mark!

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/primal-trail-food/#axzz2PZHapdIu I'm not sure if that'll help you or anyone, but there's some great information in there.

I'm so glad this thread was made. My family and I are huge backpackers and hikers/mountain biking folks. On a weekend we usually ride 25-30 miles of singletrack trails, and take frequent biking/camping trips. We're planning a 3 day hiking trip in September when its not 1000 degrees in Texas. We did the same trip last year in July, hot as hell and wasn't as fun because of the heat. In May we're celebrating our 4 year anniversary and my wife has planned a camping trip for the two of us. No hike in, but a primitive site with plenty of hiking opportunities throughout the area for day hikes. When I was carb cycling in the past to get ready for meets, I loved the carb conscious Supreme Protein bars. 30g protein per bar, 6g NET carbs, and 4g sugar. the do have sugar alcohols so depending on how your body handles them, be forewarned. They never knocked me out of keto in the past, and never gave me the runs unless I ate 4 of them. Like Fiddleman said, Water water water, moreso than ever before. We bought a filtration system so we can collect water from any source. They really do work nicely unless the water is just way too muddy, you'd need a good filter then. It makes it a little more challenging with water sources in places, but I think it's more rugged living off the land. We take camping pans with us, cook up eggs and sausage/bacon by campfire when we go on 2-3 day hikes, no carbs, good source of protein to get the day started. Also carry cheese and pepperoni with me, love it. Also, electrolyte water like Vitamin water, Gatorade G2, or just electrolyte tabs to put in to your water. You can find a lot of low carb electrolyte supplements on runners websites since they're huge on that stuff. As for the when, my doc told me 6 weeks at first, then released me at 4.5 weeks. But after he saw a video of a few trails we maintain and ride frequently, he told me no crazy off road biking until 6 weeks just to be safe.

Haha, man I have to read a book AT LEAST twice to get the picture, my mind wanders off while I'm reading way too much.

My Dr. has restrictions for 4 weeks light cardio, 6 weeks whatever I wanted, however my PA cleared me at 4 weeks via video conference as long as nothing felt bad.

I stalled at week 3 for going on 2.5 weeks, but there was a possible break through this morning, I'm not totally sure, and not going to jinx it, but it's possible I'm over this one, we'll see.

I have this problem with carb loaded meals, even quality carbs, they still just make me feel slow sluggish. It's hard for me to lift or do cardio with anything eaten without about the same time frame as you, I think it may be more common than we think eh? haha

I've never taken a creatine that said I had to use a sugary drink, always thought that was stupid since the workout provides the insulin response I need to move the creatine and such anyhow and it's providing empty calories like you said, it's not a good idea. The only thing I didn't like with monohydrate was having the cycle it from time to time, but that thing again, I never really focused on. I did have problems with monohydrate and Water retention. Most creatines I'm partial to and really really like are flavored. Like ConCret creatine and others like it , its concentrated HCL creatine so there's no loading, and it's micro dosages, only downside is the price compared to monohydrate, it's at least double in many cases. I'm trying kre alkalyn pills right now, a first for me, but they were sent to me to try out and see how they work, so I'm giving them a run and see how it goes.

I know a lot of folks use the Ninja or some other highly expensive blender, I just bought one from walmart for like $20-$30 and it did a great job. I couldn't justify spending $150 on something I knew I wasn't going to use after post op diet because I have a juicer, and a really awesome blender that sucks as a food processor.

Follow this. Quality carbs before, quality protein after. Fasted cardio works for tons of people, but at a non intense state. Working out hard on an empty stomach in most will promote catabalysm and you'll end up burning tons of unnecessary muscle mass, you'll lose weight, but that weight will be the worst kind to lose, muscle. Look at low GI carbs. 70% of your energy starts with carbs, eat some oatmeal or sweet potatoes before a workout. You can google best pre workout carbs and get a ton of ideas, or better yet, click here.

Haha, hmm...what does BCAA NOT do would be an easier question to answer. Anything from feelings of satiety with food and insulin regulation, Calcium uptake, The biggest thing to me that it does is help replenish glycogen stores ASAP when needed. I know you hear me talk about glycogen a lot, and replenishing it and such, but that's a huge key to keeping muscle mass. Once the glycogen is drained during a workout, you start eating at the Protein complex of muscle fibers, thus the loss of overall muscle mass starts to occur. BCAAs will force glycogen in to the muscle instead of having to wait on your liver to produce more. It can fool your body thinking it has the insulin and such it needs to create a more anabolic reaction. The great thing about BCAA is half of them included in the supplement are natural supplements created by your body, just like creatine. I stack my creatine with 4g BCAA before a workout, and then 4g after a workout, and helps a ton with recovery as well. As with anything, just make sure you get a quality BCAA powder and creatine. Creatine monohydrate has created Water retention in some people, me as well, I switched to Kre-Alkalyn creatines, smaller dosages and higher potency, love it. I have been interested in SAN V12 creatine, there are tons of great reviews on it, and a buddy of mine I train with raves about it and he's been in the IFBB circuit for years, Branch Warren, if he says it's good and I see him actually use it, its gotta mean something. Edit to add personal rant abount supplements: all in all man, it's really up to you. I don't take my BCAA every workout, hell I probably take it twice a week? Maybe. I take creatine every single day, and protein of course, but there are so many supplements out there that are PURE junk. Go in to any GNC and they'll start hammering you, "bro...you tried this yet? You'll make all kinds of gains and build 40 pounds of muscle". Chances are, that KID working at GNC knows nothing about the complex compound of pure **** he's trying to sell. Frankly, as a personal rule, I don't buy anything or take advice about lifting from anyone who's calves are smaller than my biceps. Ask any of the sales clerks if they're taking all the products they're trying to push, and they'll say "no, but so and so is". If you have to write down on a sheet of paper everything you're taking, there's a good chance the chemicals and fillers in those supplements are doing more damage than good. It took me a LONG ass time to get my head around basic supplementation. Unless you're taking anabolics, or an extremely high amount of testosterone, there's no need to supplement past creatine, protein, and BCAA if you feel it helps. Along with your multi's, that's it.

Looking at it, it looks decent, amino acids and such. Not sure about some of the claims to retain muscle mass while cutting body fat, that's usually where I draw a line between something that's going to work and something that's just using marketing ploy to draw in customers. With stuff like this it's basically trial and error. Just taking a BCAA supplement works well for me, and it's cheaper than some of the prices I've seen for catalyst. Honestly I can't say one way or another about it because I've never even heard of it until now. I did read where several trainers are pushing the product, makes me thing of 24 hour fitness and their product line of supplements, all their trainers push those things so hard it's pathetic.

I did it for 2 weeks, with some pretty gnarly bruising. I didn't quite understand, I give myself shots weekly with a 26g needle and never bruised like that either intramuscularly or in the sub q fat. And the sting was pretty fun too.

Lifting days I get in anywhere from 800-1000 calories with 110g protein. Cardio days I'm more around 600-700 with 85g protein. 5 weeks out.

I've tried about every brand of shoe. My favorites are Under Armor trainers (mine are 5+ years old and still in good enough condition to go river running and hiking in), and my Mizuno shoes. Try to find a shoe store in your area that will asses your walking pattern and whether your pronate, supinate, or are neutral. Most over weight people have over pronation issues, meaning they land on the inside of their foot with their ankles leaning inward, if you look at past shoes and there is obvious wear to the inside of the sole, that's one sign you over pronate. If that's the case, you can seek out shoes made especially for the issue that cushion the landing to keep from causing more damage and stress on joints. A good shoe store will be able to provide you with a shoe that meets your needs and foot placement during steps. It was the best investment I made in buying a quality shoe that is going to last, and treat my feet right. I went to RunOn! but there may not be one near you, and they didn't charge for the assessment, plus their shoes were comparable to other stores prices.

It wasn't worth it to me to cheat and risk not healing properly or having problems later on down the road.

All I've ever done is get those blister relief bandages and wear them as much as possible, keep it super clean and let it heal. I hated blisters on my feet because I could never stay off them. You may want to get your socks and/or shoes checked out and see if you need something different though. I started wearing padded socks for running and feel tons better.

I get manicures, but I don't let nobody touch my ogre feet. I went once time, and the little lady was complaining about how bad my feet were, haha. My wife and I usually do ours at the house, we have all the stuff and my wife loves doing her own feet instead of paying for someone to do them. I like it a lot, in fact, need to do it this weekend.

Sorry sorry, haven't checked in on this thread, haha. I keep my lifting days completely separated from my cardio days. My cardio day lasts around 30 minutes, and my lifting days last about 1.5 hours or longer. As Mike said, you have to go in to lifting with the same mentality and intensity as running. I've noticeably lost strength, unfortunately, but I honestly expected that. It's just going to happen. Not getting as many calories, and having to take 8 weeks off lifting heavy can take a toll on things. In my past, I've been able to take a month or so break and come back strong and work my way past any barriers, I'm hoping I have the same luck once I start hitting my grooves on my lifts. Look at some of the cross fit elite guys. They look amazing, and have stamina to run marathons in above average times, it's no where near impossible to do. They're not the strongest, but for GPP (general physical preparedness) they can handle anything that comes their way. I'll give up a little strength to be quicker on my feet, and as long as I drop weight to a lower weight class I'll still be good to go.

I'm impressed by them, whatever you're doing, you're doing a damn good job. I think women who have shoulders like that are sexy, for what it's worth.

http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_970.html#entry_requirements According to the official US Gubment website, it's required since March 1 2010. I know some people here say they didn't have one, but I'd have to be stuck in Mexico or denied entry because I didn't have a passport. Just get a passport card, it's quick, and cheaper than an actual passport.

I agree with all of that. I'm so damn afraid of walking in to a support group and experiencing the same thing, I haven't even gone to them yet. I've made my own little group of guys I talk to about progress and such, and haven't bothered with the support groups yet. I doubt there are really enough guys in my area to actually have a mans support group or anything, but it sure would be nice to head out on a lake, do some fishing, and discuss progress.

It looks like just a long muscle head in the delts, and you've been putting in some work that has hit your delts pretty hard. Everyones muscle definition and "size" is different, that's why genetics plays such a huge role in physique competitions (bikini/bodybuilding). My delts are long, and my biceps are shorter, they come up more so than across my arm. If you're honestly worried or don't like it, you can always work on your biceps to bring them up, and forearms (when hitting forearms it'll work your flexors and brachioradialis muscles around your elbow, as well as triceps to complete the arms overall appearance. I've always had big forearms, but have recently been playing with targeting them more often, I've got some results and ideas if you need them for some light weight exercises to target your arms. Pushups and anything where you're lifting anything in front of you will work your delts, could be a multitude of things.

I had a coconut popsicle the other day, about 10 minutes after I started feeling sick. I've had a very minute bit of chocolate, just to see how it makes me feel, no issues from it.

Good here. My wife and I both committed to changing our habits and lifestyles for the better. Now we spend so much more time together doing quality things outdoors and our relationship is on a much better platform before.

I did the first time. The 2nd time I was just asked to leave before I even got to lift because I looked intimidating according to the manager. It definitely is. It's a feel good place to harbor people who are afraid to branch out of their comfort zone. There are some folks there I'm sure who just use it because it's cheap, but I hate that place and all that it stands for. I've not met one person who trains there who would have a job any other place as a trainer. I even hold 24 hour fitness trainers above PF trainers.