discussion about implementing a healthier diet

[Matthews Guitars]

Pick any diet and it has its proponents and its detractors. I like red meat so there is a LIMITED amount of it in my diet and there always will be. Some people are very healthy and live on a carnivore diet. Some people do paleo. Some people do various versions of vegetarianism, and I don't mind a salad and I eat my vegetables but going vegan isn't even in the picture for me. I'd rather be dead than give up red meat entirely.

Avoid processed sugar, processed refined grains, and foods that have a high glycemic index. (Starches) Those aren't naturally occurring and aren't part of man's natural diet. Yes, we grow rice and potatoes, but they're not the same breeds they were a century ago, they have been modified by selective breeding and become LESS healthy to eat.

Eat small meals more often. Five or six small meals through the day is a more natural eating pattern than three big meals a day. Eating more and smaller meals gets your body used to the notion that it doesn't have to store any food in the form of fat, because it can rely on another small meal coming VERY SOON. This increases your metabolism. Makes it very easy to burn fat.

You'd be SHOCKED at how much serious bodybuilders eat and their metabolisms are so high that if they DON'T eat six (or more) meals a day they'll lose weight. They eat more than the fattest people you see gorging themselves at the local Golden Corral, but of course, they're eating a more balanced diet and eating it in smaller portions all through the day. AND NO JUNK FOOD.

To lose weight, eat MORE, eat the RIGHT foods, in the RIGHT quantities, at the RIGHT times, and in the RIGHT number of small meals per day. And of course, get plenty of exercise which is an important part of the process.

I've been on a serious workout and diet program for the last three and a half years and I'm still refining my eating program. But it has been TRANSFORMATIONAL to my body in general. At the age of 58 I'm now more muscular than I ever have been in my life. I've been really reluctant to give up some favorite foods and it has slowed down my weight loss. I'm getting over them. My weight loss is getting better as I do. I''m well on the way to earning the description "jacked" and at my age that's not a trivial thing. Yes I'm on testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) and that certainly has some bearing on my results. Ultimately, my bloodwork shows that i"m healthier, my doctor agrees, I'm fitter, I'm happier, I feel really great. Pretty horny, too.

It's totally worth it to decide that your health and fitness is worthy of investing at least as much time and effort in as ANY of your other hobbies.

 

[DirtySteve]

I have a hard enough time preparing one healthy meal a day, I can't imagine making six!

 

[anitoli]

I have a hard enough time preparing one healthy meal a day, I can't imagine making six!

Prepare one healthy meal in military quantities and much it for three days, that's what try to do.

 

[purpleplexi]

I always knew this guy was a prophet

 

[giblesp]

I've been vegetarian/vegan for the past 20 years. I've done martial arts since childhood, currently doing Muay Thai. I train up to 20hrs per week. Less at the moment, due to injury.

I was in India doing yoga when I gave up meat, the diet stuck. Giving up dairy helped my stomach.

Is it a healthier diet? It improved my performance, but I don't know if it would be for everyone as I'm not a professional on the subject. Definitely worth checking out though.

It's definitely best to omit alcohol, smoking, drugs. That's going to improve every aspect of life.

 

[Derek S]

Been struggling myself the last few years. I've been pretty health conscious my entire life, NEVER drank or smoked, ate fairly well, VERY regular exercise (been a long distance runner since my teens and still going strong) but out of nowhere the last couple years I've been hit with health issues, manageable but have definitely slowed me down some, I guess it's part of aging.

I have an esophagus disease now (long name, basically the white blood cells attack specific food types, causes me to occasionally choke), my food pipe has apparently shrunk super thin too, which that is fairly common from what they tell me but they can't stretch mine like others because it's in bad condition (when they tried it started tearing and bleeding, it's just in poor shape basically) so they want to put a stent in...and I'm not sure I'm on board with that yet.

Eight months ago I spent a few days in the hospital from a nasty colon infection - apparently I have divercuticulitis (a diseased colon with a small tear and holes). Another hassle to deal with but not life threathening.

Last month I started having serious lower stomach pain (felt similar to what landed me in the ER with the discovery of the divercuticulitus crap last year) only now I had blood in the urine as well - which was a pretty scary few weeks, I thought it was possibly the colon thing flaring up but thankfully it was not - they re-scanned me and said now it's my prostate, it's enlarged, which again, from what they tell me is totally normal in many men at a certain age (I'm 55). It's uncomfortable as hell, especially when I run, he said my prostate is pushing against the wall of my stomach and colon which since mine is jacked up a bit, causes the pain. Still...it's manageable so I'm not complaining. I have friends that are in far worse shape than me and dealing with crazy stuff so all in all, it could be worse!

You can do everything right (or as your doctor recommends for you specifically) and still get hosed by nature. As I said, I've been pretty good about eating habits and health from the get go - so there hasn't been a call for drastic changes. I have made a few as the docs suggest them and they do seem to be helping. The most difficult is honestly having to cut back on the running (gone from 50-60 miles a week down to 20), my diet habbits have always been good but I have had to pretty much cut out all snacking too - now THAT was a though adjustment lol!!

 

[K9Merc]

I won’t go into meat vs vegetarian diets, but cutting out and processed food or drinks is the most important thing along with exercise, walking or lifting weights. I fast pretty much all day (one meal a day). I don’t like eating during the day time hours because it always makes me feel sluggish, no matter what I eat.

 

[knulp]

Jeff Beck and Mick Jagger

Two fitting example of what aging can be if you care ,Beck a vegetarian since ‘69

I didn’t expect so much awareness but I’m happy of the surprise
The best thing is the so called Mediterranean diet,whith whole grains ,eating less and more in the morning,nearly nothing in the evening.
Intermittent fasting too
But the truth is that you really have to grow your own so that you eat fresh vegetables.
I’m now growing my own ancient whole grain too and it’s a very different thing,no matter how much you pay if buying.

It requires to rearrange your life if you are serious about this.i’m doing that and I’m happy,plus buying foods is becoming more and more expensive.

my family only eat what we produce (90%)but we are lucky to be able

 

[Matthews Guitars]

I'm eating whole foods almost exclusively now, and more smaller meals per day. I feel better for it.

The majority of my meals, especially on workout days, consists of sous vide cooked chicken, steamed broccoli, and boiled sweet potatoes.
With a few condiments added for flavor it's quite tolerable and if the chicken is fresh out of the sous vide cooker and not frozen yet, it's really very good. I don't love the broccoli but I tolerate it. At least it's not a vegetable I REALLY hate like brussels sprouts or asparagus.

Pre workout, I eat more carbs. After workout, I eat more protein because that's when you need protein most to rebuild the damaged muscles.

Eating fewer, larger meals every day is not the natural mode of feeding. We're naturally intended to browse through the day, eating a lttle, all the time as we wander through the forest. Our digestive sytem is best adapted to constantly processing a little, rather than taking on large meals that fill our stomachs and place huge loads on our digestive system.

If you try to adapt to this system, it changes your metabolism for the better. You're diverting less energy toward trying to break down a huge meal, and your body gets used to the idea that it doesn't have to store food because it doesn't know when it'll get fed again. Metabolism increases, you stop storing fat, and the body expects more food to come along shortly. Make this a habit and the metabolic adaptation kicks in and will hold steady as long as you keep the food coming, a little at a time, but frequently.

 

[Lo-Tek]

Jeff Beck and Mick Jagger

Two fitting example of what aging can be if you care ,Beck a vegetarian since ‘69
....

Paul McCartney is a long time vegetarian. It's not really fair to tie Beck's death to his diet is it? Bacterial meningitis?

 

[Derek S]

The amazing thing to me about Beck, McCartney and Jagger is their hair!!! Apparently being a vegetarian keeps your hair from turning white lol.

 

[knulp]

Paul McCartney is a long time vegetarian. It's not really fair to tie Beck's death to his diet is it? Bacterial meningitis?

I was referring to his life really
Why did you think about a relationship between his vegetarianism and his death?am I missing something??

 

[Mike_LA]

Pumpkin seeds for the prostate, older gents...I eat a few small scoops a day.
And I usually don't have to get up in the night to go...

ok, that sounds interesting.
The only thing is, does it have to be pumpkin seeds or can pepitas or squash seeds achieve the same results?

 

[Lo-Tek]

...am I missing something??

No, I think I misunderstood you.

 

[Söulcaster]

Out of the 3 macro nutrients protein, fat and carbohydrates humans can only live without carbs so be very careful before you embrace the standard American diet and be very wary of what experts say.

Carbs are just sugar. Fructose, Lactose, sucrose, galactose all sugar. It is killing you and making you sick.

I keep my carbs to under 20g a day and have 2 meals a day at 12.00pm and 6.00pm, I fast for the remainder.

I can talk at length of the health benefits I experienced with this change in eating habits.
Don’t cut out red meat, eat more.
Don’t avoid good fats, your brain and body need it.
Cholesterol is not always bad, your body produces it for a reason.

Do your research, your life depends on it.

 

[NumbSkull]

Seems everybody knows this stuff,
So why are supermarkets full of carbs and sugar ?
Seems 8 out of 10 products have added sugar.
There are miles of biscuits.
The way to the checkouts is lined with brightly colored sweets to catch bored children.

 

[Marshall Stack]

Pick any diet and it has its proponents and its detractors. I like red meat so there is a LIMITED amount of it in my diet and there always will be. Some people are very healthy and live on a carnivore diet. Some people do paleo. Some people do various versions of vegetarianism, and I don't mind a salad and I eat my vegetables but going vegan isn't even in the picture for me. I'd rather be dead than give up red meat entirely.

Avoid processed sugar, processed refined grains, and foods that have a high glycemic index. (Starches) Those aren't naturally occurring and aren't part of man's natural diet. Yes, we grow rice and potatoes, but they're not the same breeds they were a century ago, they have been modified by selective breeding and become LESS healthy to eat.

Eat small meals more often. Five or six small meals through the day is a more natural eating pattern than three big meals a day. Eating more and smaller meals gets your body used to the notion that it doesn't have to store any food in the form of fat, because it can rely on another small meal coming VERY SOON. This increases your metabolism. Makes it very easy to burn fat.

You'd be SHOCKED at how much serious bodybuilders eat and their metabolisms are so high that if they DON'T eat six (or more) meals a day they'll lose weight. They eat more than the fattest people you see gorging themselves at the local Golden Corral, but of course, they're eating a more balanced diet and eating it in smaller portions all through the day. AND NO JUNK FOOD.

To lose weight, eat MORE, eat the RIGHT foods, in the RIGHT quantities, at the RIGHT times, and in the RIGHT number of small meals per day. And of course, get plenty of exercise which is an important part of the process.

I've been on a serious workout and diet program for the last three and a half years and I'm still refining my eating program. But it has been TRANSFORMATIONAL to my body in general. At the age of 58 I'm now more muscular than I ever have been in my life. I've been really reluctant to give up some favorite foods and it has slowed down my weight loss. I'm getting over them. My weight loss is getting better as I do. I''m well on the way to earning the description "jacked" and at my age that's not a trivial thing. Yes I'm on testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) and that certainly has some bearing on my results. Ultimately, my bloodwork shows that i"m healthier, my doctor agrees, I'm fitter, I'm happier, I feel really great. Pretty horny, too.

It's totally worth it to decide that your health and fitness is worthy of investing at least as much time and effort in as ANY of your other hobbies.

I agree with what you said here but my chiropractor said that many small meals isn't the way to go; we should actually fast more between meals. I can't keep up with the changes to what and when we are supposed to eat. Lol.

I have been eating healthier, with quality food, organic, pasture raised with no hormones, etc. This all costs more and it is worth it to me but it sucks for those that have a low income as this type of healthy food is out of reach for them.

 

[Matthews Guitars]

So there's a difference of opinion between different "professionals". Some say fasting is good for you, others say that fasting triggers the "save everything yo can as fat" reflex. Some people say chiropractors do great work, others think they're total quacks.

I'm going to go with the preponderance of evidence that supports the smaller more frequent meals model. Even if nothing else, it keeps lthe digestive system from having to divert lots of metabolic energy to breaking down large meals. Or getting huge insulin spikes. It creates a situation where you have a more constant glycogen supply and available energy all through the day. I can absolutely feel the effects of changes to my meal schedule in the duration and intensity I can sustain in my workouts.

 

[NumbSkull]

So there's a difference of opinion between different "professionals". Some say fasting is good for you, others say that fasting triggers the "save everything yo can as fat" reflex. Some people say chiropractors do great work, others think they're total quacks.

I'm going to go with the preponderance of evidence that supports the smaller more frequent meals model. Even if nothing else, it keeps lthe digestive system from having to divert lots of metabolic energy to breaking down large meals. Or getting huge insulin spikes. It creates a situation where you have a more constant glycogen supply and available energy all through the day. I can absolutely feel the effects of changes to my meal schedule in the duration and intensity I can sustain in my workouts.

Sounds unhealthy to me.
Good for building muscle, but also building insulin resistance.

Also the brain needs cycles of clearing out toxins, if you have constantly high insulin that is bad.
Also cycles of autophagy are important.

If you keep to a low sugar low carb diet you might get away with it
but I think brain health should be a higher priority than big muscles.

 

[Söulcaster]

Sounds unhealthy to me.
Good for building muscle, but also building insulin resistance.

Also the brain needs cycles of clearing out toxins, if you have constantly high insulin that is bad.
Also cycles of autophagy are important.

If you keep to a low sugar low carb diet you might get away with it
but I think brain health should be a higher priority than big muscles.

That’s the aim of the game, keeping insulin low.
There is no difference between a carbohydrate and sugar. As soon as you eat a carbohydrate it becomes sugar.

This is what spikes insulin. In turn corrupts your LDL (heart disease), builds insulin resistance (diabetes), rots your hippocampus (dementia), stores fat on your liver (obesity) and can cause your immune system to inflict inflammation in many shapes and sizes.

Fasting gives your body a chance to use the fat your body has stored.

I’m not even going to discuss processed foods. I compare it to the ads for cigarettes in the 50’s, but that’s a story for another day.

The pharmaceutical and processed food industries have actively corrupted the information provided to the public for corporate gain at the expense of the health of the public.