Many people today are battling weight loss, weight loss is a big deal more than ever. Everywhere you look you see an overweight or obese person, it makes me want to be their trainer, but it's hard to approach them in a friendly way! So 65% of the population is overweight, most of that is of adults above age 19. To lose weight you must eat healthy and burn lots of calories, we all know the basics.. There are more tricks to it though. You must exercise plus eat healthy, you can't just cut calories, cut carbs without exercise and expect to lose weight.. You want to build lean muscle because muscle can weigh more than fat, most of our weight is made up of our muscle tissue than fat. So it takes more energy for the body to support it. Here are my tips to get you started.
You must eat organically or naturally as much as you can! When ever you eat bad foods, it's not only just bad for your body, your body tries to get rid of the nitrates, the chemicals, the GMOs, etc, and then it's all stored as fat, your body doesn't know what to do with it. You need a negative energy balance, which means you'll burn off more than you eat. You need to do at least 45 min to an hour of exercise per day to burn lots of calories from fat & carbs. Only in 20-30 min will you only burn fat calories. You need high intensity to do so. There's 3,500 calories in a pound of fat. So if you want to lose weight, you take your weight x the % of fat you want to lose, then deduct the fat pounds from your weight & figure in your calories. For example: You weigh 200 lb & want to lose 50 lb. If you want to lose 15% body fat, you take 200 x .15 = 30 lb. Then 200 - 30 and you get your lean weight. Anyways, take 3,500 cal x 30 = 105,000 calories to burn.
Read more nutrition towards the end of my blog where I list what to avoid and about how to calculate calories.. Here's a quick tip though, L-Arginine boosts energy, blood flow, nitrogen levels, hence, nitric oxide, here hormones functioning, therefore, helps with mood & weight loss, also hair growth, etc. You can buy these supplements at GNC, the VitaminShoppe or online, or at your local Organic Store. You want good quality. All amino acids have a purpose in our body, and they build up protein. We have 10 essential that we need to consume & 10 nonessential that we should have in our body, often not enough.
For now I'll list out functional exercises you can do at the gym or at home. Use a fitness ball or buy one, you can easily use these at home and perform the exercises with weights or with toning tubes, just get heavy resistant ones. Use a ball appropriate for your height,it says on the box what height it's fit for.. Usually a 55 cm is nice for if you're 5'8 or taller.. You want to be functional and build your core while using the ball instead of just sitting on weight machines all day. When you use a single arm or single leg, it too challenges your body to build more. In everyday life everything's functional. You'll burn more calories because it takes more effort to balance, right? You want to focus on a circuit training routine, bouncing from one exercise to the next, from legs, to chest, to arms, to core, just be creative and chose an exercise to begin with, or you do a peripheral heart action routine where you work from upper body to lower body getting your heart rate up. You don't want to overdo yourself. Keep track of your pulse by placing your index and middle finger on your wrist on the radial artery or put them on your neck on a carotid artery. You can count the # of beats for the whole minute or count for 10 sec and then multiply by 6. You have to take 220 - age to have a base # (max heart rate) to go off by.
As far as cardio goes, treadmills, ellipticals and/or recumbent bikes go, or outside including repeat intervals, intervals like 30 seconds hard & 1 minute slow, whether you're jogging or walking/jogging will burn more calories. You'll need carbs and protein for energy, & some fat. You'll burn more calories from fats & carbs past 40 seconds, and actually longer than 30 minutes. I don't believe in 20 minute busting workouts. Also during lifting weights longer than 15 seconds for each exercise. Within only 15 seconds, you're using your body's natural creatine, and then after that, your body enters into a glycolysis phase where you'll require carbs and protein for aerobics. Now if you do anything hard like anerobics, and getting your heart rate up past 70%, you're burning more calories from carbs. So aerobics keeps you in the zone of 76 - 85%, and burning carbs and fats.
For all exercises you do, perform 2-3 sets and 12-20 reps, you want endurance, you don't want to just bulk up, anything under 12 reps you're not giving your muscles enough time to build up endurance. Only for bulking up and strength builders do up to 12 reps or counts.
Squats and Lunges for the thighs/legs & butt
As you see, there are variations to do with the squat. Using a ball helps gear you towards doing them without the ball. You can also hold weights and do a dumbbell/kettle bell shoulder press or biceps curls as you stand up. When doing squats, keep the knees bent, never rest or lock out your joints until finished.
Try doing wall sits with a ball if you want, it'll isolate your thighs and still burn calories and tone up the muscles! Hold these for 30 sec to 1 min. Using a ball adds cushion for your back.
Regular squats single leg squats
Regular squats without a ball Lateral lunges
For the picture on the left: try to keep yourself straighter, for the picture on the right: never straighten or lock your knees out during lunges, keep your knees bent until finished, never rest until you're done!
(Hamstring curls using the ball)
Inner thighs
(Outer thighs)
Back exercises
Inner thighs
Lie on the floor and squeeze the ball or sit on a bench with the ball between your thighs, or sit directly on the ball. Just squeeze in and out like you would on a inner/outer thigh machine.
You can also strap your ankle in a strap with a resistance tube or connected to a cable machine, and move your foot across in front of you where you'll feel the squeeze too!
(Outer thighs)
You can rest a dumbbell on your thigh for resistance, or you can use a thick flex band or toning tube, or strap your foot to a cable as the picture above, instead, abduct your thigh out!
Back exercises
With lat pull-downs you can use a fitness ball still by sitting on it in front of the pulldown machine, also when you do rows. You can also stand up while doing lat-pulldowns or rows.
Seated ball rows Prone dumbbell rows, palms down
Single arm rows
Chest exercises
Push ups on the knees, easy to harder
(Regular push ups) bilateral or on one leg
(Decline push ups)
(Incline push ups)
(Chest presses)
Keep core tight, keep the butt up and back straight, that's the point of doing them on a ball!
Bilateral Single arm/unilateral
(Chest flys)
Bilateral Unilateral/single arm
Arms
(Biceps curls) You can use an alternate grip also (palms facing in). All these can be while standing too.
Bilateral Unilateral/single arm
Standing biceps curls, single or bilateral, keep feet spread apart
You can throw some balance into it
(Triceps extensions)
Try to keep the weights more straight up above your head unlike these examples I try to show you. You can of course do single arm extensions, just do the same thing. All these can be done standing also.
(Standing triceps extensions)
Shoulders
When doing shoulders, keep your feet spread to balance you and keep them straight
(Front raises) (Neutral grip overhead presses)
(Lateral raises) spread your feet, don't have the weights in front of body too much
You can also do these sitting on a ball!
Core (abs and low back)
I recommend crunches on a ball and not on the floor because you get more extension on the ball, plus you can do a half sit up at least. Don't do sit ups, these are old fashion from the past, they don't work your abs, and they pull on your back too much. Also don't be pulling on your neck, place your finger tips on your head. When people do sit ups they tend to grab their head and pull anyways, and it's not good!
Also doing planks will strengthen your core faster and build abs besides crunches. All this builds a strong foundation for you, as a beginner or a person getting back in shape!
(Planks) hold for 30 sec to 1 min
Regular planks One leg planks 
(Planks on a ball)
Incline planks Decline planks
(Crunches)
With these, you can adjust yourself on the ball, sit up higher on the ball for better crunches or sit closer off the edge of the ball such as in the picture for easier crunches. You can do crunches or half sit ups, the ball gives better support for the back. Don't pull on your head, use finger tips and look up!
Regular crunches Lateral crunches for obliques
(Back extensions)
Do not hyper-extend your backs! Just extend up to a straight line, pretend there's a broom stick on your back. If you hyper-extend, you'll strain your low back area and vertebrae. When you slouch or flex your vertebrae too much, that's how you herniate your discs or make the muscles tight to the point it pinches a nerve
Stretches/flexibility (Hold stretches for at least 30 sec)
Stretching will help you prevent injury and it also helps relieve back pain. Back pain comes from tight glutes, tight lat muscles, and from having an anterior pelvic tilt (bent forward with butt sticking out) or a posterior tilt (pelvis shifted forward where the hamstrings and butt are tight). Your knees can also buckle in or supinate outward.
(Piriformis stretch), on your own without somebody twisting your leg for you
Chair stretch. Push down on your knee and lean forward on the chair or do the one on the floor
(Hamstrings) regular or door way stretch
(Quads) careful not to pull on the foot unless it's flexible
(Hip flexors and quads)
Only do these if you can handle them. You can touch your knee on the floor with this type of lunge stretch. Point your toes forward, step ahead so you get more of a stretch, keep the knee behind toes.
(Glutes)
Good back twister
Back
(Calves)
Extend the leg for the gastrocnemius, and bend the knee in for the soleus muscle stretch
Lean in on your stretch to feel it more
Alright so now I'm going to break right into nutrition. I discuss natural eating, I list a glycemic index guide, calories, etc.
Things to avoid in our food are high fructose corn syrup, fructose, which will be mentioned under sugars, formaldehyde and maltodextrin. Formaldehyde is a bad chemical used in industrialized things and whatever else, the point is, it’s not for us, but it’s in the Naked Juice drinks made by Pepsi and possibly in other drinks or foods, we never know until we research or find out the hard way. Maltodextrin is a complex carbohydrate but is processed by the companies out there, it can be modified (GMO’d) to also enhance the taste of the food and shelf life. Again, GMOs also need to be avoided, foods like vegetables and processed foods are modified or changed to enhance the taste and create more shelf life, and this is what causes more food cravings. Go all Organic or pay attention to what's in the ingredients in your food! Also avoid pop & diet pop as it has aspartame. Bad for the teeth & health.
You need at least 5 small meals per day whether for weight loss, weight gain or in general: breakfast to jump the metabolism, snack, lunch, snack, dinner and a healthy bed time snack if you choose. You also have the option of just snacking through the day. Focus on small meals. You can eat a 6th meal at night, but it can be a healthy snack with protein in it for your muscles. When you sleep, you’re body sort of detoxifies, you’re not doing much. So you need some nutrients to be in your system. Increasing carbs may make you think you’ll gain weight but quite the contrary, it’ll still increase metabolism. Before you read on, some suggestions about your breakfasts and snacks can be yogurt, always look for Organic brands such as Stonyfield with the Certified Organic symbol on the products, on any products. You want the live cultured yogurt with acidophilus and other probiotics in it, just as you would supplement with probiotics. Make your choices easier & void other yogurts like Dannon or Yoplait because they're not Organic and you won't find these real probiotics in them, go straight to the Stonyfield section or whichever it may be. Don't even buy them if they decide to write "All Natural" on them, it needs to have the Organic symbol. If they go through on that, then that's a good thing. Yogurts is one of your best sources for dairy and protein. Dairy products provide tryptophan, which is one of the 10 essential amino acids that we must get from food that helps with mood. Here's a picture of the yogurt below, and then following that are facts about nutrients and sugars, etc.
Fats: Fats are basically triglycerides when converted down in the body, like carbohydrates, they’re first digested in the mouth before in the stomach and small intestine. Triglycerides are what’s stored as fat in your fat cells in the adipose tissue (one of your deepest tissue). Fat is also broken down into fatty acids also, which is your cholesterol, it’s what’s left over after the liver, cholesterol is the result after all that. Fat is an energy source along with carbohydrates, however, carbs are the main source in general and during exercise. Fats are still good to have because it provides warmth in the body also. You need 20-35 % of calories from all fats, total fat, unsaturated fats, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. With saturated fats you need 10 % or less. Avoid saturated fats and Trans-fats and focus on the monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats, the polyunsaturated fats are found in fish or from fish oil capsules, also coconut oil, more sources are below. These will keep your HDL cholesterol levels up, Monounsaturated fats are found in olive oil & canola oils and polyunsaturated fatty acids such as Omega-3 fatty acids in cold-water fish such as Salmon. The salmon oil is also good for hormones in females and hot flashes according to research and my own mother. We also give a capsule to one of our shih-tzu dogs. Avoid Omega-6 fatty acids, these increase body inflammation. In an American or Western diet, this is why we get fat, get high cholesterol or get mood problems. Avoid excessive candy and cakes/cup cakes too.. A little here and there isn't bad, we all splurge.
- Food sources for Monounsaturated Fats: olive oil, canola oil, peanut oil, avocados, peanuts, almonds, and pistachios.
- Food sources for Polyunsaturated Fats: most nuts and seeds
- Vegetable oils: safflower, soy, corn, coconut oils, sunflower oils.
- Omega-3 fatty acids: herring, mackerel, salmon, sardines, flaxseeds.
Food sources for Saturated Fats: meat, poultry, lard, butter, cheese, cream, eggs, whole milk and many baked goods
Tropical oils: coconut oil, palm, and palm kernel oil
Food sources for Trans Fats: stick margarine, shortening, fried foods: fried chicken, doughnuts, fast food, and many baked goods and pastries.
Omega 3 fish oil is excellent or Salmon Alaskan Oil, which is even better. Look for Salmon fish oil at SamsClub or someplace else, or online. Ask your doctor about fish oils or just do your research! Make sure nothing interferes with any meds you’re on.
Try to avoid hydrogenated oils; they are the same as Tran’s fats in baked foods, cake, crackers and chips, etc. These types of oils are chemical reactions, gaseous hydrogens. They saturate foods more as fat, (organic compounds saturated).
Carbohydrates: Carbohydrates first digest in the mouth, then in the stomach and then completed in the small intestine before emptying out. They break down into glucose for overall energy, but stored as glycogen in the muscle cells in the muscles for muscle energy. There are simple and complex carbs out there. An example of simple would be white breads and pastas, both of which have enriched grain, and enriched flour, which is what bread, is made of obviously. There are 3 types of carbs: Monosaccharides, which are a single sugar unit such as simple sugars (glucose, fructose & galactose). Disaccharides are still simple; these include sucrose, lactose & maltose. Polysaccharides are foods containing starch and fiber, which are the most complex carbs in the foods out there. We need 45-65 % of calories. Talking about carbs, try to look for Bob’s Red Mill products in stores and/or online for example, I’ve found it all to be natural and old fashion like it used to be. They have soup mixes, flour mixes, oats, and whey protein mixes, etc., everything’s in small plastic packages. Other things to avoid in our food are formaldehyde and maltodextrin. Formaldehyde is a bad chemical used in industrialized things and whatever else, the point is, it’s not for us, but it’s in the Naked Juice drinks made by Pepsi and possibly in other drinks or foods, we never know until we research or find out the hard way. Maltodextrin is a complex carbohydrate but is processed by the companies out there, it can be modified (GMO’d) to also enhance the taste of the food and shelf life. Again, GMOs also need to be avoided, foods like vegetables and processed foods are modified or changed to enhance the taste and create more shelf life, and this is what causes more food cravings.
Breads/grains. You may hear a lot of different things about whole wheat stuff or grains, such as in bread or pastas, now doctors are realizing that whole wheat is the source of weight gain, depression and other problems, this is why more people are avoiding gluten now. Still you want whole grain, it still benefits us, just avoid wheat! You just need the right kind of whole grain though. You just need the right kind of whole grain. Avoid Enriched and bleached flower in breads and most flours. Although natural whole grain baking flour may thicken up more than enriched flour. So just switch on and off with simple and complex carbohydrates in your foods anyways, so your body can digest fast. Do your research. But you do want to focus on brands such as Pepperidge Farm brand breads or Bimbo bread, any company without “enriched flour.” Bimbo bread has whole wheat-white bread besides actual whole wheat brown bread with no high fructose corn syrup. As I mentioned up above, look for Bob’s Red Mill flours and breads in stores or online.
Protein: all break down into amino acids. Catabolism is the breaking down of the proteins, and then the proteins build back up, (anabolism) for the body to use. Even carbohydrates and proteins can still be changed into triglycerides or glucose for energy use, carbohydrates can be changed back but proteins can’t. Calories from protein needs to be 10-35%
Everything in the body breaks down, (catabolism) and builds up the same way, (anabolism). All these are stored and broken down in the cells of each part of the body. Our cells in our bodies are the main functional unit. Even while eating bad foods, they have chemicals in them, and your body doesn’t know what to do, so it gets rid of the chemicals after processing the food, and then it all causes that weight gain still. Your body always uses what you give it. As far as animal meet goes, we must be careful of red meat, chicken is a little healthier or fish. The hormones pumped in animal protein and dairy can increase our hormones such as our IGF, which is of the hGH. IGF is secreted in out cartilage, muscles, bones, tissues, etc.
Sugars: Avoid high fructose corn syrup in foods and drinks, it’s basically a high dose of sugar to sweeten the foods and preserve it, (hence the word fructose), sugary corn syrup. Watch your sugar intake in foods; shoot for brown sugar or cane sugar, things like that. Consuming too many simple sugars though is what causes diabetes and weight gain. The proteins, fats and carbs that don’t get used up are all broken down into glucose, the body always finds a way to, & all is stored as fat when not in use. Consuming foods with sugar is a lot different than the carbs from foods converting into glucose in our bodies, they’re for the cells in our body, and glycogen in the muscles ready for use. Just like in the carb section, it talks about glucose, fructose, and galactose, etc, we really should focus on foods that will only convert into glucose; carbohydrates, fats, and eventually proteins will convert down into glucose, that’s the exact fuel our bodies need. We don’t need more sugar than we need such as (glucose + fructose) combined in the food. The sugar in foods is just fructose, especially when you see the phrase (high fructose corn syrup). For example, we don’t need to throw in a bunch of fruit and/or veggies in a blender to mix or use tons of syrup on waffles or pancakes, or anything sugary because it’s more fructose. You’d only want to consume one or two kinds of fruit at the most at a time when you’re juicing or making smoothies. Extra sugar from our foods and in juice drinks is more amounts than we need. Still avoiding diabetes and becoming overweight or obese is the goal. If we don’t have adequate glucose in us, a hormone called glucagon will kick in, to acts opposite to insulin, to balance out glucose levels, this isn't good.
Gatorade and Powerade have been around for years but the drinks consist of too much sugar and high fructose corn syrup, (hence fructose). They’re considered high on the (high glycemic index chart). I recommend propel or any healthy drink with the sodium, potassium and vitamins. There are many drink mixes out there too for propel and other healthy drinks. They’re natural with lesser sugar, so you won’t get sugar addicted.
Hydration: Stay hydrated! Don’t believe the myths out there about how much water should be consumed. It really matters on how active you are. Sedentary people require fewer liquids than active people. In general, females need 9 cups of water and males need 13 cups of water, either way it’s about 8 – 9 glasses of water during the day.
Typically you want to consume 14-22 oz. of liquid 2 hours before exercise or activity. And consume 6-12 oz. every 15-20 minutes during exercise. Water is the smoothest and gives your body the oxygen. Any sports drink of vitamins/electrolytes is better for after exercise or an event in order to restore yourself. Gatorade and Powerade have been around for years, Gatorade has removed high fructose corn syrup it looks like but be careful with Powerade still, the drinks consist of too much sugar and high fructose corn syrup, (hence fructose). They’re considered high on the (high glycemic index chart). I recommend propel or any healthy drink with the sodium, potassium and vitamins. There are many drink mixes out there too for propel and other healthy drinks. They’re natural with lesser sugar, so you won’t get sugar addicted.
If you’re exercising for over an hour either in a gym or say during a marathon, you need a sports drink, but drinking water under 60 minutes is recommended. For every pound of body weight lost, you need 16-24 oz. of fluids replaced. Drinking plenty of water will keep not only your body hydrated but your muscles and joints lubricated as well. Water will keep your joints restored so your cartilage and other parts won’t dry out. This prevents wear and tear in all your synovial joints.
Vitamins are good, you can either supplement with vitamins or as long as you eat well you should be able to absorb vitamins through food. Talk to your doctor or a health professional about how much of each vitamin you should take in. High vitamin D is good to take if nothing else. Vitamins A, D, E and K are all fat soluble, which means you need to eat food in order for these to metabolize and allow your body to function healthy, and Vitamins B and C are water soluble, which means it’s easier absorbed through water in your body. You can always research all the benefits of these vitamins or as me later as it’s too much to list.
Phytochemicals are great from the vegetables or greens because it prevents or helps with cancer. Try to consume more fruits and veggies and greens in your eating habits to get your antioxidants!
Figure A
Fat = 9 calories per gram
Sat. Fat = 9 calories per gram
Carbohydrates = 4 calories per gram
Protein = 4 calories per gram
(Find the percentage of calories from each nutrient)
Figure B
Fat = 20 – 35%
Sat. Fat = 10% or less
Carbohydrates = 45 – 65%
Protein = 10 – 35%
Example nutrition label using Figure A
Fat = 5g… (5x9 =45 cal)
Sat. Fat = 1g… (1x9 = 9 cal)
Carbohydrates = 20g… (20x4 = 180 cal)
Protein = 10g… (40x4 = 40 cal)
Total calories = 324
Use Figure B to check if you match up to that guide line. You take each nutrient and divide it by the total calories and you’ll get the percentages. It’ll be a decimal and you may want to round the number up. For example: Fat = 45 calories ÷ 324 total calories = .13 or 14%. This is an example, but the fat percentage would be low in this case.
Fat = 45 calories ÷ 324 = %
Sat. Fat = 9 calories ÷ 324 = %
Carbohydrates = 180 ÷ 324 = %
Protein = 40 calories ÷ 324 = %
Protein intake
Average sedentary person = .8g x body weight in kg
Endurance athletes = 1.2 - 1.4
Strength athletes including football players, etc = 1.4 – 2.0
Calculation: body weight ÷ 2.2 = kg body weight
Kg body weight x protein intake
Carbohydrate intake
6 – 10 g per kg body weight
(Kg body weight x 6 =)
High protein and low carbohydrate diets usually induce weight loss but will result in an increase of urination because the nitrogen level drops in the body. It’s all about balancing out the nutrients. You want a negative energy balance where you’re burning off more calories than you’re consuming.
Glycemic Index Food guide
Foods that determine your health, your weight gain or developing diabetes, etc
High Glycemic Index Foods
Life savers
White bread
Whole meal bread
Dark rye
Cornflakes
Rice Krispies treats and cereal
Cheerios
Puffed wheat cereal
Mars Bar (snacks)
Jelly beans
Watermelon
Ice-cream-full fattening kind
Fanta soft drinks
Gatorade/Powerade sports drinks
Popcorn
Pretzels
Baked white potato
French fries
Grape nuts
Shredded wheat
Bagels
Rice cakes
Graham crackers
Instant rice
Gluten-free bread
Dates
Intermediate Glycemic Index Foods
Pumpernickel (bread)
Sourdough (bread, etc)
Heavy mixed grain (like in bread)
Whole wheat
Baked beans (canned legumes)
All Bran (cereal)
Porridge (cereal)
Chocolate bars (Hershey, Snickers, etc)
Bananas
Peaches
Oranges and orange juice
Apples and apple juice
Pineapple
Cantaloupe
Skim milk (whole milk is lower in sugar)
Yogurt, with low fat-fruit (dairy)
Carrots
Brown rice
Strawberry jam
PowerBar
Honey
Pita bread
Plain oatmeal
Sweet potato
Coco Cola
Raisins
Low Glycemic Index
Peanuts
Plain yogurt
Soy beans
Peas
Cherries
Barley
Grapefruit
Link sausage
Black beans
Lentils Skim milk
Fettuccine
Chickpeas
Chocolate milk
Whole wheat spaghetti
Apple
Pinto beans
Calculating your Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR) or BMR
Physical activity factor levels for your calorie expenditure
Very light: seated or standing activities like in an office, driving or cooking. 1.2 – 1.3
Low active: In addition to your sedentary life routine, 30 minutes of moderate activity equivalent to walking 2 miles in 30 minutes. (1.5 – 1.6)
Active: In addition to the activities of a low active lifestyle, an addition, 3 hours of activity such as bicycling 10-12 miles per hour or walking 4.5 miles per hour. (1.6 – 1.7)
Heavy: Planned vigorous activities, physical labor, full-time athletes or hard-labor professionals such as steel or road workers. (1.9 – 2.1)
Calculation
Use those activity level numbers to calculate with your RMR down below:
Step 1. Body weight x 10 = RMR
Step 2. Your RMR x activity factor = calorie expenditure
To lose weight, always take in lesser calories than your expenditure, that’s why a 1,200, 1,400 or 2,000 calorie diet for example is good.
For weight gain you just take in more calories than your calorie expenditure.
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