I have been receiving a lot of e-mail lately about diet. In the past, I was never concerned about what I ate. I just went to the gym, trained hard, and that was the extent of my routine. Not until recently did I realize the power diet has over the way your body looks and performs. I believe that diet is at least 75% of the fitness equation. In this article, I'm going to describe in detail what I have learned about diet during my 12-week transition period.
When to Eat and How Often
This might sound strange, but you have to eat more often to lose fat and gain muscle. During my transition period, I never ate less than 6 meals a day.
• Try to eat every 2 to 3 hours.
• Do not eat complex carbohydrates after 6:00 p.m. or four to five hours before going to bed.
• Try to eat one gram of protein per pound of lean body mass on lifting days and .8 grams of protein per pound of lean body mass on non-lifting days.
• Never eat more than 70 grams of protein in one meal.
Carbohydrates
When I think of carbohydrates, I think of energy. Carbohydrates supply our bodies with the energy it needs to make it through a workout. Without an adequate supply of carbohydrates, the body goes into carbohydrate deprivation. This is called a state of ketosis (meaning our body is using protein as energy). This is not a good state to be in for long because it will rob the body of muscle tissue in an effort to create energy. On the other hand, if too many carbohydrates are consumed, they convert into stored fat. The idea is to consume just enough carbohydrates to make it through our workouts with sufficient energy. I have broken down carbohydrates into these three categories:
• Simple carbs: These are sugars, or quick energy. They are absorbed very quickly into the body. Ex. Anything with sugar, also fruit
• Complex carbs: This is where you get long-term energy for the day. These are long chained carbohydrates that brake down slower, giving us energy over a prolonged period of time. Ex. Oatmeal, potatoes, pasta, rice, breads
• Fibrous carbs: These are things like vegetables. I think of them as roughage in order to stay regular. Make sure you include them in you later meals when you can't eat complex carbs. They are also a good source of vitamins. Ex. Leafy vegetables like lettuce.
Protein
Proteins are the building blocks of our muscles. Without a sufficient amount of protein in our diet, our muscles will not have the raw materials that they need to build up, or even hang on to what is already there.
Net protein utilization: Not all protein is created equal. Different foods are absorbed more than others. For example, egg white protein is absorbed at 88%. That means we get about 9 eggs to our muscles. On the other hand, chicken breast are absorbed at 68%, meaning we get about 7 breasts to our muscles. It is imported to eat a wide verity of protein foods though; no one protein source has all the amino acids we need.
• Whey protein (100%): the best source of whey protein is from protein supplements. It is also absorbed very fast by the body, so it is best to take this when your body needs amino acids quickly: like right after a workout or when you first get up in the morning.
• Egg whites (88%)
• Fish (78%)
• Chicken breast (78%)
• Soy protein: My one bit of advice would be to try and stay away from soy protein. It is not absorbed very well by the body.
Fats
We normally think of fats as being bad. The fact is certain fats are essential to building muscle and carrying out various functions of the body. There are 2 fat types we need to be concerned about:
• Saturated fats: these are the bad fats. Avoid these fats as much as possible. You will find these types of fats mostly in meats
• Unsaturated fats: these are the good fats. They are a good energy source and help us build muscle. You can find from plant oils. Peanuts are also a good source.
Water
Do not under estimate the importance of water! If you are looking to get lean, water will be your best friend. Drink as much as you can and as often as you can. Also, it is very important to drink lots of water when you're eating large amounts of protein to clean urea from the system.
Vitamins & minerals
As resistance training athletes, we have a greater need for vitamins & minerals. When we workout and bring blood to our muscles it is important that our blood is full of those essential vitamins & minerals if we want to grow.
Supplements
Supplements are just that, meaning they are used to supplement your diet, not replace it. Don't ever think of it that way.
Hierarchy of supplements:
I developed this hierarchy of supplements based on what I thought were the most important and also by price.
• 1. Proper diet: Without proper diet you are just wasting money on supplements. Start here! Do not think that supplements are going to do it for you alone.
• 2. Multi-vitamin & mineral: It is very important to have all your vitamins & minerals when resistance training. Most of us are lacking in some areas, make it a priority to make this your first supplement.
• 3. Protein powder: It is usually very hard to get all the protein you need from real foods. Powders make it much easier. Also, these powders are absorbed fast by the body making them ideal after workouts or before and after sleep.
• 4. Creatine: This is great for harder workouts. It also makes you muscles hang on to water, giving them a better environment to grow.
• 5. L-glutamine: This is an important amino acid in muscle recovery
• 6. Branch chained amino acid: These are great before and after workouts along with L-glutamine because it gives your muscles all the amino acids it needs to repair and grow.
• 7. ZMA: This helps you release more growth hormone while you sleep, increasing your size and strength.
• 8. Thermogenic: These really help in the fat loss process. They also help you hang on to more muscle while dieting due to the fact you can eat more.
• 9. Meal replacement: Although very expensive, meal replacements make it much more convenient to get some of your meals in. Also, you can get in more meals than if you were to eat only real foods.
"The golden hour"
Remember "The golden hour" because it will make things so much easier for you. "The golden hour" is a window of opportunity we have to get everything we have depleted in our body back in a short amount of time. Think of your muscles as a gas tank: When you workout, you use gas for energy or in this case glucose. After a workout, our muscles are in a unique state. They are able to fill back up very quickly leaving you full for the next workout. If you wait to long, your muscles don't fill back up as easily and the carbs you eat are more likely to be stored as fat. Doing this will also let you take advantage of insulin's muscle building effects from the simple carbs you have ingested. You want to ingest 50-75 grams of simple carbs right after a workout. Also, this is when you want to take your protein shake because it will absorb quickly and supply your muscles with the amino acids that they need.
Insulin
This is a very complicated subject, but all we need to know is that insulin can help us build muscle or can make us fat depending on the timing. Insulin is released by the pancreas in response to elevated blood sugar levels. We can achieve a high blood sugar level by ingesting simple carbs. Like "the golden hour" we have a window of opportunity to take advantage of the muscle building effects of the insulin without getting fat. We have about 4 or 5 hours after we workout to take advantage of insulin. If we take in too many simple carbs out of this window, we are very likely to store fat.
Cheat day
The theory behind the cheat days is you take one day every 2 weeks to eat anything you want and actually get leaner. It might sound crazy, but it worked for me. When you eat low carbs for a time for body begins to think it is not getting all the food it needs (because your not storing any fat) and begins to slow down your metabolism. When you bombard your body with food on that one day, it tricks your body into thinking it has all it needs and speeds your metabolism back up. I can tell you from experience, every day after a cheat day I felt leaner and looked better.
Ketosis
This is when your body uses protein for energy. This happens when we have too few carbs in the body or when we over train. I went into the state of ketosis for only the last week of my 12-week transition for a couple of reasons: (1) I wanted all of my muscles to shrink down so when I carbed back up, my skin would be tighter. (2) When you go into ketosis it seems to bring the water out from under the skin. Don't go into this state to loose fat. Without carbs your body can not burn fat effectively. You will loose weight rather quickly, but only because you don't have as much glycogen in the muscle. Also, you are simply loosing water. Remember that proteins are the building blocks for muscle and that means they are fair game for energy when in the state of ketosis. I would not recommend going into this state unless you are trying to get into a super ripped state for a short amount of time, like for a bodybuilding contest.
2007-11-05 04:26:04
·
answer #1
·
answered by Anonymous
·
0⤊
0⤋
Well I have got to say first and important.. Do now not examine this lady for your "ex"whatsoever, form or kind. I recognize that's simpler stated than performed..:o).. As a ways as the burden obstacle is going.. You have got to verify if it a wellness obstacle, or is it a 'appears' obstacle with you. I agree guys are very visible in all points in their like and relationships are not any extraordinary. Is she dressing to intensify the positives of her 'curvy' frame or is she simply dressed in apparel that does not flatter her determine as a lot? This generally is a tremendous factor even for you, as this can be a visible detail. Does she have the vigour to move out and do the matters you favor now? If now not, then that's a tremendous dating problem altogether.. Is she secure with herself? Has she continuously had the burden? If so, then what attracted you to her to start with, and why now has it grow to be an obstacle (possibly a 'pal' stated some thing??)?? You have got to verify the 'why' then you'll be able to transfer into 'how' to deal, as each and every why can have one other 'how'..
2016-09-05 10:58:09
·
answer #2
·
answered by cockreham 4
·
0⤊
0⤋
Step 1: Find out what your basal metabolic rate is. Go to http://health.discovery.com/tools/calculators/basal/basal.html
This is the amount of calories you need to eat to maintain your current weight. Then to http://www.biggestloserclub.com/ and get the number they give. I have found that the number that lies between these two is the best to start with.
Step 2: Do you exercise? Do you exercise right? Exercising right means that you monitor your heart rate and make sure that you reach your target heart rate and maintain it for the longest period of time while exercising. You have two targets a fat burn zone and an cardiovascular zone. The fat burn is usually 60% of your maximum an d is easier to achieve and maintain and if your goal is weight loss this is where you want to be. Just walking/excising is a good start but if you want to get the most out of your work out find out what your target range is. If you don't belong to a gym then I recommend the
Polar Fitness F11 Heart Monitor Watch.
Step 3: You need to decrease your caloric intake or increase the amount of calories your body uses in a day by 500 calories a day for a week to lose 1 pound. So you can decrease that basal number you got in step 1 by 500 calories and exercise very little(yes you still need to exercise). Or you can decrease it by 250 and exercise off 250 calories or any other combination. Remember that your basal number is the amount of calories you body needs to live. If your number were 2400 then your body burn 100 calories per hour. So if you walk for half an hour and burn 300, 50 of that is your basal.
Step 4: Count your calories, it's not hard and you'll find out that you eat a lot of the same things on a daily basis so you won't have to research everything over and over again. Balance what you eat(equal parts carbs and protien whenever possible) . One of the best websites out there is one from the FDA. http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/
This database has almost every food on the planet counted and weighed. (Hint: they do a lot of their weights based on 100grams. If you put 0.28 in the serving size this equals 1 ounce). Get a reliable food scale, preferably digital. Weigh everything that you put in your mouth that is not prepackaged. You need to know what you’re eating and how much you’re eating. The number one mistake is "eating healthy". Everyone thinks because it's "healthy" the portion isn't that important. A handful of peanuts is "healthy" and has nearly 250 calories! Eat enough calories and it won’t matter how "healthy" it is your going to gain weight. Great ideas for people on the go are: South Beach Raisin Granola Bar, Snickers Marathon Multi-Grain Crunch(Wal-Mart diet aid aisle), Snickers Marathon Protein Caramel Nut Rush(Wal-Mart diet aid aisle)
Step 5: Adjustments and Variety. If you are doing your best and losing weight but your starving, increase the amount of calories your giving yourself by 100-200 calories a day. Losing weight and starving are not good bedfellows. If you starve eventually you will crack and lose the battle. The more types of exercises you do the more weight you will lose. You will work more muscles and keep your body guessing.
Step 6(optional): If you belong to a gym or have some free weights at home. Use them! Muscle takes up less space in your body than fat (pound for pound). A pound of fat sits
around and does nothing all day, while a pound of muscle, even at rest burns calories(increasing your basal metabolic rate).
Step 7: Sleep, Never underestimate the power of a goodnight sleep. Will power can crumble in a second if your going through your day tired. You end up with a diminished sense of self control and tend to “give in” to temptation.
Step 8: Find a distraction. Read a book, Ride a bike, Play a game. Whatever takes your mind off of food, do it. You will need something that you can turn to in a moment of weakness. Something that will distract you for a half an hour so that your will can reassert itself and help you to make a rational decision.
Good luck!!!
2007-11-05 04:22:12
·
answer #3
·
answered by a_talis_man 5
·
0⤊
0⤋
If you are putting on weight since being put on this medication, contact the doctor and see if he can change the medication. Some medications can cause you to gain weight. The doctor needs to know what is going on with you.
2007-11-05 05:26:04
·
answer #4
·
answered by Simmi 7
·
0⤊
0⤋