Losing fat is something many of us struggle with. However, most people struggle because they aren’t doing the right things. There are essential steps that need to be taken in order to lose fat rapidly and steadily. The first is consistent exercise and strength training. Second, your training regimen must be backed by a healthy diet that will provide you with the energy and materials to build a strong and lean body.
The following five rules are the most vital steps that need to be taken if you are serious about achieving the body of your dreams.
1) Eliminate all processed food from your diet.
Processed food harms your body. They lack nutrients, contain chemicals, and artificial additives. Our bodies can’t properly metabolize these substances, so our body stores them in our fat cells in order to contain them. This impedes fat loss in many ways. The more artificial ingredients you consume, the more fat cells the body must create in order prevent them from circulating in your bloodstream. Your body will also have difficulty using toxin-containing fat cells as a source of energy and will attempt to preserve the fat rather than burn it off. However, if you do burn those fat cells then the toxins get released back into your bloodstream. This is one reason why some people can feel worse when losing weight.
Many people don’t realize that even foods such as cereal, bread, energy bars, that are marketed as “made with whole-grains” or “great source of protein” on their packaging are still highly processed and need to be avoided. Real food rarely comes in a package that promotes itself as being healthy. If you are unsure if the food you are eating is healthy or not, remember this phrase: “If it grew, flew, swam, or ran, EAT IT!”
2) Eat healthy fats.
Dietary fat has received a lot of negative attention over the last few decades. As a result, consumers tend to opt for the low-fat products in an attempt to eat healthy. Little do they know these low-fat products often contain harmful chemicals and added sugars to make up for the lack of flavour the fat normally provides to the food product.
Dietary fat is not your enemy; however, you want to be sure you’re consuming the right type of fats. Trans fats need to be avoided at all costs. By following rule number one you won’t need to worry about most trans fats. By eliminating processed food you will also limit your intake of omega-6 fatty acids that cause inflammation when consumed in large quantities—which is easy to do in our western diets.
What you want is more omega-3’s in your diet. The goal is to consume equal amounts of omega-6 to omega-3. However, in a typical western diet the ratio tends to be closer to 15/1, resulting in inflammation, the root of all disease. There are a few steps you can take to balance your fat intake ratio. First, you want to limit your intake of omega-6 fats by eliminating processed foods, including but not limited to, vegetables oils, salad dressings, condiments, and obviously goodies like chips, cakes, cookies, and pastries. Also, you will want to limit your intake of grain-fed animal meat as they are also high in omega-6 fatty acids.
To boost your intake of omega-3 fats opt for grass-fed meats and wild game meats—bison is an excellent choice. Wild-caught fish like salmon, sardines, and mackerel are also great choices. For a vegan source of omega-3 add chia seed to salads and smoothies. Other healthy fats include coconut, olive, and avocado.
The easiest means of increasing your intake of omega-3 fatty acids is to supplement with a high-quality fish oil. This allows for a large dose of omega-3’s at a fraction of the calories. We only provide the highest-grade supplements at 1Body. The Poliquin supplement line is one of the most reputable in the world. Ask me for more details.
3) Eat a high-protein diet. The quality is most important.
A diet high in protein and lower in carbohydrates is the key to a lean muscular body. However, when consuming protein you want to ensure the source is healthy. Your healthiest source of high-quality protein is from organic meats and dairy products, ideally grass-fed. Organic animal products are from animals raised in their natural habitat and eat a natural diet. Most conventional animal products found in grocery stores are from animals that are raised in factory-like farms. These animals live in a state of high stress and are fed grains high in omega-6 fatty acids—not ideal for optimal health.
When supplementing with protein powders don’t search for the cheapest price. Low-grade supplements generally contain fillers and heavy metals. Whey protein powders are being found to posses heavy metals like arsenic, cadmium, and lead. Your best option is New-Zealand grass-fed whey. The source is healthy cows raised in grassy pastures, and the processing is always clean. This is the type of protein powder we provide at 1Body.
Eat at least 20 grams of high-quality protein each meal. High-quality protein consists of grass-fed meats, farm-fresh eggs, wild-caught fish, organic dairy products, and New Zealand whey protein powder.
4) Eat low-glycemic carbs: Limit carbs to vegetables and berries.
This step is the key to optimizing your metabolism and allowing your body to utilize your fat stores as energy. All carbohydrates (carbs) are broken down into blood sugar (glucose), the body’s primary source of fuel. The type of carbohydrate will determine the amount of glucose produced, and how quickly it enters the bloodstream. This is measured through two values, ‘glycemic load’ and ‘glycemic index’. Glycemic load refers to the carbohydrate density in a food, while glycemic index refers to how quickly the carbs raise your blood sugar levels.
Carbs that have a low-glycemic index will result in a small amount of glucose in the blood that can be processed effectively so that is used for fuel rather than turned into fat. Carbs that have a high-glycemic index result in a large amount of glucose in the blood, and storing the excess sugars as fat.
Low-glycemic carbs consist of most vegetables, certain fruits (berries), nuts, and animal products in their natural state. Whereas high-glycemic carbs consist of processed foods, refined grains, fruit juices, sports drinks, dried fruits, processed animal products, and virtually everything we call “junk food”. Through research and understanding of our metabolism it is my belief that daily intake of high-glycemic carbs is the primary cause of type 2 diabetes and many other nutrition-related diseases.
5) Stay hydrated: Limit beverages to water, tea, coffee.
Water is crucial to our survival. You cannot last more than a week without it. Dehydration affects nearly every aspect of our health, and considering we are more than 60% water ourselves, it is no wonder why. From my experience as a personal trainer and health consultant I notice most people are chronically dehydrated and are experiencing the repercussions in some way. There are many people that tell me they rarely drink water. I can’t stress enough how important it is to consume clean-filtered water. Fruit juices, soda, sports drinks, and any other sugar and chemical laden drinks do not count as a source of water. Eliminate these harmful drinks from your diet completely.
Women need at least two litres of water daily, while men minimally need three litres and upwards of six litres depending on size and activity levels. The harder you train, the more you sweat, the more water you need. Drinking a cold glass of water on an empty stomach first thing in the morning is one of the healthiest habits you can begin doing right away!
If you’re serious about losing weight these rules are the foundations for your success. Failing to follow any one of them will limit your potential and hinder your progress. If you wish to post on your fridge a copy of these rules, email eric@grandpt.com If you have any questions, feel free to submit your questions to info@grandpt.com. Good luck, and keep us updated on your progress!