Weight loss - nutrition advice?

[Matt]

I've been losing weight for some time now, and it's been good, but recently I've grown dissatisfied with my rate of progress and I'd like to speed it up. I know some of you do weight lifting and such for fun. Can anybody suggest some foods that would be not-undelicious, cheap, and helpful in achieving my goals?

Also, I've heard that it's better to eat like six small meals through the course of a day. Is this true? And if so, can you amend the first question to take this into account (it's hard to make like half a sandwich at a time)?

I am not looking for diets per se - I don't want to go carbless or sugarless or meatless or any of that. I'm looking for intake I can make a staple part of my kitchen on a permanent basis.

I'm trying to work out a doable strategy here, along the lines of: build muscle mass to increase metabolism, find a standard weekly grocery list to take advantage of this, and figure out an exercise regimen to actually accomplish this.

Lastly, are there any particular activities which you've found to be especially good at weight loss (fat burn)? Have any of you gone through this type of program - have some dos/don'ts, things to watch out for, et cetera you could give me?

P.S.: price is also of concern. So as much as I love it and I know it's good for me, I'm not gonna be eating salmon four times a week or anything like that.

P.P.S: I'm also not really looking to learn about the science behind all this. I just want a "tab A into slot B"-level analysis.

[Jacob Orlove]

Also, I've heard that it's better to eat like six small meals through the course of a day. Is this true? And if so, can you amend the first question to take this into account (it's hard to make like half a sandwich at a time)?

Apparently you build up fat when you eat a lot, and when you're hungry ("starvation mode" or something). Eating more, smaller meals helps avoid both extremes, and keeps your body running normally.

Or so I've heard.

[Smmenen]

My roommate lost a ridiculous amount of weight doing two things;

1) he went running/work out for at least 20 minutes every day - possibly twice a day - i'm not sure.

2) he has a geoge forman grill and eats lean chicken breasts with various sauces and salad every night.  I'm not sure what he eats for lunch.  But those two things and he lost ALOT of weight.

[Kerz]

Im only 17, and I lost almost 20 pounds in the past few months. In my experiences, there were several keys to the kingdom:

THE MOST IMPORTANT RULE EVER (and I'm completely serious):

H20.

WATER- Water, Aqua, Two hydrogens and an oxygen.  If you plan on being serious about losing weight, your first step is to cut the empy calories from your diet. The BIGGEST SOURCE of these shit calories are sodas and juices. Don't let juice's vitamin content fool you. That shit is FULL of calories. A glass of, like some type of fruit punch will run you 150-250 calories. A can of soda is higer than that. Milk is the worst of them all. Only drink milk if you are eating your healthy cereals, and even if so drink skim or 1% MAX.

Drink water. Drink lots of it. Drink it when you arn't thirsty. Make sure you get your daily reccommended dose, which is really eight full glasses. I drink over double that, but thats up to you. I havn't pissed anything close to yellow in weeks.

Continuing the "cutting empty calories" deal, show complete restriant and don't go for any of the garbage. If you skip a meal and eat a brownie instead, that is still awful. You probably already know this, but it's a very imporatnt point. Weak will power is probably why you are aiming to lose weight now (it was the reason why I was heavy, at least).

Work out, but it is less imporatnt than eating right. A good workout will leave you winded and sweaty.

Thats really all I can say- I went from a size 38 waist to a size 34 in a few weeks. I am now 5'10", 165. I was over 185 at my worst. Keep at it man!

PS: If you cut the juices and stuff from your diet and fear you arn't getting all the vitamins, just pick up a regular multivitamin from your local pharmacy or fitness medicine store.

[Matt]

I haven't had soda or milk in forever, but juice is kind of a vice. That seems like an excellent place to start. I should probably also categorize fruit as a luxury and eat less/none of it (though I've done this the last couple weeks out of sheer absentmindedness - I forgot to buy any!).

The George Foreman thing is good news, because I have one of those. Chicken and stir fry vegetables is a large part of my diet right now, but it's a pain in the ass to make this several times per day, and also a pain to make in small batches, so it kind of butts up against the "eat little meals" plan. I don't have a microwave, so making a lot and simply reheating isn't an option (reheating on the stove is difficult because it doesn't do so evenly unless I personally attend it, stirring all the while. Also, it takes forever if what you're making doesnt have some kind of sauce/liquid element to heat the meat by convection [again with the stirring]).

[Shock Wave]

I've been losing weight for some time now, and it's been good, but recently I've grown dissatisfied with my rate of progress and I'd like to speed it up. I know some of you do weight lifting and such for fun. Can anybody suggest some foods that would be not-undelicious, cheap, and helpful in achieving my goals?

There are several misconceptions regarding eating and losing weight, the more prominent one being that eating less is a good strategy. The reality is that it is more about what you eat, and just as importantly, when you eat it.

Here are some quick tips that will help you make changes:

1. Try to get your simple carbohydrates earlier in the day (ie. before noon), with the only exception being immediately after your workout. This is especially important if you're lifting weights, where there is a 20 minute window right after you're done training that your body is really needing simple carbs.

2. Kerz is right on the money. Lots of H20. Not only does it have several added benefits (healthy skin, etc.), it is a natural appetite suppressant.

3. On that note, if over-eating is an issue, try breaking down your meals. Ideally, you'd like to have 6 small meals a day. Obviously that's a tough system to stay commited to, but the point is that eating smaller portions and leaving room for later is more conducive to efficient calorie utilization.

4. If you're doing cardio, do it in the morning right when you wake up. Your sugar levels are lowest when you wake up, thus the majority of the calories you'll burn in the morning will be from stored fats.

5. Check your labels. This is a no brainer, but you'd be surprised how many people out there have no idea what they're ingesting.

6. Fruit juice is a no-no if you're trying to lose weight. Drinking a large glass of orange juice is like pounding down water and sugar. You're far better off having an actual orange.


Food tips:

1. Steve is right. You can never go wrong with lean chicken breast. It has been a daily staple of mine for the longest time.

2. Fruits (moreso in the morning). Outside of tasting good, fruits have a  low calorie count (save for bananas) and are obviously just a healthy food choice.

3. Fish. I can't stand fish, I actually truly loathe the taste of it, but I eat it relgiously. The fats from fish are the fats your body wants (Omega 3s) and it is extremely high in protein (critical if you're lifting weights). If you're a fish person, then you're in luck. If not, you can try to beat the taste by spraying it with lemon juice. Another daily staple for me is tuna salad. I'll crack a few cans of tuna, throw some lettuce, carrots, celery, etc,  and some balsamic vinegar and lemon juice.

I have some other ideas, but my diet is pretty hardcore and I doubt it is what you're looking for. I hope this helps, keep up the good work!

[Matt]

Overeating isn't really the problem, just that the logistics of cooking and school make it so that it's much more convienent to have most of my daily food in one big meal about 2 PM.

Lots of good advice here. I'll probably jump on tuna bandwagon this weekend. Thanks a lot!

[Dr. Sylvan]

For anyone reading who hasn't already started the process like Matt, I'd like to offer some tips. I managed to lose 35 lbs (and then lose them again when they came back) with some bare-minimum steps. One of the difficulties a lot of people in the Magic age demographic have with losing weight is that they are dependent on dormitory cafeteria food (and in my situation, I had this problem in high school as well), which is absolute shit as far as nutrition and taste, for the most part.

Besides Kerz's very essential advice about cutting out all non-water beverages, and then drinking so much water you think that you're going to drown, the number one thing is portion control. Americans are terrible at portion control, and routinely get second plates of food even when we are not hungry, and have been sedentary for ages. Skip it. You don't need it; that's why you're reading this post in the first place.

Also, don't snack. If you're stuck in a dorm, eating right six times per day is impossible, so if you snack you will just end up consuming more food, and unless you have the discipline to actually keep bags of veggies lying around instead of Doritos, just don't. That feeling in your stomach will quiet down if you drink a glass of water and wait a couple hours until the next meal.

When you get to the cafeteria, there are key rules: red sauce instead of white, avoid ketchup (it's like pouring salt into your arteries and is perhaps the worst possible food for you), and don't pile on the desserts or second helpings. Skip it. You don't need it.

A lot of people have trouble with all the discipline it takes to lose tons of weight, especially getting into the habit of exercise. One good trick is to have a buddy join you in your quest. It can be someone who is also trying to lose weight, or someone who is already fit as a fiddle. Either way, having someone expecting you to keep appointments will make you more likely to do it. The only time in the last five years that I've run over a mile for exercise was when I made an appointment with one of my friends who was on the cross-country team---just commit to a time and you will be less likely to make up excuses like "maybe tomorrow" and that other BS that we can come up with when we want to be lazy.

One more thing before I go to work: in dorms people order a lot of pizza and other horribly unhealthy things. I love pizza sooo much, but (a) you shouldn't get it, and (b) if you do, you MUST take a paper towel to it and absorb the grease off it. This is a minor step that at least removes the worst element of your lapse in discipline.

I lost my weight without regular exercise, but I cut my consumption of everything drastically to do it, and I still have a bunch of excess pounds which will probably only go away with physical exertion. I encourage anyone to try and lose their excess weight, too, any (healthy) way that they can.

[Klep]

I didn't lose 30 lbs in a matter of weeks like Kerz (I don't work out), but in the last 3 years of my undergraduate work I lost around 70lbs (with a few bumps along the way), with about half of that being since March last year.  Here are the two things I found to get me over the hump:

1) Like Kerz and others mentioned, WATER.  I initially stopped drinking sodas because a highly stressfull period last March gave me an ulcer, but afterwards I noticed that I was losing weight faster and I felt generally healthier than I had before.  This is seriously the very first step you should take.

2)  Learn the difference between when you want to eat, and when you are hungry.  It was this problem that led to me getting fat in the first place.  I would just eat something whenever I felt like it, without regard to whether my body actually wanted food or not.  Thus, despite being somewhat sedentary, I would be eating the equivalent of 4 or 5 fair-sized meals in a day.  Needless to say, this quickly packs on the pounds.  After a year in college, I realized that I didn't need to be eating that much, and cut back (it helped that my meal plan was running low).  Combined with the fact that I walk everywhere while in college,  this put me on the right track.

This brings up another point.  Walking is extremely healthy.  If you're in school, walk everywhere.  Don't take the bus to save a couple minutes, just hoof it.  Walking is great excersize, and it's low-impact.  It won't turn you into a hunk of a man, but it will help you lose weight and be healthy.

[Britanny]

I agree with Klep (omg you're Klep), this is very simple, mostly for men :

1 drink water

2 You can eat what you want BUT what is important how much you eat. Yeah, you are hungry ? Eat a cookie , but just one . And you have to make difference between when you WANT to eat and when you NEED to eat.

3 Walk . If you want to run, you can , but just walk instead of taking your car or bus . It coulb allthemore nice if the sun is shinnning.

4 Change your mind. If you're bored, read a book, see some friends , because if you turn on the TV, you're going to eat because you don't know what to do .

5 Very important : don't eat between the meal.

it's simple

Brit.

[Bram]

Lots of good advice here. I'll probably jump on tuna bandwagon this weekend. Thanks a lot!

Wanna make it a contest? It wouldn't be a prize-related (or even honorary thing), just sort of a motivational effort. I know *I* am competitive enough to be motivated into doing something I hate by seeing that some guy I hardly even know is doing better at it

Also: weigh yourself on a weekly basis or so (not daily...random fluctuations will get you depressed or overconfident) and keep track of the results in an excel worksheet or something. Make a graph of how you are doing vs. how you should be doing or something. It sure helped me back when I lost 90 pounds a few years ago.

Anyway, LMK of you want in on the 'contest' thing (we could post weight loss as opposed to weight). If not, I still wish you the best of luck. It's not as hard as people say (and nowhere near as hard as quitting smoking

Cheers,

Bram

[iamfishman]

Actually...I have been stuggling to lose about 20 lbs by summer.

What do you guys think about either using this thread...or a new one...to track the results of one another and most importantly, to encourage one another to continue eaitng and living healthy.

[Bram]

Obviosuly I'm in favor of that I gained about half what I lost, and it needs to GO. Motivating eachother can really help.

[Hi-Val]

Good advice all around. Me mum's a dietician, so I grew up eating healthy. I've stored up a lot of nutrition info in my time : )

-- Water. It's been said, I'll say it too. If you can't stand the taste of water, squirt a lemon in it or get some Crystal Light mix. You don't need 8 glasses a day; that's a myth. However, when you're drinking water, you're not drinking Gatorade, Coke, etc. It flushes your body.

-- Vitamins. You need vitamins even if you're eating healthy, because they will not hurt. You may be cutting out vitamins accidentally in your diet (Vitamin D from dairy comes to mind) and so you should be supplementing it. In that vein, some of the most nutritious foods are fruits and vegetables. I'm allergic to raw fruit, but if I wasn't, I'd be eating bananas and apples all the time. As it is, I stick to orange juice and raw spinach.

-- Be careful about how you prepare your vegetables. Stewing them for a long time in water and then throwing it away throws the vitamins away with it. Steaming them or eating them raw will preserve the most nutrients.

-- As Pip said, portion control is essential. If you eat a huge salad with dressing and cheese and stuff, you're not losing weight. Having a little butter or cake is fine, as long as you control what you eat.

-- A note on salads: iceberg lettuce is trash. It is mostly water and fiber, For most people, iceberg lettuce is an excuse to eat salad dressing. Replace the iceberg in your salad with spinach, which contains iron and vitamins, and you'll be doing your body a lot of good.

-- If you want to snack, stick to fruits. Oranges, nanners, apples, grapes, etc are all good. If you want a healthy pick-up in the middle of the day, a PB&J sandwich will give you protein, sugar and starches enough to carry you to your next meal. Make sure you ALWAYS use whole-grain bread and never eat white bread. It's nasty stuff anyway!

-- Don't get rid of dairy foods! Your body needs the calcium. I really like lowfat vanilla yogurt. The calcium you get from dairy has been shown to help you lose weight, so make sure to get 3 servings of lowfat milk or dairy every day. Yogurt is incredibly good for you, I can't stress this enough.

-- If you're looking for meals and plans, check the net. I did a little searching and found this weeklong meal plan. Looking at nutrition labels and realizing what's good and bad for you is a good way to gain understanding about what you should eat. You should also use this Basal and active metabolism calculator to figure out how many calories you should be taking in every day. One pound of fat is about 3500 calories. If you eat that much in excess of how much your body uses, you gain a pound. If you burn 3500 calories, you lose a pound. If you can cut out 200 calories a day, not that hard, you will lose a pound about every 17 days, in addition to how much you're losing with exercise.

-- A note about exercise: lean muscle mass burns more calories than fat, so putting on lean muscle will help you lose weight. Walking places, taking the stairs instead of the elevator and going for a walk after dinner are all easy ways to get some activity in your routine. If you want to put on a little muscle, lift tomato cans or get weights or use a resistance band. Any exercise you do will help you not only lose weight, but look good and feel good.

Good luck to everyone!

[Dr. Sylvan]

Obviosuly I'm in favor of that :-) I gained about half what I lost, and it needs to GO. Motivating eachother can really help.

I will volunteer myself to both participate in this and track the data, which will also avoid creating a spammy and difficult-to-browse thread.

If no one has any objections, anyone who wants to participate can email each week's weight change to prstanto@gmail.com, and I'll then make subsequent weekly updates. Starting now. (I guess I need to find a scale somewhere!)

[Matt]

I guess I could join the contest but I don't really care what the scale says, because the scale doesn't know if I added on muscle to replace fat weight. It's indiscriminate that way, so I base my success on things like fat as a percentage of weight. Of course I can't get that tested every week but what I can do is see how bouyant I am in the swimming pool - muscle is far denser than fat. It's kind of subjective but whatever. The other number to pay attention to is what notch on my belt I use.

I'm not cutting dairy by any means - I eat some cheese (not a lot), but I plenty of plain yogurt. I used to eat the fruity stuff but it's sooooo sugary, and now I can't stand even vanilla because it's so sweet. I just don't like drinking milk, it makes my mouth and throat feel all slimy and phlegmy.

As far as bread goes, look for Orowheat breads. They're all very good but their Oatnut Original is out of this world. It is the best bread I have ever tasted by a WIDE margin. I find it difficult to purchase any other kind of bread - about the only reason I do is to remind myself of just how amazing the oatnut is.

A lot of this stuff I already knew, like the "don't boil veggies" and lettuce-as-a-dressing-delivery-system (which is also how most people eat french fries - as a ketchup vehicle!). But it's still good advice.

As far as walking goes - heh. HEH. I just spent a year and a half without  car (lost the old one when some jerk ran a red into me), walking EVERYWHERE. I do not live in one of those northeastern cities where you take the subway, either. I live in the south. Last month I bought a new car though. [/blog]

I actually eat pretty healthily - it's just that I'm eating like a normal person would to maintain weight, and I think I could be eating to lose weight. I AM losing weight, I just think I could be doing better (I've kind of plateaued in the last several months).

I don't mind exercise at all - in fact I love it. I wish my apartment complex had a gym, going all the way down to campus is kind of annoying even if it does have the nicest facilities in town (and paid for by tuition).

[Bram]

It's indiscriminate that way, so I base my success on things like fat as a percentage of weight.

There's scales that measure that, too, using electrical current. It's not perfect, but if you averga e 3 or so measurements out and perform them on roughly the same hour of the day, you should be fine.

Just submit those number to phil. Heck, there may even e an article in this. The TMD Ultimate Weight Loss Challenge. I'd hit it :-P

[Hyperion]

Shock Wave covered a lot of what I wanted to say, especially about including fish in your diet, the merits of eating smaller meals more frequently, and eating simple carbs pre/post-workout. So hopefully you (and he) won't mind if I add to some of what he said.

Try to get your simple carbohydrates earlier in the day (ie. before noon), with the only exception being immediately after your workout. This is especially important if you're lifting weights, where there is a 20 minute window right after you're done training that your body is really needing simple carbs.

Jay Cutler- a professional bodybuilder considered by many to be one of the best in the business, following Ronnie Coleman- is well known for his penchant for drinking a can of Coke right after a workout for this reason. In addition to simple carbs, I've also read articles recommending consumption of caffeine before/after workouts and so with Coke you get a little of both.

If you're willing to buy it, whey protein is another good thing to have around the time of your workout, because your body digests it very quickly. It's also an easy way to increase your daily protein intake without having to eat more whole foods. I've used this brand for a while now and I like it, and there are lots of other good brands out there too. Optimum happens to be one of the cheaper ones.

3. On that note, if over-eating is an issue, try breaking down your meals. Ideally, you'd like to have 6 small meals a day. Obviously that's a tough system to stay commited to, but the point is that eating smaller portions and leaving room for later is more conducive to efficient calorie utilization.

The other reason for eating smaller meals more frequently during the day is to continually supply your body with nutrients. If you don't, you risk cortisol production. This is a hormone that will break down your body's muscle to get at energy stores if you wait too long between eating periods. Obviously, this is something you want to avoid if you're trying to build muscle. It probably varies from person to person but I've read that eating something every 2-3 hours is a good way to avoid cortisol production. As for how to divide your meals, one way to do it is to figure out your daily protein intake and try to divide it more or less evenly among these meals. So if, say, you were trying to eat 180 g/day, eat a few meals with ~30 g/each.


now, about food...

Chicken breast is an obvious choice, but don't sell other stuff short. I am glad to hear you're going to give fish a try. In my experience tuna steaks come out really well on a GF grill, so give those a try if you have access to a good seafood counter. Like Shock Wave said, fish is a good source of omega-3 fatty acids - in particular, salmon. The reality of it is that you can't go wrong with fish, for the most part, although catfish is a lot higher in fat and lower in protein than most other kinds. There are a few kinds of fish that are either overfished or are caught using methods that do a lot of damage to other marine life, so I'd check this site out for more information. Seafood is more expensive though so you probably wouldn't want/need to eat it more than 1-2 times/week. As for canned tuna, I've only started eating this recently, and while it won't taste as good as fresh fish it's very convenient. I've found tuna fish mixed in with chopped Granny Smith applies is pretty good, and easy to prepare to boot.

There are also a few lean cuts of beef that are almost as low in fat as chicken breast, but also good sources of B vitamins, creatine, and omega-3's as well (though not nearly as much as salmon). Eye of round, top round, and top sirloin are cuts I've tried that are pretty good. For example, 3 oz of eye of round has ~4.2 g fat, compared to about 3 g fat for a 3 oz chicken breast. These steaks tend to be a little tougher than fatter cuts but if this bothers you you can just marinate them in something before cooking. Also, extra lean ground beef is easy to prepare too, and goes well with pasta and your pasta sauce of choice.

You can find pretty lean cuts of pork out there too, actually, and of course turkey breast is a good choice too. As for other stuff to eat during the day, I actually think room-temp chicken breast is half-decent, but may not be in the majority here. Protein/energy bars like Balance, Detour, Clif, etc. are nice for between main meals because of the convenience factor but are obviously more expensive.

dairy - another option that might be worth trying is cottage cheese. I personally hate its texture but I found a recipe for blending it with sugar free instant vanilla pudding mix, water, and fruit spread and I really like it. Its end consistency is a lot like pudding/yogurt. I can dig it up if you want the numbers.

other

slow-burning carbs - I was diagnosed with Type I diabetes a few years ago so I try to eat foods with carbs that the body digests more slowly, to avoid higher blood sugar spikes after meals. I'm not sure if this directly correlates with the goal of losing weight but if they take longer to digest your appetite will be satisfied for longer periods of time, so they may be a good appetite suppressant too. it probably can't hurt, at any rate. Oatmeal, rice, and yams are probably my biggest carb sources. Incidentally, yams are another good food to prepare on a GF grill, by cutting 'em into ~1/2" slices and grilling for 20-25 minutes. I also used to eat Special K fairly often, which is low in calories and sugar and high in protein.

Egg whites are another quality source of protein, they'd be good with breakfast...either hard-boiled or in omelette form, depending on which works best for you in terms of preparation time.

weight lifting- if you do anything at a high-enough intensity it will increase your heart rate and thus be conducive to your goals, including weightlifting. In particular, some of the more intense lifts like squats and deadlifts may be worth incorporating into your exercise program.  Again, I've never done these to lose weight, but if you want something more interesting to go along with cardio it may be worth a try. How you'd fit these into a routine depends on what you already do, what your goals are, etc....so if you can give me/us a better idea of this we can tailor our feedback accordingly.

finally, this is a really good nutritional database with nutrition specs on pretty much any food you can think of.

[JACO]

Other 'tips' for a regular diet that will keep you healthy:

1) As has been mentioned, drink plenty of water. Juice is good for you, and not a problem for your regular diet at all if do any kind of exercise, so to break up the monotony of water, juice is probably your best alternative (soda is brutal calorie wise). And when we say drink water, we mean DRINK A LOT OF IT. Try to drink 8+ glasses a day.

2) The point of eating smaller meals throughout the day is that they are easier for your body to digest than 2-3 much larger meals. Having more smaller meals througout the day also helps keep your metabolism working faster. Your metabolism is one of the most important things in regards to losing weight and maintaining a healthy body. You probably won't have time to make 6 meals a day, but 3-5 smaller ones is certainly better than 2 large ones.

3) As Hi-Val said, avoid Iceberg lettuce at all costs. It has almost no nutritional value. Go with Romaine, Spinach, Broccoli, and other greens, and if you're going to use dressing, don't use shit like Blue Cheese and Ranch. Stick with oil and vinegar, honey mustard, etc.

4) Eating things like a small amount of yogurt or milk with most of your meals actually helps your digestion.

5) Do not eat late in the day. Your metabolism slows when you go to bed and are not active, so your rate of digestion also slows during this time. If you eat late, your body has less of a chance to properly burn it off. Depending on your sleep schedule, I'd avoid eating after 7 pm if possible.

6) Get regular exercise. Everyone can say it, but doing it is another thing. Doing at least a little something (even if it's just walking/running) each day will help keep your metabolism higher than if you did nothing. You don't have to run a marathon, but obviously the more you push yourself the better and faster your results will be.

[Matt]

Well I've been to the gym two days in a row. I probably won't go tomorrow though, I've heard going every day isn't as good as taking days off to rest (I normally wouldn't go back-to-back but I'm behind in my exercise schedule to the point where total time is more important than proper spacing).

[kl0wn]

I have to say something to everyone hating on juice:

You people are morons.

Fruit punch is NOT juice, it's a juice COCKTAIL, ie: it's just about the same thing as soda. Don't hate on juice, it's your friend. Anything that is described as "juice cocktail", "juice drink", "fruit-flavored beverage", etc.. is not actually juice. Please don't get the two confused; fruit juice is good for you when it's 100%. Yes, it's loaded with carbohydrates, but carbohydrates are also good when they come from shit that's not made in a laboratory (I'd get into the gory details, but y'all wanted to keep it simple). John Q. Atkins is my public enemy number one; you NEED carbohydrates for energy. If you plan on marinading in a box like veal, then by all means, cut the carbs. But if you plan on getting out of that indentation in your recliner and shaking your booty, you need energy to do that and energy comes from carbohydrates.

Dairy products are also not your friend. Cow milk is for baby cows, not humans. Baby cows have six stomachs, humans have one. Do the math. You can't digest that shit; either it's out of your system like a boner in sweatpants, or (much more likely) it's stored as fat. That's not even bringing into question the hormones and antibiotics that you're consuming with the moo juice. You want calcium? Go get some calcium supplements. Dairy products give you shit for calcium anyway.

Oh, and tap water is bullshit. It all comes down to fat-soluble toxins. That's the name of the game. The more impurities and indigestible shit you consume, the more fat your body will make to compensate. Chlorine, flouride and friends (y'know...the shit that the government adds to your tap water to make it "healthy"?) are all processed as toxins.

I won't even get into the whole tap water/dairy propaganda/bad food/medical industry conspiracy.

And who am I to talk? I'm the guy who barely moves and somehow manages to keep a 32 inch waist. I also drink about 1/2 gallon of OJ every day. Juice is good.

Oh, and you really want to lose the excess mass? Quit the alcoholic beverages. That shit damages your liver and limits the oxygen in your blood stream, which messes with your metabolism on top of being processed as a toxin.

[Shock Wave]

Fruit punch is NOT juice, it's a juice COCKTAIL, ie: it's just about the same thing as soda. Don't hate on juice, it's your friend. Anything that is described as "juice cocktail", "juice drink", "fruit-flavored beverage", etc.. is not actually juice. Please don't get the two confused; fruit juice is good for you when it's 100%. Yes, it's loaded with carbohydrates, but carbohydrates are also good when they come from shit that's not made in a laboratory (I'd get into the gory details, but y'all wanted to keep it simple).

While I agree with your statement which differentiates real juice from artificial fruit cocktails, I contend that even real fruit juice is not the ideal beverage when weight loss is a priority. That does not mean that real fruit juice is bad for you, because it definitely is not, but that does not disguise the fact that it is loaded with sugars. Considering that most overweight people have a more sedentary lifesytle than the average person, pumping themselves full of sugar is not a good idea, even if the sugars are natural.

John Q. Atkins is my public enemy number one; you NEED carbohydrates for energy. If you plan on marinading in a box like veal, then by all means, cut the carbs. But if you plan on getting out of that indentation in your recliner and shaking your booty, you need energy to do that and energy comes from carbohydrates.

I totally agree with you. I think this "low carb" craze solves one problem by adding another. My personal experiences have convinced me that depleting your carbohydrate resources is NOT healthy for your body. As Bryce has stated, carbs are your body's primary source for energy. When you exhaust your carb supply, your body will relegate to protein and fats for fuel, both of which are terrible energy sources. You can bet on being an absolute slug, mentally and physically, when on a low-carb diet. That being said, you will lose a ton of weight when cutting carb-depleting. However, that does not mean it is a healthy option. The correct approach to healthy weight loss is to pay attention to the quality, quantity, and category of carbohydrates that comprise your diet, and again, the time at which you're ingesting them.

Dairy products are also not your friend. Cow milk is for baby cows, not humans. Baby cows have six stomachs, humans have one. Do the math. You can't digest that shit; either it's out of your system like a boner in sweatpants, or (much more likely) it's stored as fat. That's not even bringing into question the hormones and antibiotics that you're consuming with the moo juice. You want calcium? Go get some calcium supplements. Dairy products give you shit for calcium anyway.

I recently switched to organic soy and potato milk and I'm never going back. I suggest these options to others as well, especially those who are lactose intolerant (which seems to be just about everyone these days.. coincidence? I think not).

Oh, and tap water is bullshit. It all comes down to fat-soluble toxins. That's the name of the game. The more impurities and indigestible shit you consume, the more fat your body will make to compensate. Chlorine, flouride and friends (y'know...the shit that the government adds to your tap water to make it "healthy"?) are all processed as toxins.

Wow, another person who doesn't drink tap water. That makes at least two. I drive up north for a few hours every other sunday to get water from a hole in the ground, which I have tested every so often. I'd rather take my chances with that than chlorine from the tap.

[Hi-Val]

If you are fearful about water, invest in a Brita filter, they're cheap and they last a while.

As for low-carb diets: They put your body into something called ketosis. It's when the body burns protein instead of carbohydrates and uses up more energy burning them. On the books, the long-term effects of ketosis have not been studied so we don't know what it really does, though it seems to work as a way of weight control. Off the books, my dad has been on the Atkins diet for 6 years now and is fine physically. I know it's anecdotal, but that's all I have.

Drinking orange juice is one of the best things you can do for your body, and it tastes DELICIOUS. Be sure to check labels and ingredient lists. The cranberry juice you drink may say 100% juice, but it may be 30% cranberry, 70% white grape, and so you'll end up with just a sugary product. Also, there is a process where fruit juices are run through semipermeable membranes until they are nothing but sugar and water. They are still considered juice by the FDA and are used to bulk and sweeten a juice mix. That's why I really favor OJ. It is undiluted with other things. If you live near an orchard or have oranges of your own, juicing them is a fun and delicious endeavor.

As for dairy products being bad at calcium, this is simply not true. The DRV (daily recommended value) of calcium intake is 1000mg, and a glass of milk contains ~350mg of calcium. Three servings a day will fix you up for calcium intake. The problem with calcium supplements is that most are made from oyster shells, and that kind of calcium doesn't absorb in the body as well as the calcium from dairy products does.

The reason that baby cows have six stomachs (actually, they have FOUR) is that they are ruminants, or cud-chewing animals. They need extra stomachs to process the grasses that are consumed. it's facetious to say that because they have extra stomachs, it must be for milk. If you're worried about hormones or chemicals in your milk, make sure to buy certified organic milk. It's as simple as that. Kl0wn, I'm interested about what in milk is undigestible. I know that some are unable to digest lactose, sometimes as a result of not having been breast-fed as a child. However, the sugars, fats and nutrients seem wholly digestible, and the cultures in yogurt are helpful to the lower digestive system. Is there something you know that I'm missing? I'm curious about the claim that it is indigestible.

[Shock Wave]

http://www.milksucks.com/more.html?c=1203

Doug, this is one of many sites that sheds light on the problems associated with dairy products. You can Google up another bunch if you're skeptical. Read some of those letters and you'll find Bryce's claims to be well defended.

[Hi-Val]

Well I certainly knew about the FLATULENCE part! Thanks for the link Shock Wave, I'll give it a read. Are there any other, strange milk products that are easier on the stomach, besides human milk? What about camel/goat milk? I have to admit though, I am a little wary about taking a link from PETA at face value, so I'll look for what the FDA has to say on it as well.

[Dante]

I went through the same issue last year - I'm not a large person or fat by any means and I typically exercise multiple times a week (1 night of basketball and 1-3 "others" including weights, cardio, and pilates), but due to work (I'm a part owner), I hadn't been able to keep up my exercise routine and was drinking too much (2-3 20 oz bottles) per daysoda (regular soda).  My weight, which had been steady at 175 since I got out of college in '99, had gone up to 188 and my pants were getting tight at the waist..

I simply switched to diet soda, cut down to a maximum of 1 per day (2 on Saturday) and within a couple of weeks (3ish)my pants were loose again and I was back in the 175-180 range again.

I won't rehash what others have said (lots of water is key to good long-term health, avoid iceberg lettuce and boiling your veggies, etc), but here are the additional items I've found that make me look and feel better (as well as stay fit):

- eat more smaller meals.  This was said, but should be re-iterated (just like water).  It's not only healthier, but you feel more energized all day.  Eating 1 large meal a day around 2pm is NOT good.  Whenever I can keep on the smaller meals, I always feel better.

- don't look to cut carbs totally (unless you are gunning for some weight loss for an event, like a wedding) for long-term diet - just cut the crappy ones (sugars and simple carbs).  You don't need to cut out breads, just choose ones that like whole wheat or 7-grain.  Same thing with pastas, no need to cut it, just find a whole-grain pasta that you like (they are out there).

- BEWARE low carb bars or "health" bars - they may be low in carbs, but they are typically higher in bad fats (saturated and trans fat).  For example, all of the Balance Gold bars have 6g of fat (9% Recommended daily value, RDV), but 4g of saturated fat (20% RDV!!!).  Compare to the Powerbar Harvest Apple Crisp flavor (my bar of choice) which has 4g total fat, but only 0.5 saturated fat.  So when choosing a "health" bar, keep in mind what you want out of it (low carb, low fat, etc) and read the label before you choose.

- core muscles - most people focus on visible muscles (arms, chest, etc), but really concentrate on your core (abs, lower back).  It's amazing how focusing on them will allow you better stability and energy for other athletic endeavors.  There are some good Pilates videos I can recommend (you'll need an exercise ball, but that's it) that gets your heart rate going and really works the abs and lower back (plus some misc leg and arm muscles).  There's one in particular that is perfect for me - ~32 mins, gets the heart rate going as well in addition to core muscles.  PM me if anyone is interested.  Since I started on these, I've noticed my stamina and energy in my local basketball league has gone WAAY up - I can play an entire half with a much higher energy level and not lose my legs as much in the second half.

- stretching - a good 5-10 minute stretching program (nothing fancy, just basics) once in the morning and evening (not too close to bed) can do wonders.

- tension - when doing weight-based exercises (either for stamina or strength), always keep the tension on the muscle throughout all the reps - for example, when doing bicep curls, don't bring the weights far enough down to where you lock your elbows and can't feel the tension on your biceps anymore, only go as far down until your elbows are still slightly bent.

- eat slowly - there's a lag between the time the food gets into your stomach and the body recognizing it's full.  When you eat fast, you'll eat more than you need to.  Eating slower lets the body catch up to recognizing how much more you need to eat.

- one breakfast item can be oatmeal (something like steelcut oatmeal from a container, not the prepacked shit with sugary fruit and crap in it).  If you don't have time to cook int he morning, you can cook a whole bunch of it at a time and refridgerate or freeze the rest.

- If you're going to buy flavored yogurt, be careful of stuff that claims to be "low-fat", etc.  What they really mean is "lower fat than compared to the regular crap".  Just check the label and compare brands.  You're probably better off buying plain and adding fruit.

Bill

EDIT - how could I forget sleep!  Sleep is one of the often over-looked factors in overall health.

[jpmeyer]

http://www.milksucks.com/more.html?c=1203

Doug, this is one of many sites that sheds light on the problems associated with dairy products. You can Google up another bunch if you're skeptical. Read some of those letters and you'll find Bryce's claims to be well defended.

I'll second that.  I personally hate milk, but really like soy milk and rice milk, both of which are fortified with good stuff and have less bad stuff for you than normal milk.

[Zherbus]

Jay Cutler- a professional bodybuilder considered by many to be one of the best in the business, following Ronnie Coleman- is well known for his penchant for drinking a can of Coke right after a workout for this reason. In addition to simple carbs, I've also read articles recommending consumption of caffeine before/after workouts and so with Coke you get a little of both.

I used to really read into what the Pros said in between sets at the gym. After training for years to get decent results by following what they recommend, you quickly learn that they are heavy roids-users and anything they say should be taken with a grain of salt. For instance, drinking a can of 'HOLY SHIT PURE SUGAR' Coke or eating a whole Pizza are really ridiculous unless you have the 300 LB w/ less than 7% body fat physique. When you're that huge (which noone on this site or this hobby is), eating a gigantic bowl of pasta, a pizza, or whatever else Captain Carbohydrates recommends bulks you out. It's a common trick to do something like that after a severe dieting down (like before a show or to a lesser extent, going to the beach) where you've gotten your skin paper thin, then you eat a shit-ton of Pasta and everything becomes more pronounced. Needless to say, I really don't feel it applies to most people.

If you want my advice, post-workout, drinking water and a protien bar is just fine for dieting down. Making a protien shake with fruits (I love doing 45 Grams of protien worth of Whey Powder, 1/4 cup Milk, 1 3/4 cup water and a whole Banana) is really good for putting on size.

EDIT:

Good fucking lord. I just did a Find for 'sodium' on this thread and found nothing. A shitload of the weight people carry around is Water-weight. For christs sake, stay away from sodium like it was the devil. My method when I diet down is to simply only consume 1/8th to 1/4th of the daily allowance of sodium a day.

On top of that, Dandilion Root really helps with the retention. When ever anyone from the gym wants to race me to the 15 lbs loss mark during diet-down time, my method is always to just cut carbs, cut sodium, drink water, and take DR pills to flush your body out. I may only lose a few lbs from the low-carb diet, but the water loss wins me the race everytime.

[Hyperion]

I mean, I would never down a Coke after a workout either. Not only because I'm diabetic, but because there are better options. I was using that story more as an anecdote than anything else, and to re-enforce the idea that if you're going to consume simple sugars that that's the best time to do it.

[Zherbus]

Yeah, the morning too