The 7 Mega Principles of Diet and Exercise for Fat Loss
By Paul RogersYes, I am somewhat proud of the fact that if you do a Google search (at the main google.com site), an article of mine still comes up number 1 for the term fat burning. It’s an article I wrote for About.com Weight Training over 12 months ago. I am surprised at this because Google records about 3.1 million records for the search term ’fat burning’. And when you see all the goony, loony web sites and weight loss schemes and supplements and silly diets and downright ripoffs that plague the internet, it does seem unlikely that a truthful and accurate article still has a chance of getting to the top. Three cheers for Google.
In any case, for Christmas I’ll do the KISS thing and “keep it simple, stupid” by summarising the no-fail approach to weight loss that emphasizes fat loss and muscle maintenance. If it fails for you, then you are either eating too much, moving too little or have a genuine pathology or genetic disorder — and mostly this is rare as a cause of obesity.
7 Rules to Rule Them All
- Don’t sweat the small stuff. The number 1 rule is not to get hung up on the trivia. This is the 90/10 rule or whatever you want to call it. The idea is that you must concentrate on putting most effort into doing the things that bring you most return and success. It’s okay to follow up on the small stuff after you get the big picture correct. Don’t get distracted by “insider secrets” or any of that web marketing hype. There are no insider secrets to achieving and maintaining normal weight. But that doesn’t mean there are not serious challenges.
- It’s the calories stupid! Even though I saw Tom Venuto use this phrase recently, I first used it in 2001 in a book I wrote called The Organic Factor. Even so, I’m sure quite a few people have come up with this independently, it’s so very obvious. This is one of the pieces of “big stuff” that I refer to in the rule above. You need to get into negative energy balance territory (but not too negative) to lose weight and that means eating less and exercising more. And the best way to cut calories? Limit animal fats, added fats, added sugars, alcohol, and reduce excessive portion sizes.
- Adopt a lifestyle. Most diets will work for a short while – low-carb, low-fat, meal replacement shakes, you name it. If you take in less than you expend in energy, you will lose weight. However, you need to find an eating and exercise pattern that suits you, that works, and that you can adopt more or less every day of your life.
- Do Regular Aerobic Exercise. Aerobic exercise is walking, running, treadmill, cycling, swimming, class aerobics and rowing. You need to put some effort in so that you puff and sweat to some extent. Do this at least 5 times a week, for at least 30-40 minutes, even if it’s walking fast around the block.
- Do Regular Weight Training. Get to a gym or buy some dumbbells and a bench for home and do at least 2 sessions of weight training each week. It helps maintain muscle and bone while you lose fat and builds strength, flexibility and mobility for the future.
- Move more at home and work. Under-rated and misunderstood, this is the science of NEAT or “non-exercise activity thermogenesis.” Moving more at home or work builds a feedback system that upregulates your metabolism. Get a pedometer and try to rack up 5,000 steps each day. It can be gardening, housework, playing with kids, lunchtime walks at work, stair walking, anything in addition to programmed exercise. Upper-body movement counts as well.
- Get a brain plan. Tackle weight loss as a personal project. Keep a diary, set goals, review your progress each week, do lots of internal head talk, adjust your approach when necessary, be patient, stick to a lifestyle you can tolerate, and get encouragement from friends or a group.
That’s the nub of it. No secrets, no surprises. Good luck.
The Fitness Wars Are Futile
By Paul RogersI’ve put up a permanent page called Fitness Wars because I thought it should be a little “sticky.” It discusses the very strange culture of strength trainers who seem to react to cardio and aerobics with a crucifix held at arms length.
It’s a very odd response to a very important component of health and fitness conditioning and wellbeing programming.
Anyway, I’ve explored some of the origins of this antagonism and I take a look at aerobic conditioning in this context.
New Exercise Guidelines Released in the US
By Paul Rogers
Pic by Abraaj
New physical activity guidelines have just been released by the US Department of Health and Human Services. As they report 25.6% of adults in the US are medically obese — that’s a body mass index (BMI) of over 30 — there is an air of slight panic about this latest announcement. Here are the new adult guidelines, which include a few changes from previous guidelines.
- Adults should do 2 hours and 30 minutes a week of moderate-intensity, or 1 hour and 15 minutes (75 minutes) a week of vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity, or an equivalent combination of moderate- and vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity. Aerobic activity should be performed in episodes of at least 10 minutes, preferably spread throughout the week.
- Additional health benefits are provided by increasing to 5 hours (300 minutes) a week of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity, or 2 hours and 30 minutes a week of vigorous-intensity physical activity, or an equivalent combination of both.
- Adults should also do muscle-strengthening activities that involve all major muscle groups performed on 2 or more days per week.
For more information, the physical activity guidelines site has much more information, including useful suggestions for people not used to exercise, and background information for professionals in the fitness sciences.
Physical activity is not all about losing weight — health advantages can accrue in the absence of weight loss – yet unless obese people can be trained or persuaded to cut calorie intake, getting the fat off will continue to be a struggle.
When Aerobic Fitness is Not Aerobic Conditioning
By Paul Rogers
Photo: Ernst Moeksis
Aerobic fitness is measured by the volume of oxygen you can process in any given time. This is called your VO2 maximum or VO2max. It’s mostly measured in millilitres of oxygen used per kilogram of bodyweight per minute.
An elite marathon runner might have a VO2 of 80 and an obese, sedentary and very unfit person of the same age around 35.
You mainly get very high VO2 by doing aerobic or cardio training for lengthy sessions, usually in one block; say, an hour or running, cycling or similar activity. But . . . you can also get a reasonably high VO2 — but not as high as a marathon runner — by doing higher intensity exercise for less time. This might involve sprints or middle distance intervals at high intensity, or even workouts like this one in the gym without running at all. Training for team sports can provide this sort of aerobic fitness. Typical VO2 in elite athletes in sports like football (soccer) might be around 60 to 65, with some individuals even higher.
Why You Need Cardio for Health
‘Cardio’ like walking or slow jogging on treadmills is often recommended in heart rehabilitation programs or for the very unfit in order to build up heart and lung fitness. This is much less stressful than doing higher intensity intervals for a shorter time. And regular, moderate-intensity, sustained aerobic exercise conditions other aspects of your body other than your ability to to get fitter faster, which is perceived as one benefit of interval training.
Aerobic conditioning of the longer, slower type builds the small blood vessels called ‘capillaries’, in muscles, — the heart is a muscle — and these are encouraged to grow throughout muscle tissue to facilitate oxygen supply at times of high demand. With this sort of conditioning, your heart has extra blood supply and it gets bigger and stronger as well. For example, in one study, two groups were trained, one doing continuous, cardio type exercise, and the other shorter intervals of higher intensity. The longer, slower cardio group added twice as much capillary capacity as the interval trainers.
This might even be important if you were unfortunate enough to suffer a heart attack. The extra blood supply, called ‘collateral supply’ could save your life.
You will get some of this capillary conditioning with interval training, but the big benefits mostly come from regular, sustained aerobic type exercise — jogging, running, cycling swimming for 30 minutes or more at a session. Naturally, the higher-intensity interval type exercise will improve your anaerobic performance if you need this for sports.
If you’re training for health and fitness, don’t put all of your eggs in the weight training and high-intensity interval training baskets. Find time to fit in some good, old-fashioned cardio.
Effect of interval versus continuous training on cardiorespiratory and mitochondrial functions: relationship to aerobic performance improvements in sedentary subjects. Daussin FN, Zoll J, Dufour SP, et al. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol. 2008 Jul;295(1):R264-72. 2008
EPOC, Afterburn and Weight Loss - Does It Work?
By Paul Rogers
Soldiers in Iraq. Soldiersmediacenter. Jarad Bargas
When we exercise hard or long, or both, we use the body’s resources in certain ways in order to achieve this level of performance. Glycogen (glucose) in muscles and liver is used up, lactic acid builds up in muscles, muscle gets damaged and broken down for energy, other energy systems are exhausted. It’s a demolition job and repair is required when you finally stop exercising. Oxygen is the driver of this process, and without it being supplied at the level that can drive your intensity of effort, you slow down and even stop — exhausted. Yet oxygen is also the driver of the repair process.
Anaerobic exercise causes oxygen debt
The body has a way of enduring for a few minutes when it really has insufficient oxygen for your exercise needs. This is called anaerobic exercise. You know when this is happening because you start to get out of breath and slow dramatically. This can only go on for a few minutes at top effort.
However, after you stop, your body then tries to get everything back to normal. To do this, it uses oxygen in the repair and replenishment process and to repay the debt — more than it would normally if you had not exercised that day or for as hard or long. This increased oxygen use is called “excess post-exercise oxygen consumption” or EPOC. It’s sometimes called “afterburn”, which is not a bad way of thinking of it. Short term oxygen debt recovery happens just after you stop and until you get your breath back. Longer-term EPOC continues for several hours, perhaps more than 12 hours, until glycogen is restored, lactate is removed and muscle is repaired and replenished by amino acids.
How EPOC can help you
EPOC often gets discussed in terms of weight loss programs because the excess oxygen use stimulates metabolism and, theoretically, it’s good for weight loss, which is probably true, except it’s not all a bed of roses stimulating EPOC, and it’s not necessarily the best option.
The thing is, you have to work hard for the afterburn effect. You need to exercise at high intensity or for a longer time at moderate intensity. EPOC occurs when you degrade body systems and use resources. A brisk 30-minute stroll around the block with the dog or a leisurely chat and pump at the gym and a nice cup of coffee in between won’t do it either. You will read in various places how EPOC only comes from high intensity exercise. This is not necessarily true. There is likely a minimum amount of work to be done, but no one really knows what this is. It could just as easily result from moderate intensity cardio for a longer period of time. You can probably do it lifting weights, running sprints or running for an hour, but in the end, you have to work hard whatever you do.
EPOC versus energy consumed during exercise for weight loss
It’s no use doing lots of high-intensity intervals for 20 minutes, exhausting yourself, then expecting EPOC to make you thin like a cheetah after you stop. You also have to consider how much energy (calories) you expend during the exercise. While the interval training might be time efficient, you’re probably not going to burn the same calories during that exercise as the guy or gal that runs for an hour at 5 minutes/kilometre pace (8 minute/mile) pace. EPOC can’t make up for an imbalance of calories burnt during exercise.
The best exercise program for weight loss
Stop worrying about the afterburn. (As if you ever did.) Mix your training up with weights, aerobics, and sprint or interval training if you feel fit enough for it. Read more in my article: The Best Fat Loss Strategy That Really Works.
A 3-Day HIT Fitness Program for Busy People
By Paul Rogers
Fast cat from Polandeze
The American College of Sports Medicine physical activity guidelines include the following recommendations for general health and wellbeing:
- Moderately intense cardio 30 minutes a day, five days a week, OR,
- Vigorous intense cardio 20 minutes a day, 3 days a week, AND
- 8 to 10 strength-training exercises, eight to 12 repetitions of each exercise, twice a week.
Note that they recommend you can substitute 3 days a week of higher-intensity exercise for 5 days of moderate intensity — plus two weight training sessions in either case.
Just recently, as reported in Heartwire, a research group from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (Circulation July 7, 2008) showed that high-intensity exercise for 3 days a week for a total of 2 hours might produce better results in people with ‘metabolic syndrome’, a condition that is measured by excess weight around the waist, high blood triglycerides and low HDL cholesterol.
This is exactly how I train now after many years of running and gym for 5 days a week. It’s tougher, and it’s best to have some measure of fitness leading up to this, but it does save time. This is my program now: it’s pretty simple and I make adjustments to suit from time to time. Running is done at a local sports field. Weights are done at a fitness centre and gym. I always take at least one day break between sessions.
It’s a little more than what might be done for general health and fitness, but I train for various recreational sports as well.
- Day 1. Track:: 20 x 60m; 90-95% effort, explosive start; jog/walk back, 10-20 seconds rest, repeat, recover at number 10. Weights:: Same day, go straight to gym before cooldown, 10 exercises upper body — rows, curls, pulldowns, pullups, dips, abs, pushdowns, shoulder or bench press.
- Day 2. Full body workout and HIT at gym:: stiff-leg deadlifts, squats or leg press, calf raises, rows, dips, pulldowns, curls, abs, pushdowns, shoulder press, overhead press. Cardio HIT:: treadmill, 10 minutes continuous at 85%; mini-trampoline, two and one-legged high bounces, high-knee sprint intervals, 10 minutes.
- Day 3. Track:: 10 x sprint starts, sometimes with spikes, 40m, 100%, plenty of rest; form runs 80m x 10, 85%. Gym as for Day 1.
From that, you can get the general idea of a 3-day program even though it doesn’t have to be quite as intense or as long. The main point to note is that it needs to be at an intensity where you are sweating profusely and can hardly talk during the tough bits. You don’t have to be superfit to start like this, but it is wise to get a medical clearance. It is best to work up to it with a more gradual approach, one of the main problems being injury to the muscles, tendons, ligaments and joints.
10 Ways Exercise Prevents or Manages Diabetes
By Paul Rogers
Trials in the US, Finland and China have shown that moderate weight loss combined with an exercise program can ward off impending type 2 diabetes by getting blood glucose (sugar) under control and generally improving markers for this disease of glucose, fat and insulin metabolism. Diagnosed diabetics also benefit from regular exercise in a similar way.
Here’s how exercise helps:
- Physical activity helps you manage weight. You need to include a sensible eating program, but weight loss improves your ability to process glucose and ward off diabetes.
- Exercise uses glucose stored in muscle and, over time and with increased fitness, enhances the amount of glucose you can store, lowering blood glucose in the process.
- Weight training uses muscle glucose more than fat, as does other high-intensity exercise. Regular sessions of weight lifting lower your blood glucose and open up the “gates” for glucose transport.
- Weight training also builds more muscle. More muscle provides additional storage capacity for glucose.
- Glucose transport to muscle during exercise does not require insulin. In fact, insulin goes quiet during exercise in people with normal metabolism and not injecting insulin.
- Physical activity enhances insulin sensitivity even when you’re not exercising. Insulin sensitivity is the ability of insulin to store glucose.
- Day to day, exercise gives you improved glucose storage when you’re exercising, and improved glucose storage when you’re not. You get a synergy of effect when you exercise.
- Cardiovascular fitness is a result of aerobic conditioning. Cardio type exercise is best for this. Heart and lung fitness is associated with protection against diabetes and heart disease. The fitter you are, the better your chances — even allowing for some excess weight.
- Faulty fat metabolism and high levels of fat (triglycerides) in the blood raise your chances of getting diabetes. Exercise of any sort can help normalize blood fat levels. Look to be under 150 mg/dL or 1.69 mmol/L. When you’re really fit and healthy and have low overall body fat, this number will be closer to 100 mg/dL (1.1 mmol/L). You should aim for this.
- Regular exercise, especially higher-intensity exercise, increases your metabolism when you’re not exercising. This not only helps lower blood fats and glucose, it helps you reach and maintain normal weight.
Resistance and Cardio Work to Prevent Diabetes
By Paul RogersDiabetes is a disease of glucose metabolism. Too much glucose in the blood acts as a toxin that damages small and large blood vessels. Disorders of insulin function cause this. Insulin is the hormone that stores glucose in muscle cells.
If you exercise sufficiently well, you can put glucose away in storage or use it up so that your blood glucose levels are not as high. This is useful in preventing and managing diabetes.
Both aerobic exercise (cardio) and resistance exercise (weight training) can help lower blood glucose and also improve the way insulin and glucose storage mechanisms work.
Doing a combo of both cardio and strength training might just be ideal to prevent and manage type 2 diabetes. You can do it at a gym or at home.
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