diet advice needed

[aomsney]

Hi there,

Im 19 and have never done weight training before at all, Im joining the police in 2 months and really need to improve my upper body strength. So I went to my gym and my trainer has set me up a programme using free weights for my Triceps, Biceps, Back, Shoulders and Chest. Now the thing is, my diet, I dont eat any junk food at all really but I cant cook at all and as im single have no one to do this for me either. What sort of foods should I be eating, lots of protein foods i guess? My trainer said something about carbohydrates aswell. The thing is Im at the correct weight but I really need to lost maybe 10-14 pounds to feel perfect, and I wont achieve this by eating lots of high calorie foods and doing weight training will I? Sorry if this is confusing, you can probably tell that I dont have a clue at all! lol

All i basically live from is a fruit salad for breakfast (i have a milk allergy so cant have cereal), at lunch I usually get a baguette with some deli meat slices on it and a micro meal for dinner. It seems to have worked well for losing weight but I know its not healthy and my body feels drained of energy during the day. I enjoy pasta, tuna, rice - things like that because they are easy to cook (just boil some water and chuck in LOL). Plus i dont have much money to splash around just now on fancy meals and sirloin steaks for dinner so I really need some advice

Cheers!

[The Pendari Champion]

i can't really help with the diet, because i live on ready made meals(although like you, i eat lots of fruit, veg,) I haven't had any fast food in about 3 years, well the occasional pizza dosn't count does it?

any way, I've increased my upper body strength and size so much, I went from very over weight, to very thin, then a average, now i'm pumped, in about 3 years.

since it's your 1st time, go easy, drink lots of water and rest atleast one day between workouts

The one most important thing that anyone will ever tell you is....

Do your exercises slow, never swing the dumbells. Never. This will make all the difference, scouts honour

[Alistair]

Sorry, I seem to have managed to have missed this post. This question is fairly well answered in the following threads:

http://www.thesite.org.uk/vbulletin/showthread.php?s=&threadid=29492

http://www.thesite.org.uk/vbulletin/showthread.php?s=&threadid=28222

As for losing weight etc, What you want to try and do is burn of fat and gain muscle. You will probably end up gaining weight, but it will be muscle which is heavier for it's size. Go for a mix of strength work and aerobics work.

If you have any more questions give us a buzz.

[Airbus_pilot]

Swimming is apparently good for upper body strength,and to reduce weight,do a 3-4 mile walk every evening at 4-5 mph.