Ladies diet

[MikeKy]

Guys and dolls. I have been asked to offer up some ideas on how a certain female I know can drop about 15 to 20 lbs of fat. As this is not my strong suit, I'm asking...no, begging for ideas. She now does Tae Bo and watches what she eats. I think she isn't eating enough and is going catabolic. She has a pilate and tread mill at her finger tips. She walks 6 to 9 miles a week. She, like most, thinks eat nothing and loose weight. I tell her it doesn't work that way, but who am I? Any ideas I can relay to her would be much appreciated.

[Tim Wescott]

Mike, I always use this analogy but it explains really well why you should eat more often to lose weight/fat.

We have all see or heard about overweight people,usually women as a rule ,who eat a half a grapefruit,a glass of water,and 2 lettuce leaves and then bit*h that they are not losing weight. ;D

This is because the body reverts to a kind of survival mechanism that this small amount of food triggers.The body assumes that the person can`t get food so it hold`s on to the existing weight in order to survive.
This goes all the way back to cavemen days as they were hunter gatherer`s and often travelled hunting for food for days without finding any.Thus the preservation of the species.

It is far better to eat 4-6 more frequent smaller light calorie meals as this keeps the metabolism moving right along.
strength training also builds lean muscle of course as we all know,and the more lean muscle tissue the body has, the more calories it burns,even at rest!

For each pound of muscle you add to the body you burn 75 extra calories just to maintain that muscle,for each pound of fat,you only burn 2 calories to maintain it.So it makes sense to lift along with walking for her cardio.

You know the drill on diet,the usual high protein foods ,moderate carbs,and low calories and fat.

Oh and Mike...NO BACON!! ;D

[Jesse]

but tim, bacon tastes soo good ;D

i use turkey bacon if i have the craving...

[Tim Wescott]

Turkey bacon is good!

[Sharon]

Tim, Great diet advice!

[AI]

Try cardio first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. After that, eating some fruit, or oatmeal, not the instant stuff, but the real oatmeal.

Eating 5 times a day vs. 3 times a day is better too. I find eating more meals in a day actually makes my portions smaller. And get rid of all the sugar!!!!

Hope that helps some.

[Sharon]

A1 you are probably a seasoned bodybuilder so slap my hand if I am wrong but I don't think you should do any cardio on an empty stomach.

At least a protein shake an hour before you do any exercise will stimulate fat burning instead of muscle burning.


"Exercising on an empty stomach is not the best way to go. Research studies have indicated that the number of calories burned is far less than when exercising after a meal. A small meal of 300-400 calories an hour before training will allow you to train harder. You will get about a 10% increase in metabolic rate alone from eating the food, you will be able to train harder as blood glucose levels will not go to super low levels, and you will have a better anabolic hormone response.


Exercising on an empty stomach does not force the body to burn more fat. In some cases it forces it to break down more muscle to get at amino acids. They are deaminated, converted into glucose and then help supply the body with energy. Small amounts of glucose are needed to burn fat."

[Tim Wescott]

My Approach To Doing Cardio For Optimal Results by Tim Wescott

Most bodybuilder`s, fitness enthusiasts, and personal trainer`s, will tell you that the best time to do cardio is early in the morning, on an empy stomach. For some reason, which most of them don`t know the answer to, they will tell you this is the perfect time to facilitate fat burning. I`m here to say they are off base in this approach to losing bodyfat, and I will tell you why. As bodybuilder`s, most of us endeavor to eat 5-6 meals a day, spaced out over three hour intervals.This helps to keep blood sugar levels stable, keeps us in an anabolic state, by maintaining a positive nitrogen balance, aids in better digestion and assimilation, and also helps to keep the waistline smaller, as most of the meals should not be big meals, per se`!

After sleeping all night for 6-8 hours, or whatever amount is required for you personally, the body, upon arising in the morning, is in a very catabolic state.This means a state of negative nitrogen balance,something no bodybuilder wants. To perform cardio at this time, on an empty stomach, creates a further state of catabolism, thus resulting in muscle breakdown, and muscle tissue loss.The exact opposite of what bodybuilding is all about! It`s true that blood sugar levels are low in the morning, but so are amino acids,the building blocks of protein. If you must do cardio in the morning.... no big deal, just make sure to have a protein drink, or a light protein meal, 45-60 minutes before the aerobic session. Your first priority in the morning, after fasting all night during sleep, should be to feed the body protein and carbs, thus restoring the body to an anabolic state once again. You always want to remain in this anabolic state, if possible, thats why we eat every three hours or so.

In my opinion, the best time to do cardio is after you workout with the iron. Performing your cardio workout after training with the weights, is the most ideal time to burn fat. The reasoning behind this thinking is that during your weight training workout you are using glucose, and stored glycogen, as fuel for energy. Glucose and glycogen are sugars, and sugars are carbs. You want to use carbs as fuel for your training ideally,to sustain you throughout the workout. After you are done training, your glucose and glycogen levels are obviously depleted, thus making this the perfect time to perform your cardio, and to use stored fat as fuel. At this time, if you are on a high protein diet, as most bodybuilder`s are, or should be, the body will burn fat as fuel, to help get you through the cardio session.


Keep the cardio intense and brief, or the body will once again go into a catabolic state and use protein for fuel literally eating your hard earned muscle tissue alive.Doinf too much cardio is detrimental. The type of cardio that you perform is up to you, but I would recommend doing 15-20 minutes of "High Intensity Interval Training". Hereafter known as HIIT !! HIIT cardio involves an all out burst of effort for about a minute, followed by a cool down pace, also for a minute or so, or until the heartrate slows down substantionally. As I stated above, 15-20 minutes of HIIT is great and usually enough for most people. I personally wouldn`t go over 30 minutes tops.

One of the advantages of performing HIIT cardio is that it accomplishes more in a shorter time period. Another more important benefit, is that it raises the heart rate and the metabolism. Your metabolism stays elevated long after your cardio session is done.This enables the body to keep on burning more fat just by going through your normal daily routine! I call this effect the "Afterburn" !!

I use an Eliptical Trainer most of the time, and I find by using this particular apparatus, I burn over twice as many calories using HIIT, over more traditional methods I have employed in the past.The Eliptical Trainer also has virtually no impact on the feet, hips, or knees. So there it is, my take on doing AM cardio, and why I think it should not be done on an empty stomach. Try it out and lose some of that excess bodyfat, while retaining your hard earned muscle, you`ll be glad you did !!

[AI]

sharon, I'm sure you are right about this. i have never had to lose weight ever. In fact my problem is just the opposite. i have to gain.

I've been trying to help my hubby lose weight & this has worked for him. If an empty stomach is just completely out of the question then I would say having a protien shake before cardio would be great but not much more than that.

[Tim Wescott]

Exactly !!

[Sharon]

"I use an Eliptical Trainer most of the time"

I love the Elipitcal Trainer because it is so gentle on the knees!

Thanks for confirming my information. I use to starve myself and train and I was always so weak.

I eat all the time now!

Good article Tim! This time last year, a seasoned bodybuilder told me to drink a cup of coffee and do cardio first thing in the morning to lose weight!

[Tim Wescott]

Thanks Sharon,I`m kinda` partial to the author!! ;D

I used to do it on an empty stomach also but lost way too much muscle mass.

I don`t know where this stuff get`s started but it does catch on .

There are so many "rules" that people take as gospel that are really doing more harm than good to their bodies.

[AI]

I used to hate the eliptical! Now, when I get to the gym I get mad if they're all taken! I love that thing now. I don't even know when the last time I was on the treadmill.

[gnomesoldier]

will someone post a sample diet for my lady.. shes just looking to get "not fat"

[Canttellmeno]

MikeKy said:

Guys and dolls. I have been asked to offer up some ideas on how a certain female I know can drop about 15 to 20 lbs of fat. As this is not my strong suit, I'm asking...no, begging for ideas. She now does Tae Bo and watches what she eats. I think she isn't eating enough and is going catabolic. She has a pilate and tread mill at her finger tips. She walks 6 to 9 miles a week. She, like most, thinks eat nothing and loose weight. I tell her it doesn't work that way, but who am I? Any ideas I can relay to her would be much appreciated.

Hey MikeKy,

First let me say that every bit of the advice offered up in this thread is golden! These people know what they are talking about.

Just a little background on what I do for a living... I own a fitness center where I train many clients, mostly women. I offer nutrition training in my practice. That means that I write my clients their diets, give them nutrition journals that they must keep up... and I insist on honest journaling.... and I make them bring it into my office every two weeks for the sole purpose of discussing what's working, what's not and how my clients feel about their programs. This is the most important tool I have in my toolbox because this gives me the opportunity to keep them motivated.

I track their weight, bodyfat %, waist, hip and thigh measurements. I break it down for them so they can see, based on the numbers how much lean they've put on and how much fat they've lost. This is VERY important, because the scale alone can not do that. If people rely on what the scale says then the end result usually results in failure. After all, who wants to bust their a$$ 7 days a week only to watch the numbers on the scale hardly budge.

I tell you this so you will be able to understand the next thing I'm about to say...

Without knowing what the relationship is between you and your "certain female", I can only guess it's a close personal friend. Which means, you already have two strikes against you when trying to offer help. You're too close to her. So.... here are a few things that might help you break the barrier and help her to make headway.

The first thing my women clients do when I tell them they must eat several small meals through out the day is, 1) give me this look... then 2) argue that "that amount" of food will only keep them fat.

My seasoned answer for that (which is consistant with what Ski is saying):

First of all, it only seems like a lot of food right now. Once you start exercising you will soon discover that you will wake up hungry and you'll be looking forward to your next meal about 2.5 to 3 hours later.

The meals that you will be eating only amount to about 300 - 400 calories, which is not much more than a meal replacement shake or bar.

When you digest a meal, your body is working very hard to break down the food and absorb the nutrients. You are burning calories when you are digesting a meal.

You also burn a fair amount of calories when you sleep because your heart is beating, your lungs are working, and you are moving around in your sleep.

All of this activity is directly related to metabolism, in addition to your daily activity and exercise.

When you eat small meals, you keep your metabolism very active. If your metabolism is active, then you instantly become a fat burning machine.

And then they look at me like this and then they say they'll try it

What to do with that info now that you know you're a little too close to your friend for her to fully accept your advice?

Offer up a challenge.

Explain to her everything you've learned here in your thread. Educate her on the importance of having her bodyfat % taken vs. relying on what the scale has to say.

IF she doesn't have access to a gym or a trainer who can take her bf%, don't dispare.

Ask her to commit to two weeks of new habits. Take her scale weight, waist, hip and thigh measurements.

Put her on a generic diet that consists of 5 meals during the day to include a whey protein shake (made with water & crushed ice) right before bed. And encourage her to keep a journal. Have her keep track of what she's eating (to include measured amounts) what time of day she's eating her meals, and how much water she's taking in. Here comes the hard part... try to get her to drink at least 1 gallon to 1.5 gallons of water a day. She will flush excess water weight if she does.

Meal 1 - 1 cup cooked oats (the good stuff like AI said)
1 whole egg + 3 egg whites (she needs a little bit of fat in her diet)
1/2 apple, orange, blueberries, melon (low sugar content. Bananas are high, she can have them on occasion but not all the time)

Meal 2 - 2-3 oz lean meat (chicken, turkey, fish, etc)
OR 1/2 cup lowfat (1%) cottage cheese
and 6 oz fat free yogurt, .5 fruit, .5 cup rice, yams, potato (yes, potato... just be careful what she puts on it. I Can't Believe It's Not Butter SPRAY is the best. Remember, if it sits solid on your counter, it's going to sit solid on your butt!)

Lunch and Dinner should be identical.

4-6 oz lean meat (chicken, turkey, fish, london broil, flank steak, etc..)
.5 cup rice, yams, potato, corn, peas (startchy carbs that are clean... no bread, bagels, crackers, flour tortillias, etc...)
1-2 cups grean leafy veggies (broccoli, asparagus, spinich, any variety of greens to include cauliflower and green beans)

*Women have a thing for salad! You can eat a small salad IN ADDITION TO your green leafy vegie, but never as a substitute. Nutrients are very powerful, and your nutrient value and natural diuretic effect of green leafy veggies are far superior to lettuce.

Meal 4 (afternoon snach) - repeat meal 2

Dinner

Bedtime protein shake.


Allow her to have one free day out of 7. But remind her that if she goes overboard she can easily blow all of her hard effort that has been put in during the last 6 days.

At the end of her two weeks, take her weight & measurements again. She should see a drop in her waist, hips and thighs even if the scale doesnt change much. She should also report that she feels better, has more energy and her body feels more solid (new muscle gained through better eating habits and consistant exercise)

Tell her that if she gives in for two small weeks and takes your challenge to let you help her, you'll reward her with something that won't sabotage her efforts.

Take her to a concert, buy her a new workout outfit, take her to a movie and let her have movie popcorn, etc.

You will be most successful in helping her if she feels like you are a vital part of the process and really in her corner vice being the smartie pants who all of a sudden knows the answers to all of her problems and is going to be the 'food cop'.

Two birds with one stone! There you go gnomesoldier!

I hope this helps you guys out.

Lisa

[Liftingchic]

WOWers Cant.. thanks for posting that..

[Tim Wescott]

Great post Lisa,and damn good advice !!

[AI]

Great post C!

Since you are the expert at nutrition & diet here. I have a question for you & anyone else who wants to chime in.

What if you are trying to put on the weight? I am one of those labled "lucky" women who can eat anything & not gain a single pound. In fact the weight falls off me. I personally don't think it's luck. It's more of a curse. Working out & people still gawking at me in amazement at how thin I am really gets on my nerves.

How would you change up the diet? More carbs? More Protien? Less cardio? I do cardio 3 x's a week but I don't want to give it up. It keeps me sane & from turning into an evil person.

[Tim Wescott]

Winter.........The Ideal Time To Add Muscle Mass !!
by Tim Wescott

We read so many different articles offering advice on how to lose fat,get ripped,and increase muscularity,that I decided to flip the script and write one about the extreme ectomorph who can`t ever seem to add a pound to his frame no matter what he does, and for the bodybuilder who is looking to add mass this winter to bring up his weak points and complete his physique !

I know when I started training as a kid,although I had no clue as to what I was doing, it took me over a year to go from my starting bodyweight of 98 pounds, to a whopping 106 pounds!!
Hey..........I said I had no clue !!

I am still not a huge guy, but have added over 80 pounds to my frame since I began training............. and most of it`s muscle.
I`ll never be huge, but if I never trained,instead of weighing around 185 as I do today, I beleive I would weigh around 140 pounds just like my father,and that would be 140 skinny and soft pounds to boot !!!
I have some of the worst genetics in history.

With the cold weather fast approaching,especially here in upstate N.Y., it is the optimum time to train heavy,and to add some serious size to your present physical development.

During the hot summer months, we all want to be lean and ripped for the beaches,streets,or the contest stage,but when the winter months roll around,it`s a great time to try to bring up weak points,disproportionate areas of the body,or just increase overall size, in an effort to take your physique to another level. After all, depending on where you live,most of us are covered up with heavy clothes and coats, and we aren`t outside anywhere near as much during the winter months.

This is the perfect time to get a bit bigger until springtime comes, and you lean out once again. No one will see your physique for months, and you can unveil the new you this coming spring, and surprise a few people with your newly acquired muscle mass !!

To gain new muscle size it is almost inevitable that we also will gain a little more bodyfat,but this is OK, as it is often what`s needed to propell the body into new growth. Some people use the archaic term "bulking up"when they talk about adding mass, which is a term I don`t like, as some use this term just as an excuse to eat anything and everything,simply to add new pounds of bodyweight to their frames, regardless of whether it`s muscle or fat.

Others do what they call a "clean bulk", which entails adhering to roughly the same diet they use to lose fat.......containing all clean foods, but in much larger quantities.
I personally don`t do this, as it is a lot of food to try to eat daily, and they are not calorie dense foods for the most part,so I find it very hard to get in this much food every day, and besides that, it`s a very bland way of eating all year `round,as you will have to eat this way to diet down later, only the quantities of the food are a lot less.

In my particular case, it get`s pretty monotonous to eat like this for 16-20 weeks when dieting for a contest, so I try to add mass by following a bit of a looser type of diet. Besides,after getting shredded, and down to a super-low bodyfat percentage, you deserve to live a little, and enjoy eating again.

There is just so long that I can eat a steady diet of plain chicken breasts,brown rice,salad,and water,although I have eaten like this for extended periods of time.


Usually when I diet for increased muscularity my diet consists of very clean, low calorie foods such as:
skinless chicken breast, egg whites, lean beef, oatmeal, yams, brown rice, protein powder, tuna, baked potatoes, fish, sweet potatoes, etc. etc.

I normally never eat bread,dairy products,fruit, or any other calorie dense foods except for the occasional couple of spoonfulls of all natural peanut butter.

When trying to gain weight this winter,I will still rely on the above listed foods, because they are time tested bodybuilding staples, and they produce results, but I will also add to the list,cottage cheese, skim milk, skim milk powder, cheese, all types of fruit, especially bananas, whole grain bread, pasta, peanut butter, and more fats from olive oil and other good fat sources.

A typical days eating when trying to add mass would be as follows:

Meal # 1:
6 whole eggs
1/2 cup of oatmeal with skim milk and artificial sweetener
2 slices whole grain toast with butter spray
8oz. glass skim milk
1 banana or an orange

Meal # 2:
2 tuna sandwiches on whole grain bread,with light mayonnaise
tomato slices
letuce
baked potato with butter spray

Meal # 3:
lean 8oz. steak or lean hamburger 1/2 pound
1 cup of cottage cheese
yams
salad with fat-free,low-sugar dressing
8oz. skim milk

Meal # 4:
8oz. chicken breast
2 baked potatoes
1-2 cups of vegetables
8oz. skim milk

Meal # 5:
pasta with meat and tomato sauce
salad (same as above)
2 slices whole grain bread
8oz. skim milk

Meal # 6:
2 whole eggs and 6 egg whites

I would also have a protein drink immediately after training, mixed with dextrose or some other simple carb, such as white rice,and probably another squeezed in there somewhere.Don`t forget to get in a gallon of water or more, per day at all times no matter what the plan.

This is just a typical days eating plan, and you have a much wider choice of foods to select from as opposed to when you are dieting to become more defined, or to lose some excess bodyfat,where I usually eat around the same thing six times a day with only slight variations. Talk about monotony,but that`s what it takes to get ripped and defined.

[Tim Wescott]

Continued:

If you are an extreme ectomorph, like I always was as a kid, you have to really try to force feed yourself at times. At times it seems that no matter how much you eat, you will weigh yourself and the scale hasn`t budged one iota !!

This can be very frustrating, and I know from first hand experience that you will have to significantly bump up your calories over time to start making some progress.

At first the quantities of food that are required to make some inroads to gaining weight are mind staggering, and you just simply may not have the appetite to eat this way.This is when you start to add in foods slowly over time,and eat 6-8 times a day.
The frequent feedings allow for better absorption,and assimilation,as well as helping to keep the waistline down a bit.

If you normally eat 4 eggs for breakfast,add one egg per week, until you are eating six eggs,and so on, at all your meals with different foods.

Another good thing to do is to get a good book on calories, and chart how many you eat per day, and if the scale still doesn`t budge,add another 500 calories or so per week, until you start making some headway.There are also plenty of good online nutrition databases that can help you do the same thing.
Just do a search on Google and you`ll find a bunch of helpful sites along these lines.

Eat all your meals, and clean your plate all the time, no matter what!! You have to feed the body, and take in those calories to get bigger...............PERIOD!!!

Don`t be afraid to indulge in a bit of junk while trying to get bigger either,regardless of what the gurus tell you,a bowl of ice cream here and there, or some pizza will not kill you, and can actually help at times.
Just don`t become a slob, and use your weight gaining program to just eat any old thing you want to.
Get in all of your good foods first, and make sure you`re getting plenty of muscle building protein before you indulge in any junk!!

You can also hit an all you can eat buffet occasionally,this can be a big help for the underweight person who can`t seem to build any appreciable size. Back in the sixties and seventies,the bodybuilders would often drink up to a gallon of milk a day along with a dozen or more eggs,and lots of red meat.It sure didn`t seem to hurt them,as their was some pretty good sized guy`s stomping around in those days.

As far as training is concerned, when trying to gain weight, stick to the basic compound exercises,and don`t do any piddly isolation movements that will sap your energy, and do nothing for your physique.
You will get bigger if you base your routine around heavy squats,bench presses,incline presses,deadlifts,barbell rowing,barbell presses,shrugs,curls,and lying tricep extensions.

Keep the routines heavy and brief, and always strive to add more weight to the bar in small increments,but never at the expense of good form. Don`t do the marathon routines that you see in all the bodybuilding magazines, as they are meant for the genetically gifted athlete, and not everyone will make progress training on them.

Conserve your energy by limiting outside activities that will drain you, and rob you of the calories you so desperately require.Getting sufficient rest is also crucial, so get a good nights sleep every night, and recover fully from your training, so that you`ll gain size and power.

Sample Training Routine:

Mon.-Quads,Hamstrings,Calves
Squats-5x 12,8,5,5,15
Stiff-Legged Deadlifts-4x 12 (fairly light for stretch)
Standing Calf Raise-6x 20,12,10,12,15

Tues.-Chest & Biceps:
Bench Press-5x 8,5,5,8,10 (after a light warmup)
Barbell Inclines-4x 8,5,5,8
Barbell Curls-3x10,8,6
Alternate Dumbell Curls-3x 8

Wed.-Rest

Thurs. Back & Traps:
Deadlifts-5x 8,5,5,8,10 (after a light warmup)
Barbell Rowing-4x12,8,8,10
Barbell Shrugs-3x20,12,10 (after warmup)

Fri.-Shoulders & Triceps:
Seated Press-4x10,8,6,6 (after a warmup)
Lateral Raise-4x 12,10,8,20
Lying Triceps Extensions-4x12,8,8,10
Pressdowns-3x 12,10,8

Sat.-Rest
Sun.-Rest

You can add in some ab work twice a week if you like,but that`s basically the gist of it, nothing fancy or drawn out, just big basic movements, with the emphasis on adding weight to the bar when possible,and conserving energy,with an emphasis on recovery !!


Here`s a good shake that you can mix up in a blender and drink between meals that is high in calories:

2 scoops of protein powder
16 oz. milk
1 banana
a brick of ice cream
1/2 cup of powdered milk
2 Tbsps. all natural peanut butter
2 Tbsps.blackstrap molasses
2 eggs

Eat big,to get big,this winter............. so you can shock people when you unveil the new you next spring.

Good luck!!