Fat Loss Tips: Part 1

I've been asked by several people lately about how to lose weight, from clients, coworkers, to my friends and family. I'm going to list 2 simple diets that have been used for decades for fat loss that are brutally effective. These diets work best for people that weight train, women included. Don't worry ladies, you can't get bulky, but you will get leaner and stronger. I'll state it again, this works for those who resistance train hard at least 3 times per week. For those that do not, of course I encourage you to do so, but if that is not an option at the moment please read up on the Anabolic Diet or purchase the book Carb Nite by Kiefer.

Here's some info on the first diet:

• Fits a busy schedule much better than those "healthy" diets that require eating every 2-3 hours
• Perfect for busy parents or people that need to run out the door in the morning
• Works for people that have a harder time controlling cravings, but also those that want to eat cleaner
•  Provides more consistent energy levels for your workouts as well as during the day

...and the second diet [Stay tuned for Part 2]

• More effective than the first, but requires some planning
• Allows you to have more variety than the first, depending on the day
• Works better for people that can't have trigger foods and would like to eat cleaner

Let's get started with the first diet, known as Carb Back-Loading. 

This is what you might consider as the ultimate junk food diet, because you can eat just about anything and lose fat. It's kind of beautiful how it works actually. To get the best results with this diet there is a prep phase that will last 10 days long. I'm going to layout the diet first, then go into some detail about why it works.

Days 1-10

Don't eat any carbs, none at all. Only eat fats and protein, but make sure to get your veggies in, too (check the label if you are unsure about carbs). Carbs are limited to 30 grams for the day. Right around day 5,6 and 7 you will start to enter ketosis. This is going to make you a little sluggish for a day or 2, but that is all. 

Every day from now on will have the same structure, and will be based off of working out around 4pm (this is optimal).

Time for Carbs!

Each morning you will skip breakfast, at least for 2 hours, but it would be best to go all the way to noon.

Until you get to eat you may have coffee or tea, with no calorie sweeteners such as Truvia or splenda, with Truvia being the healthiest. You can also add: highest quality coconut oil you can find, MCT oil, unsweetened coconut milk or heavy whipping cream, about 100-200 calories is the target for those fats added. If you happen to have pure whey isolate laying around, add 1/2 scoop of that (optimizes muscle retention).

Have a few cups up until you get to eat. This will suppress your appetite a good amount, especially with the coffee, and even decaf, but less so.

Time to eat! Don't worry, you will get used to the hunger pangs within a week or so if you have a consistent  schedule in the morning.

When it comes time to eat, try to keep the meals smaller if possible, you are still trying to back-load calories, not just carbs. Have some bacon, steak, eggs, sausage, some veggies and a little butter, olive oil or coconut oil. Or you can skip the breakfast foods and eat lunch. Remember, no carbs still!!! The only exception to the carbs are small amounts from things like nuts, cheeses, avocados, etc. The rule is to limit the carbs to below 30 grams, but less is more.

There is no real limit to how many meals you can have without carbs before training, but the goal is still to eat more food post-training, so use common sense.

Post-Training

Within 30 to 60 minutes after training you get to have some fun. Eat a good protein source like meat, cottage cheese or a protein shake and then have something super starchy, that's fast absorbing. Try to keep the fat and gluten as low as possible. Also, don't find the worst quality foods for this, try to find something fresh, local and/or organic. Eat some pie, cake, real pastries (from a bakery, they use low gluten flour, not the stuff in a box), rice pudding, etc. Remember, keep the fat as low as possible. More -real- food options are: lower fat pizzas, pasta (not ideal because of gluten, no white sauce of course), white rice (sushi is a great option), potatoes (preferably red or sweet potatoes) and throw in some fruits while you're at it.

Before bed

Unless you are a bigger guy with a good amount of muscle (think 2.7lbs x height in inches, roughly), you will just be eating more proteins before bed, that's it. Ladies, unfortunately this applies to you as well. You get 1 carb meal post training, and that's it.

Go eat some more meat, have a protein shake, some cottage cheese, some nuts, bacon or whatever comes to mind, then get some sleep.

For those of you who do train hard and heavy, and fall around the guideline for weight, space the meals out some and keep the idea the same. Get in at least 2 carb meals, possibly more.

Notice there is no calorie counting? All you need to do is evaluate yourself in the morning.

Do you look bloated and fat? Cut back on the carbs compared to the night before.
Look better and tight? Don't change anything.
Look deflated? Add in another carb meal

That's it. It's pretty simple, and you can have just about anything in this diet if you follow the rules.

A few closing notes, in order-

• Breakfast isn't essential, nor is it the most important meal of the day. If you are trying to lose the fat, follow this to the 't'. Your growth hormone needs a chance to spike and will do so within about 2 hours after waking, if you don't eat.
• No carbs until working out: this is helping to empty your sugar stores in your body. You also have better hormonal and physiological responses while training if you don't carb-up right before training.
• You cannot use "healthy" carbs in this diet. Whole wheat and fibrous foods post-training will slow your sugar digestion and cause you to stay out of the fat burning zone even longer. This goes for non-training days as well. Just keep the carb up smaller on non-training days or cardio days

This diet goes against the grain, a lot, but I believe in it, and there's research to back it up. If you have any questions, let me know below in the comments!!

P.S. Part 2 will contain some variations for those that cannot train at the requested time, how and what to do with cardio, as well as the second diet referred to as carb cycling.