With the first three weeks of 2014 now in the books, we can
safely say that 2013 is well behind us. And while 2013 was full of ups and
downs for everyone, we can all agree that this year is a new year for trying
new things and taking new steps as we enter a new chapter in our lives. I’m
sure, as with most people, we have all set forth new goals for us to reach this
coming year. Whether or not you accomplished your goals for 2013, 2014 provides
a new opportunity to do the same thing or reach even higher. One of these goals
everybody seems to make every year is losing weight/getting in shape/getting
abs/beach body, or any other phrase which describes looking good naked. Well
you now have another 365 days to accomplish this, and day one starts today!
The
whole process seems easy right? Just jog 5 times around the academic oval every
day, while eating a little less and cutting down on your favorite bag of chips
once in a while, and eventually you’ll get that ever so coveted six-pack. We’ll
I’m here to tell you, you’re wrong, so if you think you know what you’re doing,
continue that and stop reading this blog. But if you want to hear the basics of
what every nutritionist, personal trainer, body builder, or any fit person will
tell you, then please continue reading. Please note: I am by no means an
expert. In fact I don’t look like a god or have solid abs, but I do possess
basic knowledge on the subject and have gone through a transformation myself.
So if you want to hear what I have to say please keep on reading.
The
first thing people don’t realize about changing their bodies is that the
process is an exact science, with a little bit of math. The second thing that
people don’t realize is the huge difference between “losing weight” and “losing
fat.” We’ve all heard that muscle weighs more than fat and it is true. 170 lbs
at 10% body fat is completely different from 170 lbs and 18% body fat. So from
now on, our goal shouldn’t be to lose weight, but instead to lose fat and lose
inches. Use the mirror as a gauge of your body instead of the scale. Changing
your body can be described a bit like a three level pyramid involving eating,
doing cardio, and lifting some heavy-ass weights, and how does that pyramid
look? While most people assume that lots and lots of cardio is the key,
followed by a weekly gym session and a little proper eating will lead to the
body of your dreams, when in fact it is the exact opposite. If you’ve never
heard the saying “you are what you eat,” then you should make this your new
life motto from now on. Our body changing pyramid should look like: plenty of
healthy eating at the base, followed by lifting heavy-ass weights, and a little
cardio as a supplement. This should be your new pyramid: the key to changing
your body.
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| Photo from: http://commonsensehealth.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/fatvsmuscle.jpg |
Before
we proceed to our three pyramid levels let us go into the basics of how our
human body works. Our body needs to consume a specific number of calories per
day to function, and this is where the little bit of math comes in. This number
will vary depending on our daily activities, body size and age, but the average
male body in their late teens to early 20s will need an average of 1600-2000
calories per day, while females require a little less (1200-1600 calories per
day). And how exactly does our body take in these calories? With the food that
we intake into our bodies, which I’m sure most people know by now. Anyways,
changing our body is just tweaking that number around to achieve that goal for
an ideal body. Want to get bigger? Just take in more than your body needs
(referred to as a caloric surplus). Want to slim down and lose a few pounds?
Take in less than you need (caloric deficit). The recommended surplus or
deficit is around 500 calories per day. Anything more will either cause you to
add more fat or have your body go into starvation mode where the body uses your
hard earned muscle as fuel and stores the fat for emergency. But alas, things
aren’t always that simple, and this is where our body-changing pyramid comes
into play with a little exact science.
Our
body runs on the three main macronutrients: carbohydrates, protein, and fat
which we take in through the food we consume. These macronutrients provide our
body with the calories we need as it constantly consumes them as energy. But of
course, not all macronutrients are the same. One gram of protein and one gram
of carbohydrates will each give you four calories, while one gram of fat will
give you nine. All three are essential in making the body work to its fullest
potential, but more important is the balance of the three. Protein is needed
for muscle growth, while carbohydrates act as the main fuel source for our
body, and fat is just as important to the human diet and is needed to stabilize
bodily functions and keep organs healthy. The basic challenge of eating healthy
to an exact science is getting the right ratio to optimize the changes in our
body. Studies show that the easiest way to burn body fat is by raising the
amount of protein in your diet, while lowering carbohydrates and fat down.
Ratio for carb:protein:fat intake ranges around 40-50you’re your calories from protein,
30-40% from carbs, and around 20-25% of calories from fat. Using our
hypothetical 2000 calories per day model, that would mean roughly 800 calories
from protein, 800 calories from carbs and around 400 calories from fat. In
terms of grams of food, our man should only take in 200 grams each of carbohydrates
and protein, and roughly 45 grams of fat in one day. Now of course the type of
food matters as we should stick to whole unprocessed foods like chicken breast,
fish, other lean meats, fresh leafy vegetables, whole wheat bread, pasta, brown
rice, and healthy fat such as fish oil to achieve our goals. It may not sound
too appetizing but people would be surprised how flavorful some of this food
could be when cooked properly. Sticking to this diet would essentially help you
shred the fat while maintaining the muscle mass on his body.
The
second level of our body changing pyramid is “lifting heavy-ass weights.”
Before you start complaining and saying things like “but I don’t want to get
bigger!” stop. Especially to the women out there that think lifting weights
will cause them to look like she-hulk, you are absolutely wrong! It takes years
and years of hard work and dedication to look like a body builder, so lifting
weights for a few months will not cause you to come anywhere close. In fact the
body can only pack on so many pounds of lean muscle in a year (around 10 pounds
maximum), that it’d be impossible to look like a body builder in one year. Then
why do we want/need to lift those heavy weights: it’s the most efficient
exercise for changing your body. The more muscle the human body has, the less
fat it has and the more fat it will burn. It’s that simple. Lifting heavy
weights will tear your muscle fibers which can then be repaired by all that
muscle you’re consuming to produce more muscle fibers and thus muscle growth.
The recommended number of gym sessions per week will be around 3-5 to cover all
the muscle groups while giving your body time to recover, so get off your ass
and get in the gym.
The
highest spot on any symbolic pyramid is usually the least important of the
levels, and like junk food for the food pyramid, the highest level of our body
changing pyramid is cardio. I know what you’re thinking: “Blasphemy! You need
to run countless hours to lose fat!” Actually…you don’t. Earlier, we discussed
the idea of eating at a calorie deficit to burn fat. This could easily be done
by just eating the right amount of food, lowering the number of calories taken
in. The main purpose of cardio (in terms of changing your body) is just to burn
more calories, or in other terms, increase the caloric deficit of your body. If
you need 2000 calories a day, and only take in 1500 calories, your body will
burn fat. This is exactly the same as needing 2000 calories, consuming 2000
calories, then doing enough cardio to burn 500 calories. In the bigger scheme
of things, cardio doesn’t really matter unless cardiovascular health is also a
goal. In fact, a session in the gym will burn as many calories as a session of
cardio while still building muscle. For those who still insist on cardio, let
me advice you that not all acts of cardio are the same. Jogging at a constant
pace will burn the calories but also consume a lot of your hard earned muscle
along with the fat. Another type of cardio that has been receiving a lot of
praise lately is high intensity interval training or HIIT. HIIT is a type of
cardio where you constantly change from high intensity to low intensity,
causing your heart rate to constantly change. This type of cardio has been
shown to be much more efficient, burning more fat, while helping maintain most
of your hard earned muscle. The best part is: 20 minutes of HIIT is the
equivalent to 1 hour of jogging! So the next time you go to tie your shoes for
another jog around the academic oval start thinking about the true purpose of
cardio and what goal you hope to achieve.
But
what about those coveted abs that everyone wants! There’s a saying that goes
“abs are made in the kitchen and not in the gym,” and that is because everyone
has abs. For most people it’s just covered in a stubborn layer of fat, and the
only way to reveal them is to drop your body fat enough (around 10%) to finally
get that 6-pack of your dream. This can only be done by following our new and
improved body-changing pyramid.
So
there you have it folks! The basics to shredding those lost few inches and body
fat (not weight), in hopes of achieving your goal. Of course like all things that
are worth it, looking good naked takes lots of dedication, effort, and time but
in the end it is possible no matter what you look like before or what build you
have. In fact just go online and read up on the hundreds of people that have
lost hundreds of pounds while getting in the best shape of their life following
this basic pyramid. Results will come at different times depending on where you
start, but I can guarantee once you’re hooked it becomes an addiction that will
lead to a healthy and fit life. So get of your ass, bake some chicken breast
and hit the gym, and in no time, you can check that goal of your list for 2014.
Blogpost by: Peter Bugayong
References:
Aceto, C. Stoppani, J. “12 Laws of Fat-Burning”
2014. Retrieved from: http://www.muscleandfitness.com/news-and-features/galleries/nutrition/12-laws-fat-burning
2.
Nikolov, I. “All Bodyuilders Should be Doing
High Intensity Interval Training” 14 Jan 2014. Retrieved from: http://www.criticalbench.com/bodybuilder_interval_training.htm
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