Successful Weight-Loss Framework

 Being overweight is the result of a lifestyle which consists of insufficient physical activity and sufficient food consumption. Losing excessive weight will happen when an individual reverses their lifestyle, becomes more physically active, and starts spending more energy than they are taking in.

Both factors are under our control; the lifestyle we live is the result of our decisions. We can sit in front of the TV or we can go to the gym, it is up to us. We can have a McDonald burger for lunch or broccoli and chicken breast, that is up to us as well. For both aspects of a healthy life style, fitness training and nutrition, most individuals need guidance. If you sign up for a gym membership, then find competent personal trainer and start working out with him or her. Work and learn so that one day you will be able to plan and execute a training plan in your own.

For the other important aspect of a healthy life style, nutrition, here is the framework that will help everybody who has a sincere desire to lose weight. This particular framework is a combination of what I have learned about nutrition throughout my sports career and suggestions from Monique Ryan, the nutritionist that I have the highest respect for.

Setting goals:

-        Body composition goal

Body composition index indicates the ratio between the lean mass and body fat. Decreasing percentage of fat to the healthy level while maintaining or increasing the lean mass is a better goal than just decreasing your body weight without considering lose of lean mass.  Hydrostatic weighing is the gold standard when it comes to body composition index. All other methods are not reliable.

-        Weight loss goal

If you gain lean mass while you losing fat, your weight loss will not be dramatic. What you see on the scale does not always represent what is really going on with your body.

-        Calorie deficit goal

There is no reason to be starving. Take just 200 – 300 calories a day less than you spend. With this approach you will still have enough energy for all your activities, you will lose fat slowly but surely, and you will preserve your lean mass.

Important points:

-        Minimize intake of energy from liquids

Drink mostly water and some energy drinks (such as Gatorade, PowerAde, etc…) before, during, and after extended workouts. If workout is less than an hour, water will do the job.

-        Eat breakfast with added protein

For example: a bowl of cereal with 1% milk and 25 – 30 grams of 100% whey protein

-        Eat carbohydrates with low glycemic index

When you eat low glycemic index food energy is released into your bloodstream slowly and steadily which means that you will have enough energy for a prolonged period of time and that you will not be as hungry as after eating bad food.   Here are listed some low glycemic index foods:

orange juice, apple juice, carrot juice, soy milk, multigrain bread, instant rice, parboiled rice, rye, low fat yogurt, milk (skimmed, semi-skimmed, whole), bananas, oranges, apples, peaches, plums, kiwi, etc…

-         Eat every few hours

We have the tendency to overeat when we are hungry. To avoid feeling of hunger, spread your meals throughout the day. Breakfast and lunch should be the two main meals, while dinner should have a limited amount of calories. Eat healthy and balanced snacks between the meals.

-         Eat carbohydrates before, during, and after the workout

In order to extend the duration of your workout, the intensity you can sustain, and your post-workout recovery eat low glycemic index food before the workout and medium and high glycemic index food after the workout. I have found nicely organized glycemic index food chart on South Beach Diet website: http://www.southbeach-diet-plan.com/glycemicfoodchart.htm

-        Do early morning workouts or light workouts without eating any food before the session

You are not in any danger if you do your early or low intensity workouts on an empty stomach.

-        Eat enough protein

Eat protein in the morning with your breakfast, it will help you to feel full longer. Also, eat lean proteins during the first thirty minutes after the workout. It will help in preserving and rebuilding your muscle tissue

-        Do not forget to eat fat and fiber

Fats and fibers are important for diet and overall health. Problems arise when we eat too much fat and too little fiber.

-        Do not eat too little or too much

You do not want to go through the day feeling that you do not have enough energy and you do not want to feel sleepy and lazy because you had too much to eat.

-        Enjoy your food

Take your time, eat slowly and do not feel guilty if you sometimes eat a little bit more than you should. The pleasure that food can produce has therapeutic value.

Planning and preparing food for:

-        Eating at work or school

Bring lunch box large enough for a healthy, balanced lunch and a few healthy snacks

-        Eating during social events

Be mentally prepared for drinking water instead alcohol and eating a little instead of eating a lot.

-        Eating before, during, and after the workout

This is the period when you really need your carbs. Have them ready at home or in your lunch box and eat them two or three hours before the workout so you will be able to give your best. Have some carbs during the workout, it will extend your workout. Have some carbs combined after the workout; it will speed up your recovery.

-        Eating at home

Always have something ready that is easy to prepare: fresh vegetables and some chicken, fish, or a steak that you can grill in no time. If you do not have food ready, you will end up going to some burger or hot dog joint.

-        Eating on days off

Days off are the days when you do not spend lot of energy but you want to eat like on the days when you workout. Promise to yourself that you will not pig-out on your days off.

If you have any questions in regards to this article, just go to my website www.goranlozo.com, click on the Ask Goran button and send me your question. I will respond within 48 hours.

Speed Play

One of my favorite training methods is called Fartlek. Fartlek is Swedish word that means “speed play”. This training method was created in 1937 by the Swedish coach, Gosta Holmer, in order to improve the results of his Swedish cross-country runners who were easily beaten for years by the Finish cross-country runners. Since then the Fartlek training method became widely popular throughout the world, first amongst coaches, runners, and athletes from many other sports. Because of its simplicity, Fartlek is also an excellent training method for amateur and recreational athletes.

Fartlek mixes two types of physical training: continuous and interval. The constant change of running intensity without any intervals of rest has a positive effect on both aerobic and anaerobic systems. While professional coaches and athletes have a very structured approach to Fartlek with strictly defined durations of anaerobic sprints and aerobic runs, recreational athletes can afford a luxury to approach Fartlek with lot more flexibility.

The duration of Fartlek is not strictly defined but most of the coaches and athletes that I know work in the 45 – 60 minute time frame. Here is one of the Fartlek variations described:

                

                Warm up:

-                                        Regular joint warm up exercises

-                                        Dynamic stretching

-                                        3 – 4 minute walk

-                                        6 – 7 minutes easy run

-                                        6 x 100 yards accelerations (so that you can prepare muscles, ligaments, and tendons for accelerations)

                Main:

Pick a landmark ahead of you (telephone pole, traffic sign, etc.) and run fast until you reach your landmark. After that, jog (or power walk) until you pick the next landmark and run fast again. You can create your intervals based on the terrain, weather conditions, or based on how fresh or tired you are on that particular day. You can choose longer or shorter speed intervals or longer or shorter jog/power walk intervals. You can run your speed intervals very hard or with only 60% of maximum intensity. Feel free to customize your workout.

                Cool down:

-                                        6 – 7 minutes easy run

-                                        3 – 4 minute walk

-                                        Static stretching

The cool down is as equally important part of the workout as the warm up is. The cool down will gradually bring down your heart rate and respiration to pre-workout levels. Also, cooling down will accelerate lactic acid removal.

If you haven’t tried Fartlek before, try it now. You will love it.

Muscle Confusion: the Term that the Fitness Industry Should be Ashamed of

Fitness is a multibillion dollar industry. The parts of the industry that I admire and support are gyms and health clubs. Gym and health club memberships are extremely cheap considering how big the return on investment is. No dollar spent for these memberships is a dollar wasted. On the other side of the spectrum is the segment of industry that exploits people’s weaknesses. These are the fitness infomercials that promote muscle confusion training programs. While I admit that it is a lot better doing any “muscle confusion” DVD training instead of spending most of the day in a recliner, I cannot find more than one good thing in these training programs. This good thing is the variety of exercises. Some of them are very creative and can be effectively used as a part of training session. But using term “muscle confusion” is so wrong and improper that every professional who uses this term in communication with clients should be retrained and reeducated or forced to resign from their position at the gym or sports club.

Skeletal muscle tissue does not have the ability to think and memorize. Thus, muscle tissue cannot be confused, it is impossible. For those who are unfamiliar with the human anatomy, skeletal muscles are controlled by somatic nervous system, also known as the voluntary nervous system. In plain and simple language, skeletal muscles are tools for the voluntary nervous system used to control body movements.

As I have established already, I profoundly disapprove the term “muscle confusion”. In addition to this term used to describe essence of these DVD training programs, I also disapprove the concept of them. You cannot just pile up a bunch of different exercises on one DVD and expect to produce any significant results. Physical training is an adaptive process. When you stress your body with a workout above minimum threshold intensity your body will respond (adapt) to this stress by increasing the abilities of the targeted muscles. But when your muscle adapts to a certain stress or load level you need to gradually and carefully increase the load, not to “confuse the muscle”. Next thing that has nothing to do with “muscle confusion” but is important for increasing muscular abilities is the duration of rest time between exercise sets and between training sessions for the specific parts of the muscular system. The next factor necessary for the progress of muscles abilities is reversibility, which basically means timely decrease of the use of certain muscles because of increased risk of injury.

As somebody who belongs to this industry I am deeply offended by the individuals and companies who use the fact that the consumer does not have any or enough knowledge on the subject of planning and executing training process. I want to advise everybody who contemplating purchasing the muscle confusion DVDs: do not waste your money because in the long run you will get nothing back. Become a member of the closest gym or just go outdoors and do a power walk or run. But be consistent, exercise every week, every month, every year till you are able to breath and walk. Change your lifestyle from reactive to active, start eating healthy, drink lot of water and you will feel strong and in control. Do not give money to those who are confusing your brain by making DVDs about confusing your muscles.     

     

You Can even Eat 30 to 60 Minutes before a Workout

How many times has it happened that an hour or 30 minutes before a workout you realize that you are very hungry because you have not eaten anything in the last couple of hours? Some decide to workout hungry, some decide to skip their workout. Both decisions are wrong, even half an hour before a workout you can eat and be able to satisfy both your hunger and workout energy requirements at the same time. 

Here is what you should know about food consumption in the 30 to 60 minute time frame before a workout: you should take in 0.25 to 0.5 grams of carbohydrates per one pound of body weight. In order to find the exact amount of carbohydrates you need in this time frame you should experiment with different amounts of food: some have a higher tolerance while others have a lower tolerance for food in the near proximity to a workout. So if you weigh 160 pounds you should take in between 40 and 80 grams of carbohydrates in pre-exercise meals; if you are 200 pounds you should take in between 50 and 100 grams of carbohydrates.

The types of foods appropriate for pre-exercise consumption is foods with a small percentage of fat, a small to moderate percentage of proteins, and a high percentage of carbohydrates. Some of the foods that are rich in carbohydrates are: 

-          Banana – medium size: 26 grams

-          Apple - medium size: 22 grams

-          Bread – one slice: 12 grams (most breads) to 15 grams (Rye bread)

-          Baked potato – small: 30 grams

-          Elbow macaroni – one cup: 43 grams

-          Brown rice – one cup: 45 grams

-          Cinnamon raisin bagel – one: 39 grams

-          Quaker Oatmeal – one bag: 32 grams   

-          Apple Juice – 8 oz. glass: 30 grams

There is one more simple strategy that you can use if you arrive to your gym hungry: take a very small amount of food that is high in carbohydrates before a workout and take a small bite of a banana or apple every 25 – 30 minutes during the workout. By using this strategy you will be able to finish your workout and you will not feel as exhausted or in a bad mood afterwards. 

For those who are not familiar with the role of carbohydrates in sports nutrition, here is just a quick reminder: carbohydrates are the most important source of energy for our bodies. They are broken down into sugars and converted into energy. There are two types of carbohydrates: complex (starches) and simple (sugars). Complex carbs are made of mostly linked sugars while simple carbs are made of mostly simple sugars. Simple carbohydrates provide energy for a very short period of time; complex carbohydrates provide energy for a prolonged period of time. 

This article is just a solution to the situation of when you arrive to your training session hungry. But remember that the best way to avoid this kind of problem is to plan and schedule your meals in advance. When you eat according to your meal schedule you can be certain that you will be able to give it your all during your workout.

Laziness and Ignorance: Fat People’s Trademarks

You say: “I am doing everything right and I still cannot lose weight.” After that you say: “It must be that something is wrong with my metabolism.” You are a doctor now? Or do you believe that you are educated on nutrition just because you saw some catchy commercial or you have read some interesting articles on the internet? You will be surprised to learn how many internet articles on different types of diets are written by a particular company’s marketing departments and how many articles in newspapers are actually paid advertising.   

How did they get there?

There is a range in our body’s responses to particular types of foods but that range is actually narrow, contrary to what many nutritionists wants us to believe. I still remember what my biochemistry professor at the University of Sport and Physical Education in Belgrade said during my first class: “All of us in this room are Homo sapiens and you better believe that we all share the same biological chemistry.”

While there are some people with health conditions that affect their metabolism, based on my   professional experience and professional education, I am a strong opponent of using metabolic types and other similar theories as a response to fighting obesity and other overweight related problems. Opposition to the use of these theories in our daily lives can mean only one thing: that I am strong proponent of the theory of personal responsibility for our weight, physical abilities, and physical appearance.

There is only one way that you can lose weight, by burning more calories per day than you are taking in. Even quality of food has nothing to do with this: you can eat crappy food from fast food restaurants every day and still lose weight, if you are very active. It is an absolutely different story about how the quality of food affects your overall health, physical performance, and length of recovery time. So, do not be confused, I would like to discourage everybody from eating crappy fast food and to eat healthy food but again, for losing weight you need to satisfy only one simple requirement, spend more calories than you take in.

Often your one a day workout in the gym is not enough. In order to spend enough calories so that you can start losing weight you must be active throughout the entire day. Please, do not give me that crap that you are too busy at work so you cannot be more active. But how about this, when you go to work or to the grocery store park your car as far away from your building or grocery store as you possibly can. After your lunch break, instead of using the elevator, use the stairs to get to your office or even walk your dog an extra five minutes every time you take your dog out.

While reading some fitness literature, I ran into an interesting suggestion few times. In order to not to gain or to lose weight, on the days that you work out take at least 6,000 steps throughout entire day. On days off, walk at least 10,000 steps. Although this suggestion did not come about as a result of any particular study, I am convinced that this is great advice. Funny thing is that when I gave this advice to my clients, almost everybody reacted in the same manner: “it is a lot, it is not realistic for me to do it.” I told them to buy a simple $30 pedometer and to put it on their belt in the morning and to have it on them all day. After they got pedometers, their reaction was fascinating. They started walking more and almost every single one was able to reach the goal of 6,000 or 10,000 steps. Also, they said that just by parking their car farther from the office or grocery store, walking the dog a little bit longer, or taking the stairs instead the elevator they felt that they were much more energized than in previous period. There were all easy tasks and these small adjustments made a big difference.

Here is one more simple but useful piece of advice: instead to eating a few large, energy rich meals during the day, it is better to eat small sized meals more frequently. I am not giving you this advice because of some theories that eating more often will help you lose weight faster because your metabolism is working faster if you eat often. I have read a very comprehensive scientific study which disputes this theory so I would hesitate to confront this scientific finding. The reason that I would recommend eating frequently, every 90 – 120 minutes, is because of the proven fact that you will be more energetic throughout a day than when you eat large meals that demand long periods of time to be digested. When you eat in higher frequency, nothing will be difficult for you, to work or to work out.   

Bottom line is to be active, make small adjustments in your nutrition and your extra fat will disappear, there are no two ways about that.