Hey guys, lets cover some more basic principles which seem to be often neglected by a lot of people in the fitness world. You may not agree with all of them but give them a read and see if you fall victim to any of them.
1. Too much Carbs!
This should be a pretty obvious reason to many people, yet there are still several nuts in the nutrition industry who swear that we all should consume at least 2 grams of carbs per pound of bodyweight while keeping our fat intake at next to nothing.
We are told that we should be loading up with wholegrain and fruit products whilst at the same time saying “no” to essential sources of fat like grass fed beef!
Anyone who is experienced with body transformation like Carrie Visintainer knows that this is a load of nonsense, in fact the majority of people actually have a terrible tolerance to carbohydrates, have terrible insulin sensitivity and basically don’t do enough exercise or daily activity to warrant such a large carbohydrate intake!
If you want to be lean then lowering carb intake is usually one of the first and most important steps that is needed, this doesn’t mean that you can’t consume any carbohydrates, but remember that carbs raise insulin and fat doesn’t burn when there is insulin in the blood!
2. You eat too much fat
A lot of people cut out carbohydrates and assume they are magically going to lose weight and there is nothing more to worry about, but I hate to break it to you the low carb or no carb diets aren’t as fun as Dr. Atkins would have you believe!
I have seen a lot of people use it as an excuse to eat pounds upon pounds of bacon and mayonnaise and thinking they will somehow wake up ripped.
Remember that fat still contains calories! 9 calories per gram to be precise and at the end of the day it’s your total calorie intake which is important! If you are still eating more than you burn then you’re never going to get ripped.
Also make sure that your fat intake is made of healthy fats, such as egg yolks, wild fish, grass fed beef and of course healthy fish oil supplements.
3. You’re not eating enough Protein
This is mostly seen with female dieters, though some men are guilty of it too! I’ve seen a lot of peoples who mentioned they skipped protein altogether and had just salad for lunch of dinner.
Protein helps maintain your muscle mass and muscle mass helps to burn calories, protein also requires a lot more energy to digest than carbs or fats. In all honesty you should be aiming for around 1g of protein per lb of bodyweight.
People who have a decent protein intake are normally the ones who have an easier time getting ripped than those who don’t, so make sure you’re getting enough! Also don’t overdo it, just because protein is good for your muscles doesn’t mean you need to consume your entire bodyweight in it!
This also leads onto my next point….when you are chosing protein sources for everyday meals don’t rely on protein shakes, chose whole proteins such as meats!
4. Drinking too much protein shakes!
This is one problem I find with a lot of guys, they simply consume these every hour! Many people are not aware that whey protein actually raises your insulin levels, so if you are constantly bumping your insulin levels then your body doesn’t get a chance to burn the fat!
The most appropriate time still remains post workout; this is when you want the surge of insulin to drive the nutrients into the muscle when the muscle tissue is most sensitive. But the rest of the day you should be trying to keep your insulin in control!
Again my personal opinion with protein is you should have to chew it, this means that the protein will break down slower and release a steady supply of amino acids into your bloodstream.
5. Eating too much nuts
Personally I love to eat nuts, they are God’s gift as far as food is concerned, if I get a bag in my hand it’ll be ate before you know it. The problem with nuts is that they are notoriously high in calories and are very calorie dense i.e. a lot of calories in a small package! The best bet for fat loss is to fill you up on nutrient dense foods such as green vegetables, rather than calorie dense foods like nuts and junk food.
6. You don’t lift heavy
Most people fall guilty to the assumption that to lose weight you need to lower the weight and increase the reps then suddenly drop from three minutes rest periods to 30 seconds, this can lead to quite a bit of trouble, especially if you are looking to get ripped.
When you are dieting the primary role of strength training should be to maintain your current muscle mass, it should never be used as “fat burning” activity unless you are severely overweight. Which translates to; if you need to lose more than 50lbs. Just please don’t fall victim and try to copy the stuff you see on the fat loss camp TV shows.
If you are trying to lose weight, you are not going to be building muscle, so you need to use the most efficient workout to maintain strength which happens to be low reps with high weight.
7. Not getting enough sleep
When you lose sleep you suffer a loss in insulin sensitivity and your cortisol (stress hormone) levels go up, both these things can work to hinder fat loss.
You are also missing out on the growth hormone boost which comes during a good nights sleep, so essentially if you are looking to lose more fat, you need to get more sleep! I know a lot of people ignore this, and are probably up reading this at 3am but sadly this is probably one of the most important things next to diet on this list.
