I am going to speak frankly and to the point. It is a lot of information but I will make it as short and painless as possible. I will do this in 2 sections: Nutrition Basics and Basic Training. Section 1: Advice for the beginner. Let's start with nutrition basics. A fat gram contains 9 calories. A protein and a carbohydrate gram contains 4 calories. The amount of calories you take in during the day vs. the amount of calories your body burns determines the amount of bodyfat you have. In short, any calories not burned during the day are stored as fat (weight gain) or if you eat fewer calories than you burn during the day, you will lose weight. There are supplements like Thermolean or T2 which will increase metabolism BUT they are only effective when combined with energy output (exercise). You have to think of supplements as tools. They will help you achieve your goals but you have to do the basics. The basics are: eating well and exercising. Eating: There are several important areas here. I'll hit my favorite first; PROTEIN. Proteins are the building blocks that repair tissues (muscles in your body). Your body needs 1.5g of protein for every lb. of bodyweight. The rest, carbohydrates and fat are solely for energy. However, they should not seem unimportant. Carbohydrates are where you should find vitamins and minerals for a healthy body. Pick your carbohydrates carefully by trying for the basics: vegetables, fruits, breads (in moderation) are best. Of course, try to keep fats low but you don't have to avoid them like the plague. Just remember, every fat gram is more than twice the calories of a carbohydrate or protein gram. Fast food fries have about 50g of carbs and 25g of fat for a total of 425 calories. That would make enough calories to constitute a meal but it contains no protein so what is the point? You need to base your calories on how much you weigh and how much energy you expend during the day. This is different for every person but I will use a 150lb. example. A 150lb. person should take in 1500-2500 cals depending on weight goals. Less to lose, more to gain (simple). But don't count calories, I have a simple solution. Make a fist - That is the size of meal you should eat. Remember what I said about protein, carbs and fat. Try for a 40/40/20 ratio. It is also important to eat frequently. Eat every 2.5 to 3 hrs. (otherwise your body thinks there is no food and will save carbs and fats as bodyfat). 5-6 meals, every 3 hours might sound like a lot of food. You don't have to starve to lose weight, just eat smaller portions, trust me. My diet consists of 4 small meals and 2 protein shakes (I won't claim one brand, I use a couple of them). Use protein shakes as an extra meal (women, use 1 shake divided in 2 servings). They are perfect meals 40-50g of protein, 25 grams carbs and about 2 grams fat. Do you see how this works? The shakes and supplements won't automatically make you lose weight, they are the tools. If you have time to make 6 meals, skip the shakes. They are tools, and they do work. You have to make them work for you. In the next section, I'll talk about basic training and give an example workout program. |