How to get a Lean Body?

[saevel25]

5 minutes ago, Blackjack Don said:

This didn't get posted yesterday, but I stand by it. I don't disagree at all with those who say "Get off your ass!" My point is any program of fitness in the modern age is competing with millions of years of evolution. We are built from DNA and everything we do is either in favor of it or pushing against it.

I do agree that we are hardwired to put on weight easier than we are to lose it.

Yet, it's not as hard as you make it out to be. The issue isn't genetics in that we put on weight easier. The problem is, humans have not adapted to the modern lifestyle. They don't know how to handle readily available food. They don't know how to handle a culture that is designed to promote a sedimentary lifestyle (TV, cellphones, 8-14 hour work days). It's more of a cultural shift versus fighting genetics.

If people want to lose weight,

1. Sleep better, and not just 8 hours, but when you sleep. Sleep has become more important the more it has been studied.
2. Eat better
3. Be more active. If it's just taking a walk for 30-60 minutes a day, that can add up over the long haul.

Simple. No need for complex work outs or diets needed. There are benefits to things like intermittent fasting, but in general, these three things are the basics really.

[GolfLug]

Matt, some really good posts in this thread. I finally found the missing link in lack of sleep for myself as I am fairly well balanced in food consumption and exercise. And not just for weight gain but quality of life in general.  

[adampaul]

20 hours ago, saevel25 said:

Find things you enjoy. I am really into playing sports with my friends now. I play volleyball 1-2x a week. I play in a kickball league. I play golf 1-2x a week. I go swimming 2-3x a week. All of these things I enjoy doing. I never really enjoyed running on a treadmill or lifting weights. I enjoy the feeling of working out. I rather find things I enjoy doing.  

Yes, This is the great way to do a workout. Thanks for the suggestion on this, I will surely apply these activities in my schedule. This will help me to burn more fat, I also love badminton and Football sports. This is the great way to pump your body without getting bored.

[GOATee]

18 hours ago, saevel25 said:

The problem is, humans have not adapted to the modern lifestyle. They don't know how to handle readily available food. They don't know how to handle a culture that is designed to promote a sedimentary lifestyle (TV, cellphones, 8-14 hour work days). It's more of a cultural shift versus fighting genetics.

Yes, the DNA that has survived to present day is designed for regular physical activity (such as hunting), intermittent fasting (hunters have to go without food sometimes), no refined sugar or carbs (this only appeared later in civilization).

Regular sports or exercise, intermittent fasting, and cutting sugar and carbs to burn fat in ketosis is actually operating the body according to the DNA's manual.

[saevel25]

1 minute ago, GOATee said:

Regular sports or exercise, intermittent fasting, and cutting sugar and carbs to burn fat in ketosis is actually operating the body according to the DNA's manual.

Agriculture is at last 105,000 years old. Grains are not terrible, just not in the cheap high quantity we have them today. There are people who do not operate well under ketosis. This is probably a genetic trait, 

I would say, definitely lower carbs is better. 

[GOATee]

3 minutes ago, saevel25 said:

Agriculture is at last 105,000 years old. Grains are not terrible, just not in the cheap high quantity we have them today. There are people who do not operate well under ketosis. This is probably a genetic trait, 

I would say, definitely lower carbs is better. 

Interesting.  So how you react to carbs depends if your DNA comes more from the original hunter DNA pool or the later agriculturalist mutations from the hunter DNA pool.

Edited June 21, 2018 by GOATee

[GOATee]

OK, too technical.  What it means is different people have different ability to handle carbs without getting fat.

If you gain weight rapidly in response to carbs like myself, you may want to consider cutting carbs dramatically, because your DNA does not handle carbs well.

[TN94z]

1 hour ago, GOATee said:

OK, too technical.  What it means is different people have different ability to handle carbs without getting fat.

If you gain weight rapidly in response to carbs like myself, you may want to consider cutting carbs dramatically, because your DNA does not handle carbs well.

Yeah, some people are just more carb sensitive than others. I am on the side of be careful cutting carbs too low as your body needs them. Because of the intensity of my workouts, I like to think of carbs as a supplement. They are a great supplement to workouts.

Like I said earlier in the thread, keep it simple. There is no reason to overthink this. There has been a TON of money made on the next big fad diet. Yes, they all work to some extent, but if you just stick to the basics, it works just as well. Don't get caught up in all of the diet hype. I have been there and done that for years.

[adampaul]

@TN94z

I do agree with your point, we can go with basics and stay fit for a long time. Surely, It will take time to show results but the results are very effective. We have to use our brain to change our lifestyle or find the daily tasks to stay fit. For example, Take stairs instead of the lift. 

Thanks for sharing your lifelong chapter with this thread.

[No Mulligans]

On 6/14/2018 at 3:22 AM, adampaul said:

So according to you, I should go to the gym and lift the weight. Should I go with the kito diet? I read it on the internet that also help in weight loss process. 

You don't need a gym, a set of dumbbells is about all you need.  You could add a small bench and a good rowing machine, that's what I have/use.  You'll save money and time.

I'm 60 years old and after losing about 25 lbs. have stayed thin for the last 15 or so years, 5'11" 150 lbs.  I do light weight workouts, rowing machine and a lot of walking (I walk golf couses and walk my dogs twice a day, about 30 extra miles a week). Running is too hard on my knees and back so I no longer run.  My diet is pretty much just trying to reduce red meat, cheese, and deserts because I don't want to go on cholesteral medication.  I don't have to watch my calories.

Edited June 22, 2018 by No Mulligans

[Blackjack Don]

On 6/21/2018 at 3:59 AM, GOATee said:

Yes, the DNA that has survived to present day is designed for regular physical activity (such as hunting), intermittent fasting (hunters have to go without food sometimes), no refined sugar or carbs (this only appeared later in civilization).

Regular sports or exercise, intermittent fasting, and cutting sugar and carbs to burn fat in ketosis is actually operating the body according to the DNA's manual.

We are hardly in disagreement. And about .0001% of the population is going alone with us. I have a lazy gene, and a Type 2 gene. I love chocolate and good TV. I'm past the age where Mother Nature has any use for me as a breeder, so she's turned on the aging switch and turned off all the switches that make life easy. I combat that with awareness practice and some semblance of yoga, too. Still, I am a silverback, and that's reality, for me. 

My focus in life is a dharma practice. I spend twenty minutes a day doing vipassana, and about 20 minutes doing yoga. I've started to lose weight slowly. I figure I put it on an oz at a time, so why not be patient with taking it off. I am far less sore than I was a year ago. Have a little more energy, and a lot more happiness. 

Meditation is something more people would be successful doing than dieting, but that's not happening for many more people than ones who are taking care of their bodies. If they won't exercise their minds, not likely are they to feed their bodies right, either.

 

On 6/21/2018 at 4:03 AM, saevel25 said:

Agriculture is at last 105,000 years old.

According to the latest science I'm aware of, consciousness is about 70,000 years old. Agriculture is about 12,000 years old. Recorded history began approximately 8,000 years ago. Not sure where you got this figure, but cave paintings are newer than 100,000 years. So, according to your figure, agriculture began before this basic of social culture began? Doesn't matter to the discussion, and not worth pursuing, but if this figure were accurate, human history would be very different. Just sayin'.

This is a cool topic of interest to me, personally. All I am contributing is an awareness of the natural struggle we all have as modern human beings in an ancient form. It's an uphill struggle, for sure, but we're living longer--again, a debatable issue regarding quality vs time, but I digress, again. We know more, but that doesn't make it easier.

I realized not long ago that at 63, I will never "be in shape" again. I will be unlikely to "feel good." I can only do the best I can, within reason, and keep trying to do better. Time for me to go sit on my cushion.

Be well.

[saevel25]

That’s just excuses. 

My dad is about your age and he’s close to his college weight. He’s off many of the prescriptions he was one 10 years ago. It just takes dedication. 

[TN94z]

2 hours ago, Blackjack Don said:

We are hardly in disagreement. And about .0001% of the population is going alone with us. I have a lazy gene, and a Type 2 gene. I love chocolate and good TV. I'm past the age where Mother Nature has any use for me as a breeder, so she's turned on the aging switch and turned off all the switches that make life easy. I combat that with awareness practice and some semblance of yoga, too. Still, I am a silverback, and that's reality, for me. 

My focus in life is a dharma practice. I spend twenty minutes a day doing vipassana, and about 20 minutes doing yoga. I've started to lose weight slowly. I figure I put it on an oz at a time, so why not be patient with taking it off. I am far less sore than I was a year ago. Have a little more energy, and a lot more happiness. 

Meditation is something more people would be successful doing than dieting, but that's not happening for many more people than ones who are taking care of their bodies. If they won't exercise their minds, not likely are they to feed their bodies right, either.

 

According to the latest science I'm aware of, consciousness is about 70,000 years old. Agriculture is about 12,000 years old. Recorded history began approximately 8,000 years ago. Not sure where you got this figure, but cave paintings are newer than 100,000 years. So, according to your figure, agriculture began before this basic of social culture began? Doesn't matter to the discussion, and not worth pursuing, but if this figure were accurate, human history would be very different. Just sayin'.

This is a cool topic of interest to me, personally. All I am contributing is an awareness of the natural struggle we all have as modern human beings in an ancient form. It's an uphill struggle, for sure, but we're living longer--again, a debatable issue regarding quality vs time, but I digress, again. We know more, but that doesn't make it easier.

I realized not long ago that at 63, I will never "be in shape" again. I will be unlikely to "feel good." I can only do the best I can, within reason, and keep trying to do better. Time for me to go sit on my cushion.

Be well.

I know quite a few people your age that are doing crossfit 3-5 times a week, every week and some are getting in great shape.

[No Mulligans]

I use to have trouble keeping weight off and was thinking how it no longer seems to be difficult at all (see post #46 above).

I wanted to add that almost all my meals are prepared at home.  We eat out maybe four times a month, usually dinners.  Also, I drink coffee black and water and that's about it except for an ocassional beer (1 a week maybe).  So I pretty much don't get my calories from fluids.

Edited June 22, 2018 by No Mulligans

[Jack Watson]

Excercise is great.  Balanced healthy meals are great.  Starch is great.  

Fad diets? Not great.  There’s a lot of money driving the diet industry not unlike big tobacco.  

The best advice is eat balanced meals of real foods and excercise.  If I had to choose between eating all plant or all animal I would go plant.  I would lower my risk of disease if I did that.

The bottom line is that it’s much easier to eat calories than burn them.  

I would not go on any extreme diet unless advised by a doctor, especially one advising people try to put themselves into ketosis which is in many doctors opinions a state of sickness.  

Balanced meals of real food and excercise are tough to argue against.

 

 

[Zeph]

On 6/18/2018 at 4:42 PM, TN94z said:

Is there some science behind these statements? I'm just asking because there are thousands of people that use intermittent fasting that prove them incorrect. And from personal experience, I have awaken in the middle of the night many nights drenched in sweat because my metabolism is so high. Sometimes it's 8pm before I eat my last meal (big meal). And your body treats certain macros differently so I wouldn't say that "whatever you eat easily goes to fat." I almost feel like those statements are backwards..

Yes, and the scientific studies says that it's bollocks. When you eat during the day doesn't matter. How much you eat matters. What you eat late doesn't become fat. An issue when discussing health, diet and training is that things get way too complicated and detailed. For most people it's pretty straight forward and a matter of energy in and energy spent.

If you summed up close to every case of a person trying to lose weight and failing to do so, it's because the person isn't cutting enough calories or overestimating their spent energy. It's very common to blame everything but ourselves, because it is difficult and our body doesn't really want to lose weight. It's essentially a fight between your body and your mind.

[Pretzel]

The science behind a lean body is the same as it always has been and always will be, despite what many fad diets try to tell you it will be.

The first law of thermodynamics states that energy cannot be created nor destroyed. The amount of energy that you put into your body, in the form of Calories, compared to the amount of energy you burn in the day will determine whether you gain or lose weight. There are minor exceptions depending on how efficiently your body processes the food (for example someone who's lactose intolerant barfs or shits the Calories from ice cream out before they can process them), but in the end you know you will not consume more Calories than what is present in the food you ate. 

There's a professor who proved this fact to his class by losing weight eating nothing but Oreos, Twinkies, doughnuts, chocolates with peanut butter, and other foods considered to be incredibly "fattening". He lost 10 pounds in 3 weeks by counting calories and 27 pounds in 10 weeks overall. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/207071.php He took supplements for his other necessary nutrients, obviously, but it just goes to show that your waistline doesn't care if you eat nothing but shit - you'll still lose weight if you effectively count calories.

[adampaul]

On 6/22/2018 at 6:17 PM, No Mulligans said:

You don't need a gym, a set of dumbbells is about all you need.  You could add a small bench and a good rowing machine, that's what I have/use.  You'll save money and time.

I'm 60 years old and after losing about 25 lbs. have stayed thin for the last 15 or so years, 5'11" 150 lbs.  I do light weight workouts, rowing machine and a lot of walking (I walk golf couses and walk my dogs twice a day, about 30 extra miles a week). Running is too hard on my knees and back so I no longer run.  My diet is pretty much just trying to reduce red meat, cheese, and deserts because I don't want to go on cholesteral medication.  I don't have to watch my calories.

3

 

I appreciate your advice sir but I need to get good lean muscle in short time also with that need to burn body fat. If I go according to your process that will definitely work but It takes time.