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One of the things I've enjoyed the most in the past 4 months has been diving into reddit.com/r/fitness. If you spend a few hours reading the FAQ on that site, p
by rubyrescue 14y ago
One of the things I've enjoyed the most in the past 4 months has been diving into reddit.com/r/fitness. If you spend a few hours reading the FAQ on that site, plus examine.com's nutrition articles, and reddit.com/r/leangains FAQs, you will come out with a much better understanding of your diet.
There are also calculators listed in the FAQs that will help you determine what you need to eat to maintain your bodyweight, lose fat, gain muscle, etc, over a user-selected window of time.
First thing I realized - that the difference between tracking your "macros" and not is like programming with Word or with vi/emacs/slickedit/etc - the difference is AMAZING.
The next thing I realized - is that to get enough protein if you're even moderately active, you have to eat A LOT - eggs, milk, meat, tuna, and even then I still have to supplement with protein supplements.
Now, combine the diet knowledge with a beginner weight training program like Starting Strength and the effect is amazing. I've gained 10 pounds of muscle and lost 10 lbs of fat. I've doubled all my lift numbers (which are still admittedly quite low) in four months. I have far more energy and other activities - I occasionally play tennis - I play better and feel stronger.
Edited to add - and most importantly, use something like myfitnesspal.com - which is free, has a great app, and has millions of food items, and track everything for just a few weeks. it will teach you what protein/fat/carbs common foods you eat have.
- gryphonic 14y agoAnother great and well sourced guide is 4chans /fit/ sticky[0]. [0]: http://liamrosen.com/fitness.html http://liamrosen.com/fitness.html
- choxi 14y agowhat's a "macro"?
- deleted 14y ago[deleted]
- boothead 14y agoI'm guessing macro-nutrients from the context: protein, carbs, fat.
- rubyrescue 14y agobasically, protein/fat/carbs. see this -http://www.kentmccannfitness.com/2013/02/12/what-are-macronutrients/ http://www.kentmccannfitness.com/2013/02/12/what-are-macronu...
- gryphonic 14y agoMacronutirent. Basically it means one of either fat, protein or carbohydrate. Many diets will have you set a calorie goal, and then suggest a guideline what percentage of your calorie intake should come from each macronutrient group.
- Evbn 14y agoPreprocessor, hygienic, nutritional, or excel?
- peterwwillis 14y agoto get enough protein if you're even moderately active, you have to eat A LOT - eggs, milk, meat, tuna Any time someone specifies "A LOT" as a nutritional guide I get a little skeptical. Keep in mind when you're eating these foods the whole nutritional profile to determine if you're over-eating something (or filling yourself with LDLs). Try to balance the eggs, milk and meat with alternatives like quinoa, spirulina, lentils, bulgar, etc. If you are going to go big on animal protein, naturally fed varieties generally have more vitamins and good fats. And of course, always drink whole milk vs the skim stuff (more vitamins + good fats - and it tastes better!!).
- rubyrescue 14y agothe recommendation if you're lifting to gain strength from a number of sources is 1g to 1.5g of protein per lb of body weight. for me that's 190 to 260g/day. it's A LOT...
- GFischer 14y agoAh :) - I'm not the OP, but as an Uruguayan, that actually sounds like too little ! :) We do eat a lot of meat over here though (I believe #1 per-capita in the world).
- rubyrescue 14y agoas an american living in argentina, i say, pass the morcilla : )
- GFischer 14y agoI'd say that with some Bife de Chorizo, you'll probably get those 190 to 260 g of protein easily :)
- driverdan 14y agoActually it's 1-2g of protein per kg of weight, not lb. Unless you're on anabolic steroids or are on a protein sparing modified fast (PSMF) 1.5g of protein per lb isn't going to help you gain or retain more muscle. Source: A week ago I read through all studies I could find on pubmed about optimal protein intake for muscle gain.