Fitness Thread

[Mr Romanov Saviour of HMFC]

I think we need to get a wee diet advice section on the go in this thread. Anyone can do a bit of running or lift weights but it's the diet that seperates the men from the boys. I like to think I eat decent enough but I'm still prone to having chips with tea etc.

 

Can we get a list of meals/snacks/drinks that are suitable for training? Hopefully we can add to these three sections over time and create a good list that we can all choose from. If you can find recipes for any meals that would be magic.

 

BREAKFAST

 

Scrambled eggs with toasted wholemeal bread

Boiled Eggs

Porridge

Cereal without too much sugar (Special K)

 

LUNCH

 

Tuna pasta salad

Tuna on wholemeal bread

Baked tattie with salad (I put tuna or beans in it as well)

 

DINNER

 

Tuna steak

Pasta salad http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/11418/storecupboard-pasta-salad

Fish with vegetables

Chicken Stir Fry http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/3724/watercress-and-chicken-stirfry

 

SNACKS

 

Seeds

Nuts (any other alternative if you don't like them?)

Fruit

 

DRINKS

 

Water (plenty)

Green Tea

Coffee (before training)

 

Stuck in a few basics for now, please feel free to add to them because if you can get the diet right then that's half the battle won!

[Snake Plissken]

Your post's a bit vague: exactly what lengths are you prepared to go to?

 

 

 

Edit: on a personal note, training's going really well at the moment. Muay Thai was mental on Wednesday: it started with a barbell complex invented by Randy Couture which was as follows:

 

Bent over row x 8

Upright row x 8

Military press x 8

Good morning x 8

Split squat x 8

Split squat (other leg) x 8

Squat to press x 8

Romanian deadlift x 8

 

No rests between lifts: once you've picked up the bar, you can't let go. We did that six times through, with minimal rests between circuits. After that, we expected to start technique, at which point the coach hit us with four back to back tabata workouts (one tabata workout is 20 seconds on, 10 seconds off, eight times through) with gloves on and gumshield in. The four exercises used were jump ups, press ups, Hindu squats and burpees (yes, burpees last. He's a sadist).

 

 

 

I thought that looked a pretty decent routine for a quick workout and gave it a bash this lunchtime. I didn't quite do it in that order as I'd forgotten it by the time I got to the gym, ran through it with a lightish weight and then upped it to 40kg.

 

I did shrugs rather than upright rows and lunges rather than split squats but I did all the others.

 

 

Bloody hard from the second set onwards, really knackers the grip after a bit as well. But I shall do it again on the odd lunchtime.

[Ray Winstone]

As of last Sunday I have lost 2 stone over 5 weeks while on the t5s, hitting the gym 6 days a week (doing a combo of cardio and weights) and keeping to a fairly good diet. Weight loss will have been over 2 stone but I have definitely put some on in muscle, my arms are a lot more defined than they were and I feel a lot stronger.

 

Came off the t5s for a week and kept to the same routine at the gym but the diet suffered slightly because my apetite was back to its full working state.

 

Happy to report that although I did not lose any more weight - I maintained my weight from the week before, which goes to show that the T5s do the business.

 

Back on the T5s from today so hopefully a big push for the next week and a half before I come back to Edinburgh for 6 days over Christmas and get to relax (although I have sorted out a gym I can use to keep in my routine).

 

As for diet advice, it all depends how serious you are about losing the weight. Having put on an epic - 6 stone (YES 6 stone) in 4 and a half years of uni, I am aiming to lose it all and more (so 4 stone to go as off this moment).

 

My main piece of advice is, if you are serious about losing a good amount of weight is give up the booze.

 

The second piece of advice (and I have struggled with this) is be very strict about having no carbs with your evening meal. Get your carbs in at breakfast and lunch - 5pm should be your cut off point - but if you must have them with your evening meal then do it before 7pm.

 

I can afford to eat later on nights I am working because I know that I will be active until around 3.30-4am, but if you are going to bed before midnight then 5pm is a good cut off point.

 

Breakfast: Porrige is ideal, and if you are serious you should be making it with water (no milk) and I like to add a couple of scoops of strawberry flavoured, low carb protein, after it is cooked to add flavour. Get yourself a blender - mix a protein shake as normal and add 2 scoops of porrige oats and a chopped up banana to the blender. This is great for a quick and easy breakfast to give a slow energy release throughout the morning.

 

Scrambled eggs on wholemeal toast is also a nice way to treat yourself on the mornings you have a bit more time to prepare something. Remember and only use 1 egg yolk in your scrambled eggs - for other eggs use the whites only.

 

If I do eat ceral it is wholegrain shredded wheat (sometimes raisin wheats) with skimmed milk only.

 

Lunch - protein and carbs are your friend, tuna mixed through some brown rice or wholegrain pasta - if you find that too dry, add some low salt bisto or even nandos sauce as it is not too bad for you.

 

Go to the supermarket and buy packs of pre cooked chicken (not the sandwhich stuff I mean the proper chunks) you can get through a whole pack and not feel quilty as it is all good protein.

 

If you are in 'serious mode' then you can have another protein shake for lunch with a handful of nuts or raisins - but this will usually not sustain you until the evening, esspecially if you are at the gym in the afternoon.

 

Tea/Dinner - As I said, try to eat protein and veg only with your evening meal and if you do have carbs don't have much. Non fatty steaks are absolutely fine, fillet is good if you can afford it. Chicken and turkey are ideal.

 

Fish is great for protein - you can buy frozen salmon fillets etc that just need put in the oven. Even the birdeye ones that come in a lemon and herb butter are not too bad for you and are quick and easy.

 

For veg - I use the Birds eye frozen veg that comes in mixed packs that you whack in the microwave for 3 minutes and they are done. Excellent for a variety of veg rather.

 

As for snacks - best avoided but if you can't help yourself nuts, raisins, things like that - I find if I have a pint of water it usually makes the hunger subside.

 

If you are a fizzy drink fiend then stick to diet coke, diet irn bru etc. It is not the best for your stomach but it is essentially empty calories. They will make you more hungry though.

 

Good luck to anyone trying it - I have found it tough so far (the diet) but I am still enjoying the gym.

 

If I could bring half of my gym discipline to my diet I would be on the cover of 'Men's Health' by this time next year!

 

I still have a lot of work to go but I am so chuffed with the results so far, and it might have taken 4 and a half years to put on but it is taking a lot less time to come off.

 

With a bit of hard work and discipline anyone can do it.

Edited December 13, 2010 by Tucks

[Ragnar]

Keep in mind going to the gym is pretty much worthless if you're not eating a solid diet and getting plenty sleep.

[Ray Winstone]

Keep in mind going to the gym is pretty much worthless if you're not eating a solid diet and getting plenty sleep.

 

 

Agreed.

 

Unless you are looking to maintain weight - in which case going to the gym regularly can help even it out when you indulge in some of the great yet cal packed food and beverage this world has to offer.

 

I find a good gym session during the day makes me sleep right through the night despite the t5s.

 

Love waking up in the morning after 8 solid hours.

[Ragnar]

Agreed.

 

Unless you are looking to maintain weight - in which case going to the gym regularly can help even it out when you indulge in some of the great yet cal packed food and beverage this world has to offer.

 

I find a good gym session during the day makes me sleep right through the night despite the t5s.

 

Love waking up in the morning after 8 solid hours.

 

Yeah. If your aiming to gain muscle or loose fat then nutrition and sleep are the most important.

[Creepy Lurker]

There's loads that I could say about diet, but I don't have the energy at the moment so I'll try to keep this short. A couple of points have been made so far that I'd like to pick up on:

 

• The 'no carbs after 5 o'clock' thing's a myth. When you eat your carbs doesn't make any difference in terms of fat gain...although obviously it makes sense to get a lot of them in before working out. Which generally means before 5 o'clock. It's this, combined with the fact that people generally weigh themselves in the morning, which has made people see what time they eat carbs as being such a big issue. Having slow release protein and carbs before bed can actually be helpful.
• Pasta: try to keep it in small quantities, using brown pasta or similar.
• Meat: it's true that steak's okay, but if you want lean muscle then you should be eating lean white meat such as chicken or turkey breast more often.
• 2 grammes of protein per kilo of bodyweight a day's optimal. More is largely superfluous. Loads of people think that they're doing themselves a favour by loading up on protein; they won't do any harm, but they're wasting their time.

Without wanting to sound twatty, I know very few people as dedicated to diet as me. Rather than post constant screeds of advice, I'll probably just give the odd tip or say what I've had to eat on that particular day. I should also point out that you'll see a lot of conflicting information; to an extent, you've got to use your own judgement to decide which advice to take and bear in mind that anyone you hear anything from - whether it's someone on here or the most eminently qualified nutritionist - is still learning. No-one in the world knows all that they could about nutrition.

 

Anyway, what I've had/will be having to eat today:

 

Breakfast: 40g natural peanut butter on one slice of sourdough bread. Cup of black coffee.

Snack 1: avocado. Cup of green tea.

Lunch: cod fillet with 50g peas and two diced new potatoes. Cup of oolong tea. Half a grapefruit.

Snack 2: Pear. Handful of cashew nuts. Cup of green tea.

Post-training: Protein shake (one scoop of Maximuscle Promax with water), banana and orange.

Dinner: Tuna steak with baked vegetables: sliced sweet potato, onion, courgette, carrot and yellow pepper with one tablespoonful of olive oil and two garlic cloves.

Before bed: Apple. Tablespoonful of almond butter.

 

Edit: if I keep doing this for the next week or two, you'll notice that my protein source at lunch and dinner time always seems to be fish or tofu. This isn't the norm, I'd usually mix it up more with meat. As it happens, I'm a Tesco reduced section fiend and there's been loads of fish recently.

 

Ideally, you should be looking to eat around six times a day. I go up to seven on training days.

 

Going back to training, today was another pretty tough day at Muay Thai. We started with a warmup which included running around the gym, occasionally stopping to bash out either 20 push ups, Hindu squats or burpees. Just to make it a bit tougher, we couldn't stand on our heels at any point. After that, we moved onto another four back to back tabata workouts: straight punches, Hindu squats, straight punches again and push ups, all on the balls of our feet and wearing gloves. Following that, we spent the rest of the session doing bag and combination work.

 

Actually going to take a week off of the gym itself now as I've just finished a six week cycle. Still going to go to Muay Thai, though.

Edited December 13, 2010 by Creepy Lurker

[UnworthyPapaLazaru]

Right. Diet!

 

I'm skinny and bulking up is my goal. My gym work over the past few months has definitely changed my body a bit. Firmer for sure, and better tone. But I feel I need to get the ?fuel? better though. Not cause I'm tired, more for buk.

 

I have never been a big eater, but I realise if I want to bulk up I need to take in more food. I?ll list my intake today and would appreciate your comments. This is fairly typical of what I?ll eat in a day.

 

Breakfast

 

Small bowl of rice crispies with semi skimmed milk

Two bits of wholemeal granary toast with peanut butter (whole earth stuff) and half a sliced banana.

The rest of the banana

Fruit Yogurt

Cup of tea with semi skimmed milk and one sugar.

 

Snacks

 

Over the course of the working day I will have

 

3 Clementine oranges

1 apple

1 banana

Mixed unsalted nuts (I have a Tupperware box on my desk and I tuck in at regular intervals)

Water

 

Lunch

 

Wholemeal roll with chicken mayo sweet corn

 

Dinner

 

Mince with carrot and onion and tatties.

 

Supper

 

Two bits of wholemeal toast probably another bowl of rice crispies.

 

I realise this isn?t all good but I don?t think its all that bad as far as decent eating goes. Is it? Is it enough? A fair bit of dairy in there but I need to fatten up! I also eat a lot of chicken. It is quite normal for this to be my main evening meal three or four times a week. Certainly not as regimented as you Creepy!!

[Ragnar]

Right. Diet!

 

I'm skinny and bulking up is my goal. My gym work over the past few months has definitely changed my body a bit. Firmer for sure, and better tone. But I feel I need to get the ?fuel? better though. Not cause I'm tired, more for buk.

 

I have never been a big eater, but I realise if I want to bulk up I need to take in more food. I?ll list my intake today and would appreciate your comments. This is fairly typical of what I?ll eat in a day.

 

Breakfast

 

Small bowl of rice crispies with semi skimmed milk

Two bits of wholemeal granary toast with peanut butter (whole earth stuff) and half a sliced banana.

The rest of the banana

Fruit Yogurt

Cup of tea with semi skimmed milk and one sugar.

 

Snacks

 

Over the course of the working day I will have

 

3 Clementine oranges

1 apple

1 banana

Mixed unsalted nuts (I have a Tupperware box on my desk and I tuck in at regular intervals)

Water

 

Lunch

 

Wholemeal roll with chicken mayo sweet corn

 

Dinner

 

Mince with carrot and onion and tatties.

 

Supper

 

Two bits of wholemeal toast probably another bowl of rice crispies.

 

I realise this isn?t all good but I don?t think its all that bad as far as decent eating goes. Is it? Is it enough? A fair bit of dairy in there but I need to fatten up! I also eat a lot of chicken. It is quite normal for this to be my main evening meal three or four times a week. Certainly not as regimented as you Creepy!!

 

I would recommend bulking during the rest of the winter then cut during the summer. At the end of the bulk you should notice mainly fat gains but when you cut(Basically eat slightly less fat and do more cardio) you should be left with a lot of toned muscle mass. This worked with me as I used to be a low 140 pounds, I'm now 180lbs with around 10% BF.

 

Remember, the key steps are nutrition, sleep and of course going to the gym.

Drink atleast 2L water per day and as for supplements, for a bulk I would recommend a mass gainer shake, alternatively you could make a home-made one (Whey protein, Milk, Peanut Butter and oats all in a blender). Creatine is a good choice and you will notice gains on that. As for cutting stick to pure Whey protein.

 

Keep at it and try not cheat. It's hard working and tempting for chocolate etc, but it's worth it in the end trust me.

[Creepy Lurker]

Right. Diet!

 

I'm skinny and bulking up is my goal. My gym work over the past few months has definitely changed my body a bit. Firmer for sure, and better tone. But I feel I need to get the ?fuel? better though. Not cause I'm tired, more for buk.

 

I have never been a big eater, but I realise if I want to bulk up I need to take in more food. I?ll list my intake today and would appreciate your comments. This is fairly typical of what I?ll eat in a day.

 

Breakfast

 

Small bowl of rice crispies with semi skimmed milk

Two bits of wholemeal granary toast with peanut butter (whole earth stuff) and half a sliced banana.

The rest of the banana

Fruit Yogurt

Cup of tea with semi skimmed milk and one sugar.

 

Snacks

 

Over the course of the working day I will have

 

3 Clementine oranges

1 apple

1 banana

Mixed unsalted nuts (I have a Tupperware box on my desk and I tuck in at regular intervals)

Water

 

Lunch

 

Wholemeal roll with chicken mayo sweet corn

 

Dinner

 

Mince with carrot and onion and tatties.

 

Supper

 

Two bits of wholemeal toast probably another bowl of rice crispies.

 

I realise this isn?t all good but I don?t think its all that bad as far as decent eating goes. Is it? Is it enough? A fair bit of dairy in there but I need to fatten up! I also eat a lot of chicken. It is quite normal for this to be my main evening meal three or four times a week. Certainly not as regimented as you Creepy!!

 

To be honest, your diet doesn't look too bad at all. For weight gain, though, the key point to remember is that you have to take in more calories than you're burning; if you don't, it's physically impossible to gain weight. Even if you do, it's impossible to gain more than around a kilo a week (so don't be disheartened!).

 

As Jailbait says, bodybuilders tend to 'bulk' and 'cut'. Basically, this means that you take on even more calories and fat than you need: you'll put on a bit of fat, but you'll put on more muscle this way than if you 'lean bulk', which is basically consists of working at a smaller calorie surplus so that you'll put on muscle but not so much fat. Following this, you 'cut': that means that you intentionally move back to fat burn stuff, working at a bit of a calorie deficit. You'll lose a bit of muscle, but see a lot more definition as you lose fat and still end up having made bigger gains in a shorter time.

 

It's not so easy for me to give advice on weight gain, as it's never really been my aim. I see myself as more of an all rounder, and since starting Muay Thai I've actually lost quite a bit, which I'm not really bothered about either way. As long as I feel strong and like I look good, that's what counts to me; never really seen the point in obsessing over numbers.

 

Some of the same advice will still stand, though: eat the same foods as I've mentioned, but maybe a bit more of them. How many calories etc you need a day will depend on your height and weight, but as a starting point aim for 3,000 and see how you get on.

 

As far as supplements go, different things work for different people. I'd always reccommend starting out without them, or at least using them minimally: try to get as much of your protein as possible from natural sources, with supplements acting like...well, supplements to a healthy diet. As I said, 2g of protein per kilo of bodyweight's the magic number.

 

If you're really wanting to get into looking at what you're taking in, try to take in around 30% of your daily caloric intake from protein, 55% from carbs and 15% from fats (these are rough figures, other people will use different ones). Obviously, the same advice as before applies about good sources of each.

 

As I said before, I'll now post my own meals from today:

 

Breakfast: porridge (40g oats with 300ml skimmed milk) with a handful of walnuts, a handful of blueberries, a heaped dessertspoonful of powdered flaxseed and a teaspoonful of honey. Cup of black coffee.

Snack 1: Kiwi fruit with 40g mixed unsalted nuts. Cup of green tea.

Lunch: 100g homemade falafel on one wholemeal pitta bread with reduced fat mayonnaise, beetroot and lettuce. Pear. Cup of oolong tea.

Snack 2: two prunes. Cup of green tea. Protein shake (I wouldn't usually have a shake before training, but I'd noticed that I was going to be short of my 2g per kilo of bodyweight...as a general rule, I don't do this if I can avoid it).

Post-training: Protein shake. Banana.

Dinner: 90g couscous with 100g mixed beans, one chopped red onion, 25g sundried tomatoes, lettuce and a quartered boiled egg.

Before bed: 300ml skimmed milk with a handful of blueberries.

 

I'm not expecting anyone to copy my eating plan or anything, by the way. That'd be weird. It's just that I can hopefully give people a few ideas by posting like this.

Edited December 14, 2010 by Creepy Lurker

[UnworthyPapaLazaru]

Cheers lads. Really appreciate the responses. More to think about...!

[Bigsmak]

Sorry haven't read through the whole thread but am starting to try and lose a bit of weight. I downloaded this http://www.myfitnesspal.com to my phone and have started to keep tracks of how much I am eating. I plan to start doing exercises a lot more often as well.. This fitness pal thing keeps a track of it all and you can put in your current weight, waist size, neck size etc...

 

Anyone used it before? I've only been using it for 2 days now and already, because I enter everything I eat on my phone, I'm a lot more conscious about what I am eating (or planning to eat with my packed lunch etc)

 

Still what I have read of this thread... Great ideas here!

[Creepy Lurker]

Writing down what you eat's a brilliant motivational tool.

 

I've had a really quick look at that site, and my only issue with it is that it automatically describes itself as a: 'calorie counter'. Calorie-counting's useful in some respects, but don't get too caught up in it...there's a lot more to nutrition than that.

Edited December 15, 2010 by Creepy Lurker

[Mr Romanov Saviour of HMFC]

Keep your meals coming CL, always good to get new ideas. Have to say I could never be as strict with myself as you and Tucks seem to be but my diet has certainly changed for the better.

[Creepy Lurker]

Will do, man, good to know that people are actually reading these and not just thinking: 'why is this weirdo telling us what he had for breakfast?'.

 

Yesterday's meals:

 

Breakfast: pear. Two egg omelette with 22 almonds, lettuce and two chopped beetroot. Black coffee.

Snack 1: 30g pecans. Handful of pecans. Green tea.

Lunch: Grilled cod fillet with lemon juice and black pepper, served with a green salad dressed with lemon juice and 1 tsp olive oil, mixed with half a sliced fennel bulb, a red onion and two tablespoonfuls of black olives. 48 blueberries and a kiwi fruit. Oolong tea.

Snack 2: hard boiled egg. Two oatcakes. Green tea.

Dinner: Quinoa kedgeree - poached tuna steak flaked into a bowl with 75g (dry weight) quinoa and one chopped boiled egg with two teaspoonfuls of olive oil and seasoned with black pepper.

Snack 3: Handful of blueberries. 170g pot of Total 0% Greek yoghurt.

 

I'm actually taking a week off from the gym at the moment, so obviously nothing post-training. Should also note that I did my weekly shop yesterday afternoon and was running low on food before that, hence the reliance on eggs.

 

Today, I'm only planning it as far as snack 2 on the basis that it's my last exam of this semester today and as of five o'clock I'll be too busy getting steaming to bother about diet. Here's what I'll be doing until then, though:

 

Breakfast: porridge (40g oats, 300ml skimmed milk) with 10 strawberries and powdered flaxseed. Coffee.

Snack 1: 170g pot of Total 0% Greek yoghurt with a handful of blueberries and 1 tsp honey. Green tea.

Lunch: Smoothie - one scoop whey protein, 80g raspberries, 80g blueberries, 50g blackberries and water. 30g Brazil nuts. Coffee. Half a grapefruit.

Snack 2: 100g cottage cheese. Kiwi fruit. Coffee.

Later: more coffee, probably to wash down Pro Plus! It's exam time, so **** it. I'm going caffeine crazy.

 

After that, **** it. They actually do say that it's biologically useful to have a 'cheat day' every 7-10 days on the basis that it keeps your body guessing (as well as the common sense reason that you're more likely to eat well during the week if you know that you're phoning in a Chinese on Friday night!). Mine tend to be closer to every seven days and based around alcohol. When I'm not busy with essays/exams/having a job, I'm sometimes lucky if I can keep it that low. Been pretty good recently, but the festive season'll probably be a bit rough...

 

If anyone's looking for meal ideas, the Men's Fitness website's brilliant: http://www.mensfitne...o.uk/nutrition/

 

I work out my own meal plans etc, but I tend to use a lot of their recipes as they come up with some great ideas. Otherwise, I don't think that I'd be able to stick to a diet of chicken breast, brown rice and protein shakes every day!

Edited December 16, 2010 by Creepy Lurker

[The People's Chimp]

Back to the gym after a lengthy lay off through pressures of work and glad I'm back now, before christmas. It's fairly good to read this thread occasionally to pick up the motivation as it is all to easy to slip off again.

 

The diet stuff is interesting, as although I know all about diet and healthy eating, it's useful to reinforce that when there's box after box of chocolates flying around the office and you're in the middle of a stressful day.

 

Currently loving my baked sweet potatoes. Better nutrition that normal potatoes, tastier and apparently an excellent effect on blood sugar regulation. Have had baked sweet potato and a chicken breast baked in a tin foil parcel with cherry tomatoes and broccoli for lunch most of this week. I've just been firing it in the oven, then 40 minutes later letting it cool and boxing it up for the next day.

[Creepy Lurker]

Yeah, baked sweet potatoes are immense. I like to have one with 100g cottage cheese and one small tin of healthy eating baked beans* seasoned with black pepper at lunchtime. Perfect.

 

*fun fact: Tesco Value baked beans are nutritionally almost identical to the 'healthy eating' ones.

[Nelly Terraces]

One other thing, as CL has pointed out above, check the lables on the food you buy, some 'healthy' and 'fat free' stuff is far from it, packed with sugar/salt and other nasties.

 

I've just done a 10m run, 2m warm up and down either side of 6miles at marathon goal pace (6.50 min mile) Here's my food for today.

 

Breakie:

Large bowl of of bran flakes, with skimmed milk (the red top stuff), 1 banana and 2 cups of coffee, again with skimmed milk.

Mid morning snack:

Coupla oatcakes and a coupla digestive bics and an apple.

** On my run I decked a 250ml bottle of Powerade and some jelly sweets ** Mid afternoon snack:

Banana, and some more oaties.

Lunch: 2 large rolls with tuna mayo, tomato and cucumber, and multigrain bar.

Dinner:

Bowl of wholewheat pasta with a homemade tomato/anchovie/olive (puttenesca) sauce and parmesan cheese. And probably a Mars bar for later on, I've always got a sweet tooth in the evening!

Gotta say, that's kind of like my midweek diet, the weekends are a bit of a different proposition, i.e. a few beers/glasses of wine, the odd takeaway/roast dinner etc. You can't live like a ***** monk the entire time. Cheers.

Edited December 16, 2010 by Nelly Terraces

[Ragnar]

Here's my current diet:

 

Oats with Milk

Banana

Milk

 

Bread

Chicken Fillet

 

Pasta with Cheese

Tuna

 

Steak

Cheese

 

Protein Shake

Wheatabix

Milk

 

Brown Rice

Cottage Cheese

 

Protein Shake

Omelette

Milk

 

This and 2L+ water, plus Creatine Capsules and Multi-Vitamin tablets.

Edited December 16, 2010 by Jailbait

[UnworthyPapaLazaru]

 

Gotta say, that's kind of like my midweek diet, the weekends are a bit of a different proposition, i.e. a few beers/glasses of wine, the odd takeaway/roast dinner etc. You can't live like a ***** monk the entire time. [/size][/font]Cheers.

 

Same, it all goes to tits up at the weekend Still, I am pleased with my progress so it cant be doing that much harm.

 

Took it a bit easier in the gym today as I was feeling it a bit from yesterday. Will miss tomorrow and have a full christmas lunch and get steamin drunk instead.

[Creepy Lurker]

Can anyone give me any advice as to where'd be a good, cheap gym to join in Edinburgh? Ideally, I'm looking for one that does month memberships or similar, as I'll only really be back for the month of January. Preferably in the west or centre of the city.

 

Just had a rest week and can't wait to get back into it this week! Not back until Wednesday evening, so I'll use the gym here this week. Also looking to join Headhunters MMA in Leith, anyone able to let me know if they're any good?

 

Since I'm here, today's food:

 

Breakfast: 2 tbsp oats and 4tbsp mixed seeds soaked in 300ml milk overnight, with a grated apple and handful of mixed almonds and raisins stirred in this morning. Black coffee.

Snack 1: 2 oatcakes with natural peanut butter. Green tea.

Lunch: 1 wholemeal pitta with 2 tbsp cottage cheese, 1 tbsp raisins, lettuce, yellow pepper and tomato. Oolong tea. Half a grapefruit.

Snack 2: Handful of raspberries and mixed seeds. Green tea.

Dinner: Turkey & vegetable stir fry with sesame seeds. 70g brown rice.

Snack 3: Apple. 1 tbsp almond butter.

[Carl Weathers]

Some great advice on nutrition and eating well here. Quite inspirational - seriously!

 

I've not been to the gym for 4-5 weeks and eating/drinking far too much rubbish.

 

I don't want to fall into the New Years clich? but it might have to be that way!

 

I think I'll need to knock the beer on the head and look at eating better, particularly whilst at work.

 

I often don't have a proper breakfast and have bad, convenient lunches like m&s sandwiches, meals out of the staff canteen and the occasional greggs. I should plan my diet well in advance and make sure I have loads of good stuff at home. I make an effort to pop to the supermarket tomorrow and have a good few days before Xmas...

 

I'll come back to this thread soon.

 

Cheers

[Ragnar]

David Lloyd do a ten day pass for a fiver.

[Bigsmak]

Well I've been doing the looking after what I eat for 1 week now and have actually lost 3lbs and I can't believe it.

 

I was 14st 3lbs now 14stone on the dot. This is all through using the my fitness pal app on my phone, counting calories and just cutting out the snacking and excessive portion sizes. I was targeting to lose one and a half pounds a week and I know that this weeks loss is probably a reaction from my body to lack of chocolate and crisps and beer but am still very happy.

 

So accounting for a few bad days for Christmas I actually believe that I will be down to about 12 stone (or less) for my summer holiday in August.

 

week 1 - done

28 weeks to go!

[Creepy Lurker]

No-one able to recommend a cheap gym? 'k.

 

(Jailbait, if you were talking to me, cheers mate. I need a month's membership if possible, though...)

 

Today's food:

 

Breakfast: Porridge (40g oats with 300ml skimmed milk) with a scoop of banana flavoured whey protein mixed into the milk (first time I've done this: beautiful!). Black coffee.

Post-training: Protein shake (banana flavour PhD Pharma Whey with 200ml water). Banana. Orange,

Lunch: Homemade bacon, spinach (out of lettuce) and tomato sandwich on wholemeal bread. Cup of oolong tea. Half a grapefruit.

Snack 1: Banana. Handful of almonds. Green tea.

Snack 2: 100g cottage cheese on 40g rice cakes. Green tea.

Dinner: Tofu and sesame stir fry (stir fried ginger, chopped orange pepper, 100g green beans, one chopped steamed asparagus spear, 125g tofu, chopped spring onion, diced carrot, 1 tbsp sesame seeds and a splash of soy sauce). 50g brown rice.

Snack 3: Apple. 1 tbsp natural peanut butter.

 

My mealtimes have got a bit mixed up today due to a couple of long waits for a bus to the gym! Using the gym at uni, and as soon as the semester's over they slash the number of buses heading up there. As long as I eat the right amount, though, when I eat it'll make absolutely no difference.

[UnworthyPapaLazaru]

No idea about gyms mate. I use the one in my work.

 

Well after a stinker of a weekend on the booze, chinese take-aways and even a greggs, I have forced myself to the gym today and yesterdday. Not easy. But back on the regular food stuffs again - till next weekend! And then 10 days away from work and away from my gym. I might look into that 10 day pass at David lloyd to keep me going.

[Ragnar]

No-one able to recommend a cheap gym? 'k.

 

(Jailbait, if you were talking to me, cheers mate. I need a month's membership if possible, though...)

 

 

Don't know if they do that. They do stuff like summer memberships which are pretty cheap but not sure if they have anything throughout the winter.

 

Pure gym are cheap as ****, only 17 quid a month and it's open 24/7, facilities are no where near as good as David Llloyd's but it does the job concerning weights and cardio etc.

 

http://www.puregym.co.uk/Pure-Gym/Edinburgh

[Creepy Lurker]

Cheers, I'll take a look into that. As I said, I'll be joining a Thai boxing/MMA club in Edinburgh, so it could be that I'll have access to all of the equipment that I'll need there, but if not then it'll be good to have a look into a few different gyms. I know that Virgin Active have reasonable facilities and do month memberships, but there's a pretty hefty joining fee, which I don't like. Was a member of Green's in the past, and as I'm already on their database they could let me back for a month, but I don't use swimming pool, sauna or steam room so I'm reluctant to pay the high membership fee solely for the weights and cardio machines...

 

Sorry to be a pain in the arse, but do you know what the free weights are like at Pure Gym? Also, do they have a decent cable machine and kettlebells?

[The People's Chimp]

I'd imagine Pure Gym would be the best bet for you.

[Creepy Lurker]

I'll take a look into it when I get back. I may only end up being in Edinburgh four days a week, so if that's the case I might have a go at continuing to use the gym here on the other three and just doing Muay Thai in Edinburgh.

[Walrus]

Hey Guys, after the Christmas period I'm looking to turn my excess fat into muscle and bulk up before getting shredded for Summer. Any advice/tips?

[Creepy Lurker]

Happy to help, but would you mind being a bit more specific? If it's just general advice, there's loads in this thread...

[Ragnar]

Hey Guys, after the Christmas period I'm looking to turn my excess fat into muscle and bulk up before getting shredded for Summer. Any advice/tips?

 

The timescale is too short to get "shredded for summer". But as CreepyLurker said you're not being specific enough.

 

Are you wanting to go for the more lean look, or the bigger-bodybuilder type look? If you're wanting the more lean look I would reccommend cutting to loose this excess bodyfat you speak off then bulk for a good 4-5 months, after you've done that you should cut which hopefully if done correctly you'll have a lean looking body. But as I said depending on how much bodyfat you have then it can't be done before summer.

[Walrus]

Well I have a pretty good natural size, like 6ft 1" with really broad shoulders, decent sized arms. The excess fat I have, I have lost in the past and it doesn't take me long, maybe 4-5 weeks. I guess it would probably be bulking I want to do, but still maintain an athletic shape.

 

I think my biggest problem in the past is my eating habits. Eating the wrong stuff and eating at the wrong times.

 

What supplements you guys on? (If any)

[Ragnar]

Well I have a pretty good natural size, like 6ft 1" with really broad shoulders, decent sized arms. The excess fat I have, I have lost in the past and it doesn't take me long, maybe 4-5 weeks. I guess it would probably be bulking I want to do, but still maintain an athletic shape.

 

I think my biggest problem in the past is my eating habits. Eating the wrong stuff and eating at the wrong times.

 

What supplements you guys on? (If any)

 

If I were you then, I'd bulk from Feb till about July then cut during the winter. That would be my overall suggestion.

 

Do you know how to achieve this? Or do you need advice on working out, nutrition etc?

 

 

The supplements I take are:

 

Pure Whey protein (cutting)

Mass Gain shakes (bulking)

Creatine Capsules

Mutli-Vitamin tablets

Glutamine

BCAA's

[Walrus]

If I were you then, I'd bulk from Feb till about July then cut during the winter. That would be my overall suggestion.

 

Do you know how to achieve this? Or do you need advice on working out, nutrition etc?

 

 

The supplements I take are:

 

Pure Whey protein (cutting)

Mass Gain shakes (bulking)

Creatine Capsules

Mutli-Vitamin tablets

Glutamine

BCAA's

 

I think in general I get what I need to do, been reading through the thread. Just need to change my diet in particular, my workout routine is usually pretty good.

 

Got in good shape around Easter time last year but lost it when I started going out with my bird. I have been on Creatine Capsules before, didn't really do the trick for me.

 

Also been on a few of the Animal Supplements Range, like M-Stak, Pump and Cuts. Tried Lipo-6 as well to cut a bit of fat, worked well.

[Creepy Lurker]

Well I have a pretty good natural size, like 6ft 1" with really broad shoulders, decent sized arms. The excess fat I have, I have lost in the past and it doesn't take me long, maybe 4-5 weeks. I guess it would probably be bulking I want to do, but still maintain an athletic shape.

 

I think my biggest problem in the past is my eating habits. Eating the wrong stuff and eating at the wrong times.

 

What supplements you guys on? (If any)

 

As long as you're eating often enough, the times shouldn't really matter. Aim to eat six times a day, taking on protein every 2-4 hours.

 

Work out your calorie requirements using the Harris Benedict equation. You can find how to do that here. That's how many calories you'll need a day to maintain your current weight. If you want to bulk, take on more; if you want to cut, take on less.

 

A lot of people read this kind of thing and are like: "So I'm 6'5, weigh 14 stone and want to gain weight...I need a shitload of calories! Brilliant! I'm off to the chippy!". These people are idiots. You need to be getting your calories from good sources: think lean meat (mainly white meat like chicken or turkey breast, but red meat up to three times a week won't do you any harm), oily fish (including tinned fish, which is a good, cheap protein source), eggs, milk, nuts and seeds for protein; as a general rule, brown or wholemeal things for carbs (brown rice, quinoa, brown pasta in small quantities, couscous and most importantly of all, vegetables: aim for eight servings of fruit or veg a day, with the majority coming from veg as they're considerably lower in sugar) and things like olives, olive oil, milk, eggs, nuts and avocado for good fats. As a rough guideline, try to get 50-55% of your daily caloric intake from carbs, 30-35% from protein and 10-15% from fat. You need good fat in your diet; try to avoid trans and hydrogenated fats in particular.

 

As far as supplements go, I'd recommend getting your diet sorted out before even thinking about taking any: supplements are what they are. They complement a good diet, but won't replace one. Once you've been eating well and training hard for a while, then you can start thinking about supplements.

 

Personally, I've never looked to bulk; I'm not a bodybuilder, and have always seen myself as being more of an all rounder than anything. As such, all that I ever take's whey protein, and usually only right after training (which is the most important time to eat: you need something which is high in carbs and protein directly after training. Something like a natural peanut butter and banana sandwich on wholemeal bread or a multigrain bagel with cream cheese and sliced tomato is perfect).

[Ragnar]

Has anyone used Jack3d before?

 

It's a pre-workout supplement that I ordered today and wondering if anyone has used it before?

[Walrus]

Has anyone used Jack3d before?

 

It's a pre-workout supplement that I ordered today and wondering if anyone has used it before?

 

Looks similar to NO Explode which is a great pre-workout supp. How much was it? Where did you order it from?

Edited December 23, 2010 by Walrus

[Ragnar]

Looks similar to NO Explode which is a great pre-workout supp. How much was it? Where did you order it from?

 

25 quid from Bodybuilding.com

 

Looked up some reviews and it looks class. People have been saying they get side effects like itchiness and lack of sleep but will try it and see how it goes haha.

[Creepy Lurker]

So I went to this new Muay Thai club last night and was the only one who turned up. Apparently, there'll usually be about 20 at the basics class on a Thursday night, but due to the time of year it was just me...which meant that I got a one one one session with an ex-European champion.

 

That'll do me, bros.

[froginedinburgh]

No substitute for hard work and eating less!! Don't put too much emphasis on supplements.

 

This is a good thread by the way. This time last year I was well out of sorts health wise and my weight had ballooned up past 14 stone. I'm now 11.9st / 11st 13lb, lean and mean. I'm 6'1 tall by the way.

 

It can be done!

[Creepy Lurker]

No substitute for hard work and eating less!! Don't put too much emphasis on supplements.

 

Agree with the general sentiment, but it isn't about eating less so much as eating the right things. I've been on a calorie deficit over the past few months and am still eating significantly more than I did when I wasn't eating the right stuff...

 

You're right, though: supplements should ONLY be taken as additions to a balanced diet. Deep down, I think that everyone knows this but some people don't want to invest the time and effort that it takes to improve their diet, which is why they take all the supplements under the sun and pretend to themselves that they're eating well...

 

Edit: due to no-one else turning up to Muay Thai yesterday, I got a one-on-one session with the coach, who's an ex-world silver medallist! It was good, but showed me just how far I have to go even in terms of basic techniques.

 

Yesterday's meals (last time I'll be able to do this for a while...)

 

Breakfast: porridge with a heaped dessertspoonful of flaxseed powder. Black coffee.

Snack 1: Apple. Handful of mixed nuts. Green tea.

Lunch: Three egg omelette. Two grilled tomatoes. Oolong tea. Half a grapefruit.

Snack 2: 150g cottage cheese with carrot sticks, green pepper strips and cherry tomatoes. Green tea.

Post-training: Protein shake (whey protein with water). Natural peanut butter (Meridian, no added sugar or salt) and banana sandwich on wholemeal bread.

Dinner: Salmon fillet with 70g brown rice, a handful of mixed lettuce leaves and steamed carrot, brocolli and cauliflower.

Snack 3: 150g natural yoghurt with orange segments.

Edited December 24, 2010 by Creepy Lurker

[Creepy Lurker]

Tried to add this to my last post as an edit, but missed the time limit: due to no-one else turning up to Muay Thai yesterday, I got a one-on-one session with the coach, who's an ex-world silver medallist! It was good, but showed me just how far I have to go even in terms of basic techniques.

 

Yesterday's meals (last time I'll be able to do this for a while...)

 

Breakfast: porridge with a heaped dessertspoonful of flaxseed powder. Black coffee.

Snack 1: Apple. Handful of mixed nuts. Green tea.

Lunch: Three egg omelette. Two grilled tomatoes. Oolong tea. Half a grapefruit.

Snack 2: 150g cottage cheese with carrot sticks, green pepper strips and cherry tomatoes. Green tea.

Post-training: Protein shake (whey protein with water). Natural peanut butter (Meridian, no added sugar or salt) and banana sandwich on wholemeal bread.

Dinner: Salmon fillet with 70g brown rice, a handful of mixed lettuce leaves and steamed carrot, brocolli and cauliflower.

Snack 3: 150g natural yoghurt with orange segments.

 

Although there is a Muay Thai session on tonight, I'm not going. What I will do is a quick bodyweight circuit at home: four back to back tabata workouts (tabata = one exercise, 20 seconds on and 10 off eight times through). The exercises that I'll be doing'll be burpees, Hindu squats, knee hugs and press-ups.

[UnworthyPapaLazaru]

Well I had no idea what burpee and hindu squates were so I youtubed it. Im now back from the gym and If i cant walk tomorrow I am blaming you! Focused on the legs today, for the first time really. I normally do some dumbell squats etc in my routine but today I wanted to do more leg work (with a few press ups and bench dips for good measure). That will probably be me for the year aside from any workouts I do at home.

[Armageddon]

How about P90X

 

Anybody heard of it? Tried it? Need the stuff?

 

It's a USA thing, I done it for two weeks solid and there's no doubt the results were AMAZING!! I lost 8lbs in 2 weeks BUT I seriously toned up. There is a full eating plan (which includes shakes for muscle recovery) and there are 12 fitness DVD's, you do a different one each night, the guy on them is very USA cheese but the work outs really do work you hard. You need free weights and a pull up bar.

 

I seen some before and after videos on YouTube and laughed, I got all the stuff and there's no doubt it you stick to the full 90 day programme you'll be ripped.

 

I only lasted 2 weeks as after that I couldn't commit to the one hour a day exercise. On the 5th January i'll be back on it.

 

It's 3 30 day cycles, the first 30 days are pure protein, it strips the fat off you with the diet and exercise. The second 30 days start to add a little carbs back into the diet and core those harder to ready fatty areas the third section of 30 days re-introduce carbs and energy back into the diet. The exercise is set in a certain order and it's to do with muscle confusion, if you swim 100 lengths a day your body wont benefit as you get used to that routine, doing it this way means your body always works 100%. The muscle recovery shakes mean you can work at your peak each night as you're never in pain (you do need to take these) I take MaxiMuscle Promax from Costco.

 

If you need advice or want the stuff I can get it to you electronically.

[Creepy Lurker]

Well I had no idea what burpee and hindu squates were so I youtubed it. Im now back from the gym and If i cant walk tomorrow I am blaming you! Focused on the legs today, for the first time really. I normally do some dumbell squats etc in my routine but today I wanted to do more leg work (with a few press ups and bench dips for good measure). That will probably be me for the year aside from any workouts I do at home.

 

Haha, how did you feel afterwards? It's a good wee workout for when you can't make it into the gym: only takes 16 minutes, you can do it in your front room (unless you're in a flat and have downstairs neighbours, I suppose) and it'll kill you if you do it at your highest possible intensity!

 

I'll be back at the gym today: much needed after the past few and before New Year's! Decided to see if I can get a month long membership at Green's, as although Pure Gym's ?16 a month there's a ?20 joining fee on top of it. If I was going to be a long term member it'd be worth my while, but a student membership at Green's is only about a fiver more and I know for a fact that they have all the equipment that I'll need. Don't know if they'll let me join for one month, though.

[Dusk_Till_Dawn]

I've kept off here for a while to put into practice a few of the tips given by our fitness experts. I've noticed a big difference from three things - doing weights and sit-ups before cardio work; doing more core strengthening work; eating porridge instead of normal cereal and eating nuts/fruit as snacks. Cheers to CL, Jailbait etc for your advice.

 

Feeling a bit fecked off though. Munching and bevvying over Christmas has undone some hard work and I can't see me getting to the gym more than once this week. Why is it that the steps backwards are always bigger and quicker than the steps forward?

 

 

[Creepy Lurker]

The attitude that I take at this time of year is that it's best to eat and drink what you feel like, exercise whenever you're able to and not feel guilty about it. If you go overboard on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Boxing Day, Hogmanay and New Year's Day, that's five days out of 365. Add a two week holiday to that and you've still behaved for 49 weeks out of 52. It's times like this that you get in shape for!

 

(Creepy Lurker: worst motivational speaker ever).

[Ragnar]

you mirin' my supp stash brah's?

 

Edited December 28, 2010 by Jailbait