Hello -

here is a re-post from about 10 pages back in the thread...this should help you a lot.

The key to overall fat loss is the following:

- Burn more calories than you take in

- eliminate sugar and simple carbs from your diet

- reduce carbs overall, and increase protein

- eliminate fast foods and frozen foods

- eat every 2-3 hours

- drink water or diet soda only (or any sugar-free, calorie free beverage)

- drink alcohol as rarely as possible

- get at least 8 hours of sleep a night!!

- Take fat burning supplements like BSN Atrophex, GAT Jet Fuel, or Nutrex Lipo-6



Good overall foods -

Protein - Lean meats like Chicken, turkey, tuna, fish, eggs, lean beef.

Complex Carbs - Whole Grains(all of them, like whole grain breads/pasta/brown rice, etc), Vegetables, legumes.

GOOD fats - Olive Oil, Nuts, Peanut butter, fish, OMEGA 3-6-9 supplements, avocados, etc.


You are going to want to take in approx 2,000 calories a day for your bodyweight - in addition to at least 1 hour of vigorous exercise per day (anything, running/pushups/pullups/situps/swimming/aerobics/etc)

You are going to want to get about 60% from protein, 15% from carbs, and 25% from good fats. READ THE LABELS OF WHAT YOU ARE EATING and keep a FOOD JOURNAL so you can add everything up.

MAKE SURE YOU ARE EATING EVERY 2-3 HOURS (SMALL MEALS)

In addition, make sure you do at least ONE HOUR of exercise each day. Cardiovascular activity like running, jogging, swimming, playing a sport, using a cardio machine at the gym, or lifting weights WITHOUT taking breaks...are all acceptable. See the exercise guide for more info.



FOOD NOT TO EAT!
(DO NOT EAT THESE FOODS, OR IF YOU EAT THEM, DO IT VERY RARELY!)

Fast Food – Avoid Fast food at all costs. However if you go into a fast food restaurant and you’re hungry…try to make some healthy decisions. For example, instead of a burger with fries – get a grilled chicken sandwich or a grilled chicken salad without the fries....fries are a waste calories.

SODA – DO NOT DRINK REGULAR SODA AT ALL! Instead drink diet soda if you really like it…but if not, then stick to ice water!

Pizza – sorry, but this is one of the things you really have to watch out for. Avoid!

Candy, desserts, and Ice Cream – Just don’t eat it =) it’s loaded with sugar and no nutrition at all!

Frozen food – typically has way too much sodium and bad nutritional value!

Canned Foods and Soups (including ramen) – Also has way too much sodium and virtually no nutrition.

Dark Chocolate – you can eat 1-2 ounces of dark chocolate per day and actually see lower body fat as a result. But don’t overdo it! Too much and it can start adding weight.

EAT CLEAN!!! THAT MEANS AVOID PROCESSED FOODS, SALT/SODIUM, SUGAR, SAUCES, ETC. All spices are fine except for salt.

KEEP A FOOD JOURNAL!! WRITE DOWN EVERYTHING YOU EAT AND TALLY YOUR TOTAL CALORIES/FAT/PROTEIN/CARBS/SUGAR/SODIUM AT THE END OF EACH DAY TO MAINTAIN PROGRESS!



Sample meal plan (No carbs after your 2nd meal each day)


Meal 1 – 1 bowl of whole grain cereal (or oatmeal) w/ 2% skim milk + 2 whole eggs
Meal 2 – chicken/turkey/tuna w/ 1 cup brown rice
Meal 3 – chicken or lean beef or fish on top of a salad
Meal 4 – chicken, turkey, tuna/fish with steamed veggies
Meal 5 – lean beef/steak or fish + veggies.
Meal 6 – 1 cup cottage cheese or glass of milk + mixed nuts.

You will want about 100g carbs, 250g protein, and 70g fat per day which = about 2,000 calories (perfect for a 200 lb man on a moderate cutting routine doing 1 hr of exercise per day - for every 10 extra lbs of body mass, add 100 calories per day in a 1g / carbs, 4g / protein, 1g / fats ratio)


for exercise, stick to 1.5 hours of intense physical activity each day - whether it be lifting weights/doing cardio, playing a sport, running/cycling, etc - you need to keep your heart rate in the target zone of about 135-140 BPM for a 15-30 yr old male in good health. Don't worry about HIIT or any complex activities for now, just stick to the basics to lose the basic fat you both are asking for.

i needz da troof (or as close as you can get me to it).

would consuming 5-6 whole eggs daily be detrimental to my health? keep in mind that i am bulking, i'm an active teenager, and my cholesterol and BP levels are in check.

i've heard it both ways, so i'm curious as to how bad (or well off) i might be.

lol...this is a very valid question...but it always makes me laugh.

Whole eggs are very healthy for you. Ignore the quack science that tells you it will raise your cholesterol levels. That is pure hogwash.

Cholesterol levels are not increased by the pure ingestion of cholesterol rich foods...if that was true, then anyone with a low cholesterol diet would have low cholesterol right? WRONG.

heres the facts:


1. A 2:1 ratio of Unsaturated fats vs Saturated fats is necessary to keep cholesterol levels in the blood under control. (example, 2g unsat fat to every 1g sat fat MINIMUM)

2. A "higher" level of cholesterol in the blood activates the body's production of additional testosterone and support anabolism.

3. Avoiding trans-fats GREATLY decreases the risk of elevated cholesterol levels

Now a basic science explaination behind this.


Excess saturated fat in the blood will eventually become congealed in the arteries and blood vessels. This causes the body to engage the saturated fat (thinking it is an invader) by sending white blood cells to attack. The white blood cells start getting stuck in the saturated fat and become congealed further - this begins the occlusion of blood vessels. Then when cholesterol molecules pass by in the blood, they also become stuck in the sticky congealed mess around each of the arteries and various blood vessels.

THE SOLUTION TO THE STICKY SITUATION -

Take in a LOT of HDL fats (these "good" fats are found mostly in olive oil, avocados, flax, fish, etc.) As you consume these rich HDL fats, the mono and poly unsaturated fats go to work in your blood stream acting like a sponge, scooping up all the bad fats that are stuck to your artery and blood vessel walls and flushing it through successfully thus breaking up occlusion.

So the ideal environment of fat for the bodybuilder human body is as follows:

1. 2:1 or better ratio of HDL to LDL fats (unsat vs sat)

2. Plenty of cholesterol (remember, cholesterol is the simplest form of steroid in the body and causes testosterone productions and anabolism as well as recovery)

3. No Trans Fats


Also to address the bit on eggs....


An average LARGE "egglands best" egg has 1g saturated fat and 3g unsaturated fat - this is a 3-to-1 ratio of good fats to bad fats...which classifies eggs as a good food that you can eat as much of as you want without ill effects. To make it even better...add olive oil to your eggs and benefit even further.

However, eggs by themselves are fine - and will never raise cholesterol levels - unless of course you like to add copious amounts of Crisco shortening to your eggs ;-)


Edit:

OMEGA 3-6-9 Supplements are also great to take with every food meal (not with shakes)

This post was edited by SKCRaynor on Feb 15 2010 09:15pm

Have a co-worker who wanted to see what you said.....here's what he has to say:



I am willing to throw some pixels at you for your time! Thanks a lot!

Howdy SKC
my question today is about powder products like freeze-dried? I assume. products such as Purity Products' Triple Greens and Amazing Oranges, and others like these.

I see some multi-vitamins also have this like Nutrabolic's Vitabolic has this type of profile.

My question would be if a person typically misses 1 meal out of 5-6 from work, like me all of the time, and just so you know I take a Pre-formance which I heard is scientifically proven to be about 2 billion times better than slim-fast, etc.

anyways I'm drifting from the original question, which is those freeze dried vegetables, and fruits, and products they sell, are they a gimmick? scam?

or is the nutritional value worth spending the $, usually I mix mine with water.

Thanks so much.

Is there ways to tell if you have high or low testosterone? Besides doctor test.

Hey there....ok let's see what I can do.


First of all, in order to increase stamina and strength, he is going to need to follow a good 5x5 plan (with few breaks inbetween) and an hour of various cardio (like sprints, HIIT, explosive jumps etc) afterwards and then on other weeks a hemovascular circuit. Here is the 1 month plan:

Month 1 -

(week 1 - 5x5 - all exercises performed in 5x5 except for abs and calves which are performed 5 sets until failure)


Day 1 - chest/shoulders/tris - BB Incline Bench, Flat Bench Dumbbells, BB standing military press, DB seated arnold presses, Weighted Dips, DB tricep kickbacks

Day 2 - Back/Bis/Traps - Straight Leg Deadlifts, Bent Over BB Rows, Lat Pulldowns, Lawnmower DB Rows, DB Shrugs, BB Reverse Shrugs, standing olympic bar curls, EZ-bar preacher curls

Day 3 - Quads/Hammys/Calves/abs - ATG BB Squats, BB Stationary Lunges, Laying Leg Curls, Seated Leg Curls, Standing Machine Calf Raises, Donkey Calf Raises, Hanging leg raises, Seated V-Crunches

day 4 - OFF

Day 5 - repeat day 1

Day 6 - repeat day 2

Day 7 - repeat day 3


After each workout of 5x5 - he will do 1 hour of solid cardio. This will include a combination of sprints, HIIT, explosive jumps, and stairmaster (sprinting up the stairs).

Between regular workout sets will be no more than 15-20 seconds of rest.

He will need to aggressively BCAA up...at least 5g every 45 minutes of training (also 10g pre and 10g post) - he requires more bcaas than a normal person because of the severe intensity of training.


Week 2 - hemovascular (all sets will be performed in reverse pyramid - high weight first, ending on low weight....but no breaks between sets of a specific exercise...example....bench press 225 x 5, then immediately after go down to 185 x failure, 155 x failure, 135 x failure, 95 x failure)

Day 1 - chest/abs - Bench Press, Cable Flies, Incline DB press, laying Overhead dumbbell extensions,1 set of pushups until failure, hanging leg raises, situps, alternating crunches, and v-crunches.

Day 2 - back/calves - Lat Pulldowns, Cable Rows, Straight leg deadlifts, lawnmower DB rows, 1 set pullups until failure, standing calf raises, donkey calf raises, and seated calf raises

Day 3 - Shoulders/abs - standing military press (gorilla press), dumbbell front raises, seated db shoulder presses, db shrugs, bb shrugs, hanging leg raises, situps, alternating crunches, and v-crunches.

Day 4 - legs/calves - Hack Squats, DB lunges, Leg Extensions, Leg Curls, Standing calf raises, seated calf raises, donkey calf raises

Day 5 - Arms/abs - Standing EZ bar curls 21's, seated db hammer curls, standing reverse curls, DB kickbacks, DB skullcrushers, cable tricep pulldowns, front wrist curls, hanging leg raises, situps, alternating crunches, and v-crunches.

Day 6 - OFF

day 7 - OFF


Do cardio at the same pace as during 5x5 week - 1 hour after training - various styles.

Don't forget the BCAA's before/during/after workout.


Week 3 - Repeat week 1

Week 4 - Repeat week 2


anyway - as for diet...please refer to the diet I just posted at the top of this page (or last page) and make adjustments for your bodyweight/activity level in caloric needs....then just remember carbs for first 3 meals, no carbs for 2nd 3 meals...except for a good dose of simple carb post workout (waxy maize would be the best).

freeze dried fruits/veggies are nutritious and useful. The best form of any fruit/veggie is in its pure and raw state. Freeze drying however does NOT take away much from the fruits/veggies....only a marginal amount of nutrients. Therefore, you can eat freeze-dried fruits and veggies and they act almost the same way as regular. You lose about 5% of the integrity of the fruit/veggie...but that doesn't really make much difference.

Lab blood test is best....but there are other telltale signs for each...


high test - balding or receding hair line, strong smelling urine, frequent anger or hostility, increased sex drive, increase body temperature, increased sweat production. All of these things do NOT necessarily mean elevated testosterone, but if you have all or almost all of them theres a good chance you do have elevated test levels.

low test - tiredness/laziness, lack of sexual desire, high pitched voice, lack of muscular gains, fatty deposits in the chest (male breasts), lack of facial hair growth, unexplained depression/sadness. All of these things do NOT necessarily mean elow testosterone, but if you have all or almost all of them theres a good chance you do have low test levels.


just get a blood test.

Thanks, so would higher test mean better gains?