Pros and Cons of Popular (and not so
popular) Fat Loss Tips Part 1.
Most qualified (good) trainers will tell you that when it comes to fat
loss there are no quick fixes. There is no magic pill, there is no special
cream or rub that will take away those extra pounds without effort,
diet, exercise or yeah for some surgery. The road to fat loss is one
paved with your own personal desire and knowledge of what to do and
how much to give. Essentially the quickest way to lose fat is to work
and work hard. If I had to prescribe one pill it would be motivation.
All that being said there are ways to OPTIMIZE your fat loss. Some
simple attentions to detail in training and diet can progress you a little
further a little faster. What kind of percentage am I talking about
here? Well it varies of course but it is not a large margin or anything
really mind altering. In short most of these things will speed up fat
loss by no more than 3 to 5 %. In the grand scheme though and
mixed with proper diet and training that can add up and make your
hard work show results a little faster. So again understand these are
small changes, to produce small results but they are results none the
less.
Each tip is going to have a description, pros, cons, and overall rating
of result. From that you make the decision on whether it is right for
you to use in your fat loss program. You may ask “what would happen
if I did all the things listed here, will the weight fall off?” Yes, no,
maybe, who knows. This all depends on your body type, how much fat
you need to lose, and how much lean muscle mass you have. There is
never a clear cut black and white answer when it comes to the human
body. I will say that some of these methods (the good ones) have
proved successful for people. As with anything that involves diet
change or exercise always check with your doctor first before starting
any new program.
Now on we go to the tips.
Tip #1
“Consume 1 gallon of water a day for females, 1 ½
gallon of water for males.”
Description:
I put this first because I don’t even know why this is a tip. It should be
a staple. 80% of people in the US are at least partially dehydrated at
all times. Water is so important for our bodies yet obviously people
aren’t drinking it. Usually though when I share with people just how
much it helps muscle recovery and fat loss, they pick up the jug.
Females especially need to understand that the more water you have
in your system the less bloat and water retention you have which can
make up a large portion of your appearance of fat. Most ask “How do
you know if you have enough water?” Well it’s a simple and maybe
straight forward answer but, if your pee isn’t clear you aren’t drinking
enough water.
Pros: Hydration, relieves bloating, suppresses appetite, gives energy,
better skin, better muscle recovery, aids in fat loss, its endless really.
Cons: Really there aren’t any. Just make sure you drink filtered clean
water and that you don’t go overboard. Unless involved in marathon
training the standards listed above are about all you need. If doing
that style of training make sure to get some sodium in as to avoid
hyponatremia (water intoxication).
Rating of Result: 10-It’s the perfect fat loss aid.
Tip# 2
“Take Salt out of your Diet”
Description:
Its pretty self explained, don’t use any salt in your diet and low to no
sodium foods.
Salt and sodium are not the same things but cause basically the same
effect to the body. Salt has no calories so it can not cause you to gain
any fat. Obviously in the reverse taking it out will not cause you to
lose any fat. A high salt intake though can make you retain water.
Water retention can range and make your scale rise 3-5 pounds in a
day and your clothes feel tighter than ever especially in women. It also
can do not so fun things to your blood pressure and heart. Most crash
diet involve not eating any salt to lose “10 pounds in 5 days!!!”. Well
you might actually achieve this but again its just water really and as
soon as you have salt again you will retain water just as you did
before. So what is the best thing to do? Well if you are eating a proper
diet you shouldn’t really have high sodium and salted foods anyway.
Staying away from processed foods isn’t a tip, it’s a given. The longer
the path from the ground to your plate means more salt, chemicals
and fat happy substances in your food. So keep the food natural and
go easy on the salt.
Pros: Better health, good flow of water use in the body, less water
retention, and more lively taste buds.
Cons: The body does need SOME sodium. So removing it completely
isn’t advised. Make sure to get at least 2,400mg a day. Really that
isn’t as much as you think because it’s only 1 teaspoon of salt. The
average person gets at least 10 grams of sodium a day, that is 10,000
mgs of salt or 4 teaspoons of salt. That’s a lot of salt and most of it is
snuck in with processed meats, sauces, and pre-packaged meals.
Rating of Result: N/A-It’s good to watch your health and lower sodium,
just know you need it and that it doesn’t really affect fat loss.
Tip #3
“Fasted AM Cardio”
Description:
In short it is doing your cardio session first thing when you wake up on
an empty stomach. The Theory behind it is that being overnight you
have depleted most of your carbohydrates while you were sleeping,
that you will tap into more of your fat stores for energy. Well that is
not really completely true. Some of the stores are gone, but what we
most want to take advantage off is the Free Fatty Acids floating around
just waiting to be burned. It should also be noted not to push to hard
in this state. Staying steady around a 50 to 60% of your VO2 max is
plenty. Many studies have been done on the effects of this type of
workout on fat and muscle. The results…mixed. Some people have the
perfect body system for doing this kind of work and achieve great
results, some people don’t.
Pros: Can accelerate burning of fat stores for energy, Great EPOC
(afterburn of working out), Better overall moods and mental stability,
easy for most people to fit in.
Cons: Has a chance of eating into muscle, people are too fatigued from
no fuel to perform quality workout.
Rating: N/A…why you may ask? This is a beyond an individual issue.
My personal opinion, drink a little protein prior to your exercise. This
will protect a little muscle tissue in a catabolic state. Yes some of that
may be used for energy, but the good of the muscle will out weigh.
Tip #4
“Drink green tea for fat loss”
Description:
Green tea is so in right now I am surprised it’s not constantly on The
Best Week Ever. It’s not without reason as its effects on the body are
quite great. For fat loss it can increase metabolic rates in the body and
low blood sugar spikes following a meal. Most green teas also contain
caffeine which in studies has showed to aid fat burning. Added to that
is all the health benefits that come along with it, it doesn’t seem like to
bad of an idea. It should be noted though that in studies over the
course of a 4 months with a twice a day consumption of a high level
extract of green tea, the difference in fat loss between those that
didn’t was about an 4.3 pound average and that was included with a
clean diet and exercise program. So this is not a miracle fat burner,
but can aid in certain areas and certainly help fight off those colds that
could keep us out of the gym.
Pros: Antioxidants, increased metabolic rate, helps skin and hair, can
aid in fat burning.
Cons: Because most green teas do contain caffeine it should be in
small amount. High levels of caffeine can increase cortisol which helps
aid fat storage. If nervous about this there are green teas available
free of caffeine.
Rating: 6-for caffeine free green tea, 4-for regular caffeine green tea.
Tip# 5
“Don’t eat 3 hours before bedtime.”
Description:
The logic behind this is that if you stop eating 3 hours before you go to
bed, you are less likely to store fat while you are sleeping. As
nighttime comes (or morning for you third shifters) the metabolism
starts to slow as your body is preparing for sleep.
You also are usually less active before you go to sleep so less of a
chance to burn off food you consume right before bed. As you sleep
your metabolism slows to a near halt, it’s a mini hibernation if you will.
So the less you have to process and store, the better. The simple
breakdown of calorie in/calorie out does matter here. If you are in a
deficit and are eating many small meals a day this shouldn’t be too
much of an issue, however working along with your metabolism is
never a bad thing when trying to achieve fat loss.
Pros: Less likely to store what you eat. Fatty acids are the main used
energy source when you sleep, if you don’t have much for the body to
breakdown then it will tap into those stores faster.
Cons: If you are concerned with losing muscle you may want to
consume a small amount of protein and fat 1 hour before bedtime as
sleeping has a way of wearing on muscle. This can also be hard for
those trying to work in those 5 meals and timing for them. Also the
first few weeks of trying this can lead to trouble getting to sleep due to
not being used to not having food late, however overtime you will find
you sleep better than ever in some cases.
Rating- 7-lower score because it can harm muscle tissue.
Tips #6
“Superset with weight training to increase fat loss.”
Descriptions: A superset is exercises performed back to back with no
rest in between. There are different styles/variations of supersets, the
most common is Pre-Exhaustion. In a pre-exhaustion superset you
work the same muscle group with an isolation exercise and then follow
it with a compound exercise without rest in between sets. Example: If
working chest-Follow Chest Fly’s with Bench Press.
What this does is supercharge the muscles, increases your heart rate
more do to the no rest and gives you one good workout.
Pros: Great after burn, good for building muscles and burning fat, oh
and did I mention quicker workout.
Cons: Can be a little much for beginners and you have to watch your
loads as to not over do it. This kind of training style is easy to hurt
yourself with if you don’t pay attention to proper post workout
nutrition and stretching.
Rating: 9 – Other than being a little advanced and not so user friendly
in the beginning, this is a great way to lose fat with weightlifting.
Tip# 7
“Carbohydrate Cycling”
Description:
There are a few different techniques/styles of carb cycling but here is
the basic standard and principal. Basically you do different carb
amounts on different days. The best method is to tie in the higher and
moderate carb days in on the days you do strength training and the
low carb days on rest or cardio only days. Studies have shown that
this is a way to get the fat loss results from low carb eating without
actually depriving yourself of carbs. Here is how the basic structure
would work out if you decided to try the program.
http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=811783
Pros: Great fat loss results, easy to stick to due to high carb day, great
for muscle because you still get the glycogen feed.
Cons: Most people find understanding the basic concept kind of
difficult. If easily confused with macro breakdowns and if you don’t
keep a good count of what you take in then in the beginning it can
seem like a lot of work.
Rating: 8 – Lower for ease of use
Tip #8
“Lemon in your water”
Description:
Drink your water with lemon squeezed in it with your meals. The Acid
from the lemon slows the emptying of the stomach. If you slow or
control the intensity of your insulin spikes this in turn can help the
storing of fat. So first off with this is it doesn’t cause you to burn fat, it
just says it can help with the effect that can lead to storing fat. While
the theory behind this is great if you are eating things high in sugar
well its not really going to help much now is it. The percentage of help
with this one is small, but it does hold some truth.
Pros: Lemon is great for you in general and it does help a little with
lowering spikes. It also can help relive bloating.
Cons: The acid can bother some stomachs.
Rating: N/A – It doesn’t really do much for fat loss, but it’s not harmful
either
Tip #9
“Vegetable and fruit detox”
Description:
For a period of time (usually 7-10 days) you eat nothing but fruits and
vegetables while taking needed supplements. The purpose is to
cleanse our body from smoke, pollution, bad fats, additives and other
bad things we do to our body on a day in day out basis. The other side
to it though is there is yet any scientific evidence it actually rids your
body of these sneaky toxins. Added to that what is our liver and
kidneys for if not for that very function. What it does do most time
though is starve a body and make it shed water weight and muscle in
most cases. So people lose weight for a week, go back to eating
normal and put it all back on and then some.
Pros-Not any really, except at the end you will have a new found love
for food.
Cons-Kills muscle, affects mood, can make dizzy and light headed, oh
and the bathroom trips…good times.
Rating-0-just nothing good can come from this.
That is it for part one, look at for part 2 later on this month.
