Fat Loss – Body Transformation – Advanced Nutrition

Hey all,

Every few months, there’s a new supplement that pops up and takes the world by storm. By taking the world by storm, I mean that the guys that curl in the squat rack and flex in the mirror between sets think of them as the holy grail.

Why do so many people fall into the hype?

I’ve often said that anything that provides steroid type gains is typically going to be a controlled substance, thus, illegal. Truth is, very few things actually provide “steroid like” gains. So, if you can get it at GNC, it’s more than likely bs.

The exception to that would be the occasional pro-hormones that pop up in supplement stores. The knock on those? They aren’t as effective and typically more dangerous (and also banned by most drug testing organizations). I’m not advocating steroid use, I’m simply pointing out that although these things are on the shelf at your favorite stores doesn’t mean that they’re safe.

My favorite realm of supplements is myostatin blockers. What is myostatin? Myostatin is believed to inhibit muscle growth in order to keep it within a certain limit. It’s not hard to see where the ability to “block” the myostatin gene would be a huge find in the science of gaining muscle (and IMO, enlarged heart and other organs).

I can say that without a shadow of a doubt, these supplements do not work. Not to say that the Chinese aren’t actively pursuing them as hard as they can to get an advantage in international competition, but as it stands, anything that markets itself as a myostatin blocker is trash.

What about fat burners?

First let me qualify that trying to increase fat burning while not eating toward that goal is a big waste of time, but that isn’t the theme of this post.

The last really effective supplements that actually had a direct effect on fat burning was those that contained the ephedra/caffeine/aspirin stack. After misuse by a few and over-reaching by our wonderful government, it was quickly yanked from the shelves. What has followed has been a mixture of “proprietary blends” full of nothing but a witch’s brew of stimulants unchecked for safety (and amounts). Much of this is the reason why when people ask me what is the “best” thing on the market, I hesitate to answer. Most of what is out there is garbage that may provide you a little jolt, but nothing more than a marginal improvement over any measurable time of usage.

I know, while it isn’t as sexy as the latest “skin busting pump”, “steroid like gains”, “get shredded fast” supps, but the data supports creatine monohydrate, BCAAs, fish oils, and wait for it, eating for your goals (whatever they may be) are going to provide you with the most sustainable results. There are other things that you can use in support of different goals, but typically the more outrageous the claims, the more BS and less science is behind a particular product.

As long as people remember that supplement means “in addition to a whole part”, they’ll be better off in their search for the next amazing supp.

Had a common question that I often get on Twitter yesterday and thought I’d save the answer for the blog!

What is your thought on pre-workout drinks? Yay or Nay?

I have always been in favor of my own personal use of caffeine (as long as I’m able to do so without sugar and other garbage). But understand that 99.999% of pre-workout drinks have a ton of caffeine (where you actually feel it), and just a LITTLE bit of some other things that may or may not work. Obviously, the research on Creatine is abundant and there’s a lot of info on Pubmed.Gov that supports creatine use. There’ll typically be something that increases nitric oxide in the body (arginine or a form of it), which, again, I am all for in the proper doses. I can justify using Citruline Malate, but most blends skimp on it. There are other things, that in theory would be helpful, but not in the small doses included in most pre-workout drinks.

And don’t forget “proprietary blends”. This is the supplement company’s way of hiding a bunch of bullshit in their product.

Honestly, I usually stick to straight caffeine prior to a workout and a large dose of BCAAs during (I’ve said it before, I love Scivation Xtend). 99% of the popular pre-workouts, however, aren’t doing a damn thing to actually improve your physique.

I came across this article last night about calories during sex and other overly exaggerated fitness myths and I think it makes a great point: It’s all in the research.

You see, in the health, fitness, training, nutrition and fat loss arenas, there are a lot of so-called “truths” that people, especially bullshit artist personal trainers cling to like there is no tomorrow: their opinions on cardio (which I’ve debunked numerous times), protein intake, fasting, supplement use, training volumes and rep protocols, different nutritional strategies, etc. The crazy thing is that 99% of the things that these trainers and “experts” (sarcasm) are overwhelmingly disproved scientifically.

There are several top level training and nutritional journals that are available for anyone. Also, you can look up any study, it’s parameters, and results on the PubMed site.

I prefer to back my opinions and methods with science and experience. After almost 15 years in this business, I’m not too proud to say that research has forced me to change my mind on things that I deeply believed to be true. This field is one of learning and there is evidence available to support or disprove any theory that may come along if you’re willing to look for it (beyond doing a simple Google search).

Don’t go on your fat loss or body transformation journey in the dark: Education is the KEY!

Good morning everyone!

Maybe I spend too much reading – I try to read anything I can fitness related. Half of the time, it’s just to get through writer’s block (sometimes when someone else writes an article furthering fitness nonsense, it is able to piss me off so badly that I’m ready to sit down and write a 50000 word fitness dissertation.

I didn’t write my annual “New Year’s Resolution” article on December 31 because I figured I’d just let the hysteria die down, and let the other personal trainers spat off about the same old tired “fitness truths” and let them rehash the same article that has been written thousands of times over.

You see, most personal trainers, fitness writers, and Gurus/Experts are afraid to go against the grain: they cling to ineffective, disproven diet strategies, training programs that are as worthless as the Shake Weight, and decades old myths about the types of cardio one should to to maximize fat loss. I am the Anti-Guru – I call those types out on their myths and misinformation. Far too many personal trainers, if truthful, would list their education and experience as reading a few issues of Oxygen and/or Muscle and Fitness Magazines, and maybe a weekend seminar or two: they are learning their craft on your dime.

Enough of that, on with the tips:

-Intense Cardio is the only type of cardio you should be doing. No more of that marathon nonsense for an hour. Intervals are what I prefer (25-60 seconds all out, followed by a similar time for recovery and repeat for a total of 15-25 minutes).

-”I want to get toned/lean/look better naked, get in a bikini, etc, etc, etc”: Your training program should be centered around weight training. No, you will not gain muscle at an insane rate to where you cannot control it and become an NFL Linebacker (ladies), but even a slight increase in lean body mass will increase your resting metabolic rate (the number of calories you burn in a given day to maintain your bodyweight at rest). THIS is the biggest bang for your buck on caloric expenditure: slightly increasing your metabolic rate is much more efficient than either removing a few hundred calories from the diet or burning it via exercise – and when an increased metabolic rate is combined with exercise and efficient eating, the undesirable weight falls off.

-The scale is the most full of shit tool ever created by man. It is not a measure of progress. Simply put, weight loss helps you look better dressed, fat loss helps you look better naked.

-A healthy lifestyle is not about all you give up: I hear people upset about giving up eating a certain dish, drinking, partying, a tv show or whatever. A healthy lifestyle is, however, about all you will GAIN: confidence, energy, health, and a longer, more productive life.

-Just because someone “goes to the gym” does not make them an expert on health and fitness. In fact, most people that go to the gym are just burning time by moving around (which is better than nothing, so don’t get me wrong). When someone is going to the gym and lifting for an hour or two and doing “an hour of cardio”, I automatically think about how much time they are wasting and how inefficient they are. My competitors, who are maximizing fat loss and body transformation techniques, don’t spend near that amount of time in the gym. In fact, 99.999% of the people reading this can make dramatic changes to their bodies with less than 5 hours of training or less.

-There’s a difference between working out and training: working out is staying busy and moving just to break a sweat. Training is designed to get you to where you want to be, whether it is from an aesthetic or a functional point of view. Time is valuable, don’t waste it.

-Accountability is key: whether you hire a personal trainer, join an exercise group, keep a public log, join an online exercise forum, or train with a loved one, positive pressure helps! Tell people that you are close with about your goals and use their support as motivation!

-A diet is an unsustainable way of eating. I mean, come on: everyone is always coming on and off of their diet. My competitors DIET when they are getting ready for a show. The rest of the world? They have to make sustainable lifestyle changes and learn how to make the best choices to allow them to not only get into shape, but maintain what they have worked so hard for. It’s okay to DIET to get to a certain point, but at some point, you have to realize that the more radical an eating strategy is, the less likely you are to stick with it.

-Drink water. Your body is 70% water, I shouldn’t have to explain why this is important. You’re probably not drinking enough. Go for the gallon.

-”But the RDA says”: Reccommended Daily Allowance, designed to keep you alive if you lay on the couch 24/7. Written by the government. Have you been to the Driver’s License Office lately? Social Security Office to simply get a card? VA? Read the tax code? Oh, you want the government telling you how to eat? You think they’re actually qualified at anything but spending money? RDA is survival – you should be eating for optimal performance and physique transformation!

-The only way to force the body to change is to introduce it to a stimulus it is unfamiliar with. When you train, you should do every exercise with the thought “Body, you are going to change, dammit”. It is called WORKING out for a reason: do work!

-Get off of your ass!!! Thinking about starting at the first of next month is not good enough. If you aren’t busy living, you are simply dying! Even if it is getting up and taking short walks throughout the day during breaks, do it.

-A little sacrifice is worth the huge gain. Yes, you may have to go to bed later or get up earlier. You may have to give up those tv shows you like. You may have to skip a few happy hours. Shouldn’t matter, because none of those things holds a candle to a lean body that you are proud to show off at a pool party or at the lake/beach. Life is too short to be covered up by clothes.

-Looking for that magic pill? Keep looking. There is not one. You’d be better off looking for a pill that made you want to workout harder and be disciplined enough to skip the fried foods and dessert. That one would be worth 100 times its weight in gold.

-”But it’s not easy”. No kidding, it isn’t for anyone.

-”I don’t have time. You have the same 24 hours in a day that everyone else has. We all have kids, jobs, responsibilities, family issues, dying relatives, sick friends, car pool, travel, whatever. No matter how much you think you do, I’m betting I have a client that has the same schedule and does just as much. It’s the difference between wanting it and wanting to find an excuse.

-I don’t care if you hire a personal trainer or do a workout video or Zumba or whatever. Whatever you do, do it hard, and commit to it for a fair amount of time. When things get tough, your schedule gets hard, your work starts getting into your “bad time of year”, so what – don’t give up!

-Damn Boyd, you’re expensive. Yeah, but I’m the best in the world at what I do. I’m 36, have been ONLY training for the last 7 years, have multiple degrees, and choose to do this. I’m not some kid that decided to do this because it’s a low barrier of entry and didn’t feel like going to school. I train multiple professional athletes, figure competitors, bodybuilders, bikini models, magazine cover models, and everyday people with real jobs and real responsibilities JUST LIKE YOU!!!

You can make the decision to change or you can simply keep making the same old tired excuses that may temporarily make you feel good, but are holding you in that rut that keeps becoming deeper and deeper.

The first step IS the hardest, but once you get moving, it’s a hell of a lot easier to KEEP moving.

Become unstoppable!

While working out today, a stranger approached me and asked me a few questions. He was open about being a complete newbie to the gym. I’m always flattered when people approach me (maybe I kind of look like I workout :) Anyway, he asked me a question about the drink I was drinking during my workout, and a little about pre-workout nutrition.

In short: What are you drinking while you are working out and should I be working out on an empty stomach?

The drink I was drinking was Scivation Xtend. It is a BCAA product. For more information on my thoughts on amino acids, read this post I wrote about amino acids: BCAA, Essential and Non-Essential Amino Acids.

Should one workout on an empty stomach? Hell no. There are many reasons and I can go very much in-depth about the hormonal response, but I’m going to keep this simple without boring you to death.

1) Fuel your body. The body most most efficiently gets its fuel from food, and the proper pre-workout meal with the correct type of carbohydrates and amino acids is essential for optimal performance.

2) Training is the act of breaking the muscles down so that the body can repair them and make them bigger and stronger. In the most basic of terms, it’s muscle breakdown vs muscle repair. Not having proper fuel allows muscle breakdown to exceed muscle repair (which is a loss of lean body mass, which slows recovery, metabolic rate, etc).

I’ve written several pre and post-workout nutrition articles, so I’m not going to re-create the wheel (the search feature on the side works well!!!).

Bottom line: if you’re looking for the most out of your training this year, proper nutrition, including pre/during/post workout is essential for optimum results!

One of the most common mistakes people make is drastically changing the foods they consume and, by judging their body’s response, assume that they are having trouble adapting to particular foods. Instead, I prefer a slower transition in the diet and evaluate the body’s response to each change.

You may have heard that digestion health is the greatest determination of overall health, and there is much truth to this. One of the first supplemental recommendations I often make to a new client is a quality probiotic to replenish (or enhance) the healthy bacteria in the intestines. Of course, most Americans don’t consume anywhere enough fiber. While natural is always best, I realize that many people (especially named Boyd) do not find a lot of fiberous foods palatable. In this case, a fiber supplement is also recommended.

I also recommend keeping a journal and documenting certain changes in the diet and how the body responds. One of the most ironic twists in intense fitness is that when I have competitors tested for food allergies, we often discover they have allergies to popular “diet” foods: whey/casein protein, eggs, chicken, etc.

75% of the way you look is determined by what you eat. Don’t guess – I know a lot of people spend a lot of time developing what they think is the ideal training program and still kind of guess about nutrition. It’s important to give that same type of attention to both aspects!

Hey everyone,

I’m a self-admitted peanut butter addict. Of course, while dieting, there are times when I may not need the fat found in peanut butter to stay at the appropriate caloric count. Enter Bell Plantations PB2.

According to the website: Through a unique process created by Bell Plantation that does not involve the use of any chemicals; over 90% of the fat is removed from the peanut. Essentially the oil is squeezed out of roasted peanuts and what remains is a peanut powder. The resulting all-natural product is unbelievable!The possibilities for PB2 are limited only by the users imagination and creativity! An outstanding natural protein source sprinkle on shakes, yogurts, smoothies, great for outdoor sports. Excellent for ice cream as it will not seize while processing, ganaches, frostings, truffles, soufflés, cakes, muffins, brownies. Dissolves easily for savory applications- Asian noodle sauces, breadings and crust especially for seafood. It is also wonderful for baking either reconstituted or as a powder.

Sounds great, but I simply like it for use as an added ingredient in my protein shakes. Easy and simple when I’m not looking for the extra fat content (and in some cases, I want/need the fat, but often, I just want the peanut butter taste).

One serving contains just 1.5g of fat – quite a bit less than a serving of natural peanut butter!

If you’re looking for great peanut butter taste while avoiding the extra fat, check out PB2 (available on Amazon and in most grocery stores, including HEB in San Antonio).

I have never paid for an ounce of advertising. I suppose, that indirectly, my blog is advertising, but for me, it is as much about being able to talk about what I do and what I love as it is a tool to bring in new clients. With all of this being said, I am typically as booked as I care to be. I do have slots that open up, but for the most part, I stay very busy with my personal training, consulting and online businesses.

I think the biggest thing that separates me from most personal trainer is because I pound nutrition, nutrition, nutrition. Most of my fat loss (and even competitor) clients do not do tons of cardio. I’m not one of those personal trainers that assigns hours of extra exercise. For the most part, most people are well served exercising no more than 5-6 hours per week with few exceptions.

Bottom line: nailing the nutrition is everything.

That all leads to a great question from a reader about simplifying fat loss, and I thought I’d share it.

Boyd:

There are a lot of complicated formulas for calculating caloric maintenance, goals, etc and sometimes, they are a bit overwhelming. Is there an accurate way to simplify? I know it takes serious effort, but the equations are confusing me! I’d like to be as precise as possible, and sometimes I’m eating the right macros, eating too much (or not enough), or what. I know this is a broad question, but would appreciate any guidance you can offer.

First and foremost, from a practicality standpoint, all we can do is ESTIMATE caloric expenditure and how much we “need” to maintain a certain weight.

On the other end of that, we can get pretty damn close to determining what it is we consume, so that’s obviously where I work to get very exact.

I take many different factors into account when I begin working with a client and setting up their nutritional programs: their goals, their condition, body fat, age, gender, nutritional history, metabolic conditions, (in some cases, blood work), and a whole host of other considerations. Doing these things, I can get pretty close to one’s daily caloric expenditure – and from there, can figure out the proper food intake (in the proper macronutrient ratios) to help the client get from where they are to where they want to be when they need to be there.

However, one must remember one simple thing that I stated earlier: these things are estimates. Like the weather (although if I was as bad as the weatherman, I wouldn’t still be in business, or at least I wouldn’t be very busy).

One very basic issue I want to mention is calories per gram of specific nutrients:

1g of protein = 4 calories
1g of carbohydrates = 4 calories
1g of fat = 9 calories

Not rocket science, but if you don’t know that, the rest of this is going to seem like it is written in Latin.

A few years ago, I read something that fat loss expert Lyle McDonald had written and it kind of stuck with me and I still consider these four thngs today when I’m setting up a client’s diet.

1. Caloric Deficit
2. Establish Protein Intake.
3. Establish Fat Intake.
4. Everything else.

Here is a quick synopsis of how I use McDonald’s recommendations.

Caloric Deficit
How much of a caloric deficit is determined by several factors: speed of fat loss, maintenance of lean body mass, performance considerations, and time to lose a certain amount of weight. Highly conditioned athletes typically operate better on a smaller deficit (also, this same group has less body fat to lose). If I have a competitor coming off of one show and only needs to make minimal physique changes, we’re using a small deficit. If I have someone that has a great deal of fat to lose, I may start them at a larger deficit initially to give them a little bit of instant gratification (and to show them that they CAN lose fat) and to see how well they can handle it.

But there’s one thing to strongly consider: the larger the deficit, the harder it is to stay on the diet for any amount of time. Also, many trainees become discouraged because a drastic caloric deficit doesn’t provide them with enough fuel to train and function at optimal levels. Of course, that is sometimes negated by seeing the scale and calipers move. Typically, I like to find a happy medium – provide the client with enough calories to kick ass in the gym, while seeing continual fat loss. I’ve used as small as a 10% caloric deficit to over 25%. Obviously, the latter is for extreme situations and short term needs and simply put, is not for everyone (nor is a deficit that large necessary for everyone, regardless of how impatient they are). For those that think they’re being “extreme” and “balls to the wall”, they are often quickly humbled by trying to create that much of a caloric deficit.

Protein Intake
I had a figure competitor on twitter tell me that losing muscle was only a concern if you weren’t getting enough protein, no matter how much cardio you did or how little overall calories you had. She wasn’t a very successful competitor, but that’s for another post.

Protein intake varies greatly depending on one’s activities and lean body mass. Bodybuilders and weight trainers have been using a gram per pound of bodyweight for years and I think that’s a great starting point for anyone who is remotely active and looking to drastically change their body composition, but I prefer to use 1 gram per pound of lean body mass instead (obviously, one needs to know their approximate body fat percentage). I know what the RDA is and I ignore RDAs – they are for survival and if you’re in the business of letting the government determine what is healthy, then you probably don’t need to be on my blog anyway (smoking is legal). My recommendation is to base the protein intake on your total caloric deficit – if you’re looking at a high end deficit (in the 25% threshold or greater), get closer to 1.5g per pound of lean body mass. If you’re lower on the scale, .8g-1g per pound should be plenty.

Note that I’m not discussing the requirements for sedentary individuals. That’s really not my target niche, so not going to waste my energy on that.

Fat Intake
I’ve been pretty open that I’m a healthy fat whore. The total amounts of DHA/EPA one needs are open for debate, but I tend to think that one can drastically improve their body composition (and overall health) with large amounts of Omega 3 fatty acids, and I often recommend 15-20g per day of such (liquid fish oils are usually simple and the most affordable). For several reasons, I prefer to keep Omega 6 intake in roughly a 1:1 ratio to Omega 3. Obvious Omega 6 fatty acids include nuts and such, and Sesamin is one of my favorite supplements of all time. Focusing primarily on Omega 3 should give you what you need, as you will get most Omega 6 from residual fats in other foods.

I tend to lean toward a higher dietary fat intake than most for a few reasons. First, fat is saturating and makes you feel full. Yes, I know it’s more than 2x as many calories per gram than a gram of carbs, but I think it’s 3 times more filling. Fat is slower to digest, thus fills the stomach fuller. There are other reasons (fat stabilizes glucose, is necessary for healthy organs, etc) but I’m going to bore the piss out of you with this if I get any further into it.

Everything Else
Here is where we determine other requirments of why we may or may not need a specific amount of calories (performance, leanness, lifestyle, metabolic issues, conditions, etc).

I am going to see if I can find Lyle McDonald’s in-depth article on these topics, as he gets deep into each of the four headers (for those of you who love things like this). Over the years, I’ve read everything that guy has written, so I’m not sure if it was in one of his books or one of the 10,000 articles he has written (sorry Lyle :).

These are simply starting points and give us an idea of where to go.

Determining Caloric Requirements
So I spent a great deal of time explaining how I’d begin to set up a client’s nutritional strategy and why I’d make certain decisions. And you’re thinking “Jeez Boyd, you long-winded bastard, just answer the question, please?”

Ok… Sorry. I’ve messed around with a lot of magical calculations determining caloric expenditures and creating the necessary deficit that will provide great weight loss and still allow the client or athlete to function on a daily basis.

I prefer using the simple range of 14-16 calories per pound of bodyweight as a starting point to determine a person’s maintenance caloric requirements. I’ll make slight adjustments to that in extreme situations, but for someone who trains regularly in the 60 minute per day range (on average) and isn’t completely a lazy ass the other 23 hours of the day, this is fairly accurate 99.9% of the time (and yes, YOU fall under that 99.9% – no matter what you think).

First, I’ll use a 200lb male as an example, and an estimate of 15 calories per pound of bodyweight. 200 x 15 = 3000 calories (maintenance). Now we determine the deficit we’d like to create. Let’s say we are looking for a 20% cut in calories as an acceptable rate and performance standard (3000 x .2 = 600 caloric deficit). 3000 – 600 = 2400 calories daily, creating roughly a 4200 caloric deficit the first week (or a 6000 calorie deficit over the first 10 days). Evaluate and adjust as needed.

Let’s use a 140lb female now: 140lber x 14 calories (per lb of bw) = 1960 calories (maintenance cals). Let’s say she is looking for as much weight loss as she can get to be as small as possible for a reunion in 6 weeks (not always optimal, but hey, it takes all kinds): 1960x.25 = 490. 1960-490= 1470 daily calories to create a 3430 calorie deficit in the first week (remember, as the subject becomes smaller, it’s time to re-evaluate and adjust).

It may take a bit of tinkering, but give yourself an adequate amount of time to see where you’re at. Don’t freak out if the scale isn’t plummeting – the body plays a lot of games with us that confuses a lot of people as to why they aren’t making “progress” (when, actually, they are).

I prefer to evaluate someone weekly and make any needed caloric adjustments. I don’t change things just for the sake of making changes – if the acceptable rate of fat loss is being made, I’ll ride with it.

So, how do we know when it is time to make changes to what we think is the baseline?

-I hesitate to say when fat loss isn’t fast enough, because most people are ridiculously impatient and pay too much attention to the scale with little attention to actual body composition. In most clients, I make adjustments every 10-14 days. In competition clients, we make adjustments every 7-10 days.

-When performance drops, an increase in calories may be necessary. If you’re dragging ass, unable to exercise or, God forbid, function in society, you have probably created too much of a caloric deficit.

I keep an open mind to many different types of strategies – ketogenic dieting, different macros, etc. In some cases, misery may be part of the package, but don’t confuse temporary discomfort and killing yourself.

-Decreasing lean body mass. As important as fat loss is, maintaining lean body mass is also crucial for keeping the basal metabolic rate high. Nothing you do in a day burns more calories than your simple BMR, so keeping it as high as possible is paramount for long term fat loss. I’m never impressed with a commercial or a person that claims to have lost 100lbs, because in many cases, they’ve lost at the very least 50/50 fat to lean body mass, and in most cases, they just look like a smaller version of their former self, with no change in overall body composition. The primary goal of fat loss is simple: look better when you take your clothes off.

Obviously, there are many reasons why following a certain nutritional strategy doesn’t work. More times than not, it’s simply psychological barriers, non-compliance and deviating from the strategy itself. In many cases, it’s mis-estimating the amount of a) calories one burns and b) calories one consumes. Whether you’re working with someone or yourself, investigate all of these things and be honest about it as a whole. Also, TRACK IT. Don’t use the excuse “I eat the same thing all the time”. Write it down and check/double check that you’re absolutely positive about the amounts you are putting in your mouth. More times than not, excess calories creep in. IF you’re without a shadow of a doubt certain that you’ve accurately measured what you have consumed, then it’s time to make adjustments to the deficit itself.

I’ve never hidden the fact: IF I could live off of hamburgers and french fries, I would in a heartbeat. IF I were on death row and had to pick my last meal, that would be it. Nothing elaborate. I have my local favorites: Chester’s, Chris Madrid’s, Smashburger, and of course, national chains like Red Robin.

Sadly, I cannot eat cheeseburgers and fries and maintain the level of fitness that I strive for, so I limit my debauchery to special occassions, less than one time per month. Last week, I decided to partake in my favorite sin.

Over the last few weeks, I’ve been tracking my calories and macros to a “T”. Knowing that we were having Red Robin that evening (and already decided that I was going to eat the Red Robin Royale), I reduced my food intake throughout the day to at least come close to my overall macronutrient considerations (remember, IF IT FITS YOUR MACROS). I typically call a free day a free day and don’t worry about it, but had decided that I’d look at the nutrient content of the burger I wanted after I had eaten it and would simply log it.

Throughout the day, I had eaten like a dieting bodybuilder. My current intake is roughly 3100 calories per day with roughly a breakdown of 40-35-25 (protein/carbs/fat). I make adjustments daily based on my training regimen and other factors. Up until that point, I was in the neighborhood of 1600 calories, so I figured I’d be able to indulge and still be relatively close.

Obviously, I could think about it and come pretty close to what the macro count of a Royale Burger is, but decided to not think about it. I had my burger and a serving of fries and felt happy.

Next morning, I opened up my food chart on my iPad and went to Fat Secret to check out the Royale with fries breakdown. One side of fries has roughly 18g of fat, 60g of carbs and 6g of protein. No big shock there – 434 calories. Then it was off to find the amounts for the Royale: 81g fat, 61g protein, 49g of carbs for a total of 1191 calories. Throw the 434 calories in from the fries and I was looking at a meal over 1600 calories.

THAT GOT ME THINKING…

You know how many people eat out like that everyday, and in many cases, 2-3 times per day? Weirdly, I did not go over my caloric count by an insane amount, however, that 81g of fat did throw my ratios out of whack and was quite a bit more (and it wasn’t “good” fat either”) than I typically consume. Calorie count or whatever, that kind of intake will turn you into a lardass quickly.

My response to anyone that claims to eat healthy 80% of the time? Get comfortable with 20-30% body fat.

I suggest to everyone who is looking to change drastically to track your food intake for 3 days. Obviously, there’s no EATING perfect, but IF you’re having trouble figuring out why you are spinning your wheels, a lot of things will be answered for you!

Hey gang,

One of the most commonly spoken fitness myths is that you have to consume an insanely large carb intake post-workout. Well, here’s a study that shows that as little as 30g of carbohydrates post-workout provides as much an anabolic effect as 90g. Over the years, I’ve heard many so-called “gurus” preach how one needs as much as .5-1g of carbs per pound of bodyweight post-workout (complete overkill).

View the entire study here: Muscle protein breakdown has a minor role in the protein anabolic response to essential amino acid and carbohydrate intake following resistance exercise.

Abstract:
Muscle protein breakdown (MPB) is increased following resistance exercise, but ingestion of carbohydrate during postexercise recovery can decrease MPB with no effect on muscle protein synthesis (MPS). We sought to determine whether a combination of essential amino acids (EAA) with low carbohydrate or high carbohydrate could effectively reduce MPB following resistance exercise and improve muscle protein net balance (NB). We hypothesized that higher levels of carbohydrate and resulting increases in circulating insulin would inhibit MPB and associated signaling, resulting in augmented NB. Thirteen male subjects were assigned to one of two groups receiving equivalent amounts of EAA (approximately 20 g) but differing carbohydrate levels (low = 30, high = 90 g). Groups ingested nutrients 1 h after an acute bout of leg resistance exercise. Leg phenylalanine kinetics (e.g., MPB, MPS, NB), signaling proteins, and mRNA expression were assessed on successive muscle biopsies using stable isotopic techniques, immunoblotting, and real-time quantitative PCR, respectively. MPB tended to decrease (P < 0.1) and MPS increased (P < 0.05) similarly in both groups following nutrient ingestion. No group differences were observed, but muscle ring finger 1 (MuRF1) protein content and MuRF1 mRNA expression increased following resistance exercise and remained elevated following nutrient ingestion, while autophagy marker (light-chain 3B-II) decreased after nutrient ingestion (P < 0.05). Forkhead box-O3a phosphorylation, total muscle atrophy F-box (MAFbx) protein, and MAFbx and caspase-3 mRNA expression were unchanged. We conclude that the enhanced muscle protein anabolic response detected when EAA+carbohydrate are ingested postresistance exercise is primarily due to an increase in MPS with minor changes in MPB, regardless of carbohydrate dose or circulating insulin level.

The key to fitness/nutrition? Don’t always accept long standing ‘truths’ as the absolute Gospel. Over the next few weeks, I’m going to post many articles that debunk these so-called facts. Stay tuned!
Boyd Myers
Personal Trainer San Antonio, Figure Contest Prep Coach
Owner, San Antonio's Top Personal Training Studio
16613 Huebner Rd (corner of Huebner and Bitters)
210.391.1454

My client Brandy sent me this yesterday (Brandy is 9 weeks out from her first figure competition – GO BRANDY!)

High Protein, High Fiber, Clean Carb, Low Fat Pancakes

112 gms baked sweet potato
112 gms or 3 large egg whites
60 gms or 1/4 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 scoop vanilla whey/casein blend pp
Vanilla or almond extract
1/2 TA cinnamon
Few drops liquid stevia
1/2 t baking powder if desired
Mixed in magic bullet or blender, cooked on griddle
Made 5 small pancakes
Topped with 70 grams dark mixed berries

Whole recipe ( without berries)
Calories-234
Carbs-32
Fat-1
Pro-26

If you’re wondering why you aren’t losing fat and changing your body, it’s time to get drastic. Try this hardcore, yet seriously effective approach.

1. Stop the long, slow go cardio. High Intensity, Intervals, Sprinting. These things make you lean.

2. Limit fructose to sub 10 grams per day.

3. Make your two carbohydrate sources berries (cranberries, strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries) and fiberous veggies.

4. Shoot for 10-15g of fish oil per day, and make sure you have a 1 to 1 ratio of Omega 3 to Omega 6 fatty acids.

5. If you’re training, you should be consuming BCAAs while you are doing so.

6. Have Vitamin D, Zinc, and Magnesium levels tested (it’s inexpensive) and fix any deficiencies immediately.

7. Lift heavy with multi-joint exercises. Intensity is key, progression (getting stronger, adding reps, weight, etc) is king. No, you’re not going to get big and bulky. Keep the rest periods short.

8. Get sleep. It only takes a slight sleep deficit to throw yourself out of whack hormonally. A 3 hour deficit has the same fat storage effect as overeating by 600 calories.

9. Don’t forget the protein. I’ve written about it numerous times, so search the blog.

10. Eat real food. Ditch the bars and supplement meals.

11. Cut the processed foods completely.

12. Cut all trans fats.

Boyd Myers
Personal Trainer in San Antonio
Owner, San Antonio’s Top Personal Training Studio
16613 Huebner Rd (corner of Huebner and Bitters)
210.391.1454

Hey everyone,

Was looking at comments and blog emails and had one from someone who wasn’t completely sold on Fish Oils, so I thought I’d share!

Boyd: I’m usually in step with most of the things you say, but I really am on the fence about fish oils. In a nutshell, why should I take them?

In a nutshell, eh? How’s this? There is plenty of research readily available on PubMed (where government studies are published) that state fish oil can:

-Increase insulin sensitivity

-Decrease post-partem depression

-Improve hormone and blood sugar levels

-Benefit sufferers of Crohn’s Disease, asthmatics, rheumatoid arthritis, prostate cancer

-FAT LOSS

-Improving protein synthesis (increase lean body mass)

I don’t know about you, but I can name a million nutritional supplements that, over the years, have made half of these “claims” without any scientific backing and they’ve been all the rage. But this stuff is actually backed by science.

If those aren’t desirable uses for fish oil, then I’ll definitely not beat you over the head with it (although I should). In short, EVERYONE should be supplementing with at least 6-12g of fish oil per day!

Boyd Myers
Personal Trainer in San Antonio
Owner, San Antonio’s Top Personal Training Studio
16613 Huebner Rd (corner of Huebner and Bitters)
210.391.1454

1. Slow, low intensity cardio makes you fat. By fat, I mean “NOT LEAN”. Ill looking. High intensity interval training is the only specific cardio you need unless you are training for an endurance event.

2. Working out is great, but being lazy in your daily life isn’t helping you get leaner. Get active and get lean.

3. A little bit of alcohol goes a long way toward making you fat. Give it up if you want to be lean.

4. Lifting with low intensity makes you fat. Get bang for your buck by performing multi-joint movements, and lift in the 70-85 1RM range for true hypertrophic response.

5. Lack of sleep makes you fat. Go home. Put work away. Turn off the television. Turn off the computer. Put down your phone. Go to sleep. A slight sleep deficit has the same hormonal effect on fat storage as overeating 600 calories each day.

6. Increase your resting metabolic rate makes you lean. Add lean body mass, period. It isn’t easy and there is a science behind it. You aren’t just going to get “big and bulky” unless you simply get fat.

7. Trans fats make you fat. Remove them.

8. Processed foods make you fat.

9. High quality sources of protein help you become lean.

10. Water, water, and more water keeps you lean, and keeps the body detoxified.

11. Vitamin D makes you lean.

12. Healthy fats make you lean.

13. Hard work makes you lean. If you aren’t getting there with the effort you are giving, give more.

14. High GI carbs make you fat.

15. Sugar, juices, sports drinks: Yes, they make you fat.

16. Probiotics help you become lean: healthy gut, healthy body.

17. Most people are zinc deficieint. Most people are fat. Zinc helps burn fat.

18. Dieting makes you fat. Yes, I did say that. It has to be a lifestyle.

19. If you are consuming high protein or BCAAs you are working on getting lean. Add B vitamins to the mix, as higher amino consumption robs the B Vitamin pool.

20. Fructose makes you fat. Fruit is fine, but shoot for lower fructose (dark colored berries) versus higher fructose (bananas, apples, oranges).

21. Excuses make you fat. Nobody has you chained up in a room forbidding exercise, and you control what you put into your mouth. You can make excuses, or you can make changes.

Boyd Myers
Personal Trainer in San Antonio
Owner, San Antonio’s Top Personal Training Studio
16613 Huebner Rd (corner of Huebner and Bitters)
210.391.1454

Welcome back, everyone!

This is the second article in my Keys to Summer Fat Loss series. In the previous article, I covered the keys to training for fat loss. In this edition, I’m going to focus more on the nutritional side of the house to get help get you lean and defined enough to where you’ll be excited the next time someone invites you to their pool party or lake house for the weekend (or wherever else you can wear as little clothing as possible).

I’m probably not telling you anything you don’t already know, but this blog post is infinitely more important than the previous one. Why? First, 80% of your body composition is determined by your nutrition. The biggest difference in a bodybuilder or a fitness competitor that is in off-season versus pre-contest preparation is their nutritional intake, period. The training does not drastically change – only their means of fuel and recovery.

Remember that I am writing this for the masses without a particular body type in mind. So for discussion’s sake, let’s say this is for anyone who needs to drop 10-50lbs. Obviously the amount of time you need to lose the fat is dependent on how much you need to lose. These are only tips – not the end all to fat loss.

With that being said, when I speak in general terms, I focus more on the “IIFYM” approach (IIFYM = If It Fits Your Macros). Obviously, this takes a few types of calculations. You need to have an idea of your resting metabolic rate (RMR or BMR), your approximate daily caloric requirements through activity and last, but certainly not least, your daily caloric intake. Obviously, the most educated estimates on these three things are just that: Estimates. With that being said, actually measuring food, activity, and doing a few simple calculations is going to be much closer to exact than Joe Gym Guy’s estimates that he spends about 35 seconds calculating in his head. Most people under-estimate their food intake and over-estimate their calorie expenditure (hint: calorie counts on most machines are WAY high).

This leads to another item to consider: which macronutrient breakdown do I use? We all respond differently to different combinations of protein, carbohydrates and fat, so for simplicity, the leaner you are, the higher the ratio of carbohydrates one can have.

Understand that your nutritional blue print is a living, breathing document! Different days require different caloric/carbohydrate demands – too many people try eating the same things in the same amounts day in and day out and can’t figure out why they can’t break through a certain plateau. If you do as I say, you will lose fat and your body composition will change. As it changes, you must continue to re-adjust your intake. I know, it sounds like a lot but it’s actually pretty simple. Besides, if you aren’t ready to put a little effort forth and think about this then you’re probably not very serious about it to begin with, and should just give up now. Go away and save yourself a few minutes by not reading this.

How do we determine “how much”?

First, do the appropriate calculations to determine your daily caloric requirements. There will be a period of adjustment here, so don’t be afraid to tinker around for a week or two. If you start eating clean, you’re going to be making progress. I call this period “baselining”, as we figure out exactly what the body needs.

Calculate your BMR:

Women: BMR = 655 + ( 4.35 x weight in pounds ) + ( 4.7 x height in inches ) – ( 4.7 x age in years )

Men: BMR = 66 + ( 6.23 x weight in pounds ) + ( 12.7 x height in inches ) – ( 6.8 x age in year )

Once you calculate your BMR, add your “activity calories”. There are thousands of charts available on the web that breakdown activity by hour for certain bodyweights. I prefer to use lower counts versus higher ones. We can always add calories later if needed.

For simplicity (and that’s what I’m working toward, staying simple), let’s use the Harris Benedict Equations:

To determine your total daily calorie needs, multiply your BMR by the appropriate activity factor, as follows:

If you are sedentary (little or no exercise) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.2

If you are lightly active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.375

If you are moderatetely active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.55

If you are very active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days a week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.725

If you are extra active (very hard exercise/sports & physical job or 2x training) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.9

Be realistic – over-estimating will NOT help you reach your goals. Also, completely underestimating to artificially justify an insanely low caloric intake will not accelerate progress. Even if you lose more weight immediately, you’ll rapidly plateau and force the body to induce the starvation reflex. The body is a fighter and will attempt to preserve itself if it feels as if it is being depleted.

One final important note to remember: the Harris Benedict Equation does not consider lean body mass. The more muscle one has, the more calories one requires.

Macronutrient Breakdown:
Protein (4 calories per gram): Enough to ensure we are getting enough essential aminos for recovery and to ensure that the body is not breaking down muscle tissue for energy. I’ll start the calculation at 1g per lb of bodyweight. The lower your carbohydrate intake is, the more protein your body will require to support the added burden of reduced carbs. On extremely low carb days (.5g per lb of bodyweight or less), I prefer 1.2-1.5g of protein per lb of bodyweight.

Carbohydrates (4 calories per gram): Enough to supply glucose to the brain and to fuel our anaerobic activity for the day. Carbs are important pre-workout (fuel), during and post-workout (anti-catabolic and replenishment). Considering our amount of anaerobic activity changes day to day, this will be the most manipulated number. The key is to keep this number high enough (at the appropriate times) to support our needs, yet low enough to force the body to use stored and dietary fat for energy. Carbohydrate timing is crucial! If you are looking to lose a significant amount of fat, I prefer a starting base that is lower in carbohydrates (in the .5-.75g per lb of bodyweight range). If you are training intensely, I’ll typically add 100g per hour of intense training. Once you know your carbohydrate per day count, the other amounts will be easy to compute.

Fat (9 calories per gram): Enough to support organ function and the release of stored fat for energy while also having a feeling of satiety. Once the other two numbers are calculated, this one is easy.

Putting It All Together
Once you’ve used the calculations above to figure out your daily caloric expenditure, subtract 500 calories per day from that. If you are a little heavier, subtract 700 calories from that. This number will be your target caloric intake. Again, you are not doing the same things everyday, so these numbers should be appropriately adjusted. Using the calculations for carbs and protein, multiply total grams of each by 4. This is the number of calories you will consume from protein and carbohydrates.

For example, my caloric expenditure (Resting Metabolic Rate plus Activity) for a typical Monday is approximately 3200. Caloric deficit depends on the individual but I’d advise against reducing caloric intake by more than 20% at one time. In this case, I’m going to subtract 500 from that and now I have 2700 calories as my daily intake goal.

I weigh 220lbs and am relatively lean and very active. On a day where I consume 170g carbs (680 calories), I consume roughly 320g of protein (1280). 680 + 1280 = 1960. 2700 (goal) – 1960 = 740 calories from dietary fat. 1 gram of fat has 9 calories. 740/9 = 82g fat (I’ll discuss food sources later).

What I Meant Earlier By IIFYM
I put a lot of stock into nutritional timing. I believing fueling activity and eating the proper nutrients at the right time is key to optimizie recovery. With this being said, I tend to focus on more carbohydrate intake pre and post-workout. I typically provide a client with a range of nutrients to be in (for example, one meal may be 35-42g carbs, 25-30g protein and 8-12g fat). If you’re routinely on the low end of the range, I have no problem with using your residual nutrients for a snack, meal, etc later on. The key is to at least hit the minimum at the appropriate times – missing meals altogether will slow the metabolism.

Now, the rules…
1. You cannot make serious fat loss progress and regularly consume alcohol. Nothing, and I mean absolutely NOTHING will hinder your fat loss goals more than alcohol. I’ve said it a thousand times here on this blog: it has nothing to do with the type of alcohol, the mixers or anything else: it is the hormonal effect that alcohol itself has on the body. If you are not at a level of bodyfat that you are happy with, then you need to stay away from the booze (even the nightly glass of wine) until you are where you need to be.

2. Fuel your workouts and don’t forget the during/post-workout carbs. I know a lot of people believe that when they are dieting, they don’t need post-workout carbs – this is false. The primary goal for fat loss is maintaining the lean body mass you already have. Working out, in itself, is catabolic (meaning it breaks the muscles down) and post-workout carbs are anti-catabolic. I prefer 25-35% of daily carbohydrate intake 60-90 min pre workout, 10-15% during workout and 20-30% post-workout. The remainder of carbohydrate intake can be consumed at breakfast and throughout the rest of the day.

3. Dietary fat is your friend: learn to love it. Want a great way to stop the body from burning fat? Not provide it with dietary fat.

4. Get off of your ass. No, seriously. This is a nutritional article, but damn if humans aren’t lazy creatures.

5. Consistency is king. This isn’t an overnight thing. Look closely at your nutritional habits. Have you ever gone 10 days without one cheat meal? Challenge yourself – if you’re serious about changing, sticking to it shouldn’t be a problem. No one has ever accidentally eaten anything: YOU control what you put into your mouth.

6. Limit fructose (this means fruit). Fruit is terrible for fat loss – fructose wreaks metabolic hell and will keep you fat.

7. A majority of your carb intake should be fibrous vegies (greens, mushrooms, peppers, zucchini, cauliflower, etc).

8. Bracket your workouts with a majority of your carbohydrate intake. In many instances, I recommend that up to 80% of the carb intake for the day be consumed pre/during/and immediately post-workout.

9. Limit grains, eliminate flour. Gluten allergies are very real, and much more common than most people realize. Just because you don’t choke up and die when you eat gluten doesn’t mean you’re not allergic to it – keeping a constant “belly bloat”, having trouble with stubborn fat – these are all possible signs of a gluten intolerance.

10. Eliminate all processed foods. Refined, processed, enriched, flour – these are words that you need to look for on the ingredients list and avoid.

Being leaner is a serious commitment. Most people don’t give it anywhere near the effort that they believe they have. It takes serious nutritional discipline and consistency – YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT!

I have a few more articles in this series, including carbohydrate tips, nutrient timing and a few other ideas I’m working on, so check back soon!

Boyd Myers
Personal Trainer in San Antonio
Owner, San Antonio’s Top Personal Training Studio
16613 Huebner Rd (corner of Huebner and Bitters)
210.391.1454