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jewels · 01-01-2008, 05:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ratman

The popular media and fitness trainers would have us all believe we can look like Arnold.

And I believe it's the media who'd have us believe "it's not our fault" and we "can't do a thing about genetics". There's no magic pill. There's no one to blame but ourselves. There may very well be a gene that gives one a a propensity towards obesity, but that doesn't mean we're helpsless (no cure) and it's a necessary outcome. Personally, I doubt that it's genetic, more likely upbringing and styles of familial cuisine and lack of exercise.

Quote:

For individuals attempting to achieve fat loss for aesthetics, the intensity of weight training can be a double edge sword. When beginning an exercise program, muscle mass increases may out pace fat losses, resulting in a small initial weight gain. Significant fat loss requires a certain intensity, duration, and frequency that novice exercisers may not be able to achieve until they develop greater tolerance to exercise. If an exercise and nutrition program is not adequate for significant fat loss, a lighter weight with higher repetitions may be recommended to minimize any bulking effects, although less fat may be utilized hours later. If an aerobic exercise and nutrition program is sufficient enough to lose fat, a moderate repetition range with a progressively heavier weight will accelerate fat loss with a toning effect. If a muscle group ever outpaces fat loss, the slight bulking effect is only temporary. For a toning effect, fat can be lost later when aerobic exercise can be significantly increased or the weight training exercise(s) for that particular muscle can be ceased altogether. The muscle will atrophy to a pre-exercise girth within months. Higher repetitions training may be later implemented and assessed.

http://www.exrx.net/WeightTraining/Myths.html
http://www.exrx.net/FatLoss/WTCalLBWStudy.html

Also:

Quote:

The set-point theory holds that we all have an internal weight regulator, like a thermostat, that adjusts our metabolic rate up or down whenever we gain or shed pounds in order to return our body to its predetermined weight. Undoubtedly, some controls do exist or we would all be obese, or, alternately, wasting away, says Roland Weinsier, M.D., chair of the department of nutrition sciences at the School of Medicine at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. But studies show that when we lose weight, our metabolism actually shifts to a normal rate for that new weight, independent of individual differences. People nevertheless embrace the theory to blame their bodies, rather than their own behavior, for their weight-loss failure, says Weinsier.

http://psychologytoday.com/articles/...01-000017.html

You can be what you want to be, as long as you're willing to work for it.