Maximize Fat Loss. Minimize Fat Gain.
A recipe for success | Part 1
Going back nearly 9 years ago as of writing this I can remember being out in my semi-occasional nightlife playground...Manhattan, NYC, NY, USA. Myself and a good friend of mine, part time wing man, and full-time gay man, were coming from a club where I just had collected the number of a tart young lady. I was coming off of the high stemming from this interaction as we exited the Columbus Circle subway station, not a part of town I usually frequented. Then all of a sudden my buddy started to describe how if he was a married woman, and got pregnant, how he would keep his body lookin' hot after giving birth. To my recollection, his words were something to the effect that he would keep all of THIS lookin' right. He repeated this message two or three times and every time he said all of THIS he would do a body roll.
What he was getting at with all his body rolling, and supporting prose, was keeping himself fit and trim for a loved one. Something which I feel is a good idea in a romantic relationship. Lots of what I write about on here deals with keeping yourself physically well conditioned. Keeping body fat low is also something that will not only aid in your physical appearance, but also your overall health.
Excess body fat from a physical performance standpoint will add a lot of additional wear and tear on your joints. It doesn't matter if you are just someone who likes to get your steps in on your lunch break, or a dedicated weekend warrior playing with a sports club, excess body fat can wreak havoc if left unchecked. And there exists two main forms of body fat that we must worry about. Subcutaneous and Visceral.
Subcutaneous Body Fat is the type that lies just beneath your skin. When it is in excess amounts, you will be able to pinch it. Visceral Body Fat is the type that surrounds your organs. Excess amounts of this type of body fat lead to some fairly gnarly health complications. Likely due to the fact that visceral fat may produce proteins that inflame tissues and narrow blood vessels, leading to high blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke.
Most notably, humans that have distended stomachs are thought to have visceral fat in excess amounts. The reason for the distention is their organs physically being pushed out and apart from one another. So, not only do the risks mentioned above apply, but, one's physical center of gravity will be shifted forwards away from their core causing possible stability issues, as well as putting extra stress on their lower spine.
So having low levels of body fat is not just for aesthetic purposes. It is imperative for good overall health.
Now comes the fun part, what can be done to help mitigate one's body fat from getting too high? Well, first and foremost you can subscribe to this blog and sign up for the emails so you get each post. Secondly, you can read the three books I will be publishing whenever this blog takes off. There are all essentially ready to be edited and published. These go into more detail about eating right, exercises right, and keeping your brain sharp. Oh, and you can do one more thing on top of all of this. But first a backstory as always.
When I was in my early twenties, I can recall seeing all the treadmills and elliptical machines at my gym having a specific preset labeled fat burning. At the time I thought this was odd and just avoided these presets all together. But recently, I recalled these settings and wanted to try it out for myself. However, they no longer exist. Or perhaps they are re-branded as a weight loss setting. Perhaps to keep up with the ever so sensitive nature of present day society. Or anti anything seeming in the parking lot of the ballpark of being derogatory. Anyway, upon doing my research on these settings, I've sorted out that one can do cardio at a pace that keeps you in a so called fat burning zone. Essentially, this zone is a heart rate range. Somewhere between 60%-70% of your maximum heart rate. The science suggests that when you're in this heart rate range, body fat will be burned for fuel exclusively. Above this level, as in greater that 70% of your max heart rate, both body fat and carbohydrates stored in your muscles will be burned for fuel. And I think more carbs than fat.
It seemed like a good idea if you ask me. Burning nothing but body fat to keep it low. And since it will be at a lower pace, it will be less wear and tear on your body. Sold. So I decided to try it out for myself. First I had to calculate my max heart rate, then calculate the 60%-70% range. To calculate your max heart rate, subtract your age from 220. Here is an example using a 40 year old person: 220-40=180. To calculate 60% of this, multiply 180 by 0.6: 0.6(180)=108. To calculate 70% of this, multiply 180 by 0.7: 0.7(180)=126.
So this means that an effective heart rate to be in a fat burning zone, for a 40 year old, will be between 108 and 126 beats per minute, or 108-126 bpm.
Calculation aside, now I want to tell you my results after testing this for oh I don't know, five, maybe six months. In short all I can say is that it seems to have worked for me for I have been in a mild caloric surplus for nearly two years now, perhaps longer, and am the leanest I have been at this weight. So over the last two years I've gained roughly 20 pounds. But, thanks to this cardio fat burning thingy, this is almost 100% been lean muscle mass. Usually at my current weight the pants I've owned for a decade or more would not be able to fit me well. In fact, when I started this fat burning zone stuff, I was maybe 5-6 pounds lighter and I was already having issues with these pants fitting. My butt and thighs were getting too big. My waist seconded this motion, but to a lesser extent. However after doing the fat burning zone cardio, all has been rectified. I'm just that little bit leaner. My pants fit me just fine again. And, my waist seems to be at a level of svelteness that I only previously remember seeing when I was actively in a mild caloric deficit by way of not only eating less food, but much less carbohydrates. I mean, just the other day I weighed in at a value that I couldn't believe based on what I was seeing in the mirror for previously there was a lot more body fat happening.
So I'd say this technique works for sure. Oh, and these results I've achieved have been just by doing 6 minutes on an elliptical (10 minutes on a treadmill) to the tune of ~80 calories. So not a huge time commitment. And to be clear, I do adhere to a diet that is rich in nutrient dense proteins, fats, and carbohydrates. And also to be clearer, my caloric surplus as of writing this works out eating quite a bit of food. To the tune of approximately 2800 calories per day.
If you are new to this technique and want to give it a go do the following. Do not change anything about your current physical fitness routine and eating habits. Just simply add 15-30 minutes of cardio 3-4 a week while keeping yourself in the fat burning zone according to your age. If you don't have a heart rate monitor, and are using a machine at the gym, use the one's on those machines. Check your heart rate every other minute or so. If it is above your fat burning zone, lower your pace. If it is below this zone, increase your pace. It's as simple as that. Dedicate yourself to this. Be consistent with it over time. Be consistent with your other exercise and eating patterns, and keep track of your physique in the mirror and your weight on a scale. Leave your results in the comments below. If you seem to be having trouble with your results, contact me and we can debrief everything together.
This is Part 1 of a multipart post.
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