Against the grain

I've been on a new program for about 2 months and I am happy with the results so far. I am concerned however that when I read all the other advice on the site something is amiss and I am going to regret it in the long run.

First off, Im a big guy. 6'4" 289lbs - not muscle! (2months ago) 29yrs old I was doing very infrequent exercise and ate whatever and whenever I wanted. I had really let myself go from the athletic shape of my younger years.

I joined the gym and 5 personal training / sales pitch sessions were included. The guy had me training with nothing but dumbells and ball but it was tiring and felt good. After about 5 weeks of that I wanted to move and hit the gym 4-5 times a week, 3 lifting days (full body workout high reps) with 30 -45 mons cardio and an hours of cardio on the non lifting days. Results are still good, weight is coming off and I see more definition in muscles. Now I weigh 263lbs.

I am doing the diet right small regular meals about 2100 cals/day protein, glut, vitamins etc.

Anyway, to the point, all the stuff i read on here says bulk first then cut. Am I wasting my time for long term goals (a defined physique but not huge).

Basically I want to lose weight first since its mt primary goal but I dont want to lose muscle so Im taking in lots of protein (dont worry Im eating carbs too) and doing these 3 day a week workout.,

Long and rambling post but Im impressed with the response people get on here and would like some input!

Dan

Bulking or cutting first is a matter of preference, nothing more. You'll get to the bulking when you're ready, and your progress won't be harmed in any way because you decided to cut first-
When it comes to your cutting though, it sounds like you're eating way too FEW calories to effectively lose weight- Sounds weird? Read this,
http://www.discussbodybuilding.com/What_the_hell_is_a_calorie_anyway/m_135283/tm.htm
and follow the link at the end of the article to the calorie calculators- See what sort of number it gives you, and repost that number here for more advice.
Also- Full body workouts aren't all that great in my opinion. Whether bulking or cutting, I think it's better to give each muscle group more individual attention than you're giving them.
Yes, what you're doing is working, but you could be doing things a little better.

Thanks for the info, the link was very helpful. My BMR is 2471 so I guess I should up the calories.
 
Another question. On the cardio machines at the gym, are the calorie counters at all accurate? I mean I cant believe that it knows exactly how many you are burning but do you think that its accurate to within 10%? 20%?
 
Thanks
 

They are accurate enough to help you witha benchmark and idea.
You should eat moderate for slow fat loss and some muscle gains, I would list your food intake here for a day and see what tweaking can be doing, sounds a tad low in cals but the right foods have to be added.
Linda

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