Dietary/Exercise Advice?

[LosT_in_TranSlatioN]

On July 29, 2016 at 6:35 AM, Tank 92 said:

It wore me out just reading this!  haha

 

I noticed you are running stairs.  brutal.  Almost made me quit the wrestling team in high school.

It's the worst. I can take a hell of a beating(being a kickboxer and all) and usually cardio doesn't phase me too much. I'm used to it. But damn those stair sprints suck. Not only do your legs feel like they're on fire(and this is without doing leg exercises). Then you feel the burn elsewhere. Then afterwards I do abs lol.

 

I've cut out sugar. No sweets. Mainly protein in my diets for lunch/dinner. Carbs for breakfast to kick my day into overdrive. Eating lots of Chicken and ground beef. Along with some veggies(complex carbs). 

 

Breakfast: Carbs

Lunch: small amount of carbohydrates. Mostly protein. So usually a chicken breast or if I'm feeling "daring" a protein style burger(eating it without the bun. Lettuce wrap. Cuts out a ton of calories). 

 

Dinner: Two-four chicken breasts. Maybe a starchy potatoe with some veggies. 

Dessert: Peanut butter sandwhich(extra protein). 

 

I eat this diet 6 days a week. 

[LosT_in_TranSlatioN]

Going for lean muscle sucks when you're moving to another state lol. I don't want a bodybuilder's diet/body. Not my style. But any other advice thus far for when the move is over?

 

[usmccharles]

2 hours ago, LosT_in_TranSlatioN said:

Going for lean muscle sucks when you're moving to another state lol. I don't want a bodybuilder's diet/body. Not my style. But any other advice thus far for when the move is over?

 

Sounds like you know what your talking about... I doubt you need much advice.   

[LosT_in_TranSlatioN]

7 minutes ago, usmccharles said:

Sounds like you know what your talking about... I doubt you need much advice.   

I'll take any advice I can get lol. I always like hearing advice. 

My personal trainer's friend is named Butch, he's a fellow trainer. He sounds like your stereotypical run of the mill bodybuilder(he's a jerk, rude, loud, arrogant), but holy hell is he knowledgable. Very intelligent and honestly gives great advice. 

 

My kickboxing routine is about to get a lot tougher. In bronco country. 

[usmccharles]

Just now, LosT_in_TranSlatioN said:

I'll take any advice I can get lol. I always like hearing advice. 

My personal trainer's friend is named Butch, he's a fellow trainer. He sounds like your stereotypical run of the mill bodybuilder(he's a jerk, rude, loud, arrogant), but holy hell is he knowledgable. Very intelligent and honestly gives great advice. 

 

My kickboxing routine is about to get a lot tougher. In bronco country. 

Once I get back to from Arkansas I'm hitting the gym again.   Id like to find a good place that teaches Krav Maga  ans a rock climbing gym.   My diet is my issue... Especially with my body build 

[LosT_in_TranSlatioN]

17 minutes ago, usmccharles said:

Once I get back to from Arkansas I'm hitting the gym again.   Id like to find a good place that teaches Krav Maga  ans a rock climbing gym.   My diet is my issue... Especially with my body build 

Kraft Maga is good.... If you're going against an untrained opponent. And since you're a former(or active. IDK) marine my guess is you have training in basic hand to hand combat if not advance since you use the Marine Corp Martial Arts Program(I have nothing but the highest respect for our military, and since I come from a family of marines I know a little bit. Thank you for serving btw if I've never told you). Unless you were there when LINE was still intact(which is actually more deadly. I'm sure you knew that Charles but the average person doesn't). Aka, one of the most effective martial arts programs on earth. Whilst Krav Maga would make you fare well vs an untrained average joe at the bar, vs a trained opponent it becomes a lot harder unless you're really advanced. If you're solely going to take up a martial art for exercise purposes, then it's a fantastic choice. For pure self defense purposes I would reccomend partnering it with another striking martial art.

 

I'll cut the crap to make it easier. I'm 5'9 and my optimal weight is 165. I'm at 172 right now because I'm still in the process of recovering from surgery. Was at 185 whilst I was in Maui. I started training in Karate when I was 7, moved to Tae Kwon Do at age 12 and to this day I still do it. I have a first degree black belt that took me 7 years to get, and am damn proud of it. Put Tae Kwon Do is a complimentary martial art. So then I took up boxing so I could learn how to.. You know... Punch(since Tae Kwon Do is primarily kicking). Then to put it together/learn how to clinch by taking up Muay Thai. And I do 23 minutes on the bag every day for a workout in addition to running and/or biking. Once the move is final I'll start taking classes in BJJ.. I love martial arts is the point. I'm a major advocate for them both for workout purposes and for life purposes. I've used them more than a few times to get out of crappy situations.

 

Most importantly, FIND A GOOD SCHOOL. There are too many fake martial arts schools out there that will steal your money and run(my first Tae Kwon Do studio did this. Then I transferred to a school where my teacher was ex-Korean Special Forces, where he also taught boxing. Welp)

So I'll give a list of martial arts I do reccomend taking up for a cardio workout/self defense purposes. I know that @ravensdan is a fellow practitioner of TKD so perhaps you can PM him about the advice. And represent brother!

And mind you.. There's 120+ martial arts forms in existence(the majority being styles of Kung fu). If you haven't made the list, I haven't gotten to it. 

1. Any form of kickboxing(Muay Thai, Dutch Kickboxing, etc)- This is for cardio purposes first. This is one of the holy trinity cardio workouts along with running and swimming. A full body workout that'll cause you to get stronger. I do Muay Thai. You learn how to properly strike. It's not the most effective martial art for self defense purposes(that being the next one on the list)), but holy crap the workout is amazing and it's a good way to naturally burn calories/gain strength. This is effective for self defense purposes btw. 99% of the population isn't capable of doing a proper front kick, let alone defending against one. 

2. BJJ- Most fights end up on the ground. Hell of a full body workout but it takes patience. However, a blue belt will mess the average person up. Most of the population cannot defend against this stuff. Very stressful and takes patience. But is worth the effort.

3. Boxing-See kickboxing except take out the kicking. However, this teaches proper defense. If you're to take up kickboxing, do this first. 

4. Krav Maga-This one is fun. But do not do this against trained people. They'll be able to counter it very easily. However, you should do it. It does teach you how to defend against a knife and a gun, and how to do quick takedowns.

5. Tae Kwon Do- This is probably the second best workout on the list. Tae Kwon Do isn't as effective in say a street fight if you're not complimenting it with boxing or kickboxing(which btw. Being a  Tae Kwon do practitioner who currently does a lot of kickboxing makes it more fun). But acrobatic kicks and flip kicks, and emphasis on speed kicking makes this a tough workout. And as said previously, 99% of the population cannot throw a proper front kick. There is no better kicking martial art in the world than Tae Kwon Do. I highly reccomend it if you want to become fit, flexible, and stronger. 

 

The most ideal combination for say MMA if you want to do that would be all of the above if you ask me. I'm by no means a master, but I'm pretty proficient in all except for BJJ(and Krav Maga. I've taken a class but didn't go furthur)

[Deflated Football]

I used to be really cut due to n00b gains (like 6 or 7 years ago), tore up both of my shoulders, got skinny-fat and now doing a slow bulk. My metabolism was so messed up for a while because of cutting then bulking (couldn't make up my mind) and now I'm finally on a good plan. I was so OCD about my macros, but now I just make sure I hit my grams in protein and that I'm 100-200 calories over maintenance while working out 4 days a week. Patience is crucial!!!

[LosT_in_TranSlatioN]

3 hours ago, Deflated Football said:

I used to be really cut due to n00b gains (like 6 or 7 years ago), tore up both of my shoulders, got skinny-fat and now doing a slow bulk. My metabolism was so messed up for a while because of cutting then bulking (couldn't make up my mind) and now I'm finally on a good plan. I was so OCD about my macros, but now I just make sure I hit my grams in protein and that I'm 100-200 calories over maintenance while working out 4 days a week. Patience is crucial!!!

I have a permenantly messed up shoulder from a kickboxing match a few years ago. Idiot back kicked me there. It makes things painful but nothing I can manage.

[usmccharles]

On ‎8‎/‎10‎/‎2016 at 1:45 AM, LosT_in_TranSlatioN said:

Kraft Maga is good.... If you're going against an untrained opponent. And since you're a former(or active. IDK) marine my guess is you have training in basic hand to hand combat if not advance since you use the Marine Corp Martial Arts Program(I have nothing but the highest respect for our military, and since I come from a family of marines I know a little bit. Thank you for serving btw if I've never told you). Unless you were there when LINE was still intact(which is actually more deadly. I'm sure you knew that Charles but the average person doesn't). Aka, one of the most effective martial arts programs on earth. Whilst Krav Maga would make you fare well vs an untrained average joe at the bar, vs a trained opponent it becomes a lot harder unless you're really advanced. If you're solely going to take up a martial art for exercise purposes, then it's a fantastic choice. For pure self defense purposes I would reccomend partnering it with another striking martial art.

Im sure you have mentioned it before, but thanks again.  But to clarify, ive been out for a couple years, still work with the military though.  When I was in we did MCMAP (Marine Corps Martial Arts Program) and it was mandatory to do the course once, but I have always loved MA so I did it as much as possible and went a couple belts up.  Ive always liked Krav Maga just because of the simplicity of ending the threat as soon as possible and the joint manipulation, but BJJ and Muay Thai would be better for self defense, but when I was in the Marines I tore my knee up pretty bad and it makes it hard to throw all those kicks and knees.  I would however like to do more boxing, people would be shocked on how much more deadly you can be by just knowing how to throw a punch correctly. 

You and I are about the same in size, im 5'9 165 ish, but its an unhealthy 165.  Biggest I ever got was 162 when working out religiously, eating somewhat right, protein shakes, all that stuff.  Trying some PED's, I got up to about 180 with 6% body fat and looked huge for my size.  I really would like to get back into shape and I know cardio is import, I just get bored on a treadmill and the knees cant really take the pounding, I wouldn't mind biking some, I think that would be a good way to entertain me and get healthy. 

When I get back from Arkansas I will revisit this thread, I will need some tips on diet and other things. 

Edited August 11, 2016 by usmccharles

[JEEPercreepermd]

I had an injury that laid me up for a while, I stopped playing sports and working out..it was all I could do to get through a day at work. So I gained anal ton of weight over the course of a year..because I then got lazy and addicted to sugar as well lol

 

 Anyway, this worked wonders for me:

NO SODA

NO SWEETS- candy, snacks, ice cream,ect..

I cut down on bread a lot

Replaced red meat entirely with Chicken or Turkey. Those still have to be prepared in a healthy manner, so no chicken marinated in olive oil ect..

Increased vegetable intake ton..no butter or dressings on veggies. 

NO FAST FOOD.. If I had no choice, I'd find a saladworks or some place other than drive thru burgers,chicken or pizza..

I also gave up on coffee until I could learn to drink it without an exorbitant amount of sugar and creamer. 

One thing I would do though is treat myself to one meal per week of something outside of my diet rules which would keep me from just nose diving off the wagon. 

I lost 55 lbs in about 6 month's, with another 10lbs a few months later. 

That was 90 percent diet, 10 percent gym. 

 I still stick to it pretty much to this day

 

 

[Deflated Football]

13 minutes ago, JEEPercreepermd said:

I had an injury that laid me up for a while, I stopped playing sports and working out..it was all I could do to get through a day at work. So I gained anal ton of weight over the course of a year..because I then got lazy and addicted to sugar as well lol

 

 Anyway, this worked wonders for me:

NO SODA

NO SWEETS- candy, snacks, ice cream,ect..

I cut down on bread a lot

Replaced red meat entirely with Chicken or Turkey. Those still have to be prepared in a healthy manner, so no chicken marinated in olive oil ect..

Increased vegetable intake ton..no butter or dressings on veggies. 

NO FAST FOOD.. If I had no choice, I'd find a saladworks or some place other than drive thru burgers,chicken or pizza..

I also gave up on coffee until I could learn to drink it without an exorbitant amount of sugar and creamer. 

One thing I would do though is treat myself to one meal per week of something outside of my diet rules which would keep me from just nose diving off the wagon. 

I lost 55 lbs in about 6 month's, with another 10lbs a few months later. 

That was 90 percent diet, 10 percent gym. 

 I still stick to it pretty much to this day

 

 

Congratulations. I lost a ton of fat eating nothing but green leafy vegetables and protein before resistance training, and then after training, I did a carb backload for my post-workout meal because it would spike my insulin. Needless to say, that only lasted a month because I love to eat and I'm extremely carb sensitive. Can't think for crap. These kinds of diets are definitely not easy. Bulking is so much easier 

Edited August 16, 2016 by Deflated Football

[usmccharles]

@JEEPercreepermd I'm. Sorry but I can't stop laughing atat aa gramgrammar mistake,  I must be 14 years old 

[usmccharles]

Ok, so if you see my above post I said when I get back from Arkansas I'm getting back into shape, starts today.  Cutting out all beer, soda, energy drinks, basically just water.....and vodka.  But I am terrible when it comes to nutrition and knowing what to eat and what not to eat.   Basically I have gathered, if I like it, I cant eat it.  Luckily I do like salads, I eat two tuna sandwiches a day for the protein.  So I need some pointers on what to eat and what to definitely not eat at all. 

If anyone has any recommendations for a meal plan or a diet to fall im all ears. Back when I used to work out, I basically made fish and chicken all the time with green veggies.  I also need opinions on good healthy snacks to eat throughout the day: thought about just getting a bunch of celery and carrots to snack on at work with my sandwiches.  I am currently and most likely will stay at 5'9, but im about  165-170lbs of skinny fat, meaning all that beer finally caught up to me at my age (31).  I don't know if we have any nutrition gurus here, I don't know where Winchester went, maybe scouting alpha males somewhere, but he was knowledgable when it came to the subject.  @LosT_in_TranSlatioN and @Deflated Football and @JEEPercreepermd seem to know your stuff, hopefully you guys have some input. 

[LosT_in_TranSlatioN]

1 hour ago, usmccharles said:

Ok, so if you see my above post I said when I get back from Arkansas I'm getting back into shape, starts today.  Cutting out all beer, soda, energy drinks, basically just water.....and vodka.  But I am terrible when it comes to nutrition and knowing what to eat and what not to eat.   Basically I have gathered, if I like it, I cant eat it.  Luckily I do like salads, I eat two tuna sandwiches a day for the protein.  So I need some pointers on what to eat and what to definitely not eat at all. 

If anyone has any recommendations for a meal plan or a diet to fall im all ears. Back when I used to work out, I basically made fish and chicken all the time with green veggies.  I also need opinions on good healthy snacks to eat throughout the day: thought about just getting a bunch of celery and carrots to snack on at work with my sandwiches.  I am currently and most likely will stay at 5'9, but im about  165-170lbs of skinny fat, meaning all that beer finally caught up to me at my age (31).  I don't know if we have any nutrition gurus here, I don't know where Winchester went, maybe scouting alpha males somewhere, but he was knowledgable when it came to the subject.  @LosT_in_TranSlatioN and @Deflated Football and @JEEPercreepermd seem to know your stuff, hopefully you guys have some input. 

Vodka soda is the better way to go regards to health. So yeah. You can eat protein so long as you do a ton of cardio. I eat chicken breasts, burger patties, ground beef, etc. 

[usmccharles]

1 minute ago, LosT_in_TranSlatioN said:

Vodka soda is the better way to go regards to health. So yeah. You can eat protein so long as you do a ton of cardio. I eat chicken breasts, burger patties, ground beef, etc. 

I cant do a lot of cardio because i tore my knee up when in the Marines.  Right now i want to cut some belly fat, just dont really know what to do about my diet

[LosT_in_TranSlatioN]

Just now, usmccharles said:

I cant do a lot of cardio because i tore my knee up when in the Marines.  Right now i want to cut some belly fat, just dont really know what to do about my diet

Pardon me for asking, but you can't run then? I have a friend who can't because he shattered two bones in his knee. There's more cardio then typical swimming, running, martial arts. Walking long distances can be cardio. I walk roughly 2 hours a day when I can't work out so I don't put on weight. Biking is good for you too even if you don't speed bike. Basketball is good even if you aren't running since you're moving around a lot. 

[Deflated Football]

1 hour ago, usmccharles said:

Ok, so if you see my above post I said when I get back from Arkansas I'm getting back into shape, starts today.  Cutting out all beer, soda, energy drinks, basically just water.....and vodka.  But I am terrible when it comes to nutrition and knowing what to eat and what not to eat.   Basically I have gathered, if I like it, I cant eat it.  Luckily I do like salads, I eat two tuna sandwiches a day for the protein.  So I need some pointers on what to eat and what to definitely not eat at all. 

If anyone has any recommendations for a meal plan or a diet to fall im all ears. Back when I used to work out, I basically made fish and chicken all the time with green veggies.  I also need opinions on good healthy snacks to eat throughout the day: thought about just getting a bunch of celery and carrots to snack on at work with my sandwiches.  I am currently and most likely will stay at 5'9, but im about  165-170lbs of skinny fat, meaning all that beer finally caught up to me at my age (31).  I don't know if we have any nutrition gurus here, I don't know where Winchester went, maybe scouting alpha males somewhere, but he was knowledgable when it came to the subject.  @LosT_in_TranSlatioN and @Deflated Football and @JEEPercreepermd seem to know your stuff, hopefully you guys have some input. 

I have two suggestions for you; one is not so bad and the other you'll hate. The first one, just count your calories and macros so you're aware of how much of a caloric deficit you'll need to be in. I'll leave a link to a website listed below that you can use to calcuate. You don't have to cut out any "bad" foods, just eat them in moderation. Don't worry about cardio, just make sure you do some kind of resistance training to maintain muscle, but the skinny fat will subside with just diet alone if you don't have time for the gym/are injured.

 

The second suggestion which works extremely quickly is to do intermittent fasting and eat green, leafy vegetables and protein BEFORE resistance training and then backload on your carbs immediately after you workout to spike your insulin. Now I'm carb sensitive. I need them to think and have energy, but everyone is different when it comes to tolerance. This is why I said that you might hate it. I did, but my waist shrunk in just a couple weeks after doing this. It's hard. My diet pretty much consisted of chicken breast and spinach before the gym, and then a huge meal full of carbs afterwards. Don't worry about counting calories or macros here. Green, leafy vegetables are not calorically dense, so you can eat as much as you want within reason.

 

If you're patient, do the first one. If you hate that beer belly and want to get rid of it fast, do the second one. Either way, you're going to lose some muscle mass, but you can always bulk back up after you've slimmed down a bit. 

 

http://www.iifym.com/iifym-calculator/

[usmccharles]

16 minutes ago, LosT_in_TranSlatioN said:

Pardon me for asking, but you can't run then? I have a friend who can't because he shattered two bones in his knee. There's more cardio then typical swimming, running, martial arts. Walking long distances can be cardio. I walk roughly 2 hours a day when I can't work out so I don't put on weight. Biking is good for you too even if you don't speed bike. Basketball is good even if you aren't running since you're moving around a lot. 

Man, i dont care, you can ask me anything.  I can run for very short periods of time, playing basketball is usually how i would do my cardio but after a pick-up game or two, im basically done and my knee will be sore, no doubt.  Makes it hard to cut and plant. 

3 minutes ago, Deflated Football said:

I have two suggestions for you; one is not so bad and the other you'll hate. The first one, just count your calories and macros so you're aware of how much of a caloric deficit you'll need to be in. I'll leave a link to a website listed below that you can use to calcuate. You don't have to cut out any "bad" foods, just eat them in moderation. Don't worry about cardio, just make sure you do some kind of resistance training to maintain muscle, but the skinny fat will subside with just diet alone if you don't have time for the gym/are injured.

The second suggestion which works extremely quickly is to do intermittent fasting and eat green, leafy vegetables and protein BEFORE resistance training and then backload on your carbs immediately after you workout to spike your insulin. Now I'm carb sensitive. I need them to think and have energy, but everyone is different when it comes to tolerance. This is why I said that you might hate it. I did, but my waist shrunk in just a couple weeks after doing this. It's hard. My diet pretty much consisted of chicken breast and spinach before the gym, and then a huge meal full of carbs afterwards. Don't worry about counting calories or macros here. Green, leafy vegetables are not calorically dense, so you can eat as much as you want within reason.

If you're patient, do the first one. If you hate that beer belly and want to get rid of it fast, do the second one. Either way, you're going to lose some muscle mass, but you can always bulk back up after you've slimmed down a bit. 

 

http://www.iifym.com/iifym-calculator/

Im not a patient person by any means and would like to hear more about the second option.  Can you tell me what you eating habits were in a day? Also, when i say i knew nothing about nutrition, i mean nothing.  Macros, carbs, leafy veggies.....nothing registers.  Luckily i love spinach, do you mean like canned spinach or what?  and backload carbs? Wasnt kidding when i said i would need a breakdown.....

[Deflated Football]

20 minutes ago, usmccharles said:

Im not a patient person by any means and would like to hear more about the second option.  Can you tell me what you eating habits were in a day? Also, when i say i knew nothing about nutrition, i mean nothing.  Macros, carbs, leafy veggies.....nothing registers.  Luckily i love spinach, do you mean like canned spinach or what?  and backload carbs? Wasnt kidding when i said i would need a breakdown.....

I essentially ate any kind of high protein food before my workout, so tuna, chicken, beef, steak, etc with NO carbs except for spinach. I bought mine in a bag but it doesn't matter how you get it. So protein and spinach. I would have meat for lunch and snack on vegetables throughout the day. Honestly though, any kind of vegetable will work, so eat what you like. When I say "backload" on carbs, I just mean to eat a lot of carbs after your workout. That can be pasta, potatoes, etc. Just eat your largest meal of the day after you workout and make sure it's full of carbs. I have a NSFW video I can PM you which I followed when doing this. I'll PM it to you now. 

[usmccharles]

Some good info here.  Ive been hitting the gym and watching my diet.  Mainly chicken breast or fish and then some broccli throughout the day. 

Has anyone here tried P90X?  Im still trying to cut some belly fat, ok a lot....thought this is interesting.  Apparently helped Eddie Lacy shed some weight

[harfordravenfan]

12 hours ago, usmccharles said:

Some good info here.  Ive been hitting the gym and watching my diet.  Mainly chicken breast or fish and then some broccli throughout the day. 

Has anyone here tried P90X?  Im still trying to cut some belly fat, ok a lot....thought this is interesting.  Apparently helped Eddie Lacy shed some weight

Sounds bad but the yoga part kicked my butt. I thought it was a good program

[usmccharles]

3 hours ago, harfordravenfan said:

Sounds bad but the yoga part kicked my butt. I thought it was a good program

I could see that.  I tried DDP Yoga a couple years, even made a thread about it, it was rather intense.  Im just know nothing about cardio, I have a ab routine I do, but other than that not sure what else to do. 

[harfordravenfan]

17 hours ago, usmccharles said:

I could see that.  I tried DDP Yoga a couple years, even made a thread about it, it was rather intense.  Im just know nothing about cardio, I have a ab routine I do, but other than that not sure what else to do. 

I'm the wrong guy for advise. I drink, smoke, diet sucks, and I'm one of those guys that wants to gain a few pounds lol

 

I'm currently at 190 but wouldn't mind adding about 10 lbs of muscle. Just made a bet with my son about it as motivation

[usmccharles]

1 hour ago, harfordravenfan said:

I'm the wrong guy for advise. I drink, smoke, diet sucks, and I'm one of those guys that wants to gain a few pounds lol

 

I'm currently at 190 but wouldn't mind adding about 10 lbs of muscle. Just made a bet with my son about it as motivation

Normally I'd like to gain weight but I need to cut my body fat perflcentage down first.  Last year I've enjoyed beer quite a bit... So time to reverse that affect.   

[LosT_in_TranSlatioN]

So I let myself go a little back in September and gained 25 pounds due to ice cream addiction.

 

lost 15 of those pounds due to intermittent fasting. It works but holy hell does it suck. Anyone else here have experience?