Vitamins

Ok that is a step. But I have heard and read that multi vitamins are actually not good for you because they usually just pass through you.... Any insight on this?

That is false, what you probably heard/read was MOST of the vitamin passes through you.
When you take a multi, your body cannot process the amount of each vitamin or mineral that is in the pill-- i.e 1,000,000% of your daily value of VitaminC. Therefore you end up peeing out SOME/MOST of it, you do get benefit from taking a multi-especially if weight training.
Some, including myself, listen to their body, if i feel im missing something I will try to figure outwhat that is, do i take a multi now? no, because i eat whole greens,veggies,healthy carbs, healthy fats, and lean proteins so i feel i get everytihng i need at this moment. If that changes I will go back to multi-but i took multi's all my life-they are not bad for you at all. depends on the type as well, your basic multi will do the trick-dont get fancy.

umm there is iron in alot of food men/people eat every single day.....
so that would make me think otherwise, are you talking about an iron excess??

Sure, and I can sympathize with your situation as a former overweight individual myself.
First off-excellent with the soda-no one needs soda, diet, light, zero whatever, regular-all of it is crap. id rather eat 4 cookies than drink 1 soda-at least your body can use the stuff in the cookies. anyways-no more ranting about soda.
What I typically eat in a day is basic on many levels but it is the execution of these nutrients that plays the largest role. basically every single day I eat:
pre morning working-banana
Breakfast(post morning workout)- whole oats-not instant, 1/2 small package of raisins mixed in and either egg whites with part skim cheese or a whey shake.
snack is anything from a "second meal" like 3.5 oz of grilled chicken with seasonings greenbeans and brown rice to something more simple like a low sugar yogurt and 1 oz of peanuts or mixed nuts.
next meal is chicken, green veggies, and either sweet potato or brown rice
next snack(pre evening training) is usually banana and whey (the whey so my body has protein and a quick digest fuel source for lifting+tri training) non lifting nights i nix the whey.
dinner is the same as third meal but with more healthy fats like olive oil to replace the carb serving since i usually don't include more carbs after my post workout shake(gatorade and whey) .
pre-bed could be some awesome fat free sugar free jello pudding serving made with skim milk or another 1 oz of nuts or skim milk, natural peanut butter, and whey shake. that is only on my long days with a long swim in morning, and then lifting and long training after lifting.

WOW. ok now that we have done that.....
I have some "possible" bad news for you....depending on how long you have been overweight will determine whether that extra skin with shrink all the way back in or if you will just be able to get it to it's most elastic. When i take my shirt off, i am toned and musclar everywhere on my chest and lats shoulders etc, heck you can even see the top 4 of my abs, but then i have extra skin hanging over my belt. I have been "fit" for 4 years and even counted calories to the nano-calorie all trying to get it tighter, i have been able to SOME but its still there, and basically i have been told i was overweight so long i would need a "male tummy tuck" to fully get rid of it.
Im not saying your the same case at all, just be aware of this and DONT LET IT FRUSTRATE YOU, it bothers me believe me-but right now im not worrying bout it, plus the surgery would make me have to take at least 2 months off from training-no thanks.

Regardless of what people tell you, YOU CANNOT SPOT REDUCE FAT, i.e. im gonna do 1000000000000 crunches everyday and thatll fix it.
Losing BODYFAT(not weight) and keeping muscle mass requires you to be 90% diet 10% exercise.
as the old addage goes-abs are made in the kitchen not in the weight room.

if you have any more questions please dont hesitate to PM me as i always enjoy helping others with this stuff since i know how much stuff there is to sift through.

That would be the first thing i say to you-you CANNOT be afraid of eating.
Trust me, ive been there-but ive played around with MANY MANY diets during my competitive bodybuilding and you would be AMAZED at the common misconceptions.
For instance-I did a diet comprised of NOTHING BUT healthy fat and protein, basically the only carbs i got were the nanocarbs in the peanut butter or such. I gained 3 pounds in 5 months-and my bodyfat went up .01%, meaning i put on basically 3 solid pounds of muscle eating high fat high protein-im not saying to do this-and you probably shouldnt. it is kinda like atkins but atkins kills people.(the diet i am referring to is more commonly known as ketogenic and would absolutely NOT work for triathlon)
anyways........the coke zero is fine-i just really really really hate soda.
my wife has one "beer" each sunday while we watch football i.e. coke zero. I don't like it but i leave her alone-she already deals with me enough.
I would advise you just make sure its not a intricate part of your diet, and trust me-i was addicted to soda a while ago as well-you can get over it.( i drank approx 8-9 sodas A DAY!) I haven't had one in 4 years. if thats what you like make it part of your "cheat meal(s)" and all other times opt for water.
start slow, but try to ween off it to the point your having 2 or 3 a week. and replace it all other times with water, water with lemon, you get the idea.
The goal with getting on an eating plan is to be committed to it each day and be organized-that is the MAIN thing-organization. each night i prep my next day's entire eating plan as well as ALL of my work cltohes, gym clothes depending on what im doing that day, and all other accesssories(zune,work pass, cell phone etc..) throw it all in bags and ziplocs and BOOM im ready for the next day by 9 pm and i can sit down worry free and watch tv for a few before bed.
once you create a routine youll find it getting much easier and allowing yourself flexiblity is the key.
Also include one cheat meal a week-i like saturday nights-where you tell yourself-for one meal im eating whatever i have been craving that week-and dont think bout it-guilt free-trust me if you have stuck to your diet.....1 meal outta 35(7 days times 5 eatings a day) IS NOT GOING TO HURT YOUR WEIGHTLOSS!!!!!
Be vigilent and patient-it will come.
one more thing DONT CUT YOUR CALORIES PER DAY MORE THAN 500 under maintence plus resting metabolic rate-don't rush, 250-500 calorie deficit is more than enough-im still losing bodyfat from when i was bulking and im eating under my number by 200 calories-and keeping my muscle mass. you want to keep the MM but lose the fat.


Edited by BeginnerMan 2008-12-23 2:14 PM

What would you prefer? Whey or Soy Protein? and how much should I be drinking a day? Like have a shake in the AM and in the evening? or after everytime I workout?

I prefer whey-and if you can swing it-dymatize elite-IMO best whey on the market-and i was an optimum nutrtion guy for years. breaks down easily in your stomach and the profile is awesome nutritionally.Before i directly answer your question i want to give you a disclaimer that was given to me when i first start that was very helpful.....
++++++Whey shakes do not replace whole food sources++++++++++++++
i never use more than 2-3 a day-even on long training days.
I typically will use them at these two times.

post morning workout for my protein source with my oatmeal and raisins
post workout afternoon mixed with powdered gatorade.
and as ive said sometimes pre workout but only on my long day. where my weight lifting is followed by a very long bike session.

Thats it. stick with that and your good. if you dont want to use it at breakfast use it for one of your snacks. make sure at every meal you get some carbs,fat,protein and youll be good. people try to overcomplicate this whole thing.
If you PM me your basic daily scheudle i could suggest nutrient timing specifically to fit your day.

A lot of nutrition/docs still recommend a multivit with minerals esp if you are doing a lot of training.  I like the ones offered by the Cooper Clinic online.  They have formulas esp for endurance athletes and know what they are talking about.  I also avoid the diet sodas- I think that eventually we will find that the artificial sweeteners screw up our insulin and thus our appetite/satiety levels.  Just look around us, as diet soda consumption has increased we haven't seen any decrease in the obesity rates.  good luck getting back to your training and health.

KOM-im interested in those multi's and their compound makeup, do you have a link??

www.coopercomplete.com.  I've been very happy with them.

I currently take Optimum Nutrition products and they are great, no GI issues and they are priced right too.

My problem is I don't know either what to eat and how much?  I am a person for years you have to clean your plate and I eat like I have not eaten in a long time! I don't know when to stop! I take lots of Vitamins and I would say I take over what I need but I feel I don't eat right so I need those Vitamins. I wish I could get on a diet that works for me. I am running out of steam on my workouts. Help!

A basic multi-vitamin plus extra antioxidants, and add alpha lipoic acid which is not typically in prepared blends. This super hero antioxidant "recharges" other antioxidants. This would be a bare minimum for an endurance athlete, even if you are eating very well. 

I have heard something along these lines as well.  I have a few people in the health industry who have all said that multi-vitamin pills are called "bedpan bullets"...for obvious reasons.  I personally would like to try the One a Day Women's H2O powder....but not sure about that.