Methods for gaining muscle and losing fat

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Quote from Joe:

Baron,

Last night I was crazy hungry, 10pm needed a snack. I turned to chicken in a can, and broccoli. Total cals was about 290, fat near 10 grams. Sodium level huge... Im wondering the consequences of that midnight snack. If I drank OJ sugar turns to fat, carbs were low; so trying to figure out, was it a good alternative or maybe just drink lots of water next time instead.
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Well you definitely don't want the OJ. The trick to fat loss from my experience is getting your body accustomed to using another fuel source instead of carbs. That only happens when an absence of carbs is in your system.

The chicken and broccoli is Ok, but like you said, the sodium level is off the charts with that canned chicken, which won't make you fat per se, but it will cause you to retain water and therefore make you feel like you're fatter than you really are.

If I need to snack on something in the night hours, I almost always eat a handful of almonds. It's ok if they are salted and roasted at first, but as you get real close to your goal, you'll need to go with unsalted raw almonds. They taste like cardboard at first but you get used to it, and then they actually start tasting good.
 
Quote from Baron:

...The trick to fat loss from my experience is getting your body accustomed to using another fuel source instead of carbs...
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Wouldn't it also be a question about the nature of the carbs?
 
Quote from Brass:

Wouldn't it also be a question about the nature of the carbs?
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Not at midnight like Joe was asking. I don't recommend carbs of any type before bed, not just for fat loss reasons, but because you sleep better with protein and fat in your system.
 
Quote from Baron:

Not at midnight like Joe was asking. I don't recommend carbs of any type before bed, not just for fat loss reasons, but because you sleep better with protein and fat in your system.
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I don't know the science, but I'm not convinced. A snack of large-oat oatmeal and skim milk would help induce sleep (naturally occurring melatonin in the oats and tryptophan in the milk). I doubt it encourages fat production. It's whole grain and not from flour, which is the usual culprit. As for high fat at bedtime, I guess you and I are different. I have a small amount of trail mix every day comprising walnuts and pumpkin seeds along with only a very few raisins. If I have this mix before bedtime, it affects my sleep adversely. I think it's because it's a rather heavy snack approaching bedtime. If I have it before supper, then sleep comes easier and is less disturbed. But maybe that's just me. And I'm actually quite lean without taking any "fat burners," so I don't think I'm doing anything wrong.
 
I don't think I'd want to take a fat burner. I'm a tall lanky guy to start with, so I like having a few extra pounds of fat even if it means my abs are hidden. It helps fill me out.

If there was a way to only target belly fat that would be another story! :)
 
I recently dropped from close to 200 to 170, shooting for 165 as my ultimate goal.

Here are a few of things I've done with varying success:

Intermittent fasting- This is a controversial subject. I try to eat only one meal a day (dinner) at least 3 - 4 times a week. I don't believe in 'starvation mode' as a lot of the opponents of this method do. I know it works for me. I've never been a breakfast guy, but cutting out lunch as well works great. My eating window on these days is from 5 - 9pm. For the most part, I can eat as much as I want during this time and still lose. I don't follow any commercial versions of this diet and was mostly inspired by Herschell (sp?) Walker's one meal a day routine.

I try to eat healthy when I do eat on these days, although it's harder. When 5 oclock rolls around, 'Me Want Food' and it's sometimes the closest thing. But it's getting easier, last night's dinner: Olive oil poached tuna with roasted cherry tomato and white bean sauce over penne pasta.


Apple cider vinegar- Nasty to drink, but it works. I try to do a swig once a day when I can handle it.

Da**** radish- Read about this in a macrobiotic diet book a while back. I can't fully quantify it, but when I do eat it, it seems to have a positive affect.

Coffee- Lots of black coffee throughout the day

I do moderate workouts 4 times a week. I've tried all of the fat burning pills (Stacker 3, Ripped Fuel) They work, but make me edgy and irritable. I kind of like my wife, so to keep her, I promised no more of this stuff.
 
Quote from Brabed:

I recently dropped from close to 200 to 170, shooting for 165 as my ultimate goal.
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First of all, congrats on the weight loss. 30 lbs is quite an achievement.

Even though your approach is a bit unorthodox, I can see how it could work quite well, especially since you are adding in a lot of caffeine for the metabolism boost and appetite suppressant effects.

So regarding the 3 or 4 fasting days per week, are you alternating between eating normal one day and then fasting the next, or are you grouping all the fasting days together?
 
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