My Perminant Weight Loss Plan (Long but worth it!)

[tim fuller]

Like lots of you, I have struggled with weight loss for most of my life. Every once and a while, I would lose a bunch of weight, but it would always come back on. About two years ago, I begin changing my approach a little bit. In turn, I have lost 70 pounds... gained a TON of muscle, and will be having surgery in November to get rid of the last remaining gyne.

My plan is based around a few basic habits that got me started on a permanent weight loss plan, then I will go into a few more complicated measures that will really get you looking good once most of the weight is gone. You will find that this first set of things becomes really easy to stick too once

BASIC HABITS

1. Proactive eating:
I really feel that this is by far the most important habit to develop if you want life long weight loss. We all know that feeling. You wait too long to eat, and all the sudden you are half way through a pizza. It is impossible to expect yourself to make smart food choices if your blood sugar is crashing. Eat breakfast as soon as you wake up, and then have a small 200-500 calorie meal every 2-4 hours after that. Developing this habit will really get your metabolism churning (see permanent weight loss). You will find that once you start to do this, it becomes 10x easier to make good food decisions. Make food your friend, not your enemy and the two of you will have a much healthier relationship. For example if you bring a sandwich to work... try eating half at 11 am, and the other half at 2pm. You will probably find this pretty easy, but if you wait until 12 or 1 then there is no way you arn't finishing the whole sandwich. If you are out with friends, it becomes really easy to order light because you have the excuse "i just ate two hours ago."

2. Weight Lifting:
This is the other habit that really leads to permanent weight loss. Like I said, I had lost weight a number of times before this, but it was always the wrong way. For example, if you keep yourself under 2000 calories and run 3 miles every day, you are going to lose weight. And probably fast. What you don't realize with this approach, is that in addition to losing fat, you are also losing muscle. What happens when you stop running 3 miles everyday? You are setting yourself up for a devastating weight regain. Every pound of muscle burns around 50 calories per day to maintain itself. That means that if you can add 10 pounds of muscle to your frame, your body is burning an extra 500 calories on its own (about the equivalent of a 3 mile run).

3. Zero liquid Carbs (except going out for drinks with friends a couple times a week):
This one is key, and shouldn't be that hard once you make it a habit. There are so many options these days whether you are home or dining out. You will like to learn diet soda and forget what regular tastes like. My personal choice, is sparkling water with a hint of lime. It gives me the carbonation I need, with out all the artificial stuff in diet soda. Try ordering a soda water on tap with a lime, next time you are out. Sometimes they don't even charge you for that. Personally, I wouldn't give up alcohol altogether, but if you decide to do so, that is all the better. I limit my alcohol consumption to friday and saturday when going out with friends. Whats the point of a good body if you don't go out and enjoy it?

4. Base Dietary Choices Around the Abs Diet food groups (good carbs, good fats, plenty of protein)
You have all probably heard these before. Avoid bad fats (saturated/trans). Basically you don't want fat that has been created from animal products (dairy/red meat etc). Fat from olive oil, nuts, avocados etc. are all A OK. Stick to whole grain carbs as well, and try and make sure that all meals with carbs are also serving up some protein and good fat as well. That will help slow the digestion of the carbs. Once you commit to this, you will find tooooooons of great tasting options.

Once you commit to these four habits, you will start to lose weight in a permanent fashion. Once these become second nature, you can start to adopt some of my next stategies to really start burning that final fat.

ADVANCED HABITS

[tim fuller]

Sorry, I accidentally posted before finishing...

ADVANCED HABITS

[tim fuller]

DAMNIT HAPPENED AGAIN! HAHA

Anyways, here they are...

Advanced Habit 1. Nutrient Timing
This can be a little complicated, but there are certain times when your body is more prepared to work with certain nutrients (fat/protein/carbs). Without getting too far into the science, I will try and break nutrient timing down into 3 meal types.

Right When you Wake up (Fat/Protein/Carbs) - There is a reason why they say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. This meal sets the standard for how you will eat throughout the day. This should be your most balanced meal of the day. You body is perfectly primed for some carbs cause you haven't eaten in 8-10 hours. It is also a good time for some healthy fat, to keep you satiated until your next meal. My choice? Turkey and Egg on a Whole Wheat bagel with Avocado, Tomato, and Onion.

Right Before/After you Work Out (Carbs/Protein) - You muscles store a certain amount of carbs in the form of glycogen. When you either don't eat (when sleeping) or have a big workout, this glycogen gets drained. If you don't refill your glycogen right after it is drained, then your body is liable to start burning muscle rather than fat. So have something small to eat right before you work out. My Choice? Cottage Cheese on a piece of toast. Small note about the post workout meal: This is the one time of your day when Refined Carbohydrates are actually GOOD for you. Your body needs the carbs fast, so refined can actually be preferable. One cautionary note: make sure not to combine these carbs with fat, because fat slows the carbs from getting to your muscles. Also have a bigger carb rich meal right after you work out. Turkey Sandwich on a Sourdough Roll with Mustard, Lettuce, and Tomato.

Every Other Meal: (Protein/Fat) - Once your muscles are filled with glycogen, you want to be focusing most of your calories on protein with some healthy fat. This will keep your body burning fat in the most efficient manner possible.

Nutrient Timing Example:
Breakfast (Turkey and Egg on Whole Wheat Bagel with Avocado, Tomato, and Onion)
Snack (Handful of Almonds)
Lunch (Big Salad)
Pre Workout (Low-fat/Non-fat Cottage Cheese on Wheat Toast)
Post Workout (Turkey Sandwich on Sourdough Roll with Mustard, Lettuce, Tomato, and Onion)
Snack Protein Shake (Vanilla protein with frozen berries)

That would probably be an ideal/perfect day of eating.

Advanced Habit 2. Take Weekends Off

When I am getting extreme on my diet (Aka strict nutrient timing) I like to take it easy on weekends. That gives me a nice break, and as long as I eat proactively, I still end up making pretty healthy choices.

Ive got a number of additional things that I do, but overall this is the main plan. Focus on the Basic habits though and you will get your self off on a really great foot. Good luck!

[rashdudes]

Good post here. I definitely second what he said. I started this routine a year ago, and now my BF is down from 18.5% to 11%.
Offcourse with a lot of running, and weight lifting that is 

[womanboob]

Great post! There is lots of information about dieting the right way.
You mentionned running three miles a day and eating less than 2000 calories to have a net calorie loss which will make one lose weight. I totally agree
You mentionned that this is good but you are also losing muscle mass (which is important for burning calories (each pound of muscle increases your basal metabolic rate)) so when you stop the running you are s**t out of luck and go back to the fat you which i agree with aswell. 

L-Glutamine

I'm on a fat cutting cycle and I've been taking L-glutamine which practically everyone at the gym recommended me and I'm now a believer of it. It has really helped me keep my muscle mass while cutting off fat. I'm not going to go into detail what it does but basically it keeps the body from breaking down muscle tissue to be used as energy.

I hate statistics but I'm sure that 90% of glutamine takers will agree that there's no better supplement to take than L-Glutamine while trying to lose fat

Thats all like I said earlier great "detailed" post

*tried not to go into details as this is not a bodybuilding forum

[Copespo]

Awesome, thanks for this...I defiantly took down some tips and notes on the foods and stuff....one question: When you said Turkey and Egg, how do I prepare the egg? Boiled?

[Clandestine]

Prepare your egg any way you like it, as long as you're not adding excess calories through frying it in oil. Boiled is fine, also poached or scrambled.

Some good advice here! One thing I would not do though is cut out saturated fat. Saturated fats, and EFA's (essential fatty acids) are vital to your health. A moderate ammount of saturates, from lean red meat and semi skimmed/skimmed milk are fine. As said, avoid Trans-Fats and Hydrogenated oils, these are extremely bad for you, are not needed by your body (they are artificially created "damaged" fats) and cause your LDL cholesterol levels to rise.

As everyone is different, don't just copy somebody elses diet plan to the letter. For example if I were to eat what tim fuller  has listed to the letter each day, I wouldn't have the energy to do my job, let alone work out. Adjust quantities to suit your needs.

As an example of what is working for me, yesterdays food intake for me was:

9:30: 2 slices granary bread, 1 whole egg with 3 egg whites, Omega 3 low cal spread.
12:45: 100g chicken breast, large mixed salad, 10ml flax seed oil.
14:30: 100g lean minced steak (dry fried and seasoned with pepper) 100g whole wheat pasta, broccoli, sweetcorn, peas.
17:15: Tin of either tuna, salmon, pilchards or sardines (roteted through the week), rocket salad, couple of brazil nuts.
20:00: 100g Basmati rice, 100g lean meat or white fish (cod, coley, hake, haddock etc), loads of veg, some sort of sauce eg parsley.
23:00: Tub of Quark/cottage cheese/100g lean meat, salad.

Don't just intend to eat less than 2000 calories, calculate your BMR. My Basic Metabolic Rate, ie the ammount of calories I need to eat to stay exactly the same weight, while doing no physical acrivity whatso ever is 2112 Kcal. Factoring in my physical job 5 days a week, plus 6 30 min cardio and 3 weight training days a week, the total amount of Kcal needed for me is closer to 3000.

If youre just starting out, cut 500 Kcal out of your diet, making healthier choices. Increase the frequency of meals and reduce ammount eaten at each sitting. Increase your activity level. If you want to loose 1lb a week, you need to be in a deficit of 3500 Kcal each week. You've already done that by reducing calories by 500 (500*7+3500) add in cardio and you should loose even more. For example, 30 minutes medium intensity on a stationary bike burns around 300 Kcal. Do this 5 times a week and you'll drop another 1500 Kcal (0.5lb).

As you loose weight you'll need to either reduce your food intake or up the ammount of cardio. I prefer to increase cardio. This is firstly because I like my food  Also food doesn't just provide fuel but also essential vits and minerals. Cut your food intake drastically and you cut these drastically too.

[tim fuller]

Some good advice here! One thing I would not do though is cut out saturated fat. Saturated fats, and EFA's (essential fatty acids) are vital to your health. A moderate ammount of saturates, from lean red meat and semi skimmed/skimmed milk are fine. As said, avoid Trans-Fats and Hydrogenated oils, these are extremely bad for you, are not needed by your body (they are artificially created "damaged" fats) and cause your LDL cholesterol levels to rise.

I  agree that a moderate amount of saturated fats are ok. Thanks for pointing that out, cause I didn't mean to say you should cut red meat/dairy completely. Both of these things are great for you in moderation. As far as red meat is concerned, lean cuts like sirloin and flank streak are awesome and taste great. I prefer to limit the amount of full fat cheese I have, and prefer higher protein types like ricotta and cottage cheese. Some regular cheese is definitely ok in moderation though.

As everyone is different, don't just copy somebody elses diet plan to the letter. For example if I were to eat what tim fuller  has listed to the letter each day, I wouldn't have the energy to do my job, let alone work out. Adjust quantities to suit your needs.

Again, I completely agree with this. Everyone has a diet that works best for them, howevere they should be based one some of the basics of my plan (smaller more frequent meals, etc).

Don't just intend to eat less than 2000 calories, calculate your BMR. My Basic Metabolic Rate, ie the ammount of calories I need to eat to stay exactly the same weight, while doing no physical acrivity whatso ever is 2112 Kcal. Factoring in my physical job 5 days a week, plus 6 30 min cardio and 3 weight training days a week, the total amount of Kcal needed for me is closer to 3000.

If youre just starting out, cut 500 Kcal out of your diet, making healthier choices. Increase the frequency of meals and reduce ammount eaten at each sitting. Increase your activity level. If you want to loose 1lb a week, you need to be in a deficit of 3500 Kcal each week. You've already done that by reducing calories by 500 (500*7+3500) add in cardio and you should loose even more. For example, 30 minutes medium intensity on a stationary bike burns around 300 Kcal. Do this 5 times a week and you'll drop another 1500 Kcal (0.5lb).

While your math is correct in terms of how do lose weight, I disagree a bit with this approach to weight loss.

As someone that has always struggled with weight, I found that counting calories and restricting never worked for me long term. The whole idea of being on "a diet" is inherently short term. This may work great to cut the final 5 or 10 pounds before the summer, but for someone who is seriously overweight, counting calories and restricting will eventually fail because you can't live your whole life like that.

To really achieve long term weight loss, you have to commit to the fact that it will take some time. Permanent lifestyle changes rather then temporary diets are the way to go. by treating food as fuel rather than something to be avoided and feared, you can ultimately USE it to lose weight. By simply eating smaller more frequent meals, lifting weights, and making smart food choices you can get on the road to a long term healthy body.

[Clandestine]

Very true, some do find diets based around calorie counting hard to stick to and a chore. However making healthier choices and replacing "unhealthy" foor with healthier alternatives is in itself a form of calorie reduction.

Any method you choose to be able to loose weight ultimately comes down to loosing calories from your daily intake. I find it easier to know exactly how much I am eating each day. Some may find this aproach irritating, combersome and a chore.

I'm lucky though in the way that I like a wide range of food. To be honest I enjoy a slice of pizza or a rocket salad with cottage cheese and lean ham equally. If I find I'm hungry I re evaluate what I'm eating, or add in more veg etc.

My diet by the way is by no means temporary. It's the healthiest I've eaten in the last 2 years (was 195lb @ 12% BF then) and I intend to stick to the basic structure and food types. The only change when I finally drop sub 13% body fat will be to increase complex carbs, and make a rule to have a couple of cheat meals a week. I'll be bulking over the winter, and figure that in moderation a double bacon cheese burger will do no harm  . That's plenty to keep me motivated, and I'm looking forward to eating above maintenance calories again and gaining strength & mass

[kgr]

This thread is certainly one of the best ones here.

Have anyone tried HIIT (High intensity interval Training)? I've heard it is a sure method to lose fat and gain muscles.

[womanboob]

I agree this is a great topic guys.

I've heard of HIT not HIIT but I'm sure its just the same thing. That's a great way to build muscle because you're taking your body to its limits (exhaustion) which is what you need for it to be like "Holy shit I need to be able to withstand this....build more muscle."

Examples would be:
-One set of 3-4 reps free weights with more weight instead of 2 sets 10-12 reps.
-40-100 yard dashes sprinting instead of jogging five miles.

Also, with HIT you don't have to do an exercise for every single muscle because you are lifting heavier which recruits secondary muscles. Example would be a squat; using a heavy weight would recruit almost all your leg muscles (glutes, quads, calves, and hamstrings)  or pull ups where you're using your back, tightening your abs, biceps, shoulers and a bunch of other little muscles for balance to help you not swing....pull ups are so hard but even if you can only do 1-3 of them you're body will be shocked and within a few weeks you can easily be up to 5-7

[Clandestine]

I'm presuming when talking about HIT you mean High intensity weight training, and HIIT being High Intensity Interval Training.

HIIT is cardio, not envolving lifting at all.

TBH I have never heard of HIT, as any weight training you do should be intense, no matter the rep/set scheme.

The ammount of muscles recruited varies only by the exercise done, not the weight used. A squat will work all of your leg muscles, regardless of poundage lifted. The "extra" muscles recruited while you squat are stablising muscles, and your body's core. Squats primarily work Quads Hams Glutes and calves, but the motion of a squal means youre using your lower back, abs, hip flexors, upper back etc. You can do 3x15 with 70kg or 5x8 with 100kg and you work the same muscles.

HIIT is excellent for burning fat. It's different to SSCV (Solid State Cardio Vascular) in that you need to do it fueled, but HIIT has a metabolism raising effect that has been known to last for up to 48 hours. With SSCV the Idea is to tap into your fat stores while youre actually doing the exercise. With HIIT youre after the fet burning effects that happen after you're done.

[womanboob]

Either way they both work great