Week 4 Update

It's funny how quickly one month can pass by. It really doesn't feel like it's been more than two weeks, but nonetheless here we are a month later.  I'm really happy with the progress I have made in a month.  I've lost 5lbs, and shed over an inch from my waist.  The thing that makes me happiest though, is that my energy levels are still super high, my strength has continued to rise, and in general I feel really good.  This is what makes intermittent fasting so great.  On my rest days I do crave more food, but I never even come close to giving in because I know that a huge meal is only around the corner.  Those training day feasts are the best.  I've switched to from rice to sweet potatoes for my carb source, because sweet potatoes are far more filling, and tastier than rice.  Next week I will record exactly what I'm eating, and post a meal by meal outline to show you what I'm doing.  For now, I hope that you are finding some insightful information here, and want to thank you for all your support both here, and on facebook.  Thanks a ton!

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Why Reading is Keeping You Fat

There is so much information on the web that it is really overwhelming. It's so easy to get caught up second guessing yourself and wondering if what you are doing is truly the best and most efficient way.

Over the last three weeks I have been steadily losing weight, and still gaining strength. Everything is working perfectly, and I should be feeling on top of the world. But, for some reason I began convincing myself yesterday that I need to completely change my diet. I have no idea where this idea came from, but it slowly began to turn into paranoia that I'm going about this all wrong. It undoubtedly came from something I stumbled across on the internet, and slowly turned into unfounded doubt and stupidity.

While walking this morning, I cleared my head and realized that I am an idiot. Why would I ever consider changing what I'm doing, when I have had great success so far?

You really do have to be practical when it comes to this stuff.  Look at the results and the factors creating those results, as I mentioned here. If you are losing weight, or losing inches in the places you want, keep on doing what you're doing.  Block out all the noise telling you that there are other ways that are better or faster.  If what you are doing is working, and fits with your lifestyle, keep doing it!  If you have not made any progress for over two weeks, or are obviously taking steps back, change it up.  But make these changes based on your own results, not on something you read or heard.  There are thousands of ways to lose weight or gain muscle, but you have to choose one, and give it time to work.  So stop reading, and get at it!

What do you do to keep yourself on track when trying to achieve your goals? Leave a comment and let us know!  And be sure to follow my progress here, and on facebook

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Be a Fat Loss Scientist

If you want to make any serious changes to your body you need to approach it scientifically, because really that’s all it is.  If you eat more than you need you will gain weight. If you exercise intelligently this weight will be muscle, if not maybe it will be fat. If you eat less than you need, you will lose weight. You want to lose fat, not muscle. So, you must exercise enough to keep muscle, and eat enough to sustain that muscle.

There isn't much more to it than that. So to go about it scientifically what do you need?  Well, like any good scientist, you need variables, and measurable results.

What are measurable result? A measurable result is an outcome of some change in the variables, that can be accurately measured.  So in the science of weight loss, you have.

1.      The scale. Everybody's favorite tool. It is the worst of the three sources of information. It tells you that you have gained or lost weight, but it cannot tell you if this weight is fat, water, or muscle.

2.      The tape measure. The tape measure is better than the scale, because it shows directly where change is happening, and what kind of change it is.  If your goal is to lose fat you want to see your waist measurements dropping, but may not want to see your arms shrivel up into licorice sticks.

3.      Strength levels. Strength is the best indicator of muscle loss or gain. If you are losing strength you are likely losing muscle. So keep track of how much you are lifting to know if you are gaining or losing muscle.

No strength losses going on here.

There is one more source that does not provide measurable feedback, but is still useful. It is the mirror. The mirror is generally pretty reliable. An even better approach would be to take pictures every week or two. By comparing past and present pictures you will have a clear indication of your progress. Pictures do not lie.
What variables does a fat loss scientist have?

1.      Food intake. You absolutely must keep track of what you eat every day. This is the most basic requirement. Only when you have an established baseline can you begin to adjust your diet. I highly recommend getting the app myfitnesspal. It makes keeping track of your food super easy. If your measurements show that you are gaining weight when you want to lose weight, you need to eat less.  If you want to gain weight, but are not gaining, you need to eat more.

2.      Energy out. Adding morning walks has a huge effect on fat loss because of the extra calories being burned. Keep a record of the exercise you are doing, and adjust it as you need to.  The key to losing weight is to exercise only as much as you can recover from.  This is why walking is so great.  No one gets sore from walking, but it is a great way to burn calories.  If you tried to run, or do bodyweight circuits every morning you would burn more calories. The problem is that you would never recover properly due the low food intake during dieting.  You would not be able to move heavy weights in the gym, and would end up losing muscle. Walking is the best option for burning some extra calories.

Don't get crazy, but keep track of what you eat!

Closely watch all measurable results, and adjust the variables as needed. This is the first step to achieving your goals. Intermittent fasting helps you become more efficient at burning fat, and putting energy into muscle growth. It also makes keeping track of what you eat easier, by putting all your eating into an 8 hour window.  Try it out, and keep me posted!

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Twelve Week Challenge Update

Week 3 of my 12 Week Challenge is coming to an end, and I am thrilled with the results so far.  This week I lost about 1kg, and managed to gain, or at least maintain strength on all four big lifts.  This means that I am not losing much, if any, muscle, which is the goal of this diet and exercise plan.  The diet has been super easy so far.  I am fasting from 10pm until 2pm and then eating only nuts, eggs, or whey protein until around 6pm.  At 6pm I have my "man salad" and then a feast of fish, or chicken.  If it is a training day this is accompanied by a nice pile of carbs.  For carbs, I have been sticking with sweet potatoes because I find eating a huge pile of them to be far more filling than rice...tastier too.  The exercise plan is the same as posted here.  Any questions or comments are more than welcome.  And please be sure to check my progress out on facebook as well at https://www.facebook.com/fittaiwan.

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My Current Workout Plan

So I thought I should write a quick summary of what my exercise plan looks like.  To be honest, it is an extremely simple program.  Because I am trying to lose fat, over the course of a week I am eating fewer calories than my body needs.  There are several days where I eat more calories than I need, as is the case with intermittent fasting.  These are the days when I go to the gym and lift weights.  I do this on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

Monday
Bench Press:  Work up to a max set of 5 reps
                      Take off 10% of the weight and do one more set
Incline Dumbell Press: 3 sets of 6-9reps
Dumbell Rows: 3 sets of 6-10 reps
Tricep Extensions: 4 sets of 8-12 reps
Curls: 3 sets of 6-9 reps

Wednesday
Glute Ham Raises: 3 sets of 6-9 reps
Squat: Work up to a max set of 5 reps
           Take off 10% of the weight and do one more set
Deadlift: Work up to a max set of 5 reps

Friday
Pullups: 3 sets of as many as possible with good form
Overhead press: 1 set of 4-6 reps, 1 set of 6-9 reps, 1 set of 8-10 reps
Hanging Leg Raises: 3 sets of as many as possible
Facepulls: 3 sets of 10-12
Curls: 3 sets of 8-10

All of these workouts take around 40 minutes to complete.  My goal is to go as heavy as possible on the big exercises like squats, deadlifts, bench, and overhead press.  When losing fat, you have to lift heavy to convince your body that it still needs the muscle.  The other exercises are down at lower intensity, but still with a focus on adding weight whenever it is possible.

If I were not dieting right now I would be doing a program like starting strength, or stronglifts.  I used this method of lifting before I began the 12 Week Challenge and was making consistent strength gains.  Using that style of training I went from barely being able to squat anything to squatting twice my bodyweight.  These kinds of programs only work if you are eating to grow though.  So that is why I've switched to a lower volume approach for these 12 weeks.

For cardio, I do morning walks of 30-45 minutes, five times a week. This is just brisk pace walking. After my workouts on Monday and Friday, I go and run hill sprints.  The hill sprints take about 20 minutes to complete, and they are incredibly tough.  I chose hill sprints because unlike traditional moderate intensity cardio that can cause muscle loss, hill sprints are muscle sparring and can even cause muscle growth....also hill sprints are just bad ass and fun.

That is all I'm doing.  Dieting, walking, lifting heavy weights, and hill sprints twice a week.  If I were feeling under-recovered the hill sprints would be the first to go.  Any questions, please let me know!

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Get Strong!

 My experience with weightlifting is probably fairly typical of a guy my age. I started working out in high school, and followed routines from Arnold's Encyclopedia of Bodybuilding. I did this for a couple years and made a bit of progress, but nothing special. 

What I should have been doing was squats, deadlifts, bench presses, and overhead presses. I should have done these with low reps (around five), and my only concern should have been adding more weight to the bar. That is what I do now, and it works. In one year of doing this my squats went from 50kg for five to 120kg for five. My legs grew a lot. My bench went from about 60kg for five, to 95kg for five. My arms and chest grew a lot. These weights are nothing extraordinary and I am by no means a big guy. The weights are however, way better than before, as is my physique. If you can continually add weight to the bar, you will get bigger.  It really is that simple.

I wish that I had followed this kind of program in high school. The problem is that the internet is full of terrible information, and the world of bodybuilding and weight training is notoriously bad. Too many flashy routines published by supplement companies trying to sell their products. That coupled with a generation of people who have the attention span of goldfish, has created an environment where the majority of people in the gym are spinning their wheels, or at best making mediocre progress.

Confused yet?

Doing squats, deadlifts, and bench day in and day out is not exciting or cutting edge. This is why so many people can't stick with a program like this, and why even more people can't be bothered to try. It is a shame, and I personally regret wasting so much time jumping from one program to the next.

The key to this kind of training is to get absolutely hooked on adding weight to the bar, and absolutely forbidding yourself from browsing the latest muscle building trends floating around the internet. There are days when I add 1kg to a lift, and am absolutely thrilled. If you can get into this frame of mind, a simple program can become addictive. Make those numbers climb as often as you can. When they stop climbing, deload and have another run at it.

That's how you get big biceps.

If you're dying to do some curls, or triceps extensions just do them. But, do them after you do the main exercises. If they start to interfere with your progress on the main lifts, get rid of them. Adding weight to the main lifts is far more important than a few bicep curls will ever be. If you can deadlift 400lbs you will have big biceps.

Look into Starting Strength, or Stronglifts, or Bill Starr 5x5. These are all great programs to get strong and pack on the muscle. Keep in mind though, that these programs are meant to get you big, and are not great for people trying to lose fat fast. So if gaining tons of muscle is your goal, you should be doing one of these programs, or something similar to it.  I still recommend doing intermittent fasting when doing these kinds of programs.  Fasting will allow you to pack on muscle, without getting fat during the process.  Give it a shot, and let me know how it goes.  Get in touch on facebook at www.facebook.com/fittaiwan

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Intermittent Fasting Basics

Intermittent fasting comes in many forms.  There is Brad Pilon’s  “Eat Stop Eat”, Ori Hofmekler’s “Warrior Diet”, Jason Ferruggia’s “Renegade Diet”, and the newest best-seller “The 8-hour Diet” written by David Zinczenko.  The IF protocol that I first came across is Martin Berkhan’s “Leangains”.  All of these diets have different names, and slightly different rules, but at the end of the day, they are all just utilizing the concept of Intermittent Fasting.  In the case of “The Warrior Diet” you can have small snacks  throughout the day and then gorge on a giant feast at the end of the day.  In the case of Eat Stop Eat, every week you pick a day where you don’t eat anything all day.  With Leangains, you fast during the night and morning, then you have eight hours in the afternoon and evening to eat.  IF is a concept, and a damn good one, that WILL result I positive changes in body composition without always feeling like you are being deprived, as you would feel on a traditional diet.

Some of the many IF options.

The science behind this approach is based on the manipulation of the hormone insulin.  Without getting too far in over my own head, the idea is this:  When you are trying to lose fat, insulin is bad (in fact it stops any chance of fat burning).  When you are trying to build muscle, insulin is more powerful than steroids (it is responsible for allowing muscle cells to absorb nutrients after a workout).  By fasting during the mornings, insulin remains low. This means that your fat stores are available to be used for energy, and your body will burn them up.  After a workout, you eat a big filling meal of healthy carbs (and maybe some unhealthy ones, if you are so inclined) and insulin spikes way up.  This starts the muscle building process by allowing damaged muscle cells to take in all those nutrients and grow. By manipulating insulin in this way we can lose fat and build muscle at the same time….or to be more precise, we can burn fat, and build muscle in the same day.

Insulin up, fat burning down.

For information on any of the approaches I mentioned above, just  google any of the names in the first paragraph.  Most of them have good websites with lots of information.  I personally use a mish-mash of all the approaches.  Once you understand the concept of manipulating insulin, the name you attach to the plan is irrelevant.  I use an approach that is convenient for my lifestyle right now, and that I never consider to be a burden or hindrance.  On an average day, this is what I do.

1.       I wake up in the morning and go for a nice long walk.  This wakes me up, burns some extra calories, and I’ve heard that walking is also good for you.  While I walk I listen to audiobooks…makes the whole process a little more entertaining.

2.       Throughout the morning I drink a black coffee, and as much water as possible without running to the bathroom every thirty seconds.

3.       At about 2pm I stop fasting.  I generally find that I’m not that hungry, so I’ll eat some almonds, eggs, or a protein shake.  Just something light.  Depending on how I feel, I may have several small snacks like this during the afternoon. The key here is to keep insulin low, by not eating carbs, so your body can continue to burn fat.

4.       At six o’clock, regardless of what is going on in the world around me, I eat the largest salad known to man. It is full of fresh organic leafy greens, some colorful veggies, and is topped with a dressing of olive oil, and apple cider vinegar (supposed to be really good for the digestive tract).

5.       After my salad, I eat a nice big serving of protein (typically chicken or fish), and depending on whether or not I have exercised, some carbs.  After a big workout this could be a super-sized serving of carbs, or after a moderate workout a normal serving.

6.       After dinner If I’m still hungry, I may have some small snacks, or a dessert made with some healthy coconut cream or fruit etc.

7.       Then the fast begins again, and it’s a good thing because I’m usually pretty full, and have no interest in eating any more.

The creator of Leangains at a few points along his journey with IF.

I love this approach to dieting, and it really doesn’t feel like a diet to me.  I get to eat a huge meal every day, and never feel like I have to restrain myself from eating things. The fasting part can take a while to get used to, but once you’ve adjusted it becomes super easy.  The other day I was busy and actually forgot to eat until four in the afternoon.  I didn’t feel the slightest bit hungry, even though I was out running around.  Hunger is caused by a hormone called ghrelin, and it adapts quickly when a set schedule is followed….I’ll save that for another post though.

Give fasting a try.  It may be a little tough for a couple of days, but once you’re ghrelin levels get all straightened out you’ll be loving the extra few minutes it saves you in the morning.  Let me know how it goes on my facebook page www.facebook.com/fittaiwan

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Welcome to Simply Fit Taiwan

I am using this blog to help spread knowledge about diet and exercise in Taiwan, my current home.  I have been here for almost three years, and have had some good health and fitness gains.  When I first arrived here, I was pretty out of shape, and got into the habit of eating some delicious but not so healthy food during my first year here.  I've managed to turn things around though, with the help of intermittent fasting and finally figuring out how to exercise properly. The problem with starting to get it right though, is that now I'm driven to near insanity seeing people around me not having any clue how to eat to reach their goals, or how to train to get stronger and more muscular.  Using this blog, I will track my own progress, and in doing so,hopefully shed some light on the mistakes that a lot of people make when trying to lose fat and gain muscle.  I am currently doing a personal 12 Week Challenge to cut fat and get into the best shape possible.  You can follow my progress

12 Week Challenge Starting Point

on this blog, and on facebook at https://www.facebook.com/fittaiwan

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