Nutrition

A New Session Begins /  by Stephen Cooper

Good morning everyone,

Isn't it nice to work out in the morning?  It's warm in Altadena, the sun is out, the burpees are bliss, well maybe not bliss, but we got em rolling.

Speaking of rolling, how about a "shout out" to Christina of the morning class for knocking out the medicine ball crunches with the wall balls.  Way to go Christina!

Welcome new camper, Judy, and welcome back to Nicole.

There are often a lot of questions about what to eat for maximum fat loss, so I've posted a quick video to help.

 

We are at the halfway point for this boot camp session. /  by Stephen Cooper

Today marks session number 6, or half way through this boot camp session.

How are things going for you?

For most of you, you told me that you are taking this camp to lose weight.  How's your progress?

Did you take your measurements and weight at the beginning of this camp like I suggested?

Have you attended all of the sessions?

Are you putting in 100%...and then some?

Are you eating lots of vegetables, lean protein, fruit, and healthy fat?  If not, are you taking a multi vitamin as "insurance". 

Have you added healthy fish oil to your diet either through whole food sources like salmon and other fatty fish?  If not, have you considered supplementing with fish oil pills?

What else can I do to help?  Please contact me directly with any questions.

"What Else Can I Do to Speed Up The Fat Burning?" /  by Stephen Cooper

I'm often asked this from boot campers, and you too might be wondering what else you can do to speed up the fat loss.

If you aren't in the habit of exercising my main hope for you is that you make it a habit to come to every boot camp session.  It may take some extraordinary effort to wake up early, or to bring forth the energy to after work to train.  But this is the first habit I want you to nail down.

So let's assume that you have created the habit of training consistently and you want to know what's next.

Two other major parts to your success are nutrition or what you eat, and training outside of our boot camp sessions.

Here's a clip from an email I just sent out about the subject.  This client had questions about diet and "supplemental" exercises.

You are going to be frustrated in trying to lose weight if you eat bagels.  I would try to go cold turkey on the bread.  It may take 2 weeks of cravings,but it should pass after that.

Try to "limit" your fruit to right after your workout.  If you don't workout, then be very careful with your fruit intake.  (This doesn't mean that I am against eating fruit.  We all know the benefits such as fiber, etc. but the reality for many is that if you eat too much fruit your chances of cutting the fat are slim.)

A supplemental workout that you could do which I just did a modified version is this:

100 jump ropes, then 50 crunches,  80 jump ropes, 40 crunches, 60 jump ropes, 30 crunches, and so on...

Go as fast as you can with as little rest as possible.

To optimize fat burning here's what I take.

1.  A multi vitamin (VGF 25+)

2.  Fish oil  (Essential Fatty Acid)

3.  Greens Plus Wild Berry Greens Drink

#1 and #2 I get from Prograde (get the smart ship so you won't pay shipping)

You can also get an extra 10% off but just until Friday.  Use this code for the discount:BTS2009


#3 I get from www.iherb.com (best price I've found)

Myth Busting...You need to eat every two to three hours to optimally lose fat and get shredded. /  by Stephen Cooper

Do you really need to eat every 2 - 3 hours to get or stay lean?

I just read this post over at T Nation.com.

This is another common belief held by bodybuilders that often does more harm than good. I mean, who the hell wants to carry around Tupperware containers full of rice and chicken all the time? It's just so damn inconvenient. The reason most bodybuilders eat every couple of hours is because...well, because someone told them to. But if they did some research, they'd see that resting energy expenditure isn't really decreased at all! In fact, there was a study done a while back that showed subjects who did a three-day fast — absolutelynofood — had their resting energy expenditure rate actuallyincrease.

Now I've experimented on myself and on my bodybuilder clients with a variety of meal frequency plans and have even tried a couple of 37-hour fasts for experimental purposes. And honestly, I haven't seen that much of a difference between three meals and seven meals a day,if the calories are equal.

The important thing to know is that after you eat a meal, you're still in a "fed state" and absorbing nutrients for six to ten hours after that meal.

True, after about four to six hours you do get an increase in gluconeogenesis, the generation of glucose from non-carbohydrate substances, which is a good reason to eat some more protein to stop any muscle breakdown. But eating seven meals is still ridiculous to me.

My bodybuilders have had great success eating three to five meals per day. As long as macronutrients and energy intake are equal, there really is no difference in the outcome. Of course, it's up to what you like. If you want to eat more often, that's fine.

But I'll leave the Tupperware at home.