Archive for October, 2009

I’ve been going to the gym for a while now and have noticed improvements in strength and size. I’m looking to trim my abs and after research have found that the most important thing is to burn fat. However I was told that if you do too much cardio you will burn muscle aswell.

Cardio will NOT burn muscle, I am a football player we run ALL the time, cardio just helps you get your heart rate up to help you blood flow so you can burn more calories. Thats why people do cardio before their weights alot of the time. But its not only about working out its all about intake of calories vs. calories burnt.

Here is an article I found that will help you. It helped me ALOT from going from 210 pds to 173.5.

Since I got several PMs and requests on the boards regarding weight loss and dieting in general, this post is a roundup of all the information I have been handing out so far. I’ll maybe post updated versions here in the future when I think it’s necessary. I should mention that I’m lifetime natural and thus have no experience whatsoever with anabolic steroids and other hormones / pro-hormones. For people using those substances, the rules may be different.

The goal of a cutting diet is to improve body composition by losing fat while preserving as much muscle as possible. In my experience, these are the requirements:

- Workout with weights 3 times a week.
- Drink about a gallon of water each day.
- Eat at least 1g protein / lb of lean body mass a day.
- Eat some fruit, veggies/salad, and some essential fatty acids (EFAs) every day.
- Above that eat whatever you want, preferably a wide variety of foods.
- Adjust your food intake so that the desired rate of weight change is maintained.
- The rate of weight change should not be above 3lbs/week, 1-2lbs/week is recommended.

IMO, any diet (resp. cutting method) that follows the above rules is optimal for cutting, any further details will not have significant effect on body composition. If you already have a meal plan, just check if these rules are followed and adjust if not. If you have never done a cutting diet, it’s always better to start with more calories and reduce slowly until the desired rate of weight change is maintained. For measuring progress and adjusting food intake, follow these rules:

- Weigh yourself once a week, always at the same time (e.g. right after waking up).
- Don’t panic if your weight stays the same or even goes up for one or two weeks.
- If your weight does not go down for more than two weeks, slightly reduce calories.
- If your rate of weight loss is above the recommended value, slightly increase calories.
- The change in daily calories from those adjustments should not exceed 500 cals.
- After adjustment, stay on the new value for at least three weeks before adjusting again.

If you stay patient, you will not have to adjust very often. On my last cutting diet, I only had to adjust one time during the whole diet. With more experience, you will not have to count calories anymore, but as a beginner it is probably a good idea.

Since many questions revolve around further details of cutting diets, here is a list of factors that I believe to be of insignificant effect for body composition:

- Cardio and fat burners,
- Meal timing and meal frequency,
- Protein / Carb / Fat distribution throughout the day,
- carb / fat ratio,
- Sodium intake,
- Moderate alcohol intake,
- Use of supplements resp. meal replacements,
- "Clean" food vs. Junk food (sugar and saturated fat).

All these factors should be used as tools to make the diet as convenient as possible. Many people e.g. have an easier time dieting with eating more calories and doing cardio or taking fat burners. Some people like myself have an easier time without cardio and fat burners. In my experience, the end result (body composition improvement) is not significantly influenced. Another example is protein supplements. I e.g. use whey powder to meet my daily protein intake out of convenience. I could just as well get all my protein from other sources. A third example is meal frequency and timing. This tool should be used to reduce hunger as much as possible throughout the day. For some people that means eating 6 times a day, for others it means eating only once or twice a day.

Last but not least, here are a few psychological tips and tricks to easily stick to the diet:

- It is possible that you will not "see" changes in the mirror until your bodyfat gets rather low. Don’t panic, as long as the rules are followed, everything is right on track.

- If at all, only assess your physique right after a workout. At other times it’s too dependent on water retention, and the mind will play tricks on you (telling you your progress sucks, etc.).

- Have a cheat day (pig-out day) once in a while, where you eat what you want. I had one every week on my last diet. Don’t feel guilty about it, as long as the rules are still followed, everything is allright.

- Don’t take the whole thing too serious. It’s better to not care about it so much. See it more as being the coach of another person, rather than yourself.

Good luck!

soo many commericials are shown on television, do these actually work? do they cause harm to your body?
What are your opiniions on diet pills?

no no no! don’t take those!
I don’t think they help at all.
It’s not the safest thing either.

Just try working out, and eating healthier (;

I am by no means fat, I’m just chubby and its mainly in my stomach. I was wondering if anybody has tried any weight loss supplements from gnc or other places. I know exercising is a must and I definitely plan on exercising a lot. I just want a good supplement that will help boost my weight loss as I plan to keep it off by exercising. What about alli? Or any other ones that anyone has had good results from.

Don’t take pills; they are dangerous and don’t address the underlying cause.

Balance and moderation are the keys. Calories don’t matter, nor do carbs or fat. Just eat good and simple foods. Think of the quality of food you put in your body like the quality of lumber you put in your house. We are constantly rebuilding our bodies, and we must use good quality ingredients. This means organic and natural. I know it’s more expensive, but this is important. Plus, organics have more nutrients, so your body will be more satisfied (and less hungry).

We have been misinformed about food and as a result, our food choices are usually best at selling products and supplements and worst at promoting true health.

If we eat like the Asians, we will look like the Asians (thin). When they eat like us, they look like us (not thin). We should learn from what they have learned: eat simple grains (white rice, other grains, less bread and pasta), eat mostly vegetables (a wide variety), mostly cooked, mostly local, some fruit, no dairy. Too much or too little of any one thing is not a good thing. Vegetarians almost have it right, but we should get a little (2 ounces twice a week) of mammal meat. A little chicken and fish are good too, but all meats should be thought of as a condiment rather than a main dish.

The best way to lose weight and keep it off is through balance and moderation. Practice this is your exercises as well. Shoot for losing 1-3 pounds/week. Oh and drink green tea with most meals and avoid cold and raw foods and drinks. Cold and raw take our energy and time to warm and cook, so don’t have too much salad. Avoid sugar substitutes and refined sugar.

This is all explained in the book "The Asian diet: simple secrets for eating right losing weight and being well" by Bussell. I also recommend "In defense of food" by Pollan. It explains how the discussion of food has evolved to constituents and we don’t think about whole foods anymore.

Acupuncture can also help to curb cravings.

What is the best diet pill out there im a female if that makes a diffrence

There is no magic pill, I learned that the hard way!

I am getting ready to have my baby and after i do i want to take some diet pills, I want to lose like 80 pounds, I’m going to be exercising to turbo jam workouts but i want to take some diet supplement to speed things along, I don’t want anything with caffeine or anything that makes you jittery i want something thats natural that actually works and doesn’t take 6 months to show a difference, Please let me know something i’m pretty desperate.

Hi Jen.
I can’t recommend pills to you…but,i’ve had two children and both times found the best way to lose the baby fat was to drink 5/6 pints of water a day and absolutely no chocolate/biscuits etc. Don’t eat big meals,(it’ll only help to keep your belly stretched and your capacity for food will grow)walk plenty:as fast as you can for as far as you can. I also found stretching and holding the stretch(not til it hurts though)works wonders for toning up all that sag!! Jen?…Losing weight quickly is not a good idea as it will give you saggy,empty bags of water in place of boobs…and possibly stretch-marks. Also, breast-feeding helps to tighten the stomach muscles as the stomach contracts when the baby is feeding.
ps…Just wondering. Why do you need to/want to lose 80 lbs/5st10lbs/a 10yr olds body weight?!! You can’t have put on that much Jen. I put on half that much with each of mine which was quite a lot but still fairly average. It took 4/5 months to get rid of it all….but,it does go and within a few weeks after giving birth you will probably start feeling more comfortable with your body as it starts to return to normal.
Anyway,the best of luck to you Jen. Relax while you can.X

I don’t have weight problem. Just don’t wanna gain a lot. and would it make a difference for not eating the skin?

and

how many times a week is suitable to have this kind of food?

and

how much work out needed to burn off the fats?

you should be having around 2000 calories daily. How you decide to get the 2000 calories- its up to you. To burn it off, I would suggest a daily 15-minute jog followed with push ups/ sit ups. I wouldn’t eat KFC more than twice a week because of not only how high in calories it is, but also the fact that it is deep fried.

I would like something with the least amount of side effects, something that is very affordable and works very effectively.

The answer you are probably looking for is some kind of miracle pill that guarantees extreme weight loss in only a week with no chance of side effects or dangerous results. Well, it’s time to face reality. I don’t doubt that somehow you could eventually find a pill that could do that. With enough money anything is possible, nowadays. But, if your like me and your not Bill Gates son them you can’t afford anything like that. What you need to do is stop eating fast food and start exercising more. You don’t need any fancy medical crap. Just do it the old fashioned way.

I ‘m looking for diet pills that are kind to the body and work.
Has anyone tested diet pills ?
Thank you

Your quest to lose some weight if you are interested, will not see the light until you identify why you are fat in the first instance and then work to avoid all the identified reasons.

The number of supplements available to help you lose weight is virtually endless. From fat binders, to fat blockers, appetite suppressants to colon cleansers just which one will help you lose weight and feel confident again?
Have some information here.
Good luck

I would also like to know about diet pills that are healthy, I mean kind to the body but actually work. Has anyone got any tried and tested diet pills that they can recommend? Thks!

Acai + Cleansing is the best. If you are really looking to lose weight, i suggest doing what this mom did and combining the Acai Diet with a cleansing program.

http://saraweightlossblog.blogspot.com/

Obesity or over weight is a problem which is more often seen in the countries which are highly developed and modernized. The reason behind it is that people are today very much busy in making career and money instead of their fitness care and proper diet plan. With the advancement of technology, almost every work in their home as well as in offices is done through automatic machines or computers. So, it reduces their physical work. This is one of the main reasons why people are facing fitness problems.

So, the first thing which you must do is to change your lifestyle. This is very important for the long term success of your weight loss program. Unfortunately, it has now become fashion to take slimming pills or go for cellulite treatments to lose weight.

The results from such programs will never be permanent because your lifestyle would effortlessly put back all the weight. The very moment that these artificial weight loss programs are halted, weight will come rushing back. But when you change your lifestyle then the unhealthy food and weight gaining activities will be eliminated from your daily lives.

Another thing which you must do is to take at least a glass of water half an hour before meals for maintaining a healthy body. The water replenishes the fluids that will be used to make bicarbonate solution on the mucus membrane of our stomach lining. This protects the stomach from being burnt by its own acid fluid. Also a well hydrated body reduces the urge to drink unhealthy drinks which introduce more toxins to your body.

Also avoid sweetened drinks like soda, cola, diet cola, tea, coffee and beer. Eat green leafy vegetable and fruits rich in fiber. It will keep your digestive system fit and healthy. Do not take snacks, biscuits or any high calorie food stuffs.

Instead of taking weight loss pills, you must try some herbal supplement as they are free from any side-effects and are very effective and safe. Number of herbal weight loss supplements is available in the market. So it better to increase your physical activities through exercises and aerobics and taking natural herbal weight loss supplements than taking slimming pills or going for cellulite treatments.

Disclaimer: This article is not meant to provide health advice and is for general information only. Always seek the insights of a qualified health professional before embarking on any health program.

Copyright © Nick Mutt, All Rights Reserved. If you want to use this article on your website or in your ezine, make all the urls (links) active.

Nick Mutt
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