Ok, this one sounds like a no brainer but it amazes how we know that we need to eat but most of us don’t know HOW to eat.

Just yesterday at the gym, I was speaking to someone who asked me for advice on reducing fat around their stomach and increasing mass in their abs.. yup folks, the number 1 question of how to get cut abs.

When I questioned this person on their diet, I was shocked to hear that they only ate once a day and at 10pm no less. To make it worse, this person said they eat pasta and chicken. The fallacy that pasta is good for you is another issue in itself but let’s debunk the number one mistake people make when trying to burn fat or lose weight and that is EATING LESS AND STARVING YOURSELF IS NOT HOW TO LOSE FAT!

If anything, starving yourself triggers your body’s fat storage mode because it goes into survival mode. Chances are, with one meal a day, you’re way below your calorie consumption is way below your requirements are to maintain your basal metabolic rate. What this means is that not only does your metabolic rate slow down but you’re store fat and burn muscle instead! Hardly what you want when you’re trying to gain muscle and burn fat right?

The trick to boost your metabolic rate and to put your body in a fat burning mode is to actually eat more meals. Whilst sticking within your daily caloric intake (we will discuss how to work your caloric requirements in another article) but spreading your meals across 6-8 smaller meals is the key to accelerating your metabolic rate.  A good analogy is to that of a fire, by constantly topping up a fire with with wood, you keep it burning, much like your metabolism.

Eating Protein at every meal is also quite important. Not only does protein help with cell reproduction, it also increases the metabolic rate slightly since it contains thermogenic properties.

Eating Carbohydrates is important to be energised as well as maintaining sanity but choosing both the sources of your carbohydrates and the timings of when you eat them is key to keeping the fat off. Starchy carbohydrates are all well and good but cut out refined carbohydrates, sugars and crap out of your diet (Chips, crisps, sweets, white breads, white pastas etc). Carbohydrates affect your insulin levels and there is something called the glycemic index which scales how quickly and highly a carbohydrate spikes your insulin. Foods higher on the glycemic index should be avoided except after training in your post workout meal/shake (however, the glycemic index is a simplistic way to look at this as combining foods effects the overall glycemic load but you’ll still find the best sources of carbs in the lower end of the glycemic index)

Eating Fats is also essential to fat loss… that’s right, I said eat fat! Like carbs though, all fats are not created equal. It’s saturated fats you’ll want to minimise along with trans fatty acids and hydrogenated fats (fats that are solid at room temperature like butter). Fried foods are also a nono. Good fats are mono unsaturated fats, omega 3s and omega 6s. Good sources of these include avocados, fish, seeds and nuts. Just be careful to remember that fats are calorie dense so it’s a good idea to not over do your fat consumption. I’m also a fan of not combining fats and carbs in meals. So make your last few meals later on in the day protein and fat meals unless you workout later at night.

So in summary here are a few pointers on how to eat.

1. Eat smaller more frequent meals (6-8 smaller meals per day)

2. Consume protein with every meal

3. When eating carbohydrates, consume them during  the day and make them come from sources such as vegetables and low glycemic whole foods. Starchy carbs should be eaten around training and high glycemic carbs straight after a workout.

4. Choose healthy fats. Avocados, nuts and natural nut butters, seeds, fish, fish oil supplements and flax seed oils are good.

5. Eat nutrient dense vegetables every day (greens etc)

6. Try not to consume too much fats and carbs in the same meal

7. drink lots and lots of water!

8. Avoid sugars, refined carbohydrates and convenience foods where you can.

Yeah, 6-8 meals can take some planning particularly if you have a busy schedule but getting into a habit of preparing your meals the night before and packing convenient snack foods (fruit, vegetables, protein bars, hard boiled eggs, food in tupperware containers) will help. Remember, it’s all about developing healthy habits so don’t make being busy an excuse to not getting your meals in (when I had busy days at university, I remember eating a meal in the toilets haha)

Remember, you can make excuses or you can make progress but you can’t do both!

 

I had an interesting conversation yesterday after training with a few guys at the gym. Whilst some of us were there mixing our post workout shakes in our branded shakers, a few guys questioned us on our need for them. Some stating “you should get your protein from real food” and others just saying how damn expensive supplements are!

Now, I was one of those in the protein shake camp who gulped down a strawberry flavoured post workout shake which I thought was quite yummy but it got me thinking. I was a bit of a slave to supplements early on in my training career, gulfing down as many pills and potions as I could afford expecting some miracle of  epic proportions of performance enhancement to occur but I didn’t really feel that much different.

Lately, i’ve cut down on supplement use, mostly due to financial factors. I actually feel no difference during my workouts now than I did when I took expensive NOS pre workout stimulants (though I have a very potent workout stimulant and that’s my desire to be the best I can be!). Although I cannot deny that pre workout stimulants can help give you a buzz and I do have good experiences with them, it seems as though people now a days feel as though their workouts will be total failures without them. Many supplements on the market are not essential however, I will say that supplements do have their purposes.

As I stated earlier, I did have a post workout shake. I think if you’re going to have one protein based supplement in your workout armoury, at least have  post workout shake. The reason is simple in my opinion. Firstly, after a gruelling workout, your body is screaming at you for nutrients. Your muscle glycogen will be depleted and if muscle gain is important to you then by not having something quickly, you could force your body into a catabolic state where you’ll lose muscle.

A post workout shake (A shake with high glycemic carbohydrates and fast absorbed protein along with any other goodies to aid recovery) is a quick and convenient hit! It’s not always convenient to have whole food in your gym bag and eat it right after a workout and that short window of opportunity to get your recovery nutrients in could have closed by the time you get home, get cleaned up and cook/prepare your meals. So in that instance, I would definitely recommend a post workout shake.

Supplements, as their name suggest, are there to supplement your diet. And frankly, it is hard to get all the nutrients we need especially with all the processed food around and nutrients in whole foods not being as potent as they once were if you make wise choices you can cut back on supplements and keep them to a minimum. A protein shake to top up your protein is OK as are essential fats (Udo’s oil is highly recommended) and a good multi vitamin too but if you’re training on a budget, don’t be fooled into thinking you need every supplement under the sun. Remember, supplement companies and the magazines (most of whom are actually owned by supplement companies) want you to be dependant  on them and all the latest and greatest pills and potions out there but if you eat unprocessed whole foods, quality proteins and fats you can keep your supplement use down.

In conclusion, suppements do serve a good purpose. I highly recommend post workout shakes that are designed for such purpose as it cuts down your recovery time and helps you train harder sooner, and supplements to help you meet your daily requirements of proteins, vitamins and essential fats are good if you’re not getting them from whole food but there is also a lot of hype about supplements too and lots of fads and trends that are here today and gone tomorrow so be weary and do your research!

Chok Dee!

Fahad

Protein seems to be a big buzz word in the vocabulary of anyone interested in their fitness or sports nutrition and rightly so as it is one of the macronutrients alongside fats and carbohydrates (Yeah, alcohol is a macronutrient too but you don’t need that to survive so we won’t mention them as an essential)

Cynics amongst us may think that too  much emphasis has been given to protein in order for supplment companies to sell us more of their wonderful protein powders and ready to drink shakes and potions but let’s see what protein’s all about and why, as a fighter or someone interested in fitness in general, a diet rich in protein is a good idea!

So what exactly is protein?

Every cell in our body is made up of protein and the protein we consume is made up of amino acids. Our bodies use the amino acids which are digested from the protein we eat in order to build more protein help repair cell tissue and help them regenerate.

Now our bodies can generate some amino acids itself which are "non essential" but the rest have to come from food and these are called "essential amino acids" These can come from a variety of sources including:

• Meat
• Fish
• Dairy products
• Supplements
• Beans, Legumes, Pulses
• Soy products

Some of the sources above are better than others. "Complete protein sources" provide all of the essential amino acids and are usually found in meat, fish and supplements whilst "incomplete protein sources" do not have all essential amino acids and are typically found in vegetable protein sources.

Protein aids in the building of muscle tissue which is extremely important for a fitness lifestyle because lean muscle mass is good!

Why do you need it?

Like I just said, Lean muscle mass is a good thing but put it this way, When you work out or put your body through strenuous activity, you’re putting your body through stress which means cells and muscle take a beating and need to be repaired. Ever had that achey sore feeling a few days after a gruelling workout? That’s called Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness or D.O.M.S. for short which are micro tears in the muscles from over use. Protein helps rebuild the muscle tissue and help generate new muscle tissue too so if you’re looking to gain muscle mass, adequate protein is required. So it’s good for gaining muscle and recovery. It is also beneficial for rehabilitation from injury.

How much should you take?

Mostly, this depends on your body and your activity levels but an active person should have, in my opinion, between 1-2 grams of protein per lbs of lean muscle mass per day. It should also make up around 30-40% of your total caloric intake but this again depends on your requirements and a more in depth approach should be taken.

If you’re not too active and are just interested in healthy eating or weight loss, I would still recommend eating up to  1 gram of protein per lbs of lean muscle mass.

It helps you lose weight!

Imagine that your metabolism is like a furnace, a fat burning furnace (or at least a calorie burning one). Lean muscle mass keeps that furnace working harder thus making it burn more calories. Therefore the more lean muscle mass your body is comprised of as opposed to fat and water, the more calories you can burn even during resting periods. Since protein helps with muscle synthesis, it will help you lose weight. Also when you’re trying to lose weight, chances are you’ll lose some muscle which means a weaker furnace but making sure you’re getting adequate intake of protein will keep you from losing much muscle.