Can we get a Topcat nutrition/core thread?

[FearTheLoss]

Just saw Topcat's core in another thread, the dude is ripped.

What do you do for core topcat? and what kind of nutrition plan are you on?

I have an athletic build and a strong core, but I can't get my abs noticeable like I want them too..it's like my skin has too much tissue, because I'm not fat...thinking a diet change, or maybe adding more sprints to my workout could help this.

[topcat]

Hey fear the loss thanks for the compliment. I designed a piece of equipment that specifically targets the core about 6-7 years ago and since have built 2 working prototypes. My core training is performed on that piece of equipment and I believe underneath that layer of fat I am working towards removing is one of the best developed cores in the world with a highly developed serratus anterior. Of course at this point I can’t speak too much about it as I am currently speaking with a couple of equipment manufacturers.

I eat mostly for performance where most eat for pleasure but over time eating for performance becomes very pleasurable and has become a part of my life. Here too I can only speak so much as I’m working towards putting my writings together in a book/e-book format.

I will say this, most have a very hard time eating for performance because food is such a social experience. The food marketers have gotten enough people to believe eating their products is normal behavior and it becomes very difficult for the rest not to follow.

I just came back from vacation and although my goal was not to stray too far from my normal foods even I had to give in to this pressure more than I had hoped for but now it’s back to doing what I know will make me feel good/happy and perform my best.

Here is only one example of what happened during recent vacation where I felt this pressure. I found myself at a Monastery in the mountains of Macedonia sitting at a long table with a group of nuns. My wife raised money for them here in the States about a year ago so that they could have their septic system repaired as it was mixing in with the bathing water. The cost was substantial due to the location and other reasons so of course they were very grateful to receive the funds. My wife is a very good friend of the Mother Superior and a lifelong best friend. The table they set and the food they offered was their way of showing just how much they appreciated what was done for them. So of course I could not simply just sit there and not eat foods that I would not normally eat as I had to consider how this would have made them feel and put my own feelings aside. This same situation with food and social pressure was repeated almost daily as I was also visiting relatives which is fine for a week or 2 out of the year but most find it happening to them daily and it becomes their normal lifestyle regardless of the situation.

It also becomes very hard to convince others that what they believe is wrong is right and what they believe is right is wrong so it becomes time consuming and diverts too much energy as it becomes an argument.

One of the best ways to lose subcutaneous fat is to get some sunshine. It drastically raises testosterone levels but most are afraid of doing something that is very normal. Once again much better to show results as opposed to trying convince someone. Here is something funny, I had several people ask me while I was on vacation where did I go on vacation because I had a tan…………lol………….kind of funny because this was my vacation. I end up going into this long diatribe about vitamin D blah, blah, blah and they all look at me like I’m crazy……..and this is why I don’t like to write and speak too much about it. But here is something even funnier I had at least 3 people tell me I looked so young as they were expecting someone much older looking, those type of comments keep me on track.

Of course anything that helps you reach the lactic acid threshold while incorporating the whole body will have the most dramatic effect on the human hormonal system and sprints would be one of those exercises.

[sausage]

I am trying to eat healthier....

I eat chicken pretty much every time I have dinner.

I try to drink a reasonable amount of water.

I have fruit - apple/grape usually during weekdays.

I don't drink Alcohol.


What I find hardest is sustaining a healthy diet at work, I am lazy and can't be bothered to buy and prepare things during weekdays to have for lunch the next day.

Also, people at work eat so much junk food, people bring in cakes/chocolates/donuts regularly, I do my best to avoid them but if I am hungry or can't help but have a chocolate sprinkled donut I give in.

I find it so hard to find healthy lunch friendly foods in supermarkets, especially the local small shop/supermarket thing we get in the UK. I just see fizzy/sweet drinks, pastries, sandwiches, sweets/chocolate, pasties, etc....


Only options I see that are healthy are the odd bit of fruit.

What about pre-cooked packs of chicken?
What about a BLT sandwich (Bacon, Lettuce and Tomato)?
Is soup ok or is that too salty?

You can buy a variety of packs of nuts but I hate plain nuts, are their any healthy plain nuts that actually have a nice taste to them?

[topcat]

What no Johnny Cakes.............

[Jotronic]

Topcat,

This is in response to your last post in the thread in the surgical section.

Well I don’t want to take the thread off topic either but really good for you and I’m happy to hear it. Your progress speaks for itself. Here is a quick interesting thought. People that can’t eat healthy are really spoiled and overfed they just don’t know, victims of very good marketing. A good experiment for most to try would be fasting for a day or so just plain water. Now try that healthy meal and tell me just how delicious and satisfying it truly tastes.

I agree 100%. When I was first learning the basics about sugar, carbs, fats, etc. I would use my smartphone to look up the nutritional value of various foods. I was shocked. I also was looking for an alternative to sugar since I wanted to go sugar free. I looked into Splenda, just to see what the story was with it, and found out that it has been reported to kill gut bacteria by up to 50%, is closer related to DDT than sugar and has recently been found, in one Italian study, to have links to Leukemia. No thanks!

Most give nutrition too little regard during the healing process and I understand as doctors are part of a system that keeps them doing what those that control the system want them to do. I think garlic is superior as an antibiotic but any doctor that recommended this would have his license revoked. Garlic works with the body and doesn’t kill the beneficial gut bacteria which are essential during the healing process.

I agree with this too but I think doctors, or at least some, just don't know much about nutrition because it isn't a core component of medical school. I grew up around doctors and nurses with many being in my family and I know that most of the training and education has to do with repairing broken parts or systems in the body, not preventing the need for repair to begin with.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/16/health/16chen.html?_r=0

Of course I could tweak your diet a little bit but I think what you will find in time is that you will do that on your own as it’s all part of goal setting and wanting to do better which is an endless journey. One thing I do know for certain happiness is directly related to how we feel so feeling good would definitely make one happy. Sure one can have loads and loads of money and buy all kinds of crap but those moments of happiness are fleeting in my opinion. Feeling good as in feeling physically vibrant and being around good people are much more important.

Again, agreed. One thing I have learned, not just in nutrition and exercise, is that if someone is obviously more educated in a subject then you then it is probably a good idea to listen to something they have to say. You are obviously more educated in nutrition and exercise than I am as you have a life long history of exercise as noted in some of your photos and your stated experience. Now, I can't exactly confirm you know what you are talking about without trial and error myself but what I have read, you do appear to know what you're talking about. For instance, about a year or so ago you mentioned something about hormone, antibiotic free meats and you provided a link to a website that can help find local suppliers. I used this link and at the time I could not find anyone that was closer than a two hour drive. However, I kept the idea in my head and several months later I found new small local meatshop that provides hormone and antibiotic free meats. Turkey, chicken, pork and beef. Same size cuts as from the store for the same price and in some cases lower price and they are much healthier and tastier than from a typical grocery store. I also buy my free range eggs from this place. I buy the meat and eggs in bulk for more savings as they offer freezer packs. I would like to thank you for that post and link because that helped to really put me on the path to clean eating.

So here is a thought on what I would do with your current regimen as it’s really all about health or at least that is what is should be about. Swap out that Greek yogurt for some homemade yogurt. Find a local goat farmer in your area, buy some of that bulgaris culture and make your own, very simple to do. You avoid damaging the proteins with heat as you only heat the milk up to about 100 degrees. The problem with store bought yogurt is not only the heat they used to pasteurize the milk but more importantly where is that milk coming from. Hormones if being used get trapped in the fat and that is what makes commercial dairy and meat extremely carcinogenic. Then of course we can start getting into what the animal is fed and how that starts to affect the fatty acid ratio. Same thing with the protein powder, dump it as the source is more than likely heavily hormone fed dairy which is cheap. Why would anyone drink a product so heavily laced with estrogen, very simple good marketing.

Regarding the yogurt, I just started eating it a few weeks ago however I had not thought about the hormone/antibiotic issue. I'm sure my meat shop will have something better (they have a lot of regular but healthy items aside from meats) but if not I'll try the goat milk thing, if anything for the challenge. The protein powder has been a cheat for me. Fast and easy since I've been working out at night but it will be easier to ditch once I switch to morning workouts.

I would also swap out the chicken breast for some chicken backs. Plenty of fat and you can eat the bones.

My chicken is free range and clean , so that's good, but I'll try the back like you said.

Having information is good too. My wife always has some story about one of her customers that is dying from something or other. Here is an absolute perfect example of not having the right information when one needs it. One of her customers about a week ago confided in her that his son who was only 46 was dying. He was having headaches and losing vision and went in to check it out, it was an inoperable brain tumor. As soon as I heard her say that I told her you have to tell this person about Dr. Burzynski who has an incredible cure rate with brain tumors that those in control of the medical system have been trying to suppress for the last 20 years, I know because I have followed it for that long. She said it was too late they did a biopsy and he never came out of it, they gave him 48 hours to live. Now why would someone drill a hole into someone’s head if it was inoperable? Did they know about Dr. Burzynski and even if they did would they even say something. It’s all very sad yet amazing to watch.

Interesting. I always like learning about individuals that buck the system and are effective in operating outside of the established norms. I'll read up on him when I have some time.

Again, thank you for that link about local free range meat suppliers. That really helped me, eventually, in my transformation into a nutrition conscious person and I feel better because of it. No doubt, I'll longer because of it too. My challenge is time so one of my goals is to find suppliers of ready made products that allow me to eat as cleanly and healthy as possible without having to make the foods myself. Perhaps eventually I will be more efficient with my time so that I can make some of these things myself.

[topcat]

Yes check out the Bruzynski story it’s interesting. It’s also a very good example of why in my opinion hair transplantation should not be regulated. The marketing of ht yes and those laws are already on the books. With regulation what you have is those with the deepest pockets determining what the protocols will be and those protocols will be those that make them the most money and not necessarily what is best for the patient. It could very well be a robot just as an example with anyone offering something else considered a quack and put out of business. So regulation can sometimes do more harm than good because most systems become corrupted in time.

People with cancer or other diseases don’t seem to understand this concept. They are not necessarily being given the best available treatments but what only has been determined as standard protocol. Straying from standard protocol rarely happens as fear keeps everyone in line, from the doctor, to the patient to family members. Everyone just keeps their mouth shut as no one wants to take on the responsibility of speaking up as they would also take on the burden of being responsible for what happens.

It’s only when the patient reaches the end of the line that they might reach out to someone who has a better way but by then it’s usually too late. The best advice is to do what is necessary to avoid the medical system.

[3rd time]

Guys, I really enjoyed reading your information regarding training and diet. Before my first HT I was overweight. It was amazing but as my hair started to grow in I was motivate to workout more and more.
My first few sessions I felt horrible but I persisted. Started off walking, then hired a trainer for a while. I also discovered p90x which although a very difficult program made me feel 10 years younger. It's amazing.
My problem has always been my diet. I can train very hard and consistently only to eat badly. I loved your comment Jotronic about eating for fuel. That sums it up perfectly.. I need to get into that state of mind.
I haven't been to the gym now in over 2 months as I'm worried about stretching the scar being my third strip procedure. My Doctor told me 2 weeks post op is fine but I'm skeptical. I am doing some training but haven't incorporated weights as yet. I feel that getting back into heavy weight training may give me problems.
I'm almost at 2 months post op. I'm wondering can I slowly go back to weight training?
Should I be avoiding any type of movements like squatting or pull ups, situps?
Like you guys, I love weight training and really want to get back into it.
Last question.. Will sweating under a hat cause any issues with the growth of the HT? Any advice would be great. Thanks.

[topcat]

You don’t necessarily need to lift a heavy load as speed can compensate for loads lifted. Lifting a lighter weight and moving it faster for more reps can give the same result while avoiding the valsalva maneuver which momentarily increases internal pressures something you would probably want to avoid for now. The most common example would be comparing the size of a sprinter’s quads which are fairly large with those of a marathon runner. The loads are close to the same the speed is the variable that has changed.

I like to look at eating healthy this way. All these people selling all these crap that people are shoving down their pie holes………….they are all laughing at you as you waddle your obese disease stricken body down to the doctor hoping to be cured of whatever y ails you. Not only are they laughing their asses off at you just like the guys selling the protein powders but they are raking in the bucks at your expense.

Don’t let them laugh at you like that, in fact use it to drive you to do the opposite.

This is just a general statement 3rd time and not directed at you personally. I just believe that one needs to be very aware of the marketing aspect of food as it is done in such a way that it’s associated with good times and happiness when in reality most of the time it is just the opposite. Then we start getting into the social proof aspect and it becomes very hard for most to break away as we are genetically programmed to be part of the group. So if all your friends are drinking beer and eating pizza how do you say no…………..hmmmm…………maybe find some new friends……………..or one needs to lead the way. If you are aware of what is happening and why it is happening then it becomes easier for you to take control as opposed to outside influences controlling you.

[topcat]

The funny thing about protein powder is that it has so much in common with hair growth products past and present. Here rub this on your head once a day and in 60 days you will look like the guy on the bottle………….lol……………….no really………….honest, full head of thick hair. Order a 3 month supply for only $129….

I bought my first protein powder 38 years ago. The postman delivered and it came in a box. It tasted like sh*t, gave me diarrhea and gas but you know what I kept drinking it and kept ordering it cause I was gonna be like the guy on the box…………….lol………………I got fooled before I started ordering the powder as my diet was made up of space food sticks and Tang the guy on the TV told me it’s what got the astronauts into shape………….but that was all bullsh*t this time was different for sure…………………lol…………………..the powder was the real deal.

I should get into that protein powder business. Slap a label on a plastic bottle and tell everyone yeah here is the secret. Contaminated milk made from cows injected with all kinds of antibiotics and hormones. Now the milk is filled with pus and raised IGF-1 so I can out of control cancer cell growth in my body……………..oh yeah give me some that baby. Then heat it up and dry so it can sit on a shelf for a few years and do even more damage.

hmmmm............I wonder if it grows hair too

[topcat]

Please direct me to the location where I can purchase the dried pus filled hormone laced milk powder so I can enjoy optimum health and experience robust energy. Should I get the 5lb container or the 5 gal bucket…………….lol………………..I mean c’mon how can you not laugh at this. Are you going to convince some young buck that it’s all crap……………no……………just like you can’t convince them of a lot of other things so they will learn the hard way.

Not trying to rag on the protein powder companies. I’m sure it’s nothing personal for them……….just business

[3rd time]

Hi Topcat
I'm just wondering what your lifting routine is. Are you on some sort of 3 or 4 day split. Also would you I mind outlining a typical day of eating for you?
I'm looking to lose weight and tone up.

[topcat]

Hi 3rd time that question requires a long and complicated answer. Not so much what I do but why I do it, what is the logic and science behind it. It requires a book which I am slowly putting together.

I can tell you to do this or that but your first thought will be………….hmmm………..that doesn’t sound right. But you see I’m not in the business of promoting protein powders and crap that does not work. So with that being said how do you convince so many that have had their beliefs shaped by very astute marketers that they are wrong and I am right. Only with results and very long explanations which would be impossible here.

I can tell you this when it comes to lifting, most are simply wasting their time because they don’t put in the effort required to illicit a hormonal response from the body. The way I like to explain this to most that ask me would be like this. Imagine curling your finger with a very small weight until you couldn’t do it any longer, now how much stress do you think that puts on your hormonal system…………answer very little even though you trained to failure. Now let’s bump it up to curling that weight with your wrist, once again very little stress on the hormonal system. Bump it up to the arm………..okay a little better but not much. In order to illicit a hormonal response one needs to get as much of the body working at the same time as possible. An example would be sprints the whole body is required when moving itself at a high rate of speed and the endocrine system responds appropriately. If you are not eliciting a hormonal response then you are just the UPS driver moving boxes or the guy digging a hole, working hard but not making much progress.

I remember once doing some high rep squats with my brother at the gym. My brother was going all out nearing about rep 25 when all you heard was a giant snap, he let the bar down slowly got up and said I think I broke my arm……………..lol………………yes we can laugh about it now but at the time it wasn’t so funny. He was complaining weeks previously of a minor ache in the upper arm where the humerus is located. Obviously he had a hairline fracture that he did not know about and so consequently it wasn’t given enough time to heal. The stress of the high rep squats to his body created so much rotational torque in his arm that the bone just snapped. That is all out effort and why certain exercises although one would believe they only work specific parts they do in fact work the whole body.

Long story short, we drove over to the hospital, they inserted a rod and a week later he was back in the gym doing leg presses……………….lol…………….

Okay he is a simple strategy you can use now. If you can extend the time from the moment you go to sleep until the moment you eat the next day your body is more apt to use the calories better. More of a partitioning effect happens especially when one combines this with exercise. Also very beneficial for the endocrine system. Just start slowly maybe increasing that time 30-60 minutes a day or whatever you find comfortable.

[3rd time]

Topcat I agree with you. I found when I was doing high intensity cardio like hill sprints and plyometric jump training I lost weight very quickly.
I enjoy walking but the real cardio is doing interval training. High bursts of activity for a short time. Recently I was reading an article and they were interviewing Jason Statham who said its much better to do 40 minutes of high intensity, hard exercise than 90 minutes of low intensity.
I'm also looking into fasting. Upon waking I like to wait 4 or 5 hrs before I eat my first meal. Fasted exercise is definitely superior for weight loss.
Hope to read your book one day.

[topcat]

Most of the nutrition related research which one constantly sees in the media is driven by companies that are in the business of selling products. Most of what is thought of as sound dietary advice directed towards the masses is driven by the very large food conglomerates. These are two very important points for most to keep in mind. They also to varying degrees own the information systems currently in place that help shape the beliefs. Owning or being able influence the information systems is more important in the marketing process than the product itself. Does it work…………..one only needs to look towards the sales numbers.

If I had to pick one macro nutrient that matters the most it would not be carbs or protein but fat. Anyway I would stick with extending that time before you eat. My personal philosophy is to master one thing than just keep building off of that. Most that try to make too many drastic changes fail so it usually makes it a poor approach.

People that believe they need some protein powder replacement drink are victims of very good marketing. If they understood the history and the cast of characters that got us to where we are today then maybe they would be second guessing that decision and not be so resolute. Look at all those that believe they should eat cereal for breakfast, where on earth did that come from? Guys like Kellogg, Post, Gramham and companies like General Mills, it’s been drilled into the heads of most starting at a very young age. One only needs to watch the cartoon network to see how these guys operate. Get them when their young and chances are you have customer for life. No wonder most can’t seem to make the change over to healthier foods. Then when they try you got the protein powder guy to fill in the slot. Sure 30 grams of protein every 3 hours……………..wonder who came up with that formula.

[Diesel15]

Hey Topcat. Always enjoy your insights on this topic. Would you be willing to elaborate on why you advocate fasting in the morning? I.e. what is the purpose and what duration is optimal. If not, could you suggest some resources for those interested to educate themselves on this.