Eat food that's been grown.

My body doesnt respond well to processed carbs/starchy foods, so I try to avoid them. I can immediately see my cheeks and love handles puff up after a large carb/high sodium day even if I keep a calorie deficit. I've found for me that eating natural foods yields the best visible results. So for my bod, the ideal is the best of all the strong opinions on here, If I eat clean and natural I will always easily keep my calories under 1800 thanks to feeling full and satiated. I'll feel great, and wake up a little bit leaner the next day. I've done my research, tried a couple angles, found what works for me, and have been happy since. So, find your route, love it, and live it! Good luck to us all in achieving our goals!

Pure entertainment! haha. But the simple workout seems sound. Especially if on the road with no gym. But I'm sure I'd end up doing 3 rounds.

So browsing around the net today I stumbled on this webpage... http://www.dailymail.co.uk/hea... Based on HIIT training, it's a workout circuit requiring your muscles, the wall, a chair, and 7 minutes. 12 30 second exercises with 10 seconds rest in between. Sound too easy? Make it 2 or 3 sets! SO if for whatever reason you can't hit the gym and want to workout, here's an example of a quick and intense circuit to do. Or you can just do 50 burpees. Bwahahaha!

What's more important is finding something that works for one's self. A method that one can stick with in their own particular lifestyle for the long run. If calorie counting, low carb, south beach, jenny craig, juicing, etc, etc, etc works for you, you dig it, and you're happy, then great! My particular favorite is my Whiskey and Wings diet. It's the s##t.

Copy that, Sally! Rita, I don't do yoga, although I have been interested in checking it out when the time's right. I've been doing the typical movements like the "innies" and "outies", cross body shoulder stretch, rang of motion movements, etc. It's feeling better, but i'll still make the time to get in to see the doc soon :)

Heh I'm one of those stubborn guys that likes to fix something by themselves first before getting help. Inflammation is one thing, but if something seemed torn or broke and hurt ALL the time then I'd definitely seek proper help if I knew that without a doubt that I needed to swallow my pride and see the doc. I know, I know, but just sayin!

Yikes! I'd better make sure not to let it get worse than it already is!

I'll definitely look into Arnica and Traumeel. Thanks for the suggestion. Yesterday I did some range of motion movements, including scapula retractions and squeezes, internal and external rotations, and lateral raises with my shoulders blades squeezed together, seemed to help :)

Looks like me and Burpees are breaking up for a while hahah

Prioritizing is the right approach! Since you've been studying your butt off, you're probably physically and mentally drained. If you need to catch up on rest do so. If you can fit in a workout do it! It could be a few sets of squats, a jog, a hike, some burpees perhaps? The hardest part will taking that first step and changing into your workout gear. Do 50 burpees and call it even. You'll pass out and sleep great afterwards haha

Anyone have experience with rotator cuff probs? All those pushups I did have taken their toll! So i'm looking for recommendations on a speedy recovery. Certain rehab movements work better than others? Certain meds help alleviate swelling/tenderness? Ancient chinese remedies? Anything will help! Thx!

Those are color coded references in where you are in reaching your weight goal. It goes from Red-Orange-Yellow-Green-Blue, with Blue meeting your goal weight.

I think weighing everyday is great when starting off on a specific diet regiment where you're adjusting your macronutrient percentages and looking for trends. After you find a a balance that yields the changes you want, weighing in can be done less frequently, but utilize the mirror or tape measure as well. I don't even bother anymore. I just use the mirror as the gauge since I'm in more of a maintenance stage these days. Just keep in mind that muscle is more dense than fat, so if you're working out a lot, weight changes may not be as pronounced at a certain point.

Eat natural foods (avoid highly processed foods)!

Yea, I think upping your caloric intake a little would be helpful. Your protein level seems pretty low as well. Try adding more protein (chicken, fish) and natural fats (like those from nuts/seeds, avocados, etc) to your diet. Since you enjoy cooking, try different recipes with natural foods with chicken as a base and go from there. Cooking for yourself makes a HUGE difference. And get your body moving! Build up at your own pace to the point where you get a good sweat.

Ya, eKat's right, it is left up to interpretation. You can find paleo "food lists" online as well. If you're just starting out, a "paleo" diet of just natural foods will do you wonders. I use the primal blueprint which allows cheese, sourcream, cream cheese, and butter as well. I do avoid heavy starches like potatoes and legumes despite them being "natural." When it comes to fruits, I have them earlier in the day to burn off the simple sugars/carbs from them, and veggies are ok all the time for me. For nuts and seeds, I'll eat them as snacks throughout the day. Despite calorie count, my diet of high protein and fat works great for my bod.

Ahhh ok. I'm always interested in things that are outside the box so I thought it would definitely be interesting to hear about folk's own personal experiences. I value tried and true methods more so than what we're told to believe is what's right for us. So thank you for sharing your experiences.

So has anyone heard much about the Eat Right for Your Type eating approach? It's consists of a diet based on one's blood type. Interestingly enough, it explains what I've already figured out on my own for my own body. Being a blood type O, it explains eating natural foods with animal proteins as a focus works most efficiently. So this way of eating actually hits the mark for me. But I wonder if there is anyone else with any experience with this? Here's a quick read from webmd [url=http://www.webmd.com/diet... Right For Your Type[/url]

I completely see what you're saying. People often forget that the source is just as, if not more, important than just the type of nutrient. Anything coming from a natural source is definitely great in my eyes. Highly processed stuff? Not for me. It's tasty, but inefficient as a fuel source. Although I must add, with my experience with the low-carb lifestyle with all protein and fat, I was able to get into the best shape of my life, had huge amounts of energy, blood pressure normalized, and all blood work/liver panel came back golden. That is "anectodal evidence" that for me, cannot be denied.