mods plz lock and ban my account
Who Is John Balls
They called itā¦ Dadbodia
Galtās Gut
cuba plz lock and ban yourself
I donāt think that a drastic change is needed over a few pounds. Iām one of the people whoās anxious about low carb diets. They can and have backfired on me scarily. I had some ice cream in a no carb period once and ended up in like a diabetic shock. Iām more from the plain oats, vegetables, and standing school of thought on this stuff.
That said, hormones are one thing that can affect fat distribution. Iāve seen a lot of results linking the stress hormone cortisol to abdominal fat. So I donāt know exactly the regimen for reducing biological stress, but some general wellness stuff couldnāt hurt.
The wisdom doing the rounds now of things that help with stress is trying to get a good sleep cycle, adopting mindful practices and adding adaptogens to your diet, but the latter are unfortunately expensive af
Huh, Iād never heard of that term, it looks like itās an herbal thing. Iām also supplement wary perhaps unsurprisingly, but Iāll take a look through > > . There doesnāt seem to be much research yet.
Iāve been IF for, what, 5 weeks now, maybe a bit more and lost 4.5 kilograms. From close to a hundred to now 95.4. My girlfriendās already remarked on how much smaller my belly has gotten. And my pants fit better.
I do IF and at the same time keep my calories below 1800 per day. I had a week where I was so unhungry that I ate less than 800 kcals a day. I had diarrhea after every meal, so donāt do that. Itās pretty great to lose so much weight in such a short time. And Iām not even pushing it. I donāt count calories every day anymore, I just know how much I should eat to lose weight.
I didnāt change my diet at all. Just reduced how much I eat of what I already ate.
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I say losing weight āso quicklyā because I was prepared for a long slog to get from 100 to 80-85. I mean, thatās losing 20% of your bodyweight. But now, if I keep the course Iāll be there in another three months and can begin the next year as fit young fitness model. Thatās really nothing compared to all the years of sin in which I built this gut.
When Iām down to 80 kg Iāll be around 10% body fat and thatās close to ideal for muscle building. As far as I know the best is 12%, which is where youāre at your strongest
I made a ābeforeā picture, so hold on to your butts when I post The Transformation in December/January
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Ok so hereās my thoughts on a few things:
Intermittent fasting is pretty cool. It seems to work pretty well for some people and itās mostly just a mental exercise, which nets you physical results. You can combine it with diet changes, but you do not have to.
Basically, you have a window each day, in which you can eat. And outside of that window, you cannot have anything except water. I have done a lot of podcasting and a fair amount of reading. Intermittent fasting seems to work best, if your eating window is no longer than 12 hours. 10 or 8 is even better. And that window is a hard strike. You have to be consistent.
Cortisol and weight gain: Corticosteroids, the drug pain reliever/anti-inflammatory relative of cortisol, absolutely can increase fat gain around the waist and trunk, if you are on them for awhile.
Cortisol produced in your body from negative stressors, is complicated. People respond differently to stress. Weight changes are usually over a medium or longer period of time. Some people lose weight from stress. Some people gain weight from stress. However, cortisol has a range of other negative effects as well, which dont necessarily correlate with your weight or amount of fat. I would not think of lowering cortisol to be specifically a weight loss method. Rather, ways to lower cortisol are usually supportive or part of larger overall changes and benefits to your life.
Consistently getting enough quality sleep, is the single most powerful way to manage cortisol levels. Sleep itself, is hugely anti-cortisol. And if you are consistently getting enough quality sleep, you have probably organized your life in some way to enable such sleep. So thatās like an extra little bump against cortisol, too. And you know, sleep is where your body does most of its repairs and growth and management and hormone production andā¦etc. So yeah, sleep for cortisol. But, sleep for everything.
Aside from removing or fixing obvious large sources of stressāa good diet is the next most important way to manage cortisol. And thatās a throughline in any talks about your health. Feed your body good stuff and you will be better. What is good stuff though, is what all these different ideas about diets and supplements try to address. Without honking on really specific diet ideas, a generally agreed upon thing is less sugar and refined carbs. Most of the big diets now, are about that. So that even means like, eating less fruit and instead going for vegetables. Donāt drink juice unless you just squeezed it yourself. A glass of orange juice or apple juice from the store, is a dead product with virtually no nutritional value and often has additives to make it taste right. Even the vitamin C is often added back. Itās just a glass of sugar. Similar deal with those smoothie products like Odwalla or Naked. A bunch of sugar. Eat a cucumber. Drink some. water. Skip the juices.
Exercise is very beneficial to us, beyond physical strength and/or flexibility. It triggers hormone production, which drives basically everything in your body. It can boost your mood as well or better than prescription drugs. Exercise can cause a short term increase in cortisol. But it is well agreed that the net positive effects from exercise are overall, anti-cortisol, much beyond the small amount created from the exercise itself. Cortisol has a role. But itās supposed to be short term. Like in exercise. Exercise can also be a form of meditation. Especially, curtain repeating or sustained exercises, which dont require all of your concentration. Such as running or punching a bag or swimming (once you are decent at breathing for swimming). Stuff like that does not require a lot of concentration to do. Which frees your mind to work on other things orā¦to just be free and relax. Meditation can be great. But some people have trouble doing it. And even then, why not get some meditation and exercise at the same time?! Iām not a type who enjoys literal meditation. But I love running and walking up hills and punching a bag. And I have found mental benefits there.
Adaptogens: The idea is that these somehow make your body more prepared for stress. More adaptable. I think there are aCouple of things which have merit. But really, improving your diet overall is gonna give you way more of what you need to deal with everything. Because DUH.
As far as exotic adaptogen/ant-oxidants go, Quercetin is one of the very best. And thatās because each compound of quercetin can donate 2 or 3 times to fight oxidation, before it is used up. Most anti-oxidants are used up after 1 or maybe 2 times. So, if you are looking to add something beyond your diet, thatās a pretty good one. Quercetin is usually found in fruit. The skins of fruit. So, supplementation can be good because A. We donāt eat the skins of some fruits and B. Eating a lot of fruit is a lot of sugar.
Ginseng is considered an adaptogen. Whether or not that matters, Ginseng has a track record of use as an alternative o something like Caffeine, to improve short term energy, alertness, focus, possible, sexual benefits, etc. So, I think taking Ginseng is cool, because itās got a lot going for it. Whereas something like Aswaganda is a lot less obvious and its marketing seems kinda dubious. There are also a couple different types of Ginseng. One is more of a stimulant than the other.
Rhodiola Rosea is another one you might see a lot. Like ginseg, there are a couple of key types and one is more immediately energizing than the other. Rhodiola is supposed to be particularly good at helping with adrenal fatigue. Butā¦ What does that mean? And uhā¦good sleep and good food is way better than rhodiola on its own soā¦
Supplements in general: I have taken a lot of stuff. Most of it does almost nothing or is of very little benefit. If you experiment and feel things out, you might be able to figure out a mix of several things, which will give you a noticeable couple of percent boost. But you may blow a lot of money trying to figure that out. When you could have just bought more pork steaks and frozen broccoli and be better off for it.
Also, a lot of supplements in fitness stores are contaminated with drugs and other bullshit to give you a fake boost. Check out the USADA list on banned products. Itās huge.
Once upon a time when I was about 21, I took a product called Nano-Vapor. Itās one of those pre-workout boosters. Which were just ramping up in Popularity, at the time. That shit made me feel like the Hulk. I could add 15-20 pounds to any lift. Which was amazing for me, a slim guy who has never been very strong.
In retrospect, that stuff worked too well, was probably laced with an amphetimine or cocaine derivative. Or maybe it was just the right sauce of 62 ingredients, for my body. Who knows (the first version of Nano Vapor was a huge ingredient list). No other booster supp has ever given me that incredible, single dose benefit. I only took it for a few months, because it was kinda scary how well it worked for me. Since then, Nano-Vapor has gone through like 3 ingredient revisions. Itās a lot of marketing and you donāt really know whats in supps like that.
Even with single ingredient supps, sometimes tests will come out saying they had a difficult time finding that ingredient inside the powder in the capsules of the product.
There is stuff out there which has plenty of merit and track record. Usually itās specific, single ingredients. Here are a few Which I think actually do something and may be worth using, in addition to an improved diet.
Caffeine is the magic performance enhancer everyone is trying to find again. Itās a drug. It works. And it can boost you for several types of situations. Itās really cheap. Itās legal in competition. In my opinion, drinking coffee or eating coffee beans is even better than taking caffeine anhydrous. Caffeine is the real no joke deal. Itās boring because itās in daily life and many people abuse it.
Creatine monohydrate works. Itās tested and has years of use. But you have to use it consistently for over a week, to start getting into its benefits. And itās usually not something which is gonna obviously blow you away with the boost. You also have to wade through the possibility of getting a tainted product. Cross reference the USADA lists.
Other forms of Creatine are less tested. I can tell you that Universalās Animal Pump (which contains some exotic forms of creatine, among many other ingredients), did make my muscles feel different and harder. But I didnāt necessarily like it. Overall, I donāt l donāt love creatine. But monohydrate is tested and can be useful for hardcore lifters.
Beta-Alanine is an amino acid which helps fend off lactic acid build up and can help you get some extra reps/have better endurance. It can also increase focus. It also tingles. You have to use it awhile like creatine monohydrate, to get full benefits. I like beta-alanine and for me, itās one of the few things which has worked noticeably for stuff in the gym and it also helps give me better focus and some pleasant changes to mood.
Glycine is an amino acid. It is used medically I. Higher doses to help regenerate your liver. Itās also the rate limiting factor in glutathione production in your body. Glutathione is one of your bodyās core pathways to deal with stress and oxidation of all sources. I mean better than those exotic acai berries and shit. You can supplement glycine I guess. But I say just eat more pork chops and get more.glycine that wayā\Along with every other amino acid and the other nutrients in the meat.
Vitamin E also plays a key role in many processes to fight oxidation and infection. Eat more nuts and avocados for vitamin E. Peanuts are affordable. Or find a bulk food store and get bulk, de-shelled sunflower seeds.
800units of Vitamin E can also lower blood pressure and increase circulation. Great for sleep time. In the gym. Sex. Etc. This is where you would supplement it, to get that amount. There are natural E supps from sunflower seed oil.
For me personally, I avoid most supps nowadays and just have a really good diet. The supps I do take are whole food supps. Such asā¦
ā¦Raw cacao powder or raw cacao nibs. Has more anti-oxidants and flavonols than most berries and is also a whole food giving you lots of nutrients like vitamin e, fatty acids, amino acids, etc. Also can boost mood (has compounds which are.known to give a rewarding feeling of.contentment) or boost energy (has compounds which are similarly stimulating like caffeine). Is one of the best sources of magnesium.
I also take raw Maca powder. Red and black maca, specifically. Similar benefits as cacao, but also has specific indications for prostate health and sexual health, menstrual health, and hormone balancing. I feel that Maca has helped me noticeably. Itās also delicious. Black maca, in particular. Maca has a malty, butterscotch sort of flavor. Itās good straight in your mouth. But I like to mix it in plain Greek yogurt. Fayeh whole fat yogurt, specifically. I think Maca is considered adaptogenic as well but whatev.
Alpha-lipoic acid: Supports glutathione production. Is a powerful anti-oxidant which also recycles vitamin E and C so they last longer. Helps remove heavy metals and other contaminates by binding with them. Helps regenerte nerves. Etc. R-Alpha Lipoic acid orally is as powerful as regular S-Lipoic Acid in Vitro. The best, purest product I have used is Super R Lipoic Acid from life extension. However, I do have a particular issue with heavy metals and think of this more as a medicine than I do a general health supp.
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Supplementing with 60mg of doctor amphetamine a day has really done wonders for me. 
So like, If I were to make a pre workout stack for gym gains in this thread right now, it would be:
Enough coffee/beans for about 80 mg of caffeine or ginseng instead of coffee
De-caff green tea
Beta alanine
Extra hit of cacao and maca
A few ounces of meat
Some nuts
Andā¦Oh yeah and agmatine. I forgot about that. Agmatine does what arginine was supposed to do, but doesnāt actually. And thatās give you single dose extra blood flow. Agmatine is great.
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Iām eating a croissant right now.
My mouth tastes like butter.
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About 6 or so weeks back I felt like my weight had crept up a bit higher than I was comfortable with because I had gotten into some bad habits. I wasnāt like hugely overweight or anything but I was at about 179 fully clothed at 5ā10 which was the heaviest Iāve been in my life. I made these changes:
-My exercise is walking/jogging in the park 5-6 days a week, which Iāve been doing for much of the past two or so years. It is a bit more than 3.5 miles total, with me walking from one side of the park to the other and then jogging back. My round trip time had gotten much slower over the summer, which I blame in part on that week where it felt 100+. I raised the intensity but kept the distance the same, so what was taking me just under an hour before I am now regularly doing in 53 minutes.
-The carrot that got me to do all this walking/jogging for all this time was that I could stop off at the convenience store afterwards and have a sugary drink as a reward. This worked great in being what finally got me to do this regularly! This backfired as over time it is probably the single thing that pushed my weight higher and higher. I finally bit the bullet and just dropped this cold turkey (i had one cheat day last week as it felt over 100 and I was good for 5 weeks) and switched it with cold water.
-I eat the exact same stuff for dinner, but I refuse to clean the plate. I intentionally leave about 15-20% of the food uneaten (which I explained to a certain loved one so they donāt develop a complex).
-I generally get to sleep late, around 2 AM, so Iād often get something to eat late. It was rarely anything that terribly unhealthy (some junk food appetizers like Pizza Rolls maybe once every 4 or so weeks), mainly cereal or a peanut butter sandwich. I cut this out and replaced it with a single rice cake.
Out of everything that last one is probably the hardest change, but I didnāt really adopt anything that was a huge dietary change. I weigh myself once a week and last night after 6 weeks I was down to 165 fully clothed. I think that is a solid if unexceptional rate of weight loss.
So yeah, I think massive changes are too hard to bother with unless one is leading a very unhealthy lifestyle, just sorta tweaking what you are already doing in a way that isnāt a huge challenge to yourself can probably net solid enough results. Either that or I am lucky.
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With the sugary drink, letās say itās a ginger ale. Thatās like 40 grams of sugar per bottle. Multiply by 5 or 6 runs a week: You just saved over 200grams of sugar, per week. There is a pic out there which shows what the sugar in a pop looks like, of you just put the sugar in a ziplock baggy. 200grams is a lot of sugar saved!
Also, breakfast cereals are really high in sugar and further in refined carbs. And a peanut butter sandwich is fairly sugary and a also refined carbs.
So yeah, thatās great! You have saved your body from a whole lot of empty carbs per month!
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FWIW I didnāt partake of the more hilariously unhealthy breakfast cereals, I pretty much stuck with Corn Flakes and Cheerios which probably have their own issues but arenāt literally coated in layers of sugar like some others.
ā¦I kinda miss Frosted Flakes sometimes >_>
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I think your comments outline some general problems with our attitudes towards food. This aināt @ anyone. Just some general thoughts off the back of recent posts.
- The idea of rewarding yourself for doing a thing. I see this a lot with people. They will sometimes even say it out loud, as a sort of process for denial or dissonance. I did a thing today, so I deserve this terrible food choice.
But the whole point in doing the thing, was hopefully it should already result in some benefit for you. This is an exercise thread so letās talk with exercise. I sprinted hills today. Now you: Feel great because of the hormone and chemical response of making a hard effort. Mentally, you made a disciplined hard effort. Wow, cool. The next time you sprint hills, you will be a little bit better at it. Those are all the rewards we should want. But many people turn around and dump junk in their body, as a personal mouth present to themselves. And that junk sets of a domino effect, which systemically undoes or partially mitigates those benefits you were just reaping. Feeling good? Now you are gonna insulin crash. Feel sluggish, jittery, lose focus, Need a nap. You just had discipline an hour agoānow you gave it up for 5 mins of mouth presents. And this crap you ate isnt a great start to feeding repairs so you can be better for next time!
- For a lot of people, if a food item isnt simple as to not require much time or dedication for it to be ready to eat----they donāt want anything to do with it. I know this is gonna sound all granola and hippy, but a lot of our days used to be spend gathering and preparing food! And that required a lot of physical activity! People go for benign walks now, just to meet some physical quota. That walking used to be integrated into daily life.
But in this modern time, we can still make good food quickly or in batches so that later meals are āinstantā. You can microwave an egg in like a minute. Or you can boil a whole dozen in 15 and them have eggs for a couple of days. Most veggies donāt need to be cooked to taste good. Even meat can be batch cooked. So one 45 minute session of cooking, results in pork chops for a few meals.
Oatmeal might be faster to make than macaroni and cheese. Instant oats are even quicker. Oatmeal doesnāt have to have a ton of sugar to taste good. Most of the flavored packs are way too sweet. Put some berries in it. A few chocolate chops. Some maca. Some yogurt. Lots of ways to make enjoyable oatmeal.
All this rewards and simple empty foods can program us to want it and crave it. The types of gut bacteria which enjoy that stuff will thrive and they are sitting amidst your nervous system. Of course you want that stuff. They are telling you to. People often say that over time, diets get easier and they feel less hungry and/or crave bad stuff, less. I donāt think thatās just mental discipline. I think itās literal changes in your internal biome and what it wants from you. You did a good job sticking with it. But the net effect is larger.
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Toptube deserves more blood potions
When it comes to lifting I had the most success with creatine monohydrate. It boosted my strength so much that it was scary. I hope it wasnāt laced with cocaine! But really, I could add plates left and right once it kicked in, that was crazy. But you have to cycle the stuff (that was the wisdom back then anyway) and at some point I got tired of that. But will definitely use it again once I pick up lifting again.
I had some pre-workout powder and it made me super hyped. Like three times as much as a huge caffeine boost. It wasā¦ Not good, actually. I felt like I needed it at the time but it really made me jittery and didnāt improve my lifts. It was all just a feeling of doing better, not reflected by cold, hard numbers. So I wonāt be doing that anymore.
I liked some stuff like ginseng and maca but I really, really want to keep things simple this time around. And stuff gets expensive when you pile it on
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