How can i stay lean(ish)

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hi all...unsure if kerry or anyone can just give me some quick advice-i have just started using Thermobol,as i really hate my flabby stomach..i havent ever competed and one day hope too in a natural comp...i use pro-recover,glutamine,creatine(powder) and pro desserts now and again with a few maxmuscle protein drinks..my body is coming on great,but i havent seen my abs as yet!!

i have upped the cardio and started on the fat burners-this isnt for a competiton,just i feel fat all the time,and it depresses me..is there any way of keeping leanish all year round,or is it how it suppose too be? will i lose a lot of muscle doing this..i currently weigh aprox 13st at 5ft 10ins...i have upped the protein intake a bit more,and cut down on cals,but feel bloody lethargic...bit confused....thanks........

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Kerry will school you on this topic, but my advice:

Keep the diet clean, avoid extra carbs after your workout. Lots of protein and moderate healthy fats.

Do cardio - Running is probably the best way to attack the belly.

If you want noticeable abs, get your bodyfat under 10%. 13 Stone 5 is not too heavy for 5'10'', you probably just have a bit of a gut. Remember, the gut is the last thing to go when losing weight, it just takes time mate. The same goes for the waist.

We all want to be huge and shredded, it's the ultimate goal in bodybuilding. Take one thing at a time mate, you will get there with hard work.

Try and calculate your calorie intake. How long have you been working out?

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kk - Anything you injest (protein, carbs, fats, alcohol) contain kcalories, a kcalories is not a nutrient, it is a measurement of energy. We have all got a metabolism and our metabolism (metabolic rate) requires kcalories for our bodies to survive.

If you eat more kcalories than your body needs, you will gain weight, if you eat fewer kcalories than your body needs you will lose weight. The type of weight you gain or lose is determines by what type of kcalories you eat.

Your body normally uses carbs and fats for energy (it can use other nutrients in certain circumstances) and if you eat too many carbs and fats your body will store the kcalories from them as body fat so simply put, body fat is energy (for future use in times of need) that you have not metabolised. If you had metabolised (used) it, it wouldn't be there. As body fat is stored energy normally from carbs and fats, muscle is stored protein from the protein you have injested.

To lose weight (on the scales) you only want to lose body fat so you should only be deficient in energy foods, normally carbs and fats and definitely alcohol as there is no nutritional value in alcohol. The kcalories from alcohol are known as empty kcalories. If you are deficient in protein as well your body will cannibalise muscle to make up its deficiencies so you can have an example as follows:-

You cut back on your energy foods and protein and you start to lose weight on the scales but you can go from 90 kilos to 80 kilos and not look any better as all you have done is photostatted yourself smaller. If you took a photograph at 90 kilos and 80 kilos, put the together and you might not see any visual difference as you've lost muscle and fat.

If you cut back on your energy foods and keep your protein to 1.5 grams per pound of bodyweight (3.3 per kilo) your body will only cannibalise body fat. Why should it cannibalise muscle? as you are injesting enough protein. this way if yo ugo from 90 kilos to 80 kilos you will only lose body fat so if you take 2 photograph you will see a dramatic difference, you will look more muscular as you have dropped the outer layer of body fat that was hiding this effect.

Cutting back on your food this way which will visually retain more muscle will also keep your metabolic rate higher as muscle requires more kcalories than body fat. When you cut back on your energy foods you must avoid cutting back dramatically as this can slow down your metabolism (your basic metabolic rate). Or keep your energy foods reasonably constant but increase the amount of energy you use by doing a lot more CV work or preferably a bit of both. Another good trick is to avoid simple carbohydrates which are carbs that get absorbed into the blood stream fast. They are normally anything that is processed, eating simple carbs will elevate your blood sugar levels very quickly and as your body does not like high blood sugar levels it releases a hormone called insulin which takes all that sugar out of the blood but as that sugar is energy (and your body will never waste energy) its lipogenic which means it converts that energy to body fat. you can have a scenario where you are not eating a lot of carbs but the carbs you are eating are processed and ending up as body fat.

Your metabolism is how many kcalories you can metabolise per meal NOT per day. You need to drip feed your metabolism (the old saying eat small and often) this is the only way to keep your metabolism at its best. Lets pretend that we know exactly the correct amounts of macro/micro nutrients that your metabolism needs and lets pretend that that is 3000 kcalories of protein, carbs, fats, vitamins, minerals, fibre, antioxidants and water. We have worked it out scientifically and it is exact, taking into account your workload (energy in - energy out) but you only eat 2 or 3 times a day.

Those 3000 kcalories, we blend in lets say the 4 litres of water a day that you consume and we've got the perfect jug of nutrition. Imagine on a table there are only 2 or 3 mugs (these mugs represent your 2 or 3 meals). We now pour that perfect daily mug of nutrition (3000 kcalories in the correct nutritional ratios) into the mugs but when we pour it, it doesn't fit, it overflows. This means 1) We are not metabolising some needed nutrients and it was the perfectly measured jug of nutrient we are now deficient in some nutrients and 2) Those nutrients that we have not metabolised (not used them) your body will not waste them, so they get conveted to future energy which is body fat.

Lets repeat the process but this time put 5 or 6 mugs on the table which represent eating small and often, approximately every 3 hours, that perfect jug of nutrition gets poured in to those 5 or 6 mugs, this time it fits in meaning you get all those nutrients and there is no waste, no body fat.

What I am trying to say is not everybody with body fat is a glutton, they just eat the wrong carbs (simple) or try and eat too many kcalories per meal not per day. They don't eat enough protein and cut back dramatically sommetimes on their carbs which slows down their metabolism.

Now I will answer your question:-

Do plenty of CV work this will use energy.

Eat a minimum of 5 times a day, always try and make those nutrients clean, no sugars, no sauces.

Have 1.5 grams of protein per pound of body weight (3.3 per kilo) spread over those 5 or 6 meals this way all the protein you injest will be metabolised (used by your body).

Do you truly need to take a fat burner or would it not be better to do an extra little bit of CV work or eat that little bit less energy. If you take stimulants it can cause a cascade of problems. You can increase a hormone called cortisone which is a catabolic hormone (could eat muscle). Also, the protein powder you have mentioned is a denatured cheese whey and some of that protein will be used as energy (there are medical studies to back this up).

Try all these tips and let me know how you go on.

There are plenty of dieting tips on the CNP website and plenty of information on the protein

http://www.cnpprofessional.co.uk/blog.php/why-cnp-professionals-pro-peptide-pro-mr-and-pro-ms-are-better-than-all-other-protein-powders-blog-431.html?

http://www.cnpprofessional.co.uk/download-training-plans.php

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thanks danny and kerry....its soooooooo confusing....! in my gym they keep saying if i drop the carbs i will lose muscle size and never grow..i have grown,but my belly has too... i drink or eat protein every 3 hours...my goal is just too look good and see my abs again..themobol is making me bloody hungry all the time,driving me insane!! so, i have a protein shake or meal bar,but it dont seem too stop the hunger for long..if then have a bit more protein so my muscle dont waste away-i end up sat on the loo as i am overdoing it!



i am doing treadmill x3 a week upto 3 miles each time- and stationary bike 25 mins x2..abs as many as poss for a good half hour x2... i dont drink alchol at all.. should i avoid carbs as much as possible,or just lower them,as i have got a tub of cnp mass and its the only drink with milk and 2 scoops that fills me up... many thanks kerry for your most respected advice on here...

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i have been working out seriously around a year as i had a lay off with a bad back and moving house danny...but my body changed shape remarkably well,followed by my gut!!

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work out what you daily amount of protein should be and the divide it by say 7, that figure will be what you should eat at each meal, whatever carbs you are taking in try having them in the first part of the day and spread your fats out evenly with the protein, try doing cardio in the morning before breakfast as supposedly this is the best time to do it and it also makes you feel a lot more alert during the day for some reason, i also do cardio in the evening after training for 45 mins when dieting as i am now, dont forget to drink plenty of water too, i know it sounds complicated but you will soon get the hang of it and reach your goals a lot quicker

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thanks kez........i do cardio days seperatley,due too my job and when i do a weight training day i am normally too exhausted so dont put in the effort..is it possible too still add muscle when trying too lower carbs etc? also,should i still keep adding a little extra poundage and into the 8-12 rep range or highr reps lower weight sort of thing?

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i would just concentrate on one thing at a time at first, ie losing fat........ as far as your weight training goes just stick to what you have been doing but dont expect to get any stronger when dieting and on low carbs as it wont happen, your aim is to keep what muscle you have got whilst losing fat so remember to keep your protein at 1.5g per lb of bodyweight so you wont lose any, also try and do some cardio after your weight sessions, weight training duration should be no more than 30mins large body part and 15-20 for a small, anymore than that and you could be over training or not training hard enough

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thanks again kez.....i actually can see my top 4 abs under tension which isnt too bad for me- i am SCARED of carbs at the min..will keep the protein up and take the creatine and glutamine..and as KK said watch my intake of calories...