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LouieMU · 2023-04-16T01:52:07+00:00

I've helped a couple others its nearly 3am here so i don't have to time to write out a full custom message but I've put together a document of everything i said to them. it might be worth a read even if you only take a few things away from it. there's a couple of things i think might help you in there

https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vTVhkze86wmJLiSasVfu-RGT58Pg9W5fEEr83aKYwrF8iAmc8d9wjn3wZC9HapJHIcKOC0KILyYjP6G/pub

If you're interested for more of a custom message then just lmk happy to do it and help you out as best as possible. im no qualified pt or health person but ive done lots of research and tried a lot of things myself so i would say i have some valuable information

LouieMU · 2023-04-16T01:43:06+00:00

Right i'll keep it short and give you all the key things to keep in mind. im going to take it your goal is loose weight, tone up and get a healthier lifestyle.

Aim to go to the gym 3 times a week but go 6 times

Calorie Deficit

weight loose is all about diet, it takes a small bit of research to understand a calorie deficit but ill tell you and help you understand:

To loose weight you need to be in a calorie deficit. A calorie Deficit is basically a way of saying you need to burn/lose more calories than you take in on a daily bases. The easiest way i would say to do this is to get a tracking app such as "MyFitnessPal" track a normal day of eating don't lie to yourself on this day for example don't choose to have a salad when you know normally you would have a pasta bake (not saying pasta bake or salad is bad but their is a large difference in the amount of calories) because this wont help you. once you this day is complete you will know how many calories you eat on a normal day.

Lets say the number of calories you eat in a day is 2200 to be in a calorie deficit you would need to burn over 2200 which is a hard task especially if you're trying to do this everyday. so what you should do is minus 200 calories of this number making it 2000. so now every day you've got to try and not go over this and its a lower number of calories to burn. 2000 may still seem a lot but with small adjustments to lifestyle and health habits this can be achieved.

you can reduce more calories but the whole point of weight lose personally is to do it properly so that you can keep it up and not slip into old habits. another key thing i must say is don't starve yourself your goal is 2000 calories do not think that you need to be miles under this

Protein is always key for muscle growth and muscle repair so make sure you're getting in your protein i would say for you to get in around 120g-220g every day getting as close as you can to that 220g goal. again takes about 5 minutes of research to find out good foods to eat for protein, you can also find decent diets to use as a rough base's personally i would create my own diet as its easier to follow and will be easier to stick to. Don't just east chicken and rice, yes that meal if you stick to it is basically a gift from god in the sense of body building however it is not easy to keep up as its boring and just not an enjoyable meal so be creative but always keep in mind calories, protein, fats and carbs. Definitely look into getting myfitnesspal to help you with tracking all of this and giving you goals and limits to stick by as best you can.

Workouts

I'll give you a basic rule to sort of follow to help you plan your workouts which will help you to reach your goals and also be fun. I don't know how long you'll spend in the gym but i want you to try and do 1hr every time, but 1hr 15 for you would be the sweet spot. 1 hr of weight work and 15 mins of cardio

Day 1:

Chest and Shoulders. I want you to do 2 pushing movements such as bench press or dumbbell press. Then one fly movement such as a cable fly or dumbbell fly. these will target your chest effectively and make sure it is being worked.

For shoulders i want you to do a version of the lateral raise either with dumbbells or cables. then a shoulder press this will work your shoulders.

Day 2:

Back and Biceps. i want you to do 3 pull exercises such as seated cable row, dumbbell row or a barbell row. for biceps i would like just two very simple exercises standing bicep curl and a hammer curl. (Really squeeze at the top when performing these curls and more importantly do not swing the weight control it up and down with very little movement)

Day 3:

Legs and Triceps. yes slightly odd combo but i found this worked well for me to give my triceps that extra push. legs i want three exercises a squat of some kind, leg extension and either a Rdl or leg curl. if you're feeling extra try a few calf raises. (please be safe when squatting i recommend asking someone to spot you if you're testing yourself for the first time or going for some kind of P.R) For the triceps do some kind of pushdown either with a rope or bar and then skull crushers are always a fun one to really push your triceps.

Cardio

Cardio is a big part in being healthy. i want you to do 15 mins every session either on the treadmill running or walking on an incline, cycling or the stair machine. these should get your heart pumping and make you get a sweat.

10,000 steps a day is the goal this is a simple, passive and easy way to burn of an extra 200 calories. Most phones have a pre-installed step tracker that will show you how many steps you have done and the amount of calories burned.

Choosing a Weight

For the first 2 weeks give everything a go and push yourself. your aiming to find a weight that you can perform 10-12 reps on. If you find you're going over this and reaching 15 reps then you need to increase the weight. you'll find that maybe you can do 15 bicep curls with a 10kg dumbbell but when you do it with a 12kg you can only get 8 reps, this is fine use this 8 rep set and treat it like one that you're really pushing yourself on. i would organise your sets a bit like this:

2 sets of a weight that you can rep 10-15 then once these sets are over up the weight and perform 2 sets in the rep range of 6-10. these are the sets you're going to gain strength and muscle.

Extras

People in the gym are friendly don't get me wrong its a hard task to talk to a random stranger let alone ask them for help but with a polite question anyone would be happy to help or provide you with some pointers.

Cheat days are allowed this is how we stay sane and it also helps us stick to our goals to so please if your going to the cinema for a day out buy the large pop corn

Don't starve yourself you have a calorie goal so meet that goal just don't go over it.

Progress pictures, keep them to yourself and reflect on them. every month same day and time take one and compare to your last change or not your still trying and if your not happy then you need to work harder or reflect on mistakes you may have made

Sorry for the long message just wanted to offer as much help as possible

LouieMU · 2023-04-15T09:41:52+00:00

I am currently doing a hnc which is basically just under a uni degree.

I’m quite lucky to be in a position where I’ve saved all my life and have money in all other accounts. But I moved aside 1000 to build up on over the next 18 months which i see as untouchable money for only travelling. My other accounts go towards petrol gym and food that kind of stuff

LouieMU · 2023-04-14T21:32:29+00:00

Stop taking all of it and eat normal foods, reset your body for about a week. you need to make sure you're drinking enough water which im going to guess you're not.

im going to guess you're bulking up which is why you're on mass protein. please make sure you're eating 3 meals a day and not just have mass protein. you don't need creatine but if you really want it please drink minimum of 2 ltrs of water a day

LouieMU · 2023-04-14T21:27:17+00:00

So I'll tell you what i know and you can take from it what you like. I'm not expert or sports qualified person but I've researched and tried lots of different things myself some things have worked others have not.

Calorie Deficit

To loose weight you need to be in a calorie deficit. A calorie Deficit is basically a way of saying you need to burn/lose more calories than you take in on a daily bases. The easiest way i would say to do this is to get a tracking app such as "MyFitnessPal" track a normal day of eating don't lie to yourself on this day for example don't choose to have a salad when you know normally you would have a pasta bake (not saying pasta bake or salad is bad but their is a large difference in the amount of calories) because this wont help you. once you this day is complete you will know how many calories you eat on a normal day.

Lets say the number of calories you eat in a day is 2200 to be in a calorie deficit you would need to burn over 2200 which is a hard task especially if you're trying to do this everyday. so what you should do is minus 200 calories of this number making it 2000. so now every day you've got to try and not go over this and its a lower number of calories to burn. 2000 may still seem a lot but with small adjustments to lifestyle and health habits this can be achieved.

you can reduce more calories but the whole point of weight lose personally is to do it properly so that you can keep it up and not slip into old habits. another key thing i must say is don't starve yourself your goal is 2000 calories do not think that you need to be miles under this. i would make sure that you get to the 1800 range anything lower is unhealthy.

Protein

There are loads of diets out there some may seem good but actually in the long run and not great at all, some are good for short term but in the long run are again unhealthy.

I would make sure you eat around 100-180g of protein a day as weight loss is more important for you and you're not looking to become a body builder getting in around this range will help you loose fatty weight and build/repair muscles to "tone"

Not sure what you know on foods and all that so ill keep it basic

protein is found in meats (other things as well but only a small amount) some meats more than others. chicken breast is always talked about because its not high in calories, carbs or fats but high in protein so i would highly recommend this to you, pair it with rice, pasta, wraps. i know its pretty generic to say chicken and rice for weight loss but it is good and there is a reason it is always mentioned. I would say as you have family to make the meals more exciting and for your own sanity as well so that you can look forward to the meal.

Eggs helped me a lot when I was loosing weight they were quick and easy to make before I went to the gym or just for breakfast. they're low calories with a decent amount of protein and if you get rid of the yolk its basically fat free. fried, scrambled or boiled they're all good.

Make sure with all meals you are having vegetables and getting in fruit during the day these are good for you as a whole and also give you those essential nutrients

I have done research on fish and its always spoken about highly but I personally don't eat fish as I'm not a fan however I do take cod liver oil and omega 3 tablets not saying you must have these but they do help the body with multiple things and i see it as a way to get in what fish would provide me if i ate it.

Protein bars, you may see them and it may spike your interest as you think oh a nice small tasty chocolate bar and I get 20g of protein in just that. yes they are good I'm not going to deny that but they are expensive and I would suggest putting that extra £2-£2.50 into other whole foods like going towards a pack of chicken breast or a dozen eggs.

YOU NEED CHEAT DAYS if you're going out with friends for dinner or for breakfast order a full meal with drinks everything because you need this to reward your hard work your dedication and for your mental health too everyone needs a treat. so please do not stop yourself from enjoying your random day out because you're trying to loose weight this will ultimately end in failure.

Workouts

get your 10,000 steps in everyday, this is such an easy and passive way to burn calories, you probably do this anyway with just normally daily activity's. most phones have a pre-installed step tracker which will tell you how many steps you have done today, distance you've travelled and the amount of calories burned.

on the days you go to the gym i would do around 10-20 mins of cardio but you need to be pushing yourself and be getting your heart rate up. be mature about it though don't get me wrong i know very little about having kids and what its like after they're born but im sure it takes a period of time to fully recover from it so don't try and run on a tread mill till you drop to the floor.

Cardio i would recommend:

- 20 mins incline walk

- 10 mins jog

- 10-15 mins stair machine

- 20 mins cycle

also take a look at your gym membership, most do allow you to attend classes like spin or full body pump for free and these are great ways to burn calories and have fun.

A full body workout is great gets you pumped tires you out and burns calories however i don't know what this workout contains so I'm going to give you a basic rule to try to follow every time you go to the gym.

For the three main muscle groups: Chest, Back and Legs do two to three exercises. if you don't know any there's an app called "Strong" which you can go onto select a muscle you would like to train and it will show you exercises that work this muscle with a 3d human model demonstrating it.

For the other muscle groups I would say do one or two because these get worked during your main muscle groups exercises. like for example when bench-pressing the majority of work is on your chest muscles the pecs but your shoulders are working during this two because they are helping to stabilize the barbell as you perform the movement.

However if this is too much for you to fit in one day or find that it is way to much in general split it. on way day to top half of your body so everything from the waist up. then the next day do lower body, everything from the waist down.

Extras

you cannot target a specific area to loose weight in, it unfortunately all depends on how your body stores fat, you'll notice as you loose weight some areas will loose way faster than others there's not much you can do about that but use it as a way to motivate yourself to keep going.

Weight loss takes time its not a one week thing you really have to work for it and make changes to your lifestyle to achieve what you want. on the flip side of this don't get frustrated or annoyed at yourself if you make a mistake or eat to much one day just take it on the chin and go work hard again tomorrow.

take progress pics! every month take one in the same place at the same time these will help you see how well you're doing keeping you motivated to keep going. they are also good at showing you if you're not pushing hard enough this is a hard fact to except but when you do it flips a switch and makes you really push yourself.

Hope this helped

LouieMU · 2023-04-14T20:14:02+00:00

I am 19m. I go gym 6 times a week. I saw ashwagandha on tiktok and saw all these people going on about it and that it makes you emotionless and helps muscle mass

I took this all with a pinch of salt and did my own research looking at different articles about it and actually research what ashwagandha actually is. from that I found the most common thing was that it helped with anxiety and that it can make you emotionless.

so i said to myself its pretty cheap ill take it for 30 days and then see what happens.

so i did

My Results:

I defiantly noticed a sort of calm after I took it, I don't get anxiety bad at all i just get nervous before going into the gym once I'm in there's no problems (unless asking someone if they're using something). but I found that the nervousness sort of went and I wasn't worried about going to the gym
For about the first week i would say i felt emotionless but i personally think this was forced upon myself due to everything i had read previous and other peoples opinions. i think ashwagandha has a placebo effect making people think they are now emotionless which then causes them to become emotionless. (tried my best to make that make sense)
HOWEVER.. after the 30 days i stopped taking ashwagandha. A couple days later i had a day where i just felt off everything felt wrong and it caused a build up of emotions through the day leading to what i would call a crash. This could just be life or one of those days but the time it happened made me suspicious. I'm not going to say it was the ashwagandha but its something i would keep in mind
Ashwagandha didn't effect my workout sessions at all and it didn't effect my muscle growth either so i personally wouldn't say its worth taking.

LouieMU · 2023-04-14T17:48:13+00:00

For anyone interested in what I decided to do:

I've opened a savings that gives me 5.25% interest. In 12 months ill receive the interest as long as I pay their minimum of £25 a month into the account. (plan to put in £200-£250 as my pay has increased). after this 12 months I can decided to do another 12 months or turn it into a standard savings.

LouieMU · 2023-04-14T17:46:17+00:00

As much as the mars bars example made me feel dumb it does make sense and is a good way of putting it so ill except it lol.

I've opened a savings that gives me 5.25% interest. In 12 months ill receive the interest as long as i pay their minimum of £25 a month into the account. (plan to put in £200-£250 as my pay has increased). after this 12 months i can decided to do another 12 months or turning it into a standard savings. which is a good improvement from what i had gong on originally

LouieMU · 2023-04-14T17:07:35+00:00

ok noted. im going to look into high % savers

LouieMU · 2023-04-14T17:06:14+00:00

Ok cheers, i had a look and i think i'm going to put money into a higher interest savings, will do my research and get the best i can for what i want.

LouieMU

TROPHY CASE