Best way to get in shape?

[rubecube]

I freaking love the HIIT training I've been doing. I've also found that playing soccer is whipping me into pretty good shape. I dropped 2% of my body fat in the last 3 weeks. Need to drop another 4-6 and I'm happy.

[Phanuthier]

Small bump, I sort of got into wondering what my fitness level is after all this Theo talk and V02 or whatever... how much does it cost to do one of those things, and where do you go to get one?

[Azure]

Your doctor 'might' be able to test you.

Not sure though. I think all they do is put you on a treadmill, give you an oxygen mask and make you run. From there I think they start restricting your oxygen and watch how your body responds under strenuous exercise.

[macker]

Most Universities do this testing. Here in Calgary U of C is set up to do this.

[GreenLantern]

Bump:

I am looking for specific recipes for high protein, low carb snacks I can fit into my 6 meal plan. Specifically the 10 AM and 10 PM time slots. I am starting off with eggs/bread in the morning, blank, lunch is a mexi tuna mix (peas, beans, tuna, salsa), mid afternoon is yogurt and almonds (this is pre work out). Supper is salmon/rice, night time is blank.

I am not a fan of straight cottage cheese.. so if there is anything else you can think of, or a way to spice up the cottage cheese, I would give that a go.

Another question I had is I will be working out at about 4:45 every day and going home immediately to eat my salmon/rice supper, so it will probably be about 30 minutes after my work out that I get this into my system. Do you guys suggest that I drink my protein powder directly after the work out, like within 5 minutes, or should I skip it, get my protein from my meal 30-40 minutes later, and then use that protein powder as my 10 AM or 10 PM snack?

[Tyler]

My trainer has me on a high protein and low carb diet too.

What I'm having in the morning is:

- 2 packs of instant oatmeal
- half a carton of simply egg whites

- 1 apple
- 15 almonds

Between 9am-11am. I'd try to cut out bread if you can, and stay away from yogurt and dairy if its feasible.

[GreenLantern]

Oatmeal might be a good idea for me to throw in my 10 AM slot, I forgot about that. Thanks.

Another question I had is, can anyone recommend a good cook book for high protein, low fat foods? I tried doing a search on Amazon and all I get is a lot of weight loss books or post surgery books.

[CaptainCrunch]

I've actually dropped 35 pounds in the last 7 months.

I completely changed my workout to incorporate cardio every day using a treadmill. I still work out with weights every day focusing on specific body points, and I'm doing a different core or ab workout every day.

I work out 5 days on and 2 days off.

for example

Sunday

17 minutes on treadmill, followed by chest (bench incline decline flat 3 sets of 10 on each, flies Flat and incline 3 sets of 10 each)

Standard crunches, standard crunches on ball

Monday

17 minutes on treadmill followed by legs ( quad curls, squats, ham curls, calf workup)

Jacknife crunches

Tuesday

17 minutes on treadmill Shoulders and backs (weighted rows, inverse flies, good mornings, shoulder pull downs, military bench, seated vertical flies, pull ups)

Side to side crunches

Wednesday

17 minutes on treadmill, bicep tricep (Curls, preacher curls, hammer curls 3 sets of 10 each, skull crushers and seated tricep extensions)

Reverse crunches using legs other ab stuff

Thursday

17 minutes on treadmill Leg workout as above.

Standard core work using held positions

I'm pretty happy with my workout, I've changed my diet as well to make sure that I incorporate a lot of veggies a lot of chicken as well not fried.

I do this all from my home gym using free weights, I just have never felt comfortable in a public gym.

I've gone from 310 pounds to about 275, my goal weight is 235.

[NoWorries]

Originally Posted by GreenLantern

Bump:

I am looking for specific recipes for high protein, low carb snacks I can fit into my 6 meal plan. Specifically the 10 AM and 10 PM time slots. I am starting off with eggs/bread in the morning, blank, lunch is a mexi tuna mix (peas, beans, tuna, salsa), mid afternoon is yogurt and almonds (this is pre work out). Supper is salmon/rice, night time is blank.

I am not a fan of straight cottage cheese.. so if there is anything else you can think of, or a way to spice up the cottage cheese, I would give that a go.

Another question I had is I will be working out at about 4:45 every day and going home immediately to eat my salmon/rice supper, so it will probably be about 30 minutes after my work out that I get this into my system. Do you guys suggest that I drink my protein powder directly after the work out, like within 5 minutes, or should I skip it, get my protein from my meal 30-40 minutes later, and then use that protein powder as my 10 AM or 10 PM snack?

As far as cottage cheese goes, when I have it (which is not that terrible often, but it is quick and easy), I usually add a nut mixture - almonds, pecans, cashews, sunflower seeds, walnuts etc. I also enjoy berries in it

Beef jerky is an awesome snack/meal. I would have it more often, but it takes me a bit of time to make so I don't always have it on hand.

I usually just have leftovers from previous meals.

As far as how soon to eat after working out, it would depend on your goals. For fat loss I would wait a couple of hours. For performance, as soon as possible.

Originally Posted by GreenLantern

Oatmeal might be a good idea for me to throw in my 10 AM slot, I forgot about that. Thanks.

Another question I had is, can anyone recommend a good cook book for high protein, low fat foods? I tried doing a search on Amazon and all I get is a lot of weight loss books or post surgery books.

Are you looking for low fat or low carb...? You mention both in the 2 above posts. Although I do not really know of any cook books as I just look online for recipes that look good for whatever meat I am cooking. Dry rubs work great for low fat, but I love fat and do not really cook low fat. I add a lot of fat other ways when I use rubs (avocado, nuts, olive oil, butter, etc.)

Sorry, I guess that really does not answer your question...

[GreenLantern]

Originally Posted by NoWorries

Are you looking for low fat or low carb...? You mention both in the 2 above posts. Although I do not really know of any cook books as I just look online for recipes that look good for whatever meat I am cooking. Dry rubs work great for low fat, but I love fat and do not really cook low fat. I add a lot of fat other ways when I use rubs (avocado, nuts, olive oil, butter, etc.)

Sorry, I guess that really does not answer your question...

It does as much as I allowed it to be answered. Sorry I am still new to the whole diet side of working out. I was one of those guys for years who just lifted weights and slammed protein shakes and my natural metabolism did the rest for me. Now that I am getting a bit older I am finding that dieting is becoming as important as it should have been all those years ago I guess the bottom line is that my luck is running out.

So, educate me if you would please, I want a high protein, low carb diet. I understand the difference between "good" and "bad" fats. What snacks for a 10 AM or 10 PM time slot (or any time for that matter) would you recommend? I love yogurt.. I imagine I could stomach cottage cheese if I just piled in the raspberries..

I also love cheeses, although I know they are heavy in the "bad" fats. Are there any websites/books you would recommend to help build a healthy diet?

I fail at google, it always gives me places that want my credit card number.

[NoWorries]

Originally Posted by GreenLantern

It does as much as I allowed it to be answered. Sorry I am still new to the whole diet side of working out. I was one of those guys for years who just lifted weights and slammed protein shakes and my natural metabolism did the rest for me. Now that I am getting a bit older I am finding that dieting is becoming as important as it should have been all those years ago I guess the bottom line is that my luck is running out.

So, educate me if you would please, I want a high protein, low carb diet. I understand the difference between "good" and "bad" fats. What snacks for a 10 AM or 10 PM time slot (or any time for that matter) would you recommend? I love yogurt.. I imagine I could stomach cottage cheese if I just piled in the raspberries..

I also love cheeses, although I know they are heavy in the "bad" fats. Are there any websites/books you would recommend to help build a healthy diet?

I fail at google, it always gives me places that want my credit card number.

LOL, I hear ya - I did the same when I was younger too.

If you do not really like cottage cheese, I wouldn't worry about it - find something you enjoy...if you force yourself to eat something you most likely won't stick with it anyway. My wife does not like the texture of cottage cheese, so she blends it with with one of those hand held blenders to make a shake - just thought I would add that if it is a texture thing.

In all honesty, I try to avoid cottage cheese a bit as I find it a bit too processed and I try to stick with whole foods as much as possible.

Be careful of the yogurt you eat though, as most of the stuff in the store has so much stuff added to it - especially sugar, in many different forms.

As far as cheese goes, just get as high a quality cheese as possible...if you can get unpasteurized stuff that has an ingredient list of Milk, bacterial cultures, salt and microbial enzymes that is the best...especially if it is from grassfed cows. But that is usually quite expensive. That is what you want from a health perspective. If you are trying to get really lean, some of the fattier meats and cheeses may hinder that. Also, if you are referring to saturated fat as the bad fat in cheese, there is nothing wrong with saturated fats - this is a good read about it: http://www.marksdailyapple.com/saturated-fat-healthy/

If you want to know what I do, I just try to stick with whole foods and follow a paleo/primal approach to food. I learned most of what I do from these sites, so that is what I would recommend to build a healthy diet/lifestyle from:

http://robbwolf.com/
http://www.board.crossfit.com/forumdisplay.php?f=8
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/
http://www.fitnessspotlight.com/

The supplement I would recommend the most is fish oil. A high quality one that is tested. I use the last one on this page...the liquid one http://www.healthfirst.ca/EFAs.html

It takes time to change eating habits and I have slowly for the past 3 years educated myself and changed things as I learned about them.

In a nutshell, eat a wide variety of meats, eggs, fish and poultry (try to get as naturally raised as possible - grass fed beef, pastured pork etc) as quality is important. Eat as much green vegetables as possible, some fruit - mostly berries. And a wide variety of fats (not trans fats) including avocado, nuts, seeds, olive oil, coconut oil, butter, dark chocolate (I eat 85% and higher cocoa content).

If you are more concerned with performance in the gym or in competition of some sort, than post workout have something starchy like sweet potato (I like to cut them like fries and add cinnamon and ginger after coating them in a bit of olive oil and bake them) or something higher in the glucose type of sugar like blueberries. I like to use this site for nutritional breakdown of foods:

http://www.nutritiondata.com/

And also - allow yourself to indulge every once in a while! I usually have a couple of meals a week where it may be considered a 'cheat' I guess although I would just call it a part of a healthy lifestyle. It is usually Nachos and Cheese with homemade salsa from our garden for Hockey night in canada (GO FLAMES GO!)...sometimes a pizza is ordered or a massive piece of homemade cheese cake.

I hope that helps - I tend to get rambling sometimes.

[GreenLantern]

Wow, thanks NoWorries, I will digest this information and then make sure to pester you with all my questions.

Great amount of info here, much appreciated.

[NoWorries]

Originally Posted by GreenLantern

Wow, thanks NoWorries, I will digest this information and then make sure to pester you with all my questions.

Great amount of info here, much appreciated.

No problem!

[Flame Of Liberty]

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

I've actually dropped 35 pounds in the last 7 months.

I completely changed my workout to incorporate cardio every day using a treadmill. I still work out with weights every day focusing on specific body points, and I'm doing a different core or ab workout every day.

Good stuff, but I'd change a couple of things:

- do your cardio after the workout. cardio as a warm up is ok, but if you run for 17 minutes, leave that after you're done lifting

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

I work out 5 days on and 2 days off.

5 days in a row is A LOT. I'd recommend 3 days in a row, day off, 2 days in a row, day off. That way you'll regenerate much better.

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

Monday

17 minutes on treadmill followed by legs ( quad curls, squats, ham curls, calf workup)

I'd suggest romanian deadlift for hamstrings if your back can handle it. Ham curls alone just don't cut it.

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

Tuesday

17 minutes on treadmill Shoulders and backs (weighted rows, inverse flies, good mornings, shoulder pull downs, military bench, seated vertical flies, pull ups)

Drop good mornings, your back will thank you. Focus on pull ups, do them first. The best single exercise for uppor body there is.

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

Wednesday

17 minutes on treadmill, bicep tricep (Curls, preacher curls, hammer curls 3 sets of 10 each, skull crushers and seated tricep extensions)

I'd suggest you add tricep bench press (narrow grip)

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

Thursday

17 minutes on treadmill Leg workout as above.

Standard deadlift instead of romanian deadlift on this day.

Chest exercise sounds OK.

My 2 cents.

[Eastern Girl]

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

I've actually dropped 35 pounds in the last 7 months.

[ ... ]

I've gone from 310 pounds to about 275, my goal weight is 235.

That's awesome, CC! Don't really have anything to add, just wanted to say Good Job! It's tough stuff losing weight.

I don't really want to lose any weight, I am just trying to get fit so I am taking a spin class and I take my doggies on long trail walks as often as possible. I want to get back into jogging again too. Work caused me to stop, but I always really enjoyed doing it. I think that is key, finding something you actually want to do.

[CaptainCrunch]

Originally Posted by Flame Of Liberty

Good stuff, but I'd change a couple of things:

- do your cardio after the workout. cardio as a warm up is ok, but if you run for 17 minutes, leave that after you're done lifting



5 days in a row is A LOT. I'd recommend 3 days in a row, day off, 2 days in a row, day off. That way you'll regenerate much better.



I'd suggest romanian deadlift for hamstrings if your back can handle it. Ham curls alone just don't cut it.



Drop good mornings, your back will thank you. Focus on pull ups, do them first. The best single exercise for uppor body there is.



I'd suggest you add tricep bench press (narrow grip)



Standard deadlift instead of romanian deadlift on this day.

Chest exercise sounds OK.

My 2 cents.

Thanks thats great advice, I'll look at the romanian deadlift when I get home tonight.

[red sky]

Originally Posted by Eastern Girl

That's awesome, CC! Don't really have anything to add, just wanted to say Good Job! It's tough stuff losing weight.

I don't really want to lose any weight, I am just trying to get fit so I am taking a spin class and I take my doggies on long trail walks as often as possible. I want to get back into jogging again too. Work caused me to stop, but I always really enjoyed doing it. I think that is key, finding something you actually want to do.

You're alive?

[Eastern Girl]

Originally Posted by red sky

You're alive?

Looks that way, doesn't it?

Disappointed?

[Fozzie_DeBear]

mountain bike

[red sky]

Originally Posted by Eastern Girl

Looks that way, doesn't it?

Disappointed?

Mixed emotions