Have I gone “health-nut”? Maybe, but if you’re not interested, don’t read. Otherwise see the first post in my “Gittin’ Fit” series for some more background…
Time for work fitness seminar #2. If you remember, Mr. Fitness Expert is leading our discussion. This week, his highly anticipated topic (no sarcasm here- some people around the office were intensely interested- like “what are we gonna eat!?!?”) is “Principles of Fitness and Fat Burning”.
I, of course, am eager to find out the kind of foods I should eat to maximize fat burning, increase energy levels, and promote muscle building. I’ve known for years that I need to eat better, but have always lacked the motivation to do so. Eating at Chipotle is fun (unless you get the Norovirus) and besides, I’ve always subscribed to the if “if I exercise I can eat whatever I want” theory.
As we walked into the ballroom door, we were offered a wedge-shaped muffin cookie thing that seemed to resemble a doorstop more than it did actual food. However, since everyone else was grabbing them up and I’m not one to refuse free food anyway, I chose a “chocolate chip” flavored wedge.
Mr. Fabulous, we’ll settle on this alias because of his frequent use of the word ‘fabulous’ and his ambiguous sexuality, explains that these principles he’s about to lay out will get us to where we want to go diet/ fitness-wise as quickly and efficiently as possible. Adding to the confusion regarding Mr. Fab’s sexual preference, he put up a map of the US Interstate 80 saying, “You have to know where you’re going”, before demonstrating that the highway lead to San Francisco, notorious for its homosexual population.
From last time, the main objective of these principles is to keep everyone’s body in the ideal state where consistent nutrient levels are maintained. When this level is maintained, only then id your body convinced that there’s no reason to hold onto the extra fat it is carrying. “Why does your body store fat?” Fabulous questions rhetorically, “Because you’re not giving your body the fuel it needs!”
When you do give your body the fuel it needs, then it can reduce fat and increase fat burning. After all, the more you deprive your body, the more it holds onto fat. It sounded counter-intuitive at first, but through Fab’s persuasive argument, it started to make sense. In order to lose weight, you have to eat…the right things.
Mr. Fab explained his 4 objectives when he works with clients:
1. Increase and/ or rebuild lean, healthy, fat-burning metabolism
2. Achieve ideal body fat (Men = 12-17%, Women = 20-25%)
3. …with minimal effort necessary
4. Realistically maintain ideal health, fitness, and body composition levels with the “80/20 Rule”
Fabulous is quick to qualify everything he’s about to say as essential. In other words, his principles aren’t just recommendations; they’re straight up, tried and true methods he’s arrived at through careful trial and error with clients trying to lose weight and keep it off over the years. At this point he puts up statistics of his clients’ weight loss results and boasts that he trained Torrie Wilson as she put the final touches to her physique before the Ms. Galaxy competition. He is not lacking in confidence.
When Mr. Fab proudly displayed a photo of his most famous client, it further clouded the unresolved question of his sexuality and was met with groans from the females in the audience while the males didn’t seem to mind.
Principle #1 – Consume the right number of calories.
This should be less than your total metabolism, but more than your basal requirement (what your body expends just to stay alive). When people get busy and miss meals, they don’t get enough “real” calories. Mr. Fab is quick to point out that McDonald’s does not qualify as “real” calories.
The optimal caloric intake is between 1500-2700 for women and 2250-3600 for men, using the general rule that you need 10-11 calories per pound of body weight per day. Your optimal caloric intake is always changing, Fab explained, because it is determined by the amount of lean muscle you have. So, the “fitter” you get, the more calories you need to eat, or else the fat burning stops. As you lose body fat, you must eat more! Like I told you, very counter-intuitive!
Mr. Fab also makes the interesting side note that the best time to lose body fat is during pregnancy because you’re dealing with two metabolisms. This gets a reaction from the crowd and he promises to address it further and an upcoming seminar.
Principle #2 – Eat frequently throughout the day.
Ok, this is one I’ve heard before. I’ve actually toyed with doing “Body for Life” which seems very similar.
Mr. Fab explains that ideally you should eat 5-6 meals per day. For women, this meal should consist of 300 calories, for men 450 calories. He emphasizes that you must eat breakfast because it raises your metabolic rate 10%, or the equivalent of 30 minutes on a treadmill.
5-6 meals per day equates to eating roughly every 2 to 3.5 hours. Fab explained that if you’re not hungry at these intervals, it’s a problem. “Listen to your hunger and obey”, he commanded, “and eat before your cravings dictate your behavior!” The reason why people crave sweets after they eat is they often wait too long to eat in the first place. When you eat before you get hungry on the other hand, it tells your body fat that it has no business being there!
Principle #3 – Eat the right combination of nutrients per meal.
According to Mr. Fabulous, your body requires a certain ratio of nutrients – 50% complex carbohydrates, 30% protein, and 20% fat. Therefore, each meal you eat must contain 1 serving of a fruit or vegetable, 1 serving of complex carbs, and 1 serving of protein to maximize results.
Alone, just eating a bagel is no good because in isolation protein, fiber, or fat slow carbohydrate absorption, but combine the bagel with an apple and a piece of chicken and it’s the ideal meal.
“Proper combinations of nutrients will also make you feel better”, stated Mr. Fab flamboyantly.
Principle #4 – Eat the right quality of food.
“A calorie is not calorie”, reasoned Mr. Fabulous. “You must avoid sugars and processed carbs”, he bellowed, condemning the very thing most in the audience have made the primary staple of their diets. He advocated the “caveman rule” – if a caveman wouldn’t eat it, you shouldn’t either. So, a diet should consist of complex carbs and stick to lean (low-fat) protein choices.
At this point, Mr. Fab passed out information on the foods he considers the best proteins, fats, and carbohydrates to eat and shows the quantities to eat them in. The top vegetable – broccoli, the top fruit – apple, the top complex carb – kidney beans, the top lean protein – egg whites, and the top condiment – flax seed oil.
Mmm, pass me some of that flax seed oil. I’m going to douse my ¾ cup of kidney beans with 1 tsp. of that s%$#!
This principle is the biggie: its clear followers will lose fat, but it’s also the potential sticking point in my mind to everything Mr. Fabulous laid out. Sure, in theory a diet like this sounds good, but practically, I don’t have enough money to pay someone to prepare all these ideal meals for me! That means I’m going to have to pre-plan 5-6 meals a day!?!
…and the award for best veggie goes to…Broccoli!
I don’t know if I’m up for this, as it would require a dramatic change in my diet, not to mention a seemingly huge preparation commitment. Then again, I’ve wanted to eat right for years. So has my wife. Maybe we’ll try it.
This portion of the seminar also made me really hungry.
Mr. Fabulous went on to say most people don’t eat enough fat in their diets. He explained that men should consume 7-8 grams of fat and women 5-6 grams, of good, from the list fat. Water is important too and you should consume 64-100 oz per day. Coffee is okay with meals, but disappointingly, pop and juice are not ok!
Mr. Fab encouraged everyone to undertake this daunting task cautioning that most people would actually have trouble eating 5 of these prescribed meals per day because their metabolism is so out of shape. Over a few weeks, however, sticking to this regiment will get your metabolism back on track. Cook the meals in advance and focus on breakfast, he urged.
Later, I joked with employees from my department who also attended the seminar that they’d be removing the chili-cheese Frito’s and stocking the vending machine at work with shark, flax seed oil, and those little wedge shaped health muffins that were passed out at the beginning of the meeting.
Principle #5 – Exercise effectively.
Of course, the food needs to be right, see #4. Cardiovascular exercise is recommended because it trains the body to burn more fat. Mr. Fab recommends 15-25 minutes initially for beginners as the minimum amount, focusing on larger muscles (like the legs) but states, “You do need to get sweaty!”
The ideal time, according to Fab, is to eat no later than 1/2 hour after a workout, or before if you need to. You can eat the last meal of the day whenever you choose, as long as it has a high-ranked carb and includes a vegetable. The worst thing you can eat before bed is ice cream.
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