|
 By: Michael Franke
Name: Michael Franke
I have always been involved in sports. I played basketball, football, and baseball in high school, but after I graduated I decided to put my focus into weightlifting. Unfortunately, I never followed a proper diet. I knew I had quality muscle, but excess body fat always covered it up.
  Click Image To Enlarge. I Knew I Had Quality Muscle. I reached 235 lbs. In June of 2004 and it was the most I have ever weighed in my life. I was able to lift a lot of weight, but I felt horrible. I was always tired and lethargic. Walking up stairs or even getting up to answer the phone caused shortness of breath. Finally, I decided to make a change. I worked in a health club so I had absolutely no excuses. I was going to take off all of that fat and see what I had underneath no matter what!
There are two key components to losing body fat, each being 100% critical: Diet and Exercise.
I consulted the manager of the health club for nutritional advice because he was a former bodybuilder and trainer. (Thank you Harry Spencer for all your help!) He advised me to follow a version of the Zone Diet in which my calories were divided up as 40% carbs, 30% protein, and 30% from fat. I calculated my lean body mass, which was 168 lbs. I ate 1 gram of protein for each pound of lean body mass. Normally, I would advise to eat closer to 1.5 grams per pound, but I was strictly in cutting mode. Eating the exact ratio of food at each meal can be tedious, but the benefits are great.
Your body becomes extremely efficient at utilizing your food intake because it becomes accustomed to exactly the same foods every time you eat. Another advantage of this is your hormone levels are always balanced. You don't have fluctuations and insulin spikes with roller coaster effects, which can make you tired and lethargic. I followed this diet for exactly one month and was feeling great.
 Click Image To Enlarge. Your Body Becomes Extremely Efficient At Utilizing Your Food Intake. After one month I had made great improvements. It was at this point that I decided I was going to kick my diet into high gear. We made an alteration to my diet. I would now have four days of a calorie deficit and three days of a calorie surplus. My schedule was as follows:
Saturday, Sunday, Wednesday: High calories (6 1/2 meals) The reason I alternated between food amounts is to keep my body from slowing down my metabolism. The human body is a vary adaptive machine and if you restrict calories for too long a period of time it will think it is going into starvation mode and slow down its metabolism. Sample Day:
Supplementation:
Your body also adapts to cardiovascular exercise. As you improve your fitness level your body becomes more efficient. Therefore, you must gradually increase either your intensity or duration of exercise. My program was as follows:
All cardio was done at a moderate pace. Hard enough too make you sweat and breathe hard, but not too intense to be unable to carry on a conversation. Sample Week Of Training: Monday: Chest Tuesday: Back Wednesday: Quads Thursday: Shoulders / Traps Friday: off Saturday: Triceps / Biceps Sunday: Hamstrings I alternated Abs and Calves every other day while dieting.
 Click Image To Enlarge. Enjoy The Process!
Michael Franke Recommend this article to a friend by e-mail here! Visitor Reviews Of This Article!
Related Articles
|
Diet:
Sign in for more FREE features and tools!
|
|
Give Us Feedback:
Report A ProblemSite Feedback |
Follow Us:
|
Bodybuilding.com Newsletter
Receive exciting features, |
