Wednesday, November 26, 2014

Holiday Dieting




Stepping on the scale after a couple days of holiday/vacationing binge eating is probably the worst idea for anyone trying to lose weight.

It's a mental problem, not a physiological problem and here's why.

 1lb of body fat is roughly 3,500kcal.  REMEMBER THAT.

 Let's assume if you were to go ALL OUT on binge eating hardcore to the max tomorrow at a social event and you ate 5,000kcal OVER your maintenance (that's a lot btw, like 7000-8000kcal total depending on your current size and activity level).

 Let's also assume ALL of those delicious calories goes straight to your butt, chin, and belly fat cells. and NONE OF THEM goes to your muscle (impossible btw)

 5000kcal / 3500kcal = 1.43lb of fat.

 If you step on the scale and you gained more than 1.43lb of your pre-thanksgiving weight, you are bloating and carry excessive water weight and this is extremely common!  It's not all fat!  in fact, i'd say it's maybe only .2 to .3 pounds of fat and the rest is water weight.

 So don't freak out, give up, and feel like a loser.

 Go back to the gym and go back to eating less this weekend like nothing happened.

 here are some good quotes from leangains and lyle mcdonald on how to deal with holiday festivities.

 "Limit choices, not amounts".

 "Studies show that when people are presented with multiple food-choices, they eat more. In fact, calorie intake during a buffet scales almost linearly with the amount of different foods to choose from. If I offered you unlimited amounts of turkey and cheesecake, you'd likely only eat so much of it before you felt "full" and satisfied.
However, if I threw a third food into the mix, like potatoes or chocolate pudding, you'd end up eating a lot more - even if you weren't a fan of potatoes or chocolate pudding in normal circumstances. Humans are wired a bit funny and some behaviors are maladaptive in our environment of excesses. Having a taste of everything was a good strategy during our evolution, since it protected again micronutrient-deficiencies.

 By "mentally limiting" the food choices you allow yourself, i.e. only eating that which you absolutely love and crave, can be a very effective strategy in regulating calorie intake without feeling deprived. Remember, you don't need to taste of every damn food or treat that is offered. Stick to that which you truly enjoy eating and skip the rest."
- Leangains

 "Make Better Bad Choices - Lyle
A lot of people fall into a dreadful trap over the holidays, figuring that if they’ve eaten a little bit of junk food, clearly they’ve blown it and might as well retire to the corner with the entire tray of fudge and eat themselves sick.

 Maybe it’s something small, a slight deviation or dalliance. There’s a bag of cookies and you have one or you’re at the mini mart and just can’t resist a little something that’s not on your diet. Or maybe it’s something a little bit bigger, a party or special event comes up and you know you won’t be able to stick with your diet. Or, at the very extreme, maybe a vacation comes up, a few days out of town or even something longer, a week or two. What do you do?

 Now, if you’re in the majority, here’s what happens: You eat the cookie and figure that you’ve blown your diet and might as well eat the entire bag. Clearly you were weak willed and pathetic for having that cookie, the guilt sets in and you might as well just start eating and eating and eating.

 Or since the special event is going to blow your diet, you might as well eat as much as you can and give up, right? The diet is obviously blown by that single event so might as well chuck it all in the garbage.

 Sound familiar? Yeah I thought it might. The above is amazingly prevalent and exceedingly destructive. Extremely rigid dieters fall into a trap where they let events such as the holidays become a problem because of their own psychology. They figure that one piece of dessert has ruined all of their hard efforts so they might as well eat ALL the dessert. Which is, of course, nonsense. Say that piece of dessert has a few hundred calories, or say 500 calories. In the context of a weekly plan that is calorie controlled with training, that’s nothing.

 Unless the person lets it become something. They figure 500 calories is the end of the world and eat an additional 5000 calories. Instead of just taking it in stride and realizing that it’s not big deal, they make it a big deal with their own reaction.

 Simply, don’t do that. Realize that there is only so much damage you can do in the short-term. At the end of the day, what you did for one meal that week simply doesn’t matter if the rest of the week was fine. Not unless you make it."
-Lyle

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Thursday, November 20, 2014

Luck Has Nothing To Do With It

You lost 20lbs? You're so lucky!
Some people have come to believe that when you are successful, you must be lucky.
If you lose weight, they'll said you have fast metabolism.
If you make good money, they'll said the market favors you.
If you are skillful, you must be born with talent.
The truth is, we are all lucky we weren't born in 3rd world countries where we have to struggle with poverty, getting basic education, and receive treatments when infected with diseases.
Other than that, our success is the result of making right choices. Especially in fitness! And that has something to do with how you prioritize your goals.
When you have your priorities straight, then you'll know how to use your resources (money/time/energy) wisely.
It's NOT how little you have, is how resourceful you're willing to be with how little you have.
People have rise up to be successful CEO's growing up in a first generation immigrant household because they were willing to take calculated risks and ask silly questions.
People learned to play drums with a missing limb because they're willing to invest twice the time to practice and learn the basics.
People have lost 200lbs by making small changes in their diet and workouts fighting the same fight everyday instead of giving into quick-fix gimmicks that's ever so enticing in the fitness industry.
You're not so unlucky. You are just unwilling.
If you want to be one of the "lucky ones", work harder, work smarter, and accept your current condition as unsatisfactory and make it a personal responsibility to change your current unluckiness.
Thomas Jefferson — “the harder I work, the luckier I get.”

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Willpower is limited so make better investments with it

you just watched an inspiration scene from the movie Rocky or a clip from Bruce Lee's YouTube video on self improvement.
You bought tickets for your next family vacation and you need to get bikini ready in 2 month.
You made a bet with your coworkers to get in shape for $300.
You're super pumped and motivated.
Now what? How are you going to achieve your goal? What are your plans? What's the first step?
Writing down when you will workout on a calendar 8 weeks out is not going to help you.
Telling yourself you'll never eat carbs is NOT smart planning either.
something will get in a way. kids, strep throat, homework, knee injury, bills, thanksgiving...
Motivation is momentary and willpower is a limited resource you have.
Unless a gun is held to your face, you have money to throw at a trainer every month, or your country is depending on you winning the medal, motivation and willpower is not the ultimate answer to better your fitness.
Stop saying to yourself you need to "get motivated" and "be stricter with my diet". saying it doesn't do anything.  Waiting til Jan 1st won't help you either because you'll end up quitting by the 3rd week just like everybody else in the statistics.  What you ultimately need is to turn your limited resources of will power, money, time, etc into something sustainable, like habits.
You have to learn the skills to manage this limited resources because it is competing against another pool of tough decisions like paying bills, job interviews, caring for your pets, dealing with dramas at work, and have time for relaxation and hobbies.
Capitalize it when you have it and generate as much momentum from it when you can but ultimately, you have to be smarter with your investment (time/money/mood/energy) if you're in for the long hual. Esp if you plan to get strong and stay strong forever or simply have 60lbs to lose. that's a long journey for you to not screw up!
How do you capitalize on these fleeting moments?
you have to learn new knowledge because your old knowledge is crap and not working,
you have to reflect upon your habits objectively and with compassion so you are confident for change,
You have to plan things correctly so you're not wasting your resources on fluff,
once you have a plan, doing it is actually very simple. This is why ppl hire trainers
Plan to have the least amount of resistance in your way of getting to the gym. Regularly. Remove the issues (or excuses) of time, energy, funds, or mood to make this happen.
You also have to plan to have the least amount of distractions from having that cupcake reaching your mouth (hunger, boredom, emotional eating, social obligations...).
Examples of good, actionable planning:
Setting your alarm to drink more water when you tend to forget or do push up when you don't have time to make it to the gym.
having your gym clothes ready by the door or in your gym bag,
having foods already marinated and cleaned ready to be cooked for that day and the next few days if you're good,
tell your friends you'll show up for accountability or pay a trainer for it,
remove junk from your cabinets and stop buying them, seriously it works.
know how many calories are in foods you most likely will eat for the rest of your life. if you're stuck with pizza for the rest of your life, might as well get to know its content and work it into your diet
buy exercise bands/tubes you can carry and use when going on vacations,
having your dishes washed so you'll more likely to end up cooking in a clean/organized kitchen helps
tell your friends you rather go for a hike or window shop instead of happy hours where you know you'll end up drinking all that margaritas.
Now THAT'S planning.
Next time you see a motivational video that tells you "just do it" don't just say you'll do it, take action like the things mentioned above.
Do make sure there is a start and an end and every step of the way is something in your power to manage.
and DO make sure it is as easy and painless as possible.    A unit of willpower (whatever that is) spent on fluff is wasteful spending of your resources. Stop doing fluff n make better investments.
that way you can keep doing this miserable business call "eat less and move more" long term, so you don't have to depends solely on willpower. Willpower and Motivation is overrated
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Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Trying Something New


You lose weight when you get strict but always regain it back when you fall off. And you ALWAYS fall off. It's insane you think "getting stricter" will help you this time. Like this time is going to be different.
The problem is, you may have created the deficit but you did not develop the habit for sustainable and permanent weight loss.
Eating less works but eating satiating foods that you actually enjoy makes eating less easier.
Always have your favorite meat and veggie sources in most of your meals and plan ahead. This helps you get full sooner, fight off cravings, meet essential nutrients for health and survival, and keep more lean mass that dictates your metabolic rate.
Moving more works but having fun while getting stronger makes it easier.
Meeting short term strength/performance goals gives you instant positive feelings to keep doing something you normally don't want to do. Don't use the scale to get the feeling of reward, the number on the scale is confusing and defeating due to water fluctuations.
Have fun by trying something new and have a support group that will help you get back on track sooner when you lose your way.
If the reward of doing something is greater than the pain, consistently, the habit will come. Once it's a habit, there is no need to "get strict" or "get motivated" again and again.
The goal is not only to eat less and move more but to make eating less and moving more as least painful as possible. To achieve that, you have to do it smart.
You have to have a system supported by science and be open-minded enough to experiment with different approaches you're not familiar with. Obviously your old and tested approach is not working. So take a risk and try something new.
Your homework:
Find out what food satiate you more that you actually enjoy and plan ahead to make sure they reach your mouth easier. Then pick a few strength goals you want to hit in the next 2-3 weeks and make plans to execute them with the least amount of environmental resistance as possible (driving, timing, mood, funds)

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Sunday, November 9, 2014

Dumbbell and Body Weight Movement and Book

Warm Up A (Jumping Jack, High Knee, Butt Kick)

Warm Up B, C, D (Burpees, High Kicks, Mnt. Climber, Tuck Jump, and Lateral Hops)

DB Alt. Overhead Press

DB Bulgarian Squat

DB Clean

DB Clean and Push Press

DB Crossover Back Lunge

DB Curls

DB Front Squat

DB Plank Row

DB Romanian Deadlift

DB Snatch

DB Split Squat

DB Suitcase Deadlift

DB Suitcase Deadlift Jump

DB Sumo Deadlift

Leg Raise (lying)

Front and Lateral Raises

Plank

Push Up

Side Plank

Single Leg Glute Bridge

For more advanced explainations on each movement plus how to use a barbell when/if it's available to you, visit this page.
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Thursday, November 6, 2014

10 Ways to Automate Fat Loss by Planning for Failures

Plan for failure in fitness will help you.
1. have a backup plan
2. feel more in control
3. Not having to THINK so much to do the right thing
4. keep your self-esteem intact when you fail
5. and enable you to get back on the wagon promoting consistency/adherence.

Here are my 10 tips to help you AUTOMATE fat loss and stay there.

1. Make protein, fiber, and non/low calorie liquid a priority on most days and most meals. Have them around helps. duh

2. Stay productive so you don't eat for boredom. When you're busy, you won't think about food. When you fast, you tend to be more alert and creative, anyways.  Having a to do list helps, having a hobby helps, having pets help.

3. Save your caloric allowance for later (evening and before bed) when you tend to overeat for pleasure.  This means eat less during the day, esp breakfast.  Breakfast is the worst.

4. Know the macro and calories of foods you tend to overeat so you're more conscious of overeating calories when situations present itself.  Study food labels and track calories for a few days will help you for a lifetime.

This is usually ppl's least favorite one to automate fat loss because they don't understand that to "automate" things, it takes a little effort to "set them up" at the beginning.  learning and acquiring new knowledge IS the set up!   Once the information is acquired, lacking in will power will play a lesser role in making better food choices.  Then it's less of a "decision" because it is clear that you have a certain caloric budget to work with to get away with certain foods at the amount that works for your goal.

5. The less frequent you eat the bigger and more satisfying meals you get to eat while still stay under your target.  That means if you want to eat, EAT!     Quit it with the snacking. It's so unsatisfying!   

6. Have a long workout to create a deficit for incoming calories later and promote better nutrient partitioning.  This helps with recovery from workouts, improve your immune system, and when you eat (for training), it serves a purpose, which make the act of eating more meaningful and healthy. 

7. Don't eat fluff foods that doesn't give you as much pleasure.  Eat what will most likely fix your craving FIRST.  Cravings have little to do with physical hunger and doesn't take much to fulfill it.  You can still crave something even if you're full.  Meet your cravings first, then if that doesn't stop you from eating, then eat satiating food for hunger (#1).

8. Visual cues like using smaller plates and bowls help you think you had enough.  Go buy new bowls n plates.

9. Make obtaining high calorie foods difficult and always have diet friendly food around ready to go.  Re-engineer your environment to make overeating harder.   The harder it is for caloric dense food to make it in your mouth, the harder it is to get fat or fall off restrictive diets.

10. Develop new habits like stretching first thing in the morning or do 10 push ups every time you walk past your door.  This can eventually leads to more challenging and more frequent tasks later like cooking for yourself and counting calories.  Once it's a routine then it no longer takes "discipline" do keep doing them.  

Anything you have to do with sheer force at the beginning (involving willpower, paying a lot for trainers, commit to a fitness challenge, or completely give up your favorite foods) usually won't last.   Slowly ease into new healthy habits that you can easily achieve while having mini-goals in mind to reach your overall goal is more obtainable.  This means instead of keep telling yourself  "I got 30lbs to go and only 6 months to do it in before my summer cruise", opt for a smarter attitude like "starting next week, I'll only eat out 2x/week instead of 3 and try a new recipe high in meat and fiber just once".    Instead of saying "Starting in 2015, i'm gonna hit the gym 4x/week and clean up my diet!", try smaller tasks like "Next week i'm going to master the squat movement and once I feel comfortable with that, I will read up about the bench press and experiment with that".

If you can see what you do is meaningful, faster, then it's easier to keep doing something not so fun longer.  If you have to do miserable things for 6 months to lose 30lbs to FEEL like you've accomplished your goal, it's probably not going to happen since stupid things always comes up to throw you off your routine (strep throat, ankle strain, another mortgage,  moving, breakups..)    Once you're OFF, you'll have to summon a whole lot of willpower again (which takes time, funds, energy) to get back on it.  This sometimes take people weeks, months, or years to their "routine" back.    Set up  smaller, mini-goals you can do everyday to get the feeling of being rewarded when you do them so you'll actually feel like you're making progress and even if life throw you off, it's easier to get back into it since they're easier to start.



Renee Johnson
"I have been on every fad diet known to women.  This is hands down the most realistic way of eating and something sustainable long term. Just makes SENSE!! I can’t say enough about Jem Yeh and his knowledge and willingness to go above and beyond  to help you meet your goals. I think it is important this day in time as we see more and more pills to fix things and fads coming and going to REALLY get the FACTS. Jem KNOWS it and is willing to help.  It has been a pleasure to be his client and I look forward to many more sessions with him.  

 God Bless, Thanks Millions Jem YOU ROCK!!!"
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