For BG fitness fanatics, a question..

[Atreides]

a lot of BBers do empty stomach cardio first thing in the morning for fat loss. My guess is you have to make sure your nutrition the day before was spot-on, otherwise you probably run the risk of cutting into your own muscles.

[Osede]

Anyone have trouble eating right after they wake up? Maybe it's because I'm nervous about being late for work or something but I couldn't stomach half of a banana yesterday morning.

There is a period where I don't feel I need to eat during the morning. However, I must drink a cup of coffee everyday >.>

But right now, usually I don't have a big meal for breakfast, mostly likely 3-4 slices of bread with butter or nutella or any jam will do good for me. And for sure, I won't forget about my coffee.

considering I still have about 10 lbs of fat to lose it's not that bad. I could see that point of view if I was at the bf% I wanted, but I still have some work to do. Don't want to use muscle as your energy source, but my body fat reserves are still high enough that it shouldn't be an issue, right?

edit: I've never read or heard anything that says you HAVE to eat before you work out early in the morning (I'm up at 430am, teaching a class at 515am) as long as you supply your muscles with protein afterwords. Normally I do have something like a fast twitch to help power through.

If you stomach is not in hunger, yeah, you don't need to eat before workout. But it is a very bad idea that if you feel hungry, but you still don't want to eat a little snack before workout. I have tried this a few times, it turn out to be very bad.

I have working on losing body fat for this whole summer. What I can tell is that you may lose some muscle strength, but this just normal... I'm planning to bulk up for about 4lbs after I reach my body fat goal..

[Moss]

Will your body break down muscle as you sleep? I eat a decent sized meal with a casein shake just before bed, but I have a very fast metabolism and no food for the 7-8 hours I sleep could really be slowing my gains.

[Atreides]

muscle catabolism is way overblown, as long as you're eating enough calories throughout the day you probably won't have to worry about waking up a shriveled mass of skin and bones.

A high casein shake/meal right before bed will make sure you have some sort of fuel in your system while you sleep, and it's generally a good idea to eat something soon after waking up, but I don't think it's really going to cause you tons of problems unless your overall nutrition was off somehow.

[Osede]

Didn't supposedly you are building up your muscle when you sleep?

[Moss]

That is reassuring, thanks.

There is a deal for 15% off on a few ON products on BB.com from now until 8/25 if anyone is interested. The products are hydro whey, whey bars, glutamine caps, creatine powder, and NO.

[Atreides]

their creatine and glutamine are pretty good (always get the powder, it's much much cheaper), since they're simple and have just 1 ingredient.

oh and lol @ whoever takes CellTech

[Belkin]

Speaking of Creatine, I was thinking about investing in some since it is so cheap and a lot of people seem to use it. Right now I take NaNO Vapor (Nitric Oxide) for a prework out supplement and I absolutely love it. I did a little digging around and people add Creatine to some of their prework out supplements already but that didn't seem to safe to me. I don't want to be overloading on the supplements.

So how do you guys like Creatine compared to other supplements? Would it be a good thing to invest in, either to mix it with the NaNO or just cycle it after the NaNO period (3-4 months).

Also, what are some negative things about Creatine? I know what people around the gym say "oh, dude you gain all water weight and see no real gains" but I doubt these people have actually tried it. I don't want to look bloated or fat. I am only interested in gaining muscle mass and strength, not just giving the appearance of looking bigger.

[Zoolander]

Speaking of Creatine, I was thinking about investing in some since it is so cheap and a lot of people seem to use it. Right now I take NaNO Vapor (Nitric Oxide) for a prework out supplement and I absolutely love it. I did a little digging around and people add Creatine to some of their prework out supplements already but that didn't seem to safe to me. I don't want to be overloading on the supplements.

So how do you guys like Creatine compared to other supplements? Would it be a good thing to invest in, either to mix it with the NaNO or just cycle it after the NaNO period (3-4 months).

Also, what are some negative things about Creatine? I know what people around the gym say "oh, dude you gain all water weight and see no real gains" but I doubt these people have actually tried it. I don't want to look bloated or fat. I am only interested in gaining muscle mass and strength, not just giving the appearance of looking bigger.

The annoying part is all the water you have to drink. Using whey you already need to drink a lot and with creatine you really need to toss back the water. Other than that it is fantastic though. Just make sure you are taking it with simple carbs (why most of em suggest using fruit juice or something) because insulin is needed to bring the creatine to the muscles.

[richardd]

everyone's body is different and will have different results based on the products they use and the habits they work out and.... just way too many factors to even list.

if you want to know what's available out there and what ppl themselves find satisfying and their own testimonials, go here:
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/forumdisplay.php?f=48

[Atreides]

Supposedly there are very few health risks for creatine, unless you have a preexisting condition or something, and it's so cheap that it's basically something there's no reason not to take it. I mean, it exists naturally in all meat/fish so you're already eating it, just in lower quantities.

I like creatine a lot, it definitely makes me look a lot bigger especially after workouts, although I definitely retained water on it too lol. If I could only choose 1 I'd definitely take the creatine over the NO supplement, since creatine's benefit is more or less proven while NO's is questionable.

[Meat]

You cant escape the "bloat" that comes with creatine, i think it's pretty minor and more so it's pretty easy to get rid of, you sweat it out in a week and for the gains it's more than worth it.

[Mowgul]

Was just looking for a little bit of advice really on losing weight and gaining some muscle dont want to be overly big though.

Been going to the gym since around march, and started changing my eating habbits around late june, ive lost about 12-14kgs so far most of it comming off after i changed my eating habbits in july, atm weight about 118kgs and im 5"10. I have lost alot of fat still have alot but lost alot in my face arms legs and chest, stomach is going little at a time but not as much as i would like, before i joined the gym i pretty much had no experience with weights so ive gained alot of muscle so far.

Go Gym Mon Wed Fri

Legs & Shoulders on Monday
Biceps & Back on Wednesday
Chest & Triceps on Friday

Finishing each work out with around 10-15 mins on the rowing machine, and doing 5 reps 5 times, 4 times on each muscle.

I think i eat around 1200-1500 cal's a day

Breakfast i have Oatmeal with 1 Banana
Morning break peanut butter with an apple or other fruit
Lunch Half of large potato, with 1 skinless chicken breast, usualy put some spices on the breast, sometimes tuna.
Afternoon break, same as first.
Dinner, same as lunch.

Usualy dont eat before the gym i would say 2-3 hours before my work out is the last time ive eaten, then wait around an hour after my work out before.

Usualy cheat about once a week on the diet, either with bad food or beer, was told this was a good thing to keep the body to thinking its not on the diet to make it easier to lose weight.

Ive done little bits of research and from things ive been told things is what ive been following.

[Osede]

try to increase your calories intake to between 1500-1800. it seems way too low, especially when you lose your weight so fast, you will found that you will have some ugly look skin (I don't know how to describe it).

Try to do 5 days per week workout. But not necessary do weight lifting for all 5 days. Can be cardio like jogging, swimming as alternative. Usually the stomach fat will get lose in last. And this will require some extensive exercise to get rid of it >.>


edit: oh yea, don't get starved when go to workout. if you feel you are hungry, just grab alittle snack (just a little).

[richardd]

be careful when you buy eggs caiti/sath or anyone else

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_tainted_eggs

ugh, i hate reading shit like this, but luckily the 5 dozen egg brand, 'sunny meadows' wasnt effected lol

[Mowgul]

try to increase your calories intake to between 1500-1800. it seems way too low, especially when you lose your weight so fast, you will found that you will have some ugly look skin (I don't know how to describe it).

Try to do 5 days per week workout. But not necessary do weight lifting for all 5 days. Can be cardio like jogging, swimming as alternative. Usually the stomach fat will get lose in last. And this will require some extensive exercise to get rid of it >.>


edit: oh yea, don't get starved when go to workout. if you feel you are hungry, just grab alittle snack (just a little).

ya i have some loose skin on my upper arms, its not to nice, i know what you mean.

Just my arms so far though, i never had to much fat on my legs because i walk alot, but my stomach has alot, ive started over last week or so to do a few things at home when i can on Tuesday Thursday to help.

[Weiing]

@Losing muscle when not eating at set times-- I think that is waaaay overblown. If you somehow skip a meal, your body won't immediately go to your muscle for fuel. It takes awhile for your body to actually freak out.

I actually work out in the early morning with an empty stomach. I eat right after though (usually a muscle milk nowadays, or sometimes I even skip breakfast). There is some debate about the effectiveness of working out (read: lifting weights) on an empty stomach and having to eat some carbs/protein beforehand. I think it really depends. At this point, I don't care to wake up earlier tahn I already do to work out... and I still work out just fine. If your curious about not eating before workouts, look into intermittent fasting and what they have to say.

@Mowgul- you are eating way less than you should be. Also, if you seriously are just eating meat and potatoes for every meal, every day...I'm surprised you haven't gotten sick of it. Probably eat more veggies? Like, actual vegetables? However, if that isn't really your daily meal plan then... sorry.

@ Rich and eggs - It's why you don't buy crappy eggs... duh. It's why you find a farmer nearby who sells eggs (at cheap, usually) or dish out the money for other local eggs. I know, I know...USDA is really lenient and "free range organic" eggs is just a label that holds no real validity to it (usually). Thus, it's always best to try to find a local farmer, which I have found through craigslist and farmers markets. Or just buy eggs at Trader Joe's....I usually trust whatever they sell has some good quality standards. You can thank factory farming and crap though, which is where most of the everyday brand of eggs comes from.

edit:
side note observation that I've been realizing-- Why is there such a psychological effect on having someone spot you? For two decline benching days in a row, it was so hard to do 5 reps of 70lbs for 4 sets, but the last set (5th set) I could pump 5 reps of 70lbs with ease because I had someone spotting me.

[Meat]

Was just looking for a little bit of advice really on losing weight and gaining some muscle dont want to be overly big though.

Been going to the gym since around march, and started changing my eating habbits around late june, ive lost about 12-14kgs so far most of it comming off after i changed my eating habbits in july, atm weight about 118kgs and im 5"10. I have lost alot of fat still have alot but lost alot in my face arms legs and chest, stomach is going little at a time but not as much as i would like, before i joined the gym i pretty much had no experience with weights so ive gained alot of muscle so far.

Go Gym Mon Wed Fri

Legs & Shoulders on Monday
Biceps & Back on Wednesday
Chest & Triceps on Friday

Finishing each work out with around 10-15 mins on the rowing machine, and doing 5 reps 5 times, 4 times on each muscle.

I think i eat around 1200-1500 cal's a day

Breakfast i have Oatmeal with 1 Banana
Morning break peanut butter with an apple or other fruit
Lunch Half of large potato, with 1 skinless chicken breast, usualy put some spices on the breast, sometimes tuna.
Afternoon break, same as first.
Dinner, same as lunch.

Usualy dont eat before the gym i would say 2-3 hours before my work out is the last time ive eaten, then wait around an hour after my work out before.

Usualy cheat about once a week on the diet, either with bad food or beer, was told this was a good thing to keep the body to thinking its not on the diet to make it easier to lose weight.

Ive done little bits of research and from things ive been told things is what ive been following.

everything seems ok, even the cheat

[Belkin]

ya i have some loose skin on my upper arms, its not to nice, i know what you mean.

Just my arms so far though, i never had to much fat on my legs because i walk alot, but my stomach has alot, ive started over last week or so to do a few things at home when i can on Tuesday Thursday to help.

The upper arm flab is probably due to tricep inactivity. Try to get a good tricep workout in once or twice a week. Getting some muscle up in that bitch will make it not so flabby.

You can KINDA do the same thing for abs and obliques, but most of the time it will just make you look fatter because you still have that layer of fat hiding muscular abs.

In short: start doing High Intensity Interval Training. Periods of light cardio (jogging or brisk walk) followed by bursts of sprints basically. This is a great fat burning technique.

[Mowgul]

i throw in some veg every most of the time, mostly onions, lettuce, beans or corn

I have around a handfull of carbs and protien in the meals, with veg on the side. What else should i be eating? or how much more should i be eating, i thought 5, some times 6 times a day (depending on my shifts) in little portions would be a good thing.