JayLoss

Side Effects of Food – EMM, Butter!

Posted on 02. Jul, 2011 by Jay.

It seems certain foods effect me more mentally and physically when I’m not as well rested. I notice when I have a good nights sleep, I’m talking 8 to 10 hours in a night, certain foods which would usually wreck any other day for me, won’t effect me as much.

For example milk any other day would increases my ADHD symptions dramatically, but if I had a good nights sleep the day before, it’s effects are not as sever. Another example is butter, I literally get a sort of head rush and then tired after eating anything with excess butter in it. And for an hours afterwards it’s very difficult to focus on anything.

I read all sorts of explanations about this, from gallstones to just being allergic to dairy. People who lose weight quickly with low calorie diets have a 50% chance of getting gallstones. I hope that’s not the case for me, I sometimes eat other fatty foods and it doesn’t mess with me as much as butter does.

Anyhow, reading more into how certain foods can effect a person, I found this great little website that explains some side-effects of different foods among other cool tidbits of information.

29 Side Effects of Foods

For me I need to stay away from the sleepy foods when I’m not well rested, that seems obvious.

Some listed sleep foods are:

• Dairy products: cottage cheese, cheese, milk
• Soy products: soy milk, tofu, soybean nuts
• Honey
• Almonds
• Banana
• Poultry
• Whole grains
• Beans
• Rice
• Oatmeal
• …

And the foods that can cause Migraine & Headaches:

• Beer
• Red wine
• Aged cheese[20] – Swiss, Blue cheese, Cheddar, Mozzarella, Stilton, Parmesan
• Chocolate (high content of phenylethylamine)
• Ice cream, milk
• Citrus fruits – lemons, grapefruits, oranges
• Bananas, figs, raisins, papayas, avocados (especially if overripe)
• Chicken liver
• Herring
• Vinegar and pickled food
• …

Some of the big no-nos for me are milk, butter, aspartame, nitrite containing foods and really fatty foods. I can pretty much eat anything else in moderation. Anything in excess and it starts to effect me. So that’s the word of the day kids, moderation!

Jay,
Current Weight: 182 lbs.
Body-Fat: 13%

Bread Makes You FAT?

Posted on 02. Jun, 2011 by Jay.

I was watching “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World” tonight, from the parts I’ve seen, it looks pretty good.

Anyhow, I have a little snippet for you, APPARENTLY bread makes you FAT!

I have a bad habit of eating a lot of carbs late at night and I know it’s not good to do but I have been doing it anyway. Well really, I eat a lot of carbs in general. This is after losing all my weight and holding at around 180 pounds for the past 6 months.

My current weight is 185 pounds. It’s higher then I would like, due to all the extra carbs I have been eating, so like chocolate, I think cutting off carbs after a certain time of the day is in order. By the way, I have not eating ANY chocolate at all since writing my last post. I craved it for a few days but after that, I was okay.

So I’ll cut back on the carbs for a week or two and see if I can get back down to 180 pounds. Surprisingly my body fat percentages has gone down to 13% from 14% a couple weeks ago. I exercise 4-6 times a week, mostly focusing on weight lifting. I take mega man vitamins and drink a gainer protein shake everyday. I’m much more strict in when I exercise, what body parts I work and making sure I have my protein intake.

It’s getting serious.

Cheers,
Jay

Chocolate – I Went Full Snickers Bar

Posted on 23. May, 2011 by Jay.

Should I give up chocolate? I “like” chocolate just about anytime. I’m not addicted to it, at least I’m pretty sure I’m Not. However the more chocolate I eat, the more I CRAVE it.

I can start out with one small peice a day for a week, and then the second week comes and I find I’m eating 2 or 3 times as much without thinking or even caring about it.

Now chocolate isn’t bad for you in moderation, but when you’re eating 2-3 pieces of it in a day, each and every day and then you see yourself progressively eating a “bit more” each passing day, then I Do believe it is on the fringes of a tad problem. And well that’s pretty much where I’m at now.

Chocolate.. it’s sweet, satisfying taste gives the gift of sudden happiness. Oh but like any drug the effects are only temporary and the more you take it, the less effective it becomes.

And I know what you’re thinking. Let me assure you I can quit anytime!

“Emm.. Chocolate..”

I found myself organizing and placing into inventory my niece’s left over Easter chocolate this afternoon. Half of it was melted from the “incident” but no matter, I just put it in the freezer and it was good as new.

What? Forgive my random ramblings about chocolate. I just ate a snickers bar and it’s effects are currently STRONG with me.

Chocolate has a smooth dampening effect in my brain, a Calming sensation actually. Somewhat like I needed a ‘fix’ all day and finally got it. I think the reason thy bliss is so strong at this moment is because I usually don’t go full snickers bar.

“I never go FULL snickers bar.”

Could I be in shock? A sudden bolt of goodness flowing over me?

So as chocolate has it’s hold over me, I think the only reasonable response is to rebel and go cold turkey on thy chocolate. However that might be too drastic, no? I mean, I JUST inventoried the newly acquired holiday chocolates.

“Why waste perfectly good chocolate?”

You know I think it’s my mom’s fault. I wasn’t eating chocolate for the longest time until during last Christmas when I had chocolate pushed on me left and right from pretty much everyone I knew. My mom stuffed my stocking with the motherload of chocolates, I STILL have a huge Hershey’s Kiss in the inventory.

For the New Year, my one “announced” goal was to stop eating chocolate. It lasted for a couple months, but then I found a lot of snack foods I was buying had bits of chocolate in them. A sort of freebie push if you will, so I gave up on that resolution pretty fast.

Nevertheless I would like to eliminate chocolate and anything with sugar in it after a certain time at night. I’m trying to stay on a new schedule that requires waking up at just past the witching hour, (7Am) every morning. I can’t do that if I’m buzzing before I try and sleep.

So instead of giving up on chocolate and other surgery foods completely, I’ll put a time limit on it. If I go to sleep at midnight, as I usually (attempt to) do then no sugar AFTER 5PM should be a good goal.

Okay, new goal is settled upon. No….. *shudder*….. chocolateee or any other sugary foods or drinks after 5PM for 30-day!

That’s pretty much a given when a person is trying to lose weight anyway, so it shouldn’t be too much of a change.

Anyone else addicted to chocolate sometimes?

“I’m feeling it now, thy chocolate withdraws are hitting me pretty hard. “

Really, chocolate is like crack, am I wrong? I have never tried crack before but from my research, you take a hit and you experience the best  feeling in the world for a short period of time. You take another hit, wanting more, but this time it’s effects aren’t as sudden or intense. And the withdraws only gets worse the longer try to go without a fix. So as any reasonable person, you take another hit and another, until you’re at the grocery store 5 in the morning, with a basket full of Snicker bars!

Judge Not, lest ye be Judged .. or something along those lines.

THY GOAL: No sugary foods after 5PM for 30-days. Wish me luck!

Jay,

• 182 lbs.
• 13% body fat
• current goals: 180-pounds and 10%-11% body fat; no chocolate 30-days starting 5/24/11

This post is dedicated to those who enjoy “in moderation” the substitute of crack, CHOCOLATE!

Keep The Same Weight / Mon-Fri Workout

Posted on 16. May, 2011 by Jay.

Today is Monday, I woke up late today after staying up the night before catching up on lots of work. Saturday I drove 200 miles to the next city to play some paintball with friends. It was a lot of fun and a great workout as always. I got back in town late Sunday night pretty much exhausted.

This morning my legs are still sore from doing a lot of crouching and running around on Saturday. I found a few weeks ago when I was last paintballing, that my cardio was pretty bad. I was out of breath often and extremely hot, it could of been the large padded clothing I was wearing but I’m sure my cardio had something to do with it too. So for two weeks I worked harder on cardio and I’m happy to say I think it paid off. Running around Saturday wasn’t a problem at all. I didn’t get out of breath very much and I was actually much more mobile. What I did was focus mostly on elliptical training, 20 minute intervals every other day. That and I wore a light Under Armour shirt this time around.

So since it’s Monday, and my plan is to workout Monday through Friday at least an hour a day, it’s about time I get going for the day.

I’m logging what foods I eat in a day again. I found I’m eating slightly more calories then my goal but it’s okay as long as I’m working out often. I don’t want to gain or lose anymore weight, I just want to to stay the same weight (180-pounds), and this morning I’m exactly that, 180-pounds.

To tell you the truth I’m surprised how I’m able to stay the same weight pretty much every day. I used to always fluctuate in weight but now for the first time in my life I’ve stayed pretty much the same weight for around 6 months.

I weigh myself often, several times a week and if I see I gain weight or lost weight, I adjust my calorie intake and in a few days I’m back at 180 pounds. Now I’m wanting to increase muscle mass and decrease body fat. That’s easy to do, all it takes is persistence. At one point my body fat went as low as 8%, now I’m around 12%-13% I believe. I think a good 10% or 11% body-fat is a good goal to reach. Once reached I’ll focus on maintaining THAT as moving up and down in body fat isn’t as forgiving I found.

Time to workout!

Jay,

• 180 pounds
• 13%-14% bodyfat
• Goal is 180-pounds and 10%-11% body fat

No More Lazy Jay.. Getting Back on Track

Posted on 12. May, 2011 by Jay.

Okay, I have been slipping up the past six weeks or so and I can’t take it any longer. I haven’t exercised as much as I wanted to and I have been eating a lot of bad foods lately. Surprisingly I’m pretty much the same weight, currently this morning I’m 184 pounds but my body fat has increased to 13% or so and that’s no good. I stopped keeping track of what I ate in the day and I think that’s what did it. My sister (and her two kids) have been staying at my house as well and it sort of through me off track. Thankfully she got her own place the other day and she’s out of the house.

So it’s back to Monday through Friday working out (about an hour a day), and starting today I’m breaking out the old notepad and I’m going to keep track of what I eat in a day, how many calories it has and the time that I eat it. This way I can cut out the crap foods I have been eating and focus on the healthy foods. For some reason eating ice cream at 10PM is a lot harder to do when I know I have to write it down. I guess I feel that one day (since I keep the notepads), that someone is going to go back, maybe a trainer or some other professional and judge what I ate for the day. My last trainer did that to me and it made me focus on eating only healthy foods.

My goal is to get rid of the extra fat I gained and to continue working on building muscle.

I’ll post more details tomorrow.

Jay,

• Currently..
• 184 pounds
• 13%-14% bodyfat

Losing Weight vs. Gaining Weight

Posted on 17. Apr, 2011 by Jay.

Most people have trouble LOSING weight, but there are some like my sister that have trouble gaining weight. She is 25 years old, has two kids and as of this morning is 88 pounds.

A few days ago she was sick and didn’t feel like eating, she barley ate for 3-4 days saying that if she did eat she would just throw it up.

I know how to lose weight, I’ve lost 160+ pounds in a few years but gaining weight (responsibly) is something new to me. Once I reached my goal weight I had a little trouble keeping my weight but after awhile I’m at 180 pounds and holding steady. I’ve learned to eat more without overeating to keep my weight stable.

My sister’s problem is she thinks about food all the wrong way. She almost never eats breakfast, she goes 6-8 hours without eating, whenever she does eat it’s very little and half of the time her kids eat her food. Another thing is she eats a lot of junk food without knowing it.

She called me this morning looking for advice on gaining weight. I told her to keep a log of what she ate in a day. Do this for a week or two without changing her diet (yet) just to see where she was at. After that set a goal to eat a certain amount of calories in a day and stick to it. I wanted to say more but she was on break from work. I’ll see her in a few hours and I’ll let her know more about what foods to eat, like pasta, mixed nuts, bananas and whole milk.

She told me she wished she had my problem with eating too much rather then not eating enough. I can understand but it’s like going from one extreme to another. It’s like when it’s freezing outside I wish it was summer already, but then when summer is here I wish it was winter already. In reality I wish it was spring all year long.

Jay

Current Weight: 180lbs.
Calories Per Day: 3000-4000

What is the Most Suitable Protein for Building Muscles?

Posted on 22. Mar, 2011 by Jay.

The question, which protein is most suitable for muscle building is commonly discussed in gyms and with body building enthusiasts. And almost every discussion ends in agreement that whey protein is the best supplement if you want to build muscles quickly. Some time ago whey didn’t even exist but today it’s like a compulsion in body building supplements.

The introduction of whey protein has revolutionized the supplement process. When you are looking to build muscles you need extra proteins to help you. Many athletes had this problem, they couldn’t find a proper and balanced supplement which quickly gives them energy and has minimal side effects. Whey has solved this problem. It gives you the desired energy to achieve your goals and is a solid building block go growing muscle. Whey is available in powder form and can conveniently be taken with a glass of milk. The best thing about whey is that it has content which makes up for lack of food. When you take whey, you feel less hungry as it is heavy.

Reasons for the Success of Whey Protein

Here are some reasons why whey has taken the body building world by storm:

Easy Digestible

Whey is easily digestible and goes down into your system very quickly. Although it is heavy and filling, it is digested by the body without much hassle. Its Biological Value (BV) is very high. BV is the measurement of the effectiveness at which a protein works to grow tissues in a body and in the meantime consumed.

Contain High Quantity of Amino Acids

Amino acids do the job of building muscle mass. Amino acids are necessary for building muscles but they are not naturally produced within the body. This means they have to be brought in through diet. The most convenient, effective and economical way to supply amino acids to your body is through whey diet.

Strengthen the Immune System

Whey protein very importantly gives strength to the immune system of a body builder. When you work out vigorously you put extra pressure on your body. This can result in some imbalances and minor health problems. However, whey protein has substances which help you deal with the extra pressure. You stay fitter and exercise harder by using whey.

Jay’s Take:

I believe in whey protein to aid in muscle building. That and ‘Mega Men’ vitamins! Whey Protein taste great, it’s good for you and has what you need to get large. Right now I’m on Amplified Mass XXX. I’ve gained about 7 pounds since, about 3 pounds of muscle I’m hoping.

Current Weight: 183lbs.
Calories Per Day: 3000

Keeping Weight Stable After Weight Loss

Posted on 18. Mar, 2011 by Jay.

It’s been a long time. I haven’t put as much effort in the blog as I would like. Once I reached my weight loss goal, there was little else to talk about. There is only so much information I can rehash and keep things interesting.

Regardless, I have some time so here is an update on how I’m doing. I have stopped counting calories for the most part. I still have the notepad where I logged what I ate and how many calories it contained in the kitchen, in the same spot, but it’s getting very little use. I still weigh myself every once in awhile to see if my weight is holding steady, which it is. I’m currently around 180 pounds and 12% body fat. I would love to be at 170 to 175 pounds and at 9% body fat, but in my case it’s just too low. Especially as I bulk up, which I’m doing nicely by the way.

I pretty much eat whatever I want these days. The only difference now is I watch my portions and I’m mindful of high calorie foods. That’s the one great thing about reaching your weight loss goal.. you can eat pretty much whatever you want, just in moderation. You have to pay attention to how your weight is holding steady however. I weigh myself every three (3) days or so. It keeps my on track. If I find I’m gaining weight, I watch what I eat for a few days and I’m back to normal. If I’m going down in weight, I eat more for awhile. It’s a balancing act.

I’m the type of person that makes every mistake possible before mastering anything. I made a lot of mistakes trying to lose weight. There was a lot of trial and error. In the end I feel I’m the master of my health and fitness. I’m hyper aware of what I eat and how it effects me. I’m aware of my physical state and how I can do different exercises to change parts of my body. It’s great being aware where as before I had no clue what I was doing. Some people are lucky, understanding health and fitness is easy for them. Others like myself and millions of people around the world that struggle with weight loss, it takes time and commitment.

Again the good news, once you reach your stable weight, you can relax a little. You still have to pay attention to what the scale and your body fat percentage reads but I find it’s pretty easy to maintain once the final goal is reached.

Jay,

Exercises Recommended for Building Lean Muscles

Posted on 02. Mar, 2011 by Jay.

Many people are desperate to know about tips to build lean muscles. It is a very popular aim in the world of muscle building. People are so intent to build lean muscles that they are often seen losing their focus from the very basics.

Importance of Diet

Before we start talking about the exercise, I would like to stress one point which is the diet. I have seen people working hard to build muscles when they are eating only 2-3 meals per day. I’m not going to start a lengthy lecture on diet and give you a chart or something, all I’m going to do is to tell you to eat good and regularly. Four to five meals with good proteins (no junk food) per day is not going to hurt. Having a good diet is essential for building muscles. If you don’t have a proper diet, all the exercising will drain the energy out of your body instead of giving you some. Therefore, an unhealthy diet causes more harm than good.

A Work-out Plan

Making a working out plan and following it is the key factor in building muscles. This may seem obvious to you but trust me many people take it lightly and do not understand the importance of a proper routine. You should look to make a plan which corresponds to your daily life activities. This way you can exercise your routine with no disruption. It is crucial that you stick to the plan for a long time.

Ideally, in the beginning you should look to work out for 30 to 40 minutes, three times a week. This will get you straightened and on course while not putting too much stress on your body.

Multi-joint Exercises

You must concentrate fully on multi-joint exercises instead of isolation exercises. Here are a few example exercises I recommend.

• Bend Over Rows
• Bench Press
• Chin-ups
• Squats
• Dead-lifts
• Lat pull-downs
• Barbell Curls

These exercises are easy and if followed through a strict work-out plan, they bring visible results very quickly.

Good luck!

Things to Consider when Building Muscle Mass

Posted on 28. Feb, 2011 by Jay.

There are many myths and many effective techniques for building muscle mass. These days when information is not hard to escalate, one has to be careful about the credibility. Any Tom, Dick and Harry can get a free blog and start posting their ‘expert’ opinions which can misguide and harm anybody. So it is important for you to focus your mind on the real thing and don’t let the wrong information distract you.

The decision of how to build muscle mass entirely rests upon you. Are you comfortable with getting big and then build muscles or you want to get lean first. Whichever way you go, you need to fix a work-out routine and follow it above everything else. To build muscles of any sort, having a routine is of utmost importance. Working-out at random doesn’t work at all, in fact it bring more harm to a person than building muscles.

Many people don’t know how and where to begin. You must understand that to gain weight you need to be hyper-caloric, while losing weight and becoming lean needs you to be hypo-caloric. These are opposites can cannot be done at the same time.

So the decision of getting huge or lean rests with you, following information should be useful for you in making up your mind:

Think how much body fat you want

Body fat is something which has contrasting opinions about it. Some guys are entirely not comfortable with it while some guys want their muscles to look huge and pumpy. The course of training depends on what you want, if increasing your waist line an inch or two disgusts you then you should become lean first and then build muscles. If you want to get huge, then you will have to put on some weight and them build muscles.

Think how rapidly you want to build muscle mass

If you need to build muscle mass rapidly you will need to burn calories. If you don’t intake calories you simply won’t be able to burn them. Don’t worry about getting fat because fat is caused by unused calories, if you burn all the calories you will develop muscles out of them not fat. That is the reason why diet is so stressed by every muscle building coach. Eat healthy food in large quantity and build muscles through the calories gained. That is how you build muscles fast.

The post above was submitted to be published on JayLoss.com.

Jay’s Take: I do agree that you don’t want to listen to just anyone on your quest to a better you. But I strongly believe that the best knowledge comes from taking action. The bloggers who say one thing and then do another, I wouldn’t want to trust my health to them. On the other hand if I see a blogger taking action and following their own advice and learning from it, those are the experts.

Jay,
Current Weight: 181lbs.
Calories Per Day: 3000