Torch fat in 10 minutes!

Here you have it, a simple circuit training routine to melt that extra blubber. This routine requires no equipment or space, which makes it a lot more convenient, especially for those on the run. Make sure you follow the exercises in order to achieve the best results. Of course, in circuit training, doing the routine once counts as one circuit. Try to go anywhere from 3-5 circuits continuously, with a resting time of 45-60 seconds between circuits. Also, try to keep the resting periods between each exercise to a minimum.

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Recipes: Peanut butter Banana power shake!

Nothing is better than a filling meal on the go, especially with today’s busy lifestyles. This power shake will be ready for attack in no time. As the name suggests, it consists of natural peanut butter, banana, and a few other healthy ingredients. The end result is a shake with well-rounded nutritional values, great taste, and could be definitely used as a pre/post-workout supplement. Let’s get this shake shakin’!

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The complete guide to calculating caloric needs

Undoubtedly, a successful diet will require smart planning. This includes calculating the daily caloric requirements, which differ from one person to another. The following could be used as a guide to achieve a rough calculation of daily caloric needs.

Basic Terminology:

• BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate): The amount of calories you need to consume in order for your internal organs to function at rest.
• NEAT (Non-Exercise Associated Thermogenesis): The amount of calories expended on daily activities that are not exercise-related (For example: working, doing house chores, shopping, etc.).
• EAT (Exercise Associated Thermogenesis): The calorie requirements associated with planned exercise.
• TEF (Thermic effect of feeding): The calorie expenditure associated with eating. This is considered as a percentage of total calories consumed. The percentage varies according to macronutrient and fiber content.
• TEE (Total Energy Expenditure): The total calories required. It is determined by the sum of the above (BMR + NEAT + EAT + TEF = TEE). 

Factors affecting caloric requirements:

A number of factors (in no specific order) are considered to have an impact on daily caloric requirements:

• Diet (What kind of food are you ingesting?)
• Daily activity level (Do you have a job that requires a lot of moving around?)
• Exercise level (More exercise = more calories required)
• Age and gender (Generally, males require more calories than females)
• Hormones
• Physiological status (Illness, injury, pregnancy, etc.)
• Total weight and lean body mass (More lean body mass = more calories required) 

Estimating caloric requirements:
This involves various methods which are different in terms of accuracy. Many of these methods were scientifically developed to ensure close-to-perfect results. The simplest method is to base the caloric requirement on a set of developed standards for “calories per unit of weight”. As a general guideline:

• Individuals with sedentary lifestyles and minimal physical activity:
• 26-30 kcals/kg/day (12.0-14 kcal/pound)
• Individuals involved in light to moderate activity 3-5 times/week with moderately active lifestyles:
• 31-37 kcal/kg/day (14-16 kcal/pound)
• Individuals involved in vigorous activity and highly active lifestyles:
• 38-40 kcals/kg/day (16-18 kcal/pound)
• Individuals involved in moderate to heavy training (15-20 hours/week):
• 41 to 50 kcals/kg/day (18.5-22 kcal/pound)
• Individuals involved in heavy to extreme training (more than 20 hours/week):
• 50 or above kcals/kg/day (more than 22 kcal/pound) 

Another method to estimate caloric requirements is to calculate BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate), which is the amount of calories required at rest (i.e. for the internal organs to function). A number of formulae could be used for that purpose:

• Harris-Benedict formula: This is the most inaccurate formula as many noticed that overestimates the requirements, especially for overweight individuals. Avoid it if possible.
• MALES: BMR = 66 + [13.7 x weight (kg)] + [5 x height (cm)] - [6.76 x age (years)]
• FEMALES: BMR = 655 + [9.6 x weight (kg)] + [1.8 x height (cm)] - [4.7 x age (years)]
• Mifflin-St Jeor: A more realistic formula than the previous one. However, it still lacks accuracy as it overestimates needs, especially for overweight individuals.
• MALES: BMR = [9.99 x weight (kg)] + [6.25 x height (cm)] - [4.92 x age (years)] + 5
• FEMALES: BMR = [9.99 x weight (kg)] + [6.25 x height (cm)] - [4.92 x age (years)] -161
• Katch-McArdle: The most accurate formula. The only set back is that you need to have a good estimate of your body fat percentage (BF%) to obtain a good estimate of your lean body mass (LBM).
• BMR = 370 + (21.6 x LBM)
• Where LBM = [total weight (kg) x (100 - BF%)]/100 

Notice that the formulae above will only provide you with BMR values. The next step here is to convert your BMR into your total caloric requirement (TEE), or what some like to call “maintenance”. This conversion is simple; you multiply your calculated BMR value by an “Activity Variable” to obtain your total caloric requirement (BMR x Activity variable = Total caloric requirement)

Activity variable:

The “activity variable” is the total cost of living. This involves your training as well as work, life activities, etc. Basically, you have to consider your activity level for a 24-hour period. These activity variables have been averaged into a set of values as follows: 

• 1.2 = Sedentary active (desk job + minimal physical activity) 
• 1.3-1.4 = Lightly active (light daily activity + light physical activity 1-3 days/week) 
• 1.5-1.6 = Moderately active (moderately daily activity + moderate physical activity 3-5 days/week)
• 1.7-1.8 = Very active (Physically demanding daily activity + Heavy physical activity 6-7 days/week)
• 1.9-2.2 = Extremely active (very heavy daily activity + athlete in heavy endurance training)

“I have calculated my total caloric requirement, now what?”
That’s it, the only thing you need to do now is to decrease or increase your caloric intake according to your goals (i.e. lose or gain mass). The right way to apply this customization is to consider the decrease/increase as a percentage of you maintenance, or total caloric requirement. Typically:

• To lose weight: Subtract 10-20% worth of calories from your maintenance.
• To gain weight: Add 10-20% worth of calories to your maintenance. 

If you stick to your maintenance for three weeks and notice stability in weight/measurements, then you have most likely found you maintenance. After determining your maintenance, you will need to monitor your results and adjust as required. Please keep in mind that the values obtained are rough estimates and are by no means accurate. Therefore, it will require a good deal of experimentation to achieve your goals. Good luck :)

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Do you understand nutrition labels?

There is no doubt that fitting into a healthy lifestyle will involve a lot of changes. One of those changes involves taking initiative and looking at the nutrition labels of the foods you buy. Honestly speaking, I was never the type of person to check out that white rectangular box at the back of the food packaging. However, when I decided to adapt to a healthy lifestyle, I started reading the nutrition label before anything.

“So I checked out that nutrition label on the cereal box, now what?”. Well, you have to keep in mind that paying attention to the amount of calories while quickly glancing over the ingredients and the breakdown of the nutrition label will do you no good. Here are a few things to keep in mind on your next trip to the grocery store. 

You will need to pay attention to the 3 macronutrients along with other ingredients. Here’s a calorie for calorie breakdown (Proteins, Carbs, and Fats): 

• Proteins = 4 calories/gram 
• Carbs = 4 calories/gram 
• Fats = 9 calories/gram 

Proteins:

You will most likely see proteins without any subcategories on the nutrition label. Simply speaking, there is nothing to breakdown for you; a protein is a protein and all proteins consist of amino acids. The only difference is how well are the proteins absorbed. Of course, that will depend on the type and quality of the ingested protein. 

Carbs:

Carbs consist of two subcategories on the nutrition label: sugar and fiber. First thing’s first, sugar should not be treated as a close friend. It should be treated like someone who you would meet occasionally with a lot of moderation. Avoid foods that contain 14 grams or more of sugar; anything with a lower amount of sugar is a smarter choice. Attention: some sugary products are fat-free, but remember that excess sugar will eventually turn into fat in your body. 

Conversely, make fiber your best friend. It works wonders on providing you with the feeling of satiety and helping out the digestion process. Ultimately, take it easy on sugars, but be generous with fibers! 

Fats:

Fats are broken down into four categories: saturated, polyunsaturated, monounsaturated, and trans fats. As a rule of thumb, it is recommended to eat more unsaturated than saturated fats. That is, of course, of total fat consumed. Also, in case you haven’t heard already, trans fats should be avoided at all costs! 

The neglected ones (Cholesterol, Sodium, and Potassium):

Those are listed on the nutrition label, but they’re mostly disregarded by many. There’s a misconception about cholesterol which I personally believe that it has been influenced by the media. Cholesterol is good for you and your body does need cholesterol for many important functions such as vitamin and hormonal production. The twist here is to watch your daily cholesterol intake, because too much of anything is never good. The recommended daily intake for cholesterol is 300mg or less. 

On the other hand, a lot of your health awareness should be towards sodium. You've probably already heard about the side effects associated with an excessive sodium intake such as hypertension and increased water retention. Sodium serves as a preservative. The lower the sodium in foods, the better. 

The last neglected component is potassium. It should not be neglected because it serves as an important electrolyte. It also plays a vital role in maintaining bodily functions. 

The ingredients: 

So you analyzed that nutrition label and now you’re stuck at the ingredients list with terms and names that you can’t pronounce. Remember, the fewer the ingredients, the better. Ingredients are listed starting with the most abundant and ending with the least abundant. It is a smart choice to stay away from processed foods, and stick to whole and natural foods as the latter preserve their nutritional benefits. Stay away from words like “hydrogenated” or “partially hydrogenated” where both are referencing trans fats. Also, substitute products with the word “enriched” to products with the word “whole”. “Enriched” means that the product has been refined (i.e. stripped of its nutrients).

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Chug that H2O!

One of the most controversial questions when it comes to health and fitness is “How much water do I need to drink?”. Much debate is going on as some say daily drinking of 8-10 glasses of water is enough, while others argue that letting your thirst dictate your daily water intake is the way to go. Different theories, different point of views, but they all agree upon one thing; water is good for you. 

I've had my own experiments with water intake to see what works best for me. My experiments went from over-hydrating myself with water, to only drinking water when feeling thirsty. I must say that I have learned quite a lot from such experiments. It’s been already established that water is great for you, but the trick here is to know how to take advantage of your body’s ability to uptake water. 

I believe that the ideal time for drinking large quantities of water is right after waking up in the morning. Logically speaking, our internal organs are begging for water after a long night where they had to metabolize large quantities of water to perform their overnight tasks. Therefore, it is very important to drink at least 1-2 large glasses of water upon waking on an empty stomach to rehydrate those hard-working organs. 

After the daily morning rehydration, I have noticed that drinking water when my body asks for it works best for me. Of course, the timing and situation have to be kept in mind. For example, it is a faulty assumption to drink lots of water during a meal. Drinking water with meals will dilute you valuable digestive enzymes and thus will impede the breakdown and absorption of nutrients. On the other hand, it is absolutely fine to drink limited quantities of water 10-20 minutes prior to having a meal. As some would argue, it would curb your appetite. 

Similarly, drinking lots of water during a workout is not exactly the best idea, even when your body is begging you to gulp down that 1.5L bottle. Having large quantities of water during a workout will create more stress on your body by diverting the blood flow to your stomach. For that reason, water should be “sipped” during a workout (i.e. small quantities). However, it is absolutely essential to rehydrate your body after a workout to make up for all the dehydration which was caused by sweating during the workout. 

Water intake at night could actually be the opposite of beneficial. Drinking large quantities before bed will most likely cause you to wake up multiple times to go to the bathroom. Disrupting sleep will not only cause you to wake up tired and foggy, but will also interrupt the muscle recovery process and hinder the development of your hard-earned muscles. I usually keep a glassful of water bedside in case I’m desperate for it during my sleep and right after waking up. 

In conclusion, drink like a king in the morning, and sip as the day progresses. Try it, it might also work for you!

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Goals: One step at a time

Dig this, nowadays without a goal, you are nothing. The first step to reaching that sense of accomplishment is to set goals. I am not talking about “go to the gym” or “lose weight”, those are not goals. Come on, I’m talking about “real” goals. Something like “bench press 225 pounds” or “lose 20 pounds of fat”, now those are real goals. One would argue with a lot of “but’s” like “but my right shoulder was dislocated 20 years ago and I had to be treated with gamma radiation, which later caused mutations, and now my two shoulder blades are fused together so I can’t bench press a single pound, let alone 225 pounds…blah, blah, blah”. Let me break down the news for you, with an attitude like that, you will not set any goals and you will not accomplish anything.

Without a real goal at the gym, you will be walking around aimlessly doing whatever exercise you feel like, or using whatever machine or weights with the fewest line-up. You’re doing all this because you’re lazy and you have no clue why you are in the gym to begin with. Now you lift weights for a few days, and then you forget that the gym exists for the next few days, or weeks maybe. You decide to remember the gym when the strength you gained from the few days you hit the gym completely runs out. At that point, you will have to start from scratch and you go into a never-ending cycle of recognizing and abandoning the gym. Eventually, you will quit because you will not be seeing any progress since you had no initial “real” goal.

A very important thing to keep in mind is that fitness is a long-term goal which requires a lot of time, dedication, and consistency. You start out by setting a “real” goal, followed by a plan of action, and you work on your plan of action until the determined goal is attained. Setting a timeframe such as “achieve goal in 3 months” might also help. Consider it as a challenge that has no room for quitters. After many months and years of working on your goal you will be standing in the gym all tired and ask yourself “What am I doing here?” The correct answer is “I’m working on benching 225 pounds”. If your answer at that point consists of a confused statement such as “I don’t know”, then you’re doing it all wrong. The gym is not a place for hesitation and confusion. It is a place for goal-oriented action. The key here is to realize that even though there’s no way you can bench 225 pounds, but if you do, you will be a hardcore mofo! And the next thing you know, you are benching 225 pounds.

No matter how aspiring your goal is, there is only way to achieve it is one extra 2.5 plate at a time. One more rep at a time. One second faster at a time. One minute longer at a time. This is why we follow a constant progression of incremental increases of stress on our bodies until our bodies achieve the desired adaptation along with the highly-anticipated sense of accomplishment.

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What's Buzzin'?

Who doesn't want to be fit and healthy? You would rarely find someone jumping in to answer that question by saying “Oh, that would be me!”. Let’s face it; attaining the right physique is no easy job. It will require a lot of dedication and consistency to achieve one’s dream of being healthy and fit. But hey, let’s not look at the glass half empty, shall we?. I started my pursuit of fitness over a year ago, and aside from being a strict journey, I can conquer that it has been a pleasant one. Being healthy and fit is not about forcing yourself into it; it’s about living it and sustaining your results for a lifetime. In this blog, I will share my amateur experience and thoughts about health and fitness, so buckle up and enjoy the ride!

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