Alex_uk: 40 years in the making

[KonsuTheTraveller]

@Andrewgen_Receptors

And if you’re anything like me, you can eat rice with very little added to it for seasonings. Or at least, whatever you add has very few calories.

Pasta? Parmesan cheese is a requirement.

I’m the same way lol. I’ve always had an on and off shit diet but in the last year or so I’ve made big strides to try and clean it up and I noticed rice is absolutely the easiest carb source for me to get down. Zero seasoning required.

After months of bulking when it’s a struggle to even think about food, especially at the end of the night, it’s like I can just keep slowly feeding off of it no matter how full and uncomfortable I get. I always manage to finish my meal. Any other carb source and I just can’t do it. Unless it’s a sugar bomb. I’ll quit halfway through or overshoot my surplus.

[dagill2]

@alex_uk

The bodybuilding world seems to have venerated rice, and shunned pasta, but a 10 second Google suggests that pasta is lower GI

I think its because who the fuck is eating dry, reheated pasta without sauce? I think its much easier to imagine getting a big pile of rice, slapping some broccoli and chicken breast on the side and calling it a meal than doing the same to pasta.

[alex_uk]

@QuadQueen

brown rice

The anti nutrient thing a non-issue? I was hoping that it was an issue because I’ll be honest I can’t see me ever going to brown rice, it’s like the extra joyless version of rice (which isn’t exactly the most joyful thing to start with!).

@BrandonCrawford

eat other carbs than potatoes

Haha, if this wasn’t a public forum I’d post my surname… Irish heritage, my ancestors would be turning in their graves! But honestly I’m an easy carb lover, not met a carb I didn’t enjoy (yea except brown rice).

@T3hPwnisher

wheat’s association with “leaky gut syndrome

I wonder again, is/was this really a thing or just one of those trend health things?

@T3hPwnisher

That said, when I deviate, it’s with pasta, as I seem to handle it well

Good to know I’ve got good company.

@Andrewgen_Receptors

Pasta cannot be made without fats.

I’ll be honest I’ve never paid much attention, but looking at it now, the dried pasta (not fresh…I’m British), in the UK it looks like it’s literally just processed wheat:

@Andrewgen_Receptors

Pasta? Parmesan cheese is a requirement

This is true (but cheddar…still British).

@Andrewgen_Receptors

I can put down 1,000cals worth of pasta in a sitting and want more.

Yea this is true again, something I’d not really considered, but last night I couldn’t stop eating it (even the cheeseless stuff).

@Andrewgen_Receptors

Potatoes are an even better option with respect to satiety, but using them as a primary carb source will have you backed up like nothing else.

Yea, definitely a better choice, back to my roots (never have the issue you mentioned, might have to try 3x per day see if it really is a genetic propensity for potatoes!).

@KonsuTheTraveller

Zero seasoning required

Salt? I don’t even salt my rice when cooking, but I thought I’d be pretty rare in that.

@dagill2

I think its because who the fuck is eating dry, reheated pasta without sauce?

True.

@dagill2

I think its much easier to imagine getting a big pile of rice, slapping some broccoli and chicken breast on the side and calling it a meal than doing the same to pasta.

Again very good point pasta doesn’t work without sauce.

[Friedrich]

Rice is easier on my digestion. I am not gluten intolerant, nor do I have celiac. But rice just works easier. I could not tell you why.

[T3hPwnisher]

@alex_uk

Again very good point pasta doesn’t work without sauce.

Your children are far less picky eaters than my own, haha. I also grew up with a best friend that lived off sauce-less pasta.

I use the same pasta you use as well: just durum wheat semolina.

I wonder again, is/was this really a thing or just one of those trend health things?

I don’t have near the scientific background to be able to say. There’s compelling arguments on either side, of course.

[Stormblessed]

@Andrewgen_Receptors

And if you’re anything like me, you can eat rice with very little added to it for seasonings. Or at least, whatever you add has very few calories.

Pasta? Parmesan cheese is a requirement.

This is why I lean towards rice. Pasta I’m automatically having cheese and red sauce on it and can eat 1000cals in 10 seconds.

[QuadQueen]

@alex_uk

The anti nutrient thing a non-issue?

It’s majoring in the minors… The brown version offers some fiber and few vitamins and minerals that white doesn’t, and it digests more slowly (because of the fiber).

Unless you’re eating a shit-ton of it (bodybuilder-style), the anti-nutrient thing isn’t a huge deal. Potatoes have anti-nutrients too, as do many foods. For most people though, there are more pressing dietary issues that need to be addressed… lol

[KonsuTheTraveller]

@alex_uk

Salt? I don’t even salt my rice when cooking, but I thought I’d be pretty rare in that.

Nah. I love plain rice enough that I genuinely do crave it just like that. Dunno if that’s just because I’m asian lmao

[T3hPwnisher]

@KonsuTheTraveller

Dunno if that’s just because I’m asian lmao

My wife has Korean ancestry and is exactly the same. We have rice at every meal, and she’s watched me eat entire meat loafs and pot roasts before and remarked “the way you feel about meat: that’s how I feel about rice. The only difference is you look like how you look when you eat like that, but if I ate rice like that I’d be a blimp”

[KonsuTheTraveller]

@T3hPwnisher

eat entire meat loafs and pot roasts

Dude that’s funny as hell because those are two things my wife loves to eat. Also seafood lol. She’s got British ancestry.

Asia gets so complex and its so diverse depending on the regions, I don’t know what the cuisine difference is like for Korea but i’d assume its pretty similar. I grew up eating a lot of Meat and Rice, not so much vegetables. My grandma would always make Laap using Beef or when my Uncle could bring it home it’d be venison. We’d just use our hands and scoop it with Sticky Rice. My grandpa really liked squirrel, I had that alot as a kid. My grandma would make this Lao Beef Jerky with Sesame, it’s nothing like the American Version at all, fucking A+.

I would like to visit the entirety of Asia at some point. It’s on my dream bucket list.

[OTay]

@QuadQueen

It’s majoring in the minors… The brown version offers some fiber and few vitamins and minerals that white doesn’t, and it digests more slowly (because of the fiber).

This is also “majoring in the minors”. Rice is a carb source, and the easiest to digest would be better to use. Few people are eating rice alone, and the accompanying food will slow the digestion of the rice.

Per cup cooked, the difference in minerals is less than 100 mg at most for a couple. The biggest difference is the fiber, but if you’re already eating fruits and veggies, what’s the point of getting an extra 3 grams of fiber per cup?

[simo74]

@alex_uk

Again very good point pasta doesn’t work without sauce.

My son likes to eat plain pasta, No sauce. He will add some cheese sometimes. If my wife cooks meatballs we cook his meat ball and take it out the pan before the sauce goes in and he has a dry meat ball on dry pasta. Don’t know of this is an ADHD thing but that boy just doesn’t like sauce.

[QuadQueen]

@OTay

but if you’re already eating fruits and veggies

This is the “black box”. There are a lot of people that just don’t also eat fruits and veggies, so 3 grams extra is better than 0 grams total.

But you’re not wrong, the overall difference is minimal, but I take any wins I can get with my clients.

[alex_uk]

27/03/25 -197

Zombie squats - paused: 20, 40, 60, 80kg x 5

Paused zombie squats 80kg x 5

Deads: 60, 80, 100, 120kg x 5

Deads - 120kg x 5

Low inc bench: 60, 80, 90, 100kg x 5

Low inc bench 100kg x 5

Spider curls: 10kg x 20, 15, 12, 8, 10.

Good session, short and sharp with progress and no pain… Apart from the spider curls, which were close to a rest pause with the very limited rest I took, hence the reps dropping off, painful in the good way, pumped guns.

Thanks again to @Koestrizer for the guidance, those paused zombies are nasty!

Thanks as well to all the conversations, particularly around the food stuff, sorry if I’ve not replied, very much appreciated reading it all though.

[dagill2]

@simo74

Don’t know of this is an ADHD thing but that boy just doesn’t like sauce.

Definitely could be. My lads neurodivergent and will very happily eat dry bread. Sauce, or basically any food that isn’t dry and beige is hard work.

[simo74]

Good to know mate, it makes meal times very frustrating, especially when we are trying to make him eat more.

[alex_uk]

28/03/25 - 197

Usual morning walk, well barely morning, pretty much noon, absolutely dragging today.

Lunch (chicken curry)

Afternoon training:

Warm up lifts (rehab things as per my favourite German’s recommendation). They didn’t come with English names so I’m coining them:

Sumo seated forward bends: 10kg x 8 x 3 sets

Gladiator deadlift stretch: 7.5kg x 3 x 3 sets

Zombie squats paused: 60, 80, 90kg x 3 (well 3ish…the last one was crossed with a Zerchers!)

Paused zombie squats: 90kg x 3(ish)

A1) seated OHP: 40, 60, 70, 80kg x 3, 60kg x 13 & 4 into 40kg x 9, 6 (RP 5 breaths between same weights, 5 breaths and weight change between the 60 and 40).
A2) seated cross body cable row: 20, 30kg x 10, 40kg x 10 x 3 sets (each side, obvs)

Seated OHP 80kg x 3

Still just messing around until I’m happy to start pushing the deads and squats again.

Weight has been pretty static, I’ve not really back so that’s hardly surprising, still the same solid single ingredient stuff, but I’m eating 3 sometimes 4 meals a day plus, 2 sometimes 3 snacks a day (not 4 meals and 3 snacks in the same day).

My body is clearly actively working again me at this stage, I’m tired from lack of sleep and a hard week, but I’m not sure it warrants the deep lethargic feeling I have, assuming my body is trying to slow me down and reduce BMR.

I’m really only aiming for 7-10lbs more 57 days to get there, 1lb a week, last push, 8 weeks, just get it done.

Nothing drastic though, I’m not going to sabotage myself. Back to plotting the 7 day moving average and a slightly reduced portion in my meals, keeping it to 3 meals and 2 snacks. Need to push the walking back up distance wise, it’s probably 1.5 miles per day at the moment, whereas I was hitting 2.5 miles regularly. That’ll probably do it. If I get to 6 weeks out and nothing has changed I’ll do it the bodybuilder way and start weighing, tracking and adding some LISS in with the walking.

@simo74 and @dagill2 - I do believe there is probably something in the neuro diverse food avoidance. I think the issue could be for some sensory. Sensory processing disorder isn’t recognised in the UK, but I think it is in the US, and links in with the neuro diverse spectrum (usually people with ND have more than one area of diversity from my basic understanding).

[alex_uk]

@T3hPwnisher just moving over here to not clog @unicornsandrainbows journal.

@T3hPwnisher

(Hello “My 600lb life”). You run off THAT fuel source, and you can go for a LONG time.

That got my brain thinking. If you say the average 600lb person has 400lbs fat mass, that’s over 181000 grams of fat, if that’s 9 cals of stored energy, that’s over 1.6m calories, Google tells me that the average marathon burns 2.5-3.5k cals, allowing for a larger person to be the top end and ignoring any adaptations, that means a 600lb person could run 465 marathons, without eating!

(If my extremely rough maths is anywhere near correct, and yes for any pendants - I’m aware that 600lb people aren’t going to be able to run a single marathon).

[T3hPwnisher]

That same dude, Alex McDonald, said something to the effect that he had an estimated 22 full fasted marathons of fuel on him, so you’re not fully off with this speculation. It boils down more to injury prevention and fatigue management than it does a fueling issue.

But yeah, this is one of the many reasons we’re the top of the food chain. Our bodies are CRAZY adaptable.

[KonsuTheTraveller]

I hate the theatrics involved in shows like that. There’s something about it that rubs me the wrong way. I feel sorry for those individuals (not because of the choice they made TO get to that point) but because of the underlying issues that are fueling the extremely addictive and unhealthy coping mechanism, it’s a beast that is hard to beat alone, especially when it’s gone that deep.

It’s also sad because they are usually stuck with enablers (I never understood the appeal of this, would this technically be actively contributing to someone’s death?? This brings up a really good question I never thought about until now…). Or they just treat their caregivers like shit.