CAG Health and Fitness Thread

[quote name='doraemonkerpal']Where do you all like to buy your supplements from? I'm shopping around for the best prices online. Right now I'm comparing prices between bodybuilding.com and advantagesupplements.com (thanks to dmaul1114 for the link earlier in the thread) but would love to have more options for future purchases. Thanks![/QUOTE]

Anybody? :lol:

Just a heads up for everybody. Vitamin World has a 60% off code if you call in your order and mention code VW270. It only works if you call in the order. Free shipping with all orders over $75 (pre-discount!). Thanks to CCAT from SD for the deal. Some people mention you must be a member to get the discount, but others in the thread said they had no problems placing the order. I'll give it a try in a few hours after I get home. :D

Edit: I just placed an order and everything went smoothly. The prices are insane! For example, you can buy BSN Syntha-6 from bodybuilding.com for $24.99, from advantagesupplements.com for $26.99 and from vitaminworld.com for $14.80! Wow! I placed a big enough order to get free shipping but the prices do not reflect tax. Enjoy!

www.vitaminworld.com
866-667-8977
 
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Stay away from the gold standard vanilla ice cream flavor. Absolutely disgusting in water. This is going to be a sucky 90 servings.

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Squats questions for you guys. I've always learned the proper form is to squat down so your butt is basically sitting on a chair/ledge. In fact, one tip I was given was to put a bench between your legs to work on form. This would also mean your thighs are parallel with the ground I notice some guys at the gym go REALLY low with their squats, like, their butts practically hit the floor. Is this just a different form of squats? Or have I been doing the wrong thing for three years?
 
[quote name='seanr1221']Stay away from the gold standard vanilla ice cream flavor. Absolutely disgusting in water. This is going to be a sucky 90 servings.

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Squats questions for you guys. I've always learned the proper form is to squat down so your butt is basically sitting on a chair/ledge. In fact, one tip I was given was to put a bench between your legs to work on form. This would also mean your thighs are parallel with the ground I notice some guys at the gym go REALLY low with their squats, like, their butts practically hit the floor. Is this just a different form of squats? Or have I been doing the wrong thing for three years?[/QUOTE]

Squatting below parallel is much safer than shortening the range of motion. That and turning your toes out to track your knees out over your toes. Then, from the bottom, drive your knees out and bring your chest up.

Squatting to a chair or a box (called box squatting) is another variation of squat that works on explosion out of the bottom of a squat and can be used to work through your sticking point, wherever that may be.

Squatting A2G (ass to grass) is good to build flexibility in a very low squat if you have any interest in olympic lifting (squat cleans and snatch), as being able to catch weight as low as possible and drive it up is crucial to oly lifters.
 
I don't mind the vanilla ice cream flavor in water, though I like the french vanilla creme flavor better.

I hate chocolate flavored powders in water personally.

I've never been able to do the low squats. I can go parallel and that's it. Anything else starts to bother my knees. Most of the personal trainers I've worked with and books I've read suggest that stopping at parallel is the safest form. But I know many power lifters do the low squats and have no issues. But I'll stick with parallell myself.

But that's just me, I have joint issues and get tendinitis etc. easily. I also can't do barbell bench press as it kills my shoulders to do the full range of motion with a barbell. So I stick with dumbbells.
 
Thanks for clearing that up N4.

Dmaul, I never use the bar for bench press, incline or decline. I have this fear of dropping the bar :whistle2:#

I know I could ask someone for a spot, but I always feel awkward, so I stick to dumbbells too.
 
I did barbell press through college and into grad school. I think I had to ask for help twice when I couldn't get the bar back up. Once was when doing to much weight after not working out for a month. Other time was when I'd done shoulders with only one day off in between (had gotten off schedule) and my shoulders gave out on the 3rd set.

Otherwise you just have to be more cautious and not work to failure and rack it up after starting to struggle a bit. So that is also another advantage of dumbbells--you can work to failure without a spotter. With barbells you can't push yourself as hard without a spotter as you have to be able to get the last rep up.
 
The way for squads I have been told is similiar to the motion you do when you get up and off the toilet. Just make sure to never lock your knees.

As for benching... when I do the bar (non-spot) I just drop the weight from my max and when I start to struggle I stop.
 
I only go parallel on squats also or my knees start to get strained too much. If you want to practice form it's easy using a chair at home and just perform squats stopping when you reach the chair and come back up. Repeat this as many times as necessary until you get a good feel for the motion and then go from there.
 
Yeah, I've dropped a barbell on my head once benching. Now I stick to the smith machine lol

My friend taught me a fun exercise that trains explosiveness. On the smith, load up the plates about 40% of your benching max and when the bar is on your chest, try to throw it to the top of the rack until failure.
 
Health and Fitness CAGs, what workout/diet plan would you recommend to another CAG who hasn't hit the gym in a few years and does not have much access to free weights and the like?
 
[quote name='Megiddo_CAG']Health and Fitness CAGs, what workout/diet plan would you recommend to another CAG who hasn't hit the gym in a few years and does not have much access to free weights and the like?[/QUOTE]

First off, NO dramatic changes to your lifestyle off the bat or you'll fail almost every time. To put it bluntly, there's a million diets/recipes/workout routines our there and it's extremely overwhelming to try and jump into any of them.

1) Start keeping a food diary and just count the calories you consume NORMALLY. Don't change what you eat for about a week and you'll see where you tend to eat more/less than you should be. Don't go out and buy 4 bags of salad and a bag of grapefruits and expect to lose weight either. You're gonna hate life after about a week or so and be craving "cheat" foods more than normal. I found out that my weak spot was coming home from work and snacking on chips before dinner and eating about 500 calories of chips that didn't fill me up. Just track it and clean up your eating habits one group a week or so (Breakfast, Lunch, Snacks and Dinner). At first just think "healthier" and not strictly "healthy".

2) Same thing with the gym. Don't go in there and try to max out the first time or two. First time you lift weights again, guess light and do 2 sets of 8-10 while concentrating on form. You won't feel like you're doing much at the time but trust me you will have some soreness the next day or three. A lot of people tend to overdo it and your recovery time is significantly longer than it needs to be and you lose motivation to stay on a regular schedule. Split upper body (Shoulder, chest, triceps, biceps, upper back) and lower body (calves, quads, glutes, abs) between two days. Just get back to it week 1 and figure out what weights you're comfortable with week 1 (2 sets each muscle group max). Week 2, work with weights at a comfortable level again and concentrate on form. Week 3 kick it up to 3 sets each muscle group, and then week 4 start hitting it hard.

Edit: You said you didn't have much access to free weights, but they're readily available at sporting goods stores. Maybe start off with a pair of 20# dumbbells (whatever you're comfortable with really) and let us know, we can reference exercise guides to show you how to work with them.

3) Check back with us.. there are some knowledgeable people here that will help you fine tune your diet and workout routine. Once you've turned this into a big part of your lifestyle.
 
[quote name='Megiddo_CAG']Health and Fitness CAGs, what workout/diet plan would you recommend to another CAG who hasn't hit the gym in a few years and does not have much access to free weights and the like?[/QUOTE]

All depends on weight loss goals.

Diet - Start slow. Start by kicking the easy stuff like soda products. Something so small can make such a change in weight loss early on. As you progress through the weeks, try and sub in healthier options. You shouldn't think of it as a diet but as a lifestyle change... diets always end in failure.

Workout - I would start with 30 minutes cardio. Walk outdoors at a fast pace. Every 2-3 minutes, run as hard as you can for a 1 minute, and continue this pattern. I would do this every other workout day, the other workout just go at the same speed for the 30 minutes. There are exercises you can do to train muscles without actual weights such as a pushups, planks, dips, squats, lunges, mountain climbers, etc.
 
When I started losing weight 7 years ago, I cut out some very specific foods.

No more soda (not even diet), no more 2% milk, only skim and no fried food. That's where I started, then I expanded out. Also, I made sure my dinner plate was half full with veggies.

Before looking into weight lifting, definitely start with running 3 days a week, then bump it up to 5. Just a casual jog outside should get you introduced to the wonderful world of exercise :)

Good luck!
 
The other's pretty much nailed it. Start gradually with diet so you don't get burnt out.

Start out with some brisk walks and light jogs if you're terribly out of shape. If you're reasonably in shape then you can do more jogging or the interval sprints lordopus mentioned. If out of shape, brisk walks and light jogging for a while to get into it then move on to jogging up to 2 or 3 miles a few days a week and mixing in interval sprints a couple times a week.

Don't stick with just brisk walks after you get in shape some. You won't burn as many calories, and besides that it doesn't get your heart rate up much, so you're not getting the cardio-vascular benefits you do from jogging, interval sprints or other moderate to high intensity cardio workouts.

For muscle stuff, you can start with various bodyweight exercises like pushups, crunches, bodyweight squats (sissy squats they call them, but they're still tough with high reps), dips etc. Maybe by some dumbbells to do some curls etc. Eventually you'll want a gym membership if you want to put on any significant amount of muscle.
 
Well, I've cut out the chips and have been eating veggies and low-fat pretzels and hummus. Will add peanut butter later when I go to the store.

I've been trying to include salads with every meal, but I can't just eat lettuce and tomatoes and/or vinegar on it. I need to have sunflower seeds, and fruit. Aren't fatty dressings like Blue Cheese and Ranch basically negating the healthy salad? I have to have some kind of dressing, and I've been using rasberry vinegarette. It's 50 calories, and it even tastes better in some instances than those fatty ones.

I've been trying to reduce fried stuff, but it's tough. I've been eating stuff like Chipotle and at Noodles more. Although Chipotle is probably not healthy, because I pile it with cheese and sour cream and guac.
 
[quote name='2DMention']Well, I've cut out the chips and have been eating veggies and low-fat pretzels and hummus. Will add peanut butter later when I go to the store.

I've been trying to include salads with every meal, but I can't just eat lettuce and tomatoes and/or vinegar on it. I need to have sunflower seeds, and fruit. Aren't fatty dressings like Blue Cheese and Ranch basically negating the healthy salad? I have to have some kind of dressing, and I've been using rasberry vinegarette. It's 50 calories, and it even tastes better in some instances than those fatty ones.

I've been trying to reduce fried stuff, but it's tough. I've been eating stuff like Chipotle and at Noodles more. Although Chipotle is probably not healthy, because I pile it with cheese and sour cream and guac.[/QUOTE]

Its a good start. Just be cautious of how many pretzels you're eating, they can add up. Veggies you can have as much as you want.

For salads, I like to add a little grilled chicken for flavoring. You're right, too much dressing can destory a salad. I always stick to no fat dressing.

Chipotle once a week, that's it. A burrito is probably pushing 1,000 calories, that over half of your day if you're trying to lose weight. Not to mention the sodium is probably out of control.
 
[quote name='seanr1221']Its a good start. Just be cautious of how many pretzels you're eating, they can add up. Veggies you can have as much as you want.

For salads, I like to add a little grilled chicken for flavoring. You're right, too much dressing can destory a salad. I always stick to no fat dressing.

Chipotle once a week, that's it. A burrito is probably pushing 1,000 calories, that over half of your day if you're trying to lose weight. Not to mention the sodium is probably out of control.[/QUOTE]

Grilled chicken sounds good. I don't like iceberg lettuce and would rather have spinach salad.

How about if I just get a veggie burrito at Chipotle with/o sour cream and cheese? Doesn't Guac have good cholestol or something?

I'm not really trying to lose weight (although I could stand to lose about 20-30lbs), I'm just trying to cut sodium from my diet.

I try not to drink pop if I can, but if it's around, I drink a lot of it. I don't smoke or drink alcohol, so I have to have some kind of vice, I guess. I'm trying to walk now that the weather is nicer, but I wonder how long the weather will hold up for that.
 
If you really want to cut down sodium, you have to stay away from fast food 99% of the week. A quick look shows the vegetarian burrito has 2,000 mg of sodium.
 
There are plenty of fat free salad dressings out there that taste fine. Wishbone makes some good ones.

And yeah, Chipotle once a week if that. It's a ton of calories and fat and sodium. You can calculate the nutrition info for your burrito here:
http://www.chipotlefan.com/index.php?id=nutrition_calculator

Also, that's handy to find what not to put on it--like cheese that adds 100 calories and 9 grams of fat, sour cream that adds 120 calories and 10 grams of fat etc. You can make a reasonably healthy one if you stick with meat, rice, beans (or peppers/onions in their place) and lettuce and tomatos and skip the extras. I prefer Moes for the reason that they have more healthy topping options--black olives, cilantro etc. I also usually get the bowls rather than the burritos. The tortilla is 290 calories and 9 grams of fat according to that site.

Also, it's not just that it's half or more of you calories for one day that's a bad thing--its that eating them all at once will store more of them as fat. There's only so many nutrients your body can make use of at once--the rest get stored as fat or excreted.

That's why body builders eat 5-6 smaller meals a day rather than 2 or 3 huge meals. So that's another tip. If you can swing it, try to eat 4 or 5 smaller meals a day. I've never had the time or motivation and just eat 2 to 3 moderate sized ones with some healthy snacks in between.
 
[quote name='seanr1221']I like Moes too...you can get a smaller size burrito, which cuts out a large chunk of calories.[/QUOTE]

It saves you 300 calories but a Joey Junior (basic setup - chicken,beans,rice,cheese,pico) is still 407 calories, 714 mg of sodium, 5.5 g of sat fat, and 50 mg of cholestrol. They give you free chips in which you most likely eat some of those too.

There is nothing healthy about Moes, Chipolte, heck any mexican out.
 
:lol: I don't think the word healthy ever came out of my mouth when saying I like Moes.

I eat stuff like that twice a week (usually friday and saturday for dinner).
 
Yeah, none of it is healthy. We're just talking ways to minimize the unhealthiness when eating there.

If I go to Moes I get one of their rice bowls with just rice, beans and veggies. No cheese, sour cream, guac etc. and ask them not to give me chips.

Still unhealthy, but at least not too bad on calories and fat when needing a quick meal on the go vs. ordering a burrito.
 
So today I found a pair of gym/basketball shorts I really like. They are white but unfortunetly are partial seethrough. Any recommendations for what to wear underneath or should I return them?
 
Since I have a fear of stepping on sharp objects, I would never do that.

Started week 6 of my 5 day split today.

Still going strong. Went down a belt loop, but it bunches my jeans up and makes them look goofy. I think I need new pants.
 
[quote name='panzerfaust']Anyone run barefoot? I want to start when the weather gets nice. I don't think I'd ever do pavement though..[/QUOTE]

Check out Vibram Fivefingers.
 
[quote name='panzerfaust']Anyone run barefoot? I want to start when the weather gets nice. I don't think I'd ever do pavement though..[/QUOTE]

My GF does.Took her about a week to get used to it. Now she loves it. The only problem she says is that she gets weird looks and people telling her she dosent have shoes on. When we go on a run together we usually go to a football field with a track around it so she can run comfortablly on the grass while i run on the track.
 
Christ I just tried doing Yoga with Amanda and man was that I mistake. I felt like I was country line dancing or something. Left foot in, right foot out, now turn to your left, turn to your right now dose doe! Screw that noise. I was trying to be supportive while doing something good for my own body but man I just cant keep up!

Anyone have recommendations for some basic stretches? Anything good for the lower back/hips is particularly appreciated.
 
[quote name='MSI Magus']Christ I just tried doing Yoga with Amanda and man was that I mistake. I felt like I was country line dancing or something. Left foot in, right foot out, now turn to your left, turn to your right now dose doe! Screw that noise. I was trying to be supportive while doing something good for my own body but man I just cant keep up!

Anyone have recommendations for some basic stretches? Anything good for the lower back/hips is particularly appreciated.[/QUOTE]

http://www.mobilitywod.com/
 
[quote name='Lyricsborn']My GF does.Took her about a week to get used to it. Now she loves it.[/QUOTE]
FYI, or I guess this is directed at panzerfaust, it typically takes a lot more than a week to acclimate to barefoot. It's better to be very conservative and parcel off a tiny bit of your mileage to barefooting, and give yourself a few months to make the switch.

The barefoot movement is a lot of fun, but you really need to exercise caution about it. It can really shred you if you don't think carefully about the entire dynamic, from the surface you run on to the stride you use to the shoe you do/don't wear.

I ran barefoot on an indoor recycled rubber track for the longest time, then moved and had to go to shoes so I could continue to run outdoors. Was running shoed for a long, long time thereafter. As I was running a lot of trails, over this past year I thought I could go to Vibrams given my earlier barefoot experience and all the good reviews Vibrams were getting. I made the switch without issues.

However, as the trails started to get messy, I thought I could then slowly switch to paved asphalt trails/asphalt roadways and that's where the vibrams started to give me problems. I chalked it up at the time to tweaks, but I was wrong wrong wrong. Unfortunately, I pushed a little too hard and bruised the jeebus out of my ankle, had to sit out a full month on dr's orders to get everything healed up and walk without pain. All because I ignored a combination of the surface and my stride.

Just a little personal experience. Good luck with barefooting (or fivefingers, however you do it). It's fun. If you're lucky enough to have access to soft trails and have the time to go at it gradually, you'll really enjoy it. It's a good feeling, to me my stride feels a little springier, less dead, when I'm barefooted/vibramed.
 
I'm recovering from sinus surgery so I haven't worked out for 2 weeks, and probably have another couple weeks before I can do any heavy lifting again. I can probably start doing some light cardio soon though according to the Dr. Just have to wait for my energy level to improve.

Higher intensity cardio and lifting has to wait and that kind of exertion could still cause bleeding.
 
Last summer I did the couch to 5K plan and it worked. I hadn't worked out for a couple of years before that, so I was really on the "couch" side. At the end of the 9 weeks, I was doing the 12 laps in under 30 minutes.

I have a track across from where I live so it's easy to get out there in the morning before I go to work. I haven't been running since it got cold last year, but am going to get started up again pretty soon. Hopefully, I'll be able to get back into it pretty easily.
 
What's the quickest way to gain muscle? I'm trying to get to 165 pounds before September gets here. I've been playing basketball for over 10 years now.I plan on signing up for a mma/boxing class in august. I started doing some workouts and I gained 15 pounds in 3 months.I got my blood pressure checked and I got a perfect score. Could really use some help!
 
High protein diet.

High weight less reps.

5 day split, hit different major areas hard each time. For example, do chest one day and do things like bench press, fly, incline press, decline press and cable cross overs.

Use free weights to aid in stabilization.

Little focus on cardio. Dont cut it out though. Do some to warm up and cool down.

Sorry I'm not more descriptive. Typing on my phone.

Note-I'm by no means hugely muscular so maybe others have better advice.
 
Consume more calories than you burn is key. And make them clean calories. Lots of lean, low fat protein (like boneless skinless chicken breast, fish, tofu etc), complex carbs (whole grains like whole wheat bread, brown meat, sweet potatoes etc), and veggies and fruits.

Shoot for 1 to 1.5 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight per day.

There's a calculator here that you can put in your stats and your goals and it will give a recommendation on how many calories, how many grams of protein, carbs and fats to eat per day etc.

http://www.muscletech.com/resources/tools/calculators/caloric.shtml

I think it's a bit extreme in recommendations, and nothing like this is ever accurate as everyone's metabolism is different etc. But you could use it as a starting point and adjust accordingly if you aren't getting results.
 
[quote name='thefallingscream']What's the quickest way to gain muscle? I'm trying to get to 165 pounds before September gets here. I've been playing basketball for over 10 years now.I plan on signing up for a mma/boxing class in august. I started doing some workouts and I gained 15 pounds in 3 months.I got my blood pressure checked and I got a perfect score. Could really use some help![/QUOTE]
/
First off how old are you? If your saying you gained 15 pounds of lean muscle in 3 months your either genetically blessed or you got some nice newbie gains very quickly which usually takes 6 months or longer. What does your workout consist of? You also don't say how much you weigh now I mean how far off is your goal. Considering the average of lean muscle growth is about 2lbs per month or roughly 25lbs a year; you've already gained quite a bit of weight if your talking 15lbs of muscle and not just overall weight increase. Fastest way to gain muscle your going to have to eat big and train big; depending on your weight now you may not be able to put on the mass your looking for as quick as you desire naturally. But if your going for it naturally eating is the way to go, you have to eat to grow and you may gain some fat at the same time but doing at least 30-45 min of cardio each day or on days you workout can help manage this aspect.
 
[quote name='blueweltall']When you work out do you really need to cool down or can you just stop right away?[/QUOTE]

Depends what you mean by work out, generally if your just lifting then you can pretty much end your work out and go about your day without doing a full cool down. If however, your doing cardio or really get your heart pumping with weights/cardio it's always best to cool down to get your heart rate back down to normal. If you don't you might find yourself getting some nasty post workout headaches, after you experience these you'll be more inclined to cool down in the future lol.
 
[quote name='blissskr']/
First off how old are you? If your saying you gained 15 pounds of lean muscle in 3 months your either genetically blessed or you got some nice newbie gains very quickly which usually takes 6 months or longer. What does your workout consist of? You also don't say how much you weigh now I mean how far off is your goal. Considering the average of lean muscle growth is about 2lbs per month or roughly 25lbs a year; you've already gained quite a bit of weight if your talking 15lbs of muscle and not just overall weight increase. Fastest way to gain muscle your going to have to eat big and train big; depending on your weight now you may not be able to put on the mass your looking for as quick as you desire naturally. But if your going for it naturally eating is the way to go, you have to eat to grow and you may gain some fat at the same time but doing at least 30-45 min of cardio each day or on days you workout can help manage this aspect.[/QUOTE]
I'm 19 and I'm 133 pounds right now.I'm 5 foot 11. I've been doing a lot of push ups,situps and chair dips My brother gave me a bar to use. It has 22 pound weights on both sides. I've been playing basketball since I was 5 years old. I also do a lot of running. I've been doing this workout for 4 weeks now. I've been drinking a ton of water,milk and orange juice. The only fast food I eat is subway. I eat home cooked meals more than anything. My whole upper body feels tighter. It looks like my 6 pack is coming in!
 
[quote name='thefallingscream']I'm 19 and I'm 133 pounds right now.I'm 5 foot 11. I've been doing a lot of push ups,situps and chair dips My brother gave me a bar to use. It has 22 pound weights on both sides. I've been playing basketball since I was 5 years old. I also do a lot of running. I've been doing this workout for 4 weeks now. I've been drinking a ton of water,milk and orange juice. The only fast food I eat is subway. I eat home cooked meals more than anything. My whole upper body feels tighter. It looks like my 6 pack is coming in![/QUOTE]

Your going to need to eat a lot and I stress a lot as your athletic still young and your metabolism is probably quite high. If your looking to add mass it may be difficult because your most likely an ectomorph. With the exercises that your doing your also not going to be adding serious mass you need to be eating big and start doing heavy compound lifts in a gym; start with the basics bench, squats, deadlifts, military presses, and some form of rows. Doing a lot of running and cardio isn't going to make muscle gains any easier unless your eating a ton most people who don't grow simply aren't eating enough and burning off what they are eating, your abs starting to show is probably because your body fat level is very low.
 
[quote name='blissskr']Your going to need to eat a lot and I stress a lot as your athletic still young and your metabolism is probably quite high. If your looking to add mass it may be difficult because your most likely an ectomorph. With the exercises that your doing your also not going to be adding serious mass you need to be eating big and start doing heavy compound lifts in a gym; start with the basics bench, squats, deadlifts, military presses, and some form of rows. Doing a lot of running and cardio isn't going to make muscle gains any easier unless your eating a ton most people who don't grow simply aren't eating enough and burning off what they are eating, your abs starting to show is probably because your body fat level is very low.[/QUOTE]

Ok,cool.Thanks for the help. I'm eating a huge lunch as we speak!
 
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Something is working!!! My brother has been helping me out. He weighs 215 pounds. I've been eating a ton of homecooked meals.Beef stew,ribs,baked chicken,salads and fish. The only fast food I eat is subway and chinese food. I've been eating a lot of fruit and drinking at least 3-4 cups of water everyday.My 6 pack is amazing! Getting more numbers from girls now then before.lol.I'm really trying to get to at least 155 pounds before August rolls around. Thanks for all the help!
 
Hey CAGs, just wanted to thank you for your help a few pages ago, the workout advice was fantastic. Doing weights/lifting first and saving my run for the end of my workout really helps because my body is fresh to work out muscles at the start, and tired and ready to burn calories/fat at the end. I've lost three pounds of weight but put on a lot of muscle, especially on my shoulders/biceps, so I've definitely burned off more fat. All it takes is 4 times a week for an hour. I can run farther and faster, and lift more than I ever could.

As far as food, I just try and eat protein after every workout (just a snack, unless it's dinnertime), and eat less of it when I do eat meals. I wasn't eating unhealthy (most of the time haha) but I was usually eating alot of food.

Anyways, I'm gonna keep up the good work but I just wanted to thank you guys alot.
 
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