Kryptonian Shredding System PDF [PDF]

Citation preview

Copyright Notice No part of this report may be reproduced or transmitted in any form whatsoever, electronic or mechanical including photocopying or recording or by any informational storage or system without expressed written, dated and signed permission from the author. All copyrights are reserved. Disclaimer and legal notices The information provided in this book is for educational purposes only. I am not a doctor and this is not meant to be taken as medical advice. The information provided in this eBook is based on my experience and my interpretation of current studies available on training and nutrition. The advice and tips provided in this eBook are for primarily for healthy individuals. You should consult your physician before applying any of the tips provided here and ensure they suit your current physical health and individual state.



2



TABLE OF CONTENT



TABLE OF CONTENT​…………………………………………………………………………………...3 INTRODUCTION​………………………………………………………………………………………….5 CALORIES IN VS. CALORIES OUT​…………………………………………………………………...6 NUTRITION BEHIND FAT LOSS​………………………………………………………………………​7 WEIGHT LOSS VS. FAT LOSS



7



HOW TO FIND YOUR CALORIE MAINTENANCE?



7



TRACKING CALORIE EXPENDITURE DELUSION



9



FINDING OPTIMAL CALORIC DEFICIT FOR FAT LOSS



10



SLOW VS FAST CUT



11



CALORIC DEFICIT ON DAILY VS WEEKLY BASIS



13



MACRONUTRIENTS STRUCTURE



16



PROTEIN



16



FAT



18



CARBOHYDRATES



20



MICRONUTRIENTS



23



FOOD SELECTION



26



TRAINING DURING FAT LOSS PHASE​…………………………………………………………….​29 CAN YOU LOSE FAT AND BUILD MUSCLE AT THE SAME TIME?



30



WILL I LOSE MUSCLE DURING CUT?



31



FAT LOSS PROCESS​………………………………………………………………………………….33 FAT LOSS PLATEAU #1 (METABOLIC ADAPTATION)



33



REEFED DAYS/CHEAT MEALS



34



OVEREATING/BINGE DAMAGE CONTROL



38



INSULIN SENSITIVITY



39



FAT LOSS PLATEAU #2 (CHRONIC INSULIN RESISTANCE)



40



DIET BREAKS



42



REVERSE DIET



43



3



METABOLISM AND METABOLIC RATE​……………………………………………………………​46 HOW TO INCREASE METABOLISM?



46



METABOLIC INDIVIDUAL FACTOR



47



METABOLIC DAMAGE



48



COMMON FAT LOSS DEBATES AND MYTHS​…………………………………………………….50 MEAL FREQUENCY



50



PROTEIN ABSORPTION MYTH



51



“BAD” VS “GOOD” CARBS



52



CAN SUGAR MESS UP YOUR FAT LOSS PROCESS?



53



STUBBORN FAT/SPOT REDUCTION MYTH



54



MAINSTREAM DIETS OVERVIEW​………………………………………………………………….. 55 LOW FAT VS LOW CARB DIETS



55



KETO DIET



56



CARB CYCLING



57



INTERMITTENT FASTING



58



CARDIO​…………………………………………………………………………………………………. 60 WHAT TYPE OF CARDIO SHOULD I DO?



61



HOW MUCH CARDIO SHOULD I DO?



63



WHEN SHOULD I DO CARDIO?



64



SUPPLEMENTS​………………………………………………………………………………………...65 DEALING WITH HUNGER AND CRAVINGS​……………………………………………………….​71 LEPTIN CONTROL



71



TRACKING PROGRESS​……………………………………………………………………………....74 CONCLUSION​………………………………………………………………………………………….. 78



4



INTRODUCTION Ton of special diets, meal plans and “fat loss programs” and funny thing is that in most cases they all work because they’re all based on a same principle although most people are completely unaware of it. I believe that it’s time someone explains exactly what triggers fat loss and how to customize your diet approach to your own needs and make it sustainable in the long run. That is the reason why I’m sharing this guide with you and it’s time you understand how simple it is! While I’m muscle obsessed guy I can’t say I carry a ton of muscle(neither I’m aiming to) but one thing I’m damn good at is getting to freakishly low body fat levels and maintaining them all year round. Of course one thing is achieving something yourself and completely other teaching/showing others how to do it on their own. Fortunately I have countless clients who achieved their desired conditioning, got their abs for the first time or even got shredded to the bone while keeping their hard-earned muscles to testify. What I shared with my clients who stripped off the fat and kept it away for good is exactly what I’m going to share with you in this guide! So let’s get to it!



5



CALORIES IN VS. CALORIES OUT What is a calorie? Calorie is simply put an unit for energy! In case of your body the calories are energy you get through food and your body consumes those calories to fuel body functions and physical activity. In order to understand the weight loss you have to understand a first “law of thermodynamics”. First law of thermodynamics dictates next:



“When energy passes, as ​work​, as h ​ eat​, or with matter, into or out from a system, the system's internal energy​ changes in accord with the law of ​conservation of energy​,” On language of us bare mortals and in relation to weight loss: If you consume less calories than what your body consumes on daily basis( average daily energy expenditure); you’re going to lose weight! Consume less calories than what your body needs to maintain your current body weight and magic of weight loss begins! That is called CALORIC DEFICIT! Every diet ever designed simply creates some form of calorie restriction and the reason why people are losing weight is because they’re in caloric deficit(without being aware of it) not because particular diet has some magical properties. Whatever type of diet you choose; Keto, Paleo, Intermittent fasting, Carb cycling, High carb, Low fat, Vegan…, primary driver of weight loss will always be CALORIC DEFICIT. None of those fancy diets has something magical about them but rather they just force you either to restrict a certain nutrient, type of food or limit an eating window which makes it much easier to stay in caloric deficit. PRIMARY WEIGHT LOSS DRIVER IS CALORIC DEFICIT!



6



NUTRITION BEHIND FAT LOSS



WEIGHT LOSS VS. FAT LOSS If you’re reading this guide I assume you’re not in this just to simply lose weight but rather to maintain(or even gain) muscle while stripping off fat in order to reveal those muscles you’ve worked so hard for. While weight loss is simple; fat loss is somewhat more specific and it requires more strategic approach. First thing you have to understand that different tissue in the body has/contains different energy value. 1kg of fat is roughly 7000kcal (3500kcal per pound) 1kg of muscle is 1400kcal We’ll focus strictly on fat values since the goal here is to strip off fat and maintain/gain muscle. In order to lose 0.5kg of fat on weekly basis you need to be in average weekly deficit of 3500kcal. But before we get to that part it’s time we teach you how to find how many calories your body needs to maintain its current weight.



HOW TO FIND YOUR CALORIE MAINTENANCE? Caloric maintenance is simply a term used for the average amount of calories your body consumes on daily basis. If you eat in maintenance your weight should stay roughly the same! First we need to give you a starting point but keep in mind that there is not a single calculator or formula which is 100% accurate and we just use those formulas to get “close as possible” starting point and everyone has to work its way around it and learn about its own metabolic demands in the process.



7



GETTING A STARTING POINT When I’m working with my clients in cases where they never tracked calories before and they don’t know their maintenance I simply give them a random online calculator which is usually based on BMR + physical activity formula. Literally any of those calculators will give you a rough estimation of calories you need to eat to maintain your current weight based on rough statistical BMI average for individuals of your height, weight and physical activity level. NONE of them is 100% accurate and actually most of them are off but they’ll give you a starting point from which you can focus on finding your actual caloric maintenance. For the sake of convenience let’s say one of those calculators provided 3000 calories as your caloric maintenance. First thing you need to do is start weighing yourself everyday first thing in the morning on empty stomach. Second thing is to track your weight in some app, spreadsheet or notebook and focus on weekly average weight but also the lowest and highest points. ​(Weight fluctuations are quite normal that is why you should focus on average weekly weight) 3rd thing you need to do is start tracking calories by weighing the food you eat and start eating every day the amount online calculator set up for you as your maintenance(ex. 3000 calories) You can use any calorie tracking app but I strongly advise myfitnesspal application because it is super easy and convenient to use and it has largest food database. Track your weight for 2 weeks at least while eating same amount of calories everyday and then focus on what happened with your average body weight. ●



If your weight stays the same over the course of 2 weeks; congratulations! You found your CALORIC MAINTENANCE.



●



If you gained some weight that means you’re in CALORIC SURPLUS! This means you should drop your calories and focus on tracking your weight again til’ the weight becomes consistent on weekly basis.



●



If you lost some weight that means you’re in CALORIC DEFICIT! Although that is what we need to trigger weight/fat loss you still should know your average caloric maintenance in order to know exactly in how much of a deficit you are. 8



Once you find your calorie maintenance(amount of calories you need to eat on daily basis to maintain your weight) you have a solid base from which you can operate in one direction or the other but in this case we’re focused on fat loss.



TRACKING CALORIE EXPENDITURE DELUSION Important thing to consider is the fact that caloric maintenance in reality is small range rather than exact number! We all burn different amount of calories on daily basis which depends on bunch of different factors like caloric and macronutrient intake(different food/nutrients have different thermogenic effect on the body), physical activity, training intensity and type, exercise selection, stress levels, amount of sleep you’re getting… All those factors create slight fluctuations in daily calorie expenditure which means that usually the number you’re using as your maintenance is an average base but in reality that number will oscillate up and down a lil’ bit. (100-300kcal +/-) Average expenditure for you will be APPROXIMATELY the same based on your individual BMR and of course physical activity level but it will never be exactly the same(unless you’re some kind of a robot who can do everything same to a dot on daily basis). Why I’m mentioning this although it seems insignificant? I’m mentioning this because it’s impossible to track exact calorie expenditure and all those trackers, apps and trackers on cardio machines are basically giving you some average value which has nothing to do with real expenditure. Slight oscillations will always be present even if your days are routinely the same because beside training and BMR, things like unconscious movement and even stress/sleep affect body’s thermodynamics. Stop wasting your time by trying to estimate how much you burned throughout the day and focus on average maintenance calories, tracking your weight oscillations and food/calorie intake. By “tracking your expenditure” you’re just adding unnecessary and irrelevant numbers to the equation and most people just get sidetracked instead of focusing on what really matters.



9



FINDING OPTIMAL CALORIC DEFICIT FOR FAT LOSS While there are ton of guidelines out there on what is ideal weight loss rate and what is ideal caloric deficit; those values should be primarily your own individual choice. Based on studies it would seem that for the sake of muscle preservation 0.5-1kg weight loss per week is ideal rate(not entirely true and I’ll explain later why) which is a good guideline for most people. People with substantial amount of body fat(obese) actually can go much faster because fat mobilization can occur at much faster rate without tapping into muscle protein(amino-acids). Those people could probably get away with losing 3-5kg per week. We’ll use 3000 kcal as a caloric maintenance example! If you’re aiming to lose 0.5kg(1lbs) per week that would mean you should aim for overall deficit of 3500kcal on weekly basis! 0.5kg = 3500kcal 3500/7 days a week = 500kcal You should eat 500kcal below your maintenance every day to make this happen! 3000kcal - 500kcal = 2500kcal If your maintenance is 3000kcal; you should eat 2500kcal daily on average to lose 0.5kg of fat on weekly basis. Simple enough? If you want to lose 1kg per week you should eat 2000kcal daily on average if your maintenance is 3000kcal and so on... Weight loss is a simple game of numbers. The real question is; what is the fastest rate I can go with while not risking the muscle loss?



10



SLOW VS FAST CUT Most common and accepted theory is that losing weight/fat as slow as possible is the only optimal approach for muscle retention but some studies found that going with more aggressive approach(greater deficit) won’t cause any muscle loss in a comparison to slower approach. If we take the sum of all studies from statistical standpoint muscle retention ratio is virtually the same between regular/common slower cut and more aggressive/faster cut as long as the protein intake and training/lifting consistency were on point(I’ll get to that later). Few studies even shown greater muscle retention in subjects who used more aggressive but still controlled and shorter cutting phase. (Nothing significant though) How is that possible? What most people don't understand is that your body always taps into most efficient available energy source(in this order: glucose(carbs) > fat > protein(amino-acids)) and unless you're completely deprived of carbs or you don't carry any body fat on you it’s highly unlikely your body will start degrading muscle protein to use it for energy even if overall deficit is higher. Also the fact that protein is least efficient energy source and your body will tap into it for energy only under extreme conditions(few days of fasting or extremely low body fat levels) 2nd reason is the fact that more aggressive approach means less time spent in deficit because once you hit your desired conditioning level you can get back to maintenance or slowly ease into surplus and continue chasing muscle gains. Less time you spend in deficit the lower are chances your body will tap into muscle reserves for energy. Does this mean shorter/aggressive cut is better? Well no! Most people with average or below average metabolic rate would most likely starve on aggressive deficit so slow cut with minimal deficit is still better option for them simply for the sake of sustainability. What in hell should I do?



11



Whether you’ll choose common slower approach or more aggressive faster cut is entirely up to you but I’ll give you some general guidelines that should help you with your decision! ●



If your average maintenance is 3000 kcal or below I strongly advise you take the more common route and go with slower cut because going with more aggressive approach requires greater caloric deficit and with lower metabolic rate this can turn into starvation and deprive you of certain nutrients



●



If your maintenance is above 3000 kcal you may choose faster approach but make sure you take your appetite and goal into consideration.



Ask yourself a question; are you willing to go with more strict/aggressive approach for a shorter time period or more sustainable longer cutting period? In reality most people would be far better off with regular cutting approach with minimal caloric deficit and more sustainable dieting approach. Aggressive approach is something leaner and more muscular individuals can pull off easily but we all know a lot of them still choose slower cut. For the sake of simplicity and to generalize the whole thing I believe that most people should aim for 0.5kg weight/fat loss on weekly basis! That is 500kcal deficit on daily basis on average. So if we use the previous 3000kcal example as a maintenance that would mean you should eat 2500kcal to lose 0.5kg of fat per week. In my personal experience with clients anywhere from 0.5-1kg loss is fine for most people and if other factors are properly structured and dialed in; this is optimal rate to ensure muscle retention. I hope all this sounds simple enough! Get into caloric deficit and you’ll start dropping weight!



12



CALORIC DEFICIT ON DAILY VS WEEKLY BASIS After coaching countless clients one thing I’ve noticed is that discipline and consistency are troublesome for some people and for some reason people would rather complicate things than simply stay painfully consistent to achieve results. I’m going to tell you straight away that the simplest way to ensure long term fat loss progress and staying on track is to eat in caloric deficit every day. In the example of the 3000kcal we had; the simplest thing you could do would be to eat 2500kcal on daily basis to ensure 500kcal deficit each day which would sum up as 3500kcal deficit on weekly basis and should result in 0.5kg drop in weight primarily coming from fat. But saying this rather simplistic approach is the only way would be a lie because you can still achieve same caloric deficit even if you’re not in the caloric deficit every day throughout the week. If we use our example and assume the average daily caloric intake has to be 2500kcal to achieve total weekly deficit of 3500kcal we can simply do a little bit of math. 2500kcal x 7 = 17500kcal This means you need to eat 17500kcal as a weekly total to still stay in caloric deficit of 3500kcal and lose 0.5kg of fat. So can you eat more one day and less the other and still lose fat? In theory; yes! Ex. Monday: 2000kcal Tuesday: 3000kcal … This means your average of those 2 days is 2500kcal



13



Or more drastic example would be: Monday: 1500kcal Tuesday: 4000kcal Wednesday: 2000kcal Thursday: 1500kcal Friday: 2000kcal Saturday: 5000kcal Sunday: 1500kcal This week calories still total at 17500kcal and in theory you’re in 3500kcal deficit on weekly basis. Now it’s time to give you my honest opinion about this approach! Although it might seem it should work the same way as consistent daily caloric intake in cases where you go overboard with your calories it could result in impaired insulin sensitivity and ability to partition nutrients you eat(I’ll explain more about it later). This means that although in theory you achieved necessary weekly caloric deficit your body will defend against “overeating” or to put it more accurately: not being in a surplus particular days will result in “direct nutrient shuttle to the fat cells” so basically you’ll stay in same place or even worse; you might even gain some fat. 2nd issue is the fact that going critically low on calories other days might cause nutrient deficiencies and hormonal chaos(imbalance)in the long run and even make muscle retention/gain process much more difficult considering some days there won’t be available nutrients to ensure positive nitrogen balance(lack of protein) or even enough carbs to cause insulin elevation to any significant degree. I would call this nutritional imbalance. 3rd issue is of psychological nature. This approach will create a false sense of not dieting and actually results in lack of discipline in the long run and it might lead you to blowing up your diet and ruin your fat loss efforts entirely. While in theory this can work; most people aren’t physically active nor insulin sensitive enough to take this risk. Some people can definitely pull it off but usually those are guys with higher metabolic demands and genetically predispositioned toward leaner side. I would personally always advise eating same amount of calories on daily basis but ultimately it’s your choice,



14



I can guarantee you results with consistent daily caloric intake but I can’t say what will happen if you try going “crazy” with your calories throughout the week and just focusing on total weekly amount. Ask yourself; would you rather choose bulletproof approach which requires a bit more discipline or would you gamble and waste some time through trial&error game?! I can tell you what works for basically everyone with 100% assurance but as I said; in the end it’s your choice!



15



MACRONUTRIENTS STRUCTURE Once you know how many calories you need to stimulate steady weight loss on weekly basis it is time to focus on 2nd most important thing which are macronutrients! In theory there are ton of different macronutrient ratios and options which will work just fine for majority of people but your macro structure should primarily be your “sustainability and muscle retention/gain tool”. Let’s first analyze 3 primary macronutrients and their role!



PROTEIN Protein is a macronutrient which consists of individual amino-acids chains. 1g of protein has 4 calories. Primary role of protein in the body is of structural nature. Protein is used for structuring of the tissue like smooth and cardiac muscle, skeletal muscle, nails, hair, skin.., also protein is used for creation of certain hormones like catecholamines, insulin, growth hormone, glucagon, albumin... Although your body can use protein for fuel through process of gluconeogenesis this happens in rare and extreme conditions. Gluconeogenesis is the process in the liver where amino-acids are converted into glucose, ketones or cholesterol but primarily glucose from where your body can utilize it for energy. Body will make this happen in case of severe restriction of more efficient energy sources like carbs and fats or if individual is at extremely low body fat levels. Body always prioritizes most efficient available energy source and protein is at the bottom of the list as an energy source since the whole process of conversion into glucose has high metabolic cost. The key point is that protein is a building block for muscle cells! Through process of muscle protein synthesis your body separates individual amino-acids chains and use them to repair and build muscle tissue. Sufficient protein intake is alongside training/lifting 2nd part of the equation for building muscle/retaining muscle!



16



HOW MUCH PROTEIN SHOULD I EAT PER DAY?



There are ton of different recommendations for optimal protein intake BUT let's see what science says?! Based on RDA(Recommended daily allowance) organisation 0.8-1g per kg of bodyweight is ideal for adult males BUT it seems RDA complete forgot some of us actually lift and want to gain muscle and eventually get ripped. First of all; on what is "recommended" daily protein intake based? The major indicator is your body’s nitrogen balance state! Protein is the only nutrient which contains nitrogen and you want your body to be in POSITIVE NITROGEN BALANCE so simply put; how much protein do you need to achieve positive nitrogen balance state?(sufficient amount to build or preserve muscle) Based on all studies done so far(I've pulled the rough average) these would be the optimal numbers:



●



For people who don't lift it seems RDA wasn't wrong; 0.8-1g per KG of bw indeed is sufficient for achieving the positive nitrogen balance.



●



For lifters who are trying to lose weight/fat the rough numbers would fit between 1.6 - 2.5g per KG of bodyweight in order to maintain as much muscle as possible while in the state of caloric deficit



●



For lifters who are trying to gain muscle(bulking) approximate intake "should be" 1.2 2.5g per KG of bodyweight.



●



Important thing to notice in the last 2 situations is that these numbers were also based on achieved MPS(protein synthesis elevation was roughly the same at both ends of the range)



●



Also the leaner people and more muscular individuals usually should strive hitting the higher end of that range.



17



These ranges are definitely great guidelines for most people but how much you should eat is something you'll have to find out for yourself. Based on studies there is not a single drawback of eating too much protein(3-4g per kg of bw) BUT people with lower metabolic demands and low appetite should still strive for lower end of the range in order to get sufficient fats and carbs(energy efficient nutrients) while still hitting their daily calories. Since the primary focus here is fat loss if we use 80kg guy as an example and combine it with previous guideline he should eat anywhere between 128-200g of protein per day during the fat loss phase. Personally I believe that 2x your bodyweight in kg(or 1x bw per pound) should be a real minimum since protein has the highest metabolic cost and TEF(Thermic Effect of Food). This means protein requires greatest amount of energy for digestion and eating more protein results in higher calorie expenditure. I’m gonna set the foot here and say that 2x per kg of bodyweight (1x bw per pound) is a minimal amount of protein individual should eat daily during fat loss phase while aiming to ensure maximal muscle retention or even induce muscle gain. In our example of 80kg guy that would be 160g of protein per day Leaner and more muscular individuals should/can aim toward higher end!



FAT Fat has both structural and energy value/role. 1g of fat has 9 calories. Beside being building block for particular cells; fat is also used for energy, hormonal production and regulation, soluble vitamins absorption etc. Primary reason why every diet should have sufficient amount of fats is because there are so called “essential fats” which your body can’t produce on its own and only way to get those is through food. They’re called omega-3 fatty acids and omega-6 fatty acids.



18



TYPE OF FATS Saturated fats Type of fat which can be found in red meat, dairy, milk, eggs, oils, butter and processed food(burgers, fries, cakes, candies…) Although there are ton of “health warriors” claiming that saturated fats should be kept to a minimum due to their link with cardiac diseases there is not a single study which can confirm that saturated fats are linked to cardiac system issues.



Unsaturated fats Type of fats found in fish, vegetables, nuts, seeds… Previously mentioned omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids are unsaturated fats. Based on studies it would seem unsaturated fats are the healthiest option and majority of your daily intake should come from those. I won’t deny that those fats seem like the best option but personally I believe that your daily fat intake should have balance between unsaturated and saturated fats.



Trans Fats Trans fats are artificial industrial process made fats. They can be found in fries, popcorns, candies, pizza… basically bunch of processed stuff. While I believe sustainability is the name of the game and everyone should enjoy themselves from time to time; these fats should be kept to a minimum.



Cholesterol Cholesterol is a building block for cells and it helps in nutrient absorption, hormones production and regulation. It is produced/found in your body and it can be also found in food.



I just wanted you to understand basic difference between major types of fats but let’s get to the important part.



19



HOW MUCH FAT SHOULD I EAT PER DAY?



Usual recommended guideline is 20-25% of overall daily caloric intake which I found to be ideal to ensure optimal body functions and hormonal production/regulation while still leaving enough space for other macronutrients. Lets use our 2500kcal example. We’re assuming 2500kcal is optimal deficit to stimulate fat loss. For the sake of simplicity we’ll take the lower end and aim to get 20% of our overall daily caloric intake from fats. 20% of 2500kcal is 500kcal So in this case you should get 500kcal from fats. 500kcal / 9 = approx 55g In this example you should get approximately 55g daily from fats. We’ll set a solid mark at 20-25% of overall caloric intake. Yes you can eat more fats than that but keep in mind that this also depends on your overall protein and carbs intake.



CARBOHYDRATES Carbohydrates are primarily energy source which can be used instantly or stored for future use(muscle glycogen stores). 1g of carbs has 4 calories. Your body converts carbs into glucose and uses them as a primary energy source. Since carbs aren’t of structural value in reality they aren’t essential nutrient and you can live without them. Still carbs are the most efficient energy source and often your performance in the gym will depend on carbs availability.



20



HOW MUCH CARBS SHOULD I EAT PER DAY? Carbs are rather simple and I believe that after you set up your protein and fat intake; rest of your caloric intake should come from carbs. Let’s combine our 2 examples of 80kg guy and 2500kcal as an optimal caloric deficit. We’ll assume the 80kg guy set his protein on 2g per kg of bodyweight which is 160g of protein per day. He also set his fat intake at 20% of overall daily caloric intake which is 55g So now we have: 2500kcal 160g protein 55g fats If we set your carbs as the rest of your overall daily calories it’ll look something like this: 160g x 4 = 640kcal 55g x 9 = 495(we’ll use round 500kcal) 640kcal + 500kcal = 1140kcal 2500kcal - 1140kcal = 1360kcal 1360kcal / 4 = 340g Based on the above example that person can eat approximately 340g of carbs per day.



21



Let’s summarize the numbers on this example: 2500kcal 160g protein 55g fats 340g carbs Now just simply apply those percentages/ratios to your own caloric demands! With this flexible macro structure you just ensured optimal caloric deficit, sufficient protein intake to ensure muscle retention/growth, necessary fat intake to ensure hormonal regulation and enough carbs to fuel your training and keep energy levels on point throughout the day. The best option is always to experiment with different macros structure and find how your body reacts to certain nutrients and specific food but I never had anyone going wrong with these basic guidelines. Perhaps you don’t need that much carbs so you increase your fat intake slightly but protein intake should be always approximately 1g per pound of bw. Slight oscillations in carbs/fats ratio are individual and you’re the one who should find what works for you. If you decide for keto or some other approach that is of course your choice but without necessary caloric deficit and sufficient protein intake you won’t be able to lose weight/fat and retain/build muscle so keep that in mind.



22



MICRONUTRIENTS It’s a no brainer that you should get decent amount of different micronutrients in your diet because they aid in hormonal regulation, optimal body functions and most important of all; digestion! So to put it simple get decent amount of vitamins, minerals, calcium, magnesium, potassium, sodium, fiber… While all micronutrients matter as a lifter I suggest you primarily focus on fibers and sodium intake. DIETARY FIBER Fibers play a crucial role in digestion and when you’re eating for muscle gain or fat loss it’s crucial you keep the digestion track running and healthy. Fiber is basically a micronutrient which your body can't absorb or digest. 2 type of fibers are: ●



Soluble fibers(they dissolve in water and create "gel" material which takes space in stomach and slows down the nutrient absorption and bowel movement(gastric emptying).)



●



Insoluble fibers(they promote "material"(nutrients and waste) movement in the digestive system. They create "stool bulk" which is beneficial for people with constipation.)



23



Fibers role in the system: ● ● ● ●



Regulates bowel movement(regulates the size/weight of the stool by creating "bulk". This decreases the chances of constipation.) Regulates blood cholesterol(Studies found that high-fiber diets reduce the levels of "bad cholesterol" in the blood and also may reduce inflammations and blood pressure) Regulates blood sugar levels(soluble fibers slow down sugars absorption rate) Helps with satiety/hunger(soluble fibers slow down the nutrient absorption and gastric emptying which reduces appetite and increases the feeling of fullness)



... Based on studies 13-15g of dietary fiber per every 1000kcal consumed is sufficient for most.



Sources of soluble fibers: citrus fruits, oats, beans, peans, apples, carrots... Sources of insoluble fibers: whole-wheat products, whole-grain products, beans and vegetables, potatoes... When it comes to body composition macros(protein, carbs, fats) are most important but certain micronutrients such as fiber play crucial role in digestive system health which reflects on macronutrient absorption. Also soluble fibers can make major difference during fat loss phase since they can impact satiety/hunger.



24



SODIUM Sodium is a mineral which is ESSENTIAL to your body because it regulates blood pressure and it also creates balance between intracellular and extracellular water. Sodium particles pull water which is ESSENTIAL for your body cells. What about sodium for the purpose of body composition change? Sodium pulls water into cells(muscle cells) so you absolutely need sufficient sodium intake! Low intracellular water levels will result in lack of "gradients across muscle cell membrane" which will result in poor muscle contraction and inability to get a pump. In every research done so far increased sodium intake absolutely can't cause any significant raise in blood pressure; especially to the point where it can lead to heart problems. (We're talking here about sodium intake way above daily recommended intake). Increased sodium intake doesn't have a direct link with heart and cardiovascular issues. On the other hand reduction in salt intake causes insignificant drop in blood pressure so yeah your doctor lied to you. What about subcutaneous water retention?! Opposed to what most people think; excessive sodium can't cause extracellular water retention on its own. Imbalance between sodium and potassium is what causes water retention so if your potassium intake is on point there is nothing to worry about! Not only sodium isn't the source of all evil but it is also highly necessary especially if you're a lifter even during cutting/fat loss phases. Still sodium intake should be just sufficient not excessive because too much sodium creates negative balance between sodium and potassium which can result in subcutaneous water retention. If you want to look lean/shredded you want to avoid unnecessary subcutaneous water retention. Keeping subcutaneous water levels low is also important so you have a clear picture of where you at in your fat loss process and carrying ton of water which “mask” your muscles might trick you into believing you’re not losing fat.



25



Eating in caloric deficit often leads to deficiencies in certain micronutrients and most common cases are magnesium, sodium, zinc, iron and vitamins C and D. Make sure you have a balanced diet so you avoid nutrient deficiencies or even use supplements to prevent deficiencies.



FOOD SELECTION Primary focus should be on calories and macros period. Where those calories are coming is of lesser importance but certain food choices make more sense since they’ll keep you fuller and make the fat loss process more sustainable in the long run. Truth is that food choices(meal planning) should be rather similar whether you cut, maintain or bulk and only thing you should do is manipulate overall calories(portions) in the direction you’re aiming at. Certain “staples” will always work and you should always prioritize “clean” food sources but eating clean all the time is neither sustainable nor smartest thing to do because depriving yourself of certain things you crave from time to time especially if you can somehow fit those things in your calories might kill the “sustainability factor”. I won’t give you some general guidelines but rather what I personally prefer as different macronutrient sources and what I very often recommend to my clients. Keep in mind that those foods aren’t only options and food selection shouldn’t dictate your life but creating a certain balance is necessary!



RECOMMENDED PROTEIN SOURCES If you want to build muscle keep in mind that not all protein sources are same! Beside being protein that protein has to be A COMPLETE PROTEIN to stimulate muscle protein synthesis. This means it has to contain all 8 essential amino-acids but I won’t turn this chapter in the scientific lecture.



26



Ideal protein sources for building muscle are animal based foods like meat(chicken, turkey, beef…), eggs(yeah both egg whites and yolk), dairy like cottage cheese and certain cheese types, fish(almost any kind (tuna, sardines, halibut, tilapia, cod…) but pretty much all animal based food contains complete protein. You should focus on lean sources(high protein content, lower fat content) simply because it’s easier to fit them in your macros. Certain animal based food is high in fats so if you’re not careful they can take away a large chunk of your overall daily fat intake. Just read the nutritional label on the foods you buy and you’ll be able to select the food which you can fit in your daily macro/calorie intake and you’ll be able to build your own “diet” around it. It doesn’t make sense you eat things you don’t like or enjoy just for the sake of building muscle because you really don’t have to. There is so many available good protein sources and you should pick a few staples and rotate between them on daily basis(for example bulk of my protein intake comes from chicken breasts, egg whites, whole eggs, whey protein and occasional beef. I’m not crazy about fish so I simply don’t eat a lot of fish) I just wanted to clear one thing out! If you’re getting a decent amount of protein from a complete sources than YOU COUNT PROTEIN FROM ALL FOODS YOU EAT ON DAILY BASIS not just particular protein dense foods. Your food choices for carbs and fats will contain also some protein and you count them too in your overall daily protein intake(same goes the other way around for carbs and fat intake). Focus on hitting the daily protein target and make sure you have a decent amount of high quality complete protein in your diet. End of story!



RECOMMENDED DIETARY FAT SOURCES I’ll just say you need both good “healthy” fats rich in omega fatty acids and also amount of saturated fats. No saturated fats aren’t evil and your body needs a certain balance. A different type of fish contains a decent amount of good fats(omega 3 fatty acids) so if you’re eating some fish to hit your protein you probably also getting decent amount of fat from it too. Salmon is super rich in omega 3 fatty acids. Other good options are oils like olive oil, also nuts and seeds, peanuts, avocado...!



27



It’s your choice but make sure majority of your daily fat intake comes from those “good” sources but some saturated fats will definitely creep in into your daily fat intake from traces in certain foods which isn’t a bad thing at all!



RECOMMENDED CARBS SOURCES Carbs are primarily used for energy(as an instant energy/glucose or stored inside muscle and liver glycogen for future use) so you might as well choose the carbs which won’t cause excessive insulin spike and keep “the engine running”. While it’s a no brainer to occasionally enjoy some “crappy” carbs because that is the whole point of sustainable process; you should still focus to get your carbs from quality sources most of the time. I’d recommend all those good ol’ boring stuff like rice(white or brown), potatoes, sweet potatoes, yams, oats, wholegrain bread, wholegrain pasta, beans, vegetables(any but prioritize green leafy stuff)... I’ll be the first one to admit that I don’t really eat all that clean especially when it comes to carbs but as long as I stick to my daily calories and macro intake I’m good. So prioritize good sources but don’t deny yourself a “treat” from time to time. Just for the sake of enjoyment and sustainability! Carbs are a bit more complicated because you should also observe how different carbs sources affect your body. Certain people get bloated and retain water from particular carbs so learn how to recognize body signals and reactions and choose your carbs according to that. If you want to avoid subcutaneous water retention throughout the process you should keep water retention in check so experiment with different food/carbs sources and observe how your body reacts to it and how well it can digest certain things!



28



TRAINING DURING FAT LOSS PHASE What builds muscle makes muscle stay during fat loss phase when you’re eating in caloric deficit! Structured training program(training split which allows you optimal frequency, volume and intensity) Aim for progressive overload(focus on progress by adding more weight to your lifts, increasing reps, sets…) Most people think training is a tool for a fat loss which is a flawed concept! Yes training requires energy and burns some calories but so does any physical activity so stop thinking of training as a way to achieve fat loss. Training is a tool to increase performance(strength), gain muscle and maintain muscle. Only real difference between bulking and cutting is in amount of calories you need to stimulate weight/fat loss(deficit) or weight gain(surplus). Major tool for fat loss is CALORIE RESTRICTION which happens primarily through diet. Biggest mistake people do during cut is increasing training volume(reps, sets) and perhaps even worse; they decrease intensity. These 2 in combination are like a "call for muscle loss". In caloric deficit your body already has limited recovery potential(less nutrients available) so increasing volume(reps) will result in impaired recovery which can lead to amino-acids degradation.. If you suddenly stop lifting heavy weights and chasing progressive overload on heavy compound lifts your body will use reverse adaptation. Once your body realizes there is sudden decrease in external resistance(decrease in adaptational shock) it'll stop prioritizing muscle mass you carry since there is no need for it. Yeah; muscle loss! If we analyze all studies absolutely the best thing to do on cut is to keep the intensity high and volume(sets and reps) approximately the same(or even decrease the overall volume).



29



The point; key to muscle preservation is maximal training intensity, progressive overload and optimal recovery. I'll repeat; T​RAINING DURING BULK AND CUT SHOULD BE THE SAME! You achieve fat loss by calorie restriction(and adding some cardio) BUT you build/maintain the muscle by lifting heavy and chasing progressive overload.



CAN YOU LOSE FAT AND BUILD MUSCLE AT THE SAME TIME? Based on science building muscle while losing body fat(being in caloric deficit) is possible BUT only in certain cases: ●



BEGINNERS(They're able to gain muscle due to sudden muscle adaptive shock so their muscles are much more responsive to resistance training in the initial phase)



●



OBESE(Studies found that individuals with substantial amount of body fat are able to gain muscle while losing body fat because their own body can fuel muscle gain process even in deficit by metabolizing their own fat as a fuel)



●



DETRAINED(People who had some muscle but lost their gains due to taking a prolonged time period off training. They're able to gain muscle in deficit due to "muscle memory" effect.



●



ENHANCED LIFTERS(Steroid users have massively elevated anabolic response which makes their muscle nuclei super responsive to resistance training. Also their MPS levels are high 24/7 so they're in constant anabolic state where they're able to stimulate hypertrophy even in deficit)



Fat loss is only possible in caloric deficit! Ideal environment for muscle gain is caloric surplus but in previously mentioned cases muscle gain is achievable in caloric deficit. This type of “body recomposition” is only possible in moderate caloric deficit with sufficient protein intake which creates positive nitrogen balance and allows the synthesizing of amino-acids into muscle tissue. If you're a consistent lifter with some training experience and/or you're relatively lean; building muscle and losing fat at the same time is just a "fairytale". I've seen some studies claiming that it's still possible but a lot of those studies have a major flaws and questionable accountability(most of those subjects are detrained or possibly on PEDs) 30



If you're serious about building muscle long term than going through tactical and controlled phases of lean bulking and cutting is probably smartest approach because after initial "newbie" phase your muscle growth rate and responsiveness is much slower/lower which means you have to provide ideal environment(caloric surplus) to stimulate continual muscle gains. Yeah it's possible BUT it is suboptimal to chase both simultaneously because you're drastically decreasing your muscle building potential and capacity(even studies are appointing to that).



WILL I LOSE MUSCLE DURING CUT?



This might be hard to accept BUT most people don't lose much muscle during cut(prolonged deficit) IF protein intake and training(heavy, intense lifting) are on point. Than why I got so small? ●



Because you didn't have as much muscle as you thought you did in a first place! Or we can look at it other way around: you were much fatter than you thought you were!



●



The leaner you get the more obvious becomes how much muscle you actually carry on your frame.



Why muscle loss isn't that simple?! Your body will start degrading muscle protein for fuel only under extreme conditions(more than 72h or fasting when epinephrine stops working) or if you virtually don't have any glucose or body fat available for energy. Your body always prioritizes most efficient fuel source and protein is least efficient and most metabolic costly. But if my strength is dropping I'm losing muscle right? Not exactly!



31



Major reason why strength loss happens during prolonged deficit is because you're in energy deficit so energy production is lower due to lack of available glucose(fuel). It doesn't mean your muscle lost contractile strength but rather it lacks fuel to produce maximal force. Also your "levers" drop. As you're getting lighter your gravitational base of resistance is reduced. What happens when one side of lever is much heavier than the other? See my point? To put it simple; you don't lose much muscle(if any) during cut; you just didn't have that much muscle in a first place(it was just fat, water and glycogen). If you're a natural lifter with average genetics in truly ripped state(below 8% bf) you can expect you'll look flat, depleted and like you don't lift in a shirt most of the time because that is painful reality. Abs visible under good lighting and few veins doesn't mean you're shredded(most people with decent amount of muscle have that in 10-15% bf range)



If you want to know everything there is about training for muscle growth(mechanisms and science), how to structure your own training routine and even get examples on how properly structured training routines/splits should look like I strongly advise you get my “Kryptonian Muscle Gain System”.



32



FAT LOSS PROCESS FAT LOSS PLATEAU #1 (METABOLIC ADAPTATION)



Let's say you're in caloric deficit for some time, you're eating relatively clean, getting your training sessions done and you're losing weight at optimal rate on weekly basis BUT suddenly after 6,8 or 12 weeks of continual fat loss you haven't lost any weight for a full week(or even 2, 3 weeks). Scale is not moving down and you're still sticking religiously to your calories and doing everything like before!? So what happened? Caloric deficit is not an optimal state for your body and your body always finds a way to fight off suboptimal state it's in and it strives to put back things in normal. During caloric deficit your body creates protective mechanism in a form of PROGRESSIVE METABOLIC DROP. Your body slowly adapts metabolism to current average caloric intake to throw you out of deficit because body simply doesn't want to stay there. Simply put; the longer you are in deficit; your metabolic rate will follow by a progressive drop. (your metabolism slows down). This is called METABOLIC ADAPTATION. Your body will continue to do so until eventually your previous deficit is now maintenance. BOOM! You're not in deficit anymore and fat loss completely stopped.



What to do in this situation? There are 2 possible solutions! First obvious solution is to drop your calories even lower to put your body back into state of caloric deficit (or increase physical activity to create higher calorie expenditure). This usually always works but at one point going lower with calories can turn into starvation(usually people at freakishly low body fat levels or very low metabolic demands in general). 33



But throughout cutting/fat loss process you'll simply have to progressively drop your calories few times to stay in deficit. How to recognize metabolic adaptation? It’s simple! If you’ve been hitting your calories/macros religiously on daily basis and your weight loss has stalled for at least 2 weeks then it’s time to slightly cut down caloric intake. How much should I cut down my calories? You should cut down 100-200kcal daily of your regular daily intake(the most logical solution is to decrease calories by reducing carbs intake) and continue tracking weight to see what is going and are you back in deficit again. 2nd option are tactical refeeds/cheat meals.



REEFED DAYS/CHEAT MEALS Just to understand the difference! Cheat meal serves as a mental break after extended period of time spent in caloric deficit. Refeed is usually "necessary" and planned based on the current physique situation(glycogen depletion, energy levels etc.) and usually competitive bodybuilders and athletes who’re trying to achieve very low body fat levels and muscle fullness at the same time are the ones doing refeeds. If we sum up all the studies done on this particular topic than indeed it would seem "cheat meals subjects" have better fat loss success rate compared to subjects who stay in a strict deficit for the whole dieting period BUT not for the reason you think they do! Based on studies concentrated on metabolic rate, body thermic effect and overall caloric expenditure; cheat meals(sudden surge of calories) don’t really boost metabolism all that much. Although the sudden increase in calories results in higher TEF that rate will drop in a matter of hours after a meal because your body will regulate that temporary oscillation to average metabolic rate. The reason why people who add a planned cheat meals somewhere in their diet have better success rate is simple MENTAL SUSTAINABILITY​. 34



When you increase the calories your body releases leptin(hormone which regulates appetite) which will automatically decrease mental stress caused by dieting and all this also results in decreased cortisol levels. If we compare few shorter studies strictly concentrated on fat loss "in a straight line" "the strict dieters" and a "cheat meal subjects" have almost the same rate of fat loss which bring us to conclusion that ​cheat meals aren't necessary BUT they can be helpful "tool" for mental sustainability. Important thing! If you're not lean already(around 10% bf or below) cheat meals probably aren't smartest idea because leaner people have better insulin sensitivity and cheat meals(excess of calories) won't impact their overall fat loss process all that much. If you don't have visible abs at least it’s most likely you don't need a cheat meal and it could potentially have negative impact on your fat loss process so stay consistent with your deficit and leave cheat meals for "leaner times". REFEED DAYS Usually competitive athletes need refeeds based on their conditioning state and energy levels but if you want to get to seriously low body fat levels than refeeds are necessary for both mental sustainability and to create additional “boost” to metabolism and refill glycogen stores so you can push yourself in the gym and push through the last phase of dieting/cutting. For most people refeed is and should be rather simple. Simply hit your calorie maintenance for one(or two) days by increasing carbs intake. If we use previous example of 2500kcal that would mean you should increase your calories to 3000kcal to hit your maintenance and you would do that by simply increasing your carbs intake. If you add 500kcal that would mean you should add around 120-130g of carbs on top of your regular intake. In theory you can go into moderate surplus but it’s not necessary and for most people it’s not the best option because it might result in excessive water retention especially if you’re not at crazy low body fat levels.



35



If you’re not under 10% body fat refeeds AREN’T necessary but for the sake of mental sustainability you can have a refeed every 10-14 days BUT if you’re not under 15% body fat you should forget about refeeds because any attempt of increasing calories might backfire and mess up with the fat loss process since your insulin sensitivity is too low.



What if I’m under 10% bf and trying to get even lower, prepping for a photoshoot or a bodybuilding contest? If you’re serious about getting shredded and you’re already at really low body fat than refeeds are absolutely necessary but they must be planned and much stricter compared to people who just want nice set of abs or “beach lean look”. Refeed in this case will give you both mental break but also it’ll impact certain physiological components and hormonal profile. Once again key is in the carbs because carbs impact hormonal release(leptin, insulin and ghrelin) to much higher extent compared to protein and fats. Opposed to common belief; if you’re using tactical refeed day(or days) YOU CAN’T eat whatever you want and any amount you want. If you’re trying to “peak” to look your best you need to tactically manipulate carbs throughout the day, you need to control overall intake and you need to be very careful about carbs selection. So how many calories and carbs should I eat for refeed day? Once again if you’re just trying to get lean as possible than hitting your calorie maintenance by increasing carbs intake is all you need but make sure you spread out your carbs throughout the day(this way you won’t cause massive insulin spikes and you’ll prevent subcutaneous water retention). If you’re prepping for a show or a photoshoot than refeed has 2 goals; to keep your conditioning on point while simultaneously refilling full glycogen stores capacity and driving water into muscle(not under skin). This means you could benefit from a slight caloric surplus which should once again come primarily from carbs. In case of 2500kcal deficit we’d assume your optimal surplus would be around 3500kcal which means you should aim to get approx. 200-300g of carbs on top of your regular daily intake.



36



This primarily depends on your ability to tolerate carbs, how fast your metabolism is and how physically active you are. Individuals with faster metabolism can go “crazier” on carbs while someone with low metabolic demands and lower physical activity should keep carbs under control even during refeeds. Carbs should once again be spread out throughout the day and if you’re trying to get or maintain very low body fat than those carbs sources should be good stuff like rice, pasta, wholegrain bread, oats and if you really have to then add some sweets, cakes and other “crappy carbs” loaded on sugar or fructose on top of it; just make sure you keep it under control.



CHEAT MEALS First thing I want to clear out! If something fits your macros even if it’s pizza, burger, fries, candies, cake, chips, ice cream.., if it doesn’t really mess up your overall caloric intake or macros; in that case that particular meal/food isn’t a cheat meal. That is simply called flexible dieting and once again it won’t mess up your process as long as you’re hitting your macros and you’re in caloric deficit. Don’t make it a habit though! ​Eating good quality food sources will minimize cravings, prevent nutrient deficiencies and make it much easier to hit your daily macros goal. Also eating junk food way too often can cause water retention and it might make you appear less lean than you really are and also water retention may look like you’ve gained weight although you’re still in caloric deficit so it can make progress tracking much more difficult. If you can fit some of the foods you crave in your macros/calories from time to time than by all means do it just don’t turn it into a habit and focus on balance and control. On the other hand; cheat meals in regular sense usually means eating something you really like or enjoy without tracking it(eating in a restaurant, holidays, vacations or simply just indulging into casual binge) and in most cases going overboard with your calories. Hey it happens! We all do it once or twice(or 10 times) but unless you turn it into a regular thing there is nothing to really worry about just make sure you get back to your regular calories/macros the next day and stay consistent.



37



●



If you’re not under 15% bf you should stay away from any kind of cheat meals because your insulin sensitivity is just too low and any type of insulin spike can mess up with the process.



●



If you’re in 10-15% bf range having a cheat meal every 2-3 weeks can be okay but if you’re serious about getting shredded than you should consider tactical refeeds instead of cheating.



●



If you’re under 10% bf and dedicated to get shredded as possible you should read the chapter about refeed days and focus on tactical refeeds.



OVEREATING/BINGE DAMAGE CONTROL As I said; those days just tend to happen so what to do when it happens? After one day of "fuck it" you're all down because you woke up heavier, bloated, even your muscle definition is blurred and now you're getting ideas on starving yourself, completely reducing carbs or obliterating yourself from lifting and cardio to "burn off" all the crap you shoved the day before! Here are few facts for you! Its virtually impossible to gain fat from one day of overeating(even if you eat 20k kcal) because your body has limited capacity on how much food and nutrients it can absorb in a limited time period and also nutrients are digested in "blocks" which automatically negates the possibility of storing them instantly. Even if you shove 20k kcal your body will use its maximal capacity(which is nowhere near even 10k kcal) and start absorbing/digesting maximal amount of nutrients it can from the food you ate but absolutely not all of it! What happens to the excess? If you eat ridiculous amount of calories your body will treat most of it as a waste(similar to toxins like alcohol) which means it'll be converted to "poop", urine or sweat which your body will eventually get rid of. The reason why you wake up heavier a few pounds the day after is retained water(excess sodium from all the food you ate) and undigested food!



38



If you get back to regular diet(caloric intake) water weight will flush out of your system over the next few days and you'll get back to your regular weight! Worse things you can do after binge is starving yourself, reducing carbs or calories and annihilating yourself from cardio to "burn off" the excess because all of these can affect your hormonal regulation and metabolic processes which can result in "metabolic damage". Your body already feels messed up after a binge so it doesn't need "extreme" in other direction​. Get back to your regular diet/caloric intake and your regular training routine! Things will get back to normal in a few days! If you overeat every day for a full week straight., well that's called an eating disorder and you have a different kind of problem!



INSULIN SENSITIVITY In the previous chapters I mentioned something called “insulin sensitivity” so it’s time to shed some light on it! Insulin is anabolic hormone your body releases as a response to eating carbs(and protein). Its primary role is blood sugar regulation. The term "insulin sensitivity" indicates on how well you tolerate carb intake or better put; how much insulin your body releases as a response to eating carbs. Lower insulin spike is an indicator of good insulin sensitivity. But the question is; why insulin sensitivity matters?! Insulin sensitivity is body’s ability to partition nutrients from food. More insulin sensitive you are; it'll be easier for you to get lean, stay lean and gain muscle. General rule is; the leaner you are; the more insulin sensitive you are. Low body fat usually indicates on low number of fat cells in which case your body starts prioritizing nutrient drive to the muscle cells.



39



How to improve insulin sensitivity? ●



Get leaner and stay lean(even during gaining phases)! Keeping yourself decently lean all year round will ensure your muscle cells are primary "glucose uptake agent" and those carbs will help in muscle building process instead of adding layers to your waist. Simply put; getting leaner and everything that goes with it will help(eating sufficient protein, lifting, physical activity etc.)



This gives a whole new level of importance to fat loss because getting leaner will not only make you visually leaner but it will also give you a good starting point for muscle gain. Some additional "tricks": ●



Add some cinnamon! Studies shown that adding cinammon to your diet increases glucose uptake by muscle cells and increases their insulin-signaling



●



Drink Green Tea! Based on studies green tea extract reduces glucose uptake by fat cells and increases glucose uptake by muscle cells.



●



Easy way to "manipulate insulin spikes" is to eat carbs first thing in the morning and around training time(physical activity). This way you'll ensure nutrients are driven to muscle instead of fat cells since primary "anabolic driver" around training time is Muscle Protein Synthesis.



This approach is especially beneficial for people who aren't insulin sensitive and are working towards it! And this brings us to 2nd possible fat loss process plateau!



FAT LOSS PLATEAU #2 (CHRONIC INSULIN RESISTANCE)



As long as you're in caloric deficit you'll lose weight/fat BUT even studies found that one particular feature might impact the fat loss rate and cause some individuals to hit "fat loss plateau" faster than the others. I'm talking about individual insulin sensitivity(ability to partition nutrients). We all have slightly different reaction to different nutrients(how our body absorbs, digests nutrients and triggers hormonal fluctuations). 40



The lower your insulin sensitivity is; the lower your "carbs tolerance" is. Studies found that some individuals even in caloric deficit have reaction to higher carbs intake in a form of "direct shuttle into fat cells" in combination with slowing down metabolic functions. Although it's impossible to gain fat in deficit the body of those individuals will react to excessive carbs intake in a form of "plateau". Simply put; it'll seem like you're not losing any fat/weight! How to know how much carbs can I tolerate? Unfortunately only way to know is to experiment and find out for yourself! If you're in moderate caloric deficit but it seems you're not losing fat for some time try dropping carbs a little bit and see what happens. Most people don't need as much carbs as they think they do. Decent indicator is "average body fat level". Individuals who are leaner all year round usually can tolerate higher carbs intake quite well. People who never went under 10% bf usually don't need a ton of carbs. There is a reason why some people claim that low carb or keto works better for them and there is a reason why some others say that carbs reduction is pointless if you're in deficit. They're just making claims based on their own individual reactions/needs and none of them is usually wrong. Find out how your body responds to different carbs intake and structure your macros based on that unique feature in order to prevent this kind of fat loss plateau.



41



DIET BREAKS A lot of fitness enthusiasts and trainers like to preach about diet breaks as a "tool" during the dieting/cutting periods to make the process more sustainable, to regulate leptin levels(hunger/cravings), minimize "energy crash" and to even prevent complete metabolic adaptation(your metabolic rate drops during prolonged deficit). Real question is; do diet breaks work? There are ton of studies done on different diet break approaches and to be honest results are all over the place so let's see what can we conclude from those studies?! Major flaw in those studies is that basically all of them used obese subjects or non-lifters so accountability is quite questionable. Anyway if we take the sum of all those studies slight statistical advantage goes to "diet breaks" over "continuous dieting". Subjects who used diet breaks in more cases achieved slightly better results(more fat loss) over a longer period of time BUT if we consider that every time diet break was used it also prolonged the whole fat loss process and if we don't calculate "diet break periods" as a part of a fat loss phase than results would be roughly the same. If we're talking about shorter cutting periods than continuous diets take victory over diet breaks. It's logical since every time you go into diet break you're not losing any weight/fat. Also if your goal is to get leaner and /lose weight/fat as fast as possible keep in mind that diet breaks will prolong the whole process. Studies indicate that diet breaks can partially improve leptin levels, energy and "slow down" metabolic adaptation BUT that is only beneficial if you're on a prolonged dieting/cutting phase so diet breaks can be beneficial looking long term.



42



And just a major myth bust! Diet breaks ARE NOT periods where you can stop tracking calories and eat whatever you want! During diet break you simply increase your calories to maintenance and eat around your maintenance during the whole diet break period. I considered diet breaks should be explained but personally I never advise diet breaks to my clients because they just prolong the process and are good way to completely negate/ruin the progress you made so far. Most people tend to drown the discipline they had during the diet breaks so although they can be useful or beneficial diet breaks absolutely aren’t necessary.



REVERSE DIET We all have specific conditioning, physique goal in mind and once you get to the point where you’re satisfied with your conditioning/body fat levels(beach ready, shredded, stage ready…) you have 2 options! You can either progressively get back to maintenance or even go into surplus and focus on chasing gains. The real question is: how to “bounce back” without regaining the fat back? After all you’ve been in a caloric deficit for some time and considering your metabolic rate dropped. Drastic hormonal changes occurred and your body is doing everything in its power to get you out of deficit! This means you cannot simply start eating a lot more calories and expect everything will go to muscle and if you do that it’s most likely you’ll gain some body fat back really quickly and we want to avoid that at all cost. What is the point of getting shredded if it’s going to last only a few weeks right? That is why “reverse dieting” is here.



43



Example: Let’s say you finished your cut by eating 2000kcal daily while your starting maintenance was 3000kcal , you’re at the point where you’re satisfied with your conditioning and you want to maintain your current physique/conditioning. Common reverse dieting approach would be to simply add 200kcal weekly til’ you get back to your previous maintenance. You’re simply repeating the process til’ you get back to previous maintenance which was 3000kcal. Usually that increase in calories should come from carbs but increasing fats slightly is also an option as long as you don’t overdo it and go slow(200kcal increase a week). This is the most common reverse dieting approach! After analyzing ton of studies, working with ton of clients and doing some experimenting myself I realized that whole “transition process” and hormonal adaptation don’t require that much time so I have slightly different reverse dieting approach. ALTERNATIVE REVERSE DIETING Instead of doing block increases of 200kcal per week I found that increasing 100 calories per day works just as fine for most people without possibility of regaining fat. I still haven’t had a single client that regained fat or blew up his conditioning by this alternative approach because in reality whole adaptational process requires less time than what regular reverse dieting supports. Example: In our example where individual finished his cut at 2000kcal it would simply mean he’d add 100kcal every day til’ he reaches his previous maintenance which was 3000kcal. It would mean only like 10 days of transition phase and while it might seem too short; in reality whole adaptational process and hormonal stabilization takes no longer than that.



44



Which way should I do reverse diet? Both ways work just fine and you should pick the one you find more reliable and works for you. If this is the first time you cut down to low body fat than I advise you to go with longer more common version since you want to make sure you don’t regain any fat and give your body as much time as possible to adapt to low body fat levels. Ultimately it is your choice!



45



METABOLISM AND METABOLIC RATE Metabolism is a name for combined processes your body needs to function. Processes like breathing, blood circulation, body temperature regulation, brain and nerve functions, cell/tissue growth, muscle contractions etc. We all have BMR(Basal Metabolic Rate) which is unique to everyone based on certain individual(often genetically determined) features. Basal metabolic rate is body energy expenditure at resting state. What most people think is that your metabolic rate and metabolism are set in stone and they're entirely genetical feature and that is not exactly true. While genetics determines metabolic rate to a degree; things like average level of physical activity, lean mass, subconscious movement, diet.., affect metabolism to much greater extent.



HOW TO INCREASE METABOLISM? There are certain things which will permanently or temporarily increase your metabolic rate. ●



Lifting weights causes temporary metabolic rate increase due to increase in blood and oxygen flow.



●



Lifting weights increases your muscle mass. Muscle is metabolically active which means it requires energy. More muscle will result in greater energy expenditure even at resting state so focus on gaining muscle!



●



Aerobic activities like cardio have the similar impact on your blood and oxygen flow therefore temporary increase in metabolic rate.



●



Intense lifting session and HIIT also keep metabolic rate up even during the period after training session.



●



Eating more protein increases metabolic rate because protein has the highest digestion/metabolic demands(TEF). Also eating higher amounts of protein helps in muscle gain and prevents muscle loss.



46



●



Based on some studies regular hydration/drinking water keeps metabolic engine running so drink plenty of water throughout the day.



These are the staples and most important things which will impact your metabolic rate. Here are few interesting facts tho! ●



Based on some studies drinking green tea temporarily increases metabolic rate.



●



A lot of spicy foods contain "capsaicin" which can temporarily increase your metabolic rate.



●



Caffeine also can temporarily increase metabolism so drinking black coffee might be a good option.



These last few are just "minor tricks" that just "might" help but the above mentioned staples are what will really affect your metabolic rate.



METABOLIC INDIVIDUAL FACTOR



Caloric deficit IS STILL primary fat/weight loss driver and caloric surplus is primary weight/muscle gain driver(and they always will be) BUT how you should structure your macros and what type of food you should eat depends on METABOLIC INDIVIDUAL FACTOR. I've seen people who just can't "tolerate" certain foods not because something is wrong with them but simply because their metabolism has unique way of absorbing and reacting to components inside the food. Some people don't tolerate high carbs approach due to cellular levels of insulin resistance! They either get bloated or retain water and even feel sluggish. On the other hand some people can eat all the carbs they want(high, low GI, processed etc.) and still not retain any water or keep themselves lean effortlessly! Some people even don't tolerate higher fats approach(also bloat, water retention etc.) Some people can't tolerate specific types of carbs(high GI, sugars etc.) or specific types of fats(saturated, trans etc.).



47



I'm not talking about general body composition change but the ability to stay visually lean and how certain food affects your energy and performance levels and if you're getting bloated or retaining water it's virtually impossible to achieve impressive level of visual leanness. Neither you'll be able to progress in the gym if you feel lethargic all the time. Only way to find what you can eat and tolerate and what you shouldn't eat is to EXPERIMENT. Try different carbs, fats and even protein sources and observe how your body reacts to them over a period of time. Calories in vs Calories out will be always primary factor on your fat loss journey but how you're going to look at low body fat percentage and how you're going to feel depends on your ability to recognize your own metabolic individual factor.



METABOLIC DAMAGE Your metabolism is body’s natural preservation system and it doesn't care about you getting ripped, gaining muscle or are you hungry or not... all it cares is keeping your primary functions in their regular state. If you go to extremes in terms of calorie restriction your body will take drastic measures to keep you alive! When your body starts getting signals on severe nutrient deficiency it’ll start slowing down metabolic functions to the point where only thing your body is able is to keep your organs functional and store any nutrients you eat inside the fat cells. Have you also noticed that most people who were on some type of crashing/starvation diets regained all the weight/fat after coming off that diet? This is because extreme caloric deficit is basically “attack” on your system and starving yourself will eventually kill your ability to metabolize fat but also it will completely desynthesize your body to insulin. Your metabolism will progressively adapt to whatever it goes against! Let's say you're eating in a deficit; your metabolic rate will progressively drop to put you back into maintenance(same goes for surplus and opposite direction). Being in a deficit for extremely long period will eventually lead to slower metabolism whether you want it or not and eventually you'll be forced to eat like a bird to stimulate any fat loss.



48



Even worse case is cutting approach by going into excessive deficit(more than 30% below maintenance). O​nce your body recognizes severe nutrient deficiency it'll drop your metabolic rate just to keep you alive and to the point where it can't perform any of the tasks related to fat loss. If you have low metabolic demands in general YOU CAN'T eat 1000 kcal below maintenance or less because that is not cutting! It's undereating and it leads to metabolic crashdown. GOING TO EXTREMES WITH PROLONGED CALORIC DEFICIT AND STARVING YOURSELF WILL CAUSE TEMPORARY METABOLIC DAMAGE. Starvation diets simply don’t work for long term fat loss and body composition improvement.



How to recover from metabolic damage? Usually you can "fix metabolic damage/crashdown" by either some sort of: ● ● ●



diet break reverse dieting approach period of eating at maintenance(or surplus) to "reset" your metabolic rate



. How to prevent metabolic damage? ● ● ●



Controlled moderate deficit(if you intend to do a longer cut) Very short aggressive but controlled deficit(no more than 20-25% below maintenance) Tactical refeed days



If you’re serious about getting ripped than one condition is actually preserving as much muscle as possible and causing nutrient deficiencies by going into extremes will make that much more difficult so don’t do that!



49



COMMON FAT LOSS DEBATES AND MYTHS



MEAL FREQUENCY "You should eat smaller meals more frequently to keep the metabolic engine running!" "Your body can't absorb more than 30g of protein per meal so eating more frequently is the way to go!" 2 major claims to support "high frequency eating" and they're both absolutely false! Real question is; does eating increases metabolism? Yes and absolutely not to the extent most people think it does! Your body consumes energy to digest nutrients from food so this logically means eating a meal will impact metabolic rate BUT your body has much more complexed digestion system than simply "increasing metabolism" to digest food at the moment of having a meal. Your body digests food in "blocks". Its virtually impossible to digest all the food in an instant so your body "tactically" digests nutrients over the course of the day(even longer). It's a simple digestion track regulation system which prevents any drastic oscillations in blood sugar levels, insulin spikes and provides protection for kidneys, livers and the digestion system as a whole. This means meal frequency absolutely won't matter as long as your caloric intake(macros) is regulated according to your goal. Whether you eat 2,3 or 7,8 meals throughout the day all that really matters is overall caloric intake at the end of the day. Caloric intake dictates whether you gain, maintain or lose weight NOT meal frequency!



50



PROTEIN ABSORPTION MYTH



One of the most common myths in fitness/bodybuilding circles is that your body can only absorb 30g of protein in a single go which is absolutely wrong. The major reason why lot of people still believe in this is because most recognizable bodybuilders are still spacing out their meals throughout the day to promote "anabolism". Let's use science! First of all; claims about "maximal 30g absorption" is absolutely false because your body has almost unlimited absorption potential when it comes to nutrients; particularly amino-acids from protein in this case. What most people actually wanna know is "how much protein can your body use for protein synthesis in a single go? Based on a few studies protein synthesis elevation is slightly higher on subjects who drank 40g of post-workout protein compared to subjects who drank only 20g but the difference was rather minimal. Other few studies did similar comparison with egg protein(post-workout period) and this time the protein synthesis elevation was exactly the same in both groups(20g vs 40g) but there is a logical explanation for that! Eggs aren't pure protein source like whey protein so the overall nutrient absorption and digestion has to be balanced between all nutrients this particular food contains. What we want to know; would it make any difference to shove 200g of protein in 1-2 meals or 4-5 spaced out meals?! Mentioned studies actually gave us clear answer to this! If you just track the protein synthesis levels throughout the day between the low frequency groups(1-3 meals) and high frequency groups(5-8 meals) in cases where overall protein intake was matching at the end of the day; there is absolutely no difference between overall MPS and body composition change(fat loss and muscle gain are absolutely the same).



51



Whether you eat 2-3 meals or 10 meals throughout the day; whether you shove all your daily protein in 1 meal or space it out across multiple meals it won’t make any difference for muscle gain(or fat loss) as long as you hit your protein requirement by the end of the day.



“BAD” VS “GOOD” CARBS



Is there such thing as bad carbs and what makes them bad? Most people just blindly believe the common theory that carbs which are found in processed foods, candies, cakes, sweets, sodas, chocolates, cereals, white bread.., are all bad and they'll make you fat! What is the difference between those carbs and "good" carbs like rice, wholegrain breads, oats, veggies etc.? Previously mentioned carb sources are loaded with simple sugars which means they're carbs in their simplest form(monosaccharides and disaccharides). Simple sugars are also found in fruits and dairy and even glucose is a simple sugar. All carbs are eventually turned into glucose in your body(yes "good" carbs too) Simple sugars are less filling and have faster absorption rate! That's bad right? If you're a lifter or athlete which often depletes glycogen(glucose stores) levels you'll need faster ways to "boost" energy so simple sugars are logical solution. Also if you're tracking your calories you shouldn't have a problem with overconsumption of certain food anyway. No! These carbs aren't bad they just have slightly different absorption/digestion rate and ability to keep you full but when it comes to actual macro nutrition value there is no real difference! There is no such thing as "bad carbs" only carbs with different absorption rate and satiety levels​. People often notice I eat a lot of "bad carbs" and logical question that follows is; how am I able to to get to low body fat levels and keep the same most of the time?



52



The answer: I track calories and macros and I have complete control over them! B​ody thermodynamics is the major thing that dictates your body composition(CALORIES IN VS CALORIES OUT). From which sources you'll get specific nutrients or carbs in this case won't affect your weight loss rate as long as your overall caloric intake is controlled and manipulated in the right direction. What type of carbs and food in general you eat don't make you fat! Excessive amount of calories does!



CAN SUGAR MESS UP YOUR FAT LOSS PROCESS?



Sugars are simply put soluble carbohydrates! 2 major types of sugars are: ● ●



simple sugars called Monosaccharides(Fructose, Galactose, Glucose(dextrose)) complexed/compound sugars called Disaccharides(Lactose, Maltose, Sucrose)



What is the difference between different types of sugars? Major difference is the way they affect your blood sugar levels and insulin spikes. (ex. it takes longer time for fructose to elevate blood sugar and spike insulin compared to dextrose/glucose.) What does this all have with body composition(muscle gain/fat loss)? If you're in calorie surplus and you're trying to pack on muscle; if you're one of the people who believes in benefits of the "anabolic window" and your goal is to cause fast insulin elevation during that time period than fast-absorbing carbs like dextrose or maltodextrin(complex carbohydrate with molecule chain shorter than the rest of the complex carbs) is what you should aim for. If you're trying to lose fat the relevance slowly fades because CALORIC DEFICIT is what dictates fat loss rate and whether you're losing fat NOT your sugar intake. Every carb-dense food contains some sort of a sugar but what you should focus on is overall calories/macronutrient intake if improving body composition is your goal.. Sugars don’t make you fat! Excessive amount of calories does! 53



STUBBORN FAT/SPOT REDUCTION MYTH Your body stores fat based on certain genetic predisposition (fat cells density and number in certain areas) so where you'll store the most fat is out of your control. Same thing goes for fat loss. Once you decide to cut down and get into caloric deficit your body will simultaneously lose fat all over the body but where your fat will come off first and at what rate is out of your control. What does that mean? This means that all the fat will eventually come off if you stay in caloric deficit long enough. I'll give you a clear scientific explanation why spot reduction and burning off fat from targeted area(with exercise) aren't possible. Let's say you're doing crunches in hope you'll burn off fat from stomach. In order for certain area to increase fat mobilization the temperature needs to be increased only in that area and fat mobilization needs to occur on localized level. This is impossible because whichever muscle you isolate, whatever exercise you use your core body temperature will increase simultaneously throughout the whole body and fat mobilization will occur throughout the whole system. With that being said: LIFTING is here to build and retain muscle! CALORIC DEFICIT is what triggers fat loss(calorie restriction + cardio(additional tool) You want to burn of lower belly fat STAY IN CALORIC DEFICIT LONG ENOUGH You want to burn of lower back fat STAY IN CALORIC DEFICIT LONG ENOUGH You want to get rid of man boobs STAY IN CALORIC DEFICIT LONG ENOUGH You want to lose cheeks fat and get chiseled jawline STAY IN CALORIC DEFICIT LONG ENOUGH You want to get ready for stage and get striated quads and glutes STAY IN CALORIC DEFICIT LONG ENOUGH Spot reduction and stubborn fat don’t exist! Throw that nonsense out of your head and focus on fat loss as an allround process.



54



MAINSTREAM DIETS OVERVIEW



When it comes to body composition change your primary concern should be calories and macros. Primary driver of fat loss is caloric deficit but particular macro structure or diet you’re going to choose should be your personal choice based on eating pattern you prefer, long term sustainability, how does that diet affects your energy and performance levels and above all it should make the whole process much more enjoyable. While I believe most people would benefit from simple macro structure with balanced macronutrient intake the one I explained you in the initial chapter; some people still prefer somewhat different dietary pattern and we’ll take a short overview of few of those common diets and eating patterns through scientific standpoint.



LOW FAT VS LOW CARB DIETS



Never ending debate but fortunately there are multiple studies which can tell us which group is right?! If we compare fat loss rate(speed and amount of weight loss achieved in a certain time period) even if subjects of both groups weren’t counting calories the results were almost always roughly the same. Fat loss rate difference is statistically insignificant or simply put; virtually the same. Low carb dieters like to talk about benefit of chronically low insulin levels but once again science shown insulin levels between the 2 groups were virtually the same. It seems "low carb warriors" completely ignored the fact; protein consumption also spikes insulin.. In most studies if overall caloric and protein intake and level of physical activity were matching(for the sake of accountability) fat loss rate was the same.



55



What about muscle mass(retention)? And once again difference in muscle gain(or retention) between the 2 groups is statistically insignificant since protein intake and level of activity were matching in most of them and these 2 really dictate muscle gain/retention. Only difference between the 2 groups was found in blood cholesterol levels and overall fiber intake! Low carb groups had 5% lower blood cholesterol in average while the low fat group had slightly higher fiber intake in average due to increased carb intake. T​here is absolutely not a single major benefit of one diet over another when it comes to fat loss(especially if caloric intake is matching), CALORIC DEFICIT is once again what dictates the rate of fat/weight loss not the type of diet you're using! Use the dietary approach you find most enjoyable and sustainable in the long run!



KETO DIET Keto diets are diets based on low carb/moderate protein/high fat intake and this state forces body to prioritize new energy source called ketone bodies(ketones) due to reduction in available glucose. Once you massively reduce carb intake and entirely deplete stored glucose(glycogen) your body will start searching for next available source of energy. In this case your body starts degrading free fatty acids from your fat cells which will through complex processes start creating ketone bodies(acetyl-coa breakdown) and "push them" towards liver and into process called "krebs cycle" which utilizes ketones for energy. Regular keto approach is based on macro split in approximation of 70-75% fats, 20-25% protein and 5% carb intake.



56



Keto diet for fat loss? There are multiple studies which were based on comparison of low carb(keto) diets to low fat diets with overall calorie restriction for the purpose of fat loss. In all of those studies subjects of course lost significant amount of fat but without any significant difference in overall amount of weight lost and fat loss rate. Primary driver of fat loss is once again caloric deficit and not carbs restriction! Keto diet for muscle gain? Few studies indicate that low carb intake can impact peak performance because glucose is still most efficient energy source which provides fast energy while "keto subjects" often stumbled on quicker energy drop and slower increase in overall strength. This can affect muscle gain process since MPS occurs at somewhat slower rate on ketosis. Yes you can still gain muscle on keto diet if you're in surplus but even studies shown that overall muscle gain rate can be affected by the lack of available glucose. One statistical advantage keto diet has over low fat diets is the fact it increases satiety so for some dieters it might be more sustainable in the long run. Once again it all comes down to your personal preference but keep in mind overall caloric intake is what dictates body composition change not particular nutrient restriction.



CARB CYCLING Low carb, moderate carb and high carb days! Sounds familiar? There are few different carb cycling approaches and all are based on same concepts like "metabolic spike", controlling insulin levels etc. That's all cool but what we all want to know is; is there any additional benefit of carb cycling compared to any other dietary approach in terms of fat loss?! Fortunately there are multiple studies which can give us an answer! Few studies were based on difference in metabolic rate, insulin levels and overall fat loss rate between carb cycling and regular "straight line dieting".



57



As it turns out insulin levels in average are virtually the same whether you keep constant caloric intake(deficit) or change the caloric intake with carbs manipulation(carb cycling)! Overall metabolic rate over the period of time is once again; the same whether the subjects used carb cycling or just 1-2 monthly re-feeds on top of consistent caloric intake. And the major thing! Although scientists were completely aware; fat loss rate can’t be speed up., once again the research got them the just one more confirmation. Carb cycling absolutely won't affect metabolic rate, insulin levels and fat loss rate in the long run more than any other restrictive diet because at the end of the day only mechanism for fat loss is based on CONSISTENT CALORIC DEFICIT. If carb cycling seems appropriate to you and you actually enjoy dieting this way then by all means do it! Sustainability is one of the keys for reaching the desired level of conditioning and that is what all these diets are all about! In my personal opinion carb cycling is one of the "messiest" and most complicated dietary approaches because it demands quite a bit of calculation, tracking and planning which is usually a "turn off" for most people but I also know individuals who find carb cycling the most sustainable fat loss approach so at the end of the day it’s your choice! Once again carb cycling works for fat loss if you're in overall caloric deficit!



INTERMITTENT FASTING Intermittent fasting is not exactly a diet as much as an eating pattern based on prolonged period of fasting(12-16h) and followed by a short limited eating window(usually 8-12) Studies appoint intermittent fasting has next effects on your body: ● ● ● ● ● ●



During the fasted state your body drops insulin levels so it is in optimal fat burning state During the fasted state your body spikes Growth Hormone levels Intermittent fasting has the potential to reduce chronic inflammations due to a food restriction over a time period Intermittent fasting can potentially reduce insulin resistance/increase insulin sensitivity Intermittent fasting might help in cellular repair due to extended time without food intake It also might help in improving your brain functions/cognitive skills due to reduced oxidative stress and nerve cells growth



58



Are your ready to get out of the “fairyland”? All those potential benefits are tightly linked and dependant on overall caloric intake/restriction! If you fast for 16 hours and shove 10k kcal in a single meal, guess what? You'll still get fat! All these benefits are something that "just might" occur over a long time period and if they're followed by a consistent calorie restriction. Science proven multiple times that all "detox" processes require a very long time period so fasting for 16 hours won't do anything for your cellular repair, nerve cells, "waste dump" and also inflammations. Also your body digestive system works in "time blocks" not in an instant so if you eat a ton of calories in that 8h eating window; that previous 16h of fasting won't mean anything. Intermittent fasting is just an alternative eating pattern and if that is the most enjoyable way of dieting for you then do it! There is not a single "magical" benefit of fasting except limited eating window so it might prevent you from shoving more calories but at the end of the day caloric intake is what really matters. You want to lose fat while Intermittent fasting; well you still have to track calories and get in calorie deficit.



There are ton of different diets and eating patterns out there and they all work under condition you have control over your caloric intake and macros. I just wanted to share here a few most popular ones so you get a better picture on why and how they can work to your advantage during the fat loss phase. In the end it all comes down to calorie manipulation in the right direction and the diet you choose should be all about long term sustainability and what really works for you. If you want balanced and flexible approach than you have all you need in my first few initial chapters including macronutrients breakdown and from my personal experience through working with ton of clients; that is what works best for most people but of course every now and then someone finds particular diet or eating pattern helps him stay consistent and make the process more enjoyable in his particular case. Ultimately it is your choice! 59



CARDIO What most people have hard time understanding that cardio is just a physical activity like any other which simply creates energy/calorie expenditure. Yes! Cardio burns calories but so does chasing a bus, washing a dishes, having sex and of course lifting. There is nothing magical about cardio for the purpose of fat loss except the fact it'll burn some additional calories. Simply put; doing cardio will allow you to get a little bit more calories while still staying in caloric deficit. You'll be able to stay in fat burning state while eating a bit more food. If you understand all of the above then you should understand that it is all up to you whether you're going cut down 200 calories from your overall caloric intake or you'll burn those 200 calories through cardio?! Either way you'll lose fat if you stay in overall calorie/energy deficit. NO! Cardio is not necessary for fat loss BUT it can be a very useful tool to burn some additional calories and allow you to eat more while still staying in deficit. Y​ou probably now have the same reaction like most of my clients when I tell them the previous cardio related statement. There are cases when cardio is necessary though! In cases where individual is in deficit for a long time and metabolic adaptation forces significant drop in calories. In this case any further drop in calories will simply turn into starvation and it can even cause serious nutrient deficiencies. This is where cardio should create increased calorie expenditure and allow you to eat a lil’ bit more to avoid starvation while still staying in caloric deficit. In case individual has very low metabolic demands from the start having a few cardio sessions per week could help burn more calories and at the same time allow him to eat a little bit more calories while still achieving necessary caloric deficit for continual fat loss.



60



Individuals who are prepping for a photoshoot or a bodybuilding stage usually need to incorporate some form of cardio to create additional calorie expenditure in order to reach very low body fat levels. By the time you’re at sub 10% body fat and you’re trying to go even lower it’s most likely you’ll be forced to go really low on calories to stay in deficit because at extremely low body fat your body will significantly drop your metabolic rate to prevent any further weight/fat loss. In this case cardio is logical solution because any further drop in calories will deprive you of nutrients much needed to ensure muscle retention and for fueling your training sessions.



WHAT TYPE OF CARDIO SHOULD I DO? There are ton of debate on what type of cardio is the best and in order to find out which kind of cardio is the best in one way or the other we should first analyze most common types of cardio and compare them!



FASTED VS FED CARDIO Very common debate and I’ll use a bit of science to help you choose in this case! Theory behind fasted cardio is that performing cardio in fasted state will increase fat mobilization(oxidation). While it is true fasted cardio will indeed increase fat mobilization(using body fat for fuel instead of carbs) this occurs only in the moments of performing it! There is a problem with it tho'! System of measurement called RER(respiratory exchange ratio) is used to determine whether your body uses fat or carbs for fuel(lower RER means higher fat usage while higher RER means higher carbs usage). Based on multiple studies RER during the fasted cardio is indeed much lower compared to fed cardio BUT only in the moment of performance. Fat mobilization is higher during the fasted cardio but what happens throughout the rest of the day is the crucial fact! RER progressively increased throughout the day for subjects who performed fasted cardio while subjects who performed regular cardio decreased RER over the course of the day.



61



What does that mean? This means that at the end of the day your body will systematically create RER balance and find a way to use fats and carbs for fuel in approximately the same ratio. This means WHAT TYPE OF CARDIO YOU'RE DOING ABSOLUTELY WON'T MAKE ANY DIFFERENCE! Make sure you're in the overall caloric deficit by the end of the day and you'll lose weight/fat and what type of cardio you'll use is entirely up to your preference. There is not a single major benefit of one cardio over another at least not enough to make any significant difference on your fat loss rate. Try both fasted and fed cardio and simply choose the one you enjoy more and fits your daily schedule! Sustainability is the key factor not type of cardio you’re doing.



HIIT(High intensity interval training) VS LISS(Low intensity steady state) One more never ending debate and once again we’ll find solution through science! Before we jump onto studies let's just clarify major difference! Due to low intensity nature during LISS your body is more efficient in mobilizing fat for energy since glucose is most efficient energy source for strenuous/intense physical activity. Primary source of fuel during HIIT is glucose(carbs) since it has the fastest absorption and provides "fast energy". This energy consumption eventually balances out throughout the day! Based on studies caloric expenditure difference between 30min LISS and 30 min HIIT is statistically insignificant or virtually the same. HIIT is based on high intensity/low intensity intervals while LISS keeps the constant moderate tempo which logically results in approximately the same caloric expenditure. Some people like to think HIIT is better due to "Excess Post-exercise Oxygen Consumption" effect but studies shown that this has minor effect and it only lasts 7-10h(not 24h) and it only results in additional 60-80 calories burned in average. This relevance fades away even more when you consider that HIIT has stronger impact on muscle recovery which means it can't be performed as often as LISS. 62



Few studies indicate HIIT has few potential benefits like: ● ●



time-efficiency(it requires shorter and less frequent sessions) it can potentially blunt appetite



BUT they also indicate HIIT has major downside: ●



affects muscle recovery(it can affect your lifting performance) which means it simply can't be performed as often as LISS.



So which one is better? Considering we have clear evidence they both result in similar caloric expenditure(if performed for the same duration) and they both have specific benefits and drawbacks we don't have a winner here! After all; overall caloric deficit(calorie restriction + physical activity) is the key to fat loss not type of cardio you're doing. Which one you'll use is your choice! Choose the type of cardio which you enjoy more, suits your schedule, lifestyle and doesn't affect your lifting performance!



HOW MUCH CARDIO SHOULD I DO? This entirely depends on your individual needs! If you’re making sure you’re in caloric deficit and hitting your regular training/lifting sessions than you don’t need a ton of cardio. Most people find that 3-5 shorter cardio sessions per week are all they need to stimulate some additional calorie expenditure but this also depends on type of cardio you’re doing and how physically active you are in general. If you’re deep into your cutting phase or you’re prepping for a show than few cardio sessions per week can go a long way and help you create additional calorie expenditure. Once again it’s entirely your choice.



63



WHEN SHOULD I DO CARDIO? I know you hate when I say this; but once again it’s up to you! Some people like to perform cardio as a warm up prior to their lifting sessions, some people like to perform cardio as a cooldown after the lifting session. I usually advise my clients to perform cardio as a separate session from their regular training/lifting because this way you’ll make sure it doesn’t impact your lifting performance which is way more important for muscle retention than cardio itself during a whole fat loss process. Perform cardio whenever it suits you and your schedule but preferably perform it separately from your lifting/training sessions to avoid any possible negative impact on your lifting performance.



To conclude this chapter I’ll repeat most important statement of the whole cardio chapter: Cardio is not necessary for fat loss BUT it can be a very useful tool to burn some additional calories and allow you to eat more while still staying in deficit.



64



SUPPLEMENTS SUPPLEMENTS AREN’T NECESSARY AND THEY’RE JUST HERE TO SUPPLEMENT YOUR REGULAR NUTRITION! If you have hard time hitting your macronutrient intake or perhaps you’re deficient in some micronutrient then this is the reason to use supplements. Supplements are optional “tool” to aid you in the process but none of them will do anything magical! None of them will make you gain muscle on its own or speed up the muscle gain process in any way. Supplements are here for the sake of convenience and to “fill out” the gaps you left in your regular nutrition/diet. In certain cases some supplements can be beneficial and useful and that is what I’m going to focus on here but if you’re in denial or curious about a certain supplement and how effective it is I posted about most of them on my Instagram page(science behind them) so check them out! The reason why your favourite fitness icons and bodybuilders use ton of different useless supplements is because they’re getting them for free and they’re paid to promote them so don’t confuse the business with actual usefulness. While in reality most supplements don’t do what they supposed to do I’ll share with you the list of those rare few that are backed up by science and actually can help you in the process. WHEY PROTEIN While it isn't necessary it is absolutely convenient and useful. Whey is fast, convenient way to get in some protein necessary to meet daily requirements. While most of the protein should come from regular food using whey if you have low appetite or simply hard time hitting daily protein requirement is one way to do it. It has high biological/nutritional value, fast absorption/digestion rate and you can mix it up with pretty much anything. Every protein supplement(caseine, isolates, hydrolysate…) will do the job but whey is the cheapest version and based on studies differences between all of them when it comes to MPS, muscle protein breakdown reduction etc., are minimal so whey is your best option!  



 



65



CREATINE Most studied supplement in existence and almost all studies back up its usefulness. Creatine helps increasing performance through increased ATP reserves and output. Simply put; higher energy output, higher force production which leads to improved performance and might help you get few additional reps(higher total working volume). While it doesn't help you gain muscle directly, improved performance results in more volume and maximal MPS trigger which helps with muscle gain in the long run. Benefit of creatine during fat loss phase is the fact that it might help you push yourself a little bit harder in the gym and help you to get necessary amount of volume to retain muscle or even build some. Words of caution tho’; creatine causes water retention but most of the water will be pulled into muscle. Some people claim they retained water under skin so make sure the creatine brand you’re using has high quality and it doesn’t make you retain subcutaneous water. This also means you’ll gain a little bit of water weight while on creatine so in case you haven’t used it before you should be aware that you’ll gain 2-5 pounds of water weight in the first 1-2 weeks after you start taking creatine. It is important to take that into consideration especially during fat loss phase where it all comes down to continual weight/fat loss so you don’t start panic if you gain a little bit of weight after you start taking creatine. CAFFEINE/PRE-WORKOUT SUPPS Caffeine and pre-workouts are stimulant based supplements. Based on studies caffeine/pre-workouts can really improve strength output, aerobic capacity, cognitive functions and fat metabolization which all leads to improved performance and more energy. Only issue is that it’s easy to build tolerance to caffeine so cycling off/on or increasing dosages is necessary.



That’s it! You don’t need million different supplements to get the job done! These 3 are only ones that should be in your supplement stack if you are so eager to use them. Not even those are necessary but if you have to use supplements than why not using something that is actually useful?! Everything else is either supplement companies overhyped crap which doesn’t really do what it supposed to or their potential benefits are completely neglectable.



66



HONORABLE MENTION (HEALTH SUPPLEMENTS) If you’re happen to be deficient in certain micronutrients than certain vitamin supps, fish oil etc. might be of use to help you fight off those deficiencies! Certain vitamins, minerals and micronutrient supplements can be quite beneficial during fat loss phase because being in a caloric deficit prolonged time can cause certain nutritional deficiencies and supplementing your nutrition with those can help you fight off those deficiencies.



I know I said I’ll focus on only what works but I decided to save you some money and give you a list of ​top 3 supplements which are completely useless​: BCAAs BCAAs supposed to provide your body with few essential amino acids BUT if you're eating balanced diet with a sufficient protein intake than BCAAs are completely useless! Every animal based protein source like chicken, eggs, beef, fish.., even peanut contains them and even if you get a bare minimum of necessary daily protein you're getting all the BCAAs your body needs and can synthesize. *Whey protein supplements contain the BCAAs which makes BCAAs even more pointless. Based on studies BCAAs supplementation absolutely doesn't have any positive effect on MPS if subjects were getting minimal daily protein from food. GLUTAMINE Literally the same case as with BCAAs! Your body gets all the glutamine it needs from balanced diet and sufficient protein intake from food. Glutamine is indeed essential but supplementing it is absurd. Every study done so far on glutamine shown subjects who used glutamine absolutely didn't have improved MPS(muscle growth, muscle repair and muscle strength) compared to placebo groups subjects. Those same studies also confirmed glutamine has zero effect on health(compared to non-using subjects).



67



MULTIVITAMINS Everyone is using multivitamins to get all the necessary micronutrients body needs! Problem? If you're eating balanced diet chances you're deficient in any of these micronutrients are very low. How can we know for sure multivitamins won't do shit? Based on multiple studies subjects who were using multivitamins absolutely didn't have decreased mortality rate, risk of certain diseases, cancer and cardiovascular issues(even on subjects with pre-existing heart problems). Also multivitamins didn't help with cognitive functions and infections. Unless you know for sure you're deficient in some nutrient multivitamins are absolutely useless! NOTE* Some health supps as I previously mentioned are worth it but specific multivitamin supps are useless because they contain completely random vitamins which most people get through food! And of course since we’re talking about fat loss I can’t conclude this chapter without mentioning fat burners. FAT BURNERS There are ton of available supplements, magical pills and fat burning products and as someone who does his research I can tell you straight away they’re completely useless. Most fat burners supposed to increase fat metabolization, increase body temperature and boost your metabolism but if you analyze all the studies done on every possible fat burner it becomes painfully obvious that they don’t really affect fat metabolization or metabolic rate. Most fat burners have thermogenic effect but that simply affects average body core temperature. This increases your body temperature and you sweat more during physical activity. This often tricks people into believing they’re burning more fat but sweating has nothing to do with fat loss. Sweating is just body’s natural “cooling down” system and you start sweating whenever your body’s temperature increases. Sweat is usually just a mix up of water, sodium and toxins released through the skin pores but it has nothing to do with actual fat loss. Fat burners are overhyped supplement industry crap and they don’t do what they supposed neither they work at all. People who are promoting them are usually paid for it or sponsored by supplement companies but they didn’t get shredded because of them. 68



Primary fat loss driver is and always will be CALORIC DEFICIT.



So there you go! Supplements are here to “aid” in the process but you shouldn’t strictly rely on them and they won’t do much if your nutrition(calories/macros) isn’t on point! Obviously some supps will help you if you use them in the right circumstances so don’t think of them as a magic! They are useful and convenient but they’re not necessary.



Beside regular supplementation one more thing is commonly linked to fat loss but we’ll use a bit of science to see is there any truth to it!



GREEN TEA 2 primary substances in the green tea are caffeine and catechin. While amount of caffeine in green tea(approx. 70-80mg per cup) isn't as large as in cup of coffee its still sufficient to affect certain processes in the body. Primary of the 4 different "catechines" is EGCG which can inhibit enzyme COMT(COMT degrades "catecholamines"). Among everything else catecholamines aid in muscle contraction and allow energy source release into blood stream(glucose and fatty acids). If you put it all together; EGCG inhibits the "catecholamines" inhibitor(COMT) which results in better muscle contraction and increased lipolyis(fat metabolization). Interesting thing is that EGCS in combination with caffeine works even better because caffeine promotes catecholamines production. But is any of this supported by science? Actually there are ton of studies which support all this. Subjects dosed with necessary amount of EGCG indeed have shown increased fat mobilization and lost more weight/fat in the same time period compared to placebo groups BUT there is a catch. Subjects who reaped those benefits used at least 400mg of EGCG daily which is roughly 8-10 cups of green tea per day. There is also another catch!



69



If you remember when I mentioned caffeine in previous chapters then you know that people usually build resilience to its effects over time and studies shown that people who aren't sensitive to caffeine also aren't sensitive to EGCG so it makes it pretty much useless for them. Only solution in those cases is either tactical cycling(on/off) or increasing dose. Positive effects of green tea are indeed supported by science but fact that it depends on so many things makes it less effective than what we'd like it to be. Enjoy your cup of green tea but don't expect anything miraculous from it!



70



DEALING WITH HUNGER AND CRAVINGS One of the major issues people come across when they’re dieting! Ripped abs, veins and looking shredded are all awesome but sometimes hunger and cravings get the best of us and we simply forget that. Dealing with a degree of hunger during longer cutting periods is almost unavoidable but being in a deficit for a long time also causes massive physiological and psychological changes/disturbances. When hormonal chaos jumps in your true test of willpower begins. Fortunately there are multiple ways to minimize hunger and fight off cravings with just a basic understanding of what is going on in your body.



LEPTIN CONTROL Leptin is a polypeptide hormone produced by your fat cells. There are 2 primary roles of leptin which are metabolic and hunger regulation. It has direct links to brain cells and it sends signals on body fat amount and glucose availability(leptin receptors), Leptin receptors are found all over the body and that is exactly why it is a perfect hormone for regulating metabolic rate, energy consumption and appetite. More body fat you have(or eating in surplus) leptin levels increase and your body increases your metabolic rate(and also decreases appetite). Less body fat you have(or eating in deficit) hypothalamus in your brain senses decreased leptin levels and it downregulates your metabolic rate(and increases appetite). LEPTIN RESISTANCE One thing for sure is that leptin is tightly linked with insulin since they have few roles in common(glucose uptake and fat oxidation in fat cells). Leptin resistance is a term used to describe very poor leptin receptors sensitivity which causes chronic hunger, impaired immune system and those nasty cravings. Your brain simply doesn't get a response it needs to reduce the appetite. 71



HOW TO FIX LEPTIN RESISTANCE(FIGHTING OFF CRAVINGS) ●



Get lean and stay decently lean at all times(if you're lean most of the time your body won't have a drastic reaction to deficit(drastic leptin drop))



●



Have refeeds/cheats/diet breaks(while none of these is exactly the same they all affect leptin levels. They will at least temporarily increase leptin levels and make the dieting more sustainable(minimizing cravings and hunger))



●



Get enough sleep(based on studies sleep deprivation decreases leptin levels, leptin secretion and leptin receptors sensitivity). Optimal sleep decreases negative effects on leptin for approx. 19-26%



●



Control insulin levels(eat just right amount of carbs necessary to hit your daily intake and eat majority of carbs when you're most physically active, also opt in for lower GI(glycemic index) carbs majority of the time(slow insulin release)



●



Avoid chronic inflammations(getting sufficient amount of essential fatty acids and keeping body fat % in check)



Control your leptin and you'll control your appetite and cravings!



GENERAL TIPS TO MINIMIZE HUNGER DURING PROLONGED DEFICIT ●



Eat plenty of protein because protein is the most dense and satiating nutrient



●



Drink plenty of water because sometimes being thirsty can be mistaken for hunger. Water also takes space in stomach and drinking ton of water will “trick you” into feeling of fullness



●



Get decent amount of fibers in your diet because fibers help with satiety/hunger(soluble fibers slow down the nutrient absorption and gastric emptying which reduces appetite and increases the feeling of fullness)



●



Eat plenty of vegetables because they’re loaded on water and fibers and they have small amount of calories compared to their density/volume.



●



Keep yourself preoccupied! I found that major reason why people get hungry or crave food because they’re bored. Keep yourself busy and preoccupied; that will distract you from thinking about food.



72



●



If you’re really in a “tight spot” consider zero calorie drinks because they’ll temporarily set off hunger or cravings.



●



Get plenty of sleep because optimal sleep helps in leptin levels regulation.



●



Some studies found that black coffee helps with appetite and controlling the appetite during the calorie restriction periods and prolonged periods of fasting.



In the end it all comes down to a simple question; “how bad do you want it and how much dedication and discipline you’re willing to put in to achieve your desired physique. Periods of hunger and cravings will happen whatever you do so you’ll just have to suck it up and push through it!



73



TRACKING PROGRESS If you carefully read and analyzed initial chapters on setting up calories and macros than you pretty much know what you need to focus on and track by now. Just in case let’s repeat the lesson! Track your calories and macros While there are multiple options to do so fortunately we live in time where our trackers and apps can do everything for us! One of those thing being tracking your meals, calories, macros and micronutrients. There are ton of good calorie tracking apps but 2 best I used and I always suggest to my clients are myfitnesspal and Samsung Health app. Choice is yours but if you want the most efficient calorie trackers than you can’t go wrong with these. Hitting your calories and macros is what will determine in which direction the body composition change will occur and manipulating your food intake according to your goal(in this case fat loss) is crucial for the whole process success. Hit your calories and macros and adjust the intake according to the weight fluctuations/loss rate which brings us to the next important thing.



Track your weight While people are blindly chasing numbers which is flawed and wrong(you won’t look the way you’d like at certain weight I guarantee you that) there is a way to take advantage of regular weigh ins! If you track weight everyday you’ll be able to get the average weekly weight loss and you’ll be able to track your lowest and highest points. This way you’ll be able to adjust calories/macros in case you’re not losing weight at optimal rate or if you’re not losing weight at all! Tracking weight is a great tool to track the progress but DON’T chase the numbers on a scale! This usually leads to messing up with natural fat loss process and people end up blowing up their diets or losing muscle in the process because they want to weigh this or that much!



74



No one cares how much you weigh but everyone will notice your abs or muscle definition so use scale as a “process tracking” tool but only for that! Buy a simple bathroom scale(simplest and cheapest you can find will do) and weigh yourself everyday first thing in the morning on empty stomach. It doesn’t have to be exactly the same time everyday but it has to be under same circumstances(fasted, first thing after you do all the regular morning stuff). Weighing yourself in fasted state and first thing in the morning is important because it gives you you your actual weight(without any food in the system).



Track your progress in the gym Being in caloric deficit and losing weight is one part of the equation but training is what will help you retain or even build muscle. Even if your goal is to lose fat and get shredded you still have to focus on progress in the gym(or at least maintaining as much strength as possible) What is the point of losing fat if you’re going to end up looking skinny and malnourished? If you want to retain/build muscle you simply have to aim for progress in the gym. I’m talking about some form of progressive overload which should lead to increase in total working volume over time which is primary driver to muscle hypertrophy(or muscle retention). You won’t be able to progress every session or on every lift all the time especially in prolonged caloric deficit but aiming for progress should be your top priority(if not on daily than on weekly or monthly basis) and only way to make progress is to track your lifts. Track the weights you use for each lift, track your sets, reps and rest periods! This way you’ll have a clear picture of your progress and you’ll know exactly what you need to do every subsequent session to achieve progress of some kind. You can use good old fashioned notebook to track your lifts or you can put your lifts in some form of a spreadsheet. There are also ton of available apps for tracking your workouts and all you have to do is just pick one and stay true to your routine and have some progression structure. I personally use Simple Workout Log app but as I said there are plenty of good available apps that will do the job! Aim for progression on consistent basis and track your progress! 75



Taking measurements Beside taking waist measurement, measuring your other body parts can be ego crushing experience during fat loss phase if you’re a natural lifter. If you’re stripping off fat in reality you’re getting smaller. Not just because you’re stripping off fat but also because very often your glycogen stores will get depleted and this results in flat smaller looking muscles. Losing fat will reveal how much actual muscle you carry on your frame but if you built a solid base than there is nothing to worry about because stripping off fat might make you feel smaller in clothes but combination of solid amount of muscle and low body fat will make you appear bigger when you’re shirtless. I personally rarely take measurements when I’m cutting(perhaps only when I cut down to conditioning I’m satisfied with and just to see what my measurements are in shredded state) and I usually don’t demand of my clients to take measurements during their fat loss phase. People are often addicted to numbers and this tend to distract from what really matters which is visual progress. BODY FAT MEASUREMENT DELUSION



What people obviously don't realize that true body fat percentage is virtually impossible to measure unless you're dead and under autopsy knife. Also body fat percentage isn't exact number of how much fat mass you carry but rather total mass of fat divided by total body mass. Overall body fat consists of essential fat(necessary for organism and life functions) and storage fat(fat in adipose tissue). There are bunch of different body fat measurement methods like calipers, bioelectrical impedance, DEXA scan, hydrostatic weighing, 3D body scan, plethysmography... and NONE OF THEM is 100% accurate. Most of them are completely off actually! No! The scale you bought for 50$ on sale can't measure your body fat accurately especially since it’s based on completely flawed BMI algorithm. All those online BF calculators and algorithms are complete nonsense. 76



The most accurate and consistent method to this day is DEXA and it is still off by 2-4%(usually other methods accuracy is compared to DXA) Reality is that same body fat percentage won’t look the same on different people due to different fat distribution, amount of lean mass, skin thickness and some other genetical features. I've seen super shredded guys measured at 10% and I've seen guys who measured at 6% and they literally look like they're nowhere near 10%. Only thing you should concentrate is visual progress because that is the only real indicator of what is going on in terms of conditioning. Body fat percentage is just an irrelevant number that is usually incorrect. Ask yourself; do you want to be at 6, 8 or 10% body fat for the sake of number?! Or do you want to look ripped? Ask a stage ready bodybuilder; "how much body fat you have atm?" and usual response will be: "why does it matter?!"... because in essence it really doesn't!



Focus on visual progress The whole point of a fat loss is to reveal the muscles you worked so hard for! While tracking scale numbers is important for the sake of overall progress and to know when calorie/macro adjustments are needed to stimulate further fat loss; what really matters is how you look in the mirror. Fat loss process is easier and much faster than process of gaining muscle and if you focus on basic steps presented in this guide you can expect to look leaner on weekly or even daily basis. To summarize all this: ● ● ● ● ●



TRACK CALORIES/MACROS TRACK YOUR WEIGHT TRACK YOUR GYM PROGRESS/LIFTS FOCUS ON VISUAL PROGRESS ADJUST THINGS ACCORDINGLY



77



CONCLUSION This isn’t another “get shredded in 12 weeks” scheme but rather summarized guide on concepts behind fat loss and how to approach to fat loss process the right way. With this guide I didn’t want to provide you with just simple steps but also an option to structure your own sustainable approach which you can repeat over and over. For that reason I included science and scientific standpoint on different diets, eating patterns, types of cardio and more. This guide also supposed to separate myths from facts and explain you exactly why certain mechanisms work and why some things are optional or even wrong. This guide supposed to be a lifelong guide for fat loss and something you can use over and over again. Concepts found in these pages are exactly what I use with my clients to help them lose fat, get lean or even get shredded and I can sincerely say that those basics never fail as long as individual is willing to put in decent amount of consistency and discipline. While I can’t say this is everything there is about weight or fat loss; I can say with 100% guarantee that this guide covers everything you need to know to get lean or even shredded. it all comes down to you and taking action! And I have no doubt that this guide will make the process much simpler and put you on the right path! I hope you enjoyed reading this ebook but if you want to get shredded it’s time to start applying what you just read. Make me proud!



78



If you believe you need further guidance or my personal assistance throughout the journey you can always sign up for online coaching service by contacting me on my e-mail: [email protected]​ or through ​kryptonianarmy.com​ site. I really appreciate you investing in this guide and I can’t wait to see your progress in the future! Feel free to contact me anytime if you have some questions related to this guide or need advice on my e-mail: ​[email protected]​ or your can contact me on one of my social media accounts anytime.



Danijel Lizačić @lizokryptonian @kryptonianfitfamily kryptonianarmy.com



“THERE IS ALWAYS A WAY”



79