nutrition

[stakehoagy]

Hey,
These are probably a few stupid questions but I would like to get a some things straightened out about diet. I realize how important it is to eat a lot to gain muscle and strength but does it have any negative health benefits. For example, i am sure you are aware of the studies done on rats that support calorie restriction can increase longevity. What does this mean for the strength trainer? I am wondering if the high calorie diet for gaining is in fact healthy for the strength trainer. Thanks very much and pardon the studpidity of my question.

[Mark Rippetoe]

You want to be strong, or old?

[tongzilla]

You want to be strong, or old?

LOL.

Are they mutually exclusive?

[Mark Rippetoe]

Not really, but eating for longevity will keep you from getting bigger, so as a goal eating for longevity precludes productive strength training.

[Gant Grimes]

The study you refer to is often cited by people that use intermittent fasting (IF) as part of their nutrition program. Done properly, some of its benefits include nitrogen sparing (due to an increased amount of fat calories), increased protein utilization (the body becomes more efficient out of necessity), and reduced insulin resistance (possibly the most beneficial health aspect of any program).

I'm not going to discuss the effects of eating 5000+ calories a day when you weigh 130 pounds, but at some point you're going to get tired of all that damn chewing.

And to answer your next question, yes, you can get stronger on IF. I sure as hell have.

[Ganondorf]

If you eat so little as to help with longevity, you will get so hungry you can't stand it. Only way to eat for longevity with having an adequate diet is to be a completely sedentary individual. I would rather be healthy and strong and still live pretty long than be an older bed-ridden individual too weak to roll over. It is my personal belief that exercise and good diet is more essential to longevity than eating less. A fair amount of people's health problems when they are older appear to me to be diet and exercise related. Being sedentary isn't a natural function for a person.

[guni]

Most of the doctors that tout this sort of bullshit are vegans that look like shit. It amazes me that people still bother listening to this.
Who gives a shit about living to 100 instead of 80.

I'd rather die at 70 after spending a life bettering myself, than live til 100 only to realize that I just wasted a century.

But fuck it, lets not strain ourselves too much and actually run the risk of accomplishing something in life. Who needs that sort of hassle, right?

[Ganondorf]

The idea of eating less for longevity makes me think that some people were so incredibly lazy that they tried to figure out a way to live longer without exercising. If someone was that lazy... I'd better not voice my opinion.

[Dan F.]

Really I think there aren't scientific studies showing what improves longevity...

There are scientific studies that demonstrates that some habits are unhealthy (like drinking too much alcohol, smoking many cigarettes etc.): longevity is overall genetics (and good luck...) in fact, for example, there are populations in some valleys of Caucasus that are extremely longeve, males too, skinny and chubby people, all of them reach very often 100 years and more. In general they are rural people and not sedentary - but this like many other populations in the world that has not the same longevity.