Cappy

Hi Bob, If you aren't very active, then you might have a hard time exercising on a calorie restricted diet. Some people do, others don't. A lot depends on genetics and what kind of diet you will be eating. You might lose muscle by exercising on a calorie restricted diet. As you run, your body loses fat, but it also will get rid of muscle if you aren't using that muscle in its full capacity. You either need to do weight training, or HIIT to keep the muscle mass. A lot of studies suggest that HIIT training is the fastest way to lose fat and keep muscle mass. These studies show the fat loss is much higher than the calorie burn would suggest. In fact, the studies show fat loss many times over steady state training even though the calorie consumption and calories burned were the same.

A better question to ask yourself is how much cruelty is in that slice of pizza.

No, not significantly. If you had a large amount of intramuscular fat and you were losing that fat and building up muscle at the same time, you might increase weight a little for the same size because muscle is more dense than fat. But really, when you increase the "hardness" of a muscle, what you are doing is increasing the amount of fibers than activate upon contraction. Toning is actually very different. Toning is more about becoming cut with low body fat than the actual strength of level of muscle conditioning. Some people having started using the term "toning" to mean conditioning of the "tonic" or stabilizer muscles. However, the use of "tonic" is incorrect in this situation as humans have almost no "tonic" muscle. But the misuse is so widespread (I have even seen it in physiology books) it is becoming common usage. The fact that tonic and tone are similar have cause being to conflate the two which is why toning is now often used to describe strengthening of stabilizer muscles. Open chain exercises will help to increase stabilizer muscles, whereas closed chain do much less more then. This is why I don't recommend machines. Using machines to much can actually cause an imbalance between the working muscles and stabilizers and increase risk of injury. But I digress...

Again, a lot has to do with genetics. I can get striations in my my shoulders and quads, but no where near a six pack. And I know guys with six packs who looks like that have half an inch of fat over their entire body. Only you will know of what your body is capable.

I actually do inclined, horizontal, and declined bent over rows because they work on such different parts of the back. I too think the horizontal are the hardest because it engages the back muscles along their shortest span.

C.O. It is fitness and diet tracking site. I am VeganCappy. I tried finding you under vegan_utopia but nothing came up.

Oh, the scales make the calipers look very accurate. LOL I have a scale that measures bf% and I get anywhere from 12%-20%. Hydration can cause large fluctuations. If you do have one that seems to be relatively consistent, or like Kora said "accurately inaccurate", you may be able to use it for tracking your own progress. Just don't use the numbers as absolutes.

Since you measured it yourself, I am assuming you are using calipers? They are horribly inaccurate for relating to others. Some people have a much higher intramuscular fat ratio which isn't measured on calipers at all. This is why some people have six packs at twice the body fat that others can achieve them. However, they are very good for referencing your own goals.

Yes, it is ridiculous. I don't eat much soy because I stick to mostly whole foods, and I still managed to put on 30 pounds of muscle in 4 months.

Hi Bree, Welcome! Forget protein. If you eat plant-based whole-foods, you will get plenty. Focus on carbs and fat. Maximize carbs and reduce fat as much as possible for now. And focus on the foods from which you are getting those carbs. Ideally, raw fruits and vegetables are your best sources as they contain large amounts of phytonutrients (over 10,000), that will help your body to repair and regrow. Also, a lot of calories in fruits and vegetables are high in fiber which isn't easily digested. I would suggest you avoid all grains for now. They do cause a lot of people problems and often more problems than they know. I'd also like to suggest that you avoid nuts and seeds as they are very high in fat. You can add them in after you hit your goal physique. I would also highly recommend you track your calories. It is very easy to do easy a lot of raw fruits and veggies. http://www.myfitnesspal.com is a great tool and completely free. One of the most important things to understand is that for every 100 calories excess you have each day, you will gain around 10 pounds a year. That is one banana more than you need. Tracking your calories can really help you see your calorie balance. Good luck!

The calculated basal metabolism for your height, weight, and age is 1700, so you are pretty close to normal. More mass increases metabolism. The heavier a person weighs, the more energy is needed to move that mass around. However, at rest, someone who is in poor physical shape with a lot of fat and little muscles will burn more calories than someone of the same weight who is far more muscle and in good shape. This is because the body doesn't had to work as hard to get nutrients to all the parts of the body. If these same two people engage in exercise, the healthy person with more muscle is going to be able to exercise at a much higher intensity, so this is where their increased muscle mass may burn more overall calories. Overweight people aren't overweight because they have a slower metabolism, but because they eat too much relative to their activity level. If someone eats 1,000 extra calories a day, they will gain weight until their bodies need to burn an extra 1,000 calories to support their increased body mass. This is why people who are heavy have a large decrease in weight loss very quickly when they begin dieting. However, as they lose weight and increase fitness, they will often hit a plateau as their metabolism slows. Performance is essentially the difference between a persons resting metabolism and their max metabolism. We use heart rate to correlate somewhat to metabolism. The higher a persons fitness level, the lower their resting heart rate, and they may even be able to raise their max heart rate. Genetics can play a big role in a lot of these factors, however, by recording your stats over time, you will be able to see relative changes. Well, you have to have a hobbit stomach to eat 2,000 calories in one sitting. But rice, potatoes, and beans with a nut cheese sauce I make with cashews is pretty calorie dense. I use two cups of cashews and that alone is around 1,300 calories. I don't always eat it all at once. Sometimes I eat until I am full, sometimes I eat until I hate myself, and sometimes I eat until it is all gone:)

You will probably get your estrogen when you get your T checked, but in case it isn't included, make sure it is on the list. Excess estrogen can cause hardening of your collagen. One thing to consider is that we are surrounded by estrogen like substances in make plastics, chemicals, and some food manufacturing products.

Well, it appears to me that you have first breakfast, second breakfast, elevensies, lunch, afternoon tea, supper, and dinner all covered. You must be a Hobbit as well!

Why do you say you have a super fast metabolism. Have you had it tested? Have you tracked your caloric intake? Are you very active? How much do you weigh? Height? What is your resting heart rate? Metabolism is widely misunderstood. People who are heavy and out of shape have faster metabolisms than people who weigh less and are in shape. If you are thin and work out regularly, you likely have a very slow metabolism. You may simply be eating fewer calories than you think, burning more than you are aware of, or your genetics and hormones are such that putting on weigh is more difficult. There is also the possibility that you have trouble absorbing nutrients in foods. This can be a genetic problem, or it can be caused by exposure to certain chemicals and medications that kill your gut flora. I assume you want to gain muscle, not fat. So, yes you need to eat an excess number of calories beyond what your basal metabolic rate is, daily activities, as well as any exercise you perform. So, if your BMR is 1,500 calories, daily activities are 500, and your workout is expected to burn 500 calories, then you need to consume something higher than 2500 calories to insure your body has enough to repair and grow. I don't know about you, but I can easily eat 2,000 calories in a meal. Rice, potatoes, beans, avocados, lentils, nuts, quinoa, etc. are all calorie dense. Even raw, I could easily eat 5 bananas an hour and that is around 500 calories. I have been accused many times of eating like a Hobbit. The problem with your theory is that meat, dairy, and eggs all contain a lot of fat, and that fat is actually easily absorbed by the body. Plant foods can have a lot of fiber which is not easily digested at all, and calories in fiber are considered mostly unavailable. So, you actually need to eat more plant-calories to get the same digestible calories as in animal products. Of course, you also get thousands more nutrients in the plants.

What do you mean do they matter? Of course they matter. If you don't get any for a few months, you die:) Are you asking if the source of the calories matter? Or are you asking if calories in = calories burned to maintain weight?

Personally, I think it not needed. An infant can grow 300% in its first two years of life on breast milk with is around 4.5% protein by calories. An adult human shouldn't even need this much unless they have absorption issues. But that is moot, because it is darn hard to get less than 8% eating plant-based whole-food. I am 190 pounds and I have no problem maintaining muscle mass or even increasing mass on nothing but fruits and veggies. Right around 8-10% protein by calories. I tried a lot of different supplements in the past, but noticed no difference. When I took Dr. Campbell's nutrition course, he convinced me that supplements are quite risky. The FDA doesn't regulate them, and even though a certain component might be found in a whole food, isolating it can be risky and really puts it into the realm of pharmacology. For example, beta-carotene is a known cancer fighter what consumed in whole foods. However, when taken as a isolated supplement, some studies found an increase in cancer growth rates. Just eat plant-based, whole-foods, and don't focus on singular nutrients too much.

Personally, I think it not needed. An infant can grow 300% in its first two years of life on breast milk with is around 4.5% protein by calories. An adult human shouldn't even need this much unless they have absorption issues. But that is moot, because it is darn hard to get less than 8% eating plant-based whole-food. I am 190 pounds and I have no problem maintaining muscle mass or even increasing mass on nothing but fruits and veggies. Right around 8-10% protein by calories. I tried a lot of different supplements in the past, but noticed no difference. When I took Dr. Campbell's nutrition course, he convinced me that supplements are quite risky. The FDA doesn't regulate them, and even though a certain component might be found in a whole food, isolating it can be risky and really puts it into the realm of pharmacology. For example, beta-carotene is a known cancer fighter what consumed in whole foods. However, when taken as a isolated supplement, some studies found an increase in cancer growth rates. Just eat plant-based, whole-foods, and don't focus on singular nutrients too much.

Have you had your hormones checked? Sometimes they can lead to joint and connective tissue issues. I know I had more issues similar to what you describe when my testosterone was low.

Carbs are needed for energy. If you eat whole-foods to get those carbs, you will get plenty of protein and fat.

It varies significantly. I know some guys who look like they are 1% body fat but when they take off their shirt, they have a pouch. And I know guys who look like they are 20% body fat with more definition. Can't do much about genetics. I haven't been able to achieve a six pack either, despite some intense rounds of weights and HIIT. I will say that the HIIT is the most effective at shedding fat for me. There are many studies to show that it causes fat loss in excess of what is burned during the exercise. In fact, when compared to endurance training, the HIIT groups lost more fat despite burning significantly less calories during the workouts. What kind of exercise routine are you doing? Here are some studies on HIIT. One study compared HIIT with endurance training (ET). Over a month, two groups performed their respective exercises, and at the end of the month, the ET group burned 15,000 more calories than the HIIT group. However, the amount of subcutaneous fat loss was 9 times more in the HIIT group than the ET group when corrected for energy expenditure. http://www.colorado.edu/intphys/Class/IPHY3700_Greene/TIPS/exIntesity/Tremblay.pdf Another study showed significantly more fat loss in women who performed HIIT for 20 minutes a day versus those who performed moderate exercise for 40 minutes a day. http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jobe/2011/868305/

The theory is very flawed. In order for humans to eat meat, they needed the intelligence to create weapons to hunt. So, the intelligence came first, then eating meat. And I use the term intelligence loosely.

Hello, I am looking to open a vegan Eco-hostel with the goal of using profits to support an animal rescue/sanctuary. The hostel itself will serve as an education center for a cruelty-free lifestyle. I am seeking a working partner(s) in this project. The partner would run the day to day operations until it can sustain myself, the partner(s), and the rescue. At which time, I will move down and help manage the operations. Location not yet set, but leaning towards Ecuador, so Spanish is a big plus. Must be strictly vegan and very dedicated to help animals. Send me a PM if you might be interested. Thanks!