FIT.Y.E.R.O. (Meathead, wellness, fitness, diet, exercise) Thread

[pretzel__logic]

- To back up what anth and Bonz have said: BMI and the number on the scale can be helpful information, but they aren't the be all end all, particularly when you're trying to change your body composition (especially with lifting). At 5'9" and 178 immediately before conception, I was, by BMI, "overweight." And lol. Fwiw, before I got serious about lifting, I walked around about 140-145 lbs and I looked like I might blow away in a stiff breeze. According to BMI, I could be in the "healthy" range as low as 125, and I can't imagine how sickly I'd look. I feel a billion times better now that I've put on a lot of muscle and maintain 175+. Hell, I hit 195 this week at 22 weeks pregnant and I was pleasantly surprised. I always thought almost 2 bills would look ginormous, but I still don't look like I've gained an ounce with my baby bump turned away from view haha

- Not many ladies in here, but for all the dudes with wives who are or have been pregnant - if they're complaining about hip/lower back pain or pelvic dysfunction, I started pelvic floor PT for pubic symphysis pain and it is so helpful. Highly recommend. We don't think about "training" the muscles in the pelvic girdle but there's LOADS of them, and if things are keyed too tight/imbalanced (vast majority of people), it can result in sciatica, etc.

- Creatine is the most studied supplement aside from caffeine. Hell, my OB said it'd be fine to take during pregnancy if I wanted to. It can be a tremendous assist in recovery and muscle growth and it IS worth the hype.

 

[Bill - Shy Cat]

- Creatine is the most studied supplement aside from caffeine. Hell, my OB said it'd be fine to take during pregnancy if I wanted to. It can be a tremendous assist in recovery and muscle growth and it IS worth the hype.

Folks with diabetes, weak kidneys, or high blood pressure should consult with doctor before taking creatine. I have an appointment next month with my new doctor. Looking forward to hear her opinion on whether or not my issues are bad enough to prevent me from taking creatin.

 

[pretzel__logic]

That's 100% fair, agree those conditions merit consultation with a doc.

 

[CSC81]

About halfway through the 16 week cut, I had plateaued on dropping body fat (around 13%) and the only noticeable declines were muscle mass and weight.

Not the right direction so huddled up with Anth’s trainer, he looked at what I’d been eating and saw that carbs were way too low for too long. Make sense, you need muscle mass to burn body fat. So he had me add some rice and sweet potatoes back in gradually while keeping whole food protein above 200g. Did the trick and knocked the BF% down just above 10%.

Took this last cut/load to get through my thick skull that the scale should be the last number you track when trying to size up or slim down. We’re all conditioned to treat that as the Holy Grail metric. It’s not.

If you don’t have a body mass scale, take it from my HVAC buddy and go with how your clothes fit, mirror test or simply the weight you can move. All more of a success marker than lbs.

Been meaning to ask you:

What was your daily average before working with Coach, and to what level did he bump you prior to getting just over 10%?

(I know there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to macros, especially carbs; I’m asking purely out of curiosity.)

 

[Bonzo Cat]

When I started the cut I was keeping carbs under 100g. And of that, all carbs were in the form of complex carbs - fruits (berries) and vegetables. Simple carbs were nixed.

He had me add white rice or half a sweet tater in for one meal, gradually upping the macro to close to 200 after the halfway point.

10 days out from deadline, gradually backed them back out and maintained the complex.


Whole thing is a science experiment to see what works for one’s body and what doesn’t. Biggest thing I took away from it is you can’t remove simple carbs for much more than 4-6 weeks before you start shedding muscle along with body fat.

 

[CSC81]

Nice work, my friend. I know it’s not easy to go against our intuition and what we’re used to and/or think is best. I bought into low carb for a long time. I still think it’s a useful tool in certain, specific circumstances, but chronic low carbs will absolutely wreck your hormones, as you discovered.

I’ve obviously got a lot longer way to go than you and Anth on the BF% front. From a strength standpoint alone, however, I dread lifting when my carbs are low, both mentally and physically. The trick is finding that sweet spot. I absolutely love carbs (Italian is easily my favorite cuisine, so…yeah; very easy for me to go overboard).

Like you, I’ve been mostly staying away from simple carbs and primarily get them in the form of berries and vegetables; that makes it a lot easier. High protein and moderate, healthy fats are a given.

BF% is slowly but surely dropping and strength is going up, so what I’m doing seems to be working.

Being on day 12 of no booze is also clearly a huge difference and help, especially from a sleep and recovery standpoint. I haven’t felt this good in years.

 

[thabigbluenation]

Folks with diabetes, weak kidneys, or high blood pressure should consult with doctor before taking creatine. I have an appointment next month with my new doctor. Looking forward to hear her opinion on whether or not my issues are bad enough to prevent me from taking creatin.

Well to be fair anyone with those issues should be consulting their doc before taking anything.

 

[WayneDougan]

I feel like Bonz is on another level.

 

[Bonzo Cat]

No different than several in here. I’m just more eloquent in describing the process 😎

Ate and drank like an asshole on the Bahamas friendcation with no remorse. Time and place…

…always been fairly regimented but working from home the past year and a half has made it a breeze sticking with a diet plan, be it cutting or bulking. I still have cocktails, but I couldn’t tell you the last time I’ve ate processed foods and never really had a sweet tooth, so anything of that ilk isn’t tempting.

Football season coming up and Wodie Sloot knows how to cater a tailgate better than anyone. If you can peel away from pickup basketball with your neighbors wife, stop by and see we eat and drink like normal wildcat friends.

I also don’t have kids and therefore all the time you have to commit to them or ways you cater to their palates and understandably get sucked into consuming (leftovers, pizzas, fast food, desserts, etc) isn’t in my purview. No doubt I’d have a change in priorities with a rug rat(s). My utmost respect to those of you with kiddos, or soon-to-be, that grind it out on the regular.

 

[HymanKaplan]

Swam 1600 meters at the pool this morning (mix of strokes, mostly breast), and my arms a little bit jellied. 1600 used to be child's play for me, so it's a testament to how out of shape I got, but I've only been back on it about a month.

 

[pretzel__logic]

Carb manipulation is definitely a your-mileage-may-vary game. My husband leans out noticeably immediately when he drops his carbs, without a noticeable drop in energy. Meanwhile, I instantly feel like dog water. I'm sure some of that is the type of carbs he tends to favor versus the ones I do, some is hormonal, and some is the individual demands our respective jobs and fitness activities put on us. And some is likely his IBS versus my normal guts. I lift more frequently than he does at this point; he just doesn't need the same volume of carbs for golfing a couple times a week that he did for serious powerlifting training. Personally, I've never been able to get through the brain fog I feel when I drop carbs for longer than a few days. More power to those that can, for sure.

Sweet potatoes might be the GOAT carb for me though. Delicious, they pair well with tons of different proteins, reheat well, and you can get more volume in (versus rice or pasta) if you're cutting/in maintenance. I like rice, but especially for a bulk. The same volume of rice has a zillion more carbs (give or take) than the same volume of sweet potatoes. And...sweet potatoes mitigate one of the great downfalls of cutting that no one talks about with their fiber content.