For weight training, they're pretty fantastic. Gatorade and pasta, kgo.

Huh? I know someone who's built up a fair bit of muscle 'despite' being vego. And I know he definitely doesn't take steroids (outside whatever may be in a normal diet).

I recall something about weightlifting actually burning more energy than previously thought, when you take into account post-workout consumption. But i could be remembering it wrongly, or it could have been wrong to start with .

As I understand it, they're pretty much designed to replace what is lost in sweat (various salts and stuff), and to provide a specific amount of sugar*. So they're handy on hot days or during/after a long distance run, but are otherwise unnecessary.

*Can't remember exactly how it all works, but it's something along the lines of there being a limit to what you can consume without affecting performance in certain ways, but after extended exercise that limit increases, and by that point some carbs will help you keep going.

Short version is that most people don't need sports drinks unless they've been sweating a lot and are starting to feel it.

Don't over eat and excercise. If you lose weight yea you will lose it, but you will have looser skin. Lifting weights and doing situps will help. Even working out for an hour 3 times a week will bulk you up and you will lose fat and eventually gain muscle. Or you can just ride a bike every other night.

I've been going for a walk every day and eating only enough food that fills me up. 2 to 3 meals a day. I've lost 20+ pounds.

I might have to sue you after reading this, because my eyes are rolling so hard I fear I may have severed the optic nerves.

Being strong in an of itself isn't necessarily the most effective self-defense training, certainly, but I imagine that it makes you a more effective fighter than being weak. Of course there's also the psychological effect; if you look tough as hell, fewer people are likely to mess with you (although there are gonna be people who want to try to take on the toughest guy in the room, but I don't really live my life expecting to be in fights regardless of how I look).

Perhaps there are huge weightlifters who are also quite fat and out of shape. Well, it's easier to make strength and muscle gains on a caloric surplus, so these people might be bulking, or they may just generally be more interested in being big and or strong. Even if the only point were aesthetics (which is a foolish estimation), believe it or not, it's going to be a personal decision what people want to do with their bodies, and they might have different aesthetic goals than you.

Sports can be great fun, but I've heard it preached that if you want to be safe, you should get in shape for your sport as opposed to playing your sport to get in shape. This is going to involve exercise that will likely involve some weight training. Weight training leads to stronger muscles, joints, and bones, which I imagine would all be incredibly beneficial for someone who wants to be able to move, change direction, and stop quickly. Furthermore, weight lifting IS a sport. It's in the [censored] Olympics! On top of that, there's powerlifting. Strongman competitions may not be a weightlifting sport in and of itself, but you can be damn sure there's some overlap there as well.

Anyway, if YOU want to be skinny, lean, "toned" or just don't care, more power to you. Just try not to be so ignorant about what other people might be choosing to do.

Yeah I mean that as a personal opinion, not as an end all, be all to the discussion of weightlifting. For myself, I find it pointless. Anyway in a self-defense situation a busted-off glass bottle (especially if you know how to use it) or a year or two of experience in Brazilian Jujitsu or Krav Maga is more useful IMO (of course if you're packing heat you can drop the strongest man on Earth, no doubt about it ). I've seen bodybuilder types get messed up by relatively lean guys who either had self-defense experience, fought dirty or a combination of both. Secondly, I've typically played sports all my life without having prepared physically for them beforehand (excluding running, to build up endurance) and the only time I've gotten hurt was during rugby (you get hurt playing rugby anyway).

Bodyweight exercises are good ways to get in shape and without really building bulk because you're using your body's own weight. Aside from that, or with that, you could build up and start running. It's good for the heart and does good for getting lean. If you wanted to be more in shape then I'd suggest sprinting. Whichever you choose, maintain a diet with a bunch of veggies and fruits and just all around balanced. All of that + patience should benefit you. ^.^

I was morbidly obese once and I lost the weight by gradually walking more and more each day. I started out barely able to walk 100 feet before I had to rest (yes, I was basicly a vegetable) but was speed walkiing several miles a day after a year. I lost like 60 lbs. Then i started doing a circuit training program and had to start eating more... I put on 50 lbs. of muscle and was still very lean. 6'4" 230 lb is not bulky at all. With the muscle I had to eat 50% more to maintain the weight than when I was obese.

Using heavy weights is not necessary at all. just gradually work your way up to 40 min. of speed walking/jogging 3-5 times a week and 40 min of circuit training 2-3 times a week and you will be in good shape before you know it. It will take probably 1-2 years to reach that goal in a healthy manner though. The key is to take gradual, incremental steps that are easy to measure and comfortable to do. A heart rate monitor is a huge asset to prevent exercising too hard. maintaining 40-60% of your maximum heart rate during activity is good until you start really shedding pounds. 60-80% of your maximum heart rate when you start focusing more on ability than weight.

Leave your eyes open for as long as possible, even when the tears come out. Shedding waterweight.

That was a joke, besides that, eating breakfast keeps your metabolism up, which in result, will help you loose weight faster. Simply don't cut on breakfast. That's 1 tip I've got

At 230 lbs. I had to eat over 3000 kcal a day just to maintain the weight... that is without doing any activity all day. I think i was eating around 4000-5000 a day with the exercise.

I absolutely agree with you about the self-defense part, training for fighting is going to do more for fighting ability than just being strong, but as far as bodybuilding goes, bodybuilders are doing it for the aesthetics. You definitely have to be strong enough to handle some fairly big weights in order to pack on the kind of muscle they do, but what they are doing isn't about strength or functional mechanics. Even the most ripped olympic lifters or powerlifters don't have bodies quite like bodybuilders, even though they're likely to be much stronger and faster (and less likely to hurt themselves throwing a punch). Of course, being in that kind of physical condition doesn't have to be about fighting. I understand a lot people consider fighting to be the most useful and I guess "vital" form of physical exertion, but unless you're doing it for sport, hopefully you won't be doing it all that often anyway.

I think weightlifting is a great form of exercise; I'm not in great shape, but I've definitely made the most positive change to my body through weight lifting than any other type of exercise, and I also enjoy it more than any other form of exercise I've tried. As far as your sports history, it's still anecdotal evidence; I'm not convinced that athletes shouldn't spend some time concentrating on strength training. You could just be lucky, as far as I know.

That new show on HBO, the Weight of the Nation, is really informal and shows what obesity is doing to our country. It taking a toll on the healthcare system and it's reducing the productivity in the US.

Obesity has serious repercussions like diabetes, heart failure and heart problems, and especially fatty liver. It's possible to get a form of hepatitis from being obese.

But the smallest amount of exercise helps with an overweight persons health.

It's also the food that's being sold these days too. Carbonated soda drinks is the number one source of calorie intake. One Mountain Dew is 170 calories.

Also, check out these links:

http://bwsimulator.niddk.nih.gov/ <--- application that calculates (based on BMI) how long it would take you to reach your goal weight

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006LWGJP6/ <-- amusing look at environmental factors that should make you more aware of unhealthy influences and behaviours

Sports drinks are great if you're running a half marathon (or other extreme physical exertions that the human body really isn't 'designed' for) but there's no way that anyone on a healthy diet needs them for basic exercise. If you can't run a few kilometres than your problem isn't that you need a sports drink, it's that you svck and need to start with a smaller effort.

edit: Just noticed that this post may be interpreted harsher than I intended. It's not meant as criticism against you, just against the use of sports drinks. The worst are people who don't even use them for sporting, but to 'stay awake', or 'focused' on their school/work but don't do any sort of physical exertion, and then act surprised when they're way overweight. I haven't seen anyone in this thread like that, but I had to get that off my chest.

I always thought about making more breakfast in the morning but I much prefer to nap for the remaining 30mins before I leave rather than eat sometihng and only get 10/20mins to nap.
Used to take sandwichs to school as part of a packed lunch - they always got squished - so I might do it again for work along with my normal hot roll. Problem is I think my metabolism is a little too fast since both my brother and sis eat about the same as me and have gained weight (but they do exercise - does exercise actually gain pounds! Oh the lies I've been told!! )

I have considered losing some weight as well. Well, not necessarily weight, but the extra body fat I have. To do this I plan to start running more and drink less soda. I am also going to frequent the gym more often again.

My point wasn't totally knocking the vege aspect; rather ONE vege meal per day. The way I read his post, it sounded like that was all he was eating per day.

You can put on muscle if you're a vegetarian. It's just harder, less choice of meals etc.

Regarding sports drinks, try some potato chips and water instead. And nothing beats the yummy taste of an electorlyte replacement packet! There's a reason for all of that artificial flavoring and sugar lol

It doesn't read that badly. Could have used a softer phrasing that "you svck", but it's still okay.

Personally, I sometimes drink them when I've been motorcycling in hot sun if I feel I need it (you can get pretty dehydrated without realising when riding). But that's about it.

Ah, I see. But eating only one meal a day would have a similar result, meat or no .

Meh, what can I say I'm just not that hungry. Besides, I think many people, including myself could do with a little caloric starvation. I don't want to get too anecdotal here but I remember my great-grandfather used to do very hard physical labor (typically manual farming) on one to two meals a day, albeit they weren't vegetarian. The result was that at age 60 he was in better physical condition (could work for longer and harder) than most 20 year old men.

As long as you take enough calories daily it does not matter if you take it down in one meal or spread over 5.

It's called Intermittent Fasting:

http://www.leangains.com/

Supported by a lot of scientific evidence. It's for people who want to bodybuild but do not have time/do not want to eat a lot of meals during the day. Lots of people on the bodybuilding.com forum follow that particular style of dieting. The results won't be different from consistently applying other diets as long as you get your macronutrients throughout the day, as well as hitting the desired caloric level.

Your grandfather's good physical condition however hasn't got to do with the fact that he ate one meal a day. It's got to do with the fact that he did manual labour, and ate enough food.

Basically, 5 meals to increase metabolism etc is no longer purported.

Exercise atleast 2 hours a day and eat healthy.