Top 10 General Rules for Fat Loss and Muscle Maintenance

[Joshua H]

Here are a few things to consider when weight loss (fat) is your primary goal while retaining muscle.

1. Fasted cardio in the morning is ideal best because insulin levels are lowest, hormone sensitive lipase is fully active, the fat cell releasing enzyme while lipoprotein lipase is dormant, the storage enzyme for fat cells. GH is still coming off its overnight high, a major fat burning hormone, less blood glucose is in your blood stream to be burned, leaving fats as the go to substrate. Keep the session under 60 minutes long, 45 minutes is ample, to long and you eat up muscle tissue.

2. Do not consume carbs when you don’t need them, meaning that if you’re not about to work out or you just got done working out, don’t eat carbs! No more than 25 grams in a meal if you must have some. Give yourself the proper carbohydrate fuel to get through a workout and the carbs to recover, that’s it! Any other carbs taken in should be "run off" or carbs from veggies, cottage cheese, nuts, natural peanut butter or sources that are not true carb sources like starches and sugars.

3. Do not get hungry! Letting yourself get hungry causes loops to enter the diet, you get impatient and look for anything to eat. It’s human nature when you feel starved. Even if it’s the right thing to eat, you end up eating way too much of it. Eat often enough to stay full even if its lots of veggies and water.

4. Do not consume large amounts of fat and carbs together. This is a controversy in many fitness circles right now but it is my belief based on human metabolism and peoples over reliance on carbs. Carbs of any kind will release insulin (high glycemic more so) which acts to store anything in your blood stream. Fats normally get booted to storage since they don’t need chemical processing or active transport to become body fat. Plus the body prefers to use carbs (glucose) as energy. So my message is don’t eat them together in huge amounts. A few grams of healthy fat with complex carbs are ok (15g fat for every 50 grams carbs eaten at a sitting). Assuming you always eat a protein at every meal as well of course!

5. Take fish oils! They increase your sensitivity to carbs (allowing you to use more vs store more) and they assist with fat loss via PPAR-delta stimulation (a mitochondrial activator found in muscle). Allwyn Cosgrove, a very popular weight loss specialist and researcher is huge on fish oils to aid in fat loss (3-6g a day).

6. Screw the popular weight loss thermogenic products on the market. They all say proprietary blend which means nothing more than "some of this and some of that". Supplements to take before cardio that are known to assist with fat burning in amounts found to have an effect are:
-Caffeine 200mg (PDE inhibitor, beta 1,2,3 adrenergic agonist, acetylcholine antagonist)
-Yohimbine HCL 8mg (alpha 2 adgrenergic antagonist)
-Aspirin 81mg (inhibits alpha-glycerol-phosphate, the re-esterification enzyme of free fatty acids)
-Green tea extract (EGCG) 400mg (inhibits the breakdown of norepinephrine)

7. 60 to 30 minutes before bed eat 1-1.5 cups cottage cheese (2% or less) to fight hunger cravings and give your body some slow digesting casein protein to breakdown and use during the night, its void of sugar, low carb (lactose) and high protein, plus it’s got calcium which can help you sleep. No it won’t get stored as fat! Your body does not just turn off your digestive system at night people! If calories are controlled during the day and exercise is intense enough, you will process and use foods like this even at night.

8. Eat citrus fruits if you must eat fruits as they are acidic and raise insulin much less than most typical fruits (exception of pineapple). Plus they contain flavinoids such as naringin in oranges and grapefruit which also help with fat loss by extending caffeine’s effects. Do not eat grapefruit with prescription meds as it will amplify its effects in most cases.

9. Maintain some form of weight training at least 3x a week or your body won’t have a damn reason to hold muscle, it will burn muscle faster then the recession is burning away at the stock market if you’re doing cardio more than 4x a week. Too much cardio and no weights = a soft skeleton body in no time.

10. If long duration steady state cardio (45 minutes) stops working, throw in a shorter 30 minute intervals (hard/easy work rest periods) 1-2x a week and go with that as a plateau buster. Works every time for most!

11. Lastly, when you really feel like you’re hungry as hell all the time and weight loss is not keeping up, "REFEEDS" are far more effective then cheat meals or cheat days at kick starting your metabolism. Refeed’s are just 1 single very high carb meal of slow and medium digesting carbs. Eaten before bed (yes 1-2 hours before bed!) tricks your body into sucking up all these carbs all night long causing it to blunt any hint of starvation or metabolic slow down. T3, leptin, and a couple other hormones related to hunger and metabolic rate go through the roof because of the overnight presence of insulin (you won’t store much if your diet has been spot on over the week). This does have a limit however. The amount and type of carbs needs to be titrated to your bodyweight.


These rules only work when adhered to in the strictest sense. If you give the rules 100% compliance you will get 100% of the effect. If you give a half assed effort then you get half assed results. I don’t mean to be blunt but I do mean to be honest and straight forward. Results only come to those who do what it takes to get them, not to those who looks for short cuts and magic pills.

This is not ment to be a "be all end all" list of reccomendations, it is simply a compilation of tactics I have been taught, adjusted, used and tested on many of my clients as well as myself. Other versions and opinions may exist, try it out for yourself and see what works for you alone.

[mshrdbdy]

Here are a few things to consider when weight loss (fat) is your primary goal while retaining muscle.

1. Fasted cardio in the morning is ideal best because insulin levels are lowest, hormone sensitive lipase is fully active, the fat cell releasing enzyme while lipoprotein lipase is dormant, the storage enzyme for fat cells. GH is still coming off its overnight high, a major fat burning hormone, less blood glucose is in your blood stream to be burned, leaving fats as the go to substrate. Keep the session under 60 minutes long, 45 minutes is ample, to long and you eat up muscle tissue.

2. Do not consume carbs when you don’t need them, meaning that if you’re not about to work out or you just got done working out, don’t eat carbs! No more than 25 grams in a meal if you must have some. Give yourself the proper carbohydrate fuel to get through a workout and the carbs to recover, that’s it! Any other carbs taken in should be "run off" or carbs from veggies, cottage cheese, nuts, natural peanut butter or sources that are not true carb sources like starches and sugars.

3. Do not get hungry! Letting yourself get hungry causes loops to enter the diet, you get impatient and look for anything to eat. It’s human nature when you feel starved. Even if it’s the right thing to eat, you end up eating way too much of it. Eat often enough to stay full even if its lots of veggies and water.

4. Do not consume large amounts of fat and carbs together. This is a controversy in many fitness circles right now but it is my belief based on human metabolism and peoples over reliance on carbs. Carbs of any kind will release insulin (high glycemic more so) which acts to store anything in your blood stream. Fats normally get booted to storage since they don’t need chemical processing or active transport to become body fat. Plus the body prefers to use carbs (glucose) as energy. So my message is don’t eat them together in huge amounts. A few grams of healthy fat with complex carbs are ok (15g fat for every 50 grams carbs eaten at a sitting). Assuming you always eat a protein at every meal as well of course!

5. Take fish oils! They increase your sensitivity to carbs (allowing you to use more vs store more) and they assist with fat loss via PPAR-delta stimulation (a mitochondrial activator found in muscle). Allwyn Cosgrove, a very popular weight loss specialist and researcher is huge on fish oils to aid in fat loss (3-6g a day).

6. Screw the popular weight loss thermogenic products on the market. They all say proprietary blend which means nothing more than "some of this and some of that". Supplements to take before cardio that are known to assist with fat burning in amounts found to have an effect are:
-Caffeine 200mg (PDE inhibitor, beta 1,2,3 adrenergic agonist, acetylcholine antagonist)
-Yohimbine HCL 8mg (alpha 2 adgrenergic antagonist)
-Aspirin 81mg (inhibits alpha-glycerol-phosphate, the re-esterification enzyme of free fatty acids)
-Green tea extract (EGCG) 400mg (inhibits the breakdown of norepinephrine)

7. 60 to 30 minutes before bed eat 1-1.5 cups cottage cheese (2% or less) to fight hunger cravings and give your body some slow digesting casein protein to breakdown and use during the night, its void of sugar, low carb (lactose) and high protein, plus it’s got calcium which can help you sleep. No it won’t get stored as fat! Your body does not just turn off your digestive system at night people! If calories are controlled during the day and exercise is intense enough, you will process and use foods like this even at night.

8. Eat citrus fruits if you must eat fruits as they are acidic and raise insulin much less than most typical fruits (exception of pineapple). Plus they contain flavinoids such as naringin in oranges and grapefruit which also help with fat loss by extending caffeine’s effects. Do not eat grapefruit with prescription meds as it will amplify its effects in most cases.

9. Maintain some form of weight training at least 3x a week or your body won’t have a damn reason to hold muscle, it will burn muscle faster then the recession is burning away at the stock market if you’re doing cardio more than 4x a week. Too much cardio and no weights = a soft skeleton body in no time.

10. If long duration steady state cardio (45 minutes) stops working, throw in a shorter 30 minute intervals (hard/easy work rest periods) 1-2x a week and go with that as a plateau buster. Works every time for most!

11. Lastly, when you really feel like you’re hungry as hell all the time and weight loss is not keeping up, "REFEEDS" are far more effective then cheat meals or cheat days at kick starting your metabolism. Refeed’s are just 1 single very high carb meal of slow and medium digesting carbs. Eaten before bed (yes 1-2 hours before bed!) tricks your body into sucking up all these carbs all night long causing it to blunt any hint of starvation or metabolic slow down. T3, leptin, and a couple other hormones related to hunger and metabolic rate go through the roof because of the overnight presence of insulin (you won’t store much if your diet has been spot on over the week). This does have a limit however. The amount and type of carbs needs to be titrated to your bodyweight.


These rules only work when adhered to in the strictest sense. If you give the rules 100% compliance you will get 100% of the effect. If you give a half assed effort then you get half assed results. I don’t mean to be blunt but I do mean to be honest and straight forward. Results only come to those who do what it takes to get them, not to those who looks for short cuts and magic pills.

This is not ment to be a "be all end all" list of reccomendations, it is simply a compilation of tactics I have been taught, adjusted, used and tested on many of my clients as well as myself. Other versions and opinions may exist, try it out for yourself and see what works for you alone.



Great post! ;)

[MartyMcFly]

Nice post, I'm currently thinking about adding carbs back into the mix, but I'm scared I won't lose any weight.

[bigdaddyd]

I miss my carbs. But I eat one meal with carbs and I blow up. Amazing.

[Zetawill]

Great post!!

[GatorPump]

Any suggestions on small foods to bring to work. I get up early around 5:30. Work from 7-5, then go to bed around 12p.m. How many meals should I be getting in? Should I be keeping it every 2-3 hours. I am in cut down mode, but only need to cut down about 10 more lbs.

[thepump]

the best little meals. tuna,shake with shaker.fruits and vegsss. will help keep you from feeling so hungry.

[thepump]

Here are a few things to consider when weight loss (fat) is your primary goal while retaining muscle.

1. Fasted cardio in the morning is ideal best because insulin levels are lowest, hormone sensitive lipase is fully active, the fat cell releasing enzyme while lipoprotein lipase is dormant, the storage enzyme for fat cells. GH is still coming off its overnight high, a major fat burning hormone, less blood glucose is in your blood stream to be burned, leaving fats as the go to substrate. Keep the session under 60 minutes long, 45 minutes is ample, to long and you eat up muscle tissue.

2. Do not consume carbs when you don’t need them, meaning that if you’re not about to work out or you just got done working out, don’t eat carbs! No more than 25 grams in a meal if you must have some. Give yourself the proper carbohydrate fuel to get through a workout and the carbs to recover, that’s it! Any other carbs taken in should be "run off" or carbs from veggies, cottage cheese, nuts, natural peanut butter or sources that are not true carb sources like starches and sugars.

3. Do not get hungry! Letting yourself get hungry causes loops to enter the diet, you get impatient and look for anything to eat. It’s human nature when you feel starved. Even if it’s the right thing to eat, you end up eating way too much of it. Eat often enough to stay full even if its lots of veggies and water.

4. Do not consume large amounts of fat and carbs together. This is a controversy in many fitness circles right now but it is my belief based on human metabolism and peoples over reliance on carbs. Carbs of any kind will release insulin (high glycemic more so) which acts to store anything in your blood stream. Fats normally get booted to storage since they don’t need chemical processing or active transport to become body fat. Plus the body prefers to use carbs (glucose) as energy. So my message is don’t eat them together in huge amounts. A few grams of healthy fat with complex carbs are ok (15g fat for every 50 grams carbs eaten at a sitting). Assuming you always eat a protein at every meal as well of course!

5. Take fish oils! They increase your sensitivity to carbs (allowing you to use more vs store more) and they assist with fat loss via PPAR-delta stimulation (a mitochondrial activator found in muscle). Allwyn Cosgrove, a very popular weight loss specialist and researcher is huge on fish oils to aid in fat loss (3-6g a day).

6. Screw the popular weight loss thermogenic products on the market. They all say proprietary blend which means nothing more than "some of this and some of that". Supplements to take before cardio that are known to assist with fat burning in amounts found to have an effect are:
-Caffeine 200mg (PDE inhibitor, beta 1,2,3 adrenergic agonist, acetylcholine antagonist)
-Yohimbine HCL 8mg (alpha 2 adgrenergic antagonist)
-Aspirin 81mg (inhibits alpha-glycerol-phosphate, the re-esterification enzyme of free fatty acids)
-Green tea extract (EGCG) 400mg (inhibits the breakdown of norepinephrine)

7. 60 to 30 minutes before bed eat 1-1.5 cups cottage cheese (2% or less) to fight hunger cravings and give your body some slow digesting casein protein to breakdown and use during the night, its void of sugar, low carb (lactose) and high protein, plus it’s got calcium which can help you sleep. No it won’t get stored as fat! Your body does not just turn off your digestive system at night people! If calories are controlled during the day and exercise is intense enough, you will process and use foods like this even at night.

8. Eat citrus fruits if you must eat fruits as they are acidic and raise insulin much less than most typical fruits (exception of pineapple). Plus they contain flavinoids such as naringin in oranges and grapefruit which also help with fat loss by extending caffeine’s effects. Do not eat grapefruit with prescription meds as it will amplify its effects in most cases.

9. Maintain some form of weight training at least 3x a week or your body won’t have a damn reason to hold muscle, it will burn muscle faster then the recession is burning away at the stock market if you’re doing cardio more than 4x a week. Too much cardio and no weights = a soft skeleton body in no time.

10. If long duration steady state cardio (45 minutes) stops working, throw in a shorter 30 minute intervals (hard/easy work rest periods) 1-2x a week and go with that as a plateau buster. Works every time for most!

11. Lastly, when you really feel like you’re hungry as hell all the time and weight loss is not keeping up, "REFEEDS" are far more effective then cheat meals or cheat days at kick starting your metabolism. Refeed’s are just 1 single very high carb meal of slow and medium digesting carbs. Eaten before bed (yes 1-2 hours before bed!) tricks your body into sucking up all these carbs all night long causing it to blunt any hint of starvation or metabolic slow down. T3, leptin, and a couple other hormones related to hunger and metabolic rate go through the roof because of the overnight presence of insulin (you won’t store much if your diet has been spot on over the week). This does have a limit however. The amount and type of carbs needs to be titrated to your bodyweight.


These rules only work when adhered to in the strictest sense. If you give the rules 100% compliance you will get 100% of the effect. If you give a half assed effort then you get half assed results. I don’t mean to be blunt but I do mean to be honest and straight forward. Results only come to those who do what it takes to get them, not to those who looks for short cuts and magic pills.

This is not ment to be a "be all end all" list of reccomendations, it is simply a compilation of tactics I have been taught, adjusted, used and tested on many of my clients as well as myself. Other versions and opinions may exist, try it out for yourself and see what works for you alone.

good read

[TPT]

nice. what are strategies of others to curb appetite?

[Joshua H]

Eat veggies at all meals other then peas corn and carrots which are either high glycemic and or too high in starch. The water content and fiber content will help with feelings of fullness. Most complex carbs are naturaly higher in fiber which will help with satiety. If your eating a protein with every meal as well this will help to bolster the feelings of fullness as well.

But if all that fails you then look at taking a Glucomannan supplement. It fakes out your stomach by expanding in the gut and making you feel fuller (not bloated unless you go way over reccomended serving).

[bgoo101]

very good post !!!! if you dont follow what is stated above dont bother trying to shred BF...

[sam the man]

nice piece of writing, good info.
thanks

["Rodz"]

I miss my carbs. But I eat one meal with carbs and I blow up. Amazing.

LOL same here, i have to eat them before bed, or i wont stop

[james cook]

-Aspirin 81mg (inhibits alpha-glycerol-phosphate, the re-esterification enzyme of free fatty acids)


can someone clarify the use of aspirin in supplementation? (pre or post workout) I have heard that it is not good.

[DannyG]

Thanks for the post...as for the supplements on #6 do you have to buy these individually or is there anything out in the market that is similar?

[Joshua H]

can someone clarify the use of aspirin in supplementation? (pre or post workout) I have heard that it is not good.

This is based on the controversy that asprin causes blockade of phospholipase A which catalyzes Arachadonic acid into its associated downstream Prostaglandins (PGE2) that are the trigger for several natural inflammatory events that results from resistance training.

If you are constantly taking NSAIDS such as asprin which cause this blockade then yes you may have some degree on supressed inflammation and over the long term could lead to dimminished muscle adaptation and growth.

However the research I have seen and read from researchers like Jose Antonio have failed to show any significant supression of muscle strength or size as a result of low dose, low frequency consumption of NSAIDS including asprin. (Doses were given in daily doses of 200-300mg after workouts).

Now if your taking 200+ mg a day every day before and or after workouts I feel you may be limiting yourself some size gains. Only use them when you really need them for the pain management, even then, look at whats cause the pain via DOMS or joint pain, fix the source at that point, not the symptom.

[Joshua H]

Thanks for the post...as for the supplements on #6 do you have to buy these individually or is there anything out in the market that is similar?

VPX Meltdown seems to have the most clinical and scientific backing right now as reported in 2 university research studies and is available on the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition website.

www.jissn.com Search under: Meltdown

They used the supplment itself in the study, not the ingredients they put in the pills to make the supplement but the exact pills in the bottle that you and I would use as well if we went and bought it.

[DannyG]

Great info thanks again for that.

[wavelength]

This is my take:

1.) irrelevant.
2.) irrelevant.
3.) individually different.
4.) irrelevant.
5.) needed only as EFAs
6.) none of that is needed.
7.) irrelevant.
8.) all fruits are fine.
9.) agreed.
10.) irrelevant, a caloric deficit never stops working.
11.) irrelevant.

[BLUEBARON75]

cardio in the morning before you eat anything works really well. and especially after you train. i did it and i looked great for my show.

[BigFitz]

Great advice bro, I look forward to trying it out.

[firebird85]

Josh
Nice read, 1 question.
On the: "Eat citrus fruits if you must eat fruits as they are acidic and raise insulin much less than most typical fruits (exception of pineapple). Plus they contain flavinoids such as naringin in oranges and grapefruit which also help with fat loss by extending caffeine’s effects. Do not eat grapefruit with prescription meds as it will amplify its effects in most cases"
You don't know if it is because my body is screaming for potassium, but I eat 3 to for bananas a day. Will that screw up results?

[D_T]

This is my take:

1.) irrelevant.
2.) irrelevant.
3.) individually different.
4.) irrelevant.
5.) needed only as EFAs
6.) none of that is needed.
7.) irrelevant.
8.) all fruits are fine.
9.) agreed.
10.) irrelevant, a caloric deficit never stops working.
11.) irrelevant.

because...

[Dr. Joel Nathan]

I have lost a considerable amount of weight due to diet and exercise over the past 5 years. Going from 230lbs to 170lbs. I now have some sagging skin in the lower ab area. Any ideas of how to increase the ability for the skin to snap back? I'm in my 50's and would appreciate some suggestions on this.

[figurebre]

This is based on the controversy that asprin causes blockade of phospholipase A which catalyzes Arachadonic acid into its associated downstream Prostaglandins (PGE2) that are the trigger for several natural inflammatory events that results from resistance training.

If you are constantly taking NSAIDS such as asprin which cause this blockade then yes you may have some degree on supressed inflammation and over the long term could lead to dimminished muscle adaptation and growth.

However the research I have seen and read from researchers like Jose Antonio have failed to show any significant supression of muscle strength or size as a result of low dose, low frequency consumption of NSAIDS including asprin. (Doses were given in daily doses of 200-300mg after workouts).

Now if your taking 200+ mg a day every day before and or after workouts I feel you may be limiting yourself some size gains. Only use them when you really need them for the pain management, even then, look at whats cause the pain via DOMS or joint pain, fix the source at that point, not the symptom.

this...and it will thin the blood. Which is why combining it with caffeine will really accelerate the effects of the caffeine...great for pre-cardio.

Good points above. Cardio on an empty stomach is important, and I HATE doing it :)

[Joshua H]

because...

Bump!


I would like to no the "because" as well to the prior posting?

[Joshua H]

Josh
Nice read, 1 question.
On the: "Eat citrus fruits if you must eat fruits as they are acidic and raise insulin much less than most typical fruits (exception of pineapple). Plus they contain flavinoids such as naringin in oranges and grapefruit which also help with fat loss by extending caffeine’s effects. Do not eat grapefruit with prescription meds as it will amplify its effects in most cases"
You don't know if it is because my body is screaming for potassium, but I eat 3 to for bananas a day. Will that screw up results?


I am not to big on bananas myself unless its post workout. They are primarily fructose once they turn yellow and ripen (the sugars breakdown over time and become more simple) they restock your lives well with glycogen but also have a strong impact on insulin. As general fruit I do not suggest you eat them often, 3-4 times a day, definetly not. Too much fructore (fruit sugar).

Try sweet potato if you thinks its potassium you need, tons of it found in these spuds!

[Joshua H]

this...and it will thin the blood. Which is why combining it with caffeine will really accelerate the effects of the caffeine...great for pre-cardio.

Good points above. Cardio on an empty stomach is important, and I HATE doing it :)


This is also true, yes indeed, its blood thinning effects are often overlooked.

Asprin also inhibits the function of alpha-glycerolphosphate, the re-esterification enzyme for free fatty acids into tryglycerides. This way when you do cardio as ffa are being mobilized into the blood stream, your not having that little bit come back through and get put back into the fat cell, small effect but over time it does add up.

[browny133]

good read josh..i've tried cardio on empty first thing in the morning and it works very well but i'm worried about burning up muscle.is it wise to take a little whey protein upon waking to stop any catabolic effect and then do my cardio??

[Joshua H]

good read josh..i've tried cardio on empty first thing in the morning and it works very well but i'm worried about burning up muscle.is it wise to take a little whey protein upon waking to stop any catabolic effect and then do my cardio??

If the intensity is too high then yes it is more likely to do so. If your above 70% of your HRR then your too high. Stay under that threshold and most people in general will not tap into protein stores. If your really concerned then down 5-10 grams of glutamine and 5 grams of bcaa's and this will keep you in the safe zone. Overall if your at a low intensity as most people do when fasted cardio is the goal, your not even close to asking the body to use amino acids for fuel.

Hope that helps bro!

[browny133]

josh....thanx.

[ste247]

great post but iam assuming when you say dont eat any carbs unless you need them pro/post workout your fat intake for the day must be over 100g or you will have no energy to do anything otherwise...................also this theory about carbs making you fat is true but only when you combine them with a lot of fat, if you take fats or carbs out of any diet you will lose weight simple as that carbs arnt as bad as ppl say plenty of bodybuilders round the world get shredded eating carbs......

[GDavis]

This is my take:

1.) irrelevant.
2.) irrelevant.
3.) individually different.
4.) irrelevant.
5.) needed only as EFAs
6.) none of that is needed.
7.) irrelevant.
8.) all fruits are fine.
9.) agreed.
10.) irrelevant, a caloric deficit never stops working.
11.) irrelevant.

"Caloric deficit never stops working" yeah... you have are proving you have never dieted hard for 16 + weeks

[GDavis]

Good read. Regardless if you agree or not it is well stated and good to get someone thinking.

[Joshua H]

great post but iam assuming when you say dont eat any carbs unless you need them pro/post workout your fat intake for the day must be over 100g or you will have no energy to do anything otherwise...................also this theory about carbs making you fat is true but only when you combine them with a lot of fat, if you take fats or carbs out of any diet you will lose weight simple as that carbs arnt as bad as ppl say plenty of bodybuilders round the world get shredded eating carbs......

Alot of other factors will effect how this plays out. But yes, your fat intake would be higher if your carbs are super low or 0.

I am not assuming you have a no carb diet however, I am not a follower of keto or even super low carb diets myself. I am more for well placed and portioned carb timing and carb cycling myself.

[Mr Kimble]

I take a regular aspirin every day for my heart not a baby aspirin, will this effect my muscle growth?

[Joshua H]

Recent research now doubts the true magnitude of how much of a depression you may experience as a result of acute NSAID intake.

If your using them daily for long periods of time before and or after workouts then its proporated that you may experience a small decline in protein synthesis.

Most of us dont need to use super high doses for longer then a week or so so I would not worry. One 81mg Asprin per day is nothing to worry about at all.

Keeps your ticker beating stronger!

[fletch76]

Great advice! I have used a system similar to this and it has worked well.

Thanks!!

[JamalH]

Awesome info, taking all that in

[wavelength]

because...


Bump!
I would like to no the "because" as well to the prior posting?


"Caloric deficit never stops working" yeah... you have are proving you have never dieted hard for 16 + weeks

Yes I have.

1.) I have never seen any scientific evidence that fasten cardio provides better body composition than any other type of cardio as long as the essential rules for cutting are followed.

2.) Carbs are perfectly fine, practically all metabolic ward studies show no effect of carbs on weight loss or body composition as long as protein is high enough.

3.) One should of course make the diet as convenient as possible but for some people that means only eating e.g. twice a day.

4.) I have never seen any scientific evidence that eating certain macros together has any effect on body composition.

5.) Apart from EFAs, I am not aware of any scientific evidence regarding body composition. Different experts advocate different things on this topic.

6.) Natural fat burners might help a little but I have yet to see scientific evidence that they actually improve body composition, all other factors (including rate of weight loss) equal.

7.) Excess calories will be stored as fat and when you eat your protein as well as if it's slow or fast digesting is irrelevant. I have yet to see scientific studies on body composition which prove otherwise.

8.) Well, all fruit is OK as long as the essential rules are followed, see above.

9.) Absolutely true.

10.) I have yet to see scientific eveidence that cardio has any advantage over reducing calories, all other things equal. A "plateau" just means you have to create a bigger deficit, either by adding activity or cutting calories.

11.) Both single high calorie meals and whole high calorie days just raise calories and thus reduce the caloric deficit. They are effective psychologically but I have yet to see any scientific evidence that they actually improve body composition, all other things equal.

[jeanice]

i love this post!

[emerald muscle]

Really helpfull post man!

[8itup]

ATRO PHEX http://store.bsnonline.net/supplement_facts/atrophex.html

Fat Burner any thoughts?

[Cyber2Knight]

Great Post!

Its always good to have some basic guidelines - whether you are new to fat loss or just looking to compare what you are currently doing to see how it measures up against the general principles.

Thanks for the info - appreciated!

[dano_Kan]

I have yet to see any scientific evidence that THIS is accurate. Lol

Yes I have.

1.) I have never seen any scientific evidence that fasten cardio provides better body composition than any other type of cardio as long as the essential rules for cutting are followed.

2.) Carbs are perfectly fine, practically all metabolic ward studies show no effect of carbs on weight loss or body composition as long as protein is high enough.

3.) One should of course make the diet as convenient as possible but for some people that means only eating e.g. twice a day.

4.) I have never seen any scientific evidence that eating certain macros together has any effect on body composition.

5.) Apart from EFAs, I am not aware of any scientific evidence regarding body composition. Different experts advocate different things on this topic.

6.) Natural fat burners might help a little but I have yet to see scientific evidence that they actually improve body composition, all other factors (including rate of weight loss) equal.

7.) Excess calories will be stored as fat and when you eat your protein as well as if it's slow or fast digesting is irrelevant. I have yet to see scientific studies on body composition which prove otherwise.

8.) Well, all fruit is OK as long as the essential rules are followed, see above.

9.) Absolutely true.

10.) I have yet to see scientific eveidence that cardio has any advantage over reducing calories, all other things equal. A "plateau" just means you have to create a bigger deficit, either by adding activity or cutting calories.

11.) Both single high calorie meals and whole high calorie days just raise calories and thus reduce the caloric deficit. They are effective psychologically but I have yet to see any scientific evidence that they actually improve body composition, all other things equal.

[TRESB]

Yes I have.

1.) I have never seen any scientific evidence that fasten cardio provides better body composition than any other type of cardio as long as the essential rules for cutting are followed.

2.) Carbs are perfectly fine, practically all metabolic ward studies show no effect of carbs on weight loss or body composition as long as protein is high enough.

3.) One should of course make the diet as convenient as possible but for some people that means only eating e.g. twice a day.

4.) I have never seen any scientific evidence that eating certain macros together has any effect on body composition.

5.) Apart from EFAs, I am not aware of any scientific evidence regarding body composition. Different experts advocate different things on this topic.

6.) Natural fat burners might help a little but I have yet to see scientific evidence that they actually improve body composition, all other factors (including rate of weight loss) equal.

7.) Excess calories will be stored as fat and when you eat your protein as well as if it's slow or fast digesting is irrelevant. I have yet to see scientific studies on body composition which prove otherwise.

8.) Well, all fruit is OK as long as the essential rules are followed, see above.

9.) Absolutely true.

10.) I have yet to see scientific eveidence that cardio has any advantage over reducing calories, all other things equal. A "plateau" just means you have to create a bigger deficit, either by adding activity or cutting calories.

11.) Both single high calorie meals and whole high calorie days just raise calories and thus reduce the caloric deficit. They are effective psychologically but I have yet to see any scientific evidence that they actually improve body composition, all other things equal.

Not saying who is right or wrong here, and I am not sure what you mean exactly about scientific evidence (medical controled studies???)

Anyway if you diet people long enough you will quickly realize what works for one does not work for everyone. With that said many things that work will go against all logic and science.

However, many things that Joshua has posted have proven to work for me and many clients for example fat loss does increase more rapidly when cardio is done on an empty stomach. Dont know about your scientific evidence but it works.

In the end how you diet does not have to make scientific sense it just needs to produce results.

great thread and interesting read!

[dsyndrome]

I have lost a considerable amount of weight due to diet and exercise over the past 5 years. Going from 230lbs to 170lbs. I now have some sagging skin in the lower ab area. Any ideas of how to increase the ability for the skin to snap back? I'm in my 50's and would appreciate some suggestions on this.

I have had the same problem, I dropped from 281 to 170 and was lean as hell all over accept the skin on lower ab, very frustrating. I asked the same question on here last year and the only advice that I got was, time, surgery and or bulk up and diet down until it is gone. Still working on it and its been a year.

[fitange]

I have had the same problem, I dropped from 281 to 170 and was lean as hell all over accept the skin on lower ab, very frustrating. I asked the same question on here last year and the only advice that I got was, time, surgery and or bulk up and diet down until it is gone. Still working on it and its been a year.

I think lowering body fat will help a great deal, but overall, lose skin usually happens as a result of losing a huge amount of weight suddenly and for some, it just doesn't go away.

I believe the skin elasticity will not shrink, but can be helped by lowering body fat even more.

[Costco77]

Here are a few things to consider when weight loss (fat) is your primary goal while retaining muscle.

1. Fasted cardio in the morning is ideal best because insulin levels are lowest, hormone sensitive lipase is fully active, the fat cell releasing enzyme while lipoprotein lipase is dormant, the storage enzyme for fat cells. GH is still coming off its overnight high, a major fat burning hormone, less blood glucose is in your blood stream to be burned, leaving fats as the go to substrate. Keep the session under 60 minutes long, 45 minutes is ample, to long and you eat up muscle tissue.

2. Do not consume carbs when you don’t need them, meaning that if you’re not about to work out or you just got done working out, don’t eat carbs! No more than 25 grams in a meal if you must have some. Give yourself the proper carbohydrate fuel to get through a workout and the carbs to recover, that’s it! Any other carbs taken in should be "run off" or carbs from veggies, cottage cheese, nuts, natural peanut butter or sources that are not true carb sources like starches and sugars.

3. Do not get hungry! Letting yourself get hungry causes loops to enter the diet, you get impatient and look for anything to eat. It’s human nature when you feel starved. Even if it’s the right thing to eat, you end up eating way too much of it. Eat often enough to stay full even if its lots of veggies and water.

4. Do not consume large amounts of fat and carbs together. This is a controversy in many fitness circles right now but it is my belief based on human metabolism and peoples over reliance on carbs. Carbs of any kind will release insulin (high glycemic more so) which acts to store anything in your blood stream. Fats normally get booted to storage since they don’t need chemical processing or active transport to become body fat. Plus the body prefers to use carbs (glucose) as energy. So my message is don’t eat them together in huge amounts. A few grams of healthy fat with complex carbs are ok (15g fat for every 50 grams carbs eaten at a sitting). Assuming you always eat a protein at every meal as well of course!

5. Take fish oils! They increase your sensitivity to carbs (allowing you to use more vs store more) and they assist with fat loss via PPAR-delta stimulation (a mitochondrial activator found in muscle). Allwyn Cosgrove, a very popular weight loss specialist and researcher is huge on fish oils to aid in fat loss (3-6g a day).

6. Screw the popular weight loss thermogenic products on the market. They all say proprietary blend which means nothing more than "some of this and some of that". Supplements to take before cardio that are known to assist with fat burning in amounts found to have an effect are:
-Caffeine 200mg (PDE inhibitor, beta 1,2,3 adrenergic agonist, acetylcholine antagonist)
-Yohimbine HCL 8mg (alpha 2 adgrenergic antagonist)
-Aspirin 81mg (inhibits alpha-glycerol-phosphate, the re-esterification enzyme of free fatty acids)
-Green tea extract (EGCG) 400mg (inhibits the breakdown of norepinephrine)

7. 60 to 30 minutes before bed eat 1-1.5 cups cottage cheese (2% or less) to fight hunger cravings and give your body some slow digesting casein protein to breakdown and use during the night, its void of sugar, low carb (lactose) and high protein, plus it’s got calcium which can help you sleep. No it won’t get stored as fat! Your body does not just turn off your digestive system at night people! If calories are controlled during the day and exercise is intense enough, you will process and use foods like this even at night.

8. Eat citrus fruits if you must eat fruits as they are acidic and raise insulin much less than most typical fruits (exception of pineapple). Plus they contain flavinoids such as naringin in oranges and grapefruit which also help with fat loss by extending caffeine’s effects. Do not eat grapefruit with prescription meds as it will amplify its effects in most cases.

9. Maintain some form of weight training at least 3x a week or your body won’t have a damn reason to hold muscle, it will burn muscle faster then the recession is burning away at the stock market if you’re doing cardio more than 4x a week. Too much cardio and no weights = a soft skeleton body in no time.

10. If long duration steady state cardio (45 minutes) stops working, throw in a shorter 30 minute intervals (hard/easy work rest periods) 1-2x a week and go with that as a plateau buster. Works every time for most!

11. Lastly, when you really feel like you’re hungry as hell all the time and weight loss is not keeping up, "REFEEDS" are far more effective then cheat meals or cheat days at kick starting your metabolism. Refeed’s are just 1 single very high carb meal of slow and medium digesting carbs. Eaten before bed (yes 1-2 hours before bed!) tricks your body into sucking up all these carbs all night long causing it to blunt any hint of starvation or metabolic slow down. T3, leptin, and a couple other hormones related to hunger and metabolic rate go through the roof because of the overnight presence of insulin (you won’t store much if your diet has been spot on over the week). This does have a limit however. The amount and type of carbs needs to be titrated to your bodyweight.


These rules only work when adhered to in the strictest sense. If you give the rules 100% compliance you will get 100% of the effect. If you give a half assed effort then you get half assed results. I don’t mean to be blunt but I do mean to be honest and straight forward. Results only come to those who do what it takes to get them, not to those who looks for short cuts and magic pills.

This is not ment to be a "be all end all" list of reccomendations, it is simply a compilation of tactics I have been taught, adjusted, used and tested on many of my clients as well as myself. Other versions and opinions may exist, try it out for yourself and see what works for you alone.

http://images2.memegenerator.net/ImageMacro/5029361/thats-broscience-you-jackwagon.jpg?imageSize=Medium&generatorName=XTend

:no:

[I Eat Therefore I Am]

Yes I have.

1.) I have never seen any scientific evidence that fasten cardio provides better body composition than any other type of cardio as long as the essential rules for cutting are followed.

2.) Carbs are perfectly fine, practically all metabolic ward studies show no effect of carbs on weight loss or body composition as long as protein is high enough.

3.) One should of course make the diet as convenient as possible but for some people that means only eating e.g. twice a day.

4.) I have never seen any scientific evidence that eating certain macros together has any effect on body composition.

5.) Apart from EFAs, I am not aware of any scientific evidence regarding body composition. Different experts advocate different things on this topic.

6.) Natural fat burners might help a little but I have yet to see scientific evidence that they actually improve body composition, all other factors (including rate of weight loss) equal.

7.) Excess calories will be stored as fat and when you eat your protein as well as if it's slow or fast digesting is irrelevant. I have yet to see scientific studies on body composition which prove otherwise.

8.) Well, all fruit is OK as long as the essential rules are followed, see above.

9.) Absolutely true.

10.) I have yet to see scientific eveidence that cardio has any advantage over reducing calories, all other things equal. A "plateau" just means you have to create a bigger deficit, either by adding activity or cutting calories.

11.) Both single high calorie meals and whole high calorie days just raise calories and thus reduce the caloric deficit. They are effective psychologically but I have yet to see any scientific evidence that they actually improve body composition, all other things equal.

1. Untill I see scientific evidence that it doesn't work (please provide) I will believe the anecdotal evidence.
2.This depends on what kind of carbs and how much(which the original post addresses). Please reference these studies because many sources of carbs are inflamatory, ie grains. Also, carbs cause a greater rise in insulin, a fat storing hormone. Plus, fast digesting protein, at high enough doses, also elicit an insulin responce.
3.What's your point? Where there's a will there's a way.
4.High carb, high fast digesting protein, and high calories individually or together elicit insulin responce so they have to be combined properly.
5.They are EFA's for a reason. This is one of them.
6.So you're saying that metabolic boosts don't help... and you expect people to listen to you?
7.Fat storage depends on hormonal balance or imbalance and if you due what this guy says then at night you'll have low insulin and higher GH and it won't be excess calories.
10.Look a little harder because exercise causes acute hormonal changes which will promote fat burning and muscle retention or gain. If you only have a caloric deficit and no exercise then you'll have low levels of anabolic hormones and lose a lot of muscle along with the fat.
11.It will increase thyroid hormone output and also give an acute output of insulin. Chronic insulin is bad. However it is the most anabolic hormone in the body so occasional spikes are ok.

GREAT POST. EVERYONE SHOULD REP THIS GUY!:yep:

[Errole]

Dan keto,
Is it true that carb food have no effect on weight loss?
I am trying to lose my weight and taking carb food daily to lose my weight...
Should i stop eating it??

[Jameson829]

Dan keto,
Is it true that carb food have no effect on weight loss?
I am trying to lose my weight and taking carb food daily to lose my weight...
Should i stop eating it??
For general weight loss, you simply need to expend more calories than you consume. Trying to lose FAT while holding onto MUSCLE generally involves a more detailed manipulation of macros. Carbohydrates from any source will cause the pancreas to secrete insulin which is a "storage" hormone. Excess insulin will make it very difficult for the body to utilize stored fat for fuel. Therefore, a low carb approach is favorable among many individuals who wish to maximize body comp. Carbs are needed, however, to fuel activities such as weight lifting. That's why weekly "refeeds" usually take place to replenish a storehouse of glycogen. There is plenty more info on here about keto diets and other approaches on how to look your best. Again, if its general weight loss your after, exercise more and eat less!

[JoeHaley]

Nice collection of items... really good info!

[trynabebig]

is it true that your body can only absorb a certain amount of protein per serving?

[tmno]

great post and good info, i agree with most of it..

[Wilkinson John]

1.) To lose weight, you must create a caloric deficit, regardless of whether it is by eating fewer calories or moving more (however exercise often induces compensatory effects, so eating less may be more efficient for weight loss).
2.) Unburned calories become fat, regardless of what type of macro nutrient they are (protein fat carbs), regardless of time eaten (before / after workout, before/after bed). Period.
3.) Stick with foods high in protein or fiber if you are having trouble feeling full on a reduced calorie load. But this is a psychological thing, not b/c carbs or fat are “bad calories.” A calorie is just a unit of heat.




______________________
Effective Weight Loss (http://www.sensa-weight-loss.com/try-your-hcg-for-successful-weight-loss/)

[strongfitmom]

Wow I think this may really help me drop those last few pounds. I am 8 weeks out for my first figure show and I am going crazy because I cannot come down! Discipline its hard as hell!

[Joshua H]

For general weight loss, you simply need to expend more calories than you consume. Trying to lose FAT while holding onto MUSCLE generally involves a more detailed manipulation of macros. Carbohydrates from any source will cause the pancreas to secrete insulin which is a "storage" hormone. Excess insulin will make it very difficult for the body to utilize stored fat for fuel. Therefore, a low carb approach is favorable among many individuals who wish to maximize body comp. Carbs are needed, however, to fuel activities such as weight lifting. That's why weekly "refeeds" usually take place to replenish a storehouse of glycogen. There is plenty more info on here about keto diets and other approaches on how to look your best. Again, if its general weight loss your after, exercise more and eat less!

Well said indeed!

[Joshua H]

Wow I think this may really help me drop those last few pounds. I am 8 weeks out for my first figure show and I am going crazy because I cannot come down! Discipline its hard as hell!

All else aside, the practical applications of diet compliance and adherence are the hardest part of any diet of any kind with or without scientific or anecdotal evidence.

Props to you for doing your first figure show!

[Joshua H]

is it true that your body can only absorb a certain amount of protein per serving?


When people ask me this I need to make one thing 100% clear before answering. Absorb is not the same thing as digestion or assimilation. People need to know what term or digestive process they are refering to when they ask how much protein one can "absorb" at a meal or over a certain period of time.

Layne Norton did an article or podcast recently that discussed this and I cant for the life of me recall which or exactly when this was but he articulated very well how this works.

Your body can digest well over 30-40-50-60 grams of protein you may ingest through foods. It will breakdown ALL of the protein and pass it on to the small intestine where further chemical breakdown takes place to put the food form into amino acid form. Those amino acids are then absorbed into the brush border of the later parts of the SI.

How much of those amino acids ingested is actually assimilated into myofibers based muscle protein (actin/myosin) is the real question.

I think Layne even had the rate of protein synthetic rate mentioned in the podcast/article he did. Now of course this rate will vary between an enhanced vs natural athletes. A basal level vs a post workout level. Fasted vs fed, Male vs female and larger vs smaller athletes. So even the known rate is variable due to those factors.

But to date I have no awareness of a limit of protein intake for men or women thats set at 30-60 grams of protein as many lay claim to. However, using guidelines set forth by the NSCA and JISSN one can garner a range of effective intakes per meal by considering the total daily intake of protein found to be recommended for resistance trained athletes who eat 5-6 meals a day.

[Joshua H]

I think lowering body fat will help a great deal, but overall, lose skin usually happens as a result of losing a huge amount of weight suddenly and for some, it just doesn't go away.

I believe the skin elasticity will not shrink, but can be helped by lowering body fat even more.


The loose skin is a result of the rapid weight loss yes. The collogen and elastin fibers within your skin have been stretched for so long that when the rapid weight loss took place, they did not have the ability to return to their normal length/tension.

If you have mild stretch marks you can try daily applications of combination creams such as those with VA and VE as well as aloe and cocoa butter. This will help more with stretch marks then loose skin as the later is a more aggressive form of a deformation of skin proteins then stretch marks are.

Cosmetic surgery would be the only other effective option for loose skin that I am aware of.

[Joshua H]

great post and good info, i agree with most of it..

Thank you very much!

[ritch]

only 25 grams of carbs per serving? I'm an ecto and would fail miserably if I applied that information. But surely you know that not all things work for everyone...

Some good points for sure. Say someone knew nothing about nutrition and followed your post, they would see results.

[Joshua H]

only 25 grams of carbs per serving? I'm an ecto and would fail miserably if I applied that information. But surely you know that not all things work for everyone...

Some good points for sure. Say someone knew nothing about nutrition and followed your post, they would see results.


I would agree yes. There are as many people this list would not be ideal for as there are those it would work for. Beginners and maybe even some intermediets looking to lean up would likely benefit from the specific guidelines to control and portion their carb intake as most meals to control insulin levels and blood sugar flux over the course of the day.

Myself much like you are....would shrivel up to a string bean on anything under 40-45 grams of carbs a meal for almost all my meals. My fats tend to stay lower however, but thats just me...

[lovefit]

Great info! Thanks!

[MrChristianB]

Great post, I especially like point 11: "Refeeds" VS Cheat Meals or Cheat Days

And also @biddaddyd: Relax, that's most likely your body over reacting to the presence of carbs... I always hold water after cheat meals or cheat days but it always goes away within a day or two... Hope this helps

Cheers

Christian

[h4leryan]

celebrity fitness (http://www.emglivefitness.com)

[Armando22]

If you are regularly getting NSAIDS such as asprin which cause this obstruction then yes you may have some level on supressed swelling and over the future could cause to dimminished muscular variation and development.

[georgeman22]

Wow these are the awesome rules these all will really help me to get the huge muscles and perfect body shape. Thanks for these rules man.

[georgeman22]

Awesome i must follow atleast 5 of them. Such a marvelous rules.

[anyastar]

Great post!! A lot of useful info! Thanks

[Joshua H]

I appreciate all of your comments very much! I am glad they can be taken, utilized and applied in the field of competition and otherwise. Just remember, they are guidelines rather then rules. Start with them as they are and adjust if and when needed.

[M4BTEAM]

An excellent article with some fantastic info.

[Geoff Roberts]

Yes I have.

1.) I have never seen any scientific evidence that fasten cardio provides better body composition than any other type of cardio as long as the essential rules for cutting are followed.

2.) Carbs are perfectly fine, practically all metabolic ward studies show no effect of carbs on weight loss or body composition as long as protein is high enough.

3.) One should of course make the diet as convenient as possible but for some people that means only eating e.g. twice a day.

4.) I have never seen any scientific evidence that eating certain macros together has any effect on body composition.

5.) Apart from EFAs, I am not aware of any scientific evidence regarding body composition. Different experts advocate different things on this topic.

6.) Natural fat burners might help a little but I have yet to see scientific evidence that they actually improve body composition, all other factors (including rate of weight loss) equal.

7.) Excess calories will be stored as fat and when you eat your protein as well as if it's slow or fast digesting is irrelevant. I have yet to see scientific studies on body composition which prove otherwise.

8.) Well, all fruit is OK as long as the essential rules are followed, see above.

9.) Absolutely true.

10.) I have yet to see scientific eveidence that cardio has any advantage over reducing calories, all other things equal. A "plateau" just means you have to create a bigger deficit, either by adding activity or cutting calories.

11.) Both single high calorie meals and whole high calorie days just raise calories and thus reduce the caloric deficit. They are effective psychologically but I have yet to see any scientific evidence that they actually improve body composition, all other things equal.

man I hate when people try to sound smart by saying things that pretty much all pro bodybuilders have done successfully for years and years is "wrong" because there is no "scientific evidence". And you came dangerously close to saying "all calories are equal". I guess next time I diet all just eat crispy creams all day...... but keep my protein up!

[Timbo89]

I can't believe this garbage is a sticky lol.. fuck.

[gymjosh88]

great post joshua h

[Bigmacdaddy18]

Awesome post...

[alecw]

Nice Post

[jack55555]

To get you started here is my list of top ten foods to help you gain more muscle mass and strength:
a) Lean beef, because it is loaded with all sorts of things conducive to muscle growth.
b) Skinless chicken: it is an excellent source of high quality protein.
c) Cottage cheese: it contains casein protein and this is slow digesting protein.
d) Eggs: it contains high quality protein, nine essential amino acids, chlorine, right fat and vit. D.
e) Whey protein
f) Tuna fish
g) Oat meal
h) Whole garins,
i) Fruits and vegetables
j) Healthy fats like oil of flax seeds, avocados, nuts, leafy veggies etc.

[AwesomeAmber]

What a great read! Thank you EVERYONE!

[Love_Muscle]

leangains.com most popular tab

[spaceex]

Nice Share, thanks very much
http://watchfree.me/36/w.png

[peterjb]

Hey Thanks for sharing this rules which are very descriptive and nicely explained. I want to loss weight and would like to follow this useful rules.

[The Big Sexy]

I don't seem to have issues dropping fat... and I have carbs outside of my "training zone"...

I think the concepts listed in these points are very good information... I think they are a bit too extreme for most people and to say you can't get shredded without 100% compliance to them is a bit of an exaggeration IMO. I can eat 150-175g of carbs per day and still get very lean. For stage lean, I get a little more tricksy with it... haha

But all the points listed I believe are true... but there are many ways to get things done... people's bodies are different, people schedules are different, and people adapt differently to various foods. So, again, with the whole 100% compliance thing I'm not sure I'm buying... I'd sell. (ESPN reference) ;)

[rogerw123]

Below are the points may helpful for weight loss

some smart food strategies which you should follow in order to lose weight.

Focus on including more fiber and lean proteinInclude more of fruits and vegetables
Focus on including healthy Fats
Never Skip your meal
Eat slowly

[Bbyars]

Good post, always good to see someone explaining what parts of that "proprietary blend" you should be consuming for results. I've always been a huge advocate of carbs first thing AM as well as pre and post workout.

[PeterCas]

Great post.

[dreddfitness]

Great post

[smithdaewon]

Thanks for the post buddy!!

Currently, I am also trying to loose my weight. Your provided tips will help me a lot.

[scottt]

Good stuff

[sachin.shubham]

Nice post, I also recommend fish oil

[sachin.shubham]

Eat Enough Protein to Preserve Muscle Mass While Losing Fat
Eat at a Moderate Caloric Deficit Based on Your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) To Lose Fat
Lift Heavy Weight To Maintain Muscle When Losing Fat
When Losing Fat, Cardio is Optional

[lesathomas]

Nice tips of fat (Weight) loss and muscle maintenance. Also, to burning fats walking builds muscles. Walking also enhances the strength and stamina.

[sachin.shubham]

Here are a few things to consider when weight loss (fat) is your primary goal while retaining muscle.

1. Fasted cardio in the morning is ideal best because insulin levels are lowest, hormone sensitive lipase is fully active, the fat cell releasing enzyme while lipoprotein lipase is dormant, the storage enzyme for fat cells. GH is still coming off its overnight high, a major fat burning hormone, less blood glucose is in your blood stream to be burned, leaving fats as the go to substrate. Keep the session under 60 minutes long, 45 minutes is ample, to long and you eat up muscle tissue.

2. Do not consume carbs when you don’t need them, meaning that if you’re not about to work out or you just got done working out, don’t eat carbs! No more than 25 grams in a meal if you must have some. Give yourself the proper carbohydrate fuel to get through a workout and the carbs to recover, that’s it! Any other carbs taken in should be "run off" or carbs from veggies, cottage cheese, nuts, natural peanut butter or sources that are not true carb sources like starches and sugars.

3. Do not get hungry! Letting yourself get hungry causes loops to enter the diet, you get impatient and look for anything to eat. It’s human nature when you feel starved. Even if it’s the right thing to eat, you end up eating way too much of it. Eat often enough to stay full even if its lots of veggies and water.

4. Do not consume large amounts of fat and carbs together. This is a controversy in many fitness circles right now but it is my belief based on human metabolism and peoples over reliance on carbs. Carbs of any kind will release insulin (high glycemic more so) which acts to store anything in your blood stream. Fats normally get booted to storage since they don’t need chemical processing or active transport to become body fat. Plus the body prefers to use carbs (glucose) as energy. So my message is don’t eat them together in huge amounts. A few grams of healthy fat with complex carbs are ok (15g fat for every 50 grams carbs eaten at a sitting). Assuming you always eat a protein at every meal as well of course!

5. Take fish oils! They increase your sensitivity to carbs (allowing you to use more vs store more) and they assist with fat loss via PPAR-delta stimulation (a mitochondrial activator found in muscle). Allwyn Cosgrove, a very popular weight loss specialist and researcher is huge on fish oils to aid in fat loss (3-6g a day).

6. Screw the popular weight loss thermogenic products on the market. They all say proprietary blend which means nothing more than "some of this and some of that". Supplements to take before cardio that are known to assist with fat burning in amounts found to have an effect are:
-Caffeine 200mg (PDE inhibitor, beta 1,2,3 adrenergic agonist, acetylcholine antagonist)
-Yohimbine HCL 8mg (alpha 2 adgrenergic antagonist)
-Aspirin 81mg (inhibits alpha-glycerol-phosphate, the re-esterification enzyme of free fatty acids)
-Green tea extract (EGCG) 400mg (inhibits the breakdown of norepinephrine)

7. 60 to 30 minutes before bed eat 1-1.5 cups cottage cheese (2% or less) to fight hunger cravings and give your body some slow digesting casein protein to breakdown and use during the night, its void of sugar, low carb (lactose) and high protein, plus it’s got calcium which can help you sleep. No it won’t get stored as fat! Your body does not just turn off your digestive system at night people! If calories are controlled during the day and exercise is intense enough, you will process and use foods like this even at night.

8. Eat citrus fruits if you must eat fruits as they are acidic and raise insulin much less than most typical fruits (exception of pineapple). Plus they contain flavinoids such as naringin in oranges and grapefruit which also help with fat loss by extending caffeine’s effects. Do not eat grapefruit with prescription meds as it will amplify its effects in most cases.

9. Maintain some form of weight training at least 3x a week or your body won’t have a damn reason to hold muscle, it will burn muscle faster then the recession is burning away at the stock market if you’re doing cardio more than 4x a week. Too much cardio and no weights = a soft skeleton body in no time.

10. If long duration steady state cardio (45 minutes) stops working, throw in a shorter 30 minute intervals (hard/easy work rest periods) 1-2x a week and go with that as a plateau buster. Works every time for most!

11. Lastly, when you really feel like you’re hungry as hell all the time and weight loss is not keeping up, "REFEEDS" are far more effective then cheat meals or cheat days at kick starting your metabolism. Refeed’s are just 1 single very high carb meal of slow and medium digesting carbs. Eaten before bed (yes 1-2 hours before bed!) tricks your body into sucking up all these carbs all night long causing it to blunt any hint of starvation or metabolic slow down. T3, leptin, and a couple other hormones related to hunger and metabolic rate go through the roof because of the overnight presence of insulin (you won’t store much if your diet has been spot on over the week). This does have a limit however. The amount and type of carbs needs to be titrated to your bodyweight.


These rules only work when adhered to in the strictest sense. If you give the rules 100% compliance you will get 100% of the effect. If you give a half assed effort then you get half assed results. I don’t mean to be blunt but I do mean to be honest and straight forward. Results only come to those who do what it takes to get them, not to those who looks for short cuts and magic pills.

This is not ment to be a "be all end all" list of reccomendations, it is simply a compilation of tactics I have been taught, adjusted, used and tested on many of my clients as well as myself. Other versions and opinions may exist, try it out for yourself and see what works for you alone.
I really appreciate you for this post on fat loss

[djc1955]

Hi guys, nice post, I was watching a Youtube segment I think it was ihealthtube and this guy was stating that there was not one study in the world anywhere that proved eating 6 meals every 2-3 hours had any benefits. It is all Bro science. Any thoughts???

[michelthomas]

Here are a few things to consider when weight loss (fat) is your primary goal while retaining muscle.

1. Fasted cardio in the morning is ideal best because insulin levels are lowest, hormone sensitive lipase is fully active, the fat cell releasing enzyme while lipoprotein lipase is dormant, the storage enzyme for fat cells. GH is still coming off its overnight high, a major fat burning hormone, less blood glucose is in your blood stream to be burned, leaving fats as the go to substrate. Keep the session under 60 minutes long, 45 minutes is ample, to long and you eat up muscle tissue.

2. Do not consume carbs when you don’t need them, meaning that if you’re not about to work out or you just got done working out, don’t eat carbs! No more than 25 grams in a meal if you must have some. Give yourself the proper carbohydrate fuel to get through a workout and the carbs to recover, that’s it! Any other carbs taken in should be "run off" or carbs from veggies, cottage cheese, nuts, natural peanut butter or sources that are not true carb sources like starches and sugars.

3. Do not get hungry! Letting yourself get hungry causes loops to enter the diet, you get impatient and look for anything to eat. It’s human nature when you feel starved. Even if it’s the right thing to eat, you end up eating way too much of it. Eat often enough to stay full even if its lots of veggies and water.

4. Do not consume large amounts of fat and carbs together. This is a controversy in many fitness circles right now but it is my belief based on human metabolism and peoples over reliance on carbs. Carbs of any kind will release insulin (high glycemic more so) which acts to store anything in your blood stream. Fats normally get booted to storage since they don’t need chemical processing or active transport to become body fat. Plus the body prefers to use carbs (glucose) as energy. So my message is don’t eat them together in huge amounts. A few grams of healthy fat with complex carbs are ok (15g fat for every 50 grams carbs eaten at a sitting). Assuming you always eat a protein at every meal as well of course!

5. Take fish oils! They increase your sensitivity to carbs (allowing you to use more vs store more) and they assist with fat loss via PPAR-delta stimulation (a mitochondrial activator found in muscle). Allwyn Cosgrove, a very popular weight loss specialist and researcher is huge on fish oils to aid in fat loss (3-6g a day).

6. Screw the popular weight loss thermogenic products on the market. They all say proprietary blend which means nothing more than "some of this and some of that". Supplements to take before cardio that are known to assist with fat burning in amounts found to have an effect are:
-Caffeine 200mg (PDE inhibitor, beta 1,2,3 adrenergic agonist, acetylcholine antagonist)
-Yohimbine HCL 8mg (alpha 2 adgrenergic antagonist)
-Aspirin 81mg (inhibits alpha-glycerol-phosphate, the re-esterification enzyme of free fatty acids)
-Green tea extract (EGCG) 400mg (inhibits the breakdown of norepinephrine)

7. 60 to 30 minutes before bed eat 1-1.5 cups cottage cheese (2% or less) to fight hunger cravings and give your body some slow digesting casein protein to breakdown and use during the night, its void of sugar, low carb (lactose) and high protein, plus it’s got calcium which can help you sleep. No it won’t get stored as fat! Your body does not just turn off your digestive system at night people! If calories are controlled during the day and exercise is intense enough, you will process and use foods like this even at night.

8. Eat citrus fruits if you must eat fruits as they are acidic and raise insulin much less than most typical fruits (exception of pineapple). Plus they contain flavinoids such as naringin in oranges and grapefruit which also help with fat loss by extending caffeine’s effects. Do not eat grapefruit with prescription meds as it will amplify its effects in most cases.

9. Maintain some form of weight training at least 3x a week or your body won’t have a damn reason to hold muscle, it will burn muscle faster then the recession is burning away at the stock market if you’re doing cardio more than 4x a week. Too much cardio and no weights = a soft skeleton body in no time.

10. If long duration steady state cardio (45 minutes) stops working, throw in a shorter 30 minute intervals (hard/easy work rest periods) 1-2x a week and go with that as a plateau buster. Works every time for most!

11. Lastly, when you really feel like you’re hungry as hell all the time and weight loss is not keeping up, "REFEEDS" are far more effective then cheat meals or cheat days at kick starting your metabolism. Refeed’s are just 1 single very high carb meal of slow and medium digesting carbs. Eaten before bed (yes 1-2 hours before bed!) tricks your body into sucking up all these carbs all night long causing it to blunt any hint of starvation or metabolic slow down. T3, leptin, and a couple other hormones related to hunger and metabolic rate go through the roof because of the overnight presence of insulin (you won’t store much if your diet has been spot on over the week). This does have a limit however. The amount and type of carbs needs to be titrated to your bodyweight.


These rules only work when adhered to in the strictest sense. If you give the rules 100% compliance you will get 100% of the effect. If you give a half assed effort then you get half assed results. I don’t mean to be blunt but I do mean to be honest and straight forward. Results only come to those who do what it takes to get them, not to those who looks for short cuts and magic pills.

This is not ment to be a "be all end all" list of reccomendations, it is simply a compilation of tactics I have been taught, adjusted, used and tested on many of my clients as well as myself. Other versions and opinions may exist, try it out for yourself and see what works for you alone.

Really appreciated for this article

[michelthomas]

Cardio Before Breakfast
Be Aware Of Your Carbohydrates
Don't Get Hungry.
Do Not Consume Large Amounts Of Fat And CarbsTogether
Take Your Fish Oil
Use Thermogenics Correctly
Protein Before Bed
Eat Citrus Fruits
Weight Train To Hold Lean Muscle
Interval Train To Burst Through Plateaus
Refeed Rather Than Cheat

[Puma]

Article was a good read and I agree with most of it but I was never a big believer in fasted or post workout cardio for nattys.

[Sunnyday]

Thought this might be of interest to some of you peeps.


New study just published. In a nutshell, if you're planning to do aerobic endurance exercise in the same workout as weight training, do the resistance training first.

Ratamess, Nicholas A. et. al. (October 2016). Acute Resistance Exercise Performance is Negativelly Impacted by Prior Aeorobic Endurance Exercise. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, Vol. 30 (10).

[Ezeradavis]

Wow! Great post for diet.

[musclegenetics1]

Here are a few things to consider when weight loss (fat) is your primary goal while retaining muscle.

1. Fasted cardio in the morning is ideal best because insulin levels are lowest, hormone sensitive lipase is fully active, the fat cell releasing enzyme while lipoprotein lipase is dormant, the storage enzyme for fat cells. GH is still coming off its overnight high, a major fat burning hormone, less blood glucose is in your blood stream to be burned, leaving fats as the go to substrate. Keep the session under 60 minutes long, 45 minutes is ample, to long and you eat up muscle tissue.

2. Do not consume carbs when you don’t need them, meaning that if you’re not about to work out or you just got done working out, don’t eat carbs! No more than 25 grams in a meal if you must have some. Give yourself the proper carbohydrate fuel to get through a workout and the carbs to recover, that’s it! Any other carbs taken in should be "run off" or carbs from veggies, cottage cheese, nuts, natural peanut butter or sources that are not true carb sources like starches and sugars.

3. Do not get hungry! Letting yourself get hungry causes loops to enter the diet, you get impatient and look for anything to eat. It’s human nature when you feel starved. Even if it’s the right thing to eat, you end up eating way too much of it. Eat often enough to stay full even if its lots of veggies and water.

4. Do not consume large amounts of fat and carbs together. This is a controversy in many fitness circles right now but it is my belief based on human metabolism and peoples over reliance on carbs. Carbs of any kind will release insulin (high glycemic more so) which acts to store anything in your blood stream. Fats normally get booted to storage since they don’t need chemical processing or active transport to become body fat. Plus the body prefers to use carbs (glucose) as energy. So my message is don’t eat them together in huge amounts. A few grams of healthy fat with complex carbs are ok (15g fat for every 50 grams carbs eaten at a sitting). Assuming you always eat a protein at every meal as well of course!

5. Take fish oils! They increase your sensitivity to carbs (allowing you to use more vs store more) and they assist with fat loss via PPAR-delta stimulation (a mitochondrial activator found in muscle). Allwyn Cosgrove, a very popular weight loss specialist and researcher is huge on fish oils to aid in fat loss (3-6g a day).

6. Screw the popular weight loss thermogenic products on the market. They all say proprietary blend which means nothing more than "some of this and some of that". Supplements to take before cardio that are known to assist with fat burning in amounts found to have an effect are:
-Caffeine 200mg (PDE inhibitor, beta 1,2,3 adrenergic agonist, acetylcholine antagonist)
-Yohimbine HCL 8mg (alpha 2 adgrenergic antagonist)
-Aspirin 81mg (inhibits alpha-glycerol-phosphate, the re-esterification enzyme of free fatty acids)
-Green tea extract (EGCG) 400mg (inhibits the breakdown of norepinephrine)

7. 60 to 30 minutes before bed eat 1-1.5 cups cottage cheese (2% or less) to fight hunger cravings and give your body some slow digesting casein protein to breakdown and use during the night, its void of sugar, low carb (lactose) and high protein, plus it’s got calcium which can help you sleep. No it won’t get stored as fat! Your body does not just turn off your digestive system at night people! If calories are controlled during the day and exercise is intense enough, you will process and use foods like this even at night.

8. Eat citrus fruits if you must eat fruits as they are acidic and raise insulin much less than most typical fruits (exception of pineapple). Plus they contain flavinoids such as naringin in oranges and grapefruit which also help with fat loss by extending caffeine’s effects. Do not eat grapefruit with prescription meds as it will amplify its effects in most cases.

9. Maintain some form of weight training at least 3x a week or your body won’t have a damn reason to hold muscle, it will burn muscle faster then the recession is burning away at the stock market if you’re doing cardio more than 4x a week. Too much cardio and no weights = a soft skeleton body in no time.

10. If long duration steady state cardio (45 minutes) stops working, throw in a shorter 30 minute intervals (hard/easy work rest periods) 1-2x a week and go with that as a plateau buster. Works every time for most!

11. Lastly, when you really feel like you’re hungry as hell all the time and weight loss is not keeping up, "REFEEDS" are far more effective then cheat meals or cheat days at kick starting your metabolism. Refeed’s are just 1 single very high carb meal of slow and medium digesting carbs. Eaten before bed (yes 1-2 hours before bed!) tricks your body into sucking up all these carbs all night long causing it to blunt any hint of starvation or metabolic slow down. T3, leptin, and a couple other hormones related to hunger and metabolic rate go through the roof because of the overnight presence of insulin (you won’t store much if your diet has been spot on over the week). This does have a limit however. The amount and type of carbs needs to be titrated to your bodyweight.


These rules only work when adhered to in the strictest sense. If you give the rules 100% compliance you will get 100% of the effect. If you give a half assed effort then you get half assed results. I don’t mean to be blunt but I do mean to be honest and straight forward. Results only come to those who do what it takes to get them, not to those who looks for short cuts and magic pills.

This is not ment to be a "be all end all" list of reccomendations, it is simply a compilation of tactics I have been taught, adjusted, used and tested on many of my clients as well as myself. Other versions and opinions may exist, try it out for yourself and see what works for you alone.


fantastic post!

[drorlevi]

Great post thanks to share it.

[Joshua H]

Thank you all for the comments on this post. I had no idea it would stand the test of approval for this long from folks like you. Since I first posted this a few years ago now.....some of my opinions have changed or been adjusted in light of new research, conferences, methods and people I have spoke to or seen. 90% of what is up here remains the same however but the manner in which I apply it to people I work with is different/better/more optimal these days.

I no longer do much work with stage fitness type groups as I have been working with Navy and military men and women exclusively for 4.5 years now (just a few months after this posting went up actually) so the needs, demands and expectations of my demographic is much different then what it was back then with mostly fitness clientel.

If anyone here is military or tactical (first responder) hit me up as that is my specialization area for training and nutrition coaching as is my website, podcast and services.

Thanks to you all for the support in this post for so many years now!

[Carrillo]

Really helpful post so far. Thanks.

[Painngain]

Thanks a lot!

[JesseG]

Thanks for sharing this is really useful information. I learned a lot from this post than the when I was browsing different websites related to health and wellness.

[jeffersonsam]

I always fiber food to loss my belly fat. Last month, I achieved my Goal. I drink plenty of water daily. This is also help me to achieve my goal.