Fat Loss Through Weight Training

Many people think that to lose fat they need to go on a restricted calorie diet and perform hour upon hour of cardio. Calorie controlled diets are virtually certain to backfire: they generally result in a loss of lean muscle tissue which leads to a corresponding drop in metabolic rate. Eventually progress with the weight loss plateaus until there is another drop in calories and a further reduction in metabolic rate. From here there are generally two options: continue the progressive calorie restriction (ultimately leading to anorexia and cachexia, or severe muscle wasting) or return to normal eating and put on even more weight than you lost due to the reduction in metabolically active muscle.

Aerobic exercise may help to shed even more calories but it does not effect major changes to body composition and metabolic rate. Cardio is ideal for health (the 30 minutes per day of exercise equivalent to brisk walking recommended by the ACSM) or sports-specific training, but weight training is superior for lasting fat loss and changes to body composition.

Not only can muscular hypertrophy lead to a better physique and the burning of significantly more calories at rest, but there are even protocols for training with moderate weights (65-75% of 1 rep max) that will generate high levels of blood lactate with a corresponding high production of growth hormone (which burns fat whilst stimulatin glean tissue growth).

For maximum fat burning it is essential to produce high levels of lactic acid by extending sets and increasing time under tension (through relatively high reps, say 10-15). It is helpful to pair exercises using super or compound sets and to reduce rest intervals (generally to between 45 and 65 seconds; sometimes as low as 30 seconds). This "incomplete" recovery contributes to the elevated lactate levels and growth hormone response.

Diet also has its part to play but not by excessively reducing calories. Generally the ratios of macronutrients need to be manipulated in favour of higher protein and lower carbohydrate (but not to the levels suggested by Atkins). Low GI complex carbs should be the principal form of carbohydrates. The level of carbohydrates decided upon will be dependant upon carb tolerance, energy levels, and activity. The only exception to the low GI rule should be the post workout (within 15 minutes) meal.

For more information on losing fat through weight training contact Derek at fishfitness@tiscali.co.uk

Binge Eating

Some of my clients train extremely effectively, working hard and diligently. They follow personalised nutritional plans and train consistently. However, every now and again they go "off the rails". Often this is the result of binge eating and the resulting negative spiral.

Generally, a binge once in a while has little or no effect on training goals. It may even help occasionally. The problem is the related negative cognitive spiral that often accompanies binging and the duration of the binge cycle.

Ideally, if a client binges, even if the binge is prolonged, my advice is to forget about it, continue to train, and return to the usual nutritional plan, which generally involves eating six to seven meals a day at roughly three hourly intervals. Under no circumstances should they skip meals or try to juggle calories to balance out a binge episode.

The problem with the negative cognition is that it is usually a response to certain eating rules: some foods are identified as bad, and if I eat those foods I may consider myself "fat", "lazy", "useless", "a failure". What follows next is a "what the hell" attitude and further bouts of binging.

In a desperate bid to take control the individual will often resort to a strict diet and will set themselves dietary rules which are virtually impossible to maintain. Once the rules are broken (and they will be) the negative cognition kicks in and the binging starts again. Another factor here is the hunger caused by the semi-starvation diet which physiologically primes us for the next binge.

There are some self help approaches that may be of benefit for those who do not have a Cognitive Behaviour Therapist (preferably one trained in the CBT-Enhanced method for eating disorders).

The first principal is to increase metacognitive awareness, which basically means "thinking about thinking". Over time, through discussion with others, reflection, or better, recording what is eaten, when, and what the accompanying mood and thoughts are, we can start to recognise the characteristic automatic negative thoughts.

A useful analogy is that of the DVD player. In various situations we relate to others and our environment on a virtually automatic basis. For each of this situations (and our relationship with food is one of them) it is as if we have inserted a particular DVD. The thoughts are not ourselves - many of us identify with our thoughts and feelings, both of which have a large degree of autonomy. Once we recognise that the "eating disorder" DVD is running we can take steps to eject it (for example: challenging negative thoughts and offering more realistic alternatives; diversion - exercise, socialising, cinema etc- or working on some of the structures that hold this negative thinking pattern in place - low mood, anxiety, low self-esteem, boredom etc.

This kind of work is ongoing and reaps benefits in accordance with the commitment put into the self-help techniques.

Statistically, however, the most effective approach for reducing binge eating is to regulate eating, to eat small meals at roughly three hourly intervals and to avoid skipping meals. Once this approach is combined with your training goals (i.e. high protein, low GI, adequate nutrition) you have a highly effective defense against binging, and if you do binge you have an immediate strategy: just get on with the eating plan you were following with no self-recrimination.

There is no need to commence "driven" exercise regimens or to increase the frequency and duration of your workouts. Just keep on as normal, train hard and effectively, eat at regular intervals, and don't worry about slipping up: just think of the extra stored glycogen you can draw upon for your next training session!

Diets Don't Work

Whilst the diet industry would like you to believe that you can shed weight by purchasing their products, it is unlikely that you will achieve any long-term benefits from the majority of diets and weight loss products on the market. Sustainable weight loss is best achieved by creating a negative energy balance – that is burn more calories than you consume.

The problem with traditional diets is that they often advocate eating fewer calories than those needed by the body to sustain its basic functions. If you consume fewer calories than this Basal Metabolic Rate the body will enter starvation mode and cling on to fat stores in an attempt to preserve life. If blood sugar levels drop as a result if inadequate nutrition, particularly for those on low carbohydrate diets, such as the Atkins diet, the body will create its own glucose for energy by scavenging amino acids from lean muscle tissue. This self-cannibalisation results in less lean muscle which consequently reduces the metabolic rate. In effect this means fat gain will happen even easier in the future.

A reasonable approach to sustainable fat loss has a number of elements. Energy out has to be greater than energy in. Rather than reducing your calories to amounts lower than Basal Metabolic Rate, additional calories should be burnt through exercise (incidental exercise such as walking to work and taking the stairs, or using the cardiovascular equipment in a gym).

Metabolic rate can be raised by increasing lean muscle tissue through resistance training (each additional pound of lean muscle burns approximately fifty calories per day at rest). Weight training also burns between 240 and 400 calories for a typical session.

Nutritionally, a balanced diet comprised of approximately 55-60% carbohydrate, 30% fat and 10% protein is recommended for health. There will be some variations depending on desired outcomes and exercise programmes. Carbohydrates should be from wholegrain, wholemeal sources and of low-medium GI (glycaemic index). Avoid simple sugars as these will spike blood sugar levels causing insulin production which will store the sugars as fat.

A useful aid to ensuring you eat enough to lose weight is the keeping of a food diary in which you record times, amounts and types of food eaten. For optimal results a programme of exercise involving both cardiovascular and resistance training is recommended. The anatomical adaptations that take place through a progressive exercise programme increase the ability of the body to metabolise fat as fuel whilst raising the metabolic rate and burning additional calories.