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| Here are some weight loss tips that I think will help you along the way... |
Part Four - Weight Loss Tips: How To Do It Successfully!
By: Louis Dorman
It's What You Eat!
Just cutting calories isn't the answer and actually works against losing fat. The body will just adapt to the lower calorie amount within a few days. Improving the composition of the food you eat and how the different macronutrients are combined will yield a better body composition than just cutting calories and eating less.
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What Does Macronutrient Mean?
A term used to define the vital substances needed in large amounts by the body, namely protein, fat, carbohydrates, fibre and water.
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By changing to nutrient-dense whole foods, and avoiding high amounts of sugar and fats in the same meal, the metabolism will be primed to maintain lean mass and reduce body fat storage. Eat the same, but better and burn more. This will keep your metabolism running, help you maintain lean muscle and improve composition.
To avoid starvation setting in, I would never decrease calories more then 30% of what your "pre-diet" consumption level was. A 300-500kcal deficit is enough and simple to accomplish by replacing a high-carb meal with the same amount of vegetables.
 Eat More Often
Every time you eat, the metabolism is stimulated to break down the food, called the thermic effect of feeding. So you would rather have six meals a day when your body has to expend energy to digest food rather then just two or three. This also maintains steady blood sugar levels, controlling hunger and providing a steady stream of nutrients to maintain lean mass and prevent catabolism.
This also prevents the large surges of insulin that occur when the body is deprived of food for longer then a four or five hour time span.
Drink At Least 10 Glasses Of Water A Day.
Dehydration is extremely catabolic to muscle tissue. Once thirst sets in, you are already in a dehydrated state. According to research, water also has a thermogenic effect. By drinking ice-cold water, metabolism is boosted by 30% to bring the temperature up to normal body temperature. Learn more...
Add More Fiber To Your Diet.
I doubt very few people truly get the minimum 30g of fiber a day recommended to ward off disease. Research has shown a 10% decrease in daily calorie intake and an average 4.2 lb loss in subjects who consumed an extra 15g of fiber per day. So eat your veggies!
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Effective Fat Loss: Eat Your Veggies!
Many people in the gym have a good idea about how to gain mass, yet nearly everyone seems to be in the dark about getting ripped. If there is a secret, it can be summarized to just one word: vegetables!
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The nutrient dense foods will not only boost your energy levels due to the natural source of vitamins needed for your metabolism to be running full steam, they will also give you a fuller feeling at each meal. One easy trick is to add a fiber supplement to your protein shake. Learn more...
Protein.
The power of protein is undoubted. It is the most thermogenic of all the three major macronutrients, requiring double the energy spent to digest carbs or fat. It helps build lean mass that raises your resting metabolism, prevents muscle breakdown during calorie or carb restriction, and increases satiation at each meal.
Calculate Your Protein Needs:
Lean protein at every meal is a must for a fat loss goal to be achieved. The 1g per pound of bodyweight is the norm, but when calories and/or carbs are restricted, 1.5-2.0g per pound of bodyweight should be the goal of daily intake. Learn more...
Carbohydrates.
You'll never win a marathon by cutting carbs, but you will lose fat. This is true to a point since your body is a highly adaptive machine. So by cycling carbs, or a cyclical ketogenic diet (CKD), you prevent the body from adapting and allowing a long term fat loss state.
By cutting carbs, we put the body in a fat burning mode, but after a few days the hormone Leptin drops. Research shows Leptin is a key hormone in regulating hunger cravings and metabolic rate. It's influenced by losing fat and insulin, so when fat loss occurs, Leptin drops, slowing your metabolism and increasing hunger.
By increasing carbs on a scheduled basis, the rise in insulin causes a rise in Leptin levels allowing more time in a ketogenic state after the scheduled carbohydrate increase.
For the average person, this can mean once a week or low-carb during the week, and eating carbs on the weekend. For people that are relatively lean, a carb-up day every 3-4 days seems to be the optimal schedule. Remember, once you have sugar cravings and/or increased hunger, Leptin has dropped too low. To counter this, try to target how many days before that occurs and schedule your carb-up the previous day. Learn more...
Cardio Is King.
The two areas that have shown to have the optimal levels of fat burning are morning and post workout after muscle glycogen storages have been used by your muscle to convert to glucose and used for energy.
Lifting usually depends on two types of energy - muscle glycogen and creatine phosphate for short anaerobic periods. I believe Glycogen stores aren't depleted after resistance training. It's overrated. Simply put, it takes something like 24-48 hours of carb depletion to becomes fully depleted to the point of catabolism.
One weight training session isn't even going to touch this so doing low cardio will not be a problem. Also, I would never do it after legs or your larger muscle groups. Learn more...
High Weight - Not High Rep.
While many feel that high rep burns more fat and calories, the difference between 5 reps and 15 is pretty insignificant. High rep and high volume training can be very taxing to the body, especially while on a calorie restricted diet.
Doing so, risks muscle loss and also loss in strength. By doing low rep strength training, you increase intensity and maximize growth hormone secretion.
With the extra surges in GH, fat burning and muscle gain are kept at an optimum level and strength is maintained. All of this accounts for maintenance and sometimes an increase in lean muscle, promoting optimal body composition. A 5x5 or 4x6 set/rep scheme is optimal, utilizing the major lifts. Sticking to large compound movements will give you the intensity needed to boost GH and keep your strength.
Supplements Work.
Though most nutrients should be obtained through whole food sources, there are a few supplements that do speed up fat loss.
- BCAA's - are metabolized directly in muscle tissue and can be taken before HIIT training to prevent catabolism, in between meals to stave off hunger and when on a very low carbohydrate diet are used by the body to synthesize glucose for the brain. Supplementing BCAA's prevent the body from breaking down muscle tissue to obtain them.
- R-ALA - is the optimal form of alpha lipoic acid that taken 20-30 min prior to meals containing carbohydrates improves insulin sensitivity and glucose disposal. Dosage is 100mg of R-ALA per 30-50g of carbohydrates in a meal, regular ALA is 300mg per 30-50g.
- DHA/EPA From Fish Oil - Fish oil omega-3's has shown to change body composition by increasing muscle and decreasing fat without any changes in diet or exercise at a minimum of 3g of DHA/EPA a day. With the average brand of fish oil capsules at 30% DHA/EPA, which means 10 capsules a day.
- Green Tea - has many benefits and anti-oxidant properties. The active extract EGCG of 90mg, three times a day has shown an increase in metabolic rate. Taken naturally in tea, that amounts to 5-10 cups of tea a day.
Consistency, Consistency & Consistency.
You can have the perfect plan and all the right supplements, but in the end it all comes down to consistency. Successful body composition changes require a 90% adherence rate for continued success toward your goal. This does allow for those crisis times or just a day off from being so strict.
Staying consistent helped me transform my body.
Fat loss is a slow and steady process for a permanent result, but little by little, it all adds up. Staying consistent will yield the best results in the quickest time. That's why having a plan and preparing meals day in and day out for the day helps you keep to your plan not allowing for variations or unexpected situations. You'll always be prepared for those off days and maintain consistency to achieving your goal.
With all these very simple keys/tips, you have a solid foundation in burning off fat faster then just eating less and moving more. These tips will keep your metabolism running high and put you on the road to a more muscular and leaner physique. Good luck!
References
- Boschman, M. Water-induced thermogenesis. J Clin Endroclinol Metab. 2003 Dec;88(12):6015-9.
- Howarth, NC, E Saltzman, SB Roberts. Dietary fiber and weight regulation. Nutr Rev. 2001 May;59(5):129-39. Review
- Nair KS, Halliday D, & Garrow JS. Thermic response to isoenergetic protein, carbohydrate or fat meals in lean and obese subjects. Clin Sci (Lond). 1983 Sep;65(3):307-12.
louis@bodybuilding.com
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