"Getting the body you want" -

"Getting the body you want" section 2.0.


2.1 - Contents 


2.1 - Contents
2.2 - Introduction
2.3 - Diet
2.4 - Supplements
2.5 - Tips
2.6 - Where to begin
2.7 - Losing weight
2.8 - Bulkin up
2.9 - Toning your body


2.2 - Introduction


When people worry about weight, it's usually just that, the weight. The weight of a person takes every single thing about them into account such as organs, water, bones, muscle and fat, however to get the most reliable measure of health by checking weight, what we must focus on is the fat, appropriately named "Body Fat". Some scales can measure body fat for you, however they may be expensive and not entirely accurate. I have found a website which some of you may have come across, it gives you 4 different readings for body fat each of which has used a different system to come to an answer, and usually when you take the average of all 4 you get a quite reliable answer.
(Here is the link http://www.healthstatus.com/cgi-bin/calc/calculator.cgi )


The measurement is usually given as a percentage after taking multiple measurements from your body into account. Body fat percentage is very important in knowing whether or not you are overweight or obese, and is the gold standard compared to BMI, there are also a number of things we can do once we know our body fat percentage. The first is to work out our body fat in Kg, to do this take the percentage as a decimal and multiply it by your weight.
e.g Say you are a male and your weight is 100Kg and you were 29% body fat you would do the math as : 0.29 x 100Kg= 29Kg     Hence 29Kg is your body fat (as weight).


If you subtract your body fat from your weight you obtain your LBM so: 100Kg - 29Kg = 71Kg this is the LBM.


This can now be used to figure out what your BMR is by using the following formula : 370 + (21.6 x LBM)= BMR.
In this case: 370 + (21.6 x 71)=1903.6 or 1904.


Now this is a raw value and to work out your accurate value you should multiply this by a "factor" which is dependent on your activity level. In this case lets say the person is 29% body fat because they do not exercise and so we would categorise them as "Lazy", you would therefore use the factor "1.2" (refer to "Continued and Tables" section for guide to factors).


1904 x 1.2 = 2284.8 or 2285. Normally an adult male is recommended to consume 2500calories a day for basic needs, but in this case because the person is lazy or does not workout and has a poor diet, his metabolism is lower than what it should be, so to simply lose weight he should reduce his calories by 15% (more than this could have adverse affects on him), and so he would need to reduce his calories by 343.


This means if this man continued as normal and changed nothing but his calorie intake from 2285 to 1942 (after the 343 has been subtracted), then within 5-6 weeks he should notice some results.


It is important to note that if you have a slow metabolism it means your body does not need much energy to run on, and so it uses what little it needs and stores the rest as fat, and so to see noticable changes in appearance ideally 2-3months should be given, as it takes time for your body to use the fat reserves and to begin increasing your metabolism (taking energy from your food and fat at an increased rate) as it begins to realise it is not getting enough calories to sustain itself.  A person could theoretically starve themselves in terms of calories and see fast results, but this can cause immense pain, nausea, cramping, headaches, a low feeling and the dreaded "Stretchmarks".


Also as mentioned in the "Introduction" section our body processes do require fat to make hormones, and that is a part of how we function so suddenly using all your fat supplies and having an abnormally low fat intake has disastrous affects on your health.


2.3 - Diet


Below is the very important order in which the body utilizes molecules for energy in descensing order with the % they are responsible for:
1) Primary source - Carbs ~ 40% of energy (bread, cereal, rice, pasta,  potatoes, naan, chapatis)
2) Secondary source - Fats ~ 45% of  energy (from food containing fat if not from food then from fat stores)
3) Final source - Protein ~ 15% of energy (meat especially red, beans, fish, eggs, chicken, turkey)


Sugars are also Carbs and so having sugar increases the primary source of energy for your body, never allowing it to reach the fat stores. Also excess Carbs you cannot use actually get stored as fat.


30g of protein is approximately the max serving serve for 1 meal.
Caffiene is a good metabolic stimulant and green tea extract is good for apetite suppressing.


4-6 small meals a day greatly increase metabolism and will have no adverse affects unless you are actually trying to gain fat lol.


something very important with fats is, they are necessary i assume that nobody is perfect and that you will occasionally slip up and thus get your fatty acids, also even milk, cereal, bread or anything has fats for that matter, so unless you follow this robotically (is that even possible?) you should be fine, if you do find yourself, 100% blocking any and all fats, then ensure you take some Essential Fatty Acid (EFAs) suppliments.


If you consume fats in safe amounts, containing HDL and not LDL we can minimise the risk to this, and avoid saturated fats at all costs, and even worse is trans-fats such as those in margerine. Walnuts, garlic and fatty fish rich in omega 3 is high in HDL.


under no circumstances does sugar help, the bulking stages of bulkingg and toning do not need sugar, rather complex carbs (brown rice, pasta, potatoes, chappaties) little is needed for toning, and if your bulking you probably know more about it  than me, i would have said you can have quite a lot of complex carbs but il leave that to the serious bodybuilding forums.


2.4 - Understanding protein and supplements


Glutamine :
First its important to know that proteins are long chains made up of small units called "amino acids".
Glutamine is an amino acid derived from Glutamic Acid, another amino acid. It is required in the brain for cognitive function, and hence gives rise to "Parkinsons Disease" if their are faults with the Glutamine pathways in the brain.
Also Glutamine can be converted to Glucose in the body and so aid in providing energy while working out.
But between diet, and other supplements these are not reasons that warrant a person using Glutamine.
The only reason a person should consider Glutamine is that it has been proven to aid "Protein Synthesis". This is the process by which new proteins are made. Glutamine also has the ability to prevent protein being broken down for energy by offering itself in the form of glucose for energy and so also in effect protects proteins (muscles are made of protein, hence protects muscle).


By preventing muscle breakdown and even aiding its recovery, its a very good choice for people who do intense muscle building workouts, as it reduces recovery time and improves muscle quality.


Creatine:
Is perhaps the most useful substance anybody lifting weights can use. One of the only things actually proven to work, after years of experience i would go as far as to say, its not uncommon for a person taking creatine combined with a perfect diet, rest and technique to actually get stretch marks because of how fast they put muscle on.


The complicated thing about creatine is there are so many different forms, all with "scientific" research behind them. many of them are not even worth considering, the "Monohydrate" form works, bu has around 1% bio-availability, meaning 99% of it does nothing....which must then be processed by the kidneys and this would get urinated, so if you take this for 20-30years and take too much, and don't have enough water, then yes your kidneys will fail. Monohydrate also has a high rate of bloating and cramping, this is often due to people taking it in large amounts for "loading it".
I myself got fooled into buying the ethyl ester version, recently it was shown to be reduced to 30% of its normal amount in 2 hours showing how it would not last long enough to give massive results. However it did give me some "power" and did increase by mass, now i am looking forward to trying some more proven versions.


"Creatine Malate" is creatine with malic acid, and is shown to have a larger bioavailability, meaning you can take less, and its absorbed better meaning thee is more available to the muscle, hence giving more strength. Because there is less of it left in the blood its easier on the intestines and kidneys and so fewer side effects are reported, this seems to be a gem, and i will be posting comments once i have tried it.


creatine is converted into creatine phosphate in the body and below it can be seen how it works.




Creatine Phosphate----------------via the enzyme "Creatine Kinase"-------------------------->Creatine


This reaction also takes ADP, which has 2 phosphate groups, and combines it with the phosphate from the creatine phosphate, and produces ATP, which has 3 phosphate groups. ATP is what the muscle actually uses at the molecular level to give you strength. Now it should be clear why creatine malate is so good, it has a high bio-availability so the amount of  creatine phosphate is higher than with monohydrate so more ATP can be made.


ATP is what its all about, whether its the carbs you eat, the sugar you drink, the fat in burgers, it all gives its energy by eventually becoming ATP.


At the end of the reaction, the creatine that is left and the creatine malate that was not converted to creatine phosphate is all excreted in the urine via the kidneys.


Protein:
if you are trying to be athletic and build endurance with your weight lifting, its recommended you take your body weight (in Kg) x 1.3 to get the daily amount of protein.
for body builders looking to gain size, its your body weight x 1.7.
Ill use my example i weight 90.5Kg      
so 90.5 x 1.7 = 154g of protein a day    
Now then, a meal cant have more than 30g of protein or the stress on the kidneys is too great, and its simply a waste as you cannot use more than 30g at a same, which is why protein shakes aim to deliver approx that much per serving.


so if i have 5 meals a day, as i should be to increase my metabolism, then thats 5 meals each 30g of protein = 150g of protein, and lets not mess around with the 4g, this will do :D.


So now i have an outline, i could do 6 small meals a day instead, and have approx 25.5g per meal would give 153g of protein. the protein average is lower and so better tolerated, and the more meals the faster the metabolism. However its tough to have so many meals, so instead we say 4 meals and 2 shakes a day. This way you get the protein and do not always have to be making your next meal.


As for protein shakes its up to you, as long as its low in fat, and low in carbs, and approx 30g protein per serving that is good. Many shakes also include creatine and Glutamine and other amino acids so keep these in mind when trying to work out how much of Glutamine and creatine to take (if you are going to).


These are the good, tried and tested, safe and effective supplements, people take other things too, but i can not recommend something that is not tested by myself, proven to work, and safe.


2.5 - Tips


Once somebody said to me 40% of your workout is the diet, 40% is the rest and the 20% left is the actual workout. This is very true if your aiming to change your bodies mechanics as is how high your metabolism is, losing weight and getting toned. However Bulking up would require a larger emphasis on the actual workout and specifically the technique.


This illustrates the importance of diet and rest, without giving your body the nutrients and time it needs to build strongly and quickly no amount of work outs will help.


So its imperitive that you get atleast 8 hours sleep every day and no more than 10,  because over sleeping is also really bad for your internal body clock.


Technique is important for injuries and proportional growth, as long as you go with someone who knows what their doing you will usually be fine atleast till you pick it all up yourselves. Mostly where possible you keep you elbows tucked up, and whatever is safe to isolate the 1 muscle your trying to strain, also do each weight slowly, and MAKE sure your are putting equal effort in with both sides, if your right handed, its easy to not notice your right side is doing most of the work. To aid this you should actually focus on contracting the weaker muscle and if you had some kind of problem with your posture, this will often correct it.


Basicly take your time, and eat carefully, and sleep well and you shold definately see results soon.


2.6 - Where to begin


You now know about BMR, how to measure it, finding your body fat %, what the normal range is for men and women, what BMI means in your case.


Make a spreadsheet or a diary or a table and record your figures in a certain pattern (e.g. empty stomach in the morning) and think about which of the 3 directions you wish to head in.


Then plan from:
Your no carb, no fat and high protein diet for losing weight, (aim should be 14% body fat approx)


Your high carb, medium fat and high protein diet for bulking,    (17% body fat is needed and some serious muscle)


Or which of the slimming/bulking phases you need to do, depending on your current stats. (goal should be like 7% body fat)


Note how i explained that fat is a high source of energy and that is why its needed for bulking as large mounts of energy needed in bursts can only really be obtained via fats. To avoid this people cut out the fats, and supplement it with  EFAs however this can be quite expensive, also people try taking creatine.


Carefully monitor and check your progress and know that everything is a learning experience, this is by no means the end of knowledge regarding, your journey to "Health Management".


2.7 - Losing weight


Means you wish to decrease the fat stores in the body and so you should limit the calorie intake, whilst maximising the calorie usage by way of increasing your bodies BMR. Ideally a person aims to build muscle at the same time and thus will be gaining some sort of definition, whilst the fat around the body is broken down. However one would not focus on bulking because then a massive amount of energy is needed involving fats.
Also one would try and even lose water weight via sauna suit and maybe even try to reduce food intake.


Normally less food intake slows metabolism, but the weight training keeps it high, then low carb intake and low fat intake means the body immediately uses fat stores, this way fat is lost and even water weight is lost. However lack of carbs can leave a person starving, and lack of complete fats or burning too much too soon can lead to weakness, ideally it is said if you can lose 1-2pounds a week equal to about 0.5Kg.


Use high weights, 60% of max ability in 1 rep, and do 10, then do this 4 times, untill weight can be increased.


Also do running with sauna suit, take green tea extract for apetite suppression, caffiene and weight training to increase metabolism, and no carbs or fat.


2.8 - Bulkin up


Bulking focuses on building a massive few muscles to give an impact of looking big. To get to these massive sizes, one must either use fats from nuts or use power boosting suppliments like creatine, and then the person must continously increase the weight lifted and this persons weight as in muscle increases, but the fat usually doesnt, although if it did decrease due to the massive metabolism created by high impact bodybuilding, it would be slow loss, and all size gaining powders etc contain carbs and fats.
The fat if shaped well with large muscle underneath, adds to the effect.


Bulking focuses on certain muscles to give the appearance of looking big and so the workouts focus on say the Lats and chest, whereas losing weight aims to stimulate maximum number of muscles to get as much activity as possible to optimize fat burning. These people dont go for definition and dont have six packs.


High amounts of immediate energy required, so nuts and bananas high in fat are required, person feels very hungry all the time due to immense metabolism so carbs are also needed such as rice to give that full feeling.




Bulking gives the most strength, toning of course gives more strength than not lifting weights but is mainly the balance between maintaining flexibility and power.


Bulking is the only one I would say is truly dangerous to a persons health but I personally have never massively bulked up to see its long term side effects, but a high fat content diet, which is then continously needed to be broken down, and the risk of not having a BMR high enough to thoroughly break down fats and fat stores leaves a risk of long term damage.


2.9 - Toning youur body


Is the toughest thing to do, it involves aiming to be in single digit body fat zone, and these are the sorts of people who have six packs, but I dont mean on very thin people, rather  mean people like floyd mayweather who are toned.


Being toned is having the muscle size large enough to atleast get a V or Yshape, and then carefully stripping away the fat around it. It isnt like weight loss where a person aims to be normal or a little thin never really aiming for a six pack or chest definition, toning could take years.


It takes a massive metabolism with the least amount of room for mistakes, you must eat 5 medium sized portions a day, no carbs, only HDL (good cholesterol) where fats are needed, usually via EFA (essential fatty acid suppliments) because of the high LDL (bad cholesterol) in normal fats. A high protein content is needed as expected. the person goes through 4month cycles. In phases of weight loss then controlled "muscle only gaining", this way the gaining is slower but firmer, and the fat is stripped away in between leaving the effect of "the skin hugging the muscle". This takes the most dedication, it's also what most people aim for, but people don't really stick to it and end up falling short, since its so tough to accomplish.


A person wouldnt consume enough carbs and fats to have the immense power bursts due to the problems with fat gain, and would not have the raw power since there are 4 month slimming phases in which some strength will naturally be lost, and so often people take creatine for strength, glutamine for muscle recovery, and EFAs to make sure there are no adverse affects to losing so much fat.


Toning is so hard that a lot of people get close by bulking a bit but then have gained too much at once,  to the extent that effectively striping away the fat would leave such a massive amount of scarring and stretchmarks. Ironically as most peoples reasons are cosmetic this approach doesnt work.