Body fat - What is the easiest way to measure it?

People usually measure their weight loss progress through body weight - which in my personal view is not the best method of tracking your weight loss. If you gain muscle and lose fat at the very same time, you will either gain weight (overall) or you will not see a major change in your weight...whereas you will have made improvements to your body composition.

You should always track your weight loss through body fat measurements, as they are a lot more accurate and give you a clearer picture. There are a number of methods to calculate your body fat percentage including the skinfold method, Bioelectric body fat analyzers and height and circumference method.

There is a lot on the internet talking about what the best method is, what you should buy to get most accurate results and why all other methods are point less. I'm not going to do that. Firstly, I'll just tell you that all methods work. You don't need a 10 decimal place accuracy to track your progress, you need estimates. All the methods will give you an estimate, one way or the other, so if you have a bioelectric calculator, then stick to it. Don't throw it away just because someone said that the skinfold or pinch method is more accurate.

I recommend all my clients to use any method, as long as you are actually tracking their body fat and not weight. If someone does not want to invest any money they, they just use my inch tape. The guys measure their waist once a week to see of there have been any change and the women track their hips and/or thighs. I agree that this is not going to be as accurate as the very well researched methods but it works pretty well. Guys always lose the maximum fat from the belly and girls always lose the maximum amount from the hips and thighs. You need to make it easy for yourself. You do not have to invest in any thing to get fit and even track your progress.

Hope this helps guys. I'll start posting more frequently, so stay tuned :)

World's Largest burger - 8000 calories!!

Guys, I just wanted to share this with you. I read about the Quadruple Bypass Burger, claiming to be the world's largest burger and has food worth 8000 calories in it. Mind you, a normal human being eats about 2000 - 2500 calories a DAY and we are talking about 8000 calories in one sitting..hmmm!!! You can see it at http://www.heartattackgrill.com.

The Heart Attach Grill offers this burger and also says that if you get a heart attack eating this burger - Doctors, nurses and wheel chairs are ready for you. They will even drop you to your car on a wheel chair. They also point out that "The Government Requires Us To Inform You That Our "Nurses" Do Not Actually Have Any Accredited Medical Training"...so don't expect them to save your life...infact, they may probably help in giving you a heart attack :D.



The Burger place promoted all round unhealthy food and tries to prove that unhealthy is the way to go. They also sell filterless cigerettes as a dessert...lol (that one just made me laugh). I just found it very interesting and wanted to share it with you. Although this is a very unhealthy option, I feel very jumpy about going their atleast once. Has anyone of you been there?

Vegetarian/Vegan diet to burn fat and build muscle

This post is a continuation of the previous post. I wanted to give you an idea of what a muscle building vegetarian meal is. You have lots and lots of options but it really depends on where you live. You can’t get meat substitutes and soy based products everywhere so you need to plan your diet according to what is possible for you.

Meal 1: Oatmeal or bran cereal with milk (soy or rice milk if you prefer)
Meal 2: Peanut butter sandwich (you can also use some jam or jelly)
Meal 3: Mashed potatoes with whole wheat pasta and Bolognese sauce
Meal 4: Tofu
Post workout meal: soy or whey protein shake with some sugar
Meal 6: Soy based product (burger, hot dog etc.) - mainly protein

You can add another meal before or after meal 4 which can be salad or fruits.

That following table was taken from http://ksteveh.tripod.com/protein.html. It outlines the High protein vegetarian foods that can be taken to build muscle.

Qty Protein Carbs Protein Fat Calories

Egg White from 1 egg 100% 0 4 0 16
Yves Veggie Back Bacon 2 slices 89% 1.2 10 0 44.8
Yves Veggie Deli Slice 2 slices 86% 1.3 7 0 35
Yves Veggie Hot Dog 1 dog 83% 2.2 11 0 52.8
Yves Veggie Ground Round 1/3 C. 78% 3.4 12 0 61.6
Breakfast Links 2 links 76% 3.8 12 0 63.2
Yves Pepperoni Slices 2 slices 76% 2.3 8.5 0.2 44.8
Yves Burger Burgers 1 burger 73% 6.7 18 0 98.8
Yves Veggie Turkey Slice 2 slices 70% 3.4 8 0 45.6
Yves Veggie Ham Slice 2 slices 70% 3 7 0 40
Boca Burger 1 burger 62% 8 13 0 84
Cott Cheese 1/2 C 61% 6.7 15 1.3 98.5
Super Soy Burger-Soy City 1 burger 56% 13.2 25 2.9 178.9
Second Nature Burger 1 burger 51% 8 15 2.8 117.2
Lightburger 1 burger 50% 14 16 1 129
Soy Cheese 1 slice 39% 1 4 2.3 40.7
Tempeh 113 g (1/4 pkg) 38% 3.5 11 6.5 116.5
Tofu-La Soyarie 1/4 pkg 113.5 g 36% 3 12 8 132
Green Chef Burger 1 burger 35% 8.2 13.8 7.5 155.5
Veg Cutlet 1 cutlet 34% 9.1 14 8.3 167.1
Veg Cutlet w/Spinach Zoglo's 1 cutlet 28% 14 14 10 202
La Soyarie Nutburger 1 burger 26% 6.2 9.6 9.3 146.9
Cheddar Cheese 1 oz. 25% 0.6 7.1 9.1 112.7
Green Chef Cutlet 1 cutlet 19% 18.4 8.4 8.1 180.1
Veg Pate (Fontaine Sante) 55 g 17% 12.4 5.8 7.3 138.5

The above are examples and there are a lot more variations of high protein vegetarian foods. Look into more combination proteins, stick to whole wheat and avoid over eating.

Here is sample fat loss vegetarian diet.



Carbs Protein Fat Calories

Breakfast
Bread 1 slice 18 4.2 1.5 102.3
Egg White from 4 egg 0 16 0 64
Whey Protein 1 scoop 2 24 0.5 108.5
Veggie Breakfast Links 2 links 3.8 12 0 63.2
Total 23.8 56.2 2 338

Lunch
Ratatouille 24.4 28.1 7.5 276.9

Mid Afternoon Snack
Celery 3 stalk 4.8 0 4.8 0.4
Bread 1 slice 18 4.2 1.5 102.3
Almond Butter 1 T. 4 3 8 100
Total 26.8 7.2 14.3 264.7

Supper
BIG SALAD 30.1 18.8 17.5 352.9
Boca Burger 1 burger 8 13 0 84
Total 38.1 31.8 17.5 436.9

Evening Snack
Strawberries 1C whole 12.5 1 0.7 60.3
Cott Cheese 1/2 C 6.7 15 1.3 98.5
Total 19.2 16 2 158.8

DAY TOTAL 132.3 139.3 43.3 1,475.30

If you want to lower your calories even more, then remove the breads and you will drop down to about 1200 calories.

Hope this was useful for you guys. Just to re-iterate - You can get an excellent physique through a vegan/vegetarian diet and you can get excellent results by sticking to a high protein vegetarian diet.

Hope this was useful for you. Stay tuned for some more information on vegetarian diets and some muscle building hints and tips.

Q&A - Vegetarian diet to build muscle quickly

Question:

Is it possible to put on useful muscle mass on a diet mainly comprising of dal-roti, and sub-continent vegetarian food with a bit of lactose intolerance? One or two eggs per day (not sure of the conclusion of the debate about dietary and serum cholestrol relationship though), and occasional meat are okay.

Also, there are other constraints as well like:
- A 13 hour job including commute, leaving very little time to do any meaningful exercise on weekdays.
- Very little possiblility of taking 5-6 balanced meals. The staple remains, lentils/legumes and Whole-wheat/Polished-rice.
- No possibility of going to a Gym, hence relying on body
-weight, and a bar with some not-so-heavy weights.Will be delighted if something could still be worked out despite above limitations.

Answer:
I recently got this question and thought that writing a full answer would be useful for a number of people out there. The question is concentrating mostly around a busy life and vegetarian food. I will address both the concerns one by one, so here goes.

Yes! It is possible to gain muscle while on a sub-continental vegetarian diet. In order to build muscle you need sufficient amount of calories – protein in particular. If you cannot take lean protein such as chicken and fish etc. then the next best option is dairy which includes milk, yogurt, cheese, eggs etc. If you are lactose intolerant and are not allowed to take in a lot of diary then you take combination proteins. Combination proteins are when you combine more than one kind of food to make a complete first great protein. There are 4 major food groups for combination proteins:

Group 1: Whole grain breads, cereals, rice, pastas etc.

Group 2: Legumes – Lentils, beans, peas

Group 3: Vegetables

Group 4: Nuts and seeds

Now, you can combine foods from group 2, group 3 or group 4 with group 1 to get a complete protein meal. However, you have the possibility of getting carbohydrates and proteins with it as well, so you cannot call it lean protein but complete protein. Some examples of combination proteins are whole wheat bread and beans, rice (preferably brown) and potatoes/other vegetables, nuts and cereal. The only thing is that in the sub-continent, oil is used very frequently and in large amounts. You need to reduce the amount of cooking oil used – instead, use olive oil, omega 3 and 6 oils etc. So the answer is – YES, you can build muscle on a vegetarian diet. You can get the required amount of calories and protein to help you gain muscle mass. It is also very important to do the right kind of exercises to build muscle.

The second concern was about the lack of time. You don’t need to spend hours in the gym – unless you want to become a professional body builder. The important point is that you need to workout hard (10 – 20 minutes is enough) and keep giving your body nutrients to repair the muscle and at the same time increasing muscle mass. It doesn’t matter whether you workout at night or workout early in the morning, the key is to just DO IT. There are no excuses now. All you need is 15 minutes out of your day for a good workout and you are good to go.

I personally would recommend doing pull push sessions where one day you do pull exercises and the next day you do push exercises. You want to engage many muscle groups at the same time and exhaust them. This will take less time and give you better results. Don’t do things like single body part etc. That is more for the pros and people who are already is excellent shape. If you want to grow – then you need to increase your testosterone, HGH and insulin levels. You can’t increase insulin and HGH at the same time, so it really depends on your body type. If you are chubby then concentrate on the HGH methods otherwise use insulin.

You don’t need a nutritionist certified diet to build muscle, just eat all the healthy things around you when you can e.g. take a lunch box to the office, keep some almonds with you at all time, keep healthy snacks in the office fridge.

I have a funny feeling that there is A LOT more that should be written here so I guess I will post a diet guide and some exercises in the next couple of posts so stay tuned.

The top 5 fat burning exercises

I have been writing about how to lose fat and how to design your own plans for some time now, so I thought I would write about some thing different - the best fat burning exercises that you concentrate on rather than searching the web or other places. As mentioned in earlier posts, you need to engage maximum and larger muscle groups to get the best results.

According to TT (Turbulence Training), you should do a squatting movement, upper body pushing, upper body pulling, single leg movement and a full body abs movement. If you think about it, you hit each and every muscle group which a high intensity and get the most out of it. However, wouldn’t it be useful if you do 2 or 3 exercises instead of 5 but still engaging all the muscles? The good thing about this is that you increase the release of even more HGH if you engage more muscle groups at the very same time. I have discussed some basics about HGH in previous posts and will be writing details very soon.

I intend to give you the 5 best exercises that take you one step ahead of the TT concept. These are some what intermediate movements, so if you find these to be very hard then either lower the weights or make the exercises slightly simpler.


Number 5: Pullup and hanging leg raise
The usual pullup, but when you get to the top, you raise your legs like a hanging leg raise, lower your legs and come back down. You engage your back, abs, biceps and forearms. Try this only if you can already do 10 pullups in one go.

Number 4: Squat and push
In this exercise you hold a barbell across your shoulders. Do a barbell squat and when you come up; go right into a shoulder press without pausing. This exercise will engage your thighs, buttocks, core, shoulders, triceps and back for stabilizing. If you want an advanced version, then change the exercise to ‘Lunge and push’.

Number 3: Deadlift and pull
You do a deadlift and continue to an upright row. Usually, the weights for a deadlift are reasonably heavy. This really depends on you – how much weight you want to use. My recommendation, it should be heavy enough for an upright row but not light enough that you don’t feel the deadlift. In this exercise, you engage your thighs, back, traps and deltoids (shoulders), biceps and forearms.

Number 2: High jump burpees
Start with lying face down on the floor. In one smooth motion, do a pushup, bring your legs in (towards the chest), do a squat and jump high. Now in the exact opposite manner, come back to the start position. If done with good speed and control, this is one the GREATEST fat burning exercises. You work your chest, thighs, calves, abs and shoulders. Joint this with the ‘Pullup and hanging leg raise’ for an amazing full body workout in less than 10 minutes.

And the winner is: Sprints
HIIT is ruling the world right now and sprints are ruling HIIT. Go to a track, do a warm up and then sprint for a good few seconds (10 – 30 seconds) depending on your fitness levels. 6 – 8 of them and you will be drained. Trust me!! All hormones, EPOC, RMR – everything turn to help you burn more and more fat.

Now all the exercises above will help you lose weight. The key is, to exhaust all major muscle groups. You are not trying to become a pro-body builder so you don’t need to concentrate on this head of the tricep or that part of the chest. Treat it as one muscle and just exhaust it. 15 reps for a 3 – 5 sets per exercise is good enough with a 30 second rest. The best way is to alternate between two or three exercises.

Hope this was useful. Please do leave comments and questions. Please digg it as well if you get the time and like what you see. Stay tuned for lots lots more.

Just an update

Hi all. Sorry I haven't been posting much. I was actually away for a few days (actually I still am) with no internet and no laptop. Just got a chance to come online so I thought I would drop a small message just telling you guys not to be disheartened. I have an AMAZING post ready to be published as soon as I get back.

I am also really excited because I started my workouts 2 days ago. I stopped working during the month of RAMADAN due to fasting. So, now I am back on track. Been working out hard. My chest, shoulders and thighs are SO sore that I could not walk down the stairs this morning. It is fun though!! I feel energetic already.

I am thinking of my current routine as well...But I will do that in a week's time, one I have completed the whole thing once :).

Stay tuned guys, I have got lots amazing stuff still to come.