Five Fatloss Feasting Tips

When you’re trying to lose fat, you will likely have to eat less – and differently – than you usually do. All sorts of unfortunate situations and feelings crop up. So what do you do to curtail these tough issues (or in some cases, eliminate them completely)?

Remind yourself. Sometimes, in the rush of the day, we lose sight of our own goals. So every time you get ready to eat, stop for one moment and ask yourself, “Do I want to lose this fat?” If the answer is still “yes”, then proceed appropriately!

Prepare to go out. It’s Saturday night and everyone’s going out to eat. You already had a little extra earlier that day. What do you do? Plan ahead.

To make it easier to “do the right thing” at the restaurant, do a little pre-emptive attack: Eat an apple, 1/8 cup of almonds and drink an 8 oz. glass of water before you leave. Why? You’ll fill your stomach up with some quality and space-consuming calories, leaving less of a “hole” for starchy carbs and desserts to disappear into.

Have an idea of what you will – and will not – order when you get there. You don’t have to be too specific. But make a general agreement with yourself: I’ll eat the meat, fish or chicken first, then the vegetables and then I’ll eat just half of the bread/potato/pasta.

Realize your options. There are dozens of low- or non-caloric flavoring options available for your protein sources. Plain grilled chicken is not your only companion while losing weight! Think: hot sauce, soy sauce, mustards, black pepper, oregano, basil, garlic, onion, cayenne pepper, salsa, lemon and lime juice… you get the idea. (There are several flavors of calorie-free dressings for your vegetables, too!)

Get your protein. Why? Protein fills you up better than carbohydrates. It keeps your metabolism running better than carbs or fats. It preserves the muscles that provide the curves for the “toned” look. If you don’t get enough protein while dieting down, you run the risk of ending up with an unhealthy, flabby-thin look.  You want to look slender – not skeletal, right?

Think globally. While counting calories and paying attention to food selection is incredibly important, you need to focus on the longer-term.  Day-to-day misses (“I shouldn’t have eaten that!”) are a drop in the bucket when compared to eating right 90% of the time for months on end. Patience (with yourself) is a virtue.

You betta check yo self…

Fore you wreck yo self.

Cause I’m bad fore your health,

I come real stealth.”

So said Ice Cube. And like so many times before and since, I agree with him. (Wait… what?)

Of course he wasn’t talking about poor exercise form, but if he had been, he’d be dead on. There’s a chronic gym-epidemic going ’round, and it’s called Ballstothewallotosis.  It’s when someone picks up a weight – usually an inappropriately heavy one – or hops on the treadmill, and proceeds to beat themselves into the ground, all the while believing – with the best intentions – that the harder they push, the more they’ll look like a movie star.  Here’s the thing:

1. If you move slowly, use too little weight and never push… there is little to no stimulus for your body to change.
2. If you lift heavy (heavy being a relative word) with good form, execute lighter sets with speed, really move your ass when doing cardiovascular workouts… your body gets the stimulus to get leaner and stronger.
3. If you simply do the most difficult thing your body can do, form be damned, intelligent progression out the door… the stimulus you’re giving your body is a degenerative one that will lead to damaged tendons and ligaments in your joints and discs in your back. And you’ll up on the sidelines way before you get to looking like Brad Pitt.

Now listen, I love intense workouts. It’s what gets the results you want. But never forget that what you do in the gym is a stimulus for your body to change.

• If you bench press too often and too heavy, and have to get someone to pull the bar up for you at the end of every set, beware. Great pecs and arms aren’t built by destroying your rotator cuffs.

• If you want to do Crossfit-type workouts, then work up to the really difficult days.If one day you’re not exercising much at all, and the next you’re flinging a heavy barbell around as fast as possible… you’re probably asking for a back injury.

• If you like to run, that’s great. If you want to burn calories, then some treadmill time can help. However, not all of us are built to run, and even if you are, your body has to adapt and build, just like lifting weights. Keep in mind that a strong will won’t protect your knees from excessive pounding!

So take the time to learn what you’re doing.  Start small, find what works, don’t expect immediate gratification.  Work hard but be conservative.

Think about it: You have to date around before you find “the one”. You have to save your money before you can afford “the car”. You have to work  for years before you get the corner office with your own assistant.  Training for a great body is no different.

Can you believe that you can get “The Best of Ice Cube” for just $5.50 in the used section on Amazon? What a steal!

8 Gold Medals, Super Bowl MVP and Winner of the Boston Marathon

What do these things have in common?

(a) They are amazing feats of physical achievement.

(b) They are all accomplished by those who dedicate their lives to the sport.

(c) They are all things that most of us have no interest in actually trying to take the time and energy to do ourselves.

The answer: All of the above.

He couldn't finish his pushups.

So what’s the point of this little poll? For 99% of you reading this: You aren’t a professional athlete.  You do not get to sleep nine hours a day;  you do not have a full-time masseuse;  you do not talk about Fight Club, and most of your daily energy is focused around work and family, rather than gearing up for your workout.

So I want to send out the message that “failure” in the gym is not a negative thing.  In other words, attempting a lift and not completing it, running out of steam before you finish a timed set, stopping early because you didn’t get to eat enough that day… these are not terrible things. Don’t get down about them. Don’t even let them phase you. Why? Because:

1. You are at the gym, working hard. That’s a a huge victory, and something that 90% of the country never even attempts.
2. You build character when you fail. When you get that weight to move the next time you try, it’s that much more satisfying.
3. Even pro athletes fail. Peyton Manning and the Colts lost over and over in the playoffs – Peyton often taking most of the blame himself – and then suddenly, years and years of trying resulted in a Super Bowl win.
4. In the end, it just doesn’t matter. As long as you don’t get injured, you can look at yourself in the mirror and say “I tried”. You won’t get fired, your spouse won’t divorce you, and it won’t be in the papers tomorrow morning.

So have fun with it. Try hard, sweat a lot, be sore… but never let it be a negative. You’re doing something good for yourself.

8-12 inches!

“In snow thou comest –
Thou shalt go with the resuming ground,
The sweet derision of the crow,
And Glee’s advancing sound.

In fear thou comest –
Thou shalt go at such a gait of joy
That man anew embark to live
Upon the depth of thee.”

Surely these are the words passing through the elated minds of my clients today, as they dig themselves out of the latest snow storm, eager to warm themselves by the fires of squats and chinups…

Or perhaps Emily Dickinson can keep her purty lil’ poems to herself.

Anyhow, I need to get shoveling myself, but I’d like to post up a link  for a product that I often recommend.

Protein powder: First question – Do you need to have protein powder to succeed in the gym? Definitely not. However, protein is an invaluable nutrient for physique change, and many of us don’t get enough of it.

Consider this:

• Consuming protein right before, during or after a workout is especially valuable.
• Cooking and storing food isn’t always an option right before or after work.
• Dumping a scoop of protein powder into your water bottle is simple, quick, and easier to carry with you than whole food.
• A protein shake won’t sit like a rock in your stomach when you exercise.

I still advocate getting whole-food sources of protein (fish, skinless chicken and turkey, lean cuts of beef, dairy, eggs, rice and beans, quinoa) the rest of the day. Each type of protein source has it’s own benefits, like healthy fatty-acids, minerals or fiber.

Now you may be thinking, “But I only want to eat natural foods.”

I say, great! Then have yourself some whey protein powder! Whey protein is simply a dairy by-product, made of cow’s milk.  And it’s no more “processed” than most things you already eat, and probably less than quite a few items in your pantry.

The main issue for protein powders is really what other ingredients are included in the product. Most brands add some form of sweetener (sugars, sugar alcohols, aspartame, etc.), artificial  flavoring,  vitamins and minerals, or big extras like creatine and caffeine. We really don’t need most of that.

So check out this site:

TrueProtein.com

Here you can make your own protein blend. You decide what kinds of protein powder and what kinds of additives you want to include.

Without getting into the details, while some of the additives have worth, I usually recommend getting a straight-up powder with none of the extras.

When you get the non-flavored, non-sweetened whey protein powder, you have a ton of options:

• Adding milk or any kind of fruit you like. If you get something like chocolate-flavor, then it really limits what you can mix it with.
• If you really don’t like it plain, you can sweeten it with fruits, honey, table sugar, Splenda, or whatever you like. But you’ll have the option of deciding how much and what kind, every time you drink it.
• You won’t get tired of it. I’ll tell you from experience that the flavorings – even the good ones -  can get old fast. The non-flavored is neutral, so it doesn’t get old, and like I said above, you can change the flavor yourself each time if you want. Personally, I drink it straight-up in water, no sweeteners.

When you get to the site, go ahead and make a blend of

1. 50% Whey Protein Concentrate
2. 50% Whey Protein Isolate Ultra-Filtration
3. Nothing else (No Carbohydrates, Supplements or Fats).

This is the cheapest, most easily-digested blend.

At the bottom of the page (Step 3):

1. For flavors, click “Plain”.
2. For sweeteners, click “Unsweetened”.
3. For additives, click “Plain”.
4. For packaging, click “Plastic Jug w/ Free Scoop”. For subsequent orders, you can choose “Free Food Grade Bag” and simply dump it into the jug.

I’d also recommend buying at least 3 lbs. at a time, so you don’t have to keep ordering and paying for shipping. Though even with shipping, it’s right around the same cost – sometimes cheaper – as an in-store purchase.

That does it for now. My car is currently buried under a foot of protein powder and I need to go collect it!

… on the shoulders of giants.

I think I would be remiss if I did not take a moment to acknowledge the people from whom I’ve learned so much.

Experience teaches us a lot, but mentors and peers help us choose the right paths. Whether it has been on websites, in books, on email or in person, I’ve learned valuable and lasting ‘training lessons’ from all of these people.

John “Mahler” Gesselberty. He’s not a trainer, he hasn’t written any fitness books, and I’ve only met him one time in real life.  But I’ve known John through fitness forums for five years now. I’ve read his reports of his training successes, failures and realizations. I’ve read his Monday Morning Motivators, which span far beyond training.  I’ve read his workout logs as he begins – and finishes in entirety – each challenging program. He epitizomizes the essence of how you attain true fitness, which is drive and integrity.  You may know everything there is to know about fitness, but without the determination and self-discipline of someone like John, to get out and do it, to push through the roughest times… it all amounts to nothing.

Jean-Paul Francoeur. The man behind “JP Fitness“. Besides the fact that he brought together hundreds of fitness-minded people, providing a goldmine of information and dozens of friendships, he has also been a positive example of how to run an honest, effective fitness business.

He has been in the fitness  ‘business’ – whether it be bodybuilding, training others or owning his own gym – since before I ever picked up a dumbbell. But he’s not a shark or a ‘salesman’ (in the bad sense). He believes in his work, and he truly likes people.  I’ve always read his posts, his advice – and I believe that a part of how I interact with clients comes from his positive outlook.

Steve Gurtowski.  Steve gave me my first job as a personal trainer, and has since that day been a constant example and source of advice on training methods and handling a clientele.  I’ve learned more from him than anyone else about the practical, real-life challenges of working face-to-face with clients.

Perhaps the most important part of my working relationship with Steve has been the freedom he has given me.  Steve knows the methods and has been to the seminars and has seen it all in the gym itself, yet he has let me find my own style of training.

Eric Cressey. I’ve heard Eric speak a couple of times, I’ve lifted with him a handful of times, I’ve read his books and seen his DVD’s.  We exchange emails from time to time. Every time I interact with Eric, I learn something new about training myself or others. I also found that over the years he’s proved to be a great example of how you can master something, share it with others, and not be an arrogant asshole about it.

Lou Schuler – I’ve chatted with Lou in person and on the internet, but I knew his work long before that.  His voice was prominent in several of the programs that I did coming out of college… I kept going back to his stuff because his blend of humor and love of fitness made it all very accessible. I’d consider Lou to be my “gateway drug” into personal training.

Stuart McGill – I feel like 90% of what I know about the lower back I learned from his books!

Gray Cook – Gray Cook teaches like he’s your old buddy. The difference is that as you listen, you learn seemingly complicated information about the body’s movement patterns in the simplest, most practical way. I owe much of my understanding of the relationships of the body’s joints to his DVD’s and books.

I won’t name every person I’ve ever learned anything from… because I don’t know when that list would ever end. But the names above include those who made a signicant impact on my approach to training, both for myself and for my clients.

First post!

So here I go! For years now, I’ve shared advice, product recommendations and tips via email.  I’ll surely still do that, but this should be a great place to consolidate a lot of the basics!

I’ll also get a chance to rant a little bit (that is the primary purpose of a blog, right?) and perhaps make it easier for new clients to remember what we talked about at the gym.

So feel free to comment or ask questions, here or on email:

ian@iankaytraining.com

Thanks everyone!

-Ian