Why 95% Gain it Back

There's a statistic out there that says 95% of people that lose a significant amount of weight eventually gain it back.

There's a few reasons for this. All of it comes down to survival. The body is a fat storing machine. It wants that energy reserve for times of famine (which we never deal with anymore).

According to Dr. Harry Sitren, Thyroxine (your thyroid hormone) can drop as much as 25-35% during a diet. This slows your metabolic rate and makes it difficult to continue losing weight. When people go off their diets, they usually increase their calories too much. You have to increase very slowly so as to allow your T3 levels to keep up.

Another major reason is the minimal amount of triglyceride in fat cells. Fat cells increase and decrease in size in response to overfeeding and underfeeding respectively. When they grow to a certain size, though, the cell will undergo mitosis and divide - leaving you with more fat cells. This is undesirable as each fat cell wants to store a certain amount of minimum fat. So when you diet, your fat cells will decrease in size. The bottom line is those with more total fat cells will have a harder time keeping their fat off due to more of them hording dietary fat.

Then there's the obvious hunger hormones that contribute to overeating. Leptin, which keeps you satiated, will decrease during a diet while Ghrelin, which triggers hunger, will increase substantially.

Dieting also increase the activity of the enzyme lipoprotein lipase (LPL). This enzyme promotes the storage of fat in both adipose tissue and muscle cells. It increase more in those people who are fattest prior to weight loss.

Another reason I believe people gain back the weight is that they sacrafice a lot of lean tissue in the process. People see the scale weight going back up and freak out even though they're actually gaining back the muscle they lost during a diet.

I believe there's also psychological factors at play and I'm sure there's a multitude of other hormones and/or enzymes etc at play but given this information, it would seem to me that a low fat, high carbohydrate diet is the most appropriate diet after a diet. This type of diet will decrease the amount of potential dietary fat that the fat cells can soak up due to LPL and their minimum requirements. The high carbohydrate content would be most efficient at getting the Thyroid fully functional again. The key is SLOW increases though.

L-Carnitine Tartrate

Here is one supplement that people have been using forever with little success. Usually taken in the form Acetyl-L-Carnitine, L-Carnitine is marketed as a fat loss supplement as the amino acid plays a critical role in transporting fat to the mitochondria of the cell for energy.

The potential of L-Carnitine is great as it doesn't stop there. There may be cognitive benefits as well as liver health.

But it really hasn't been very impressive.

Recently though, some studies were published about L-Carnitine Tartrate. Here is a study that showed 1g supplementation of it after a work significantly reduced muscle soreness and stress markers.

http://www.nutraingredients.com/Research/Low-dose-Carnipure-tartrate-promotes-exercise-recovery-study

Other studies have been published that show the same form upregulates androgen receptor activity.

In light of these recent studies, I purchased some L-Carnitine tartrate as it is not that expensive. I will be posting my thoughts about it in the future.

Sleep

I wish I could get better sleep. I have somewhat of a cold and the past 3 nights have been horrible by my standards.

Studies have shown and increase in Ghrelin and a decrease in Leptin when subjects got less than 8 hours of sleep per night. Ghrelin triggers hunger. Leptin is your adipocytes satiety hormone. They also found that the less sleep you got, the worse it gets.

I've always been very big on sleep - generally aiming for 9-10 hours per night. I feel that I can function best with this amount of sleep.

As such, I take certain supplements to ensure a good nights sleep. One is ZMA. ZMA stand fors inc Magnesium Aspartate.

The ZMA study most often cited as evidence of efficacy was co-investigated by Lorrie Brilla, Ph.D., at Western Washington University, and Victor Conte of Balco Labs in Burlingame, Calif. Conte is the inventor and patent owner of ZMA. Brilla and Conte studied 12 NCAA division II football players who took ZMA nightly during an eight-week spring training program. A separate group of 15 took placebo.

In the athletes taking ZMA, researchers measured a 30-percent increase in both free and total testosterone. (Free testosterone exists in blood; total includes levels in blood and in cells.) Testosterone levels in the placebo group declined by 10 percent, a result of hard training. The placebo group displayed a 21.5 percent decline in blood IGF-1 levels, while there was no significant change in the ZMA group.

In addition to improvements reported in anabolic hormone levels and sleep quality, the athletes made significantly greater gains in muscle strength and power. After eight weeks of training, the ZMA group experienced an 11.6 percent increase, compared to a 4.6 percent increase in the placebo group.

The magnesium is what is thought to cause better sleep quality. Actually, most minerals tend to have a relaxing effect on the body. However, they compete for absorption so don't take ZMA with any Calcium.

Now, I ALWAYS take ZMA. It's a staple to me but I always include at least of these 3 along with it:
1. 5-HTP
2. GABA
3. Melatonin

I alternate these every month. So one month is ZMA/5-HTP, the next ZMA/GABA etc.

5-HTP is a chemically altered form of L-tryptophan - an essential amino acid. It is responsible for the sleepiness you get after eating Turkey on Thanksgiving. Turkey has a lot of L-Trypotophan. This supplement also works to increase serotonin levels and might act as a mild appetite suppressant.

GABA is an inhibitory neurotransmitter found naturally in the body. Studies have shown that taking it orally can increase growth hormone levels. GH naturally spikes during the night and when you take it orally it acts to relax you. Some users get a tingling sensation about the face. I've found that this effect subsides after about 1 month of use.

Melatonin is probably the strongest sleep aid of this group. It is actually a hormone that is available over the counter that your body produces nautrally in dark environments. About 3mg of this stuff is sure to knock me out. Taken in higher dosages, it's a great antioxidant.

Bodybuilding Art

http://www.builtbodyart.net/bbart_gallery.htm

What Motivates Me

I've recently been asked what motivated me to do what I do and I've been thinking about it a lot.

I believe I'm motivated by success. I've always believed that I am here to make a difference. I want to leave the world a better place than I came into it. I would LOVE to be remembered for something.

This bodybuilding/fitness/nutrition thing is my passion and I truly believe this is where I'll make my mark.

It's not about money. It's about the fulfillment I get from a good hard training session. It's about the elation I get from FINALLY getting to stand on stage after 16 weeks of dieting. It's about getting my parents to tell me they're proud of me.

It's all mental. It always is.

Pimping My Gym

I love this gym. I highly doubt there's a more hardcore bodybuilding gym in Florida. If you're ever in the Gainesville, FL area, definitely check it out.

It was home to the Gainesville Bodybuilding Championships up until last year. A new owner has recently took over and is upgrading it quite a bit.

If you want a referral, just ask natural guru, Layne Norton. He has trained there on occasion.

http://www.gainesvillegym.com/home.html

Homecoming

So this weekend was homecoming at my school. That means a 3 day weekend. It was very much needed as I have 3 tests coming up next week.

Anyway, Homecoming at my school is a very big thing. We have the world's largest student-run pep rally with great performers from everyone like Carrot Top to Lynard Skynard. We also have a great football team that beat Kentucky in the Homecoming game 63-3! We have a parade and other festivities too.

I was quite surprised though. It didn't seem like there were more people in town than normal. During any big game (like LSU for example) there seems to be the same amount of people that come out for Homecoming.

It made me wonder just how many alumni make the trip.

And I thought to myself, I will most definitely have to make that trip at least once if for nothing more than support of my school.

Day After the Fast

So I've got about 3 meals in me after having fasted for an entire day yesterday.

There's a noticeable difference in energy for sure. After my first meal I felt a lot better - and I haven't even had any carbs.

My digestion seems to be a lot better though. I won't go into details but there is no bloating/uncomfort/gas.

Overall, I think this is a good idea to do every once in a while. I can't see doing it every week or even every month and I don't think it would be needed that often.

It was a good way to start off a small mini-diet.

One Day Fast

So I've been enticed to try yet another radical thing with my diet. Yes, I've decided to fast for a day.

Why not? Money is tight and my digestive system can use the rest.

Studies have shown improved insulin sensitivity and life extension with periodic fasting. A radio show called Superhuman radio talked a lot about and got me wanting to try it.

I've still been taking in plenty of fluids (obviously) and had a great workout.

I was surprised to find that I didn't really get hungry until pretty late in the evening.

I might report again tomorrow about what I feel like.

Greater Gainesville Bodybuilding Championships

I was thoroughly impressed with the athletes at the Greater Gainesville this past weekend. The overall winner and the lightheavyweight champion in particular look national level to me.

There wasn't many athletes but it was definitely a better turn out than when it was operated by the Gainesville Gym (my gym). It is now a level 2 event and IFBB pro Darrem Charles and his son Renel (who I competed against) were the guest posers.

So it looks like things are looking up.

Here are the photos. The overall winner was over 40 years old and a BEAST.

http://www.iajephoto.com/photocart/index.php?do=photocart&viewGallery=5783

Limitations

There is little more important to physical or even mental progress than the simple belief that success can be achieved. The ability to see yourself in the position you strive for can often be what separates those who talk about what they want to do and those who actually do it.

Why accept limitations? Why do you need to see some one else do it before you can? Many trends in breaking records is testament to the fact that people need to see other achieve something before them.

Don't accept that! ANYTHING is possible. You should awake each day with the world at your finger tips. Be you. Do something that's never been done before.

Easier said than done? Of course!

But that doesn't mean you shouldn't be TRYING. All champions do.

And eventually...they succeed.

Fructose

A study at my university has added to the mounting evidence that fructose is making America fat.

High fructose corn syrup is a cheap sweetener that is found in everything from sugary sodas to half and half.

In short, the study showed that too much fructose can lead to leptin resistance. Leptin is a hormone in the body that controls hunger. When bodyfat is high, leptin is high and hunger is low in healthy individuals. When you're resistant to leptin, hunger will be normal or high despite an abundance in calories and bodyfat.

To see the full study, go here:

http://news.ufl.edu/2008/10/16/fructose-leptin/

Progression

Pretty good workout today. My only complaint is the SLOW progress I'm making on the rack deads. I had to remind myself that an increase in reps with heavy weight is worth more than an increase in weight. In other words, if I progressed like this:

Last Time: 350 x 2 = 700lbs
This Time: 350 x 3 = 1050lbs

It's better than if I did:

Last Time: 350 x 2 = 700lbs
This Time: 370 x 2 = 740lbs

Now when you're doing something like lateral raises, where the working weight is much lower, the opposite applies. Doing more reps usually yields more progression. For example:

Last Time: 25 x 10 = 250lbs
This Time: 30 x 10 = 300lbs

As opposed to:

Last Time: 25 x 10 = 250lbs
This Time: 25 x 11 = 275lbs

Take this into account next time you're training!

Ecclesiastes Rocks!

"I have concluded that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to enjoy themselves as long as they live, and also that everyone should eat and drink, and find enjoyment in all his toil, for these things are a gift from God." --Ecclesiastes 3:12-3:13

Maybe...

Maybe we're going about living all wrong.

Everything we do is driven by money. We go to school so we can get a good job and make a lot of money. We go to work to directly MAKE money. We look for coupons and good deals so we can save money. The list goes on and on.

The thing is, money will never make you happy. Only you can make you happy.

And none of us are guaranteed tomorrow - let alone retirement.

So maybe we should focus on enjoying life and being remembered as a good person.

I know I wouldn't think any less of my role models if they didn't have a big house or a nice car. It's not coming with them when they go to the big gym in the sky anyway.

"For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity." -- Ecclesiastes 3:19

Innate Desire

I have a good friend who has GREAT potential to be an awesome powerlifter.

Unfortunately, he lacks that extra something.

See, he wants to compete and get his diet in order and do everything that all the best powerlifters do. The problem is, he can't stick to anything. He drops out of meets, injures himself, falls off the wagon on diets etc. I can tell he really likes powerlifting but it seems to me that he doesn't do what it takes out of the gym to make his dreams reality.

Maybe he just can't remind himself just how bad he wants it when the diet gets tough. Or maybe he's afraid that he'll fail even if he does everything right.

At any rate, he's just going along for the ride when it comes to his life.

Champions MAKE time for what they need to do. Successful people often have crazy schedules of 12+ hours of work per day. They do it because they want that end result bad enough. They do it because they love it.

Champions take control of their lives. If they say they're going to do something, they do it - come hell or high water. This kind of mindset gives one confidence that their goals will indeed become reality - and if you can believe in yourself like that, NOTHING can stand in your way.

So I'm finding that only a select few have this burning innate desire to NEVER give up in the face of adversity just because they want something bad enough. Are you one of them?

Glycerol Follow Up

My post on glycerol still had me thinking and I couldn't seem to find an answer by researching. So I decided to ask my nutrition professor here at the University of Florida Dr. Harry Sitren, PhD.

I inquired "Why doesn't the body just deanimate triglycerides and use the glycerol backbone to synthesize glucose while on a no/low carb diet?"

His response in a nutshell:

It can and it does.

The problem is, glucose is a 6 carbon sugar. Glycerol is a 3 carbon sugar. So for every one triglyceride molecule, we can make one half glucose.

Moreover, triglycerides are only broken down to monoglycerides in the intestinal tract. So it needs to be further deanimated before synthesis of glucose from glycerol can occur.

Basically, not only is it an inefficient process but it's also a metabolically expensive process- maybe even more expensive than the energy it would yield.

This explains why the body opts for ketosis instead.

Theoretically, consuming glycerol could not a person out of ketosis because of the aforementioned processes even though it doesn't raise blood sugar. However, one would have to consume a VERY large amount of it.

Current Economic Crisis Facts

I thought this was funny.

"If you had purchased $1,000 of shares in Delta Airlines one year ago,
you will have $49.00 today.

If you had purchased $1,000 of shares in AIG one year ago, you will have
$33.00 today.

If you had purchased $1,000 of shares in Lehman Brothers one year ago,
you will have $0.00 today.

But, if you ha d purchased $1,000 worth of beer one year ago, drank all
the beer, then turned in the aluminum cans for recycling refund, you
will have received a $214.00.

Based on the above, the best current investment plan is to drink heavily
& recycle. It is called the 401-Keg plan.

A recent study found that the average American walks about 900 miles a
year. Another study found that Americans drink, on average, 22 gallons
of alcohol a year. That means that, on average, Americans get about 41
miles to the gallon!"

Money Saving Tips

1. Shop at Sam's Club and/or Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart DOES have some groceries. And if they have their own brand of it, it's generally going to be your best buy.

Investing in a Sam's Club or Costco membership usually pays itself off within a month or so. After that, it's all saved money.

2. Shower at the gym
If you have the tendency to take long, hot showers, showering at the gym can cut down drastically on your electric bill.

3. Get a Bike
Have you seen the price of gas lately? Besides, using a bike to get around is a lot healthier. You'd be surprised just how much is within biking distance. Sometimes a bike is even faster than a car!

4. Drink More Water
Juices and sodas add up! Besides, drinking water will keep you full thus cutting down on food bills.

5. Get online coupons
Try http://www.fatwallet.com

Glycerol - Super Confusing

I've been experimenting a lot with glycerol lately after some people claimed that consuming it didn't kick them out of ketosis. It made sense to me and seemed exciting. Glycerol (or glycerin or glycerine) is the backbone of a triglyceride. It is a 3 carbon sugar. Technically, it's a sugar alcohol.

It CAN be converted to glucose by liver.

BUT wouldn't that mean that, when on a no carb diet, the body could just deanimate triglycerides and convert the glycerol to glucose? We know this doesn't happen though as ketosis has been reported on many, many occasions.

One thing that I think contributes to the body's lack of doing this is the fact that is a metabolically expensive pathway. It may just be easier for the body to convert fatty acids to ketones.

Another factor could be the abundance of fatty acids relative to glycerol. For every one glycerol molecule in a triglyceride, there are 3 fatty acids.

Finally, being in a caloric deficit could help give the body impetus to use ketones instead of glycerol.

But what about those who are in a caloric surplus on a no carb diet? Or what about those who diet on a no carb diet but carb up every so often? Could glycerol be detrimental to their progress?

This is something that has me very intrigued and I think it needs more research.

We do know that glycerol:

1. Doesn't effect blood glucose to any significant degree
2. Has a hydrating/dehydrating effect
3. Has 4.32 calories per gram
4. Is 60% as sweet as sucrose

The last two points have made it a popular addition to various protein bars and for good reason. Usually people only consume a protein bar when they eat it without any other food in that meal. Since glycerol doesn't effect blood sugar, it seems like the perfect "carb" for that time. The sweetness is another bonus.

As far as the hydrating/dehydrating effect, I'm personally having a hard time seeing results. So far I've tried it without water and with water. Even with it I seem to feel more dehyrated when taking it than anything. I have noticed an increase in sweating though.

Perhaps I'm not taking enough water.

At any rate, I think I'm just (and research is just) scratching the surface in terms of potential uses for this...substance?

So Grim...

I think the world isn't half as grim as most people think it is. Miracles happen everyday that seem to go without notice.

A recent poll revealed that 88% of women and 75% of men pray in a typical week. Of those percentages, 95% thank god.

An overwhelming majority have the right idea and they MUST have something to thank God for.

It's understandable why people think the world is such a terrible place though. We are constantly bombarded by media with bad news. Everything from the stock market about to crash to starving kids in Africa. It's a very rare occurrence that they report on something uplifting.

For that reason, I don't watch a lot of TV anymore. In fact, I hardly watch it at all and I think I'm a lot better off for it.

My thoughts on Skiploading (so far)

Skiploading is a precontest method of basically loading early and spilling over and then returning to your normal diet for a few days to let the water leave.

I've repeated this about 4 times now and I'm still trying to get it down. So with that said, I don't consider myself anywhere near an expert on this method - or even that experienced with it.

Overall, I think it works pretty well. I haven't been able to just stop my training after a load so I haven't seen myself dry and as full as I could be but it seems like 3 days after the load the water is completely gone.

I know Skip doesn't count his carbs on this method but I've been keeping it around 1200 just to be consistent. I learned early that getting them all from things like low fat pop tarts and fat free fig newtons left me hungry!

So I think of mix of junk and clean foods is best. I like to start with junk and then switch to clean foods in the evening before bed. By that time, I'm sick of them anyway.

Something I've noticed is that I never get the "insulin coma" that I would sometimes get on a cheat day precontest. It seems like the days between each load with zero carbs keeps my VERY insulin sensitive.

I'd like to experiment with using glucose disposal agents on this protocol. Right now I'm tinkering with the water amounts.

I love this!

Antioxidants - Eat Your Beans!

Below is a list of the foods with the highest anti-oxidants.

I was totally unaware that beans ruled this category. You always hear about berries but nothing about beans.

1
Small Red Bean (dried)
Half cup
13727

2
Wild blueberry
1 cup
13427

3
Red kidney bean (dried)
Half cup
13259

4
Pinto bean
Half cup
11864

5
Blueberry (cultivated)
1 cup
9019

6
Cranberry
1 cup (whole)
8983

7
Artichoke (cooked)
1 cup (hearts)
7904

8
Blackberry
1 cup
7701

9
Dried Prune
Half cup
7291

10
Raspberry
1 cup
6058

11
Strawberry
1 cup
5938

12
Red Delicious apple
One
5900

13
Granny Smith apple
One
5381

14
Pecan
1 ounce
5095

15
Sweet cherry
1 cup
4873

16
Black plum
One
4844

17
Russet potato (cooked)
One
4649

18
Black bean (dried)
Half cup
4181

19
Plum
One
4118

20
Gala apple
One
3903

Gratitude

As cheesy as it sounds, I've really found the old "Count your blessings" thing to work.

I start of each day thanking god for my health and this opportunity to succeed among all the little joys that appeared the day before. It puts me in the right state of mind. I start to look for the good things in life instead of constantly focusing on the bad things.

If you get into the habit of doing this. You start to realize just how good you have it.

I also conclude each day thanking God for all he's given me. There is never a day that goes by without something happening I am thankful for.

So are you appreciating all that you have?

The Density of Foods in America

So I'm on a zero carb diet where I refeed every 3-4 days. On these days, I'm eating 1000g+ of carbohydrates with minimal fat and very controlled protein. As such, insulin is sky high all day so it doesn't really matter where the carbohydrates come from as long as they're low fat.

So I went out and got things like Fat Free Fig Newtons and Low Fat Pop Tarts.

The problem with that is it only takes about fig newtons to eat 100g of carbs.

I was ending up hungry on my high days!

My new favorite foods on these days are pretty much the typical bodybuilding foods now (rice cakes, oatmeal etc.)

Don't get me wrong, the fat free ice cream I've discovered is AMAZING.

But the point is it's no wonder America is fat and was still fat when the low fat craze in the 90's was going on. The get rid of the fat in pop tarts but then add more sugars to make up for it.

People don't have any clue just how much they're putting away.

I've talked to many people that have 4 or 5 pop tarts for breakfast and think nothing of it.

That's 160-200g of carbs (mostly from sugar) and 28-35g of fat (including trans fat).

Check out this bad boy:

http://www.baskinrobbins.com/Nutrition/product.aspx?Category=Beverages&id=BV273

How many customers (*coughVICTIMS*cough) do you think look up the nutrition facts before they go eat that?

Look into Volumetrics people!

Deleted

The Final Word on Nutrition

I found this on a message board and thought it was quite funny.

THE FINAL WORD ON NUTRITION


After an extensive review of all the research literature I could lay my hands on, here’s my final word on nutrition and health.:

1. Japanese eat very little fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than us.
2. Mexicans eat a lot of fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than us.
3. Chinese drink very little red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than us.
4. Italians drink excessive amounts of red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than us.
5. Even the Germans, who drink beer and eat lots of sausages and fats, suffer fewer heart attacks than we do.
6. The French indulge in foie-gras, full fat cheese and drink red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than us.

My advice is: Eat and drink what you like. It seems to me that it’s the speaking of English that is the killer.

Visualization

During my entire contest prep, I would visualize every workout before doing it. I would see myself succeeding on every rep and every set and mentally plan the whole workout.

It got me excited and gave me a clear, defined goal that I wanted to accomplish during each workout.

After a while though, I felt a little burnt out and decided to just go train.

I've recently reverted back to visualizing the workout and I believe it has helped immensely.

Some things I've noticed are an increased ability to focus and greater intensity and confidence. It's like I've already done it.

I also reminds myself of my goals for the workout and for the year before going to train.

Today, it made for a good leg day.