Fitness Image

[fitnessimage-blog]

Under Eating is Giving You Candida, Bacteria, Health, and Neurological Issues

It’s popular in today’s society to under eat.

It’s popularized online, and as health issues arise, it’s an unnecessary and unhelpful for fat loss and body composition. There are many reasons why to avoid under eating, and to make sure that you get adequate nutrients from quantity and quality eating. Here are my top reasons as to why we should avoid under eating.  

THYROID When you under eat, your thyroid is changed. One of thyroids major purposes is to take calories and convert them to energy. This plays a big role in the metabolism and how well you burn calories.

T3, which is the most bio-available thyroid hormone, is dependent on your metabolism getting stimulated.

When we eat a high abundance of micronutrients and macronutrients, we have to essentially take them and convert it into energy that stimulates thyroid production.  

When you eat little food, the body perceives that it doesn’t need to produce much thyroid hormone. So it down regulates it. It has to slow down the metabolism.

NEUROLOGICAL DISTURBANCE Then from there are all the knock on effects of down regulating thyroid. When you are producing less thyroid, especially T3, then you have neurotransmitter issues. In other words, brain issues will occur, which are the changes in serotonin and dopamine.

This is your neurotransmitter balance.

Serotonin is commonly regarded as a chemical that is responsible for maintaining mood balance. Serotonin may also impact social behaviour, appetite, digestion, sleep, and memory.

Dopamine plays a key role in motivation, focus, and cognitive drive.  

DIGESTION Under eating may results in poor HCL (hydrochloric acid) and pepsin issues. This means you will have trouble breaking down protein properly. You might not feel like eating meat, just because you can’t digest it properly. For these people, the fact that they don’t like eating meat is because they can’t process it properly, due to HCL and pepsin issues. Be careful of supplementing HCL and pepsin though, as it correlates with histamine, and may make an underlying issue worse.

The bottom line is, make sure that you need it. You can determine this from a comprehensive blood test.

THE 3 MAJOR COMPOUNDS There are 3 major compounds, which play a role in many functions within the body. They are so important that you have receptor sites for them, throughout all of your tissues and organs in the body.

D3 is one of the 3 compounds. D3 has the highest amount of receptor sites, and it is also comprised throughout all your tissues and organs. Vitamin D isn’t particularly a vitamin, but rather more of a hormone as that’s the way it acts.

Omega 3 and T3 are the other 2 compounds.

These are affected from under eating, not necessarily as a direct effect, but rather from a knock on affect.

INCOMPLETE AMINO ACID PROFILE The whole thing with amino acids is they play a huge role in cell signalling, cognitive function, gut health. If there aren’t sufficient levels of glutamine and glycine, it actually affects the epithelial cells in the small intestine. So it impacts the way you absorb nutrients.

ADRENAL GLANDS Where do females produce their testosterone? In their adrenal glands.

Stress highly affects women, more so then men. Biochemically and hormonally. This means they need the support during high stress periods. We know that if we under eat, then we miss out on micronutrients that help to calm down and regulate things like cortisol, which is the stress hormone.

That’s the good thing about carbohydrates, because they relax people and calm down.

If you are going through a high stress period and are doing intermittent fasting, then you are causing more adrenal issues which will cause complications with the hormonal cascade.

They will in turn have testosterone problems.  

They can even get too much of an increase in testosterone.

Testosterone is super important for females because of its ability to help them handle stress. It’s protective of the body because it balances out the affects of estrogen.

Eating more when going through stress periods will help regulate blood sugar levels. If the person has insulin resistance and disglycemia, to regulate their blood sugar levels, is it better to eat more or less? More!

When people have reached things like adrenal burnout, dysglycemia, blood sugar problems, which are common, and it could be detrimental to be eating less.  

CANDIDA AND BACTERIA Lastly, people who under eat, are found to have a higher instance of Candida and yeast.

Intestinal permeability is affected, and is a term describing the control of material passing from inside the gastrointestinal tract through the cells lining the gut wall, into the rest of the body.

The tight junctions of the mucosal lining are separated further apart and are damaged from this, which is called leaky gut.  

Candida is a type of yeast infection. When the body’s natural pH is upset, the Candida can grow out of control, creating a systematic problem. The reason why I mention the pH issue is that some people take training too far in terms of the amount of reps, and style of training.

This can have a negative impact, because the build up of lactic acid will interfere with the Candida and level of pH. For these people, strength training, like the 5 3 1 method, and slow leak strength method is beneficial and won’t cause problems.

CONCLUSION In conclusion, there are many reasons why we should avoid under eating. Some of these reasons are underlying health issues, in which we aren’t all illuminated to. I hope this raises interest in the destructive nature that under eating may cause.

I’ve created a facebook group that for people who want to get fit and look great! You can join the group here www.facebook.com/groups/fitnessimage/

In health, Armstrong J Lazenby

[fitnessimage-blog]

Is Cardio Making You Skinny Fat?

Exercise is a stressor, and the better the recovery from the training stress, the better the results. There are a number of things cardio does, some of which aren’t favourable to a lean, toned, physique.

I’m sure you’ll agree the most  common answer to losing fat from the general population is eat right, and do cardio, for example; swimming, cycling, running, walking, or all of the above. The only thing cardio will promote is you being able to long for a long time.

Not to mention creating a physique that is far from ideal. Expect a reduction in muscle mass, strength, metabolic rate, and little difference to body fat percent.

Cardio Increases Stress Cortisol is the bodies stress hormone. Whenever you are in a stressful situation, for example late for work in traffic, cortisol is raised. Exercises is a stress, and cortisol is raised as soon as you start exercising, and continues to elevate until completion.

A study from 1976 in the Journal of Applied Physiology found two times the cortisol at 30min of exercise (75% intensity) compared to 10min. The longer period of exercise, the higher level of cortisol, and the longer it takes for cortisol to return to steady levels.

Excess cortisol promotes fat storage and muscle loss. Mainly because it inhibits testosterone, and generates a poor testosterone-to-cortisol  ratio. This creates the same muscle loss as with aging.

Chronic Cardio – Muscle Loss Cardio is also shown to shift muscle fibre type. The more endurance training completed, the more the muscle fibre type shifts from type 2 to type 1. Type 1 muscle fibres aren’t good for much, apart from providing more endurance. Type 2 muscle fibres are prone to muscular strength, mass, and power.  The more weight lifted in the gym, the more the type 2 muscle fibres are stimulated, and the more endurance (excess cardio) completed, the more the type 1 muscle fibres are stimulated.

People with more muscle burn more calories at rest, and require less exercise to maintain their physique.

The perfect example is a study from 1999 in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition that put two groups on a calorie restricted diet, with one doing ‘only cardio’ and the other doing ‘only resistance training.’ Both groups lost weight (28.2lbs and 32lbs), but: • The ‘only cardio’ participants lost 9lbs of muscle and decreased their RMR (resting metabolic rate) by 210 calories/day • The ‘only resistance’ group lost 1.8lbs of muscle (because of the deficit), and managed to increase their RMR by 63 calories/day!

This means the ‘only resistance’ group will be burning 273 calories more than the ‘only cardio’ group, without doing anything.  They will be looking a lot better with the more muscular physique too, in comparison to the ‘only cardio’ group.

I’ve created a private group for people that want to lose fat and feel good. I’ll be posting exclusive training and nutrition plans for you to use, all for free. Here’s the link; www.facebook.com/groups/fitnessimage/

In health, Armstrong J Lazenby

[fitnessimage-blog]

What I learnt From Christian Thibaudeau’s Program Design Seminar for Neurotransmitters Day 2

I was rattled after day one from learning a whole ton, as I was hyped to start implementing training conception to my training and my client’s programs. I have written an article summarizing day 1, so if you haven’t already ready it, please start there. You can find the article by searching my website at www.fitnessimage.com.au.

Day 2 was more about how to use the learnt knowledge on very intricate details of the 5 neurological profiles. Christian also talked about “the most underrated training method,” eccentric quasi-isometrics. This methodology has been written about briefly in his third book, ‘Theory and Application of Modern Strength and Power Methods’. Much more detail, and it seemed like more research had been done on this methodology since the release of the book, as I have read it.

Hormones are talked about much more than neurotransmitters, though neurotransmitters supersede hormones, which was explained by Christian Thibaudeau today.

THIS IS JUST ONE REASON WHY I BELIEVE MORE athletes, coaches, and fitness professionals must make it a priority to learn this information. The reason why I say athletes too is because not all coaches are great, and a lot of coaches aren’t as technical as they should be.

They rely on minimal history of results, and ‘experience’ in the industry to qualify themselves to train a national team. As a previous athlete myself, if I had known the information that I know now, I can humbly, conservatively, and with 100% certain say that I would have been twice the athlete that I was.

The 6 national level coaches that I have trained me, absolutely lacked information. The athlete must have confidence in their coach, but also must take responsibility for their results. There is much talent been left and wasted right now in a lot of Olympic sports in Australia from lack of knowledge, which is not hard to acquire, but takes effort to learn.

Because neurotransmitters are not wide spread, and due to their nature in complexity and in which it is named by Christian as ‘abstract’, there is a less amount of superficial information circulating in the fitness industry and elite sport. If you are an elite athlete, or you are paying your personal trainer $300 a month, then you are losing out. It should make you annoyed if this is you and you don't know what neurotransmitters are, and what your profile is.

$1000 is a small investment as a coach to learn programming based on the neurotransmitter profile of a client/ athlete.

 The 5 Different Profiles

I’m not going to get into the details of each neurological profile, as I don’t have the official notes of the course, and I don’t have the patience to write 3000 words on a Sunday night. But I will say that there are 5 neurological profiles, and each profile makes interconnections with other profiles, but the differences in programming for each profile is quite different, and need to be respected. For someone who puts in a lot of effort into their training and nutrition, they could be better off with training for a longer duration with reduced frequency, such as training 60-90min, 3-4 times a week, being optimal for them. That is a type 3 profile. As a type 1a profile, 25-45min workouts are needed, and any longer will crash their dopamine levels as they need to work at intensity to train optimally. When dopamine crashes, you can leave the gym feeling drunk, and find it very difficult to train the next day due to low dopamine levels, which means you will experience low motivation and willpower. These type 1a profile people, which is me, can tolerate and extreme amount of intensity and frequency of sessions, but cannot handle volume, or too much variation in that workout. This explains a vast range in optimal training, for 2 different profiles. These people may have been training 4-5 days with hour sessions, how optimal is that? There is a significant difference between training optimally based on your neurological profile, and just training with no idea.

“The Stress Response to Training is Arguably the Most Important Variable for Maximal Results” Chrisian Thibaudeau

He said this more than once, as it’s obviously super important to control and manage. Cortisol (stress hormone) can be controlled through lifestyle changes, diet, and supplementation. This interrelates to neurotransmitters, as the 1a profile isn’t affected by cortisol NEARLY as much as the type 3 profile, who produce cortisol in excess. Frequent, small portions of carbohydrates can suppress cortisol, and the daily intake of carbohydrate for the type 3 profile is recommended to be 60% of total macronutrients. Type 1a has a recommended 20% carbohydrate intake, which I feel much better on. This isn’t to say I can’t function on high carbohydrates, but rather optimally speaking, I need less.

The stress response from training is manipulated by carbohydrates too, as there are differences in whether one profile needs carbohydrates pre, intra, or post workout. Each profile is different. When a nutrition guideline or recommendation is made regarding training, the answer is, what is your neurological profile, then the answer is given. You will feel and notice a significant difference from settling with the personalized answer, coming from your brain chemicals.

 How Much Rest You Need Between Sets

It is said that the lower the reps, the more rest you need between sets. This is hugely advocated by Poliquin Group. The reason this is said is because low reps require more neurological effort, and the nervous system take 5-6 times longer to recover than the metabolic (muscular) system. The reality is, neural overtraining can happen session to session, but not set to set. Fatigue from 3 reps is not significant because it causes low amounts of metabolic stress. You don’t crash your neurotransmitters during set to set. By crashing neurotransmitters, dopamine levels go down, lowering motivation and willpower.

What needs to recover is lactic build up to allow the fibres to recover. There is no physiological reason why you need more recovery from low reps. If anything, high reps need more recovery, due to the lactic acid build up.

Fibre Fatigue is Most Important

This means you must push to failure when completing isolation/ auxiliary work. Using weight though isolation is just a tool. Isolation is about maximising fatigue. Compare an athlete who pushes to failure in a set but uses the same weight and reps as the previous week. The next athlete progresses 5kg, but runs 1 rep short of failure. The first athlete gets more out of that set.

“When Systematic Inflammation Increases, Muscle Building, Fat Loss, and Health Decreases”

Inflammation is increased, from heightened cortisol levels. Deal with your lifestyle and training stress.

“The Most Important Thing is Training Hard”

Pre-workout carbohydrates can crash dopamine levels but not when taken during. Keep your dopamine high to sustain motivation and willpower.

In the next article, we will discuss the most underrated training methodology, eccentric quasi-isometrics.

I’ve created a private group for people that want to lose fat and feel good. I’ll be posting exclusive training and nutrition plans for you to use, all for free. Here’s the link; www.facebook.com/groups/fitnessimage/

In health,

Armstrong J Lazenby

[fitnessimage-blog]

What I Learnt from Christian Thibaudeau’s Program Design Seminar Day 1

It’s June 10, 2017, and today was the first day of Christians neurological profile based program design. 2 months ago, I was excited to book this, as I’m a huge fan, and respect his work. Today opened me up to another world in self and client performance. I’m going to share with you the main points I learnt today. This will be all based off my personal notes, and what stood out to me. There were a ton of ‘game changing’ principles and priceless knowledge spoken, and I’m glad to be sharing it with you now.

Stress Management

Shortly after 9am, Christian begins an overview of the neurotransmitters, and adamantly describes stress. In short, stress management is the best way to progress. Your ability to reduce stress and recover from workouts, which working out is also a form of stress, will determine your progress. Cortisol, the stress hormone, is also described in detail, and in which is pointed out as a need to be mitigated. Cortisol has its role, and is good and bad, but stress is explained to be critical to be reduced, and a very important role when recovering and training.

Your capacity to handle stress is based on your neurological profile, like serotonin and GABA levels.

There Are Only 2 Things you Need to Get Results

Though it makes complete sense, there are just 2 things you need to progress and get results. You must train as hard as you can, with as much focus as you can, and weaknesses need to be fixed. That’s it. Further, what is made important is training must be enjoyed, and you must be motivated. Nobody trains hard enough to get results by being satisfied with a rep you don’t give 100% mind to muscle connection to. You must place all your attention on each rep, and not just 1 exercise, or 1 set in that workout. Every rep, in every set, for that workout must be given all willpower and concentration to optimally progress. Focus on training that you enjoy, and you’ll be more motivated to work harder, and give it everything, on every rep. This is the essence of training based on the neurological profile. By doing what is suited to you, your neurological type, you will find new pathways to results that haven’t been possible to achieve before.

Neurotransmitters Supersede Hormones

People talk a lot about hormones. If you’re in the fitness industry, it will be talked about everywhere. There are ‘experts’ talking about it, and big supplement brands pushing products to optimize hormones.

Not to diminish the importance of hormones, but neurotransmitters aren’t given the voice they deserve, as hormones respond to neurotransmitters. Neurotransmitters are the leaders.  As reinforced above, willpower and motivation is most important, and the neurotransmitter dopamine is in control of this, plus it is responsible for a sense of wellbeing, and reinforcement of behaviour.

Dealing with Stress and Anxiety are a MUST

Anxiety keeps flexors tight. If squatting, and the neurological profile of the subject is more anxiety based, then a training protocol of staying comfortable with the weight and exercised is used, otherwise the hip flexors tighten up, and shoulders round forward, because of the way that neurological profile is hard wired.

The neurotransmitter serotonin, plays a key inn anxiety and stress. It also has an important impact on mood, pain, and discomfort. We know the people who complain about injuries, or their arm hurts, as they make a big deal out of what seems like nothing. This is the pain and discomfort elicited somewhat from low serotonin levels, as these people may experience increased pain and discomfort.

Theoretical and Abstract

From a much more in depth look at each neurotransmitter, the topic of programming exercise based on neurological profiles is described as theoretical, and abstract. In my view, what this means is that it is not set in stone as to someone’s profile and training program. There are variances, there is some in between, and it can as such depend on the client and the coach from many variables as to what is prescribed and used with the client.

The Most Important Neurotransmitter you NEED to Know About

Acetylcholine is perhaps the most important neurotransmitter to training as it effects the others. Acetylcholine basically plays a role in memory, brain to muscle connection, and multi-tasking. These are few ways on how it impacts training. Interestingly, it also does 3 of the same things that adrenaline does. This is major, as norepinephrine is a precursor to adrenaline (epinephrine), and dopamine is a precursor to norepinephrine. This explains how neurotransmitters supersede hormones again.  So, this means that the higher levels of acetylcholine, the less the work for adrenaline is needed. This is profound, as the less adrenaline is produced, protects dopamine stores. Dopamine is needed for willpower and motivation, and you can crash your dopamine by using too much, or doing too much volume work in the gym. When dopamine crashes, it can feel like you left the gym drunk, or you can just crash the next day.  

Use Stress to your Advantage

In terms of stress, we use the word cortisol, which is the stress hormone. Basically, we need cortisol high in the morning so that we can wake up, we need it higher when exercising, and we need it low at night so that you can recover properly and go to sleep. Part of the role of cortisol is metabolisation. It also breaks down muscle tissue, increases central fat storage, prevents excreting metabolites, diminishes T4 into T3, and increases water retention. Christian explain how stressful situations for brief periods can make you lose weight, but long-term causes weight gain. He also says that it can make someone look like they are fatter and less muscular than they actually are, due to the increase in cortisol for whichever reason. This happens when calories are reduced to a certain point, and dieting particular dieting commences. In a calorie deficit, cortisol is higher, which produces the softer appearance of muscles, plus the reduction in cortisol can’t help mitigate the negative effects of cortisol production, which also in turn makes an athlete less pumped with full looking muscles. The reason why cortisol is higher whilst on a fat loss diet is because it takes glycogen out of the muscle.

Fat Storage

Those who are more illuminated will understand the concept of how fat storage is linked with insulin resistance. Insulin resistance increases fat storage, reduces mobilisation, as this increases when blood sugar goes up.  

How Females Make Gains

Females have a higher level of estrogen than men. Estrogen increases IGF-1, which is one of the most, or the most anabolic hormones. Females use the growth hormone pathway, rather than the testosterone and protein synthesis pathway that males do to make gains. This makes the point that it is possible to build muscle without testosterone. There are other pathways too, for example the Mtor pathway.

This is Most Important for Body Composition and FAT LOSS:

“Cortisol is most important for body composition.” How cortisol is used and manipulated from lifestyle, diet, supplementation, and training, determines your body composition, and whether you put on fat or take it off.

How to Instantly Personalize your Warm Up

Having a warm up based on your neurological profile is important. “The warm up is to optimize the state your body is in” Christian said. He goes on to explain the areas of warming up. Not all of them are used for all neurological types, and some are changed based on what that type needs. The full warm up process is as follows:

Myofascial Release – The reason to perform myofascial release is not to fix and correct a problem, but rather to decrease excessive tension, increase range of motion, and to decrease perception of pain.

Corrective Patterning – Is used to reinforce great technique. A bodyweight squat is performed, and the ques for technique are; rotate and screw feet out, tighten core, squeeze glutes, and pull yourself downwards using the hamstrings, using 100% effort to push yourself upwards slowly. Make it look hard, even when it’s easy. Make a 60% loaded back squat look like a max.

Peripheral Activation – Practice the band pull apart to feel the rear delts before a bench press. Use a straight arm pulldown to activate the lats before a bench press. Use a light weight and don’t fatigue the muscle, just feel it. This enhances reception of the muscle.

Central Activation – Increase activation and increase dopamine. Use fast and powerful exercises. The goal is to prepare, optimize, and increase dopamine. Mental violence and intent is what increases dopamine. You can’t do more than 3 reps per set with this technique. Try barbell squats, medicine ball throws, sled push, and anything that allows aggression to be displayed.

Specific Warm Up – this depends solely on the neurological profile

Take note that the myofascial release and corrective patterning of the warm up might decrease performance for a type 1a person as they put you in a parasympathetic mode. Type 1a people are dopamine driven.

3 Most Important Thing Beginners NEED to Know to GAIN and LOSE FAT

As a beginner, you need 3 things:

1.     Make a routine for training

2.     Master basic movement patterns such as the squat, deadlift, overhead press

3.     Make an emotional connection to training

There was one more tip I wanted to add here. That is, training is about motor learning. In my view, it means putting an importance on more neurological demanding exercises, and learning different exercises, such as the Olympic lifts, or using low reps for the squat, deadlift, overhead press, barbell row.

In conclusion, I learnt a lot during the first day, and it has opened a new world of supplementation, training, and nutrition. This is solely written off my notes from day 1, and doesn’t not combine the official notes of the course written by Christian. I look forward to reading them after day 2 of the seminar, as I bet I am missing many more golden pieces of practical information. I believe neurotransmitters aren’t talked about enough, and programming based on the neurotransmitter profile isn’t used nearly as much as it should. This is only a relatively new topic, as Charles Poliquin was the first to explain the subject just 10 years ago. I will be implementing neurotransmitter testing and programming to myself and my clients immediately.

I’ve created a private group for people that want to lose fat and feel good. I’ll be posting exclusive training and nutrition plans for you to use, all for free. Here’s the link; www.facebook.com/groups/fitnessimage/

In health,

Armstrong J Lazenby

�4�I

[fitnessimage-blog]

Should you Have Snack In Between Meals?

Planning is the key to success with dieting, so getting in protein, fats, and vegetables at each meal is mandatory. The same is for snacks too, though there are benefits of taking long stretches in between meals without eating. I’m going to share the benefits of having snacks, and the benefits of going without snacks, as well as some foods you can eat in between meals.

The Benefits of Taking Long Stretches In Between Meals

Take long stretches in between meals without eating. Focus on eating 3 bigger, satisfying meals, and take 6+ hours without eating between meals, rather than 5-6 smaller meals that don’t fill you up, and make you wonder when your next meal is coming. The reason is because it boosts your two most important hormones for fat loss. These are insulin and leptin.

Eating frequently will negate the body’s ability to snack on stored body fat, whereas when you take 6 hours between meals, the body will utilise stored bodyfat several times during the day. Also after 3 hours without eating, blood sugar levels start going down, and that’s when the body utilises stored bodyfat to sustain energy levels.

Snack Ideas

This isn’t to say snacks are evil, as they can give you a boost during the day, and help you keep your protein content high. Some people will need a higher amount of protein each day, and the only way to get it all in is through high protein snacks. Also after a high intensity strength training session, a post training meal, plus another meal within the next 2 hours is very beneficial. In the case of everyday life getting in the way, and you need snacks, here’s some fantastic ideas for you that you can trust.

1.      Beef Jerky. You can also find other meat jerky like buffalo and turkey

2.      Celery with goat cheese

3.      Tinned sardines (they contain a lot of trace minerals and vitamin D, as they are a surface fish. They are the best fish for you as they contain little mercury, and feed from grass rather than grains)

4.      Protein smoothie with berries

5.      Mixed nuts

6.      Dried fruit

7.      Hard boiled eggs

8.      Celery sticks with nut butter, like almond or cashes butter

I’ve created a private group for people that want to lose fat and feel good. I’ll be posting exclusive training and nutrition plans for you to use, all for free. Here’s the link; www.facebook.com/groups/fitnessimage/

In health,

Armstrong J Lazenby

[fitnessimage-blog]

Can I Have a Cheat Day?

There are concepts of the ‘cheat day’ that make it more effective and worthwhile doing. In my view a cheat day is really just a cheat meal, and it means that you eat what you want to eat, not having to worry about calories or macronutrients for that meal.

A common mistake made when implementing a cheat meal into their diet is people don’t understand the reason for the cheat meal. When dieting for fat loss, people prematurely decide they deserve a cheat meal or cheat day. First it should never be a cheat day, and 1 meal is enough to gain the benefits of the cheat meal. It is also called a refuelling day, or refuelling meal. If you see it in terms of a refuel, you’re more likely to be sensible when implementing a cheat meal. A refuel is just giving your body and your mind replenishment throughout the course of your diet and lifestyle.

By recognising your progress and hard work, you can determine whether you deserve a refuel meal, and whether it will be most beneficial to have now or later. If you’re feeling very depleted, tired, and craving a particular meal, and you’ve made good progress this week with keeping on track with your diet, then it may be time that you deserve and actually need a refuel meal. If you haven’t been sticking to your diet, and you’ve had snacks or meals which you shouldn’t be having, be sensible with whether you deserve the cheat meal, or you just crave that food. If it’s a cravings problem, then fix the cravings problem, but don’t think that it’s time to have your cheat meal and everything’s ok. I’ve written about cravings and there’s a few very practical ways to deal with them, you can read the article on my website.

Protein Must Come First Eating a good amount of protein will regulate the appetite, and will ensure you feel satisfied, so that you don’t overeat calories and carbohydrates for no reason.

Appreciate the Cheat Meal This meal doesn’t come around often, so ensure you’re not distracted, or on your computer whilst you eat. Enjoy is properly as that’s part of what it’s for.

Stick to the Ratio Keep in mind that there is a ratio that’s great to go by, and it’s between 20:1 to 30:1 of normal healthy meals, to refuel meals. Never less, never more.

Plan what you’re going to Eat

It’s no good sitting down at a restraint or fast food place, and being hot and ready for a massive meal, with all kinds of cravings for sugar and carbs, then ordering absolutely everything plus desert. Make it a plan of what you’re going to eat the day before or week before, so you can control what you’re eating. Remember the goal is to eat your favorite food that you’ve been missing out on all week, and you’re replenishing your body of carbohydrates.

I’ve created a private group for people that want to lose fat and feel good. I’ll be posting exclusive training and nutrition plans for you to use, all for free. Here’s the link; www.facebook.com/groups/fitnessimage/

[fitnessimage-blog]

How Much Cardio do I Need to Lose Weight?

Your aerobic capacity is an inferior way of judging your physical condition compared to your strength and muscle mass. This is a great reason why cardio shouldn’t be the bulk of your weight loss program, and weight training should be.

“The greater your muscle mass, the lower your risk of death... rather than worrying about weight...we should be trying to maximize and maintain muscle mass.” -  Dr. Arun Karlamangla

And this isn’t going to happen from a vigorous cardio routine. The reality is, you don’t need cardio in your program to lose weight, but you can use it to your advantage, when you do the right type of cardio.

I’m not a big fan of slow, long distance cardio, especially when people think they’re burning heaps of fat by doing this. The reason I’m not all for it is because it’s not great at improving body composition. Good body composition is low body fat, with a reasonable amount of muscle mass. Though long steady state cardio, its super time consuming, and there is very little intensity. Both of these are working against you, as you need progression of your training program which is made by increasing intensity, which is very limited through steady state cardio.

The better option takes far less time and that is sprint interval training, and high intensity interval training. Both work on the premise of fast, all out periods of intensity with little rest between intervals. The most famous protocol is the 20/10 invented by Professor Izumi Tabata. The style is widely used for fat loss and is now known as Tabata training. Preferably done on a stationary bike, go all out for 20 seconds, take 10 seconds rest, and repeat 8 times, for a total of 4 minutes of work. It doesn’t sound like much, but it’s all you need to get great results, when this style of training if performed correctly. A piece of advice is to use a more difficult gear, with more resistance when performing Tabata training. It is shown to have a larger testosterone increasing effect.

The next type of cardio worth implementing is low intensity steady state cardio. Research has shown walking having great effects in reducing blood pressure and inflammation, improving memory and cognitive function, and increasing lifespan. Though the body composition effects it has are mainly due to its increase in fat burning, improvements in insulin sensitivity and reductions in cortisol (the stress hormone).

Just 20 minutes of walking reduces hypertension by 29%, and improves brain function by 1800%.

Use the right type of cardio to your advantage, and not against you. We can conclude that adding in as much walking as possible will have great body composition effects, as well as high intensity sprinting or cycling. Remember there’s not one type of cardio, and the differences between cardio are huge. Some cardio can be used against you, and isn’t worth your time. A large amount of time that was spent on the treadmill should now be use in the weight room lifting heavy to produce the results you want to see.

I’ve created a private group for people that want to lose fat and feel good. I’ll be posting exclusive training and nutrition plans for you to use, all for free. Here’s the link; www.facebook.com/groups/fitnessimage/

In health,

Armstrong J Lazenby

[fitnessimage-blog]

Does Eating Breakfast Help Lose Weight?

It’s generally well known that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and when speaking with new clients for the first time, breakfast is generally neglected. A typical western breakfast is cereal, oats, maybe eggs, maybe fruit too, but mostly high in carbohydrates and sugar.

The problem with this example of a typical western breakfast is that it spikes blood sugar and insulin levels, and it won’t make you feel full for a lengthy period of time. Feeling hungry mid-morning isn’t a good thing; it means you haven’t had an adequate breakfast. People are busy in today’s society, and when they’re hungry mid-morning, it’s normal to reach for a high carbohydrate, high sugar snack to get through to lunch. Another insulin spike occurs. Then lunch is a mix or substantial portion of the meal is carbohydrates like rice or pasta, which is going to incur a sluggish and sleepy feeling.

By not allowing the body to go long stretches without food between meals, you’re teaching your mouth to be a vacuum, and you’re not allowing your body to maximise its fat loss and body composition potential. This is because when long stretches without eating are taken in between meals, growth hormone has been shown to be raised. Good growth hormone levels will allow the body to become lean more easily.

When you over consume sugar, insulin levels are spiked which drives all the glucose out of your bloodstream. This low blood sugar state will provoke you to eat more sugar. You can eat 5g of coconut oil between meals to mitigate sugar cravings.

In this example, it’s clear that by not sorting out breakfast, it can lead to problems with food for each meal. And the cycle repeats each day.

Eating 30-40g of Protein Increases Your Metabolism

One of the reasons to work out in the gym is to raise your metabolism, so why not do it with breakfast too. Just consume the right amount of protein, and you’re good to go. You can try high quality grass fed beef, nuts, eggs, fish, smoothie with protein powder, sardines, slow cooked meats, avocado, are to name a few that would be good options.

Remove Carbohydrates for Breakfast

Most people will do better on a low carbohydrate diet for body composition. Take out all the carbohydrates your having for breakfast, and have them for dinner instead. 0 carbohydrates for breakfast will increase brain function, and you will feel more alert and motivated. When you have carbohydrates for dinner, they will raise serotonin, which makes you feel happy and sleepy, so that you can have a better night’s sleep. There is a correlation between sleep quality and obesity, so by making the change as to when you eat your carbohydrates, you can burn more calories throughout the day, and sleep better at night.

Eating Breakfast Will Set Your Circadian Rhythm

Your Circadian Rhythm is your biological clock, so it’s in your best interest to have it set correctly, so you can sleep properly at night. If you eat breakfast within 30-60min it will help your circadian rhythm ‘get in sync’.

I’ve created a private group for people that want to lose fat and feel good. I’ll be posting exclusive training and nutrition plans for you to use, all for free. Here’s the link; www.facebook.com/groups/fitnessimage/

[fitnessimage-blog]

Will Weights Make Women Bulky?

Women shouldn’t be afraid of lifting heavy weights, and using stereotyped manly lifts like the deadlift, bench press, and Olympic lifts.

I’m going to explain why women fear strength training and why they shouldn’t be. There are slight differences in programming for men and women, because the reality is, men and women are very different in the gym. They both have different strengths and weaknesses, and their programs should reflect this.

Those who are slightly more illuminated will know that an increase in strength can be associated with neural factors as well as muscular. And as a result, just because a woman gains strength, doesn’t mean she is going to look like a pro bodybuilder.

First, women have a much lower testosterone then men, in fact, about 1/10th the testosterone. Since testosterone has been shown to increase protein synthesis and muscle size, it seems that a woman would be much less likely to build up huge muscles than their male counterparts when implementing strength training.

Having said that, it is possible for women to build big and strong muscles with the right training, but just not to the extent of males.

Whilst strength training, the newly acquired muscle allows your body to become more metabolically efficient, so the more you have, the more fat you burn, and continuous strength training ensure your metabolism is at its highest, all the time.

The Benefits of Strength Training for Women

1.     Reduced risk of osteoporosis

2.     Change in body composition

3.     More strength to use in daily chores and sport activities

4.     Enhance self-confidence, self-esteem,

5.     Makes a woman feel sexier and more feminine

 A female’s ability to look more like an athlete, who is slim with feminine curves is governed by their ability to lift a progressively heavier weight. The reason is because once a heavier weight is lifted, as mentioned before, the nervous system (brain to muscle connection) is strengthened, resulting in a more toned, defined, denser looking muscle.

How Women Should Traditionally Train

Women traditionally train with a light weight (40-65% of their maximum), with high reps (12-20), with a low amount of sets per exercise (1-2), and a large amount of exercises per session (5-6). They also tend to use light isolation exercises (single joint exercise, bicep curl, leg extension), training 2-3 times a week like this, without a structured training program.

How Women Should Train for Feminine Curves

Women should train with a weight that is slightly lighter than what men use, at about 70-95% of their maximum. They should use slightly higher reps then men train with, at the 3-12 rep range, and a greater amount of sets the men use, being 4-6 sets. I recommend the amount of exercises selected per session be a moderate amount, like men, being 3-5 exercises, and training in this fashion 3-5 times a week, with a structured training program, where loading and unloading is used.

Good Exercises for Women

Exercises that promote the nervous system efficiency are good choices, because women have a lesser nervous system efficacy to start with. Complex movements like the power clean, deadlift, squat, push press, lunges, and any Olympic lift, are fantastic. Depending on your fitness level and strength, will determine which prerequisite exercises are necessary to develop these lifts.

I’ve created a private group for people that want to lose fat and feel good. I’ll be posting exclusive training and nutrition plans for you to use, all for free. Here’s the link; www.facebook.com/groups/fitnessimage/

In health,

Armstrong J Lazenby

[fitnessimage-blog]

How to Get a Bigger Butt?

The reality is, glute exercises always been in fashion. Some ladies naturally have a bigger butt than others, but don't let that discourage you. There's a handful of techniques you can use to boost your booty gains that I'm about to share with you.

There’s no Substitute to the Gym There are so many bodyweight butt exercises out there, and yet this will only get you so far. There is really no substitute for going to the gym, because of the almost endless options of exercise variations, and the choice of using more weight. 

Exercise variation is important, and that's why you should join the gym if you haven't already. Also, there is a proven exercise that is the absolute best at building a bigger butt. It's called the hip thrust and it is performed by placing a barbell across the hips, with your feet on the ground and the middle of you back resting on a bench. This movement has been proven through electromyography testing to have more glute activation than any other exercise (including the squat and deadlift). 

I highly recommend building up to the hip thrust by starting with the bodyweight hip thrust, and other glute activation exercises like the seated band abduction, and the single leg hip bridge so you can get the feel of what it's like to turn on and squeeze your glutes fully. 

When you start doing the hip thrust for the first time, you'll see a rapid change almost instantly, even if you've been squatting profusely for a decade and already have seen results. 

Lift Heavy I've written about why low reps are more beneficial than high reps in the previous article which I recommend to read. But the premise of lifting heavy especially for the hip thrust is because you need to shock the body. 

To get a bigger butt, your goal should be to lift heavier than you did your previous workout. The amount of weight you lift is a performance indicator, and you should train for performance. The amount of weight you lift is correlated o what you will look like and, your results. Make it a priority. 

This also means that even when performing high reps, you are lifting a weight that is very challenging, and the weight used for 10 reps and for example 15 reps should increase week to week. Always challenge yourself, and never feel scared to lift heavy. 

Is Your Diet in Check? It's important to eat right, do don't expect results if your diet doesn't change. When starting a new exercise regime, cut out all the junk, but don't change your diet too much in the first 1-2 weeks. 

If you see results already, then keep going with your training and don't change your diet much. There's no reason to change something that's working. Having said that, you can always go to the next level and get a nutrition plan made. 

Frequency is King To get a bigger butt, you need to train it often. Start with at least 3 times a week. Hip thrusts will allow constant progress, but also much quicker results. If you only have time to train 3 times a week, make it a full body workout, starting with the most important lifts such as the hip thrust, squat, deadlift, then move onto upper body and conditioning work.

Persistence

If you don't see results as quick as you would like, the think about how you could improve your diet and training, and just keep at it. To get what you want, you need to deserve what you want. Have faith, persistence, and have fun. 

In conclusion, put all the pieces of the puzzle together, use each aspect of training and nutrition and you'll get great results. It's about putting everything together, not just doing one thing right.

I’ve created a private group for people that want to lose fat and feel good. I’ll be posting exclusive training and nutrition plans for you to use, all for free. Just click the link below to enter!

www.facebook.com/groups/fitnessimage

In health,

Armstrong Lazenby

[fitnessimage-blog]

9 Reasons Why High Reps Are Aren't Working For You

I've been motivated to write this article from the large amount of misconceptions regarding high rep training. It is widely popular for females to consider high rep training as the way to get toned. Though I'm this is mainly directed at females, males will still be able to apply the discussed principles to boost training efficacy and results, as men also do too much 'pump' training with 10 reps and above for muscle size. 

Not to negate the fact that you can get toned with high reps, it is neither efficient, nor will you reach your potential doing solely high reps. 

1 - Little Variance Training is about pushing your body, and forcing it to adapt. Whenever you get your body to do something new, which could be a new exercise, different rep range, different amount of weight for example, you are giving your body a new stimulus. 

When your body encounters a new stimulus, it will cause a different training response, forcing the body to adapt to what you've asked of it. By constantly adapting, we are constantly eliciting results. Without asking the body to adapt, you will elicit very little results.

The best way to ask the body to adapt is to change the rep scheme. The rep scheme is simply how many reps you performed in a single set, and the amount of reps preformed per exercise. 

When the amount of reps are decreased, the amount of weight lifted is going to be higher for each rep to maintain the same perceived effort.  A lot of variables are impacted when this happens, which causes a different training response, eliciting different and more noticeable results. 

The impact this training effort has on the body is noticeably different. This is because you aren't doing what you're used to, plus the added weight lifted is causing a higher demand of stress on the body. 

2 - High Reps Don't Build Strength Building strength is a performance indicator, and a progress indicator. Building strength is seen to be highly related to muscle size, but this isn't always the case. 

Using different strength training protocols have been shown to elicit high levels of muscle tone due to the heightened neurological efficiency of the muscle, from strength training, creating a look where the muscle always looks tensed and hard. 

Generally a larger muscle is associated with stronger muscles, though we see athletes like Kayla Itsines able to do body weight pull ups. If you were as strong as her, do you think you would have a better chance at looking like her? Well of course, and it's from a moderate amount of sets of low rep training, which doesn't stimulate muscle size like a high volume of low rep work does.  

Another reason to build strength is because once you are strong, you will be able to use a heavier weight for your high rep training, which means you will be burning more calories each set, and every workout.  

If you have no strength, then you don't have any muscle, which also incurs a slower metabolic rate than if you had a reasonable amount of muscle. Building strength to your potential is impossible whilst training with high reps.  

By working with high reps, you are working your slow twitch endurance muscle fibers, whilst strength training is working your fast twitch 'sprinter' fibers. If you are predominately comprised of fast twitch muscle fibers rather than slow twitch, you'll have a higher potential for muscular strength gains.

3 - High Reps Aren't Athletic We've seen a large increase in popularity for crossfit, as it first started in the year 2000, with their biggest year being 2015, as it continues to grow.  

This is partly due to the fact that crossfire is an athletic sport and people want to look like crossfire competitors. They are undoubtedly strong, and their nervous systems are extremely efficient (brain to muscle connection) which is developed by performing a moderate to high volume of low rep work, and a moderate amount of high rep work. 

You might be thinking crossfire athletes are too muscular, and too bulky and I understand that. Have a look at other sports, like the upper body of female hurdle athletes. Maybe then they're the body type you're going for. And again, they perform a great deal of low rep, explosive moves in the gym. 

An athlete, or someone who is trained to do athletic movements, will look different, to someone who only performs a general mix of free weights and machines. The athletic, toned, and strong look is a desired body composition, which is made from a mix of athletic, low rep, and conditioning exercise. 

4 - High Reps are Low Intensity The lower the intensity of training, the lower the calorie expenditure will be in total. What is meant by intensity is also perceived differently. A 10 rep max is very difficult, but a 5 rep max is more intense. 

There is a greater neurological demand on the body from a lower rep set, for one reason because more fast twitch (think of a sprinter) muscle fibers are recruited to lift a heavy weight. Fast twitch muscle fibers are more responsive, more athletic, than slow twitch muscle fibers (endurance). 

By developing the correct muscle fiber type by performing athletic, low rep, and the correct conditioning exercise, you will instantly become faster, more powerful, stronger, and you will have the athletic look without the bulk necessarily. 

5 - High Reps are Too Similar to Cardio Doing a lot of cardio, or even a moderate amount of cardio, especially the wrong type of cardio is exactly what you shouldn't be doing to lose weight, improve body composition, or even to improve health. 

And if you're doing 15 reps plus with little rest, then its getting pretty close to just doing cardiac. There is a time and place for this, but doing this all the time is a huge mistake. In my view that training scheme is appropriate to make up a small percentage of the overall training of an individual who want to improve body composition, lose weight, and get toned. 

If a fraction of the time spent trying to build aerobic capacity, could have been dedicated to building muscle and strength with low rep resistance training, then you would be preventing muscle loss associated with aging and increasing strength, insulin sensitivity, metabolic rate, and even aerobic capacity. 

If you're lifting 4kg weights, or something really light for you, you're pretty much doing aerobic exercise in which is not the best use of your time. 

6 - Creates no Muscle Density Muscle density gives a firm and hard look to the muscle. This is the main difference between looking toned, and being skinny fat.  

Usually when an individual wants to look toned, they don't know how to get there, and they don't know what makes the toned look. Muscle tone is when someone is strong, and they have a reasonable amount of muscle. If you don't have any muscular strength, then there is no muscle to tone! 

Muscles respond differently to everything, such as cardiac, high reps, low reps, different exercises, different exercise techniques, and rest periods. High reps with low rest periods tells the muscle to build endurance, slow twitch muscle fibers, which does build some muscle but does not give the end appearance of a toned, dense, firm and harder looking muscle. 

Budding muscle tone is through strength training. Muscle adapt and respond best to this!

7 - High Rep Training Neglects Your Nervous System Strengthening your nervous system should be top priority.  

2 individuals with the same physical features are compared, and the more efficient nervous system of the 2 will be faster, stronger, and look more athletic.  

This is because they have a better brain to muscle connection. Muscle tone is really your ability to fire on your muscles, and keep the tensed look even when you relax. Explosive work, like plyometrics and low rep, heavy exercises engage the nervous system the most.

Medicine ball slams, squat jumps, clap push up, heavy deadlifts, sprinting with the sled push, are a handful of basic exercises to develop your nervous system. 

In basic terms your muscles will just work and perform better from this style of training. Anyone who is illegitimately toned, has an efficient nervous system (brain to muscle connection), so if your nervous system was like theirs, do you think you would have a better chance at looking like them, the answer is yes.  

8 - High Reps Have Less Metabolic Impact You'll burn more calories at rest after a strength training session in comparison to a high rep workout. You'll also burn more calories in an hour session by just performing high rep work than a strength training session, but your metabolic rate won't be raised to the same extent.

Most people's metabolism is quite slow, and the modern day lifestyle promotes sedentary activity. People need a metabolism boost to burn fat, and that's generally all they're missing to get results. Their metabolism is too low. Boost it up by performing a high intensity strength training session, and you'll notice a difference in body composition from the heightened metabolic rate. 

9 - High Reps Allow Less Weight Lifted Strength training is built on the premise of lifting heavy. Training with intensity is built on the premise of lifting heavy. Higher intensity = more calories burned in total. The amount of weight lifted is a performance and progress indicator.  

How do you implement low reps training?

Well lets break this up into 3 parts for low, mid range and high reps to put it simply. Low reps is the 1-6 rep range, mid range is reps 6, 7, 8, and high reps are 9 reps plus. 

Lets compare 5 reps to 15 reps. When programming for high reps, a low amount of sets are used (3-5), when low reps are implemented, a high amount of sets are used (6-12) This is because doing a 15 rep set takes a lot longer to do so with 5 reps, a much greater amount of weight is able to be used than for a 15 rep set. 

Further, 5 reps demands a larger rest interval between sets because of it's intense nature on the nervous system. The nervous system take 5-6 times longer than the muscular system to recover. 

There are many benefits of high rep training, and those benefits are for another article. I wanted to make low rep strength training more beneficial in contrast to high rep training, in the hope to shed light on the more favorable benefits of strength training, so that others can implement and reconsider their own training program, as to what is most beneficial to implement. 

I’ve created a private group for people that want to lose fat and feel good. I'll be posting exclusive training and nutrition plans for you to use, all for free. Just click the link to enter www.facebook.com/groups/fitnessimage/

In health,

Armstrong J Lazenby

[fitnessimage-blog]

The Pros and Cons of Carbohydrates - Is Cutting Them Out Unhealthy?

There’s two sides of the story here, because generally speaking, 75% of Caucasians do well on a low carbohydrate diet. What happens to the other 25%? Well there are pros and cons to a low carbohydrate diet, as well as misconceptions. Here’s my view on the pros on cons, and a conclusion of which is superior.

The misconception is some people think that if they are eating the right number of calories, then the type of calories they eat doesn’t matter.

For example, leftover pizza, and several Tim Tams are supposably fine, if they fit into your daily calories. In my view, any carbohydrates that weren’t around 2,000 years ago aren’t worth eating, as you could be eating something better. These are obviously quite different views on carbohydrates, so let me explain the pros and cons.

First here’s a quote from Anssi Manninen who is a Finnish exercise physiologist specialising in sports nutrition:

“It is implausible that an animal that adapted to a high protein diet for 5 million years suddenly in 10,000 years becomes a predominant carbohydrate burner.” – Anssi H Manninen, PhD

I’m not totally for any one diet, it matters what works for you. This quote is important because it shows the relevance in today’s time of a low carbohydrate diet to be effective. Also, carbohydrates are a non-essential macronutrient. If you were on an island with access only to healthy fats and protein, you would live and do just fine.

1 – Cutting Out Some Types of Carbohydrates is Healthy

Some people can eat grains and do well, others not so much, and they need to avoid them. Here’s a list to avoid:

·        Whole-grain corn

·        Whole oats/oatmeal

·        Popcorn

·        Brown rice

·        Whole rye

·        Whole-grain barley

·        Wild rice

·        Buckwheat

·        Millet

·        Quinoa

·        Sorghum

·        100% whole wheat flour

2 - Decreased inflammation

It’s true that some people can get lean eating fast food and milkshakes, but when you look at their blood test results, there’s a ton of inflammation.

There is good and bad inflammation in the body. The good inflammation is your body’s automatic immune response, fighting against infections, disease, and healing wounds. Though too much and chronic inflammation leads to auto immune diseases such as Lupus Rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease and Chron’s disease.

Eating too much junk carbohydrates will have a big effect on chronic inflammation.

This means that eating doughnuts and soft drinks can cause degenerative diseases, and the calorie content of the food isn’t all we’ve got to worry about.

3 – It just doesn’t suit

For the people who don’t feel the benefits of a low carbohydrate diet, this just means they utilize carbohydrates as fuel much better, and feel more sustained energy on an average amount of carbohydrates.

4 – Heightened wellbeing

Generally, people will feel more energy and stamina once they are used to the lower carbohydrate diet. This can take a few days for the body to adapt, which isn’t a long time. During the interim between the generic Western diet of high glycaemic foods and a low carbohydrate diet, also known as the ketogenic diet, people tend to feel tired, and crave carbohydrates.

If you are wanting to obtain or maintain an attractive body, or you just want to stay healthy and prevent disease, then your best bet is to have a go at the low carb diet, and see how you feel. Make sure to try it out properly, and give it at least 14 days before you decide it’s not right for you.

5 – The non-carb breakfast

The most important meal of the day to get right is breakfast. There are so many benefits of eating a non-carb breakfast, and you will really feel the difference. You won’t spike your blood sugar or insulin levels by having a high carbohydrate breakfast, and you will feel you have more focus and concentration for the rest of the day.

In conclusion, cutting out carbohydrates isn’t unhealthy, rather it’s more about optimizing your diet to suit you. There are more benefits to a low carbohydrate diet than a diet high in carbohydrates. I believe everyone should at least try this diet to see the benefits. For the people that do better on an average amount of carbohydrates, they should shift when they eat them throughout the day.

I've created a private group for people that want to lose fat and feel good. I'll be posting exclusive training and nutrition plans for you to use, all for free. Just click the link below to enter!

www.facebook.com/groups/fitnessimage

In health,

Coach Armstrong Lazenby

[fitnessimage-blog]

7 Incredibly Practical Ways to Stop Food Cravings

 Benefits of eliminating food cravings:

1.     A controlled and simple approach to food

2.     Weight management

3.     Lean body

4.     Improved health with lowered internal inflammation

5.     Reduced stress and anxiety

 1# Use Spices and Sauces  

Make your main meal taste better! Have a try of these:

·       Mint

·       Cinnamon

·       Coriander

·       Cumin

·       Turmeric

·       Nutmeg

·       Garlic

·       Onion

·       Citrus

·       Vinegars

·       Pomegranate

·       Cocoa

·       Vanilla

·       Anise

Also, to be more specific, if you crave salty foods such as chips or pizza, then eat cheese, fish, sweet potatoes, spinach, and sea salt to balance things out.

If you crave chocolate, you may need magnesium or zinc. In my view magnesium and zinc are very important regardless, and they both have a multitude of benefits. Everyone should take these. Eat 70% dark chocolate or higher; after a couple of squares of 85% you probably won’t want much more!

If you crave processed fatty foods, eat a meal with high quality protein, and good fats. Try meat and nuts, eggs cooked in coconut oil, or avocado.

And for sugar cravings, cruciferous vegetables, or broccoli with garlic and onion is the best way to go.

  2# Take Glutamine for an Instant Quick Fix

Glutamine is an instant fix to low mood or food addictions.

Mix a batch of 30g of glutamine with 300ml of coconut oil or a heavy cream in a glass container. Pour yourself a 30ml shot glass and take it.

Taking glutamine will eliminate your thoughts of food because it is used as an energy source in the brain. It’s very cheap supplement that’s easy to find.

Glutamine is also used for treating drug and alcohol addictions due to its calming of emotional thoughts.

 3# Optimize Your Chromium Levels

The university of Maryland medical Centre estimates that 90 percent of American diets have low chromium. Low levels lead to cravings due to blood sugar problems, elevated cholesterol, increased risk of heart disease, and metabolic syndrome.

In one study, it was shown that simply taking 600 micrograms of chromium picolinate for 8 weeks significantly reduced carbohydrate cravings. The subjects who had the most severe carbohydrate cravings experienced the best results. When blood sugar is low, there is a tendency to crave sugar, leading to an overconsumption of calories. Chromium supplementation may have help to stabilize blood sugar levels and diminish the desire for carbohydrates.

4# Sleep

Sleep deprivation greatly increases desire for junk food. There was a study that looked at the brain activity of 25 normal weight volunteers after five nights of sleep deprivation – four hours of sleep – and five nights off normal sleep.

After sleep deprivation, the activity of areas of the brain that display pleasure was heightened when participants looked at pictures of unhealthy food.

 5# Keep a Food Journal

Keeping a food journal In my view is effective at keeping your thoughts at bay for your food desire.

I do this with all my clients. At the very least, go for 7 days. Record as much detail as you can, including breakfast and dinner times, plus fluid intake. It keeps realization of what you’re eating. It’s much easier to analyse what’s good and what’s bad when it’s on paper in front of you. You can also provide the information to your personal trainer, which is where you can get a lot of practical feedback.

 6# Processed Foods in Favour of Low Glycaemic Foods

Processed foods are the biggest throw off for increasing further hunger towards these foods, binge eating, and food cravings.

There’s hardly any nutritional value in processed foods, therefore you will never be quite satisfied, and you’re setting yourself up for further desire of junk food. Eating the highest quality meat, will help you steer away from fast food in the long term. It might only take or two of eliminating processed foods and replacing them with high quality foods to no longer feel the addiction. After being on this ‘cleanse’ of processed food, you may take a dislike to them.

Research shows that eating these carbs actually changes your brain structure, generating neuronal adaptations to make you crave them constantly.

 7# Kill the Stress

A chemical called serotonin is depleted when you feel stress, leading to a strong desire for carbs. And when you eat the carbs you desire, you replenish serotonin levels.  

When you feel stressed, a hormone called Cortisol, which is the body’s stress hormone, is released. When cortisol is elevated, you feel a reduced desire for non-carb food that are less tasty. You’ll be overwhelmed with a feeling of wanting cakes and other processed carbs.

Manage your stress through relaxation exercises and supplements. Try meditation, massages, yoga and Pilates, 30 minutes of easy walking, and a supplement called Theanine, used to promote relaxation without feelings of drowsiness.

I've created a private group for people that want to lose fat and feel good. I'll be posting exclusive training and nutrition plans for you to use, all for free. Just click the link below to enter!

www.facebook.com/groups/559557127533816/

 In health,

Armstrong Lazenby

[fitnessimage-blog]

I am 45 years old, female, 104kg, and my goal weight is 80kg. I work out 5 days a week - 3 days weights, 2 days cardio. How much protein should I eat for fat & weight loss?

Let me put this in perspective for you - imagine this:

A girl who you want to look like.

Look at her on Instagram, like a fitness model - where she is around 175lbs, just what you want to look like.

I’m going to give you the biggest mistakes to avoid and guidlines based on research to follow for fat loss. But first, let me ask you:

The girl who you’re picturing; do you think she is strong?

Most likely she is quite strong. In fact send her a message and ask her how much she squats. I bet that It is more than we would have thought. To be strong, we need to have a high protein diet to recover and build muscle. So your first objective when deciding how much protein, carbohydrates, and fats to have is to raise protein intake as high as you can.

So if you were as strong as her, do you think you would have a better chance at looking like her?

Well that sounds right.

Awesome, so now we know that we need to build strength.

But let me justify why it’s important to build strength, and what this has to do with answering your question; how much protein, carbohydrate, and fats should I eat?

In my view, there is a direct correlation to strength and your ability to lose weight.

A 2012 study[1] shows the optimum weight loss strategy is one in which fat mass is lost and lean muscle mass is preserved. So eat to preserve and build muscle, and train to do the same - eat more protein and lift weights.

The preservation of lean muscle mass has important consequences due to the role it has in contributing to basal metabolic rate (metabolism, how many calories you would burn in 24 hours if you did nothing).

The reason to build strength for weight loss and body composition is because muscle requires fuel, and calories are fuel. So the more lean muscle you have, the more calories you will burn. Therefore the girl we are looking at on Instagram will have a higher metabolism (basal metabolic rate, BMR) than you.

Also another benefit of training for strength is that strength training specifically, will increase your metabolism for up to 36 hours.

A study in 2001 showed that absolute resting metabolic rate was significantly increased by 7% after 24 weeks of strength training, in young and old men and women. Take note that gender did show to have an effect on the resting metabolic rate but not age. [2]

So to lose weight, we need to raise your metabolism.

By using the eat more exercise more (EMEM) and exercise eat less (ELEL) methodology you can do quite well.

I will go more in depth on EMEM and ELEL in another post, but the essence is to follow this principle to keep out hormones in balance.

Carbohydrates

A carbohydrate-restricted diet promoted more favorable changes in weight loss, fat loss, and markers of health in obese women who initiated an exercise program compared with a diet higher in carbohydrate. This was shown in a 2011 study[3] with women to see if they had better results on a weight loss program with low carbohydrates compared to high carbohydrates.

Protein

To build strength and muscle, increasing protein intake is favorable. In turn, it will help you lose weight. Protein is also a thermogenic, which means it is essentially a fat burner.

A 2006 study [4]shows the relevance that higher protein diets have quite consistently been shown to result in greater weight loss, greater fat loss, and preservation of lean mass as compared with "lower" protein diets.

A number of well-controlled studies are now published in which "higher" protein diets have been shown to be effective for fat loss. A “higher” protien diet would be consuming more than the general populations' average intake of approximately 15% of energy from protein, e.g., as much as 30%-35%, which is within an Acceptable Macronutrient Distribution Range (AMDR) as laid out in the DRIs.

Between carbohydrates and protein, it has been shown that the replacement of some dietary carbohydrate by protein in energy restricted diets, drastically improves weight and fat loss.

A 2003 study [5]showed this to be true, as the results between a high protein diet, at 30% protein intake and a 55% carbohydrate diet had striking differences to fat loss and weight loss results.

Fats

“Won’t eating nuts make you fat?”

Research shows otherwise, plus eating fats increases feelings of fullness. This will help you go longer stretches without eating between meals, so you can dip into your fat stores instead of using the carbohydrates you ate an hour ago.

A 2014 study [6]says there is evidence to date suggests that nuts are not associated with predicted weight gain.

Conclusion

If you are fat, there’s no way around it. Just accept the fact that carbohydrates are not for you for now. Take full responsibility in this area by accepting it.

Nobody was ever robbed by a milkshake. It was your choice. There isn’t such a thing as an essential carbohydrate.

My suggestion is to raise your protein intake as high as you can. In a study above they classify high protien as 30% and higher, of your total macronutritents for the day.

If you eat more quality meat then you will automatically eat less carbohydrates, yes!

So stay away from carbohydrates, unless they contain fiber, like vegetables.

It’s quite hard to eat too many nuts, so fill yourself up with them at each meal and as snacks between meals too. Avocado, and coconut oil is good too.

Individualization for the exact percentage of macronutrients you should consume is impossible as I know nothing about you apart from your gender, weight, and age. There are too many variables for me to give you the best advice on what they should be, from the information provided.

As long as you follow the above recommendations, you will do well. I have never tracked my macronutrients and I haven’t asked any of my clients to track theirs, either.

This question was asked on Quora, and the answer has been posted to Tumblr and our website. Check out my Quora profile here: https://www.quora.com/profile/Armstrong-J-Lazenby

For more useful tips and short articles, you can join our secret Facebook group here - https://www.facebook.com/groups/559557127533816/

Stay healthy,

Coach Armstrong J. Lazenby

References:

Footnotes

[1] Effect of protein, dairy components and energy balance in optimizing body composition.

[2] Effect of strength training on resting metabolic rate and physical activity: age and gender comparisons.

[3] A carbohydrate-restricted diet during resistance training promotes more favorable changes in body composition and markers of health in obese women ... - PubMed - NCBI

[4] Dietary protein for athletes: from requirements to metabolic advantage.

[5] Effects of protein vs. carbohydrate-rich diets on fuel utilisation in obese women during weight loss.

[6] A review of the effects of nuts on appetite, food intake, metabolism, and body weight.

[fitnessimage-blog]

The Top 5 Foods for Fat Loss and Body Composition

With these 5 foods, I’m going to show you how you can:

·        Increase the body’s resting metabolic (burn more calories when the body is resting)

·        Increase the body’s use of fat for energy, shifting it to burn fat instead of carbohydrates

·        Improve the hormone response to food—there are many effects of this, one of which is it blunts the feeling of hunger and reduces cravings

These foods are best eaten in a high protein, well balanced diet, including healthy fats and a smart choice of carbohydrates to help you get and stay lean, while feeling energized and motivated throughout the day.

These foods will help balance your fat burning and hunger hormones, by reducing inflammation inside the body.

When these metabolic hormones are balanced, you will feel less hungry and more satisfied by food, while simultaneously raising your metabolic rate.

 #1: Cold Water Fish: Salmon, Whitefish, Mackerel, Sardines & Anchovies

Less inflammation means you improve the balance of metabolic hormones so that you feel less hungry and more satisfied by food, while simultaneously raising your metabolic rate.

Conclusion: Eating these foods frequently will be a great place to get your omega-3 fats from. And going further - eating grass fed and wild meat like Kangaroo, in conjunction with a smart training program, will be extremely beneficial so that you don’t become ‘skinny fat’. Eat a serving of one of these high protein sources at every meal!

 #2: Nuts: Walnuts & Almonds

Nuts are high in antioxidants, protein, fibre, and healthy fats. Research shows that supplementing the diet with them can significantly improve body composition.

Conclusion: Eating a serve of nuts in conjunction with a low-carb diet will heighten fat loss significantly and help you feel satisfied.

 #3: Whey Protein

Using a whey protein supplement increases tissue repair (muscle recovery), and enhances the body’s internal antioxidant system by immune compound called glutathione.

Research has shown that physical performance and fat loss is increased with increased levels of glutathione during strength training.

For example, in one study, participants who took 22 grams of whey protein daily in conjunction with a strength training program lost more body fat than a group that only strength trained and didn’t supplement with whey.

Conclusion: Supplementing with whey protein increases metabolic rate, antioxidant status, and muscle recovery.

 #4: Avocados

One avocado contains 250 calories, 10 g of fiber, 15 g of monounsaturated fat, 4 g of protein, and 20 essential nutrients. This means avocados are classified as a high fat food.

A randomized, long-term clinical trial found that a moderate fat diet can be an effective part of a weight loss plan and the reduction of chronic disease risk.

A randomized single blinded, crossover postprandial study of 26 healthy overweight adults suggested that one-half an avocado consumed at lunch significantly reduced self-reported hunger and desire to eat, and increased feelings of fullness as compared to the control meal.

Conclusion: Selectively include avocados in your diet. Depending on other fat intake, eat them a few days a week.

 #5: Coffee

There is much evidence to suggest that coffee increases metabolism so that you can burn more calories, and it can help your body shift from using glucose as fuel to using fat for energy.

Just make note that coffee has a half-life of 5 hours, and it can decrease your melatonin levels (melatonin regulates sleep and wakefulness) so have your coffee in the morning or before 5pm.

The fat loss effect of coffee drinking hasn’t been studied extensively, but one study showed drinking 500 ml of coffee daily for 4 weeks produced 2.5 kg weight loss in overweight subjects.

The true power of coffee can be used in conjunction with exercise, as it can increase exercise performance and motivation.

Conclusion: Use coffee with a smart diet, and intense workouts for fat loss and enhanced body composition.

 Use these five foods in your diet to support fat loss and get the physique you desire!

Notice how there are no carbohydrate foods in the top 5 foods for fat loss and body composition.

Here’s my explanation as to why a low carbohydrate diet is the way to go, and why it is suited to 70% of Caucasians who are overweight.

See the article “Your Carbohydrate Addiction - Here’s What You’re Missing Out On” here - https://tmblr.co/ZjK-fk2IHDSpt

In health,

Coach Armstrong Lazenby

[fitnessimage-blog]

The Reason Why You Aren’t Seeing Results – and It’s Not Because Your Lazy

Its either you or someone else – your body doesn’t look how you want it to look

There’s a number one reason why this happens, and it’s not because of these conventional factors:

1.     Laziness

2.     Motivation

3.     You don’t push yourself hard enough

4.     Eat the wrong things

5.     Drink alcohol

These will reduce your results in the gym but there’s something else that the guys and girls you’ve seen at the gym who don’t improve for years don’t know.

We all know someone who’s been going to the gym and dieting crazy and yet their body isn’t changing.

All the hard work they do – is it worth it for what they get.

Maybe this discourages you, because your reason for going to the gym and dieting is for one or both reasons:

1.     Prevent disease

2.     Build or maintain an attractive body

 If you want to tone up, lose fat, and build muscle to build an attractive body, then the hard work you see your friend doing doesn’t look like it’s worth the effort to diet and go to the gym 5 days a week.

 I’ll tell you now, if you’re just getting back into fitness, then you need to get results as quickly as possible.

 When the compliments start rolling in, you put more effort in and that’s what keeps you going.

 Planning your Body for Results

Planning your results is crucial – to do this, get on the right program.

 You should construct an individualized periodization plan according to your unique set of needs and obligations.

 Your putting in the effort, now how good is your program. It will make all the difference, and by planning your training you’ll have the confidence in what you’re doing in the gym rather than doing what you think is right or feel like at the time.

 Coaches and trainers choose to use periodization, which is a term used to create a particular and specific program.

 This is known also as a pattern, plan, strategy, method, or ‘model of periodization’ for a training program.

 In other words, this is a training program that is customized for the client or athlete to suit their needs. Programs will vary for different athletes and clients (e.g., novices vs. experienced trainers) or periods of the training year (building muscle, losing fat, increased calories, reduced calories).

 The purpose of this article is to outline some of the options you have within a periodised training structure that a trainer may choose from when designing a training program for different goals (toning, weight loss, muscle gain).

 Why are you doing what you are doing?

It’s a great question to ask yourself.

You’re in the gym and you are doing bodyweight squats for 30 seconds.

-        Why are you doing what you are doing?

If you don’t know why you are doing 30 seconds of an exercise, and you don’t know why you are doing 3 sets of it, then how do you know what you are training for and if it’s gong to get you to your goal body?

 By planning and periodising your training you’re going to know what you’re going to do in the gym and why you’re doing it.

 Periodization is the Most Effective Way to Organize a Training Program

 This organization refers to two major elements:

1.     How to structure a longer period of time, such as a year of training, into smaller and more manageable phases (programs)

2.     How to structure the program into specific training phases such as the beginning of a program, muscle size phase, muscle tone and density phase, muscle definition where the objective is to burn fat,

Your nervous system gets bored of everything.

Change up your program every 2-4 weeks – this means you should start going through an ‘accumulation’ phase, then an ‘intensification’ phase.

 This means every 2-4 weeks lift weights lighter with higher reps (accumulation), then heavier weights for fewer reps (intensification) for 2-4 weeks, and alternate between these 2 phases.

 What is an Accumulation Phase?

• High number of exercises (2-4 per body part)

• Higher reps (7 reps or more)

• Lower sets (2-4 sets per exercise)

• Lower intensities (lift a weight below 80 percent of your 1 repetition max for each set)

• Shorter rest intervals (30 to 90 seconds between sets)

A typical accumulation phase may consist of 3 exercises of 3 sets of 12-15 reps, resting an average of 75 seconds between sets. This is a basic guideline for your first training phase!

Intensification phases are characterized by:

• Low number of exercises (1-2 per body part)

• Lower reps (1-6)

• Higher sets (10-12 total sets per body part, or 4-6 sets per exercise)

• Higher intensities (life heavier than 80 percent of your 1 repetition max for that exercise)

• Longer rest between sets and exercises (3-5 minutes)

A typical intensification phase may consist of 2 exercises of 5 sets of 4-6 reps, and resting an average of 3-5 minutes between sets. This is a basic guideline for your second training phase!

For a customized and periodized training program for a toned and symmetrical physique, you can email [email protected]

In health,

Coach Armstrong Lazenby

[fitnessimage-blog]

Your Carbohydrate Addiction – Here’s What You’re Missing Out On

Not Including athletes, the reason most of us diet is to:

1.     Obtain or maintain an attractive body

2.     Stay healthy and prevent disease

Optimal body composition: low body fat a reasonable amount of muscle.

To obtain one of the preceding goals, we must lower our carbohydrate intake. By keeping carbohydrates low, we reduce inflammation, and use our hormones to our advantage, which gives ourselves the best chance possible at improved body composition, and a long and healthy life.

Low Carbohydrates = Positive Hormone Changes = Fat Burning

The popular way to lose weight is to reduce calorie intake, and increase energy expenditure through exercise. By doing this we are working against what our body wants and how it works.

The reason why this doesn’t work is because hormones are a more powerful at adapting and changing the body, and we aren’t using hormones to our advantage by going through the calorie in calorie out methodology.

Hormones will override the low caloric intake and increased energy expenditure theory to lose weight.

The balance between how much protein, carbohydrates, and fats we eat will change our hormones to work in favor for us or against us.

Here’s a quick overview of some of the important names of hormones and what they do:

Leptin – Increased Leptin levels will tell you you’re full

Insulin - It can tell the body to stop burning its fat stores

Ghrelin - Hunger hormone

To a certain degree we can change these hormones to work to our advantage. Decreasing our calories in and increasing our energy expenditure will influence our hormones in a negative way which will force our body systems work against us.

Low Carborhydrate Eating is Superior

The grandfather of low carb eating, Dr. Robert Atkins (from the Atkins diet) explains the benefits of low carb eating in more complex terms as:

“They would lose weight because they would keep their insulin down. They wouldn’t be hungry and they would have less resistance to burning their own fat.”

Sounds good right. Dr. Robert Atkins is talking about a low carbohydrate diet that influences our hormones to change our body composition to a leaner, stronger body!

Become a Fat Burner – Ketosis

We can avoid foods that produce a negative hormonal effect on the body, which will allow us to stimulate burning of fat as fuel!

Having said this, most of us reading this are accustomed to relying on carbohydrates as fuel, and feel tired when we reduce them. This means that a period of very low carbohydrate intake is necessary to enter ‘Ketosis.’

Carbohydrates are not an essential macro-nutrient, and if you were on an island with only protein and fats you would survive, and in my opinion, comfortably thrive.

This low carbohydrate state is an extremely natural adaptive state, and one that our primal ancestors entered frequently. This process allows us to burn stored fat as fuel through converted ketones. Ketones are produced when carbohydrate intake is low and you use fats as fuel instead of your glucose stores.

Ketosis is nothing new for doctors treating epilepsy, as it’s generated positive results in treating the condition for the last 20+ years.

Now look closely at the diagram above. Yes, that’s right, there is potential for more fat burning from eating, than starving yourself for a week! The more ketones, the more fat you can use as fuel.

I don’t know about you, but I’d rather eat tasty food every day to complete satisfaction and maintain all my muscle, than not eat for an entire a week and lose muscle?

A 2004 study in the Journal of General Medicine had 68% of participants discontinue their diabetes medication in only 16 weeks on a ketogenic diet.

The low carb diet and ketosis is misunderstood, and underrated.

By eating excess carbohydrates, it is limiting the elusive health benefits and fat loss results generated from such diets like the Atkins and Ketogenic diet.

Researchers at Harvard Medical school suggest that ketosis could reduce the effects of brain disorders such as Alzheimer’s and dementia, and ketogenic diets are now commonly prescribed to treat autism, Parkinson’s, and ALS.

“There are only two days in the year that nothing can be done. One is called yesterday and the other is called tomorrow.” The Daliai Lama

Fat has been proven to be the superior fuel source, as seen in the ketogenic diet. Fat is a better fuel source than carbohydrate, in any aerobic exercise, long and short distance.

This has been proven by Frederick Swatka as his legacy remains from his famous expedition.

In 1880, he made the longest sledge journey ever made both regarding time and distance of eleven months and four days and 4,360 km and that it was the first Arctic expedition on which the whites relied entirely on the same diet as the Inuit.

He wrote about his adaptation to a 90% fat and protein Inuit Diet, and his enhanced ability to withstand ‘prolonged sled journeys’ with no adverse health effects. This eating strategy focuses on limiting carbohydrates and prioritizing animal protein and good fat, which gives us the ability to tap into a much larger fuel tank.

In Schwatka’s case this regimen gave him the energy to complete one of the longest recorded sled journeys in history. The fuel availability from fat storage is nearly 40 times that of carbohydrate storage (blood, muscle, liver).

In the past there has been no need to burn fat because we’ve been given an ample supply of glucose (plus reserves) every day for years.

Once transitioned into ketosis, feeling of more energy and more stamina, even in complete absence of carbohydrates. Several research studies who’s superior performance in long distance endurance athletes who are ketosis adapted.

In all terms, it is vitally important that you become fully adapted, so that you can burn fat as fuel. The first 3 weeks on the diet are the toughest, but you will find you adapt to it, and the investment will be worth it.

How much weight do you want to lose?

Essentially, it comes down to how often and how much fat you want to lose.

In 1971 research study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, where researchers put obese men on diets of equal calories, but restricted carbohydrate content to 30g, 60g, or 104g.

After 9 weeks, the men that kept their carbohydrates 60g lower, lost 5kg more weight, and nearly 100% of it was fat!

Appetite is one of the biggest factors for determining success on a low-car plan. We will be talking about how to control your appetite in a later post.

The main point is that we limit carbohydrate intake to get into ketosis. This means cutting out wheat and sugar. You may experience withdrawal symptoms like quitting a powerful drug like cocaine or morphine, depending on your personal addiction to these foods. On the flip side, you can eat as many calories as you want when carbohydrates are restricted.

In 1956, Kekwick and Pawan published a study in the Lancet showing no weight-loss for a group eating a 2000 calorie ‘balanced diet,’ compared to a low-carbohydrate group that lose fat while eating an average of 2600 calories!

This is because animal protein, saturated fat and calories don’t make you fat – carbohydrates make you fat.

“It is implausible that an animal that adapted to a high protein diet for 5 million years suddenly in 10,000 years becomes a predominant carbohydrate burner.” – Anssi H Manninen, PhD

So next time you go to buy food, think about getting more quality meat, vegetables, and less carbohydrates!  

“The greater your muscle mass, the lower your risk of death…rather than worrying about weight…we should be trying to maximize and maintain muscle mass.” ― Dr. Arun Karlamangla

For more information on dieting techniques, body composition diet plans and training programs, email [email protected]

In health,

Coach Armstrong Lazenby

​#tags