RE: Question for Maribeth re: B Rx--Maribeth Here
Hi Maribeth!
The specifics (if I were specific enough, I'd restate the whole book! So I'll try to condense it) are that there are daily quotas for protein and for fiber, and a daily ceiling for starchy carbs. The author divides each macronutrient into green, yellow, and red. Green proteins are proteins you can eat as much as you want. Yellow means caution, red means eat it once a year or so. Like a traffic light. Fats are included too.
Yellow carbs are, for example, corn, sourdough bread, white potatoes-- i.e. starchy carbs. Green carbs on the other hand are fiber-containing, such as apples, Fiber One cereal, and green peppers. Yellow carbs are okay, according to the author, just up to a certain daily limit which he specifies in his book.
It's actually a great way to quickly categorize foods and a great way to stimulate creative juices for the art of meal planning. It's a nice organized way to eat right and still get full and satisfied on a daily basis.
The author says exactly the same thing you do about the relative benefits of strength training: if you have limited time, go for strength.
For my own application, though, what is "limited time?" I have one hour five days a week. I am doing his heavy four day split and loving it (it's something new!) and only one day of cardio and loving that as well.
He says "You can do cardio if you like it, it's just not necessary for the program." His program was designed to make participants lose fat and build muscle.
His background is as an MD with extensive experience treating dying patients- people dying of muscle wasting syndrome, when their illness has been solved but their body is shuntng all their food intake to fat storage and starving the muscles. He figured out a way to outsmart this syndrome and save many lives. He also formulated the original "MetRx" product (whatever it is- a protein powder or liquid?)
I find his take, after reading Body for Life and about seven other similar books, that organize the raw data, to be an interesting addition.
But I wonder more about cardio and how much time is "limited" time. The rest of my life is not too active- I don't own a stable so there's no mucking out stalls or anything! I'm a dental hygienist and taking 18 x-rays on someone, running in and out of the room to take them is about as athletic as my job gets. The rest of it is a lot of static holds, like vertical plank work, lol. There's a little yard work.
I guess I'm wondering if I haven't been overdoing cardio all along, or if my body is ready for a spell of putting on some serious muscle, then returning to a more balanced rotation.
Thanks for reading this whole darned post.
