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Q&A for: 2-Jul-05

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Ask Mike Your Fitness Question:

21. Q: This is the guy from FW. Thanks for answering my previous question. You asked for foods and weight equipment available for fitness plan. For equipment: I go to school, so we have two state of the art gyms with everything we need. So, equipment is not an issue. For food: I would like eat few fruits, soy milk, whey powder, tofu, spinach, garbanzo beans, lentils, peanut butter, eggs, pancake,and pita bread . I hope this helps. I can squeez in the meals every 3 hrs. How about water? I want to workout 3 days a week, while doing cardio for the other 3. The cardio workout will be 30mins/each of running and rowing I can put in 1.5hr for the workout in gym. I will prefer to workout first thing in the morning. To your reccomendation, I should focus on the muscle part first. I am looking FWD for the response and getting started.

A: You are 5 foot 8, 150lbs, around 20 years old. In order to gain muscle, you'll need to eat a lot. We'll start at 2700 calories per day. Those 2700 calories will be split into 6 meals (which means each meal won't actually be that big). Nutritional split of those 2700 calories will be: 200 grams of protein, 270 grams carbs, and 90 grams fat. Of course you won't hit these numbers exactly, but keep them as the daily goal and do your best. And avoid junk food, of course!

Splitting those numbers into 6 roughly equal meals, we find that in each meal you'll want to get 30-35 grams of protein, 45 grams of carbs, and 15 grams of fats (for a total of 450 calories per meal). Most of the foods you listed are great choices, except for pancakes :) I would also recommend ditching pita bread for things like oatmeal or at least whole wheat bread. So lets try a sample daily diet...

Meal 1: 2 eggs, 1 cup soy milk, 1 scoop whey powder, 1 banana
Meal 2: 1 cup (cooked) garbanzo beans, 2 cups broccoli or spinach, 1 slice bread
Meal 3: 2 cups (cooked) lentils, 1 tbsp olive oil
Meal 4: 2 cups soy milk, 1 scoop whey, 1 tbsp peanut butter
Meal 5: 2 cups (cooked) lentils, 1 tbsp olive oil
Meal 6: 2 cups low-fat tofu, 2 cups spinach

Obviously you won't eat exactly that every day, but it should give you a good idea for meals you can eat with the foods you listed. You will also drink a LOT of plain water throughout the day. 1 gallon of water per day is a good goal. You don't have to jump to this diet right away, but gradually 'eat' your way up to it over a week or so. Then track your weight by weighing yourself on an empty stomach in the morning once every few days. It'll take a couple of weeks for your system to get used to the new diet, but after that you should gain about 1 pound every 2-3 weeks. If you go a whole month without your weight going up, bump the calories up by 200-300 cal per day (in other words, eat more :) But be patient -- the slower you gain weight, the more likely it is to be muscle rather than fat.

Now for your workouts... While you are eating a lot to build muscle you will need to focus on basic weightlifting. I don't recommend a lot of (or even any) cardio because it will only slow down your muscle gain. You'll have plenty of opportunity for cardio in the next stage, when you shed the extra fat. If you really enjoy cardio, limit it to 10-15 minutes per day, 2-3 days per week. As far as weight-training, 3 sessions per week is enough. Aim for 45-60 minutes per session which should allow you to fit 20-25 sets per session. I have some sample programs posted in the weighttraining article. Alternatively, if you want to have quick 30-minute workout sessions you may choose the following program for the week:

Tue: 2 sets of barbell squats (for legs), 2 sets of pullups (for back), 2 sets of bench press (for chest), 2 sets of upright rows (for shoulders), 1 set of cable pushdown (for triceps), 1 set of barbell curls (for biceps). Choose weight that you can lift roughly 13-14 times and then do sets of 12 reps (so not quite to failure, but close).
Thur: Same as Tuesday, but pick weight that you can lift 10-11 times and do sets of 9 reps (again, close to failure).
Sunday: Same as Tuesday, but pick weight that you can lift 7-8 times and do sets of 6 reps (again, close to failure).

As I say in the weighttraining article, there is no one perfect weightlifting program. Feel free to choose from any of the ones on this site or from any other recommended to you by somebody or something you trust. Make sure to not overdo it -- the most time you should spend lifting weights is 5 hours per week. But while you are in the gym make sure you work and work hard. The main thing is consistency in lifting and in diet. Good luck!

22. Q: I have just 3 more questions about going on a muscle-building diet? 1. Can I go ahead replace garbanzo beans by eating soybeans? 2. I am very afraid that this will just add alot body weight and i will gain too much? 3. When will I know to switch from this to burning fat mode?

A: 1) Pretty much any other legumes (beans or lentils) should be OK. Actually I don't like soybeans that much, mainly because there're some health concerns about eating unfermented soy products (and you already drink soy milk). If you're not worried about that though, then you can go ahead with soybeans.

2) This is going to be the hardest thing to overcome if you are already unhappy with the amount of body fat you have. You will gain some fat along with muscle when you put on weight. The amount of fat gained depends on a bunch of variables -- how well you stick to the diet, how hard you push yourself in the gym, and how lucky/unlucky you are with your genetics. The main thing to prevent fat gain is to put on weight veeeeeery slowly. As slow as 1 pound per month even. It's very hard to structure your diet with that precision -- it's more likely that you'll gain 1 pound every 1-2 weeks. You'll gain even more in the beginning, but that's just extra water being retained by your body as you start to eat more, so don't worry about the weight gain in the first week. But the speed with which you gain weight is what you'll need to watch and adjust for... If you gain 2 pounds in the 2nd week, cut your calories by 200-300 cal per day. If you don't gain anything in weeks 2-4, then bump up the calories by 200-300 per day. If you keep an accurate track of your weight and check in with me with progress, I can tell you whether to eat more/less/same.

So, yes, you will put on a little fat when you gain muscle. That's unavoidable (unless you start steroids and I don't recommend that at all). You have to know yourself and decide whether you can mentally overcome the fact that you are temporarily adding some fat. I promise that if you stick to this system for 4-6 months and add good 10-12 pounds of mostly muscle, then after that you will be able to lose the unwanted fat much easier then you tried to lose it now.

Again, just to emphasize, the first week you start eating for muscle-building you are very likely to add 2-3 or even more pounds. Don't worry about it -- it's just extra water retained by your body, it's not fat or muscle. Only start tracking weight after you've been on this diet for a week or so. But once you start track it carefully so you can adjust the diet in the most optimal way. Weigh yourself on an empty stomach in the morning, before you eat or drink anything.

3) This will be up to you really. A few people I trained had so much success with building muscle (aka bulking) and liked it so much they never actually went to fat-burning (aka cutting) mode. They were also lucky/good in that they put on hardly any fat along with muscle. Typically though I recommend spending at least 4-6 months gradually putting on muscle. After those 4-6 months your metabolism will be revving very high and by going on a fat-burning diet you'll be able to lose fat (while retaining maximum muscle) quickly. At the very least, spend 2 months building muscle before switching to losing fat.

But pick one program and stick to it. If you think it's going to be a problem psychologically for you are to see yourself putting on a little fat along with muscle, then you may not want to start with muscle building. If you're mentally OK with some temporary fat, then go with muscle building first and cutting fat later.

23. Q: I do a little bit of running. But my main problem is to reduce my waistline. Do you have any suggestions?

A: Two most important things for losing the fat are proper diet and weightlifting. Running is great for you and can help cut some fat, but cannot do much on its own, especially if you don't control your diet.

You can find several weightlifting programs in the 'Introduction to Weight Lifting' article in the Article section of this website and even weightlifting you do on your own without following any specific program will help. However if you want weightlifting to help cut the fat (and to build muscle), it is important that you choose weights that truly challenge you. Pick weights that you can lift only between 6 and 12 times in a row before becoming so exhausted that you need a rest. This is a very important point -- many people select light weights and stick to them for months and years. Instead you should select moderately heavy or heavy weights and increase them as you get stronger. Just remember to use good form when lifting weights -- never swing the weights up or cheat by using momentum in any other way. Select heavy weights which you can safely lift without cheating.

Ideally you would follow a diet recommended by the 'Introduction to Nutrition' article (it has an interactive form which tells you how many meals and calories you should eat). However if you cannot or do not wish to plan out your diet so formally, you can still follow some simple tips that'll help cut some fat:

• Split up a big meal into two or more smaller meals.
• Avoid eating lots of bread, pasta, potatoes, or rice. Also avoid using a lot of oil or butter in your cooking.
• Minimize fried foods and avoid deep-frying completely.
• Go easy on salad dressing. Vegetable salads are great for you, but commercial dressings, even low-fat or fat-free ones, are very unhealthy and full of calories. Make homemade dressings using a bit of olive oil, vinegar, and herbs instead.
• Go easy on nuts and peanut butter too.
• Eat a lot of vegetables, especially the green leafy kind. Also eat a lot of beans and lentils. These are all very healthy foods that are filling as well conducive to fat loss.
• Drink a lot of water throughout the day.
• Avoid all soft drink, even diet ones, as well as alcohol and juices. Instead of drinking juice, eat a piece of fruit or drink water.
• Skip sweets, deserts, fast food, and vending machines.
  
  

25. Q: How much sleep is needed for someone who does 4 days of heavy lifting?

A: Try for at least 8 hours a day! Rest, along with nutrition, is just as important as hard workouts. Without sufficient sleep your body will not be able to repair damage inflicted at the gym (remember -- you damage the muscles at the gym and rebuild them outside the gym!). Equally important, your nervous system will suffer as well. Your nervous system is responsible for efficiently recruiting the fibers of your muscles to lift the most possible weight. If your nervous system doesn't get enough rest through sleep, your gym performance will decline.

If for whatever reason you cannot get much sleep for a few weeks or longer, tone down your workouts accordingly -- do fewer sets than usual, don't go to failure on every set, add an extra day of rest here and there, etc.

26. Q: The Gym has a dr's weight scale, it said I was 160lb. I certainly dont look like one, but apparently I am. I dont want to be buff, i want to be lean but with muscles. I woul be fine weighing close to 140lb as long have muscles instead of fat.

A: Don't worry too much about exactly what the scale reads (a lot of scales under- or over-weigh consistently), but instead track the difference from one week and month to the next. The scale reads 160 now (and it might be 158 tomorrow and 161 the next day - day-to-day fluctuations are expected unless you weigh in the morning on empty stomach, so you should only look at long-term trends), and you want to gain a pound of muscle every 2-4 weeks since you are bulking. So your goal is to get 161-162 readings in one month, 162-163 in 2 months, etc. If you can and have the patience start a little Excel spreadsheet where you record the date and your weight -- that way you'll have an easy way of tracking progress over time.

Your goal of lean with muscles is a lot more achievable, than being huge and muscular. For now just focus on lifting, eating, and building muscle. After 4-6 months or depending on how you feel and look, we'll change the diet to start cutting the fat. At that point you'll be able to pick up your cardio as much as you want. Your fat-burning diet will be a lot like what you are eating now MINUS all bread, all pasta, all rice, some fruits, but PLUS a lot more green leafy veggies like spinach, lettuce, and broccoli.

28. Q: How do you get rid of 'man boobs'?

A: Please read this!

29. Q: I burn more than 3000 calories a day and I consume 200 calories. Why is it that I'm not able to continue to lose weight?

A: This is an excellent question! First off, hopefully you meant that you consume 2000 calories per day (200 calories per day is incredibly dangerous). It sounds like you were losing weight for awhile but now that's slowing down or stopped completely. What happened was that your metabolism has slowed so that you are actually burning only about 2000 calories. How can that be? Well, as I said this is a great question and I would like to answer it in detail.

Let's first understand that the way your body burns calories is far more complicated than a simple calories calculator can account for. Your metabolism is determined not just by your age/weight/height/activities, but also by your diet (both past and present), genetics, health conditions, and use or lack of weight training. Diet has a huge effect on metabolism.

Take Joe and Bob -- they both eat 2000 calories per day. Joe eats these calories in 2 meals which consist of pasta topped off by ice-cream. Bob eats them in 5 small meals of veggies and chicken or fish. All other things being equal, Joe will have much lower metabolism and gain fat much easier than Bob. So you can see that not all calories are created equal!

OK, Joe is obviously at a fat-burning disadvantage here. But how does Bob compare to Ned -- his workout buddy who eats the same way as Bob. Bob has been on this 2000 calorie diet of his for several months now. Ned, on the other had, has just finished bulking up by 10 pounds on a 3000 calorie diet and now wants to shed a bit of excess fat. Ned's body is used to running at 3000 calories! His metabolism is revving very very high right now and as he drops to 2000 calories, his body will be burning fat to make up for the lack of calories it's used to. Bob's body, however, is already used to his diet, and his metabolism has already dropped and is low compared to Ned's. Bob's body has no incentive to burn extra fat. So, even a perfectly good diet ceases to give results after a while because the body simply adapts to it!

So what should you do? First off, if you are like Joe, try to become more like Bob -- in other words, eat better and exercise, including weight train! If you are already like Bob, then you must become more like Ned! What does that mean? Well, your body is used to your routine and has no incentive to burn extra fat anymore. That means you need to shake it up. Either eat less and less OR boost your metabolism. Eating less and less will work up to a point, but at 2000 calories you are already not eating a whole lot. Check out the calculator in the weight-loss article to see how much you can safely eat to drop weight. Depending on your gender/age/weight you can maybe drop up to another 500 calories per day, but no more than that.

So if eating less is not an option and you are already eating well and exercising, you have no choice but to try and boost your metabolism. You need to *increase* your calories for a period of time. Don't eat junk food, but eat more of good foods. Add a whole extra meal into your daily diet plan. For how long should you eat these extra calories? Try doing it for 1 day every week or for an entire week every 2 months. Either way, your body will get the periodic metabolism boost needed to jump-start fat burning again. After the metabolism-boosting period go back to your 2000 calorie diet until the next such period. This way you get the best of both worlds: keeping your metabolism high and losing the fat!

30. Q: my basal metabolic rate is 2312 and my lean body mass is a 163 pounds. this means that one pound of lean body mass only burns around 14 calories a day so wouldnt cardio be more effective in losing weight?

A: The BMR number is just a rough approximation of how many calories are burned during an average day. It does not include the effects of cardio or weight training or the diet. You certainly shouldn't assume that your BMR divided by your lean body mass is how much your body will always burn, even when you weight train.

Weight training is incredibly effective in increasing your metabolism, not only because of the extra calories burnt in the actual gym lifting weights but even more because of the extra recovery and rebuilding your body has to go through in between sessions. That's why big compound exercises like squat and deadlift are most effective in increasing metabolism -- they work a large proportion of all your muscle mass forcing your body to rebuild more of it, thus burning more extra calories.

Cardio is GREAT for you (as long as you don't overdo it, just like weights) and it WILL contribute to weight loss, but it does not carry the same 24x7 metabolic boost as does heavy weight training. Furthermore, excessive cardio, especially without weight training, will cause your body to burn more muscle along with fat to supply you with the necessary energy. This will actually lower your BMR. My reccomendation is to definitely do cardio, but not to count on it as a big contributor to effective fat loss. Maybe 2-3 runs per week of 30 minutes each. Instead emphasize weight lifting and diet to burn the most fat while preserving muscle.