Four candidates (two female and two male) are required to participate in an eight-week body transformation conducted by Marek Doyle, that will provide the basis for an upcoming article in a local magazine. Marek is a personal trainer, nutritional therapist and allergist. He has advised TV celebs and models, as well as world champion athletes and the public alike. Marek has been recognised as one of the top trainers in the UK and has published articles in a number of publications. He is the founder of Blueprint Fitness (www.blueprintfitness.co.uk).
Candidates must be willing to commit to a regular exercise program, must be open to dietary change and have a keen desire to transform their body. Successful candidates will see Marek 16 times over the course of 8 weeks. The sessions will consist of a holistic assault of physical conditioning and dietary upgrade. Candidates will be required to submit to weigh-ins/body composition testing before and after, as well as provide before/after photos and a summary of their experience. (NOTE: the photos will not include face and names can be changed for publication).
In return, the candidates will be provided with free dietary supplements from Viridian, Solgar, Higher Nature, Lambetrs and Reflex (retail value £115), and will receive training at heavily subsidised rate - there is a cost to the candidate of £590. (Note: the normal cost of 16 training sessions is £960).
You are right, no health professional would recommend that! ;)
Not eating is stressful enough on the body, let alone when you push it through exercise and stimulants (coffee)... If I was experiencing that sort of adrenaline surge every day, I think I'd have to sleep for several hours, too!
Be careful about calorie counting - it can easily become a case of 'knowing the price of everything but the value of nothing'!
A calorific deficit of more than 700 kcal/day is a lot. Every single client that has come to me with this sort of deficit has always ended up stalling because of the metabolic changes they have created by cutting back on proteins/fats.
Although calorie-counters remove the fat-containing foods in order to keep the calorie intake under the target, the resulting diet bears no relationship to the type of foods we have evolved on. Lack of sufficient protein and good fats sees the fat storage enzymes go into overdrive, and stress hormones increase. Essentially, this is starvation mode.
I'd suggest a much smaller deficit, but with a lot more 'caveman' foods.
There has been this myth about high-protein diets placing strain in the kidneys for quite some time now. The only problem, as normal, is that none of the anaemic experts can put down their tofu for long enough to explain exactly what the problem is.
Admittedly, it is true that patients with compromised kidney function do not respond well to a high-protein diet. Mainly because their kidneys do not work properly... If you pour water into a broken bath, you may get a leak - but that doesn't mean you shouldn't put water in baths!
Humans have evolved one a diet that would now be considered high-protein. However, if this was acknowledged by the authorities then those producing all the 'low-fat' goodies would lose a lot of money.
You needn't worry Rosa, cavemen didn't count calories and they did just fine!
I would suggest that anyone concerned with weight loss move away from counting calories - this inevitably results in a carbohydrate-rich, low-fat, low-protein starvation. Incidentally, this is the perfect way to lower your metabolism and compromise your lean mass, while skyrocketing the activity of your fat storage enzymes.
Any cereal and milk is not a good weight loss option. Evolutionary foods (eg meat and vegetables) can help maintain a full metabolic rate without elevating insulin levels (which stores fat).
I recommend that all my clients take a full-potency multivitamin each day. Unless you are growing your own foods and rearing your own cattle etc, you cannot get the optimum level of vitamins and minerals because of the massive distortion in food production/distribution.
Beyond a good multi, each individual will have their individuals, but the most popular supplements would be magneisum, zinc, iodine and vitamin C.
There is no 'correct' carb/protein combo to consume after exercise, only 'appropriate' to your aims. Bodybuilders pre-content may benefit from restricting their carbs before a content but, on the whole, topping up both the protein and carbohydrates as soon as possible following a workout is essential to harness the training effect.
For most of my clients, I would recommend 30-40g protein (whey protein) several minutes after their workout. With this, they should add a carbohydrate mix (maltodextrin, not glucose/fructose/sucrose) of 10-50g. Those after fat loss should be looking at the lower end of this scale, those looking to build mass would be at the higher end. There is also a good rationale to include medium chain fats, glutamine, and branched chain amino acids, but lets not get too complicated just yet!
In regards to foods, I would suggest that you try to keep things as simple as possible. One simple eating plan that many nutritionists agree on is a 'Green Vegetables' plan. You eat green vegetables and meat/eggs/fish. Essentially, this means if it it is not a green vegetable, you don't eat it. If it was never alive, you don't eat it. That's no fruit, no pasta, no milk, etc. But you simply eat what you can with plenty of vegetables, and let your body decide on portion sizes etc.
I have used this with a range of clients that would otherwise struggle to follow a specific and defined plan - it does work and provides lots of good food. Hope that helps.
I think the key is not so much to avoid eating in the evening, but ensuring that the food you do it is appropriate. For instance, there are a number of clients who I suggest eat just before they go to bed (eg those wanting to build muscle, those with unbalance blood sugar levels) and this helps them; however, most will do just fine eating 2-3 hours before going to sleep.
In any case, I would avoid overloading them with carbohydrates in the evening - excess carbohydrates towards the end of the day do increase fat storage (for hundreds of thousands of years, humans have never had any opportunity to finish the day with excessive carbs). Protein and good oils can be a great help though.
Claire has hit upon the dirty little secret of the diet drinks industry. A number of studies have concluded that replacing sugar-laden drinks with their diet equivalent has NO effect on long-term weight loss. It appears that, as soon as the taste buds receive the taste of sugar, your pancreas releases insulin in order to deal with the impending rise in blood sugar levels.
Not only does insulin cause the storage of fat, it also lowers your blood sugar levels, making you hungrier and more likely to reach for carbohydrates. Plus, aspartame and the like are seriously poisonous (see www.dorway.com).
Be aware that microwaving foods damages the cell membranes in food (this is why microwaves are used in IVF technology, to make the ovum easier to break with a needle). Where this becomes relevant is that your digestive enzymes and immune system cells cannot recognise food particles once the phospholipid membrane is damaged - so your immune system becomes activated and you cannot digest the food properly. I would not recommend any microwaved food under any circumstances.
Shin splints occurs as a result of weakness in the tibialis anterior muscle (the shin muscle), relative to the force produced by the heel extensors, the gastrocnemeus (calf) and soleus.
Luckily, it is a relatively simple fix. 1. rest for the time being. 2. stretch your calves and soleus every day. 3. Strengthen the tibialis anterior (this can be done by taking a standing position, then bend over to press your hands on your toes - you can bend your knees. Then, maintaining pressure on your toes, aim to curl the toes up. They are unlikely to move, but you should feel the work occuring in front of the shin. Repeat 20-30 times each day).
Hi Bfine - you mention that you are on a low calorie diet; the effects I see again and again when individuals follow low calorie diet is that the second they stop suppressing their food intake, the weight flies back on. This has clearly happened in your case, too.
This normally occurs from starving your body of what it needs (especially good proteins and good fats) resulting in a massive increase in lipogenic (fat storage) enzymes and also compromises your muscle mass, which reduces your metabolic rate further. Naturally, nothing could be less motivating. Avoiding this low-calorie trap may help you achieve more sustainable weight loss.
It's definitely useful to keep track of what you are eating, but be careful not to fall into the calorie counting trap, as it's an easy way to starve your body. Hence the army of unsuccessful calorie counters. Not all calories are the same.
Looking at the proteins, fats and carbs would be a much more effective way of structuring a plan. Higher protein/fat, lower carbs are the changes I make for most people.
By the way, I feel I should say that I do use low-carbohydrate diets with the majority of my clients - they are very effective for most people's aims, which is weight loss.
Ok then, let me clarify my statement... if you are not prepared to use anabolic steroids, or high dose glutamine etc, or have on and off seasons, then Atkins diet is ineffective.
You should read some of these links, Bourblaster. Although the first two are from Wikipedia(!) neither argues with the fact that fatty acids cannot be converted to glucose.
The third one is totally irrelevant - it is an experiment on sheep that is measuring the use of glucose and ketones whilst measuring the arteriovenous differences and cerebral blood flow. Forget the fact that is is on sheep, it would still be irrelevant if it was on humans.
I don't know whether you misunderstood what I was saying. No-one disputes that the brain can use ketones for energy but trust me, - fatty acids - including their breakdown products, ketones - CANNOT be converted to glucose.
Maybe someone should tell all my clients' beta cells that you couldn't find any references, and that they must stop burning fat this instant!
Johnston CS, Tjonn SL, Swan PD: High-Protein, Low-Fat Diets Are Effective for Weight Loss and Favorably Alter Biomarkers in Healthy Adults. Journal of Nutrition 2004, 134(3): 586-591.
Kaplan S, and Shimizu C. 1963. Effects of cortisol on amino acid in skeletal msucle and plasma. Endocrinology 72: 267.
Layman DK, Boileau RA, Erickson DJ, Painter JE, Shiue H, Sather C, Christou DD., 2003. A reduced ratio of dietary carbohydrate to protein improves body composition and blood lipid profiles during weight loss in adult women. J Nutr. 2003 Feb;133(2):411-7.
Layman DK: Protein quantity and quality at levels above the RDA improves adult weight loss. J Am Coll Nutrition 2004, 23 (6): 631S-636S.
Miller, W.C., Koceja, D.M., & Hamilton, E.J. (1997). A meta analysis of the past 25 years of weight loss research using diet, exercise or diet plus exercise intervention. International Journal of Obesity, 21, 941-947.
Piatti PM, Monti F, Fermo I, Baruffaldi L, Nasser R, Santambrogio G, Librenti MC, Galli-Kienle M, Pontiroli AE, Pozza G. 1994. Hypocaloric high-protein diet improves glucose oxidation and spares lean body mass: comparison to hypocaloric high-carbohydrate diet. Metabolism. 1994 Dec;43(12):1481-7.
Potier M et al, Protein, amino acids and the control of food intake, Current Opinions in Clinical Nutrition and Metabolic Care, Vol 12, No 1, 2009.
Theres plenty more if you look!
Possibly - if you are not taking in sufficient protein, then yes. If you are not taking in sufficent essential oils, then yes. If you are taking in sufficient levels of all macronutrients, then no.
Its a lot simpler than people like to make out. And I'm very sorry you didn't like my article.
Yes, if you are taking in 3000 kcal/day from protein and fat only then (assuming you are an average-sized male) you are running short on around 120g of carbohydrate. Because neural cells do not have mitochondria, they must source their energy from glucose. Fatty acids, and ketone bodies cannot be converted into glucose. Gluconeogenesis involves cleaving nitrogen from protein to form carbohydrate. Although a lot of this protein can come from the diet, some by necessity will have to come from muscle.
True. He was also 18 stone and obese.
Bodybuilders use carb-restrictive diets to cut because the lower your carb intake/insulin levels, the more fat burned (We can all agree there). If you go too low, you are now going to compromise your skeletal muscle mass, due to the mechanism explained above. To make a complex process simple, this mechanism is activated through cortisol release which depletes the extracellular and intracellular levels of glutamine, which then causes breakdown of the BCAAs.
How do you stop cortisol from taking action at the binding sites? Steroids.
How do you stop glutamine stores from being depleted? Take 30g of glutamine across split doses.
How do you protect yourself against breakdown of BCAAs?
Take BCAAs.
There is a good reason that bodybuilders take these things ahead of competition, and it does mediate against the negative effects of severe carb restriction. But even doing so, they will still lose mass - that is why there is such thing as an off season (to regain and hopefully build new mass).
3 sessions a week should be sufficient to notice the difference. Its difficult to say exactly because I don't know your postural balance etc, but I would definitely think its worthwhile to add in two resistance training sessions pw, with one more concentrated on the aerobic aspect.
Make good use of the free weights, plenty of compound exercises like lunges, deadlifts, presses, rows, etc. Maybe get a personal trainer local to you to put together a workout plan for the next couple of months?
Tom you are totally right. More is not always better, and an easy week following a week of high volume/intensity is often the one where the biggest gains occur.
Vitamin D is perhaps the most under-rated nutrient available to humans. It improves immune function, calcium management, insulin sensitivity, dopamine signalling and reduces cardiovascular risk. Sufficient Vitamin D levels reduce cancer risk by half. It is involved in almost every single chronic disease experienced in Western Society.
If you live in a Northern climate, you need to be managing your vitamin d levels.
Atkins is not an effective diet because it causes the body to lose lean mass. It does this because it does not provide sufficient carbohydrates for the body's daily requirements.
If you know your lean mass, you can accurately work out how low you can go on the carbohydrates (this is around 2g/day per kilogram of lean mass - 100g in a smaller female, 150g in a larger male). You need this each day because your brain/central nervous system do not have mitochondria, thus cannot source their energy from fat, thus require carbs.
If these are not provided in the diet, the body will break down your lean mass (gluconeogenesis) to maintain function. Having compromised your lean mass and metabolic rate, you then put on weight faster than you started. This is why Atkins died obese.
The older doctors got around three hours training on nutrition in their seven years of med school. Generally speaking, your GP knows nothing about nutrition. However, they all seem to have nice houses and cars, not that I'm suggesting the 'consultation fee' culture is distorting their recommendations...
If you are insulin resistant, then eating the foods you have evolved to consume is crucial. This means good protein and plenty of veg and (especially for insulin sensitivity) LOTS of omega 3 oils like fish oils and flax seed oil
Soya is a proven phytoestrogen that disrupts your hormones. This is an effect that can be shown again and again. The soy industry spends around $6bn each year trying to convince us that this is good for us and that soy is a healthy food - a lot of thing end up as 'consultation fees' for doctors who then lend their name to marketing dressed up as research.
Fermented soy products are consumed in the Far East, but nothing like the level marketing material suggests. I would recommend all clients do their research on soy (but not using Campbell's classic propaganda piece that is The China Study) but most of all I would suggest that clients eat the food they have evolved to eat.
Counting calories is generally a waste of time. Counting you carb / fat / protein intake has much more of a purpose, but I accept that this can be more complex.
If it is difficult, then I would try to match your food intake to that we have evolved on. That means less bread and grains, and plenty of protein, omega 3s and vegetables.
May I ask why you want to know the total calorific value of the foods you eat?
I spend a lot of time talking to clients as to quality of the food they eat (eg the quantity of proteins and omega 3s relative to the carbohydrates) as opposed to the overall energy intake, which bears no relationship on weight loss.
Who would have thought the use of a multi-vitamin would have been such an emotive issue?
Emotions aside, there are clearly a few facts that we should consider:
1. A multivitamin will not be able to provide anything close to the full array of compounds abundant in nature - we have to date discovered more than 10,000 phytonutrients. (Blaylock, 2006).
2. The soil of today is severely deficient in minerals, compared to that of 1941, which is when all the nutrient tables of various foods in use today was created. This mineral depletion has been accepted several times by our regulators (MAFF, 1994; Oakley, 1998).
3. Not one expert has ever been able to create a diet from modern foods alone that provides optimal amounts of all essential nutrients.
Evidence-based practise means there can be only one conclusion in light of these facts; we should eat a wide variety of fresh foods that have been grown in fertile soil and take a full-spectrum multivitamin. Clearly nutritional medicine cannot hold a candle to nature, but as we are able to measure the deficits in our food chain it surely makes no sense to ignore them.
