10 answers to common questions

I thought I'd post some quick answers to common questions that we see a lot. I won't give long, detailed responses, but some short answers that will hopefully be able to head off many of the questions that are repeated daily.

1) Q: I haven't lost weight for 2 weeks, am I on a plateau?
A: No - there's really no such thing as a 2 week plateau. 2 weeks without weight loss is part of the process, give it time, if you don't lose weight after 5 or 6 weeks, then it's time to start tweaking things and evaluating your program.

2) Q: Should I eat my exercise calories?
A: That's not something anyone can answer without knowing a lot about you individually. Generally (with exceptions) if your body fat is above 30% or your BMI is above 31, you should be able to keep a 1000 calorie (2 lb/week) deficit. But everyone's tolerance is different, you may need to tweak. The less weight you have to lose, the smaller your deficit should be! This is important to realize. A woman with 25% body fat as a general rule, cannot expect to consistently lose weight (more) on a 1000 calorie deficit! Essentially the body will adjust to drastically reduced calories, which will inhibit larger weight loss. The real mitigating factor is % body fat, body fat is fuel, if you have enough to counteract the deficit, then you will, if you don't then you won't.

3) Q: Is extra protein in my diet bad?
A: This is a somewhat controversial subject. But For the majority of us, eating between 15% and 30% of our calories in protein is not a problem long term (unless you have liver problems). For the vast majority, eating over 30% will not improve either weight loss or muscle building, and for most active adults, 15% is rather low, optimally 20 to 25% is a good range, but going over by a few grams is no big deal, and going over even by a lot for one or two days won't be an issue either.

4) Q: How do I get a flatter belly?
A: another question that "depends". If you're talking about belly fat, there's no magic answer, you can't spot reduce fat, no matter where it is. So doing extra crunches won't reduce the tummy, it'll just make your abdominals stronger underneath the fat. to lose fat, whether it be thighs, belly, or back of the arms, you need to eat at a calorie deficit, and eat nutritionally balanced healthy foods.

5) Q: Is low carb better for weight loss?
A: Simple answer is no. Low carb is not going to help you lose weight faster over the long term. Some people's bodies DO react better to a lower carb diet, that's for you to decide, how our bodies are genetically made up affects that, and some have allergies to certain foods such as glutens, which can also cause difficulty to weight loss, but those are generally less common than people think. Low carb is a valid healthy lifestyle if followed correctly, but it is neither any easier, nor any better for you for weight loss. It's a choice someone makes to suit their lifestyle and body, not a quick fix to weight loss.

6) Q: Am I not losing weight because I'm gaining muscle mass?
A: Probably not. Muscle is a lot harder to build than people would have you believe. For someone to put on 10 lbs of pure muscle in a year is a remarkable feat. Not impossible per say, but not something that most of us can easilly accomplish. There are, of course, exceptions. Those who focus on muscle building to the exclusion of other types of activity (like competitive body builders for example) who closely monitor (I mean REALLY closely) their nutrition and follow specifically designed muscle building routines, can have this kind of gains (and even greater in some cases), likewise someone with very low muscle mass who begins a training routine can develop muscle very quickly at the begining. But generally when you begin a new training regimin, you don't gain muscle right away (despite significant early strength gains and muscle size gains). The reasoning is basically that you are activating your current muscles that were in a partially dormant state, which gives you more strength, and also requires more glycogen at the muscle site (which makes the muscle look bigger and work with more force), but you aren't gaining muscle, you're gaining essentially water weight, which is fine, but it's something to note.

7) Q: Is eating multiple small meals during the day is better than eating three big meals?
A: Biologically no. There is no physiological reason that this is any better. It may seem better to you because eating food and filling the stomach can relieve symptoms of hunger, but eating throughout the day DOES NOT "fuel your metabolism". The metabolism is pretty much set. The only way to increase it (in an otherwise healthy person) is to decrease fat and increase muscle mass (along with eating proper nutrition which can help to heal damaged organs and allow them to work more fully).

8) Q: Will cleanses "flush out the toxins" from my body?
A: No. Contrary to some opinions, there is no medical reasoning for a "flush" short of pre-surgery and a few other very targeted reasons. The body does not "build up toxins", or at least, not any that can be flushed out with something as simple as a specific soup or drink. There are specific organs (liver, kidneys, et cetera) that purify the blood and remove toxins, and they do a very good job normally. The best way to clean your body is to eat healthy, eat enough fiber, and make sure you receive the right amount of micro nutrients.

9) Q: Are cheat meals really ok?
A: Sure they are, as long as they are kept to a minimum, and you're not talking about literal binging. Having one meal every few weeks that's relatively high in fat, and brings you up into the maintenance or even somewhat above is fine. The thing to be mindful of is the mental aspect, some people just aren't at that stage yet where they can cheat, unlike alcohol, drugs, or gambling, we can't quit food "cold turkey". The important thing to remember is one meal, no matter how bad, won't destroy a diet. Allowing one meal to mentally affect you can, but the meal itself will have very little affect on you long term.

10) Q: How did I gain 5 lbs between yesterday and today?
A: Well, one thing that didn't happen is you didn't gain 5 lbs of body fat in 1 day, that's virtually impossible. Most likely you are weighing yourself at 2 different times of day, which can lead to both water retention differences and waste differences. Believe it or not, water is pretty heavy stuff, 16 oz is a pound of water, I don' t know about you, but I drink about 90 to 100 ounces of water (not including the water in food), if I happen to not eliminate say, 32 ounces that day, look at that, I just gained 2 lbs. Food and waste is similar. Some food types takes 2 to 3 days to be completely removed from the body, that means weight gain, but NOT fat gain, and that's the important factor, fat is what we are fighting, not weight.

So there's 10 common things I see on here, hopefully you take something away from this. And please, if you have questions, don't hesitate to pm me.

regards,

Banks