Here, we shall attempt to capture the best workouts, nutrition and beautification of the body, in the fitness realm, charts, pictures & healthy eating programs...
I'll start with diet then do another post on fitness later.
The first thing you must realize is that big-mama's cooking will sabotage your efforts. If you're unwilling to cut down on soul food to at most twice a week, anything you do fitness wise will be in vain. However, what you cook doesn't have to be tasteless.
A family sized foreman grill or grill pan and a well seasoned cast-iron skillet will be good companions
Also note that this is a non-vegetarian menu
Always have these items stocked:
Lunch/Dinner items:
*Lots of fresh Water (I buy distilled store brand)
*Chicken Breasts
*Lean Ground Meats like turkey/chicken/extra lean ground beef(at least 90% lean)
*Fresh broccoli (frozen works in a pinch)
*Spinach (frozen works)
*Kale/Collard greens (leave the country ham and turkey leg out of it)
*Cabbage
*Several cans of tuna/Solid white albacore
*Some kind of fish/shellfish if not allergic (be easy on the Old Bay)
Snacks:
*Keep unsalted toasted almonds and other nuts around (good fats)
*Fresh fruit of your choosing for general consumption and shakes (bananas are a staple)
*Natural Peanut Butter
*Low Sugar/No sugar Jelly
*Olive oil and Vinegar for salads
*Yogurt
Breakfast:
*Oatmeal
*Eggs/Egg substitute
*Wheat bread (for toast)
*Cheerios or another non-sweet fibrous cereal. If you must have sweet I guess you can have some honey nut Cheerios . A better option would be to buy some Splenda.
Remember to eat at least 5 times a day to keep that metabolism up.
I either brine my chicken breasts (if I have time) or use a salt rub (for 30 min) to keep them moist and give them taste. I usually bake them whole on the weekend, or cut up the chicken into cubes and pan sear them (again to save time). I season almost all my meats with garlic cloves/powder, onion/powder, Seasoning salt and Mrs. Dash. Coat your cookware with Pam instead of butter or oil.
*Try to sautee your broccoli, it brings out its flavor. Slice the stalk into smaller pieces and use that too.
*If you have a large freezer you can cook all your meals for a week or 2, (or more) just to save time on cooking.
*You shouldn't spend too much money on this stuff, my bill usually comes to about $50 (with variation in both directions) worth of food if you stick to store brands. And some of this will last you a while.
I also challenge each of you to replace water with each of your beverages for 3 weeks and see if that doesn't make even the slightest difference in appearance. It was total hell for me at first, but after awhile I got used to it.
I'll edit this post if I think of something more. Vegetarians are welcome to add alternatives.
This is a real good post Aristotle, but I swear it takes too damn long for me to cook all the food I eat. I'm tryin' to get up to at least 240lbs of solid muscle, and most of my meals fall by the way of protein shakes. I'm on the go alot and that's the quickest thing. But I try to abide by the suggestions you made as far as the content of food on the regular whenever I do sit down and cook a meal. LOL Whenever that is...plus my metabolism is super high, so I have to have a high calorie intake of protein and carbs, especially after workouts.
Okay I have a question..I'll start with diet then do another post on fitness later.
The first thing you must realize is that big-mama's cooking will sabotage your efforts. If you're unwilling to cut down on soul food to at most twice a week, anything you do fitness wise will be in vain. However, what you cook doesn't have to be tasteless.
A family sized foreman grill or grill pan and a well seasoned cast-iron skillet will be good companions
Also note that this is a non-vegetarian menu
Always have these items stocked:
Lunch/Dinner items:
*Lots of fresh Water (I buy distilled store brand)
*Chicken Breasts
*Lean Ground Meats like turkey/chicken/extra lean ground beef(at least 90% lean)
*Fresh broccoli (frozen works in a pinch)
*Spinach (frozen works)
*Kale/Collard greens (leave the country ham and turkey leg out of it)
*Cabbage
*Several cans of tuna/Solid white albacore
*Some kind of fish/shellfish if not allergic (be easy on the Old Bay)
Snacks:
*Keep unsalted toasted almonds and other nuts around (good fats)
*Fresh fruit of your choosing for general consumption and shakes (bananas are a staple)
*Natural Peanut Butter
*Low Sugar/No sugar Jelly
*Olive oil and Vinegar for salads
*Yogurt
Breakfast:
*Oatmeal
*Eggs/Egg substitute
*Wheat bread (for toast)
*Cheerios or another non-sweet fibrous cereal. If you must have sweet I guess you can have some honey nut Cheerios . A better option would be to buy some Splenda.
Remember to eat at least 5 times a day to keep that metabolism up.
I either brine my chicken breasts (if I have time) or use a salt rub (for 30 min) to keep them moist and give them taste. I usually bake them whole on the weekend, or cut up the chicken into cubes and pan sear them (again to save time). I season almost all my meats with garlic cloves/powder, onion/powder, Seasoning salt and Mrs. Dash. Coat your cookware with Pam instead of butter or oil.
*Try to sautee your broccoli, it brings out its flavor. Slice the stalk into smaller pieces and use that too.
*If you have a large freezer you can cook all your meals for a week or 2, (or more) just to save time on cooking.
*You shouldn't spend too much money on this stuff, my bill usually comes to about $50 (with variation in both directions) worth of food if you stick to store brands. And some of this will last you a while.
I also challenge each of you to replace water with each of your beverages for 3 weeks and see if that doesn't make even the slightest difference in appearance. It was total hell for me at first, but after awhile I got used to it.
I'll edit this post if I think of something more. Vegetarians are welcome to add alternatives.
Okay I have a question..
I am so familiar with this diet...I ran track for a very long time, the problem is keeping the weight on for me, my ideal weight is 140 and I feel like in order for me to keep that on and look healthy I have to pig out...like I feel like I have to eat all day long, like before I workout after work outs and that's not good. Pretty much I have a very crazy metabolism.
Any suggestions for eating healthy in order to keep a normal weight...
FYI I am 5'7" so when I am under 130 I look sick (in my opinion)
SOUNDS LIKE TO MUCH CARDIO WATCH ALOT OF WOMEN IN THE GYM MAKE THAT MISTAKE A N LOOK LIKE CRACK HEADS AFTER A COUPLE OF MONTHS I WOULD ADVISE YOU TO SWITCH UP YOUR WORKOUT LESS CARDIO AN MORE WEIGHTSOkay I have a question..
I am so familiar with this diet...I ran track for a very long time, the problem is keeping the weight on for me, my ideal weight is 140 and I feel like in order for me to keep that on and look healthy I have to pig out...like I feel like I have to eat all day long, like before I workout after work outs and that's not good. Pretty much I have a very crazy metabolism.
Any suggestions for eating healthy in order to keep a normal weight...
FYI I am 5'7" so when I am under 130 I look sick (in my opinion)
My ideal workout would be doing laps in Femm, then some "cardio" in GetYouHot, followed by some "lifting" of SinaminDelite.
I was gonna take you calling me an ectomorph as an insult until I looked it up..lolActually, for an ectomorph like you, it is good to eat a lot if you're eating the right things...Eating before and after a workout is normal and recommended depending on the intensity and duration of the workout.
How many times a day are you eating? If your goal is weight maintenance it sounds like you need to play around with your carbohydrate intake a little, maybe increase your fruit intake or eat more rice/potatoes.
5'7'' and 130 sounds like a good weight, not skinny at all. Is 140 your off season weight?
I thought the cardio was my problem too, even when I cut it down I still was losing weight, But I know what you are talking about when the ladies are treadmilling it for like hours and are anorexic looking. I have little people too, so I am always moving that could be part of it....SOUNDS LIKE TO MUCH CARDIO WATCH ALOT OF WOMEN IN THE GYM MAKE THAT MISTAKE A N LOOK LIKE CRACK HEADS AFTER A COUPLE OF MONTHS I WOULD ADVISE YOU TO SWITCH UP YOUR WORKOUT LESS CARDIO AN MORE WEIGHTS
thats where you use the low weights with high reps. you tone what you have but don't build up more and don't lose from the cardio.
btw, my workout is as followed:
College life:
Mon-chest,biceps,triceps (boxing)
Tues-shoulder,back (boxing,swimming)
Wed-Legs,forearms (boxing)
Thurs-boxing, swimming or some other activity
Fri-no combat training, weight routine starts over again.
also, pray a lot and keep yourself stress free. DO NOT spend your time pouting in front of a mirror because of what you think you should look like. concentrate on your goals and be patient and you'll get there.
shout out to GetYouHot for the hot thread. girl that name is appopiate cuz you damn sure get me hot. *goes outside and wishes the desert had an icy cold lake to jump into*
Nutrition
Choice foods to pick and choose from, all are good, there are limits and frequency to guide you at the bottom of the list. Mix and match. If you are still eating fast food and drink soda on the regular, I can't even see you, get back, when you have cut that out of your system. I'm paying big bucks for this knowledge, so use it to your advantage, live long and prosper...
Proteins
Chicken Breast
Turkey Breast
Lean Ground Turkey, Beef, Pork, Chicken or Lamb
Sword Fish
Orange Roughy
Haddock
Salmon
Tuna
Crab
Lobster
Shrimp
Top Round Steak
Top Sirloin Steak
Buffalo
Lean Ham
Egg whites or substitutes(egg beaters)
Trout
Low-Fat Cottage Cheese
Wild Game Meats
Vegetarian Proteins
Tempeh
Seltan
Tofu
Textured veggie protein
Soy Foods
Veggie Burgers
Cabohydrates
Baked Potato
Sweet Potato
Yams
Squash
Pumpkin
Brown, Wild Rice
Pasta
Oatmeal
Barley
Kidney Beans
Corn
Strawberries
Melon
Apples
Oranges
Fat-Free Yogurt
Whole Wheat Bread
High Fiber Cereal
Rice Cakes
Popcorn(no butter)
Tortilla
Whole Grains
Vegetables
Broccoli
Asparagus
Lettuce
Carrots
Cauliflower
Green Beans
Green Peppers
Mushrooms
Spinach
Tomato
Peas
Onion
Brussel Sprouts
Artichoke
Cabbage
Celery
Zucchini
Cucumber
Fats
Avocado
Sunflower Seeds
Pumpkin Seeds
Cold-Water Fish
Natural Peanut Butter
Low-Fat Cottage Cheese
Low-Fat Salad Dressing
Low-Sodium Nuts
Olives and Olive Oil
Safflower Oil
Canola Oil
Flax Seed Oil
Fats to avoid...
Butter, fried foods, mayonaise, sweets, whole fat dairy products
Eat six times a day
Combine carbohydrates and proteins with every meal
Combine fats with protein and vegetables
Appropriate portion size, use the palm of your hand to measure total portion size.
Plan your meals
Water Intake, one gallon a day
Stay Focused, if you cheat you are cheating on yourself...
A squat is considered a compound or multi-joint exercise which is the basis for just about any weight training program no matter what your goal is. Compound exercises work more than one muscle group which means you can use more weight. Using heavier weight is how you build lean body tissue. The more lean body tissue you have, the higher your metabolism and the more calories you burn on a regular basis. Plus, you're targeting every major muscle in your upper leg, up to and including your quadriceps (front of the thigh), hamstrings (back of the thigh), and gluteal muscles (the muscles in your ass).
Adults need recess too! With a little creativity and planning, even the person with the busiest schedule can make room for physical activity. For many folks, before work, after work or during work breaks are often good times to cycle, walk, or play. Think about your weekly or daily schedule and look for or make opportunities to be more active. Every little bit helps. Consider the following suggestions:
I have a question I want to tone up more but I dont want to lose weight?? How can I achieve that??
The best way to free your body of excess water gain or bloating is to drink water. Soda is like liquid candy...
Water retention(edema) is much different between men and women. Women tend to experience it around our menstural cycle, we feel bloated from water gain.
http://www.bodyandfitness.com/Information/Weightloss/retention.htm
Human fat is valued at 3,500 calories per pound. Each extra pound of fat will supply enough calories for one day of hard physical labor. Ten pounds of fat are equal to 35,000 calories! Most of us have sufficient reserves, capable of sustaining us for many weeks.