hard, but you can't see them because they're hidden under a thin layer of fat.
That's basically the bottom line... you can kill yourself working out in the gym, but if fat is covering your muscles, you won't see any results.
And you only get rid of fat through nutrition and cardio.
You mentioned you don't eat much, but I've actually designed weight loss programs where people ate more than they ever had before. What matters is *what* you eat and eating frequently—at least six times a day or more.
I'm about 5'10" and 185 lbs. I'm relatively muscular, with body fat around 14-15% right now. Starting tomorrow, I'm beginning a six-week regimen to drop my body fat down to about 7-8%.
There are two ways to burn fat: cardio and cutting back on carbs and fats.
For cardio, I wouldn't recommend running. Brisk walking is much more effective, or something similar, as long as your heart rate stays between 120-140 beats per minute (you can track this with a smartwatch). That's the fat-burning zone. If you run too hard, your heart rate climbs too high, and you risk losing muscle mass, which is the last thing we want.
For these six weeks, I'll be doing brisk walking or very light jogging for 45 minutes every single day... seven days a week. The most effective way is to do it first thing in the morning on an empty stomach while glycogen levels are low; that's when the body starts burning fat much faster. If you do cardio after a meal, your metabolism uses the carbs you just ate first before it even touches the fat. It's best to start burning fat immediately when there are no carbs available. That's just how metabolism works—carbs are the primary energy source, so they get used first. Only once the carbs are spent does the body turn to fat.
The diet following this fat-loss plan needs to include at least six meals a day. These are small meals, but they should be eaten every 2.5 hours or so. If you eat the way most people do—maybe two or three times a day—your metabolism essentially goes to sleep. When you finally do eat, your body isn't processing it efficiently.
If you eat every 2 to 2.5 hours, your metabolism stays active. Every time food comes in, it processes it quickly and efficiently, especially fat. Plus, because your metabolism is constantly running, it requires energy, which means it burns calories just to function, reducing the need for extra intense workouts to burn calories.
So, I'll be doing six meals a day, with about 42 grams of protein per meal. That's roughly 250 grams of protein daily and a maximum of 150 grams of carbs...
My carbs will come strictly from rice and veggies. For protein, I’m sticking to chicken breast, cheese, and eggs.
I’m cutting out bread for these 6 weeks. I don't drink alcohol anyway, and let's face it, it's a big no-no... sweets are also off the table. I plan to drink 4 liters of water a day. Hydration is vital for an active lifestyle—since training and nutrition really just go hand in hand—because it helps deliver nutrients directly to your cells. Plus, water helps flush out toxins through regular urination. It also keeps your skin looking elastic. Serious bodybuilders use hydration to prevent skin issues when gaining mass. Other athletes know that staying hydrated helps cushion the joints, which lowers the risk of injury.
Fruit is fine, but don't overdo it because of the sugar and carb content. It's best eaten during your first meal of the day.
Make sure your last meal is at least 2.5 hours before you hit the sack.
Hitting the gym 4 times a week for 45 to 60 minutes should be plenty.
The goal of a regimen like this, whether it lasts 6 or 12 weeks, is to drop body fat... but it's also about switching your metabolism into a different gear. You're basically teaching your metabolism to work more efficiently. Once you hit that point, you won't have to obsess over every single bite because your metabolic efficiency will be boosted by at least 100%...
In any case, ask a trainer to sit down with you and explain why nutrition matters so much. Also, having someone show you how to perform exercises correctly is incredibly important. Sometimes even a slight shift in your posture can be a real killer for your health.