PHASES OF TRANSFORMATION

A BIG MISTAKE PEOPLE MAKE WHEN WANTING TO TRANSFORM THEIR BODIES IS TO THINK THAT IT CONSIST OF JUST ONE LONG PHASE OF "DIETING" AND TRAINING. THIS IS ALSO WHY MOST PEOPLE FAIL....

IT IS A LIFELONG PROCESS AND IT TAKES A FEW PHASES OF DIFFERENT NUTRITION REGIMES AND TRAINING METHODS TO REACH YOUR GOAL PHYSIQUE.

ONCE YOUR HAVE REACHED THAT GOAL YOU NEED TO REPEATEDLY GO THROUGH SOME OF THE PHASES TO MAINTAIN AND IMPROVE YOUR PHYSIQUE.

I MADE A BASIC SUMMARY OF THE STEPS TO TAKE AND THE PHASES YOU WILL NEED TO GO THROUGH.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

PHASE 1: (DEVELOP LIFESTYLE) 

NOT a 12 week process. It might take much longer

Goal  

Women:        Get Fat% down from 45% and higher to 25%

           

Men:             Get Fat% down from 35% and higher to 15%

When your fat level is 45% and higher for women and 35% and higher for men your main goal should be to get your it down to 25% for women and 15% for men.

Your secondary goal should be to stimulate your muscle to help with Insulin & Leptin Resistance. Building muscle or lean mass does not take priority during this phase.

METHODS TO REACH GOAL:

NUTRITION (with fully functional metabolism)

People whom have been over-eating and subsequently gaining weight or maintaining their weight normally has a fully functional metabolism.

In this instance cutting calories down to your required amount will result in fat loss.

NUTRITION (with a compromised metabolism) REVERSE DIETING

You know your metabolism is compromised when you are eating 10 or less calories per LEAN pound, training, but you are still unable to burn off fat. This normally happens because of repeated low calorie restrictive “dieting” in an attempt to lose weight.

You need to repair you metabolism before you will be able to burn off the unwanted fat permanently.

HOW to repair a compromised metabolism: You need to implement reverse dieting (slowly eating more calories until you have reached the required macros for your lean weight and body type. Reverse dieting is done in periods of increasing and decreasing calories.

Once you have repaired you metabolism you can start cutting back calories to the point where you are dropping no more than 500g of weight per week. This will ensure that you do not lose lean weight and your metabolism stays strong.

The most important thing regarding nutrition during this phase is to find a way of eating which is sustainable for a lifetime.

This phase can last quite some time and you cannot expect the amount of fat you have been accumulating and carrying for years to be lost in 12 weeks.

Having unrealistic expectations is the reason why 90% of overweight people never succeed in losing the fat.

False advertising, misleading “before and after” marketing schemes, people claiming to have lost huge amounts of weight using extreme methods and lying about keeping it off create these unrealistic expectations. People forget that it is not only about the weight on the scale but also about the condition of your body. ANY but ANY weight loss program which results in you losing more than 1.5-2 kg a week is compromising your lean mass (muscle) and subsequently your metabolism and in time you will gain more weight than you might have lost.

The best and most effective nutrition plan to burn off unwanted fat is a nutrition plan which can be sustained for a lifetime. The human body is constantly seeking homeostasis (balance)…

It would only make sense to follow a nutrition regime which is also balanced. 

Protein, carbohydrate and fat intake should be balanced to suit your Body Composition, Personal conditions and Training Schedule. The only “fine tuning” or selective eating there needs to be is finding the food which works for you taking allergies, medical conditions and other health issues into consideration. There is no need for an individual in full health to cut out any food group entirely. The only bad food would be calorie loaded food, like processed carbohydrates and processed protein and fat which should be kept minimal.

Find a professional to help you determine your macro (protein, carbohydrate and fat) needs to be able to burn fat.

TRAINING:

During the First Phase, with your main goal being burning fat, you should focus on the best fat burning training possible. That would be Short Duration High Intensity Interval Training. This type of training has an EPOC effect on the body (Exercise Post Oxygen Consumption) and what this means is that even after your session has stopped you are still burning calories. Steady-Stare Cardio does not have the same effect and burning stops when the session stops.

Steady State has its place though and if you cannot do PROPER HIIT cardio longer sessions of Steady Stare cardio will also work well for fat burning.

Weigh training during this phase should only be high rep training incorporated with High Intensity Cardio like circuit training. Stimulating muscle fibers to pull in nutrients, maintain and increase lean weight if needed, is the only important thing. Muscle growth (hypertrophy) is not really possible at this stage, you need to consume MORE calories than you are burning in order to do so. Heavy Isolation Weight training will therefore be of no real benefit at this point. Spend as much time possible burning off the excess fat, then focus on building muscle in the areas which you will then be able to identify visually since the lower fat% will allow you to successfully do so.

PHASE 2: (METABOLIC CHECK) 

4 – 12 week Phase depending on the condition of your body

Goal   

Women:        Lowering Fat% from 25% to 20%

           

Men:             Lowering Fat% from 15% to 12%

 

This phase starts once you have reached or already have a fat level of 25% and lower for women and 15% and lower for men. During this phase your will further lower your fat level while maintaining or gaining lean weight.

Once a fat level of 20% or lower for women and 12% and lower for men is reached your goal is to successfully maintain that level for at least 2 months before the Third and Last Phase is started.

NUTRITION

Your calories intake should be around 14 calories per lean pound while working on your goal.

The ratio of protein to carbs should constantly be adjusted to make sure that lean mass is maintained which will further help lowering your fat%. A maintenance plan will be followed for a period of time.

TRAINING

Isolation Weight training can be introduced and fat burning Cardio work should be used as a tool to lower the fat% further. Cardio should not exceed 3 sessions per week to assist in keeping fat levels stable.

The training should be designed around the amount of lean weight carried and whether it is needed to be increased or maintained according to personal goals.

This phase is also known as a growing or building phase in terms of lean mass.

PHASE 3: (NEXT LEVEL- MAINTAIN AN ATHLETIC LEAN LOOK) 

A Lifelong process

Goal: 

Women:  

Lowering Fat level from 20% to 15% and lower to make muscle more visible.

Recovering from lowering fat level & regaining the lean mass lost through lowering fat level.

Building lean mass to improve physique to the degree desired and also as far as genetically 

possible.

          

Men:            

Lowering Fat level from 12% to 8% and lower to make muscle more visible.

Recovering from lowering fat% & regaining the lean mass lost through lowering fat%.

Building lean mass to improve physique to the degree desired and also as far as genetically 

possible.

The third phase consists out of 3 separate phases.

Leaning Out (Cutting)

Recovery (Reverse dieting)

Building (Bulking)

It is during this phase where the biggest transformation in regards to muscle visibility and shape will take place. and this is also the Phase in which you remain for the rest of your life in order to maintain a lean looking physique.

LEANING OUT PHASE: (12 - 14 week period max)

This phase normally lasts 12 weeks depending on your body fat level. It is structured to lower your fat level to the point where muscle definition and separation is as visible as you desire.

NUTRITION

Your calorie intake is slowly cut down or your cardio increased on a 4 weekly basis or as needed.

This is done to “trick” the body into burning fat below the natural maintenance level. More drastic calorie drops to try and speed up the process will result in muscle loss and the subsequent compromising of your metabolism.

No more than 500g per week should be lost.

During this phase it is wise to allow your fat% to drop with only 5% in the 12 weeks.

TRAINING

Weight training need not be adjusted but can be slightly altered to become more intense and have a High Intensity Cardio effect. Short Stacking or Super or Giant setting is normally used.

Short Duration High Intensity Interval Cardio is also increased to 5 – 6 times per week to further assist fat loss.

RECOVERY CYCLE: 4 weeks

Once you have successfully lowered your fat level with 5% you need to go through a recovery cycle.

During this cycle you will increase your calorie and carbohydrate intake slightly for about 4 weeks. This is called reverse dieting. After recovery you will either MAINTAIN OR BUILD while not gaining more than 2%.  You fat level will now be 2 – 3% lower than before Leaning Out.

BUILDING CYCLE: (DEVELOP LIFESTYLE & INCREASE LEAN WEIGHT) 6 + months

The only way to change your shape, appearance and size and improve your physique is to build or increase your lean weight (muscle weight)

After your first Lean Out Cycle you will be able to see where you need improvement the most and would then follow a specific training program focused specifically to shape or improve those areas.

NUTRITION

During the building phase your nutrition should be much more flexible than before. You need to eat enough calories in order to grow. Your calorie intake should be slightly higher than your calories spent.

You should increase your fat and carb intake with small amounts every week monitoring your fat levels carefully to make sure that too much unwanted fat is not gained. If this does happen you simply cut back a little on fat and carbs for your body to utilize the gained fat again.

TRAINING

Isolation muscle specific weight training is used to build and shape muscle and increase lean mass during the building phase.

Cardio is not necessary during this phase but can be included twice a week just to help control your fat% and to lower it slightly if needed.

Once enough lean weight has been gained and you feel motivated to lean out or you have a specific reason in mind, you can attempt another leaning out phase. After each phase you should be able to maintain a lower fat level and have more lean mass to show.

INSULIN AND GOOD CARBS.... AN UNDESERVED BAD REPUTATION

THE MOST INTERESTING AND EDUCATIONAL THING I HAVE EVER READ!!!!

The reason why a lot of people are jumping onto the low carb/no carb high protein & fat diet ride is because of the whole "Carbohydrates cause an insulin spike and therefore stores fat" idea, right?I made it my mission to find something to show all of you that this is not true and that Insulin and especially Carbs like potatoes and rice do not deserve the bad reputation they have been given. 

MYTH:  Carbohydrate Drives Insulin, Which Drives Fat Storage 

FACT:  Your Body Can Synthesize and Store Fat Even When Insulin Is Low 

One of the biggest misconceptions regarding insulin is that it’s needed for fat storage.  It isn’t.  Your body has ways to store and retain fat even when insulin is low.  For example, there is an enzyme in your fat cells called hormone-sensitive lipase (HSL).  HSL helps break down fat.  Insulin suppresses the activity of HSL, and thus suppresses the breakdown of fat.  This has caused people to point fingers at carbohydrate for causing fat gain.

However, fat will also suppress HSL even when insulin levels are low.  This means you will be unable to lose fat even when carbohydrate intake is low, if you are overeating on calories.  If you ate no carbohydrate but 5,000 calories of fat, you would still be unable to lose fat even though insulin would not be elevated.  This would be because the high fat intake would suppress HSL.  This also means that, if you’re on a low carbohydrate diet, you still need to eat less calories than you expend to lose weight.

MYTH:  Carbohydrate Is Singularly Responsible for Driving Insulin

FACT:  Protein Is a Potent Stimulator of Insulin Too

This is probably the biggest misconception that is out there.  Carbohydrates get a bad rap because of their effect on insulin, but protein stimulates insulin secretion as well.  In fact, it can be just as potent of a stimulus for insulin as carbohydrate.  One recent study compared the effects of two different meals on insulin.

The fact is that protein is a potent stimulator of insulin secretion, and this insulin secretion is not related to changes in blood sugar or gluconeogenesis from the protein.  In fact, one study found beef to stimulate just as much insulin secretion as brown rice.  The blood sugar response of 38 different foods could only explain 23% of the variability in insulin secretion in this study.  Thus, there’s a lot more that’s behind insulin secretion than just carbohydrate.

So how can protein cause rapid rises in insulin, as shown in the whey protein study earlier?  Amino acids (the building blocks of protein) can directly stimulate your pancreas to produce insulin, without having to be converted to glucose first.  For example, the amino acid leucine directly stimulates pancreas cells to produce insulin, and there’s a direct dose-response relationship (i.e., the more leucine, the more insulin is produced).

Some might say, “Well, sure, protein causes insulin secretion, but this won’t suppress fat-burning because it also causes glucagon secretion, which counteracts insulin’s effects.”  I mentioned earlier how insulin will suppress lipolysis.  Well, some people think that glucagon increases lipolysis to cancel this out. 

The thought that glucagon increases lipolysis is based on 3 things:  the fact that human fat tissue has glucagon receptors, the fact that glucagon increases lipolysis in animals, and the fact that glucagon has been shown to increase lipolysis in human fat cells in vitro (in a cell culture).  However, what happens in vitro isn’t necessarily what happens in vivo (in your body).  We have a case here where newer data has overturned old thinking.  Research using modern techniques has shown that glucagon does not increase lipolysis in humans.  Other research using the same techniques has shown similar results.  I will also note that this research failed to find any lipolytic effect in vitro.

It should be remembered why glucagon is released in response to protein in the first place.  Since protein stimulates insulin secretion, it would cause a rapid drop in blood glucose if no carbohydrate is consumed with the protein.   Glucagon prevents this rapid drop in blood sugar by stimulating the liver to produce glucose.

See the results or the studies referred to and more detail on original article: Link below....

http://weightology.net/weightologyweekly/?page_id=319

Insulin:  Not Such a Villain After All

The fact is that insulin is not this terrible, fat-producing hormone that must be kept as low as possible.  It is an important hormone for appetite and blood sugar regulation.  In fact, if you truly wanted to keep insulin as low as possible, then you wouldn’t eat a high protein diet…you would eat a low protein, low carbohydrate, high fat diet.  However, I don’t see anybody recommending that.

I’m sure some are having some cognitive dissonance reading this article right now.  I know because I experienced the same disbelief years ago when I first discovered this paper and how protein caused large insulin responses.  At the time, I had the same belief that others have…that insulin had to be kept under control and as low as possible, and that spikes in insulin were a bad thing.  I had difficulty reconciling that study and my beliefs regarding insulin.  However, as time went on, and as I read more research, I learned that my beliefs regarding insulin were simply wrong.

Now, you may be wondering why refined carbohydrates can be a problem.  Many people think it’s due to the rapid spikes in insulin.  However, it’s obviously not the insulin, because protein can cause rapid spikes in insulin as well.  One problem with refined carbohydrate is a problem of energy density.  With refined carbohydrate, it is easier to pack a lot of calories into a small package.  Not only that, but foods with high energy density are often not as satiating as foods with low energy density.  In fact, when it comes to high-carbohydrate foods, energy density is a strong predictor of a food’s ability to create satiety (i.e., low-energy density foods create more satiety).  There are other issues with refined carbohydrate as well that are beyond the scope of this article.

The bottom line is that insulin doesn’t deserve the bad reputation it’s been given.  It’s one of the main reasons why protein helps reduce hunger.  You will get insulin spikes even on a low-carb, high-protein diet.  Rather than worrying about insulin, you should worry about whatever diet works the best for you in regards to satiety and sustainability.  As mentioned in last week’s issue of Weightology Weekly, individual responses to particular diets are highly variable and what works for one person will not necessarily work for another.