Friday, February 25, 2011
Someone Who Gains Weight Easily
Actually has it lucky. If they were a caveman and food was scarce, they would be able to survive better and longer than someone who had a hard time gaining weight. They are able to live off of less food. That is a huge survival asset and very efficient. It's like having higher gas mileage. So it's not a bad thing, gaining weight easily, it means you can live off of less food. So knowing this, ask yourself do you really need that huge portion?
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Hard Work And Discipline
Hard work and discipline don't always go hand in hand. Some people have just one. Most have none. People who come into the gym and work their butts off, work hard. People who can maintain a healthy lifestyle and diet, have discipline. A lot of times clients will work hard in the gym, but have no discipline outside of it. Some clients come in and try to just dial the work out in, but outside they are very disciplined with themselves.
Just because you have one doesn't mean you have the other, you must strive to have both.
Just because you have one doesn't mean you have the other, you must strive to have both.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Too Much Of A Good Thing
I had a client who trains like an animal. She is a beast. For some reason though the last few weeks she had been putting on weight. She was starting to question our work outs, thinking maybe it was making her put on weight or she was too used to working out. Waitaminute. Hold up. It is nearly impossible to get so used to working out that you can't make any more changes. Secondly no matter how you train, training can never, NEVER make you get bigger. Only food can. You can lift like a bodybuilder all you want, but if you don't eat like one you will never get big.
So I told her to write down what she ate for 2 days and bring it to me. She did, I took it home and studied it. There were a lot of foods I told her to eat more of, I also told her to eat less of other things. Instead here is what she did. Everything good that everyone told her to eat, she ate it. More protein, more fruits, more veggies, more yogurt, more nuts, more seeds, etc. She was just eating everything that she heard was good, and at the end of the day she was just eating too much. On top of that she also has a sweet tooth.
Just because something is good for you, doesn't mean you have to eat it all the time. It's like a pie chart, if you eat more of one thing, you have to eat less of something else. What she did was, she just made her pie chart bigger and ate the same amount of everything else and include all the new stuff she should also eat. Once this was figured out, the remedy was simple. But until she wrote it down, it was all a mystery.
That's why constant note taking, writing, weighing, analyzing is so important. Otherwise you can never have a controlled experiment.
So I told her to write down what she ate for 2 days and bring it to me. She did, I took it home and studied it. There were a lot of foods I told her to eat more of, I also told her to eat less of other things. Instead here is what she did. Everything good that everyone told her to eat, she ate it. More protein, more fruits, more veggies, more yogurt, more nuts, more seeds, etc. She was just eating everything that she heard was good, and at the end of the day she was just eating too much. On top of that she also has a sweet tooth.
Just because something is good for you, doesn't mean you have to eat it all the time. It's like a pie chart, if you eat more of one thing, you have to eat less of something else. What she did was, she just made her pie chart bigger and ate the same amount of everything else and include all the new stuff she should also eat. Once this was figured out, the remedy was simple. But until she wrote it down, it was all a mystery.
That's why constant note taking, writing, weighing, analyzing is so important. Otherwise you can never have a controlled experiment.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Cheating
I always tell my clients, cheating is allowed. But usually how I mean it is, you should do everything so efficiently it should feel like your cheating. For example a move called the Kettlebell Swing. It's the idea of moving weight, not lifting weight. You have to use inertia and momentum as your allies. When done correctly you should be able to move a lot of weight, quite easily. It should feel like cheating.
Even with eating, once you figure out the right combinations of food and what foods are good and not good, it should also feel like cheating. That you can eat as much as you want and still not gain weight.
This brings me to the idea of having a cheat list. Meaning all the bad stuff you want to eat throughout the week, instead of saying "oh man I can't eat it." Just write it all down. Every craving you have. Then designate one day out of the week where you just binge on all the foods that you wanted on that list. Making sure you also get a good work out in that morning and you drink plenty of water and eat fiber as well. Why this is important is, then you won't feel like a crazy person never getting to eat what you want. Also you are doing controlled binges so your body is still used to that. And there is no way your body can absorb all that food in one day, so the damage is minimal.
I say, you want it? Instead of eating it, write it down. If after a week, you still want it, then have it. You will find though with a lot of things, after a week you realize you never really wanted it that bad. So it also breaks the habit of instant gratification.
Even with eating, once you figure out the right combinations of food and what foods are good and not good, it should also feel like cheating. That you can eat as much as you want and still not gain weight.
This brings me to the idea of having a cheat list. Meaning all the bad stuff you want to eat throughout the week, instead of saying "oh man I can't eat it." Just write it all down. Every craving you have. Then designate one day out of the week where you just binge on all the foods that you wanted on that list. Making sure you also get a good work out in that morning and you drink plenty of water and eat fiber as well. Why this is important is, then you won't feel like a crazy person never getting to eat what you want. Also you are doing controlled binges so your body is still used to that. And there is no way your body can absorb all that food in one day, so the damage is minimal.
I say, you want it? Instead of eating it, write it down. If after a week, you still want it, then have it. You will find though with a lot of things, after a week you realize you never really wanted it that bad. So it also breaks the habit of instant gratification.
Monday, February 21, 2011
What Is Wrong With This Picture?
So what is wrong with this picture? The picture on the left is of a barefoot walker. On the right is someone who wears shoes daily. More often than not, modern people's feet look like the one on the right, not the left. Only in comparison can you see how different our feet look, from the way its supposed to look. And how much our feet look like shoes. I thought it would make more sense if shoes looked like feet. Not feet look like shoes. Sounds painful.
So the rise of all the foot problems, low back pains, knee issues, fallen arches, plantar fasciitis. etc. Not only that orthotics and special shoes. For some, their feet are so dysfunctional, they can no longer walk barefoot without pain. Nor balance without shoes. Now shoes have become their crutch and it will be a pain cycle where their feet just get worse and worse.
Power is generate from the feet up. Less contact with the ground your feet make, less power. Weaker your feet are, weaker you are. It's hard to develop even a strong core without strong ankles and shoulders.
Look at baby's feet. Then think of one day forcing those cute spread toes to look like the picture on the right?
There are options to correct your whole system from the ground up. Proper running and walking form. Walking barefoot around the house. Barefoot on grass and sand. There are even barefoot shoes or minimalist shoes. Now with those, especially if you've barely ever been barefoot except in bed, you need to work your way into them. Maybe an hour every other day. Slowly until your feet start to adapt to it's natural form. Then you can wear them all day.
In martial arts, if I wanted to break your foot or ankle with a lock, I would first force your toes together, make you step heavy on the ball of your feet, then put pressure on your heels. And if I keep going and keep putting pressure, you will never walk without a limp ever again. That is a brutal submission lock everyone is scared of. Now think about shoes! They do it, but in a milder form. Squeeze the toes, make you step heavy on the ball, and pressure on heels. Especially women's heels.
Friday, February 18, 2011
Romanticizing Food
Far too often, people romanticize food. They have this romantic relationship with food and it's considered funny and normal. Well it can be funny and cute but, if you think about it, talking about food as if it was a person or a lover is just not healthy. Last thing I do on earth will be to eat this. Food is my best friend. Man vs food or women vs food. Cupcakes are my boyfriend. Or I looooooove (insert dish name here). And they don't say it in a way, like I love my tennis shoes. It's like, I loooooove it, as if it literally made lover to them. Or they have more pictures on their Facebook or blog of food than themselves or family, or they talk about it more than their own wife or husband or children. On a pedestal higher than most other things in their lives. Does this sound like you or someone you know?
If you talked about anything else like that, whether it was drugs, feet, or chronic hand washing, it would be considered some kind of mental issue or a fetish. Food becomes this strange exception even though obesity and cardiovascular diseases will kill more people than drugs ever will. It always seems like something is lacking, if they need to love something or be loved that much, why from something inanimate? That energy could serve a better purpose. Is it a cry for help? I don't know. People far too often mistake pleasure with happiness. Inanimate things like cars, food, toys can bring you pleasure not happiness. Happiness starts from within.
It's such a loaded and complex idea. This romanticizing and fetishizing of food. It only sounds funny and cute like I said, because it sounds childlike. Because children can fall in love with inanimate things, imaginary things, or escape into something when their world doesn't provide what they need. It's often hard to prevent the cycle of overeating when eating isn't just about surviving, nourishment, or even taste, but about being and feeling loved. We are making it something it's not. Personifying it.
A healthy body often starts with a healthy mind. Food can sometimes just be a symptom of other things. A person who says, all they need is food sounds like a very lonely person.
If you talked about anything else like that, whether it was drugs, feet, or chronic hand washing, it would be considered some kind of mental issue or a fetish. Food becomes this strange exception even though obesity and cardiovascular diseases will kill more people than drugs ever will. It always seems like something is lacking, if they need to love something or be loved that much, why from something inanimate? That energy could serve a better purpose. Is it a cry for help? I don't know. People far too often mistake pleasure with happiness. Inanimate things like cars, food, toys can bring you pleasure not happiness. Happiness starts from within.
It's such a loaded and complex idea. This romanticizing and fetishizing of food. It only sounds funny and cute like I said, because it sounds childlike. Because children can fall in love with inanimate things, imaginary things, or escape into something when their world doesn't provide what they need. It's often hard to prevent the cycle of overeating when eating isn't just about surviving, nourishment, or even taste, but about being and feeling loved. We are making it something it's not. Personifying it.
A healthy body often starts with a healthy mind. Food can sometimes just be a symptom of other things. A person who says, all they need is food sounds like a very lonely person.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
My Oath
I am not your friend. I am not your therapist. I am not your dad. I am not even your biggest fan. I am your trainer. And over time you will find that is something just as important.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Portion Sizes
When you eat, make sure your portion sizes match the physical size you want to be. Meaning if you want to get bigger, eat more. Want to get smaller, eat less. As I mentioned before, gaining weight doesn't happen overnight. It's incremental. So a 300lb person trying to eat portions of a 140lb person would have a high failure rate and may shock your body in a negative way. So eating less also must be incremental. 300lb person wanting to lose weight should eat like a 280lb person. As they get smaller their body needs less food. And keep pecking and working their way down little bites at a time.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
The Free Stuff At Restaurants
Before you even get your order, think about how much bread, chips, salsa, fries, sweet potatoes, or whatever they give you at some restaurants. And then think about how much you have just consumed before even getting your order.
Monday, February 14, 2011
Friday, February 11, 2011
Breakfast
It truly is the most important meal of the day. It's the meal that your body will draw most of its energy throughout the day from because it is first. Try to eat within one hour of rising. Try to eat at the same time every day as to not confuse your body. Try to make it full of protein. A lot of people do not eat a balanced breakfast, and just eat carbs.
I know many people are not hungry when they rise. Still eat something. There have been plenty of times you have eaten when you were already full. Eating when you aren't really hungry is a lot easier. Fullness and hunger should be eliminated. Just graze and feel satisfied all day.
I know many people are not hungry when they rise. Still eat something. There have been plenty of times you have eaten when you were already full. Eating when you aren't really hungry is a lot easier. Fullness and hunger should be eliminated. Just graze and feel satisfied all day.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Juicing Craze
Before you dive head in, into the juicing craze...juicing is a form of processing as well. Especially when it eliminates so much of the pulp and skin.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Sumo Wrestlers
There is a reason why sumo wrestlers drink a special soup all the time to gain weight. They don't have to chew and it goes straight into fat.
Chew your food.
Chew your food.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Lemon and Cinnamon
Are great additions to your diet. Not only do they regulate your blood sugar, they are great for digestive health, fight blood clotting, blood pressure, and cholesterol.
Monday, February 7, 2011
The Price Of Being Feeble
I have a cautionary tale to share. One of my good buddies recently lost his job. (You will soon see how the guys I grew up with turned me towards personal training.)
The reason for his firing? Too many sick days. You didn't know you could get fired for suck a thing did you? He's been at this job for years. Finally the total accumulation of his sick hours was too much, and the company was actually losing money keeping him on. So they decided to cut their losses.
He would be sick literally about twice a month. Not really sick. Just the sniffles. And sometimes he would get a real sickness, like the flu, and would be out for a week or so. Now imagine this consistently for years, after so many warnings they have to take action.
Before you feel sorry for the guy, you need to know his lifestyle. His main source of pleasure was an online game called World of Warcraft. He would play from the moment he got home from work, 'til 4AM and beyond. He needed to eat things that were convenient and that gave him energy. So he would drink Mountain Dew or some other soda, and gobble bowl after bowl of some sugary cereal.
The next day he would be so exhausted he would call in sick. And of course after a while his immune system would just fail. I don't know if he was actually sick with a cold, or his symptoms were just that of poor health and exhaustion, poor diet, lack of nutrition, and activity.
He was in a word feeble. And I guess in this new generation of adults in the work force, you actually can be too feeble to hold a job. In the last year he's also gained 100lbs.
Now going to a doctor, they would just tell him to watch what he's eating but overall he's okay. OKAY? Well there definition of health is basically this, if there is no sign of imminent death and you have no diseases, you are fine.
Their definition of health is based on mortality not on quality of life. Well my friend is proof that, that kind of criterion is sorely lacking. In a real health continuum, the levels would be: dying, sickly, well, fit. He would be sickly AKA feeble. The price of feebleness? High.
Will he change? Probably not. He's been this way ever since I've known him. But you can learn from his mistakes.
The reason for his firing? Too many sick days. You didn't know you could get fired for suck a thing did you? He's been at this job for years. Finally the total accumulation of his sick hours was too much, and the company was actually losing money keeping him on. So they decided to cut their losses.
He would be sick literally about twice a month. Not really sick. Just the sniffles. And sometimes he would get a real sickness, like the flu, and would be out for a week or so. Now imagine this consistently for years, after so many warnings they have to take action.
Before you feel sorry for the guy, you need to know his lifestyle. His main source of pleasure was an online game called World of Warcraft. He would play from the moment he got home from work, 'til 4AM and beyond. He needed to eat things that were convenient and that gave him energy. So he would drink Mountain Dew or some other soda, and gobble bowl after bowl of some sugary cereal.
The next day he would be so exhausted he would call in sick. And of course after a while his immune system would just fail. I don't know if he was actually sick with a cold, or his symptoms were just that of poor health and exhaustion, poor diet, lack of nutrition, and activity.
He was in a word feeble. And I guess in this new generation of adults in the work force, you actually can be too feeble to hold a job. In the last year he's also gained 100lbs.
Now going to a doctor, they would just tell him to watch what he's eating but overall he's okay. OKAY? Well there definition of health is basically this, if there is no sign of imminent death and you have no diseases, you are fine.
Their definition of health is based on mortality not on quality of life. Well my friend is proof that, that kind of criterion is sorely lacking. In a real health continuum, the levels would be: dying, sickly, well, fit. He would be sickly AKA feeble. The price of feebleness? High.
Will he change? Probably not. He's been this way ever since I've known him. But you can learn from his mistakes.
Sunday, February 6, 2011
A Funny Conversation With A Non-Client
Over the weekend I had a very funny conversation with a friend of a friend. Now when I'm not training, I don't try to be everyone's trainer or Bible thump about fitness believe it or not. When I'm not working, I'm just me and I leave all that rhetoric for my blog or for the gym. And even if I am at the gym, I won't go over and correct someone's form unless they ask me to. I'm not one who is a Personal Trainer 24 hours a day. I just live my lifestyle. So with that said I had this conversation with this girl who had no idea I was a trainer nor did I ever bring it up.
GIRL
(proud of herself)
I ate so healthy today.
ME
Oh yeah? What did you have?
GIRL
I ate vegetables.
ME
Vegetables? I thought eating vegetables was just normal. Don't most people eat vegetables? It's like our most abundant food source.
GIRL
No. And this was raw. We had Soup Plantation.
ME
Soup Plantation is healthy?
GIRL
Of course.
ME
So you had salad?
GIRL
Yes. And I never eat vegetables.
ME
So what do you eat?
GIRL
I eat carbs a lot. I love carbs.
ME
But vegetables ARE a carb.
GIRL
No it's not. I eat stuff like pasta and potatoes.
ME
Potatoes are a vegetable.
GIRL
No it's not. People think that but it's not. It's something else.
ME
Well it's either a vegetable, fruit, fungus, or meat.
GIRL
It's none of those.
ME
Well it is a root vegetable. A tuber. A very starchy vegetable but still a vegetable.
GIRL
It's not. I'm gonna Google it and prove you wrong.
ME
Unless you discover a whole new type of food, I don't see what else it could be.
GIRL
Woah you are like trying to be an encyclopedia. Let me look online and prove you wrong.
I never told her what I did and dropped it at that. I was pretty amused and shocked at the same time, people's ideas of food and the lack of education on it. The scariest part is she knows a little, and there are others who know even less.
I know some people who refuse to eat any vegetable or fruit. They think they are highly picky and have a refined palette and vegetation just does not taste good. I tell them they are eating at a 1st grade eating level and have a gutter palette. If it was converted to reading, they would barely be literate.
Don't read or eat at a elementary school level.
Friday, February 4, 2011
Water
It's free. It has almost no downside (unless you drink to the point of vomiting). You can't get fat from it (though you can gain weight from it but those are 2 different concepts). Not only that, water is a natural way to flush your system, most of your body is made of water anyway, and it helps to move glucose through your body quickly. Not only that it helps manager stress, manage pain, and it keeps you alive. Water is life.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Cleanse And Detoxes
I understand the concept of the cleanses and detoxes and what people want to accomplish with it. But just because that's what they want to do doesn't mean that's what's going to happen. Cleanses and detoxes and extended periods of fasting is dangerous, it's not natural, and your body will not react well. There are no short cuts to weight loss or to a long life.
Ultimately if you want to cleanse your system out or detox it, you have to clean all the toxins out of your blood and organs. Not to try to flush water through your digestive tract. And really there is no way to clean your blood, you can't rinse it out. Unless you want to try to completely pull all the blood out of your body and replace it with new blood, which would probably kill you in the process. You are probably better off donating blood to get rid of high amounts of toxins in your body more than anything else. All the hype about cleanses and detox is just that, hype. All the gunk you see come out of you is the gunk you drank in the first place.
But to clean your system out, takes gradual change. There is no quick way to do it unless like I said you drain your whole body of blood and replace it with new blood. So the safe and long lasting way is through lifestyle changes, eating habit changes, drinking more water, stress management, different product choices, limiting harmful chemicals, knowing the sources of your food, etc. You are working to change a small percentage of yourself at a time.
I won't throw the whole baby out with the wash though. There has been health benefits to intermittent fasting. Meaning not for extended periods and very infrequent. It's also the same benefits you get from a small portioned diet as well.
Ultimately if you want to cleanse your system out or detox it, you have to clean all the toxins out of your blood and organs. Not to try to flush water through your digestive tract. And really there is no way to clean your blood, you can't rinse it out. Unless you want to try to completely pull all the blood out of your body and replace it with new blood, which would probably kill you in the process. You are probably better off donating blood to get rid of high amounts of toxins in your body more than anything else. All the hype about cleanses and detox is just that, hype. All the gunk you see come out of you is the gunk you drank in the first place.
But to clean your system out, takes gradual change. There is no quick way to do it unless like I said you drain your whole body of blood and replace it with new blood. So the safe and long lasting way is through lifestyle changes, eating habit changes, drinking more water, stress management, different product choices, limiting harmful chemicals, knowing the sources of your food, etc. You are working to change a small percentage of yourself at a time.
I won't throw the whole baby out with the wash though. There has been health benefits to intermittent fasting. Meaning not for extended periods and very infrequent. It's also the same benefits you get from a small portioned diet as well.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
You Are...
You are not getting fat because you are eating more. You are eating more because you are getting fat.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Chewing
Try not to drink your calories, try to make sure all your calories come in the form of foods you can chew, not foods that have been pre-chewed for you (processed foods).
Monday, January 31, 2011
Obesity Is A Symptom
People who have struggled with obesity issues have often said they gained weight due to stress or emotion. Or some stressful emotional period caused an increase in unhealthy weight gain.
A lot of times weight and obesity is a symptom of some greater underlying issue. Even if you get skinny, if that root cause is not dealt with, either the weight will come back or the issue will manifest itself in some other way.
It's all about lifestyle change. If your lifestyle doesn't change, your body can change all it wants but it will either revert back or come back in the form of some other compulsion. Managing your life, how you deal with your life, will manage your body, and your mind.
A lot of times weight and obesity is a symptom of some greater underlying issue. Even if you get skinny, if that root cause is not dealt with, either the weight will come back or the issue will manifest itself in some other way.
It's all about lifestyle change. If your lifestyle doesn't change, your body can change all it wants but it will either revert back or come back in the form of some other compulsion. Managing your life, how you deal with your life, will manage your body, and your mind.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
A Pound Of Fat
Let's dispel some myths here and do some proper measuring. 1 pound of muscle is not heavier than 1 pound of fat. A pound is a pound is a pound. 1 pound of muscle is just less mass than 1 pound of fat, we are measuring mass here not weight. Using the wrong terms for the wrong things.
When people who are working out and they happen to gain weight, someone will always says, well you gained muscle, and muscle weighs more than fat. If 1 pound of fat turns into 1 pound of muscle, it's a wash and there should be no weight change. Their science makes no sense. If they gained weight, it has nothing to do with conversion of fat to muscle, and everything to do with what they have been eating and drinking and what they did the previous week. We already covered what happens with weight based on diet. Let me go over another issue.
Some people put on weight typically after some initial weight loss, and so as to not get discouraged someone will say, "oh but muscle weighs more than fat." If they can't even measure weight of fat and muscle, how will they measure your weight? Even on The Biggest Loser, they always lose the most weight the first week and have far lower numbers the next. They say it's because their bodies adapted to the work out and is not burning weight. No. Their bodies do not adapt that quickly.
A pound of fat has 3,500 calories. Most people won't even burn that running a full marathon. Waitaminute, most people don't even eat that much in a day. How are you supposed to burn that much off? How can someone lose a pound a day? A big key is the difference between losing a pound and burning a pound. If someone were able to burn 3,500 a day, not only would they probably die of malnutrition (because basically none of the food they ate was ever stored but all used and then some), but if that didn't get them exhaustion would. So what happens? The only way you will drop weight that fast, as any professional boxer, or wrestler knows, is through water weight. They sweated all that weight off. So there will be some real fat that has been burned off, but a majority of the weight will be from water loss. So they may still have the same amount of fat and muscle, but just less water in their body. Now what?
So let's say they lost 5lbs in one week. Second week they either didn't lose any weight or they gained a pound or two. What happened? Homeostasis happened. Meaning their body has to go back to their natural state. The water you lost has to be put back, you're body is in debt. You may look thinner but it's not that you lost fat, you are just more drawn in and water will fill you back in. So it's not muscle weighs more than fat, it's that you lost a lot of water weight initially, and naturally your body has to get it back. Losing weight and changing how you look are two different things. You can lose 10lbs and look exactly if just losing weight is what you are after. I mean you can get an enema and easily lose that much. But it is not real weight loss, you still have the same amount of fat, and you will look the same, and your measurements will be the same (except for around your intestines). If it was just about weight, you could chop off a limb and be much lighter. But that's not what they mean, when people say they want to lose weight, they mean they want to lose fat. It can't be any kind of weight, like loss in organs, blood, muscle, limbs, and even water. Real weight, real loss of fat happens slowly and is more long lasting. Quick weight loss is not real weight loss and easy to put back on (and has a lot more sagging skin).
Or what if you lose all this weight, but you can never see your abs? Yet other people your weight can see their abs. What gives??? So it's not about calories, it's not about weight. There is a critical difference between weighing less and being lean. One is about numbers on a scale. The other is about how you look. Two reasons people want to work out, for looks or performance and weight is a bi-product of that. Not the other way around. I've seen so many people who've lost so much weight who not only look terrible (though somehow if you lose a lot of weight people are obligated to say you look great even if you do not) they are also not athletic at all. Being lighter, looking good, performing, 3 different things. You can have a combination of all three but it's a gradient with being lighter at the bottom. People seem to assume if you are lighter, you will look good, and perform well. That is actually an upside down pyramid. If you perform well, you will look good, and be lighter. It trickles down that way (with some exceptions).
You can easily be light and fat and nonathletic. The goal is always the same. Be as lean and strong as possible. And remember to measure the right things with the right tools.
When people who are working out and they happen to gain weight, someone will always says, well you gained muscle, and muscle weighs more than fat. If 1 pound of fat turns into 1 pound of muscle, it's a wash and there should be no weight change. Their science makes no sense. If they gained weight, it has nothing to do with conversion of fat to muscle, and everything to do with what they have been eating and drinking and what they did the previous week. We already covered what happens with weight based on diet. Let me go over another issue.
Some people put on weight typically after some initial weight loss, and so as to not get discouraged someone will say, "oh but muscle weighs more than fat." If they can't even measure weight of fat and muscle, how will they measure your weight? Even on The Biggest Loser, they always lose the most weight the first week and have far lower numbers the next. They say it's because their bodies adapted to the work out and is not burning weight. No. Their bodies do not adapt that quickly.
A pound of fat has 3,500 calories. Most people won't even burn that running a full marathon. Waitaminute, most people don't even eat that much in a day. How are you supposed to burn that much off? How can someone lose a pound a day? A big key is the difference between losing a pound and burning a pound. If someone were able to burn 3,500 a day, not only would they probably die of malnutrition (because basically none of the food they ate was ever stored but all used and then some), but if that didn't get them exhaustion would. So what happens? The only way you will drop weight that fast, as any professional boxer, or wrestler knows, is through water weight. They sweated all that weight off. So there will be some real fat that has been burned off, but a majority of the weight will be from water loss. So they may still have the same amount of fat and muscle, but just less water in their body. Now what?
So let's say they lost 5lbs in one week. Second week they either didn't lose any weight or they gained a pound or two. What happened? Homeostasis happened. Meaning their body has to go back to their natural state. The water you lost has to be put back, you're body is in debt. You may look thinner but it's not that you lost fat, you are just more drawn in and water will fill you back in. So it's not muscle weighs more than fat, it's that you lost a lot of water weight initially, and naturally your body has to get it back. Losing weight and changing how you look are two different things. You can lose 10lbs and look exactly if just losing weight is what you are after. I mean you can get an enema and easily lose that much. But it is not real weight loss, you still have the same amount of fat, and you will look the same, and your measurements will be the same (except for around your intestines). If it was just about weight, you could chop off a limb and be much lighter. But that's not what they mean, when people say they want to lose weight, they mean they want to lose fat. It can't be any kind of weight, like loss in organs, blood, muscle, limbs, and even water. Real weight, real loss of fat happens slowly and is more long lasting. Quick weight loss is not real weight loss and easy to put back on (and has a lot more sagging skin).
Or what if you lose all this weight, but you can never see your abs? Yet other people your weight can see their abs. What gives??? So it's not about calories, it's not about weight. There is a critical difference between weighing less and being lean. One is about numbers on a scale. The other is about how you look. Two reasons people want to work out, for looks or performance and weight is a bi-product of that. Not the other way around. I've seen so many people who've lost so much weight who not only look terrible (though somehow if you lose a lot of weight people are obligated to say you look great even if you do not) they are also not athletic at all. Being lighter, looking good, performing, 3 different things. You can have a combination of all three but it's a gradient with being lighter at the bottom. People seem to assume if you are lighter, you will look good, and perform well. That is actually an upside down pyramid. If you perform well, you will look good, and be lighter. It trickles down that way (with some exceptions).
You can easily be light and fat and nonathletic. The goal is always the same. Be as lean and strong as possible. And remember to measure the right things with the right tools.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
