Stupid Weight Loss Stuff

Posted on September 16, 2010 by Justin

This is obviously a strength training website, but strength training is an important part of a healthy lifestyle. I’ve always been healthy and helped people get healthy through proper exercise and nutrition. Now that revolves around properly programmed barbell training and conditioning — no shortcuts. As James Henderson says, shortcuts only net you short responses. That means that bullshit diet pills, diets, exercise machines, and gimmicks don’t do much. You have to put the time and effort in.

I’ve always been pissed off by mainstream health, whether it be magazines, TV, or online. They will usually cite a single piece of research (which may or may not be valid research in the first place) and generalize from it. Or, they’ll try pansy-ass short-cuts, and this is what this article does (Note: I’d prefer if you didn’t click on the link so that website doesn’t think they produced something worth reading, but you’re free to choose your density).

Only a creep would want this in their fridge.

This article consists of “weight-loss tips that work” for people that “can’t stick to their diet” (which I read as “fake shortcuts” for “people who can’t commit to anything and are lazy”). They list ten things that are supposed to achieve this, and it’s one of the shittiest lists I’ve ever seen. Several of the items don’t even make sense when you consider their “politically correct” and mainstream fitness source. One method tells the reader to literally gross themselves out by getting their silverware dirty, tossing a napkin on their plate, or (get ready for this) buying a five pound glob of fat to put in the fridge. Then there’s the whole “purposely wear your old, tight clothes so that you’re guilted into not eating food” thing. When did negative reinforcement become a favorite weapon of mainstream health? These are the same people that say you shouldn’t spank your kids (or even your dogs).

One method was suggesting that you change the ingredients of your favorite fattening foods (like cake and muffins) to include no-sugar apple sauce and whole-wheat flour. This, of course, ignores the whole hormonal effect from macro-nutrients and encourages the person to continue eating carbohydrate rich foods that will inevitably continue making them more fat. It’s almost as stupid as recommending people to laugh in order to burn calories and shape their six pack. Oh, wait, they did that too.

Not only has money been wasted on doing research on laughter as exercise, they’ve gone off and RECOMMENDED that you should be laughing a MINIMUM of 15 minutes a day. I am so PISSED as I’m typing this saldkkvh’oiauwnba owhf3082hjxckmnvsxcc s1!!11!!!

No motion sensor devices are fittin' in there

Big breath, ooooooKAY. It was also recommended to purchase dishware that is smaller, since apparently larger plates make people eat too much. Oh, and fidgeting throughout the day is recommended in order to burn calories. You know how they came up with that one? They put “motion-sensing devices in underwear”. I’m not making this shit up. They put a thing-a-ma-bob in the underwear of regular people and fat people, and found that fat people were moving less. No shit?

“Say…” says the pervert, “Think we can do some research where we, uh, put some, uh, devices…yeah devices! into people’s underwear? To, you know, check for movement and stuff throughout the day.”
“Johnson, I think you’re onto something. Let’s get that funding.”

The only decent pieces of advice were getting rid of junk food in the house and doing push-ups during commercials. I didn’t say it was good advice, just decent. Because it didn’t give any hints on what you should be eating (besides cake and toothpaste) and it didn’t suggest that fat people should deviate from their normal schedule of watching TV at night. Fuck. That.

It’s hard for the average person to even know what is best for them, especially when bullshit like this is fed to them on a regular basis. They won’t understand that you can’t trick your body into becoming un-fat. Creating more metabolically active tissue, in the form of muscle mass, is the first step in a healthy exercise program. You do that by getting stronger. You throw in some interval type conditioning relative to that person’s ability, have them stop eating processed foods and simple carbohydrates, and it’s a pretty fool proof plan. It’s a shame that the majority of people trying to help them are actually hurting them.

Making the Cut

Posted on June 23, 2010 by Gant

“When I was a lad I ate four dozen eggs every morning to help me get large.”

You’ve done it! You have completed linear progression. Along the way, you gained twenty-five pounds, put 100 pounds on your squat and deadlift, and busted through a few pairs of jeans. You have also acquired a bit of belly fat you don’t care to keep around anymore. So what to do?

For starters, you need to clearly identify your next set of goals and how you are going to get there. Performance goals take priority. So you might decide that you’re going to add 30 pounds to your squat over the next four months. Or that you want to win your class at the next strongman competition. Or that you want to go 5 for 6 and total 245kg at your next weightlifting meet. Then, of course, you plot out how you’re going to get there.

Next comes the body composition goals. As much as I like to eat and talk about eating, you are going to feel better and be healthier at a reasonable body fat level. Being healthy and not having moobs is a good goal. Looking like The Situation after doing Fran is not.

There are now a googol diets out there. Zone. Paleo. Warrior. Velocity Diet. Ketogenic diet. Lean Gains. Lyle Macdonald’s various iterations. The No S Diet. And there are a host of fitness/nutrition gurus and TV shows to go with it. The Biggest Loser. Honey I’m Killing the Kids (or whatever), Andro Friday Hall of Famer Jillian Michaels, Sears, Cordain, Eades, Dr. Phil, the sweet clean Sarah Dussault from DietHealth (every one has their guilty pleasure youtube subscriptions), and that villainous pseudo-scientist, the evil Robb Wolf.

So where do we go? Who do we believe? The answer is Grandma.

Grandma didn’t prepare healthy meals as a goal. She prepared healthy meals because all she had was real food and real ingredients. That’s your first directive: EAT REAL FOOD. If you’re over 215 pounds and actively training for a strength sport (or otherwise large volume) you might have to supplement whey. Otherwise, keep it real.
Lesson: eat real food.

Grandma also made you mind your portions. It wasn’t because she was worried about you getting fat. It was because food was expensive and resources were scarce. Most of you guys are younger than I am, but my grandparents lived through the Great Depression. And Depression Era folk don’t waste a damn thing. That went for food, too. Sometimes we got seconds, but it was usually just to finish off what was left.
LESSON: Control your portions.
LESSON: real food doesn’t keep for long in the refrigerator!

Grandma made meals, not a la carte items. She never just made a roast and left it at that. There were always greens, a salad, fruit, and assorted veggies. You didn’t eat meat without equivalent portions of veggies. This takes care of all that macronutrient ratio and hormone balancing crap you read about now. It just makes good sense.
LESSON: eat meats, veggies, fruits, and fats together.

Finally, after supper, the kitchen was closed. You didn’t eat again until morning. Why? Because Grandma was an early riser, which meant she got to bed early, too (are you getting this?). Once supper is done, unless you’re doing a forced bulk (purposely consuming calories to keep insulin high into the night), shut it down after six or seven.
LESSON: No eating or snacking after supper.
BONUS LESSON: Going to bed and getting extra rest helps improve body composition.

Grandma did other things too, like clean whole turkeys and fowl. She didn’t buy fish sticks; she filleted catfish. She made three meals a day and didn’t mess around with snacks. She served water or tea—mostly water—and she’d occasionally squeeze some fresh fruit. She didn’t worry about the cholesterol in eggs or the fat content in butter.

For those who are upset at the lack of strict guidelines here, I’ll put it like this: eat 1g of protein per pound of bodyweight, more if you’re training heavy at least three times a week. Do this with lean meat as much as possible. Eat enough carbs to fuel activity (weightlifters don’t need as much as cyclists). Colored veggies are particularly good for this. If you need dense carbs, look to tubers. Don’t go nuts on your starch and do NOT avoid fruit like some would have you do. Eat enough good fats to fuel recovery. If you can, get your fats from nuts, avocados, and healthy oils, not so much from milkfat and animal fat.

If you’re over 20% bodyfat, don’t worry about macronutrient ratios. Just quit eating so much crap. Once you creep down to the mid-teens, you can start removing the bloaters like refined sugars, starches, artificial sweeteners, grains, and dairy. If you want to get down in the 11-12% range (you can’t go too far under this without a dip in performance), you’ll have to remove almost all of the things I just listed, as it becomes a hormone control issue at this point. If you want to get under 10%, do some meth, buy yourself some skinny jeans, and get your emo self off of this site.

Don’t think of this as a diet or even the hackneyed “lifestyle change.” It’s just the way you’re going to eat. People complain that “when I come off this plan, I’ll just gain the weight back.” Well yeah, dumbass, that’s why you were fat in the first place. You have to get it under control by removing the emotional and social connections you have with food.

Don’t trick this up, folks. This is more birthday party than physics class. When you’re bogged down in the diet minutiae, remember Grandma. She just made real meals—damn good meals—with real ingredients, for real people, who did real work. And that, my friends, is the key to achieving good body composition and good health.

This post is dedicated to my maternal grandmother, a saint of a woman who lived to the ripe age of 94. She prepared many a fine meal of biscuits and gravy, chicken and dumplins’, turkey and green beans, and butter-fried T-bones. Heaven’s kitchen smells a little better now that she’s cooking in it.

“Hey man, what’s your stack?”

Posted on May 24, 2010 by Justin

The term “stack” has its origins in Old Norse as having to do with haystacks. Shortly around this time, men were noted to say, “Aye, that women be stacked to the brim,” since a particularly well endowed female trait made the appearance of two neatly placed haystacks. That last sentence wasn’t actually true. For whatever reason, the term “stack” was associated with a nutritional (natural or otherwise) supplement to one’s training. I don’t know if it originated in bodybuilding, Olympic lifting, or power lifting, and to be honest, I don’t really give a poo. These days it seems to have a bodybuilding connotation, which is usually comically unnecessary. Modern bodybuilding literature (propaganda?) is infamous for its ridiculous products with promised results. Thus, in certain groups, “stack’ may have a negative connotation.

That is, until Brent Kim decided to be a pain in the ass.

Typical waste of money stack

There are some essential items that a lifter should, in essence, stack onto their training. It is important to note that the value of these items is reduced to precisely “dick” if you aren’t eating appropriate amounts of protein and calories in order to recover and improve. But, for the sake of this post, we are going to assume you have this under control (Guideline: 1g of protein per lb of bodyweight, and if you aren’t recovering, then you aren’t getting enough calories).

It wasn’t too long ago that Brent’s training stack was a healthy dose of kimchee and bulgogie (Korean barbecue, which is top notch). Then there came a time when Brent duly noted the fish oil intake that I adhered to. The following conversation ensued:

Brent: How much should I take?
Me: Well, I take about 14g, so you should probably take 8 to 10
Brent: I’m going to take 28 grams because I am twice the man you are.

And thus Brent started thinking about his stack. Thinking led to reading, reading let to more thought, and then, Brent wanted to know what everyone else’s stack was. Relentlessly.

“Hey man, what’s your stack?” was asked both in a serious and comical manner. Serious, for he really did want to know, and comical because the usage of the term “stack” is previously associated with the bodybuilding silliness described above. When Brent first started saying it, it was embarrassing, because anybody who heard might think he was serious about the term. The problem was that he was serious, but now it’s okay because he/we have changed the term into its new accepted usage and meaning (which generally gets out of hand with my group of friends).

In any case, your stack is something that is “stacked onto” your training program and your food intake. If your food intake isn’t appropriate for your goals, then you don’t have any business worrying about your stack. If you don’t even know how you should be eating to accomplish your goals, then you have some research to do, and still don’t need to worry about your stack. Even if you did have all of those things taken care of, a lifter doesn’t need much in his stack to reap the supplemental rewards. Here are some essentials.
Note: As always, consult your physician about any of this stuff. If you take any of this stuff because you read about it here, you do so at your own risk. If you are unsure about any of it, then don’t take it.

Whey Protein
This may not even be considered part of a stack because it might be a staple to your diet. In any case, it’s supplemental to food, so I’ll include it here. If you aren’t getting your allotted protein intake, then nothing else really matters. Sometimes you’re in a pinch and can’t eat all of it in the source of meat, so whey protein is a nice, quick replacement. You don’t need to buy anything expensive, because all the brands will do the same thing anyway. Most brands are outfitted with BCAA’s, and generally the more money you spend, the better it tastes. However, if they make claims on the absorption rate or any of that other bullshit, just ignore it. It’s useless, and we are worried about the chronic intake of protein anyway. My buddy Mike likes the Optimum Nutrition brand because their protein is tasty, and they have lots of flavors. You can also get the EAS brand at Sam’s Club for pretty cheap.

Multi-Vitamin
Vitamins and minerals are vital to a healthy, functioning body. Sometimes our diet doesn’t include all of the goodies that we may need. Even if you are eating plenty of Paleo-esque meats, fats, vegetables, and fruits, you may accidentally neglect something. In such a case, having a decent multivitamin can pick up the slack. If you are training hard then you’ll need more vitamins anyway, and if you’re eating to gain mass you’ll be purposely neglecting some healthy foods. Cover your bases with a generic brand multi-vitamin — you don’t have to spend lots of money on it. Bill Starr always recommended the shovel technique to get more than you’ll actually need. This is fine with water soluble vitamins (Vitamins C and B-vitamins) because you’ll just pee the excess out, but keep an eye on some brands that have crazy amounts of fat soluble vitamins like A, K, D, and E. I’m not saying shy away from them (especially because we’ll need more of most stuff when we’re training hard), but you won‘t need ridiculous amounts. Lastly, make sure your multi-vitamin is equipped with magnesium and zinc.

Fish Oil
I haven’t done a literature review on fish oil, but I’ve seen some of the research. In any case, lots of people who are “in the know” regarding nutrition recommend fish oil for its anti-inflammatory properties, it’s improvement on blood lipid profiles, and its apparent ability to lower the chance of certain diseases, conditions, and cancers. As a lifter, you want it for the anti-inflammatory properties, because when you lift hard, you get lots of inflammation. Following that logic, it is something that has the potential to help with recovery, and that’s what we want. To get an idea of how much you should take, here is a fish oil calculator that my friend Melissa Urban created for Robb Wolf’s blog.

Creatine
“Creatine is one of the only supplements that does what it actually says it is going to do.” — paraphrased from conversations with Dr. Kilgore. As a clunky summary, it helps the phosphocreatine system reproduce ATP faster, and this helps in the recovery from short, intense bursts of work (like what happens in lifting). There has been talk on the internet of “non-responders”, but the real problem is getting it to absorb correctly (there are quite a few factors that can limit absorption). Dr. Kilgore once told me that mixing the monohydrate in chocolate milk is a fantastic way to help it absorb (the lipids and sugars each play their part — look up how these things are digested for clarification). The general consensus for ingesting creatine monohydrate is to load for 5 days at 0.3g/kg of bodyweight, and then maintain at .03g/kg bodyweight.
There is a new product called creatine ethyl ester which gets converted into creatine within the body. The draw is that it apparently absorbs better, but it’s more expensive, and I don’t have time for ‘more expensive’.

Fiber
When eating to increase or maintain mass, vegetables may get ignored. In such a case, you are gonna want to eat some fiber. I’ve written about it before here: http://www.70sbig.com/?p=1041

Intestinal benefits aside, it will make your bathroom time more enjoyable, especially if you’re drinking a gallon of milk.

Glucosamine and Chondroitin Sulfate
This stuff is supposed to help with joint health. Hell, I don’t know if it works. Some people swear by it and some people swear at it. I figured that since I want to lift throughout my entire life, and since I’m doing a lot of jumping around in the Olympic lifts, I my as well try it. I wouldn’t say I had sore knees, but I could feel them after some rough Oly workouts, sometimes the next day. I got a cheap pair of cloth knee sleeves and started taking glucosamine/chondroitin, and I haven’t noticed it anymore. Lots of factors go into this, but if you’re willing to try anything…

Again, I want to reiterate that none of this really matters if you aren’t eating well. Tons of people will have opinions on nutritional supplementation and most will get weirdly complicated. I’m not really into that; I just get a few things to try and maximize my recovery without spending a whole lot of money. I’m sure most of you will have some kind of comment today. Realistically, the only person you should listen to is Gant, because most of you don’t know why the hell you’re taking something.

Poop Poop Poop Poop

Posted on January 6, 2010 by Justin

“Merry Christmas! Shitter was full!

It’s time to talk about poopin’.

Everyone Poops. It’s a book I read years ago in a store, and I couldn’t stop laughing hysterically. I for one enjoy the act of pooping, and I know many of you do to (my friend Chris is a HUGE fan of poopin’). I get a lot of reading done while I’m on the commode. I routinely call my mom while poopin’, and I’m sure to let her know every single time. Gettin’ work done when I’m gettin’ work done, I always say.

But alas! Start drinking lots of milk and eating lots of meat and you may run into problems when trying to enjoy your poop. Lots of milk can give you the runs, and lots of meat can give you the stops. Poopity poop, what can ya do? My friends, this is when supplementing fiber becomes a necessity for your poopin’ satisfaction.

On a side note, when you are skinny little pain in the ass who is trying to gain weight, you do NOT have time for vegetables. Sure, you can have some peas or corn with your taters and chicken fried steak, but they should not be getting in the way of filling your irritating concave abs with calories. ESPECIALLY if it is an artichoke. What is this Californian obsession with artichokes? You scrape some sludge off of a leaf and then dip it into “special sauce” to tolerate it. I don’t understand. And don’t get me started on the sparkling water ordeal (tap water is fine for me, darling Tara).

Ahem. Fiber supplementation is something that I think should be a part of any quest for 70’s Big. Poopin’ shouldn’t be traumatizing, it should, fun, easy, and enjoyable. One night when Mike Hom was here, he was rambling to me about two different kinds of fiber; one that was a bit softer, and another that just knocked all the garbage off the intestinal walls. Ptsh, which one did you think I was already taking? Yeah, the one that would promote healthy poopin’.

Enter Equate’s Natural Psyllium Husk Fiber:

You can get this at Wal-Mart relatively cheap. All you have to do is get a few ounces of water, stir in a spoonful of the orange powder, drink it fast enough so it doesn’t solidify in your mouth, and BAM! Poopin’ made easy. My pal Brent says it tastes like orange Hi-C. Well, I don’t know about that, but I’ve had worse things in my mouth (don’t ask).

I’m really not interested in explaining what kind of fiber this is, but it will help make poopin’ more regular. It will make the runny poop un-runny and it will make the stoppy poop un-stoppy. Your poop will be normalized. Trust me. Especially if you are eating lots of food. Since there isn’t time for vegetables, supplementing the missing fiber will not only improve your time on the commode, but it will help keep your gut healthy.

I shouldn’t have to say this, but I know you guys will get out of hand: we don’t need any gratuitous poop stories in the comments. I do not want to hear about your poopin’ ailments, nor do I want to hear about the consistency, color, shape, or size of your poop. I do not want any pictures of videos of you, your poop, or anybody else’s. And I CERTAINLY do not want AC to talk about playing poopy dollar at the mall. I will not tolerate this, and we need to have standards, damn it.

The word poop has been used 26 times in this post, including this one.

Food Plan

Posted on October 1, 2009 by Justin

“What do I eat?”

I get a lot of questions about what kind of stuff someone should eat if they are trying to get 70’s Big. Well, recently I wrote out a food log for my pal Cliff. Remember, getting enough protein and calories is vital, especially when dealing with a guy that has been skinny his whole life. Cliff needed an extra boost to continue his novice linear progression, and here is what we did:

Cliff’s food plan

Here are a few things to note:

I immensely underestimated the calories for some of the snacks, especially the ice cream and magic shell combo
The “10 oz” refers to sirloin steak
The “8 oz” refers to chicken breasts
Notice he eats two of each per day
Cliff drinks a gallon of whole milk a day
Cliff was only eating almonds for a snack at work, now it is calorie dense trail mix
Cliff found ice cream and nutella to be a nice little combo at night

The most important points are that Cliff has increased his bodyweight from 185 to 215, improved his squat from 145x5x3 to doing 305x5x3 last night, and launched his deadlift from 225×5 to 405×5. All this in 2.5 months.

No, he is not fat. When you are skinny your whole life, not only is it hard to gain fat, but you don’t get to have an opinion on what fat is.

And he’s not done yet.
Let us know about any cool meals or snacks that have helped you recover. Remember, you can e-mail videos or pictures to media@70sbig.com.

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As promised, here is the fourth part of the 70’s Big Interview with Rip:

70’s Big Presents: Mark Rippetoe Interview Pt. 4 from 70s Big on Vimeo.

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Tomorrow we will wrap up Doug Young week. A story will be told about how he was an imposing individual who was respected by the entire powerlifting community. This is why he is the co-captain of 70sBig.com, and why he is our first entry into the “70’s Big Hall of Fame”.