Now lets break down our eating habits themselves.  Develop a tracking system for our progress, and calorie counting system.  Everything that we are doing should start coming together for you in your program like a road map, I am so excited for you!  I love when clients allow me to asist them in their fitness journey, and develop relationships that last a lifetime.

  Obesity is an ever growing concern in this country, mainly because of our high fat diets and increasingly sedentary lifestyle.  The facts are we eat to much and move to little.2

It is recommended that you eat anywhere from 4 to 6 meals a day to increase the metabolism.  Since your metabolism is mainly food based, eating less more often makes a lot of since.  I usually liken the metabolism to a wood burning stove.  If your going to heat your house with wood in a fire place, you don’t put all of the wood on the fire at once now do you.  You put a little bit of wood at a time all day long.  Your metabolism is the same way, smaller amounts of food every 3 to 4 hours…DO THIS!!! VERY IMPORTANT!!!  However you still need to stay in your daily caloric budget.

It is also very important that you have a tracking system in place, so that you are able to keep track of your calories in.  That’s why I did your homework for you!  Below is a link that is going to empower you to stay in your daily caloric budget by counting calories, and tracking your progress.  Every successful fitness professional, including myself has a method of counting calories and tracking progress.  I teach it, and hammer it, to each and every client.

Try DietPower FREE for 15 Days

 Nutrition is defined as the sum of the processes by which an animal or plant takes in and utilizes food substances.1  The understanding of nutrition is going to be vital in determining our success.  Lets breakdown the macro-nutrients(protein, carbohydrates, and lipids or fats), their uses and go over some recommendations.

I believe that protein is probably the most misunderstood of the macro-nutrients due to the many myths created in the gym over the years.  Hopefully we can clear up some of these misconceptions about protein.

Protein:  The primary function of protein is to build and repair body tissues and structures.  It is also involved in the synthesis of hormones, enzymes and otheris to build and repair body tissues and regulatory peptides.  Additionally, protein can be used for energy if calories or carbohydrates are insufficient in the diet.2 

These proteins need to be broke down into constituent amino acids before the body can use for its own purpose ranging from tissue replacement or tissue addition to a need for energy.  There are four calories in a single gram of protein, which is going to be anywhere from 15 – 30 percent of daily caloric budget. 

Protein requirements can be affected by anaerobic and aerobic exercise, total energy intake, caloric intake and carbohydrate intake.  During a negative energy balance(or caloric deficit), amino acids are used to  assist in energy production(or gluconeogenesis), wherein protein requirements may dramatically increase. 

Protein intake may also be adjusted to aid in satiety in individuals seeking fat loss, who may benefit from protein by feeling full and energized throughout the day. 

The recommended dietary allowance for protein is 0.8 g/kg/day, or 15-30 percent of total caloric intake.(that’s 0.8 g of protein per kg of body weight per day)  However, this may vary among athletes from 1.0-2.0 g/kg/day.  A high-protein diet consisting of more than 30 percent of total caloric intake from protein is associated with heart disease and some types of cancer(due to a higher intake of saturated fat and low fiber intake), overworked kidneys (due to elimination of the increase urea), inadequate calcium intake and possible dehydration.2

Protein supplementation is important in today’s society due to our fast pace lifestyle of waiting until the last minute and wanting things NOW!  Whether your male or female, building muscle or losing weight which is what this post is about.  Protein supplements have become an increasingly huge part of our lives, without them it would be very difficult to get in the recommended 4 to 6 meals a day.  You can get the right protein supplement for you by following the link below, whether its one of three different types of whey, soy, or even an egg protein.  Stop procrastinating!

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 Protein Supplements:  replace whole-food proteins, eliminating unwanted calories, convenience when whole food is unavailable, cost; marketers promote protein supplements as a lower-cost-per-gram nitrogen source when compared to whole foods.2

In part 3 of Fat Loss(calories-in) I will break down carbohydrates and fats.

 2.Second Edition Copyright©2004 National Academy of Sports Medicine printed in the United States of America; (15)pp582,591

• Distribute protein, carbohydrates and fat throughout the day and at each meal.
• Choose whole grains and fresh vegetables over refined grains and simple sugars(the fiber and complexity of the starch will aid in hunger control).
• Schedule no fewer than four and as many as six meals a day.  This helps to control hunger, minimize blood-sugar fluctuations and increase energy levels throughout the day.
• Avoid empty calories and highly processed foods, which contain many calories and do little to provide satiety.
• Drink a lot of water ( 8 to 12 cups per day)
• Weigh and measure food for at least one week.  This will make you more aware of caloric values and serving sizes, as well as decrease the likelihood of under-reporting calories.(1)

Now lets go over the single most difficult aspect(next to portion control) people face today that want to lose body fat, calories-in budget.  It is so easy to consume more calories than the body burns causing us to gain weight.  It is difficult to lose weight when you don’t know how many calories that you are currently taking in, and how many that you need to be taking in to lose weight.  Everyone is different, and usually require a different caloric budget.

The majority of people don’t even know where to begin, and that is exactly what we are going to accomplish right now.  First thing is to find out how many calories your body burns on a daily basis, so that we can determine how many that we need to take in.  Grab a pen, go on, just pick up the pen and I’ll wait for a few minutes while you find one.

OK, we are going to use a generic formula since you don’t have access to Body Gem that measures your RMR(resting metabolic rate).  Well I do, halla if you want one done for the low price of $99.95, just kidding.  Alright, we have our pen and we are ready to figure our daily caloric budget, Right?

FORMULA:

Body Weight x 10=RMR(resting metabolic rate) x Lifestyle Factor(1.4 to 1.8) = Weight Maintenance – 250 to 1000(daily calorie deficit) = Daily Caloric Budget

Body Weight – How much you way(duh)

RMR(resting metabolic rate) - how many calories your body burns at rest in a 24 hour period(metabolism)

Lifestyle Factor- 1.4 for sedentary jobs(office), 1.6 active, 1.8 very active

Weight Maintenance - caloric intake to maintain current weight

Daily caloric deficit - (minus) daily calories from maintenance calories

Daily Caloric Budget - how many calories to consume on a daily basis

Let me explain using my own body weight, lets say I would like to lose 20lbs of body fat in 12 weeks.  1lb of fat equals 3500 calories, remember.  3500 x 20 = 70,000, I need to create a caloric deficit of 70,000 in 84 days. Calories in versus calories out, I need to deficit of about 833 calories a day to reach my goal, challenging, but not impossible.  500 calories I will strip from my diet the other 333 I will burn during exercise.

FORMULA: the same formula as above, just added my own body wt., lifestyle factor, and caloric deficit

190lbs x 10 = 1900 x 1.4 = 2660 – 500 = 2160

With this combination, the right amount of calories a day and exercise, I am guaranteed to reach my goal of 170lbs in 12 short weeks.

Look for parts 2 and 3 soon!

1National Academy of Sports Medicine

Lets get right down to what the majority of people are looking for in an excercise program, fat loss!  Fat loss boils down to two factors, “calories in“ versus “calories out“.  Period…  Body fat reduction can only happen when their is more calories being burned than consumed.  So if we are basically looking at a two part equation, then let us dive into the easy one first.

For the majority of those wanting to lose body fat, “calories in” will be our biggest challenge.  With that being said, I will first talk to you about calories out. 

I could sit here and talk to you about how oxygen allows fat and glucose to be burned as fuel, and in turn produces the waste product carbon dioxide and water, and excess post-exercise oxygen consumption(EPOC).  However, I won’t do that to you.  Plus I don’t want you to think that I am smarter than I really am.  Bottom line, move more, eat less!

Calories out, here comes that evil word cardio. 

Cardio is the devil!!! 

When our goal is fat loss, then our focus needs to be on burning calories not fat.  Contrary to many beliefs their is no mystical fat burning zone that the body enters and the fat melts away. 

One pound of body fat equals 3500 calories, that means that an individual has to create an imbalance of 3500 calories out to lose 1lb of body fat.  So to put it in perspective for you, if you are exercising 5 days a week, 700 calories need to be burned per workout to lose one pound of body fat in one week.  (Don’t be discouraged with the 3500 calories.  Calories out is only half of our equation, eating less more often will cut these numbers in half)  

Lets use the acronym F.I.T.T. as a general guideline for our cardio training using improved fitness recommendations.

FREQUINCY: Referring to number of cardio training sessions in a given time, 5-7 days a week.

INTENSITY: Level of demand placed on the body.  220 – age x 60% to 90%. For fat loss I want you to stay at 70% of your Max HR using this formula. 220 – age x 70% = Target Heart Rate .

TIME:  The length of time that an individual is engaged in the cardio activity.  20 – 60 minutes depending on the goal, the more weight you want to lose, the more cardio you should do.

TYPE:  The type of physical activity engaged in.  Remember these are improved fitness recommendations, not general health requirements.  Treadmill, cross-trainer, bike, stair stepper, etc…, aerobic classes, sports.  Also remember that the type of exercise while not necessary, should be enjoyable.  You are more likely to do it if you enjoy what you are doing.  If you hate running than don’t run!!! 

Find an excersise or activity that is going to fit these guidelines and is going to be enjoyable for you. 

Stay tuned for my video blog Fat Loss(calories in).  I will take you through a virtual tour of the grocery store on what to buy and not to buy when our goal is fat loss.

I’m off to hit the heavy bag(my preferred cardio), very enjoyable!  Running?  Not so much!