Q&A for: 9-May-10
2954. Q:
How natural is it to build large muscle – I ask as most people have to work very hard to eat lots of specific foods combined with heavy weights to get big plus your body is so fond of eating muscle to slow metabolism and storing fat, rather than burning fat. Below 10% body fat for most people their bodies stubbornly hold on to fat. Plus if people eat too much food weekly – even if ‘clean’ they can easily put on excess fat. Should we really be fighting out bodies' natural instincts?
A:
I'm not sure how natural or not natural it is -- human society changed so much in just a few thousand years that I think those terms are almost meaningless -- but having very large muscle mass and/or low body fat is most definitely not easy. However I don't think that should stop anybody from trying to achieve it if that's what they want to do. It's just like any other human endeavor: set your goals and try to achieve them. More often than not, even if you don't quite get to your goals the journey will still be very rewarding.
It is true that some people get carried away with their obsession for the 'perfect body' and start engaging in dangerous and self-destructive practices like using anabolic steroids, going on bogus and unhealthy diets, ignoring and exacerbating injuries, sacrificing personal lives and careers, and so on. This is certainly something to be mindful of. But if one can avoid these slippery slopes -- and most people certainly can and do avoid them -- then I see nothing wrong with setting high personal fitness goals and then working your hardest to achieve them.
2955. Q:
i am a vegetarian with normal bmi .i want to gain muscle.plzz suggest me some good sources of dairy fat and protein.
A:
If you can eat dairy and/or eggs, then your best sources of protein will be cottage cheese, skim milk, egg whites or whole eggs, as well as whey protein powder (which is derived from milk).
If you are a strict vegan and can only eat plant foods, then you should focus on beans, lentils, peas, and soy/tofu for most of your protein. Nuts and seeds also have some protein and a lot of healthy fats. Many whole grains have protein, but it's a small portion of overall calories so if you try to get a lot of protein from grains you will probably have to eat too much and start putting on fat. Most vegetables have some protein in them as well, but their overall calories are quite low, so it's hard to get a lot of protein out of them. So various legumes are your best bet for plant protein.
Getting healthy fats for vegetarian is quite easy. Virtually all plant-based fats are healthy: nuts, seeds, olive and other oils, soy, avocados. The only thing is to NOT use oil in frying. Oil oxidizes at high temperatures and becomes trans fats. If you must use oil in frying, olive oil and canola oil are the best choices and you should still use as little as possible of them at as low temperatures as possible.
2956. Q:
Mike, I have a problem when lifting or pressing weights or bars by my shoulders (i.e. standing calf raises) that the pressure of the bar or pad leaves elongated marks or lines across the top of my shoulders. Can you suggest a way to prevent this?
A:
You could use more padding between the bar and your shoulders, but you probably can't prevent these marks entirely. The good news is that these should be very temporary and are completely harmless. I really wouldn't worry too much about them.
2957. Q:
I weigh 210 pounds.How many grams of protein should I get per pound of bodyweigh?.Some say 0.45, others say 1.5.I`m confused.I play 9 hours of doubles badminton each week.
A:
A good target for somebody who is physically active is to get about 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight daily (so about 200 grams of protein daily). There has been a lot of research suggesting that physically active people can benefit from that much. There is some evidence that even more protein can be useful if you are actively trying to build muscle and/or lose fat, but the evidence there is not as strong. I would make 200 grams of protein daily as your goal and count each day that you get at least 150 grams of protein as success. Of course, don't forget about the rest of your diet -- getting enough protein won't help you much if the rest of your diet is junk. Make sure to read my Nutrition article to learn how to put together a healthy diet for yourself.
2958. Q:
hey mike I'm new here, and I'm trying one of your weight loss diets http://www.mikesfitness.com/article_nutritioncut2500.php and I'm liking what I see because what you did here was great, but I need some help with finding replacements for some of the things, because I'm a on the go guy and I rarely have time to eat with fork and knife, can you give me some help? P.S. I'm a 165 lb. male that is 5 ft 10. My goal is 140lb. But am also planning to get a little more muscle,) Help!
A:
Eating well on the go is certainly not easy. A lot of the suggested meals in my diet plans can be prepared in advanced, put in tupperware and quickly microwaved and eaten on the go. Many can even be eaten cold. Of course they probably won't taste quite as good as freshly made. You can also rely more heavily on sandwiches that you can take with you -- use whole wheat bread, a bit of mayo and/or cheese, and a lot of lean protein like tuna or turkey or chicken or hardboiled egg whites with lettuce and tomato to taste. You can carry protein shakes and/or seeds or nuts for quick snacks. Finally, you can even use protein bars, though I recommend you don't use them too much. Just add up the overall calories and protein/carbs/fats of a whole day's meals and make sure they're not too far off from my guidelines.
As far as getting from 165 pounds to 140 pounds, I think you may want to reconsider it somewhat -- 165 pounds is actually perfectly healthy weight for you and 140 pounds is getting close to being underweight for your height. You may aim for the goal weight of maybe 150-155 pounds instead and as you work out and eat right and lose fat and build muscle, you will find yourself quite lean at that weight. You may want to first go on a fat-loss diet and drop to maybe 150 pounds, then bulk up a bit to 155-160, and then if you still think you have too much fat go back down to 150-155 range.
Read my Nutrition article to learn how to structure your diet for both fat-loss and muscle-gain phases and good luck!
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