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.)
04.22.08
Post-Workout Nutrition
Post-workout, your muscles need glucose and protein. (No fat.) Glucose to replace the glucose/glycogen that you just used up, and protein (amino acids) as building blocks for new muscle proteins.
Glucose is the direct molecule that your cells use to get energy. Fructose, found mostly in fruit, has to be converted to glucose by your liver. Maltodextrin is a starch of glucose molecules, usually made from corn or wheat.
Either glucose/fructose or maltodextrin or a combination of the two is fine. Some people are adamant about one or the other; most said simply “carbohydrate.” The main point is to get some kind of a faster-absorbing carb in your post-workout nutrition so that your muscle and liver glycogen can be restored (and won’t steal amino acids from your muscle proteins to reverse-engineer glucose).
My PWO shake:
- 2 scoops Blue Ice Iso-Extreme (30 g protein)
- 0.5 scoop Xtinguisher (25 g dextrose (carb))
- 8 oz Fruit Punch Gatorade (14 g carbs (fructose & sucrose))
- 1 scoop Max Glutamine (5 g)
An hour or so after your post-workout shake, have a regular meal of protein, carbs, and fat.
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03.19.08
My Brother’s Chicken
(No, not “My Brother Is Chicken.” The chicken my brother makes. The only recipe he knows.)
Ingredients:
- unthawed chicken
- dijon mustard
- bread crumbs
Directions:
- Cut chicken into ~3 oz pieces. Put chicken pieces in a zippered plastic bag.
- Add dijon mustard to bag. Let sit in refrigerator for several hours to marinate.
- Preheat oven to 350ยบ C. Pour bread crumbs on a plate. Coat chicken in bread crumbs.
- Cook chicken for ~45 min.
Notes:
- I personally dislike the taste of dijon mustard, so I use honey mustard when I make this. Use whatever you like.
- Yield/etc. depends on how much chicken you use. My brother’s original recipe is “as much chicken as is on sale” and “a bottle of mustard.”
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03.12.08
Whole Meal Crockpot Chili
I made this a few months ago (yes, I’m slow) and munched on it for a few days. Very good.
Ingredients:
- onion, 1 med, diced
- garlic, 3 cloves
- celery, 1 cup, diced
- lean ground turkey, 2.6 lbs (2 packages)
- lean ground sirloin, 1 lb (1 package)
- diced tomatoes, 2 cans
- tomato paste, 0.5 can
- low-sodium chicken stock, 1 cup
- cinnamon, 2 tbsp
- nutmeg, 1 tbsp
- chili powder, 1 tbsp
- oregano, dried, 2 tbsp
- parsley, dried, 1 tbsp
- salt, 1 tsp
- pepper, 1 tsp
- garlic powder, 1 tsp
- extra virgin olive oil
Directions
- Add olive oil to bottom of crockpot. Add onion, garlic, and celery to crockpot, on high. (Note: I made this as a “hurry up” recipe at night; you could also put the crockpot on low and slow cook this chili.)
- Brown turkey and sirloin in another pan. Add cinnamon and nutmeg to meat.
- Add meat to crockpot. Add remaining ingredients to crockpot.
- Cook on high ~2 hours. (Times for lower temperatures may be 4-8 hours.)
Yield
Makes ~8 1-cup servings.
Calories: 404.2*
Fat: 20.4 g
Carbs: 14.0 g (4.8 g Fiber)
Protein: 45.3 g
*Nutritional estimates from Spark Recipes.
Notes
- I forgot to add beans! But you can do that yourself to boost the fiber (also a little extra fat, fiber, and protein).
- Change up the spices if you want. I went a little crazy. (But it tastes so good.)
- I have a cup of this with some canned corn for more carbs. There’s your meal.
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03.07.08
Start: Week 2
- Slowly replace soft drinks and fruit juice with water.
- Continue writing down your food. Add: weigh out and measure your food, and write this down, too. (Again, no limits on what it is, so write it all down.)
- Continue spreading food over 5-6 meals.
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03.03.08
Getting fat in a low-fat world
The more I read, the more I’m becoming convinced that it isn’t eating fat that makes us fat.
Everything on our shelves is marketed as “low-fat” or “non-fat”, and yet they tell us that more Americans are fatter than ever. Possibly we’re just eating too much, thinking that if the food is “low/no fat” then we can’t get fat from eating it. But if we’re eating too much “no fat” food and getting fat, then the problem can’t just be from fat.
Besides, fats are actually important in our bodies. Vitamins A, D, E, and K can only be absorbed in the presence of fats. Fats are also used to keep our hair and skin healthy. The essential fatty acids (EFAs) are very important to processes in our bodies and cannot be manufactured by our bodies; we must eat these.
But if we’re not eating fat, how do we get so many pounds of fat in our bodies? Our bodies interconvert amino acids (from protein), glucose (from carbs), and fatty acids (from fat). That is, if you have a shortage of glucose but aren’t eating carbs, your body will create glucose from amino acids or fatty acids.
On the other hand, if you have an abundance of any of those three, your body packrats it away as fat. “Just in case,” your body says. “I’ll use it someday. It’s too good to just throw away.” (This is a slight tangent and fodder for another post, but check out Skwigg’s latest post about clutter and fat.)
Eating fat doesn’t make you fat. Eating protein doesn’t make you fat. Eating carbs doesn’t make you fat. Eating more than your body needs makes you fat.
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03.01.08
Start: Week 1
- Drink more water.
- Spread your current meals over 5-6 meals.
- Write down what you eat. (I don’t care what it is yet; just write it down.)
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02.27.08
NROLFW, 1B8: Deads
The last regular workout of Stage 1. Wow.
- Deadlifts: (1×10x20) 3×8x50lbs
- DB Shoulder Press: 3×8x17.5lbs each
- Wide Grip Pull Down: 3×8x40lbs
- Lunges: 3×8x17.5lbs each
- Crunches: 3×8x10lbs (Swiss ball*)
*Arms too tired to hold the dumbbell out, long-arm style.
Last week all I could do was whine about my deadlifts; I couldn’t seem to get them, I looked goofy when I taped myself, nothing was working, yadda yadda yadda. Last night, easy peasy. Up, down, up, down. No extraneous pain, no issues. ??
I’ve been watching deadlift videos and reading deadlift articles since last week. Maybe one of them finally reset my brain correctly? I don’t know. All I know is, I finally got the deadlifts to work beautifully.
In another *headdesk* moment, I finally calculated the exact grams of proteins, carbs, and fat I need to aim for every day. Yes, this is a very basic and very “Well, duh” thing, but I just didn’t do it. Anyway, I want 40/30/30, protein/carbs/fat, so:
- Workout days: 2200 calories:
- protein: 220 g
- carbs: 165 g
- fat: 73 g
- Non-workout days: 1900 calories:
- protein: 190 g
- carbs: 143 g
- fat: 63 g
Knowing those numbers doesn’t change the fact that I’m reactive rather than proactive about tracking my food. But at least I’m not stuck depending on percentages, and I can see where I need to adjust a little easier. Besides, as I eat the same things again and again, I’ll be able to fit things in on the fly a little better.
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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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02.19.08
Cooking Ahead
There never seems to be enough time to do all the things that we need to or ought to. And cooking seems to be one of the things, at least in my house, that gets overlooked. By Tuesday night, when we’re out of leftovers, we’re scrambling to defrost something, microwave something, or order out something, or we end up with another protein shake.
I’ve started trying to cook double or even triple portions when I cook and immediately dividing up the leftovers. 4 oz of chicken. 1 cup of chili. Whatever it is, throw it in the fridge, and it’s ready for when I need it. Then all I have to do it grab a carb (usually either vegetables or couscous), and I can have an entire whole-food meal quickly.
This strategy does mean that I end up eating the same thing over and over. I notice, though, that I usually don’t have as much time to enjoy my food as I think I do. So my desire to “eat different” doesn’t really mean anything in the end. That is, it’s more the thought of eating differently that I like more than the actual variety of food. And, too, by eating the same foods, I can more easily guesstimate the nutritional value of the foods because I’ve logged that combination before.
Every few days, though, I’ll have something different–a new texture, a new spice, a new condiment–something to keep my taste buds talking for a few more days. Then they’re content to sit back and let me eat my chicken and tuna for a while longer.
