Monday, May 31, 2010

Fantastic Fats: Six Functional Fatty Foods You Can Eat For Fat Loss

Fantastic Fats: Six Functional Fatty Foods You Can Eat For Fat Loss

Bodybuilders often have the mistaken belief that they must take their diets to extremes to take their physiques to extremes. In the late 1980s, a zero-fat diet was thought to be the ideal way to rip up. When that was found to be unsuccessful, the high-fat diet came into vogue. In the end, most bodybuilders have learned that neither of these extreme diet philosophies leads to success on a bodybuilding stage.


Whether you want to reduce bodyfat or increase muscle mass, the dietary fat strategy to pursue is somewhere between these two extremes. A moderate intake of the right types of dietary fats can help build muscle and, in many cases, trim you down. In general, bodybuilders whether in a cutting or growth phase should strive to take in about 20% of their calories from fat, emphasizing the healthy sources listed below.



#1 Whole Eggs

A bodybuilding 1 staple and still one of the best sources of protein, eggs are easy to digest, and they provide an excellent amino acid profile. Both the yolks and the egg whites provide protein, but the whites are more quickly digested. The yolk contains dietary fat, which slows digestion, providing a more sustained source of protein. A single egg yolk has 6 grams (g) of fat (half of it saturated), so eating six to eight yolks a day would yield too much saturated fat for many bodybuilders. The solution is to reduce, not eliminate, the number of yolks.

For every five or six egg whites you eat, add one yolk, not exceeding three daily. Six whites and one yolk yield 24 g of protein and 6 g of fat, much of it healthy.

#2 Salmon

Salmon is an excellent source of omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3s are a special type of dietary fat that help spare the loss of glutamine, thereby supporting the immune system and, indirectly, growth. They also help fight muscle inflammation and lead to enhanced glycogen storage. There’s even some indication they promote the loss of bodyfat and retention of muscle during dieting phases. Six ounces of salmon give you approximately 34 g of protein and 12 g of fat. That may seem like a lot, but there’s no need to worry about this level of fat. Much of it will be used for the benefits previously listed before your body has the ability to store it as bodyfat. If you notice a greater increase in bodyfat than you might want, you’re better off expending more energy (via cardio) than reducing healthy fats too much.

Depending on body size and protein needs, mass seekers can include six to 12 ounces of salmon up to four times a week. Since omega-3s are so vital, dieters should also shoot for this four-times-per-week schedule, even if they have to eat smaller portions.

#3 Flaxseed Oil

This is the best source of omega 3s, aside from fish. However, some research suggests that omega-3s from fish may be superior. Still, supplementing with flaxseed oil (or adding it to salads or protein shakes) is important because the body converts it into two compounds that are responsible for muscle-building and fat-liberating properties. The conversion process has a few limitations, so opting for supplemental fish oil and fish consumption over flaxseed might be the best way to go. Still, bodybuilders can benefit by taking two tablespoons of flaxseed oil a day, yielding up to 22 g of fat, while in a mass-gaining phase. Dieters can reduce dosage to one tablespoon per day.

#4 Red Meat


Sure, you need to reduce calories to cut up, but omitting too much fat might compromise your testosterone levels. Put simply, when you cut out too much dietary fat, and especially when also cutting carbs or total calories, your testosterone levels can drop. When that occurs, you can bid farewell to muscle mass.

Red meat contains fats that support testosterone levels, including conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), a special fat that shows real promise in allowing the body to tap into fat stores as an energy source as well as promoting protein synthesis and muscle growth. Six ounces of a leaner cut of meat provides 32 g of protein and 9-14 g of fat. Mass seekers can eat red meat twice daily and even dieters can do the same, provided they do not consume more calories than their daily target.

#5 Cold-Processed Oils

Vegetable oils contain omega-6 fatty acids, cousins to omega-3s. However, some vegetable oils are “dead” in that they have been processed to extend shelf life, and the processing appears to leave the growth-promoting and fat-burning qualities common to many oils inert. On the other hand, cold-processed oils retain the characteristics that help promote bodybuilding hormone production and blood flow to muscles, and the oils also battle inflammation. To get your requirement of omega-6 fats, simply mix your own dressing for salads and vegetables. Combine two tablespoons of cold-processed oil, 1/3 cup vinegar and two teaspoons of Mrs. Dash seasoning. You can use the entire mix daily if mass is your goal or half of the mix if your goal is shredding.

#6 Low-Fat Cheese

What a bum rap cheese has taken. Many myths seem to surround dairy products as a definitive fattening food–and they’re not true! Low-fat cheese contains small amounts of CLA, the fat-fighting muscle-building compound also found in red meat. Furthermore, dairy products contain many unique anabolism-promoting peptides, as well as calcium and other vitamins and minerals. Recent research has also shown the presence of calcitriol, a substance that may help bum fat during low-calorie diets.

Low-fat cheese is also excellent for its content (about 7 g per ounce) as well as its type (casein) of protein. You can’t go wrong with low-fat cheese as a mass-building staple or as a beneficial protein for a dieter.
The Bottom Line

Many bodybuilders fear fatty foods, but they shouldn’t. The basics for muscle growth and keeping bodyfat within reason are calorie control and a proper provision of nutrients. Although fatty foods can be caloric, they provide nutrients that many other bodybuilding foods do not. These healthful fatty foods can be excellent choices during mass-gaining cycles and, by making some adjustments in total calorie consumption, they can even be a crucial part of a cutting cycle.

If you want to provide your body with all it needs to stay anabolic and keep bodyfat in check, you should make certain you’re taking in the proper balance of all the fatty foods you need.

Author: Chris Aceto
Website: Procardnutrition.com
COPYRIGHT 2008 Weider Publications
COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning

Get Ripped On High Carbs: An 8-Point Strategy For Getting Lean Without Cutting Carbs

Get Ripped On High Carbs: An 8-Point Strategy For Getting Lean Without Cutting Carbs


The idea that a bodybuilder can get ripped to the bone while eating plenty of carbohydrates may sound ludicrous. Heck, with the overwhelming popularity of low-carb diets, you’d think it would be nearly impossible to eat carbs and shed bodyfat. I say you can shed a lot of fat, and even get ripped, on high carbs as long as you take the right approach.

The first things to consider are two crucial issues: energy deficits and muscle maintenance. Both are integral to a successful high-carb bodybuilding diet.
Create an Energy Deficit

The formula for shedding bodyfat is remarkably simple: When you eat fewer calories than your body needs on a daily basis, you’ll lose bodyfat because it becomes a major source of energy. As long as you keep your total caloric intake below the threshold for bodyweight maintenance, you can lose unwanted bodyfat even while maintaining a relatively higher carbohydrate intake.
Avoid Losing Muscle Mass

When calories drop whether from cutting carbs or from cutting any source of energy the risk is losing muscle. That’s because muscle growth and retention are strongly correlated with calorie surpluses. Maintaining an adequate carb intake (in addition to protein) while lowering your overall intake of calories helps prevent the loss of muscle mass, as carbs spare the breakdown of muscle tissue.

With that in mind, follow these guidelines to drop fat and get cut while enjoying a much higher carb intake than you might expect.

1 | Minimize Dietary Fat

When you follow a higher-carbohydrate diet to cut up, you must eliminate calories derived from dietary fat. There are two reasons for that. First, you have to create an energy deficit to spark fat burning. By eliminating as much dietary fat as possible, you’ll gain control over your caloric intake. Since many protein foods are also sources of dietary fat, you should emphasize very low-fat protein sources, such as egg whites, protein powders and turkey breast. Good seafood choices include flounder, tuna, hake, scallops and shrimp.

The second reason to avoid dietary fat concerns insulin. Insulin helps drive fatty acids from dietary fat into fat cells. With an extremely low-fat diet, the body is starved of fatty acids, making it difficult to gain fat as long as calories remain lower.

2 | Choose The Right Carbs

The best carbohydrates for controlling and shedding bodyfat are slow-burning carbs. Slow burners help sidestep insulin bursts. Instead of dramatically kicking up insulin levels which can cause fat storage slow-burning carbs take longer to digest. That favors muscle growth and retention without stimulating the body’s fat-storing machinery. Oatmeal, oat bran cereal, red beans, buckwheat noodles, buckwheat pancakes and red potatoes are some of the best slower-burning won’t-make-you-fat carbs around.

3 | Add Vegetables To The Mix

How can you get slow-burning carbs to digest even more slowly? One way is to consume plenty of vegetables, such as broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, green beans, wax beans and asparagus. The fiber content of these vegetables can dramatically slow the passage of carbohydrates from the stomach into the intestines, where the carbs are absorbed. Moderating your insulin release will help you lean out your physique.

A good rule of thumb is to add one cup of vegetables for every cup of rice, pasta or potatoes you eat.

Although rice, pasta and potatoes don’t fit the bill as ideal slow-burning carbs, including the right amount of vegetables will slow down the absorption process, allowing for greater fat loss than when eating starchy carbs on their own. Plus, vegetables are filling and low in calories.

4 | Eat Complex Carbs In The Morning

Carbs are less likely to be deposited as bodyfat when you consume them in the morning, because blood sugar and glycogen levels tend to be lower at that time. Lower blood sugar and glycogen levels typically mean the carbs you eat will primarily be stored as muscle and liver glycogen, not bodyfat. For this reason, you can get away with eating more than your fair share of carbs at breakfast, say 75-100 grams (g). Again, emphasize slow-burning complex carbs, such as oatmeal, buckwheat pancakes and whole-grain breads.

5 | Limit Carbs Before Training

This may contradict our customary advice, but keep in mind that this diet plan is different from many we have given you over at Simplyshredded.com. With a high-carb approach to getting cut, you won’t need as many carbs before you work out. The trick here is to encourage your body to use fat as energy, instead of turning to preworkout carbs. When carbs are controlled before training, your body relies on bodyfat as a fuel reserve. The fewer carbs immediately before activity, the more likely you’ll tap additional bodyfat.

6 | Eat More Carbs After Your Workout 

Implementing point five ensures both an increase in fat burning and lower glycogen stores. When glycogen stores fall, carbs are rarely stored as bodyfat. Therefore, include 75-100 g of carbs at the meal following hard training to jump-start recovery and help drive amino acids from protein for muscle repair. Emphasize simple sugars such as dextrose, commonly found in workout shakes, at this time.

7 | Avoid Carbs At Night

When following a higher-carbohydrate diet to reduce bodyfat, glycogen levels begin to elevate as the day progresses. The closer your glycogen levels are to being “full,” the more readily carbohydrates are stored as bodyfat. For this reason, stick with lean protein and vegetables or a carb-free protein shake for your final meals of the day.

8 | Include Intense Cardio

Unless you have a tremendous metabolic rate, you’ll need cardio work to augment your progress. I recommend only high-intensity cardio to create the greatest calorie burn possible and to stimulate glycogen-storing enzymes. The harder you work, the more calories you’ll burn plus, you’ll increase the activity of glycogen synthase, the enzyme that stores carbohydrates as muscle glycogen. The more you can coax the body to store carbohydrates in muscle, the less likely it will store them as bodyfat.

Build up from your current level to performing cardio at least five days a week for 30-45 minutes. If you have a sluggish metabolic rate, you may need to do even more.
The Prescription

I recommend that bodybuilders using the high-carb approach set their daily carb intake at 1 1/2 g per pound of bodyweight and peg their protein at 1 g per pound, with as little dietary fat as possible. For a 200-pound athlete, that would mean 300 g of carbohydrates and 200 g of protein daily. A lot of bodybuilders will think it’s impossible to drop serious fat on 300 g of carbs a day, but that’s just carb phobia! Do the math: 300 g of carbs amounts to 1,200 calories and 200 g of protein is only 800 calories. That’s just 2,000 calories a day, give or take another 100-200 from naturally occurring fat found in the protein and carbs you’ll be eating.

Follow all the points I’ve outlined, and you will be shocked at how easy it is to get ripped on carbs.

Author: Chris Aceto
Website: Procardnutrition.com
COPYRIGHT 2008 Weider Publications
COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning