The ethics of hormone manipulation? August 25, 2010
Posted by bodycomp in BS detector, Health and quality of life, Hormones.5 comments
*I’ll probably regret this, but I’m feeling like opening a can of worms today. I’m feeling like posting something provocative and hopefully getting a little discussion going in the comments sections. *
Left: Good. Right: Evil?
How about we just let people do whatever the hell they want with their own bodies?
At the beginning of this year, a local newspaper ran a story on a friend of mine who is a very successful amateur bodybuilder. The article was a nice piece about the years of hard work and extremely focused nutritional efforts it took for this once scrawny kid to become the extremely muscular man he is today. I personally saw it as a success story. I saw it as an example of the classic Napoleon Hill motto: “What the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve.” I was very happy and proud to see my friend recognized for his superhuman dedication and unwavering focus. Apparently not everyone else saw things that way.
Instead of congratulatory comments at the end of the article, I found several scathing accusations of steroid use. The readers slammed the paper for running a piece glorifying someone who was “destroying his body and health” through alleged drug use. One jerk wrote, “Have fun on dialysis, dude. I hope it was worth it.” (The article made zero mention of drug use, so the readers were clearly operating under their own assumptions.)
Now, I don’t want to get into all this misinformation floating around about the dangers of steroid use, so let’s just get to my provocative question. As anyone who lives here knows, Portland is very progressive place. Most Portlanders are very supportive of the idea a man taking female hormones (steroids) to become more feminine, or the idea of female take male hormones (again, steroids) to become more masculine. Why is it that if a man wants to be more masculine, through the use of the same drugs, it is all of a sudden considered evil? On what moral grounds can we say that one group can play with their natural hormones and another can’t? Just as a transgender person may feel trapped in the wrong body, perhaps a man feels trapped in a body that isn’t masculine enough for him. Why is it good for one person to use steroids, but evil for another?
It’s probably obvious that my personal opinion is that there is no difference. (I’m not trying to downplay the hardships of transgender people, so let’s please not take the conversation down that road. I’m asking purely based on principle here. Also, let’s stick to the topic of hormone/steroid use.) I personally believe that everyone should be able to do whatever the hell they want with their bodies.
*Oh, and I want to point out the my friend actually doesn’t use steroids. I’d also like to acknowledge that preparing for a bodybuilding show can be unhealthy in the final days, but recreational bodybuilding as a whole is extremely beneficial to one’s health. Lastly, before anyone jumps down my throat, I will admit that I am not up to date on all the LGBT lingo. I apologize in advance if I used the wrong terminology and any point.*
Shop to succeed! July 31, 2010
Posted by bodycomp in Body composition, Health and quality of life, Motivation.add a comment
Generic pic of health groceries.
Really quick tip!
Wanna know one of the easiest ways to improve your health and your appearance? Keep your kitchen stocked up with only healthy foods choices. Vegetables, whole fruits, nuts, lean meats, low-fat dairy, low-calorie condiments, and the most fibrous bread you can find. If you only have healthy food choices at your disposal, you can do no wrong.
You could even keep some diet desserts in your freezer. I’m a fan of the Safeway Eating Right no-sugar-added vanilla ice cream mixed with diet root beer. It makes for a pretty guilt free float. Skinny Cow also makes some great ice cream sandwiches. Oh, and let’s not forget sugar-free Jell-O.
Don’t keep any junk food in your house if you can’t resist it. I know this flies in the face of my typical message of moderation, but I know that I for one cannot leave junk food alone in my kitchen. If it is there, I’m gonna eat it! So I am much better off not buying any junk food at all. Instead, I save the less healthy foods for when I eat out, which is only once or twice a week. This has been working well for me because while I definitely have a sweet tooth, I am also kind of lazy. So when I have a sugar craving I don’t wanna bother walking to the store to buy sweets. Who would have known laziness would actually turn out to be a good thing?
Raise you standards for serious results July 7, 2010
Posted by bodycomp in Health and quality of life, Motivation.add a comment
Want real success? It may be time to "raise the bar".
How do you feel when you see someone with a body that’s waaaaay more fit than your own? Or how about if you’re middle aged and on statins or diabetes medication, but then you meet someone older than you who is the picture of health? At first you’re shocked, and shortly after envy begins to sink in.
Your mind scurries for all the possible reasons as to why this other person is in better condition than you. They must have great genetics, a personal trainer, a personal chef, or perhaps they’re just on a cocktail of illegal performance enhancing drugs! While all of these are indeed true possibilities, do you wanna know the most likely reason for their superior condition to your own?
They work harder than you. They very rarely skip a workout, unless there is a dire scenario at hand. They very rarely allow themselves junk food. They very rarely get drunk. They prioritize their health and fitness goals, perhaps even at a slight expense to their social life. The bottom line is that they have raised their standards.
For people who have truly raised the bar, skipping a workout because they are tired or had a bad day simply isn’t an option. You never hear them say, “I didn’t have time to workout” because they make the time. They’ve taken the possibility of skipping a workout off the the table completely. They aren’t not willing to settle for less than maximal adherence to their personal standards, come hell or high water.
If you’ve been involved with fitness for a considerable amount of time and have little to show for it, then you need to take a good hard look at your standards. If really want to achieve a better physique or better health, it may be time to raise the bar. While a slew of excuses may massage your feelings of guilt, they will do absolutely nothing to slim your gut, add muscle to your frame, lower your cholesterol, reduce your risk of disease, or to extend your life.
Quick motivational tips June 17, 2010
Posted by bodycomp in Body composition, Building muscle, Health and quality of life, Motivation.add a comment
We all fall into slumps. Sometimes going to the gym is a blast, other times we struggle to just go through the motions. Here are some quick and easy tips that will hopefully help you through those days when your motivation is low.
- Get some new tunes – I prefer metal personally, but take whatever genre you like and get some new songs on your MP3 player. If you’ve been listening to the same songs for the past year or more, you’ll be surprised what a difference some fresh music makes. Also, if there are any songs you have an emotional connection to, be sure to exploit that! I don’t know a single guy that doesn’t get pumped up when he hears the Rocky theme.
- Watch bodybuilding/fitness videos – Before I lift weights, I will usually go on YouTube and watch videos of professional athletes or bodybuilders training. Seeing their intensity, dedication, and focus gets me psyched up. Ladies (if watching big musclebound dudes isn’t your thing), you can find training videos feature figure athletes and so on.
- Use others to motivate yourself – Similar to watching videos, it can be great to watch or read about someone overcoming obstacles in their life. Personally, I’m inspired by “handicapped” athletes. I’m also in awe of some the people at my gym, like the pregnant women who could make excuses, but don’t. I also know two blind guys and one guy in a wheelchair who all workout regularly. If they can get their butts in the gym, what’s my excuse?
- Use visualization – If you training to lose weight, think about how you want to look. If you want to gain muscle, imagine yourself with the new muscle. Visualize yourself being powerful during workouts and setting new personal bests. See a long and healthy life for yourself.
- Get wired – A little caffeine can go a long way on days when you’re feeling sluggish! Just don’t overdo it.
- Find a training partner – If you know someone else with a similar schedule who trains hard, ask them if they’d mind training together. If the joint workout it great, consider making it a regular thing. A good training partner can really help you push yourself. “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.“
- Give up your bad habits – As I mentioned in my last two posts, if you’re partying too much then your workouts are probably going to suffer. Ease up on the drinking, get adequate sleep, and quit eating so much junk food.
That’s all I could think of off the top of my head for right now. Got a tip of you own? Please leave it in the comments section for everyone else to see!
More thoughts on boozing May 27, 2010
Posted by bodycomp in Body composition, Building muscle, Health and quality of life, Nutrition.add a comment
I’m having second thoughts about drinking.
In my previous post, I basically stated that drinking is okay if you are someone who doesn’t overdo it. While I still stand by that, I’ve been thinking this over for a while and perhaps it is better to play it safe than sorry.
I know, I’m pulling a bit of a flip-flop on you guys. Forgive me and let me explain.
Here’s the problem with drinking: most of us don’t stop at one or even two drinks. We start feeling good, and two drinks becomes the full six pack. For a lot of folks this may not even result in a hangover, but the calories still add up. So, if you’re really serious about dropping that extra fat, it would probably be wise to not play with fire.
I know my biggest problem with alcohol isn’t so much the alcohol itself, but rather the fact that I tend to lose all regard for my diet. Once I’m buzzed, I start to think that several slices of pizza won’t hurt! Of course I’m completely wrong. 870 calories from a six pack of beer plus 1000 calories from pizza is an obvious recipe for derailing fat loss efforts.
Another thing to think about is the biological influence alcohol has on your body. I’m not talking about liver stress or anything scary like that, but rather that once you’ve consumed alcohol your body’s first order of business is to get rid of it. So while your body is processing the alcohol, your ability to utilize bodyfat for energy is greatly decreased. So even if you do have your calories/diet in check, you’re slowing down your progress (even if only for a few hours). It’s up to you to decided if the trade-off is worthwhile or not.
From a muscle-building perspective, alcohol can temporarily decrease testosterone levels and sometimes even increase estrogen levels. Neither good things when it comes to building muscle.
If you’re going to drink, definitely weigh out the possible consequences first. A couple drinks here and there will probably make such a small difference in your results that you won’t even notice. However, if you can’t control how you eat while your drink or if you can’t control how much you drink, I’d suggest forgetting about alcohol altogether.
Can I drink and still look good? May 8, 2010
Posted by bodycomp in Nutrition.7 comments
Drinking won’t enhance your results, but it won’t necessarily hurt either.
- First off, my apologies for not posting lately. I don’t really have any good excuse, other than maybe mid-terms. I was just being lazy for the most part. I will try to post a little more often. -
We tend to think of drinking alcohol and looking good (or being physically fit) as being mutually exclusive. That is, someone can’t possibly look good naked and be fit if they like to drink occasionally, right? The answer is: not necessarily. (I’m not going to get into any hard science here. If you want to read about research, a great article is “A Musclehead’s Guide to Alcohol” by nutritionist Alan Aragon. I’m just imparting my personal anecdotal observations here.)
If you’ve read my past posts, you know I’m a pretty bigger preacher of moderation. I think some junk food is okay, I think it’s okay to miss a workout every now and then, and I think drinking alcohol in responsible amounts isn’t going to derail your fitness efforts.
Of course, responsibility is where most people slip up. I can’t give you any concrete numbers, but if you find yourself being hungover or feeling unmotivated then you are drinking too much. I won’t lie to you, I love a good buzz, but if your drinking is negatively affecting your performance in the gym, school, or work then you need to cut back or perhaps cut it out all together.
Alcohol can be extremely detrimental to fat loss, but not necessarily because of the calories found in alcohol. (On a personal note, I’ve successfully lost bodyfat without abstaining from alcohol.) Instead, the real problem in my mind is that alcohol lessens inhibitions and common sense. If you’re following a calorie-restricted diet and have a couple drinks, you may find yourself much less hesitant to pig out on junk food. If you’re someone who can’t keep your willpower in-check while under the influence, drinking can definitely kill your progress.
If you feel that you’re a just-right drinker (no hangovers, no decrease in performance, no pigging out) and really want to nitpick, dark wine and beers are considered to be the “healthiest” because of their higher polyphenol content. Personally, I’d also avoid drinks prepared with sugary mixes like margarita mix, etc. Liqueors and “fine malt beverages” (like Four Loko) also tend to have a lot of added sugar.
Anyway, use common sense. If you feel like you’re drinking too much, you probably are.
Good food vs. bad food April 19, 2010
Posted by bodycomp in About Rian, Health and quality of life, Motivation, Nutrition.1 comment so far
If this is your fantasy, your diet might be a bit too strict.
If you’ve spent any amount of time on a bodybuilding or weight loss forum, you’ll read plenty about “clean” foods. These are generally foods that are unprocessed, have minimal added sugars, and a moderate-to-low glycemic index rating. Some quick examples of these food would be plain chicken breasts, lean beef, vegetables, apples, basmati rice… basically some of the food and carb choices I suggested in my past blogs.
While I believe that a healthy and nutritious diet should be built around these types of food choices, people also tend to become obsessive about eating only clean foods. While it is beneficial and productive to make healthy choices 90% of the time, it can be dangerous to develop a mentality of good food vs. bad food.
If you’re trying to lose weight and/or add muscle mass, the most important factor is that you hit your daily calorie and macronutrient needs. I’m not going to go as far to say “a calorie is a calorie”, but it isn’t going to kill you if you have a little junk food mixed in with your otherwise healthy diet. As long as you are not consuming excess calories, you’re not going to get fat.
I can tell you from personal experience that when you become obsessed with “clean” eating, it is very easy to fall into a pattern of binge eating. I’m always able to eat super strict for a a few days before falling off the wagon. My problem is that once I’ve fallen off, I tend to dig myself into a hole. I’ll pig out for several hours. The end result is usually feeling like crap and looking bloated.
Obviously I’m not a psychologist, but there is a lot of “all-or-nothing” thinking going on when people try to stick to a diet or training program. They’re either going all out in the gym and eating 100% “clean”, or they are on the couch with a box of donuts and a gallon of chocolate milk. I once read an analogy about cheating on your diet (or binge eating) that has stuck with me:
Imagine you’re driving down the road and you get a flat tire. Do you get out and change the tire, or do you slash the other 3 tires?
If you think about, that is what a binge/mega-cheat is. We fall off our diets and say “screw it!” We then proceed to have a whole pizza and a half-gallon of ice cream, completely derailing our efforts, not to mention making ourselves sick. Wouldn’t it have been better to just have a slice of pizza and a scoop of ice cream in place of one of your healthy meals?
Going back to my 90% rule, if you eat well the majority of the time, some junk food here and there isn’t going to really hurt your progress. What’s even better is if you can manage to eat some “bad food” without exceeding your calorie requirements.
Obviously cheating on your diet isn’t ideal, but it’s realistic. It should be expected. Unless you’re pursuing a career in bodybuilding or athletics, I don’t see any reason to become anal retentive about your diet or to become obsessed with “clean” eating. Give yourself a little wiggle room. Relax. If you put constant pressure on yourself to never slip up on your diet, chances are you’re eventually going to crack in a big way.
You MUST eat every 3 hours…or not. April 6, 2010
Posted by bodycomp in About Rian, Nutrition.2 comments
Don’t be a slave to your meal schedule.
When I first got into fitness/bodybuilding, the big thing was that you absolutely needed to eat a meal or snack every 3-4 hours to maximize your results. Not only would you build more muscle, but your metabolism would be elevated, so you’d also burn more fat.
I remember going out with friends and making sure I had my Tupperware packed. If I couldn’t prepare a meal in time to hangout with them, I simply wasn’t gonna go out. My results meant everything to me and I wasn’t about to sacrifice my goals in exchange for a social life.
While my drive and dedication were certainly admirable, it turned out that the “eat every 3-4 hours” mantra was wrong. Dammit!
I’m going to guess that this idea was popularized by Bill Phillips with the best of intentions (or to sell Myoplex bars and shakes), but science has since discredited it. Sure, smaller meals might slightly enhance nutrient absorption, but there is no increase in metabolism. Instead you simply have 6 smaller thermic effects, whereas with a normal eating schedule you’d maybe have 3, which in the end would add up to the same overall effect of the smaller 6.
What about keeping constantly high levels of amino acids in the bloodstream in order to facilitate maximum protein synthesis (i.e. muscle growth)? As the now Phd Layne Norton has pointed out (BTW, congrats Dr. Norton), it is actually more beneficial to let amino acids drop off and then spike them with with a bolus of amino acids/protein. Dammit again! I used to carry around a shaker bottle and meal replacement powder everywhere I went.
Physique science is in a constant state of flux. I feel silly now; I know I unnecessarily sacrificed a lot of fun because I was so obsessed with following everything by the book. My heart was in the right place, but I wish I had a better sense of moderation back then.
The moral of this story, if there is one, is that you should allow yourself some wiggle room in your fitness endeavors. If something seems like too hard and fast of a rule, maybe it is.* As I’ve said before, I’m not giving you a license to be lazy, but don’t become an anal retentive, anti-social hermit. After all, life is meant to be lived.
*If you’re a physique athlete (or a competitive athlete of some other nature) disregard this. Go balls to the wall! You don’t want to risk being outworked by a competitor.
Tomorrow never comes March 28, 2010
Posted by bodycomp in BS detector, Health and quality of life, Motivation.1 comment so far
Sadly, most home treadmills simply become expensive clothing hangers.
We tend to get caught up in planning. We often spend so much time over analyzing information that we never actually take action. Sometimes we just flat out put things off, saying that we’ll start tomorrow, next week, or next month. The clock ticks away, the days go by, and eventually we forget about our grand plans altogether.
The above scenario could relate to numerous things- going back to school, finding a better job, or starting an exercise regimen. (Guess which of the three I’m going to write about?)
If you’ve been thinking about starting to workout, just do it already! Chances are you aren’t an expert or know-it-all when it comes to exercise, but you don’t need to be. Besides, you never will be. There is always more to learn, so while it’s great seek education, don’t fall into the trap of constantly putting things off because you think you need to find the “perfect” program or diet. Take what information you do have and implement it today.
I’ve seen plenty of people get a gym membership, a home gym, a treadmill, an exercise bike, a pair of running shoes, an exercise DVD, or whatever else they feel they need to get started. They’re all pumped up to embark on their lifestyle improvement, but then something funny happens: they never start. They keep telling themselves that they’ll start tomorrow, but what they don’t realize is that a pattern forms and tomorrow never comes.
I will be the first to admit that I hated working out at first. You may need to force yourself through that first month of exercise, but once it becomes habit you’ll probably form a love affair with exercise. At the very least, you won’t be in cruddy mood about working out. I can also promise you that you’ll feel better both physically and mentally, and you’ll start “getting more” out of life.
It kind of boggles my mind that most of us have no problem brushing our teeth, flossing, and bathing on a daily basis. It just seems like common sense. (If you’re a woman, you maybe even go to the trouble of spending 20-30 minutes every day putting on make-up, doing your nails, etc.) We’d never put off brushing our teeth or taking a shower until next week, but yet we place almost no importance on taking care of our insides. I really can’t offer an insight on this (other than that exercise takes more effort and time), but it’s something to ponder.
It’s time to quite kidding yourself. Don’t lie to yourself that you’re “healthy” if you aren’t even getting in the bare minimum requirement of exercise. (I know that sounds mean, but consider it tough love.) Every sedentary day you spend is taking its toll on your body and health. Many people wait until it’s too late. Don’t be one of them. Take control of your health and your future right now.
An ounce of prevention… March 25, 2010
Posted by bodycomp in Body composition, Motivation.comments closed
With the beginnings of healthcare reform taking place in United States, I want to quickly remind everyone that the cheapest form of preventive care (i.e. exercise) is already free. The US Surgeon General recommends a minimum of 30 minutes of some form of exercise every day. Getting active on a regular basis reduces your risk for many of the top killer like heart disease, cancers, and many more terrible health conditions. Regular exercise also strengthens the immune system and helps ward of less dangerous “bugs” like the common cold, flu, and so on.
Please, if you give a damn about your self or those who care about you, find a way to exercise on a regular basis. Though I’ve knocked walking in the past, briskly strolling around the neighborhood for 30 minutes a day would make a world of difference for a lot of people. Exercise is an investment in yourself and your quality life. It is also a gift to those who care about you because it will allow you to stick around longer.
A life without regular exercise is extremely reckless and just plain selfish.
