Anyone using Chris Carmichael book?

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ChrisM

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Have decided to bag the lo/no carb trend, as I am now "training" for 5Ks and triathlons next year :dazzler1:

Picked up this book Eat Right to Train Right. (frank, looked at BFL, this seemed more appropriate). Generally talks about eating the right carbs vs. deleting them from the diet.

One thing about "training", I now look at food as fuel for what I want to do, rather than a nuisance that I have to limit. Problem is, don't know much about proper nutrition... yet.

Chris

PS, training coming along well, swim 3x/week, walk/run 3x/week, bike getting up to speed, 2x/ week.
 
Carmichael is preaching my gospel, and I am thrilled that this book is now available. Keep in mind the difference between quality food and junk, and carbs will be your best friend towards fitness. That said, you still need to maintain a caloric deficit to lose weight.

Cameron
 
Thanks for the info guys. I will have to check this out. Always willing to learn something new.

-Frank
 
Yeah, started reading it yesterday, I still have a ways to go to lose at least 20 more pounds. I haven't done the math yet, but Carmichael's plan would have me at about 4K calories per day in the foundation period.... ach!

Cameron, any thoughts about doing CTS while trying to lose weight and build a training foundation at the same time?


Chris
 
I just finished the book this past weekend, so I'm doing my caloric intake/output study this week. I know that he says that a 3 day look is fine, but since it's Thanksgiving, I'm going to do the whole week. One day down, just starting day 2... What I'm going to attempt is to figure out how many calories I need and eat 1000 less than that. Funny thing is that for yesterday, it turned out to be about 1000 calories more than I normally eat in a day :)

-Frank
 
I haven't read the book you're talking about, however, as you describe the books content it seems to follow one of the other low carb. books. The South Beach Diet. It , in essences, talks about the same things. Cut the bad carbs. (the fast acting ones) Cut out the bad fats (highly saturated ones) and get some exercise.

It sounds like one I'd like to read.

Randy

Incidentally, the SB diet works well for me.



ChrisM:
Have decided to bag the lo/no carb trend, as I am now "training" for 5Ks and triathlons next year :dazzler1:

Picked up this book Eat Right to Train Right. (frank, looked at BFL, this seemed more appropriate). Generally talks about eating the right carbs vs. deleting them from the diet.

One thing about "training", I now look at food as fuel for what I want to do, rather than a nuisance that I have to limit. Problem is, don't know much about proper nutrition... yet.

Chris

PS, training coming along well, swim 3x/week, walk/run 3x/week, bike getting up to speed, 2x/ week.
 
If there's one thing I've learned, there really aren't any "bad" carbs, but different ways in which your body uses different types of carbs and what comes along for the ride with our typical ways of preparing them. Take a potato for example. Great carbs right there. Problem is if you deep fry it or cover it with junk, it is no longer a good food nutritionally speaking. Carbs are carbs are carbs, same with protein. It's what comes along for the ride that determines a food's nutrional value. For example, if you worked out the ratios for carbs, protein and fats to be the same for a serving of fries with bacon and cheese or a baked sweet potato, some tuna and a small salad, guess which one I'm going to pick...

Having said all that, a typical sedentary person is going to need to find the right balance of what to eat that works for them. A person training for endurance sports will have to eat appropriately for the task at hand. Everyone else doing a healthy amount of exercise will be different too. From what I've discovered with myself, weight loss eating really depends on my volume/intensity/frequency of exercise. I've been eating the same way that I was when I did the Body for Life program, but I'm no longer doing the exercise part of it. It's a great program, but what makes it great is that it is so well integrated. I lost sight of that and like most holistic things, when you pick and choose, you lose the benefits of the whole. Keep in mind that most daily quantities of food, carbs, protein, vitamins, etc. that our government recommends to us are for the typical sedentary American citizen. Your mileage may vary.

-Frank
 
Good and bad are subjective terms, as you well know.

Fast acting (readily digested) carbohydrates aren't as good for one because they raise the insulin response to really high levels. Nothing to do with frying or covering them with high fat crap.

That’s my partial understanding of carbohydrate digestion.





scuba-punk:
If there's one thing I've learned, there really aren't any "bad" carbs, but different ways in which your body uses different types of carbs and what comes along for the ride with our typical ways of preparing them. Take a potato for example. Great carbs right there. Problem is if you deep fry it or cover it with junk, it is no longer a good food nutritionally speaking. Carbs are carbs are carbs, same with protein. It's what comes along for the ride that determines a food's nutrional value. For example, if you worked out the ratios for carbs, protein and fats to be the same for a serving of fries with bacon and cheese or a baked sweet potato, some tuna and a small salad, guess which one I'm going to pick...

Having said all that, a typical sedentary person is going to need to find the right balance of what to eat that works for them. A person training for endurance sports will have to eat appropriately for the task at hand. Everyone else doing a healthy amount of exercise will be different too. From what I've discovered with myself, weight loss eating really depends on my volume/intensity/frequency of exercise. I've been eating the same way that I was when I did the Body for Life program, but I'm no longer doing the exercise part of it. It's a great program, but what makes it great is that it is so well integrated. I lost sight of that and like most holistic things, when you pick and choose, you lose the benefits of the whole. Keep in mind that most daily quantities of food, carbs, protein, vitamins, etc. that our government recommends to us are for the typical sedentary American citizen. Your mileage may vary.

-Frank
 
Randy,

You might be misinterpreting what you're reading here- Chris Carmichael (Lance Armstrong's cycling coach) is the king of carbs. His book is the antithesis of South Beach, Atkins, etc. However, as several have pointed out, he makes an important distinction regarding sources of calories (not just carbs), and yes, sometimes even sugar is just the right trick.

If you are interested in reading a nutrition book geared towards an athete or anyone exercising to lose weight, I highly recommend Carmichael's book. It is not a "diet" book but rather a book on nutrition for active people.

ChrisM,

It is not unnatural to develop a caloric deficit during the acclimation phase of a new training plan. As long as you are not starving yourself of the energy and nutrition you need to progress your fitness, you can certainly work towards a moderate caloric deficit, reduce body fat, and increase lean tissue mass.

Cameron
 
Yeah, well, that's my problem,,,, keeping track. Frank's a teacher's pet :), he does things right. I still need to sit down and really track my food from a macronutrient point of view. Then I can figure out what I am doing (1/2 hour to 1 hour of cardio per day, weights 2X week) and what I am spending.

I am definitely not starving myself :) And the really good thing, is I am eating more, usually much better things. I used to go all day without eating, or I'd have a muffin and a latte for breakfast, some m&ms during the day, a coke, no wonder I felt like s***. So I am eating more, but not that stuff. I was eating 5-6 meals a day for a couple weeks, but I find I have more energy with 3, maybe I need to get used to it?

Right now I am pegged at 240, that's my glass floor. I can see through it, just can't get there. And I am wary of dropping down too much food, I need it for what I am doing.

Although I have to say seeing a Snickers bar on Carmichael's emergency far from home don't bonk list made me smile

Chris
 
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