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Starting gym at uni - what healthy meals should I eat?

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Original post by Colour Me Pretty
If you were trying to eat healthily, you'd try and reduce the processed foods which are high in sugar?


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Exactly, I mean you'd cut down on calories/ carbs in general but the easiest way to do that is cutting down on sugary stuff. If you do eat something with carbs, make it wholemeal pasta or brown rice instead (like you said) :smile:

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Original post by WGR
Classic broscientist. "It's different because it "feels" different. Where would we be if we took your approach to science? Putting carbohydrates into a mass spectrometer for testing for any difference? **** that, just feed them to silent ninja and let him tell you if they "feel" any different. Let him use his cosmic juju to work it out.


Yawn. I've seen enough of your kindergarten nutrition spouted from that high horse, where you actually think you're teaching people something new. You're the typical keyboard warrior that's read a couple of articles and seen a few youtube videos and thinks he's so enlightened that he must teach the world about "true" nutrition.

Since you have nothing directly to disagree with, please keep your nonsense to yourself.
Reply 62
Original post by silent ninja
Yawn. I've seen enough of your kindergarten nutrition spouted from that high horse, where you actually think you're teaching people something new. You're the typical keyboard warrior that's read a couple of articles and seen a few youtube videos and thinks he's so enlightened that he must teach the world about "true" nutrition.

Since you have nothing directly to disagree with, please keep your nonsense to yourself.

Calls me a keyboard warrior
Doesn't prove wrong anything I say.
Reply 63
Original post by TooEasy123
This.

Sure, all types of carbs are equal in terms of nutritional breakdown. But if one carb source gives you better energy levels than another (this is usually the stereotyped "natural vs processed", but whatever), whether that be a placebo/mental effect or not (unlikely, since anyone who is actually interested in exercise performance will have experienced this), then logically you would rate that source of carbs as "better", and it would therefore take precedence over other sources in your food choices, at least for the majority of the time. So sure, they might be equal in terms of nutritional value, but if one is "better" than the other in terms of energy levels (thus the likelihood of better exercise performance, which most people consider important), then the first point - that nutritionally, carbs are carbs - is moot, because it's assumed knowledge.

The only time it isn't moot is when you're trying to educate someone on nutrition - to educate them that, nutritionally, carbs are carbs, and how/when/why the body stores fat or loses it i.e. calories in vs calories out. But this is assumed knowledge usually...

You can't tell people that some carbs have more energy than others just because it feels like that to you.
Original post by WGR
You can't tell people that some carbs have more energy than others just because it feels like that to you.


Don't think that's what he's saying. Sugary stuff makes you feel less energised, you get a huge sugar rush and then crash after your body produces loads of insulin to compensate for the high blood sugar. Things like porridge or wholemeal stuff just give you a steady supply of energy throughout the day so you feel more.. awake or energised or whatever. :smile:
Reply 65
Original post by Neon-Soldier32
That's what works for me and besides, when it comes to these broscience-y subjects everyone thinks that they're correct and if someone says something that they haven't heard of or disagree with then they're automatically wrong.


Suggestions are fine, but when you start preaching something as fact which is clearly scientifically incorrect it misleads people.
Original post by WGR
Calls me a keyboard warrior
Doesn't prove wrong anything I say.


That's because you didn't say anything.
And how can you disagree with my feeling that I have more energy from certain carbs over others? You can't so stop being a dick about it. And I'm not the only one. Energy levels vary based on many factors, and food is a key one.

Why don't you stick to pop tarts as your only carb source, void of any micronutrient value might I add. A carb is a carb after all. Then try potatoes, oats and fruits instead. You tell me which makes you feel energised, which gives you better workouts and better quality of life.

You're a calorie counting Nazi that takes it to an extreme. Any idiot knows a varied diet is best, but if a carb is a carb and a calorie is a calorie, totalling ignoring the 'function' of food which is not just to obtain energy requirements, then you may as well stick to table sugar as your only carb source. Why not? The word 'nutrition' is lost on people like you, which is why I don't know why I bother replying. To you, nutrition means energy in vs energy out.
(edited 10 years ago)
Original post by WGR
You can't tell people that some carbs have more energy than others just because it feels like that to you.


Fair point. How much energy it is that I'm perceiving is subjective and will be hard to measure. Not to mention placebo effects. But I bet most people will have experienced these energy level differences based on different "types" (hate using that word) of carbs - not that I've done a poll or anything scientifically rigorous about it.

Out of interest, do you train for any fitness goals / sports? If not, that's probably why you haven't noticed a difference, or think there is no difference. If you train for a sport, strive to get better at it, track personal bests and whatnot, you'll slowly begin to notice the effects of details like this, and become quite in-tune with your body. I'm sure a lot of people (especially athletes) would be able to relate. Sure it doesn't make a difference from a body composition perspective (since carbs are carbs nutritionally), but from a performance/athletic perspective I'm fairly sure it does. I can already imagine the negative affect it'd have on an endurance athlete, or any athlete tbh. From all of the interviews of athletes and their diets that I've seen, most of them advocate certain things like this because they feel more energetic and less sluggish etc. Either they're all broscientists, or they're onto something.
(edited 10 years ago)
Guys, I'm sure other bits of chicken are just as good for you as breasts are. If I looked at just what people eat I'd assume chickens were bred to have 20 breasts and no other meat on them anywhere else... It's wastage, pure and simple.
Reply 69
Original post by Flobie
Don't think that's what he's saying. Sugary stuff makes you feel less energised, you get a huge sugar rush and then crash after your body produces loads of insulin to compensate for the high blood sugar. Things like porridge or wholemeal stuff just give you a steady supply of energy throughout the day so you feel more.. awake or energised or whatever. :smile:

I repeat for the zillionth time; this is about carbs not sugar. You're right however that is probably why he feels like that, however that has nothing to do with the carb content.

Original post by silent ninja
That's because you didn't say anything.
And how can you disagree with my feeling that I have more energy from certain carbs over others? You can't so stop being a dick about it. And I'm not the only one. Energy levels vary based on many factors, and food is a key one.

Why don't you stick to pop tarts as your only carb source, void of any micronutrient value might I add. A carb is a carb after all. Then try potatoes, oats and fruits instead. You tell me which makes you feel energised, which gives you better workouts and better quality of life.

You're a calorie counting Nazi that takes it to an extreme. Any idiot knows a varied diet is best, but if a carb is a carb and a calorie is a calorie, totalling ignoring the 'function' of food which is not just to obtain energy requirements, then you may as well stick to table sugar as your only carb source. Why not? The word 'nutrition' is lost on people like you, which is why I don't know why I bother replying. To you, nutrition means energy in vs energy out.

There's no need to call me a Nazi. I don't disagree with your feelings I'm saying that you can't dole out nutritional advice based on your feelings. I also never said anything about having pop tarts as my only carb source. You were trying to say that pop tart carbs should be avoided because they are "bad carbs" this is completely untrue, they are just high in sugar. So long as you don't eat too many you can still get some of your carbs from pop tarts. It's funny that you're telling me that I don't know that a varied diet is best because I am the one who has been trying to tell people in this thread that there is no need to avoid certain foods unlike you.

Original post by TooEasy123
Fair point. How much energy it is that I'm perceiving is subjective and will be hard to measure. Not to mention placebo effects. But I bet most people will have experienced these energy level differences based on different "types" (hate using that word) of carbs - not that I've done a poll or anything scientifically rigorous about it.

Out of interest, do you train for any fitness goals / sports? If not, that's probably why you haven't noticed a difference, or think there is no difference. If you train for a sport, strive to get better at it, track personal bests and whatnot, you'll slowly begin to notice the effects of details like this, and become quite in-tune with your body. I'm sure a lot of people (especially athletes) would be able to relate. Sure it doesn't make a difference from a body composition perspective (since carbs are carbs nutritionally), but from a performance/athletic perspective I'm fairly sure it does. I can already imagine the negative affect it'd have on an endurance athlete, or any athlete tbh. From all of the interviews of athletes and their diets that I've seen, most of them advocate certain things like this because they feel more energetic and less sluggish etc. Either they're all broscientists, or they're onto something.

Science isn't "a load of people advocating something" Science is rigorous testing of a hypothesis and reproducing said results under the same conditions.

Yes I do a lot of sport. I cycle a lot and I can run fine on a pop tart. Most of the energy is sugar however meaning that if it was just pop tarts that I ate I will crash quickly but again this has nothing to do with the carbs.
Original post by WGR
I repeat for the zillionth time; this is about carbs not sugar. You're right however that is probably why he feels like that, however that has nothing to do with the carb content.


There's no need to call me a Nazi. I don't disagree with your feelings I'm saying that you can't dole out nutritional advice based on your feelings. I also never said anything about having pop tarts as my only carb source. You were trying to say that pop tart carbs should be avoided because they are "bad carbs" this is completely untrue, they are just high in sugar. So long as you don't eat too many you can still get some of your carbs from pop tarts. It's funny that you're telling me that I don't know that a varied diet is best because I am the one who has been trying to tell people in this thread that there is no need to avoid certain foods unlike you.


Science isn't "a load of people advocating something" Science is rigorous testing of a hypothesis and reproducing said results under the same conditions.

Yes I do a lot of sport. I cycle a lot and I can run fine on a pop tart. Most of the energy is sugar however meaning that if it was just pop tarts that I ate I will crash quickly but again this has nothing to do with the carbs.


Please find a quote where I said bad carbs. Strawman.

Also you seem to be unaware that sugar is a carb. Make your mind up. Either a carb is a carb or it's not. Carbs are broken down to simple sugars -- most are pretty much glucose and not too different to table sugar when broken down. You are contradicting yourself if sugar can give you a crash but carbs can't. You seem to imply long chain sugars aka carbs, are better than simple sugars. So what you're really saying is complex carbs are better than simple ones. But if all carbs are equal, this is bs according to you.

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(edited 10 years ago)
Some people should actually be banned from providing nutritional and fitness advice tbh. So much mis-information..

Thread was complete after reply #1

"Avoid carbs" :lol:

Ok....

Good luck either way OP - some good advice in here, use at your own discretion though.
Reply 72
Original post by silent ninja
Please find a quote where I said bad carbs. Strawman.

Also you seem to be unaware that sugar is a carb. Make your mind up. Either a carb is a carb or it's not. Carbs are broken down to simple sugars -- most are pretty much glucose and not too different to table sugar when broken down. You are contradicting yourself if sugar can give you a crash but carbs can't. You seem to imply long chain sugars aka carbs, are better than simple sugars. So what you're really saying is complex carbs are better than simple ones. But if all carbs are equal, this is bs according to you.

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It wasn't you that said it specifically but you did say "you don't believe a carb is a carb"

That is a terrible argument. You know when the word carb is used in nutritional settings it is referring to polysaccharides. If an everyday joe talks about "drugs" are they likely to mean alcohol as well?
Original post by WGR
I repeat for the zillionth time; this is about carbs not sugar. You're right however that is probably why he feels like that, however that has nothing to do with the carb content.

Science isn't "a load of people advocating something" Science is rigorous testing of a hypothesis and reproducing said results under the same conditions.

Yes I do a lot of sport. I cycle a lot and I can run fine on a pop tart. Most of the energy is sugar however meaning that if it was just pop tarts that I ate I will crash quickly but again this has nothing to do with the carbs.


Sugar is a carb. Surely you knew that? So IT IS the carb that causes the "feeling". In other words, you said you'll crash if you eat poptarts, and you'll crash because IT IS to do with the carbs. Just getting that straight before continuing. Anyway...

Let's say for a second that this energy level thing is true or not (doesn't matter either way)... How on earth is anyone going to bother scientifically researching this, not to mention who/why? Let's say you're one of the many athletes who has noticed something like this - are you honestly going to ignore what you've noticed just because a study hasn't been done on it? No, you'd use some sense because you wouldn't have time to wait 50 years like an idiot for science to catch up and for a study to be done on it.

The only logical conclusion is:
Yes, all carbs are equal nutritionally, but in the interest of exercise performance, certain carb sources take precedence over others. If certain ones provide better perceived energy levels and performances over others, then it's common sense to favor these ones over the rest, and hence categorise these as "better" carbs. So while they're nutritionally equal, they aren't rated equally. Others are rated higher than others.

Great, so you're active. But unless you're tracking your performances, distances, times etc. over a period of time, you obviously won't know the differences. You sound like you're the guy who does exercise to get the exercise in or to burn some calories, and there's nothing wrong with that, but in this case things like this don't really matter.

I know what science is thanks. I never said science was "a load of people advocating something". I said that a load of athletes advocate certain things like this because they feel better energy levels and less sluggish etc. Yes, this is still anecdote, but do you really think they're all imagining this effect? If you're dismissing the possibility, then that's what you're saying. Think about that for a second.

Here's something real about science: The only real way to make scientific breakthroughs is to first speculate things. Usually these speculations are derived from previous research/anecdote, and make sense to appear to be true at face value. Speculations are rarely made out of thin air (and the speculation in this discussion is very far from out of thin air). These speculations then become hypotheses, and are then tested. Without educated guessing/speculation, we wouldn't be where we are today. Einstein talked about this a lot. I would invite you to read about it.
Original post by WGR
It wasn't you that said it specifically but you did say "you don't believe a carb is a carb"

That is a terrible argument. You know when the word carb is used in nutritional settings it is referring to polysaccharides. If an everyday joe talks about "drugs" are they likely to mean alcohol as well?


Some carbs have more nutritional value than others. Oats and potatoes are better than bread, donuts and crisps. It's pretty easy to see this through practice. Micronutrients, satiety, fibre (often it is a carb in itself), slower digestion and so on contribute to them agreeing with people more than others which are practically junk food. Meanwhile, you continue to interpret the science literally, without any context or understanding or even any practice. If a carb is a carb, why bother varying your carbs? The carb source absolutely matters, although it may not matter in terms of thermodynamics but that is only a small piece of the puzzle. I'd recommend fruits over donuts even though the former can be sugary.

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Awkward moment when you walk into a carb civil war :facepalm:

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Reply 76
Drink a gallon of whole milk a day and do Starting Strength. You'll thank me later
Porridge is a miracle food first thing in the morning. Complex carbs which are slow burning and provide energy throughout the day whilst being veyr low calorie.

All the usual proteins in lean chicken etc. Prawns are normally overlooked but are great for lunch etc.

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