And besides, fat is the most delicious macro group.

Yeah, I'd like to think we're settling in though because most of the current research is "all that wacky and varying stuff people have been saying forever is BS, stick to the basics". Seems like it's gonna be hard for things to shift back in the other direction. But yea I think it's the latter, the internet and stuff made it very easy to assess/analyze/share the efficacy of claims made by programs supp companies diets etc.

In general probably, but until people are taught that major changes can't be bought in a pill, hopium will still be sold.

By itself, no. But it's the GOAT enhancer.

Yeah obv.

Can anyone tell me more about the difference in absorption/digestion of liquid food vs solid food? Is liquid food bad?

more fat (except from veg oils), less fruit imo

Liquid food is digested more quickly than solid. Drinking calories is often referred to as "bad" in the context of weight loss, since this generally won't keep you full as long as the same number of solid food calories.

Drinking a lot of calories is often considered "good" for gaining weight (e.g. Rippetoe's GOMAD (Gallon Of [whole] Milk A Day).

What about the nutrient absorption? The same? No single differences in body composition and metabolism as long as the number of calories stay the same? What about general health effects?

I've been drinking 1500kcal shakes (there's 100gr of peanut butter in there, lots of milk, oatmeal, banana and some whey) for a couple of months now almost daily and I started experiencing muscle spasms/twitching in/around my stomach recently and I'm paranoid it has something to do with those shakes.

Internet says they are harmless though, just uncomfortable.

I'd say it is your body adapting to a totally different kind of digestion. The little guys instead your gut don't have to work as hard. They're restless heh

Thoughts on compression sleeves for my calves?

I've half-assed IF before - not tracking cals/macros too carefully but not eating until after 12pm, eating more carbs on workout days, high protein/low carb other days. Reading the leangains site more carefully now I notice that he recommends it for people with fairly low bodyfat (10 - 12%). I am 25%+ right now so is it worth sticking to properly?

Never mind found an answer to my own question:

"Martin Says that I Should be Fairly Lean to do LG. I'm 20% BF, Help!

So in the original guide it states: I would say 10-12% body fat is an appropriate starting point to pull this off with the greatest efficiency.

This does not mean that it isn't worth at a higher body fat percentage. Simply put, as you get to a lower BF %, it becomes harder to lose that fat. The LG approach can help you break that 10% threshold. LG is still effective even if you are 45% BF."

LG is a very specificIF protocol- 16/8 fast-feed, high-low carb cycling, fasted training, walks, RPT, blah blah.

You don't have to do all that, but if you want to skip breakfast because it helps with your appetite, then just start with that. Use the least amount of "trump cards" initially- keep them for when fat loss slows, or you need to re-open the deficit.

Every person is different, but skipping meals (esp. breakfast) is generally considered to make diet compliance rates lower.

If it's working fine, and you're not like hungry all the time, then maybe it is a good way for you. But, generally I'd think either sticking more strictly to the IF program or eating some protein at breakfast would be more likely to succeed.

FWIW I did IF for a while and you get used to the fasting really really quick, plus you eat less frequent so more kcal per meal = nomzier meals

Yeah, googled around for a few, and changed my mind. Some studies show that if you eat a _healthy_ breakfast, you're more likely to be healthy. ldo.

One from last year took MRIs of some people after skipping their first breakfast ever. Surprise, the picture of a doughnut made them more excited than the people who ate a healthy breakfast. Wow, what crap.

Kind of makes me mad about eggs again, which got the same treatment in reverse. Get on the list of known "bad/good", then correlate all the things on each list with their health without factoring out the correlation among the things on each list. Breakfast is highly correlated with exercise because it's whitelisted...

I wonder if I can get my hands on some raw survey data. I need to practice my statistics skills, anyway.

I wonder how they classify people who stay out all night then wake after noon? Is their first meal "breakfast" or do these people with pretty unhealthy lifestyles get lumped in with breakfast skippers to skew the data.

This^. the fasting actually becomes pretty enjoyable imo. I really like working out fasted, but that may depend for you. All you can really do is try it out and see how it works for you. I dont think having 20ish% body fat is a reason to not try it tho.

the nomizer meals can be pretty awesome too, especially if you go out for them; waitresses faces when i order 3 meals worth of food at once are pretty funny.

I've been IF'ing for well over a year, maaaybe closer to 2 years at this point. Lol @ skipping breakfast -> more calories as a general rule, but I can see some unaware being affected.

More importantly, regarding the BF% comment, I believe that has more to do with recomping and the finer details of the LG protocol. I would be extremely surprised if Martin didn't suggest some kind of general IF protocol to anyone who wanted to lose weight.

lets talk grip:

Where are you guys grabbing the bar for

1. bench
2. overhead press

I'm a complete gym noob. I joined a gym a few months ago and have been doing only cardio since starting. My question -- is it a good strategy / worth it to work with a trainer for a few sessions?

Basically, I'd rather not pay all the money to have a trainer on the regular, but it would be great to be able to say "I'd like for you to show me a few repeatable exercises that I can incorporate into my daily routine at the gym." Is this a reasonable / common request?

My fitness goals are pretty simple -- I'm like 185 with ~20% body fat and for now, I'm just trying to drop fat %.

Thanks!!

I'd say it is a reasonable request. Common? Likely no. Most people get a trainer for more then a few sessions.

Just be clear what you expect of them. Its their job to provide you with what you ask for.

I dunno why there's 2 rings in that picture, but on most barbells there is 1 set of rings, I think... 32 in apart or something?

Regardless, personally for bench press I do pinky on the rings. For overhead press I do shoulder width, shoot for vertical forearms at the bottom, usually about where the knurling ends.

Mediocre,

whatever grip that means you end up with vertical forearms on the bottom of the lifts.