I still drink. Back in Botswana there really was nothing to do so beer consumption with one of my best friends was frankly stupid. On an average weekend we'd do 3 cases easily each. Another one on Wednesday and in between here and there a few. People, or my friends at least, in Holland do drink but at a reduced rate compared to Botswana...
I disagree, limit carbs yes, but replacing them with complex carbs like sweet potatoes and rice is great. I just tried some pasta this week that's made from white and brown rice, corn and quinoa and it is excellent. Also gluten free for those that care about that sorta stuff. I don't but it just happens to be.
Jason, I think you might be missing my point. I'm not talking about decreasing calories, or decreasing the glycemic index of the foods you eat (although I actually am talking about that, but as secondary effects)--I am talking about reprograming your metabolism to selectively utilize fat as a primary fuel source. To do that, based on studies, most folks need to limit carbs between 50 to 100 gms/day. Some people will need less, and some will tolerate more. So a serving of rice (white, brown, long grain--it varies a little, but not a lot) is about 45 grams (give or take). Which means you have shot almost your entire carb load just with that single serving of rice. A single serving of sweet potatoes has about 35 grams of carbs (after accounting for the fiber). So maybe half of what someone trying to flip their metabolism could eat FOR THE ENTIRE DAY. Do sweet potatoes include important nutrients--sure. Are they more carb efficient than other choices--yes. Are they a good choice on a truly carb restricted diet--no. And the pasta you mentioned. Horrible for the carb restricted. To make it taste good (not gritty) they have to really micronize the rice, which make the carb hit worse. I have read multiple sources which opine that white rice is worse than white bread and table sugar. I'm not trying to rain on your parade, but I'm talking about shifting you metabolism--very few folks can do that eating many sweet potatoes, and almost no one can eating rice. A chunk of the population doesn't have to pay attention to this, but a lot of folks do. And moderate carb restriction may work (because caloric intake may be reduced) but if you want to use fat as your primary fuel source (either because it is more efficient, because it is healthier, because it promotes weight loses, because it controls triglycerides and small particle LDL's, because it protects your muscle mass, etc.) you need to be severely carb restricted. I say severely because most lay folk have NO IDEA what severely carb restricted means. And I have diabetic and/or obese friends who say they are "low carb" who are no where close.
In December of 2013 my personal stats were: 28 years old, 6 feet tall, 195lbs, 17% body fat. At that time I was working out but probably only 2-3 times/week, pretty casually. My goal for 2014 was 200 days worth of exercise which consisted mainly of going to the gym, mountain biking and hiking. At the end of 2014 I had eclipsed my goal, reaching 267 days of exercise averaging just over 5 times/week. I had changed nothing about my diet in 2014. Early January, 2015: I weighed 191 lbs @ 11.3% body fat. Goal for 2015 is 300 workouts (~6 times/week) and get body fat below 10%. After the Xmas holidays I also went pseudo-paleo, eliminating grains (rice, pasta, bread etc.), potatoes, processed sugar, most dairy and alcohol from my diet Monday-Friday. I typically allow a cheat day on the weekend. Since January I have been eating significantly more than I ever have in my life but I continue to lean out, get stronger and have more energy. I haven't weighed-in since the beginning of March (I am due for April but have had a cold for 3 weeks now) and at that time I was 188 lbs and 10.4% body fat. Still moving in the right direction. This has all been an experiment for me but so far the results are pretty good. I eat great food (mostly meat, eggs, fruit and veggies - high fat, low carb) and lots of it, sleep like a baby, have lots of energy and getting my workout in is my favorite part of the day. Overall I find it pretty easy to maintain since getting into the habit. My biggest motivator was setting a goal (not performance related but effort related) and writing down what I do every day, charting it and tracking it - makes me feel awesome to see the progress towards the goal. I recently read an article with tips around many of the things I was already doing - further motivation and reinforcement of good habits. Will Gadd ? Ten Training Thoughts
I gotcha. I guess we're misunderstanding each other because I really only eat carbs most weeks with my lunch time meal.
My diet is lean meats, lots of vegetables, some dairy and nuts for snacking. No wheat (except one slice of toasted whole grain w/ peanut butter upon wakeup, with coffee), no potatoes, no rice, no pasta (oh, that's wheat) and no processed foods. I couldn't gain a pound even if I tried (BMI = 21). That includes exercising about 5 times per week. Almost forgot, I cook with or add olive oil to almost everything.
Might want to consider switching to coconut oil for cook top cooking anyway. It's the only oil that stands high heat without turning. Olive oil and others become a bit toxic over a burner.
I don't think it is misunderstanding as much as we are talking about different things. My question to you (at this point) is do you consider yourself keto-adapted--meaning, is your body trained to turn to fats FIRST as a source of energy. My guess (given the carbs you eat) is no. Does it matter? Depends. But unless you are running on ketones (instead of glucose) you aren't primarily burning fat. Either choice may or may not even be a healthy choice for you--my point was (and is) that it is a health choice for many, though very very hard to achieve (until you truly eaten under 50gms of carbs/day, you likely have no idea).
Another [recent] study: Choice of protein- and carbohydrate-rich foods may have big effects on long-term weight gain -- ScienceDaily But it supports what I've been doing for the past several years i.e. it's not only the carbs but the glycemic load as well. All of my foods/drinks/meals are low to mid GL.
Yep--this stuff is critical. My dietary goal is to not induce much insulin secretion--which depends on both glycemic index and glycemic load.
I'm 30 5'8" 175lbs 10% body fat. I have a physical job and weight train 5-6 days a week. With how much my body works I need carbs. I will eat 2100 cals Monday-Saturday with a 40/40/20 split on carbs/protein/fat grams. Sunday is my refeed and I keep the protein about the same but the carbs go up past 600 grams. Reason for this is if I keep depleting my body of carbs and cals each day, my body will adapt and my metabolism will adjust and I'll stop losing fat. I dropped 12lbs in 6 weeks. Cardio is basically not needed, the only reason I'll do it is for cardiovascular reasons. Secret is in figuring out what ur body uses each day as far as cals go. And cut that number by 500 cals for every pound u wanna drop per week. My rate is at 3000 per day that's why I eat 2100. If u pay attention to anyone who has a good amount of muscle mass you'll see that they eat a lot of carbs. People think carbs are the enemy but I call them energy. Download my fitness pal app and it'll help u keep a log of what u eat. It's a great app
I'm an ectomorph (skinny) frame and usually have trouble putting on pounds. However, with lifestyle change (more office and less outside), I've noticed my general posture start to change and my belly is showing signs of putting on a few pounds. I've searched online for good guide to eating/ simple workouts, but the information seems to be inconsistent and/or geared to someone wanting to go into bodybuilding. Would anyone have a simple meal plan and/or workout plan that I could reference and follow?
I'm not going to get specific, but when I was living with a friend that was big into fitness, he told me to eat this, just to get some weight on. I went from 130-135ish to 155lbs in pretty short time. I ate a bowl or two of cereal for breakfast, then a chicken breast and a piece of fruit around 11am, and a second chicken breast and veggies at 2ish. Hit the gym 3 - 4 days/week (that was my routine when first starting out). Got home and had a protein shake. A little while later had a full dinner, a lot of times I made spaghetti. The easiet thing to do is just eat 6 times a day. You'll have to play around and see what works for you. You're body may be best at your current weight you just need to eat to pack on the muscle which will allow you to gain some weight. I literally shot up to 155 in like 2 months. I just filled out. not matter what I eat I've stayed at that weight. If I really focused on a strict diet my best weight would probably be 145-150. I suggest reading bodybuilding.com's diet section. It takes a while to really starting making some sense of all the dialogue but eventually you'll figure it out. Also, use YouTube. It's literally the idiots guide to everything. I constantly look at it for food prep ideas, and workout routines. My biggest piece of advice is prep your meals Sunday for the entire week.
If you are in good health (no heart issues) and really want to lose belly fat and keep it off do the following: In addition to healthy eating, ab work/ light weight training, run/jog 1.5 miles at your fastest pace every two-three days per week until you get to your desired look (once you complete three runs in that time frame take 3-4 days off for recovery as this is really your main workout) You can drop an inch around your waist in little time. I think it took me about a month and a half to drop two inches, and this was just something I was doing to get into shape for my a pt test. Jim
IF you must have a snack, try Beans, black, mature seeds, cooked, boiled, without salt Read More Nutrition Facts and Analysis for Beans, black, mature seeds, cooked, boiled, without salt They are high in protein, low carb, high fiber and moderate to very low fat. Put in some diced tomatoes [small amount] diced onions, and cilantro .. sprinkle with pepper dash of vinegar and it is very satisfying. Strengthening the core and using the major muscle groups [forget crunches...but do some side and back strengthening] to really have a lasting calorie burn. Eat moderately and little to no salt [include 'diet'/salt drinks] moderate alcohol [eh, glass of wine or beer a night AFTER a heavy workout] is best. Bring your heart rate up to near max capacity once a workout and workout 5-7 times minimum a week. It's a lifestyle. It a formula that you can play with but to your detriment if you let it go lax or play with it too much: like eating pizza or other cr&*p. Life isn't easy and it's always been about diet, diet, exercise...rinse repeat. r
I was 50 lbs heavier than I am now for 15 years or so. I'm 5'9 and 153 lbs now. Have been for the past few years. Would only like to second (or is it 3rd?) the statement abs are made in the kitchen not in the gym. Not that the gym isn't my thing. I've done CcrossFit for over a year combined with daily mountain bike runs and surfing/paddle boarding. People don't believe me when I tell them the weight loss is from what I eat and not what I do. I'm on Atkins, have been for 16 years. Even with all the exercise I get if I added, say 10 more carbs a day, I would swell up and gain fat. It's been one of the most frustrating things to try to get this point across to people who've tried to emulate my workouts. The overweight people at my CrossFit box have been that way for the 18 months I've been going despite going religiously. They don't get it or they're there for other reasons besides weight loss. Abs are made in the kitchen, not the gym.
Yep! Food is emotional, they know the math, you can eat 1,200 calories in 5 minutes but it will take two hours of jogging for about 10 miles to burn that meal off. It's hard to be low carb in Itlay but I must get back on the low carb wagon.
There are many ways to diet, or maintaining a calorie deficit, counting carbs, sugar, calories, fat, low carb, low fat, one meal a day, six meals a day, etc. I have found two things to be very easy for me: avoiding carbs and intermittent fasting. Read "Eat Stop Eat" to learn about the other health benefits of intermittent fasting in addition to an easy way to reduce your weekly calorie intake. You buy nothing, you do nothing to fast for 18 to 24 hours.
Italy should be a piece of cake for low carb eating. With all that pepperoni, sausage, cheese, olives, salad dressings etc. Can even drizzle some tomato sauce over these foods and melt a little Provolone. Hell I'd say over half of my diet is Italian food (American version :-(). I make pizza with low carb almond flour based crust or simply just eat the top of the pizza and no crust. Would love to be doing it with the real thing.
I haven't seen Intermittent Fasting mentioned, so I'll toss it out here. It's easy and free but your mileage may vary: The Beginner's Guide to Intermittent Fasting
