08.06.08
Review: Fat Loss Troubleshoot
Ever wonder why you “hardly eat” but can’t lose weight? Why you work out like a maniac but don’t lose weight? Why you follow Program X but see no results?
What secret forces are conspiring to prevent your weight loss? (Genes? Hormones? Aliens?)
The answers to those questions and more are in Leigh Peele’s e-book Fat Loss Troubleshoot. Leigh’s main goal is to get you in, get the weight (fat) off, and get you on with your life; dieting should not be a way of life but rather a brief phase. She looks at common misconceptions and “advice” and shows you why that isn’t right and what, instead, is. She also includes case studies from her clients that shows how she was able to find and fix what they were doing incorrectly.
A lot of the advice, you might be tempted to think, “Oh, I knew that already.” Oh, really? Then why aren’t you losing the fat? Sure, you might know a lot of this, but you haven’t quite put it all together. Leigh lays it all out; you get no more excuses by the time you finish reading.
The section that really hit me was on training & eating for your goals and getting enough recovery. If your goal is strength, you need to eat for strength and rest & sleep for strength. But if your goal is fat loss, you need to eat for fat loss (that is, in a deficit) and train for fat loss (that is, not so intense that you can’t function) and make sure your body is recovering. So sure, do the fat loss thing — and just the fat loss thing — until you’re at your goal, and then change goals.
FLTS is mostly a breakdown of the how’s and why’s and why not’s of fat loss. It includes calorie calculations for maintenance and deficits and an activity quiz to determine how much you’re really moving. In addition to FLTS, though, Leigh also offers “OPT for Fat Loss,” which is a workout and calorie deficit program based on everything you learn in FLTS so you don’t have to do it all yourself, and the “Metabolic Repair Manual.”
MRM is for people who have dieted for years and who may have created a slow metabolic response and/or other intestinal problems. (There’s a quiz in the manual to see if you qualify.) MRM takes you through a process of resting and slowly eating more until your metabolic response and digestion is normal. A plan that makes you eat more? Sounds crazy and like a recipe for massive weight gain, right? Except Leigh’s plan works and with little to no weight gain, and sometimes even weight loss! (See this thread in the JP Fitness Forums for one lady’s experience with MRM.) I’m only a Level 1 (little to no damage) mostly because I haven’t been able to stick to any “diet” for more than two weeks. =P
And, as if she hasn’t written enough yet, Leigh answers questions in the Fat Loss Troubleshoot forum at JP Fitness, and her blog has more info, articles, and comments. Subscribe to her podcast; sign up for the Subscribers’ section. Also, watch her Fat Loss Tips video. (Btw, the answer to the question “What secret forces are conspiring to prevent your weight loss?” is found in that video.)
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I really started following Leigh’s advice at the end of June (July 4th holiday not included!). With BJJ/MMA only 3 days/week and injured toes, I had the time to pay attention. And it made a huge difference. In the last month, my clothes have started to fall off as I’ve lost weight. I have progress pictures taken back in May and some taken last weekend, and the difference is amazing. In the last month I’ve started to get “You’ve lost a lot of weight!” comments. (And one hilarious addendum: “Did you do it on purpose?” Erm, yes.)
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Update 08/15/08: Skwigg has reviewed both FLTS and MRM. (As for the grammar issues, yes, they’re there (and I had to hide all my red pens), but Leigh explained that she hired an editor who did a bad job. She’s the Fat Loss Troubleshooter, not the Grammar Queen, after all.)
04.25.08
HIIT vs. SSC
HIIT: High-Intensity Interval Training. Sprint, recover, repeat.
SSC: Steady-State Cardio. Long slow distance.
Which is better for burning fat? (That’s all anyone cares about when these two are mentioned in a single post, really.)
How about “both and neither” for an unambiguous answer? 
There are benefits to both HIIT and SSC. They both get you moving. They both involve your heart and lungs and muscles. They both challenge your body (though in different ways). They both require mind over matter.
HIIT takes less time; SSC won’t make you puke (usually). HIIT, you’ll likely be feeling for a few hours after; SSC, you can do again tomorrow. HIIT, you think bad thoughts about the person who told you to do it; SSC, you invite your friends for a trail run.
There are proponents and opponents for both HIIT and SSC, and you can find lots of debates around the internet, with some claiming one is superior to the other, an “either/or” approach. There are studies that seem to back up one or the other. I prefer a “both/and”. Both HIIT and SSC have their place.
Which helps you lose fat/weight better? Both. In different ways, for different reasons, through different processes. But still, both.
We humans are made to move, and to move both fast and slow. Mix in both.
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04.02.08
Losing “weight”
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| Photo by softcotton |
When people say they want to lose weight, they mean that they want the number on the scale to go down.
Image you could wake up tomorrow with your ideal body, whatever size you want. Whatever clothing size you wanted. Strong, fit. Remember, this is your ideal body. But there’s one catch: you weigh 500 lbs. Would you take it?
That’s an extreme example, I know. But so often I hear people equate “ideal body” with “ideal body weight.” The two aren’t the same. A pound of muscle takes up less room than a pound of fat, even though both weigh 1 lb. In other words, just because the scale shows a “low” weight, you still might not fit in those size 4 jeans because you have a larger percentage of fat that takes up more room. (And you’ll still struggle to carry in that gallon of milk.)
The scale lies. It doesn’t tell you what’s in your body, only how much that body weighs. Why let an inanimate object define how you feel about yourself?
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03.31.08
Women and Exercise
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| Photo by heavyweightgeek |
I’ve noticed that women usually hear the word “exercise” or “workout” and immediately jump to “losing weight.” We’ve been convinced that exercise is only good for changing the number on the scale.
Eat less, exercise more. It’s the mantra we’ve been taught. I’m too fat. It’s what we tell ourselves every day. So when we see a program like New Rules of Lifting for Women, we jump on board and expect weight loss to follow quickly.
And then… Weeks pass, and we look the same. The scale has gone up instead of down. We compare our “before” and “current” pictures, and we look the same. Even when other people tell us that there’s more definition in our abs/legs/face or that our butt looks higher, we don’t believe them. “Those pants” still don’t fit–or are even tighter!
I’m exercising, we think. Why am I not losing weight? We worry that the program isn’t working, that it’s another gimmick and we’ve been had. Sure, we can lift heavier weights than we thought; we’re sore in muscles we didn’t know we had; we have more energy than ever before. But still we long for hours of cardio and high reps with pink dumbbells; at least the scale moved in the “right” direction back then.
This isn’t just a physical transformation we’re going through. It’s a mental and a physiological one, as well. We must retrain our minds to focus on the goal and not current obstacles; we must learn patience and trust. We must learn that the standards we’re using to judge our progress may not be accurate. We must teach our bodies to adjust to the new demands on them; we must fuel our bodies for the activities we put them through. This is a metamorphosis.
What are we becoming?
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03.26.08
What are you eating?
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| Photo by PPDIGITAL |
There’s a new show on TLC called I Can Make You Thin. The host, Paul McKenna, is a motivational & lifestyle coach (near as I can tell) who gives you a few changes to make at a time that keep you from overeating. (Here’s a funny: the banner on the TLC page says “This show is for entertainment purposes only.”)
I only caught bits of the program over the weekend, but one social experiment they did caught my attention. They wanted to test the effect of distraction (e.g., watching television) on eating. So they left out some popcorn until it got stale and then took it out on the street for people to taste-test; everyone said it was disgusting and stale. Then they took that same popcorn into a movie theater and gave it away as theater popcorn. (Didn’t say whether people paid for it.) At the end of the movie, they asked patrons about the popcorn. Most had eaten almost all of the stale popcorn and said it was fine!
So those people ate stale popcorn during a movie and didn’t notice that it tasted bad. What else might you be missing if you eat while trying to do something else?
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03.21.08
Changing my mind
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| Photo by LollyKnit |
I started doing New Rules of Lifting For Women earlier this year because I wanted to:
- get in shape
- have a routine
At the time, I didn’t put too much thought into it. Here was a new program right when I wanted to start and the background, nutrition, and workout information seemed good, so I thought I’d use it for a few months and then go on. I’d cut my calories, lose body fat, and get muscle definition. Yippee. This is what a women thinks when she hears “exercise”, even if it’s presented as a strength-training workout.
However, the longer I’m in this program, the more I’m realizing that this isn’t just about getting in shape. It’s not about looking good in a bikini or tank top anymore. It’s about the lifts. Squats, Deadlifts, Bulgarian Split Squats, those blasted Cuban snatches, thrusters, HIIT: these things that frighten my body but that fascinate my mind.
What am I capable of? How much more can I lift? This isn’t like other sports I’ve played. The competition is much more with yourself because the training is the competition. Every day under the bar is game day. Every day is different. Every day, something can be measurably improved. I get better and stronger because I choose to add more weight.
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03.05.08
Short-term Mentalities
Some of us doing NROLFW and posting on the jpfitness forums have noted that we have seen weight/size gain in our hips and thighs. And since we’re women, this is not where we’d like to see gains.
One of the women who’s about to start NROLFW also read another book by one of the NROLFW authors which recommended that pear-shaped women not do heavy lower-body weights. NROLFW, on the other hand, tells us to use weights as heavy as we can all the time. The author herself chimed in on that thread.
It came down to time and audience. NROLFW is a 6-month program. The other book, 8 weeks. You can and will see results and changes in 8 weeks on NROLFW. But they may not all be yippee-skippy, jump-around-all-day changes. (For example, gaining mass in your butt = not a happy camper.) On the other program, the other book company wanted an 8-week program, so she gave them an 8-week program. That is, a program that will produce positive results in an 8-week timeframe.
Then there’s the audience. NROLFW seems targeted at women who want better results but are afraid of strength training. But after reading the book, we understand that this process of reorganizing our body takes time and hard work, and so we grunt at weight gains, check our diets, and add more plates. The other program is targeted to a different group of women, who want fast results and who will probably give up on a plan that allows temporary weight gains.
Yes, I’ve gained weight and size in my hips since starting NROLFW. Water weight, muscle gains, resetting my metabolism–there are many explanations why this may happen. I seriously considered panicking at first. But I know that, in the end, lifting heavy and eating enough will get me the results I want. And NROLFW is a 6-month program. So I stick with it.
That’s not to say I ignore these things. However, I assume that the problem is with me first, not with the program. I’ve decided to trust that Lou, Cassandra, and Alwyn know what they’re talking about. So, first, I make sure that I’m following the program. I can’t blame a program for not working if I’m not following it. Second, I check my diet. Am I really eating enough? Am I eating the right macro ratios? Third, I check my rest. Am I sleeping enough? Am I taking enough time to recover between lifting sessions?
Do I want immediate but short-term results, or do I want slower but permanent results? When you put it that way, I don’t think there’s any more question.
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02.21.08
Eat more food
Someone on the NROLFW forums put me on to Skwigg. (Warning: her blog is probably not appropriate for reading at work because giggling, snorting, and other laughing noises are generally signs that you aren’t working on a company project.)
Skwigg talks a lot about women and eating, especially about women eating more calories to lose weight. Here are just a few of those posts:
- My Sad Story of Starvation and Flab – her story of slashing calories to lose weight
- Don’t Blow Up – getting on the right nutritional track
- Eat More/Eat Less Question – boost your metabolism
- Weight Loss from Exercise Only? – you can’t out-train a bad diet
- Three Pound Question – weight fluctuation in strength training
- All Those Calories
In addition, her blog is great for a no-stress approach to meals. And she has some awesome pictures of her bruises from martial arts classes. (I only have a little purple one on my foot–and I think it’s from a coffee table…)
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02.11.08
NROLFW, 1B5: Grip Gripe
I was supposed to sleep more over the weekend… Yeah, that didn’t happen. Too many things to do and to watch. I did take a few naps, and I think those helped me stay up later. Oops. (I was wonderfully sore all weekend, too.)
Weighed in and measured yesterday.
- weight: 133.8 lbs (UP 2.6 lbs)
- body fat %: 25.1% (DOWN 0.8% = 0.4 lbs)
- lean muscle: 95.2 lbs (UP 2.8 lbs)
- Waist: 29″
- Hips: 39.5″
- Right Bicep: 11.25″
- Left Bicep: 10.75″
- Chest (armpits): 33″
- Chest (bust): 34.5″
- Right Thigh: 23.5″
- Left Thigh: 22.5″
- Right Calf: 15″
- Left Calf: 14.5″
First of all, I’m lopsided, and I find this funny. Second, for the weight/fat/muscle… I’m just wondering if that can right. I’m a girl, for crying out loud; my body-building little brother can’t put on that much muscle mass in two weeks. (And I gained the “mass” in my stomach (bad) and hips (really not where we want that)). Sure, it’s probably water weight, but it’s weird water. Well, if nothing else, at least I (hopefully) lost fat. And this morning at work, someone complimented me and said it looks like I’m losing weight. I’ll take that as a positive.
Then this morning was a comedy of errors. Spilled Gatorade + Protein on the white carpet–clean it up. Then couldn’t do math to set up all the weights: 5+5+2.5+…wait, what was the question? Deadlift form stunk. My legs seem to not be involved at all. Grip failed on Lunges, though it was starting to fail earlier.
- Deadlifts: 3×10x55 lbs (grip started failing here; kept switching alternate grips)
- DB Shoulder Press: 3×10x30 lbs
- Wide Grip Pulldowns: 3×10x40 lbs (grip failing here, too)
- Lunges: 1×10x30 lbs, 2×10x20 lbs (grip failed after first leg; switched to lower weights to rest, then switched back on the last set. Grip failed again. But both legs got at least one set at 30 lbs.)
- Crunches: 3×12x10 lbs (long arm)
As soon as I find the battery to the camcorder, I have got to tape my deadlifts and squats and make sure I have the right form. *grumble*
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02.09.08
Six-pack abs
You have six-pack abs. Right now.
Really, you do.
Oh, yeah? you say. I don’t see them. Where are they?
In the only place you’ll find your abs, of course. Yours might be hidden under a little extra, um, cushioning, but they’re there.
Bunches of crunches and a chorus of core work will make your abs stronger, not more visible. You won’t see the six-pack until you take off the cushioning. And crunches et al will never do that. (That is, spot reduction does not work. Your abs are a spot. Sorry, but it’s true.)
Instead, focus on your diet and on full-body exercises. Use your diet to lower your body fat, and you’ll see more definition in all your muscles, including your abs. Strength training is also good for lower body fat. And with full body exercises, you train your entire “core” (everything between your arms and legs) together–you know, mimicking the way you actually use your body. Your core, which includes your abs, is generally your body’s stabilizer and energy transferer. So train it that way.
Final note on abs: they’re a muscle, just like any other muscle. They’re not a special type of muscle that has to be worked differently than any other. Therefore, if you do full-body exercises, you’re already training your abs; doing extra crunches is redundant. If you do body split workouts, put the abs with a split; doing them every day is overkill.
Further reading:
- Stumptuous article on abdominal training, including a great comic.
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