If I was to hire someone to create a diet plan customized for my goals and activity levels, Nate Miyaki would be that person. Nate spends his days teaching advanced nutrition mastery workshops in the Silicone Valley area. He has recently decided to branch out to the Internet to teach people all over the globe. Bottom line…he is a full-fledged expert when it comes to diet and body composition. He just created a video and guest post for Fitness Black Book. My guess is that you will learn more in this 10 minute video about carbs and fat loss, than scouring the internet for 3+ hours.

[He's a laid back surfer type, but get him in front of a white board and prepare for a serious knowledge drop.]

CLEARING UP CARB CONFUSION…FOREVER
-by Nate Miyaki

If you’ve been involved in fitness for any length of time — as a coach, athlete, or general enthusiast — you’ve probably noticed two themes:

1. The relatively high percentage of d*cks within our industry that bash any approach that is not their own. 

I don’t know what it is man — lack of confidence or maybe lack of a life outside the gym?

2. The seemingly never-ending debate about low-carb, higher fat vs. high carb, lower fat diets.

First off, I’m a laid-back dude like Rusty.  Maybe that’s why he invited me here to hang out with you?

I really just want to help you sift through the bullsh*t that’s out there, get you on an efficient path towards achieving your goals, and then go hang out at da beach surrounded by beautiful bikini babes, not in the forums with angry bro-scientists.

And about that Ol’ Carb Debate — it’s a real doozy huh?  There’s religious-like passion and cult-like followings on both sides of the fence. The pendulum of popularity seems to swing back and forth between the two.

The worst part is that you — the person that just wants a simple plan to improve your physique, not getting caught up in debates between a bunch of science geeks or meatheads — end up confused as all hell and getting nowhere.

You want the unbiased truth my friends?

Both sides can be right.  Both approaches can work.  Research and anecdotal evidence can support both.  Unnecessary confusion stems from coaches trying to slot everyone into one Universal system and proclaiming it the best for everyone, everywhere.

It doesn’t work that way.  That’s like saying there is only one way you should train despite your performance or physique goals, or only one sexual position you can use despite your flexibility or mood or number of partners or blood alcohol content.

The diet industry has lost the principle of Specificity.  There is no “Perfect Diet” that can claim a throne.  There are multiple effective diets based on different situations and goals.

THE CALORIE EQUALIZER

We need to take a step back before we move forward, kind of like a good Salsa Dance.

Attaining a negative energy balance is the most important, but often most overlooked, fat loss step.  If you are in a calorie deficit, a variety of macronutrient percentages and distribution of energy nutrients can be used to get the job done.

I do believe that different breakdowns are more efficient, and more enjoyable and sustainable, for different demographics.

But that doesn’t change the fact that calories are the most important “number” to get right in the 6-pack game.  The only way to force your body to burn off stored fat is to take in fewer calories then you expend, on average, over some time frame.

Once you account for calories, you set optimum protein levels for the growth or maintenance of lean muscle mass, and essential fatty acids for normal functioning.  Anything beyond that is just an energy nutrient.

THE LOW-CARB LEFT HOOK

In determining energy nutrient intake, you should first assess how many carbohydrates you need, and for what reasons.  A sedentary person is not exercising and burning through MUSCLE glycogen stores (300-600g depending on body size), so they do not need to worry about replenishing them on a daily basis.

High carbohydrate diets (300g or more) are more appropriate for athletes and regular exercisers that undergo the cyclical depletion and repletion of muscle glycogen stores.

Sedentary populations really only need to worry about providing adequate carbohydrates to support LIVER glycogen stores, which regulate normal blood sugar levels and fuel the brain and central nervous system at rest.

This assumes a non-ketogenic diet.  Although ketosis may be beneficial for certain disease states, it is NOT necessary for an optimal fat loss plan.

Research shows that ketogenic diets are no more effective than non-ketogenic, low carbohydrate diets for fat loss.  Yet, they have a ton of metabolic and hormonal drawbacks.

Thus in most cases, I advocate a low-carbohydrate BUT non-ketogenic diet for sedentary populations.

This can be accomplished with roughly 100g of carbs a day (this does not vary much with weight and gender, as the liver is roughly the same size regardless of those two variables), unless perhaps you’re hanging with Frank the Tank.

The chronic bombarding of a sedentary body with highly processed carbs can indeed lead to full glycogen stores, sugar backing up into the bloodstream, and a host of negative health conditions, the most serious of course being MBMT — Man Boob & Muffin Top Syndrome.

That’s why research shows that lower carb, Caveman-style diets may be the best approach for improving body composition and biomarkers of health for obese, insulin resistant, and sedentary populations.

Get in a calorie deficit, eat adequate protein, get roughly 100g of carbs from unlimited vegetables and a few pieces of fruit, make up the rest of your calories from healthy fats, and walk daily.  You’ll have yourself one hell of a plan.

If you are a low-carb guru and want to snuggle with me now, I accept.  But be forewarned, I’m about to piss you off.

DON’T CALL IT A CARBOHYDRATE COMEBACK

ANAEROBIC exercise completely changes the name of the game.  It creates a unique metabolic environment, an altered physiological state, and changes the way your body processes nutrients for up to 48 hours after completion of a training session.

If you exercise intensely 3 or more days a week, than your body is virtually in a recovery mode 100% of the time, thus its nutritional needs are completely different than sedentary populations.

If the training program is different, the diet should be different.  Beyond dietary dogmatic creeds, that’s just common sense. I think high and mighty, low carb cult leaders, whose only form of exercise is jogging, should take a class in exercise physiology before making Universal proclamations, and dismissing thoroughly researched Sports Nutrition principles.

While those diet plans work great for certain demographics, they are a complete mismatch for others.

I don’t want to bore the sh*t out of you with too much technical stuff, so lets narrow this down to some bigger picture bullets.

PHYSIOLOGY BULLETS

• The anaerobic energy production pathway (what we use while strength training, sprinting, cross training, competing in intermittent team sports, or basically performing any high-intensity activity) runs on glucose/carbs.  It can’t use lipids or ketones.  While the body can use fatty acids as fuel at rest, and even those who train only in the aerobic zone can become “fat adapted”, high intensity muscular contractions require glucose.
• Therefore, chronic carb depletion combined with anaerobic training can eventually lead to muscle loss.  The body will break down amino acids as a reserve fuel to provide the necessary glucose to fuel high intensity activity.  You know how they say fats are more “muscle sparing” than carbs?  Not when you factor in anaerobic training baby.
• Intense anaerobic training is actually a highly catabolic activity.  You need to offset that with an anabolic recovery period, including carbs and insulin, to restore balance and ensure that training stimulus triggers muscle growth.  No hormone your body naturally makes is inherently good or bad.  Insulin can be very beneficial at times for physique enhancement.
• Hard training can cause a temporary impairment of the immune system and increase susceptibility to illness. With consistent high-intensity exercise, adequate carb intake lessens the potentially negative changes in immunity brought about by training.
• In other words, are you training all of the time like a madman, yet are still flabby or Skinny-Fat, with no shape?  Are you getting sick all of the time, or seem to catch every cold or flu going around?

METABOLIC & HORMONAL BULLETS

• Sufficient carbohydrate intake supports an optimum free testosterone:cortisol ratio IN RESPONSE to high intensity activity.  Our industry focuses on how important dietary fat is for supporting natural testosterone levels in all populations, which it is, but carbohydrates also play a role specifically for athletes.
• If you’re hitting the juice or TRT to compensate, it doesn’t matter so much. But if you’re doing it naturally, you need a more informed approach.  What good is a 6-pack if you have a lifeless noodle hanging between your legs (or whatever the female equivalent would be), and would rather play video games than hang out with bikini babes.
• Low carb diets coupled with intense training protocols can impair thyroid production and sabotage normal metabolic rate.  More specifically, it can impair the conversion of t4 thyroid hormone to its more active T3 form. Feel like your metabolism is shot, still flabby despite high amounts of training and ultra-low calorie levels?
• A carb-depleted state can effect natural production of neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine, which affect mood states and the ability to induce sleep. Suffering from insomnia?  Are you grumpy, depressed, and just generally a d*ck to everyone around you?

Just frickin’ trust me man, there is no one Universal diet that works for everyone.  While a sedentary person overdosing on carbs can have drastic negative health and body composition effects, chronic carb depletion combined with consistent anaerobic training can be just as disastrous.

I know athletes can suffer through miserable diet plans to look great for the stage or photo shoots, but that’s not a sustainable lifestyle plan for most of us. What are you going to do after 8 weeks of hell and 1 day of glory?  Just get fat again? Who wants to live like that?

I’d rather find a plan that I can integrate into a functional lifestyle, and allows me to look good at da beach year round.

STILL DAZED, LOW-CARB, & CONFUSED

Sorry about the above rant.  Sometimes you have to get more technical in order to simplify. Let me see if I can give you an analogy for clarification.

It’s like gas in your car.  If your Shagging Station Wagon just sits in the garage collecting dust, it doesn’t need gas.  Loading up on starchy carbs is like trying to fill up a full tank.  It just spills over the side.  In the human body, overspill equates to body fat storage, and a host of other negative effects — like elevated triglycerides, cholesterol, and insulin resistance.

However, if you drive a Bad A$$ Ferrari around town every day, sometimes for long mileage, you have to fill up the tank often.  If you don’t, you will run out of gas.  An empty tank in the human body equates with becoming depressed, lethargic, irritable, impairs performance; leads to muscle loss, stubborn fat, non-functioning wieners, frustrated that despite dieting your body is not changing, etc.

Make sense?

For those who fear the carb during fat slashing phases, just remember that total calories are still the most important step.

If you strength train while maintaining a relative calorie deficit, you can still include some starchy carbs in the diet while losing significant amounts of body fat.  The best part is you get better support of that anaerobic training, better energy, better muscle retention, don’t screw up your metabolism, don’t set yourself up for huge post-dieting rebounds, and maintain natural hormone production.

Why am I so passionate about this fight?  I suffered a lot of the drawbacks of combining low-carb diets with high intensity training myself.  I hope to help people avoid the same mistakes and struggles I went through.

CARBONOMICS

“Carbs” tend to get a bad name because of the ones most people emphasize in the typical Y2K American Diet.

Concentrated sources of fructose (sugar, high fructose corn syrup) are metabolically disastrous in the body and can lead to insulin resistance, diabetes, and rapid fat accumulation.

Many are allergic or sensitive to gluten (wheat, rye, barley).  This can lead to gastrointestinal distress, fatigue, body fat, bloating, and water retention.

Paleo nutritionists refer to a group of compounds collectively as “anti-nutrients” (lectins and phytates found in most grains, cereals, legumes).  These can lead to gastrointestinal distress, and impair protein and mineral absorption.

The key is adding back in the right “types” of carbs to an anaerobic athlete’s diet.

That’s why I use what I call the Traditional Japanese Village Diet Template.  It is just as cheesy as the Caveman theme, but also just as easy to remember, thus making it a great educational tool.  It is really just a Paleo Diet with the addition of rice and root vegetables as your primary starchy carb sources to support anaerobic training.

TAPPING OUT

By now, you’ve either learned something useful or are sick of me rambling. Either way, I got to take a piss.  So lets say Aloha, and call it a day

Keep in mind, most of the above is “da why”.  The “what to do” is simple.

If your goal is fat loss, get in a calorie deficit and eat adequate protein to support your lean muscle mass.

If you’re sedentary or only perform low-intensity/aerobic exercise, lean more towards the lower-carb, Paleo Diet template.

If you perform high-intensity anaerobic activity on a consistent basis, lean more towards The Japanese Village template.

- – - – - – - – - – - – -  End of Article – - – - – - – - – - – - -

I highly recommend you check out Nate’s full blown diet plan, called Intermittent Feast.

He takes all the guesswork out of macronutrient ratios and gives a phenomenal approach to staying lean year-round.

Thanks for the article Nate!

The post How Many Carbs Per Day to Lose Body Fat? It Depends… appeared first on Fitness Black Book.

If you read Part 2 of this series you will have a solid action plan to get your metabolism back to normal levels. In the process, you may add a touch of body fat, but will be in a much stronger position to get lean for summer. This post will outline how to keep your metabolism healthy while systematically getting in shape for summer.
[By the time summer hits, the ideal situation is to be lean without destroying your body's ability to burn calories. In other words, lean with a high metabolism.]

Long-Term Low Calorie Diets Suck the Life Out of You

A lot of people can look their best after a short term aggressive diet. I’m not against short term low calorie diets. I believe they are fine for 1-3 months. The problem happens when they are extended past that point. It is pretty easy to miss out on vital nutrients when calories are drastically cut back…and here are some of the negatives.

• Dry skin.
• Dry and brittle hair.
• Digestive problems.
• Lack of color to your skin.
• Lack of sex drive.
• Low testosterone.
• Muscle loss.
• Rebound fat gain.

 Note: The older you are, the more of these issues you will experience with long term calorie restriction.

The 6 Month Outline

Months 1-2: Follow the guidelines I outlined in Part 2.
Months 2-4: Increase activity levels to lose fat without drastically cutting back in calories.
Month 5: Cut back calories a bit and increase activity levels. Fine to go low carb and use various strategic diet strategies.
Month 6: One month of being super active and tighten up your diet further. Can go really aggressive during this time if you still have a decent amount of fat to lose.

[The absolute best scenario would be to keep the low calorie period of time as short as possible leading up to summer.]

Months 2-4 <---Eat and Train Like an Athlete

You can’t expect to eat as much as Michael Phelps training for the Olympics, but my advice is to add in more activity, instead of cutting back calories during this time. In the first 2 months your body will increase the ability to burn calories even when you are at rest (increased metabolism). In months 2-4 we want to turn your body into a calorie burning machine. Eat plenty of good food, limit omega 6 oils, limit sugar, and train at least 4 times per week.

Month 5 <---Train Like an Athlete, But Eat a Less

The main difference here will be to limit food consumption a bit. I know this advice sounds old school, but try and make your dinner meal a bit lighter than normal during this month. Cut back in the carbs a bit during the week and try and workout 5 times per week, if time permits. It is fine to add in a higher calorie day, but not an all-you-can-eat type of cheat day.

Month 6 <---An Aggressive Diet (Only if Necessary)

This would be the time to do a short term aggressive fat loss diet if needed. A better solution here would be to increase activity levels and just clean up the diet a little. Do your best to eat nothing but clean organic whole foods during this time.

[Pro soccer players are so active they would probably have a tough time eating enough to put a substantial amount of fat on their body.]

…but “You Can’t Out-Exercise a Bad Diet?”

Right, but this is not a bad diet. What we are doing here is almost a “metabolism detox”. The idea is to get your body into calorie burning mode, by giving it plenty of whole foods and nutrients. Then we cut back in calories just a bit to create a calorie deficit, while eating more than what it used to take to get into a calorie deficit. Finally…we keep the body in fat burning mode, while dropping the calories down low for the final month before summer.

Flood Your Body With Activity & Nutrients for 6 Months

The biggest causes of health issues in our society are from not getting enough exercise and lack of proper nutrition. I honestly believe that anyone who increases their activity levels along with increasing good nutrients, will look younger and more vibrant within a few months.

What are the Best Workouts?

Obviously I’m biased when it comes to workouts for men and women, but I’m not closed-minded. There are countless effective workout routines: CrossFit, body weight circuits, bodybuilding splits, Zumba, etc. Same with diets: Paleo, carb back-loading, vegan, raw food, etc. I am simply suggesting you use the principles laid out in this 3 part series to fit your circumstances.

[Strategic cardio routines work well any time after the first two months.]

What About Supplements?

I’m going to list supplements that I have found to make a difference. You can take all, some, or none of these and get good results.

• Omega 3 Fish Oil - This goes to the top of the list, when it comes to repairing a damaged metabolism. Think of this as counteracting the small amount of omega 6 vegetable oils that you will inevitably wind up eating. It is hard to avoid these omega 6 oils completely.
• Leptin Sensitivity Supplement: This supplement was created to make sure your metabolism doesn’t slow down while dieting. It makes your body more sensitive to leptin (which is our goal here). This isn’t cheap, but they do have a “buy 4 get 2 free” promo if you want to take all 6 months. If money is an issue, add this in once you reduce the calories a bit.
• Pre-Workout Caffeine Fat Loss Combo: I like caffeine supplements that are created with natural ingredients to take right before exercising, to maximize fat release during intense training or cardio. This is something you would begin taking 60-90 days before summer. A cup of black coffee works as well, but this is a bit more effective.
• Creatine: This is something to take 1-2 months before summer…if you want to add size to your muscles. I recommend you use this as a quick muscle boost while dieting or right after dieting (when the muscles look a little flat).

Note: Give this game plan a go, especially if you are over 30 and have a bit of flab you haven’t been able to shake. This is also a great game plan for anybody who is “skinny fat”…more nutrients and more activity is just what the doctor ordered!

The post Eating to Increase Your Metabolism [Pt 3] appeared first on Fitness Black Book.

In part 1 I introduced the idea that leptin resistance is a key reason why people seem to have a problem with their metabolism. Increasing leptin is easy and can be accomplished in the short term with things like cheat days. Unfortunately it takes quite a bit longer to fix the problem of leptin resistance.

[I'm convinced that most overweight people are just a few consistent habits away from being slim.]

Stuck at Current Weight On a Low Calorie Diet?

Being unable to lose weight while eating 1,200-1,800 calories per day is a rough spot to be in. Where do you go from there, especially if you are already exercising? This is a common problem for people who go into a diet and exercise program when they are leptin resistant, insulin resistant, and have a chronically slow metabolism.

Life Isn’t as Colorful With a Slow Metabolism

Here’s are some of the potential issues.

• Lower testosterone levels / lower sex drive.
• Slowed digestion causing problems like gas and bloating.
• More likely to store body fat when eating in excess.
• Lower body temperature.
• Lower energy levels.
• Moodiness and or depression.

Prepping the Body to be Able to Lose Fat Easily

My advice to anyone who gets stuck losing those final 10-15 pounds of fat before summer is to spend the next two months repairing your metabolism. With a raging metabolism it is possible to create a strong calorie deficit while eating many more calories than you have in the past. Wouldn’t it be cool to drop body fat eating 2,500 calories per day instead of 1,500?

["You're coming in too low Cougar! You're too low!" - Top Gun]

Measuring Your Metabolism With a $10 Tool

The way to test your metabolism is to measure your body temperature first thing upon waking in the morning. It supposedly is most accurate with an armpit thermometer.

• Warm the thermometer in your hand for 30-60 seconds.
• Stick the thermometer in your armpit for 30 seconds, then turn on.
• Take a couple readings in each armpit.
• The highest reading will be your basal temperature for the morning.

The ideal range is between 97.8 and 98.2 degrees when measuring temperature first thing upon waking.

The 2 Month Gameplan to Get Your Metabolism Raging

• Eat 3 Meals Per Day: I’m a big fan of intermittent fasting, but I recommend taking a break for 2-3 months. When you reintroduce it, it will work like gangbusters. Eat 3 meals per day. Eat as soon as you wake up, eat at lunch time, and eat at dinner time. If you are someone who is accustomed to eating small breakfasts and lunches, you should make those meals larger than normal.
• Eat Plenty of Carbs With Every Meal: Eat yams, sweet potatoes, oatmeal, rice, corn, etc. This isn’t the time to follow a paleo diet. When your metabolism is boosted and your morning temperature is consistently in the ideal range, you can cut back on carbs at that point.
• Eat Until You Are Full and Avoid Hunger: Let your body know that there will always be a constant supply of food, so it will eventually store less and less of this food as fat. Your body will burn at a faster rate (increased metabolism) to meet the increased calories coming in.
• Limit Caffeine and Alcohol: Try to reduce coffee and alcohol intake for these 2 months. This will speed up the time it takes to get your metabolism burning more calories per day.
• Lift Weights With Minimal Cardio: You want to minimize cortisol if your metabolism is below optimum levels. Ditch the cardio until your metabolism is back to a normal level.

“Won’t I Get Fat By Increasing Calories?”

You most likely will gain a bit of fat at first when increasing your intake of calories. You are taking a step back to make it easier to lose weight when you do finally reduce the calories a bit. I’m not a fan of bodybuilder style “bulking and cutting”. I do like how their bulking period resets their metabolism, but believe the same positive benefits can happen without adding tons of excess fat.

 Chronic Low Calorie Diets Can Age People

The problem with staying lean by consuming 1,000-1,500 calories per day is that you simply lack nutrients to keep your body working properly. Problems occur like dry skin, thinning hair,  lack of sex drive, brain fog, cold hands and feet, etc. Wouldn’t it be better to be able to maintain your ideal body weight at 2,500 calories instead of 1,500? With a healthy metabolism this is possible.

Eat Like Your Grandparents Did for the Next 2 Months

• Protein, Carbs, and Fat with every meal.
• 3 meals per day.
• Limit omega 6 fat sources like vegetable oils and peanut butter.
• Cook with coconut oil, butter, or olive oil.
• Limit sugar and high fructose corn syrup.
• Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables.

[Omega 6 rich vegetable oils are a food you are going to want to limit as much as possible. I'm trying to ween myself off of chips and fries, since they are cooked in vegetable oil.]

2 Foods to Avoid To Correct a Damaged Metabolism

The main two foods to avoid during these two months are vegetable oils and high fructose corn syrup. You also want to limit foods containing these ingredients.  The problem with both of these foods is that contribute to inflammation which contributes to leptin resistance, insulin resistance, etc. Olive oil, butter, or coconut oil are your best choices for cooking.

For Those Who Want a More Detailed Explanation

Matt Stone is the go-to-guy when it comes to increasing your metabolism through diet. His 170 page $19.95 ebook, 180 Degree Metabolism, explains all of this in much greater detail than I can in a blog post. That being said, the game plan I outlined above will work well.

Note: In part 3, I will cover how to ease you way into a calorie deficit to lose fat without messing up your metabolism. I still believe in short term low calorie diets to lose the last 5-10 pounds, but nothing over 1-2 months long.

Click Here for Part 3…

The post Eating to Increase Your Metabolism [Pt 2] appeared first on Fitness Black Book.

We have all known someone with the ability to eat large amounts of calories, not even workout, and still look lean and defined year round. By chance, these people have a revved up metabolism. What often happens to these people is they are lean when they are young, then at some point their metabolism slows down and they put on weight. In fact, this was more often than not the case a couple generations ago.

[This picture was taken in the late 1940's at Playland in Rye Beach, New York. Up until the late 1980's, the majority of teens were lean without even trying.]

All Young Adults Were Lean in My Dad’s Generation

My dad was born in 1940 and grew up in the 40′s and 50′s. He stayed lean while eating a boat-load of food in in his teens and 20′s. I used to think current childhood obesity rates are because of the activity levels of young people back then compared to now, but have since changed my mind. My dad’s sister (my aunt) ate until she was stuffed 3 times per day, was inactive, and stayed lean into her late 20′s as well.

You Really Can’t Blame Carbs Either

Back in the 50′s when my dad was in his teens, dinners typically had a large amount of carbs. Meat was always served with a large portion of carbs. I think my grandma served potatoes with almost every meal back then. They ate large volumes of carbs and stayed lean.

1980′s = Beginning of Widespread “Leptin Resistance”

You have probably know about insulin resistance…and my guess is that you have read about increasing leptin levels while dieting using cheat meals. This is something different altogether. Those with leptin resistance typically have plenty of leptin in their body, but it doesn’t work properly to regulate body fat. What sucks is that cheat meals won’t do anything to help with leptin resistance.

[Speaking of the 80's...some stellar anthems came out of that decade. Here's an incredible live performance of 1988 mega-hit Never Tear Us Apart. In my opinion, one of the best songs ever written.]

Leptin Resistance Makes Calorie Reduction Difficult

A simple way to look at leptin is that it is your hunger hormone. When you eat a large amount of food, or have a extra body fat, your body releases leptin as a signal to eat less. This is one way the body regulates body fat. If you are resistant to this hormone, your hunger continues despite adequate calories or excess body fat.

Leptin Resistance Sets Off a Nasty Chain of Events

Here’s an interesting study —>Circulating leptin levels predict the development of metabolic syndrome in middle-aged men: an 8-year follow-up study

This study suggests leptin resistance and insulin resistance usually work as as team (in a bad way). Leptin resistance makes you hungry, you eat more, insulin resistance causes you to store more body fat, etc. This study also showed that those with leptin resistance were more likely to have abdominal obesity and high blood pressure.

Metabolism Goal #1: Increase Leptin Sensitivity

One of the keys to a strong metabolism and the ability to stay lean without counting calories…is increasing your sensitivity to leptin. In part 2 I’m going to talk about what it takes to get your leptin sensitivity (and metabolism) back to a normal range. I’m going to lay out a 2 month game plan to get your metabolism rocking again. This way when you reduce calories, you will create a calorie deficit, and you will lose body fat.

Note: You have to be willing to eat more and you may even add a little body fat when repairing your metabolism. Once your metabolism is recovered, your body will respond to good strategic fat loss routines. If you are someone who can’t get lean on a low calorie diet…the next post is going to help you in a big way.

Click Here for Part 2…

The post Eating to Increase Your Metabolism [Pt 1] appeared first on Fitness Black Book.

As a kid raised in the 70′s and 80′s, I was taught that egg yolks were the devil. I used to make egg white omelettes in my late teens and early 20′s. Luckily I know better now. Here’s more good news when it comes to eating whole eggs.

Notes from article:

For the purpose of the research, middle-aged males and females with metabolic syndrome were split into 2 groups: one group ate 3 whole eggs each day and the other ate the same amount of egg substitute each day as part of a carbohydrate-restricted diet to lose weight.

After the subjects in the whole eggs group spent 3 months on the diet, the researchers found that it had no impact on their LDL cholesterol or total blood cholesterol, even though they were eating two times the amount of cholesterol than they were before the experiment began.

Both the whole eggs group and the egg substitute group had increases in HDL cholesterol, decreases in plasma triglycerides, and improved lipid profiles.

Dr. Luz Fernandez explained:

“Eating egg yolks was actually associated with enhanced health benefits in these high-risk individuals. Subjects consuming whole eggs had greater increases in HDL cholesterol and more significant reductions in the LDL/HDL cholesterol ratio than those who ate the cholesterol-free egg substitute.”

See full story on medicalnewstoday.com

The post Eating Whole Eggs Can Improve Blood Lipids and Fat Loss appeared first on Fitness Black Book.

Brad Pilon just put out a solid post about why many people are Intermittent Feeding, not Intermittent Fasting. He explains why some people who have failed with Intermittent Fasting weren’t actually doing the diet in the best way.

A few highlights of his article:

Intermittent – Occurring occasionally or at regular or irregular intervals… so really “Occasionally” Fasting – Taking a break from eating (zero calorie intake) for a predetermined period of time without a necessary interval from one fast to the next.

Intermittent Feeding = Taking the occasional break from fasting to eat during a predetermined window.

Diets that are Intermittent Feeding can be fantastic, helpful, effective, but they can also be in some ways completely different than Eat Stop Eat.

LeanGains, The Renegade Diet and even some of the more extreme protocols along these lines (like fasting for 20 hours eating for 4 every day) – all can incredibly effective fat loss programs, but in my eyes (and I know you guys are going to hate this) NOT intermittent Fasting.

Starting today add “Intermittent Feeding” to your definitions of what it means to take a break from eating and realize that “Intermittent Fasting” really is a different experience than “Intermittent Feeding”.

See full story on bradpilon.com

The post Intermittent Fasting VS Intermittent Feeding – by Brad Pilon appeared first on Fitness Black Book.

I’m not an advocate of smoking or taking in nicotine, but wanted to share this video with you. Ever wonder why people who smoke are often times pretty darn lean? Kiefer will explain how nicotine blocks the fat receptors and stops fat from accumulating…even if you eat a high calorie meal.

The post Burn Fat With Nicotine before Eating a Large Meal? appeared first on Fitness Black Book.

The two fats I use these days in cooking are olive oil and coconut oil. Both of these are tremendous for health…and if used strategically they are great for fat loss.

Some benefits:

• Maintains Good Cholesterol Levels
• Good for stomach
• Fortifies Your Bones
• Aids Digestion
• Reduce Cancer
• Reduce Oxidative Stress
• Reduce the risk of Diabetes
• Reduce Obesity

See full story on www.fitho.in

The post The Health Benefits of Olive Oil appeared first on Fitness Black Book.

Robb Wolf has been endorsing the Paleo lifestyle long before it became trendy. I’d almost say he is the top Paleo guy online…or at least in the top 3. Anyway, he just put up a post about the top 10 Paleo trends in 2012.

It’s been another exciting and groundbreaking year in the paleo world, and like last year, we’ve rounded-up the top 10 paleo highlights from the past 365 days. If you’ve been a hardcore paleo follower all year, reminisce on all the paleo goodness that was; and if you’re relatively new to the scene, here’s your chance to catch up on some of the things you may have missed.

This list is by no means scientific (all items were pulled out of the ‘vault’ that is my brain) or all-encompassing – but if you’re hard-up for some end of the year entertainment; grab a cup of coffee or tea, sit back, and enjoy a (short) trip down paleo memory lane.

Red the rest of the story here Robb Wolf

The post Top 10 Paleo Trends in 2012 appeared first on Fitness Black Book.

Eric Cressey shows how to properly do the “Y exercise” on the TRX to improve posture. He also shows some common mistakes. This guy is almost always spot on when it comes to demonstrating good form in various exercises.

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I eat low carb and paleo from time to time,but never for the long term. My belief is that there really isn’t a need to exclude carbs from your diet to lose weight.

This year a popular paleo forum had a guy who switched to the potato diet and began dropping weight. Several others followed his lead and experienced the same thing. I found an article on that.

The evidence showed that potatoes are non-toxic, filling per calorie, remarkably nutritious, and can be eaten as almost the sole source of nutrition for extended periods of time (though I’m not recommending this).

Traditional South American cultures such as the Quechua and Aymara have eaten potatoes as the major source of calories for generations without any apparent ill effects (3).

Potatoes appear not to cause fat gain, and in fact frequently cause fat loss and improve metabolic health in people who are overweight.

The potato diet works because: Potatoes have a low calorie density and a high satiety value per calorie.

See full story on blogspot.com

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I think the whole Miss Universe thing is pretty funny. I’m not a big fan of beauty pageants in general. That being said, I figured others might be interested in Olivia Culpo’s diet and workout program.

A disclaimer…

This is a 20 year old with great genetics. It probably didn’t take a lot for her to achieve this look. I’m much more impressed when a 30+ year old woman is in great shape.

From an article on the examiner.

Surprisingly, Olivia was a chubby child, but now maintains her slender bikini body by following a portion-controlled low-carb diet and exercising several days a week.

“I work out three times a week doing resistance training and three times a week doing cardio,” said Culpo. “Resistance is basic lifting weights, and for cardio I’ll do running or Zumba.”

“I love unsalted almonds, especially if I’m about to do a photoshoot or compete,” said Culpo. “There’s no mess, and they’re so easy to pack in a little Ziploc bag to take with you. It’s my No. 1 go-to snack.

See full story on examiner.com

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I think basketball players are the most elite athletes on the planet, right up there with Olympic gymnasts. I found a fun article which goes over the workouts of the top players in the league.

…I’m still upset Oklahoma got my Seattle Sonics, just when Durant was beginning to get good. Ugh!

While football teams are bulked out with the biggest and toughest guys around,basketball teams are stocked with lean, mean, jumping machines.

As we’re in the thick of basketball season, and New Year’s resolution season is creeping up on us, we thought some of you might find inspiration in the fitness regimens of your favorite star players.

See full story on dietsinreview.com

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Alwyn Cosgrove is one of the most respected minds in the fitness industry. I like his take on “fitness research”.

Our gym trains people in the real world and sees real world results.

In fact – we don’t even look at research initially.

First – we see what works in the gym – in reality.

You aren’t seeing studies looking at self-limiting exercises performed in a circuit format with explosive lifting, TRX, kettlebell and sandbag exercises … with interval training finishers using sleds and ropes.

So we don’t look for research to tell us what to do — we’re looking for research to explain why, so we can go back and upgrade our programs.

See full story on alwyncosgrove.com

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I found an interesting article today that examines a study claiming that cutting cat travel is an effective weight loss strategy. They even go as far as to say that it is just as effective as reducing calories each day. Studies are funny. It seems that they can set them up to show almost any outcome. I’ll posts some highlights and let you decide if this is something you buy into.

Both daily automobile travel and calories consumed are related to body weight, and reducing either one, even by a small amount, correlates with a reduction in body mass index (BMI), suggests a new study.

“We’re saying that making small changes in travel or diet choices may lead to comparable obesity reduction, which implies that travel-based interventions may be as effective as dietary interventions,” said graduate student Banafsheh Behzad, a co-author of the study.

In comparison, reducing diet by 100 calories per day would be associated with reducing national average BMI by 0.16 kg/m2 after three years.

If drivers nationwide travelled 1 mile less by car each day, not only would fuel consumption fall, but annual health care costs could drop by billions of dollars as fewer people would be classified as obese or overweight, Jacobson estimated.

See full story on indiavision.com

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I’m not as big of a fan of the squat as many people. It isn’t that I’m totally against it, I just believe that you don’t need to treat it as the “King of Exercises” if you feel you already have enough muscle mass in your lower body. If you are going to squat you should probably do it right. Here’s an article showing how to increase lower body flexibility and mobility in the squat.

Regardless of the chosen method, proper flexibility training can greatly improve performance, mobility, and longevity.

Various experts contend that pre-workout flexibility training is unnecessary, arguing that your workout will deliver the needed mobility improvements, particularly your warm-up sets.

The overwhelming majority of us need corrective work prior to training because our muscles are short and tight from hours of keyboard-clacking and deskwork.

You’ll probably meet resistance before you hit parallel, since you’re most likely compensating for poor thoracic spine mobility, tight hip flexors, and a weak posterior chain.

Ten minutes of goal-oriented corrective work before training can radically improve your performance and prevent injuries down the road.

See full story on bodybuilding.com

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This is the time of year where several viruses are going around. You can avoid catching the majority of viruses you are exposed to, if your immune system is strong enough. Most people focus on vitamins, which is a good start, but here are a list of foods you may want to add to your diet as well.

• Yogurt
• Wheat Germ
• Mushrooms
• Garlic
• Tea
• Broccoli
• Cauliflower
• Cinnamon

See full story on www.fitho.in

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I found an article that shows how certain activities can take 30 minutes off of your life. The positive thing is that certain activities can add an hour back to your life.

“Warning: The following prime time television programs could shave 30 minutes off your life.”

Using data from other studies, he calculated that the following daily activities that he says could shave 30 minutes from your life: Smoking 2 cigarettes Drinking 2 extra glasses of alcohol Eating 1 hamburger Watching 2 hours of television Being 11 pounds overweight.

See full story on mensfitness.com

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In case you haven’t seen this in the news, you can have your genome sequenced to see how likely you are to get a chronic or deadly disease. This is disturbing to me. In my opinion, life should be an adventure and should be somewhat unpredictable. This is what makes it fun. Mark Sisson put out a post today with his opinion.

Earlier this year, I explored the “evolution” of human dietary requirements in the last 10,000 years by examining some of the SNPs – single nucleotide polymorphisms, or variations in genetic sequences – that relate to diet and nutrition.

Nothing has changed on that front in my mind, but people are still understandably curious about their genetic predispositions toward various conditions, and, with the recent reduction in price for SNP sequencing from 23andMe (to $99 with no subscriptions required), as well as slightly more affordable full-on genome sequencing (~$1000) on the not so distant horizon, it’s easier than ever to actually do it.

Sequencing your genome or getting an SNP analysis could ease your worry and show you that you’ve got nothing going on, or it could kick start your mania and make things even worse.

See full story on marksdailyapple.com

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I love kettle corn, but never considered it a healthy snack. I found a recipe online that looks like it could be a replacement the typical microwave popcorn.

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons coconut oil
• 6 tablespoons popcorn
• 2 tablespoons raw brown sugar
• Kosher salt to taste

See full story on nytimes.com

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