Best way to get in shape?

[Pastiche]

Originally Posted by Azure

A diet not so heavy on grains will beat that.

Carbs are over-rated.

Big time. Your insulin is supposed to burn fat, not carbs.

I should say whole grains. Yes a diet of refined carbs is bad. But if you are eating quinoa, brown rice, bulgur wheat, millet as your staple grains along with lots portions of vegetables, fruit and legumes then that really can't be beat health wise. And of course, eat alot of fat, monounsaturated fat like olive oil with your vegetables and grains.

[missdpuck]

Originally Posted by GreenTeaFrapp

How the hell does sitting behind the bench at a hockey game keep you fit?

Well all that jumping up and down, fist pumping, high-5 ing uses energy. And eating strawberries or a fruit cup from the snack bar is healthy too, no?

[Azure]

Some pretty interesting replies.

I see that people are still caught in up the 'eat grains' argument. Wonder how long that will keep up till the whole world figures out that the government recommendation of 10 servings of grains per day is making people fat.

Unless you're involved in some insane sport where you're exercising at a high capacity, or you do some form of power-lifting, CF.....there is no need for so many freakin' carbs.

[GreenTeaFrapp]

Originally Posted by missdpuck

Well all that jumping up and down, fist pumping, high-5 ing uses energy.

I'd believe that except you cheer for the Panthers. Doing that sort of stuff a couple of times a game doesn't use much energy.

And eating strawberries or a fruit cup from the snack bar is healthy too, no?

Only if you added some protein to it.

[Pastiche]

Originally Posted by Azure

Some pretty interesting replies.

I see that people are still caught in up the 'eat grains' argument. Wonder how long that will keep up till the whole world figures out that the government recommendation of 10 servings of grains per day is making people fat.

Unless you're involved in some insane sport where you're exercising at a high capacity, or you do some form of power-lifting, CF.....there is no need for so many freakin' carbs.

The Atkins ship has sailed. Turns out thousands of years of adaptation with our diet centered around grains, legumes and vegetables is actually better for you.

[alltherage]

Originally Posted by SeeGeeWhy

Define "in shape".

The body can be trained to be proficient in many things, and will be structured differently depending on the tasks its called on to perform! (i.e. long distance runner looks MUCH different than a sprinter, looks different from a surfer, looks different from a boyd builder).

If "look good" is all you want... that's pretty nebulous and is probably why many people fail to ever get "in shape".

First, yes, I want to look good. I would like definition etc. But I want the benefits of being in shape too. I would like to be able to jog for sustained amounts of time, play ball hockey, go for bike rides, go swimming, etc. Thats what kind of shap I want to be in. Sure, I would like my arms a little bit bigger, but I think it's mostly for recreational reasons.

[missdpuck]

Originally Posted by GreenTeaFrapp

I'd believe that except you cheer for the Panthers. Doing that sort of stuff a couple of times a game doesn't use much energy.



Only if you added some protein to it.

No comment on the protein thing, though the answer I have in mind is pretty funny. but nasty.

I'm an infidel, don't always cheer for the Cats.

Back on topic. I was told that if you seem to run out of energy during workouts you should up your carbs a little. Do you agree Azure?

[GreenTeaFrapp]

Originally Posted by Azure

Trust me, I would rather have 'muscle' and a strong back from DLing for 50 years than being on of those unfortunate souls that has back problems when they turn 40.

Lifting weights doesn't equal being huge.

You have to EAT to be big.

.

Long distance runners have just about the least attractive bodies of people who are "in shape". No muscle and no fat makes them generally look like skeletons.

You need muscle to look good.

[Azure]

Originally Posted by Pastiche

I should say whole grains. Yes a diet of refined carbs is bad. But if you are eating quinoa, brown rice, bulgur wheat, millet as your staple grains along with lots portions of vegetables, fruit and legumes then that really can't be beat health wise. And of course, eat alot of fat, monounsaturated fat like olive oil with your vegetables and grains.

Yeah, complex carbs are a lot better than the refined stuff.

People will find that if they stay away from junk food, they will decrease their carb intake by at least 30%.

Which equals a lot of glucose your pancreas doesn't have to regulate. If you eat even less carbs, your body realizes that it needs energy from other sources, so it goes into a stage of ketosis and starts burning fat for energy, and protects the glucose for special situations.

That is what I've been doing for the past 4 weeks, and it works great. I don't even have to worry about calories.

[Azure]

Originally Posted by Pastiche

The Atkins ship has sailed. Turns out thousands of years of adaptation with our diet centered around grains, legumes and vegetables is actually better for you.

Zone, Paleo, South Beach haven't sailed.

People are fat because they eat too many carbs. There is even science behind that, but the government refuses to acknowledge their mistake.

Of course, who wants to be responsible for creating a whole generation of fat people?

[Nage Waza]

Some good advice in here, but most if it is generic, kinda lame (diet plans etc).
Go with the advice that says eat better, work out more. It can start with long walks at a fast pace, to some running etc. I recommend one month of serious effort - this one month will prove to you that you can do it, and the sacrifice works. Make a real effort with your food. Cut down on the carbs (less sugar, pasta etc.) and increase the protein. No dessert, no cheat days, just pure effort.
You mouth is your gas tank. No matter what anyone tells you, you only gain weight from eating more than you burn. Eat less, burn more and you lose weight. I have never met anyone in my life where this was not true. I think there is some guy in Britain that is offering a million bucks for anyone to prove otherwise. Your body cannot function without energy, and cannot make energy from nothing. Unfortunately, we are told throughout our lives that people we know simply gain weight, and it is not their fault. This is false.
I never knew a guy in Judo that gained weight without deserving it, never had a friend that was overweight that did not deserve it, never had a guy that played hockey and was fat that did not deserve it. People that are in good shape work hard for it, or have some extra muscle that the body needs the energy for to support. Other than that, we are all basically equal. Adding muscle is a different story.
If you were to check your weight in the morning daily and follow the simple rule to be more active, eat way less, eat almost no bad food, for one month, you will see serious improvements. If you can handle that for 30 days, then you are on your way to really deciding if you want to take it to the next level and devote a portion of your life to being active and healthy. A gym membership might follow. If you can't hack the 30 days, try again when you are ready.
I often work out from 7 to 12 hours a week and follow diets that range from terrible to strict training...I can get away with that because of my activity.
I would stay away from the regimes (Jenny Craig) and try the self discipline route, as this will motivate you, make you believe in the effort, force discipline onto yourself and at the end you will be proud you did it, and possibly continue on.
Plus, you can post your results daily! Keep burning and losing, it is as simple as that.

[Azure]

Originally Posted by missdpuck

Back on topic. I was told that if you seem to run out of energy during workouts you should up your carbs a little. Do you agree Azure?

I quit eating carbs, outside of maybe 50g prior to working out, and I've never had energy issues.

In fact, I have more energy now, when I'm not eating as much carbs than I did back in the day when I still believed in the 'eat lots of grains' argument.

And I'm lifting more in a day than I used to lift in a month.

The only thing I'm worried about right now is Rhadomyolysis. Not energy levels.

[habernac]

Originally Posted by alltherage

First, yes, I want to look good. I would like definition etc. But I want the benefits of being in shape too. I would like to be able to jog for sustained amounts of time, play ball hockey, go for bike rides, go swimming, etc. Thats what kind of shap I want to be in. Sure, I would like my arms a little bit bigger, but I think it's mostly for recreational reasons.

the advantage you have right now is your youth. I ballooned 40 pounds (up to 208lbs) in 3 years when I got my first desk job, it was a real challenge to lose at the age of 31. I've kept most of it off for 7 years or so now.

[Azure]

Originally Posted by GreenTeaFrapp

.

Long distance runners have just about the least attractive bodies of people who are "in shape". No muscle and no fat makes them generally look like skeletons.

You need muscle to look good.

Problem is that people think if you touch a barbell you turn in a 'steroid jockey.'

People really ought to shutup about stuff they don't understand.

[Pastiche]

Originally Posted by Azure

Yeah, complex carbs are a lot better than the refined stuff.

People will find that if they stay away from junk food, they will decrease their carb intake by at least 30%.

Which equals a lot of glucose your pancreas doesn't have to regulate. If you eat even less carbs, your body realizes that it needs energy from other sources, so it goes into a stage of ketosis and starts burning fat for energy, and protects the glucose for special situations.

That is what I've been doing for the past 4 weeks, and it works great. I don't even have to worry about calories.

It sounds like going into ketosis is a good thing. It's not, liver damage is not a good thing. You can lose weight without putting your body into stress where it damages one of your major organs.

My advice, buy a rice maker. Go to the bulk store, get some brown rice, quinoa, millet and bulger. Make these grains in the rice maker and throw on some roasted veggies with olive oil and whatever protein and just keep your service sizes reasonable.

And go out and exercise to the point that you're out of breath and sweating at least 3 to 4 times a week.

Develop these habits and you'll be in great shape.

[missdpuck]

Originally Posted by Azure

I quit eating carbs, outside of maybe 50g prior to working out, and I've never had energy issues.

In fact, I have more energy now, when I'm not eating as much carbs than I did back in the day when I still believed in the 'eat lots of grains' argument.

And I'm lifting more in a day than I used to lift in a month.

The only thing I'm worried about right now is Rhadomyolysis. Not energy levels.

Ok,ok. Explain that.

[Machiavelli]

You guys are making me feel guilty for my annual summer pig-out.

[Azure]

Originally Posted by Pastiche

It sounds like going into ketosis is a good thing. It's not, liver damage is not a good thing. You can lose weight without putting your body into stress where it damages one of your major organs.

My advice, buy a rice maker. Go to the bulk store, get some brown rice, quinoa, millet and bulger. Make these grains in the rice maker and throw on some roasted veggies with olive oil and whatever protein and just keep your service sizes reasonable.

And go out and exercise to the point that you're out of breath and sweating at least 3 to 4 times a week.

Develop these habits and you'll be in great shape.

Don't get me wrong....I'm not eating no carbs at all. I still try to get around 200g per day.

All I'm trying to do is lower my intake so my insulin can burn a little more fat and not have to worry about regulating all that excess sugar in my blood stream.

Basically, it just means I stay away from foods with a high GI index. Pretty simple.

[GreenTeaFrapp]

Originally Posted by Machiavelli

You guys are making me feel guilty for my annual summer pig-out.

You can pig out as much as you want.

As long as you're not pigging out on carbs.

[Azure]

Originally Posted by missdpuck

Ok,ok. Explain that.

Explain what?

The insulin response? Simple. Eat too many carbs with a high GI index and your body has to regulate all the excess glucose in your blood. You can store a certain amount in your liver and muscles, but if you eat way to many frickin' carbs your insulin converts the excess carbs it can't store in your liver and muscles to fat and stores it in other parts of your body.

Hence, people get fat.

The GI index tells you how fast certain foods get turned into blood storage. The faster they do, the more insulin your pancreas has to create. High levels of insulin turns excess carbs into fat.

As for Rhadomyolysis?

Basically, the rapid breakdown of skeletal muscle tissue due to injury to the tissue caused by physical, chemical or biological factors.

Albeit, you have to physically exert yourself a hell of a lot more than most people are capable of doing, but right now with my DL routine, this what I'm really watching.

I'm also in a competition right now of 300x225# with some CF guys. We're still in training.....but the idea is to eventually do it in under 2 hours. Of course, when I try it now, I get around 115 reps, and my lower back is pumped so full of blood that I can't even get back into position anymore.

People can all do their own routine, their own way.....but lifting has completely changed everything in my life. I'm at the point where I 'must' workout at least 3x per week or I feel like crap.

Like I've said many times before, its the lifestyle that needs to change.