BUILDING BLOCK 1: NEGATIVE CALORIE BALANCE
In order to successfully follow a diet, you have to take several variables into account, which are explained in detail using the following 7 diet building blocks.
The body only loses weight (especially fat) when less energy is supplied than consumed, which leads to a negative energy balance. The level and extent of the ENERGY BALANCE are therefore crucial in the breakdown of body fat and determine whether we lose fat, maintain our weight or even gain weight.
In order to achieve a negative energy balance, only the carbohydrate content in the diet should be reduced, while the proportions of proteins and fats should always remain constant, but more on that later.
BUILDING BLOCK 2: THE COMMUTER DIET
The pendulum diet, as the name suggests, moves like a pendulum, up and down. If we change something - for example, eat more or less - the body needs about four days to notice and counteract it. It is not concerned with a beautiful and muscular body, but with sheer survival. If it notices that the food intake has been drastically reduced, it regulates the metabolism down so that less valuable energy is wasted.
This means that on the fifth day you should eat more again to deceive your body and its natural control system. The organism now registers that more food is being consumed and sees no reason to slow down the metabolism - the optimal prerequisite for a successful diet.
For this reason, the pendulum diet is actually always successful if it is followed correctly and strictly. For your diet, I calculate a value of an average of 3000 kilocalories per day in order to lose fat consistently. The pendulum diet should therefore look like this:
CALORIE DISTRIBUTION IN THE COMMUTER DIET
- MONDAY (TRAINING DAY): 5000 KCAL
- TUESDAY (TRAINING DAY): 3500 KCAL
- WEDNESDAY (TRAINING FREE): 2000 KCAL
- THURSDAY (TRAINING DAY): 3500 KCAL
- FRIDAY (TRAINING DAY): 3500 KCAL
- SATURDAY (NO TRAINING): 2000 KCAL
- SUNDAY (NO TRAINING): 2000 KCAL
On Monday, calories are deliberately increased drastically to signal to the body that there is an abundance of food and no reason to slow down the metabolism. There is no danger of gaining weight as a result, as it is not the daily calorie balance that is important, but the weekly one.
If your weekly average is slightly negative, everything is fine. You can find more detailed information about the pendulum diet in the article:
THE COMMUTER DIET (AFTER A. FREY) .
BUILDING BLOCK 3: INCREASE PROTEIN CONTENT
By reducing carbohydrates, the body increasingly attacks its own proteins to convert them into energy. It gets these proteins from the hard-earned muscles (muscle tissue is less important for survival than fat, which provides twice as many calories as protein). Protein not only prevents catabolic processes, but also directly intervenes in the metabolism and increases it - depending on the foods chosen.
A PROTEIN-RICH DIET CAN INCREASE METABOLISM BY UP TO 30%!*
After a meal, there is what is known as postprandial thermogenesis, i.e. an increase in heat in the body that depends on the food consumed. With a high-fat meal, the body temperature rises by just four percent. With a high-carbohydrate meal, the increase is around seven percent, and with a high-protein meal, 20 to 30 percent - four times as much as with carbohydrates and seven times the heat development after a high-fat meal!
* see study: PROTEIN INCREASES BASIC NUTRITION
This metabolism-boosting effect can be used in a diet. BRANCHED CHAIN AMINO ACIDS (BCAAS) , which are best taken in capsule form before and after training and as tablets with meals (so that they can supply the muscle cells for several hours).
CASEIN-BASED PROTEIN is also recommended for a diet, as casein stays in the stomach for a long time and supplies the muscles with protein for five to six hours - it is the optimal protein for the evening hours and for in-between meals when a protein deficit needs to be compensated.
Due to its properties as an anti-catabolic protein, casein can protect the muscles, especially during the night hours, i.e. during the time when no nutrients and/or proteins are supplied.
BUILDING BLOCK 4: ADEQUATELY HIGH FAT INTAKE
Many people make the mistake of cutting out all fat when dieting - fat makes you fat and if you want to lose weight, you should reduce fat as much as possible. I used to think the same way and wasted a lot of diets as a result. The body reacts to the reduction in dietary fat by storing body fat because, as I said, it is concerned with survival and not with the ideals and goals of a bodybuilder.
For this reason, fat consumption is not reduced in a diet, but is kept at about ONE GRAM PER KILO OF BODY WEIGHT The maximum should be around 100 to 120 grams per day.
It is important that primarily polyunsaturated vegetable oils such as safflower, rapeseed and linseed oil are used. Rapeseed oil can be used for frying, but safflower and linseed oil cannot! Linseed oil is a special oil among the three types mentioned and, due to its highly unsaturated content, provides valuable energy that is not used to store fat, but to stimulate the metabolism. FISH OIL is rich in omega-3 fatty acids and is also one of the very high-quality, healthy and metabolism-activating fats. In the article THE BIG FAT REPORT you can read more interesting facts about fats and their sensible intake. If you want to learn more about the properties of omega-3 fatty acids, I recommend the article FISH OILS AND FAT BREAKDOWN .
BUILDING BLOCK 5: SHORT, HARD AND INTENSIVE TRAINING
All too often you hear "I'm going on a diet now and I'm sticking to a rep range of 15 to 20 reps per set so I can burn more calories." But when you're on a diet, it's not about burning as many calories as possible while lifting weights, it's about maintaining as much muscle mass as possible.
Muscle substance is active mass and increases metabolism. Someone who has a lot of muscle mass consumes many times more energy, i.e. calories, than an average athlete - the best conditions for successfully following a diet.
For this reason, especially during a diet, emphasis should be placed on heavy and intensive training - with a repetition range of eight to twelve. Advanced athletes can also use the holistic Hatfield principle, but this requires some experience. In the article about the TRAINING METHODS you will find further background information about the Hatfield system as well as other well-known training systems.
"THE OPTIMAL TRAINING DURATION IS BETWEEN 45 AND 60 MINUTES AND UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES LONGER!" (QUOTE: A. FREY)
Another important point is the length and frequency of training. Many bodybuilders train too often and for too long, following the motto: "If you want a lot of muscles, you have to train a lot!" However, this is a fallacy: After about 60 minutes of training, the catabolic hormone cortisol increases and catabolic processes are initiated. For this reason, training should be short - BETWEEN 45 AND 60 MINUTES - be heavy and intense.
BUILDING BLOCK 6: REGULAR CARDIO TRAINING
Cardio is an elementary component of a diet phase. Cardio is also advisable during the build-up phase to strengthen the heart. If you build muscle mass and neglect cardiovascular training, your heart will grow, but will not become more efficient. At some point, heart failure can occur - the heart is no longer able to supply the body with its own power.
However, during a diet phase, aerobic exercise can achieve even more. It can increase metabolism 24 hours a day, seven days a week, even with little metabolically active mass.
It is not about burning fat during the cardio session, but rather TO INCREASE METABOLISM AND AFTERWARDS BURNING FAT . You don't have to cycle for an hour and a half every day, a well-dosed unit of intensive cardio is enough, which is gradually increased from the first week of the diet.
THE PULSE RANGE OF 150 / MIN ENSURES MAXIMUM FAT LOSS AND A HIGH INCREASE IN METABOLISM.
If you do two 15-minute sessions in the build-up phase, you can increase it to two 30-minute sessions in the diet phase. After one to two weeks, increase it to three 30-minute sessions, after two to four weeks, increase it to four 30-minute sessions, and so on.
A maximum of seven hours a week will not be necessary for any bodybuilder - provided that you keep your heart rate between 140 and 160 beats per minute during the session. This means that you have to really sweat during the sessions to achieve anything.
Cardio training can be done either directly after weight training, on days when you don't train, or in the morning before breakfast. If it is done after weight training, it should not last longer than 30 minutes to counteract catabolic processes and the associated muscle loss. In the article AEROBIC TRAINING & FAT LOSS Effective cardio training is explained using examples and existing myths are dispelled.
BUILDING BLOCK 7: SUPPS FOR FAT LOSS
L-CARNITINE AS A FAT CARRIER
For those who want to boost their fat burning, there are various L-carnitine products on the supplement market. HOWEVER, L-CARNITINE ONLY HAS A BENEFICIAL EFFECT ON FAT BURNING if you do regular cardio training and limit your calories at the same time. L-carnitine does promote fat transport, but without appropriate aerobic training, fat cannot be released and therefore burned.
Here too, it is important to separate the wheat from the chaff, as many of the carnitine preparations on offer are simply ineffective due to the use of inferior ingredients. Anyone who values high quality and effectiveness should only use L-carnitine as Carnipure® from Lonza. Carnipure® from Lonza is the purest L-carnitine in the world.
CAFFEINE FOR ACTIVATION - TYROSINE FOR THE THYROID HORMONES
It is well known that caffeine has a stimulating and activating effect. It has also been proven that caffeine contributes to the breakdown of fatty acids in the body. A process that has a significant impact on the success of a diet, as the fatty acids released by caffeine can be burned much more efficiently in conjunction with endurance training.
Anyone who uses caffeine because of its stimulating effect should only use it sporadically and not on a regular basis, as the body gets used to the activating effect relatively quickly. On the other hand, anyone who wants to use caffeine as part of a diet to break down fat will benefit from its positive properties even if they take it regularly, as the fat-breaking process is not something you get used to and takes place permanently in the body.
Tyrosine is another substance that is often used during diet phases. As an amino acid, tyrosine has positive properties for the production of the vital thyroid hormones thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3). Optimized thyroid hormone levels have a decisive influence on the success of the diet, as low levels are ultimately responsible for a slow metabolism.
FAT BURNER TO INCREASE METABOLISM
So-called fat burners can also help you reach your ideal weight. But be careful! Particularly sensitive people may not be able to tolerate them. This includes people who suffer from high blood pressure and/or depression, for example, and women who are pregnant. Here, too, accompanying cardio training, calorie reduction and general perseverance during the diet play an important role in ultimately achieving your goals successfully.
We can only warn against fat burners from the USA and other European countries, as they often contain substances that are prohibited and can be harmful to health. Often, not all of the substances contained in such products are listed, not to mention the individual amounts of active ingredients, which significantly increases the risk of overdose.
CONCLUSION: FAT BURNERS AND CARNITINE PRODUCTS SHOULD NEVER BE CONSIDERED AS A SOLE WEIGHT LOSS AID, BUT ALWAYS BE COMBINED WITH A DIET AND REGULAR SPORTS ACTIVITIES. ONLY THEN CAN THEY HAVE THEIR FULL EFFECT AND SIGNIFICANTLY SUPPORT FAT LOSS
Using the 7 diet components in this article and the numerous pieces of information on this website, it should be easy for anyone to burn fat effectively! The knowledge is there, now only our own will and discipline decide what we are and what we can become...! Good luck with the implementation.