Natural Muscle - Nutrition Tips.

When It Comes To Shedding Body Fat - I Always Lose! My Body Always Seems To Win The Fat Battle - Why?!

This is a question - that if it was easily answered - we would all have beautiful lean bodies. Unfortunately, nature does not let things work that way. Sure, if we look at genetics - this may be a true factor - so how many of you are now cursing your mum and dad? Yes, we are born with a certain body shape or ';Somatotype' and they are generally broken down into the following types with ratings out of 7 (being the most prominent). Have a go and rate yourself:

• Ectomorph: usually tall, thin, lanky build, finds it hard to gain weight.
• Mesomorph: more muscular, natural athlete, gains or loses weight easily.
• Endomorph: soft, round body, trouble losing weight, mass centres around hips and belly.

EXAMPLE RATING OUT OF 7

• Ectomorph - 4
• Mesomorph - 6
• Endomorph -1

We can assume then that this person is relatively muscular and lean. How did you go?

But can we still change our body shape despite this? So do you want the good news or the bad news first? Let's start with the goodies. The good news is -yes-anyone can change the way their body looks -pending you have the correct knowledge and advice. The bad news - it takes time and lots of patience - something we don't like to hear - especially with weight loss - everyone seems to want a quick fix. Well, I can tell you, usually with quick fixes, comes disastrous endings and double the amount of weight put back on. Slow is the key when it comes to long term fat loss and not just ';weight loss'.

Now, first lets look at the difference between ';weight loss' and ';fat loss'. If I had my time over and lived a very long time ago in the past, I'm sure I still would have been the same obsessed human being I am when it comes to the functioning of the human body. So, I guess I would have probably tried to invent a very different type of weight scale all those years ago that would not have caused many people for so many years to believe instantly that they were overweight. For too many years, people have used scales as the only source of information in guiding their health. Whatever the scale says must be true - right? Wrong. In this industry I see so many people step on the scales and let it be the be all and end all and instantly become either very happy or very depressed - each way usually ends in either ';rewarding themselves with a treat' or ';forget this, nothing works for me, I'm not dieting anymore (or should I say ';starving' themselves anymore). My question to people who jump on scales everyday (which you should never do) or even every week is:

• Have you lost body fat? If you know for certain you have - well done!! You will understand that to lose body fat is a slow process.
• Have you gained or lost some fluid? Are you weighing yourself at the same time to get an accurate reading? Your weight can fluctuate dramatically with fluid throughout the day - so don't be fooled by this one.
• Have you lost muscle tissue? Not so good - chances are you're eating plan is not balanced and your body is resorting to starvation mode instead and will hold on to all the body fat it can get to survive. Remember, your body will outsmart you EVERY time and very easily - if it senses in the slightest that you are starving it of the correct nutrients - it will instantly shed fluid and muscle tissue before body fat, in other words, your body has become catabolic. So are you now getting my drift about why the scales alone are not a good measure in accuracy for losing body fat? Of course we know scales cannot tell the difference in you losing muscle tissue, fat or fluid - it just tells you that you have lost something….but at what cost if it's not body fat?
• Have you gained lean muscle tissue - again - well done!! Gaining lean muscle tissue tells us that you are most probably getting the right balance of nutrients in your diet and remember the more lean muscle tissue you have - the more body fat you will burn. And ladies, please don't fall into the trap of believing that you will end up huge if you have gained a little lean muscle tissue!! For us girls, we just don't have the hormone levels naturally to build a great deal in a short period of time. It takes many, many years of advanced training to even try to get to a ';physique' shape. It certainly won't happen over night.
• So let's go one better - Have you gained lean muscle tissue whilst losing body fat? Well if you have done this, you are right on track - Perfect work and keep it up - but again - how are the scales alone going to tell you this one?

Gaining or maintaining lean muscle tissue whilst losing body fat - is a perfect outcome but certainly not the easiest. There are ways however to ';trick' your body into losing body fat whilst maintaining or gaining lean muscle tissue. Remember, your body will only get rid of body fat if it believes you are taking care of it and not starving it of any nutrients.

You honestly cannot ignore the art of body building or body sculpting. Unfortunately, years ago, this industry was no favourably looked upon. There were plenty of misconceptions about bodybuilders, i.e. muscle bound meat heads with no brains comes to mind. Where this tale came from I have no idea. I guess sometimes when steroid use came into the picture; all respect was thrown out of the window for this fine tuned and well disciplined sport. For body builders to get their body so lean, takes a great deal of knowledge and understanding about the human body and correct eating.

Today there are more natural bodybuilders who use nutrition and exercise to their advantage to get super lean bodies. It is a concept, if you yourself are stuck in the dark about losing fat, should really not ignore. Knowledge is power and bodybuilders certainly have this asset when it comes to shedding fat. I'm not saying you have to get super lean and get ready for stage however, if you do want to lean up a little or a lot, we certainly know the tricks of the trade. We generally know as athletes in this sport that you should never work against your body when trying to lose body fat, but instead work with it and persuade it into believing that you are looking after it properly. I promise you the rewards are a lot better that just losing body fat….your health and general well being will also improve dramatically. So get to it….

Some small but easy tricks to consider when trying to lose body fat:

• Eat small frequent meals over the day
• Don't just use the scales - get a body fat test done as well
• Make sure you have the right portions of proteins, essential fats and carbohydrates in ever meal
• Drink PLENTY of water!! I cannot stress this enough. It is so important to drink, drink and drink plain water - not cordial, not coffee, just water. It helps in metabolising fat and also helps you lose excess fluid from your body
• Take some essential supplements that may be lacking from your diet - although you should get nearly all of the nutrients from your foods - sometimes even having a stressful day can knock your hormones and body out of balance. Having supplements, such as a good potent multi-vitamin can aide in keeping your energy levels high.
• Don't be scared to eat essential fats - this is usually the key that helps you burn fat - remember the whole starvation mode process - now think of it this way - you need a certain amount of fats to help you burn fat
• Make sure you are eating enough!! If you don't eat enough and your metabolism slows down, chances are your body fat burning days have come to a screeching halt!!
• Do resistance training between 2-5 days per week depending on your circumstances and level of training
• Cardiovascular work is a must - use interval or HITT training formulas where you switch between burning Carbohydrates and fats for energy
• Know what your Basal Metabolic Rate is (how many calories you should be eating per day) considering your activity level on a daily basis. There is a formula to this
• Start reading and understanding labels of food products
• Stay away from processed foods (usually made from many ingredients that have been overly processed with trans fatty acids)
• Eat naturally grown foods that have not been tarnished. The best way to do this is to say to yourself when you go shopping ';Is this the way this food fell from the tree?' If the answer is ';No', it's usually best you put it straight back

So there it is. Hopefully this has given you a few new handy tips.

If you do need more advice, you can book in for a consultation at Natural Muscle where we will do some of the hard work for you in figuring out your daily caloric needs to help start you on a better eating plan
We offer consultations to all members. Please enquire within. We are more that happy to help.

Article by Lisa Giancola (Bachelor of Physical Education, Personal Trainer)

Nutritional Consultations and Personal Training done by:

• Domenic Cannizzaro
• Nick Seleck
• Lisa Giancola