question.......

just wanted to add another twist in here- say you stay under your 1200 + workout cals, everyday you workout for an hour at 5am, then go to work(sedentary), have a 400 cal lunch, work, then go thome (sedentary) then eat the rest of your cals(800+) around 8pm, then go to be at 9:30. I've heard that it's SO BAD to eat late at night like that b/c you don't burn those cals.... and bad to eat a lot all at once no matter what time of day b/c you're not "fueling your body" for the next few hrs, it's like an overload.... thoughts?

personally I feel it's a bad Idea for ANYONE in the normal height range to eat 800 calories in one meal. Most people's body's can not burn 800 calories fast enough to warrent this. Your body can only burn a certain amount of calories at any given time.

If your body processes the calories faster then your body can burn them, then you have excess calories, which in almost every case, is converted to fat. This is why we so recommend having 5 or 6 smaller meals throughout the day. Add to that the fact that the metabolism slows when sleeping, and you have a bad combination for late night calories.

i think this is where it gets interesting...i think metabolism is key: my brother eats like a pig and has nothing but fast/junk food EVERY DAY...i think he said the last time he ate a whole day of good food was two years ago, and he's RIPPED because he runs 20 miles a week, lifts four days, does cardio three days for only 30 min, and all of this is done in an enjoyable fashion with no real intensity. he's been eating like this his whole life.

I would like to see your brothers Cholesterol and Glycemic level, not to mention his blood pressure... just because someone looks Ripped on the oustide doesnt mean their insides are not rotting...

your overall health is not just how you look (oustide)... it has many many many variables that go along with it... you have over hundred organs and glands in your body and each one performs a function, and what you eat directley affects 50% of those organs/ glands... you heard about some of the strongest men in the world (Power lifters)? most of them have calcium crystals in their blood, because their body can not keep up with the amount of protien they are taking in... they do not drink enough water to balance and their kidneys are working 1000% harder than it should be... they are killing thier kidneys just to look ripped... everything has its price...

Here here T! My brother is the same way, 6' 4" 185 lbs, skinny, looks like he is in great shape, but he eats crap, and thinks he can get away with it because he's a master carpenter, has an active lifestyle, and looks like the picture of health.
BUT
Last year had his cholesterol checked, and was OFF the charts high on his bad cholesterol, basically his arteries were littered with plaque, and he was at high risk of heart disease. So don't get too enthralled by skinny people, they can have food issues just like the rest of us. I can tell you right now that even though my body fat is now about the same as his ( about 11%) I am FAR healthier than he is.

That is what i was trying to say even if he looks great on the outside doesnt mean his arteries are not coated with tryglicerides and plaque... and just because ONE person can pull it off doesnt mean that that one person is teh norm in fact thta one person is probablay 1/ 1,000,000 people whos body can handle that extreme for that long of a time... however I doubt the governemnt is worried about his tryglicerides or his glycemic index as most people over look these...

i think this is where it gets interesting...i think metabolism is key: my brother eats like a pig and has nothing but fast/junk food EVERY DAY...i think he said the last time he ate a whole day of good food was two years ago, and he's RIPPED because he runs 20 miles a week, lifts four days, does cardio three days for only 30 min, and all of this is done in an enjoyable fashion with no real intensity. he's been eating like this his whole life.

I would like to see your brothers Cholesterol and Glycemic level, not to mention his blood pressure... just because someone looks Ripped on the oustide doesnt mean their insides are not rotting...

your overall health is not just how you look (oustide)... it has many many many variables that go along with it... you have over hundred organs and glands in your body and each one performs a function, and what you eat directley affects 50% of those organs/ glands... you heard about some of the strongest men in the world (Power lifters)? most of them have calcium crystals in their blood, because their body can not keep up with the amount of protien they are taking in... they do not drink enough water to balance and their kidneys are working 1000% harder than it should be... they are killing thier kidneys just to look ripped... everything has its price...

You're not going to live long with calcium crystals in your blood. Give it about a minute and it hits your heart, and then you go into cardiac arrest, etc. I'd like to hear where you heard this about 'most powerlifters'. I'm not one for anecdotal evidence. You might be confusing this with the fact that too much protein can lead to calcium excretion due to increased urine acidity. It's remedied by getting sufficient dietary calcium. Renal clearance has remained normal in studies where participants ate 2.8g/kg of bodyweight or less. For a 200 lb guy, that's 254 grams per day. That's a LOT of protein.

What we eat DOES have an effect on us, hormonally. But the point at which it becomes a risk is very individual. Some people have trouble absorbing cholesterol, or they're sedentary, or they eat a lot of trans fats (margarine, which used to be 'healthy'). You have to be active to use up the little globules that represent your LDL and HDL cholesterol--they're actually like little boats carrying triglycerides to your cells, and you use those trigs up when you're exercising. All of these things can increase cholesterol levels. You can eat a healthy diet and, if you're unable to process cholesterol properly, your total cholesterol will still be through the roof. Some people have excellent insulin sensitivity and relatively low blood sugar (mine, for example, is around 70 even after eating), so eating 50% of their carbohydrates from non-whole grains (this is the RDA, btw) is totally fine and might even make them feel better. Why? Genetics. Genetics loads the gun, and you pull the trigger. This is why it's important to get blood tests, to know your family history, and to stay active. Someone who exercises regularly will have excellent insulin sensitivity and lower cholesterol because they're using those functions to their maximum potential on a regular basis.

So, yes, you are what you eat. But you also are what you are. Get to know YOURSELF really well before you assume that something will work for you because it works for someone else.