could really use some help

The Queen of Cans and Jars wrote:
Dally wrote:

Patricia Heil wrote:

Ephedra is illegal because too many people have died from taking it. Keep
up with what you're doing and forget about speed.

In a shocking turn of events, Patty is wrong again. Ephedrine is
readily available in every drugstore in the U.S. and no one who has used
it responsibily has been shown to die from it. It's not speed, either.

well yeah but do you know what's used to make methamphetamine?

ephedrine, of course.

And saltpetre is used to make gun powder. That doesn't mean you're
going to explode after eating ham and pickles.

--
jamie )

"There's a seeker born every minute."

The Queen of Cans and Jars wrote:
Dally wrote:

Patricia Heil wrote:

Ephedra is illegal because too many people have died from taking it. Keep
up with what you're doing and forget about speed.

In a shocking turn of events, Patty is wrong again. Ephedrine is
readily available in every drugstore in the U.S. and no one who has used
it responsibily has been shown to die from it. It's not speed, either.

well yeah but do you know what's used to make methamphetamine?

ephedrine, of course.

And saltpetre is used to make gun powder. That doesn't mean you're
going to explode after eating ham and pickles.

--
jamie )

"There's a seeker born every minute."

"Nikko" wrote in message link.net...
I'm a 5'7" 34 year old male and am in terrible shape. I weigh about 210 lbs
and realistically I should be no more than 170 lbs.

first, 40lbs is nothing. I lost that over 5 months from February. I'm
6'1", 37, and started at 232lbs.

especially in the upper body, but right now I just want to lose the fat.

But looking back on it now, I think I went too fast and certainly
should have concentrated on my upper body, since I lost more from the
top than my waist, and now have ~10lbs still to go there.

I too didn't think a "diet" and muscle building together made sense,
but I think with the right WOE it can work. The main thing is to have
good protein and carbs right after lifting for muscle repair, and also
having enough carbs (as glycogen) at the start of exercise to power
it.

It's being fat that's bothering me most of
all. I want to see changes in my body as quickly as possible So what I'm
wondering is if I'm on the path to doing that or if there's a more effective
way.

My advice is to shoot for no more than a 1% weight loss per week, or
in your case 2lbs/week. This is plenty fast enough to lose the 40lbs
-- just 20 weeks!

Here's what I *have* been doing for the last three weeks: I've limited my
daily intake to between 1000 and 1500 calories.

This is way to low. Starving yourself works in the short-term but not
the long-term. With daily exercise, you will be burning at least 3000
kcal/day, and the calculation for fat loss is 1lb of fat = 3500kcal,
so to lose 2lbs/ week you need to have a 7000kcal deficit, which works
out to 1000kcal deficit per day, or . . . 2000 kcal/day of food
intake.

So 1500 kcal should be a daily MINIMUM not HIGH for you, because it is
true what we diet at is what we've got to maintain on.

I start out with an apple or orange when I first wake up. About an hour
later, I have a Zone Bar (210 calories - 7 grams fat, 21 grams carb, 16
grams protein).

Not a bad start. Though maybe a bit carb-heavy, I too start with a
cereal.

A couple of hours later I have lunch, which is a grilled
chicken breast (187 calories, 6 g. fat, 0 g. carb, 34 g. protein), broccoli
and green beans (total of about 3 g. fat, 17 g. carb, 4 g. protein).

200 kcal is pretty light here. You should have at least 4 meals w/
400kcal each throughout the day.

In the
mid-afternoon I have another Zone Bar, and sometimes maybe an apple a little
later on days when I am going to exercise. In my case, that means doing
cardio three times a week, usually for about 50 minutes. Mostly this has
been in the form of spinning/cycling classes. In the evening I have another
Zone Bar, and that's it. There has been very little variation from this so
far.

I second the recommendation for protein powder. I haven't tried many,
but I really like the taste of the one I use:

http://www13.netrition.com/eas_simply_protein_page.html

it's got stevia in it, so it tastes great with milk, either in oatmeal
or over cold cereal. I usually add it to my cheerios, and it's rather
quite tasty.

So my question is, am I on the right path? Is my calorie intake too high?
Too low? Not consistent enough?


I'd think about adding more calories for night. Remember, you've got
to go all that time between dinner and breakfast, and getting hungry
is most definitely not necessary for losing weight, as long as you eat
smart.

I know there's no overnight cure, but I want to make sure that I'm doing
everything I can to bring about my goal as quickly as possible.

gack. Don't worry about the goal. You'll be within spitting distance
before the end of the year. Worry about staying healthy and learning
how to not regain the weight.

I just finished my 24-week regimen, but I'm still on the plan since I
want to lose another 10 or so. If you're doing the diet right it's
just a way of life, and something you won't have to go off of once you
reach the goal.

In fact, the very word goal is the wrong word, since there is no end
goal -- if you work it right your body will always be improving from
here on, out to the future...

As you can
tell, I have so far not included any lifting in my regimen. Is it a bad
idea to completely ignore it for now? I just figured it'd be easier to lose
fat first by restricting calories and burning as many as I can (and I'm
operating under the assumption that 50 minutes of cardio will burn more than
50 minutes of lifting), then start lifting once I've gotten down near my
goal weight. Will this work?

It'll be great for losing MUSCLE. Don't go too fast.

Are there any supplements on which there is a
consensus that they are effective and should be part of my overall plan? I
would really like to try ephadra/ephadrine (whichever is more effective) and
I know that perhaps there is not a consensus on that one, but would
appreciate any info on the recommended frequency/amount of dosage one should
take. Also if there is a particular brand that anyone would like to
recommend, I'd appreciate having that information as well.

For 40lbs, forget it. Sheesh. 40lbs looks like a lot now but if you're
anything like me the first 30lbs will come off with little pain, and
only a bit of sweat.

2lbs/week doesn't sound very fast, but the weeks add up into real
results!

Heywood

232/186/182

"Nikko" wrote in message link.net...
I'm a 5'7" 34 year old male and am in terrible shape. I weigh about 210 lbs
and realistically I should be no more than 170 lbs.

first, 40lbs is nothing. I lost that over 5 months from February. I'm
6'1", 37, and started at 232lbs.

especially in the upper body, but right now I just want to lose the fat.

But looking back on it now, I think I went too fast and certainly
should have concentrated on my upper body, since I lost more from the
top than my waist, and now have ~10lbs still to go there.

I too didn't think a "diet" and muscle building together made sense,
but I think with the right WOE it can work. The main thing is to have
good protein and carbs right after lifting for muscle repair, and also
having enough carbs (as glycogen) at the start of exercise to power
it.

It's being fat that's bothering me most of
all. I want to see changes in my body as quickly as possible So what I'm
wondering is if I'm on the path to doing that or if there's a more effective
way.

My advice is to shoot for no more than a 1% weight loss per week, or
in your case 2lbs/week. This is plenty fast enough to lose the 40lbs
-- just 20 weeks!

Here's what I *have* been doing for the last three weeks: I've limited my
daily intake to between 1000 and 1500 calories.

This is way to low. Starving yourself works in the short-term but not
the long-term. With daily exercise, you will be burning at least 3000
kcal/day, and the calculation for fat loss is 1lb of fat = 3500kcal,
so to lose 2lbs/ week you need to have a 7000kcal deficit, which works
out to 1000kcal deficit per day, or . . . 2000 kcal/day of food
intake.

So 1500 kcal should be a daily MINIMUM not HIGH for you, because it is
true what we diet at is what we've got to maintain on.

I start out with an apple or orange when I first wake up. About an hour
later, I have a Zone Bar (210 calories - 7 grams fat, 21 grams carb, 16
grams protein).

Not a bad start. Though maybe a bit carb-heavy, I too start with a
cereal.

A couple of hours later I have lunch, which is a grilled
chicken breast (187 calories, 6 g. fat, 0 g. carb, 34 g. protein), broccoli
and green beans (total of about 3 g. fat, 17 g. carb, 4 g. protein).

200 kcal is pretty light here. You should have at least 4 meals w/
400kcal each throughout the day.

In the
mid-afternoon I have another Zone Bar, and sometimes maybe an apple a little
later on days when I am going to exercise. In my case, that means doing
cardio three times a week, usually for about 50 minutes. Mostly this has
been in the form of spinning/cycling classes. In the evening I have another
Zone Bar, and that's it. There has been very little variation from this so
far.

I second the recommendation for protein powder. I haven't tried many,
but I really like the taste of the one I use:

http://www13.netrition.com/eas_simply_protein_page.html

it's got stevia in it, so it tastes great with milk, either in oatmeal
or over cold cereal. I usually add it to my cheerios, and it's rather
quite tasty.

So my question is, am I on the right path? Is my calorie intake too high?
Too low? Not consistent enough?


I'd think about adding more calories for night. Remember, you've got
to go all that time between dinner and breakfast, and getting hungry
is most definitely not necessary for losing weight, as long as you eat
smart.

I know there's no overnight cure, but I want to make sure that I'm doing
everything I can to bring about my goal as quickly as possible.

gack. Don't worry about the goal. You'll be within spitting distance
before the end of the year. Worry about staying healthy and learning
how to not regain the weight.

I just finished my 24-week regimen, but I'm still on the plan since I
want to lose another 10 or so. If you're doing the diet right it's
just a way of life, and something you won't have to go off of once you
reach the goal.

In fact, the very word goal is the wrong word, since there is no end
goal -- if you work it right your body will always be improving from
here on, out to the future...

As you can
tell, I have so far not included any lifting in my regimen. Is it a bad
idea to completely ignore it for now? I just figured it'd be easier to lose
fat first by restricting calories and burning as many as I can (and I'm
operating under the assumption that 50 minutes of cardio will burn more than
50 minutes of lifting), then start lifting once I've gotten down near my
goal weight. Will this work?

It'll be great for losing MUSCLE. Don't go too fast.

Are there any supplements on which there is a
consensus that they are effective and should be part of my overall plan? I
would really like to try ephadra/ephadrine (whichever is more effective) and
I know that perhaps there is not a consensus on that one, but would
appreciate any info on the recommended frequency/amount of dosage one should
take. Also if there is a particular brand that anyone would like to
recommend, I'd appreciate having that information as well.

For 40lbs, forget it. Sheesh. 40lbs looks like a lot now but if you're
anything like me the first 30lbs will come off with little pain, and
only a bit of sweat.

2lbs/week doesn't sound very fast, but the weeks add up into real
results!

Heywood

232/186/182

"Nikko" wrote in message link.net...
I'm a 5'7" 34 year old male and am in terrible shape. I weigh about 210 lbs
and realistically I should be no more than 170 lbs.

first, 40lbs is nothing. I lost that over 5 months from February. I'm
6'1", 37, and started at 232lbs.

especially in the upper body, but right now I just want to lose the fat.

But looking back on it now, I think I went too fast and certainly
should have concentrated on my upper body, since I lost more from the
top than my waist, and now have ~10lbs still to go there.

I too didn't think a "diet" and muscle building together made sense,
but I think with the right WOE it can work. The main thing is to have
good protein and carbs right after lifting for muscle repair, and also
having enough carbs (as glycogen) at the start of exercise to power
it.

It's being fat that's bothering me most of
all. I want to see changes in my body as quickly as possible So what I'm
wondering is if I'm on the path to doing that or if there's a more effective
way.

My advice is to shoot for no more than a 1% weight loss per week, or
in your case 2lbs/week. This is plenty fast enough to lose the 40lbs
-- just 20 weeks!

Here's what I *have* been doing for the last three weeks: I've limited my
daily intake to between 1000 and 1500 calories.

This is way to low. Starving yourself works in the short-term but not
the long-term. With daily exercise, you will be burning at least 3000
kcal/day, and the calculation for fat loss is 1lb of fat = 3500kcal,
so to lose 2lbs/ week you need to have a 7000kcal deficit, which works
out to 1000kcal deficit per day, or . . . 2000 kcal/day of food
intake.

So 1500 kcal should be a daily MINIMUM not HIGH for you, because it is
true what we diet at is what we've got to maintain on.

I start out with an apple or orange when I first wake up. About an hour
later, I have a Zone Bar (210 calories - 7 grams fat, 21 grams carb, 16
grams protein).

Not a bad start. Though maybe a bit carb-heavy, I too start with a
cereal.

A couple of hours later I have lunch, which is a grilled
chicken breast (187 calories, 6 g. fat, 0 g. carb, 34 g. protein), broccoli
and green beans (total of about 3 g. fat, 17 g. carb, 4 g. protein).

200 kcal is pretty light here. You should have at least 4 meals w/
400kcal each throughout the day.

In the
mid-afternoon I have another Zone Bar, and sometimes maybe an apple a little
later on days when I am going to exercise. In my case, that means doing
cardio three times a week, usually for about 50 minutes. Mostly this has
been in the form of spinning/cycling classes. In the evening I have another
Zone Bar, and that's it. There has been very little variation from this so
far.

I second the recommendation for protein powder. I haven't tried many,
but I really like the taste of the one I use:

http://www13.netrition.com/eas_simply_protein_page.html

it's got stevia in it, so it tastes great with milk, either in oatmeal
or over cold cereal. I usually add it to my cheerios, and it's rather
quite tasty.

So my question is, am I on the right path? Is my calorie intake too high?
Too low? Not consistent enough?


I'd think about adding more calories for night. Remember, you've got
to go all that time between dinner and breakfast, and getting hungry
is most definitely not necessary for losing weight, as long as you eat
smart.

I know there's no overnight cure, but I want to make sure that I'm doing
everything I can to bring about my goal as quickly as possible.

gack. Don't worry about the goal. You'll be within spitting distance
before the end of the year. Worry about staying healthy and learning
how to not regain the weight.

I just finished my 24-week regimen, but I'm still on the plan since I
want to lose another 10 or so. If you're doing the diet right it's
just a way of life, and something you won't have to go off of once you
reach the goal.

In fact, the very word goal is the wrong word, since there is no end
goal -- if you work it right your body will always be improving from
here on, out to the future...

As you can
tell, I have so far not included any lifting in my regimen. Is it a bad
idea to completely ignore it for now? I just figured it'd be easier to lose
fat first by restricting calories and burning as many as I can (and I'm
operating under the assumption that 50 minutes of cardio will burn more than
50 minutes of lifting), then start lifting once I've gotten down near my
goal weight. Will this work?

It'll be great for losing MUSCLE. Don't go too fast.

Are there any supplements on which there is a
consensus that they are effective and should be part of my overall plan? I
would really like to try ephadra/ephadrine (whichever is more effective) and
I know that perhaps there is not a consensus on that one, but would
appreciate any info on the recommended frequency/amount of dosage one should
take. Also if there is a particular brand that anyone would like to
recommend, I'd appreciate having that information as well.

For 40lbs, forget it. Sheesh. 40lbs looks like a lot now but if you're
anything like me the first 30lbs will come off with little pain, and
only a bit of sweat.

2lbs/week doesn't sound very fast, but the weeks add up into real
results!

Heywood

232/186/182

jamie wrote:

The Queen of Cans and Jars wrote:
Dally wrote:

Patricia Heil wrote:

Ephedra is illegal because too many people have died from taking it.
Keep up with what you're doing and forget about speed.

In a shocking turn of events, Patty is wrong again. Ephedrine is
readily available in every drugstore in the U.S. and no one who has used
it responsibily has been shown to die from it. It's not speed, either.

well yeah but do you know what's used to make methamphetamine?

ephedrine, of course.

And saltpetre is used to make gun powder. That doesn't mean you're
going to explode after eating ham and pickles.

but you never know for sure, do you?

ephedrine does act similarly to speed for a lot of people. it isn't
necessarily speed, but it can be and it can also be a substitute for it.

jamie wrote:

The Queen of Cans and Jars wrote:
Dally wrote:

Patricia Heil wrote:

Ephedra is illegal because too many people have died from taking it.
Keep up with what you're doing and forget about speed.

In a shocking turn of events, Patty is wrong again. Ephedrine is
readily available in every drugstore in the U.S. and no one who has used
it responsibily has been shown to die from it. It's not speed, either.

well yeah but do you know what's used to make methamphetamine?

ephedrine, of course.

And saltpetre is used to make gun powder. That doesn't mean you're
going to explode after eating ham and pickles.

but you never know for sure, do you?

ephedrine does act similarly to speed for a lot of people. it isn't
necessarily speed, but it can be and it can also be a substitute for it.

On 8/3/2004 9:21 PM, Ignoramus7404 wrote:

There are two issues, one is the nutrients, as you noted. Even if they
add vitamins to those bars, they are not as bioavailable as the ones
from real food. Another is that these bars are full of sugar, which
does not have much nutritional value.

Fruit is full of sugar. A ZonePerfect bar actually has less "sugar" in
it than an apple.

Really, what JMA said is on track. Do what works for you. If you love
fruits and veggies, have a lot of them. If you like Zone bars, have
some of them. Try to do things in moderation and do try to mix things
up a bit so that you get the whole range of nutrients out there.

Are you happy with the results that you are seeing at this time? Is
this a Way of Eating (WOE) that you feel that you can maintain for the
long haul?


--
jmk in NC

On 8/3/2004 9:21 PM, Ignoramus7404 wrote:

There are two issues, one is the nutrients, as you noted. Even if they
add vitamins to those bars, they are not as bioavailable as the ones
from real food. Another is that these bars are full of sugar, which
does not have much nutritional value.

Fruit is full of sugar. A ZonePerfect bar actually has less "sugar" in
it than an apple.

Really, what JMA said is on track. Do what works for you. If you love
fruits and veggies, have a lot of them. If you like Zone bars, have
some of them. Try to do things in moderation and do try to mix things
up a bit so that you get the whole range of nutrients out there.

Are you happy with the results that you are seeing at this time? Is
this a Way of Eating (WOE) that you feel that you can maintain for the
long haul?


--
jmk in NC

On 8/3/2004 9:21 PM, Ignoramus7404 wrote:

There are two issues, one is the nutrients, as you noted. Even if they
add vitamins to those bars, they are not as bioavailable as the ones
from real food. Another is that these bars are full of sugar, which
does not have much nutritional value.

Fruit is full of sugar. A ZonePerfect bar actually has less "sugar" in
it than an apple.

Really, what JMA said is on track. Do what works for you. If you love
fruits and veggies, have a lot of them. If you like Zone bars, have
some of them. Try to do things in moderation and do try to mix things
up a bit so that you get the whole range of nutrients out there.

Are you happy with the results that you are seeing at this time? Is
this a Way of Eating (WOE) that you feel that you can maintain for the
long haul?


--
jmk in NC