Nutrition Help...
 

Ok, so I've been trying to get in better shape lately. I'm not in TOO bad shape to begin with, but I've got a decent sized gut and some pretty filthy man-boobs.

I've been hitting the gym a lot lately - part of the reason I haven't been around here as much - but I really dont know where to start when it comes to eating healthy. I'm always on the go and very rarely have time to sit down and eat/prepare a proper meal - more often than not, supper consists of a bag of chips + an energy drink.

So, do you guys have any tips for eating healthy on the run? I've been drinking a ton of vitamin water and I try to keep almonds around - any other suggestions?

Do like I'm doing. Cut what you're eating in half and do 900 crunches a day, plus 200 push ups, with about 100 leg lifts thrown in.

Whole grains are good (no enriched flour or high fructose corn syrup), lots of protien, 5 or 6 "small meals" a day (things like tuna fish, and chicken breast are great as long as they're not drowned in mayo or fried)...

You could always cut up a bunch of veggies and just keep them in the fridge, then when you need a healthy snack to go you can grab some. fruits like apples, aswell as dried fruits and snack mix are great for that too. Your choice of almonds is superb. If you have no choice but fast food, just use common sense about what you're eating.

I have a really fast metabolism so I eat a bunch of small meals, instead of 3 large ones just so I keep up my energy up, but a lot of people say it helps them loose weight.

I wouldn't suggest the energy drinks either, just eat high protien foods instead.

It's best to work your body parts out in groups, not just push them all every day. Muscles need time to rest so they can grow. As far as general fitness/weightloss goes cardio is GREAT.

Running has always worked for me. I prefer swim workouts. They feel refreshing but you still get a workout. I, however, don't need to wrkout much because my metabolism is intense and i don't gain weight.

If you're serious, give this a shot - it's a general gameplan for good health, but will of course tackle the weight issue.

Eat breakfast, if you don't.
Don't eat a high ratio of bread, any bread.
Less saturated fats and sugars.
Forget the term "deep fried" Doesn't exist.
Generally the less processed a foodstuff is, the higher the nutritional content, the less bullshit you're throwing into your body - so in short, definately agreed on the wholegrain thing.
Omega intake. If you don't eat fish, start. Salmon will cover you nicely if only one.
Healthy snacks. Fruit. Nuts. If it's packaged, READ THE PACKAGE no matter what it claims on the front.
Fresh chilli (er, peppers?) and ginger helps with the digestion, fresh garlic will be good for your heart.
If you eat salad at all (it's a given that you should) try throwing in some baby spinach leaves and various uncooked legumes.
That said, legumes in general - green beans, kidney beans, lentils (split peas) butter beans, snake beans are highly recommended.
Olive oil - and don't cook it. If you can make a light olive oil dressing, it'll do you the world of good.
Mushrooms = good, filling, non-meat source of iron.
Cut the fat off any meat, eat your chicken skinless, and have one completely vegetarian day per week.
Have one glass of full bodied red wine that often too.
Check your sugar levels, and watch the intake - in a roundabout way, your body munching on sugar for energy stops it from munching away your fat - if your sugar levels are high, cut down.
If you currently drink them, cut the soda/softdrink right out of your diet, even the diet stuff. Go with predominately water, and juice.
Don't get any more than 7.5 hours sleep, or any less than 7. Yes, this can effect your weight.
Some people swear by grapefruit for breakfast - I just do that occasionally because I like it.

If you can work with all that while regularly excersizing, with the amount of good you're doing for yourself, you can actually take one day per week to eat/drink pretty much whatever you like without actually effecting you much at all.

And you live like that?

You must be one skinny fucker.

I'm not exactly as extreme - but then I'm not actively trying to lose a bunch of weight. I eat healthy yeah, and the things I mentioned to eat, I do...but I also indulge outside of that, just keep the good stuff as the majority.

It's about trying to get as much of that kind've thing done as you're able - it's ALL positive...but yes, if a person stuck to such a routine, their weight would drop rapidly, and overall health increase greatly and quickly.

I don't have the determination to start a health plan like that. Even tho i would love to lose my slowly growing love handles. :(

Fruit is brilliant. You can eat loads and lose weight! Also, cut down chips. I don't know if they sell them where you are but vegetable chips are always good. They've pretty much done the process they do with potatos, only with other vegetables and fruit.

I get beetroot chips like that. Nice.
Always better baked than fried.

just drink water ... you dont need to drink anything else - ever.

I'm a skinny fucker!

I agree, get 7 hours of sleep.

I eat Organic whenever possible. You get more nutrient out of the food and there aren't any chemicals in it.

Stay away from partially hydrogenated oils and high fructose corn syrup.

Start reading ingredients labels.

Cut down on your sodium, saturated fat, and sugar.

Also, stay away from fake sugar. Because it tastes sweet your body is prepared to process sugar, but when that doesn't happen, you body craves more sugar. They did a study and people who drink diet soda vs. regular soda gain more weight.

Stay away from soda and drink mostly water. Some juice is okay, but you get more fiber and other nutrients out of the fruit if you eat it instead of drinking it.

Vitamins are good, especially flax seed oil or fish oil for Omega 3's.

Eat fresh produce.

Protein bars (Cliff bars are the best) are good in a pinch.

Plan out your meals for the week before going to the grocery store.

Exercise. Exercise every day if you can. That doesn't mean run 5 miles, even light exercise like stretching for 10 min in the morning makes a different.

For exercise I do Ashtanga Yoga 6 days a week and occasionally rock climbing at an indoor gym.

Making a lifestyle change is hard and takes time. I quit smoking after seven years and gained 20 pounds. It made me depressed, but i started exercising and eating right and I lost the weight and then some. I also feel better now than I ever have.

Good Luck! :)

I would check the label on your vitamin drink, they slip in alot of salt and sugars depending on the manufacurer.

I only gained 12 pounds with my last pregnancy but had a hell of a time getting the last 10 pounds off...I went vegan for a long time but it didn't help at all even though it was excellent for my beast milk.

What I finally did was stop ALL breads and carbs,and ate protein at every mean (lean non-red meats, fish and beans )
I dropped those last few pounds in a coupla weeks and didn't feel deprived:)

I say....hit the gym and start on your 12 ounce curls.

http://www.elements4health.com/image.../food/beer.jpg

My mother lost about 40 lbs eating all of the same foods, just in smaller portions. And she goes for a half hour walk a few times a week. It took about six months to happen, but it didn't require drastic lifestyle changes so she was able to stick with it and maintain her weight.

It's really different for everybody, find something you like and stick to it. If you hate the routine chances are it won't work.

skip the vitamin water, it's loaded with sugar and sodium

increase the fruits and veggies, decrease/eliminate the processed sugars and skip anything that's fried

raw food is good food, eat raw carrots, broccoli, apples, nuts - salds are great, but most dressings are murder on a diet

drink water with your meals to fill up faster and stop eating before you feel "full." A full stomach is a stretched-out stomach that requires more food to make it feel full.

Oh but it's delicious.

As Henry Rollins says 'Eat less, move around more..'

easy way to remember is - shop from the outside ring of the grocery store .. thats wher ethe fresh produce is ..

the further into the aisles you go - the worse the food gets for chemicals and preservatives..

also - it appears that there is a science to eating right - certain combinations of foods are healthy - others work against you ..

I cant remember any of the rules though.


also - dont eat chickenwings, french fries, or anything from macdonalds.

Also, it's good to "cheat" on your diet once in a while...

"Researchers have identified a system that 'senses' nutrient flux (flux = what's going in versus what's going out) through both fat and muscle cells. This affects a lot of process. When dieting, more calories are leaving the fat cell than are going in (negative flux). This nutrient sensing system 'senses' this and affects many processes, one of which is leptin production (decreasing leptin production). So leptin drops. When overfeeding, more calories are entering the fat cells than are leaving (positive flux). The system 'senses' this and affects many processes, one of which is leptin production (increasing leptin production). So leptin increases. Hence the need for cyclical dieting: when dieting, leptin drops and your body fights back.

What is cyclical dieting... well to make a long story short. A cheat day. Now I do not mean go nuts with the KFC, I mean, eat more carbs, protein and fat, don't worry. Meaning try 4 days of dieting per week. Meaning consume 500 -800 Calories less than your Maintenance Level, and then have 2 days at the maintenance level, and one day with maybe an extra 500 calories above your maintenance level. Keep working out, drink plenty of water... try this for a couple of weeks, and see if this works, remember change it up each day. mix it up. "

yup

I agree with Henry Rollins most of the time.