So we really don't have ONE thread with healthy tips that everyone can look back on. I hereby call this thread a place to ask questions and give advice.

Oh and it's in CC because I like funny and lots of views!

So I'll start. I am super sore from a work out yesterday morning, like painful to sit, walk, breathe! My questions is; should I give it a days rest or do some cardio today to keep the momentum going?

THX

11/7/2009 1:51:27 PM

1

11/7/2009 1:52:15 PM

yes

11/7/2009 1:52:21 PM

Cardio is overrated, just rest.

11/7/2009 1:53:18 PM

you make gains on your off days

11/7/2009 1:54:41 PM

yeah, weight gains

11/7/2009 2:03:00 PM

haha. I wouldn't mind resting but I want to do the right thing too! If I rest today I will be back tomorrow!

11/7/2009 2:05:54 PM

Rest days are good days to do other sports/crosstrain. Play tennis, do yoga or go for a powerwalk instead of the gym.

11/8/2009 9:19:25 AM

You should probably shut the fuck up today first of all.

11/8/2009 9:21:39 AM

rest!!!

you don't want to hurt yourself or pull something.
powerwalking would be fine and probably even get rid of the soreness.

there's a meta analysis somewhere explaining it's actually counterproductive go hard all the time and not have rest days.

imma see if i can find it.

[Edited on November 8, 2009 at 9:27 AM. Reason : jghjhg]

11/8/2009 9:26:57 AM

I predict this thread will turn into a kiwi-ambrosia fight

it's inevitable

11/8/2009 10:21:40 AM

everyone go buy a bike & make sure it was made in the USA w/ USA parts

11/8/2009 10:38:08 AM

exercise. get plenty of rest. stop eating cheeseburgers.

11/8/2009 12:35:03 PM

3 very easy steps and i've never been sick doing them

1.5hours of cardio per week
2.always always always stay well hydrated. I drink 60oz of water/gatorade per day. its much easier for your body to fight infection and congestion with fluids.
3.8 hours of sleep each night. (if you do 6.5 then take a 1.5 nap). your body fights infection and such while sleep.

on the side

4.avoid touching any openings on your body (eyes,ears, nose, mouth, ass) this is how stuff enters your body. even if you are washing your hands keep this limited.

5.keep your place at one stable temperature. don't create heat or cool just because you feel hot or cold suddenly. fluctuating temperatures hurt your immune system.

11/8/2009 12:43:19 PM

Quote :

"keep your place at one stable temperature"

that is sooo hard for me!
i stay at my mom's house mon-thursday and she keeps the house at around
61 degrees

drives me nuts.

11/8/2009 12:47:58 PM

I rested yesterday but had an event to attend to where I was running around for 3 hours and I feel less sore now!

Back to the grind!

List some healthy, easy dinners that don't consist of sandwiches...

11/8/2009 1:44:01 PM

if you're that severly sore, do extremely light cardio to get your body warmed up and then do some dynamic stretching. It will help your body loosen up and not be as tight, and getting a little bit of an endorphin release will help with the pain. You don't want to jump right back into another demanding workout if you're that sore.

11/8/2009 1:55:59 PM

1.Strength training. Atleast two days per week. Best results can be achieved through compound, multi-join exercises with heavy weight barbells, using correct form.

2. ~8 hours of sober sleep, 6/7 nights a week.

3. Eat a variety of minimally processed food. Avoid sugars and "white" carb based foods.

4. Meat is good, as long as you are strength training or physically active.

5. Don't stress over trivial matters. Do not keep score of social interactions.

7. Do not indulge to excess (i.e. drinking til blackout, smoking til burn out.)

8. Learn to minimalize craving and be content with being.

11/8/2009 2:43:45 PM

EAT 12 DONUTS DAILY

11/8/2009 2:44:31 PM

eleusis, do you have a link you would recommend to show me some dynamic stretches? I "stretch" the only way I was taught and I'm not sure that's really good enough. I'll Google to see.

I'm pretty sore and it's due to a class, they have them on wed and fridays, it's cool if I continue to do them right even if they make me super sore because soon they won't...

11/8/2009 4:05:14 PM

http://www.sport-fitness-advisor.com/dynamic-stretches.html

11/8/2009 4:13:02 PM

Quote :

"1. Strength training. Atleast two days per week. Best results can be achieved through compound, multi-join exercises with heavy weight barbells, using correct form. 1.5. UMMM... CARDIO???!!! At least 30 minutes 3 days a week, preferably 5 days. 2. ~8 hours of sober sleep, 6/7 nights a week. 2.5. Drink enough water daily, taking into account weight, climate, activity level, etc. 3. Eat a variety of minimally processed food. Avoid sugars and "white" carb based foods, saturated and trans fat, junk food, snack food, soda, packaged cereals, etc. 4. Meat is good, as long as you are strength training or physically active. [fresh/frozen unprocessed meat, not meat with nitrates, i.e., deli meat] 5. Don't stress over trivial matters. Do not keep score of social interactions. 7. Do not indulge to excess (i.e. drinking til blackout, smoking til burn out.) 8. Learn to minimalize craving and be content with being."

[Edited on November 8, 2009 at 4:28 PM. Reason : /]

11/8/2009 4:27:40 PM

Cool, 0EP, thanks. Question, often times I eat turkey sandwiches with mustard, romaine on wheat bread. I buy this turkey in the deli pre packaged area. What should I do instead or is it such a minuscule problem that I shouldn't worry about it?

Thanks aaron for that link, I, uh, never stretch like that...

11/8/2009 4:38:14 PM

Advice: swap your romaine with raw spinach leaves

11/8/2009 4:40:32 PM

spinach is amazing! i could eat it every day. i pretty much do actually

11/8/2009 4:41:43 PM

Spinach has more vitamins and nutrients than romaine. Vitamins will boost your metabolism.

11/8/2009 4:46:57 PM

spinach makes my teeth feel fuzzy

but i still eat it like crazy

11/8/2009 4:49:20 PM

True, I eat spinach in my salads all the time, don't know why I don't just add em to my sandwich... I like raw spinach but hate cooked spinach (unless it's mixed in with other ingredients)

I take a multi vitamin, green tea extract, and fish oil, anything else I should add to the list? Right now I'm taking one a day but want to go to like a GNC and get something better, any recommendations on brands to look for?

11/8/2009 4:50:36 PM

I love the texture of spinach. Especially when it's splashed w/balsamic.

11/8/2009 4:52:52 PM

Yes, swap lettuce for dark green leaves, such as spinach, rocket, etc.

As for the turkey, I can't be sure if it contains sodium nitrate or not. Preserved deli meats contain that chemical (it is the preservative), and that chemical has been linked with cancer. Quite a strong connection, in fact. However, since I don't eat deli/cold meats at all pretty much, I am not too familiar with them, however, I do know that some of those meats (roast beef perhaps?) don't contain the nitrates. You will have to ask them if that particular turkey meat you buy has nitrates in it or not.

If it does, ask if there is any meat they have without nitrates. If not, you can still eat such meats, but not often at all. Other times, replace with another protein source, such as canned tuna/salmon/sardines/mackerel, hummus, egg (fried, boiled, poached, etc), cheese (real, not processed), Greek yogurt, etc.

Also add more veggies, such as sliced tomato (or sundried tomato), onion (raw or sauteed), olives, grilled/sauteed zucchini, grilled/sauteed eggplant, etc.

11/8/2009 4:54:08 PM

Yikes! I had no idea deli meat had that! I thought I was doing a good thing by eating that.

I eat tuna and hummus, eggs, all that.

11/8/2009 4:58:01 PM

and if you do get deli turkey meat, make sure it's turkey BREAST meat, which has less fat

but a plant-based diet is where it's at

it's become a running joke in my life cycle nutrition class - if you answered every test question with "eat a plant-based diet" then you'd get at least partial credit

11/8/2009 5:06:38 PM

Meat is rough on your digestive tract and it's not great for your cholesterol levels. Eat more beans and soy protein in lieu of animal products.

11/8/2009 5:23:30 PM

lucy, take back that comment and gtfo

You may think I'm kidding, but I'm not.

11/8/2009 5:28:29 PM

Quote :

"and if you do get deli turkey meat, make sure it's turkey BREAST meat, which has less fat "

fat is not the devil, and say no to deli anything...

11/8/2009 5:29:35 PM

Fish, essential to the human body. Eat oily fish 2-3 times a week.

Or eat meat of animals which are truly grass/naturally-fed and truly free-range. (will cost you a lot)

11/8/2009 5:30:04 PM

Im glad I got to see people gather round an internet table for discussing health and then have it wind up turning into 5 people congratulating each other on how smart they are for swapping one leaf for another

11/8/2009 5:51:58 PM

Arcgreek, you gtfo. Animal products can negatively impact your cholesterol levels. I'm not vegetarian. I love seafood. But it's healthy to sub animal products for veg proteins on occasion.

Beef has lots of iron, though, if you need it. I have to eat iron for my iron deficiency.

11/8/2009 5:59:50 PM

FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT

11/8/2009 6:06:20 PM

when exercising with weights, I've found that it's very healthy and helpful to lift very heavy dumbells from the ground in abrupt, discrete jerking motions using as much of my back as possible.

11/8/2009 6:09:04 PM

I won't lift weights by myself, that's what classes are for.

11/8/2009 6:15:02 PM

EMCE has been doing some db olympic lifts

And Lucy, you're still full of crap, even though you have bought into it.

11/8/2009 7:15:13 PM

Quote :

"As for the turkey, I can't be sure if it contains sodium nitrate or not. Preserved deli meats contain that chemical (it is the preservative), and that chemical has been linked with cancer"

sodium nitrate is an antioxidant contained naturally in green leafy vegetables and is unjustly demonized for some reason. there's nothing wrong with a food containing sodium nitrate.

I think people don't know the difference between sodium nitrate and sodium nitrite. Sodium nitrite is a preservative that is used to make meat stay red, and it's put in a lot more than deli meat. If you buy steaks from Food Lion or Lowes Food, odds are that they're full of sodium nitrite. There's reason why the steaks you buy at Whole Foods don't have that bright red glow that steaks at cheaper stores sell. Sodium nitrite is toxic, and sodium nitrite sold for food additive purposes is dyed so that it can't be mistaken for another ingredient accidentally.

I know that sodium nitrite is linked to causing cancer, but I've never seen a study linking sodium nitrate to cancer.

11/8/2009 7:28:20 PM

Quote :

"Sodium nitrite is toxic, and sodium nitrite sold for food additive purposes is dyed so that it can't be mistaken for another ingredient accidentally."

Prague Powder. Shit is great for curing and tenderizing meats, but has to be used properly as too much of a concentration can be lethal. It's actually a 1:15 ratio of sodium nitrates and nitrites to sodium chloride. You can't buy pure sodium nitrite outside of doing so for a lab setting. At least not to my knowledge.

I do love that I do little of the things here (unless working in a kitchen counts as light cardio, in which case I do 36-42 hours of that a week) aside from drinking a shitload of water and eating unprocessed foods, and I am possibly one of the healthiest people i know.

I say that based on blood pressure, heart rate and cholesterol levels in acceptable ranges along with not being sick, aside from a cold every couple of years, since i had Mono in 2002.

[Edited on November 8, 2009 at 7:53 PM. Reason : ...]

11/8/2009 7:50:02 PM

Quote :

"It's actually a 1:15 ratio of sodium nitrates and nitrites to sodium chloride. You can't buy pure sodium nitrite outside of doing so for a lab setting. At least not to my knowledge. "

in addition to being poisonous, sodium nitrite can be readily used to make explosives and amphetamine structured drugs.

11/8/2009 8:01:02 PM

potassium nitrate makes sweet smoke bombs....from what i read while 13 years old.

11/8/2009 8:24:39 PM

Quote :

"And Lucy, you're still full of crap, even though you have bought into it."

Why don't you prove it? I want to see your sources.

11/9/2009 10:23:31 AM

I drink a V8 every morning, work out 5/7 days a week, eat eggs or oatmeal for breakfast, drink soy milk instead of regular milk, eat one low calorie high vegetable content meal at least once a day, don't eat fast food, don't smoke, and drink a lot of water. I feel much healthier now because of it. However, I'm not where I want to be, still need to shed some body fat.

11/9/2009 10:54:53 AM