Okay, so my title was probably exaggerating. However, I have a variety of questions regarding physical fitness that I would love to be answered!
I am an 18-year-old university student studying engineering (this will be important in a bit), and I am somewhat of the athletic type. The problem is, I have trouble getting to the gym often because my busy schedule disallows it. As of right now, I am just shy of 6'5 and am 235 lbs, I would love to be a lean 210 with muscle definition. So here's what I have been doing and what's not working:
Ever since I stopped playing active sports a couple of years ago I have attempted to hit the gym at least once a week but also go on runs and do bodyweight exercises at home. However, I just sit around a lot because of school and have put on some unwanted fat. At this point, I go to the gym every Tuesday and Thursday, one day I do upper body with cardio and the other I do lower body with cardio. It just seems that even though I have been trying to push myself, nothing is changing. I have noticed almost no muscle gains and my heart rate is still getting quite high after only running a mile (I used to be a long-distance runner). I should note that I sometimes get migraines after working out, but this probably due to me not getting enough food before exercising and pushing myself too hard while running/lifting. Is my approach correct? Are there some exercises that would be beneficial for me? Should I run more than 2 miles a time to try to burn off more calories?
Another thing I want to mention is how I eat. I often eat healthy, rarely eat out and usually have a meal full of veggies once a day with the others being balanced. Being my size and age, it's recommended that I get nearly 3000 calories a day. This seems really high to me and I don't feel as though I should be eating that much if I want to lose some of the fat I have put on. With that being said, whenever I eat meals that have a lower calorie count but still have good volume and make me filled I get stomach pains that go away as soon as I eat more. Should I be eating 3000 calories or am I not getting the right types of food in me? One solution I think I might need is eating a lot more protein (chicken, red meat, eggs, fish, etc.)
My main reason for wanting to lose some weight/fat is for the future. Sure, I would love a six-pack, a nice chest, great muscle definition, but I am worried that I could have health problems in the future if I keep gaining weight. At my height and with the engineering job I will be doing in the future, being heavy would cause all kinds of back/neck/lower body problems. I want to ensure that I will be healthy for the future!
Any tips would be greatly appreciated!