For BG fitness fanatics, a question..

[Atreides]

From what I've read, they work slightly differently. Flax oil contains alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) which your body can then turn into the fatty acids your body needs-- inluding EPA and DHA, which a good quality fish oil provides raw in relatively large quantities.

For weightlifting I'm assuming you're taking fish oil for the anti-inflammatory properties of the EPA/DHA, which require that your body convert the ALA in flax oil into that first-- and that doesn't always happen (if you have health concerns, or if your body needs a different fatty acid other than EPA/DHA), and when it does happen it doesn't occur at a rate high enough that would make flax oil comparable to fish oil's benefit.

If your overall goal is to get anti-inflammatory and long term health benefit from EPA/DHA then I'd definitely take fish oil, or eat plenty of salmon and round out your diet with flax oil or other ALA sources like walnuts/hemp to make up any deficiency.

In fact, I've been considering adding a small amount of flax oil/flaxseed to my diet in addition to EPA/DHA from fish oil, to make sure I get the other fatty acids I might be lacking in my diet... but I have to do some research on that first.

[Gustave]

What do you guys recommend for carry-to-work lunch's? The only place to eat near my work is a sub-way and that shit gets old quick. I'm 5'9 185 trim enough. I'm not really trying to cut too much just yet but I don't want to plump up anymore. I just lost about 10-15lbs over the last 3~ months while putting on a few lbs of muscle.

My usual diet is:
6 AM Breakfast 1 Glass of 2% Milk with 1 scoop (1/2 serving 30gs of protien) of ON Procomplex.
7AM 16 oz of 100% Orange juice
9AM 3 Peanut Butter Crackers from vending machine
12AM Lunch (Sub-Way, Cold Pasta, or a grilled chicken sandwhich from a fastfood joint)
2:30 PM the other 3 peanut butter crackers .
5PM After workout ON Procomplex Shake(60g of protien) with 5 grams of creatine
6-6:30 Dinner changes everyday. Peanut butter and jelly on wheat or a tomato based pasta.
You can throw in a random bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios every other day? (love em)

[Meat]

Have a real breakfast with some carbs and take a shake for your 9 or 2:30 meal and maybe something like a yogurt\some almonds for another.

As for lunch, that's entirely your preference, i don't like reheated chicken, i think it's dry, So i always take fish or beef and either rice or a sweet potato. Assuming you have a way to reheat the food bonus it's a lot cheaper than buying food everyday.

[Gustave]

Yea I'm just not a morning person so I'm normally up-shower-out the door without time for a breakfast. What about 2 nutri-grain bars and a glass of milk?

I think I'm going take a list for foods to put in our fridge at work. Yogurt/ 2% milk / cereal / nutri - grain bars.

I don't cook so I normally don't have food to take to work. Was hoping for something I could keep at work to make for lunch. Are any of the frozen dinners healthy for lunch?

[richardd]

Yea I'm just not a morning person so I'm normally up-shower-out the door without time for a breakfast. What about 2 nutri-grain bars and a glass of milk?

I think I'm going take a list for foods to put in our fridge at work. Yogurt/ 2% milk / cereal / nutri - grain bars.

I don't cook so I normally don't have food to take to work. Was hoping for something I could keep at work to make for lunch. Are any of the frozen dinners healthy for lunch?

breakfast is too important to skip out on carbs and those bars are mostly gimmicks anyways. IMO, at least. You might have good ones, but most have too much sugar (and other shitty corn-type ingredients) to get a good tradeout for protein/carbs/fibers you need from it

try to incorporate things like eggwhites, oatmeal, fruit and whatnot. just stop being lazy lol. that was my problem too. im NEVER hungry when i wake up anymore, so i used to just replace my meals with shakes, and i had such shitty diminishing returns on my lifts because of the energy i was lacking, that all started from breakfast.

[Weiing]

@ Zoo-- Yes. I am still doing that vegetarian thing, and don't think that'll change. No, won't ever be 100% primal but I make due with what I can, and follow the guidelines for the most part.

@ Gustave:

First, no frozen dinners please. They aren't that great for you...ever. Maybe once in a million years when you are really in a time crunch, but generally try to avoid them, especially if you begin to turn to that as your go-to lunch all the time.

And by briefly looking at a snapshot of your typical food, I don't think you're getting enough substance in your food. You can buy those ready-cut veggies, some mixed greens, some good meats, and some cheese or something. Put it in the fridge at work. You can make a salad; or bring some wraps/sandwich bread to make a quick wrap/sandwich with meat and stuff. (It saves money than always going to Subway/fast food.) Also, you don't necessarily cook, but you can make a big thing of whatever food you want to last a week or at least half of the week. That way you can bring leftovers to work and eat that.

Like resi---meat said, yogurt and nuts are very filling and a better alternative. Peanut butter crackers or something from the vending machine is most likely crap, too. Bringing your own PB crackers would probably save you money in the long run and will probably be less crappy. Or snack on nuts/yogurt/fruit/veggies/protein shake.

Nutri-grain bars aren't that healthy, either. Just by glancing at your diet I'm betting you're already taking in about 90% of some form of corn derivative.

[Crowort]

I just decided to research all of the supplements you guys listed...blows my mind that pretty much every single one mentions possible negative side effects with diabetes lol. This shit just gets more and more annoying. Couldn't believe I stumbled across "info" that fish oil can screw with glucose levels, gotta be kidding me. But in the same breath they say diabetics should take more than average people because of proneness to heart disease. Are we really prone though, or is it just because most of the "diabetics" are fat fucks that screwed up their body's ability to use insulin...blah.

I'm going to assume you are a type I diabetic, thou if you aren't then I don't know if my advice is going to help much.

I haven't read any research into it, but type Is I know have found that taking fish oils increases their blood glucose levels. My advice if you wanted to use it would be too do it and test, test, test. Just like when you try a new food and don't know how it will effect you.

You have to take 'don't use if diabetic' with a pinch of salt so many things can effect it.

[richardd]

Just by glancing at your diet I'm betting you're already taking in about 90% of some form of corn derivative.

yeah, thats what i figured as well. people need to learn to read labels lol

skinny, bulky, michael jordan, to michael phelps. you are never too healthy to see what ingredients you are putting into your body lol.

[Gustave]

I consider myself lucky to be in the health I am right now. After high school I was 187 and cut. I went to play baseball at a juco school and we had a crazy coach. Malnutrition and over exercise (along with 3-4 hrs of sleep a night and sometimes no sleep) I dropped down to 160lb. Just roughly guessing I prolly lost 25% of my overall strength and explosiveness. My vertical dropped about 6 inches and I always felt tired and had lingering injuries. I finally had a enough of the coach that it was no longer fun for me to play.

After that I played ffxi and did almost no physical activity for a few years. I would eat whenever and whatever (mostly fast food) and lived off soft drinks. My weight came back and went up to 195-200 but it was mostly fat.

About 4-5 months ago I gave up fried foods, junk food, and soft drinks. I've been going to the gym for a 4-5 months. I started off with cardio and light weight lifting progressing into much heavier weight/ lower sets. I am quite supprised at my gains so far as I am about to pass my high school max's and I am nearly as fit I was then.

I give most the credit to my diet and I feel like it's time to turn the proper nutrition up another step.

[Weiing]

Great so.... I hope you're taking in all our suggestions and what we've been saying.

Also @ Rich-- Michael Phelps isn't a good example (or is he?) because he apparently eats a lot of crap food but can still maintain his physique because of his workout. It's still crap food! :\

[richardd]

i suck@ editiing

[richardd]

http://blogs.wsj.com/health/2008/08/...ry-it-at-home/

he can eat like this because the dude is a fuckin machine lol

his life is working out and staying fit, and the foods he eats are GREAT for energy replenishment, but i was referring to the body structure you are working your way up to. even if you have a body like HHH from WWF, you'll still want to read labels to make sure you're not putting too much crap in your body. you can never be too healthy to be a semi nutritionist for yourself

[Gustave]

Great so.... I hope you're taking in all our suggestions and what we've been saying.

Also @ Rich-- Michael Phelps isn't a good example (or is he?) because he apparently eats a lot of crap food but can still maintain his physique because of his workout. It's still crap food! :\

I am. I'm going to watch my diet/nutrition a bit better. That's why I was asking for suggestions. I just wish I payed this much attention to what I put into my body back when I was still playing sports.

[Weiing]

@Rich-- I was just saying he's not an optimal example as he is a machine and can get away with basically anything...sadly. :\

@Gustave-- Improving your diet just takes a little bit of work at the start. Eventually, it becomes second nature and won't seem like such an effort. Good luck.

[Kiro]

Check out that eating competition guy, the one from Japan. Tiny as fuck, in crazy shape, but he eats.. well, a lot.


Edit:
http://justjared.buzznet.com/images/...tomach-abs.jpg

This guy. Kobayashi somethin'.

[Atreides]

not pictured: arteries filled with plaque

[wagon]

Check out that eating competition guy, the one from Japan. Tiny as fuck, in crazy shape, but he eats.. well, a lot.


Edit:
http://justjared.buzznet.com/images/...tomach-abs.jpg

This guy. Kobayashi somethin'.

Yup, I watched the eating competition he participated at Coney island a few years back where he ate 50+ hotdogs. He had a very efficient way of stuffing and swallowing the sausages and bums, almost mechanical. I have seen a couple other eating competition online and the only fat competitors are from the US lol, all the ones from Japan and EU are often medium size that it defies the traditional impression of what the physique of a competitive eater should look like. I suppose many of these competitive eaters have an exercise regimen that helps cope with the massive intake of food if they want to stay healthy.

[Meat]

http://blogs.wsj.com/health/2008/08/...ry-it-at-home/

he can eat like this because the dude is a fuckin machine lol

his life is working out and staying fit, and the foods he eats are GREAT for energy replenishment, but i was referring to the body structure you are working your way up to. even if you have a body like HHH from WWF, you'll still want to read labels to make sure you're not putting too much crap in your body. you can never be too healthy to be a semi nutritionist for yourself

Semi related, i really cheated last night. i had Outback which included a 10oz steak, baked potato with the works followed by ice-cream from a coldstone and hit up a taco stand on the way home. Probably doubling my daily caloric intake in 2 meals.

Today at the gym i was unstoppable, granted it was only arm day. But i had more energy that I've had in months, my rest periods between sets were halved and even my cardio was nuts. i did 45 on the elliptical at 12 intensity when i normally do about 6 intensity. yeah for cheating. i should have done legs today

[Atreides]

since I've been cutting I only seem to get energy days like that following sex (the day after that is, going to the gym immediately after sex is like walking death) but never with food

[Meat]

has your labido been screwy as well. like i'm fairly disinterested in sex most of the time but ever since I've started to cut i just want to fuck everything on 2 legs