12-27-2012, 12:35 PM | #57 | |
Drives: 2SS/RS L99 BLACK Join Date: Apr 2010
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12-27-2012, 12:38 PM | #58 | |
Drives: 2SS/RS L99 BLACK Join Date: Apr 2010
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I too get excited when I see the new thread starting, the only thing is that the previous threads have accumulated so much info it get's lost in the shuffle. |
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12-27-2012, 12:40 PM | #59 |
Mrs. Bunny to you
Drives: Not a Camaro Join Date: May 2009
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Was wondering when you would finally find us in here.
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12-27-2012, 12:43 PM | #60 |
Mrs. Bunny to you
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12-27-2012, 03:35 PM | #61 |
Drives: 2SS/RS L99 BLACK Join Date: Apr 2010
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You have trouble resisting temptation? Maybe this will help, written by Sumi Singh
So you survived Thanksgiving, and are praying that the added cost of pumpkin pie + halloween candy + office parties + Christmas parties + New Year’s doesn’t totally derail your fitness or weight loss goals. Perhaps up until you turned comfort food corner, you’ve been doing real well. In reality, if you intend to take off the weight and keep it off, Holiday season or not, you’ve got to be continually vigilant about the choices you make year round. And sometimes it seems that some of us have a way easier time than others being mindful about food or fitness choices on a regular basis, while others more easily succumb to temptation when faced with it (this tends to be worse during the Holidays when sweets and comfort foods are EVERYWHERE). Train your brain like you train your biceps. It’s not like these people are super-disciplined humans with no sense of smell for homemade chocolate chip cookies, but the one thing they probably have in common is willpower- the power to use discipline and self-awareness to make choices that steer them towards achieving their bigger goal, no matter what the occasion. The good news is you can exercise your “willpower muscle” much like you exercise your muscles when you lift weights. The more you “train” your brain to either resist a temptation or make a positive choice, the easier and more natural the process becomes. If you stop and think about it, how many times have you been faced with a temptation and you hear two voices in your head battling it out? And how many times have you “spent” your mental energy all day at work, resisting the urge to tell a complaining customer or boss to shove it, then come home and bury your sorrows in a cheesecake or a bottle of wine (or both!)? Perhaps you’ve exhausted your willpower muscle, and something has gone on in your head that either steers you to make the best choice for your diet/fitness goals or away from it. So what are some simple exercises that you can do to build willpower, and cultivate the discipline to make sensible food choices? 1) Meditate. I’m not talking about anything woo-woo here; simply take 5 minutes to focus on the inhalation and exhalation of your breath without focusing on much else. This can be done 5 minutes before bed. Just be still. If you’re like me and have a hard time with that, engage in any sensory ritual that does calm you: listening to music, talking a bath, lighting candles and having some quiet time. 5 minutes won’t kill you. 2) When faced with a “temptation” or urge, wait 10 minutes before you actually give in. Chew gum, take a walk, do the dishes, brush your teeth, and otherwise solidly find a way to distract yourself from the urge to have another piece of cake that you really don’t need. The urge is most likely NOT biological (i.e., you don’t need to eat it to survive), and you’ll probably find the craving dissipate or disappear entirely. 3) Surround yourself with willpower “advocates,” or basically a support network of people who want to see you succeed and have habits that help them achieve their goal. We all have friends who seem to have more willpower than us, right? What is that they are doing that’s so special, and can we get them on our team? 4) If there’s a particular role model that you feel generally makes the best food choices, ask yourself, what would they do when faced with a temptation? The point of such an exercise is simply to create more of the self-awareness that’s necessary when controlling certain cravings; and to listening to the voice in your head that’s advocating for the slimmer, stronger you. 5) Imagine the behavior of a person or a group of people that you would NOT want to be part of. For instance, we all feel a twinge when watching those reality T.V. shows that showcases people so morbidly obese that they can barely get out of bed. While we ought to fairly consider that there might be something out of their control (genetics, or a metabolic condition or disease) that rendered them in that condition, what if it were a lifetime of poor choices and lack of willpower that got them there. Do you want to follow that path? 6) Go public with your willpower challenge or imagine someone you care about taking pride in your achievements. Social media makes things all the more possible here, so does joining online forums where you can find virtual cheerleaders. It’s also nice when your family’s got your back, and when they do, they will certainly take pride in watching you reach your goals. 7) Hire a diet coach, like yours truly. Email check-ins with someone who is actually paid to care and keep you accountable is an excellent option. It’s also the same reason why group weigh-ins at places like Weight Watchers are very successful. The practice of simply being accountable and taking stock of your food choices and honestly reporting them helps build self-awareness; which is important when you’re faced with your craving. 8) Track and identify your problem. As I mentioned early on, self awareness is key to building willpower. If you have no idea how you’re being triggered, you won’t be able to fix it. For instance, does a super stressful and long commute tend to cause you to make poor choices with food? Does drinking with your buddies lead to a late night binge? Does a long day at work mean you’re skipping another workout? What exactly, is the trigger that leads to the poor decisions with food and exercise? 9) Quietly listen to the dual voices in your head that you know are speaking to you when you’re faced with a temptation. Really ask yourself if the decision you ultimately pick will you steer you towards the long-term, bigger goal. Are you justifying a poor choice because you “deserve it,” and turn it around in a long-term mainframe, and ask “do I deserve to not fit into my pants in 2 months?” 10) When faced with a setback, allow yourself to fall as long as you get right back on track. The “damage” caused by eating one cookie is not a big deal in the grand scheme of things. But an entire box because you somehow blew your diet on ONE cookie is. It’s much easier to overcome a temptation when you actually allow for it, in a sense. That’s why treat meals/ cheat meals/ planned indulgences/ re-feeds/ carb-ups or “surplus days” are good things to include as part of your long-term strategy. It allows you to have what you’ve been missing or craving, and quickly move on. 11) Practice a task that forces you to make a mental effort to stop yourself in your tracks before you engage in a typical behavior. Something as simple as trying to use your left hand to open doors or pick up an object if you’re right-handed (and vice versa for lefties), will engage your brain in correcting an ingrained habit. So if you claim you can’t kill your “habit” of a daily supersized cola, you’ll at the very least begin to create the patterning of mental awareness for breaking a difficult habit. 12) Exercise and get outdoors. Even if it’s just 5 minutes of activity, getting outdoors and moving can reduce stress,, improve your mood, focus, and self-control. Plus, exercise is a critical building block to an overall picture of better health. One healthy habit will often generate others that can help build the discipline you need to achieve your fitness or weight loss goals. |
12-27-2012, 03:55 PM | #62 |
Drives: 2012 LT RS Camaro Join Date: Jun 2012
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I have the know how, time, and goal. What I do not have is the motivation. I have been looking for someone local. I know that if there was someone that was counting on me to get my butt out of bed and meet them to do our work out I would be there.
I'm 6'3 280 ... Would love to be 220 even though the chart said I should be 200. But, I remember when I was was 6'3 210.. I looked like a rail!
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12-27-2012, 04:08 PM | #63 |
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12-27-2012, 04:08 PM | #64 | |
Drives: 2SS/RS L99 BLACK Join Date: Apr 2010
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12-27-2012, 04:10 PM | #65 |
Drives: '14 Z51 3LT Stingray and '13 Cruze Join Date: Feb 2010
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I feel I should always post this, as it's good to understand how your body is processing foods.
As you eat, the following happens: 1. Digestion starts immediately in the mouth, where the amylase enzyme starts breaking down starch into glucose. Simple carbs are converted to glucose almost immediately after they are eaten. Complex carbs first need to be broken down into simple carbs before they are converted to energy. Glucose is converted to energy in the form of ATP, as your body requires. 2. After you have met your immediate energy requirements, your body's next priority is to replenish glycogen stores. Glycogen is a way of storing glucose where it can be made immediately available in the case of exertion, such as sprinting or lifting heavy weights, or endurance exercise. Insulin stimulates the action of the glycogen producing enzyme, glycogen synthase. 3. Protein is first broken down into short chains of amino acids by the enzyme pepsin, and then into single amino acids by pancreatic enzymes such as trypsin. Amino acids cannot be stored in the body, and will form an "amino acid pool" in the body, which can be drawn from when muscle synthesis is required, or when glycogen stores are depleted. Once the 'amino acid pool' is full, excess amino acids get converted to sugars (carbs) and fatty acids. 4. Once glycogen stores are depleted, your body will use up the 'amino acid pool' as fuel before turning to fats. This is why it is popular to do cardio on an empty stomach if your goal is to lose weight - so that both the glycogen stores and amino acid pool are quickly used up, forcing the body to turn to fat for fuel. That topic is highly debatable however. Also, this is why you should not do cardio if your goal is to build muscle mass, since this amino acid pool will then be used up as fuel, and will no longer be available to draw amino acids from for muscle building. 5. Once all available glucose, glycogen, and free amino acids are used up, your body will start using fat as a fuel. 6. If there is an excess of carbs, these will be converted to fat as soon as the glycogen stores are full (roughly 30-40 minutes after eating). An excess of protein depends on your total protein consumption during the day, and is independent of the amount of carbs/fat consumed, but will depend on your amino acid pool as described above. (An interesting consequence of this is that if your amino acid pool is full, every gram of protein you eat will turn to fat. Conversely, if your amino acid pool is being used up faster than you can refill it, no matter what your daily calories, you could eat almost unlimited (pure) protein without putting on a single gram of fat from it.) - This is also why it is important to eat your protein in many small meals during the day! Your body cannot normally handle more than 25-40g of protein at a time, and will convert the rest to sugars and fatty acids, whereas eating it spread out over the day will give you a non-fattening, endless source of amino acids for your muscle building! 7. Fats which you eat are broken down mainly into fatty acids, which are stored as fat, but also as glycerol, which is used to help break down glucose into energy. Thus, too much dietary fat will result in fat storage. Too little fat will result in too little glycerol, resulting in inefficient glycolysis (carb digestion), which will mean your body will use other resources such as muscle for fuel, something you most definitely don't want. I should clarify that things in here that say "muscle building" are equally important for muscle RETENTION when you're losing weight. |
12-27-2012, 04:18 PM | #66 |
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Also, I wanted to re-enforce what CFD said about 5-6 meals a day. The write up I just posted is the reason for that. The body doesn't store things as fat immediately. It takes a little while. When you eat a huge meal all at one time, you overload your body with calories, because it will fill up glycogen stores.
For example, if you eat two meals in a day that are 1000 calories each, and your body only has the capability of storing.. lets say 600 of that in glycogen, that means the other 400 calories are going straight to that big butt or gut you're trying to get rid of. On the other hand if you eat 4 meals that are 500 each, your body will fill up glycogen stores without needing to store any extra. This effectively lets you eat the exact same amount of food, but not storing a bunch of extra calories as fat. This is the same reasoning you're not supposed to skip meals (cough breakfast cough). People who skip meals have more body fat usually, because of the overeating at the meals they DO eat. 2000 calories a day is not treated the same by your body if you eat them all at once, compared to eating them in 3 or 4 (or 5) meals. |
12-27-2012, 04:25 PM | #67 | |
Drives: 2012 LT RS Camaro Join Date: Jun 2012
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12-27-2012, 04:33 PM | #68 |
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Seeing that we're on nutrition, what you eat and when you eat it is also important. Generally speaking, if you're goal is fat loss the ratio's of carbs, proteins and fats are different than those who are building muscle. Lower carb intake(good carbs) and higher protein intake is usually associated with fat loss, also when you eat them, people on a regular schedule will usually benefit from eating carbs earlier in the day when your body will utilize them as fuel, eating them later in the day when you're sitting on your butt or are ready for bed is a sure fire way to store them as fat, carb cycling and or carb tappering is very effective for fat loss. The general public eats opposite as what the body requires, larger meals earlier and smaller ones later. What's the sense in eating a large meal late in the day or before bedtime, your body doesn't need it for fuel when your inactive.
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12-27-2012, 04:34 PM | #69 |
Drives: 2012 45th Anniversary 2SS Join Date: Mar 2012
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Trying to get my first Six Pack. Most I have had is a 2 pack..... I will be running the lexington Rock and Roll Half marathon on March 30th and the Flying Pig in Cincinnati in May.
currently am 247 at around 18% BF. I will continue to lift and run and kick ass. I know alot about nutrition yet I just do not follow it because I love food. |
12-27-2012, 04:36 PM | #70 |
Drives: 2SS/RS L99 BLACK Join Date: Apr 2010
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There's the problem in a nut shell, you should do this for YOU, not for someone else. If you NEED to do it for someone else do you have kids, a wife, a dog anyone who would like to see you stick around a bit, if so do it for them.
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