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Many people overlook the signification of nutrition. People will spend many hours training but never understand why they don't look good in the mirror. There are 168 hours in a week and only a small number of them are spent in the gym. Lifting weights breaks down the muscle but nutrition heals and builds the muscle back up.
The Main Question Is: Why Do We Get Fat In The First Place?
Many people strongly believe that just by eating fat, we get fat. This is so far from the truth! The main reason why we get fat is carbohydrates!
Over many years, we have been told by text books, nutritionist, and others to adhere to the food pyramid. Why? People follow it without even wondering why. Do you really believe a 250 lb male needs the same amount food and calories as a 100 lb female?
~Let me break it down for you~
All the food and drink labels are based on a 2,000-calorie diet (it's on basically everything). Now the food pyramid recommends you consume 60% carbohydrates from this diet.
60% (0.6) X 2,000 = 1,200 Carbohydrate Calories (because the calories are coming from carbohydrates).
The Science Fact:
20 carbohydrate calories = 5 grams of carbohydrates = 1 teaspoon of Sugar
If the food pyramid recommends consuming 1,200 carbohydrate calories daily, how many teaspoons of sugars is that?
1,200 carbohydrate calories / 20 = 60 teaspoons of sugar
Do we need all that sugar?
Believe it or not, our body is designed to only let 1 teaspoon of sugar pass through our blood stream a day! So what happens to the other 59 teaspoons?
When we eat carbohydrates, they break down into sugars (simple or complex, it doesn't matter). Carbohydrate is a fancy word for sugar. Now think of a conveyor belt going from your stomach to your liver and all these sugars are lined up on the belt. That sugar is then trying to pass through the liver into the blood steam, but the liver will not allow this to happen. The liver then stimulates the pancreas (signaling ?HELP!'). The pancreas then releases insulin (the fat storage hormone), and takes all the excess sugar on the conveyor belt and stores it as body fat.
THIS IS THE MAIN REASON WHY WE HAVE
EXCESS BODY FAT!
IF WE DO NOT BURN IT, WE STORE IT!
Our body will not let all the sugars pass through the system because if it did, YOU WOULD DIE! That is why certain types of diabetics take insulin shots (did you ever wonder why they took them?). So simply put, the more excess body fat a person has, the more times the body has saved your life.
WAIT. SO IF I CONSUME 0 CARBOHYDRATES WILL I LOSE ALL MY FAT AND NEVER GET FAT AGAIN?!
Yes and no. Yes, you will drop a lot of body fat, but you will never be able to stick with it in the long run. When you suddenly go from eating carbohydrates to reducing their intake, you feel drained and have no energy. Your body does not know what's going on, and will hold body fat back for a while, but it will eventually start losing the body fat. Because you are not providing your body with energy (sugar), your body will use up stored energy (your body fat). In return, you will lose body fat.
Some people will be able to stick with it for a while, but once you stop and go back to eating lots of carbohydrates, your body will suck up all those carbohydrates and store the sugars as fat. Then you will get discouraged and go back to your old lifestyle. This is for the average person that wants to lose excess body fat. Athletes need more carbohydrates than an average person because they need more energy to enhance their performance.
What do you suggest then?
I DO NOT recommend reducing your carbohydrates to 0. If you do, you will lose excess body fat fast, but you will feel drained and awful because you are not providing your body with enough energy (sugars). Since you do not provide your body with energy, it will use your stored fat as energy leading to a loss of excess body fat. You should consume a specific amount of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats to enhance your results and performance, but that varies depending on how active you are, if you play sports, and other factors. Eating healthily is all about making a lifestyle of it. You're more likely to stick with it in the long run if you slowly make changes rather than doing it all at once. Simply reduce the amount of times you go out to eat (or choose wisely), eat less junk food, fast foods, processed food (canned foods and pre-made foods), eat low glycemic index foods, and try to target the numbers for your specific needs and goals.
Want proof?
When bodybuilders get ready for a show, they reduce their carbohydrate intake significantly and increase their cardio exercises. As a result, they shed body fat quickly because they are simply using a lot of energy from the weight training and exercises. Plus they are not consuming a lot of carbohydrates (energy), so the body is then forced to use stored energy (body fat). Some bodybuilders, including myself, drop their carbohydrates significantly low when getting ready for a competition.
Well. I like to EAT!
True, but do you enjoy doing hours and hours of cardio? Think about it.
12oz soda/pop = 150 calories and 8 teaspoons of sugar (roughly)
15 to 30 minutes of cardio = 150 calories (roughly, depending what you are doing)
So, you would have to do 15 to 30 minutes of cardio just to burn off that one 12oz soda, plus your liver and pancreas has to go through the whole process. If you drink multiple sodas, just think of how much cardio you would have to do just to burn off what you drank before you would even start burning stored body fat.
*I just used soda/pop as an example, but it goes for other foods as well.
If you DO NOT consume certain foods, you will save yourself hours of cardio to burn off what you consume. So if you would reduce or not consume it, doing cardio would then use stored body fat for energy! Getting you 1 step closer to a 6 pack or other specific goal! Train smart, not harder.
When eating carbohydrates, there are ways to help reduce the chance of them converting to body fat. You need to eat the carbohydrates that take longer to break down and keep your blood sugars steady. Eating the foods with a low glycemic index is the key; that way, the body has time to use the sugars up, as we are active during the day. Plus eating low glycemic foods gives you energy longer instead of in short bursts.
Glycemic Index?
Yes! This is the secret! A glycemic index ranks foods on how high they raise the blood sugar levels after eating it. Click here for the "Glycemic Index."
PROTEIN
Protein is so important! Regardless if you are trying to lose weight, lose body fat, become leaner, get bigger, stronger, more explosive, or whatever your goal is, protein is a MUST! Protein is what makes the muscle bigger, stronger, leaner, and all the above. Remember, the more lean muscle mass you have, the more your metabolism will speed up, burning calories when you are doing nothing! Cardio burns calories as you are putting forth the effort but stops as soon as you stop. But adding lean muscle mass burns calories 24/7 and that is the key! And by eating protein you will not big and bulky. Most women believe this and fear lifting weights as they fear they will get BIG. What you have to understand is that women produce 6 times LESS testosterone then men do and that is a key to why men get bigger than women do. The women in the muscle magazines have been training specifically for years to get bigger.
What else do I need to know?
There is a lot of information out there, but if you follow my guidelines, you will build muscle, cut fat, and get ripped quicker than you ever thought possible. Everybody is different, and honestly, you have to find what works best for YOU! It takes many years to become an expert in knowing your body, but everybody wants quick results. Fitness is all about making a lifestyle. Results are up to you, and your will power. How bad do you really want it? That is the question. If you want it, you will make time for yourself.
~Because in the End~
~Your health is Priceless~
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