Best way to get in shape?

[rubecube]

Here's a good recovery shake for anybody like me, that likes to do their workouts late at night, just a few hours before going to bed,

1 Banana
4 tbsp Hemp protein/fiber mix (available for like $15)
2 tbsp Ground flax seed
1.5 cup of milk (subsitute almond milk if you're looking to avoid excess carbs)

It's a good ratio of carbs : protein (about 2.5:1) for recovery, and it contains about 50% of the daily recommended amount of fiber (which is something about 95% of North Americans don't get). There are about 476 calories in it, so you'll have to fit it in accordingly. I tend to have a pretty small dinner (about 250 calories) so it fits in with my plan.

[Azure]

Originally Posted by Flame Of Liberty

You probably bought a combo, similar to Muscletech's Halo. Creatine monohydrate should always be 100% pure. Why would you pay extra for freakin' sugar???

Don't worry....I plan on taking it back.

[Azure]

Oh, and if you don't already take Omega 3s and a multi-vitamin.....get on that boat real fast.

[troutman]

Originally Posted by habernac

yes, changing your diet can make you lose weight. But to say exercise is "pretty useless" is a bit of a bold statement. Must have been magic that made me lose 30 pounds. Oh, wait... it was all that pedalling to work and back every day that did it. I changed nothing in my diet.

You are probably very disciplined at not increasing caloric intake.

I think the point of the article was this:

1) exercise will not help you lose weight if you are unable to supress the increased appetite that comes after exercise (the research in the article showed most people don't do that very well);

2) exercise still has a number of other beneficial health effects

[NoWorries]

Originally Posted by troutman

1) exercise will not help you lose weight if you are unable to supress the increased appetite that comes after exercise (the research in the article showed most people don't do that very well);

I think this goes back to the root of the problem and that is the type of foods people are consuming - whether they are exercising or not...

If you workout and are hungry and go chow down on a bag of potato chips and soft drink, I guarantee you will be hungry in a short time frame, but if you eat some type of protein (steak/chicken/fish ~5/6 oz for men) along with a big salad drizzled in olive oil, balsamic vinegar some nuts and feta cheese or something than I think the results would show otherwise...80% diet/20% exercise - but they do go hand in hand and compliment each other...

[NoWorries]

Originally Posted by Azure

Oh, and if you don't already take Omega 3s and a multi-vitamin.....get on that boat real fast.

Yes, I think the most important 'supplement' you can take is a good quality fish oil...unless you eat a lot of oily fish as it is...

[Peanut]

Ok, so given it's 80% diet, 20% exercise (or thereabouts)... what are your opinions about weight watchers, or a similiar structured diet "plan", for weight loss? Has anyone had success with it personally? I want to get rid of some baby weight.

My activity level is:
running 2-3 times/week (30 min)
yoga 1-2 times/week (90 min)
bootcamp style class 2-3 times/week (60 min)

Any advice from the experts in here is appreciated!!

[habernac]

Originally Posted by troutman

You are probably very disciplined at not increasing caloric intake.

I think the point of the article was this:

1) exercise will not help you lose weight if you are unable to supress the increased appetite that comes after exercise (the research in the article showed most people don't do that very well);

2) exercise still has a number of other beneficial health effects

disciplined about eating? Nope. I'm terrible. I ate too much when I was fat(ter) and I still do. Only now, I get about 200km of cycling a week to keep my weight at a manageable level.

One of these days, I'll get serious about knocking some more weight off.

[Komskies]

I'm doing an experiment of sorts right now. I normally drink alot of pop / coffee with sugar / fruit juices, probably about a litre a day of sugary drinks. Last Saturday I started drinking only water and cutting out all the sugary drinks, and in 6 days I'm already down 3 pounds.

[GreenTeaFrapp]

Originally Posted by Peanut

Ok, so given it's 80% diet, 20% exercise (or thereabouts)... what are your opinions about weight watchers, or a similiar structured diet "plan", for weight loss? Has anyone had success with it personally? I want to get rid of some baby weight.

My activity level is:
running 2-3 times/week (30 min)
yoga 1-2 times/week (90 min)
bootcamp style class 2-3 times/week (60 min)

Any advice from the experts in here is appreciated!!

I don't know what goes on in a bootcamp style class but you should add resistance training to your activity list. Compound exercises like squats, deadlifts, bench press, overhead press and rows will build strength and muscle while burning calories.

I don't do much cardio, maybe an hour a week, but I have to eat an awful lot each day to prevent losing weight.

Or nursing should help take off the baby weight too.

[Azure]

Originally Posted by Peanut

Ok, so given it's 80% diet, 20% exercise (or thereabouts)... what are your opinions about weight watchers, or a similiar structured diet "plan", for weight loss? Has anyone had success with it personally? I want to get rid of some baby weight.

My activity level is:
running 2-3 times/week (30 min)
yoga 1-2 times/week (90 min)
bootcamp style class 2-3 times/week (60 min)

Any advice from the experts in here is appreciated!!

The problem with diet plans is sometimes they can get you to lose weight, but you go back to your old habits and gain all that weight back.

Weight Watchers is a good idea if you're actually going to stick with it for the rest of your life.

Changing your diet is all about changing your lifestyle.

[Peanut]

Originally Posted by Azure

The problem with diet plans is sometimes they can get you to lose weight, but you go back to your old habits and gain all that weight back.

Weight Watchers is a good idea if you're actually going to stick with it for the rest of your life.

Changing your diet is all about changing your lifestyle.

So... adopting a lifestyle that includes a lot more vegetables and lean protein, is that what you mean

I`m not sure I get what you mean exactly (hence the problem, I suppose!).

[Azure]

Originally Posted by Peanut

So... adopting a lifestyle that includes a lot more vegetables and lean protein, is that what you mean

I`m not sure I get what you mean exactly (hence the problem, I suppose!).

I guess by just saying 'lifestyle'...it could be confusing.

Any diet with teach you how to eat healthy. Zone, Paleo, Atkins, Weight Watchers, even the diets you see on infomercials will teach you in THEIR way, how to eat healthy.

The problem is, if you don't actually make a lifelong commitment to doing that, i.e. the 'lifestyle change'....you will gain back the weight very quickly after you start eating all the unhealthy food again.

So, if you're SERIOUS about loosing weight, being a healthy person.....you need to make a lifelong commitment to doing that.

To me its always been very simple. Eat more protein, more fat, and less carbs. And completely stay away from any kind of 'junk food.'

In the end, you'll have a hard time looking at a bag of potato chips, let alone eating them.

[blankall]

Originally Posted by GreenTeaFrapp

I don't know what goes on in a bootcamp style class but you should add resistance training to your activity list. Compound exercises like squats, deadlifts, bench press, overhead press and rows will build strength and muscle while burning calories.

I don't do much cardio, maybe an hour a week, but I have to eat an awful lot each day to prevent losing weight.

Or nursing should help take off the baby weight too.

Bootcamp is high intensity cardio. Bursts of intense cardio followed by relaxing... things like hill trainig etc...

This is actually the best kind of cardio for fat burning. It has an amazingly positive affect on your metabolism.

I second adding in the weights though. Especially the compounds you have mentioned.

If you are already doing those, the only thing missing is diet. I'm not sure what "baby fat" means, but the only way to get really lean is to throw your body into a calorie deficit with lots of protein.

Weight watchers are good for people with no self control, and it lets you slide into a system easily. Personally, I think it's better to build your own system as it will be easier to keep and you have more control over the foods you eat.

[Peanut]

Originally Posted by blankall

Bootcamp is high intensity cardio. Bursts of intense cardio followed by relaxing... things like hill trainig etc...

This is actually the best kind of cardio for fat burning. It has an amazingly positive affect on your metabolism.

I second adding in the weights though. Especially the compounds you have mentioned.

If you are already doing those, the only thing missing is diet. I'm not sure what "baby fat" means, but the only way to get really lean is to throw your body into a calorie deficit with lots of protein.

Weight watchers are good for people with no self control, and it lets you slide into a system easily. Personally, I think it's better to build your own system as it will be easier to keep and you have more control over the foods you eat.

Yeah, with the bootcamp trainer I see we do a lot of circuit type stuff. Short bursts of cardio and then lots of squats, lunges, push-ups, sit-ups, etc. as our `rest` period.

Baby fat = weight gained while preggo.

[Azure]

Boot camp sounds like Crossfit.

Crossfit is awesome, therefore bootcamp is awesome.

[blankall]

Originally Posted by Peanut

Yeah, with the bootcamp trainer I see we do a lot of circuit type stuff. Short bursts of cardio and then lots of squats, lunges, push-ups, sit-ups, etc. as our `rest` period.

Baby fat = weight gained while preggo.

ahhhhh, in that case I wouldn't over do it with the weighted squats etc...

I'm guessing you are trying to decrease the overall thickness in your legs etc... Depending on how easily you gain mass, overdoing it on the squats could backfire.

You should still do resistance, I would recommend going at least 20+ reps though.


The big thing for you will be diet diet diet. A pound of fat can be relatively hard to lose. Each pound contains about 3500 calories. Unfortunately, there is no easy way out. Keep exercising, keep a healthy diet.

By healthy diet, I don't mean "health foods" and avoiding meat. Lean meat is great for you.

[IgiTang]

With entering the military I have discovered many truths about Physical Fitness in preperation for my BMQ. Below is a link that is a fantastic read that touches on everything from daily intake of Protein (how much your body actually does absorb daily) calorie intake, times to eat and what to eat. There are a few things that are common knowledge but many of us chose to ignore and also some things that many of us never realized.

*These are all notes and facts brought to you down the COC from the Surgeon General of Canada.

Its a bit of a read as it covers everything, but to anyone whos serious about getting into shape, I strongly recommend it.

http://forums.army.ca/forums/index.p...c,48433.0.html

[habernac]

Originally Posted by Azure

The problem with diet plans is sometimes they can get you to lose weight, but you go back to your old habits and gain all that weight back.

Weight Watchers is a good idea if you're actually going to stick with it for the rest of your life.

Changing your diet is all about changing your lifestyle.

yep. Had a guy on our pool team a few years ago, he dropped a ton of weight on whatever fad diet he was on (basically starved himself). A year later, he gains it all back and more.

Peanut, one thing I'll tack on if you're nursing your baby: when you stop, you're going to have to change your food intake again as you won't have someone else helping you erase those calories, too.

[Tron_fdc]

Originally Posted by Peanut

Ok, so given it's 80% diet, 20% exercise (or thereabouts)... what are your opinions about weight watchers, or a similiar structured diet "plan", for weight loss? Has anyone had success with it personally? I want to get rid of some baby weight.

My activity level is:
running 2-3 times/week (30 min)
yoga 1-2 times/week (90 min)
bootcamp style class 2-3 times/week (60 min)

Any advice from the experts in here is appreciated!!

Try "ripped" classes. There's a reason why those classes are always filled with hot girls that have tight bodies.

I was doing them twice a week, along with a lot of biking, and I dropped 15 lbs. I'm not fat to begin with, so that class turned me into a rake.

http://www.jarilove.com/