Adding Muscle and Losing Weight: Reader’s Digest Version

I’ve had a few close friends ask me to add some information pertaining to weight loss and how to go about adding muscle.  The first thing to remember is that everyone is different.  Bill might be able to lose weight with ease while Gary struggles to lose weight despite counting calories and doing everything by the book … don’t get discouraged is what I’m trying to say.  With that said, the GOLDEN RULE OF NUTRITION is the way to go: ‘If you can’t grow it or kill you shouldn’t put it in your body’.  The golden rule basically says you should stick to natural plant and animal food sources: lean meats, fresh fruits and vegetables, etc. … you get the picture.

When you’re trying to lose weight the simplest advice I can give is to burn more than you’re putting in (referring to calories).  You need to make sure the calories you’re taking in are being spread out throughout the day and that you’re taking in good calories.  Put away the pop tarts and granola bars and substitute in some apples and peanut butter or whatever combination of fruit and protein you might prefer in the morning.  In terms of lunch, I like grilling or baking a couple pounds of chicken on the weekend to have for my lunches throughout the week, I pair the chicken with steamed vegetables usually.  I also suggest a late morning and early afternoon snack – stick to fresh fruit or vegetables.  When dinner rolls around, go with a lean protein (salmon, tuna, chicken, etc.) and vegetables.  I’ll occasionally do an evening snack of cottage cheese or greek yogurt but you’ll want to go easy on the dairy as they’re rough on the digestive system.  In addition to your diet, you should be getting plenty of rest and exercise.  The key-takeaways: burn more than you’re putting in, calories need to come from natural sources, spread calorie intake throughout entire day, drink a lot of water, and do your weekly food-prep on the weekend when you have some downtime.

Muscle building is a similar process but requires the addition of moving heavy weight and taking in more calories.  If you’re not interested in pulling, pushing, or picking up and putting down heavy shit then stop reading.  If you aren’t familiar with the deadlift, squat, and cleans (and bench press to a lesser extent) then I suggest reading up on them as these are the building blocks of adding mass in an efficient manner.  Perhaps you’re looking to just get toned … if such is the case then Jane Fonda might be a good resource.  There’s no such thing as ‘toning’ you’re either building muscle or you’re not, plain and simple! That said, I would suggest beginning lifters look into a 3-day or maybe a 4-day split, the more advanced guys probably aren’t reading this so we won’t get into that.  Bodybuilding.com is a great resource for beginning lifters.   Once you’ve put together your workout then it’s time to get to work.  Like dieting, when adding mass you’re going to want your calories coming from natural sources, I would suggest looking into a protein supplement as well … I use Muscle Gain by Advocare and have had great results with it.  When looking into supplements, you’re going to get overwhelmed, try to enlist the help of a friend or reliable source who can help you identify what supplements are going to best suit you.  The key takeaways here are: lifting form is critical for beginners (study up on your building block lifts), caloric intake from natural sources, plenty of rest and water, 3-day/4-day lifting split, do your research if you think supplements are needed.

AND KEEP A FOOD LOG/JOURNAL!!!!

What I Learned About Women Via Tinder

I’m sure you can figure it out from the title but I was recently sucked into the recent dating craze … Tinder!  If you’re living under a rock, Tinder is a mobile app that presents you with women (or men) based on your specified mileage radius and age range.  You land on someone’s profile (for lack of a better term) and you’re presented with a handful of pictures and a paragraph or two they may have entered about themselves.  What next, you ask.  Well, you then swipe them left or right, swipe them right and you have a chance to be matched up with them, swipe them left and you never see their profile again. The fun in all this is that you’re only allowed to chat with other users that also swiped right to your profile.  This is where things get exciting (or dreadful)!

Let me preface this post by saying I’m a man in my mid/late 20’s, I’m single, I’m gainfully employed, and I’m in very good shape and make a point to take care of myself.  I stand about 6’2 and weigh 215 lbs, I played football in college and continue to workout quite often.  I’ve had pretty solid success with women throughout my teenage years and throughout my 20’s; I’ve had a handful of long term relationships that fizzled out for whatever reasons and this eventually led to a few friends and I all deciding to give Tinder a try. I’ve now been using Tinder for about a month, allow me to tell you about this month.

I noticed a common theme when viewing women’s profiles on Tinder that can be summed up in the following way: I never realized how superficial women really are.  This obviously doesn’t apply to every profile I looked at but I couldn’t believe some of the stuff I was reading.  Many of the women make note of their height (there’s also a lot of tall women on Tinder) which in their brains is a very sly way of saying you must be this tall to ride this ride.  Men, don’t forget to add 3-4 inches for when they want to wear heels.  Ladies, just come out and say, ‘hey I enjoy wearing heels, if you’re not at least ‘this tall’ then I don’t see it working out’.  To you tall guys, don’t go thinking you’ve just hit the Tinder jackpot, most of the profiles I viewed stated this particular girl was ‘athletic’ (wearing yoga pants to Starbucks is apparently athletic now) and wouldn’t settle for anything less than a healthy, fit, athletic guy.  I tried giving the ladies the benefit of the doubt on this one but apparently they’re only interested in men that hit the genetic jackpot.

I soon noticed a common trend while swiping through pictures: group pic, group pic, group pic, group pic, etc.  Really? Remember ladies, we automatically assume you’re the ugliest one in the group which is what I refer to as the MUF (Mandatory Ugly Friend), every group has one.  These same girls who need an athletic and fit man are kind enough to let us play the ol’ guessing game. Group pics, that’s not so bad you’re saying … well it gets worse.  I then noticed too many profiles that were nothing but headshots.  You can’t see anything below the neck.  PSA to you females: when we see this we automatically assume you’re pushing 2 bills! Yes, we’re men, we’re visual creatures, but we’re not dumbasses.

Next, there’s the career woman on Tinder!  It must be my lucky day, I just got matched with a lawyer on Tinder!  Wrong … any of you ever dated a ‘career-woman’?  These women are always ‘SO SUPER-BUSY’ and MIGHT be able to make time for you if you play your cards right.  I had a 2 year relationship with a ‘career woman’ yet she was the perfect definition of DRAMA.  This woman was catty as can be, god forbid anyone else other than her received a promotion in her department.  The career-woman will peak in her early-mid 30’s so if you’re patient you’ll have no problem reeling this one in once the years have taken their toll. Guys, do yourselves a favor and skip this one!

Gentlemen, don’t all women claim they don’t want your typical ‘bro’, douche bag, meathead, etc?  Well, women are full of shit.  I have some pics of myself posted with my shirt off and I lost count of how many women commented on my physique then asked for my number … women are liars.  They’re just as visual as us guys.  Gentlemen, moving forward, wear clothes that properly fit your body.  If you haven’t done so already, read up on proper fit for pants, suits, etc.

In brief, women are just like us guys.  You get their attention with what’s on the surface; you hold their interest with your money and character.  Remember, above all else, you’re in control.