The Grind Part 3: Some Q&A on your concerns and finding yourself a bobby. A strenuous,dangerous and fun hobby.

Concern 1: This is too hard.
Uhhh...maybe you skipped two sections too quick, buddy? Head on back to The Grind parts 1 and 2 before you head on back here. Kthnxbye.

Concern 2: This is stupid. I still want to eat but lose weight. What do?!
Well yeah, it is. The key to losing weight is to reduce calorie intake. Find out how you can do that and do it. As I mentioned in part 1, you can do baby steps like cut out the soft drinks, reduce the rice or replace chicken thighs with chicken breasts. Find what works for you. You don't have to do it right away because you'll risk losing interest and just give up. Do it gradually. Another strategy is you could find a diet you like like Paleo, low-carb, Atkins... I don't know what else is popular these days and just go with that for awhile. I'm not saying any diet is better than any other diet but having a sustained diet is a healthy diet therefore you'll have a sustained and healthy body.

Concern 3: I can't afford healthy food!
Look, Imma be real with you. You don't have to be healthy to lose weight. You just need to be aware of what you put into your body. For example, compare the calories of chocolate milk to skim milk. The difference can be from 100-200 calories per CUP. Compare potato chips to a potato. 1 oz of lays classic potato chips can be 160 calories while 1 oz of baked potato can be about 30 calories. See the difference? Also, it's just healthier to, you know.. be healthy. Word of advice? Use the internet guys. Seriously.  Just googling "cheap healthy food" will net you a thousand good lists and guides already. Potatoes, sweet potatoes, cabbage, iceberg lettuce, rice, beans, pasta, eggs,chicken breast...just to name a few. There are a lot of cheap healthy foods. I promise you can do it if you just invest a little time into it. Also, vegetables!  I used to hate them but I they grew on me. :D

Concern 4: I heard that you needed to be eating at least every 2 hours to maintain a good body.
Yeah that's not real. Research has shown you don't need to eat every 2 hours to maintain muscle, you don't need to have a full breakfast to start your day right, you don't need to get protein within 10 minutes of lifting before your muscles fall off and straight muscle catalysis. No. Stahp. Studies that show that you lose more weight eating more often or eating breakfast were observational. It just so happened that the people who ate breakfast or more frequently ate less in general, hence more weight loss. With a controlled diet, you can lose weight no matter when you eat. Find what works best for you and do it. I'd like to back and mention that your muscles won't fall off if you go more than 2 hours without eating. Our bodies don't work that way.

Concern 5:Can I still lose weight when I still drink (beer)?
This was asked by a lot of the people I know and I can understand.
So here's the deal. You can still drink while on a diet but like anything else, it's all about moderation. A lot of people think that if you drink, you can't lose weight and  if  you don't, you can. It doesn't work like that. Alcohol may be made differently but put remember, it still is basically just calories in, calories out. Try to limit your drinking to one night a week, two at the most. Spirits, dry wines, and low calorie beers with diet mixers are lowest calories (and the saddest hehe.) Try not to eat a huge meal while you drink and don't just snack whatever you want. Still keep in mind what you eat.
Keep in mind there is almost nothing concrete in nutrition. We already understand  that in order to lose weight, you have to consume less calories that you burn, and vice versa for bulk. This can be extremely difficult for some people and so easy for others. Genetics, environment and your lifestyle all play a role in this. It's going to be harder for you to lose weight if you've been big all your life. It's going to be harder if both your parents are overweight and you are too. It's going to be easy if you didn't get fat until last year and the list goes on. If  you truly want to make yourself better, change not only the physical but also your mental state. Your attitude will also need to be adjusted when going through this process. You need to stand up for what you started and be a good influence on other people, Please don't judge another person who is just trying their best even if they are misguided. Appreciate the effort. Again, almost nothing is set in stone in nutrition. If someone tells you that something has been proven and it's not very simple like if you don't eat you will die then they probably aren't really an expert in the field. What works for one person might not work for another. Low carb might work great for me and it may be jackshit for you. Almost nothing is set in stone. It's all about what finding WHAT WORKS FOR YOU and what is SUSTAINABLE. This is the number one most important thing. Who do you think is in better shape? The person who goes all out for 3 weeks until they mess up once and quit or the person who eats healthy when they can but has a cheat meal here and there and tries their best do go for a walk or jog or go biking or whatever year round.

Concern 6: What about supplements? Will they help?
Honestly, 99% of the supplement industry is bullshit.  You need exactly 0% of it in order to make gains and be healthy.  However, here are some supplements I do recommend:
Whey or Casein Protein Powder - Convenient way to help reach daily protein requirements.  NOT a replacement for whole-food protein sources, try not to exceed 50g protein from shakes in a given day.
Multi-Vitamin - Even whole food today is much less nutritious than it was 50 years ago, so a decent multi will help fill in the gaps that even a healthy diet will have.
Fish Oil Capsule - Unless you eat a lot of fish, then you probably are deficient in Omega-3's.

I'll cover the hobbies part later.


-Chady