The Fitness Thread !

You have high testosterone to estrogen conversion ratio, and this is usually genetic.
This is what causes love-handles (fat on sides of the waist).
Your abdomen area will respond the last and the least. So persist with whatever you are doing.
And PLEASE for god's sake, don't look at magazine/internet poster boys and models (6 pack) as a goal and keep cursing yourself lifelong.

You may never achieve that look because of multiple reasons. Genetics for one.
Steroids also almost every time.

I am not interested in the poster looks,etc...
I just feel that I am still not fit enough.
So I strive everyday to work as hard as I can.

I came across some videos on this topic so just asked for advice.

Thanks
 
For body to reach ketogenisis that leads to fast reduction in body fat, it needs to be under severe caloric deficit.
It is not as simple as the keto / paleo diet followers make it out to be by simply removing carbs.

If we eat excess fats - they get stored simply as body fat. If we eat excess protein, it gets converted to sugar and consequently body fat.

So the key thing is calorific deficit. Also, as far as I remember, it takes about a week of being in calorific deficit as well as carb elimination for the body to start ketogenesis. The best way to determine whether your body has actually gone into keto state is the breath. It turns sweet and fruity-ish. Even though you've not brushed/tongue scraped/eaten. This is because of production of ketones in your body.

Someone who has done real fasting (no food), not the India variety (where people binge on potato), for multiple days will have definitely experienced this.

Yes a calorie deficit is obviously required. However you are completely wrong about the body storing excess fat if we eat more fat. There is a limit of fat metabolism in the body beyond which any ingested fat is simply excreted out. That is the primary reason why even if one does go a bit overboard with the fat intake during ketosis, one still loses weight. This is my personal experience not some crap I read over the internet. Also it is pretty damn hard to overeat when in ketosis. The hunger pangs reduce anyways so most of the times, even after overeating keto foods, one still ends up in a deficit. After all how much cheese, butter, ghee can one eat before feeling full - my personal experience is not much.

You are absolutely right about proteins and sugars though - one should not have too much protein as it easily degrades to simple sugars. The amount of protein required must be enough to ensure that muscle degradation does not occur.
 
There is a limit of fat metabolism in the body beyond which any ingested fat is simply excreted out. That is the primary reason why even if one does go a bit overboard with the fat intake during ketosis, one still loses weight.
Wow, if this is indeed the case.
However, what about bowel movements etc? Does it remain regular?
 
Wow, if this is indeed the case.
However, what about bowel movements etc? Does it remain regular?
Bowel movements are a pretty erratic initially - lots of loose motion :p but fine once you are adapted to the new regime.

Now cheating with carbs gives me bowel issues :-P
 
Bowel movements are a pretty erratic initially - lots of loose motion :p but fine once you are adapted to the new regime.

Now cheating with carbs gives me bowel issues :p
Is it just me or does this sound like ****ing with the body on a very hight level? The whole ketosis thing is a bit scary and a pretty big change IMO. Not sure I want to risk it even if i want to lose weight. Paleo diet seems less radical :P
 
@ssslayer , @Chaos : what are other options for a person who can't consume dairy fat, e.g. ghee, butter, cheese etc? I used to consume a lot of EFAs when living abroad but can't continue the same in india due to their unavailability and doubts around genuineness.
 
Almond butter is a nice option. I am experimenting with avoiding dairy and processed food from animal origin. I'll have to skip animal fats for the moment. Except almond and coconut oil, I couldn't find good quality edible nut oils locally. Looks like I'll have to spend extra on imported stuff.

I am not on keto diet. It's just that i believe in consuming lots of good fats.
 
^^ EFAs only... best would be poly-unsaturated fats and anything saturated in excess would be bad.

except for occasional unavoidable snacking outside, i've never consumed hydrogenated oils.

i've already tried consuming big amounts of EFAs and that was the best phase of my life. i am finding it difficult to get the same stuff in india.
 
By essential fatty acids do you mean Omega3 and Omega6? (Both are PUFA, but not all PUFA are essential)
In any case Omega6 are present in all vegetable oils whether cold pressed or refined.
Omega3 is present in flaxseed (available dirt cheap in India), fish, eggs, meat (especially grass fed), milk fats etc
Oh, even the bhang/ganja seeds are rich in Omega3!!

I think all of the above is available easily in India, everywhere.
 
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^^ I can occasionally find flaxseed oil in big malls in Gurgaon. I could only get 1 bottle last year. Local stores do not keep it, even though they have plenty of so-called imported health-food. It turns rancid easily, so I cannot stock big quantities. Currently I am managing with small bottles of hemp and flaxseed powder. For a steady supply, I inquired couple of oil makers in north India and they said their oils aren't meant for consumption! maybe they keep aside edible oils for export. I'll check with south Indian suppliers.

From last month, I stopped taking any form of animal milk and its by-products. Looks like my body doesn't like them. And there's no alternative for me at the moment. None of the local Reliance and Easy-day stores carry non-animal based milk. I planning to switch to Soy or Almond milk. Because I am living with my family, I can eat eggs and chicken only on certain days :p

Moving to Bangalore looks like a good option :D I could easily get all kinds of nuts, seeds, oils and milks there. That was 6 years ago!

I used to eat all kinds of nuts, EFAs and other good fats. Whether the body can produce it or not, as long as it didn't have much of saturated fats, I'd would eat it (e.g. avocado, macadamia nuts, CLA, GLA, Omega9, evening primrose and whatnot!).

Comparing that lifestyle to now, I have only these regular sources of oil: extra virgin olive oil, almond oil and fish oil capsules.
 
I get flaxseeds (not oil), at Rs 25 / 250-500 g packet or so from a store called Dorabjee. (I don't remember the exact figure since once you stock the seeds they last months).
I have observed that the southern half of India is markedly more cosmopolitan (with respect to availability of world stuff) than the northern half (where mostly local stuff only is sold).

But did you try checking with the bakery guys? They sprinkle flaxseed and lot of other seeds in making the multigrain bread. And they can tell you where they source their stuff from. I am sure they will not buy from jokers like these: http://www.ebay.in/itm/111696304263?aff_source=Sok-Goog

Check it out here: http://dir.indiamart.com/impcat/flax-seed.html


PS: I feel the whole Omega3 thing is over rated and mostly selling strategy. I take flaxseeds because I love the crunchy mouth feel while eating home made rotis etc or even alone.
 
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Thanks a lot for the links and ideas!

I'll take the seeds route as they are easier to source and store.
But did you try checking with the bakery guys?
No, it didn't occur to me because I thought those brown seeds were sesame/gingelly. Also, I didn't know that whole flaxseeds are okay for baking.

PS: I feel the whole Omega3 thing is over rated and mostly selling strategy. I take flaxseeds because I love the crunchy mouth feel while eating home made rotis etc or even alone.
Yes, it could be possible if you consider it in the supplement form as opposed to whole food. I generally take note of the changes in my my body whenever I experiment with my diet but I didn't do it for Omega3. The collective result of taking various fats was quite good. Also, I've observed that my vegetarian relatives who won't go extra length to get stuff like flaxseeds/hemp etc, look rather dull in comparison to fish-eating people.

^ flax seed also known as "alsi" in hindi has been available for ages at most grocery stores in delhi
Quite possible because whenever I asked, they said "it's out of stock", instead of showing blank faces. So, it must be commonly available... but for what purpose? You can't cook with flaxseed oil. Maybe for salads etc.

That word 'alsi' now reminded me that I have a 2L can of linseed oil (alsi ka tel). Don't know how to put it... but I didn't know that flaxseed is kind of a mature-version of linseed. :D But that oil is meant for varnishing wood. It's not edible and now I know what those oil manufacturers meant, when I enquired about large quantities. :facepalm:
 
^^ that's nice to know but what do people use it for? i use it in shakes, only from supplementation point of view. i don't know if it has any uses in indian kitchen.

i've bought linseed oil many times for treating wood. even if i knew it's same as flaxseed oil, i wouldn't ingest it :D
 
Guys,

I hit a roadblock recently.

Was doing assisted pull ups and my left hand slipped due to which I strained my right shoulder. Even after 2 weeks of complete rest, I have not recovered. There is no muscular pain as such, but I feel slight discomfort while doing tasks which require strength of my right shoulder eg: picking up bucket full of water. The pain is not at a specific area but nearby the collar bone and shoulders. I have been using hot water bottle to massage the affected area since a week but there is no improvement.

I visited an Ortho and he said it is nothing to worry about. He gave me some pain killers and muscle relaxant.

Should I visit a physio or give this more time to heal?