Stitch on 24/7/2009 at 14:34
Quote Posted by gunsmoke
This is such a basic subject. Eat right and target exercise. Wow. I became a local boxing champ that way.
There are enough mixed signals we get about health and diet that practical steps toward weight loss are frequently not obvious to those of us who are not local boxing champs. Frankly, the whole "JUST EAT LESS AND EXERCISE MORE IT'S NOT ROCKET SCIENCE" argument contributes nothing beyond giving yourself another online chest thump. The closest you came to adding anything of value to the conversation is when you listed off appalling food suggestions that no person in their right mind would ever resort to.
I do understand where you're coming from, as weight loss and maintenance is actually an incredibly simple affair, but what you have posted here isn't going to help anyone else reach that same epiphany.
Starrfall on 24/7/2009 at 14:42
I'm a current two time US national rowing champion do I win?
Generally speaking you need a deficit of 3500 calories a week to lose a pound a week (or half that to lose half a pound a week). The thing about jogging (or any steady state type activity) is that they're good for burning calories while you do them, but you have to do them for a long time each session and they don't provide a good post-workout burn. Long distance runners are skinny as hell because they run like 50 miles a week.
If you want to lose weight, throw in some HIIT stuff too. HIIT is better at providing a post-workout burn. (Weightlifting is the best for this: weightlifting IS interval training, and if you're doing it right then after a workout you'll burn at a heightened rate for the next 30 hours or so. And once you build the muscle, your BMR will be up full time. You'll also reduce your chances of injury in other exercises. You'll also be sexier. LIFT WEIGHTS PEOPLE)
Spreading out meals does help keep your metabolism more consistent and helps you avoid blood sugar swings during the day but spreading out meals alone won't do much for weight loss.
Stitch on 24/7/2009 at 14:52
Spreading out meals also probably helps reduce snacking, but ultimately it's an unnecessarily complicated thing to attempt for your average person. Weight loss simply boils down to burning more calories than you consume, which is not that difficult if you watch what you eat.
Starry is right about weightlifting, though. It's not a magic weight loss bullet, but it does help burn calories and it shapes what you have for the better :cool:
One other tip about weightlifting: obvious advice, but do it with a friend! Meeting with someone else will force your ass into the gym, and then you can push yourself more with someone to spot you. The added social aspect also makes it all feel less like work.
Renzatic on 24/7/2009 at 15:18
Quote Posted by Starrfall
Spreading out meals does help keep your metabolism more consistent and helps you avoid blood sugar swings during the day but spreading out meals alone won't do much for weight loss.
Good. Now I just need to figure out what to snack on and what's best to eat. Considering I'm not just going for weight loss, but muscle gain as well, I'll have to start planning out appropriate meals.
I'm also taking Stitch's advice and joining a gym a friend of mine goes to. He's right about going with someone else. If I were to show up by myself, I'd probably do a few reps on a row machine then spend an hour staring at the hot moms on the treadmills.
the_grip on 24/7/2009 at 15:44
Quote Posted by BEAR
Ok, so that banana and avocado was way better than expected.
Glad you liked it... it was a surprising combination to me, and I love it.
Quote Posted by Starrfall
LIFT WEIGHTS PEOPLE
Absolutely. "Eat big and lift big"
Weight loss is strictly a measure of diet. Diet should be clean, healthy foods. Lots of good protein and lots of leafy greens and bright veggies. Carbs should come mostly from fruits and veggies. Exercise will not make you lose weight... it is your diet. Exercise will help burn off calories, but exercise is to make you stronger and to do all kinds of healthy things to your body. If one's goal is weight loss, then diet is the key. If you want to lose weight, as Stitch said, eat less calories (operate at a caloric deficit). There are other factors to diet as well (beyond weight loss) that can optimize your food usage: for example, eat carbs, sugars, etc. before working out and protein after. Protein helps to rebuild the muscles (that is the one time I drink a protein shake is after a workout).
I really like the Starting Strength workout. I do nix the power cleans (I did them in high school and have no desire to be a 33 year old power cleaning in a gym), but I do all the other compound lifts (deep squats (which is the cornerstone of the program), deadlifts, bench press, overhead press, and pullups). Instead of the basic routine, I use the "Practical Programming Novice Program" (which subs the pullups for power cleans, and I may add bent over rows as well). I also do leg raises, planks, weighted situps, and weighted hyperextensions. You don't have to spend a bazillion hours in a gym to get stronger and get healthy, and you don't have to already be strong or healthy to start (obviously). If anyone is interested in SS, here is the wiki:
(
http://startingstrength.wikia.com/wiki/Starting_Strength_Wiki)
I don't have the book, but there are enough resources on that website to get good at it. Most of the exercises, squat and deadlift in particular, require an emphasis on good form (or you can hurt yourself), and that is why you build up from light weights. I was already a weightlifter and was discouraged when I started because I wanted to lift more weight than was recommended, but now a little bit into the program I see why. You add weight EVERY workout until you can't, and then you back off a bit and ramp back up. Starting with heavy weights in this way promotes bad form.
Anyways, soapbox off, but I'd recommend this to anyone. Rippetoe (the author of the program) is about as gruff as they come, so it is funny to read some of the stuff, too. I'm going to stick with this program until I don't get any further gains and then branch out.
the_grip on 24/7/2009 at 15:55
Quote Posted by Stitch
Spreading out meals also probably helps reduce snacking, but ultimately it's an unnecessarily complicated thing to attempt for your average person. Weight loss simply boils down to burning more calories than you consume, which is not that difficult if you watch what you eat.
Spreading out meals does require some work. Usually when I wake up, I eat an egg and a cup of 2% yogurt with granola. I bring Kashi instant oatmeal to work and eat that around 10 AM (and sometimes a protein shake b/c I only eat fish in terms of meat so I have a lower protein diet overall unless I work at it). I then eat lunch at noon and have a snack of fruits and such mid-afternoon. Then I eat dinner and sometimes dessert. That will give you five smaller meals... I probably should add a little protein to the afternoon snack, but I don't.
Most of my lunches are leftovers from cooking at home, too. That helps. I LOVE to go out and eat Indian food near my office, but it's buffet and I way overstuff myself. Keeping things to home leftovers ensures that I know I'm eating healthy.
the_grip on 24/7/2009 at 16:15
Okay I'm doing way too much soapboxing here so I'll kick my ass myself after this, but one other note.
Being healthy and stronger (either through muscle strength or endurance) are very good for good well-being and happiness. I could be seeing the world the way I want to, but the happiest and most fulfilled people I know are the ones who take care of themselves. I personally believe that it reflects you yourself showing yourself the respect you deserve. It doesn't hurt that you look better as a result, too, but the real meat of it is the feeling of enpowerment you get. It feeds itself, too. I increasingly find myself wanting to take on new challenges and try new things much more than I used to before I got back on the health bandwagon. This shit isn't a joke... that's why I'm pushy about it. I think everyone deserves to give something to themselves and reap the rewards from it.
Okay I'm done, and I will go kick my ass for being such a proselytizer.
Aja on 24/7/2009 at 17:43
you weightlifting people seem to be forgetting that weightlifting is wretched. There's a reason people don't mind paying for gym memberships—they know they wouldn't go without the motivation of trying to get their money's worth. yeah yeah yeah I get it but at least with cardiovascular routines you get to take a nice trip outdoors, rather than sit on a slimy bench surrounded by mirrors and counting your reps in front of bulky people that are just way too into it.
I might not lose a million pounds but I actually look forward to the running.
the_grip on 24/7/2009 at 18:16
the key is to count your reps in front of the hotties
and yes I like the outdoors too... I've got a nice 4 mile route near my house to a lake and back
D'Juhn Keep on 24/7/2009 at 20:06
Quote Posted by Aja
you weightlifting people seem to be forgetting that weightlifting is wretched.
I like doing it! But then I'm not a member of some horribly expensive gym, I have a bench, squat and spotter stands and a bunch of free weights in my bedroom.
I also have very little desitre to go running in the great outdoors (I might run into Phil Mitchell hiding a body) though I don't mind running on a treadmill. There's just something about knowing exactly how far and fast I'm going that I like more than normal running.
