A beginner's guide for losing weight and body fat

Fats won’t make you fat, carbs will

Maybe this fact is shocking to you because you were taught that fat makes you fat. Your grandma was feeding you with all kinds of cookies and she said it doesn’t hurt you to eat something sweet, but when it comes to fatty food, oh man. “Don’t eat it. You’ll die from heart failure.” Does it sound familiar to you?

Our ancestors didn’t know the fact they were wrong. They wanted you all the best, so they share their nutrition advice with you in the hope the you’ll be doing great. Don’t blame them.

So, do fats make me fat? I won’t say it’s impossible. It’s likely possible that fats will make you fat. If you are playing xbox whole day long and jerking to porn a few times per day while you’re eating a fried potatoes and your joystick is all greasy, of course you’ll be fat.

Balance is the key here. If you want to lose your weight, you need to move. You need to train, you need to be involved in some physical activity. Also, you need to have a well balanced diet which contained a whole food, healthy fats, vegetables and a lot of proteins. It’s just a reality. You won’t lose fat and body fat by doing nothing. You reap what you sow, remember?

According to Dr. Walter Willet from Hardvard,

“High-carbohydrate, low-fat diets also have a negative effect on the fats and cholesterol in our blood: They raise “bad” blood fats (triglycerides) and they lower the “good” blood cholesterol (HDL), both of which can increase the risk of heart disease. These diets also tend to increase blood pressure.

For many people, low-fat diets are not satisfying. People finish a meal and within a few hours, they are hungry again, seeking more low-fat fixes for their hunger. This vicious cycle leads to weight gain and, in turn, to the conditions associated with excess weight (such as blood triglycerides, low HDL cholesterol, high blood pressure, and diabetes).”

You see, people from Harvard are talking about this, so it’s not something that I’ve just found out.

Which fat should you include in your meals? Unsaturated and saturated fat. Trans fat is not welcomed here.

If you are going to the gym, I advise you to check your basal calorie intake. Now when you know how much calories you need to eat to keep your weight, subtract 200 calories from that. After a week of doing that, if you’re not satisfied with the result, subtract even more calories, but don’t go more than 400 calories because it is very likely that you’ll lose a lot of muscle if you drop calorie intake too fast. My advice is: drop 200 calories every week and keep track of results.

On your training days increase carbs intake and on your off days decrease carbs from your daily meals.

Intermittent fasting

I guess that intermittent fasting is a new term for you. I’ll try to explain it as simple as I can. Intermittent fasting is a type of diet when you have periods of non-eating followed by periods of eating. That’s pretty much everything you should know for now.

According to research done by Longo and Mattson,

“Intermittent fasting’s role in adaptive cellular responses that reduce oxidative damage and inflammation, optimize energy metabolism, and bolster cellular production. The study showed how chronic fasting extends longevity, in part, by reprogramming metabolic and stress resistance pathways. In rodents, intermittent fasting was shown to protect against diabetes, cancers, heart disease and neurodegeneration, while in humans it helps reduce obesity, hypertension, asthma, and rheumatoid arthritis.”

Intermittent fasting is definitely something you should try if you want to lose fat.

Feeding window

Like I said, while you’re fasting you don’t intake any calorie in your system. The important thing to have in mind is that intermittent fasting is not the same like starving to death.

You need to set a specific amount of hours when you’ll be eating and specific amount of hours when you don’t put any calorie in yourself. I’ve tried 16/8, you can try it or you can experiment with a feeding window.

So what does 16/8 mean? It means that you fast for 16 hours and you intake all of your calories in 8 hours. Place a feeding window somewhere that it will fit in your schedule.

“What about junk food? Am I allowed to eat some of it?”

That’s a common question. Yes, you are allowed to eat it, but you need to control yourself. Forget about cheating every day. You won’t lose weight by doing that. Consider one day in your week as a cheating day. On this day you’ll be able to eat whatever you want. Pizza, hamburgers, cakes, I don’t care. Just eat as much as you want and whatever you want.

When the cheat day is over you must fast for at least 20 hours. I strongly advise you to go on full day fast. If you think that you won’t make it without any food you are allowed to eat as much as 500 calories. After a cheat day your glycogen storage will be full, so you won’t need any food for energy because you have an energy stored, so don’t worry about that.

Now, let’s talk about cardio

You may notice that I mentioned cardio almost last in my list. It’s because cardio doesn’t mean a shit if you’re not eating well. You can run every day, but if you eat like a pig and if you’re in a caloric surplus, then no amount of cardio will help you.

First, take care of your diet and then think about cardio.

A lot of people associate word cardio with long distance running or jogging.

Running or jogging is a sort of aerobic activity. According to strengthrunning.com,

“Slow-steady running increase cortisol levels, decreases efficient fat metabolism, increases systematic inflammation, increases oxidative damage, etc.”

I don’t say that you should avoid those long run sessions. It can be good for you to restore recharge your batteries after a hard working week, but as a cardio – no way.

The best replacement for classic cardio is HIIT – high intensity interval training. What does HIIT mean? It means that in a small period of time you’ll stress your body pretty hard with intensity of your movements. It means little to no rest. It means your heart will try to escape from your chest. That is HIIT. Do sprints, do jumps, do calisthenics workout. Do your research HIIT and we advise you to check this site for more resources about HIIT.

Here is also great example how HIIT can change your body in relatively short period of time. A very resourceful article about HIIT.

“First, I will lose weight, then I’ll hit the gym.”

I’ve seen that sentence very often in a last few months. I don’t understand why people are doing that. You won’t lose any weight if you have that approach, believe me.

You don’t have a gym nearby? You don’t have a money? You’re too shy to go to the gym? This is not an excuse for not working out. Buy some calisthenics equipment, set it in your home and work out every day. No excuses. Don’t start with your workouts tomorrow, start NOW!

Remember to stay hydrated through the day!

Drink plenty of water through your day. It’s a must thing to do. After you wake up, drink at least half a litter of water. It is important to drink a lot of water in the morning because you were dehydrated while you’re sleeping. So implement this in your morning routine.

How should you know if you’re hydrated? Your piss must be clear. No yellow or orange piss. Only clear piss is allowed.

Also, throw out every soda drink you used to consume. Let’s take a look at Coca Cola. One liter of coke contains 108g of sugars, which is more than 400 calories just from sugar. It is a high, high amount of sugar there. Get serious and stop consuming those drinks.

How to lose weight and body fat effectively?

Reduce carbs and start eating more healthy fats. Intermittent fasting through your day. Allow yourself a cheat day once per week (if you deserve it!) HIIT as a cardio. Start being involved in physical activities. Avoid soft drinks and stay hydrated through your day.

If you are interested in reading full post, here you go: http://www.calisthenicsequipmentzone.com/