Getting into shape

[jim]

You are right michael cutting down the booze does sound dumb. Kidding, kind of. Keep up the good work though on the exercise/weight loss.

I've always heard that diet is more important than exercise and I just don't buy it. I don't eat and drink horribly - if it weren't for the beer a nutritionist would be probably give me a solid B for my food choices. I don't starve myself either though, that's for sure, and I drink 2-3 beers every single day of my life. If I'm hungry I eat and when I'm not hungry any longer I stop eating, but I do view food more as nutrition than entertainment. I'm not into the dining scene as you know, I think that's probably a bad habit.

What I do do is workout hard. I don't eat any differently know than I did 8-10 years ago, but I'm 25 pounds lighter and have more muscle mass. The only difference (besides age which should work against me) is I exercise. Food and beverage wise - same except I probably eat more know because I get hungry fast.

I do think people don't push themselves hard enough working out. Whatever you think your limit is, go past it a couple times per week. Stop being such a [expletive] I guess is what I'm saying.

[AWvsCBsteeeerike3]

I think people need to push themselves when working out, and we agree there. I've always thought people would plateau and once you plateau, working out is still beneficial, but not as beneficial as it was at the beginning prior to plateauing.

I'd also suggest that diet is important if your goal is to lose weight. Obviously if you go from not working out to working out and keep your diet the same, you should shed some pounds. But, working out is going to increase appetite. So, if you don't pay attention to it and go from not exercising and eating 2500 (let's just say) calories a day to exercising and burning 500 calories a day but also eating 3000 calories a day, you might not lose weight. (Although you'll be in better shape)

Interestingly enough, I read an article about a month ago which says exactly that...though I can't find it now. But, the study included like 100 people that went from not working out to working out (cardio). About a third lost weight, about a third gained weight, and about a third stayed the same. All improved cardiovascular health. There were some pretty inconsistent conclusions, so they said, in the end, find what works for you and continue to do it. (No [expletive]!)

I'll also say, gaining muscle mass is important in that it boosts your metabolism which helps shed pounds. SO, that's good.

I've seriously cut back on my drinking at points in my life and can say without a doubt it makes me feel somewhat better overall. Of course, I was never one to have a couple drinks and call it good.

[JCShutout]

Why would you work out without pushing yourself?

I think changing diet alone helps some, and exercising alone helps some, but both get you into the best shape.

[Jocephus]

[IMADreamer]

Why would you work out without pushing yourself?

I think changing diet alone helps some, and exercising alone helps some, but both get you into the best shape.

I used to see it all the time in football. You'd get kids who came in the weight room and just did the minimum. Those guys never really got stronger or better. Of course they never got any playing time either. There were guys when we were freshman who were really strong and could bench a lot, but they just half assed their work outs and when we were Seniors they were weak. When I got to college no one half assed it. It was awesome.

I don't know why people half assed it. Although I don't know why people half ass anything so I'm not the person to discuss it I guess.

As far as diet goes that's definitely something I've got to work on. I pretty much eat like [expletive] all the time.

[Freed Roger]

I can drink beer (avg 2 per day) and stay at my same comfortable weight. But when I don't drink beer for a few days, I notice I'll drop a few lbs.

It is nice to have that option.
------------------------------------
I do think it's true - if the fire is hot enough, everything burns. But the problem is when I back off on the exercise some - I can put lbs on very quickly -even quicker than someone that doesn't exercise. Downfall of the adaption.

Was listening to a podcast recently with a triathalete nutritionist. there are Wattage measurement capabilities with bike -goal is to find ideal weight while still having strength. A bit of a tradeoff to hit peak wattage capabilities. Anyway, if your focus is to lose a few lbs to bolster that part of the equation, it is pretty hard for a fit person to gain strength while trying to lose weight.

That's what I'm going to focus on this year for some race improvements - trying to find the sweet spot with ideal weight to strength. I am going to drop 8-10lbs by May, with hopefully not losing too much power. Become a more efficient aerobic fat-burner - which is why I need to start getting my arse up in the AM for an empty stomach workout to kickstart metabolism.

[Freed Roger]

You guys hear about the Golden Window theory for eating junkafter a workout ?

I'm now a believer in it-though I think the window stays open a while (more than 45min).
Usually am not hungry immediately after a hard workout. So I'll go for chocolate milk (some sort of carb to protein ratio) first. Ensure is good. Then when my stomach settles, I'll try to eat something good - preferably a burger or the likes. Seems to help the recovery process.

[AWvsCBsteeeerike3]

Maybe this is worth its own topic, but there are so many different types of 'diet' out there.

There's the if it meets your macros diet which is basically you can eat whatever you want as long as you stay within the specified amounts of carbohydrates/protein/fat.

There's the keto diet which is basically Atkins. Limit the carbs, somewhat limit the protein and indulge in fat. The goal is to starve the body of carbs so that the body is forced to breakdown the fat into glucose. (I think that basically sums it up, it's called keto because it puts the body into a more ketosis state. Here's a link to the wiki page http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ketogenic_diet ) Diabetics will recognize ketones as particularly harmful, but there is apparently a healthy state of ketosis where there are benefits....I guess.

There's the paleo diet which is basically eat only what your ancestors thousands of years ago ate as that is what the body can efficiently process. That means, no sugar or starch. No beans, no alcohol. No bread or pasta. No dairy/cheese. No oils. etc etc etc. It's kind of limited to meats, fruits and veggies. The idea is that, well, our ancestors were in better shape than we are, the body evolved to process the foods they ate, and we haven't adjusted to the newer foods and therefore gain weight. Here's the link. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paleolithic_diet

There's plexus....I don't know what that is, but it appears on my facebook page sometimes. I think you have to buy supplements.

There's all sorts of weird diets that are more or less marketing, imo, at a simple/singular way to lose weight without effort.

Etc etc etc.

In my opinion, there's something to the paleo/keto diet. In one form or another, they've been around for a while. Limit sugars, limit processed foods, limit starches and possibly grains/beans, and a lot of what is left is low carb (meat) and/or healthier alternatives (squash instead of pasta, for example).

I'm diabetic, so it makes my life easier to avoid high-carby foods although it's not necessary. I can't say I notice a big difference in how I feel eating chicken and veggies as opposed to chicken strips and fries. But, the very nature of those diets will likely eliminate some things that simply can't help in losing weight (ice cream, sodas, candy, etc) and possibly others that are making it tough to lose weight (processed cereals, pasta, sandwiches, etc).

[Freed Roger]

Maybe this is worth its own topic, but there are so many different types of 'diet' out there.

I'm diabetic, so it makes my life easier to avoid high-carby foods although it's not necessary. I can't say I notice a big difference in how I feel eating chicken and veggies as opposed to chicken strips and fries. But, the very nature of those diets will likely eliminate some things that simply can't help in losing weight (ice cream, sodas, candy, etc) and possibly others that are making it tough to lose weight (processed cereals, pasta, sandwiches, etc).

Yeah, I concur - what works really does vary. Main thing is to pay attention and figure out what works for you. I've heard this guy Matt Fitzgerald scoff at a lot the diets out there, calls them cults. He thinks it's ridiculous to completely overhaul your nutrition at once, by going on a diet. That's an additional stress your body doesn't need. Basically, just be mindful (to use hackneyed buzzword) when making food choices.

Doesn’t every diet have a name? Nope. There are some healthy ways of eating that are nameless. For example, I’ve spent years analyzing the diets of elite endurance athletes. Very few of them belong to diet cults. The vast majority of these men and women have no name for their way of eating and yet they eat very healthfully. Elite endurance athletes are living proof that a person does not need to join any diet cult to become as healthy as a human being can be.

You can see some examples of how elite endurance athlete eat in my book, Racing Weight. At first glance these food diaries just look like normal American (or English, or whatever) diets. But upon closer inspection they reveal themselves to be very high-quality versions of culturally normal diets. The typical endurance athlete eats everything (no forbidden foods) but eats a lot more high-quality stuff (such as fruit) than low-quality stuff (such as candy).

I’ve coined the term “agnostic healthy eating” to refer to this normal-but-high-quality way of eating. Yes, that’s a name, but I never said that having a name in itself qualifies a diet as a diet cult.

Read more at http://triathlon.competitor.com/2014/04 ... sIsg8JR.99

[AWvsCBsteeeerike3]

I think you hit the nail on the head there, freed, and I should have mentioned that as well. A good diet isn't necessarily a 'diet'. Because 'diets' are restricting and people will eventually go back to whatever they were eating that got them overweight in the first place on a long enough timeline. Conversely, a good diet (or better said, good habits) will manifest into a lifestyle moreso than a limitation of certain foods. Nothing's off limits, but overtime (going back to my previous example of food choices), people with good eating habits will gravitate to making chicken and veggies instead of chicken strips and fries.