ozzy

Steve,

Sorry been away for the weekend. If you want to gain weight then you need to build muscle, otherwise all your gains will be bodyfat or water.

You don't need any *special* diets to pack on muscle unless you want dramatic gains over a short period and even then it would probably take steriods to see slabs of muscle appearing.

I'm more into strength and endurance training so hardly lift weights - just squats and pulldowns with the odd barbell curl and shoulder press throw in. Most of my time is spent doing circuit training.

Super_Si & Telboy would be better suited to give weight gain advice although going by Si's diet he just eats anything as long as it's twice everyone else's quantities

Stefan

ozzy

any of the blokes developed Breast Cancer from this high-fat diet

LG John

Does eating a lot make you tired?? The reason I ask is now that I'm back from my hols I'm eating like a horse to bulk up (and obviously going to the gym as well ). I find that I'm getting pretty tired at about afternoon time and I can see no reason for it. I have some food at 7, some food at 8, some food at 10-11, lunch, sometimes an afternoon snack, tea and then food before bed. Protein features highly but I still get wired into a lot of carb as well.

ozzy

Eating a lot doesn't necessarily make you tired, but if you eat large quantities either in one big sitting or all the time, then your digestive system will work overtime and sap your energy. I guess the same is true for the types of food your eating and how easily they are digested and absorbed into your body.

The only downside of high carb diets can be the energy highs and the "I can hardly lift my finger" lows. This is down to blood sugar levels so I tend to eat small meals and snacks rather than huge plates of pasta.

Stefan

LG John

I've been going with the 'lots of small meals' strategy to avoid peaks like that. I also want to keep a constant supply of nutrients, etc so I eat regularly to acheive that.

Going out drinking till 6am on sat probably didn't help matters!?

[Edited by Saxo Boy - 8/18/2003 2:02:58 PM]

ozzy

well, duh!

-=Buzz=-

I know exactly what you mean about this blind following of these fads and why it can be dangerous.

I'm perfectly aware that it's a fad, and may well be unhealthy. I intend to use this purely as a way to get my weight down in the short term, then I will use that as a starting point for the rest of my life - 15 years of poor diet has resulted in me being well over weight, so if 10 weeks of another poor, if different, way of filling my face results in my weight being reduced then I'll eat badly for another 10 weeks. As a % of my life so far it won't be a large part...

I've no intention of eating more fatty stuff like cheese etc. than I would normally, I don't see the point in that - I'm trying to reduce my fat. I don't like eggs, so I will not be having scrambled egg for breakfast I'll have some low fat yoghurt or some fruit or something, I've yet to look into that. I suppose I'm not really following the "plan" at all, but I'm doing my own version of it. I hope it doesn't kill me...

ozzy

Don't get me wrong Buzz, I wish you all the best in getting rid of unwanted weight.

You're overweight for a reason and you need to tackle that. There's one lad here @ work who tried Atkins and lost over a stone in the first few weeks, then it slowed down and he lost hardly anything after that. Don't think this is a miracle cure (although it maybe just the ticket for you).

If you started getting into healthy eating and regular exercise now, it will be easier to adjust in the lon run. The problem with any sudden and dramatic change is it's just that. You change too much and novelty wears off quickly, you lose interest and bang goes any good intentions.

Try it, but introduce a little exercise too. Exercise doesn't need to be boring.

Good luck,
Stefan

Dave T-S

Buzz
Fair enough, and at least you are making the effort which is more than many.

As the Chinese say, every long journey starts with a short step

-=Buzz=-

Thanks guys

The chinese may well say that, but when you are so heavy your knees hurt it's a painful journey to start - and that puts so many people off

Excercise will become much much easier as I lose weight, hence my weight loss should continue. I LOVE playing squash, and play for an hour at a time - it's not that I'm particularly unfit, I'm just so heavy that my stamina is sapped by a few hard games and then the rest of the game becomes a struggle. Once I see an improvement in my ability to play harder for longerI'll be well on my way, and thats one of my goals.

The Hull and District team league starts in September, so it's now or never.

beemerboy

Walwal

I`m the same as you Buzz, because I`m overweight, I can`t run about for as long as the skinny guys who I play football with. Once I get a bit weight off, the exercise should become easier, therefore I can do more, it`s a cycle.

I`m only trying this Atkins for a couple of weeks to start with, then take another look at it after that. If it`s going well, and I feel fine doing it, then I`ll continue for another couple. If it isn`t working, or makes me feel ill, I`ll do what`s been mentioned before, and write everything down, and see where cuts can be made.

Just to see some sort of improvement is all I want at first, to give me a bit of heart. If it doesn`t work, it`s only cost £4 for the book, so I`ve lost next to nothing.

ScoobyK

This is such a touchy subject !

I read the book, read the warnings, and decided to do my own version.

I have made several changes to my diet:

I don't eat any biscuits / choccy / full fat drinks.
I have a chicken salad for lunch instead of sandwich or MaccyDs.
I have cut out chips / bread / rice...and therefore my evening meal is the same as was, but without the above.

The result, I'm 25lbs lighter in 3-4 weeks, feel so much fitter and livelier, am working harder, and now feel able to exercise too.

You don't have to follow this plan strictly to lose weight, but it just makes you more conscious of what you eat & when you eat.

I might add that in the 3-4 weeks, I still have Indians etc, but have changed what I have...so instead of a Madras / rice / naan, I have Chick tikka....it's just a question of adjusting what you eat and do.

For those that are trying, best of luck and hope it works for you.

gregh

The human body is not designed to process large amounts of animal protein nor to eat dairy products - cows milk is for baby cows!

>> good job then that the Atkins diet or other low carb ways of life don't have loads of protein and don't have loads of dairy products.

This one is a more balanced alternative to Atkins IMHO

http://www.second-opinions.co.uk/eatfat.html

Fact: No animal in its natural habitat gets fat.

Fact: Obesity is also noticeably absent in primitive human cultures.

Fact: The only animals to become overweight on this planet are 'civilised' Man -- and his pets.

This is highly significant.

We do not get fat because we eat too much (although many do). If that were the cause, other species with an ample food supply would also get fat -- yet they don't. In fact, the only animals in their natural environment who are genetically disposed to put on fat are those whose food supply is not guaranteed.

Surely everyone who has lost weight by starving (which is what low-calorie dieting is) only to put it back on again, must know that 'dieting' does not work.

It doesn't work because it is unnatural.

Many animals, including us, have evolved the ability to store energy as fat in case of times when food is scarce. If we do not eat enough the body fights to retain fat. For this reason low-fat, low-calorie dieting forces our bodies to conserve energy -- it is a recipe for weight gain.

The way to lose weight is firstly to eat as much energy as your body needs, and secondly to eat foods that we, as a species, have evolved and are genetically programmed to eat.

Eat Fat, Get Thin! Looks at our evolution; it tells how the body works and why low-fat, low-calorie diets ultimately lead to weight gain; and, lastly it guides the reader on the correct way to eat so that the body's own energy-regulating mechanisms work correctly. Because, if you let it, your body can count calories far more accurately than you can.

On the left I have shown three pictures of my wife, Monica. At age 60 she is fit and healthy, eating as much as she wants. When a friend, who has been on and off diets for most of her life, found that we lived the way I write about in Eat Fat, Get Thin! she said: "do you mean you have been dieting for thirty-six years?"

The answer is, "No, we have been eating normally for thirty-six years!"