I was iformed somewhere (and can't remember) that the government is considering revamping to food pyramid to lover the servings of carbs or to seperate into to simple and complex or something like that. I really have no idea and am just asking though, clarification please?

Also working for the health dept, we also suggest following the food pyramid to promote healthy eating and a balanced diet.

There is no way to spot reduce. Or at least not yet lol.

Usually what someone is saying when they want to be tone in a place, is that they want to lose fat from there.

Th difficulty is that tend to lose fat from all over your body as you train and diet. The areas that are considered problems usually have the thickest amount of fat. Hence they are the last parts to go.

So its just a matter of how overall lean you get.

The same basic premises apply.

Let me give you a quick example: most people want abs and will train them for crazy amounts of time. Most of the time their abs are quite tone . . . underneath the body fat. so until the fat is gone, those abs will never be visible.

I'm not sure on the whole story, but...

From what I've heard, they're going to split the carbs section into the kind you get from pasta, white bread, etc., and the kind you get from whole wheats and those types of foods.

Also, meat will be split between poultry and fish in one section, and red meat in the other section. It looks like it will advocate a more balanced diet, and not one top heavy on carbs.

There was an article in either Muscle and Fitness or Men's Health about the change...not sure which issue though.

Collin

You can look here, or look at the pretty picture below.

http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/now/aug2...s/pyramids.gif

Although I don't get what the whole grains are. I tried talking to someone about it today and it sounded like I needed to go pluck wheat in Nebraska and eat it like that. :confused:

I'm waiting for the day when somebody discovers that vegetables are not good for you!

I really do not care for vegetables - just corn, potatoes, and green beans. I'll eat them, but I always eat them first, just to get them out of the way!

Well... it's the difference between Fritos corn chips and a serving of brown rice ;)
There are a lot of processed carbohydrates that should really fall under the fats and sweets category, but not everyone thinks of them in that way. One example would be a bowl of Cocoa Puffs compared to a bowl of Bran Flakes (although I sure know which one I'D choose). Even like.. the difference between a biscuit and a piece of whole wheat bread. Yeah... they are both bread, right? But a biscuit is basically carbs, fat, and maybe a few nutrients, while a piece of whole wheat bread typically offers more B vitamins, dietary fiber, etc. with less calories and saturated fat.

It's like a "more BANG for your caloric buck" theory... we call it nutrient density.

I think the new food pyramid is a good thing. It leaves less open for interpretation and gives more instruction on what exactly is good for you! I do hope that the USDA picks up the changes.

OK, OK, sorry... back to James and fitness questions :)

I think it's a great thing - I'm not a huge fan of white bread, chips and all that stuff anyways, and eat more wheat bread than any other kinds. The old food pyramid was so outdated, it had become a bit of a joke with the servings it suggested.

I haven't been to the gym in ages (despite having membership). Tch, tch. So James, since I'd effectively be starting from step one again could any real benefit be gained appearance wise by going for two weeks (the remaining time I'm in my uni town) only? Hopefully I'll join a gym when I go back home after two weeks too without too long a gap.

Yall can ask me too I have a Bachelor's and Master's Degrees in Exercise Science and I enjoy helping people

If thats the case, how many sets and what types of crunches would you reccomend to someone who wants the dream abs (Male)? What are the positive and negative effects of taking Winstrol?

I think all yoga is good for is helping you not be depressed. I feel like Yoga is more of a mental exercise. I know it makes you flexible, but when I do it I actually feel like my mind and body are rejuevenated rather than weight loss or gain has been achieved.

Ok first things first. It is impossible to "spot reduce fat" What that means is that you can't have awesome looking abs and be overweight on your arms, legs, etc. When reducing body fat (which is what people generally what people want when they say they want to "lose weight") you reduce your body fat from all over the entire body not just in one area. This said if you have a lot of fat over your tummy you can do crunches until you pass out everyday but you won't be able to see your tight abs b/c they are under the layer of fat on your tummy. However your abs would be kickin' underneath :)

Now I have no idea what your body composition is but I thought I should mention the above first. When I have my clients/patients ask about abs I always tell them that first b/c if they are trying to reduce their body fat on their tummies that happens as a result of nutritional change and exercise assuming other variables aren't effecting their weight to begin with.

If you want to work on your abs you have several options. These maybe hard to explain seeing as how I can't really show you.

The first type of crunch is the regular crunch
Sit on the floor with your knees bent at an angle and back straight
Cross your arms over your chest or place your hands on the front of your thighs
While continuing to keep your knees bent, lower your back to the ground but stop before your back is completely on the ground
The entire time make sure your feet stay on the floor
Then raise back up to your starting position.

The Second type of crunch is called the reverse crunch
Lay down on your back with your knees bent over your chest so your legs are up in the air. Your knees are at a 45 degree angle.
You may want to place your hands under the small of your back for back stability.
Then straighten your legs and bring them down close to the floor but don't touch the floor
Then bring them back to the starting position.

These are really hard to describe in words so I hope you're not too confused and I'm sorry I don't have any pics.

As far as sets if you are starting at 0 (say you've never done a crunch in your life) I would say (for a guy) try and start around 10-15 repetitions and add on 2 every week. I don't know how old you are or how physically fit you are so this all varies according to those types of things.

I don't know anything about Winstrol. Supplementation is not really my area of interest although many Exercise Physiologist do research in that area. I do know a good bit of nutrition as it pertains to cardiac patients and healthy eating. My area is more in Cardiac/Pulmonary rehab, working with over weight kids and diabetics. I did do my graduate thesis for Gatorade so I can tell you anything you want to know about how carbohydrate, caffeine, or tyrosine supplementation affects performance.

I lost a little weight when I took up yoga but it was basically just enough to make my jeans fit better... Yoga is supposed to help "normalize" your weight, whatever that means. My interpretation is that you leave class feeling so calm, centered and revitalized due to your breathing opening up that it tends to inspire an overall desire to take better care of yourself. Therefore, you'll reach a more optimized version of yourself but it won't make drastic changes in your appearance.

I'm not in bad shape at all, nor am I over weight. I think I fall into that class of people who's body looks great, but it can also be a tad bit better. In that I mean, I don't have the WWF looking abs.

The way I kept mine up in the past was by eating a bunch of veggies and running, cardio. I first got them in shape by doing a lot of clam crunches. I was just curious as to what your input was on how one would go about fixing them. Drinking vodka and eating late doesn't help out at all.

Thanks

Johnsdgsweetheart pretty much covered the body fat question.

The analogy I usually use is: starving people (Famine victims, anorexics) usally have well defined abs without working out.

Because they have very little body fat.

Winstrol is a drug that is traditionally considered a hardener. Which just means you tend to gain less water weight on it. The major disadvantages of winstrol is frequent inejections as well as the possibility if shutting your HPTA (Hypothalmus pituitary axis) in which case your natural testosterone levels may drop to very low levels.

Two weeks? Its definitely worth it. Thats two weeks you will be feeling better about yourself. Thats two weeks that you will be closer to your ideal ideas of fitness.

Thats like asking, should I bother to eat and sleep well for the next two weeks?

There's research that shows you can target fat in certain parts of your body.

Every guy I know isn't as concerned with how to simply lose fat but how to lose it while maintaining lean mass. And one of the ways to tell which guys juice is to look at their ab formation.

-Rudey

Those guys are all on roids. In which case, you should contact UF Pike about the etiquette of juicing. LOL

The frequent injections aren't really a problem for me.


I've done something of the like before. The only time I did something like that was awhile ago, I had 20 cc's of Sustanon and 100 cc's of liquid d-ball. I had to take an injection every 3 days for the d-ball and an injection twice a week for the sustanon. The only thing I didn't like about shooting myself with the d-ball was the fact that I ended up having one of my butt cheeks bruised yellow and purple from stabbing myself constantly. My girlfriend freaked out when she saw it one night. After that I stopped and just started drinking the d-ball with grape juice. I gained about 30 pounds on that. I also had 1/2 a gallon of GBL to go along with it, which really helped out.

I was curious about the winstrol since I know it's mainly used to define your body and change your frame. The worst side effect I heard was that it really makes you lose your hair. Based on your input, you're saying that I also might start acting and thinking like a girl since it makes your test levels drop? or is it just a possibility?

I've tried sending pike an email or two, he doesn't respond. Do you know anything about it?

Hahahah, no, i don't put that shit into my body. What kind of mass are you looking at? I wouldn't take anything worse than certain kinds of creatine.

I just take a ton of protein and it works.

The best practice for me has been limiting my carbs and eating a LOT of protein - peanut butter, lots of meat, egg whites, loading my diet with that stuff. It's helped me put on muscle mass while burning fat.

Never took creatine or anything either.

Taking in high amounts of protein and eating a lot of meats also is a key element in fighting fat.......something ppl might consider.......

OK I wanted to share something with all of you, last few posts have really tried to hit home the theory of proteins. I have to swear by it now. I'm a carb junkie, I love pasta, and rice, and cereal, and breads. And my best friend is a dietician and has olways told me to cut the carbs. Well between two summer classes and a new job I have had NO time what so ever. So I went and got some protein powder. I have been making the shakes when I crunched on time, and in two weeks I have lost 10 pounds. So for real get the carbs down and get some protein instead.

What do protein shakes taste like?

You tell us.

They come in different flavors. Also there are different kinds of proteins. I have no clue whatsoever what girls drink. I get a custom blend mailed to me and it's not so good tasting but whatever.

-Rudey
--I loved the Metrx Vanilla Whey. It was a pleasure drinking that.

I use a soy protein powder for two reasons...
1. I'm an Ag major and soy is one of the hottest commidies to show versitility in the market, so I try as many soy products as I can (candles, cheese, haircare stuff, etc)
2. I know the process by which whey protien is derivied from and it kinda makes my stomach queesy (nothing bad really, it's a by-product of making cheese)

I have only tried the vanilla flavor so far, I figured if I wanted to flavor it I could throw some fresh fruit in the blender with it. The texture is just a tad gritty, but really not that bad :) And it's quick and it elliminates carbs, so it works for me and my lifestyle.

I consume between 200-255 g of protein a day, 110g of which are usually consumed by means of supplement shake. It's not helping out that much.

I'm about 194 cm tall, I know mass gaining is hard for someone of my height. I'm not trying to gain much more kg, if I wanted to do that I would go back to what I did before. I just want to change my frame a little bit, more broader than bulkier and harden the stomach more than what it is. I was told to try growth hormone inorder to broaden my frame, it'll make everything grow. The draw back to that is you have to shoot it in your abdomen. I'm scarred to do that. I don't want to end up puncturing something else. It's also about 700$ for 3 shots, I don't have that kind of money to waste on something that might or might not work. I think increasing my protein intake might be healthier in the long run.

Hmmm it sounds like your build is similar to mine. And, unfortunately, there's not a lot one can do to change your bone structure. Taking in 200-225 grams of protein is way too much, excess protein storage goes right to the ponch - which is what you're probably trying to get rid of. There's a few different forumulas about protein consumption, but i would say 1 gram/per kilogram is probably enough.

Depends on the shake - the MetRx Myoplex ones are the best-tasting in my opinion, while having a low amount of sugar.

Most brands come in basic flavors like vanilla, strawberry, chocolate, banana, etc. They don't have much sugar (at least the better ones don't), so the taste may take a bit to get used to.

This depends. Total calories matter. But generally you don't need as much protein in sheer volume if your calories are very high.

However, like eating in general, protein frequency is important.

In dieting a lot of people up their protein as a fail-safe. They are calorie restricted so frequent and higher amounts of protein help them maintain muscle while losing fat.

200-225 grams of protein isn't all that much actually. Its only 800-900 calories of your total caloric intake.

I lose weight at 3500-4000 calories a day.

Is pilates for real? I lift weights, but want something else to compliment it.

James, i've got a question.

I've started hitting the gym daily again, and am spending roughly 40 min a day (24 min before weights, 15 after) on an exercise bike.

Is there any kind of supplement i can take that would help stimulate fat-burning? I've been going for about a month and can already notice a distinct difference, but my question is there something i can do to get more out of my cardio?

Kitso
KS 361 times my ex is gonna look at me and be sorry ;)!

Another question for ya......

I want to tone my arms and not build up too much muscle. Are push-ups the way to go or should I lift light free weights?

It's not legal in the U.S. any more, but GHB will stimulate fat-burning....it's legal in Sweden. There's also another product that would work which is legal there, but people have been known to die while taking it from overheating in hot climates.....Ripped Fuel. There is also Clenbueterol which could help you stimulate fat-burn and is VERY effective. I've tried it a few times. I wouldn't recommend it for two reasons...One, it makes my skin oily. Two, I took 5-2 mg pills a day and when I would do cardio I would check my heartrate.....Usually my heart rate would be around 186-196. Normally, without it, at my peak during my cardio my heart-rate would be around 146-160. I got a bit scared by those differences and decided to stop. Also, if you smoke ciggarettes I've been told not to do so while taking that. It's something about having a stroke while smoking and being on that stuff.

Though they do tone your arms a little bit, push-ups will mainly tone your chest. I'd say free weights, but not too much.

still...excess protein creates pathways for fat storage...which usually ends up in the abdominal region.

The first two weeks of the Atkins diet, know as the Induction Stage, is the most restrictive of the four (Induction, On-Going Weight Loss, Pre-Maintenance, and Lifetime Maintenance).

Once you get past the Induction phase, you are supposed to gradually increase your carb load until you are no longer losing weight. To maintain your goal weight, you are to say at your newly found ACE (Net Carb gram level).

Not all carbs should be treated equally. The ones that count toward your blood sugar level are called the "net carbs", the ones that count in your food intake.

For more info check out the website, www.atkinscenter.com

ETA: I just read some of previous posts and it seems as though you have the right amount of info. Sorry!!!