Extreme Fat Loss Diet Plan By Lee Hayward http://www.totalfitnessbodybuilding.com When it comes to building a lean muscular physique there are times when you need to tip the scales in favor of building maximum muscle mass. And other times when you need to change focus and tip the scales in favor of burning maximum bodyfat. It s a delicate balance, but when done properly the end result is a BIGGER & LEANER physique. (Which is what we are all striving for.)
As for tipping the scales in favor of maximum fat burning, one of the best approaches is following a Low Carb diet plan. However, the thought of eating low carbs is one that scares many people. They fear that they ll lose all their hard earned muscle, have low energy, and just feel like a piece of crap. But this is just not always the case. In fact, there was a study done by Australian researchers with 60 overweight people. The subjects were divided into 2 groups. Half were following the typical high carb / low fat eating plan. And the other half followed a low carb / high fat eating plan. The interesting thing was that the test subjects ability to exercise, energy levels, perceptions of fatigue and exertion were consistent for both groups. However, the big difference was that the low carb group lost more weight and burned a higher percentage of bodyfat during exercise than the high carb group. This goes to show that for fat loss it s not just a matter of calories in verses calories out. The quality of the calories and where they come from plays a big role in your overall fat loss. When I m training for a bodybuilding competition and maximum fat loss is my main goal, I personally follow a Low Carb Diet and it works really well. I ve been competing in bodybuilding competitions since 1995 and during that time I ve followed all kinds of pre-contest diet plans, and the ones where I focused primarily on lowering my carbohydrates and increasing protein and fat always seemed to work the best and the fastest. Now the key point here is that I said Low Carb not NO Carb. There is a huge difference.
I m NOT recommending that you follow an extremely low carb diet, such as a Ketogenic Diet, that drastically cuts carbs to virtually zero. Diets that go so far as to drop healthy carbs like vegetables in order to get your carbohydrate intake down as low as possible are not healthy. This ridiculous approach to avoiding all carbs is what often leaves people feeling low energy, constipated, foggy mind, and just down right miserable when following such a drastic zero carb diet plan. Here in the Extreme Fat Loss Program you are going to follow a healthy Low Carb eating plan that consists of: Lots of lean protein foods such as; poultry, fish, red meat, eggs, and protein supplements. Lots of vegetables such as; fresh garden salads, broccoli, celery, spinach, lettuce, cucumber, cauliflower, zucchini, mushrooms, onions, peas, carrots, bean sprouts, etc. You ll also include moderate amounts of healthy fats in the form of almonds, olives, fish oil, flax seed oil, natural peanut butter, almond butter, avocados, etc. The key trick to following such a low carb diet plan and maintaining your energy levels while also satisfying your appetite is the combination of lots of vegetables and healthy fats. Fibrous vegetables are pure sources of nutrition. They are loaded with phytonutrients such as chlorophyll, polyphenols, carotenoids and other antioxidants help protect and nourish the body. By filling up on veggies you are getting all the good stuff you need, without all the empty calories that are often associated with typical high carbohydrate foods like sugars and starches.
Generally speaking, when it comes to vegetables - the more you eat, the better! You can literally eat veggies until your belly is full and never gain fat. But unfortunately, the same can t be said for breads, pastas, and sweets. Each time you eat; make sure to have a serving of protein along with a serving of vegetables. You have a lot of variety when it comes eating vegetables. You can have a fresh garden salad with your meal. You can have Asian style stir-fried meat and vegetable meals. You can have steamed veggies, etc For quick meals and snacks I like to keep a big veggie tray in my refrigerator consisting of chopped broccoli, celery sticks, carrot sticks, snow peas, etc. and I ll dip these veggies in a low carb salad dressing or natural peanut butter and chomp away whenever I m feeling hungry. The salad dressing and/or peanut butter will make the veggies taste better and it also provides some fat to help satisfy your appetite, give you energy, and fill you up. A lot of times when I m in a hurry and don t have time to sit down to the table for a proper meal, I ll simply have some chopped veggies dipped in natural peanut butter, and wash it all down with a protein shake. It s a super quick, high nutrient, healthy low carb meal.
Another trick that I use to sneak extra veggies in my diet is to use blender smoothies. You are probably familiar with mixing up protein shakes and frozen berries in the blender. But you can also use frozen vegetables in place of the frozen berries and make a protein veggie smoothie. I know it probably sounds gross, but it s really not. The protein powder masks the taste of the veggies and it s actually pretty good. You could even add in some artificial sweeteners like stevia if you want to make it taste a little sweeter. One of my favorite low carb blender drinks is to blend up: - 1 cup of pasteurized liquid egg whites - 1 scoop of protein powder - 1 cup of mixed frozen veggies (broccoli, carrot, cauliflower, etc.) - You could even add in some frozen strawberries if you like, because strawberries are low in carbs as well. - You can make up and drink it like a smoothie. Or you can make it a bit thicker by adding with more frozen veggies & strawberries so that you can eat it with a spoon. This is a simple high protein, high nutrient meal, that s very satisfying. On the following page you ll see a sample day s eating following the Extreme Fat Loss Diet Plan.
Sample Extreme Fat Loss Diet Plan for a 200 pound man Breakfast: Protein Carbs Fat 8 egg whites (1 cup liquid egg whites) 25 1 0 2 whole eggs 12 1 10 1 ½ cups of baby spinach 2 3 0 1 slice of provolone cheese 6 0 5 ½ grapefruit 0 7 0 Snack: 2 scoops of protein powder mixed in water: 50 6 2 2 tablespoonfuls of natural peanut butter 8 7 15 chopped veggies (i.e. celery, carrots, etc.) 1 10 0 Lunch: 5 oz. of protein (i.e. chicken, beef, fish, etc.) 38 0 13 Large garden salad with dressing 5 20 15 Snack: (High Protein Blender Smoothie) 1 cup pasteurized liquid egg whites 25 1 0 1 scoop of protein powder 25 3 1 1 cup of mixed frozen veggies 3 18 0 Dinner: 5 oz. of protein (i.e. chicken, beef, fish, etc.) 38 0 13 1 cup of steamed green veggies 3 18 0 Snack: 1 cup of Greek yogurt 25 10 5 1 ounce of raw almonds 6 6 14 ½ grapefruit 0 7 0 Totals: 272 118 93 Total Calories: 2397 (macro split: 45% protein, 20% carbs, and 35% fat) This diet plan is just a sample to go by. Obviously you would adjust the food volume and portion sizes based on your individual caloric needs. If you would like for me to personally help you with planning out your calories and macro-nutrient needs, just let me know on the Total Fitness Bodybuilding Members Forum at: http://www.totalfitnessbodybuilding.com/forum
Bonus: High Carb Re-Feed Meal Every 3rd Night To make the Extreme Fat Loss Diet work you MUST Carb Up every 3 rd night (or twice per week). The purpose to this carb up meal is to re-fill your glycogen stores and to help spike your metabolism. One of the problems with constantly following a low carb / low calorie diet is that your metabolism eventually slows down as your body gets accustomed to the reduced food intake. That s why a lot of overweight people are not always huge eaters, but they have conditioned their bodies to get fat, and then they hold on to that stored bodyfat through poor eating habits and a slow metabolism. However, by having a high calorie / high carb meal every few days, you ll avoid the metabolic pitfalls of low calorie / low carb dieting. This will keep your body from going into survival mode and slowing down the metabolic hormones, such as thyroid and leptin. This will keep your metabolism elevated and allow for faster easier fat loss. Purposely save this high carb up meal for your last meal of the day so that the carbs you eat get absorbed and used to re-fill muscle and liver glycogen, rather than burned off as energy. This carb up meal also serves as a motivational treat as well. Knowing that every few nights you get to have an indulgence in some tasty carbs will make the Extreme Fat Loss Diet much easier to follow. After all you only have to diet for 3 days before you get a break, and anyone can diet for 3 days if they are committed.
I generally recommend sticking to quality carb sources during your carb up meal, such as rice, pasta, oatmeal, fruit, etc. But if you want you can sneak in some Cheat Food as well. For example, you could have some popcorn at the movies, or even a couple slices of pizza for your high carb re-feed meal. After all the carb and calories you eat at this time will simply go towards filling out your depleted glycogen levels. And as long as you get right back to the low carb diet plan the very next morning you ll make awesome progress. The problem with having a full cheat day is that once you fill your glycogen stores, any extra carbs you eat beyond that will get stored as bodyfat. So rather than having a full day of cheating, your simply having 1 big carb up / cheat meal. As for portions, my advice is to simply eat until you are comfortably full. But avoid over stuffing yourself. Enjoy your re-feed meal and once your belly is full STOP EATING! Eating too much is actually more uncomfortable than being a little hungry. You don t have to eat everything you can get your hands on in a single meal, just eat enough to satisfy your appetite and cravings for food. Too many people treat a cheat meal as if it was their last meal and they try to eat everything they possibly can. Don t Do That Remember, you only have to diet again for a few more days and then you can enjoy another re-feed meal.
Monitoring Your Progress Monitoring Your Progress Is The Secret To Success In Bodybuilding Keeping tabs on your progress is critical when following a fat loss program. What gets tracked gets improved. Just giving conscious focus to monitoring your results on a regular basis will inevitably help you to improve. When you know exactly where you are in terms of your fat loss progress you can adjust your approach accordingly. But if you don t keep track of your progress you ll end up going through the motions, but spinning your wheels and going no where. Then a few months later you ll look back and wonder why you still look the same That s what happens in most cases when people complain that their workout or diet plan isn t working. Very often the root cause isn t necessarily the program they are following, but rather they are not keeping accurate records of their results. Things happen so gradually on a day to day basis that if you don t accurately measure your results you ll never know if you are gaining muscle, losing fat, or just stuck in a plateau.
Tracking Your Bodyweight With your fat loss program I want you to weigh yourself every single week at the same time each week. For example, get on the scale first thing every Saturday morning after using the bathroom. The reason I want you to weigh yourself every week is because it will give you a more accurate view of your progress. You bodyweight can easily fluctuate up and down 5 pounds (or more) per day. This is due to changes in food and water weight. So by weighing yourself at the same time each week, you ll have a better idea of your actual bodyweight changes without the distractions of daily fluctuations. Each week write down your bodyweight in a journal. It s critical to keep a journal for logging your results. This is so you can look back and review your results and see if your current workout and nutrition program is working for you, or if you need to make adjustments.
Testing Your Bodyfat Percentage In addition to keeping track of your bodyweight you also need to keep track of your bodyfat percentage with a bodyfat tester. Measure your bodyfat percentage every 2 weeks. Bodyfat percentage doesn t change as quickly as bodyweight. So simply measuring it once every 2 weeks is plenty to give you an accurate view of your progress. I have a complete video tutorial showing how to measure your bodyfat percentage, along with an online bodyfat percentage calculator, this is posted in the video section of the members website. Watch Video On How To Measure Your Bodyfat. Taking Your Measurements When you measure your bodyfat percentage you should also take your body measurements such as your waist, hips, arms, thighs, etc. and write them down. Even write down how you measured yourself. For example - Waist around the belly button - Chest around the nipple line - Largest part of the hips - Largest part of the upper thigh - Arms when flexed - Etc. Write down your measurements in your journal. This way you can refer back to them as you make progress with your fat loss.
Taking Progress Pictures In addition to taking your measurements, you also need to take progress pictures so you can have a visual record of your progress. This can be one of the most motivating and inspiring things about your whole physique transformation. No doubt you ve seen some very inspiring before and after pictures from others on my website. Now imagine how incredible it would feel to see your very own before and after physique transformation! To show you an example, just take a look at some of my progress pictures while training for the 2010 Atlantic Canadian Bodybuilding Championships. These were taken in 5-week increments, 10-weeks total time span from the before and the after picture. When you take progress pictures make sure to take them in the same place, with the same camera, and with the same lighting each time. Different cameras and lighting conditions can sometimes make you appear better or worse so try to be consistent with all your progress pictures.
Modifying Your Program There Is No Such A Thing As A Perfect Program! Everyday I get dozens of e-mail & comments from followers asking me for the perfect workout and diet plan. Lee, please tell me exactly what foods I need to eat, how much I need to eat, what supplements I need to take, and what exercises I need to do in the gym It seems simple enough doesn t it? However, the challenge is that there is NO perfect program for anyone. There are countless variables that come into play when designing a program for someone, such as: the level of training experience, individual fitness goals, previous workout and diet plans they ve followed, etc. All any coach can do is make an educated guess and set you up with a solid training and nutrition program template to follow based on your physical stats, fitness goals, training experience, etc. And then help you modify that program based on your actual results. The process of Monitoring Your Results and Modifying Your Program never ends! As you become more advanced as a bodybuilder and your body adapts to the current program you are following, your training and nutritional needs change as well. The program you followed originally to gain that first 20 pounds of muscle, or lose that first 20 pounds of bodyfat, may not be the same program you ll need to follow to continue making progress.
I ll use myself as an example; The diet and training programs I followed when I was a skinny teen looking to bulk up varied A LOT from the diet and training plans I followed when getting ripped for competition. And you ll experience the same type of thing as your body changes, your diet and training routines will have to change accordingly. Each phase of your physique transformation will require a different approach to diet and training. It is a constant cycle of Monitoring Your Results and Modifying Your Program. However, you can short-cut this process and save yourself years of trial and error by working with an experienced coach who has already achieved what you want to achieve. And that s exactly what I m going to provide you in the Total Fitness Bodybuilding Inner Circle. With all the data you get from Monitoring Your Progress by tracking your bodyweight, bodyfat percentage, body measurements, and progress pictures we ll be able to make modifications to your program as needed.
These are some of the possible scenarios that you may experience when following a Fat Loss Program. >> You lose bodyfat while gaining muscle. >> You lose bodyfat while maintaining muscle. >> You lose bodyfat and also lose muscle. >> You maintain bodyfat while gaining muscle. >> You maintain bodyfat and maintain muscle (no change) >> You gain bodyfat and lose muscle (highly unlikely!) This is how you would make adjustments for each situation: You lose bodyfat while gaining muscle. Congratulations! This is exactly what a good fat loss program is supposed to do. This is a perfect body composition change losing fat and gaining muscle. This is what most guys want to achieve with their workouts. If this happens your current program is a success. Keep on doing what you are doing because it is working! You lose bodyfat while maintaining muscle. Again, congratulations! You achieved very positive results. You improved your body composition by losing fat. When following a serious fat loss program I would not make any changes in this situation. You lose bodyfat and also lose muscle. This isn t bad, you still made positive progress with losing fat. But you depleted yourself a bit too much and lost some lean muscle mass in the process. What I d suggest you do for the next few weeks is increase your caloric intake by 300 per day. In addition to that you can try cutting back on your cardio to a maximum of 30 minutes per day. These changes should allow you to continue losing bodyfat while maintaining your muscle mass during your fat loss program.
You maintain bodyfat while gaining muscle. While this is not the ideal situation that you are training for when focusing on fat loss, it s certainly not bad. You made positive progress towards improving your physique with gaining muscle. But to tip the scales in favor of fat loss, simply decrease your calories by 500 per day. You can also increase your cardio as well. Either add an extra session per week and / or add an extra 10-15 minutes to each of your current cardio sessions. These changes should allow you to burn more bodyfat during your fat loss program. You maintain bodyfat and maintain muscle (no change). This is NOT good If you are following a proper weight training and nutrition program without making any positive progress what so ever, then something is wrong. You will need to honestly re-evaluate everything you ve been doing over the past month and see where you went wrong. Did you faithfully follow the diet recommendations? Did you perform the workouts as outlined in your program? While it s normal to slip up every now and then, you need to stick to your plan 90% of the time in order to make progress. I know from personally coaching literally hundreds of people that 9 out of 10 times if someone makes ZERO progress it s because they didn t faithfully follow their program. Review your program again and be totally honest with yourself. Don t wallow in self pitty and say poor me, I tried everything and nothing works Instead, man up and take responsibility for your results and find out where you went wrong. Regardless of your age, genetics, or physical situation Improvement Is Always Possible!
You gain bodyfat and lose muscle (highly unlikely!) I have a confession to make; I just put this one in here as a worst possible case scenario. I ve NEVER seen this situation before from anyone that I ve coached, but who knows it may happen someday If you honestly feel that you did everything 100% as outlined and gained fat while actually losing muscle, please do yourself a favor and get checked out by a doctor ASAP because this could be the sign of an underlining medical condition that may need treatment. If in the unlikely event that you fall into this scenario, you ve got bigger issues to deal with than any fitness coach can solve. If you have any questions about this program, or any fitness related questions at all, just visit the Total Fitness Bodybuilding Inner Circle Forum and post your questions there: http://www.totalfitnessbodybuilding.com/forum