need to tone up and lose weight

[ang_soo_do_guy]

ive lost a stone and im happy but for some reason ive stopped losing weight and im along way to go. ive got a slim build but ive got a belly and flab here and there so wanted to lose it and tone my muscle any advice on what to eat or how much and how much training to do e.g since i work at my martial art school helping out i train 6 days a week 1 of them is a kickboxing lesson which is a real workout any advice useful

[Shorin Ryuu]

Well, seeing how you have started quite a few threads in the past (or posted in them) about this topic, I'll be a bit more specific than I was in answering your others. (This is also an answer to one you wrote on Oct. 1, but I apparently didn't see it). And yes, I've already recommended the Okinawa Program to you in the past, perhaps, but I'll do it again, don't worry.

 

Well, these are guidelines that I use to eat:

 

Get more of your protein from plant sources rather than animals. There's a lot of free radicals in red meat, which cause cancer. I'm not saying become a vegetarian; I'm not one. Americans just tend to eat more meat than they need. Fish is a better source than red meat.

 

Soy is good for you. Give in to the soy...

 

Tofu isn't bad if you don't eat it straight up (I'm wierd so I don't mind it that way either) and is a good source of protein.

 

Eat less processed foods.

 

Eat less simple, refined sugars (stuff that makes things really sweet). These hit the blood stream quicker and cause a spike in your blood sugar levels, causing your body to produce lots of insulin, causing the down after a sugar high, etc. Too much of this gives you diabetes. Carbs aren't bad for you. Complex carbs are actually good for you.

 

Trans fat is to be avoided as much as possible (partially hydrogenated oils) as they are simply not healthy in any amount. Some saturated fat is okay, but less is better.

 

All fats are not bad. Monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats actually raise the levels of healthy cholesterol and lower the levels of unhealthy cholesterol.

 

Snack on fruits if you want something sweet. Fructose hits your blood sugar more slowly than processed sweets.

 

Do you like rice? Eat brown rice instead of white rice because brown rice has more nutrients.

 

Are you living by yourself? I am, which makes it much easier to control what I eat since I have to buy and cook it.

 

Lastly, buy a good book on nutrition. Or two. Or three. It helps to see several opinions on nutrition.

 

Now this part is relevant to your Oct. 1 post. In this post, you asked if you didn't follow the diet as it was it in the book, but still used the guidelines, would you still get the results...

 

I've recommended this book a lot just because I liked it:

 

The Okinawa Program.

 

It has solid nutrition info and if you really wanted to be hardcore, a specific diet regimen that lets you plan out meals for each day (and a recipe section for those meals). I don't follow the diet regimen, I just apply the knowledge of what I know to what I want to eat (and cook).

 

Now, as far as you reaching a stop in weight loss, there could be several factors. One of these might be that your body has gotten used to your current workout routine and you need to mix it up a little.

 

One recommendation I have for you, if you aren't doing it already, is to run or bike or swim. I don't like to run personally, because of my knees, but regardless, these three activities are very good for fat loss. Being the naturally-close-to-unhealthy-low-levels-of-body-fat person that I am, I always have to ensure I artificially introduce more levels of fat into my diet (or eat more) in order to not look terribly skinny (sunken cheeks, that sort of thing) whenever I go really hardcore on this.

[ang_soo_do_guy]

thanx alot u are a saint i know ive posted a few and sound like a whiny b***h but i need advice for various things

[Shorin Ryuu]

thanx alot u are a saint i know ive posted a few and sound like a whiny b***h but i need advice for various things

 

Not at all...I wasn't trying to point out how often you were posting about this topic, I was just trying to point out I really, seriously recommend that Okinawa program book. Once again, not because you have to follow it to the "t", but as you had asked earlier, but so that you can apply it to your diet, whether it is "Okinawan" or not...

 

Edit: Just think of it like fighting...I could tell you these techniques on how to fight, but they will only work in narrow situations and not help you do the necessary improvisation, etc. Same thing here. I could tell you specifically what to eat, or even general categories of what to eat, but that won't necessarily help you, since you may not have a chance to get all that in your diet. But if you understand the basic principles, whether it is in a fight or in the kitchen, you'll have the ingredients for success. Or something. Sorry if that sounded too cheesy.