43 year old asks "should OATMEAL be in my diet?"

[kevp951]

Hi everybody. I'm 43 and using the Xtreme rings, going to open gym 1 night per week, running 1-2 mile (sprint/slow) 2 times a week and working mushroon and bucket circle machine i just installed in the garage. Carbs pack fat around my midsection like nobodys business. Even was like that in my younger years, but cutting carbs always did the trick. Anyway, i notice whole grain oatmeal has lots of carbs, should i be eating this everyday for breakfast and snacking on it when i'm hungry?

[thekyloe]

Eating whole-grain oatmeal for breakfast is a great idea, in my opinion, as it provides a lot of energy, and by the end of the day you will have burned all of it off, so, worrying about carb content in the morning isn't as necessary as it would be, say, in the evening/nighttime.

[Blairbob]

Depends on total carb input but I'm sure some would say no. I cheat too with my buttered toast and sandwiches.

[George Launchbury]

Blair is right, it depends a lot on total carb input - Carbs is carbs is carbs, and your body has to deal with them no matter when you eat them. I guess the question is a) why do you eat the oatmeal (if you need extra energy add decent fats) and b) what balance suits you between eating clean and eating the foods you enjoy.

Midsection fat is a pretty good indicator of high cortisol/insulin levels and a good marker for risk of cardiovascular disease. Excess body fat is generally a symptom of compromised health, not a cause.

It is shades of grey though, and the balance is down to personal preferences, goals and (ultimately) your genes!

Regards,

George.

[kevp951]

well my main goal is circles and flair, roundoff backtuck, frontflip and generally having full control of my body. Secondary is looking like the guy on coaches book by July 2009, and that means about 7 pounds of fat around my midsection has to go what can i eat? i like to eat alot lately due to muscle growth..

[Coach Sommer]

For the best results nutrition-wise, I would recommend re-reading everything Ido Portal has written on this forum and then following it religiously.

Yours in Fitness,

Coach Sommer

[Alan O'Donnell]

Midsection fat is a pretty good indicator of high cortisol/insulin levels and a good marker for risk of cardiovascular disease. Excess body fat is generally a symptom of compromised health, not a cause.

Kind of a newb question, but how do you decide if you have "too much" midsection fat? For example, I think most people would say I'm pretty athletic looking, I have a 6-pack etc., but as a 23 year old I have noticeably more midsection fat than I did in high school, say.

Should I be striving to get rid of that fat (ideally, I don't care enough to actually try to ) ? My diet at the moment is basically paleo (lots of stuff from Whole Foods), a fair amount of milk, occasionally beer, but w no attention paid to portion size, and no junk food ever. I'm probably in kevp's boat, I don't see how I could lose much more than 10lbs @ current bw of 172ish, 5'10", and I still need to get much stronger.

[George Launchbury]

@ kevp951

I imagine 7 lbs of fat is a guess? It's a more useful measurement of progress to work in bodyfat%, or caliper measurements for different sites (see Ido's posts on BioSignature, or google it). Regards what to eat - Paleo is pretty much on the money. Make sure you get adequate protein (fish/meat/eggs, etc), plenty of veg and as much fat as you need for energy. Making better food choices instead of grains, potatoes, sugar should get you where you need to be. Your body should then normalise in terms of inflammation, insulin sensitivity, appetite and fat storage etc. I don't think you need to watch portion size on a Paleo diet, as your appetite gets more honest the less sugar*/starch you have in your diet.

*Note that fruit and honey are not 'healthy' sugars, so be careful not to add them into your nutritional plan as a substitute for 'bad' sugar - they count all the same!!

@ Alan O'Donnell

I think people who have too much fat round their midsection generally know who they are ...and if you have a six-pack then that pretty much doesn't include you. Don't forget that you're supposed to have some stored fat, so being on a quest to get to the point where you can see every vein and muscle striation is unhealthy in itself!? Obviously that doesn't include you, but might be of interest to others.

[Mark Weaver]

Fruit and honey definately can't be lumped into 'bad' sugar categories, and are obvious subsitutes for processed sugar.

There seems to be a lot of misinformation on this forum with regards to nutrition. Especially when it comes to the amount of protein needed and its source. Maybe the problem is that there are plenty of "studies" for both sides of every issue. Carbs good/carbs bad, milk good/milk bad (I thought this was a no-brainer), meat good/meat bad (another no-brainer), etc. The problem gets compounded when people throw their opinions out there, or relay something they've heard, without either the proof from a reliable source, or personal experience from YEARS of application of a principle.

Healthy eating is pretty simple. The further away food gets from it's raw, natural state, the less beneficial it is. Animal protein is animal protein is animal protein, whether it swims, clucks, or chews its cud, and is not the ideal way to meet your body's protein needs.

Okay, way off the topic on this thread.

kevp951, raw oat groats, or oat berries, are even better than oatmeal. Especially when you soak them overnight (get those enzymes going), then blend them up with some dates and fresh fruit, or frozen if you can't get it. Makes a very nice breakfast.

[kevp951]

Okay thanks for all of your replies, we'll see if I can get the Yang Wei look by July 2009. I should have a good tan by then because i'll need all the help i can get to look like that guy!!!! BTW i got my bucket circle setup built in my garage Fri (Nov 14) and used it Friday night. Definitely felt it Sat when i did my 2 mile run..... that should keep my excitement level up until "THE BOOK" arrives! thanks for all of your replies. I'll post video of my attempts at bucket circles in a few weeks.

[George Launchbury]

Honey and processed sugar are practically identical in makeup. As far as your body is concerned they are the same. Honey contains glucose and fructose. Table sugar has the same two sugars, but bound together to form sucrose. Once sucrose reaches your intestine, it is broken down into glucose and fructose. Ergo, they are the same and both bad.

As for fruit - Fructose causes up to six times the damage of sucrose, which in turn is worse than glucose. Fruit comes with anti-oxidants that combat this but even then is still a bad thing to consume too much of. Why do you think High Fructose Corn Syrup is particularly damaging to people's health ...the high fructose content!

The idea that meat/fish is "not the ideal way to meet your body's protein needs" is very strange. What exactly do you think is ideal?

Oats is oats, grains is grains, carbs is carbs. Assuming we all are human on the board, we are not evolved to eat them. Asides from the carb content, there are many compounds in grains that cause all manner of problems in the body from inflammation to auto-immune disorders.

As for reliable sources of information - Our own Ido Portal has had many years of experience with using these principles with himself and clients, as does Robb Wolf (also a research biochemist) - both are considered experts in their field. They are both pro 'Paleo' and that is evidence enough for me that what I've read bears up under use.

Yes - There is a lot of misinformation in the world, mainly because different opinions sell to those who don't like what they're hearing and want another option to believe in that matches their pre-suppositions ...made even more believable because they paid for it (the subconcious mind doesn't like cognitive dissonance). I am yet to see any evidence that undermines the Paleo approach that a) holds any water or b) isn't presented in a way that hides the facts to some end - which is often to please the company that paid for the studies.

Unfortunately there is no money in abstinence ...so all the kook theories and diets will be around for the forseeable future. Choose wisely because you are literally betting your life.

rant>

Regards,

George.

[StevenL]

Oatmeal is a fine food. It contains beta-glucan, which will enhance the body's immune system. It has a low glycemic load, and contains an antioxidant that is heart healthy and anti-inflammatory. It's better for you than any common cereal you'll find at the store, and contains more protein, too. Just make sure that you buy steel-cut oats or muesli, not the instant packages you'll often find.

[Guest Ido Portal]

Another opinion

Oatmeal is a very common food alergan, and can impose stress on the system as such and be a factor in Cortisol production. Cortisol production = umbilical fat.

By the way, most asians are carb tolerant, due to the longer existance of agriculture in Asia. They go out and recommend higher carb food choices like rice, oatmeal, etc, (same story with Soy) thinking they do fine with it, so you would be ok too. For most caucasians this is not a good food choice. Just as dairy is a bad food choice for asians, usualy.

Lots of protein?? If you count plant sources of protein as part of your daily protein consumption, you need to check your science again. If its not animal based I could care less how much or little protein it has.

This is based on my understanding of the science of nutrition, evolution, and the human machinery.

Ido.

[Mark Weaver]

Ido,

Could you expound on your comment about not caring about the protein content of food if it's not animal based? I was re-reading the thread where Coach posted a link to Mike Mahler's article about his vegetarian diet, and his approach to meeting his body's protein requirements. There seemed to be two opinions on the thread: that you can't meet your protein needs without animal-based protein, or else it takes longer. Your thoughts?

Also, I've seen varying amounts suggested as daily protein requirements in grams. What do the studies you've seen suggest?

mark

[rambo5501]

Ido,

Could you expound on your comment about not caring about the protein content of food if it's not animal based? I was re-reading the thread where Coach posted a link to Mike Mahler's article about his vegetarian diet, and his approach to meeting his body's protein requirements. There seemed to be two opinions on the thread: that you can't meet your protein needs without animal-based protein, or else it takes longer. Your thoughts?

Also, I've seen varying amounts suggested as daily protein requirements in grams. What do the studies you've seen suggest?

mark

That was me that posted Mike Mahler . If you go vegetarian fine, there are plenty of people that have showed true success being a vegie eater. Although that road might take longer.

[Kamali Downey]

there are plenty of people that have showed true success being a vegie eater. Although that road might take longer.

Who are they?

I think you will find very few people have built muscular bodies being vegetarians.

I can't speak for gymnasts, but If you look at lifters and if you look at bodybuilding, there has never been a boybuilder who was a vegetarian that was a champion. in fact the only bb'erthat I can think of that was vegetarian, was Bill Pearl. At that was after, he built a muscular physique eating meat and other animal proteins for years.

[StevenL]

What Ido is saying is that plant protein is not complete because it does not contain all of the essential amino acids. No one ever said it had "lots of protein" though. More than proper breakfast cereals, yes, but "lots", no.

You should care about protein in non animal sources because if one plant source contains 15 of the essential amino acids and the other plant source contains the other 7, then those two foods could be combined in a meal to make the protein complete. Mike Mahler has built lots of muscle and strength following this protocol of combining plant protein sources, and so did Bill Pearl, so don't just discredit it.

Oatmeal is a common allergen though and you had better make sure you're not allergic before you eat it. If you really feel you need to "watch your carbs" then maybe you shouldn't eat it but as I mentioned previously it's glycemic load is very low and if you don't have a problem with carbs or allergies and you like to eat oatmeal then damn it, eat your oatmeal!