Re:
Destination vs Lifestyle
Those who have a "diet' mentality will go hard for a few months, drop it fast, then put it back on. Why?
-Their diets are usually more extreme and geared toward S/T success.
-They didn't change their habits. Mentally they view what their doing as only a S/T fix, then they can go back to doing things as they were.
- Being/getting in shape isn't a destination, it's a voyage. You don't end up anywhere, you just do something that makes you better than last time/yesterday.
- Crash diets aren't generally built around proper L/T macro nutrient composition scales. Meaning, dropping carbs almost completely WILL drop weight, but also drop muscle, which compromises your physique AND your metabolism, as well as your L/T strength and health.
You needn't tank carbs from your diet, just up your activity and replace all carbs with healthy carbs. If it's quick sugar, then fruit. If it's slow sugar, than grains.
The easiest and best way to lose weight is eat calories around your maintenance amount or slightly less THAN, and work to get under it.
Don't view cardio, et al, as some WEIGHT loss device, but as a way to extend your stamina, improve recovery, aid fat loss, expand your cardiovascular capability, work your joints, circulate post workout toxins, etc. In the past I made the mistake of doing 20 minutes of cardio. To me, that's worthless. The body NEEDS activity. So if you lift for an hour plus, you should run/walk/ride for that, varying the pace, for several reasons.
- endurance, just b/c you can sprint, doesn't mean you can walk a long flight of stairs, make circuits of disney world, etc and survive. I began Flag Football, and though I'd practiced HIIT, my endurance and stamina weren't up to par for 50 minutes of straight playing with little to no breaks.
- flushing toxins out. Circulating the blood and running/walking/riding helps get rid of the body's extra toxins postworkout, hence why you hurt and need to move.
- improve joints. This works with lifting, as lifting increases bone density in the targetted areas, but also running be it on ground or a treadmill (the ground is preferable), helps get used to the bouncing and shock of running. I'm not sure whether marathons are ok, but certainly getting used to running for 30 min+ is good.
- decreases appetite.
HIIT and similar training is a good mixture or alternative, but not the be all and end all of training. Likewise, some more experienced lifters don't live and die by morning fasted state cardio. Some advocate taking a small helping of protein to decrease catabolism that occurs (though in some overweight, that's the least of your worries, and is likely to occur anyways, as the ratio of fat loss to muscle loss is 3:1).
On eating:
Protein Sources
Cottage Cheese, non fat
Eggs, free range if possible
Protein Powders (not weight gainers)
Chicken, free range if possible
Meats, DEFINATELY free range. It's worth the extra dough.
Fish, this is more safe than the above, and I'd take over meat and chicken.
Carbohydrates
- Oatmeal/Quick Oats. Forget cereals, unless the ingredients are under 10, and you know each and every one of them just by reading it. If you need an engineering degree to understand it, it's not food.
- Vegetables. All kinds. Starting by lunch time and consuming throughout the day.
- Fruits. Beginng in the AM, and ending by postworkout.
- Whole wheat, whole grain products. Again, make sure you can comprehend what's in them.
-
Juice. ONLY natural juices, and consumed post workout, as needed, or if you're trying to gain weight. NO HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP. MMMMk?
- Sweet potatoes/Yams.
Fats
- Egg yolks
- Fats found in fish
- Fish oil, cod liver oil
- Omega 3's and 6's, such as olive oil, Udo's oil
- Almonds and healthy nuts
- ALL NATURAL PB. No hydrogenated OILS.
As people who are conscientious about health, we consume a larger amount of 1 thing, for instance eggs, so if the eggs are bad, we're poisoning ourselves. Likewise if you eat chicken, you're eat more than the average person and therefore should eat a better quality chicken.
NON free range animals made in this country are downright GROSS, and it would disgust the average American, IF they even cared to know. They don't, and they feel so long as it doesn't kill them, the Food is ok. Not true. It's killing you, SLOWLY. There's a host of diseases and conditions we can't cure or figure out, and people wonder WHY. Things develop OVER time, which means
A) You're immune system weakened and couldn't fight back longer
B) Your body has now held onto enough poison to poison itself.
Perfect examples are all the chemicals found in food. People don't develop heart problems til later, which are partially genetic, but are exacerbated BY diet and lack of exercise. Or adult onset diabetes. Kids can be born with it, the rest of America gets it from age 20+ through excessive sugar consumption. How about obesity? Just because it's low calorie DOES NOT MEAN the chemicals won't F up your metabolism so you can't lose weight anyways. With meats, the food has so many toxins and excitotoxins that people get sick easier and have hormonal issues, b/c of what's passed through our food to us. Studies already confirm, babies who don't eat right for their sex can have alterations in hormone, altering them later on life. Boys who might not have been gay, were exposed to high concentrations of estrogen based oils, that over time, through constant exposure, did slightly alter their hormonal balance, effectively making them gay, or confused. Not all gay people, but a large %. Hence the epidemic of bytch tits, and fat tissue stores on Americans, topping the scales at 40% of America obese and then some.
We're MEANT To be in shape, people. Sure, genetics MAY make you bigger at birth, but we ALL know that baby fat comes off by HS or so, FOR manye people. But it's DIET that kills it. L/T exposure to chemicals unnatural can later many facets of our body.
As far as training goes, try the Ripptoe plan found here, on Amazon, or at bodybuilding.com. Pushups are good warmups, and fine for a workout plan, but they aren't any sort of base program. Get into lifting 3x a week, SOMEHOW. Learn to stretch EVERY day, which aids recovery and prevents future body problems. Cardio at least 3x a week, and then some, maybe 5, and add a few times during lifting sessions.
AGAIN, we want activity. 1 hr a day is not a lot to ask when it's your life we're talking about here, and in no time you'll be the shape you want to be. That 1 hour will improve ALL aspects of life in a big way. Once you form a base of strength add/do other things. Cater it to your goals. But for most people lifting in SOME way is the best way. You can do BODY WEIGHT exercises, ala Matt Furey, but I still prefer doing straight weights and adding in BW exercises b/c it increases my strength.
However, all people should stop thinking 20 minute at 3 times a week and a few pushups can erase years of fat gain. I know retired people who do more, but they also eat less, drink less, and take a myriad of pills. Most retired people who are fit, do 1 hour a day, embracing life, doing what they've always done OR wished they did. Other's who will die young, do nothing, because the body works on a USE it or LOSE it method. 45 minutes plus. All the BEST athletes in the kind of shape MOST guys want to be in do 45min+ of cardio, lift a min of 3x a week, AND they stretch alot, do BW exercises, and take up alternate sports. I know some RB's do Aikido, or Yoga. LT did similar training programs. Even the 40 year athletes work twice as hard to have a low bf %, and some dont' TOUCH bad foods period, obv b/c they can afford it.
Gl,
A-Unit
