More Basics On Losing Fat And Building Muscle

Not including snacks:
4 proteins (chicken, whey, turkey, meat, ext.)
2 dairies (yogurt, milk, cheese, ext.)
1 fruit (mix them up, they all have different health benefits)
2 veggies (mix them up, consistency makes veggies boring)
2 carbs ( pasta, bread, cereal, potatoes, rice)
1 fat (avocados, flax seeds, nuts, coconut)

The number is how many servings you should include of each category of food not including snacks. Your going to have 3 main meals (500-600 calories each) and 2-3 snacks between the meals (100-200 calories each [if you have 3 snacks, lean more towards the 100 calories each.]). Every serving is 100 calories, except proteins which is 150 calories per serving. So for example if you have a sandwich with ham and cheese, that would 2 servings of bread (I know 200 calories in bread? Just like that!? Each slice of bread is about 100 calories.) , ~3 oz of lean ham is 150 calories so there’s another serving. And a slice a cheese is about a serving (check your nutrition labels!) so that comes to a grand total of 450 calories and you took out 4 servings off of 3 different food groups. So a sandwich can’t be a snack, but it’s not enough for a complete meal, so add lettuce and tomatoes for another serving.

It’s not that hard once you get used to it. Veggies is the hardest to fulfill because it takes a lot of veggies to make up 100 calories, so if you want you can split it off into every meal of the day a ½ serving. If there is a meal you can not miss it’s breakfast. When I wake up I’m rarely hungry out of bed, but you got to eat soon. So what I do is a make a shake in the morning with a serving of milk, oatmeal (uncooked), whey protein powder, and strawberries. It’s not heavy on your stomach, its 500+ calories (so it’s a meal), and it’s easy and quick to make.

Ps: you should also drink 12+oz of water when you wake up; this is because your body hasn’t received any water in 8 hours so you are dehydrated when you wake up. I personally wake up, drink a 20 oz bottle of water, drink my shake, take my joint repair and multivitamin pills, and from there I brush my teeth and get ready for the day.

Lose Fat Build Muscle Basics

Basic do’s and Don’ts

· Replace all dairy to no fat or low fat (no fat cheese, yogurt, milk, ext.)

· Chicken, turkey, and whey should be your main source of protein but you should include red meat at least once a week, pork once a week, fish twice a week, and vegetable protein(beans) once a week

· Water only!!! About 3 liter a day (no soda, iced tea, sugar-free drinks…. Nada) if you absolutely need coffee in the mornings, only have 1 cup and follow it with lots of water

· Dressings – stick to vinaigrettes with extra virgin olive oil or canola oil (light on the oil) for creamy dressings use low fat ( don’t get fat free creamy dressings)

· All carbs must be multigrain or whole wheat (read ingredients! Most breads say wheat but are made with unbleached wheat flour, if it doesn’t say 100% whole wheat don’t get it)

· DO NOT STARVE YOURSELF!! Its better you eat a little junk food than go over 6 hours without eating

· No alcohol :( (alcohol is fermented sugar that once in your system, returns back into sugar and all excess carbohydrates turn into fat for storage.)

· No sugar free products! Sucrose and aspartame have not only been proven to be extremely bad for you in everyday usage but it also prevents weight loss. If you want sugar, go for the natural stuff like sugar cane or brown sugar or raw sugar.

· Better yet just stay away from all processed food.

· Get a lot of sleep. Minimum of 8 hours (I know you have no problem with that)

· Don’t eat fast. Take your time eating.

· Get to know your kitchen. Not only is it fun and awesome when you get good, but it’s also the only real healthy way of eating.

· DON’T SKIP BREAKFAST!!!!

· It’s hard to balance a good form of vitamins and minerals through basic food consumption. Take a multivitamin in the morning; and even better if you can take a joint repair pill also (like glucosamine with msm). These pills help with cartilage rejuvenation, joint lubrication, mobility, and flexibility.

· Drink room temperature water when working out. Drinking cold water can shock your whole body.

Are You Really Losing Fat?

Some people believe that when they’re fasting there losing weight. Yes, that’s true you probably will lose so weight, but is that weight you really want off? When you’re fasting for so long your body goes into a metabolism shut down mode. It turns all available energy (calories) into fat for storage, so you actually gain fat. So why does the scale go down? Because you’re losing muscle! Excess muscle breaks down and goes to waste because more muscle requires more energy to sustain. Your body will lose muscle to lower its MBR (metabolic rate – how much your body consumes just to stay alive, like your heart, lungs, brain, it all needs energy to run). As most people know muscle weighs more than fat, so you’re gaining fat, and losing muscle. That’s why the number on the scale goes down but you’ll measure and look the same (actually you’ll end up looking less toned); so lesson learned, eat more (healthy stuff) not less. Keep that metabolism fast and you don’t have to worry about too much else.