Rckc's Journal, 27 October 2016

No clue what that is. Please explain. 

Draglist, I believe, works with "If It fits you macros" 

Sorry rhontique, it is a rather abrupt journal entry, isn't it? feeling somewhat discouraged this week. Been looking into maybe changing up my WOE a little bit. IF IT FITS YOUR MACROS. It's a site that helps plan your meals, I think my recommended on there was 35% protein, 40% fat, 25% carbs. After my horrific BF reading (see other journal) just looking into alternatives.  

I love IIFYM. I do a different ratio, but the principle is the same. It's what I've been doing for quite a while. It's nice because you can tweak the ratios to help reach whatever goals you are working towards, and it's hard to get derailed. If you slip up, you can just adjust the rest of the day to stay on track. Plus, it gives you the freedom to eat your favorite foods (within moderation) 

I play with it a little, but find that certain foods, even when they do fit my macros, still make me gain. White rice is one of the biggest culprits. I haven't even tried bread, because I know how badly wheat, even in small amounts, affects my body. 

Oliver, can you give me an example of how you might eat in a day?  

I can never lose weight without the "sacrifice" part. That *has* to play a significant part of it in order for me to be successful. For ME. And I recognize that for me to be successful in losing weight, my sacrifice HAS to be sugar. And processed foods. Because, in much like what Oliver said, there has to be eat less and burn more - but in my case, due to the spinal fusion, the burn more is very, very limited right now. <sad face> From what I have read, isn't it true that for those of us with mobility issues, our food-consciousness must be stricter in the beginning until the hormonal insulin resistance can be "reset" due to the fact that our metabolisms are not already functioning in "high gear" because we are not constantly moving? 

I am no expert but my understanding of IIFYM is that it is pretty straight forward. First set a calorie ceiling. The calorie ceiling should be about 20% deficit IMO. Then establish macro percentages. Common percentage I have seen are 40%P, 30%C, 30%F but you can do whatever you want but keep protein at at least near or above 1gm per pound of lean mass. This helps you preserve muscle mass which in turn helps keep your metabolism up - plus protein has a higher TEF. With these two criteria (Ceiling and macros) eat whatever you want as long as it fits your macros (and calorie ceiling). So a Snickers bar is fine as long as at the end of the day it fits your numbers. No food is off limits. Bread, candy, whatever as long as IFYM. Google "Twinkie Diet" if you want to see an extreme example of the concept. My experience has shown this works for people provided they are above 20% BF for men or 25% for women and you don't have hormone or health issues. My son who is 19 went from 190 to 162 over the summer doing this with ease. But.... he is 19 and healthy. I am 52 and I went from 185 and 30% BF to 20% BF in about 6 months. So it generally works if you are "healthy" and get your ceiling right. Ceiling is perhaps most important in this strategy and I think this is in line with what Roobert and Oliver are suggesting I am currently trying to get to 10% BF so I need more aggressive control and have to be concerned with insulin response and other factors. So for me, IIFYM is not going to work as well for my objective. In other words, It depends upon where you are in this journey and where you want to go. I think it is great to get you to a "normal" weight and 20%/25% body fat. Beyond that it takes a different strategy unless you are genetically gifted or young. IMO I hope this helps and good luck.  

But Oliver, here's my problem. I not only ate the wrong foods but too many of them. So now my perception is skewed. It's hard for me to know the proper serving size. You mention chicken broccoli rice but how much of each is proper for my goals? I'm a lot older, my metabolism is not high, I have lots of body fat. Give me some details PLEASE... 

Oliver, I am anxious to hear how protein has no role and is its role is the reverse of muscle development. Dr. John Berardi is founder of Precision Nutrition and I like his work because he tends to be very reasonable and science-base. Here are some of his writings that I believe are suggesting protein is essential to muscle preservation and development. http://www.precisionnutrition.com/all-about-muscle-growth http://www.precisionnutrition.com/all-about-protein I agree carbs/fat are the energy but protein is the cellular building blocks. So growth takes energy and protein/aminos. Anyway, I have always thought, and still do, that protein is essential for muscle preservation and growth so this will be a new perspective and one I have never heard before - Im intrigued! Other reading on the subject: http://www.acsm.org/docs/default-source/brochures/protein-intake-for-optimal-muscle-maintenance.pdf http://myheart.net/articles/does-protein-make-you-gain-muscle/ http://www.livestrong.com/article/449966-which-is-better-to-build-muscle-mass-carbs-or-protein/  

Rckc - check this link out on portion sizes. http://www.precisionnutrition.com/calorie-control-guide  

@tmc64 I am neither young nor genetically gifted. I have plenty of body fat to work with. I guess what I'm looking for is a sample menu of what is an appropriate diet for me. IIFYM, I think, has a food plan but was hoping to not have to pay, unless it is worth it. I feel overwhelmed with all the technical info.... 

Rckc, Me either - 52 and no one confuses me with a celebrity or a Greek statue. Finding a plan is a matter of choice in my opinion. They all can work if you work them. The primary reason they work is they tend to restrict your intake. Couple that with exercise and you are on the road. It takes time and consistency so you have to find a plan that you can actually do for the long haul. A good book on it for women is Thinner Leaner Stronger and is IIFYM and exercise. It is a bit on the bodybuilding mentality but thats why I like it - might not be your cup of tea. The man version is Bigger Leaner Stronger and it was my roadmap and it worked for me and transformed my life and body. So - I suggest you find a book/plan that looks like you can do it - consistently. One that focused on whole foods, calories, and exercise. Hard to go wrong - all the other debate is just food and diet religion. Again, IMO. 

Oliver are you a Chemist? Berardi teaches exercise physiology and nutrient biochemistry. I like the guy, his opinions, his research, and his credentials that I think are respectable but its not just him. I googled as suggested and got the same responses and in fact found numerous other scientific journals citing amigos necessary for Muscle Protein Synthesis (MPS). Nowhere am I finding even a hint that protein is the reverse of MPS. In fact I am seeing the absence of protein (aminos) equated to MPB during exercise. Googled the decay topic and saw nothing relevant to MPS or MPB. Fascinated to see a new angle on this. I'm always open to new information and challenging common thought. 

Oliver - tough to translate that into anything remotely usable that correlates to the human body and MPS relevant to the discussion. I'm good though. I will look into this on my own - thanks for the pointer. Sorry Rckc for this overrunning your feed. Fun stuff though! Im out.