Is skinny the new jacked?

[Philosoph]

Originally Posted by Saucemaster

You're right, and this is perfectly good advice, but for my part, it was a natural progression. I started off wanting to get more fit and muscular, then my focus changed from "what do I look like" to "how do I drop my mile time/increase my bench/squat/deadlift" and now it's entirely about challenging myself and making progress. My body doesn't seem to like making a lot of progress on its own, so I started researching, one thing led to another....

Think about it: this is a forum for people who spend WAY too much time thinking about the clothes they wear. You could just as easily say "just buy your size, don't mix colors that clash, and you're good to go", but I don't think any of us are satisfied with that wardrobe. It's probably a good bet that a lot of us get a bit obsessive about our interests.

+1 to both points.

It seems to me that even if you're primarily concerned about how you look, aiming for performance is a better way to look at your training. It's not like you can quantify muscle gained per set or something, so just focus on lifting more weight. Then, when you can squat or bench 50 or 100 pounds more for the same reps, funnily enough, you'll probably have more muscle.

And [most] everyone's gotta have a hobby. Some people prefer weight training to collecting stamps. Getting stronger is useful too: I can't even count the number of times I've had to move heavy stuff around and been glad I had the strength to do it. Plus girls like it when you can pick them up with ease.

 

[smw356]

Originally Posted by Fuuma

Maybe but he needs to get started and his goals are reasonnably easy and he might not be in it that much (I'm the same). Just eating well and doing some cardio is fine and too much people start with a trainer, some weird regime and 2 hrs of exercises a day and stop after a month. You don't see many people here having never worn any interesting clothes and cared buying 3 dior leather jackets in the first month do you? Same for that ****.

Yeah I agree, but its not like the advice was really all the complicated. I mean it really boiled down to the same thing you told him, just replacing running with lifting weights.

Bottom line though is regarding any change of this matter you just have to want it enough to put in the effort to do it. If thats not there everything else is moot.

 

[drainpipe]

I'm 5'10" and, weighing myself just this morning, hovering around 128 lbs. For the last few years I've been pretty much within two pounds of 130. I like this weight for me. It's definitely skinny, but it's not anorexically skinny. I'm not "chicken-chested" either. I lift weights three times a week. My 5RM on bench, squat, and deadlift are 135 (injured my rotator cuff recently so this is probably overshooting it), 185, 215. I have a six-pack and pectorial muscles and noticable veins in my arms. On the other hand, I also run 10K three times a week and average about 1800-2000 calories per day without starving myself. I am definitely going for the Brad Pitt Fight Club look rather than the "normal" athletic look.

And I'm glad the fashion has been turning towards the skinny. If cheaper places start adjusting their stock to be skinny (like H&M and Uniqlo), then maybe I can actually find some decent cheap clothes without having to buy Japaness brands.

 

[whacked]

Originally Posted by drainpipe

I lift weights three times a week... On the other hand, I also run 10K three times a week and average about 1800-2000 calories per day without starving myself.

Yes you are.

 

[ken]

Originally Posted by why

I often wonder why supplements and diets are as trendy as clothing. I need to be on the lookout for the next big thing in fitness so I can cash in better.

Pretty soon fish oil will be endorsed by Ponce de Leon before quickly becoming passÃ

when isometrics come back into style.

I am totally convinced. Why should I listen to clinical studies backed by anecdotal evidence from the top trainers in the industry when some clueless skinny dude just told me it's a fad? Thank you for saving my hard earned belly fat.

A recent study that was published in the international journal of obesity, researchers want to find out if by supplementing the diet with omega 3 fish oil (good fat) would increase the number of fat calories burned in a single day.

The two groups were fed exactly the same diet apart from one group were fed 6 grams of fat in the form of butter, olive oil, sunflower oil and peanut oil, the other group were given 6 grams of omega 3 fish oil.
The fish oil group were given 8 capsules per day, 2 in the morning, 3 at lunch and 3 in the evening.

The Total daily intake of omega 3 long chain ***** acids was 1.8 grams.
The out come of the test results were fairly conclusive.

The table below shows you the changes in fat oxidation, body fat, and metabolic rate after three weeks for the groups with or without fish oil

With Fish Oil Without Fish Oil

Measurement of body fat -2pounds -0.7

Daily metabolic rate 1775 calories 1710 calories

These results show that the group who were supplementing with fish oil burned about 1.1 milligram of fat per kilo per minute. This is roughly 26% higher than the other group who weren't supplementing with the fish oil.

One study done by the Nutritional Physiology Research Group in Australia showed that omega-3 enriched fish oil combined with exercise provides significantly greater fat loss benefits than exercise or fish oil alone. And this study was performed on real live fat people, not chubby rats.

Some recent research has shown that taking a daily ***** acid supplement may boost the effectiveness (or even replace) antidepressants in some people. Depressed people who added omega-3s to their treatment showed less anxiety, fewer sleeping problems, less overall sadness, and fewer sexual problems.

It has now been proven scientifically that Omega-3 fish oil helps you lose weight. Studies at the University of South Australia have found that taking omega-3 fish oil combined with moderate aerobic exercise boosts weight loss.

Over a period of 12 weeks, researchers gave a group of obese adult's daily doses of omega-3 fish oil and supervised moderate aerobic exercise three times a week. The researches compared the results of this group with other groups that were not given omega-3 fish oil and exercise three times a week.

The group that had the omega-3 fish oil lost significantly more weight, particularly around the abdominal region, than the people who had not been given the omega-3 fish oil and exercise.
They concluded that Omega-3 ***** acids in the fish oil activates the enzymes responsible for burning fat, and combined with exercise and increased oxygen intake, they increase the metabolic rate, which has an effect of burning more fat and losing weight.

A research team led by Carole Thivierge, from Universite Laval's Institute of Nutraceutics and Functional Foods, shows that omega-3 ***** acids from fish oil have a positive effect on the metabolism of muscle proteins. This finding, published in a recent edition of the Journal of Physiology, could have significant implications in the fields of animal farming as well as human health.

In mammals, the ability to use nutrients from food and convert them into muscle proteins decreases with age. Though the exact cause of this phenomenon is still unclear, insulin resistance of aging muscle cells has been suggested as a possible answer.

Since omega-3 ***** acids are known to improve glucose metabolism in people and animals showing insulin resistance, the researchers decided to test whether omega-3's could also influence protein metabolism.

To do so, they added supplements containing either omega-3's from fish oil or a mixture of cottonseed and olive oils without omega-3's to the regular diet of steers. After five weeks, animals with the marine omega-3 diet showed increased sensitivity to insulin which, in turn, improved protein metabolism: twice the amount of amino acids was used by their bodies to synthesize proteins, especially in muscles. So it appears that omega-3 ***** acids added to the steers' diet replaced other ***** acids in muscle cells and improved their functioning.

Or maybe you should just hop on the bandwagon with me. It's all muscley up here, the chicks are better looking, and we live longer, too.

 

[why]

Originally Posted by ken

I am totally convinced. Why should I listen to clinical studies backed by anecdotal evidence from the top trainers in the industry when some clueless skinny dude just told me it's a fad? Thank you for saving my hard earned belly fat.
Because relying on a logical fallacy (argumentum ad verecundiam) is flat-out stupid. I'm not saying 'fish oil is the devil!'. Stop thinking yes or no and black or white -- there's maybes and greys in there. Those studies are all flawed (as are most epidemiological studies). Look at the first one as an example: 65 extra calories were used. People could've rolled over in their sleep more often and produced a similar effect. Perhaps I should conduct such a study and then 'prove' that sleeplessness causes weight loss. And what about their previous diets? Exercise patterns? Physiological and psychological stressors? Inherent differences in BMR?

 

[redgrail]

Fish oil is not a fad.
It has been taken by my very Norwegian family for generations.
Just putting that out there.

 

[j]

Some of those claims do sound kind of suspect, but no one (that I know of) is saying that fish oil is bad for you, and it's not expensive, so why not? Aside from the burps, anyway.

 

[lance konami]

Fish oil is great. Eating wild alaskan salmon and taking fish oil supplements is the best way to go. I had really good results when I started doing both.

Why - There's tons of scientific studies on the benefits of fish oil.

 

[smw356]

Originally Posted by j

so why not? Aside from the burps, anyway.

Just keep the bottle in the freezer, it will eliminate that.

 

[WhoKnewI]

When this school year started, I decided to lose weight. at 5'6" or so, I weighed 150 lbs. I wouldn't say I was "fat," but i could see a gut forming. I didn't go into a crazy diet to lose the weight. I just started making small changes I could live with, like replacing whole milk with skim and cutting out all sugary drinks. Other than that, i started eating more fruits and veggies, replaced white bread with whole wheat (then with multi grain because all of the fiber was giving me...issues

) and I ate my meals slower to allow myself to feel full before I overate. At the same time, I did push ups, crunches, and pull ups every other day, and it helped that I pretty much walk everywhere I go. 3 months later, I was down to about 133-134.
During a stressful period in my life about a month later, I overate and ate a lot of junk. my weight jumped back up to 140, but stayed at that level. so from my experience, i think starting out making a few changes that are very easy to adapt to goes a long way. in those 3 months, I felt that better than I had in years.

 

[Viktri]

Originally Posted by chronoaug

THANK YOU. Most of the guys here and in real life take **** way too seriously. I mean, if you're trying to get in impeccable shape or are training, then yea, go scientific. If you're just trying to maintain solid cardiovascular shape for say playing casual sports and to keep a decent looking body for the ladies/self confidence it's not rocket science.

-Don't regularly eat bad foods like pizza or burgers.
-Watch your portion control as most people eat way more than they need to at meals out of habit and american servings at restaurants.
-Don't drink your calories with tons of sodas, juices, and sports drinks
-Alcohol is really bad for you and regular drinking will certainly affect your bid to get in shape
-Try to regularly run. Maybe mix in some sprints in there too.
-Situps, pushups, and weight lifting are great for helping get in shape. Building muscle helps with the tone and to burn fat faster.

It's no where near as hard as people make it out to be. You just have to be self motivated and have some will power (which i don't have).


All this said, i think i'm going to try to do some good stretching, sprints, maybe some box jumps and other stuff to try to get a little quicker. Freshman year i was in great shape and playing the best basketball of my life. I was even able to dunk for a few months. Then the girlfriend happened and i stopped playing every other day. I just want to dunk one more time in my life since i know i'm eventually going to be too out of shape to do so.

It actually is as hard as people make it out to be because HAVING WILL POWER IS HARD. If it wasn't, everyone would do it - note I'm not saying everyone could do it b/c I believe everyone can do it but they just choose not to b/c they lack will power.

Taking **** seriously turns it into a hobby and the chances of dropping out decrease imo.

Originally Posted by Fuuma

Maybe but he needs to get started and his goals are reasonnably easy and he might not be in it that much (I'm the same). Just eating well and doing some cardio is fine and too much people start with a trainer, some weird regime and 2 hrs of exercises a day and stop after a month. You don't see many people here having never worn any interesting clothes and cared buying 3 dior leather jackets in the first month do you? Same for that ****.

...

Originally Posted by why

I often wonder why supplements and diets are as trendy as clothing. I need to be on the lookout for the next big thing in fitness so I can cash in better.

Pretty soon fish oil will be endorsed by Ponce de Leon before quickly becoming passÃ

when isometrics come back into style.

What do you mean by supplements? Protein powder & fish oil aren't going out of style anytime soon. Vitamins and calcium pills on the other hand...

 

[hi-val]

If you want to gain or lose weight in significant amounts, do yourself a favor and consult a registered dietician.

Numerous clinical studies have shown that 3500 calories consumed in excess of calories burned will make you gain a pound. 3500 calories under what's burned will lose a pound. This means that you can calculate your basal metabolism rate (google it) and know roughly how many more calories you need to consume to put on weight. For example, if you do nothing different and consume a tablespoon of mayo on your sandwich every day, you'll put on a pound in a month. Like others have said, keep a food journal and count calories.

 

[ratboycom]

I have been slowly working off the extra fat round my waist, which is tough when I barely have enough time in a day to get my homework done let alone go to the gym, but I was wondering, with the weight loss around my gut is there any way to make my cest flatter? I have a really round upper body and it just doesnt look good having a flattened stomach with ribs hanging over it.

 

[smw356]

Originally Posted by ratboycom

I have been slowly working off the extra fat round my waist, which is tough when I barely have enough time in a day to get my homework done let alone go to the gym, but I was wondering, with the weight loss around my gut is there any way to make my cest flatter? I have a really round upper body and it just doesnt look good having a flattened stomach with ribs hanging over it.


Lift enough to fill out the sides and abs is really your only choice. Building up your lats, delts and pecs will help quite a bit in terms of visual balance. If you're posture is subpar correcting that could help a bit as well.