thenaturalone’s BodyBlog

As you probably know everyone and their brother, sister and cousin has a book out there about how to lose weight. There’s the Atkins diet, the South Beach diet, nutri system, Jenny Craig, Weight Watchers, and the Hollywood diet just to name a few. With so many different theories and ideas about weight loss it’s no wonder why it remains to be the single most confusing topic out there in terms of health and fitness. So which diets or weight loss plans actually work? Well, to tell you the truth, they all work to a certain point. The one common denominator of every single weight loss diet plan out there is that they all are reduced calorie diets. Any time you go on a plan where you maintain a calorie deficit diet for an extended period of time rather than flying by the seat of your pants eating whatever, whenever, then you will most definately lose weight. In the bodybuilding world the low carb diets are most popular for fat loss. And yes low carb diets do work well but they work by being a calorie deficit diet. An average person would be better off by reducing the portion size of all the macronutrients, that is fat, carbohydrates, and protein in order to cut calories, lose weight and still obtain a well balanced diet. Bodybuilders on the other hand will do better on a lower carb diet with more emphesis on protein in order to provide maximum building blocks to preserve and build the muscles which are constantly under a heavy work load and reducing carbohydrates and saturated fats in order to minumize  total bodyfat content at the same time which makes a bodybuilders situation more unique in this respect. However, taking extra supplements is an absolute must in order to obtain a well balanced diet when carbohydrate intake is low. Lots of fiberous carbs should replace startchy carbs. By fiberous carbs I mean lots of green leafy veggies like broccoli, asparagus, spinach, green beans, and mixed greens. This is important to provide low glycemic index carbohydrates which will provide energy with out causing big surges in insulin that will lead to bodyfat storage, they also provide vitamins, minerals and dietary fiber. A multivatamin, essential fats like flax oil, extra virgin olive oil, fish oil, and extra calcium and vitamin C need to be supplemented on a daily basis. Also branched chain amino acids and creatine ethylester should be taken before and after workouts to provide more energy and enhance muscle recovery and also keep blood sugar levels more stable. A good whey protein isolate supplement can very helpful to control food craving and also help fullfill the craving for sweets. Whey isolate is good to bridge the gaps between meals to keep up energy and also to take along with branched chain amino acids and creatine ethylester after your workouts to further enhance muscle recovery. Now in case your wondering why I suggest creatine ethylester as apposed to creatine monohydrate, it’s because creatine monohydrate requires alot of sugar to be taken with it in order to absorb which wont help fat loss on a low carb diet, creatine ethylester doesnt require sugar to be absorbed. It is also a good idea to try to take in smaller food portions on a more frequent basis to have a more optimal effect on increasing your metabolism. While it is important to reduce calories, it is also important to try to take in 5-6 small food portions per day composed of mainly lean protein sources and fiberous carbohydrates like green leafy vegetables. Eating in this manner will help preserve muscle tissue better which will keep your metabolic rate higher. The idea here is to increase the amount of nutrients you take in while reducing the amount of calories. The bottom line is that it isn’t one particular nutrient or one single thing you eat that makes you fat. It’s any calories consumed beyond your bodies maintenance and growth needs is what makes you fat. The idea is to create an energy deficit in the body which will force it to have to rely on stored bodyfat for energy. You make this happen simply by burning off more calories than you take in during the day. This means cut back on calories and increase the amount of exercise you do. Simple mathematics really. There’s 3600 calories in a pound of fat. With the modifications you make in your life style to do more exercise and eat fewer calories you may complete one week with a negative calorie balance of 3600-7200 calories. This means that you lost 1-2 pounds of fat. If you gain 1-2 pounds then you have taken in 3600-7200 calories during the week that your body didn’t need. Success here depends strictly on discipline to make a valid effort to cut back calories and keep up on a regular exercise plan. The more consistant you are with these two things the greater extent of weight loss you can achieve. I will be the first to admit, trying to lose weight is not fun, nor is it always  comfortable because in order to be cosistant on a weight loss plan you have to constantly turn down unhealthy food. That is a big reason why americans in general are becoming increasingly over weight, is because there is far too much unhealthy food available in way too many places. How often you turn away from these unhealthy food opportunities will reflect just how serious you are about creating a lean healthy body. All I can say is, the next time your boss brings in dounuts to work for a job well done, having the lean, healthy, strong, muscular body you’ve always dreamed of will feel 1000 X better than that dounut will taste! Be strong, stay disciplined and the rewards will be great! 

This entry was posted on Saturday, July 26th, 2008 at 4:53 pm and is filed under Training. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.