Q&A for: 1-Apr-06
1475. Q:
hey mike, ok so the last couple times ive been doing situps, i've noticed that my back cracks everytime i get down to the floor. its a bone in my lower back, and i can hear it.. i dont know if it is bad or not, or if it has always been like that or just recently. it doesn't seem like it would be dangerous since alot of people have bones that crack everytime you move them in a certain direction, i was just looking for some more opinions though.
A:
If there's no pain then it's probably OK, but to be sure you should still talk to a doctor or a physical therapist. However if you feel any sort of pain along with the cracking, then you definitely need to have it looked at.
1476. Q:
I have been eating a lot of so protein lately. I was unde the impression that this was good for you. Since you can get a lot of protein and fiber with little fat and carbs. Then someone told me that for a male soy is not the best choice because it promotes estrogen production, and that I should swith to lean red meats. Apperently they promote testosterone. Is there any truth to this?
A:
You don't necessrily need to switch to red meat (it does not promote testesterone any more than chicken or fish), but unless you're vegetarian you probably would benefit from eating at least some animal-source protein: lean chicken, lean or fatty fish, lean beef, eggs, cottage cheese, or even whey protein powder. Animal-source protein tends to be more complete in having all the essential amino acids and there's considerable question of whether soy protein powder is really all that good for you health-wise (and it goes beyond estrogen to other health issues). So I am not a fan of soy protein powders.
I recommend eating a rich diet with many different sources of protein instead of trying to find one 'perfect' source of protein. Beans and lentils are excellent sources of protein that do not have the potential downsides of soy. Many green veggies such as spinach, lettuce, and broccoli have 30-50% of their calories come from protein (of course they're very light on calories overall so it'll difficult to get much of protein just from them). And of course don't forget animal protein sources I mentioned above.
1477. Q:
Mike, I have read in a couple of your responses that abs get exercised from doing other core exercises. Does this suggest that we should be clenching our ab muscles as we lift?
A:
You don't need to clench ab muscles any more than necessary to maintain good form, but good form for many exercises (especially deadlifts, squats, and lunges) requires that you tense both your abdominals and lower back muscles to stabilize your body and provide a strong support base for the exercise. It is quite common, for example, for new trainees to get muscle soreness in the abdominal region after doing squats which indicates that the high degree of abdominal involvement.
This involvement of abdominal muscles should happen quite naturally, but if you totally do not feel that you are tensing your abdominals and/or lower back muscles during the squat, for example, you should consciously work on that until you get the feel for the proper form.
1478. Q:
mike is going to a buffet once in like 3 months healthy
A:
Most buffets have some good healthy choices (think fresh veggies and lean non-fried meats or fish), but really once in three month you can cheat as much as you want to and it will have no impact on your overall progress. So enjoy the buffet :) just don't make it or other cheats a daily habit.
1479. Q:
When deciding how many calories to eat in a day. Should you take into account The cardio you have done THAT day? If you need to eat 2000 calories a day to loose one pound a week, and three days a week you burn 750 calories through cardio, do you add part of those 750 to your calorie allowance? If so how much of that 750 would you add? Or is this all just nonsense?
A:
I do not like coming up with total daily calories by trying to add up all the individual calorie expenditures during the day. Instead I look at the big picture: your age, height, weight, rough body fat percentage, average activity level (over a long time, not in any one day), exercise program, current diet, etc. This allows me to come up with a good ballpark figure for your calories. From that point all that's needed is to monitor the weight and make adjustments to the diet/calories once a month or so (eat slightly more if you're losing weight too fast or eat slightly less if losing weight too slowly). I feel this is a much more practical approach and allows you to keep your diet plan the same daily instead of trying to account for 500 cardio calories one day, or 300 yardwork calories the other, or watching TV instead of walking the third :)
So if you are following a 2000-calorie diet, then that's what you try to eat daily regardless of anything else. If, after a month of that you found you've lost anywhere between 2 and 6 pounds then everything's right on schedule! If you found that you lost more than 6 pounds, then you need to raise your calories a bit. And if you found that you haven't even lost 2 pounds, then you need to eat a bit less and perhaps should rethink your exercise program (of course I would need more detailed info to make the decision on whether and how to change the program).
So to make long answer short... Don't stress about daily fluctuations, either in weight or calories eaten or caories 'burned' -- instead focus on month-long (or longer) trends and adjust your diet and program according to those.
1480. Q:
Hi mike. I had a question about my diet. I have completely replaced bread with wraps. There are two kinds. One has 50 calories and grams of protien 8 grams of fiber 3 net carbs and two grams of fat. The other has 80 caloires 11 grams of fiber 3 grams of fat 8 protien and 5 net carbs. Do these sound ok? I also have a cereal that i like per 90 calories it has 12 grams of protien and 7 net carbs and one gram of fat. I realize that these aren't the most unprocessed foods, but they make quick and easy meals when in a rush. If these are not ok do you have any suggestions to replace bread. I eat a lot of lean luch meats like turkey and chicken breast. It gets boring to always just pu those in a salad. Thanks for all of your help.
A:
Sure, those sound like pretty good and convenient choices, so by all means use them in your diet! As you could probably guess, I would still encourage you to eat more unprocessed whole grains and legumes and veggies when you do have time to cook and sit down and eat :) but for a busy hectic lifestyle those wraps and cereal are very reasonable choices.
1481. Q:
Response to question 1476. When I was talking abou soy, I didn't mean soy powder. In fact I can't stand that stuff :) It never tastes like it is supposed to. I was referring to those Boca procucts, and other meat substitutes. Some of them have as much as 70% percent of their calories from protien. It also helps that they taste a lot like hamburgers which I love!! And it doesn't have all of the fat adn stuff. I do also eat chicken, tuna, turkey breast, and shrimp often. Thank you for all your help. It is really cool of ou to offer all of this advice!
A:
You're welcome! To tell the truth I generally avoid unfermented soy products (such as Boca burgers) but I admit that it's a gray area and more of a personal choice for me. If you are interested in the subject do a web search for 'unfermented soy' and decide for yourself. But that aspect aside you should be fine since you mentioned you get plenty of protein from other foods.
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