It seems like everyone that I talk to that works out, knows nothing of nutrition. When they ask what I use, I tell them I eat so many cals., use flax oil, olive oil, and so many grams of protein and carbs depending on if bulking or cutting. They never heard of flax oil and can not tell me how much they eat. Just today I went to a new supplement store and the guy didn’t know jack. He was pretty big but when I asked him for fish oils he says he just takes a couple of EFA pills and that’s all. I told him I use flax seperately and he asked why and told me I should take the combined pills so I don’t have to worry about all that. He also tried to tell me Flax was a omega 6 oil. He also tried to sell me a lot of other stuff like a fat burner with just ephedra in it. Do most of you all experience things like this? I don’t know one person who eats like me or who knows anything about nutrition. It’s just amazing that they will workout and not try to find out anything to better their physique and wonder why they don’t make progress.
Welcome to the club lol…yeah people are pretty ignorant when it comes to diet and nutrition. I have a degree in the field and all my professors looked like cows…moooooooooo eat lots of carbs mooooooooo only need 15% protein of total calories moooooooo lol what the fuck ya know…but man i am a trainer now and all these people come to me and bitch about their piss on results…then ask me whats wrong…first thing i ask is what are u eating…most of them look at me confused…and yes most stores that sell supplements are morons and think all there products are God sends and work as good as drugs…i use to work at one…the owner looked like shit then and still does…it is really sad man…but if you ever have someone ask for help be sure to tell em about how to eat…good luck dude and keep lifting and EATING RIGHT lol
I feel your pain, brother…boy do I ever! I work in a health food store that is commonly known by three letters, and the overall level of ignorance just absolutely slays me. Obviously not everyone is going to be a world-class expert but it’s pretty sad. People are generally unwilling to listen. In the six years I’ve been with the company one, count em, one customer has ever even heard of T-Mag, and that was one of the most delightful discussions I’ve had. I’ve written down the website address for so many people yet few if any bother to check it out. I honestly get so bored with my job…I feel I could be doing so much more for people with my working knowledge of insulin sensitivity (thanks JB), differences between the various proteins, EFA’s, antioxidants etc. but noone around here wants to hear it. They just want their fat burner and they’re out the door. What’s even sadder is that most of the people within the company don’t know much either, and that goes for a lot of the other stores I’ve been into as well. For most, it’s all about the benjamins…selling the higher margin stuff to make your commissions. As an aside…our former sales rep for an extremely popular company also known by three letters has gone to work for Biotest, and now we have a solid hookup to hopefully get the line into our store. Hell, I’ve only been on these guys for the last year to get Biotest in. I ordered some Low Carb Grow for a coworker and he loves it, so now I’ve got a little support.
It’s really called “common sense”. Now, I know many of you may balk at that and say…“but, what about…” and “you also have to know about…” - however, the average person IS NOT checking out T-Mag regularly. Nor are they working out regularly. BUT you don’t need to be obsessed about your health and fitness to know just the basics of good nutrition. People don’t realize that. When I’m at work and munching on a snack of plain chicken breast, the people who see this and grimmace as they say…“well, I’m not into all that fitness stuff as you are…” They don’t realize it’s really all about quality of my life that I’m concerned over. Which is where nutrition is about for me. I deserve good foods - not crap. I also do not talk to the people behind the counters at supplement stores. Don’t go in 'em anymore, too. Cuz of the internet, we can rely on our knowledge and gumption for knowledge to order online and save us the horror.
For what it’s worth, flax oil does contain omega-6. But the ratios are roughly 3 parts omega-3, 2 parts omega 6 and 2 parts omega-9 (monounsaturated). Pumpkin seed oil is probaby the best source of quality omega 6 and 3 for men because it also contains the phytosterols that help with proper hormonal balance and prostate care. Most importantly, stay the hell away from hydrogenated oils (margarine) and deep fried foods!!! If you can, get your hands on the book “Fats That Heal…” by Udo Erasmus. Great book, even if he doesn’t address the fish oils adequately. Also, go to the Weston Price Foundation site and check out Sally Fallon’s articles about fish oils. I hope this helps…
I work in a hospital and you would be blown away at how little health care profesionals know about nutrition. So I feel your pain. We constantly waste IVs because doctors change the amount of dextrose or protein by as little as 10 grams.
Max
I know the feeling…I was in GNC the other day, and had to refrain myself from smashing the clerk after she tried to explain to me the merits of “Eat Right For Your Type”…oh god!!! I’ve come to realize that the majority of people are only capable of focusing on a limited number of areas, myself included. Generally, people are not in tune with their motivations or desires, and therefore tend to deceive themselves as to what they really want to achieve. While you or I may not understand why a person would decide to workout without learning even the basics of exercise and nutrition, these same people may wonder why we don’t put much energy into other areas of our lives. I guess it all comes down to priorities, and most people aren’t sure what their’s are. I just wish they would stop bitching about it all of the time.
Diet is hard to get hold of.For college student like myself,it’s hard because of the precise numberings.So I can’t really give much thought into it,only to hope I do some things right.Gosh I hate this headache.Anyway.
I keep contemplating on whether I should get a thermogenic or not but the only thing that keeps me from getting one,is knowing my diet is not at all great because I cannot calculate necessary things to make it work.
Can I ask one more thing from T-mag? Can u all just add links of all the new diets that came out after the diet manifesto article?It’s easy to give 1 link that shows it all to ppl who need help.
I feel you’re pain man, I was just lamenting the other day about feeling like I’m surrounded by morons at the gym. Some people know so little it’s amazing, like “protien powder makes by belly fat,” or “creatine will make your spleen explode man(!?!)” damn. I also work in a nutrition store Rocket, but most people there seem more receptive to nutrition advice, so I usually talk about basic stuff like “eat 5-6 meals a day” “try to eat X amount of protien with each meal” “try to reduce or eliminate prcessed carbs” etc… , but ya got to start somewhere I guess. My boss is really good at making people aware of nutrition and getting them to try to change, and I think the key is she talks to them just above a level they can understand, then explaining it in laymens terms, which is what I try to do(of course her physique helps, she used to be a national level NPC competitor). Sometimes looking like you know what you’re talking about helps I think, but lots of people still listen to me, and I only look like an athletic, sorta built, 17 year old.
I think that there are definately more uneducated retards out there than any of us realize. I was out with some friends from work and they brought some guy I never met before. He was pretty big in the shoulders but the rest of him looked like he was on a 3 year bulking cycle. He flexed his arm at me and nothing moved or changed, I mean NOTHING!! And to top the whole thing off he was wearing a supplement t-shirt. We are all dressed in our leather jackets and nice pants, it’s like -15 celcius outside and this dork has just the t-shirt on. Then when he was commenting on the way I was proportioning the stuff I ate and was ordering extra steamed veggies I told him about my ratios of carbs to protein and how I would either order some fish or just take some oil pills he looked at me like I was speaking Greek! Then after he sees me take my jacket off and realizes that I know something about what I am saying he says, “How often do you work out? If I don’t workout every day I freak out and work twice as hard the next day!” Needless to say that ended that conversation and I labelled him a meathead. And don’t even get me started on those people who work at the nutrition stores!! I see one fellow on here does but I think he may be the one of the five educated ones world wide who do. Anyhow, just me spouting, but at least you know your not alone my friend.
Gotta go with Kenneth on this one; this stuff can be confusing and hard. To REALLY get a handle on things takes a little math (including fractions!)…some basic knowledge of nutrients and caloric calculations, etc. This kind of stuff can be pretty intimidating AND confusing. But I don’t mind honest inquiry…as a matter of fact, I love to teach and help out the person with an honest desire to learn. That being said, there are three “types” that tend to irritate me a bit:
1)The “know-it-all” about workouts and nutrition that as SOON as they open their mouth you know that they don’t know a carb from a fat.(…“shit, man…that Vitamin C didn’t do NUTHIN’ for me man…it’s crap, man…”)
2)The person with the “luxury” of having gone through life eating what they want, training very little, but with a body that most of us would kill for. (We all knew a few in High School, huh?). These guys are usually the ones giving ME (and the rest if us) advice on “how I’m making it too complicated”. Bite me…
3)The person who doesn’t even BOTHER to read or study, but just wants things handed to them. They are also usually the ones looking for that “quick fix”.
In the end…give me that person that has studied this stuff but are still confused…and we can have a good time learning from each other. And believe me…I’m still learning…
Mufasa nailed it! Well said! Also, have you ever noticed that when someone says, “I’ve been doing a lot of research and I’m no newbie, but I was wondering…” and then procedes to say something that tells you this person is a total newbie that’s done little to no research? I see that a lot on the roid forum, which is scary.
Mufasa, your no. 2 is the type I hate the most. I used to know a guy that had an awesome body and trained and ate like shit. He looked like Flex Wheeler when he was a teenager-wide shoulders, tiny hips and waist, the longest muscle bellies I’ve ever seen. Anyway the guy was permanently at 7% bodyfat, but not that big. He was asking me and my training partner how to get a little bigger, so we told him to eat more protein. His diet-canned peaches & toast for breakfast, sandwiches for lunch, baked beans for dinner. We suggested he buy a protein powder and use it 3-4 times a day. When we next saw him, the guy was a few kilos heavier and even LEANER. He told us he had been using protein powder and it had really helped. We asked him the name of the protein powder. His reply-“Um, I think it’s called Carboplex”.
Who said genetics weren’t everything?
I’m glad I’m not the only one that realizes this. Mufasa I agree with you about the types that aggrivate. I personally hate your type one. They just talk like they know everything but they don’t know jack. I know I don’t know everything and for that reason I don’t talk like I do. The type 2 also bothers me because they barely do anything right, while I am busting my butt in the gym and calculating everything I eat just to get leaner. They eat junkfood and still stay leaner than me.
On Monday I went into the on-site health clinic at work for my annual tuberculosis test. The two over-fifty nurses made a joke about me not having enough body fat to inject the stuff into on my forearm. One asked me, “Do you take supplements?” I proudly said, “Yep” and smiled. They both went off on me, telling me how I was damaging my kidneys with all that extra protein. I was fuming inside, thinking these are supposed health care professionals. I only managed to respond, “You don’t want to go into that debate with me. Apparently I am more educated than you in that area.” They both just looked at me, stunned that anyone would say such a thing to them. One eventually said something about waiting until my next physical and what my kidney function comes out to be. I told them to save their dieting advice for all the over-weight, high blood pressure having diabetics in the building and walked out. Ahhh, it must be wonderful to be ignorant and oblivious.
You know, the saddest thing aboiut your experience in the clinic is that those same “health care professionals” would probably never even THINK of saying ANYTHING negative to a morbidly obese person. Anybody ever notice that the groups of people that get the most attention for all of their supposedly “negative” eating habits, whether it’s people on high protein/high fat diets or whatever, are the SMALLEST MINORITES when compared to the general population!?! Last year the US government released its own statistics which showed that 55% of americans over the age of 30 are CLINICALLY OBESE. Fat people have become the MAJORITY! And yet all the focus of bullshit is put upon those of us that try to take care of ourselves. It’s what Ayn Rand once dubbed “the hatred of the good, for being the good” in an essay called The Age Of Envy. Just thinking about this kind of attitude makes me feel like I’m going to puke…