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2007/03/24, 02:40 AM
Okay, maybe I am getting too obsessive about this but I am getting different messages or maybe I am mixing up those messages:
You must cut back on calories to lose body fat.
Don't cut back on calories, eat more to build muscle to lose body fat.
You have to do more cardio to lose the body fat.
Don't do too much cardio or you will lose your muscle which will reduce your bodies ability to burn fat.
Don't eat the "Bad" foods.
Eating the bad foods is better than not eating at all.
Somebody please help me make heads or tails of all this!
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2007/03/24, 09:11 AM
You will always get mixed messages - even most claims that conflict with each other have studies that back up the claims one way or another, depending how the data is interpreted.
"You must cut back on calories to lose body fat.
Don't cut back on calories, eat more to build muscle to lose body fat. "
You must eat the right amount of calories - for your metabolism and goals. Yes, you need a slight deficit for weight loss, but most people aren't eating enough to support their base metabolism - so an increase in calories can sometimes be the answer. Sometimes you just have to shift to healthier food choices and the you will lose weight without cutting calories. There are a lot of variables person to person.
"You have to do more cardio to lose the body fat.
Don't do too much cardio or you will lose your muscle which will reduce your bodies ability to burn fat. "
Cardio is another thing constantly debated. If you have a lot of fat to lose - you don't really have to worry about overdoing cardio. Cardio alos stimulates metabolism. Cardio also helps build a healthy cardiovascular system, when done correctly (not in excess and not too low intensity) so it is important. Research has shown that weight training actually has a heart-strengtheneiing effect, so maybe it is not as imperative to do cardio as it was once thought, but I think it should be part of any healthy lifestyle.
The fear of muscle loss due to too much cardio really applies to those who are either so lean that they don't have much fat to burn anymore and inthat case either need to do less cardio or make up the calories in their diet so they maintain muscle.
SOOOO many people think cardio is the way to fat loss, I think that is where a lot of the conflict comes from - people want to spend hours on the treadmill, usually while drastically cutting calories. This will cause a backlash of metabolic slowdown and fat storage. Or Muscle-breakdown in already thin people. Weight training will create calroic burn, after-exercise burn and boost metabolism, muscle tissue is functional and hungry and helps regualte hormonal response to foods, so it is important to prioritize resistance training over cardio (IMO). Rely first upon your diet and strength training for fat loss, and then add in cardio as you need to to break plateaus or switch things up. We all need to move more every day than most of us do, so cardio fits the bill on non-lifting days.
"Don't eat the "Bad" foods"
As far as "bad" foods - when you begin to think in those terms, you set yourself up for some behaviors like binging because you have 'forbidden' foods and you never want something more than when you have been told you can't have it. If you can get to the point where you are making food choices on a good, better, best basis (is this a good choice? what would be a better choice? what is my best choice?) You will be fine. The healthier you get, the less appealing those 'bad' foods are anyway. (And I recommend watching "Supersize Me" if you really want some motivation not to eat some foods).
"Eating the bad foods is better than not eating at all".
I think starvation is definitely worse than consuming low-grade fuel. That said, you don't really have an excuse for being in the situation where low-grade fuel is your only choice.
At restaurants you can almost alwyas get a grilled chicken breast, a salad, lowfat dressing or dressing on the side, a plain baked potato. That is all stuff you can find even on a Wendy's menu - you just have to ask them to hold the mayo, hold the butter, etc. Sit-down restaurants almost always have the option of baked fish, steamed vegies, baked poatao, just be sure to ask.
On the run - most gas stations have beef jerky, many have aplpes or bananas. Or stop into a grocery store and pick up some veggies (pre-cut and washed) and deli meat.
Even better, always have an 'emergency' meal on hand - a shaker with a meal replacement that just reqiures water, a protein bar (not a high-sugar one), an apple or some string cheese. Jerky, dried fruit, nuts. There are so many portable snacks that are good for you, really no excuse top ever be in that 'bad food or no food' situation. In weight loss and in building a healthy lifestyle, planning is everything, failure to plan is planning to fail.
I hope this helps - just focus each day on making the best choices that you now how, using your body like a well-oiled machine, giving it high quality fuel and enjoying the numerous benefits of a healthy lifestyle!
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Permanence, perseverance and persistence in spite of all obstacles, discouragements, and impossibilities: It is this, that in all things distinguishes the strong soul from the weak.
Thomas Carlyle
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2007/03/24, 10:35 AM
Heres an article I pulled up for you.
More Food!
Less FatScarfing 6 meals a day boosts energy, builds muscle, and sheds pounds.
Some things are sadly predictable. Extra winter poundage, for instance. Or holiday binges. Or the 3 o'clock slump, which sags before you like a hammock every afternoon. Here's a happier prediction: Eat more often and you'll avoid all of those problems. Spreading six smaller meals across your day operates on the simple principle of satisfaction. Frequent meals tame the slavering beast of hunger. The secret? Each mini meal should blend protein and fiber-rich complex carbohydrates. "Protein and fiber give you that feeling of satiety and keep you from feeling hungry," says Tara Geise, R.D., a nutritionist in private practice in Orlando and a spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association (ADA). Controlling hunger shrinks your gut. In a study published in the International Journal of Obesity, one group of overweight men was given five small meals, then was free to choose a sixth meal. A second group ate a single meal containing the same number of calories as the total of the other group's first five meals, then later had a free-choice second meal. The six-meal men ate 27 percent less food at their last meal than the two-meal men did at their second. Consistent eating will also keep your protein levels high, helping you build muscle. "Your body can metabolize only so much protein at one time," says Katherine Tallmadge, R.D., author of Diet Simple. "Protein is metabolized better when it's divided evenly." The challenge is keeping the mini meals mini. "It's critical that at the end of the day, the calorie content of your mini meals does not exceed what you would eat in three larger meals,"
says Jeannie Moloo, Ph.D., R.D., an ADA spokeswoman in Roseville, California.
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Patience, persistence and perspiration make an unbeatable combination for success.
Ivan
Montreal Canada (City of Festivals)
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2007/03/24, 12:53 PM
Thanks for the info. I haven't had time to read it thoughroughly but will get to it this afternoon. :-)
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2007/03/24, 09:49 PM
You have to read 'between the lines' on this stuff. All of the points you listed do have a truth to them. But, this is what you must do.....First, pick a goal, and gear your lifestyle towards it. You cannot do everything at once. If gaining muscle is your goal, then forget all the fat loss stuff and concentrate on gaining. Vice-versa for fat loss.
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"If it ain't broke, you aren't trying."
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2007/03/26, 09:04 PM
I want to lose the fat but cannot for the sake of my job, compromise my strength.
All of the info and advice is awesome.
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2007/03/26, 09:20 PM
Then try cutting like 100 calories from your normal caloric intake and see if it makes a difference, if you aren't already doing cardio, work in 2-3 HIIT sessions a week, either on seperate days from lifting, or after lifting, 20 minutes max.
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Permanence, perseverance and persistence in spite of all obstacles, discouragements, and impossibilities: It is this, that in all things distinguishes the strong soul from the weak.
Thomas Carlyle
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2007/03/28, 01:13 AM
Thanks. I am doing HIIT 1-2 times a week now and started to cut my calories. I am NOT a "slender" guy so I think I will lose the body fat before I will lose the muscle.
Thanks again.
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