Q&A for: 4-Nov-05
954. Q:
Mike, today i weighed myself right after dinner w/ clothes on, and it was 210. i cant weigh myself in the morning because my contacts arent in then. how much weight should i subtract for clothes and food and all? i had shorts and T shirt on plus some pasta
A:
Te problem with evening weighings is that there's no way of telling how much of the food and drink you had all day may still be in your system. It could be almost everything they've eaten or drank the whole day for some people and very little for others. So there's absolutely no way to say what's the right number of pounds to 'subtract', could be 1 pound for one person and 5 or more pounds for somebody else.
Can you weigh yourself in the morning after you have your contacts in? That would still be a more reliable measure than after dinner. In any case, find one consistent time of the day and weigh yourself then daily and don't try to adjust the weight (except for clothing -- which you can easily weigh yourself and know the difference. Jeans + shirt is probably 2 or 3 pounds). The sooner this weigh-in time to when you wake up, the more reliable the results will be, but at least always do it at the same time of the day.
955. Q:
MIke, I have a double chin can you tell me some ways to get rid of it? i heard the working out your neck whould help is that true?
A:
Sorry, I don't think working your neck will make any difference. Some people naturally have more of a double chin than others, but in all cases the double chin appears due to extra fat in that area. As with any other fat deposit, you CANNOT selectively burn the fat just in that specific place. But you CAN lose fat overall and in the process lose the extra chin fat. As always, the best way to burn fat is via a good diet and whole-body weight training as described in my weight loss article.
956. Q:
I do 30 second workout at my local womens gym. they have changed the time to now 1 min. i heard that if i am on the equiptment for more than 30 seconds i will not be buring fat, but then i would be buring muscle. so my question is, is that true. will working on a piece of equipt for more than 30 seconds burn muscle? or is it ok to work on each stations for 1 minute?
A:
In general, yes, 1 minute sets are a little too long. However what matters is the WEIGHTS you lift and not the TIME you spend. The reason for that is because your goal, for fat loss, is to lift a heavy weight which you can only lift 12 times (reps) or so for any given exercise. Typically 12 reps will be done in under 30 seconds. But it's the heaviness of the weights that matters, not the length of the set. It's just that when weights are heavy enough, your sets will only last 30 seconds or so because you wouldn't be able to lift any more.
However, if you're lifttng light weights, which you almost certainly are doing in circuit workouts like you describe, then the 30-second rule is meaningless. Light weights are not as effective in burning fat, but if that's what your program has you do, you might as well go at them for longer, so the 60-second sets are fine.
One other thing I want to address is the extremely common perception among women that heavy weights will make them overly bulky and muscular... That might conceivably happen (by no means guaranteed, but potentially possible) if they lift heavy weights AND gain weight. But they will NOT gain any muscle even with very heavy weights AS LONG AS THEY LOSE WEIGHT. So the optimal fat-loss program would have you be on a good diet under which you're losing weight (slowly) AND lift heavy weights at the same time.
957. Q:
mike, for 949, u said 40 grams of protein per meal, but in 591 my workout thing only has me having like 20 or so for breakfast. also, is there anything i could mix into my workout gatorade for better recovery or something like that?
A:
That's why I said it may be a good idea to introduce another meal into your day. The 200 grams total and 40 grams/meal (if 5 meals) are just guidelines. Your dinner, for which, if I remember correctly, you eat both chicken and whey protein has more than 40 grams most likely balancing out the breakfast. As you go on with your bulk and workouts you'll have to keep increasing your calories to keep gaining weight so you'll be increasing your protein intake as well.
If you drink gatorade during your workout, I would probably just keep it as is. Some people drink whey protein during the workouts (in addition to some sugary stuff like gatorade), but I don't think it's a good idea for most -- whey protein will require some work on part of your system to digest (unlike gatorade which is pretty much just plain sugar in water) and draw energy and blood away from muscles. Plus you might experience stomach discomfort. You could try it, though I suppose and see if you like it. If, however, you drink gatorade right after the workout, then you can definitely benefit from mixing some whey protein into it then. My personal favorite whey protein, when I use it, is the one I recommend at the top of the page.
958. Q:
Is it surgar or fat in the foods that put on more weight on a person.And can a person really make there leggs and butt and abs smaller.
A:
Sorry, it's not that simple at all. You can become obese by overeating sugary foods, you can become obese by overeating fatty foods, you can even become obese by overeating 'normal' foods. And if you have a sedentary lifestyle, then your chances of becoming obese are that much greater. The key is to have a balanced diet full of naturally nutricious, minimally processed foods like veggies, fruits, meats, poultry, fish, nuts, olive oil, etc.
As to your second question... yes, of course!!! All you'd have to do is lose the extra fat that's covering your body and everything I wrote on this site is meant to help you do just that.
959. Q:
respond to 957, yeah, i use the rocky road gold double chocolate whey.. its good stuff. however, mixing it w/ water/ gatorade is sick
A:
You don't have to mix it with gatorade -- just mix it with water and have gatorade separately on the side.
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