product advice

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>Kerry >

I am just after some advice to assist in my on going training.>>

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I have been training now for 18 months, when I first started training I was 21st 2lb, I have no dropped to 14st 3lb and want to loose probably in the region of another stone. The programme that I have been following at the moment is weight training 3 times a week roughly 30-45 mins and cardio training 3 times a week 60 mins per session with a 20lap swim at then end leaving a Sunday as complete rest day.>>

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I regularly buy the Mens Health magazine and read about the supplements and things like that but I really don’t know what would be best for me to assist with my programme. After loosing so much weight I know have excess tissue and I am at a stage where I want to tone up rather than gain muscle and add weight.>>

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I am 5ft 11 and quite a broad body frame and already have a fair muscle size it’s just toning up that I would need assistance in and I was wondering if you could provide advice on what products would be best and when would be the best times to use this.>>

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I have followed a slimming world red and green day diet which has worked for me which consists of carbs and meat on red days and pasta and proteins on a green day, any products you suggest would also have to fit in with my food diet as well as my training programme.>>

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Look forward to hearing from you>>

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kk - First of all congratulations and if you are still losing, great. I got asked a very similar question and answered it in some depth so rather than repeat myself, I have cut and pasted it :-


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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Kerry,

Thanks for your response. I am still loosing I am hoping to drop another stone and hopefully then I will start to see some more results visually from toning up.

I tend to stick to Weight training Monday, Wednesday and Friday which I will alternate which body part I am working and my cardio sessions will be Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.

With this I will do:

Tuesday - 30 mins on bike this being 25 mins on resistance 11 and the last 5 mins on 16 and then the treadmill for 1 30 min run which i am gradually increasing my spead and duration each session

Thursday - 30 mins rower & 30 mins on cross trainer

Saturday - 30 mins on stairmaster & 30 mins on Cross trainer

after readung your response I understand about little and oftern and I am at the moment eating 4 times a day roughly 2-3 hours between each, the problem I am finding is i have my dinner before the gym and find myself hungry an hour or so afterwards and I was looking into what would be best supplements to use post workout

The snacks I have at the moment between the main meals of breakfast, lunch and dinner will consist of things like yoghurts and fruit salads, would you suggest I would change these to a protein supplement?

Also by reducing the carbs and sugars woudl this affect my performance in mv CV sessions?

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Hi mate, I guess your Bens mate !! In my opinion, post workout you would probably be best with pro recover. I know there are lots of carbs in here but straight after training after a heavy workout like the one you had last night this is exactly what your body needs. However, I dont think this would cure your hunger. The XS Bars are also a good protein supplement which I usually use around 90 minutes before my gym session. Is it not possible to have your dinner after your gym session and replace it with maybe a protein shake or something before you go. As for your drop in carbs and sugars, I used to have a lucozade every day and Kerry adviced me against it. Since then, I havent noticed any kind of problems energy wise at all. And I dont get enough carbs in a day so I wouldnt worry about that. You work in an office so your hardly needing any energy in the daytime anyway. Keep up the good work mate its good to see the results when someone like yourself puts in so much effort.

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kk - Dont be frightened of being hungry, you are on a restricted kcalorie (energy) intake. If you are not hungry, it means you are not doing without, if you are not doing without, why should your body cannibalise body fat for energy.

Yes, reducing carbs/sugars will give you less energy and technically could affect your cv work, but less energy (providing you dont get ridiculously low) means your body needs to cannibalise more body fat which is your goal.

If your protein is low, your body will cannibalise muscle, just like when your energy is low, it cannibalises body fat so make sure you are having enough protein.

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Morning Ste,

Yep I am Ben's mate the ones that has been over training him haha

I am thinking I am going to keep my same meal times but I am going to get some pro recover as I can have this after CV sessions and also my wieght sessions and I am thinking then the XS bars to sure the hunger in the evening times - if needed.

I have dropped the weight now and I want to start toning up, apart from some fat burners like thermobol I havent really used any supplements

But every magazine I read and every forum is giving the advise to use them so I think I am going to try them out properly and then see what kind of results I get.

I will send some pictures in with Ben to show you the size I was and he has got pictures on his phone of the size I am now seen as he is very trigger happy with his camera haha

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Kerry,

I understand this a lot better now

So by reducing my carb intake this will cannibalise my body fat which your right is what I want to do, and by increasing my protein intake will aid the toning of my muscles whilst training?

I was thinking to use the pro recover after my gym sessions and then if needs be in the evening when I do tend to find myself hungry again I could have say the XS protein bars or the flap jacks? what do you reckon?

I already have some protein for shakes so I will use that for now until it has ran out and then I have been recommended the pro peptide as a better option for the protein shakes?

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You have done the hard part mate shifting the amount of weight that you have in the last 12 months or so. The last bit is always the hardest !! Im no expert on far burners but Im sure they would assist you now you have come this far. There was an offer on Sida Cordifolia on this site ecently for buy one get one free. Im sure Kerry will give you some advice on which fat burners to take. Pro Recover should be used by all weight trainers in my opinion, if your looking for a snack in the evening Id use the XS bar over the flapjack as it contains less carbs. And as for Preotein Shakes, Pro-Peptide before bed would be a good one.

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Ste,

I was thinking the same with the XS bars as they are lower in the sugar and saturated fats aswell arent they?

I am going to get some pro-peptide once I have used the stuff I have got

Cheers for your advise its appreciated mate

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No worries mate, the only downside is some people dont like the XS Bars I quite like the chocolate ones now but I know Ben wasnt too keen though I still think he ate them all !! I only opened my Peptide this week and the chocolate is well nice 450ml of ice cold water and 2 scoops of peptide, just hope the results are as good as the taste

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I like the Caramel XS bars. They are a bit chewier than the flap-jacks but still very nice.

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Afternoon,

Well I exceeded my overall target wieght now anyway this weekend. I have been at it now a year and a half and I have got to 13stone 13lb this week so i have achieved what I set out to do, but now I want to drop my body fat figure and tone up

We dropped our reps and upped the weights in our sets this week and I could feel the difference on the 2 sessions that we did so going to trial that for a few weeks running up to our holidays so how we go

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If you set yourself a target over the next 3 weeks befor eyou go away you will be fine. Eat clean, train hard, do your cardio and Im sure you will be where you want to be.