Hey guys, I'm 26 years old, 5'6 and 156lbs. My scale says I'm at 24% body fat. I'm not really sure of what direction I should go with my workouts and diet. I want to have a better looking more muscular body. But I don't know if I should try to loose, gain or stay the same weight.

I am slowly changing my diet to eat more healthy ie, low calorie, high fiber and protein.

I work out 3 times a week using the various machines for about 20 minutes then I do 30 minutes of cardio. I focus on different body parts on different days.

I've been working out for almost two months now and my weight and body fat % have been completely stable. I am starting to feel stronger and my endurance has gone up but I don't look any different from when I started.

Okay, let's get a few things straight - 20 mins of machine work isn't gonna do anything for you. It will improve your conditioning a notch but you will gain no noticeable size nor strength from it.

Next, results come from several months work, yes you should be looking different on a monthly basis but only slightly. Things don't happen overnight, not even with chemical help.

If you are truly 24% bodyfat then this is the first thing you have to address. Going low calorie is not the answer but going low carb is. Now I'm not sure how you were eating previously but it was obviously enough to get you that fat, so it's time for a change. Carbs is what is getting the world fat.

Eat several times a day with each meal including protein, fat and fibre (vegetables or seeds/nuts). Save the carbs for around the workouts although at your bf% you could probably leave them just for refeed days. Once a week have a refeed day of mostly clean foods (including carbs) but have some cheats as well if you want, just remember the more junk you eat the slower your progress will be.

Don't count calories yet, or protein grams, just implement the above dietary changes for now. Eat when you are hungry and don't stuff yourself, eat to satisfy hunger and not for pleasure.

Every day you must do some sort of cardio. Walking is fine (on an empty stomach before breakfast) at a brisk pace but other forms of light cardio are acceptable i.e. stationary bike, swimming, stepmill, elliptical, sled pulling. Best done before breakfast but in your case it doesn't matter when you do it.

As for weight training, you will need 1-2hrs 3x a week with free weights. There's some routines in the 'Where To Start' sticky (I need to post some more come to think of it) or stronglifts.com, choose one and have at it.

Start a journal on here detailing your workouts, cardio and daily food intake and we'll help you out.

Right now your goal is to transition over to better eating habits and a regular cardio/weights regime. Be patient with this, you can achieve a fantastic physique in a year or so but not in a week.

Cool thanks for the info Warboss Alex. It gives me a great idea of where to start.