I have to admit that when I first starting working out, all I really wanted was some cut and defined six pack abs. Like many people (especially teens), I would have a not so healthy diet and eat 3-4 main meals a day with unhealthy snacks in between. Not enough water, not enough protein, and I wasn't smart about my technique. What I mean by the technique is that my workout would consist of a variety of ab workouts and some running, nothing else, everyday of the week. I did this on and on and I didn't seem to find any results. After a lot of reading and research, I finally took control over my body and worked it in a way that I've always wanted it to.
When I look back at my situation, I was facing two main problems. Nutrition, and technique. People always have the mentality that there is a such thing as "spot training", which I'll mention in another post. This doesn't exist and there is simply no way someone can develop a certain muscle while the rest of his/her muscles aren't developing. This is where the frustration gets to some people when they spend hours in the gym every week on the treadmill and on the ab mats and they wonder why their abs aren't popping out. Doing so simply exhausts the muscle and as any other muscle, it will feel tighter while being worked, feel sore the next day, but it won't develop because not enough hormones are being secreted and the muscle isn't being supplemented. Lets start with supplementation. No, I'm not talking about bodybuilding supplements like pre-workout hybrids and energy pills, but a strict nutritional plan. If you're just getting started in the gym and you want to get your nutrition intact, start following one simple yet crucial rule; eat 5-6 meals a day, preferably six. This will greatly increase your metabolism and you'll feel energized throughout the day and ready to go in the morning. These meals should consist of regular portions and you shouldn't eat so much that you can't eat a few hours later. The reason that metabolism increases with this method is that the body's digestive system is constantly doing its job and digesting food. The small portions every 2.5 hours will be used as an energy source and as the energy level increases, the body will need to burn from it's own products to keep up and this is how fat is "burned".
As you can see, this simple method will take you a long way and should be everyones first step when beginning bodybuilding.
I've gotten the question, "What should I eat?" asked to me a lot and I honestly can never specifically answer it. What people will do, especially girls, is that they will stay away from anything with a high fat content thinking that they will get fat from eating fatty foods. This is where people are wrong and now you'll find out that sugar-free foods are actually more beneficial to your fat burning goal than fat-free or low-fat foods. You need to keep in mind that fats are not the enemy, carbohydrates are. People don't realize how much carbs they eat hoping that not eating fats will help them cut their belly fat. Let me tell you how carbs and fats work together. Say you wake up and eat a stack of pancakes with butter and maple syrup on top. This is a meal mostly composed of carbohydrates but also has fats. When you eat the pancakes, your body will use the energy it needs and only what it needs from the carbohydrates and it just got plenty of them. It doesn't need the fats for energy so it stores them and all of the excess carbs into your fat stores. This is how people just get fatter. Say you just ate carbs and no fats, the body will not burn any of what it has stored and it will just use the carbs it is taking in as energy. The solution to this is the exciting part. It consists of somewhat of a diet designed to burn fat and increase muscle mass. The diet cuts out carbohydrates on the weekdays letting you take in a maximum of 20-25 grams of carbs a day and you're allowed to eat as much fat and protein as you wish. This is where the real fat burning takes place. Since you aren't taking in any carbs (barely), the body needs an energy source. The only energy source it has is the stored fat in your body. Your body will only burn the stored fat and use it as energy if minimal carbs are taken in. Another reason carbohydrates increase fat so much is because of insulin. Yes insulin is highly anabolic, but it directly triggers the body's fat stores to store fat.
Now how do we build muscle by not eating carbohydrates on the weekdays? Since our insulin is at it's minimal point on the weekdays, testosterone and growth hormone levels (two highly anabolic hormones) are through the roof. Insulin cannot be at a high level if test and growth hormone are and vice versa. This is where the body turns into an anabolic state and the protein taken in will practically flow to your muscles. By the way, if your goal is to build muscle, you should be taking no less than 1 gram per pound of body weight of protein. For example, I weigh 180 lbs. 180 grams of protein is the minimum amount I should be taking in.
Now lets get to the weekend. Note that if your goal is to build muscle, you should follow the weekend step, but if your goal is to loose weight, the weekend step can be beneficial but is optional. On the weekend, starting on Saturday morning, you should eat carbohydrates all day while eating minimum protein and a regular amount of fat. This is because we want to also use the anabolism of insulin throughout our week to increase muscle mass even more. The reason that this is optional for those aiming to loose weight is because the weekend step is mainly to focus on building muscle. For those looking to burn fat, it is fine to take an off-day and eat carbs along with protein and fats for one day.
I hope that this post was beneficial! Please email me if you have any questions and be sure to tune in for more posts.
