People go about weight loss the wrong way – it’s not about how many calories you burn off while working out, it’s about how many calories you burn after you’ve finished working out. I’m talking about your metabolic rate. There’s a reason why some people can eat all the food they want and not gain an ounce of fat. It’s because they have an extremely high metabolic rate.
So, if you’re really serious about dropping a lot of fat, then you want to do workouts that boost your metabolic rate. In the following workout, you’ll be performing 3 supersets. A superset is when you alternate between two exercises with limited to no rest in between each exercise. Continue reading
Arthur De Vany is 71 years old, 6′1″ and 200 pounds. He’s never sick and can do anything he wants to. He doesn’t live off 30 different medications the way most American’s do.
One of my biggest fears is growing old and being unable to walk the way my grandmother is. It was the goal of weight loss that got me started with fitness, but it is watching my grandmother struggle with her own body on a daily basis that is keeping me in the game of fitness.
Arthur De Vany is not only an inspiration, but an example of what a practical approach to fitness and nutrition can produce.
He was born in Davenport, Iowa – however, his hometown is Los Angeles, California where he finished high school and was signed on to a minor league baseball team. He started weight lifting at age 16, and has been at it ever since. De Vany studied economics at the University of Continue reading
If you haven’t figured it out already, the USDA Food Pyramid will not help you achieve your goals. As health enthusiasts we know that the amount of carbs (6-11 servings of grains) that they recommend are just too many. If you are not convinced that the USDA food pyramid is unhealthy, then please take some time to read this post.
For the rest of us, I have developed an alternative to the food pyramid. My version of the pyramid does not talk about specific servings. Instead, it’s a step by step method in developing your own unique diet that works for you.
Eat 90% Healthy
The base of the pyramid tells you to eat 90% healthy. When people come up to me and ask me how many calories they should be eating or how much protein to consume, I ask them what they are eating. Many times they say they are eating healthy, but are unable to name all the foods they consume. Some people are actually able to name all their foods. You know these are the people that are in some way tracking their foods.
I like to use a service such as theDailyplate.com to track my food. Online services help you manage your dietary intake better then just simply writing everything down on a notepad, then manually researching the foods.
For beginners, it is crucial that you track your foods for the first three months, but as you begin to understand the nature of nutrition itself, you can lighten up a little with all the measuring and analysis.
I personally choose three to five days per month to make sure that 90% of my calories are coming from healthy sources. If something is awry, then I adjust.
Adjust Calories
Once you have a strong understanding of how exactly to eat healthy, and are able to do it on a regular basis without putting much thought into the process, it’s time to see whether or not your caloric intake fits your goals.
Now we get to the nitty gritty. Macro-nutrient ratios are the percentage of protein, carbs, and fat that you consume in your diet.
For example, if you are consuming a total of 2000 calories with 150 grams of protein, then 30% of your calories are coming from protein (150 x 4 = 600, 600/2000 = .3).
The media has hounded macros as being the number one concern when it comes to being healthy. The truth is, there is no set percentage that you should follow.
I personally follow a moderate carbohydrate, moderate protein, and moderate fat diet. So technically, I eat in moderation. If at one meal I consumed too many carbs, then I know I need to balance it out with some protein and healthy fats in my next meal.
I have found that on some days that I cheat on my diet, I am actually leaner the day after. Your body cannot live on just one magic vitamin, mineral, or nutrient. Keep things balanced.
Supplements
I am not abhorrently against supplements, although I do think that people need to take less of them. I think that most people follow a reverse pyramid, in that they rely on supplements to cover their bad eating habits.
Supplements should be used as a last resort and are often better used by athletes who are training hard for an event or competition.
Bodybuilders should use fat burners during their pre-contest phase. UFC fighters can take BCAA’s and other recovery products to help their bodies recover during intense training.
The regular gym goer does not need a suitcase full of drugs. Forget about the green tea extract and the super powerful Hydroxyfluf if you’re eating pizza and booze on the weekends with your buddies over a game of poker.
An architect knows that without a strong foundation, a building will not stand. Develop a strong base of healthy eating, and you’ll be successful in your nutrition.
I have made many mistakes in the past concerning my fat loss. But after all this time, I have certainly learned one thing: It isn’t about how many calories you burn during a particular workout, it’s about how many calories you’ve burnt at the end of the day, week, month, and year on a consistent basis. The only way to consistently burn more calories than you take in over a long period of time is to boost your metabolic rate. Greater caloric needs means that you will not need to drop any calories in order to burn more fat. Here are three methods to boost your metabolic rate:
1. Strength Train
Muscle is more metabolically active than fat. Building lean muscle mass does not directly effect fat loss, but it will be your long-term arsenal in your journey. Develop a base level of strength, mass, and general fitness before moving onto the next stage.
The fastest way to build mass is to use large, compound movements to hit the most muscle groups in one session, and as often as possible. Here is a sample program:
Day One: Push Front Squat Bench Press Push Press
Day Two: Pull Dead lift Bent-Over Row Power Clean
Perform 3-5 sets of 5-8 repetitions of each exercise. Each workouts should be performed on non-consecutive days. For example, you can train 2 days a week on a Monday/Thursday schedule, or 3 days a week on a Monday/Wednesday/Friday schedule.
2. Perform Metabolic Conditioning
Metabolic Conditioning is a type of exercise which adequately taxes both your musculature and cardiovascular systems. In other words, you can build lean muscle mass, and burn fat at the same time. But more importantly, you’ll raise your heart rate up to 75% of it’s max, telling your body that your caloric needs have suddenly just gone up. This short boost will increase your overall resting metabolic rate.
The majority of the workouts written on this website are metabolic conditioning in nature. The idea is to combine body weight, strength bearing, and cardiovascular exercises into various different types of circuits. You can visit Crossfit.com or browse through YouTube videos for motivation and ideas for workouts. Many of the workouts on this website are metabolic in nature. Here are a few articles to take a glance at:
That’s right, I’m telling you to eat more while on your fat loss plan. I have talked about cutting calories to lose fat, but that’s more for people who need to lose large amounts of fat and are consuming three to four thousand calories without physical exercise. If you’re in the 2000 caloric range and have been consistently exercising for a few months, then chances are you need more food, not less.
You do not need to increase your caloric intake as dramatically as someone who wishes to put on muscles mass. Shoot for an increase of 500 calories over 4 weeks.
Putting it All Together.
I have made the mistake of performing only metabolic conditioning or only heavy strength training at one time. The truth is you need both in a training program. You can alternate between the two training methods three, four, or five days per week. When creating your training schedule, make sure that you are recovering properly from all your workouts. Remember that proper recovery comes from rest and food!
What are some other methods of fat loss that have worked for you?
There are a lot of great calculators out there to help you find your basic caloric intake, however i have found that the best way to figure out how much you should eat is to experiment. For beginners, you should track your diet very closely for three days. You can write everything that you eat on a piece of paper then sign up for a free account on a website that helps you track your calories such as theDailyplate. theDailyplate and many other similar sites give you a very good estimate on each foods caloric and macronutrient breakdown once you have logged everything in. After three days, take the average calories consumed, make that your baseline.
If your goal is to lose fat:
Week One: Day One: Eat 100 calories below your baseline Days Two & Three: Eat 200 calories below your baseline Days Four & Five: Eat 300 calories below your baseline Day Six: Eat 400 calories below your baseline
Week Two: Eat 500 calories below your baseline
Week Three: Eat 600 calories below your baseline
Week Four: Eat 700 calories below your baseline
If your goal is to build muscle:
Week One: Day One: Eat 100 calories above your baseline Day Two: Eat 200 calories above you baseline Days Three & Four: Eat 300 calories above your baseline Day Five: Eat 400 calories above your baseline Day Six: Eat 500 calories above your baseline
Week Two: Days One – Three: Eat 600 calories above your baseline Day Four – Six: Eat 700 calories above your baseline
Week Three: Daye One- Three: Eat 800 calories above your baseline Days Four – Six: Eat 900 calories above your baseline
Week Four: Eat 1000 calories above your baseline
For intermediate and advanced trainees, you should already be keeping a food log and should know what your baseline calories are. You also have more data to work with, so to get the best reading, simply throw your caloric intake for the past month on an excel spreadsheet, and figure out the average. Then move ahead towards your goal.
There is more to it then just caloric intake. You need to make sure that your calories are coming in from clean sources. Don’t expect to gain muscle or lose fat if you’re still eating those potato chips.
