[netizen]

its all about calories In vs calories Out.
so to lose weight, u spend more than what u eat (calories = energy). thats the golden rule. conversely, to gain weight, u have to eat more than u spend (this dilemma is for another thread)

in layman terms, u can either;
1. eat less, keep activity constant
2. eat same, increase activity
3. eat less, increase activity (best of both worlds)

the safest, quickest and most sound way to lose fat is through a careful and monitored caloric reduction and increase in exercise. rather than relying on pills or potions and cocktails, get control of your diet and push that intensity through the roof with your workouts and cardio sessions. so look into this more than anything.

i have no degree, no certification, and neither a practitioners license - ive just amassed all this information over a number of years. some of it is logic, some common sense and some are bound by rules. u all are not my test subjects, i wont xperiment on ur, or try a new trick or herbal concoction - its all tried n tested backed by evidence.

my end of the deal is to provide u with answers/guidelines (as best as i can) , all i ask in return is for u to display some willpower , a little bit of determination and most of all, consistency.

so lets do it.

ill start off with the most common weight reduction tools (found in almost every kitchen) that ppl have used with some success..

Calcium – A recent study found that an increase in dietary calcium intake, together with a normal protein intake, increased fecal fat and energy excretion by about 350 calories per day. so yea, there are lots of studies that support it. The bottom line is that increasing calcium intake is a boon to those who want to not only lose weight, but to lose fat, improve body composition, and keep that fat and weight from coming back. Calcium is useless w/o vitamin D, vit D helps the body absorb calcium, almost all calcium supplements come with vitamin D. switch to nesvita asap.

Caffeine – once again, do not rely on coffee, too much of it has its negative side effects. It’s the cornerstone of many fat loss supplements because of its well-documented effects on thermogenesis (production of heat in the body) and lipolysis (fat burning). BUT, it is not necessarily considered as a stand alone product intended to enhance fat loss; rather, it is included with other ingredients with the intention of producing a synergistic effect. also, having a cup of coffee before a cardio session (jogging, swimming, running etc) programs that body to draw energy for the exercise from fat reserves.

Green Tea - research suggests that supplementing with green tea can raise your resting metabolic rate by 3%. In order to get this benefit you must have about 3 glasses a day. ofcoutrse w/o the sugar! jasmine green tea ftw.. tastes good and has a host of other benefits.

there are no short cuts to losing weight, don’t rely solely on calcium, caffeine and green tea, just supplement with them. There is absolutely no substitute to cutting calories and burning more, its the safest and only fool proof way to lose weight effectively keeping your long term health as priority. Yes, fat burners exist as well, and the pros rely on them, but it doesn’t end there, they spend 60 – 90 minutes a day, minimum on the tread mill, not to mention they compete on an international level (wear skimpy underwear, wax body, apply oil, squeeze, smile, hold that pose)

the diff kinds of fats.

GOOD FATS

monounsaturated fat and polyunsaturated fat. monounsaturated fats are mainly found in natural foods like nuts, olive, corn oil, canola oil. and polyunsaturated fats in vegetable oils, sunflower and cottonseed oil.

omega 3 - salmon, tuna, walnuts, flax seeds, soy bean oil etc
omega 6 - corn oil, sunflower, walnuts etc


BAD FATS

saturated fat - this type is most often found in animal products (meat, seafood, whole-milk dairy products -cheese, milk, and ice cream - poultry skin, and egg yolks)

trans fat - junk, cookies cake, grease



there are a lot of Do's and Dont's... and by just following the dont's, ull witness incredible results. oh, fyi - a safe and healthy mount of weight (fat) to lose is 1.5-2lbs a week. anything more than that, and ure jeopardizing ur health and probably losing muscle along with it.
u want to avoid junk food, soft drinks, white bread, rice (ok to have rice for lunch), sweet stuff, oily and greasy stuff.
bodybuilding (whether its muscle gaining or losing fat) is 70% diet. u are what u eat. dont have anything heavy, sweet 3-4 hours before sleeping. cuz what hpns when u sleep, is that ur body's metabolic rate slows down, so its tendency to burn calories is lowered and hence stores the food as fat.

quick carbs - those that give instant energy - bananas, white bread, chocolates, potatoes and other sweet stuff
slow carbs - those that provide a steady supply of energy. ideal to have for breakfast (with a mix of quick cars), pastas, brown rice and most fruits and veges, roti, brown bread, wheat bread, oatmeal !


sweet stuff - sugar, softdrinks, chocolates.. most of this is to be avoided. cuz what hpns is that when we have something sweet, insulin is released, which is a powerful anabolic (muscle building) hormone as well as a fat storing hormone. so when ur insulin level spikes, it contributes to fat storage... but, the most profitable time to have something sweet is after working out and before working out... cuz the spike in insulin will give u a lot of energy and contributes to muscle recovery , and this is harmless in the gym and after the gym. as the body needs refueling, so at this time, it wont hurt to have sweet stuff. ofcourse we cant rely on sweet stuff as it comes with a lot of fat usually.. the unhealthy fat.. so its ok to have a a piece of chocolate after working out, but not all of it.. the rest of ur requirement should come from quick carbs (bananas, white bread, potatoes, or a combo of all)..with them, the spike in insulin will give u rapid energy to refuel ur body

also, dont go long periods w/o food.. always have something in ur stomach to keep the body's digestive system active.. and if u go long periods w/o food, the body kicks into survival mode, so whatever food it gets next, it stores as fat - in anticipation for the next period of famine. thts why ppl gain weight in ramzan, as opposed to losing it. so break up ur lunch, dinner, breakfast into portions.

join a gym, use weights, build some muscle. cuz the more muscle u have, the more calories u burn just by sitting idle. focus on compound exercises (those that involve a number of muscle groups) like squats, deadlifts, chins, rows, benching.. (this is all for another thread too)


here are ideal breakfast combos.. i wont add any for lunch or dinner, cuz most of us are at work or in college during those times. so make it a point to have breakfast! we'll come up with lunch/dinner combos when u give me the options that are available to u.

1. omelet (veges), brown bread with cheese
2. oatmeal, or any other cereal with low fat milk, juice
3. cereal and omelet (3-4 eggwhites) and juice (ideal combo)
coffee and chai are good to go.

pre workout - u can have coffee with very little sugar, and lotsa water
post workout (right after working out) - a banana, white bread, milk, eggwhites.. or a combo of all.. here the 'quick' carbs that i told u to avoid, are ideal as they refuel ur body and begin the muscle building.

no matter how hard u workout in the gym, unless u rnt having enough protein u wont build muscle. the body needs 0.8 to 1 gram of protein per body pound. 1 eggwhite has 4 grams of protein. 1 tikka ****** has 30 grams, 1 glass of milk has 8 grams. and these are ur primary tools. always have a ****** tikka cuz it has less fat as compared to leg.

by doing 10000 crunches for abs, ull burn all the fat on ur stomach and bring out abs. thats a lie, misconception. fat is burned from all over the body at a predetermined rate and pattern. only way to bring out those miraculous abs is by controlling ur intake and working on ur abs 2-3 times a week.

cardio - set a target and jog till u break a sweat/lose breath. next day, jog a bit more than that, and so on. say jog 50meters more, or 15 seconds more than ur last time.

as for exercises, on day 1 do ur chest/shoulders/tris... this is the 'press' day, as ure pressing the weight away from u. bench 'press', military 'press', tricep 'press'. press or push, same thing
day 2 is pull day... i.e. back/biceps.
day 3 is leg day, squats and hamstrings and calves

do 12-16 sets for the chest, back, shoulders and leg (hams included) muscles
and 8-12 sets for biceps, triceps, forearms, traps (aka collars) and calves
ill cover all the aspects of gym routines in greater detail

bodybuilding is king, nutrition in queen.. put them together, and u have a beautiful kingdom. which means u cant do one w/o the other. whether u want to gain weight or lose weight - its abt ur discipline in and out of the kitchen.