Q&A for: 18-Nov-05
1066. Q:
Hey mike, belive it or not i am a thirteen yearold boy who likes spinage:) i wanted to know what makes the green vegies so special?
A:
Congrats! Unfortunately, I think you may be the only one like that :) Green veggies (and really veggies in general, besides corn and potatoes) are pretty much THE perfect food. They are very rich in minerals, rich in vitamins, very light on calories (it's IMPOSSIBLE to overeat on green veggies) and have whatever calories are there either in the form of very slow-digesting carbs (which is the best kinds of carbs) or protein. They have innumerable health benefits, besides the losing fat and building muscle ones. Basically: EAT YOUR VEGGIES!!! And spinach may well be the king of all veggies, so once again congrats to you :)
1067. Q:
Are carrots bad if you eat too much of them as a snack?
A:
Carrots are actually relatively sugary as far as veggies go, but you'd have to really go crazy on them to overeat. As a small or medium snack, carrots are perfectly fine.
1068. Q:
Mike is it normal to feel like crap after a hard heavy llift. After I work out I just feel like BLLUHHH. I kind of lose my appetite, get sleepy and a little light headed. I eat alot like around 2600-2800 cals a day. I have been on this many cals and lifting heavy for about a week. Any thoughts?
A:
That's mostly normal. You should feel very tired immediately after a good heavy workout. Lightheadness is probably a little too much though, so you may want to ease up just a bit. You should also make sure to have a nice big meal as soon as possible after your workout, regardless of the appetite. The food will help refuel your body and start your muscles on the recovery process and will actually restore your appetite. It's also normal to get sleepy during the day -- your body is telling you it would like to rest and recover! That's why it's so important to try and get at least 8 hours of sleep. It's OK to take naps even, if you can afford the time. So on the whole I'd say you're doing good, maybe pushing yourself a little too much (lightheadness shouldn't be there).
Also remember to monitor your weight and make sure you're eating enough to stay on track for your goals. If you are working out to build muscle, you want to be gaining about 1 pound of weight every two weeks. If you're not gaining that, increase your calories slightly by adding carb-rich foods. Not eating enough and losing weight will add to the general tiredness (so unfortunately it's almost always going to be there when you're trying to lose fat and weight).
Always make sure to take at least 1 full week from working out every 2 months or so OR when you start feeling BLLUHHH around the clock, including in the gym -- that's a sign of overtraining and needing a break.
1069. Q:
does keeping your abs flexed for long periods of time build up mucsles?
A:
Yes, that will build up ab strength to some degree. But it will not do much as far as getting the six-pack -- you need a complete diet and whole-body exercise program for that.
1070. Q:
I am just wondering, is it unhealthy to have under 8% body fat?
A:
It's definitely very unhealthy for a woman, but it should be OK for a man. Men should stay above 5% or so, women above 12%. In reality very very few people ever get their body fat to such low levels.
1071. Q:
Q 1056.The hand held devices are even worse off the mark than bathroom scales.I bought a tanita scale and its only 3 percents off the calipers measurement.
A:
I am not surprised. I wouldn't use any of those devices because the margin of error is far too big to be useful. All you need to do is make sure you have a good diet and training program and stay on track to slowly lose weight (1 pound a week is a good pace) and you can rest easy knowing that the lost weight is all or almost all fat. Once in awhile you can ask a trainer in your gym to measure you with calipers, but even that's not necessary. If you are doing everything right and losing weight, then it means you're losing fat.
1072. Q:
to measure my waist should I place the tape across my bellybutton ,if not where exactly? my waist circumference increases by an inch during the day when comparing to when I just wake up.
A:
Men usually measure right at the bellybutton level and women measure slightly below the bellybutton. If you're doing it just to keep track, then it doesn't matter as long as you always measure in the same place. I'd just measure at the bellybutton for that reason -- it's easy to locate so you always measure at the same level.
And it is very normal for your stomach to expand during the day because of all the food and drink. I'd do all the measures, including weight, on an empty stomach in the morning, after getting up and using the bathroom.
1073. Q:
when I increased my cardio workout to a heartrate of 145 I lost about two pounds but I havent lost anymore. Does this mean I have to increase again the intensity to continue to lose weight? I have a body composition of about 18.5%
A:
Not sure if you're the same person who posted before about the correlation between increasing heart rate during cardio and weight loss, but as I explained in those questions (Q&A #886, Q&A #941, Q&A #992), that correlation is a pure coincidence.
While you should do cardio at brisk pace, continuing to increase your heart rate more and more is not the key. Cardio should be a relatively small part of your overall program -- your diet and your weight training are more important. And heart rate targets are in turn only a small part of the cardio story. So you're focusing on a very small and unimportant aspect of your training. Don't focus on that so much -- it makes very little difference whether you are at 135 or 145 or 155 bpm! Instead, if you tell me more about yourself, your daily diet, and your entire exercise program I can give you specific advice on what and how to change to continue losing fat.
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