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/he...chen.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.