Dieting

[Tom R VanSlambrouck]

[Brick Side]

Careful with changing your diet so suddenly like that. I myself have weened myself off of junk food over the course of several months. But then again, I am not trying to lose weight, I am just putting on muscle.

Jumping jacks and jump roping are good ways to build your cardio up as well. I enjoy doing those.

My advice is don't kill yourself right away doing a bunch of things. Come up with a workout program that works for you, and take it a bit easy at first so that you're not making a lot muscles sore to the point where you have an overly difficult time doing whatever exercise. Patience is really key. And hey, try and make it fun for you too and mix it up from time to time.

If you're interested in building muscle then Wal-Mart has the best and cheapest protein shakes. It's called Whey Protein and it's in this orange colored container. The beauty part of it is that it costs about $15 which is amazing compared to something they sell at GNC. I think the Vanilla and Chocolate flavors are beyond disgusting, but the Strawberry flavor is more than tolerable. One container should last you 5-6 weeks or so... I have to get a new one every 3 weeks though because I take 4 scoops of the powder (or 104 grams of protein) every time I work out.

Anyway, good luck with the working out, Tom.

[Tom R VanSlambrouck]

[Cookie]

[king_ghidorah]

[Tom R VanSlambrouck]

[The Top Crusader]

[Brick Side]

[Tom R VanSlambrouck]

[Mysterio]

[Tom R VanSlambrouck]

[Mysterio]

[TheMaster]

[The Top Crusader]

[Green Dragon]

One food I think you'd really like to consider, if you already haven't, is quinoa. [keen-wa] I'd heard of it, but until it was actually cooked for me, I wasn't interested. It's a great substitute for rice and pasta, and is considered a grain. From South America, it has an amazing history as well, that dates back to the Ancient Incas:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quinoa

http://www.quinoa.net/

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tnam ... e&dbid=142

http://www.momscape.com/articles/healthy-carbs.htm

http://quinoatips.com/quinoa-glycemic-index/

It cooks like rice....ratio of 2 to 1 with water/quinoa, bring to a boil, simmer for 20 minutes. I use chicken broth when I make it, and it's very versatile and forgiving. It's a perfect substitute for rice, and cooks up like a fluffier, lighter version of Moroccan couscous.

The benefits of the food are: low glycemic index, gluten-free, and rich in protein and other minerals.

Perfect for vegans, or just eating healthier. Not easily found in supermarkets, but I find it in bulk at Henry's Market locally (Southern Cal), and you should be able to find it at more health/organic conscious stores.

[Tom R VanSlambrouck]

Interesting, I'll look into it.

BTW I'm done 70lbs on my diet. I'm just working on dropping the last 10-30lbs and toning up now.

[planetxleader]

[Tom R VanSlambrouck]

[Ghido-Goji]

[skiddish]

FWI: A slowing metabolism as we age has been reported to me a myth by some in the field. I still haven't decided if it's true or false myself.

The human body only needs a fraction of the food we give it.
The real secret to a healthy body for your entire life cycle is limiting your food intake to under 1400 calories per day.
That means that when you do eat. It has to be good food. And in small portions.
That way you can still let yourself have an unhealthy treat after supper and it won't hurt your body.

One of the biggest traps I see people fall into is working out to reduce their weight.
But working out makes you thirsty and hungry when you wouldn't otherwise be. So people end up eating and drinking more than if they didn't exercise at all. Which makes their workout pointless and they never lose the weight.
That's where the diabolical use of all of those power drinks and bars come into play. They put extra calories into your body that you need to work off again.
If you really want to lose weight and keep it off forever. You have to train yourself to be smarter than the so called "health industry". And eat small portions of healthy food. And don't exercise to the point that it makes you thirsty or hungry so you end up eating after a workout. Even those power bars and drinks.
You can lose more weight by limiting your food intake to 1200-1400 calories and lying in bed all day. Than working out hard and then eating as a result of it.

Adding muscle is a different story.
But remember. Once you add muscle you then have to maintain it. Which is a lot harder than adding it. So before you go that route. think about what happens five-ten years down the road.
Most people can live a very healthy life and have a nice body shape by simply limiting their food intake while also limiting exercise to small amounts that are only enough to keep them healthy. But not enough to make them hungry or thirsty.
It's all about food for weight control.
Body shaping is done with exercise. But exercise also makes you thirsty and hungry. Watch out for that. Nobody warns you about that.
So in the the long term. Too much exercise can hurt you more than if you never exercise at all.
If you're a lazy or busy person who hates to exercise. All you have to do is watch what you eat. And do a little brisk walking. And you'll have a slim body for your entire life.

I realize that's very hard to do when everyone around you does it wrong. Stuffing their faces with food. Then going to the gym trying to work it off.
Then eating and drinking afterward.
And then giving you strange looks for eating small portions at meal time.
But you just have to realize that they are doing it wrong. And it's not something you can force people to understand. They've been trained to do it wrong from birth when parents say things like "clean your plate".

[DannyBeane]

[king_ghidorah]

[planetxleader]

[TheMaster]

reminder guys no such thing as spot reduction. I have done this for a living for over 16 years and while working every area is important, "abs" are achieved purely by bodyfat reduction-FACT. So regardless of the exercise, diet and things like high intensity work trump any individual exercise or the fallacy of "100s of crunches". And reducing bodyfat via diet is a leetle more complex than simply eating "good food".

[planetxleader]