So We Know to Exercise, Answer some fallacies about diet

[Maulik]

Fitness Before Bed (http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/showflat.php?Cat=&Number=2397950&page=&view=&sb=5& o=&fpart=1&vc=1)

many questions are answered thoroughly.

Now, my understanding is you eat in the morning to give you fuel and begin the bodies metabolic processes, which 'wake up.' Conversely, if you are starving at some point of the day, your body begins to shut down to combat this and curbs your metabolism, resulting in less fat / food being broken down. Is this correct?

[cbfair]

I didn't read the whole thread, but my understanding is this:

Ideally, you want to eat within the first hour after you wake up and about every three hours there after. But you don't want to eat within three hours of going to bed; it's all about metabolism and our bodies defenses against starvation.

As I understand it, without eating regularly, our bodies will begin to burn muscle in order to CONSERVE fat. This is an ancient throw-back to when we sometimes went weeks without a good kill and its accompanying protien.

cbf

[Macdaddy Warsaw]

My understanding won't be as deep as some other people's but I took a class on food and the psychology of eating disorders, which also included a lot on physiological processes. Basically, the body is a very well-tuned machine and it's calorie use : calorie intake is very close to 1:1. I think the number our professor gave us was a 1.8 calorie or so difference / day on avg is taken in more than expelled. Basically, this means counting calories doesn't work. Instead, you have to exert your body (exercise) in order to burn more calories than you take in. You have to exceed the point at which your body can compensate and instead make it burn fat instead.

Yeah, I hope that makes sense/is correct. Also, I can't give you much information on what/when to eat in terms of having a better diet. There are certain protein:fat:carb ratios that are "ideal" but I imagine that there is such a wide range when it comes to stuff like that.

I'm sure somebody else is better qualified to answer this question.

[-Skeme-]

Uh, don't eat before bed. You'll just be hungry again when you wake up.

[Blarg]

I didn't read the link, but I do know that one of the mechanisms that makes diets fail is that taking in too little food makes your body store more fat and store it more efficiently, as a defense against starvation.

When you go off your diet permanently, or as you fluctuate in and out of it, this metabolic "habit" sticks around for a very long time. That makes a more normal level of eating suddenly force a great deal of fat storage and weight gain, at a higher level than you had before you started dieting.

This process is supposedly quick to start and very slow to stop. After all, your body is not kidding around -- our genetic code is used to the job of preventing death, at the cost of death itself if its wrong, and if it were into taking chances, you wouldn't be one of the survivors still around today. Starvation is not a distant phenomenon in human history.

That's why it's important not to put yourself into situations where you stress your body with hunger too much. Not eating for a few hours before sleep is indeed a good recommendation, but don't get carried away with it, and if you're starving, you might be doing yourself a little good by chomping on an apple or something that's low calorie and not too high in sugar.

Sugary foods are especially bad before bedtime.

[Russ McGinley]

There is a good site that a buddy of mine showed me a year or two ago:

www.johnstonefitness.com (http://www.johnstonefitness.com)

Lots of help there, and I am pretty sure I've seen at least one 2+2er on there. The guy, John Stone, basically got off his ass and got in shape, and he took pictures of himself every day, notated all the meals he had, etc. I think its a great site with lots of useful info about weight loss, nutrition, supplements, and all that other jazz.

[Maulik]

last question is ::: if I want to get my metabolism going in the morning by running should I have breakfast then run or is it OK to run then have breakfast as time is an obvious constraint before work.

[BradleyT]

I think you want to exercise before you've eaten because your body is still in starvation mode and will burn more fat.

At least that's what Bill Phillips says.

[cbfair]

That doesn't make much sense. If your body's still in starvation mode, it would retain fat and burn muscle. This is the opposite effect of what you're looking for.

I'm no expert, but I'd say a small amount of protien (like a bar) would be good before running first thing in the AM.

[fluxrad]

As I understand it, the "don't eat before bed" conjecture is a complete myth. The reasoning is as follows: on any given day, your body will burn X amount of calories regardless of when those calories are ingested.