Diet Makeover! (Continued) day 2

Calories in VS calories out!!! This is a hotly debated topic, there are those out that will tell you if you take in less calories than you burn then you will lose weight. Then there are others out there that will say this theory is a complete misconception, they will tell you it’s all about the macronutrients, their ratios and timing. Well I have news for all of you, it’s both!!! Although generally speaking if you consume less calories than you burn you will lose weight, however if your macronutrients are not in check that weight loss will be short lived as your body could go into a catabolic state as well as slow your metabolism down.

So where do you go from here? The first thing you want to do is use the Harris Benedict equation to calculate your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate), next factor in your daily activity level and this will give you the amount of calories you need to consume to maintain your current weight, decrease that by 500 calories a day, and your weight loss will be about 1 lb per week (+/- 500 calories a day = 3500 a week, it takes about +/- 3500 calories to gain or lose 1 lb of body weight). Now that you know the amount of calories you need to lose 1 lb a week, this is when we will factor in macronutrients and their ratios. The ratio I recommend starting out with is 40% protein, 35% carbohydrates, and 25% fat, and once you see how your body responds to this you can tweak these percentages to what works best for your body. So for example if the amount of calories you needed to lose weight was 1500 you want 40% protein, 35% carbohydrates, and 25% fat, (keep in mind that protein and carbohydrates are 4 calories a gram, and fat is 9 calories a gram). So 40% of 1500 = 600 calories, divide that by 4 calories per gram = 150g protein, next carbohydrates, 35% of 1500 = 525 calories, divide that by 4 calories per gram = 131.25g carbohydrates, and finally fat, 25% of 1500 = 375 calories, divide that by 9 calories per gram =41.6g fat. So your new diet will be 1500 calories a day consisting of 150g protein, 131.25g carbohydrates, and 41.6g fat. I know it sounds somewhat complicated but it’s really not, just Google the Harris Benedict equation and it will walk you through the entire process. Just keep in mind you want your carbohydrate sources to be complex carbohydrate, and your fat sources to be healthy fats.

Diet Makeover!

Over the next few days I will be providing you a few quick, hopefully helpful tips for improving your diet, boosting your metabolism and losing fat.

First off, for all of you out there who are intentionally not eating 3-4 hours before bed time in an attempt to prevent weight gain stop this immediately. You are already going to be depriving your body of nutrients the entire time you sleep, if you add 4 hours to that you could be going as much as 12hrs without nutrients that your body needs. Even when I am cutting the last thing I do before I brush my teeth and go to bed is eat. The trick it to have a protein/fat meal, you are going to want a slow digesting protein and a healthy fat, (I use a casein protein, and natural peanut butter), the fat will slow the digestion of the protein even further to fuel your body while you sleep.  This will help prevent your body from burning muscle for fuel and it will also help prevent your body from going into starvation mode and slowing down your metabolism. There are many meal options to choose form that will provide slow digesting protein and healthy fat, so be creative, try different things, and for crying out loud EAT BEFORE BED!!!

When NOT to change your exercise routine!

There are times when it is a good idea to change your exercise routine, for example if it has stopped producing results, your schedule no longer allows you to follow the same protocol, you are having issues with injury, etc. However there are also times when it is not necessarily a good idea to change your routine, I look at it like this, if it’s not broken, don’t fix it. I see people all the time that are changing their workouts too frequently, you have to give a given split or routine enough time to see if it works for you. I am not saying you should stick with if for 6 months but a good time period to reevaluate is around the 4 week period. This amount of time should allow you to ascertain whether or not the new program is producing results. So if it’s not broken, don’t fix it, and if is it, well then fix it already!

A strong mind can lead to a strong body.

The mind is a very powerful thing, and I think sometimes people tend to overlook this factor when it comes to their fitness goals. A quote I like is, “whether you think you can, or whether you think you can’t, you are right”, I believe it was Stewie Griffin that said that. The point is that your mind can either help you or hinder you from reaching your fitness goals. If you tell yourself that you can’t do it, that it’s too hard, that it is a pointless pursuit, then you are absolutely correct. However if you stay positive, reassure yourself, and know that you can prevail, than that is just what you will do. So stay positive, work hard, and never give up.

A new week is a fresh start!

Whit Monday morning comes many things for many of us, like work, chores, appointments, and its back to the hustle and bustle of the busy week. However Monday does not have to be all bad, you can look at this new week as a fresh start to tackle your fitness goals. So last week may not have been ideal, you had unhealthy  fast food one too many times, you did not exercise as much as you should have, that’s ok, because today is Monday, it’s a clean slate, a chance to start all over. Now you just have to figure out how you’re going to make this week better than last week. Start by writing down your fitness and nutrition plans and goals for the week.  If you write them down you are more likely to follow them, then you could do something like not allowing yourself to go out to eat until you have checked of all of your goals for that week, see that’s 2 birds with one stone, you will be more likely to reach your weekly goals, and you will be less likely to go out to eat and make unhealthy food selections.

Fitness out of the gym!

Fitness is achievable many different ways, spending hours on end in the gym is not the only way to achieve your desired level of fitness. There are so many other options, you can swim, walk, run, play, bike, rock climb, the list goes on and on. For example I went for a hike today, it was about a 4 mile round trip hike on fairly uneven mountainous terrain. Aside from the calories that were burned, the uneven, shifting, ever-changing terrain also had another benefit, you see when you are on terrain like that you start to involve muscles from all over your body to stabilize yourself. It starts in the feet, and works all the way up through your entire body. One of the largest areas that is used for stabilization is your core, and this is evident if you place your hands on your abs when you are hiking in conditions like this, you can feel your abs working to stabilize your body and keep your balance. The point to all of this is that you don’t have to go to the gym to get a good workout, you can get a good workout just about anywhere. You just have to pick a method that you will enjoy, then have fun and before you know you have hiked, or biked, or ran your way to fitness.  

I am Back!

Due to many different factors I have not been keeping up with my blog, I apologize for that.  Between Job hunting, starting a new job, keeping up with my clients and preparing for a bodybuilding show I have been pretty busy lately. However I am going to make an honest effort to update this blog consistently, as well as start another blog that will follow my training and preparation for my upcoming bodybuilding show.  I look forward to this and hope you all find it interesting, informative, helpful and motivational.