CB: Let's turn to nutrition. What is your fat loss nutrition philosophy?
MG: I could talk about nutrition for hours and it's such a controversial subject, so I'll keep this brief...
It doesn't have to be as complicated as the "diet gurus" make it out to be. It can be a lot simpler...
1. whole, unprocessed organic foods, as close to their natural state as possible 2. High nutrient density food choices instead of nutrient deficient processed foods 3. Fruits and vegetables (lots of vegetables) as your main source of carbohydrates instead of so much reliance on grains as is so prominent in our food supply these days 4. Moderate amounts of high quality protein at each meal 5. High fiber intake to help appetite control and glycemic control (maintaining more balanced blood sugar) 6. Don't neglect healthy fat intake from nuts, seeds, organic eggs, wild fish or fish oil, virgin coconut oil and olive oils, avocados, etc (helps appetite control and hormonal balance)
Once you gain control over the aspects listed above, everything else usually works itself out in your diet... you no longer crave sweets or junk food because your body finally has all of the nutrients it needs. Another important thing that this style of eating does is that it tends to bring people naturally back to the proper amount of calories they need each day without having to attempt to count calories or anything like that.
CB: How do you address "lifestyle" with your clients to help them lose fat?
MG: One of the most important things I try to instill in my clients is that this has to become part of their lifestyle if it is ever going to work long-term. They need to make their health and fitness a priority in their life, and they must enjoy it...whether it's because they actually enjoy the actual exercise and healthy eating, or because they enjoy the feeling of strength or energy or confidence that it gives them.
CB: Give us some of your unique fat loss stories. For example, have you ever made one small change to a client's program that helped them get through a plateau? Or has a client ever responded to one form of training that surprised you? Stuff like that...
MG: I had one client a couple years ago... a guy in his early 30's...a classic case in reality. He'd been doing the same routine for years... about an hour of cardio 5 days/week while reading the newspaper, and then he'd finish it off with a few weight machines.
He finally came to me because his body was actually getting worse despite his long workouts. I asked him to put his trust in me, and asked if he'd be willing to try something drastically different...
I asked if he would fully give up his cardio for 6 weeks and follow one of my free weight training routines instead. I actually insisted that he didn't do any cardio at all during this experimental 6 weeks of change... only weights would be allowed. This was hard for him at first as he was so accustomed to just doing all of this boring cardio because it was easy. But easy workouts don't create a better body!
The results were incredible... I think his strength improved about 30-40 lbs on almost all of his lifts during that 6 weeks while simulataneously losing about 15 lbs of body weight, and his beer belly shrunk down considerably to the point where he had to go out and buy some new pants with smaller waists.
Another story... As far as clients getting new results from just a small tweak...
A few people that have been stuck at a fat loss plateau have come to me and I gave them a simple nutrition trick to try. This simple change was to start basing their last full meal of the day around just meats with lots of veggies and salad... basically, no starches with dinner, just meat and veggies.
As simple as that sounds, I've seen many people break their fat loss plateau just by implementing that into their diet. So many people think that their meals need to be based on starch like pasta or rice, but I think it's so much easier to lose fat when your meals are based around meat and vegetables instead of starch.
I could go on, but I hope that gives some useful ideas for now to help break through that fat loss plateau.
Scientists have been conducting research now for a while and what they are finding is that when you eat your food is just as important as what and how much you eat. Different foods can influence certain hormones that are a part of muscle growth, fat burning, and recovery. All things you are working towards to achieve that ideal slim body.
Your body works best to metabolize and use carbohydrates in the morning after you wake up and after your workouts. These are the ideal times to consume fast digesting carbohydrates rather then the normal whole grain, vegetable, fruit type of carbohydrates. The reason is because in the morning after fasting all night and after workouts a hormone called cortisol is elevated. This promotes the storage of calories as fat and is harmful for muscle growth. Cortisol helps facilitate the breakdown of amino acids and sugar from tissues in your body. Generally these nutrients come from your muscle. Cortisol does have an important role, but you don't want the levels to get too high.
To control these levels your goal is to elevate your insulin level, which suppresses cortisol levels. After workouts you are also more sensitive to insulin which allows your body to use these fast digesting carbohydrates as energy rather than storing it as fat. Insulin levels help with the storage form of glucose and in protein building.
All these mechanisms and reactions help with proper recovery so that you can give it your all during each and every workout and maximize the success as a result of your hard work in the gym.
How does nutrient timing facilitate fat loss?
Well, if you have read any magazines or listened to the latest fad then you think that any sugar is bad sugar and you need to avoid it at all costs. Well, that means you don't eat fruits or vegetables. These same people are the ones saying you should be eating fruits and vegetables every day so this is contradicting.
So what is there to do? Where do you turn to from here?
The fear is that sugars increase insulin levels which promotes fat storage and decreases fat loss. This is true to an extent. What most people forget is that there are many other nutrients that we eat and mechanisms that help control that insulin level. One of those nutrients is fiber and another is protein. When you consume foods that are a good source of fiber or protein source it slows down your digestion process, which then slows down the release of insulin. Essentially you do not have the insulin spikes like you would if you ate a doughnut. Insulin spikes lead to weight gain.
By timing what you eat and when allows you to control your insulin levels which facilitates fat loss by allowing your body to burn fat as energy rather than trying to store ingested calories as fat.
Research has shown that timing your after workout food intake with quick digesting carbohydrates along with protein is not only beneficial to recovery, but may also increase fat oxidation which is your body burning fat for energy.
The facts are that you should ingest higher glycemic or quick digesting carbohydrates at breakfast or after your workout because you will actually be benefiting from this nutrient and promoting growth and progress rather than destruction. At your other feeding opportunities I suggest you stick to whole-grain fibrous starch choices such as whole-grain pasta, fruit, vegetables and other starches that contain 2 grams of fiber or more per serving along with a lean protein source.
Both Mike Geary & Jayson Hunter are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
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