Q&A for: 15-Jul-05
164. Q:
why is sugar blamed for the obesity epidemic in america? The countless 'no sugsr diets' that have been tried has not solved the obesity problem.
A:
Consuming too much sugar does lead to fat gain. But so do many other dietary or lifestyle habits and a sugar-free diet doesn't address them. Plus 'sugar-free' is a horribly misleading label. FDA classification allows things like maltodextrose to be added to foods and have them still be 'sugar-free' even though as far as your body is concerned maltodextrose has identical effects to sugar. Same thing holds true of many other carbohydrates. But even these facts only begin to scratch the surface of the reasons for the obesity epidemic and for the failure of most diets. My nutrition article basically addresses healthy dietary practices, at least some of which are missing from almost all the popular diets. And the other big thing is, of course, exercise (which is missing from all diets and most people's lives entirely :)
168. Q:
what is the best way to get rid of man boobs
A:
Please see here.
169. Q:
what is the best way to get a six pack
A:
Please see here.
170. Q:
what is the best way to get abs
A:
Please see here.
171. Q:
I'm a 16 year old in high school and I have 'man-boobs'. What is the most effective way in getting rid of them?
A:
Please see here.
172. Q:
I am a 26 year old female who gave birth 14 months ago. I have always been slender & lost almost all the weight I had gained from my pregnancy within the first 6 months (mostly from breastfeeding). However, I have taken up exercising 4 months ago, beginning with about 45 minutes of light weight-training (including body-resistance training) and about 20 minutes of cardio 3-4 times per week the first two months, then switching to 35-45 minutes of cardio and 20 minutes of weight-training the past two months, all combined with a slight decrease in calories. I haven't seemed to have lost much weight within these last 4 months. Why do you think that is and what do you think is the better routine to lose the most weight, especially around the stomach area?
A:
Congratulations (belated) on your baby! As you are discovering it's a little hard to get back to your 'old' body, but certainly not impossible. You are already exercising, which is great! I would recommend going back to more-weights, less-cardio program for that and to not be afraid to make weight training heavy and for your whole body, including legs. Heavy weight training will tear up your muscle tissue forcing your body to repair it. This repair process has tremendous capacity to burn fat and you're missing out on it if you limit yourself to light weights. Don't be afraid of becoming too muscular -- it won't happen as long as you don't overeat! Be warned however, that lifting heavy weights will increase your appetite, so watch how much you eat.
Speaking of eating, chances are you can tweak your diet too to force your body into burning more fat. Please read my Nutrition article if you haven't already done so. In it you will find a general guideline of how to eat. You will also find a sample fat-burning diet which would be appropriate for a 160 lbs or so women. You can customize that diet for yourself by simply reducing portion sizes proportionally to your own weight. So, for example, if you weigh 125 lbs, you'd want to reduce portion size in the sample diet by about 20%.
Between diet improvements and heavier weight training you should find your overall fat burning off, which will also translate into less stomach fat (unfortunately it's impossible to target only one specific area of your body, like stomach, for fat loss -- your body builds and loses fat all over, not just in one place). Good luck!
173. Q:
how do you lose man boobs
A:
Please see here.
174. Q:
Since one would feel weak on an empty stomach when working out one would be able to have a stronger workout if one ate breakfast before exercising.
A:
Absolutely! If you weight train in the morning you owe it to yourself to have a nice BIG breakfast with plenty of protein and good carbs like old-fashioned oatmeal before the workout. Then you'll probably want to wait 30-45 minutes for the food to settle down and hit the weights!
175. Q:
Do you believe in the set point theory? I do. I weight 200 pounds at 19% body composition. If I go above 200 its very easy to lose the weight even if I'm not careful about my diet. But I am unable to go below 200 even though I have weight trained and done some cardio. I think my body is comfortable at 200 pounds and there is no point in fighting nature.
A:
I do believe that everyone has their ultimate limits, but there's absolutely no way that your ultimate limit is to be 19% BF at 200 lbs. It may not be easy and it may take a lot of time and being mindful of your diet (which is what gets most people) and training regimens, but I guarantee you that you can drop to AT LEAST 14% or so body fat, if not better. It's just a matter of whether you want it enough to invest the effort. Your body may well be comfortable at 19% 200lbs, but that doesn't mean that you can't do significantly better.
If you've followed good whole-body weight training programs and moderate cardio and haven't had success, the culprit is more than likely your diet. Be mindful of what and how much you eat every day, write it down, and compare it to the advice given in the Nutrition article. And of course ask any follow-up questions here. Good luck!
176. Q:
Can you evaluate this particular page of this website? It almost completely contradicts your advice and I would like to know what you think about what he says since I am such a big fan of your site. http://www.weightlossforall.com/fat-loss-tricks.htm
A:
Sure. I don't think I contradict Tom Venuto that much :) I'll go through his main points one by one and compare them to my own recommendations.
- DO CARDIO DAILY. Disagree. Q&A #60 summarizes my reasons and Q&A #71 details at least one man's experiences where my advice seemed to have helped (granted, one example doesn't prove a theory :). One thing I don't like about Tom's reasons is that 'pro bodybuilders and fitness models do lots of cardio'. As I've said in answers to several questions, it's a big mistake to compare an average Joe or Jane to a pro bodybuilder or fitness models. The latter are much more genetically gifted and can benefit from much more stringent training, have superior training facilities, superior diets, and (an ugly truth) are often supplementing with anabolic steroids. What works for them will not necessarily work for you.
- DO YOUR CARDIO FIRST THING IN THE MORNING ON AN EMPTY STOMACH. Disagree. I gave my reasoning in Q&A #159 where I explain why the argument that empty-stomach cardio will tap into fat reserves is flawed. By that logic we might as well not eat so our bodies are forced to tap into those same fat reserves! It doesn't make any sense.
- REDUCE YOUR CARBS, BUT DON'T CUT THEM ALL OUT AND DON'T STAY ON LOW CARBS TOO LONG. Agree. We differ slightly on how much carbs to consume and for how long one can stay on a cutting cycle (I say stay on it as long as it works instead of putting a cap on the time), but we basically agree on this.
- RAISE YOUR LEAN PROTEIN AND HEALTHY FATS. Absolutely agree 100%.
- GET TOTAL CLARITY OF PURPOSE. Absolute agree. Pick your goal and stick to it for at least a few months before re-evaluating.
- 5 MEALS A DAY FOR WOMEN, SIX MEALS A DAY FOR MEN.... OR JUST FUGGETABOUTIT! Absolutely agree. In fact, the more meals the better, as long as the total amount of food you eat is the same. Make meals as small and as frequent as you can.
- GO EASY ON THOSE PROTEIN BARS AND MEAL REPLACEMENT SHAKES - FOCUS ON REAL FOOD. Absolutely agree 100%.
- HIIT THE FAT! Absolutely agree. HIIT is a tremendous fat-burner and an excellent replacement for long cardio sessions. I haven't given it too much time, but I did mention it in Q&A #42 and #33.
- DO ALL YOUR CARDIO HARDER. Somewhat agree. I do advise to do cardio at moderate to brisk pace, not slow pace. I don't advise to do it all-out, unless it's a short HIIT session. Your muscles need time to recover in between weight-training sessions and lengthy all-out cardio will prevent that.
- USE THE ADVANCED THREE DAY SPLIT ROUTINE. Somewhat agree. Split routines can be very good and full-body routines can be very good. Split routines are well suited to higher volume training for each body part and are very popular with bodybuilders. I advise using both approaches in your training. Variety is good.
So I think on the whole it's not a total disaster trying to follow both Tom's and my advice. The main difference is the amount of cardio and cardio on the empty stomach. You'll have to decide who to believe there :) A good approach would be trying each advice for a month or two and seeing for yourself.
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