How important is physical conditioning to you?

[Reaver]

	Quote:	darthtrader
	Thanks for those links, I was wondering if GNC would have had to lower prices by now with online shops, I'm surprised they are even still in business. I think I'm going to wait to go on a ketosis diet until i lose 30lbs, not until next summer to try to get abs. I'll just go with 2 cups of oatmeal a day for carbs spread out. Something I found that I can still eat oatmeal is to just take 6 or 7 egg whites, throw in some oatmeal then cook it like a pancake. Its pretty good with hot sauce, or at least it doesn't make me want to puke . Something else I found, I learned to make an indian dish a few months ago. You just dice up a huge onion, throw in a pan with olive oil then throw in coriander, cumin, garlic, ginger powder and red chilli powder. Let it brown up, then throw a half cook chicken breast in cutup. When its almost done throw in plain yogurt, its like ghetto chicken tikka masala. If you can find an indian grocer you can get huge bags of the spices for a few bucks each. Throw any other vegetables you want in.

Yeah man I hate GNC. I used to work there about 8 years ago in high school. There was a lot of shady stuff happening there, not to mention mark-ups, etc.

They cannot compete with online retailers...they just have the edge when it comes to advertising and mall exposure, pro endorsements, etc..so they maintain tons of business....

Those recipes sound awesome! I'll have to check out the Indian one for sure...

[Nick1984]

	Quote:	darthtrader
	Thanks for those links, I was wondering if GNC would have had to lower prices by now with online shops, I'm surprised they are even still in business. I think I'm going to wait to go on a ketosis diet until i lose 30lbs, not until next summer to try to get abs. I'll just go with 2 cups of oatmeal a day for carbs spread out. Something I found that I can still eat oatmeal is to just take 6 or 7 egg whites, throw in some oatmeal then cook it like a pancake. Its pretty good with hot sauce, or at least it doesn't make me want to puke . Something else I found, I learned to make an indian dish a few months ago. You just dice up a huge onion, throw in a pan with olive oil then throw in coriander, cumin, garlic, ginger powder and red chilli powder. Let it brown up, then throw a half cook chicken breast in cutup. When its almost done throw in plain yogurt, its like ghetto chicken tikka masala. If you can find an indian grocer you can get huge bags of the spices for a few bucks each. Throw any other vegetables you want in.

Be carefull with a ketosis diet, you'll get lethargic on it. Also don't go trying to kiss any girls cause your breath is gonna stink like crap and so will your trips to the bathroom! On a ketosis diet you have like 0 carbs so I wouldnt have that oatmeal if I were you!

[Reaver]

Yeah ketosis isn't that bad, well, that's actually relative of course. lol

You are generally lethargic the first couple days, then once the ketosis kicks in, things start to get back on track. Lots of research suggests that humans were meant to thrive in ketosis....due to the diet of ancient man, etc.

[darthtrader]

I did a ketosis diet once, I didn't even feel lethargic really. The hardest part for me was just the mental carb cravings before ketosis kicked in. I was doing more an atkins deal then though so when I had a carb craving I would just go and get 3 double cheeseburgers from mcdonalds, toss the roll out of be all good.

Here is the diet I was looking at.
http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=1150209

That has to be so hard mentally. I've read the new thing now is to have feeder days once/bi weekly to get glycogen back into your muscles but I would assume that starts the whole waiting for ketosis over again. I'm sure that diet is hard to top but damn...
Thats basically where I want to tweak that diet with whey/oatmeal to get just enough carbs to stay out of ketosis but restricted enough calorie wise to lose. Then maybe try that diet seriously next april to get abs for next summer.

[darthtrader]

Oh yea, do you guys take creatine at all? I was pretty shocked to see that still talked about. I'm suspious of the entire supplement industry since anything that works seems to get banned by the fda. It was pretty new when I stopped, from what I remember I thought it only worked via water retention in your muscles to give you leverage on lifts but there must be something more to it if its still around.
worth it?

[Reaver]

Creatine definitely works. Just go with a reputable company...I would say if there is one legal non hormonal supplement that works, it is creatine. No questions.

Make sure to drink a bunch of water with it though.

[Nick1984]

I tried it once and yea I definately lifted more on it and had increased muscle volume but I stopped and haven't touched it for a year. I don't think it's necessary at all. After having a good calorie intake with plenty of carbs i had all the energy I needed to lift heavy. Looking back creatine seemed more like a placebo. Also I don't like the idea of putting synthetic stuff into my body. I try to limit the amount of artificial stuff that goes into my body.

Also ketosis diets I'm wary of cause all that meat that you eat can't be good for your colon. Colon cancer is a worry with all that meat slowly rotting inside my bowels.

[Reaver]

	Quote:	Nick1984
	I tried it once and yea I definately lifted more on it and had increased muscle volume but I stopped and haven't touched it for a year. I don't think it's necessary at all. After having a good calorie intake with plenty of carbs i had all the energy I needed to lift heavy. Looking back creatine seemed more like a placebo. Also I don't like the idea of putting synthetic stuff into my body. I try to limit the amount of artificial stuff that goes into my body. Also ketosis diets I'm wary of cause all that meat that you eat can't be good for your colon. Colon cancer is a worry with all that meat slowly rotting inside my bowels.

Yeah I agree with you, but keep in mind that your body synthesizes its own creatine. It's approximated to be about 2g a day, but of course it varies. But hey if your body already makes it, maybe its not the best idea to add more, you know?



Yeah colon cancer is some scary stuff man.

[Nick1984]

A mate of mine had an uncle who was as healthy as an ox. He was a big meat eater and at the age of 45 developed colon cancer. He lasted a year. Being big and beefy looks great but its better to get that way slowly and cleanly instead of putting things in your body that shouldn't be there! My health is more important than anything.

Yea we synthesise around 2g of creatine a day from the foods we eat. Mainly meats. If your adding in 10g a day then you really are flooding your body with it. If you decide to take creatine then stick with monohydrate because it's been around longer and more tests have been done on it. Make sure you drink plenty of water cause creatine will make you bloat if you don't. Some people have reported increased acne with creatine but that varies I guess.

[thetradingdoctor]

Physical conditioning is critical. Studies have shown that one of the best ways to train your brain is to train your body. Oxygen uptake and blood flow increase to the brain when you are actively engaged in exercise. It doesn't have to be hard core, but it should be a regular part of your life. Just walking everyday for thirty minutes helps.

So many traders are just plain out of shape physically. After all, this is a sedentary profession with many hours of sitting and much intense focus. Getting away from the screens, getting into the outdoors or the gym is a welcome respite from this.

Many of you know that I am a competitive athlete, and have been for 25 years. I am not as young as I used to be ( who is?) but I am grateful that I can get out there and compete with the best of them. Now, it is not about winning gold or silver. It is about doing it and the wonderful feelings I have in body and mind when I complete a competition.

If any of you has questions about how much or what kind of exercise might be helpful for you, please do not hesitate to write to me.

Also, part of physical wellness is proper diet and that is another area in which many of us need some assistance.

Trading is a marathon, not a sprint. Preserving capital is more than just financial capital--it is mental, emotional and physical.

It takes a lean, strong horse for a long race.

Thanks!

Doctor Janice