When people say they've done their research...

I'm gonna start this post with a facebook comment form Mike T Nelson from http://miketnelson.com/

"If I hear one more person email me and say "well, if you would study the research, especially Guru X, you would find......." I am going to scream.

But when I ask them what research they studied, and they can't come up with anything. In return, I feel that I don't have to answer. Would anything I say be valid?

By all means, please read, please ask others, question ...things, do your homework, but don't say you are "studying research" when you are reading Dr. Google or parroting the latest "Guru."

I would rather people say "Hey, Guru X said this, what do you think?" That is fair.

But if you say you are studying research, I would expect at least 2 full studies, 3 if they are rat studies, and 5 if they happened in a dish in a lab. Hell, at this point I would be happy with one.

If you still hassle me again I will ask about the studies you have received IRB approval for, conducted, and published.

Anyone can find flaws with every study, that is not hard since by virtue of doing X you can't do Y. If I run a ride to exhaustion, I can't do a time trial format.

If I run a study in a metabolic chamber it will not be "real world specific." The opposite is true also, if I run a study in free living people, I can't control everything that happens to them. If I wanted to do that, I would lock them in a metabolic chamber.

It is harder to piece together the current literature into a concise statement with supporting evidence. I may not agree with it (nobody agree with everything), but at least I can follow your train of thought and I am willing to discuss / learn from it. " 

Why Nutritional Dogma Dies Hard - Alan Aragon

"there’s no way it can’t be productive to calmly & intelligently discuss any topic by presenting scientific evidence to support your case, while being open to research that perhaps you were not aware of. But hey, learning and staying informed about the scientific side of things takes considerable effort. And apparently, some people have no interest in delving into anything beyond their pre-existent beliefs. I personally think that there’s ALWAYS room for learning from scientific research, especially if you include science to justify your methods of practice."

Here are some common mistakes trainers and nutritionists make when talking about research studies.

"The false dichotomy is where you are presented a situation as having only two choices, when many other choices could be considered - when someone presents you with a limited number of choices ... that person is presenting a false dichotomy."
http://weightology.net/weightologyweekly/?page_id=365

My stance on placebo and alternative medicine
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHkHB1i0Ss0
http://www.jyfitness.blogspot.com/2011/01/homeopathy.html

The Straw Man: misrepresent an opponent’s position
http://weightology.net/weightologyweekly/?page_id=485
"No other fallacy is probably more prevalent in the health industry than the straw man. The straw man is where you misrepresent an opponent’s position. You “set up a strawman” because you create a position that is easy to refute, then attribute that position to your opponent. You are essentially substituting a hard target for an easy one. It is called a straw man because it is very easy to tear down a straw man; however, it is a fallacy because you have not refuted your opponent’s true position."

Correlation is not Causation (Sausage Analogy)
http://athlete.io/2070/lessons-from-sausage/

"epidemiologists try to figure out what can be said of their decades worth of data, only to realize in the end that it doesn’t say anything at all. It only helps us realize how little we actually know."

How to become a fitness guru in 25 easy steps
http://bretcontreras.com/2012/02/how-to-become-a-fitness-guru-in-25-easy-steps-2/

17. "Surround Yourself With Clones and Parrots – Don’t surround yourself with brilliant scientists, physical therapists, biomechanists, or exercise physiologists as they’ll just impair your ability to be cocky when you realize that your theories aren’t so earth-shattering and are lacking in substance. Find some folks who think exactly the way you do and promote each other round the clock. This will help you feel better about yourself"

How to become easily brainwashed in 5 steps - Jamie Hale
http://www.maxcondition.com/page.php?134

1. Fail to verify information for yourself

2. Believe that because something is widely held as fact, it must be true

3. Practice blind obedience to authority

4. Place great emphasis on formal credentials

5. Be swayed by the ad hominem attack

"This is when someone seeks to discredit another person's argument, not by rationally and systematically addressing the key points of that person's argument, but by instead attacking that person's personal character. To call someone unqualified, uneducated, disreputable, or a conspiracy nut, or to claim that they are a pug-ugly loser whose mother engages in the paid distribution of sexual favors, while failing to intelligently refute their arguments, is akin to placing a huge flashing sign above one's head--one that screams "I cannot intelligently refute this person's argument to save my life, so I am trying to divert attention to his alleged character flaws instead!" To maintain a robust Brainwashed Sucker state, ignore this warning sign no matter how brightly it flashes!  Ignorance is Bliss"

A good video on how to read Science For Smart People

Explaination (and good examples) on how research are supposed to be dissected and analyzed.
http://bretcontreras.com/2012/08/the-strength-of-evidence-podcast-episode-one/

"research methodologies and design can impact the quality and usefulness of a paper."

20 best quotes (knowledge bombs) from nick Tumminello
http://nicktumminello.com/2012/09/20-best-quotes-knowledge-bombs-from-personal-trainers-physical-therapsists/

17. “If you know enough about anatomy, physiology, and strength training, you could make a case for why every exercise in the book should be avoided. Conversely, you could also make a case for why every exercise in the book should be performed.” Bret Contreras

Tracking Protein-Only Approach

I normally charge for this but if you're motivated enough to sit down and write out the steps YOU need to take to reach your goal, props to you. Just make sure you've read all the referenced links in this post to know the hows and whys before you ask me questions. If you feel the urge to ask me something that's already clearly explained in this post, hire me and I'll repeat it for you.

 

This is 1 of 4 nutritional approaches I use for my clients to eat for maintenance and fat loss. The idea comes from Lyle McDonald’s Rapid Fat Loss Diet. It’s basically a diet that’s set up around meeting the body’s essential needs to maintain as much muscle mass as possible (given that you train with resistance) while everything else non-essential are just calories that you get to play with depending on your goal and deadlines.

 

If your goal is fat loss then you reduce the intake of the non-essential calories (or I call them flexible calories) from your diet to lose the weight. If you goal is to make your diet as flexible as possible, you eat whatever foods you like as long as it fits that caloric budget (allowance) you have.

 

I wrote about it here for calorie counters but this post will make it a little easier to follow for those who hate tracking everything.

 

Find out what is the most appropriate rate of fat loss and approach most suitable for you before you proceed with the diet set up.

 

How you use your caloric budget will depend on your goal and preference: rate of fat loss, food options, workout schedule, allergies, dieting experience, and many, many other factors.

 

Here it is.

 

The Tracking Protein-Only Approach
the research shows that as long as you ingest 1g of protein per 1lb of bodyweight (a very general and doable recommendation), you can maintain or increase muscle/strength on top of resistance training.

 

I wrote about it here.

 

Most of these protein sources will come with dietary fat (cheese, ribs, milk, shrimp) that will cover our needs for essential fatty acids, already.

 

I wrote about it here.

 

Since a diet rich in protein and some added fruits and vegetables will cover the body’s most basic needs to function healthily under normal conditions, the rest of the calories can be used to 1) support training and recovery, 2) offer flexibility in your food choices, 3) reduce overall energy balance to lose body fat, or 4)gain muscle mass with resistance training.

 

As long as you meet the numbers for your essential amino acids (protein) and your essential fatty acids (tag along dietary fat that comes with the protein), everything else really doesn’t matter.  Doesn't matter, as in, cut it if you're trying to lose weight or be it cookies and ice creams as long as it's within your overall caloric allowance to maintain your current weight.

 

Since you already met your essential needs (EAA and EFA), it doesn't matter what the rest of your calories come from. 

 

My Pizza Diet will further elaborate this point.

 

If you’re already a calorie counter and prefer it, you’re better off counting everything and make sure you’re doing it right. Here are 2 articles for you calorie counters to get started. Here & Here.

 

If you hate the idea of counting EVERYTHING but still like to have a good idea how many grams of protein you’re consuming to ensure muscle retention and good health, the guidelines below will help you better prepare and structure your diet.

 

Guideline

If you feel that tracking everything you put in your mouth is too much work, this approach will work best for you. For those looking for more flexibility, you can just track protein alone and take care of the essential fat by eating fish products couple times a week or take fish oil (3g/day). 

 

As long as your proteins are lean, there is no point to count your fat intake. You will meet the 20g minimum for EFA easily unless you’re following a misguided plant-base diet.

 

Since your carbs intake will be generally low, too, not counting carbs isn’t a big deal. Do understand that they are not essential to the body and you can reduce your carbs as much as you want to get faster results or as little as you want to support training and have more flexibility in your diet.

 

Allow yourself couple pieces of fruit, moderate the sugary condiments on your meat items, stay away from soda and juice products (stick with diet or low sugar stuff) and you should be able to keep carbs under 100g/day. This can be even more easily achieved if you do I.F.

 

How to implement I.F. here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGkSuQEpqM8

 

Pick your hardest 1-2 workouts of the week to have the starch, if you must have them.  Do not give yourself this flexibility if all you’re doing is cardio or attending boot camps where they don’t encourage lifting heavy weights. You don’t deserve it.

http://jyfitness.blogspot.com/2012/06/cardio-how-much-do-you-really-burn.html

Earn your carbs through weight lifting and you can have potatoes, yam, rice, corn, soy, oats, or processed carbs like chips, cupcake, bread, pasta, or cookies. Again, carbohydrates are not a part of the body's essential needs so if you rather eat more meat or simply want faster results, take in less carbs.

If you're an alcohol drinker, have some self-control. 1 or 2 glass/can a day is acceptable if you can't live without it, although they are still just calories that you don't need to sustain life. You don't have to count them either.

Read about it here.

 

Minimum Protein Requirement.

The fatter you are and more carbs you allow yourself to eat (more than 11g), the less protein you’ll need. Aim for 0.5 - 0.7g of protein per pound of bodyweight per day and play with that number to see how well you adhere to your diet.  Men above 15% bodyfat or female above 25% should use this formula.

Estimate your bodyfat here

http://www.leighpeele.com/body-fat-pictures-and-percentages

 

The leaner and more active you are or the less carbs that are willing to tolerate in your diet (less than 60g/day), the more protein you’ll need to consume to spare muscle loss. Aim for 0.8-1g of protein per pound of bodyweight if you fall into this category.

 

To ensure you get enough protein, below is a chart for figuring out how to hit your target while making your grocery shopping/meal planning experience as painless as possible.  Print is out and stick it to the fridge if it helps you.

 

• Hamburger patty, 4 oz – 28 grams protein
• Steak, 6 oz – 42 grams
• Most cuts of beef – 7 grams of protein per ounce

Chicken:
• Chicken breast, 3.5 oz - 30 grams protein,
• Chicken thigh – 10 grams (for average size)
• Drumstick – 11 grams
• Wing – 6 grams
• Chicken meat, cooked, 4 oz – 35 grams

Fish:
• Most fish fillets or steaks are about 22 grams of protein for 3 ½ oz (100 grams) of cooked fish, or 6 grams per ounce
• Tuna, 6 oz can - 40 grams of protein

Pork:
• Pork chop, average - 22 grams protein
• Pork loin or tenderloin, 4 oz – 29 grams
• Ham, 3 oz serving – 19 grams
• Ground pork, 1 oz raw – 5 grams; 3 oz cooked – 22 grams
• Bacon, 1 slice – 3 grams
• Canadian-style bacon (back bacon), slice – 5 – 6 grams

Eggs and Dairy:
• Egg, large - 6 grams protein
• Milk, 1 cup - 8 grams
• Cottage cheese, ½ cup - 15 grams
• Yogurt, 1 cup – usually 8-12 grams, check label
• Soft cheeses (Mozzarella, Brie, Camembert) – 6 grams per oz
• Medium cheeses (Cheddar, Swiss) – 7 or 8 grams per oz
• Hard cheeses (Parmesan) – 10 grams per oz

NOTE:

An ounce of meat or fish has approximately 7 grams of protein.

A pound of meat weighs around 16oz.

1lb of meat = 16oz x 7g = 112gram of protein.

 

Sample Set Ups

If you’re a 160lb female who sits around and don’t train, you would take your bodyweight (160) times 0.5 to find out what is the minimum protein requirement you need (while keeping everything else low) to diet down your body fat in a healthy way.

 

160 x 0.5 = 80g/day. That’s 11.5oz of meat a day. So if you shop 1x a week, you’ll need about 80oz (5lb) of meat a week to cover your needs for essential protein and fat.

 

If you’re 250lb male and is currently training 2-3x/week, you would need 250 x 0.8 = 200g/protein a day. That’s roughly 1.8lbs of meat a day or 12.5lb a week.

 

So, if for one day you planned to eat tuna, pork chop, and eggs and let's say you only need 120g of protein that day. You can eat 3 pieces of pork chop which gives you 66g of protein, 6oz of tuna to get the 40g, and 2 eggs (12g). That comes out to be 118g of protein which is pretty close to the target.

Grocery Shop

To make grocery shopping easier for you, that’s a little more than 1lb of meat you should try to consume a day to meet your MINIMUM protein needs. So if you shop 1x a week, you’ll need about 7-8lb of meat a week.

Remember, 120g is the MINIMUM, so if you want to ensure satiety eating a low fat, low carbs, and low calories diet, always increase the protein first before adding the rest of the calories from other macronutrients to keep hunger at bay.
 

The Minimum and the Minimalists Approach

The lowest overall calorie a short female would need would be around 700kcal and men around 900-1000kcal a day depending on body frame, training experience, and current fatness. That's basically the lowest caloric intake I would ever recommend someone to hit if they're trying to meet a deadline without losing too much muscle, experiencing health issues, or lose their mind.

 

Obviously there will be hunger issues and probably won't support most HIIT or performance training eat at that low of caloric intake but then again, this is mainly for fat loss.  If you train intensely, you can eat a little more carbs.

 

To sum up, eat your lean protein (120g), take your fish oil (if you’re not a fish eater), take couple multi-vitamins a day and drink plenty water and coffee.  Keep your meat lean  and eat your non-starchy carbs.  Eliminated  everything else that is not 'essential' will help you reach the greatest caloric deficit you need to lose body fat.

At any point you get hungry 1-2hrs after you just had a meal, you probably didn’t eat enough protein and fiber in that meal.

 

Since counting calories every day is not sustainable (although some people are perfectly fine with counting all the way until they reach their goal), after a week of doing this, you’ll get better at eyeballing food portions and intuitively know how much you should eat to hit your protein needs to keep seeing results.
 

Other Tips 

1. Allow yourself couple pieces of fruit a day and moderate the sugary condiments on your meat items.

 

2. Stay away from soda, juice products since they don’t do much for satiety.  Even protein shakes. I rather you eat a 60g/protein steak then drink a 60g whey. The steak will carry you longer. Stick with diet or low sugar drinks if you must have them.

 

3. Sugar and starches should mainly be consumed after a workout. None if you don’t train or is still a beginner (6-8 weeks experience) in the weight room.  You have to earn your carbs.  Keep in mind that when eating for post workout, this is not the time to binge, for most recreational trainees, 100g/day is enough if you’re tracking.  Bsically give yourself a fistful size of carbs if you're a female and 2 fistful if you're a dude.

 

4. For very overweight dieters (20lbs over your ideal weight), you don’t need post workout carbs or shakes. The fat on your belly and thighs is the best post workout fuel you'll ever need, so let it be used.

 

5. Skipping breakfast (and lunch if you can) and eat less frequently overall can also help reduce caloric intake spontaneously while making each meal portion bigger to enjoy. Just drink coffee, instead.

6. If you don’t see the result you’re looking for or that the scale is moving too slow, consider buying leaner cut meats because it’s likely that your dietary fat is still too high.  Many Atkins and Paleo dieters often fall for this.

 

Here are some fatty meats you might want to watch for when trying to meet your protein requirement: ground beef, beef ribs, pork loin, pork chop, pork ribs, baby back ribs, bacon, and most dairy products will contain more fat.  Here are some vegetable sources that may still be too high on starches if you tend to eat these a lot: beets, carrots, squash, yam, potato. Here are fruits that are low on fiber and pretty high on sugar: grapes, papaya, peaches, watermelon.

7. If you're struggling with hunger and having already given yourself lots of flexible calories (carbs/fat/alcohol), you're probably not sleeping enough (8hrs), too stressed out from work, school or family, or you're doing too much cardio. If those things are not taken care of, don't expect to lose fat easily.

Read this about stress and the danger of excessive cardio

http://jyfitness.blogspot.com/2010/12/cardio.html
 

At the end of the day, if you don't get hungry, wouldn't it be nice to not eat much (or at all) until you're at your ideal weight?  Master your hunger hormones and make your diet as painless as possible.

Read this about appetite and hormones that regulates it.

http://jyfitness.blogspot.com/2013/03/hunger-hormones-refeeds-and-flexible.html

8. Could just be a water retention issue.  Read this to not have a mental breakdown over it.
http://jyfitness.blogspot.com/2011/11/water-retention-messin-with-your-head.html

 

9. If you're freaking out about whether your diet is clean enough, read this and relax.

http://jyfitness.blogspot.com/2012/10/top-ten-clean-eating-methods-and.html

10. If your issue is with the last bit of stubborn fat and not fat fat, read this
http://jyfitness.blogspot.com/2012/05/why-are-stubborn-fat-so-stubborn.html
 

Training

Here are some good workout routine and tips on training to maximize your muscle retention as you embark on a caloric reduction diet.  The less you train, the more muscle you'll lose as you lose weight.  For long term weight maintenance, building muscle will help you increase your metabolism and prevent fat rebound.

Why you need tension for your muscle to develop muscle

http://www.fitocracy.com/knowledge/why-strength-training-is-sexy/

Fitness Goals you should have

http://jyfitness.blogspot.com/2011/12/sample-goals-for-strength-and.html

 

A Very Simple Workout Routine:

http://jyfitness.blogspot.com/2012/12/sample-60mins-workout-routine-b.html

How to Shop For a Qualified Trainer to Guide You Through Lifting

http://jyfitness.blogspot.com/2012/12/why-commercial-trainers-are-shitty.html

Let one of these stories inspire you to keep going

http://jyfitness.blogspot.com/p/2012-transformations.html

http://jyfitness.blogspot.com/p/2011-transformations.html

http://jyfitness.blogspot.com/2013/03/a-very-special-testimonial.html