Help/Support ► Diet

[State]

So I decided to be on a diet because of two reasons:

1. Appearance
2. Health

My health because, even though I'm not diabetic, or suffer from high-cholesterol/pressure, I've decided that, to feel healthier, I'll go do a one hour cardio routines (walking/jogging in the nearest track from my house). And appearance because I have a motto; "If I can look better, I can look better." Not like I look chubby or anything, just, like I said; "I can look better."

So I decided to post this since there are some very intelligent members here that could help in, I dunno, making routine, recommend some stuff to eat, some to not eat (like Pepsi, Sprite, etc.). Oh, and I forgot to mention I'll be lifting dumbbells here at my house. A routine of 30 pounds vinyl dumbbell.

 

[Taochan]

My best advice is beware of juice. Juice has high sugar contents that aren't good for you; if you want juice it'd be best to make it yourself or search for organic.

Your regiment sounds great for a start; make a schedule and stick to it. Determination is key.

 

[Orion]

Always avoid carbohydrates before going to bed. They're great for quick energy, but you're about to go to bed so they'll more than likely wind up unused and turned to fat by the time you wake up. Things like potato, pasta and bread should be avoided as much as possible in night meals.

Also make sure to drink lots of water in general, and drink a large glass of water before each major meal, especially dinner. It makes you feel slightly fuller, and helps prevent you over-eating.

Whenever you eat, try to keep it all regular and at roughly the same time each day. It really helps your metabolism. Even if you're snacking, make it regular, and of course try to make the snack something that's fruit.

 

[State]

My best advice is beware of juice.

Juice has high sugar contents that aren't good for you; if you want juice it'd be best to make it yourself or search for organic.

Didn't know, thanks for sharing. I'll try and see what I can do, seeing as how I still live with my parents (and I'll try to talk to them), at the least, I'll buy the fresh fruits (which hopefully don't have any hormones).

Your regiment sounds great for a start; make a schedule and stick to it.

Hah, thanks. I'll try to get up at 10am everyday that isn't raining.

Determination is key.

Agreed.

Always avoid carbohydrates before going to bed. They're great for quick energy, but you're about to go to bed so they'll more than likely wind up unused and turned to fat by the time you wake up. Things like potato, pasta and bread should be avoided as much as possible in night meals.

Fascinating, I'll avoid these.

Also make sure to drink lots of water in general, and drink a large glass of water before each major meal, especially dinner. It makes you feel slightly fuller, and helps prevent you over-eating.

Yes, I've heard that sometimes you may feel hungry, but you might actually be thirsty.

Whenever you eat, try to keep it all regular and at roughly the same time each day. It really helps your metabolism. Even if you're snacking, make it regular, and of course try to make the snack something that's fruit.

Thanks for your help, guys! Really appreciate it. :wink:

 

[LongLiveLife]

Congratulations on your first step to healthy living!

Of all the advice I am about to give, this is probably the most important: don't think of a diet as something to be on. Although lately the word has acquired some rather bizarre connotations as a one-way ticket to weight loss, the real meaning of the word refers to the totality of the foods that you eat. Everyone who eats has a diet. Some diets are healthier than others. Why is this important? Because for a 'diet' to be successful, it needs consistency. It's a lifestyle choice, not something you do for a few weeks and then hop off again. We've seen or heard (or been the unfortunate protagonist of) countless stories of dieters -- mainly women -- who shed their weight, feeling miserable, for a few months, who then lose motivation and come off the diet, and who then proceed to regain all their weight -- and then some.

You can avoid this by starting with the right mindset and acknowledging that this is something you will have to carry through for the rest of your life for results.

Attitude changed? Ready to go on? Great, continue reading.


I don't know what your goals are, but it's important that you define them now. Weight loss? Weight gain? Maintenance? It's all reducible to simple arithmetic: calories in versus calories out. There are advocators diets which do not factor calories into the equation. Sorry, tough luck, every calorie counts.

The energy content of the food you eat determine what your body's going to do about it; the time you eat it determines whether it's used to fuel muscle growth or stored as fat. After a workout, your muscles become particularly receptive to nutrients. This is the best time to down anything high in protein and (believe it or not) sugar. Sugar triggers insulin, which pumps all those nutrients into your muscles, where it will both prevent wasting and stimulate growth.

Generally, however, diabetic or not, you should stick to a low glycemic diet, moderate in fat and high in protein. This means avoiding sugar and eating unrefined complex carbs, like brown rice, oats and sweet potatoes. The catch to this is that genetics has a big input
into how, and how well, different individuals process similar nutrients, and if you really want to go all out, you should consult a nutritionist.


Exercise is secondary to a healthy diet. Without proper nutrition, the benefit of exercise (while still significant) is comparatively modest. I recommend HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) for the cardio component of your routine. Research suggests that our cavemen ancestors didn't jog for thirty minutes at 7.2 miles per hour on a moving conveyor belt, and that we are biomechanically unadapted to continuous 'low intensity' activities.

However, where guys tend to be most interested is in the anaerobic component -- weightlifting. Focus on one muscle group a day and always, always rest the muscle you've worked out. This allows the muscle to grow and become stronger, which translates to a more attractive, manly you.


This is only a topical overview, and there's a lot left to explain, but this should suffice for a beginner. Good luck and enjoy the rest of your life!

 

[scubasteve]

why do you post so weirdly

all you gotta do is do some sit-ups and eat w/e the hell u want haha, just dont smoke or get ugly, keep a pair of shorts with you at all times so if you feel like running, you can switch into you shorts and get ya exercise in.

 

[LongLiveLife]

why do you post so weirdly

He asked for advice...and I know what I'm talking about. Don't really see how it's weird. :\

 

[State]

Of all the advice I am about to give, this is probably the most important: don't think of a diet as something to be on. Although lately the word has acquired some rather bizarre connotations as a one-way ticket to weight loss, the real meaning of the word refers to the totality of the foods that you eat. Everyone who eats has a diet. Some diets are healthier than others. Why is this important? Because for a 'diet' to be successful, it needs consistency. It's a lifestyle choice, not something you do for a few weeks and then hop off again. We've seen or heard (or been the unfortunate protagonist of) countless stories of dieters -- mainly women -- who shed their weight, feeling miserable, for a few months, who then lose motivation and come off the diet, and who then proceed to regain all their weight -- and then some.

Personally, I think eating in adequate portions isn't a diet; but how we should eat.

You can avoid this by starting with the right mindset and acknowledging that this is something you will have to carry through for the rest of your life for results.

Of course. This isn't a one-month trip to slenderness.

I don't know what your goals are, but it's important that you define them now.

Weight loss and maintenance.

So about HIIT; is it to start running (for example), then jog, then rinse, and repeat?

The energy content of the food you eat determine what your body's going to do about it; the time you eat it determines whether it's used to fuel muscle growth or stored as fat. After a workout, your muscles become particularly receptive to nutrients. This is the best time to down anything high in protein and (believe it or not) sugar. Sugar triggers insulin, which pumps all those nutrients into your muscles, where it will both prevent wasting and stimulate growth.

How many grams of sugar? The most "healthiest" sugary candy in my fridge are mint bonbon.

And thanks for the help. :biggrin:

 

[LongLiveLife]

Weight loss and maintenance.

Good. Now, I'm sure you've heard the cliched expression slow and steady wins the race about a hundred times too many, but when you're dealing with your body it's absolutely central. If you starve yourself and deplete your fat stores, you run the risk of shutting down many processes in your body. The most pressing are your sex hormone secretions. Once they stop, they may never start up again, and the development of not only your body but also your brain will come to a grinding halt.

Aim for a maximum daily deficit of 500 calories. 3,500 calories less than your body's expenditure translates to a loss of approximately one pound of fat a week. Of course math is never this precise in biology, and the human body has clever mechanisms to maintain its current weight.

So about HIIT; is it to start running (for example), then jog, then rinse, and repeat?

Think more extreme. It's about sprinting as fast as your legs will carry you for a minute/thirty seconds/ten seconds, then spending three times as long in recovery -- a slow walk, panting like a motherfucker -- and doing it again and again and again. It's essentially a variant you can apply to all cardio exercises. It's a lot harder, but it gets results.

How many grams of sugar? The most "healthiest" sugary candy in my fridge are mint bonbon.

Haha, candy's a massive no-no. High fructose corn syrup (one of the many components in the Western diet implicated in diabetes, obesity, heart disease and the rest of it) aside, candy is typically laden with artificial preservatives and coloring agents. I recommend fresh fruit, like a banana, as a double hit: to spike your insulin and to replenish the electrolytes (mainly potassium) you'll sweat out. (Bodybuilders will advocate a dextrose solution, but I feel that daily exposure to that much pure glucose is a one way ticket to type II diabetes. Unfortunately, I have no studies that illustrate this outcome.)

Protein's the big thing, though, and nutritionists have determined that 30 g in one sitting is the minimum required to shift the body into protein building mode. Different schools of thought vary in their recommendations for amount of sugar you should have with your protein. Some people advocate a 1:1 ratio, while others believe twice as much sugar as protein is needed to really drive those nutrients into your muscle; some even go as high as 3:1. I use the 2:1 ratio, but that's only because I can't stomach more sugar without feeling nauseous. For simplicity, chocolate skim milk makes a great post workout drink.

 

[State]

'Kay, thanks for your help. And I finally understood HIIT, will also eat a fruit after exercising. Also, I've decided to change fruit-juice(s) with (multi)vitamins, is this okay?

 

[Narukami]

Sounds like my New Year's Resolution. I have the highest metabolism of anyone I know, but one day it's gonna stop, so I realized I needed to change my ways now. I'm only 115 lbs., so weight loss isn't the issue. I decided to limit "junk" to only celebrations. ONLY. I drink mostly water now. And I lift weights, perform abdominal workouts, and jog while walking my dog daily. It's been working out nicely. Not only do I look a lot better for summer, I feel the part too.

My one tip is to work it into habit, and don't blow it off. If you don't, you might as well not do it at all because you become lazy and sporadic... Happy dieting bromie. ^_^

EDIT: Getting vitamins from fruits tend to be more potent than multivitamins.

 

[LongLiveLife]

Also, I've decided to change fruit-juice(s) with (multi)vitamins, is this okay?

EDIT: Getting vitamins from fruits tend to be more potent than multivitamins.

Actually, in terms of potency, isolated vitamins and minerals are far better than anything nature can cook up. If you want your vitamin C, nothing gets it into your system faster than a 1,000 mg tablet. However, a concentrated one time shot is not the most effective way to get your vitamins. Multivitamins give you 100% or more of your recommended daily intake in one serving, and you can't 'use' all of it at once. The human body has virtually zero stores of water soluble vitamins (and all minerals, save calcium) and your kidneys continuously -- though rather wastefully -- filter out the excess. If you have a healthy, varied diet, essentially, all you're doing by taking additional vitamins is making expensive urine. Nothing wrong with it; just that you could save yourself a few pennies.

 

[State]

Concerning the vitamins; we don't buy much fruit, so I think they should come in handy. And besides, they last long (longer than food xD).

 

[Pirates]

When I was dieting, it was quite easy.

You know in your mind what is bad food to eat and bad to drink.
We all know fast food, soda and most snack food are bad for you.

if you cover all these first, things will be fine.

Now, things you dont know:
Sauses are bad for you too. They have lots of sodium and they dont help.
If you are going to eat fatty foods like pizza, you can get a paper towel and dab off the fat (mostly from the cheese) and it is a bit better.

My biggest tip is to drink lots of water. Drinking lots of water increases the fat burnt while exercising (something about some organs somewhere that use fat more efficiently when hydrated).
Seriously, you feel a lot better from drinking water and it helps all exercise.
I drink like 3 bottles a day and it fills me a bit, I feel strangely clean inside and it super charges fat burning.

 

[State]

When I was dieting, it was quite easy.

Ja, you even feel lighter and know that you're eating right.

You know in your mind what is bad food to eat and bad to drink.

Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Sprite, 7up, and I can go on.

We all know fast food, soda and most snack food are bad for you.

Mmhmm. One of my uncles decided to not drink soda. For a month. And the results were that he lost twenty pounds without doing anything! Imagine what I can achieve by only drinking water and eating healthy food! :tongue:

Sauses are bad for you too. They have lots of sodium and they dont help.

Yeah, seasoning also has lots of salt (and I mean LOTS), that's why I decided to not use any. At. All.

If you are going to eat fatty foods like pizza, you can get a paper towel and dab off the fat (mostly from the cheese) and it is a bit better.

My Math teacher does this, but with Kentucky's fried chicken.