[Kirko017]

Making this thread to help others in the paintball community to better themselves.


About myself:
I am 22-years-old at 5'9 and 165lbs. I currently play indoor soccer twice a week for a college club team and my own brother's personal club team. I am involved in a few successfully running paintball clubs. I am a pretty good paintball player. I would say I know a good amount about paintball, soccer, and fitness.

Just to give a reference of what I have done over the last year. On December 25, 2011 I weighed around 205/210lbs. January 18, 2012 I weighed 200/205lbs. March 29, 2012 I weighed 180lbs. May 24, 2012 I weighed 170. June 6, 2012 I weighed 167lbs. And I have been floating at 165lbs since about then over the last few months just enjoying my life, staying healthy, but still going out to dinner, drinking with friends, etc.. Right now I am about to diet down to around 140lbs and get ripped. Shooting for January 18th as my deadline as like a one year transformation but I should be able to reach that weight by the end of December...

My story:
I started working out at age a young age with my older brother. Did it pretty steadily for a few years, didn't know much at the time. Didn't see results like I would of wished. Up through high school I had a couple injuries, got out of shape. After I healed from some ankle injuries a year later I got back into the grove of things and did some reading and learned a lot from these experiences through this period. I was at the best shape of my life. I met a girl during this time. I stopped exercising, let my self go. That quickly turned to myself being in the worst shape of my life and resulting in the worst time of my life. After which I decided to get back into bettering myself. Been steadily taking in fitness as part of a lifestyle such as education, working, and paintball is a part of my life.

Fitness has inspired me the majority of my life and plays a huge roll in my life right now. Everything I am currently doing in my life I can relate to fitness in some way or another... Helping others out with something I am involved in helps motivate me. And I see this as an opportunity to help motivate myself more and to possibly help out others along the way. I know what it is like to be in good shape and especially out of shape.. I think I can definitely relate to a lot people and help them out with their fitness goals with the knowledge I have learned through the years.



Do you want to be physically fit for the first time in your life and need help? Do you want to be able to play paintball and other sports better?
Do you just want to get rid of that double chin, get them abs to show, gain the confidence, and get the girls to not only stare at you but to talk to you as well?

What I can do for you:
Answer the majority of questions about fitness, nutrition, and to promote better health.
I can help give you nutritional advice. Help you clean up your eating habits. Give you a better understanding of food. I can help you to get the results you're looking for, and allow you to still be able to enjoy life without "diets" interfering with your social or daily life.
I can help give you fitness advice on exercises, routines, building muscle, losing fat, and any other questions you may have about fitness or nutrition.

This post has been edited by Kirko017: 23 November 2012 - 08:54 PM

[Kirko017]

I guess I will take the time right now to give my opinion on how important nutrition is in fitness.

A lot of people preach that nutrition is 80% and 20% is exercising because nutrition is so important. Look at all of these programs you can buy like P90X, Insanity, etc. They all come with meal plans... Why is that? Because eating is really the important part. What got you fat in the first place, eating poorly... Any good personal trainer will go over your nutrition first before ever getting you into a gym...
In my opinion I like to think of fitness as 10% exercising 40% nutrition and 50% consistency. If you are not consistent with working out regularly, and consistent in your diet. It will take longer to see the results you're seeking. You're basically using exercise and food to manipulate your body to either promote muscle growth or fat loss. That's a complicated process that we are trying to control only using exercise and food intake. So you need to be consistent with it, it isn't going to happen over night.

Although nutrition is very important. In my experiences, people tend to over exaggerate it a bit in my opinion. They do not understand the foods they are eating and that is why people tend to have trouble enjoying their social lives when on a weight loss diet. People not being able to enjoy themselves is usually what leads to their inconsistency and failure to lose weight. There are several different ways you can lose weight, It is finding what fits you and your life style the best to keep you consistent.

This post has been edited by Kirko017: 23 November 2012 - 06:27 AM

[Kirko017]

As in the first post, I plan to lose 25lbs by Jan 18th because that is when I really started dieting and working out again and I want to get ripped by then. Here is how I plan to do it. I am going to be using Carb Cycling for the next month or two depending on how long it takes me to reach my goal. I will be at a calorie deficit each day except on my re-feed day where I plan to hit my maintenance calorie limit or more. I will be consuming 160-180g of Protein every day with 40-50g of Fat.

Grams of Carbs I will consume each day of the week:
Monday - 0-50g
Tuesday - 0-50g
Wednesday - 0-50g
Thursday - 200+g (Re-feed Day)
Friday - 0-100g
Saturday - 0-50g
Sunday - 50-100g

My low carb/no carb days are Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Saturday. I will only be consuming very low carb vegies on those days. I don't count the carbs on those days and only track my protein and fats as the vegies I do eat hardly have any carbs and I will not even hit 15g of carbs on those days, I try to keep it extremely low. The only exception is If I am feeling absolutely drained I might eat a piece of fruit before my soccer game that is on Tuesdays because I do work out earlier that day. It really depends on the time of the game, usually I can take a nap before the game if it is late at night. But even with that fruit, there is no way I will go over 50g of carbs on those days.
Thursday is my re-feed day. Friday I am counting as a low to moderate carb day. Going to try and keep it low, but might have a treat or a couple drinks on Friday as I do like to go out and enjoy life. No reason I still can not do that.. And Sunday will be my moderate carb day. I will still be at a calorie deficit, but it will be giving my body some carbs and nutrition that it needs so I can stay healthy during this weight loss.

This post has been edited by Kirko017: 23 November 2012 - 10:31 PM

[TheGuy]

Good luck bro!

I might have to try out watching carbs, I could definetly benefit from losing 20lbs.

[etekgirl27]

if you don't mind me asking. What was/is your major in college?

[Kirko017]

TheGuy, on 25 November 2012 - 10:38 PM, said:

Good luck bro!

I might have to try out watching carbs, I could definetly benefit from losing 20lbs.

Thanks!

Yeah, watching your carbs can definitely help. You don't have to do anything drastic like what I am trying to do right now and eat that low of carbs. I am just trying to lose the weight real fast. I lost all that weight earlier this year by just watching what I was eating, paying a little more attention to nutritional labels and looking up the nutritional facts on websites to restaurants and choosing my food via those.

Here's a good example of what I would do. I was only trying to eat only 1800calories a day. Let's say I would go to lunch with some friends and I would get my phone out and look up the nutritional facts and see a burger and fries at this restaurant is over 1400calories... I would start to second guess that burger and fries and get something else because it was only lunch time, and I would not be sure how hungry I would be later and it would suck to only have 400 calories left in the day to eat. So I would get something lower in calories around 500-700 but still tastes good so I could continue to eat well throughout the day.
But say I know I plan to go out with some friends later that night and I know it is that same restaurant and I want to get that burger and fries this time. I would only eat around 400 calories in vegetables, fruit, chicken, etc just lower calorie foods that would keep me full throughout the day until later that night, then I would get that burger and fries and smash.

I simply stayed at a calorie deficit and enjoyed myself. I was eating around 1800 calories and that consisted of around 150-200g of carbs a day. I can fit quite a bit of different, delicious foods in that amount every day

This post has been edited by Kirko017: 27 November 2012 - 01:05 AM

[Kirko017]

I shared my diet so I suppose I'll share my workout days.

Keep in mind I am currently dieting hard and doing extra cardio than I normally would. My cardio varies.. Days I have soccer, that is my cardio. When I don't have soccer I either run on the treadmill at the gym for about a mile or two and walk up hill until I have been on it for 30mins. Otherwise I fast walk up hill on the treadmill for 45mins and sometimes I add in jump rope for 10mins. Really just depends how I feel that day.

I either have a soccer game on Monday/Tuesday and Thursday/Friday. This week I am actually going to have 3 games because of the holiday being in the way of the game last week. And I was told today that the team we face this Tuesday can't make it that day so it may get pushed back to Thursday. So I will have two games on Thursday and one on Friday this week. Thankfully my re-feed day is on Thursday so I should have some more energy for that.


Monday: Forearms, Calves, Abs, Cardio
Tuesday: Chest, Front and Side Delts, Triceps, Cardio
Wednesday: Lats, Rear Delts, Traps, Biceps, Forearms.
Thursday: Quads, Hamstrings, Calves, Abs, Cardio.
Friday: Cardio
Saturday: off
Sunday: off

I don't feel like listing all the exercises right now, and I don't really follow a routine week in and week out. I do the main compound movements, then I'll pick random isolation movements I feel like doing. I don't think it is that complicated or important to list some exercises. And I am well aware this might not be the normal split during the week that most people follow or anything. But this is what I feel is going to work best for me and my goals right now through my diet, work, and school schedules..

This post has been edited by Kirko017: 27 November 2012 - 03:26 AM

[Kirko017]

Here's a simple way if you want to find out how many calories you need to be eating every day to maintain your current weight. Take your weight and multiply it by 13-17. 13-17 is a scale of your activity level throughout the week. Examples: Multiply it by 15 If you work out 2 days a week. 16 if you work out 3-5 days a week. And by 17 If you work out 6+ days a week. If you do not work out and sit at your desk all day you might want to multiply by 13... And if you work out twice a week, but really don't do anything else and sit on your butt, might want to multiply by 14, use common sense with this intensity level.

There are more complicated equations out there to get your caloric intake from. You can use the Harris-Benedict or Mifflin-St Jeor formulas. But they're a little over complicated, you have to find your basal metabolic rate and everything and you will get near the same result as just doing the simple method I explained earlier since those formulas are not even perfect.

So if you want to maintain your weight. Take your current weight and multiply it by 13-17 like I explained earlier. And eat that many calories a day.
To lose weight. Take your current weight, multiply it by 13-17. Then subtract 20% of your total. And eat that many calories a day.
To gain weight. Take your current weight, multiply it by 13-17. Then add 20% of your total. And eat that many calories a day.


This is all trial and error. As I was explaining a little about those formulas. All of these methods for calculating your caloric intake are not perfect. There are too many factors that are not covered, everyone's body is different, not everyone is the same. But this should give you an understanding of where your calories should be at and get you pretty close to what your calorie needs are. If you want to lose weight, and you're not losing it or only like a pound every two or three weeks try lowering your calories 200-300. You're probably too close to your maintenance calories since these methods are not absolutely perfect, simply adjust your calories and lower your calorie intake a little bit to lose weight a little quicker. If you're dropping the calories too low and you feel like crap, increase your calories some..

This process can be a little time consuming and a pain because it might take a couple weeks to a couple months to figure it out and see how many calories you need. But once you figure out how your body works and what it takes to maintain, lose, and gain weight. It is much easier to reach your goals!

Hope this helps some. I know it might be a little weird to understand but if you need any clarification, I'll try my best to help!

This post has been edited by Kirko017: 27 November 2012 - 05:25 AM

[Kirko017]

Guess I will do an update before I head to class.

So I started the carb cycling last week and the first 3 days, lost about two pounds. But gained it all right back after my refeed, so assuming it was just water weight fluctuation. I was feeling pretty exhausted on Thursday. And with the diet, I wasn't having any of my protein smoothies all week due to the no carb days and on Thursday I didn't have one either. Thus I didn't get my normal amount of bananas that I usually do from the smoothies. Well after my soccer game at the end of the week, I was taking my cleats off and both of my calves cramped up real bad. I tried stretching them after they cramped up, didn't help at all. Even after I got home, they still were wanting to cramp really bad. Couldn't flex my calves at all. Went home and ate a couple bananas and continued so for the next few days. Took 3 days for my calves to not be in pain anymore. It was horrible.

I still want to try this diet more, I was only on it really for a few days until my legs cramped then I wasn't able to keep with it. I'm just going to make a few changes, maybe only go no carb for one day, do two low/moderate carbs, then a normal day.. I weighed myself yesterday morning and I am down a couple pounds from what I was last week. Plus I have Finals next week. And I can use the extra energy to help me study. Going to up my fats some as well to help me prepare for finals.

[Kirko017]

For anyone looking for a good delicious way to get in extra protein and nutrients in.

You obviously have your typical Protein Shakers. Protein supplement with water or milk in a shaker/blender.

But if you want to make a delicious drink/meal out of it.

Here are just a couple recipes I use that I think taste good. Keep in mind, you can adjust it to your likings/goals/etc.
I typically use about 1 serving of each for the ingredients.
Might add in 2 servings of protein, depends on what I plan to eat the rest of the day. Also depends on if I use soy/almond milk, or water. If I want more calories, I go with soy or almond whatever I got in the fridge. Also you can use any kind of milk too, I just prefer soy or almond. And If I don't want as many calories, I simply use water. I'll throw in some ice cubes to help thicken it to more like a smoothie though.. You can use any flavor whey as well. I typically use Chocolate, Vanilla, or Cookies and Cream. Those are my favorites, so these kind of go with those flavors. And yogurt you can add or not to each one of these as well, makes it more ice cream tasting and adds more protein and calories..

Water/Soy/Almond Milk, Frozen Banana, Natural Peanut Butter, Whey Protein Supplement, Nonfat Yogurt, Berries...

Water/Soy/Almond Milk, Frozen Banana, Natural Peanut Butter, Whey Protein, Frozen Blueberries... Taste like PB&J, damn good..

Water/Soy/Almond Milk, Frozen Banana, Natural Peanut Butter, Whey Protein, Oatmeal, Flax Seeds, Berries, Frozen Strawberries...

Water/Soy/Almond Milk, Frozen Banana, Natural Peanut Butter, Vanilla Whey Protein, Fruit loops.

Apple Juice, Frozen Banana, Frozen Blueberries, Frozen Raspberries, Nonfat Yogurt.

Redbull, watermelon/strawberries... If you have a watermelon or strawberry syrup, I recommend that. But I am too cheap to buy it, so I just blend real fuit in it. Not quite as good, but I still like it.

This post has been edited by Kirko017: 06 December 2012 - 06:32 AM

[Twinkletoes]

That actually sounds good.. Might try those after a workout sounds yummy

[Kirko017]

I got more recipes as well I will post up later. If you like frozen or iced lattes, like those drinks you get at Starbucks. I got a couple ways to make those that taste pretty good, it's cheaper, and most importantly, much more healthy!

This post has been edited by Kirko017: 07 December 2012 - 03:13 AM

[Kirko017]

Damn last week was crazy for me haha.. Did great on all of my finals last week, hardly slept due to them. I drank about 3 pots of coffee and a whole pack of 0 calorie monsters last week. That's quite a lot of caffeine for me. And I just wanted to point out that I think it is weird that energy drinks cost more than beer... But my last final was Thursday so I went back to work on Firday and started to tear down these two cars at work. Then Friday night I went to a Christmas party. And afterwards I slept from 8am until 1am, I just woke up a couple hours ago, that's 17hrs of sleep haha. A very good way to end a crazy week.

And I was talking to a friend, and got some motivation again and decided to not wait until after finals week so I went back to dieting on Tuesday. I did 2 cardio sessions that day. And my soccer game on Thursday was all the cardio I did all week. And I only got in two workouts this week due to studying for finals instead. But I was down 4lbs on Friday morning from Tuesday when I weighed myself. Puts me at 161lbs. Going to weight myself on Monday. I was shooting for 160lbs by Monday. So we shall see. I want to be at 155lbs by next Saturday when my Church's dance is so I can chow on delicious food and drinks

Going to see how this goes. But it feels really good to finally be under 165lbs.. Especially after I have been at this weight for months. I am almost down another notch on my belt and when I flex my abs I can start to see the outline of them coming in. So I am feeling really good right now.

The typical "bodybuilder meal" is chicken, brown rice, and broccoli. I take that and make a chinese meal out of it. It works really well and taste amazing. I choose to pre-grill my chicken on the george foreman rather frying it though. I'll take about 175-200g of grilled chicken, cut it into small pieces.. Make a cup brown rice, let that sit and cool..
Then preheat a frying pan and put two tbsp of olive oil, scramble two whole eggs(can add in more or less eggs or do egg whites etc), add in the pre-grilled chicken, then add in the brown rice to heat it up. Put in 2tbsp of soy sauce(which is added protein too), some garlic powder, salt&pepper, half a cup of broccoli(can add in chopped carrots and peas as well), chopped onions and garlic. Mix it all together, let it all heat up. You now have homemade chinese chicken and brocolli with fried brown rice.. It is delicious, and healthy. I have been eating it once a day all week

This post has been edited by Kirko017: 16 December 2012 - 04:15 AM

[Kirko017]

I have been meaning to put these recipes up for the lattes.. I have been busy but here they are

Also when I mention carmel or chocolate syrups. Or like the watermelon/strawberry syrup for the Redbull drinks. I use Monin flavor syrups for all of these. They have an espresso concentrate that I use too. You can order it online if no stores around you stock them. Just google it. It really aint that bad of a price for how much you get, it lasts awhile but I am so cheap I did get some more here actually for the holidays. You can make all kinds of drinks with the different flavors. And for those of you old enough, you can use them in alcoholic drinks as well, you can get creative with them, they taste so good. I go for the sugarfree ones, less calories. But they only offer those in so many flavors. You can also get Walden Farms calorie free syrups. Walden Farms also has calorie free sauces like BBQ sauce and a pancake sauce that are not bad.. Some stores stock this stuff, but not too many, if not just order the syrups and sauces online no big deal. It is easier to get them while grocery shopping but not too many stores have them. And hey it's calorie free or low calorie/sugar free. It is worth it, and you can usually order a few of them at a time. And since they're syrup and sauces, they last awhile in the cupboard

You can get the pump arms for the Monin drinks as well. They're re-useable, just take them apart and wash them. It makes it a lot easier and quicker in the mornings to make the drinks before work or school. I think 1 pump is like around .5oz or 1oz if you want to just measure out the syrup and do not want to buy the $2 pump arms.
It usually takes 2 pumps per 16ozdrink. 3pumps for a 24oz drink. If you're using more than 1 flavor, divide the pumps on how you want the flavors.. Pretty simple.

Choose your milk. Soy, Almond, Skim, 1%, 2% or Whole...

If you want this shit to look professional.. Get a whip cream can like Reddi Wip(you can get fat free as well!), add whip cream to the top by going in a circular motion around the rim of the cup, and going in one continuous moition around and upwards to make a cone. And you can add some chocolate, carmel, or strawberry sauce in rows to the top of the whip cream. Legit drink.

More ice=more thick.

How you get them from Cafes..
Basic 16oz Frozen Latte:
5oz of Milk
2pumps of Flavor syrup
1pump of Espresso
Add in ice
Blend.

Basic 16oz Frozen Mocha:
5oz of Milk
1pump of Chocolate sauce
1pump of Flavor syrup
1pump of Espresso
Add in ice
Blend

Now how I usually make mine to make it more healthy:

This I just add some protein in the drink:
16oz Frozen Latte/Mocha:
3oz of Milk/water
2oz of Nonfat Yogurt
1 scoop of Whey Protein (vanilla whey if making a Latte, chocolate for a Mocha, I add .5pump of chocolate sauce for a mocha too sometimes)
1 Pump of Flavor syrup(caramel, hazelnut, vaniila, etc)
1 pump of Espresso
Add in ice
Blend

This is more of a meal replacement than a simple drink
Frozen Latte/Mocha:
5oz of Milk/water
2oz Nonfat Yogurt
1scoop of Chocolate Whey Protein
2pumps of Sugarfree/calorie free Caramel Syrup
2 pumps of Espresso
1 Banana
2 tbsp of Natural Peanut Butter
Add in Ice
Blend

I'll add in oats sometimes too. It just depends on what I am looking for...
But that's how I make em. Pretty good. And if you're using sugarfree or calorie free syrups, you can use those basic recipes ones I showed on here, it's just like those Starbucks drinks but since you're choosing better ingredients, they're not as loaded with calories/sugar.. It takes a few minutes to make them yourself. And you save a ton of money than going to places like Starbucks. They're healthier, and I love them..

This post has been edited by Kirko017: 16 December 2012 - 05:46 AM

[Kirko017]

I already have a treadmill, and one of those home gym machines. You can bench, do machine flies, has cable on the top and bottom.. Nothing too impressive. But I can use it for cable movements. But I am thinking of buying a power rack, a barbell, some plates, and an adjustable bench for the basement. I can do great workouts on any part of my body with just that equipment easily. And I think it would be useful for when I do not have time to drive to the gym. Obviously will still be going to the gym as I prefer dumbbells for a lot of stuff. But It would be nice to have this at home. With the power rack, I can do squats, and have a place to set the bar on for bench pressing. And I can do tons of things with a barbell

Anyone got a sweet home gym setup?

This post has been edited by Kirko017: 16 December 2012 - 06:19 AM

[Kirko017]

Well it's been a minute. Fell off the deep end of my diet I got down to 160lbs, was there for a couple weeks, went right back to 165lbs... With basically two months until Nationals in Florida. I want to lose this fat! So getting back into this diet.

Got some new items from the grocery store to help me along the way to keep my calories down, but my belly full. Some things I am doing differently is still trying to minimize calories to lose weight, but I am trying to increase my fiber intake more. I do not get nearly enough that my body needs. So almost all of my meals and the majority of my food sources I am trying to get very little calories from or lots of fiber if there are more calories.

I got some bread that is 35 calories a slice, 8.5g carbs, 2g fiber, 2g sugar, 0.5g fat, 2g protein. The bread is a little thinner, but still bread and will help fill me up without adding a bunch of calories. It has a half the calories, with a good fiber and protein count compared to most I have seen at the store. Made by Nickles called 35light.

I bought an Unsweetened Hershey Cocoa. Has I believe like ~10calories 0g fat, 3g of carbs, 2g of fiber, 0 protein per tbsp. I am going to add to my protein shakes, and I can also put it in with my low fat unsweetened soy/almond milk to add more fiber, taste, and not a lot of calories.

I bought a bunch of zero calorie sweetener. Some people are not fans of aspartame. That's fine. I use it, it is going to help me with the dieting, I can add it with my unsweetened hershey cocoa to give flavor and not increase calories. Once I get to the body fat levels I want, I will of course cut it out some and use it less as I will just need to maintain and Ill have more calories in my diet to work with.

Sugarfree jello and sugarfree pudding. I just toss some zero calorie sweetener in there. Does wonders. The jello has nothin in it but like a gram of protein. Made with water, no sugar, like practically no calories. The pudding I don't eat a whole bowl of it. But these sure help kill a sweet tooth and craving. The sugar free pudding decreases the calories a lot, making it with my low calorie milk keeps low calorie and it's way more volume and more reasonable than eating a tiny candy bar that is 1/4th the size and 3x the calories.

I picked up so many different beans. I like beans, they are filled with fiber, protein, carbs, etc. They fill my belly up. Easy to make. Going to be a staple for my current diet this time around.

And then nothing too special but I plan to eat a lot more vegies. Spinach, pickles, olives, cucumbers, tomatoes, banana peppers, other peppers, carrots, green beans, peas, asparagus, etc. Vegies are low in calories you can almost eat all you want of certain ones. Lots of Fiber.

The only things I will eat that is not loaded in fiber is lean meats. If it isn't a good fiber/calorie ratio. I am not eating it. Basically Oatmeal, beans, and that bread are the only things I am eating that isn't a vegetable or meat. Fruits will on be if I need a snack real bad and cant get my hands on something else or if added to my shakes only.

This post has been edited by Kirko017: 27 February 2013 - 03:53 AM

[Kirko017]

Getting back into the swing of things, haven't worked out in like a month, but I have been eating decently well though. Been so busy with school and work, I haven't updated in forever. Semester ends in a couple weeks though and I am feeling motivated with this nice weather finally starting to arrive in Ohio. Figured I would post some photos to possibly help motivate others.

Weight: 200lbs (Jan 16th, 2012)


Weight: 155lbs. (April 11th, 2013)



I should be posting a little more info more frequently once the semester is over. I still have yet to reach my goal but seeing some satisfying results so far!

This post has been edited by Kirko017: 23 April 2013 - 09:48 PM

[Kirko017]

Got to 154, then had a couple cheat days. Gained 4 lbs during those :/. Went back up to 158. Now down to 152.6lbs. Trying not to have anymore cheat days until I get to under 150 maybe to 145. Hoping I will be at 150 the end of this week. It is finals week, so I shall see how this goes.

I want to be at my 135lbs goal by time PSP Chicago comes around at the end of June. I think it is very possible and realistic goal. I am not even working out, this is just all diet and I am dropping it so easily. Finally getting to understand how slow my metabolism actually is, and what I can and can not eat. Regardless of calorie and macro tracking, bread and soda seems to keep me from losing weight.

This post has been edited by Kirko017: 06 May 2013 - 03:36 AM