Re: Proper Diet....
Rob,
you may find this to be of interest: I know I certainly did..........
Three Metabolic Lessons That Wildy Transformed My Physique:
How I Put On 25lbs of Muscle
"In the beginning, I was a cyclist and collegiate runner. During that time I was a frail 140lbs and 12% body fat, standing at 5'9". My passion for athletics led me to study exercise science, biology and chemistry. I've been a nutritional consultant for British Petroleum as well as a cycling coach for the famed Team Type 1 - a diabetic cycling team and winner of The Race Across America. This experience put me into a management position at ThePeoplesChemist.com where I have managed customized eating, exercise and supplement programs for diabetics, Soccer Moms and elite athletes. During this time, I have learned 3 metabolic lessons that have wildly transformed my physique.
First, I learned that eating fat does not make you fat and that it's the most important part of your diet. During my cycling days, I would eat like a rabbit, which meant lots of veggies and very little fat. I suffered from hunger and lack of energy. Since then my caloric intake is 60 percent fats, which, as taught by The AM-PM Fat Loss Discovery, keeps my fat storing hormone insulin low and muscle building testosterone high. I'm never hungry and don't suffer from the dreadful grumpiness that comes with it. Oh yea, and my energy is through the roof. My fridge is always stocked with my favorite fats like real butter, coconut oil, avocados, nuts and seeds, cod liver oil, fish and grass fed beef.
Second, I learned that you have to take the right supplements. One of the key factors in building lean, sexy muscle is to eat more muscle-building amino acids than your body uses. This is known technically as "keeping a positive nitrogen balance." To do this, you need a great protein supplement that is loaded with branched-chain amino acids - and you need to know how much to take and when to take it. The best is Whey Advanced. It contains no
Sugar or artificial flavors and is loaded with the muscle building stack of whey isolate, micellar casein and vitamin C. There's nothing else like it.
Finally, I learned to stop working out so damn much! While managing thepeopleschemist.com I've watched dozens of athletes "train themselves into mediocrity." By exercising too often, they lose their "hormone intelligence," thereby stifling their power, endurance and mental edge while at the same time increasing their chances of injury.
I no longer train myself into athletic mediocrity. I work out hard about four days per week, rather than my previous five to six. More important than quantity is intensity. As taught to me, "by the clock, you get less training, but biologically you get double the effect thanks to preserving hormone intelligence." I’ve experienced the benefits first hand as I recently won my first jiu-jitsu tournament in Denver.
Since my early days as a skinny and soft cyclist, these lessons have allowed me gain 25 lbs of solid muscle while at the same time chiseling my body fat to 4.5%! It's great to feel confident enough to take my shirt off at the beach or anywhere else for that matter but even better to live young while following my passions without the threat of poor health. Whether it's for health, to look great or to be the best athlete you can be - at any age - these three metabolic lessons are your ticket to transforming your own physique.
http://www.thepeopleschemist.com/blog
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There are just so many causes of dry Skin that it would be impossible to list them all here, but a good starting point would probably be a possible nutritional deficiency.
With your one meal and around 500 calories per day routine, with no oily fish especially, this is my take on the matter by supplementing with the following.........
Vitamin A which helps to maintain skin tissue and Vitamin B which helps repair the skin.....both of these are essential for skin hydration.
Vitamin C which is also essential for the formation of collagen and Vitamin E which conditions the skin.
The more likely cause (in my opinion) is a possible lack of the Essential Fatty acids, as you do not eat oily fish I would try supplementing with a good quality Flaxseed Oil.
Include moderate sun exposure (time of year permitting) by producing the hormone precursor Vitamin D3 within the skin, or a supplement of D3 in the winter, both of which works wonders for my skin, especially after sun exposure which leaves my own skin almost "velvety".
Lastly: moderate exercise which will improve your blood flow to the skin and utilize the above.
In my own experience I have found that I am eating enough on the one to two meal per day plan by eating only according to appetite/hunger, and where some people have suggested to me that I am not eating enough calories: if this was the case then I would lose weight, and where in reality I neither lose or gain weight......... a sure-fire sign that I am receiving enough.
However, and as highlighted by Dr Al Sears MD and others, the food of today (even organic) is not nearly as nutritious as the food of yesteryear; for example to receive the same nutritional content of just ONE orange grown 40 years ago, you would have to eat approx' EIGHT oranges today, and for a variety of reasons.
This is why I supplement my own diet with a high quality wholefood supplement and where I think that supplementation is essential today as never before, and especially at my age where I have seen colleagues and close friends succumb to degenerative diseases, and where my closest friend died of colon/liver cancer after ignoring my probable life-saving advice.
According to Max Gerson, the three main causes of cancer and other degenerative diseases are: DEFICIENCY, TOXICITY,& Prolonged exposure to STRESS.
All three are remediable and represents part of the reason I live the way that I now do and have done so for the last 30 years.
Regards
Chrisb1.
Sorry about the length, I do tend to ramble on a bit.