"Pa, I really want to eat healthier and take some supplements, what do you suggest for this old diabetic guy?"
NOTE: "Pa" is a term of endeerment used commonly in spanish speaking families, I'm Puerto Rican so its not weird lol.
As you can see my father is diabetic, he has type II -- adult onset diabetes, which results typically from poor eating habits. My dad used to have a serious sweet tooth and it eventually caught up to him. Regardless, my dad was and is in what I consider to be incredible shape for a 55 year old, I mean the guy still has a 6 pack!. He is recently retired from the military s0 being fit for him is a way of life. To this day, he still wakes up each morning and does push ups and situps before going about his business.
My dad took notice of my enthusiasm for health and fitness afew years ago when he saw me for the first time after my initial weight loss but I dont think he really understood how vast my knowledge until after I replied to his email. This is what I wrote:
"I'm really happy to hear that you want to start taking
better care of yourself. Especially because I think you already do such a good
job as it is. So we'll start with basic food principles then move on the
supplements.
1. Drink Only Water - this one is always the first thing I tell people. Granted, you're diabetic so you don’t drink a ton of sugary stuff, but a glass of soda can contain up to 350 calories, ALL from sugar. This also means stay away from most diet sodas and drinks as much as possible as well. While they contain no calories, the sweeteners that are used to flavor them are actually quite harmful to your liver, which is the command center for your metabolism. Again, as a diabetic you should have general knowledge of how your liver controls insulin response, which also has a huge effect on your body storing and creating fat. Lastly, shoot for 64 oz. a day (8, 8 ounce glasses or so) I carry a gallon jug around with me all day. Only drawback, you'll probably pee more lol.
2. If it's white, it aint right - What I mean by that is to
eliminate the big 3 white starches from your diet: White Bread (or anything
made with bleached flour), white potatoes, and white rice. Again the problem
with all of these is your body's insulin response to these refined
carbohydrates. They spike blood glucose levels which causes your body to store
fat instead of using it for fuel.
Some good substitutes are:
Bread - anything with whole GRAIN, not whole wheat, that’s
just a fancy way of saying "the same crap you've been eating". Rye
and pumpernickel are both really good as well. Personally, I don’t each much
bread at all, only for cheat meals, which I'll get into more later.
Potatoes - just substitute one potato for another, try sweet
potatoes instead. They're really easy to make (you can even do it in the
microwave). and taste great with some
cinnamon. They're full of vitamins and
are a great source of complex carbohydrates, the best kind.
Rice - Try brown rice, quinoa (pronounced KEEN-WAH), or barley.
They all can be eaten the same way and are WAAAYYY better for you.
3. Eat fruits and/or vegetables at every meal - it's pretty self-explanatory
and really easy to throw some in with any meal. I buy bags of frozen veggies,
throw em in a big Tupperware container with a couple teaspoons of water, some
herbs and spices and pop em in the microwave for a few minutes to steam, and
couldn’t be easier. Fruits and veggies are important because they're loaded
with all kinds of nutrients that help a variety of things and well, no one has
ever gotten fat because they ate too much lettuce. Veggies have a really low
caloric density, so you can eat more volume-wise and consume fewer calories
than say, a cheese burger. What this means is you feel fuller, and stay fuller,
helping avoid food cravings.
4. Cheaters DO win - allow you some freedom when it comes to
diet. Every week I have 1 cheat meal where I eat and drink WHATEVER i want. It’s
a great shock to your system and has been shown to rev up your metabolism after
a week of calorie restriction. If you cheat once in a while, don’t feel bad. If
you have an occasional craving, indulge it. It when you deny yourself too much
that people fall off the wagon and give up because it's "too hard".
So now on to supplements, I'm going to give you a list of
essentials, and then a list of optionals, it's up to you to decide on those.
1. Multivitamin - there is no arguing here, every person
should take one. Regardless of age, sex, race, religion, etc...We simply don’t
get enough nutrients that we need from the food we eat. Truthfully you would
have to eat a truckload of fruits and vegetables every day in order to get
everything you need; it's simply not physically possible. While not all multis
are the same, they all serve generally the same purpose so you don’t have to
get real expensive here. They make specialty vitamins for women, men, kids,
older people, athletes etc... Based on what they're specific needs are and you
can buy one if you want, but it's not needed.
I also don’t think you need to overload on vitamins all at once, so
while the label will tell you to take 2 a day, with some brands I take 1 a day
or one in the am and one at night before bed.
2. Whey Protein - If you're goal is to build, or even
maintain muscle mass, protein is important. Early in the morning and post
workout your muscles are STARVING for amino acids, whey protein is a quick
dissolving source of them and is perfect to take at these times of the day. If
you don’t feed your muscles, like anything else, they will die. Be careful of
proteins with a lot of sugar, there are a lot of brands out there so take a
look at the labels. Look for something with at least 20 grams of protein per
serving (scoop) and less than 5 grams of sugar. My favorite is Dymatize Elite
Gourmet Protein, it tastes awesome, but it can get pricey at times.
3. Fish Oil - These are a good source of healthy fats which
can actually help your body shed fat, as well as omega-3 fatty acids which are
good for brain health. They also have been shown to improve joint lubrication
for those who have stiff joints or arthritis, I take 2 every morning, the only
drawback is that with some, your burps taste like fish. With these, brand doesn’t
matter much, try and find the cheapest ones you can get.
Optional:
1. Pre-workout supplement - this gives an energy boost and helps
you power through workout. They usually contain caffeine for energy, creatine
for muscle endurance, L-arganine (which makes your forehead tingle a bit when
you take it, this is usually a sign for me that I'm ready to go), and certain
amino acids, which again are the foundation for muscle building. I take one
before every workout. So far my favorites have been Jack3d from USP Labs, C4
from cellucor, and my absolute favorite Assault from MusclePharm.
2. Glucosamine + Chondroitin - This is another joint helper.
It helps maintain, and in some tests, rebuilt cartilage in the joints. This is
especially important if you're older, do heavy lifting (squats, deadlifts
etc...) or are an athlete or runner. It's also been shown to help maintain
flexibility and strength in tendons. Brand here doesn’t matter again, I buy
mine from Costco.
3.Testosterone Booster - Now I know what you're thinking and
no, these are not steroids. The two most important hormones needed to
build/maintain muscle mass are human growth hormone (HGH) and testosterone.
Much of how much your body produces is based on genetics and lifestyle, but you
can help it out. As we age, starting around 30, our bodies slow down production
of testosterone because evolutionarily speaking; we are passed our prime
reproductive age. The booster I recommend is actually an all herbal supplement
called Tribulus. The kinds I have experience with are from the brands Raw Power
and Now Foods. Both of which I bought off amazon for a lot cheaper than in
store.
So that's it as far as beginner food principles and
supplements is concerned. There is a ton more to learn but I don’t want to
overwhelm you as this is enough by itself. The last tip I have for you is to
shop around. Supplements are expensive but if you take advantage of sales,
rewards club memberships and the internet you can save a ton of money. I never
set foot inside a GNC unless it's Gold card week (the first 7 days of each
month) where you save 20% on certain supps. Most of what I buy comes from
amazon or bodybuilding.com. Also, check out company's Facebook pages and
websites, I get tons of free samples all the time.
Hope that helps, if you have any questions, doesn’t hesitate
to ask at any time. This is my passion and what I wanna do for a living so I
always get a kick out of helping people improve their health.
Love you pop,
Rich Jr."
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