So you've gotten the results back from your body composition testing. Now what? First off, there are several scenarios, each providing a different strategy.
1. Muscle mass went up, body fat went down
This is the most desired result. Today, we had a couple students whose muscle mass went way up. They also mentioned that they've been working really hard at trying to get their protein. I would say they had no problem! In fact, if your muscle mass went way up, I'm talking 4 or 5 pounds in 5 weeks (female), and becoming a buffster is not what you're interested in, then you can afford to relax on the protein intake.
If your body fat went down, but only a pound or so, you're still on the right track, but we can definately improve. Remember, we're assuming muscle mass went up. I would check a couple things:
1. What is the quality of your carbs. Are they bread and pasta carbs? If so, limit them, or get rid of them.
2. What is the quantity of your carbs. Perhaps you're eating too large of portions. If so, try cutting the sizes down a little bit. If you're eating primarily greens for every meal, which I doubt with only 1 pound of fat loss, then we've got a different issue.
3. Too much fat. Are you going over board on your fats? Remember, when eating your healthy fats (nuts, avacado, etc.), you only need a little bit. Those calories add up really fast.
4. None of the ones above fit you? Then quit drinking so much beer on the weekends!
2. Muscle went up, body fat went up
I don't see this one too often, but since I spent the 2 seconds to type it, I'll write about it. Anytime muscle mass is up, your protein is good. If your fat went up, then you're overeating, most likely in the carb department. See number 1 above and take it twice as serious.
3. Muscle mass went down, body fat went down
This can be happening for two reasons- 1. Your body is going through an adjustment period, and has decided that it no longer needs the additional muscle mass to carry around the body fat you once had. If you have lost quite a bit of body fat (7 to 15 pounds in 5 weeks), this is typical. No worries!
If you don't qualify for the abundent fat loss option, then this means only one thing... not enough protein. Your muscles will only grow with building supplies (protein). Remember, the more muscle mass you have, the stronger you are and the more calories you burn simply by being alive.
See you in class!
Duncan Richardson
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Halfway point around the corner!
Like I told everyone this morning, the halfway testing is nearing, you better start eating right:)!
Let me tell you the biggest mistake people make in this program. They eat like crap, or the same as they always have, then they justify it because they are doing these hard classes.
Do I need to preach? Okay, I will a little bit. Look, eating healthy is not hard, it just takes discipline. Competing in a Taekwondo competition is not hard, it just takes discipline. Give me 1 solid month of training, and I can have anyone tournament ready. My point is, we need to create habits of disciplined eating. Once it becomes a habit, it no longer requires self-discipline. It's easy, because it's a habit.
I can almost assure you that you are not going to be happy with your results if you are not focusing on our nutritional advice. I'm not trying to discourage you, but rather encourage you... encourage you to get rockin' and rollin' this next 5 weeks!
Now, I also know that many in the program are kickin' serious booty on training and nutrition. I can't wait to see your results next week!
Keep up the good work everyone, and we'll see you in class!
Respectfully,
Duncan Richardson
www.FreeKarateLesson.com
Let me tell you the biggest mistake people make in this program. They eat like crap, or the same as they always have, then they justify it because they are doing these hard classes.
Do I need to preach? Okay, I will a little bit. Look, eating healthy is not hard, it just takes discipline. Competing in a Taekwondo competition is not hard, it just takes discipline. Give me 1 solid month of training, and I can have anyone tournament ready. My point is, we need to create habits of disciplined eating. Once it becomes a habit, it no longer requires self-discipline. It's easy, because it's a habit.
I can almost assure you that you are not going to be happy with your results if you are not focusing on our nutritional advice. I'm not trying to discourage you, but rather encourage you... encourage you to get rockin' and rollin' this next 5 weeks!
Now, I also know that many in the program are kickin' serious booty on training and nutrition. I can't wait to see your results next week!
Keep up the good work everyone, and we'll see you in class!
Respectfully,
Duncan Richardson
www.FreeKarateLesson.com
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
1,000 Pushups in a Day
Today, I pledged that I would do 1,000 pushups. A few people have asked why? Of course, I responded with, "why not?"
I'll have to admit, I became inspired to do this by a little girl in Isaac's kindergarten class. Yesterday, I was volunteering in his class and I noticed this girl would quietly get out of her chair and do 10 pushups. She did this about every 2 minutes at every single station. She didn't do it for attention nor did she disrupt anyone at the same time.
I asked her why she was doing them, of course shy as all get out, she just shrugged her shoulders. I thought to myself after that, "what an opportunity to challenge my self discipline." Besides, if a kindergartener can do it, I can too!
So here my little self discipline project...
1,000 pushups in 12 hours. I remembered an old statement, "How do you eat an elephant?" Answer- "One bite at a time." So, my plan is to do 50 pushups every 30 minutes. Now that I'm halfway through the day, I can see that I set my sights a little too low. It's funny how daunting tasks suddenly become small once you decide to take them on!
Stay tuned for when I do 2,000 in a day!
Respectfully,
Duncan Richardson
I'll have to admit, I became inspired to do this by a little girl in Isaac's kindergarten class. Yesterday, I was volunteering in his class and I noticed this girl would quietly get out of her chair and do 10 pushups. She did this about every 2 minutes at every single station. She didn't do it for attention nor did she disrupt anyone at the same time.
I asked her why she was doing them, of course shy as all get out, she just shrugged her shoulders. I thought to myself after that, "what an opportunity to challenge my self discipline." Besides, if a kindergartener can do it, I can too!
So here my little self discipline project...
1,000 pushups in 12 hours. I remembered an old statement, "How do you eat an elephant?" Answer- "One bite at a time." So, my plan is to do 50 pushups every 30 minutes. Now that I'm halfway through the day, I can see that I set my sights a little too low. It's funny how daunting tasks suddenly become small once you decide to take them on!
Stay tuned for when I do 2,000 in a day!
Respectfully,
Duncan Richardson
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Am I Eating Too Much?
After recently explaining to everyone that the Ultimate Body Challenge involves eating 5 palm sized portions a day, I recieved the question, "Are you sure I am supposed to be eating this much?"
My answer may come as a shock to you. Are you ready...? No. No, I am not sure you are supposed to be eating this much. I have a couple comments to back up this answer-
1. Unless I follow you for 24 hours will I know whether you are over-eating.
2. Just because it fits into the palm of your hand doesn't mean it's worthy of being eatened. A palmful of guacamole is too many calories. It's good fat, but you are officially over-eating.
Basically, what I'm saying is, I can't tell if you are eating too much without seeing what it is you are actually eating. What I'm going to do is arm you with some knowledge so that you can determine whether or not your palm sized portion is too many calories. Remember this, the palm size portion rule is a very, very basic rule. We choose to use it because it's simple and easy for people to catch on to. I highly encourage everyone to take it just 1 step further.
Everyone, and I mean everyone ought to know just how big their tank (stomach) is. Remember the gas tank analogy on orientation night? Do you know how big your gas tank is in your car? If you think for 3 minutes, I bet you can figure it out. You'll divide the cost to fill it up by the price of gas and you've got it. My tank is 20 gallons:).
Now, let's determine the size of tank in our body. This involves you getting up and going to get your body composition. I'll wait...
Couldn't help reading on, could you. No worries, I'm the same way. Just make sure you do it some time soon.
Look at the Nutrient Intake section. Let's say that it says you require the following in a day:
Protein- 73 grams
Fat- 37 grams
Carbohydrates- 110 grams
note- this is for a 135 pound female with 22% bodyfat
Now, take those numbers and divide them by 5 (for 5 meals a day). It now looks like this:
Protein- 15 grams/meal
Fat- 7 grams/meal
Carbohydrates- 22 grams/meal
At this point, should you ever question your palm sized portions, simply look at the nutrition facts on your food and make sure the proteins, fat, and carbs are all within a couple grams of what you figured out.
Here is a question I bet you're wondering, "What if the food doesn't have nutrition facts?" The answer is, "Do a little research." The research you do on the food you eat will be invaluable. If you eat that particular food regulary, you're going to remember exactly how many grams are in that food and you'll know the exact portion size you ought to be consuming. Do this for a couple weeks, and I can almost guarantee you'll know how many grams of protein, fats, and carbs are in all your meals.
A good site to research foods is Nutrition Data. Check out the peanuts. According to this sites information, you can eat about 14 peanuts. Each peanut is about .5 grams of fat. 14 peanuts is 7 grams of fat. Now, you will still need more protein, since 14 peanuts is only about 2.5 grams.
If you throw in a mozzarella stick, then you're getting pretty darn close. Peanuts will put you a little under on the protein, and a little over on the fat. Is it anything to be concerned about? I don't think so, at least for a snack. To make it even closer, lose the peanuts and have pistachios instead. Now we're almost right on our mark for proteins and fat. Toss in a medium sized apple and we're at 25 carbs. That's right on, in my book!
Remember, the following example is for a 135 pound female with 22% bodyfat. To recap, her snack could be:
14 pistachios (for protein and fat)
1 mozzarella stick (for protein and fat)
1 medium sized apple (for carbs)
Happy researching!
Respectfully,
Duncan Richardson
My answer may come as a shock to you. Are you ready...? No. No, I am not sure you are supposed to be eating this much. I have a couple comments to back up this answer-
1. Unless I follow you for 24 hours will I know whether you are over-eating.
2. Just because it fits into the palm of your hand doesn't mean it's worthy of being eatened. A palmful of guacamole is too many calories. It's good fat, but you are officially over-eating.
Basically, what I'm saying is, I can't tell if you are eating too much without seeing what it is you are actually eating. What I'm going to do is arm you with some knowledge so that you can determine whether or not your palm sized portion is too many calories. Remember this, the palm size portion rule is a very, very basic rule. We choose to use it because it's simple and easy for people to catch on to. I highly encourage everyone to take it just 1 step further.
Everyone, and I mean everyone ought to know just how big their tank (stomach) is. Remember the gas tank analogy on orientation night? Do you know how big your gas tank is in your car? If you think for 3 minutes, I bet you can figure it out. You'll divide the cost to fill it up by the price of gas and you've got it. My tank is 20 gallons:).
Now, let's determine the size of tank in our body. This involves you getting up and going to get your body composition. I'll wait...
Couldn't help reading on, could you. No worries, I'm the same way. Just make sure you do it some time soon.
Look at the Nutrient Intake section. Let's say that it says you require the following in a day:
Protein- 73 grams
Fat- 37 grams
Carbohydrates- 110 grams
note- this is for a 135 pound female with 22% bodyfat
Now, take those numbers and divide them by 5 (for 5 meals a day). It now looks like this:
Protein- 15 grams/meal
Fat- 7 grams/meal
Carbohydrates- 22 grams/meal
At this point, should you ever question your palm sized portions, simply look at the nutrition facts on your food and make sure the proteins, fat, and carbs are all within a couple grams of what you figured out.
Here is a question I bet you're wondering, "What if the food doesn't have nutrition facts?" The answer is, "Do a little research." The research you do on the food you eat will be invaluable. If you eat that particular food regulary, you're going to remember exactly how many grams are in that food and you'll know the exact portion size you ought to be consuming. Do this for a couple weeks, and I can almost guarantee you'll know how many grams of protein, fats, and carbs are in all your meals.
A good site to research foods is Nutrition Data. Check out the peanuts. According to this sites information, you can eat about 14 peanuts. Each peanut is about .5 grams of fat. 14 peanuts is 7 grams of fat. Now, you will still need more protein, since 14 peanuts is only about 2.5 grams.
If you throw in a mozzarella stick, then you're getting pretty darn close. Peanuts will put you a little under on the protein, and a little over on the fat. Is it anything to be concerned about? I don't think so, at least for a snack. To make it even closer, lose the peanuts and have pistachios instead. Now we're almost right on our mark for proteins and fat. Toss in a medium sized apple and we're at 25 carbs. That's right on, in my book!
Remember, the following example is for a 135 pound female with 22% bodyfat. To recap, her snack could be:
14 pistachios (for protein and fat)
1 mozzarella stick (for protein and fat)
1 medium sized apple (for carbs)
Happy researching!
Respectfully,
Duncan Richardson
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