The Health and Fitness Thread

Here it is for all you who want to improve the body and health and fitness...and share it with others
cheers
some of you may like to copy some of your posts from the other thread over to here

Was too hard to move things over to here and too must angst. A general title of health and fitness is appropriate. Those that want to discuss professional athlete dietetics can and those wanting to discuss weight training and exercise for fitness can also.

I've only recently started going back to the gym here in Lima and am loving it. Just doing whole body 3 x a week. And it seems muscle has memory. After just a couple of months I'm seeing some good results. Going for a walk/jog 4 x a week also but have to take it easy as I have old calf and back injuries that need care and attention.

By the way, you'd think that Peru gyms would be pretty crap and unprofessional but Gold's Gym here is amazing. Extremely well run. Great equipement. Trainers on the floor all day. A team of cleaners constantly tidying and whiping. Dietitians on board. And the aerobics instructors are really well trained. Surprising really.

Anyway, my aim is to just get some shoulders back. Sitting in front of a computer and drinking rum for the past 3 years has softened me up too much.

My main interest here is in what foods I put into my body and how they affect my well being and I'll be posting links and summaries of various relevant research and some personal anecdotes.

As far as cooking food and the effects of cooking on nutrients, the link below has some extensive research figures. It suggests for one, that vitamin loss during cooking is in the order of 10-25% which all things considered is pretty modest.

Generally speaking, it stands to reason that lightly cooked vegetables with minimal exposure to heat would lose less nutrients than vegetables exposed to long periods of high heat. My preferred coooking methods for vegies are steaming and stir frying.


http://www.beyondveg.com/tu-j-l/raw-cooked/raw-cooked-1a.shtml#top

This whole site is well worth exploring for anyone interested in food facts and myths as reported by veteran vegetarians, vegans and fruitarians. There's plenty of good science and research here.


http://www.beyondveg.com/index.shtml

Another walk this morning, followed by another liquid vitamin shot ie. the green smothie.

Once again I picked some dandelion from the yard, and also some parsley from the garden.

Into the blender with:

1/2 banana
handful of grapes
1/2 cup orange juice
3tsp ground flaxseed

The taste? The banana dominates as always, with a herbaceous, austere and slightly bitter finish. :

It's a lot more palatable than wheatgrass juice and I would suggest a bigger vitamin hit too.

Think I'll sell my Blackmores shares.

I have found the Question of Nutrition articles by Dr. Jonny Bowden to contain useful general information on food and nutrition. Certainly worth taking the time to read. Don't be scared off by the website they are on, there is useful information for all.


Question of Nutrition: Vol 1

Question of Nutrition: Vol 2

Question of Nutrition: Vol 3

Question of Nutrition: Vol 4

Question of Nutrition: Vol 5

Question of Nutrition: Vol 6

Question of Nutrition: Vol 7

8 More Power Foods

Thanks for those links gouryella. Among other things, I am going to get some Pomegranite juice next week (Vol. 3)



I came across this research on frying foods.

Basically protein and mineral content of fried foods is unaffected.
Some vitamins are more heat stable than others but the quick, high heat of frying and stir frying results in less loss of vitamins than other cooking methods.

Obviously you need to watch what oils you are frying with and how much you use.

http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~content=a905214677~db=all

Here's a vitamin chart showing various facts including which vitamins are heat stable and which are not.

http://www.healthvitaminsguide.com/vitamins/vitamins-chart.htm

bowman said:

My main interest here is in what foods I put into my body and how they affect my well being

http://www.beyondveg.com/tu-j-l/raw-cooked/raw-cooked-1a.shtml#top

This whole site is well worth exploring for anyone interested in food facts and myths as reported by veteran vegetarians, vegans and fruitarians. There's plenty of good science and research here.


http://www.beyondveg.com/index.shtml

Click to expand...

http://www.thepaleodiet.com/



Dr. Loren Cordain is a member of the faculty of the Department of Health and Exercise Science at Colorado State University. During the past two decades he has researched the effects of diet on human health and specifically examined links between modern diets and disease. He is the author of numerous scientific articles examining the link between diet and health, and has published three popular books, The Paleo Diet, The Paleo Diet for Athletes, and The Dietary Cure for Acne. Additional information and specifics may be found in the articles, books, and materials listed on this web site, and through The Paleo Diet Newsletter.

Our mission is...

To accelerate the widespread recognition of the evolutionary basis for the optimally healthful diet

To generate publicity, discussion, and research on this topic

To inspire health-conscious individuals and healthcare practitioners to adopt and recommend this way of eating

To promote a new paradigm of the nutritional basis for health

To help people reduce their risk of lifestyle-based diseases

motorway

Afraid i do all the right things but do all the wrong as well

Go for run of about 5 kms or go to the Gym for an hour everyday, but also probably drink too much alcohol (about 4 beers a day), don't really watch what i eat, if i like it i eat it and good fry up for breakfast is lovely and i also smoke sometimes

I see it as I'm balancing the good with the bad but maybe one day it will all catch up with me

Pager said:

Afraid i do all the right things but do all the wrong as well

Go for run of about 5 kms or go to the Gym for an hour everyday, but also probably drink too much alcohol (about 4 beers a day), don't really watch what i eat, if i like it i eat it and good fry up for breakfast is lovely and i also smoke sometimes

I see it as I'm balancing the good with the bad but maybe one day it will all catch up with me

Click to expand...

Are you getting the results you're after? What are your goals? Are you training for anything in particular?

If you're not happy with what you're getting out of your training, then just imagine how much better your results could be if you reduced those 'bad' things, let alone if you stopped them completely. If you're not happy with the results from your training then you're putting all that effort in and getting nothing back in return. It would be like banging your head on a brick wall

gouryella said:

Are you getting the results you're after? What are your goals? Are you training for anything in particular?

If you're not happy with what you're getting out of your training, then just imagine how much better your results could be if you reduced those 'bad' things, let alone if you stopped them completely. If you're not happy with the results from your training then you're putting all that effort in and getting nothing back in return. It would be like banging your head on a brick wall

Click to expand...

I run and exorcise because i enjoy it, i don't set targets or aim for results, i simply do it because it make me feel good and the enjoyment i get from doing it, its relaxing and how i unwind, i like beer as well, usually have beer with lunch, another after the gym or running then usually 2 in the evening.

i don't smoke alot and often go weeks or months without smoking but again i enjoy a cigarette as hard as it may be to believe, don't know why but always have, i know it stinks, its very bad for my health but i do enjoy it, having a pack every know and then is not good but cant see it doing that much damage.

With eating my diet isn't that bad, but i do enjoy a fried breakfast and have never really watched what i eat, im not overweight or have any allergy's or health problems so if i like it i eat it.

I used to be quite into fitness, running, kickboxing, boxing, weights. Then I worked out that the road to success was like trying to get a heavily laden air-craft off a very short run way - there wasn't and isn't enough time to muck about in the gym.

So these days I just (mostly) try to watch what I eat and walk from the car park to work and back at a brisk pace, which is about a 1km each way. If I was going to live for 300-400 years the whole hard core fitness thing might be worth it, but with sort 60-70 perhaps, it doesn't make any objective sense.

Still, a bit like religion, don't mind what anyone else does.

Pager said:

I run and exorcise because i enjoy it

Click to expand...

Natural endorphins sensation is the best, completely understand. I remember running once, and the sensation was almost overwhelming.

Pager said:

I run and exorcise because i enjoy it, i don't set targets or aim for results, i simply do it because it make me feel good and the enjoyment i get from doing it, its relaxing and how i unwind, i like beer as well, usually have beer with lunch, another after the gym or running then usually 2 in the evening.

i don't smoke alot and often go weeks or months without smoking but again i enjoy a cigarette as hard as it may be to believe, don't know why but always have, i know it stinks, its very bad for my health but i do enjoy it, having a pack every know and then is not good but cant see it doing that much damage.

With eating my diet isn't that bad, but i do enjoy a fried breakfast and have never really watched what i eat, im not overweight or have any allergy's or health problems so if i like it i eat it.

Click to expand...

That's cool, everybody is different and is looking for different things out of life. I was just curious as to what your goals were, if any. But it's not as if you're complaining that you can't achieve results and as long as you enjoy what you are doing, who am I or anyone else to tell you otherwise?

Oh, and there is nothing wrong with a fried breakfast, it's probably the one meal of the day you can afford to go a little crazy on

At the end of this post are some graphs and tables that might be appreciated by those with an intelligent and motivated approach to health, weight control, and fitness.


As far as diets and health go, I am not motivated to build extraordinary strength, as I lose it as soon as I have a break from lifting heavy weights.

What motivates me is optimal health...that means not getting sick, and delaying the ageing process.

The scientist and medico I respect most in this field is Dean Ornish. Click here for 3 minute video by this great cardiac surgeon and scientist at a TED talk...

Unlike so many others who have written books and developed popular diets, Dean is the only one who has done extensive lab research and is highly respected by his peers.

He has shown that artherosclerosis and prostate cancer can be reversed on a diet high in fibrous carbs, low in fat, and minimal protein.

Further, like him, I value longitudinal epidemological studies, such as those done on American Seventh Day Adventists. Quantitative and qualitative studies such as the China Study are also highly valued.

So the diet I value most is the one that will let me live the longest, retaining the most cognitive and physical functionality.

The research favours a primarily vegetarian diet for this. I have not heard that body builders and weight lifters have any advantage in living more healthfully into their 90s and beyond. Vegetarians do have an advantage in this respect.

BTW, I am not interested in arguing this point. I am just stating what the science reveals.


The most important information in this first table are the cal/kg/day BMR figures. Science has shown these rates do not vary between children and adults of any age.




These charts reveal how, although the liver and brain are not heavy organs, their resting metabolic rate is so high that they account for a significant portion of BMR Calorie consumption, as evidenced by the lower chart.

Hopefully these charts show why science does not recommend fasting for long periods, or having a very low Calorie diet. Doing so will compromise brain and liver function.

Taking in less Calories than BMR greatly increases the chance of developing the following diseases- severe loss of muscle tissue (as much as 40% of total wt lost), fragile and premature ageing of skin, bone mineral loss and subsequent osteoporosis, gout, gall stones, cholecystitis, vasovagal fainting (dangerous when driving), hypoglycaemia, cardiac arrhythmias, vitamin and mineral deficiencies, and nervous system dysfunction. When sustained, anorexia nervosa will develop.






Clicking on the pic below will download a xls that allows you to work out your energy expenditure more accurately than any dietitian software. Once you know your Calorie expenditure, you are then able to select the right number of Calories to lose weight at a safe rate (0.5 - 1.0 kg a week). For average sedentary men and women, this is usually 1500 Cals and 1200 Cals respectively.

Here's 1200 and 1500 Cal samples of Ornish based diets that would help most sedentary people lose weight safely.

I have a couple of friends who are healthy vegeterians and they swear by it.

I couldn't deny myself the pleasures of the flesh, as it were, but since adopting more or less the caveman style diet I have noticed my vegetable portions have become larger while my meat and fish portions are smaller.

All my meat buying is now organic, and I am eating a lot of kangaroo and looking for other non-farmed sources of meat.

bowman said:

I have a couple of friends who are healthy vegeterians and they swear by it.

I couldn't deny myself the pleasures of the flesh, as it were, but since adopting more or less the caveman style diet I have noticed my vegetable portions have become larger while my meat and fish portions are smaller.

All my meat buying is now organic, and I am eating a lot of kangaroo and looking for other non-farmed sources of meat.

Click to expand...

I was a strict vego for over 10 years but reverted back to ~200-300grams of organic flesh a week. It is more for convenience than anything else. Most restaurants don't put a lot of effort into their vego offerings.

Calanen said:

So these days I just (mostly) try to watch what I eat and walk from the car park to work and back at a brisk pace, which is about a 1km each way. If I was going to live for 300-400 years the whole hard core fitness thing might be worth it, but with sort 60-70 perhaps, it doesn't make any objective sense.

Still, a bit like religion, don't mind what anyone else does.

Click to expand...

Swap office chair for an exercise bike occasionally, and do weights in front of the tv (surely you watch a little?).

For those who are looking to get fit and feel good, without getting to technical, I have found boxing as the ultimate allround exercise

Its a solid cardio sweatout.....very good for co-ordination and reflexes, and best of all it has a purpose in that you will feel more secure and confident about yourself

3 of these sessions a week with some healthy food inbetween means I earn a few guilt free carltons come friday!

Blueberries are chokkers with antioxidants.

It seems that frozen blueberries are just as good in this respect as fresh ones, however antioxidant properties are reduced if the blueberries are eaten with protein foods.

http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1082901

http://www.naturalnews.com/025516.html