This is what I’ll be tackling over the holidays:
My mouth is watering just thinking about it.
Can’t wait.
Anyway, I know a lot of people tend to pack on weight over the holidays simply because they eat too much.
To counteract this, you could try intermittent fasting.
Here’s how to do it:
Thanks to everyone who posted a comment / question on Part 1 – I appreciate the feedback and as promised, here are #2 and #3.
Doctor Wong’s Supplement Secret #2 – Cheap and Easy Fat Burning ‘Supplement’
This one is super easy – all you’ve gotta do is drink a cup of coffee (250-300 ml) about an hour before your workout.
If it’s drip coffee, a cup has about 150-200 mg of caffeine, which is right around the amount that you want to increase fat burning.
Caffeine helps to burn fat by triggering your body to release more fat from cells for energy use, and it also ramps your nervous system up a bit, which can help you train harder.
Unfortunately, if you’re a coffee addict, you’re going to be desensitized to the caffeine, so it’s a good reason for you to get your habit under control.
Seriously – lots of guys are addicted to coffee and miss out on its fat burning properties because of it.
So if you’re drinking more than a cup in the morning, try to cut it down, and learn how to drink it black, as the sugar and cream aren’t doing you any good.
One thing to note is that if you’re training in the evening at 5pm or after, you may want to avoid this tip, as the caffeine might keep you up, which will hamper your recovery if you can’t sleep.
But if you know you can sleep no prob, then go for it.
Compare the price of a cup of home-brewed coffee to a fat burning supplement like Hydroxycut and you’ll quickly save mucho dineros.
On to #3…
Step 1 – Take a look at this breakfast combo (I’m actually in the middle of eating as I write this):
Step 2 – Now, take a look at a pic of my abs (again, taken in the middle of eating the food above and writing this post):
If you read a lot of the articles and advice talking about how much you should eat, different experts have different opinions.
With respect to calories, the bottom line is that it can’t be determined by anyone other than you. You’ve got to notice the effects of how you’re eating on your body.
If you’re gaining fat week after week or have crazy energy level changes right after a meal, you’ve got to notice what you’ve been doing and make changes and notice what happens to you when you make those changes consistent.
Here’s a pic of a recent breakfast of mine:
Now, if you compare this to the typical advice given by top sports nutritionists, you’d think that I was undereating calorie-wise, I didn’t eat enough protein and I’m probably losing muscle mass.
They often say you need to eat 2 eggs and 6 egg whites in the morning and a couple pieces of fruit, and eat like that 6 times a day.
Well, the bottom line for my body is that I’ve been eating like this for years now, and the facts are:
You’ll often hear WHAT to eat, but you’ll almost never, ever hear HOW to eat to get the best results.
Well here’s a HOW that is so important to you from a performance, health, and MONEY-SAVING point of view:
Nutrition-itsu Principle #4 – Master the Art of Breathing
This is a simple principle I teach in my Nutrition-itsu program (you get this when you order my Ultimate MMA Strength & Conditioning Program or MMA Ripped).
What it’s all about is taking the time to breathe when you’re eating. When you take the time to breathe as opposed to ‘choke’ food down, a few things happen:
You give your body time to tell you it’s full, limiting over-eating and improving digestion because your system doesn’t have to handle a huge load of food, backing the system up.
Think about it – when you’re driving on the highway when there’s too many cars on the road, what happens? Exactly – traffic, gridlock, and stress. Same thing when you cause too much ‘traffic’ in your digestive system.
You give your body oxygen, which is needed in every chemical reaction to break food down to produce energy. Think of your metabolism as a fire. How do you get a fire burning hot? That’s right – you fan it, blow on it, or find some other way to give it more oxygen. Same thing goes for your metabolic fire.
So what this all means to you is that you’ll digest more effectively so you don’t need to eat as much to get more out of the food you are eating.
I’ve had clients get rid of problems like heartburn, gas, bloating, and indigestion simply using this one principle.
Plus, your metabolism will be fired up, helping to provide you with lots of energy and helping you stay lean.
This tip is FREE for you to implement right away and will give you these benefits and more. Focus on the HOW, and you’ll get more out of whatever the WHAT is.
Let me know your thoughts, results if you use this, or if you have another TIP to share with us.
If you’ve ever heard some fitness professionals talk, they make it seem like cardio is the worst thing ever. They make it sound very black and white like cardio = fatness.
Now while I agree that just doing cardio is not the best use of your exercise time, I do contend that you can lose fat with cardio as your only mode of exercise. The thing is, most types of cardio doesn’t help your overall movement, it doesn’t make you stronger or better able to navigate the demands of everyday life, and it can wreak havoc on your joints if you don’t have an efficient running gait or your body isn’t strong enough to take the impact of running. Every step you take when running causes an impact 4-7 times your body weight. If your muscles aren’t ready for it – your joints are going to take this impact and complain at you later.
Important Tip: if you’re currently out of shape and you want to run, first get in shape through strength training and lose some fat by changing your eating habits, then start running.
Anyway, if you want to get lean, running long distance can help, and it definitely is good for your heart and lungs. Just remember the caveats above. But like any exercise, you have to constantly force your body to do more than it’s used to, otherwise why would your body change?
To illustrate my point that runners can get lean, here are some pictures from a 30km race that was held in Hamilton/Burlington called the Around the Bay race. The track comes right in front of my house. Plus, check out the dude in the pink tutu – he’s pretty lean!
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One of the most important things to make sure you’re doing to make progress and continually get results is to follow a program.
Even if the program isn’t that well put together, following any program at all is better than showing up to the gym and saying to yourself, “What do I feel like working today?”
Unfortunately, most gym-goers and athletes do just that. I talked to 4 different guys at the gym today, and guess what, none of them were following a program.
One guys was doing pushups and I asked him how many he was doing 2 weeks ago. He replied, “About 25.”
I asked him how many he did today.
Guess how many?
That’s right – “About 25.”
Do you see the problem with not following a program or keeping progress?
So the program I’m currently following is by Eric Cressey which is outlined in his book “Maximum Strength”. Right now, I’m training 4 days a week, so since his program is 4 days a week and my goals right now are to bump up my max strength in the big lifts – squat, deads, bench, chins – I figured I’d give it a go.
Now this wouldn’t necessarily be a good program for a fighter because there’s just too many workout days to get in on top of MMA training, but it’s a good one if you want to build your, surprise, surprise, max strength.
So if you’re just going to the gym and working out, get a program PRONTO and start to get some real results.
If you’re a fighter – check out my Ultimate MMA Strength and Conditioning program.
If you’re an MMA fan interested in general fitness – read about the MMA Ripped Fat Loss Program.
As we all know, nutrition plays a huge role in getting a lean, muscular body, or having peak levels of energy for training and competition. In terms of body composition, it probably plays the biggest role of any of the factors involved in getting ripped.
There’s so much info out there on nutrition it can be really, really confusing to the average person who doesn’t study the topic for a living. The magazines tell you about new ‘power foods’ every month, while the newspapers and radio always has something to say about a new study from some university teaching us why a certain vitamin or mineral is crucial to our health.
There’s so many experts and so much conflicting information it often paralyzes people so that they just do what they’ve always done, and go nowhere.
So where do you start?
It’s simple – the grocery store. That’s where it all starts.
Whatever food you buy will get eaten – it’s that simple.
So what do you buy at the store? Here’s a pic from my recent trip:
Here’s exactly what I bought:
MEATS
FRUITS / VEGGIES
I’ll probably eat everything on this list over the next 5-6 days. Some of the staples that I’ll eat that I didn’t have to buy include steel cut oats, organic whole plain yogurt, natural peanut butter, and brown rice pasta.
If it’s in your fridge or cupboards, it’s going to get eaten. So clear out the junk and fill it with good stuff like on this list, then you’ll be forced to eat it, which will give you high levels of energy for training, keep you healthy, and help you shed unwanted fat.
Eric Wong
“How much protein do I need to build muscle?” is one of the most common nutrition questions that any personal trainer or strength and conditioning coach hears in their careers.
It’s one that I’ve heard numerous times, and what I always recommended was to eat some form of protein every time you eat, with a complete protein source (meat, eggs) at the major meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner), and a complete or incomplete source (nuts) in between. This is from the principle “Eat Complete Meals” in my Nutrition-itsu book.
But I’ve never recommended trying to get a specific amount, because it changes depending on the person’s makeup, activity level, and goals. If I was really pressed, I’d say to aim for about 1 gram/pound of body weight, because it’s definitely better from a body composition point of view to have more protein vs. carbs. Plus there are no problems with your kidneys from consuming too much protein – that’s a myth.
Honestly though, I haven’t seen conclusive evidence supporting this number, as there are various sources recommending different amounts, I just looked at the data from my clients and myself, and what other nutrition experts whom I trust recommended, and based my recommendation on that.
So when nutrition researcher and author Brad Pilon, who’s also a friend of mine, sent me a copy of his new book called “How Much Protein” to review, I was really intrigued.
Brad’s first book called Eat Stop Eat is a nutrition book for fat loss based on what he calls ‘flexible intermittent fasting’.
=> http://ericwongmma.com/bradpilon/
I’ve read the book and have tried the protocol and can tell you that for me, it really showed how trained my body is to want food every 3 hours. This is after years of making sure I was eating frequently.
When I fasted, I’d get hungry about every 3 hours, but as I kept fasting, the hunger soon dissipated and I didn’t feel any drop in energy. I’ll tell you, it was kind of weird, but it was good to regain control over my food choices.
It’s not something that I follow all the time, but it is a good exercise to train your ‘appetite control muscle’, especially if yours is weak and out of shape!
Now, his second book, “How Much Protein” is a review of a ton of recent scientific studies that will provide you with the guidelines to optimizing your protein intake for gaining muscle.
After reading the book, I had a few more questions for Brad, so I sent them over and I’m sharing his responses with you here.
Eric: First of all, give us a little background about yourself and how you came up with Eat Stop Eat.
Brad: I’m a Nutrition Professional out of Canada. I started my career working in Research and Development for the sports supplement industry. After 7 years in the industry where I helped design supplements and clinical trials I decided it was time to go back to school to do graduate studies.
When I went back to school my plan was to study nutrition and weight loss. My original goal was to study fasting simply to get a ‘base line’ expecting to find out about all of the horrible things that happened to your body when you fast, and then move from there to study all the reasons why you need to ‘eat to lose weight’
But the research was surprisingly clear that during short periods of fasting (12-72 hours) all of the supposed bad things (metabolism slowing down, fat burning enzymes being turned off, muscle loss, actually gaining fat) didn’t happen, so I swallowed a bit of crow, and decided to study the metabolic effects of short periods of fasting for my graduate studies.
Eric: What are the most common objections to fasting for fat loss, and what did your research tell us?
Brad: Most people are afraid that they will somehow ‘destroy’ their metabolism, or that they will actually get fat because of fasting..this couldn’t be farther from the truth. Eat Stop Eat is a review of the available research on short term fasting that clearly shows that your body burns body fat while you are fasting and that your metabolism does not slow down.
The great part about fasting is that it has an AMAZING track record. Through human history, dozens of cultures and religions have followed variations of short term fasting, we can obviously have a great track record of handling the minor stress of a short term fast.
Eric: So then who is Eat Stop Eat for?
Brad: Basically, Eat Stop Eat is for anyone who is sick of traditional diets and obsessive compulsive eating. Someone who wants an extremely simple fat loss program, and is open to the idea that nutrient timing, weighing food and obsessing about ‘good foods’ and ‘bad foods’ isn’t the only way to lose weight and be healthy.
Eric: So what exactly is the new book you’re launching called “How Much Protein” all about?
Brad: It is another investigation, very similar to Eat Stop Eat, trying to answer one of the most confusing questions in all of nutrition. Really, after ‘how do I lose weight’ the second most common question is “how much protein do I need to eat to build muscle’.
Eric: Why did you write this book?
Brad: “How much protein?” I is a question that has been bugging me for years. Even when I worked in the supplement industry designing protein products and clinical trials studying protein, I still wasn’t sure of exactly how much protein was best. I experimented with as high as 500 grams a day, with little effect on muscle mass…so when I finally
finished Eat Stop Eat..I thought, OK what’s next? And protein immediately sprung to mind. Two years later.. “how much protein” was finally finished.
Eric: OK, so I’m around 172 pounds, and I want to stay where I am. I workout 3-4 days a week – how much protein do I need to maintain my muscle mass?
Brad: Whether maintaining or building, at your height and weight and activity level you’d be find at around 100 grams. Nothing bad would happen if you pumped it up to 150 or even 200, but I don’t believe you wouldn’t see any noticeable difference between 200 or 100.
Eric: Who will benefit from reading this book, people looking to build muscle, or lose fat?
Brad: This book is really written for anyone who simply wants an answer. AND, the kind of person who really wants to understand the logical reasoning BEHIND the answer. With the combination of How Much Protein and Eat Stop Eat I do my best to answer both questions “how do I lose fat” and “how do I build muscle’
——————END OF INTERVIEW—————
If you enjoyed this interview, you can read more about the Eat Stop Eat method for fat loss at:
=> http://ericwongmma.com/bradpilon/
Plus, Brad just released his new book “How Much Protein” yesterday and I highly recommend it if you want to learn the truth about protein, and have all the data to back it up so you don’t get misled by the various experts or companies telling you have to consume massive amounts or you’ll lose all your muscle! I’ll never do the extensive research that Brad has done, so I highly recommend it if you think it’s valuable to understand the “why” behind the “what”.
Eric Wong, BSc, CSCS
Author, MMA Ripped Fat Loss Program
Co-founder, Master-MMA.com
Eating every 3 hours or so is a great way to maximize your energy levels and achieve fat loss (or avoid storing more fat). But what do you eat in between the major meals or at night?
Here are my 3 favourite snacks to grab when I’m a little hungry but it’s not time for a full on meal:
1) Cottage cheese + natural peanut butter + a little jam
This one is great because you only need a little bit of jam and it tastes amazing, you might not think the combo is good but I dare you to try it. I like this one at night because it’s really low in carbs before bed.
2) Organic yogurt + homemade granola + blueberries
I like to make big batches of granola every few weeks or so and it’s super handy to have because you can throw it in yogurt like this snack or just take it on the go. For those of you who have my Nutrition-itsu manual, the recipe’s in there.
3) Handful of almonds and an Apple
Can’t beat this one because it’s a tasty snack that takes absolutely no time to prepare.
Now even though these are my favourites and I’ll probably be eating them until I die, I like trying new things, so tell me some good ones by leaving a comment.