Cappy

Is anyone into winter sports? I snowshoe, XC ski (Nordic back country), downhill (alpine ski), snowboard, and skin (AT ski). I just got into skinning recently, and I have the hardest time staying warm on the way down. I find my body temp drops very quickly when my activity level decreases. I have to bring an extra shirt or two, extra jacket, glove liners, socks, and ski pants in a back pack on the way up, otherwise I end up shivering pretty bad on the way down. I generally have a hard time staying warm in winter. Fingers and toes especially as I probably have Raynauld's. Anyone else have these problem? Any suggestions?

Hi all, Last Friday, I encountered two stray dogs fighting and they ended up nearly on top of some children. I pulled the dogs away from the kids, but managed to get bit in the bicep really bad. They actually had to stitched the muscle together. I was told it was 80% torn. I am actually surprised at how little pain there has been. My arm is tender, and I could not lift more than maybe a pound the day after it happened, but I can lift about 5 pounds now. I was told to rest it and take predisone. I did some research on this and found predisone is not good at all, and exercising will increase rate of healing. I have been stretching and working the muscle since the day it happened, plus heat and ice, and I am surprised at how quickly my strength is returning. I am curious if anyone else has had a similar type of injury and what they found to be the best for healing. I am certainly not convinced rest and drugs is the best course. Here is a study that suggests you never want to use corticosteroids for muscle injuries. http://ajs.sagepub.com/content/27/1/2

When I was fat, the only people to fat shame me were some members of my family. At the time I accepted it as simply their misguided concerns for my health. Now that I am thin (thinner then almost all of them now), they actually thin shame me. I also find a lot of thin shaming in society in general. I get called "health nut" or "extreme" rather often. Has anyone else experienced this? Has society become so unhealthy that to strive for health is becoming taboo?

Of course most deficiencies are because of low caloric intake and a very variety of foods in poor countries. This is because most of their land is being used to grow food to feed to animals for meat. If they can't afford food in their own country now, how is another food they can't afford going to help? Too many people trying to fix the symptom and not the cause.

First thing I would suggest is to never compare yourself to anyone. They might not even be natural. You might be surprised at how many guys do some sort of enhancement drug. Also, genetics and hormones are a huge factor. The highest recommendation for protein for bodybuilders I have seen is 1.7 g/kg.(.75g/lb) It comes out to around 13.5% protein by calories. Concerning hormones, I make sure I get enough magnesium, and I take suma root powder. I found it helps keep my testosterone up. Also, leg exercises, especially squats, can increase testosterone. Hope this helps.

I wouldn't trust those HRM's built into the machines. I have seen them very inaccurate. You probably should get something with a chest strap and also that records your HR over time. Then you will have a better idea what your HR is doing and can show a cardiologist or other health professional.

The first thing I would do is try a different heart rate monitor. Did you manually take your heart rate during your exercise?

Hi Jeremy, We are inundated with the concept that our bodies constantly need food to grow and repair. However, our bodies actually maintain a large reserve of nutrients to recover and repair during fasting. Digestion and metabolization require a large amount of energy and biological resources, so when you stop eating, those resources can be directed toward repairing and healing the body. This is why injured animals instinctively stop eating. There is a lot of evidence that fasting helps fight and reverse diseases like cancer, heart disease, diabetes, etc. There is a lot of info on intermittent fasting online. It has many benefits and no real drawbacks for most healthy people except for the hunger. But it gets easier the longer you do it. The day after I fast, I eat a light breakfast of fruit, and then workout. My performance is always highest on those days.

I think a lot depends on the intensity of your training, your age, your diet, your genetics, etc. Some people's bodies recover faster than others. I know some very intense people that only work out every other day, because they need the rest in-between each workout. I know other people that workout out 7 days a week and report no problems. Personally, I like two rest days a week, and I fast on those rest days. Your body is able to repair and rebuild much faster without having to constantly be trying to digest and metabolize food. Find out what works for you. That is the only advice I can offer. I know it is vague, but people's bodies are very different and react different ways to exercise. Goodluck

I just tried Vega again this morning. The first time I tried it, I developed so much gas, that I was literally doubled over in pain. This morning, I had a smoothie with it, and so far so good. I am skeptical of these products in general, so I will let you know if I notice anything in my performance or recovery.

I detest zoos as well. However, I would have actually liked to see someone like you working there over others who don't care for the individual animals. You could have been a force from the inside to illicit change. Although, I think that would have made your job very difficult. Also, you would be a guard against brutality and abuse of the animals. If an animal is suffering, your voice might be the only thing that helps that animal. If you do take a position there in the future, there will be some vegans who understand your motivations. Unfortunately, a lot won't.

Organic diary still has large amounts of hormones and antibiotics. That is what it does for the calve. It provides the mothers hormones and antibiotics while the calves endocrine and immune system are still developing. It has animal protein which is shown to leech calcium from the bones. Countries with the most animal protein consumptions have the highest rates of bone fractures. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11034231 Caisen, a protein in dairy, is found to strongly promote cancer growth. http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/85/6/1667.full Cow's milk is made for calves and the ratios of minerals and vitamins to macro nutrients is not conducive for health in humans. http://www.vegetarian.org.uk/campaigns/whitelies/wlreport05.shtml Cow's milk is highly linked to type I diabetes. (Yes, you can still get it as an adult.) http://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/17/1/13.full.pdf Dairy has no nutrient in it that can't be better obtained from plant sources that don't have all the fat, cholesterol, hormones, and antibiotics. Not to mention is involves the forced rape of a female cow, the abduction of her daughters to be raped and enslaved and she is, and the abduction and slaughter of her sons at only a few weeks old to become veal. If you have ever lived near a dairy farm when they take the calves from their mothers, the sound is torturous. Moaning for weeks at all others. The pain they feel is the same that we feel. What do you think you can get from dairy that you can't get from plants?

Well into month two now. The works out are very hard, but so rewarding. I still take longer breaks that the video allows, but then again, I am older than most of the people in the video. I was hoping I could train up my max heart rate, but it seems to be stuck in the high 160's. My resting heart rate gets very low on these videos. I have seen as low as the high 30's. These videos make any cardio video in P90X look tame. I highly recommend them. I have never been in as good of shape as I am now.

Another thing to consider is that atrial fibrillation is the most common arrhythmia. Millions of people who have it don't even know they have it and aren't diagnosed. I would suspect the people most likely to recognize it are those people who engage in high intensity exercise. So, there may be the same ratio of AF in moderate or low intensity exercisers, they just don't know they have it and are obviously not treated.

In regards to the first study. it stated: "But the most active group, those who did daily strenuous physical activity, also had increased risk of dying of heart problems than people who were active only two to four times a week, according to the study." Heart attacks aren't caused from a build-up of plaque in the arteries, but rather a rupture of the plaque causing a blockage. Intense exercise is more likely to cause a rupture than light exercise. The second study is a survey. I wouldn't put much faith into a survey based study at all. They are the most inaccurate.

If you think this looks bad, I would suggest you have a body image disorder.

Anyone else do insanity? This is my second time doing it (third round), but the first time I had to modify a lot because of a health issue and didn't get the full benefit. I just started month two and it is excellent. It is the ONLY thing that has ever gotten my belly fat to go down. Since I started I haven't lost any weight, but if I took a photo everyday, I bet it would look like my belly is melting into my legs. Belly fat going away slowly, and my legs are much larger. My performance and endurance is better than at anytime in my life. I have nearly doubled my vertical jump the speed of doing pushups. I wouldn't say I have much fast twitch muscle fiber, but this program is helping to activate what I do have. The one thing I have noticed is my biceps have gotten a wee smaller I think, and I noticed my pull-up numbers have dropped. Upper back and biceps are probably the two muscle groups that don't get much play in this regimen. I think I will add three days a week of back and biceps. When this round is over, I am going to start another round with my weight vest. I will start at 20 and see how it goes. After every two months, I will try and add more weight. If anyone else is doing it, let's discuss our mental health here:)

How much weight have you lost? I wouldn't be so concerned with an underweight BMI unless you are experiencing health problems. It sounds like you aren't, but rather just have a hard time keeping on weight. Lifting weights, or high intensity cardio is the only weight to build muscle. Endurance exercises actually tend to reduce muscle mass because the body wants to get rid of unused mass. Fat is often the first thing to go, but then you start to lose muscle as your muscles become more efficient and are not used to their full capacity. To build or keep muscle, you need to stress the muscle to its full capacity. You want to eat enough calories that gives you enough energy for exercise, as well as to repair your body after exercise. You have a BMR of around 1500 calories a day. You probably need a minimum of 2,500 calories while exercising about an hour a day. You might also want to get blood work done. Focus on thyroid and sex hormones to make sure you don't have an issue there. An overactive thyroid will catabolize muscle, and low testosterone will keep you from building much muscle.

Depends on what mass you've gained and where. Fat is mass just like muscle. If you have gained lean body mass (muscle) and lost fat, your measurements could decrease.

You don't need to worry about ratios. If you eat even a small variety of whole foods, your body will bet plenty of all essential amino acids. if you get more of one than you need, your body will either burn or excrete the excess. Everything you hear about protein is just propaganda from the meat, dairy, and egg industry. It has been debunked for decades.

Welcome to the board. Personally, I don't count anything. I just eat a lot of whole-foods. I have tried different protein powders, and saw no benefit from any of them. Mostly fruits for energy, non-fruit vegetables for extra nutrients, and occasionally beans, nuts, and legumes. I try to avoid grains. The whole amino acid balancing theory was debunked a long time ago.

I agree with VB. Those calorie recommendations are for long and hard core workouts. When you first start P90X, you may only burn 500 calories per video. As your fitness increases, that will likely increase as you will be able to work out more intensely. Your Basal Metabolic Rate is around 2200 calories a day. That is probably close to what you should be eating to lose weight while doing P90X. But don't obsess. Just eat as many raw fruits and vegetables as you want, and keep the nuts and beans to a minimum. If you are feeling too weak, then up it a little. But very easy to overeat when you start a new workout program. I used to think the Plyo was tough too, then I did Insanity. When I went back to P90X, the Plyo seemed so pathetically easy I couldn't believe it. LOL. However, the back workouts are killer for me in P90X. Pull-ups are not my strongest exercise.

Ignore everything you hear about protein. If you eat mostly whole plant-based foods, you will get plenty of protein. As VB referenced, you either have to be deficient in calories, or eating a crap diet. Consider this. A baby grows a whopping 350% in its first two years of life on mothers milk which is about 4.5% protein by calories. You will never grow faster than this in your entire life.

Organic fish doesn't mean free of contaminants. http://www.organicconsumers.org/Toxic/organic-salmon.cfm And you have to ask yourself this. Why do you continue to eat a product that ends the life of a sentient being, is environmentally disastrous to produce, and provides you with no nutrient that can be better obtained from plants without the contaminants, cholesterol, and fat?

When people started becoming more aware that everything has protein, the meat, dairy, and egg industry started the B12 scare. It really is a myth. Most studies show no higher rates of deficiency in vegans than in meat eaters. The problem is that too many doctors and scientists use the word deficiency inappropriately. Deficiency means that someone has developed symptoms due to a lack of a nutrient. It does NOT mean a lower level. The issue is that because the "normal" range for blood values is based on an average of the population, it means that the "normal" range is based on an overweight, unhealthy meat eater. Therefore, we don't really know what the normal range for a healthy individual should be. "Vitamin B12 deficiency or hypocobalaminemia typically features a low blood level of vitamin B12 however functional B12 deficiency can occur at any serum level;[1] with or without anaemia and/or macrocytosis." "The results of the Framingham Offspring Study indicate that B12 deficiency may be more common than was previously believed. Deficiency is most significantly linked to improper absorption rather than low consumption, as many who consume high amounts of B12 may still experience deficiency." Absorption is a greater issue than consumption. It is often claimed that humans get most of their B12 from diet which is entirely untrue. We actually get plenty from our gut bacteria as long as we have no absorption problem. If this wasn't true, then anti-biotics should have zero effect on our B12 levels, but they do. This is because the anti-biotics kill the flora in our stomachs which create B12. "long-term use of antibiotics can lower vitamin B levels in the body, particularly B2, B9, B12, and vitamin H (biotin), which is considered part of the B complex vitamins." Source: Vitamin B12 (cobalamin) | University of Maryland Medical Center http://umm.edu/health/medical/altmed/supplement/vitamin-b12-cobalamin#ixzz325PVpLKu Most animal products contain high amounts of anti-biotics that do effect humans and their gut flora. They can also lower your natural immune system. With fish, you likely either have anti-biotics and growth hormones from fish farms, or mercury and possibly radiation from wild fish. For the vast majority of people who develop a deficiency, a supplement will not help them because they still can't absorb it properly. The exception is properly used sublinguals can raise levels, but they usually require consistent use. The other option for these people is either B12 patches, or injections. If you are very worried, get your family checked. But just remember this. Eating meat is the leading case of cancer and heart disease. You have a 1 in 3 chance of dying from either cancer or heart disease, and yet your chances of developing symptomatic B12 deficiency is so low that they don't even reference a number.