Advice please

LeeB

to be honest, with the cardio, anything where you come off with your legs feeling like jelly and you slightly out of breth and sweating will be okay - main thing is to enjoy it as much as possible!! if its easy - make it harder!

your diet is healthy and looks like it must be fresh food too which is always best, it is a little carbohydrate dominant tho.. you should really increase your protein intake and try to incorporate protein into every meal.

what time of day would you normally workout?

do yuo have a holland and barrett or other good health food shop near you?

rjw1973

Hi
Yes i do have a holland a barrett health shop near me.

Sometimes i workout in the morning, sometimes in the evening.

I get really confused with the diet thing, because you read that carbs are supposed to be included in all meals???

Moderator Lee, your aDdvice has been great, you obviously have alot of knowledge.

LeeB

the diet thing can be totally confusing, theres that many different approaches and everyone will swear theirs is the best... at the end of the day fresh food and overall less calories than what the body needs combined with exercise is ALWAYS effective.

i think my diet comment about carbs wasnt obvious - basically, i didnt mean that the carbs you were having were a bad thing... just that the amount of carbs compared to the amount of protein in my opinion was a little too high (dominant lol)

the reason id suggest a higher protein intake is you want to tone up your legs (i.e. firm up the muscle tissue) so protein is needed for the muscle.

id suggest something like:

breakfast: pretty much same as what your having but maybe some cottage cheese if you can stomach it?

mid morning: piece of fruit or some fruit juice (or some cottage cheese)

lunch: not sure how much protein is in prawns? maybe swap for chicken/turkey/tuna in the sandwich to increase protein content.

mid afternoon: piece of fruit or some fruit juice (or some cottage cheese)

dinner: looks fine to me, again just ensure your getting your protein from the meat (try and have same amount size wise of meat as you are potatos)

try and see your diet as fuel. remember that for anything to happen inside your body (losing fat or building muscle) a chemical reaction must occur inside your body, if these chemicals/nutrients (i.e. food) arent present it doesnt matter how hard you train and diet you wont get what your looking for! so although you may think im suggesting eating more food (more calories) what im actually suggesting is giving your body more nutrients to burn fat and tone the muscle!

dont see the diet suggestions as gospel, you seem to understand what is healthy and what is not just try and remember that when eating you should eat small and often (more than 3 times a day) and you need protein/carbs/fat in each meal!

i mentioned before water retention could be an issue.. your local holland and barrett will sell something called dandelion root capsules.. these will help with water retention and are not harmful at all, id give them a try for a month taking 1 with breakfast, 1 with lunch and 1 before bed. they also sell something called optimum oil which is the same as "udos oil" (google it) this is really good for fat burning and also general health so if you want to spend a bit more give it a try taking a spoon same times as the dandelion root!

glad i can help, not sure about the alot of knowledge thing, theres plenty know alot more! but if i can steer you in the right direction its a start!

rjw1973

Thankyou again, and yes you do definatley know your stuff.
Well im of to the gym in abit, then straight afer will visit holland and barrett!
Why has it taken me all this time to get some good advice? God im glad i found this forum. I only wish now that you was my instructer at my gym, i think you would of had my legs toned up by now lol
My instructor is not good atall, i feel like banging my head against a brick wall

LeeB

most instructors have done a basic course and in reality arent THAT experienced in helping people change their bodies in my opinion, but they are there to help people out and get them started (and keep them coming back to the gym) plus they have ALOT of people to deal with so people end up with very general advice rather than something specific to them..

im a great instructor me.. just ask scottswald hes my training partner.. "how many reps"... "25" (no matter how heavy it is) "should i go heavier?".. "yes" lol again no matter how heavy it is.. i think hes learning not to ask now tho haha

and anyways dont speak too soon it hasnt worked yet!! lol

skinnyman2160

id try and cut out the water a bit, my partner had the same problem, now she rides a bike everywhere, and her thighs and calfs are bigger and harder than mine lol.
i think she used that "adios" for water retention.

rjw1973

See, thats what i need, a good kick up the backside from a training partner or trainer lol

Anyway, ive now just come back from the gym, and eating a sandwich with cottage cheese, and ive gotta say, ive never tasted anything quite so gross urghh!! But i will try it a few more times lol

rjw1973

Hi,
It is frustrating, but im not gonna give up.
I tried Aquaban a couple of weeks ago, that definatley didnt work.

Lee(moderator) has given me a couple of names of things to try from holland and barrett, so im going to give them a try, afterall look how toned he is! lol

LeeB

lol the longley farm cottage cheese (usually from morrisons) is the nicest! but yer its not great to be honest.... lol

im available for backside kicking 24/7 - free to all musclechat members!!

and.. ahem... that pic was back in may... im a "little" cough.. less conditioned now..

rjw1973

Yeah but i bet youre still fit as anything, and toned.

That picture must of taken ahell of alot of training and cottage cheese lol.