I am 26 years old and have just started exercising after several years of inactivity. My main goal is to lose weight but I would also like to build muscles for better looks. Should I lose weight first or is it possible to lose weight AND build muscles? Especially from the nutrition point of view this seems contradictory. What would be the best plan for me, Get Lean or Strength and Power?

Thanks for your help and your great workout plans

Other info:
Height 5'8
Weight 190 pounds
Especially problematic area: abs.
No medical problems.
Have access to gym.

I have put together some responses for you that I have made to many of our members. These will help you with your questions. Let me add that as a beginner it is not only possible to lose weight and add muscle at the same time it is the best thing to do. Now, the rate of muscle development will be somewhat slowed if you are dieting hard. But, since you have just started exercising again you should still see some great improvements. The responses are individualized with a specific bodyweight but all of the equations are there and they are easy to figure out for your individual needs! Read on!

Thanks, Dan

Response:
There are three main areas of your abdominal muscles. The "center" muscles or rectus abdominus, commonly called the six pack, your lower abs section, and your obliques (the muscles on the side). Therefore there are three basic abdominal exercises that will work the three areas. The crunch (for upper abs), the reverse crunch (for lower abs), and cross crunches (for obliques). I recommend you take a look at the videos in the exercise library. Of course there are many other ab exercises but those will get you started.

For your workout if you don't want to add much muscle mass the Get Lean programs would be the best way to go. High reps and light weight, combined with a sensible diet and cardio regimen will do wonders for you! You can find more information on aerobic or cardio workout guidelines by typing in Aerobic Guidelines in the Search area on the front of our home page. If you would like to focus a little more on muscle development then go into the General Fitness programs. These programs have excellent combinations of muscular endurance, strength and mass building set and rep routines. The Strength and Power programs are pretty advanced but, if you are focused and don't miss workouts they will be great.

What are reasonable expectations? When exercising regularly and eating right you should expect to lose about 1% of your body weight per week. So if you weigh 140 then 1-1.5 pounds a week is reasonable.

Let me also suggest taking a look at the nutrition section and the article archives on our site for more helpful hints on diet and other aspects of fitness.

You should also check out our nutrition section for good, fundamental information.
http://www.fitrex.com/nutrition.shtml

Response 2:
To start with, take in at least 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight. This would be 215 grams of protein in your case. Then, to find the number of carbohydrate grams you should take in, just multiply your bodyweight by 2. This would be 430 grams of carbohydrates in your case. Finally, you should take in 72 grams of quality fatty acids like Flax seed oil, Olive oil, or Udo's oil. This is found by dividing your bodyweight by 3. Check out the recommended readings in the fitness info section of our web page to find out about Udo's oil!
I have done some calculations for you but I also want to explain what is going on here. Here goes.

1 gram of protein has 4 calories. 1 gram of carbohydrate also has 4 calories. 1 gram of fat has 9 calories. For you this means.

First Week of Program:
Protein (215 grams x 4 = 900 calories)
Carbohydrates (430 grams x 4 = 1720 calories)
Fat (70 grams x 9 = 630 calories)

First Week Total - 3250 calories.

When you start your program you should start with the 3,250 calories with the appropriate balance of protein, carbs and fat that I have outlined above. But, here's the kicker! Each week of the 12 week program you should add 10 grams of protein and subtract 15 grams of carbohydrates to your diet. But, keep the fat intake the same.

So, you should end up on the last week of your 12 week program with these totals:
Protein (325 grams total)
Carbohydrates (250 grams total)
Fat (same at 72 grams total)

This would give you a new caloric range of:
Protein (325 x 4 = 1300 calories)
Carbohydrates (250 x 4 = 1000 calories)
Fat (70 x 9 = 630 calories)
Total on week 12 of your program - 3000 calories

Make sure you spread out your eating to 6 times per day so you are always bringing in some nutrients into your body for growth and recovery without eating so much that you store any extra calories from fat.

You will also need to kick in some cardio training to really get lean. But, not too much so that you start to lose your mass. On weeks 1-4 you should do 25 minutes of cardio, 3 times per week. On weeks 5-9 you should do 30 minutes of cardio 4 times per week. On weeks 10-12 you should do 30 minutes of cardio 5 days per week. Keep your heart rate between 130 - 140 beats per minute or 70% of your age predicted maximum heart rate (APMHR). You can find out how to get your APMHR by typing these letters into the Search function on the Fitrex home page.

Finally, you will see a drop in bodyweight with this type of diet plan. However, If you eat the way I have told you to, and if you are mentally strong enough to push yourself with your training you will keep the mass that you have built and the weight loss will come from fat loss! Since everyone is different you may have to adjust your carbs and fat intake down slightly but don't reduce the protein level. However, I followed this very same plan (with adjustments for my specific body size) and I lost 36 pounds of fat in the first 8 weeks of the plan! Give it a shot and let me know how it goes.

Second Response:
Low carbohydrate diets have been very popular the last 3-4 years. They do work but they are not necessarily healthy or something that you can do for extended periods of time! That is why there is so much contradictory information out there. A great compromise is to eat 40% carbohydrate, 30% protein, and 30% fat. Please check out our nutrition section on the web site. This will explain all the basics for healthy eating. Once your diet is under control you just have to train consistently! I know it sounds simple. But, you still have to do the work. You can’t miss workouts or load up on pizza twice per week. Many people slip up on their diets or skip workouts and wonder why they can’t achieve the look they are after. What I am telling you now is beyond the basic realms of health and wellness. If you eat well most of the time and you workout pretty consistently you are definitely better off than most people. But, if you really want to change the way you look, and get ripped, you have to be hardcore. Set a goal, and do everything you can to reach it!