Hey guys!
Week 3 of the 12 Week Challenge is here! Been great to see the energy in the gym and people seem to be pushing really hard with their food as well, well done!
Please remember, if you're not too sure about how you're going then...
ASK FOR HELP!!!!
- Food
- Training
- Motivation
- Injuries
- Cooking Tips
Whatever it is, come speak to us! We'll spend as long as you need to make sure you're in the best position possible to succeed.
How are you tracking?
- Weighing yourself
- Tightness of clothes
- Measurements
- Taking pictures
3 weeks in makes it hard to start noticing major differences yet, but you should be starting to take note of where you're currently sitting. I highly recommend using most/all of the above methods because sometimes you won't notice particular ones change whereas other ones will.
If there were was one I think you should all be doing, and doing regularly - it would be taking pictures. No one has to see them, you can take them frequently, quickly and I promise you will have a collection you can easily look back on and notice real differences in by the end of the 12 weeks!
DEXA SCANS
You should all have your DEXA scans now and it's important we have a look at a few things...
Body Fat %
This is how much of your body is fat. There are no recommendations or official guidelines for you to try and compare yourself against but the pictures to the left will give you some understand of where you fit...
VAT - Visceral Adipose Tissue
This is how much visceral fat you have around your organs. It is recommended to have this figure below 500g to warn off the risks of high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, dementia, certain cancers and many other health problems.
Here's a couple of quotes from articles that help explain why having an abundance of visceral fat isn't a great idea...
“visceral fat cells will release fatty acids directly into your liver through the portal vein. They will then begin to accumulate in the pancreas, heart, and other abdominal organs. These locations are not engineered to store fatty acids, and the result is dysfunction of those organs. This puts you at much higher risk of the aforementioned heart disease, type 2 diabetes, liver problems and countless other conditions.
Visceral fat cells are also different from subcutaneous in a couple of ways. They tend to have more receptor sites for the steroid hormones cortisol and androgen, and an increased blood-flow compared to subcutaneous. This is important because, at the cellular level, cortisol and insulin promote fat accumulation. It does this by expressing an enzyme known as lipoprotein lipase.
Conversely, testosterone, growth hormone, and estrogens will have the opposite effects. This matters because a common theme among people with excess abdominal fat is high cortisol and insulin levels, combined with low levels of testosterone, growth hormones and estrogens.”
“Studies show that while drinking frequency doesn’t seem to affect visceral fat levels, drinking intensity does. That is, the more you drink on each day you drink alcohol, the more likely you are to increase visceral fat stores.
So, if you’re struggling to lose visceral fat, cut back onthe alcohol.”
Adams Corner
LowerBack/Hips- The pelvic bone goes wherever the body wants it to go. In my 10 years as a PT tight lower back is one of the most common problems i have encountered.
With posture being the leading enemy for a lot of people today, we cannot stress enough importance of not only a strong lower back, but one that is structurally sound.
A strong and freed up Psoas and QL (pictured) go a long way in lower back health. This stretch is simple and will help overcome disc herniations, bulges and arthritic patterns that often accompany lifters who train heavy for long periods of time. You can expect this and other great tools of mobility in the upcoming HoP Mobility Classes.
Q&A
“Cellulite... What causes it and how can we reduce / get rid of it ”
Cellulite effects nearly every woman to some degree (This study said 85%-98% of women worldwide).
Cellulite is caused by subcutaneous fat protruding into the dermis - which is a layer of skin between our epidermis and subcutaneous tissues. This protrusion causes the dimpling appearance we can physically see on our top layer of skin and the easiest way to minimize this is by losing the fat that's causing the protrusion.
Please note I highlighted the word "minimize" - Cellulite has a strong genetic factor and no matter how lean you get, some women will still show more signs of it compared to others. Here's an great article that explains this all in much further detail.
“Is the timing of macros important and how important is it to meet macros vs just meeting overall calories?”
As you can see from the picture to the left, meeting your caloric target is more important than hitting your macro target, but only just!!
Adam and I set your calories based off of your current weight, body fat percentage and activity. We then divide your caloric amount into one of the 3 macro-nutrients...
- Proteins
- Fats
- Carbs
Now I recommend watching the Lifters Club Manual video to get a better understanding of what these are (Click here and it will take you directly to the point you need to watch) but understand they are all important and serve a purpose in getting you to where you want to be.
My advice is to hit your calories whilst getting as close to your macro's as possible. If there's an error here and there then so be it, but your macro's have been set in a particular way on purpose - hit em! Come askAdam or I if you want to know more about your specific calories or macros.
“Why do I get hungry when I eat healthier?”
Because your eating way less calories!!!
Watch the Lifters Club Guide from this spot for a deeper explanation.
When you eat healthy, you eat far less calories than when you used to eat poorly. This can cause hunger, especially if your unintentionally under eating because the volume of healthy food is filling you up!
This picture demonstrates this. If you ate the 3 meals on the left, you would be eating LESS calories than if you ate one of the two meals on the right. Or to put this another way...
eating 1kg of chicken breast vs eating one pizza...
Same calories, same energy but vastly different in terms of which one fills you up more and which one you can actually finish!
“How can I make eating more food, especially protein more comfortable? ”
Wait until your diet really kicks in, then you'll be praying for more food haha!!!
Great to get this question because I've always said, those who have to eat more food to get a result have it far worse than those who don't get to eat as much. Unfortunately there's no real way around this, you've just got to suck it up and eat it!
In terms of protein though, there's a bit you can do...
Aim for higher protein foods other than meat. So protein shakes, high protein yogurt like Plain Chobani, Rice, Eggs, Quinoa, Lentils and Cottage Cheese can all take some of the burden away from meat. You can also get certain breads that are high in protein as well, although some of them don't taste that great so maybe try a couple until you find one you like!
“Should my calories and/or macros look different on rest days compared to training days?”
No.
We keep calories and macro's the same for two major reasons...
- Simplicity
- Rest day = recovery day = you need to eat a good amount of food to help you recover properly
Yes, some coaches do get their clients cycling calories or changing them based on training, rest days or for whatever reason they choose but we believe it's too much complexity and hassle without providing much reward.
If your worried your missing out, just remember that both Steff & Renee DIDN'T alter their calories/macro's based on training and rest days and their diet phases worked out pretty well!
“Why is drinking bad for you?”
There's actually some benefits in moderate drinking. No, it doesn't mean moderate drinking is better than not drinking at all and some of the suggested benefits have been called into question as well, but...
Moderate drinking has been shown to raise the levels "good cholesterol" by as much as 20% when accompanied by good nutrition and exercise. This helps prevent harmful blood clots and helps keep blood flowing smoothly through our bodies, reducing risks of heart attack and stroke.
Research has also suggested that moderate drinking can increase insulin sensitivity, which can reduce the risk of diabetes, among other things. Plus it's also been shown to slow down the mental decline of women when compared with nondrinkers.
But, as with many other nutritional areas - the poison's in the portion size. So what does "moderate drinking" consist of?
The U.S. Dietary Guidelines and the American Heart Association define moderate drinking as...
Women = 1 Drink, Men = 2 Drinks of...
- 150ml wine (roughly one glass)
- 350ml beer (less than a pint)
- 44ml of spirit (one shot)
Many of us drink a lot more than the above recommendations and this is where the very small health benefits turn into health problems.
We could talk about alcohols...
- Negative effects on depression, anxiety, suicide & violence
- Increase risks of mouth, nose, larynx, oesophagus, colon, liver, and breast cancer
- Decreasing testosterone levels (less muscle, less strength)
- Inhibiting fat oxidation (meaning any foods, especially those high in fat, will tend to be stored as body fat)
- Binge drinking being very harmful to our health.
and excess calories, but is that going to stop you?!
Enjoy a drink but keep it mind, the less you drink - the healthier you'll be! Here's a cool article to read.
“What exercises can we do to combat sitting at a desk all day”
Good question! I've answered it with this playlist of videos and I also highly recommend asking Adam more and he's more clued up on this stuff than I am!
Recipies
Tandori Chicken - Thanks to Nadia
Serves: 2
Preparation Time: 5 mins
Cooking Time 10 mins
Ingredients
- 500g chicken breast
- 200g Natural Yogurt
- 25g Tandori Paste
- 1 tbls spring onion
- 1 tsp fresh chilli
Method
- Combine yogurt and tandori paste together
- Cube chicken into 2cm pieces and add to yogurt mixture so chicken is coated well
- Heat pan on stove top spray with olive oil spray and cook chicken for 10 mins or until cooked until your liking. Stir every few mins
- Serve topped with a tablespoon of natural yogurt spring onion and fresh chilli
Enjoy!
Jelly Delight - Thanks to Katie
Serves: 4
Ingredients
- 1 sachet of strawberry lite jelly
- 1 can of coconut lite milk
- x2 30g scoop of vanilla protein
- 30g chia seeds
Method
- Mix jelly with 250ml of boiling water in a container that can hold at least 800ml. Add chia seeds and mix. Add coconut milk and protein and mix.
- Let it set over 4 to 6 hours. Stir every 2 hours if you can.
You can change around flavours of jelly or protein. Add another scoop of protein if wanting higher protein but make sure you add a little more liquid if you do!
Cool Shit on the net
How We Grow: Anabolic Signaling Mechanisms, Part 1
One of the best articles you'll read about how the body actually creates new muscle. Bit "sciencey" but plenty of good take away points for everyone in this!
Some talk about solving obesity with "eat less, move more" and although this works - this interactive picture shows just how complex the issue of obesity really is
Another really cool interactive website that gives you an idea of what the science says about certain supplements
7 Unusual Life-hacks: Effortless substitutions
I love this website, so many great articles on it and this one is no exception. Really simple things that could make a huge difference over time.
How Complaining Rewires Your Brain for Negativity (and How to Break the Habit)
We spend far too much energy on negativity and we should be much more thankful and proud of the things we achieve - This article shows you why and how.
52 Compelling Reasons Calories Count
If this doesn't teach you how important calories are then nothing will! Lots of cool bits of info in here!
Is Slow & Steady Actually the Best Way to Diet?
Interesting look at dieting and how we chose the type of deficits we prescribe.