Posts Tagged ‘weight’

Tips That WillgetyouBIG…Pt. 2…

Posted: December 5, 2012 by williampower in Exercise
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Despite the ubiquitous pitch to trim down by most people who seek my services, I often get questions about how to successfully gain weight. Contrary to popular belief, gaining quality weight (without a subsequent increase in significant body fat) can require as much dedication as trying to reduce body fat while maintaining muscle mass. A big part of this conundrum circles around each individual’s somatotype (refer to “What’s your body type…or should I say Somatotype?”). It also comes down to having the right information. I gave 8 major weight gain tips in “quick tips to gain weight the right way”. The following tips compliment the 1st 8 and further assist anyone trying to gain quality weight:

1. Create a calorie surplus – gaining weight and losing weight honestly boil down to simply mathematics. To gain weight, eat more calories than you burn. To lose weight do the opposite. Without question though, you must eat big to get big. Since muscles are metabolically active they require a certain amount of cals to grow, more than that of non-metabolically active tissue. There are several recommendations of how many calories one should intake to gain weight, some based off fat free mass, some off entire body weight, some based in kg, others in lbs., etc. Generally, when counting cals, around 15-20 cals/lb. of bodyweight has worked well for me and people I’ve worked with. The exact number will of course vary by individual. Some hard gainers may need up to 25 cals/lb. of bodyweight to see any real weight gain. For others, its imperative that you keep an eye on your overall physique to make sure flab isn’t on the come up. If that happens trail back the cals/lb. of bodyweight. Also keep in mind the amount of cals you burn throughout the day will impact your recommended calorie intake as well.

2. To eat more, eat less – intuitively you may think hoarding cals into 3 huge meals will be the best way to ensure increased calorie intake. However, it’s actually easier on your metabolism, digestive system, and muscle growth to divide your daily calories into 5 to 7 meals a day. Eating big meals trigger extreme insulin responses by the body guaranteeing excess fat storage, lethargy and increased time between meals. Keeping consistent intervallic calorie intake allows for constant nutrient delivery to muscles and facilitates anabolism. Rule of thumb is to eat every 2-3 hours; time between meals and snacks shouldn’t exceed this.

3. Shake shit up – no matter how big you are, how ravenous your appetite, there’s only so much food you can eat in a day. Liquid cals are great for this purpose because they give you complete control over what you intake (homemade shakes), they are portable and easily accessible, and they digest quickly. One to two shakes a day can add a surplus of over 500 – 600 cals a day.

4. Quality over quantity (keep it healthy!!!) – “getting big” or “bulking” is not an excuse to devour gratuitous calories from junk foods. Poor diet choices destroy physiques; one or two cheat meals a week to keep you from losing your mind is fine, but make healthy foods the foundation of your diet. Beware the cheat day! One cheat day can cancel out a whole week of hard work.

5. Low carb, no carb, no way! – Carbohydrates fuel exercise and will give you the energy to lift big. Complex, low glycemic, slow digesting carbs are best (quinoa, rolled oats, whole grain cereals). The exception to the rule is post workout where your meal should be filled with high glycemic, simple, fast digesting carbs to replenish energy lost during exhaustive exercise (juice, white potatoes, dextrose).

6. Get enough protein – protein/amino acids are the foundation for muscle growth. 1 – 1.5g/lb. of body weight for mass gain (up from the normal .8 recommendation for the average person). Aim for high quality high bioavailable proteins from varying sources to ensure adequate amino consumption.

7. Get enough fat – fat provides more cals than protein or carbs making it an easy way to increase calorie intake. It also helps keep testosterone elevated for muscle growth. Aim for polyunsaturated fats (flax seed, salmon, walnuts) and small amounts of sat fat (beef and dairy). Avoid trans fats (processed, baked and fried foods).

8. Post workout – eating the proper meal in a proper window (2 hours or less) after exhaustive exercise maximizes recovery and anabolism at a time when your body is most primed for nutrient uptake: Ingest high glycemic carbs with high quality protein (refer to “A Summary of Macronutrients”)

9. Preplan for success – maximize efficiency and reduce missed opportunities by using downtime to prepare meals in advance. This reduces the likelihood of ingesting unhealthy non-progressive food due to lack of time or lack of options.

10 Ways To Trim Those Pounds And Keep Them Off

Posted: December 4, 2011 by williampower in Behavior Modification, Exercise, Nutrition
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1. Commitment to the cause: Now is the right time. Your life is busy and full of stress and it will probably always be. Ask yourself, if you were sick, would you postpone feeling better for a month or two? Doubt it. This should be alon those same lines of thinking, make the commitment to yourself to start feeling good and lose those extra pounds today. In the words of Terry Guillemets…”tomorrow is disease”.

2. Cardio: Plan three 30- 45 minute aerobic workouts into your schedule each week. Don’t leave it to chance that it will fit in because then it won’t. It can be walking, biking, or even a class. Just get your heart rate to 60 – 75% of your maximum heart rate.

3. Weight Training: Try and maintain two workouts per week into your schedule. This time investment will help you build and maintain muscle. The more muscle you have and the more efficiently they work, the more calories you will burn all day long with less effort. For those of you worried about getting too muscular, stop it. First of all you would need to be genetically predisposed to have large muscles and second you would need to take in a lot of extra calories which is the opposite of what we are trying to do here. But, to play my own devil’s advocate, lets say you find yourself “too muscular”, then that means you succeeded in losing that extra unsightly bodyfat that you were trying to lose, and at that point you could just cut back on the weight training.

4. Hydration: Water is involved in everything the body does from your joints to your liver (which is the organ that metabolizes fat). The rule of thumb is eight, 8-oz glasses of water per day. This sounds simple, but most people that I come across who diet and exercise regularly and still can not lose weight are under hydrated. Best solution, only drink water or tea. Eliminate all those calorie laden bevegaes out your diet (allowing you to cut calories) and replace them with water (increasing your water intake). You know what that’s call…#winning!

5. Eat 5 – 6 Small Meals Per Day: Why? Because this technique will increase your metabolism and energy levels. It will also curb that hungry feeling which leads to cheating. This technique will train your body to stay in a constant food burning mode with a steady, but not overabundant flow of nutrients.

6. Balanced Meals: This means you need to have some protein and fat with carbohydrates at each meal. Both protein and fat reduce the glycemic index of carbohydrates, so you won’t get a big, fat-producing insulin surge. High GI foods (simple sugars, fat-free treats, and highly processed foods) cause a rapid increase in blood sugar levels – which causes a big insulin release to shuttle the excess blood sugar into cells. Remember, whatever isn’t used by the body at that point in time is stored as fat.

7. Limit Fats and Simple Carbohydrates: One way to do this is to eat less processed foods. But, this isn’t always possible, so pay attention to what you are eating. Read labels, if more than 20% of the calories comes from fat, don’t eat it. Eat fiber rich breads (if any…I don’t recommend bread intake) and cereals, they will fill you up faster.

8. Limit Eating Near Bedtime: If possible, try not to eat two hours before turning in for the night. Most people are not as active after their evening meal as they are earlier in the day. It is best to keep the total calorie level, as well as carbohydrate level, lower in your later meals. This will prevent extra fat storage that would occur as we sleep.

9. Eat it. Drink it. Write it.: Write down everything you eat and drink in a log. This will keep you honest, and help you plan. It has been said, “the act of recording history, changes history”? By writing down your food intake, you will see where you have been making mistakes and it will make you think about it before you make that the same mistake again.

10. Reward: Give yourself a reward when you achieve certain goals. Maybe a new outfit (because the other ones are getting baggy). Acknowledge the hard work you have done and the success you are achieving. #Hardworkpaysoff.