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66 Responses to “How to Lose Fat Fast”

1. on 18 Oct 2007 at 1:32 pm1Harsh

   Regarding Cardio I feel HIIT (High intensity interval training) is more effective then moderate intensity (from personal experience). so I feel beside Weight training the 2nd thing that’s gonna create huge difference is HIIT. Cardio has it place but 30-45 mins cardio 3 times a week is too much if the person is also doing some kinda weight training….unless some one plans to run a marathon or just simply likes to run..

   Also here are Alwyn Cosgrove’s 5 Factors of Fat loss which should work well for everyone.
   1 Metabolic Resistance Training
   2 High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)
   3 HIIT Aerobic Interval Training (longer but less intensive intervals)
   4 Steady State HI Aerobic Training simply to burn extra cal’s)
   5 Steady State Low Intensity Aerobic Training

   P.s: I am planning to run 10K (sub 50min) by Jan 2008 but thats purely for the sake of doing it..

2. on 18 Oct 2007 at 1:35 pm2Harsh

   Forgot to add, Diet is the key component for loosing fat, you can follow any training regime but if diet is not good then you won’t reach any where…

3. on 18 Oct 2007 at 1:40 pm3Mehdi

   Well I prefer HIIT using barbells Harsh. So I agree with you. Problem with HIIT is that it’s very intensive on your CNS. Mixing it with strength training, especially three times a week is not easy. You quickly overtrain. Good luck with the 10k

4. on 18 Oct 2007 at 3:15 pm4Greg

   Would the same strategies apply irrespective of your goal? Were you just citing 20% - 10% as an example or would you need to make other modifications if trying to go from 10% to 6%?

   Another question, do you recommend cycling between fat loss and muscle building periods?

   Thanks for all the info on the site.

5. on 18 Oct 2007 at 3:58 pm5Jason

   Mehdi,
   Liked your article and “dugg” it. I’d have to agree on HIIT training for cardio. I’ve heard more and more about it in recent times, but the truth is that this method is nothing new. I was a long distance runner in high school for both track and cross country, and would even swim competitively in the winter. All 3 sports relied heavily on intervals on Mon., Wed., Friday and gave a lighter “road run” or easy swim on Tues. Thurs. Cardio is tough enough when you’re depleted after heavy lifting, but intervals are gut-wrenching. I’m not convinced that they are helpful after a high-intensity workout. It’s probably overkill.
   Side note- You recommended eating the same thing every day instead of the anabolic diet. Seems like you recommend something simpler for the weight-loss masses?
   -Jason

6. on 18 Oct 2007 at 4:12 pm6Mehdi

   Greg. In general, the lower you want to get your body fat, the harder it becomes. Meaning, the more work, the more you have to look at the details. Rules are always the same however.

   The problem with cycling between fat loss/muscle building periods is that you lose muscle/gain fat ever time. I like progressive approaches.

7. on 18 Oct 2007 at 4:17 pm7Mehdi

   Thanks for digging Jason. As I wrote above: I prefer HIIT than cardio. Cardio is boring imo, HIIT is more fun (I do it with barbell exercises).

   One thing you need to realize (all of you). People have lives. Career, business, family, kids, relationships, hobbies, … Let’s assume it’s better to do cardio on non-strength training days, you end up training 5-6x a week. For how many weeks can you do this before quitting?

   I prefer strength training + cardio as one workout. HIIT after strength training is too intensive for most. HIIT on recovery days gets in the way of your recovery because it’s very CNS intensive.

   This approach is indeed much simpler than the Anabolic Diet for many. Not saying the Anabolic Diet doesn’t work, just that it’s a drastic change of lifestyle most will struggle with.

8. on 18 Oct 2007 at 7:27 pm8galapogos

   Well if you’re performing regular strength training then you won’t need much HIIT or any other cardio. Just tweak your acute training variables to suit a more “fat loss” approach(increased density, decreased rest time, etc) and your strength training will take care of the fat loss. HIIT can be done less frequently(1-2x a week maybe) right after the workout. I don’t see much of a point with steady state cardio unless you enjoy it and you have the time. Most of us don’t

9. on 18 Oct 2007 at 7:33 pm9Mehdi

   You & me don’t need cardio Galapogos because we already have a healthy body fat Things are different if you need to lose 10% body fat.

10. on 18 Oct 2007 at 8:12 pm10workoutmommy

    great tips–thank you!!

11. on 18 Oct 2007 at 8:14 pm11Mehdi

    You’re welcome Lisa

12. on 18 Oct 2007 at 8:50 pm12Phillip B Oldham

    Mehdi,
    Would it be possible for you to provide an example diet to follow? Something your average joe could work from?
    I thought I was eating a healthy diet (first stage; second: regular cardio, third: weight training) as I’ve cut complex carbs out, and I’m eating lots of fresh fruit and veg. I’m going quite heavy on the fruit, aiming for the UK’s five-a-day goal and then some. After you mentioning the “body converts fruit to fat when you eat too much of it”, I’ve realised why I’m not shifting any weight even though I’ve cut the chocolate and fizzy drinks.
    Can you give examples of foods that would keep us satiated while at the office so we don’t sit snacking?

13. on 18 Oct 2007 at 9:04 pm13Mehdi

    I’ve added your idea to my to-do list, Philip. In general: go high on the green veggies, learn to cook them & making them taste good. Add oils (olive oil, fatty fish) as much as possible to compensate for the low carbs (you need energy) & satiate.

    One example: simple tuna salad with olive oil. High protein, zero cals green veggies & olive oil to satiate/energy.
    Second example: spinach with garlic with olive oil with steak.

    Check the recipes for some ideas Philip.

14. on 19 Oct 2007 at 2:03 am14ClickerTrainer

    1g/lb protein? So a 100 lb person needs 100 g protein / day, right?

15. on 19 Oct 2007 at 2:08 am15Jason

    I think my comment was a little unclear… I was agreeing that HIIT after strength training is overkill for most people.

16. on 19 Oct 2007 at 8:20 am16J

    Eat more fat?

    So, this approach/concept is useful outside of the anabolic diet?

17. on 19 Oct 2007 at 9:24 am17Mehdi

    Correct Clickertrainer. Not that I wrote “at least” 1g/lbs protein.

18. on 19 Oct 2007 at 9:25 am18Mehdi

    My bad than Jason. I tend to type faster than I read

19. on 19 Oct 2007 at 9:26 am19Mehdi

    You need the energy J. Your body will use either carbs or fat for energy. If you lower your carb intake, you need to up your fat intake to get your daily amount of calories. If you stay low on carbs and on fats at the same time, you’ll have no energy.

20. on 19 Oct 2007 at 5:10 pm20Sperwer

    Mehdi: We’ve touched on this before, but I think that it is worth repeating that if someone is doing intensive strength-training, and particularly is their goal is to build muscle and strength, the demonstrated protein requirement is more like 2 grams/lb, at least.

21. on 19 Oct 2007 at 5:30 pm21Sperwer

    I don’t want to discourage the notion of upping intake of healthy fats to compensate for carb diminution, but it’s also worth bearing in mind that carbs are NOT an essential nutrient, and that, although protein is not stored in the body for use as energy, if you consume enough protein to exceed the need/capacity of the body to metabolize it for muscle repair/building, it will be used for energy or, to the extent not necessary for energy production, converted for storage as fat (and subsequent conversion from fat to energy). Hence it is possible to function quite well, without any adverse effects on lean tissue retention or muscle repair and building, without consuming carbs. While I haven’t completely eliminated carbs from my diet, I have managed, more or less by trial and error (i.e., w/out benefit of “clerical” advice regarding low carb or ketogenic diets) to discover for myself that I function, not only physically but also mentally, MUCH more efficiently, on a carb intake of 0-30 grams/day, without any cycle-up days. The results speak for themselves, I think: reduction of body fat from 28% to 9% in 9 months, loss of over 40 pounds of fat AND addition of over 20 pounds of new lean mass. I lost the net fat loss amount of 15 pounds very quickly - within a couple months - and have maintained a fairly constant weight since, while continuing to substitute muscle for fat. The latter, I think, demonstrates that it’s possible to make significant muscle gains on a diet that consists nearly exclusively of protein, with only maintenance doses of essential fat - as least for me. I stress the last qualification and recommend to all interested readers the idea of “biochemical individuality” as described in the book of the same title by Roger Williams and William Liz Wolcott and Trish Fahey’s similar “The Metabolic Typing Diet: Customize Your Diet to Your Own Unique Body Chemistry”. One size does not fit all; if one is serious about nutrition, he’ll make the effort not to get with somebody else’s program but to make for himself the program that best fits his unique metabolism.

22. on 19 Oct 2007 at 5:32 pm22daveM

    Phillip,

    I’d re-emphasize 5-6 smaller meals rather than 3 larger meals. It helps to keep your blood sugar from going on boom-bust cycles for one. Also try to plan your eating for the day rather, and keep a log of what you ate when, and how you feel at times. You’ll pick up patterns of when you tend to get hungry, and then can plan to have something healthy to eat then. That leads to a closely related point: don’t wait until your really hungry to eat. The 5-6 smaller meals will help with this, but if you feel hunger come on you should address it before it starts triggering your cravings for junk. First, have a glass of water. Sometimes thirst can cause people to think they are hungry, and it will set you up to make whatever you eat digest more slowly and make you feel fuller. Then eat a little something healthy, then wait a bit for this to take affect before deciding if you need to eat anything more.

    On satiation, besides fats, foods that are high in water and fiber are best as they physically fill you (hence Mehdi’s emphasis on veggies, which fit this bill). While Mehdi’s recommending low carb, any meal should have at least a bit of complex carbs with the fiber still in the food to help slowly raise your blood sugar so that this isn’t still sending your brain messages about needing to eat. While your body will break down protein for this, it takes longer to have an effect. A piece of low glycemic fruit (an apple or pear for example), getting a bit more vegetable than a single slice of lettuce and a bit of celery in that tuna salad, or even a single whole wheat cracker or partial slice of whole wheat bread to start the meal/snack will be enough to get your blood sugar levels up if they’ve fallen.

    Cutting up carrots, celery, green pepper, broccoli, etc. and keeping them in a sealable container with some water that you keep in a refrigerator or just w/o water in a sealable bag if you don’t have a refrigerator available can be something to munch on if you can’t get a small meal in or have trouble breaking the snacking habit. Get some high quality olive oil to dip them in, or even flavor the oil by crushing a clove of garlic and putting it in the oil. A small portion of oil will stay fresh for a couple days without refrigeration, but avoid storing it in a plastic container as these can leach toxins into the oil.

    Another “trick” is to get some soluable fiber capsules (gluconnaman, psyllium, oat), and take one or two at the start of the meal/snack. This will contribute to your feeling more full, but also soluable fiber helps to slow blood sugar increases from food to avoid triggering insulin spikes. In other words it helps get a gradual, longer, and not too high rise in blood sugar. Again, this should be coupled with some water. You may experience some gas if you haven’t been already getting a high fiber diet, but you should adjust in time.

23. on 19 Oct 2007 at 5:35 pm23Mehdi

    Agreed. Start with 1g/lbs & experiment with more.

24. on 19 Oct 2007 at 5:38 pm24Mehdi

    Funny that you recommend that book, I came accross a post on an another site this week & added the book to my wish list.

25. on 19 Oct 2007 at 6:24 pm25daveM

    If you aren’t trying to maximize strength or muscle size gains, but you want to still make decent muscle/strength gains while you lose fat, more more cardio can help. If you are more concerned about maximal muscle/strength gains, then not. But of course this article is targeted at those who want to lose fat while maintaining or gaining strength and muscle size. You have to work up to this slowly, but I can maintain a 3 lift day/week schedule and still get in more cardio without overtraining and while still getting decent gains in muscle size and strength. I train 5-6 days a week, with 3 lifting days, in which a follow my lifting session with a short, very light cardio routine and cool-down. I found that I recover better from my lifting session with this, but notice that I said very light. I stay in the lower end of the aerobic range. It helps get blood flowing to the muscles, & clean out the metabolic waste of the lifting.

    On the 2-3 days I don’t lift, I include more intense cardio. I try to train all my energy systems. I start the week with a HIIT day, so that it is not impeding recovery from a lift day. I then have a higher intensity, shorter aerobic session, and finally (if the schedule allows), a long, low-intensity endurance session. The final workout day of any week is a lift day, followed by a day off, so only 2 lift days are followed by cardio-endurance workout days, and one of these really taxes glycogen stores but is otherwise very low-intensity.

    I’ll admit that I was a competitive swimmer, water polo player, and did triathalons (no, I never did an ironman distance), so I spent close to two decades doing “cardio” sports training and learning that training can be satisfying if you are attempting to train for something. I think why many lifters find cardio boring is that they (1) work out on boring machines that require little attention; (2) have no plan to improve in that area of fitness: (3) don’t develop challenging workout plans that give them a sense of accomplishment in their workouts. If you brought this same approach to lifting, you’d find it just as boring. Lifting is your priority, so cardio will almost always be a necessary (?) evil. I’ll never achieve what you guys do in the weight room, just as I’ll never accomplish what someone dedicated to training for running, biking, swimming, or triathalons will.

    One machine based cardio that I found provides a bit of the motivating challenge that helps keep it from being as boring as others is indoor rowing, as there are leagues and scheduled challenges built around the Concept2 rowing ergometer. You can even get slides and a tipsy seat the make it more like the on-the-water experience that keeps you on your toes, and can hook up a computer and train with a distant partner (I haven’t done the latter). Also, it and Nordic Track ski machines (they have a bit more instability that requires more of the user’s attention than most cardio equipment) can help you train to do the much more fun outdoor exercise upon which they are based, which can make it less boring as you are doing it looking forward to getting out when the weather is better.

    For those trying to lose fat, cardio done right can improve the body’s ability to burn fat by stimulating the body to more quickly and effectively switch into fat-burning mode and have a more abundant supply of fat-burning enzymes available than lifting alone. I do it because I like it. It makes me feel better and it does produce fitness and positive health results that you can’t fully get from weight training alone. Don’t get me wrong, I think for those interested in fat loss, real strength training is at least as important and should come first in the overall plan when someone has a time crunch. And, when I start to feel aches or weakness from too much work and too little recovery, a cardio session is the first thing to get dropped that week. I just wanted to throw a slightly different voice into the mix.

26. on 19 Oct 2007 at 7:00 pm26daveM

    Sperwer,

    The only reason carbs are not considered an essential nutrient is that it is impossible to not get some unless you ate only some lab-created formula. Second, one’s fat/lean state is only one small aspect of overall health. If you aren’t consuming fruits, vegetables, and whole grains you are missing out on a whole host of phyto-nutrients and substances that work synergistically with vitamins and minerals, only a small portion of which are well understood. There will be negative long-term health consequences to such a diet. I’d throw out any book that encouraged anyone to eat such a radical diet, no matter how many citations it had. Having lots of citations does not mean the authors are promoting scientifically sound health prescriptions. You have to look at the whole range of studies, make sure that the authors are not overdrawing conclusions from the studies they cite, or cherry-picking the data. I’ll grant that there are a range of metabolic characteristics in people, but none of us is a pure carnivore evolved to live exclusively or even largely on animal food. Further, there is a little problem you are certainly overlooking, called bio-accumulation. Toxins concentrate in the tissue of organism higher up the food chain. Over time the top predators in a food chain are the most impacted by pollutants in the environment because they get the most concentrated doses in their food. This is beside all the nasty substances that are fed to and injected into livestock.

    There are a lot of people capitalizing on the current anti-carb fad, just as there were on the anti-fat fad. Carbs are not bad for you, and are found in foods that are an important part of a healthy diet. Simple carbs, processed foods with the fiber and nutrients found in whole foods with carbs, are certainly bad. A diet based largely in those types of foods will lead to poor health outcomes. But, every one of the books I’ve read that is radically anti-carb is riddled with serious problems when you look at the broad scientific literature on nutrition and human health, just as the ones that in the previous generation were radically anti-fat. Sensible low carb diets can be fine, but what you are preaching just cannot be supported by any basic reading of the scientific literature and your positive results in one or two aspects of the myriad aspects of health is not a sound counter to this literature. Sorry if I appear to be getting into a rant, but it really worries me that people will follow such advice in pursuit of a beautiful body.

27. on 19 Oct 2007 at 7:14 pm27Mehdi

    You can go low carb up, but need to carb up at one time or another, can’t get around that. Cfr CKD, Anabolic Diet, etc.

28. on 19 Oct 2007 at 7:57 pm28Greg

    J,

    I do not follow the anabolic diet and have had very good results by upping my fat intake. Just as you, I found it odd at first. In 3 months I’ve gone from 16% to 9% body fat (13 lbs of fat) but only lost 6 lbs on the scale. My ratios are: P-35%, F-35%, C-30%. I eat probably 50-60% of my carbs immediately before and after the workout. Just make sure you eat healthy fats. Almonds, natural peanut butter & olive oil are my favorites. I like to use them as my “snack” meals. It helps to reduce cravings.

    I realize everyone is different, but this is what I’ve found to be helpful.

29. on 20 Oct 2007 at 6:53 am29J

    Being a 17 year-old high school senior [who can't cook yet, or buy things with his nonexistent money], eating exactly what I want for my meals each day is impossible.

    I’m still eating what my parents are putting on the table, but it’s almost always just fish/chicken, vegetables, and some rice, so “unhealthy” fat isn’t something that appears too often.

30. on 20 Oct 2007 at 11:57 am30Sperwer

    Here’s my quick and dirty test of whether you’ve reached your maximum reasonable protein intake:

    If you’re using a protein supplement, and assuming that it’s good quality and you’re not allergic to it (whey) (or, if you’re allergic to whey and you’ve gotten past the metalhead nonsense that it diminishes testosterone, and you’re using a soy iteration instead), you know that (a) you’re not working hard enough, or (b) if you are working max, that you’re exceeding your body’s capacity to metabolize protein for muscle repair and growth and energy when you have persistent indigestion, diarrhea or uncontrolled farting, or - god help you and everyone around you - all three. ;))

31. on 20 Oct 2007 at 12:40 pm31Sperwer

    Dave:

    A few points.

    I’m not “preaching” anything, nor am I flogging any particular dietary gospel, except - as I indicated at the end of my post - the injunction that each of us needs to take responsibility for ascertaining what’s best for ourselves notwithstanding what all the experts and experts manque are selling.

    I was responding to the claim that one needs to carb up in order to have the energy for heavy lifting. I have discovered that this is not necessary for me. Period. I can get all the energy I need from protein. Carbs may not be a necessary energy source for others either, but I don’t know and make no claims. Some people might want to try a radically protein-heavy regime for themselves, though, if they aren’t getting the results they want with carb loading, whether of the “bulking” approach or the anabolic diet approach.

    I agree that one’s fat/lean state is only one aspect of overall health. But I wouldn’t characterize it as a small aspect, given all the obvious and/or well-established disease-factors associated with excess body fat. I’ve found that dramatically reducing my own body fat % has provided equally dramatic health benefits, both subjectively and as measured by my latest physical exam.

    I’ve also found that in my case radically reducing my carb intake has been a signally important factor in my success in eliminating fat and feeling and being healthier, both physically and mentally.

    It’s the nutritional science establishment that says carbs are not an essential nutrient, but I’m not going to argue that with you about that or any of the other observatiosn you make about the scientific claims for and against radical low carb diets, since you apparently don’t believe in science and I didn’t even suggest that any of the studies that you generally disparage have anything to do with my thinking. But I do object to is your wild mischaracterizations of my position in some other respects. Although on some days I eat no carbs, I generally do eat them, albeit in small amounts, i.e., less than 30 grams/day. I tend to stick to green vegetables, some nuts, etc. I do so because, like you, I believe that they contain a variety of phyto-nutrients and other substances that may work synergistically with protein, vitamins and minerals in ways that are not generally well-understood, but are likely to be nutritionally important considering their place in human nutrition since probably before we stopped swinging in the trees. I don’t think the same can be said of grains, because people managed for tens of thousands of years without grains; and I almost never eat grains of any kind in any form - quite a feat, too, living as I currently do in a country with a heavy rice culture; once every three months or so, though, I make an exception and whip up a batch of homemade ravioli according to grandmother’s recipe - it’s always great, and I’m almost always sick the next day. Although I’m not allergic to grains, even a bowl of oatmeal nowadays will make me feel ill - because of the glycemic effect, I suppose.

    Finally, I have managed to get myself into the kind of shape that enables me not to have to listen to the likes of the guy at T-Nations who said something to the effect that if women in the gym are aren’t looking at you like you’re a porn star, you’re not working hard enough. ;)) But that wasn’t my goal when I started - which, instead, was to recapture my health generally, which I also have - and your attempt to disparage anyone with an interest in an admittedly radical low carb approach to doing so as simply a narcissistic bodybuilding type is nothing more than a cheap shot from the bleachers. Rave on!

32. on 20 Oct 2007 at 2:11 pm32Mehdi

    Carbs agriculture started only 10.000 years ago. Do you really need carbs? Some claim the human body hasn’t had time yet to adapt to the carbs, that’s why you see so many obese people.

    Check the Paleo Diet, Neanderthaler Diet, Caveman Diet, slow carb diet, etc.

33. on 20 Oct 2007 at 2:12 pm33Mehdi

    Agreed Greg. I always felt going low carb was the easiest way to lose the fat.

34. on 20 Oct 2007 at 2:15 pm34Mehdi

    Well your parents seem to make healthy food: fish/chicken, veggies & rice sounds healthy to me. Be happy, some families have very bad eating habits, J.

35. on 21 Oct 2007 at 1:07 am35daveM

    I think you mean grains. Humans evolved as fruit and nut eaters (like most primates), among other foods. Only when humans spread to the colder regions of the world (which was also relatively recently in evolutionary terms, though not as recently as organized agriculture) did you see cultures that depended more heavily on animals for nutrition. Also, the meat that was eaten until extremely recently wasn’t being feed corn, hormones, antibiotics, steroids, plus the bioaccumulation of all the pollutants, pesticides, and herbicides that we dump into our environment. We definitely aren’t evolved to handle that kind of diet, any more than we are evolved to do well on highly processed carbs (sugar, hf corn syrup, white flour).

    The idea that we haven’t had time to evolve yet to eating carbs is only put forward by people who don’t know enough about human evolution and origins. There are also some who contend that when you look at our teeth, intestinal track, and stomach fluids that we are evolved primarily to eat fruit and nuts not meat. True carnivores have sharper teeth, extremely short intestinal tracks to avoid putrification of the digested meat, and much more acidic stomachs. Our teeth are more like fruit and nut eaters, rather than grazers or carnivores, our intestinal track is relatively long, and our stomach is much less acidic. So if you really want to eat the way we are evolved, you’ll eat more like your fellow primates: lots of fruits and nuts gathered fresh from trees, with opportunistic supplementing with meat. And primates evolved from smaller rodent-like ancestors who probably ate lots of grass seed (i.e., grain). I’m not saying that this is the way you should eat, it is just a more accurate depiction of early humans and their ancestors.

    I think people are obese for a lot of reasons: processed foods high in refined carbs and fat but little fiber and micronutriants, bigger portions, TV (both for sedentary life styles and advertising the just mentioned foods, the car, the switch from more active forms of work to desk work, advertising, and culture. Blaming it on carbs in general just flies in the face of nutritional science and basic anthropology. It also ignores the reams of sound scientific studies that show the health dangers of an animal-product heavy diet. Let’s agree that highly processed carbs are very bad. We might even want to raise some concerns about too much grain-based food in the diet. Beyond that …

36. on 21 Oct 2007 at 9:55 am36Sperwer

    I don’t think there’s a difference between Mehdi’s observation that carbs AGRICULTURE started ten thousand years ago and Dave’s assertion that that must mean grains. Before the cultivation of grains, the carbs consumed by humankind were gathered (not planted. cultivated and harvested) (and, hence, probably made up a very much smaller relative percentage of the diet than nowadays).

    Of course, its true that an awful lot of the meat products available today are contaminated in the ways Dave says. But so are crops. The obvious inference is not that one shouldn’t eat meat products, but that one must be careful to select uncontaminated ones - the same principle that applies to the rest of the food chain nowadays.

    As for the rest, you are arguing against your own cartoon of some unnamed third parties’ theories - which is just a classic straw man that has nothing to do with the points I raised.

37. on 21 Oct 2007 at 11:25 am37Mehdi

    I haven’t looked into evolution theories, Dave. I know caves like in Lascaux are filled with paintings of animals & their rituals. First tools men created were also made to hunt animals.

    Meat played a large role since the beginning (that’s why I don’t digg vegetaranism as being a natural way of eating) probably with fruits & nuts as a backup solution when no meat was available. Massive periods of overeating coupled with undereating (ala warrior diet).

    On the carbs: you’ll agree that it’s harder (impossible?) to get obese on a protein + fat diet than on a protein + carbs diet or carbs + fat diet. Check the eating habits of south-europe, french kitchen, eskimo’s, … etc & compare with the US/Western Europe. Fat satiates, try to eat lots of them.

38. on 21 Oct 2007 at 7:03 pm38daveM

    I know I’m not going to convince you otherwise, but here are some responses to specific points by the two of you. I preface them that I think we agree on a lot based on Mehdi’s article, and that despite what you might think, I’m not arguing for vegetarianism or anti-protein/fat or pro-carb. I do limit carbs in my diet, try to eliminate processed carbs other than post-workout, and work to get a lot of healthy fats and quality protein.

    1. To Sperwer: Fruits, vegetables, and grains are not as adulturated as most meat & dairy products today. For the most part pesticide, fungicide, and herbicide residues can be washed off these. We also don’t treat them with hormones, steroids, antibiotics, or feed them food that makes them unhealthy (like corn to cows or same species rendered flesh to all livestock). Further, the animals we consume have been fed these same vegetative products and accumulate the toxins applied to them in their tissue, so when we eat the animal products that have not been raised in a clean manner (this is the basic bioaccumulation problem that I mentioned before and is one of the more basic widely-accepted scientific principles in biology and ecology), we are consuming more concentrated doses of the stuff applied to crops. This is why there have been studies showing that the breast milk of non-vegetarian women is substantially more contaminated than from vegetarian women (I can’t recall the specifics of the study but it was on the order of 10x more contaminated). Again, I’m not trying to preach vegetarianism, and you can eat cleaner animal products if you take care, but it is harder and saying that both are contaminated misses the qualitative difference in contamination between the two food sources.

    2. To both: Meat probably did not play a large role “since the beginning,” as we evolved from fruit and nut eating primates, who supplemented their diet when opportunity provided. Yes, as human kind moved into areas where these foods were no longer abundant and readily available year round, and when populations grew, food sources changed. But still, the Lascaux man and other pre-neolithic and neolithic peoples are relatively recent in an evolutionary sense. It is not that I’m saying that eating like them is necessarily bad, but just that believing that humans evolved primarily as meat eaters just not supported by anthropological evidence or basic primate physiology. My point is more that while there are certainly sound ways to argue that a meat-centric diet is good, resting them on evolution is one that backfires in that the evidence supports the ropposite conclusion

    3. To Mehdi: I don’t agree that it is harder to get obese on a protein + fat diet than a protein + carb + fat diet. When you look at the traditional Med. diet (which is closer to how I eat w/ some modifications for training), you see a diet rich in fresh fruit and vegetables, whole grains, a lot of olive oil, some butter, beans, and some meat and seafood. In other words, a very diverse, healthy diet. Be careful on the “French kitchen” because you must distinguish between the cultured Parisian diet and the Southern French diet that is more like the rest of the med. region. And, I will agree that the Med. diet is a very healthy one, but not that it was low carb. When you turn to look more broadly, you see that in the U.S. the areas with the highest obesity levels are the heaviest meat and dairy consuming regions. When you look at the studies of cultural health, such as the Seventh Day Adventist vs. Mormons, or the Okinawan Elders Study, you see significantly better health outcomes from the lower animal food diets. These diets are not low protein or low fat, but the sources of the protein and fat are all, or mainly, not animal-sourced. Obesity levels are lower than the more meat-eating populations. All sorts of diet related health problems crop up in the more recent Okinawan population compared to their elders when the switch to a more Western, meat and dairy heavy diet. Again, my point is that for every study that points to Eskimos or some other group, there are at least as many that point in the opposite direction. And again, my point is not that a diet high in fat and protein is necessarily bad (I happen to eat such a diet), but that it is just not sound to argue that this is the only healthy approach to eating, and that carbs are not the boogy man (although highly processed carbs are and should be).

    Finally, Sperwer, I was not intending to imply that you were of the same ilk as the narcasistic bodybuilding culture, but more that in an article that is aimed at fat loss and leanness, that we have to be careful of taking a too narrow view of what counts as healthy. If I came across as attacking you in this way, I apologize. It was not my intent. I also hardly think that trying to inject a well-informed perspective that challenges your view is “raving.” If it goes against your nutritional beliefs, and you don’t want to accept what I say fine. But that doesn’t make it raving or radical or uninformed.

    OK, we’ve beaten this one to death, and we aren’t going to convince each other. We all agree that highly processed carbs are bad. Avoid them if you want to be lean and healthy. I think we can all agree that it helps to eat clean, regardless of the macro-nutrient balance of your diet. We all agree that healthy fats and protein are an important part of a good diet. And we all agree that carbs, even complex carbs closer to their natural form w/ fiber and all the other good stuff still attached, cannot be eaten with impunity. I think we would all agree that watching to avoid insulin spikes other than immediately after exercise is a concern for those looking to lose fat, although I suspect we would quibble a bit over some of the details of how this happens (e.g., some protein consumption can also spike insulin and that all high glycemic foods do not necessarily spike insulin), but maybe not. Finally, I suspect we are all getting tired of going back and forth on this.

    I’m going to get my high protein post-workout shake ready and hit the weights.

    Regards,
    Dave

39. on 21 Oct 2007 at 7:10 pm39Mehdi

    Amen Losing fat is not a healthy condition to stay in anyway. Drop the fat fast, then get on a “normal” diet.

40. on 22 Oct 2007 at 12:20 pm40Harsh

    Just wanna add you donot need much carb if only strenght gain or getting lean is ur goal but if you involved in endurance activity then Carbs are very important…and ofcource that dosent mean you can eat cakes or muffins as ur carb source Anyone eating a balanced meal like 40% protien 30%carb & 30%fat should do Ok I guess…most of the people can make significant progress by just making good food choices like replacing rice with salad.. kababs with grilled chicken etc etc..

41. on 22 Oct 2007 at 12:34 pm41Harsh

    In few weeks I am gonna try strongman type thing like car push and farmmer walk (for a bit longer distanse or maybe climbing stairs) for cardio…One way to keep ur self motivated on cardio machine is to keep record of distanse / time and constantly strive to beat ur previous record…and nothing beats playing some kinda sport coz its always fun

42. on 22 Oct 2007 at 12:41 pm42Harsh

    yep, agreewith u Mehdi, HIIT with barbell is best thing one can do for conditioning but this type of training requires certain level of fittness level to do them….yep and those are really taxing and can easily be abused like a session followed by HIIT running is an over kill but if some one do a lower body / upperd body split he can easily add 10min HIIT running after upper body day and 10mins rowing after lower body day….

    also 1 can choose a finisher exercise like kettelbell swings, farmer walks, squat thrusters etc etc……and perform after regular weight lifting session.

43. on 22 Oct 2007 at 1:13 pm43Sperwer

    That’s certainly the conventional wisdom. So far, I’ve found it doesn’t work for me vis-v-vis weight loss, muscle gain and strength training. Next June I’m going to see how my (extremely) low carb regimen stacks up against the Gobi March (250K/6days). I’m assuming I’ll be pretty shredded by the finish line; if I’ve also lost massive amounts of muscle, I’ll eat whatever carbs you and Dave care to throw my way ;))

44. on 22 Oct 2007 at 1:26 pm44Sperwer

    Dave: No offense taken, none intended either. You said you were on a rant; I was just acknowledging it, ;))

    And I agree that striving for weight loss and muscle and strength gains has to be done within the parameters of what is healthy. My point is that those parameters can be remarkably different for different people.

45. on 22 Oct 2007 at 1:39 pm45Mehdi

    The reason we all have an individual approach is because 1) it fits our lifestyle better 2) it fits our personal taste better.

    Everybody is the same. It’s been written before somewhere in the comments: eat less, you lose weight, eat more you gain weight, burn more you lose weight, burn less you gain weight, etc. Works for everyone.

46. on 23 Nov 2007 at 1:48 am46renan

    man this is why i can’t stand going to exercise or diet websites. There’s way too many points of view and for a complete beginner like me it’s so discouraging because you don’t know who to believe. Best thing to do imho, is to read the articles and posts and take it with a grain of salt.

    it’s like a game of he said she said.

47. on 23 Nov 2007 at 12:38 pm47Mehdi

    The basics of losing fat are simple Renan: burn calories. Maintaining muscle means more calorie burned. Adding cardio means you can eat more while still having a caloric deficit. The rest are hacks. Losing fat = eat less and/or burn more. Point of views only differ on the hacks (some might prefer low carb, some might prefer cardio on empty stomach, etc). But the basics remain eat less and/or burn more. Without burning muscle & without undereating.

48. on 10 Dec 2007 at 4:45 pm48Other Noob

    Mehdi when you refer to HIIT with barbells are you referring to your 5×5 routine? If not can you either give an example or paste a link that directs us to your meaning. Thanks

49. on 10 Dec 2007 at 4:52 pm49Mehdi

    No. HIIT using barbells could be done using a full body movement like Power Cleans or Snatches. Several sets of 3 or 5 reps with little break between sets. 10-15 sets of 5 reps with your 10RM with like 30sec rest in between will get your heart pumping

50. on 30 Dec 2007 at 5:11 am50Ally

    OK–so for really overweight people–what high intensity exercise will not kill us?

51. on 30 Dec 2007 at 11:55 am51Mehdi

    If you’re really overweight, you’re most likely really out of shape. Start with strength training & moderate intensity cardio. Keep HIIT for later.

52. on 10 Jan 2008 at 8:23 pm52Lee

    OK. You guys are way WAY over my head and obviously Zen Masters at getting your fat to my dream numbers.

    Can we get to the KISS method for the rookies???
    keep is simple???

    IF we eat 1.5 to 2g of protein/lb of ideal body weight over 5 meals/day AND
    Keep carbs and fats to ____ grams. AND
    Total Calories are ____/day. AND
    Lift for ____ times a week for ____ minutes per session moderate intensity. AND
    Cardio machine of your choice for ___ minutes at ______
    Intensity, please check the correct box.
    ___ Constant
    ____ HIIT
    ____Other _________ for _____ times a week, assuming you have no life and you are able to ride/run/olip at 5 am or 9 pm….
    Lift before you run?
    Double split?
    Alternate?
    Supplement that will help?
    AM treadmill/bike on empty stomach better than fed?
    OK. If Am aerobics you have to lift first on empty stomach?
    Can we use Cellmass or NO Explode? Or comparable product?

    Thank you all for tolerating we idiots who are struggling at 20%BF.

53. on 10 Jan 2008 at 9:25 pm53Mehdi

    What’s your question Lee?

54. on 11 Jan 2008 at 12:51 am54Lee

    Is there a benefit to a long daily stationary bike ride?

    Thanks,

    Lee

55. on 11 Jan 2008 at 9:49 am55Mehdi

    It has benefits because it’s exercise, meaning you’re burning calories. But it’s not as effective (and fun) as strength training. More strength is more muscles, more muscles is more calories burned. Even when at rest. Couple that with 30mins cardio & you’ll do better.

    20% body fat is nothing. Many readers have more. Check out StrongLifts.com forum for some examples.

56. on 11 Jan 2008 at 10:34 am56Lee

    Thank you Mehdi. I really appreciate you advice.

    I have been training off and on for years. Free weights and indoor aerobic machines. I have used every split know to man and then some. My current protein intake is 300g/day. I have hit the weights hard the past 18 months and have little to show for it. I was just hoping for a formula to get the fat to 15-12% and a rule on how long to rest a muscle group before hitting it again. Currently I do: Chest/Tris, Back, Shoulders/Trap, Legs, Arms. Abs almost everyday. Some cardio after the workout. My diet is obviously screwed up bad. If I eat a lot I can lift a lot. If I don’t eat much I have no energy.

    Thank you,

    Lee

57. on 11 Jan 2008 at 11:09 am57Mehdi

    @Lee
    You’re welcome. In 18 months you should be Squatting over 100kg easily. You need to get strong, if you want to be muscular. Try StrongLifts 5×5 routine for 2 months. Download the eBook and try it.

58. on 14 Jan 2008 at 4:39 am58Cat

    This is an awesome site! It is like having my own personal trainer only for free and I am getting far more information in less time. I am a 45 year old mom of four and while my fitness and strength goals are verydifferent than the guys out there, I am no lightweight when it comes to really wanting to work hard to get results. Problem is, most workouts for women are too wimpy for me after a week or two. I certainly don’t want to be squatting olympic level weights, but I do want to build muscle and lose fat and, most importantly, get stronger so I can continue to enjoy all the activities in life that require strength and endurance. And I won’t mind it if the guys at the gym are actually impressed that an old lady like me (lol!) can actually stack some weight on and lift it (not as much as they do, but a respectable amount even so). I also don’t want to be muscle bound but some nice definition is something I strive for. I’m not overly fat or out of shape and have done much athletic and weight training activity in the past. I have been out of it for six months or so and want to start back seriously but sanely. Do you have any advice about where I should start and where on this site I should go to for me to start as I think about my fitness goals?
    Cat

59. on 14 Jan 2008 at 10:43 am59Mehdi

    @Cat
    Thanks for the motivating words. Women should train like men, same exercises, same reps, same sets, etc. You can start using StrongLIfts 5×5 program.

60. on 25 Jan 2008 at 9:38 pm60Doo

    Good exchange of nutrional ideas. I tried low carb but never got over craving carbs. Now I eat only low glycemic index fruits and vegetables with whole grains periodically. Mehdi’s comment about “individual approach” is right on. My plan for losing fat fast is to do so while I am working up from an empty bar. I aim for (weight X 16) - 500 kcal with 1g/lb protein with rest being healthy fats and low GI carbs.

61. on 03 Feb 2008 at 5:10 pm61mllesmw

    great website - thank you all!
    one question regarding HIIT: what resistance do you use when doing HIIT on a machine? All the walking/jogging examples are easy to understand but what about on a stationary bike or a nordic ski or elliptical: do you want the lowest resistance that will let you go fast or do you want to be working through resistance in addition to having speed?

62. on 03 Feb 2008 at 9:59 pm62Mehdi

    @mllesmw
    Use a resistance that allows you to get your BPM as high as possible. Too light won’t allow you to go fast, too heavy is also not good, something in between.

63. on 03 Feb 2008 at 11:52 pm63Lee

    mllesmw,

    Good question. I just turn the knob till it says, “balls to the wall.” Then keep going till have to turn it back to “Wuss.”

    Hope this helps.

    Lee

    PS. Get a heart monitor and hit 80% or better. The resistance will be different for everyone.

64. on 27 Feb 2008 at 8:06 pm64Sara

    Hi I have few questions.
    Im 5′4 feet and I weight 135lbs/62kg. I want to lose more weight and lose fat. I never drink anything else beside water. Sometimes I eat candies but thats not often.

    1. If I keep drinking about 8 ounce glasses of water a day for a long time, then suddenly I stop, will it get worse or what will happen?

    2. I try to drink 1 ounce glass every hour for 8 hours, everytime I drink, I fell my stomach is full. Does that streth my stomach? Is it bad?

    3. I work out my ass, legs, arms and stomach 40 minutes a day (10 mins each exercise). Is that enough to lose fat and get a better body?

    4. Does that matter when I eat? I usually eat whenever I feel like, not planned exactly time everyday.

    Thanks I appreciate if anyone answers.

65. on 25 Mar 2008 at 8:28 pm65Critique My Program - Weight Loss Forum

    [...] Originally Posted by Darth Pooh I will chime in as well. Mal is being polite… avoiding carbs is just stupid. Its the most EFFECTIVE source of immediate energy we can get. Don’t avoid them, just be smart as to which ones to eat, broccoli is an AWESOME carb for instance. Secondly, if you are doing HIIT 20 cycles… then it isn’t really HIIT. Let me explain, I could be way off base, but… I feel like I am fairly FIT in the sense of my athletic ability. 170-180’s heart rate is where I like to be… the HIGH end. Now, not to be a smart ass… but HIIT should make you want to throw up after the 6th or 7th time you "REV" it up… so I like to do 30 seconds of the most intense push I’ve ever done… then walk it out for 2:00. Then another 30… and so on. If I were to do this about eight times… we are looking at a MAX of 20 minutes… lets say I throw in a 4 minute warm up and a 4 minute cool down, that’s 28 minutes. So, you might be doing some really great interval training… but if you don’t want to puke or aren’t already from it… I don’t know if that is HIIT. There is a nice thread on it in the EXERCISE forum… Secondly, calories are crucial for your weight loss… you need to know the amount of "stuff" your putting in so you put out the right amount of "stuff" to be effective. Thirdly, You won’t gain any real muscle mass while trying to lose weight… so I suggest a full body workout, check out Steve’s easy yet effective basic lifts thread in the Exercise forum as well. You are doing isolation in parts… not that great for your goals. Will it work? Sure, but not at the optimal speed… There is a ton of knowledge for you to follow here… you just need to isolate what is the most effective. i don’t cut out all carbs because i know they are the most important source of energy but before i was getting to many carbs and now i get them from veggies and a banana i throw in a protein shake and the granola and toast i just don’t have them at night HIIT is very confusing still i just do what i explained because I lost weight before, i mean i know i will lose weight regardless but i want to lose fat not muscle mass and protein i take to not grow but to maintain my muscle mass right now i just want to drop FAT not lean mass or water or anything i don’t want to sound like I know a lot because i don’t but i have made serious improvements and thats y I am asking because i want to learn but i just really want to avoid loose skin and stuff i wanna look like Steve when I am all said and done and i know that could take years so i am in no rush but id like to look attractive for summer on or about July 8th my 20th birthday Again you guys know best but i hear to keep your Heart Rate at 160 for fat loss and even though i don’t monitor it i have had my heart rate at 180 and it feels like I am going to die i cant even get it that high with out taking some energy drink i get about 1900 calories before exercise maybe 1400 after I am always eating veggies and chicken i use these rules to live by: How to Lose Fat Fast | StrongLifts.com [...]

66. on 20 Apr 2008 at 6:31 am66andy

    Which would you prefer to burn more fat 3×30 or HIIT on stationary bike for 10-15 mins?

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