Healthy Eating Habits

what is your weight goals?   maintain, loss wieght...gain weight? 

My goal is to turn some of my fat into muscle. I am currently 5'3" and about 100 pounds. I don't necessarily want to lose weight, but tone what I have. However, i don't want to get 'bulky'. I know that the muscle i will gain will weigh more than fat, so i will most likely gain a little weight. that's okay with me - as long as it's good weight, not fat! i checked out the recipes on the site...any other suggestions? Things to stay away from eating? probably cut the chocolate, huh?

I am not a dietician, but in the search for "continous improvement" and my personal trainer studies I have come up with a few giudelines I follow:

> Avoid protein supplements. They are bad for your body and you DON'T need them.
> Eat according to the food piramid:
-reduce fats,
-eat carbs, fruits and raw veggies
> try to buy your food from natural/healthy stores.
> Try to reduce hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated oils. This is NOT easy, if you look at labels,but it is worth it.
> Eat small meals often, instead of large meals.
>Listen to what your body (stomach) likes or dislikes after each meal

If you need more info on any of teh above, please let me know.

Enrico in CO
Runner, Triathlete and ACE Certified Personal Trainer
(also editor for the runner section of www.beginnertriathlete.com starting in November)

Thanks for the guide-lines. I used to lots of heavy, mass-building weight lifting. When doing those types of workouts (non-endurance) it is good to have a high protein diet to re-build your muscles. I was not sure if that would still be valid when doing endurance workouts. I'll gladly cut it out!

-Amy Jo

In general the diet of Americans has much more proteins that anybody would need. In addition, meats often constitute a heavy load for the liver. But of course if you are doing heavy weight lifting you may need more than the average athlete.
Even for endurance events there is a need of proteins to help rebuilt the "damaged" muscles. Just use caution and consult a professional dietician if you have more specific questions about your specific situation.


Enrico in CO

Hey, I was interested in what you said about protein supplements. How are they bad for your body? What can one to if they want to strength train and want supplements?

im intersted too, about the protein supplements...i used to and may in the future get back on a high protein/carb powershake as i like to lift heavy and gain weight - plus its a great quick meal.  i have heard people say that a lot of protein is 'taxing' on your liver or kidneys though no specifics...is there a max % protein u should be eating if u want to gain muscle mass but not tax your system?

This user's post has been ignored.

As I mentioned above, the main reason why protein supplements are NOT recommended for the average person and athlete is because:
1. our diet in the wester world already contains much more protein than we need
2. Animal proteins put a heavy load on the kidney and liver
I am NOT a dietician, but I will try and post the amount recommended by my Personal Trainer study material maybe tonight....

Also, everybody is different: some people can eat 2 steaks a day without problems, for others it takes hours to digest a piece of meat. This is why I recommened that if you want to dig deep into this, you consult a professional dietician.

The other guidelines I wrote are mainly based on healthy eating:
Of course fast food will give plenty of energy (look at the caloric content) and will taste great too (maybe), but in the long run it is not good for your body to be eating fried food, hydrogenated oils (which some studies have linked to cancer), and processed food in general.
I want to keep my body healthy as long as possible, that is why I try to follow the rules written above.
But again, I don't want to upset anybody.

Hope this helps.

You're dead on as far as being carfull about trans fat consumption and all. But for my part I'm not so sure about what you said about protein consumption. It's true that a lot of people eat way to much of the wrong protein. It is generally accepted that for someone involved in some sort of training or active life style you should eat about 0.8 to 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight over one day. And ideally this amount should be taken thru out the day in 5 or 6 meals. Now if you think about it this can be a pretty large amount of protein, and I am fairly sure that most of you guys don't eat that in a day. Now I know some of you guys out there are thinking this is way to much and that this is more fited for someone involved in bodybuilding. Well the thing is that bodybuilders actully eat about 1.5 to 1.8 g per lbs of weight. And when you think about the amount of work that is involved in your training those legs (and other muscles) need those proteins. Oh yeah, I talked about the wrong kind of protein. Red meat is ok and all but in some moderation and you should stick to lean cuts like loin. Most of your protein intake should come from chiken or fish.

As for the concern for the kidneys, if you stick to 1g/lbs of body weight there should be no problems. What you should also do is drink plenty of water to help out those kidneys and also promote protein absorption. But you should already be doing this....if not go get that bottle of wather!

Hope this helps a bit

Fat into muscle ? Not possible champ. You can loose fat, and build, define muscle, however fat does not change into muscle

Some Strength training myths are:

a. Myth. If you lift weights, you will become muscle bound.
b. Fact. A properly organised and conducted strength development program will increase muscular strength and endurance, speed of movement and flexibility.
c. Myth. When you quit lifting weights, your muscle turns to fat.
d. Fact. Muscle does not turn into fat, nor does fat turn into muscle.
e. Myth. To get bigger and stronger muscles you need to take in large amounts of protein in your daily diet.
f. Fact. Protein supplements in large doses is usually not required during weight training. An adequate amount of protein for a member involved in heavy resistance training is .8 to 1.5grams per kilogram of body weight. This intake can be easily accomplished through a well-balanced diet.
g. Myth. Exercising specific areas of the body will burn away fat in those areas (spot reduction).
h. Fact. Research does not support the theory of spot reduction.
i. Myth. You have to spend 2-3 hours a day in the weight room to improve strength and muscle size.
j. Fact. Excellent gains in strength and muscle mass can be made in 45-60 minutes of training, 2-3 times per week, if properly conducted.
k. Myth. Women who lift weights will get large, bulky muscles like a man.
i. Fact. Increases in muscle size as a result of weight training are largely due to the body's testosterone level. Testosterone levels of women are 10 times lower than men. Therefore, women have a limited potential to increase muscle size.

Craig