Exposing the Fat Loss Myths!

Hey!

Crazy MOFO Fitness blogger here!

I hope you're having a blast and today I'd like to expose some Fat Loss myths that I hear or read every single day and quite frankly, I laugh my ass off:)

There is no particular order in which the myths will be discussed so I'll just keep writing as the BS I hear every day will flow in to my brain :)

• Myth: Carbohydrates will make you fat!

Now that's a good one, and I don't understand how anyone can back this up, but science as experience, show us completely the opposite!

First of all carbs are ESSENTIAL for your glycogen deposits (energy, stamina etc.), for your nervous system, for your insulin sensitivity (by the way insulin is the most anabolic hormone in the body) and countless other factors that 50 blog posts of 2000 words each wouldn't be enough, trust me.

Secondly, without carbs you can't build muscle, period! Without building muscle you won't have a raised metabolic rate and without raised metabolic rate you burn less calories and you will lose MORE mass and gain fat on the long run.

How's that for BS that is circulating around the net and in the gyms.

Now how did this myth came about? Well to be fair not all carbs are created equal. Actually some carbs will aid to give you the big belly :) and these are usually refined, processed carbs like white bread, white tortillas, white sugar etc. 

If you want to lose fat you'll have to go for unrefined, unprocessed carbs like: sweet potatoes, yams, whole wheat pasta, brown rice, fresh fruits (NOT good pre training or at night), oatmeal and veggies (fibrous carbs) preferably broccoli, cabbage etc.

Now to be fair, I have to say that if you eat more carbs than your body actually uses you will gain fat, but that goes for every other macronutrient too. The secret to have carbs working for you instead of against you is to manipulate your carb intake and timing just right.

That way you'll gain more mass and actually lose tons of fat and dry out. I will cover a little bit of carb manipulation on another post.

• Myth: Fat will make you fat!

No sir! BAD fat will make you fat.

What is bad fat? How about butter, fatty meat, chicken skin, bacon, fried olive oil, whole fat cheese and milk etc, etc.

Good fats are unsaturated fats. Essential fatty acids like the omega fatty acids contained in white fish, unprocessed nuts, avocados, sesame oil, olive oil among others is the way to go.

Do yourself a favor and consume good fats in your everyday nutrition, you will be healthier, you'll regulate your blood pressure save your cardiovascular from trouble, burn more fat (you read right), help your joints, feed your brain and nervous system and numerous other benefits you don't want to miss.

• Myth: fat loss pills will make you lean in no time!

What a crock of $hit! Fat loss pills will actually LOWER your metabolism on the long run because of that little thing called REBOUND.

What happens is that when you take fat loss pills containing stimulants like caffeine, mahuang, ephedra extract and the works, your metabolism is raised in a unnatural, too fast, non-progressive way and that causes an alarm in your system. As soon as you stop those pills (and you will have to eventually) your body crashes and rebounds (homeostasis anyone ;D) by lowering its metabolic rate lower than before you take the fat loss pills so eventually you'll gain more fat.

If you want supplements that will help you lose fat in a smoother more natural and progressive way and improve your health too, go for a good omega fatty acids supplement, a good carnitine supplement and a good cortisol blocker. Trust me, you're better off without stimulants. You'll lose more bodyfat and be healthier on the long run.

• Myth: Cardio will make you lean.

No it won't. It will just burn some extra calories and get rid of some water, that's all. Cardio will keep you metabolism elevated for no more that 5 hours.

Weight training is that way to go if you want long term, permanent fat loss. 

You'll gain muscle and when you do,  you're burning more fat all day long, point simple, point blank, not to mention that weight training keeps your metabolism elevated for up to 48 hours depending on the intensity you put in your workouts.

If you want to use cardio wisely, go with 3-4 20-minute High Intensity cardio sessions per week, no more.

You'll have far more better and faster results if you focus on proper nutrition and weight training and you can take that for a fact.

This has been tested again and again by the top trainers and fitness gurus all over the world and it sure works!

I don't want to bore you anymore by exposing all the BS out there one by one so to get it over with... Green tea, fat loss pills, miracle diets, ketogenic diets, fasting diets and all the latest "secrets" out there are completely junk in terms of fat loss.

It's good to balance your system out from time to time be detoxifying your system with some of these diets but no more than 4 days and making sure that you don't train on these days.

Other than that, the long cut is always a short cut which means that the recipe for fat loss is one and consists of: Proper nutrition, supplementation, ball to the wall weight training and wise use of cardio and that recipe proves itself time and time again, everyday, everywhere.

Talk to ya on the next post until then...

Go and kick some Arse ;)

Harry

Post Workout Nutrition & Supplementation

Hey!

Welcome to the latest episode of the crazy MOFO fitness blogger :P.

Today we are going to talk about post workout nutrition and supplementation.

There are some key things to consider when choosing post workout foods. What kind of exercise you'll be doing (weights or cardio?), and what level of intensity you'll be putting to your workout.

Hopefully, your training intensity is high as this is the only way (in my opinion) that I know of that has worked for me and every single one of the people I've trained over the years.

So, assuming that you won't go half-assed in the gym, there are some tips I want to give you in order to be able to find what's right for you. 

As always, all bodies are not the same and you have to experiment and listen to your body. Measure your progress as you go along.

My sole purpose here is to give you some principles in order to learn how to think on fitness nutrition and then discover what is the best approach for YOUR body.

1. Generally pick carbs that are of medium to high GI (Glycemic Index). 

The reason for that though, is not what you think it is!

For example, white rice and brown rice have the same GI but white rice is usually refined and your body has a mechanism that tends to assimilate NON refined foods faster and more efficiently. I can't back this up scientifically because as I said the metrics (GI) are almost identical BUT the real world and personal experience has taught me otherwise. I'd pick brown rice over white any day, and these are just my 2 cents.

So, the carbs of choice post workout would be non-refined, medium to high GI carbs like bananas, brown rice, potatoes and sweet potatoes etc.

The medium to high GI carbs are generally digested faster, thus are available sooner for your body to work with. Manipulate various kinds and quantities of carbs to see what fits YOUR body.

2. Prefer a protein that's absorbed quickly. I'd go with supplements like beef protein isolate or hydrolyzed whey isolate. These 2 are quickly broken down in to amino acids and they're tending to be quicker to digest and absorb.

There's another option for nitrogen retention post workout that I see very few people use and I think they're making a big mistake (I'm not excluding myself here and I'm not judging anyone).

This method is to consume a good peptide bonded amino acid formula immediately post workout with your carbs. In my humble opinion, amino acids are far superior than protein powders in terms of absorption, as long as they are peptide bonded and complete protein (essential and non-essential). The reason for the amino superiority is that aminos don't need to be broken down to.... aminos, in order to be assimilated and construct the much needed protein in the hard pounded muscles :). Give aminos a try and thank me later ;)

Now, to some examples that I use and change often between one another.

Now those example are for me (225 lbs. at the moment). Based on these try to adjust accordingly to your bodyweight.

1. 2 medium or large bananas with 2-3 scoops of beef or whey isolate (25-30 grams of protein per scoop). That's because protein powder sources are giving Net Nitrogen (NNU) for Body Protein Synthesis (BPS) at a rate of only 16% - 40% (shit). That's why we need enough grams to retain or gain muscle.

2. A couple of small backed potatoes or sweet potatoes with 6-7 bi-peptide amino acid tablets . The advantage we have here is of course the rate absorption of bi-peptide amino acid tablets (80% - 99%) Yeah buddy!:)

3. Brown Rice and a steak with 3-4 bi-peptide amino acid tablets.

Other supplements to consider post workout: Extra Glutamine, creatine, athletic multivitamin (better ratios of micros) and extra vitamin C.

All of the above can help you recover much faster thus, giving you a faster progress rate.

As I always stress, the above guidance is 10-15% of the equation. The rest 85-90% is having a customized balanced nutrition battle plan and stick to it. If you need one proven nutrition battleplan, fill the contact form on the left and I'll contact you ASAP (Fees apply). Real food will make all the difference in your body, provided you're training like a f#cking animal :)

Some folks have told me that the above post workout meals are small for a 225 pound fellow like moi :)  Guys, keep in mind that if you train intensely enough to the best of your ability, your stomach is pretty upset for at least 1 hour post training, at least mine is. Personally, I can't eat giant portions of food (or supps for that matter) after I had a -balls to the wall- training session and you know what? Neither should I. The goal here is to have a small to medium sized meal immediately post workout in order to start the recuperation process and eat again after 1 to 2 hours.. Got the picture?

Next post we're going to attack Pre workout nutrition but until then...

YOU should be kicking some SERIOUS Arse ;)

Harry.

 

Basic Nutrition Principles Take 2.

Hey Y'all!

Today we will talk about the Micronutrients aka Vitamins, Minerals, Trace Elements & Organic Acids. Ok, I'm being way too simplistic here but as always, I try to use a non scientific terminology and don't go in to depth  in order for the average reader to get the point of what a f4ck I'm trying to say.
After all this is not a chemistry lesson!

Let's start!

Minerals

• Dietary minerals (magnesium, potassium, sodium, zinc, iodine.) are needed in small quantities.
• Macrominerals are needed in larger quantities.
• Microminerals (Trace Elements) include Iron, Cobalt, Iodine, Zinc, Manganese among others and are needed in small quantities.
• Supporters of the biochemical reactions of metabolism.

Vitamins

They are:

• Organic Chemicals that your body requires in small amounts in order to maintain good health.
• Must be obtained from food because most of them can not be synthesized by your body.
• A, B (1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 12)  C (Ascorbic Acid), E (Tocopherol) and many more.

Now in order to obtain these little mofo's you are required to have a balanced nutrition plan and if you're not, you either use GOOD supplements or you are f8cked :-)

Just kidding, but vitamin and mineral deficiency will get you in trouble.

Where to find them micronutrients? 

Uuuhm, everywhere? Fruits, Veggies, Water you name it! You can find a hell of an Iron and B vitamin in lean red meat as you can find a shitload of calcium in some veggies.

Now, like I said in my previous post if your diet is poor due to lack of time or you train like there's no tomorrow and you need to supplement your micronutrient intake then by all means do it. But do it sensibly and wisely.

You can find a good selection of supplements over at Predator nutrition (EU but ships to US).

Until Next Post,

Stay Hungry and Kick A$$.

Harry.