Alex's Journey

In today’s media there are so many FALSE advertisements to lead you into thinking it’s possible to lose 30 pounds in a week or by 8 minutes of exercise a day you can obtain a six pack. The truth, a NO-NONSENSE way of losing body fat, retaining muscle, and exposing your 6 pack abs be it male or female, Is proper NUTRITION, TRAINING and KNOWLEDGE.

To start with were going to look at nutrition because I believe it plays the most important role in fat loss. 

 

Nutrition

 

Insulin is a hormone that has profound effects on the metabolism. It causes cells in the liver, muscle, and fat tissue to take up glucose from the blood, storing it as glycogen in the liver and muscle, and putting any use of fat as an energy source to a HALT. When insulin is absent, or low, glucose is not taken up by body cells and the body begins to use fat as an energy source.

Insulin is the storage hormone; it sends a message to the body to store fat in cells and put any fat burning to a halt. When you eat carbohydrates blood sugar levels rise which triggers an insulin response.  We want to control this hormone to our advantage, keys to doing this are:

Eating 6-8 meals a day

Large meals can create an enormous  insulin spike, which can cause your body to store fat. Small meals create a much smaller, more controlled insulin release thus less fat storage. 6-8 meals a day will leave your stomach feeling fuller throughout the day.

Eliminate Sugar

Simple sugars digest very quickly into the bloodstream, we want to stick to the slowest digesting foods in order to avoid an insulin spike. 

Never skip a meal

You must stick to your diet! If you skip a meal you may get hunger cravings and eat whatevers available.

Eat fats and vegetables with every meal

This will slow digestion and aid to control insulin also leaving us fuller, throughout our day. 

 

Two types of carbohydrates

 

Simple carbs – They make foods taste sweet, Digest and absorb VERY quickly which leads to an insulin spike. We do not want these for fat loss. However you may include fruit in the morning and juice or fruit post-workout.
Examples.. Chocolate bars, coke, jams, fruits (yes fruits)

Complex carbs -  carbs that digest slowly, satisfying hunger for longer, and producing a normal insulin response.
Examples..  Whole grain bread, oatmeal, brown rice, oat bran, green beans, broccoli

 

Glycemic index

 

We want the slowest digesting foods possible! Period! The glycemic index rates foods based on how quickly or slowly they digest, the lower the number the slower digesting! How exciting. Choosing foods that digest slowly will keep our hunger satisfied and control insulin levels.

 

 Thermic Effect of Food

 

What is the thermic effect of food? In short it is the cost of energy needed to digest, absorb, and dispose the food. The thermic effect of protein is 20-35% of the energy consumed and for carbohydrates this number is between 5 and 15%. High protein diets can be much more beneficial than standard diets for two reasons. One is that the thermic effect of protein is much higher than carbs allowing us to eat more food while our body’s metabolisms speed up. Two, replacing carbs with protein will decrease the insulin response your body has, which in turn flips back on the switch for using fat as fuel.

 

Choosing Carbs

 

Carbs are important in our diet their primary function is to supply energy to our bodies. It is the only fuel usable by the brain. And is the primary fuel for muscles during weightlifting. Too little carbs and you will feel lethargic during the day, and begin to lose muscle. Too many and you will store fat.  Carbs provide 4 calories per gram.

 We want to include 1 or 2 servings of fruit in our diet, the first serving in the morning when our body is running off stored energy, and the second after your workout routine where your body is also depleted of nutrients. Then 3-5 servings of vegetables throughout the last part of your day.

Select foods high in fibre and slow digesting ( a LOW Glycemic index factor). Eat starchy carbs like your oats and brown rice, earlier in the day, and vice versa eat your vegetables in the PM. We’re going to allocate room for 40% of our calories from carbs.

 

Choosing Protein

 

Protein is an important factor to help us achieve a more desirable body composition. It helps repair muscle and can also be used as energy by our bodies. It should be obtained from a wide variety of sources to ensure we get a solid amino acid profile in our diet. Protein provides 4 calories per gram.

A casein, or slow digesting protein, derived from milk products such as cottage cheese is desirable to eat just before bed. While the whey protein in most protein shakes is desireable immediately after your weightlifting workout.

Good sources include lean meats, boneless/skinless chicken breast, fish, almonds, cooked egg whites (yes cooked, your body digests less of the protein from a raw egg white)

We’re going to aim for again getting 40% of our caloric intake from protein.

 

Choosing Fats

 

Fats are the most concentrated source of energy, excess should be avoided however they are necessary to obtain our goal. They are needed in the production of testosterone which is the main muscle building hormone.

We have Saturated fat which is common in whole milks, egg yolks, red meats, butter, and ice cream.

Then there’s Monounsaturated fat, sources include olives, almonds and peanut butter.

There’s Polyunsaturated fat coming from sunflower oil, fish oils, flax oil and dark leafy greens.

 The other 20% of our caloric intake will come from fats. Saturated fats are fine, however they should be limited. Our 20% will mostly come from polyunsaturated and monounsaturated sources like flax oil, olives or dressings that are made with sunflower oil and olive oil.

 

Putting Everything Together

 

With our ratio of 40% carbs 40% protein and 20% fat lets see an example diet for a 180 pound male who lifts weights 5 times a week and does 20-30 minutes of cardio daily. Keep in mind when he loses weight we will need to lower his caloric intake to continue losing fat.

 

Sample Fat-Loss Diet

 

8:00 BREAKFAST
140 cal – 2 eggs  
220 cal – 2 slices whole wheat bread
80 cal – GRAPEFRUIT 3 1/2″ dia

 

 

 

 

10:00
POST WORKOUT SHAKE
120 cal 30g – protein powder whey
40cal 5g – flax oil
240cal – oatmeal (2/3 cup)
60cal – fresh pear 

 

 

 

12:30 LUNCH
120cal – tuna           
60cal – mixed veg 1/2 cup         
180cal – brown rice (3.5 tbsp)
90cal – 14 olives canned 

 

 

 

3:00 SHAKE
50cal – 1 cup green beans
120cal – protein powder whey
40cal 5g – flax oil 

 

 

 

 

5:00 DINNER
140 cal 120g                        chicken breast
50 cal                                     mixed winter greens

 

 

 

 

7:30 SHAKE
120cal – protein powder whey
60cal – 1 cup mixed vegetables

 

 

 

 

 

10:00
180cal – 1 cup cottage cheese %1 
50cal – 1 cup green beans                          

 

 

 

 

 

Cal Total -2170

approx %40protein %40carb %20fat

approx. 217g carbs, 223g protein, 45g fat

At this rate we will be aiming for a 1-2lb a week decrease in bodyfat while aiming to retain muscle mass and strength. This is CRITICAL if you want to look great instead of turning from a larger pear shape into a smaller pear shape. If you find yourself losing weight too quickly, up the calories. Too slowly, decrease the calories. I know you all want to lose fat as quickly as possible which you can do, following these methods but lowering your caloric intake by an additional 100. But I can’t stress how important it is to lose 1-2 lbs a week to prevent muscle loss

Now notice how the brown rice, oats, and whole grain bread is in the morning. And the afternoon consists of meals with vegetables. Also take a look at the GI for most of these foods, they are low.

Lets look at some numbers for people with different bodyweights

 

 How much should I eat to lose body fat?

 

This can vary depending on your metabolism, age, body type, and activity level. You need to experiement and find out what works best for you. These figures provide a good starting point. After a week if you have not lost 1-2lbs lower your intake by 100 calories.

Calorie estimates to eat to lose 1-2lb per week of bodyfat.

280lbs= 3800 cals
260 lbs= 3500 cals
240 lbs= 3200 cals
220 lbs= 2900 cals
200 lbs = 2600 cals
180 lbs= 2300 cals
160 lbs= 2000 cals
140 lbs = 1700 cals

 

 Cardio For Fat Loss 

 

The purpose of cardio in this article will be for fat loss. If you don’t like cardio, you’re like me. So let’s make a plan to work smarter and not harder. Going for a relaxed walk in the park is not cardio; your heart rate must be elevated to burn some calories off. Cardio should be done every day for at least 20 to 30 minutes.

Most likely we both know people who go to the gym regularly work their butts off, and never seem to drop fat. Which is due mostly to ugly nutrition or the latest fad diet, so keep in mind doing cardio alone simply will not melt our fat away; we need to eat less energy than we expend to lose fat.

 So you want to know the secrets of cardio and fat loss? Things get tricky here but still simple enough.

Take the number 220, minus your age and it gives you your maximum heart rate. Now this is a number Lance Armstrong may want to hold his heart rate at for a few minutes. For us multiply that number by .6 that will give us %60. Let’s say your 30 years old. 220-30=190 that’s your max. Now let’s multiply it by .6 that gives us 114. Most ellipticals and treadmills these days will offer some sort of way to monitor your heart rate. If we keep our heart rate at 114 in this case 85% of calories burned in this zone are fats.

That’s great news!! Let’s go through the heart rate zones now.

Heart Rate Zones

Everyday your heart must beat more than 100,000 times to pump 1,800 gallons of blood through more than 60,000 miles (if stretched end-to-end) of blood vessels. Your heart also must adjust the rate and force at which it pumps based on your activity level.

(Warm up) 50-60% of max heart rate, easiest zone, has been shown to decrease body fat, blood pressure and cholesterol. It also decreases the risk of degenerative diseases and has a low risk of injury. 85% of calories burned are fats. Brisk walking is an example of this zone.

Fitness Zone (Fat burning) 60-70% of max heart rate, burns 85% of calories from fat. Easy to Moderate pace on an elliptical or stationary bike would be an example.

Aerobic Zone (Endurance) 70-80% of max heart rate, improves cardiovascular and respiratory system
and increases strength of your heart, more calories are burned meaning more overall fat burned but only 50% of the calories burned are fat. An example being moderate to hard pace on a treadmill.

Anaerobic Zone (Performance) 80-90% of max heart rate, this is your VO2 maximum the highest amount of oxygen one can consume during an exercise, thus improving your cardio respiratory system. 15% of calories burned are fat. An example would be sprinting. Keep in mind again, that although only 15% of calories burned are fat, more OVERALL fat calories will be burned since we are burning more calories period.

Red Line (Maximum Effort) 90-100% of max heart rate, this zone burns the highest number of calories and is very intense most people can only stay in this zone for short periods. You should only train in this zone if you are in very good shape and have been cleared by a physician to do so.