The diet and exercise thread

[thecharlesg]

Wanted to know what everyone else does to stay fit/lean/muscular. Whatever you are doing for whatever results you desire, are you working towards your goals? What is working for you and what is not?

I'll start. This year I decided it is time to get lean. I didn't know where to start and stumbled upon some youtube videos talking about intermittent fasting. I decided to give it a go. Here is what I do:

Lift weights 5 times a week. A lot of people do less days, but I wanted to make a habit out of it. I am now in the habit of going every morning and it is much easier to stick to, for me.
When I lift I do reverse pyramid training.
I bought a weighted dip belt and do weighted dips and pull ups, which have really helped.
Only eat carbs after lifting.
Jog one mile each way to and from gym.
Weekend cardio.
I only eat between 10 am and 6 pm. I sometimes try to push my first meal back to as late as two. I also sometimes stop eating around four.

I'm more or less following lean gains. I really started this in late February. I spent 10 days in Israel and 4 days in Cancun over the time I've been doing it, in which I didn't adhere to any of what I just described. Regardless at 6' I have dropped from about 180 to 163. My goal is to hit 158 and have a six pack by June 1st. I sometimes have self doubt, but I am getting very close. I'm going for the Tyler Durden type physique.

Anyway, that's what I've done. What has worked for you guys? I'm probably going to try to slowly build muscle while staying lean after getting to 158. It is good for me to have goals, so I'm thinking my goal will be to hit 165 lean by the end of the year.

[jamh]

I've been on the intermittent fasting diet for about a year now, and love it. I eat between 12:30 and 8:30pm, essentially eliminating breakfast. This is part of the reason I like the diet so much; I don't have to think about shopping or cooking for breakfast (which also saves me money). I drink 10-14oz of black coffee in the morning and that pretty much suppresses my appetite until lunch. I've adapted to it quite well, and I don't really get hungry outside of my feeding window. During the week I eat a normal size lunch and dinner, and usually a mid-afternoon snack of an apple, greek yogurt, and larabar. I don't eat a lot of grains outside of white rice at meals, unless I'm eating out.

I exercise quite a bit too. I run three mornings a week and do strength & conditioning work two days a week. I also train Muay Thai 4-5 days a week. It was actually cutting weight for a fight that prompted me to try the IF diet, and have just stuck with it ever since. I'm 5'10" and usually weigh around 155-160. I compete at 142-148lbs, which is pretty lean for me, though I've never had a sixpack. I think I just don't have the genetics to show abs.

[LesserBlackDog]

Since this past Christmas I've been making more of a focused effort to get fit and healthy. No particular goals in terms of weight, though I've lost about 14 lbs, dropped a waist size, shaved a couple minutes off my mile running pace, and steadily improved the amount of weight I can lift.

For exercise, it's sort of been a mishmash of everything. Weightlifting, HIIT cardio, distance running (ran my first ever road race a couple months back), and walking/hiking.

I had surgery last month that has forced me to take a break but I've been slowly ramping back up and am nearly back to where I was before the surgery.

Diet has also been a big focus. I've been focusing on balance and gut health more than anything - lots of fiber, lots of protein, lots of whole grains, lots of healthy fats, lots of fermented/probiotic foods. I've been cooking more meals for myself and focusing on keeping things simple. But I still let myself have ice cream (full fat) for dinner on occasion, and etc.

[Alpha King]

I need to get back to the gym. At 6-2 I'm at 185, up from about 170 a year ago at this time. We just had a baby though and I need shoulder surgery so it's hard to find time and all I can really do is cardio. I am watching what I eat, I think I can get under 180 without much effort, and fit into some pants I've "outgrown."

[hockeysc23]

For this year I've been focusing on getting bigger. I hit down to a low of 169 but my lifts suffered. Aiming for reps of squats around 325 and 225 bench. Bench has always been my weak link due to shoulder, elbow, and now wrist injuries (thanks hockey).

I always have a big breakfast that carries me throughout the day usually within 30mins of waking. Kudos to you all but if I don't eat and get my metabolism going I'm cranky, eat junk food, and usually get migraines. By the time dinner comes around it's usually a salad+protein, or a PBJ. I've tried the not eating after 7p, but it's hard with working out later.

I lift 4-5 days a week, play hockey twice a week, and do cardio outside of that around 4 days a week.

For weight lifting:
8-10 exercises, of 3-5 sets in each. Usually going for 12,10,8 reps. This month I am going heavier so 10-6 range.

For cardio:
Running (usually treadmill because of time) of about 4-5miles.

I've gone back up from the 169 to about 175 but pants have gotten smaller, 6 pack almost there, and I am happy at the moment.

[DMB]

I've spent my whole adult life in the military and law enforcement so fortunately I've had jobs that promoted (if not required me) to be fit. About 6 months ago I realized at 48 that I could no longer eat like I could when I was 38. I started to develop some love handles and a bit of a beer gut. Since November I have lost about 15 lbs, and a pants size. I didn't do anything different with respect to the gym. I've always gone 4 -6 times a week. My only real adjustment was the way I eat. I quit eating all the crap around the house that my teenagers eat, cut back on beer and carbs, and added the intake of some lean whey protein after a workout. I drink this around 8:30 pm after I get back from the gym and I honestly think it's been the main factor in losing that mid section roll in that it keeps my metabolism going throughout the night. I never was a big soda drinker, but I cut that out all together. I drink water, a lot of green tea, and coffee. During the week I eat healthy, with smaller meals, but more often. On the weekend it's pretty much whatever I want (within reason). Right now I'm 5'9 with a 31" waist in pants (that is on the loose side), 40" chest, and weigh between 158 to 162. At my age I'm not looking to bulk up like a bodybuilder and am pretty good with where I am right now. A lot of losing weight has to do with genetics. I've been pretty lucky in this respect and have only had to tweak things when they got out of control as opposed to a full on reinvention of the wheel.

[APinNC]

I may be in the minority, but I believe in strength and GPP is key. Every man should be gas station ready: you're with the wife and kids, late night, sketchy spot of town pumping gas. All of a sudden, some drunk vagrant approaches out of nowhere, asking for your wallet and keys, and eyeing your lady with bad intentions. Are you ready? Can you diffuse this situation? Get strong, and get prepared. Sure, you may not fit in your favorite skinny jeans again, but you can always give them to your lady. I've never met a man with above average strength that wishes he wasn't as strong. No one needs to get as big as The Mountain, but hitting certain numbers is easily attainable and worth the effort: BW OH Press, 1.5 BW Bench, 2x BW Squat, 2.5/3 BW Deadlift.

Lift heavy and angry at least 2x a week
15 min HIIT sessions 2-3x per week. Make sure you're about to die and/or puke
Mobility work 10 minutes each day, preferably twice each day; when you wake and again before bed
Fasted walks or light cycling every morning on an empty stomach, 20-30 minutes
Curls and tris anytime you have 20 minutes
Eat Cleaner than you think you are: 2500+ calories, 90/10 rule, 1g of protein per pound of body weight, no carbs after 5pm, limit the booze.
Rinse and repeat.

[Manceptional]

I'm sure this is all good advice but I didn't understand a lot of those abbreviations.

[devastitis]

I'm sure this is all good advice but I didn't understand a lot of those abbreviations.

GPP = General physical preparedness
BW = Bodyweight
OH = Overhead
HIIT = High intensity interval training

It's overall good advice, but if I only have 20 minutes to spare, rather than doing bis/tris, I'd rather do kettlebell swings/squats and some form of LISS (low intensity steady state) cardio afterwards.

Also, I think it's important to not make blanket statements like how many calories they should consume or when they can and can't consume them.

I think it's better to point them to where they can figure out how many calories they actually need for whichever goal they choose, like http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=156380183 is a good place to start for anyone looking to fine tune their diet.

For not having carbs after 5PM, it doesn't make much sense to say that if they workout after 5PM. So I like to advise people to consume carbs pre and postworkout, but try to cut down on days that you don't workout. Figure out how many carbs you need on lifting days from the website I posted, and then take in less carbs on off days.

[LesserBlackDog]

For me "GPP" means being able to hike 6,000 feet up the side of a mountain with my friends without hacking up a lung or slowing anyone down. Or being able to flip a jetski upright in the water and pull myself back on. Or being able to run a charity race without embarrassing myself.

I'd much rather live, eat, and exercise in ways that I enjoy, so that I am better at doing the things that I enjoy, than completely alter my food and exercise habits to prepare for some extremely remote possibility of life-or-death hand-to-hand combat with a deranged stranger. *shrug*

[AngusM]

I'd much rather live, eat, and exercise in ways that I enjoy, so that I am better at doing the things that I enjoy, than completely alter my food and exercise habits to prepare for some extremely remote possibility of life-or-death hand-to-hand combat with a deranged stranger. *shrug*

Seconded. Common sense and situational awareness have been sufficient to protect my wife and kids, and I find paranoia an unhealthy and ineffective motivator.

[hornsup84]

For me "GPP" means being able to hike 6,000 feet up the side of a mountain with my friends without hacking up a lung or slowing anyone down. Or being able to flip a jetski upright in the water and pull myself back on. Or being able to run a charity race without embarrassing myself.

I'd much rather live, eat, and exercise in ways that I enjoy, so that I am better at doing the things that I enjoy, than completely alter my food and exercise habits to prepare for some extremely remote possibility of life-or-death hand-to-hand combat with a deranged stranger. *shrug*

I agree, at least for my goals. I also doubt that all that GPP would lead to the situation being "defused" by all my definitions. I've always been big enough to where most guys question whether they'd want to start something with me (I was a bouncer for a bit, and not really abnormally large by any means, but big enough that it was a deterrent). I'd prefer to train for an overall health and mobility/strength combination for daily life. I don't think I need to bench 300+ to achieve that, or cut out carbs or otherwise conform to an extreme diet. I also don't really care to get under 10% BF or anything like that, so YMMV.

I don't eat like shit most of the time, but I'll get some fried chicken / BBQ / pizza, or have some dessert sometimes. I work out a few times a week when I can, listen to my body in terms of soreness, what I should work out, etc. (for example, I am starting to re-focus on stretching / core exercises as I realized I've slacked in that area for a while). I might get back into harder training, but for now I'm enjoying moderation in everything (including exercise and diet).

[APinNC]

For me "GPP" means being able to hike 6,000 feet up the side of a mountain with my friends without hacking up a lung or slowing anyone down. Or being able to flip a jetski upright in the water and pull myself back on. Or being able to run a charity race without embarrassing myself.

I'd much rather live, eat, and exercise in ways that I enjoy, so that I am better at doing the things that I enjoy, than completely alter my food and exercise habits to prepare for some extremely remote possibility of life-or-death hand-to-hand combat with a deranged stranger. *shrug*

Where did I say that GPP only related to fighting? Nowhere. I just gave my opinion on why being "strong and ready" serves a purpose. The whole point was "being gas station ready" prepares you for a whole lot of things. Any man that can go ten minutes of non stop fighting and grappling is someone I would call prepared. By taking my words out of context completely misses the point. Strength absolutely increases your level of GPP if you do it correctly. I never said "Lift weights, eat ice cream, and fat fuck yourself into a size 40 pants." Read the post again and see what I said: lift heavy, do hard ass conditioning, and stay fit.

I can promise you that being stronger will help you hike farther and easier, flipping a jet ski and pulling yourself would be easier, and running would not be any more embarrassing than that of some skinny twig. I'm 6'2", 240 and I have no trouble running a 10k, boxing 10 rounds, or rolling for hours.

Tell you what: I'll strap on some boots tomorrow and hike 6,000 feet with you; however, as soon as we're done, you have to squat 400 pounds with me then ruck march for 30 minutes with 50 pounds in your ruck sack. Let's see who is hacking up a lung and slowing the other down.

Also, to think strong people running is embarrassing is a silly argument? Maybe you'd change your tune if you had a stronger person running after you. What is embarrassing is being weak, being out of shape, being unable to do the things you want because you're too lazy, too weak, or too unmotivated to take the first step and do it.

You can "shrug" it off all you want, but don't knock someone for giving an opinion. I never bashed anyone else's idea of fitness in this thread, I just stated what "I" think is better. And I did it politely...

Maybe you're upset because you're a little guy and not strong at all; or maybe you like to be rude because you have the almighty "mod powers," and you're simply overcompensating.

Either way, I'll keep lifting weights and busting ass. You keep doing what you do

[LesserBlackDog]

Jeez. Project much? You are sure riled up and quick to take offense over a pretty innocuous post.

Nowhere did I say that I thought bodybuilders or weightlifters (or whoever) can't hike or swim or run. I just said, my idea of GPP is being able to do those things, so I will train in a way that involves doing those things and getting better at them. Sheesh.

[APinNC]

Seconded. Common sense and situational awareness have been sufficient to protect my wife and kids, and I find paranoia an unhealthy and ineffective motivator.

Damn dude, it's a fucking slogan that is used frequently in the lifting community. Saying I am paranoid and motivated by "unhealthy" reasons is pretty rude.

By the way, finding absolute comfort in your own situational awareness is a blanket statement that can easily backfire. Just a thought