This diet thing is like Rocket Science

[mjspade]

Before I found this forum I was thinking I knew a decent amount about calories and eating etc.., but apparently I have no clue, so I am just going to ask for some help.

I used to weigh 240 lbs. I am 5' 10" btw it was a combination of decent muscle mass a lot of fat. I used to play football, and always lifted etc..., then when I stopped playing I didn't change my eating habits and my lifting went to NIL. I discovered on day I was a lard ass, so I got back in the gym doing only cardio went from 240 to 232 in a short time, I started lifting and now I am 215 lbs., I changed my eating habits dramatically from 240 to 215. I want to get between 200 and 205, but I am finding it difficult to shave pounds which is kind of expected as you get closer to your ideal weight. The thing is I still have a decent amount of fat around my stomach area, I don't have a gut anymore just layer of fat that I need to get rid of. So here are my questions.


1. Calories give you energy and Carbs give you energy what's the difference, and what does your body use each for?


2. I am doing the WBB #1 workout routine, I just changed to that one yesterday any suggestions as to what my diet should be?


3. I also want to lower my cholesterol with this diet, are there any people who have diets or recipes that are cholesterol friendly?


4. What's the difference between eating sugar (29g of carbs) and eating a few pieces of bread (31g of carbs), aren't both of them carbs for energy?


5. I see a lot of people eating meat in their diets, but all the meat I look at is loaded with saturated fats etc..., is there a specific type of meat I should look for?


6. How does the body deal with Saturate Fat vs. Unsaturated Fat?



I know these are a lot of questions, but if I can get answers to some of them it will help me game plan my diet here is a sample of my daily diet and supplements.


Morning: 7:00am - 8:00am

Bowl of Shredded Wheat or High Fiber Serial (No Milk currently)
Megaman, Vitamin A, Vitamin E, L-Carnitine, Vitamin C, Fiber Tabs, CoQ-10 (most of these are cholesterol lowering agents and aides)
Water

Mid Morning: 9:30 - 10:30am

Shredded Wheat or Peanuts
Water


Lunch: 12:00pm - 1:00pm

Usually a higher calorie meal, Olive Garden, Tuna Sandwich, a variety of places. (Usually my biggest meal of the day)
Water or UnSweet Tea


Mid Afternoon: 3:00pm

Shredded Wheat, Crackers, Peanuts, or Low Fat Tortilla Chips
Water


Afternoon: 5:30pm

Workout, (Tuna Sandwich, or coldcut sandwich (homemade) on Off days)
or
Pita Bread & Hummus
Water


Nighttime: 7:00pm

Low Fat Salad (Croutons, Bacon Bits (Generic), Low Fat Dressing)
Water



That's usually it for me, I may eat a few bites of cereal here and there when I am doing things around the house, I usually cheat on Saturdays, and I workout 4 - 5 days a week. Any help would be appreciated.

[Built]

The saturated fat can help increase test in the body, which will help you pack on mass/lean out.

Insulin spikes are associated with simple sugars, and they tend to leave you hungry.

You don't eat much protein, but I see a LOT of shredded wheat. I couldn't cut on this kind of diet because I'd be too hungry and overeat.

I'm also not seeing a lot of healthy fats.

My cholesterol came down from VERY high when I dropped my carbs down, started lifting, and went higher in the fats and proteins.

There's a link in my sig to my current cutting diet, and I'm liking it very much.

Go to www.fitday.com and track your macronutrients/calories for a few days to get your current "maintenance" calories. You appear to need some tweaking to your diet.

[malkore]

carb calories are the body's primary and preferred energy source. You can only drop so many carbs before the body freaks out. Do a google on "Ketosis" and you'll discover why fAtkins diets aren't healthy for long-term goals.

[Built]

Malkore, I wasn't suggeting atkins.

[TheGimp]

carb calories are the body's primary and preferred energy source. You can only drop so many carbs before the body freaks out. Do a google on "Ketosis" and you'll discover why fAtkins diets aren't healthy for long-term goals.

They're also a non-essential macronutrient.

A cyclical or targetted ketogenic diet is a perfectly valid means of fat loss.

[Max-Mex]

6. How does the body deal with Saturate Fat vs. Unsaturated Fat?


Found this on another site. Hope it helps. It may sound a little complicated but you should get the general idea.



Monique - saturated vs. unsaturated fats
Ok, just to explain the two terms: saturated means that all free bonds have reacted with hydrogen atoms, while unsaturated means that there are double bond in the molecule (not completely hydrogenated).

The consenses in the medical world is that saturated fats are bad and unsaturated fats are better. Most current guidelines say it's okay to obtain as much as 30% of daily calories from fat as long as only a third of that fat is saturated. However, quite a few scientists and health practitioners would prefer to see total fat limited to around 10%.

Saturated fats can be used only for energy; they are incapable of performing other essential functions for which fats are needed by your body. More importantly, saturated fats (particularly animal fats) raise your total blood cholesterol and have been linked to heart disease and various cancers.

A possible reason why this occurs is that saturated fatty acids take up the space occupied by cholesterol in the fatty acid particles such as HDL and LDL. Cholesterol cannot be taken up and thus stays in the plasma.

(the reason why saturated and not unsaturated fats can do that, is that saturated fats don't have double bonds and are thus flexible straight molecules. Unsaturated fats contain double bonds and are thus more rigid and have a crooked conformation. So saturated fats should nicely fit into a micel, while for unsaturated fats this should be more difficult? Just my thought..)

Avoid processed foods that contain fats that have been "partially hydrogenated. The process of hydrogenation changes unsaturated fat to saturated fat. It also changes the shape and configuration of the fatty acids, producing what is known as trans fat, which is difficult for your body to utilize. Trans fats have been shown to increase "bad" LDL cholesterol and decrease "good" HDL cholesterol. In the U.S., margarine is the number one source of trans fats. To find out if a product contains partially hydrogenated (trans) fat, check the ingredients. Some collegues of mine eat real butter on their bread for this reason, instead of margerine.

I've never heard the reactive argument for the unsaturated fatty acids before..

Some info came from:
http://www.womensmedia.com/health-fat.html

[Max-Mex]

4. What's the difference between eating sugar (29g of carbs) and eating a few pieces of bread (31g of carbs), aren't both of them carbs for energy?

This sorta answers you're question:




The "glycemic index" is a measure of how a given food affects blood-glucose levels, with each food being assigned a numbered rating. The lower the rating, the slower the absorption and digestion process, which provides a more gradual, healthier infusion of sugars into the bloodstream. On the other hand, a high rating means that blood-glucose levels are increased quickly, which stimulates the pancreas to secrete insulin to drop blood-sugar levels. These rapid fluctuations of blood-sugar levels are not healthy because of the stress they place on the body.

One of sugar's major drawbacks is that it raises the insulin level, which inhibits the release of growth hormones, which in turn depresses the immune system. This is not something you want to take place if you want to avoid disease.

An influx of sugar into the bloodstream upsets the body's blood-sugar balance, triggering the release of insulin, which the body uses to keep blood-sugar at a constant and safe level. Insulin also promotes the storage of fat, so that when you eat sweets high in sugar, you're making way for rapid weight gain and elevated triglyceride levels, both of which have been linked to cardiovascular disease. Complex carbohydrates tend to be absorbed more slowly, lessening the impact on blood-sugar levels.

[malkore]

Malkore, I wasn't suggeting atkins.

sorry, didn't mean to imply you were. its just a very popular fad right now.

and yes I am aware that inducing a ketogenic state in a controlled manner can help drop fat fast...but you're not supposed to remain in ketosis for months at a time.

See, there's a guy where I work who has been on the phase 1/induction phase of Atkins for about a year now. Eats something like 20g of carbs a day, the rest is all meat and fat.

[Built]

I dropped the weight using Atkins, but I actually READ THE BOOK. I think a lot of people THINK they know Atkins, when in fact, they kinda know INDUCTION. :rolleyes:

I can ASSURE you, I didn't live on 20g net carbs for a year. I incremented, followed it to the book and it worked. Got me off type II diabetes meds and saved me from Lipitor.

Didn't get me all the way to lean, but it fixed my cholesterol and got me down over 25 lbs that STAYED off.

Lifting and strategic diet have been doing the rest. I have IR. I'll never be able to eat a carb-centred diet. But I cycle between about 60g and about 200g carb daily, and this works really well for me with the heavy lifting.