Body fat is called adipose tissue and is composed of cell membranes, triglycerides (fats), fluids (water, blood, lymph, etc), and proteins (used for breaking down fat for energy). Therefore, body fat has an estimated calorie count of 3200-3800 kcal (depending on your body), while pure fat has approximately 4100 kcal.
Calories, counted as 1 kcal = 1000 cal, are the chemical energy our bodies derive from food. So, 1 pound of fat = 454 grams. Pure fat = 8.7-9.5 kcal/g (rounded to 9 kcal/g).
So, if the average person consumes 1200 to 2500 kcal daily, how can they cut out 3200 kcal in a day?
You can’t! This is where diet clinics and pill pushers are lying to you!
No matter what, you cannot remove one pound (3200 kcal) from your body in one day without liposuction or chemical emulsion. The average person could not even burn that many calories in a day, unless they are someone like Dwayne Johnson, who consumes around 6000 kcal/day just to maintain the mass he has.
When you DO lose that one pound in one day, it is mostly water. The first thing diet or detox pills do is flush the system, meaning all your stored water is removed. This not only dehydrates you, but it completely changes how your cells function, causing them to retain more weight (fat).
This also does not consider the way your body reacts to calorie restrictions when dieting. This effect is called adaptive thermogenesis. Which is when your body slows its metabolism and retains fat when calorie consumption is reduced. Or when calorie consumption increases, the opposite happens and metabolism increases.
The same thing happens when you stop exercising and begin losing muscle mass. Loss of muscle mass leads to slowing of the metabolism and burning fewer calories. Muscle tissue consumes more calories than fat tissue. The more muscle mass you retain the more calories you burn every day.
We’ve learned that no matter what you cannot lose one pound of fat in one day, unless you’re getting liposuction, of course. There are pills out there that will emulsify some of your body fat and push it out with waste. This usually leads to extreme diarrhea that is greasy and uncomfortable.
If your dietician, weight loss program, or diet pill promises you such don’t believe it. Stop using it, stop doing it, and find something more natural and honest. Protect your health and your wallet.
Resistance training (also called strength training or weight training) is the use of resistance to muscular contraction to build the strength, anaerobic endurance and size of skeletal muscles. Based on the principle that muscles of the body will work to overcome a resistance force when they are required to do so. When you do resistance training repeatedly and consistently, your muscles become stronger.
A well-rounded fitness program includes strength training to improve joint function, bone density, muscle, tendon and ligament strength, as well as aerobic exercise to improve your heart and lung fitness, flexibility and balance exercises. Vary your progressive resistance training program every six to eight weeks to maintain improvement.
High Weight/Low Reps vs. Low Weight/High Reps
High reps at a low weight increases your heart rate and produces a cardio effect to help burn calories and fat. High reps build muscle endurance, which supports muscles while working under stress. This type of weight training can supplement endurance training.
Heavy weights at low reps break down muscle fibers, and the body builds muscle and increases muscle mass by repairing these fibers. Increased muscle mass elevates metabolism, which helps your body continue to burn calories long after your workout. Heavy lifting also strengthens bone density, which can reduce the risk of breaks and fractures as you age. If you lift heavy, you test your mental strength as well.
Momentum of Movement – Slow vs. Fast Contraction
During weight training, momentum can be disadvantageous, and potentially injurious. It can reduce the effectiveness of the work being done by recruiting other muscles to take over, and it can lead to unnecessary chronic wear and tear of the ligaments and joints.
The speed at which the joint is moved during the muscle contraction directly effects the stability and strength of connective tissues and their joint attachments. Slow and controlled contractions focus muscle movement, protect joint capsules and increase bone density. Faster movements use momentum in muscle movement, thus reducing the action of the muscle involved and reducing the benefits of the movement.
One sure-fire way to minimize excess use of momentum is to place a greater focus on time under tension during your reps and sets. This can be accomplished by choosing a weight that will make it necessary to slow down the speed of movement during exercise. This does not necessarily mean exercising with slow movements, it just means using enough of a load that you are not swinging the arms around like a bird during your set.
Time Under Tension (TUT)
Time under tension (TUT) is the amount of time a muscle spends under a given load. When used effectively, it can help to increase the metabolic response, and can ultimately lead to greater muscle growth. A common school of thought is a lifter needs between 60-90 seconds of TUT if the goal is hypertrophy (greater muscle size).
Mechanisms of Muscle Growth
Muscle Tension: additional tension on the muscle helps to cause changes in the chemistry of the muscle, allowing for growth factors that include mTOR activation and satellite cell activation.
Muscle Damage: local muscle damage causes a release of inflammatory molecules and immune system cells that activate satellite cells to jump into action.
Metabolic Stress: causes cell swelling around the muscle, which helps to contribute to muscle growth without necessarily increasing the size of the muscle cells.
Hormones: another component largely responsible for muscle growth and repair because of their role in regulating satellite cell activity. Insulin Growth Factor (IGF)-1, in particular Mecho-Growth Factor (MGF) and testosterone are the most vital mechanisms that promote muscle growth.
Why Muscles Need Rest to Grow
If you do not provide your body with adequate rest or nutrition, you can reverse the anabolic process and put your body into a catabolic or destructive state. The response of muscle protein metabolism to a resistance exercise bout lasts for 48-72 hours; thus, the interaction between protein metabolism and any meals consumed in this period will determine the impact of the diet on muscle hypertrophy. Keep in mind there is a certain limit on how much your muscles can grow dependent on gender, age, and genetics.
Nutrition for Muscle Growth
Eat Breakfast: gives you an immediate burst of energy and helps you to stay full until your next meal or snack. It also sets the trend: you’ll tend to eat healthier if your day starts with a strong and healthy breakfast. Your best bets are omelets, smoothies and cottage cheese.
Eat Protein: You need protein to build and maintain muscle. To achieve this, you should be looking to eat at least 1g per 454g (1lb) of body-weight. That’s 200g/day if you weigh 91kg (200lb). The easiest way to get this amount is to eat a whole protein source with each meal.
Eat Fruits & Vegetables with Every Meal: Most of them are low calorie, you can eat your stomach full without gaining fat or weight. Fruit and vegetables are also full of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and fiber which helps digestion.
Eat Healthy Fats: Healthy fats improve fat loss and health as they digest slowly. Make sure you balance your fat intake, eat healthy fats with every meal and avoid artificial trans-fats, hydrogenated oils and margarine. Healthy fats are found in grass fed butter, avocados and olive oil. Coconut oil is a highly saturated fat and should be consumed cautiously.
Eat Carbs Post Workout: essential for restoring glycogen levels in muscle tissues and assisting in muscle growth during rest. This includes honey, rice, pasta, bread, potatoes, quinoa, oats, etc. Avoid white carbs (sugar, white bread) and eat whole grains.
Drink Water: dehydration impairs muscle recovery. Ensure proper hydration through regular water consumption and pre and post workout hydration. Citrus fruits in water can provide natural electrolytes and assist in proper hydration.
Eat a Variety of Foods: the best way to get proper nutrition is to eat a variety of whole foods that have been minimally processed.
