subject: Fat Burning Fitness Nutrition [print this page] The Simple: The Simple:
A Basic Overview/Summary... here I give you the ASAP: As Simple As Possible.
If you want to go into more Background-Detail, that's covered below, under: "The Complex" !;-)
Right into it:
Nutrition is 80% of the Battle in the Fat Burning War.
There are 6 basic keys to getting it right:
1.Calories
2.Types of Food
3.Supplements
4.Fasting(short-term)
5.Timing
6.Synergy
Let's take a closer look at each step together, one at a time
1.Calories
Calories in vs Calories out.
Some would have you believe that, if only you buy their supplements/programs/services etc., you need not worry about the whole calorie-thingy.
And it does sell, because most folks would rather not eat less. A diet-pill is just so much more convenient, eh?!
But, as I have mentioned elsewhere already, calories need to be considered, they may not be ignored.
It's a simple fact of physics:
If you have more calories per day, week or even per month than you burn in that same time, it only stands to reason you will store them as body fat.
I mean; where else are they gonna go?!
Simultaneously(same difference); if you have less going in than out, so if you eat less than you burn off, Fat Burning is the result.
So calories are important, Baby !;-)
Not to worry though: We will explore ways and means as in how to do that going into calorie deficit- without undue suffering !;-)
2.Types of Food
Then there are those who say it's not the calories, rather it's the TYPE of calories, or type of food you're eating.
You might say: both are right and wrong at the same time.
Because it's both: the amount, and the type of food. Just think: Doughnuts vs Cauliflower!
3.Supplements
Many are for them, many against.
It's really a matter of terminology: when you say supplements do you mean what is found in most supplement stores?
Then yes, most(though not all) of those are worthless. But there are supplements and then there are supplements !;-)
Because, what is a supplement, really? It's something you add to your diet, isn't it: something the diet is supplemented with.
And there are Herbals, individual Amino-Acids and even certain vitamins and minerals, that can be extremely powerful and effective.
Especially, that is, when taken in the right time and place, and in the right amounts. But more on that later.
For example Cayenne Pepper yes, the ordinary spice- can do wonders for your heart health! How about that?
And green tea? Everybody by now has heard of the many benefits to be reaped from an extra cup or two of this Wonder Beverage" per day!
Long and short: Custom-Supplementation, meaning when you combine them yourself: the right stuff in the right amounts and at the right time!, instead of having some ready-made capsules, is very effective and important.
4.Short-Term Fasting
This has two basic purposes: the obvious one, so to decrease overall caloric-intake, and then a not so obvious one:The Hormonal Response to Fasting !;-)
Theres probably nothing that will help improve both health and leanness as dramatically as short-term fasting.
One simple set-up, and a good place to start, is prolonging your overnight fast:
Simply stop eating 4 hours before bed, then, in the morning, postpone your breakfast by 3 hours... a total of 15 hours overnight fasting, right there !;-)
5.Timing
Simply put: It's not only what, and how much of it, but also WHEN, that makes it or breaks it.
So the right training, eating, supplementation, and fasting, in the right amounts and at the right times... works absolute wonders!
Which ties right into step 6
6.Synergy
This is where everything comes together: because this is the true "Secret", if you like...
The right stuff, in the right amounts, at the right times, and all in relation to each other.
Sound complicated?
It's not really. There are just a few basic rules, to be applied in a step by step-system/fashion, one at a time.
And before you know it, you're there: at the Fat Burning Goal Looking Good Naked !;-)
So much for the Basic Intro, and now into the Nitty Gritty:
The Complex:
For those who want the Background Details
The ASAP(As Simple As Possible) Guidelines to the Six Keys of Fat Burning:
1.Calories
The Basic Rule is this:
Target-Bodyweight(TBW) x 10. This works for most. If not, you experiment with slowly reducing things further, like TBW x 9, and so on. But don't worry, x 10 is almost definitely gonna do the trick !;-)
"So what does it all mean, Basil?!"
Here's your example:
Say you weigh 220 pounds(100kg) -to keep the maths simple- and you want to weigh 175 pounds(80 kg).
You simply multiple the Target Bodyweight not your current one-
by 10 !;-) So in the above example this would make 175 pounds x 10 kcls = 1750 kcls per day, give or take a few: you can round it off to 1800 or even down to 1700.
In kg the formula reads as follows:
Kg x 22
So if your ideal bodyweight is 80 kg, simply multiply that by a factor of 22 = 1760 kcls !;-)
That's all, folks !;-)
How do you do it?
A Digital Kitchen-Scale can definitely help in the beginning, and you might wanna learn to read labels. It's usually best to calculate everything per 100 gram, so in percentages.
That's much better than in "serving-size" because that can be very misleading and not accidentally, neither !;-)
2.Type of Foods
Carbohydrates:
These should consist mainly of what I callSmart Carbs andClean Carbs, the former being Cruciferous Vegetables and Legumes; and the latter Fruit, Whole Grain and all other Vegetables.
Examples for Cruciferous Vegetables are:
Cauliflower, Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts and Cabbage.
As far as Smart Carbs: pretty much all fruit and whole grain are fair game !;-)
Smart Fats:
Good examples are all kinds of Omega 3 Oils, like Fish Oil, Perilla Oil,
Flax-Seed Oil etc. Then there's Flax Meal: Just use a coffee grinder to freshly powder organic flax seeds immediately before consumption; tastes great sprinkled over or even mixed into your food !;-)
Some more good ones are Coconut Oil, Almond Butter and Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
But beware: whilst all these fats are Smart and really good, even essential for your health, they pack a mighty calorie-punch !;-)
So easy does it, just a little at a time.
And don't forget to add these calories into your daily calculations wouldn't be the first time folks don't make progress simply out of a small oversight like this!
Proteins:
Any old thing with protein in it. It doesn't really matter too much what type, really: don't worry about it!
Also people are made to believe(by the fitness-industry in particular and the food-industry in general)that you need tons of protein to maintain or even build muscle mass, or even to stay healthy.
Not so.
Whilst I don't mean to say protein is not important because it is important no doubt- you don't need all that much of it; not even when building up muscle mass!
General Guideline:
Bodyweight in pounds x 0.7 is much, 0.5 is enough.
Example: I you weigh 175 pounds, you multiply that by 0.7 = a good 120 gram of Protein per day: that's plenty !;-)
The Formula for Kg:
Bodyweight in kg x 1.5 is much, body weight x 1.0 is enough. So for example 80 kg x 1.5 = 120 gram of protein. That's the high side !;-)
3.Supplements
There will be a stand-alone supplement page, but I'm gonna give you some stuff here real quick that'll help:
Organic Green Tea and Coffee:
Good for you, gives energy when in a calorie-deficit, and cuts appetite handy !;-)
Omega 3 and Vitamin D3:
Both have Fat Burning properties and are essential to good health.
Turmeric or Curcumin:
Same difference(both the same stuff)
It's a spice that's also sold as a supplement. I recommend just buying the organic spice-version; that's usually more economical. But you can find it in capsule-form everywhere, too.
It's quite an awesome substance, with tons of benefits, like:
Anti-Carcinogenic(good to protect against cancer), Anti-Inflammatory(good for both acute and chronic inflammation, so great for the sore elbow as well as good for the heart and whole circulatory system), Anti-Estrogen, Anti-Oxidant and Anti-Parasite.
So it helps with Fat Burning, and is super-good for your health... All-Around really cool stuff !;-)
There's much more sophisticated and really powerful stuff you can do, and all of it will be covered on the Supplements Page !;-)
4.Short-Term Fasting
Again this will be covered in much greater detail in the Fasting Section, but here's something for you to start with:
The 4/3 Hour System
This is a system I developed to combine all the benefits of Short-Term fasting into an easy-to-apply format for the beginner.
Here's how you do it:
4 hours before bed time, cut out all calories.Then, in the morning, you postpone/delay the breakfast by three hours.
This does two things, or three, really:
It increases the overnight fast to nearly double-time!
Thus it reduces overall calories consumed(just be careful not to over-compensate for it later on in the day!;-)
Also this optimizes the Hormonal Response, which is perfect for Fat Burning, recovery/regeneration and injury-repair!
That's also the time to do your Fat Burning Training in. This, or on the all-out fasting days, which will be covered later.
And then it's really good to help your body detoxify, so to get rid of all the poisons etc. It gives the whole system a rest, basically.
And DO NOT WORRY: If you do this right, ie: as outlined here, you WILL NOT loose ANY MUSCLE MASS AT ALL WHATSOEVER! Trust me on this !;-)
And don't let anyone tell you otherwise. This is backed up by tons of scientific research and most importantly by experience: my own and countles of others'.
It just plain doesn't happen.
5.Timing
This is huge, and it's also where we already start tying it all together.
The 4/3 Hour-System has a lot to do with timing.
Many supplements are only truly effective if in the right amounts, and when timed right!
Like I said: it's what, how much of it, and when that counts.That goes for training, food, supps, and fasting. All in relation to each other and also to sleep.
The very basics:
Do Fat Burning Training when your body is running on "Fat for Fuel", so when it actuallyis burning fat!(4/3 Hour-System and the Fasting Days)
Do your Fasting when it works best, AND when the body is in the most "receptive mood" for fat burning. More on the up-coming Fasting-Page !;-)
Take your Supps when they actually have a chance to work, example:
Taking supplements to optimize the HGH production on a carb day or right after a meal kind of defies the whole purpose, it will not work!
That's when people say: "OhThat supplement!That doesn't work!"
Well,that's because they didn't know how to use it right.
(More on the up-coming Supplements Page)
Take your food at the right times, meaning when the body will use it for energy and/or muscle build-up, instead of, say body fat build-up.
This is also referred to as "Nutrient Partitioning". All that means is the body can take those calories and use them for energy or, say, muscle building, or it can store them as fat!
It really all depends: like I said, first of all on how much, but then also on what and when.
So after a resistance training session for example, the muscles are more "willing" to take up nutrients than at other times.
One more reason to do your training, even the lifting, before breakfast!
Another, really simple example would be this:
Say you have four meals per day, evenly spaced out. That's how it should be. Now imagine you have those same 4 meals with the exact same amount of calories, but you space them much closer together:
Say 1 meal every hour. Then, even if you take in the same amount of daily calories, you would likely gain some fat, simply because it's too much at any one time. Makes sense.
6.Synergy
Now this is where it all comes together: We train, eat, fast and supplement at the right times and in the right amounts both in relation to sleep and to each other.
I will give you one simple sample set-up here:
1.Say you get up at 08:00 AM: No Breakfast until 11!! Now have your Organic Coffee and/or Green Tea.
09:00 AM: Do the Fat Burning Training as outlined on the corresponding Workout pages.
2.Breakfast at 11:00 AM, and three more meals at 3hour intervals.
That's your TBW(Target Bodyweight) calories divided by 4, more or less. Remember, we're keeping it real simple here !;-) Last meal at 08:00 PM, bedtime is 12:00.
3.HGH Boosting Supps would be used before breakfast and right before bed.The ones outlined above are to be used after/with breakfast and the following meals. Not after 08:00 PM.
That's it. This is real simple, it can become much more sophisticated than that, but this is a real good place to start.
Now...go out there and get yourself a Six-Pack !;-)
