The Future of Nutrition and Body Transformation

Here is a nice article discussing the important nutrition contributions to optimal health and fitness.   http://bit.ly/QToByu 

Steps to Ideal Body Weight

Maintaining a healthy energy balance is critical to the success of your eating program. To lose 1 pound you will need to create a negative caloric balance of 3500 calories. To maintain or increase your lean mass as you lose weight you will need to increase your exercise while avoiding more than a 3,500 – 7,000 calorie deficit each week (500-1000 calories per day). Losing more than 1-2 lbs in any given week will cause losses in significant amounts of your lean mass (i.e., muscle weight) along with the body fat loss. Here are 10 steps to optimal weight management:

1. Keep a food & activity log. If your goal is weight loss, it’s important to get a realistic picture of how much and which foods you are eating. You may be underestimating or overestimating food intake. Write down or input online everything you eat and drink for a week or two. Then examine the log to see what changes you need to make to eat healthier. If you are      using the Training Peaks platform already then you may want to download the TP app on your smart phone or ipad. This app can make the process of logging and tracking your energy balance much easier.  Another app option is the Lose It app which works very well and is a free download. 

-         For the TP app go to http://home.trainingpeaks.com/products-mobile.aspx

-         For the Lose it app go to http://www.loseit.com

2. Stock up on fruits and vegetables. These foods are naturally low in fat and a great source of fiber. Because fiber creates a feeling of fullness without adding calories, you’ll eat less and get a natural source of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.
3. Consume Healthy Dairy Products. Low fat milk products are a great source of protein and calcium. This is critical for bone health, so unless you are lactose intolerant or allergic to dairy products, eat low-fat or non-fat diary products daily.
4. Choose Low-Fat Meats. If you include red meat in your diet, make sure you select lean cuts such as sirloin or round and ensure they are trimmed of excess fat. If you eat poultry, choose white meat without the skin. Use low-fat cooking methods such as grilling, broiling or baking versus deep frying. Try to include fish as a regular source of protein.
5. Eat Healthy Fats. Avoid foods that are high in trans fatty acids and partially hydrogenated oils, found in margarines and many processed foods.  Minimize butter and fried foods.
6. Control Portion Sizes. If you are eating too much you should begin by reducing portion sizes.      Serve meals in smaller dishes such as dinner off the smaller lunch plate (10 inches or less), pasta in the smaller cereal bowl and salad in the larger pasta bowl.  For more information see portion control recommendations.
7. Eat Several Small Meals Daily. Another strategy is to regularly consume small amounts. Try eating five to six mini-meals throughout the day. This method helps keep blood sugar levels stable and energy levels up and staves off the “everything but the kitchen sink” hunger level.
8. Practice the 80/20 Rule. A third strategy is to make the healthiest choices possible 80 percent of the time. This goal gives you permission to include all foods in your diet. You’ll benefit from variety, while reducing feelings of deprivation. This could equate to one cheat day a week where you eat what you want.
9. Focus on Nutrient Density. Make nutrient-dense foods, such as fruits, vegetables, beans and legumes the mainstay of your diet.
10. Regularly monitor your weight and body composition.  Weigh yourself daily (or weekly) at the same time of day each day (morning is best).  Periodically monitor your body fat% so that you can evaluate what kind of weight you are losing (body fat vs muscle) and modify you exercise and diet program accordingly. 

For accurate and reliable body composition measures and metabolic analysis (to determine your individual calorie needs) visit the Fit Stop Human Performance Lab for state of the art evaluation and consultation by an exercise physiologist.  For more information go www.fitstoplab.com or call 760-634-5169 or email kjnico@fitstop-lab.com 

Check out this great health promotion and weight loss app and site called Slim Kicker. Simple like "lose it" with lot's of incentives. http://ping.fm/Dj15P

Stoking Your Metabolic Furnace for Optimal Health & Fitness

Within the arena of health and fitness the term metabolic is thrown around quite a bit. We often hear and read about workouts or diet programs that “uniquely’ impact your metabolism so you burn more body fat &/or stimulate even higher fitness levels. But do these programs really work and how do we decide what type of metabolic focus is best for our particular needs?

Before we try to tackle the “what is the best” metabolic exercise - if there is such a thing - let’s first define the word metabolic. Metabolic or metabolism simply refers to the breakdown of food and its transformation into ENERGY. So, technically, any activity including breathing could be considered metabolic. However, typically when we see the term used in the context of promoting a particular type of exercise routine the implication is that the workout can increase the energy (calories) burned above what would be typical for a workout. The truth is there really are workouts that can create an environment where muscle is metabolically more active. More active muscles will lead to greater caloric burn. However, just finding more ways to recruit more muscle may not provide the whole picture of how we can optimize our fitness or health. By way of background and to narrow in on this topic a bit I have included a short description of several common metabolic related concepts that are often associated with exercise.

Metabolic Terms

There are quite a few promotional references that use metabolic to describe their program’s training benefits. Terms used to describe how energy is uniquely burned can include, but not exclusively; metabolic fitness, metabolic conditioning, resting metabolism, metabolic efficiency and even in a negative context as metabolic syndrome.

Metabolic Conditioning

Some popular exercise programs that are at times associated with the term “metabolic conditioning” are P90X, Cross Fit and programs that focus on high intensity interval training (HIIT). This type of program will typically stress variety, max muscle recruitment, and the requirement to consistently change ones exercise intensity and movement patterns during workouts. The training effect in this case is to promote continued challenge that pushes you through plateaus in your power, power endurance, strength, and of course, muscle tone with body fat reduction.

Metabolic Efficiency

Other more endurance oriented programs will focus on terms like metabolic efficiency (ME) which suggests that we can teach our body to use more fat as fuel which can provide even greater endurance, quicker recovery and potentially the ability to respond better to future more stressful training or lifestyle events. ME programs (see Metabolic Efficiency Training by Bob Seebahor) tend to stress lower intensity and progressively longer training efforts during certain phases in an annual training plan.

Metabolic Fitness

Along the same lines as ME the term Metabolic Fitness is commonly used within the endurance populations to promote training that will increase sustainable power or pace. These programs often focus heavily on improving an individual’s lactate or anaerobic thresholds (AT). This type of training will involve a variety of endurance focused workouts in addition to infrequent but longer intense interval sessions.

Metabolic Syndrome

On the health promotion side the term metabolic syndrome is really a negative byproduct of a lifestyle that is low in metabolic activity. Metabolic Syndrome is a condition of pre-diabetes where blood pressure, blood fats like triglycerides and cholesterol, blood sugar and belly fat are elevated above normal. Essentially this syndrome is the outcome of a lifestyle that is lacking in physical activity and associated with excessive and unhealthy eating habits. Metabolic syndrome can lead to heart disease, diabetes and other hypokinetic related diseases.

Resting Metabolism

In the quantification of energy or calories burned the term resting metabolism is often mentioned. This determination represents the calories that you will burn on average each day if you laid in bed and did nothing all day. We can test this value through indirect methods using a metabolic analyzer or we can predict the value from regression equations that have been constructed using body weight, gender and age. When determining energy expenditure from the use of a metabolic analyzer we obtain a resting energy expenditure (REE) value. This value can be added to other activity formulas or estimated using heart rate, in order to add additional energy burned through your physical activity. With these estimates it is possible to determine your food consumption requirements for the purpose of maintaining, losing, or gaining weight. Achieving a small deficit (200-500 kcals) in daily caloric intake through a combination of diet and exercise has been repeatedly proven to be the best way to achieve healthy and long-lasting weight loss with improved body composition. For athletes with a very high training volume this information will help them tailor their diet to ensure that they are getting adequate daily nutrition to meet the demands put on their bodies.

To help you track your energy balance there are several great mobile apps available. Below are two suggestions:

1. The Lose it app is very easy to use and it’s free at http://www.loseit.com/?tag=cws

2. Training Peaks (TP) app which also connects to a comprehensive training log and planner at http://home.trainingpeaks.com/products-mobile.aspx

What’s your metabolic focus?

All the aforementioned metabolic concepts are well substantiated but often misunderstood by the everyday exerciser and even some trainers and coaches. It is important to not only know the difference between the terms but also how to integrate each concept into your own plan, taking into account your limitations and personal goals. Below are a few examples of how to maximize metabolic adaptations to meet certain objectives and goals.

1. If your goal is a high overall fitness and a lower body fat level, especially if time is a limiter in your training program, then metabolic conditioning can be very effective. Because the workouts often include circuit style training that can incorporate both cardio and strength components at the same time, then workouts can be shortened while maintaining a high volume of training. With the appropriate ramp up in training volume your potential training effect can be quite high which can stimulate a greater energy burn potential both during and after your workouts. In other words, as you move up your fitness level you can burn more calories because you can do more work and because you did more work you may even burn more calories during the recovery period.

However, there are some potential downsides to this type of training. Any time you add a progressive intensity that relies heavily on high intensity interval training (HIIT, see zone 5 examples here) &/or explosive and heavy lifting the risk of injury goes up. Depending on your current fitness level and any existing limitations (i.e., age, heart risk factors, pre-existing injury, poor posture and alignment problems) this type of training may be counterproductive. You should also keep in mind that even though studies have shown that you can significantly increase your aerobic capacity (i.e., VO2 Max) from short but intense HIIT training this does not mean you will necessarily be able to experience a strong finish in events that last longer than an hour (e.g., ½ marathons or triathlons, mountain climbs, etc.).

2. Generally speaking, metabolic conditioning on its own does not provide a sufficient training effect for finishing strong in the longer stamina oriented events that require a more endurance training focus. If your goal is to walk, run, swim or ride faster for longer periods of time or you want energy that sustains you for long adventures like; mountain climbing, extensive hiking and/or long distance cycling then you will benefit to the greatest extent by focusing on your metabolic efficiency and metabolic fitness. This typically requires several longer workouts (sometimes over an hour sustained) during the week and eventually some higher intensity interval sessions as well. (See zones 1-4 for description of these workouts here). The goal of training that promotes metabolic efficiency (ME) is to help you spare your limited energy sources (i.e., stored carbohydrates) by using fat more effectively and at a higher work rate level. Which really means you can hike, run or ride a little faster while still using energy systems that use a high percentage of fat as your fuel source. ME training (i.e., lower intensity zones 1-2) can improve your stamina and how much energy you have for the longer more moderate activities.

The downside of focusing on low intensity training alone is that it will only have a limited effect on your ability to keep pushing up your calorie burn potential and fitness capacity. In order to increase not only your fat burning ability but also a sustainable higher fitness level you will need to begin focusing on training that pushes up your lactate or anaerobic threshold (see zones 3-4) . This training promotes Metabolic Fitness (MF) which will require mixing the lower intensity training with some shorter but harder efforts. Unlike HIIT however, these AT intervals will include a bit longer intensity efforts (2-10 minutes) which are at a less than 100% effort. Generally, the intensity is at or slightly above the AT.

Because endurance training generally requires you to focus more specifically on sustaining not more than one or two exercise modes (e.g., walk, Run and/or bike) at a time there is a limited cross over effect to improve other critical fitness areas like your strength, power and elasticity. Thus it is important to include additional strength and core conditioning workouts to your weekly endurance program. The right progression and mix of ME and MF with some strength training will not only provide great endurance effects but can help you also to develop that leaner, lighter and more muscular body that many are looking for.

There are some programs which try to incorporate MC, ME and MF all together (see Cross-fit Endurance). Keep in mind though, RECOVERY is always king so it is important to control the training stimulus so that you can recover fully from each workout. Mixing in too much MC may lead to too much intensity and too little recovery. This unhealthy combination can compromise your training effect and even your health.

The down side of endurance focused training is that not only is the time commitment extensive but also the repetitive nature of some endurance training and events can predispose you to overuse injury. Following a well thought out and systematic plan is critical to your success. See coaching.

3. If your goal is primarily to optimize your health by lowering body weight and improving cardiovascular and muscular strength then integrating a more moderate approach to ME, MF and even MC could be very beneficial to insuring a training approach that lasts. The critical factors here, as in all the above scenarios as well, is that any approach to adding more exercise than you are accustomed to should be progressed systematically and at a rate that reflects your current health and injury status. Individuals who have been sedentary for long periods of time or who have a history of injury problems or other health limitations will need to practice a very conservative approach to moving up their fitness. This most often will require consultation with your physician first and individualized instruction from a trained fitness professional.

Ultimately the program that focuses on optimal health and fitness will start with several months of lower intensity ME type training (zone 1-2) that will include a light weight strength program that targets postural exercises that promote good alignment and core stability. Eventually additional resistance will be added for greater strength improvement and one or two AT interval workouts can also be added each week (see zones 3-4). Once a platform of sufficient functional strength, ME and MF is established then, if desired and appropriate, more aggressive routines can be added, including some MC training.

In summary, the best programs will be the ones that best encompass the entirety of our current physical needs and aspirations. Sometimes we will have to give up one type of fitness to perform better in the other. But no matter what concept you follow it should match your ability to perform it safely and it should enable you to recover from from each workout fully and regularly. Sometimes the process is more important than the immediate product. Stay away from programs that claim quick results while overwhelming your abilities to cope. Be willing to buck the trends and follow programs that really meet your particular and immediate needs. There are a variety of metabolic equations that can lead to burning more calories than you consume. Choose your program well.

For a full assessment of your exercise needs and guidance on how to best set-up your program to meet those needs go to http://www.fitstoplab.com and get started today.

Are you a good fat burner? Find out what it means to be Metabolically Efficient and never run out of energy. Go to http://ping.fm/je4Ll

Fat Burning: Fact vs. Fiction

Here is a very succinct and helpful video on how to work at weight management. Here at the Fit Stop we provide the parameters to train by and a further explanation of how to best progress the mix in your trainig and eating patterns.

Maximizing Strength to Weight Ratio - Part 1

Like with many training goals to get your best end result you will more than likely target an example or model of the outcome you have in sight. If your goal is to be more competitive in an endurance event then all you have to do is look at the podium in that event and you can identify some traits that tend to be common amoung the winners. If your target is road racing on a bike then your model body type would be light, thin on top with a significant amount of power producing mass in the lower body, whereas if you were modeling a triathlete you might find athletes who are light but they would typically show up with a little more mass in the upper body. On the other end of the spectrum if your goal event was to be a competitive olympic rower you would no doubt see bodies that were still lean but quite a bit heavier since they are required to produce enough power to move themselves and their boat or shell faster than their competitors over a relatively short period of time. Not only do different types of events suggest the optimal body type but the duration of the event will dictate which type of athlete will reach the podium. Generally longer endurance events like marathons or triathlons will favor light athletes while short sprinting type events which require explosive power over a short distance will usually favor the larger body types.

Whatever your target, one thing that is common to all these athletes is that they do not carry any excess weight that does not produce some form of power for their event. Muscle is the power producer while body fat does not produce power and is generally sufficient for your health in only relatively small amounts. So any excess in body fat is a limitation whether you are sustaining long bouts of exercise or short sprints. Granted - some sports like football and power lifting may require very high absolute mass levels to perform well and even excess fat can create a more powerful affect when trying to move another heavy mass. But if we are talking about the ability to move quickly and efficiently the LEANer mass (not fat) is most critical to high performance. This is why when we are evaluating an athlete's physical fitness and performance we typically will look at their strength relative to their weight. For cyclists we measure fitness performance by looking at their watts (power) per kilogram of body weight. A cyclist who is a mountain specialist will need to generate a very high wattage per kilogram of their body weight at their lactate threshold (LT) or functional threshold (FT) to be competive on the hills. This means they have to be light but at the same time able to generate a relatively high sustainable power to be competitive. A power to weight ratio of 5.0-6.0 or more is typically required for the top competitors. That means if you could generate 400 watts at your LT (that's a lot) than your weight would need to below 145 lbs to have more than a 6.0 watt/kg. Calc: 145/2.2 = 66 kg, that's 400 watts/66 kg = 6.1 watts/kg. Sprinters (cyclists) on the other hand will require a high sustainable power but also will need to be able to generate high levels of absolute power for the all out sprint. This means they will typically be heavier with huge power producing thighs.

Endurance runners will also need to generate a powerful pace relative to their body weight. You will typically see thinner, lighter athletes in the longer events and slightly larger athletes with more mass for short or middle distances. Some researchers have estimated that for every 1% reduction in body fat you can see a 1% increase in running speed. For triathletes the same is true, a higher power to weight ratio will equate to a faster run and ride.

Now, don't go out and start cutting weight by shutting down the fuel supply and exercising into oblivian just yet - there are limits to what you can lose and how you should lose it. As with any fitness endeavor you do not want to abuse you fitness to get light. My next post will discuss the optimal training guidelines for optimizing your strength to weight ratio.

P.S. to find out your power to weight ratio go to www.fitstop-lab.com/fitnesstesting.htm and get evaluated today. Choose the Cardio-Metabolic Exercise Profile - and check for specials at http://www.fitstop-lab.com/

Interval Training Burns More Fat, Increases Fitness, Study Finds

Keep in mind when evaluating the study below that "quicker" fitness does not necessarily mean optimal. Your goal will dictate the specificity of your training. If you are looking to run a marathon then interval training is only one small (all be it important) componant to your training plan. Or if you are focussed on "Finshing Strong" - then getting fit "quickly" is not as critical. "Quickly" can also suggest to me a greater potential for overuse injury. Be smart and have fun!

Interval Training Burns More Fat, Increases Fitness, Study Finds

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What's the "Fat Burning" Zone

As with many concepts related to exercise and it's benefits, the effects and the rate of change can be quite specific to each individual, especially when talking about weight loss or body fat changes. However, science does give us some suggestions that can be helpful when trying to maximize your ability to burn fat without jeopardizing your health or your endurance potential.
Specifically, related to the question "should I workout slower to optimize "fat burning?" Let me suggest that there is indeed a specific zone of intensity where you will burn the highest amount of fat calories per minute. Unfortunately, depending on the individual, those fat calories may not add up very quickly. For example, during metabolic exercise testing and through a method call indirect calorimetry, scientists can evaluate the concentration of fat and carbohydrates that are utilized for energy at different intensities. Usually, during rest and at the lower exercise intensities we see the highest percentage of fat utilized. Keep in mind though, at rest and low intensity the overall calorie burn is quite low. So, if you are exercising in zone 1 you may be burning mostly fat, but your calories expended will take a very long time to add up to weight lossed. Additionally, if you are not at a high fitness level you may be burning even less fat because you are doing even less work. For example, an elite level triathlete may be able to run an 8-minute mile pace and still maintain his or her heart rate in zone one (i.e., very low relative intensity). Running at that speed will require a very generous amount of calories to sustain and most of it will be derived from fat. Alternatively, If I were running an 8-minute mile pace my level of intensity would be much higher and closer to, if not exceeding, the lactate threshold. That would put me at a zone 3 or 4 intensity level (i.e., hard sustainable), which would require utilizing mostly carbohydrates since I'm already exceeding my fat burning zones.

NOW KEEP IN MIND if I weighed the same as the elite athlete we would be burning close to the same amount of total calories to run that 8-minute mile pace. If we both ran an hour the elite athlete will have burned most of his or her calories from fat while I will have depleted much of my carbohydrate stores and very little fat due to "harder training".

QUICK REVIEW: As exercise intensity goes up so does the overall calorie expenditure, however the fat burn will usually increase only to a limited expenditure rate as other energy systems need to take over. Often, as your intensity approaches and surpasses the lactate threshold, metabolic testing reveals little to no fat calories expended and energy is derived from nearly 100% carbohydrates.
So, according to the above analogy you might surmise that I need to slow down if I am going to burn fat and ultimately lose body fat. However, things are not always how they seem. In reality my goal should be to become fitter so that when I run in zone 1 or 2 I am not doing a shuffle step or walk to keep my heart rate down. I do this by training at levels that stimulate continued improvement in my lactate threshold (LT). Training to increase my LT or sometimes referred to as the anaerobic threshold has been shown to be most effective when combining a variety of training levels. Specifically, sometimes I should train at or slightly above the lactate threshold (zones 3-4) to stimulate LT overload adaptations and other times during longer bouts (zone 1-2)to enhance aerobic kinetics and fat burning adaptations. So there are different adaptations at different intensities (i.e., specificity of training).

Special Note: Recovery after the harder workouts is a key to seeing threshold improvements. As my threshold improves so does my sustainable pace and so does my ability to burn more fat calories and the total calories during exercise.

Also, keep in mind the fact that burning off the extra body fat is dependent on how many total calories you expend at the end of the day as compared to how many you take in from food. So the additive effect of all exercise and activity will promote body fat loss.

Let me introduce a couple more energy/training related concepts that might help you further understand the mechanisms involved with burning calories and losing body fat.

1. In the lab exercise scientists have discovered that exercise that is intense but sustainable (at or around your LT) for bouts up to an hour can have significant effects on how many calories you burn post exercise. There is a term for this called EPOC or excess post oxygen consumption. This concept suggests that you not only can burn calories during exercise but when sufficient work levels are sustained we can see additional calories, specifically fat, burned for several hours after exercise. However, usually individuals who are not very fit will have limited benefit from extra fat burned post exercise because they are generally not able to sustain work rates high enough to accumulate much of an additive effect from the fat burned. SPECIAL NOTE: hard sustained exercise creates higher EPOC which also requires a longer recovery period because of the stress on the system and depleted energy stores.

2. There are studies that show elite endurance athletes who burn well over 4,000 kcals per day often may only consume 2500-3000 kcals. These athletes continued to function and train for months on end and didn't necessarily continue to lose body fat (note: this low calorie intake is quite common among endurance athletes). Studies observed that the athlete’s metabolism adjusted to adapt to the limited energy intake by holding on to the stored fat. It was suggested that the training effect was also compromised due to the lower fuel intake. The point I am making here is that how much and when you fuel your body can have an effect on your ability to use and burn fat. High stress loads with limited fuel restoration and recovery can effect metabolism for the worse.

In summary, how to maximize your body fat burn is often a comprehensive and somewhat complicated approach, not usually accomplished by quick and easy methods. We've all heard that there are no good quick solutions like pills and starvation diets. Similarly, even the "fat burn zone" by itself is not as easy an answer as we might like.

Good luck and keep challenging your training - you will win in the end if you train smart and continue to learn as much as you can.

These exercises or lifestyle changes should not be attempted if you experience any discomfort, pain or dizziness. If you have a history of knee or back pain, high blood pressure or musculoskeletal injuries, you should seek medical advice and the expert services of a trained fitness professional.