Posts by horfinator

In my opinion, 50% protein is a LOT for you to be consuming at this point.  If you did reach 1800 cals for instance, that's 900 cals from protein, which works out to be 225g.  You really don't need that, that amount would generally be better suited to a male bodybuilder.  Your current 40% intake should be fine, so now you can just concentrate on upping your calories.  Sneak snacks, especially nuts and (I don't know if you drink it) milk, in as much as possible, they're good.

Original Post by pixienaa:

thanks for the advice... maybe i should try imagining things instead. lol

but i pretty much binge on healthy food, that's why it's kinda hard to stop. the cassava cake is pretty healthy, i doesn't have lots of sugar like the usual ones so i was thinking this is healthy and i can eat it.

This is a huge contributor to your inability to stop.  You have to stop telling yourself that it's "healthy".  This is called rationalizing, and it essentially makes you feel free to eat as much as you want, because, hey, it's comparatively "healthy".  You need to catch yourself making this kind of rationalization and cut it out every time.  Your results will improve; good luck.

Original Post by weiing:

Yeah the bar is already starting to bend in the middle with the maxweight of 130 lbs, and it is almost at max capacity for the weights. I think the latter wouldn't be an issue if we only had the typical weight plates. But when we purchased a workout bench via craigslist, it came with some of those plastic weights that you fill with I guess..concrete ? I'm not sure how to describe it ,sorry. But we have about 60 lbs of those, and then about 60-80lbs worth of the usual weight plates. Sorry if this is confusing !

Original Post by lalabanana:

She is a WOMAN. She NEEDS some fat on her body for her period to be regular. For a WOMAN, that range is 25-31%. See that? FOR A WOMAN. What is making me angry is this is coming from MALE posters who do not seem to register that a WOMAN is going to NEED MORE BODY FAT BECAUSE SHE CARRIES BABIES. Whether she wants to build muscle or not she can still have some muscle and be in a healthy BF% range FOR HER GENDER.

God.

Since you yelled, I figured I'd look it up. 

http://life.familyeducation.com/weight/health /35880.html

"Normal body fat percent for women is 20 to 30 (for men it is lower). In women, below 17 is extreme low body fat; between 30 to 33, high body fat; and above 34, extremely high body fat or obese."

It sounds like she'd be safe with anywhere from 17-33% bodyfat, but wouldn't you aim for a lower bodyfat% that accomplishes what you want?  If ALL the original poster needs is to gain back is enough fat  to get her period again, then WHY would she go past that point?  The point I'm making is that, sure, you can get away with 30% and still be healthy but you can also be healthy and "carry babies" with a much lower bodyfat%.

Please calm down, I accept that genders are different, but I don't think it's as extreme as you're saying.

Original Post by for_zev:

you can't.  how much fat you gain along with the muscle is a function of genetics, how much over maintenance you are, and your training. its called 'p ratio'...the ratio of fat to muscle gain.  Trust me...I study sports nutrition and exercise physiology.

it is impossible to gain solely muscle.  Muscle is a very expensive tissue compared to fat, and the body will preferentially gain fat vs muscle unless you are training.

 okay,we can go with that, but then the issue becomes how much muscle you can gain while minimizing, as opposed to entirely avoiding fat gain, which was essentially the issue anyways. In my experience, you can gain muscle without gaining excessive amounts of fat. Obviously, training is mandatory.

you really have to take a step back from the scale and stick with the cardio, regardless of what the scale says.  look at how obsessed your opening post looks, worrying about 2 pounds over a week, rationalizing that you could have built muscle.  the fact is, if you're watching what you're eating and you're running on your treadmill, you will lose fat and become more fit.  what you actually weigh really doesn't matter; what you look like in the mirror is what's important, right?  whether or not you lose weight, if you look better and function better, that's really what fitness is about. I really hope you read and understand this post.

Sundays are high carb days for me, so I go all out.  It's not a typical diet, though.

Original Post by glos2lv:

Could be an urban myth.. but I've heard that margarine is only one molecule away from plastic. Even the possibility that was true, put me off the stuff for life!

I say, go with butter and just don't ladle it on (for toast and the like). 

In cooking, subsitutes work very well (such as apple sauce) and for those recipies that must have fat of some kind I use olive oil.

I think always, keep it as natural as possible. 

One molecule makes a lot of difference.  Water is one molecule away from being hydroxide, but that doesn't stop you from drinking it.  It's also one molecule away from being formaldehyde (CH2O) but again, you need it to live.  I hate when people use that "one molecule away" nonsense.

progress is not always linear, but stick with it and you will see results.

Their site says it's sweetened with PureVia.  From their site:

"What is PureVia?

Consumers have been waiting a long time for a zero calorie, all-natural sweetener that doesn't sacrifice authentic great taste and PureVia is the answer. PureVia is derived from Stevia rebaudiana (REB-AU-DI-ANNA), a plant found in Brazil, China, Paraguay and India. The sweeteness component in PureVia is rebaudioside A, or Reb A.

What is Stevia?

Stevia (Stevia rebaudiana) is a plant in the Chrysanthemum family, native to Brazil and Paraguay which is traditionally used as a sweetener, herb and a remedy. Stevia extract has been used commercially as a sweetener in Asia for 30 years and is currently sold in the U.S. as a dietary supplement."

Probably like sucralose, PureVia isn't recognized and burned as carbohydrate in the body.  Since there's not a lot of research on it yet, I don't know if I trust it, however it does look nice.  I'll try it out sometime soon.

The general consensus is that it doesn't make a huge difference how you spread your calories, just the fact that eating them all together would likely cause a huge insulin spike, detrimental to weight loss.

It's generally very inconvenient to eat your calories at once, too.  You'd almost certainly get hungry at other points in the day.

I'm clearly very opinionated about carbs  but I find that low-carb is what keeps me personally in my best working condition, and I've noticed that it works on quite a lot of others as well.  Guess I'm generalizing if I say something like "carbs are evil" but then, you can't argue with the effectiveness of low-carb dieting.

Micronutrients, you could be correct on, and I very much don't wish to argue about something outside my realm of knowledge.

"...and I don't think society really does have a 'giant mental grudge against processed grains' in the slightestand I don't think society really does have a 'giant mental grudge against processed grains' in the slightest."  Well, look at the rap white bread gets nowadays, everyone and their grandmother goes out of their way to buy fortified 100% whole wheat bread.

Original Post by gi-jane:

Wholegrains provide valuable nutrients such as B vitamins which release the energy from the food we eat and contribute to good body function.  They also contain protein which helps growth and repair.  Finally fibre, which helps the body get rid of waste products and provides a feeling of satisfaction when eating.  (If you're looking for a 'detox' ... increase your fibre intake)  Carbohydrates such as pulses (legumes) - lentils, beans, chickpeas - are also rich in iron.  Consumption of oats is believed to help reduce blood cholesterol levels.  Complex carbohydrates are low in fat and give us plenty of energy.  The simple starches... sugar and refined flour etc... are not 'unhealthy' but tend to contain little nutrition.  So even they can be enjoyed in small amounts.

You don't have to eat vast quantities of wholegrain foods to get the benefits.  Carbohydrates (like any other food) are only fattening when eaten to excess.  Control the portion-size and you can enjoy foods like wholemeal bread, brown rice and other grains together with other foods and lose weight quite easily.

 So basically B vitamins, protein and fibre?  Oh, and iron.  Every single one of which is found plentifully in green leafy veggies, such as baby spinach.  I'm just as happy eating spinach, which contains these nutrients in larger concentrations with less unnecessary carbohydrate attached to them.

I looked up the stats of standard white bread versus a standard 12-grain bread, and the differences REALLY are not that large.  For instance, Wonder Bread's major points are: 79 calories per slice, 1g fat, 14.9g carbs of which 0.5g is fiber. 2g sugar, 2g protein.  Note that this is per 31g serving.

Now, a 12 grain bread: per 32g serving, 85 calories from: 1.4g fat, 13.9g carbohydrate, 2.4g of which is fiber. 2.0g sugar and 4g protein.

In short, a small amount more fiber and protein.  Does this really justify the giant mental grudge society has against processed grains?  In my opinion, this is just a rationalization for eating the slightly more nutritious, but still basically the same, bread guilt-free.  Not that this is a bad thing, it is a step in the right direction, but shouldn't the next logical step be to move to something that offers these nutrients without the unattractive carbohydrate count?

Portion control I agree with, but it's not strictly relevant.  Post back.

Items:

Bacon

Eggs (18 packs, I go through eggs like mad)

Heavy cream

Various types of salami (I like genoa and hungarian the best)

Celery

Baby spinach

Broccoli

Roasted almonds

Cheddar cheese

What my list says about me:

Low carb dieter obviously, following the Anabolic Diet.  Love it all, especially the fact that my food can look like those choices and I can still make progress.  However, when I hit the grocery store on Sundays I buy 5-6 pieces of large fruit, and often other sweets :D

Consider changing up your cardio routine -- it looks like you'd be better suited to rowing right now than incline treadmill. 

How's your overall lifestyle for activity?  Just try and slip in a little more "on your feet" time in a day, even if it's not strenuous exercise. Every little bit makes a difference.

Now, for not losing weight... it seems as though you are doing everything right in terms of calories and exercise, so I can only conclude that either:

1) You're not logging truthfully, or

2)Your diet is unsuited to you (please post a sample day and the % breakdown of fat, protein and carbs and I can help you more.)

Post back.