THE BACK STORY

As guys, we aren’t the best at talking openly at the best of times, but when it comes to Fat Loss, health, fitness or wellness…..we’re simply useless. It’s not something we find it easy to talk about. We’d rather suffer in silence and internalise the pain. It’s not one of our better traits.

We’re often in denial and become numb to our very own feelings. Our problem is that the pain doesn’t ever go away….

It impacts the very core of who we are.

And that’s not a nice place to be. It affects every action we take, and every decision we make. Being overweight is simply embarrassing and debilitating at best, and life-threatening at worst.

One thing for certain though….. your confidence is absolutely shot….

If you’re a single guy, then you know that being a little on the hefty side isn’t going to help matters to get out there and meet the ladies. It eats away at you inside. If you’re already in a relationship, then your silent suffering is affecting how you interact with your partner…. in the bedroom, in your communication, and your intimacy.

You simply cannot be firing on all cylinders if you’re overweight. Period. It’s just not possible.

And that’s just the psychological part.

There’s also the impact on your physical and mental health. It’s not pretty. If you’re a young guy, then you’ll typically dismiss all the ‘wellness stuff’ because of that feeling of invincibility and immortality that comes with youth.

But as the years roll by…. one or two tell tale signs begin to show that your Body isn’t quite what it used to be…..

• Your putting on the pounds (no surprise)
• Constant brain fog and frequent headaches
• Poor sleep quality and always feeling tired
• Rollercoaster energy levels throughout the day
• Niggly aches and pains all over your body

Conventional wisdom just puts this down to the inevitable effects of ageing. And then there’s the more dramatic long-term impact with the increased likelihood of the onset of any one or more of the following chronic diseases….

• Metabolic syndrome and ultimately Type2 diabetes.
• Diet-related cancers
• Cardio-vascular disease
• Dementia & Alzheimers disease

But I’m here to tell you that this short-term and long-term deterioration in your appearance, your confidence, your performance, and your physical and mental health AREN’T INEVITABLE.

Far from it…..

But it’s not a radical diet or days of starvation or hours down the gym that you’re after.

That’s what the so-called experts – the conformists – would have you believe.

Not me!

Men’s fat loss doesn’t need to be frustrating. You don’t actually need the willpower of a priest to lose weight effectively and effortlessly. You don’t ever need to feel deprived either.

Let me tell you that losing the excess weight without resorting to drastic measures isn’t that difficult. It really is down to following a few critical fundamentals and then applying them consistently on a daily basis…. and not beating yourself up if you randomly fall off the wagon.

The challenge you’ve had is that there are so many inconsistent and diametrically opposed messages out there from government guidelines, nutritionists, fitness gurus, personal trainers, specifically around what foods to eat and the exercise you should do.

It only leads to frustration and confusion as to what to do for the best….

FORGET EVERYTHING YOU’VE BEEN TOLD ABOUT FAT LOSS, NUTRITION AND EXERCISE

Correct me if I’m wrong, but we’ve all been conditioned to believe…

• Fat makes you fat
• A high carbohydrate – low fat diet is the route to a healthy heart and lean body
• Dietary saturated fat and cholesterol are directly linked to an increased risk of heart disease
• You need to do 3-5 45 minute cardio sessions at 75%+ of your maximum heart-rate every week to burn the fat

But what if I told you the EXACT OPPOSITE of each of the above were true….

• What if I told you that excessive dietary carbohydrates play havoc with your insulin levels and causes you to STORE fat rather than burn fat?
• What if I told you that healthy fats have been fundamental to our evolution over the past 2 million years?
• What if I told you that cholesterol is not the cause of heart disease, but it is in fact essential to optimum hormone balance in our body?
• What if I told you that excessive cardio increases your appetite (such that you end up eating more calories than you actually burned), causes systemic inflammation and predominantly burns sugar (not fat)?
• What if I told you that you needn’t look beyond our ancestral lifestyle habits (pre-onset of agriculture) to truly understand how we should eat and move for optimum health and fitness, and optimum body composition.

…. and none of this has anything to do with the latest diet craze, or revolutionary gym equipment. Personally, I’d rather focus on something a little more scientifically sound.

A BETTER APPROACH TO MEN’S FAT LOSS…. A REBEL’S GUIDE

With a background in science, I have the tendency to break down problems into a few critical fundamental steps. It helps. So for men’s fat loss….

• What are the critical factors that affect my body composition?
• How much does each factor contribute to my body composition?
• What do I do to optimise each factor for fat loss through application of sound scientific principles?
• Prioritise my efforts on those factors that contribute the most to my body composition
• Execute the plan

So that’s exactly what we’re going to be focusing on in the remainder of this post….

THE CRITICAL FACTORS THAT EFFECT BODY COMPOSITION

There are no secrets, only one or two paradigms that you may need to come to terms with….

• 80% of your body composition is down to how much, and the types of food, you eat. Think about that for a minute. Most people think that it’s most down to exercise. It’s not. The bottom line is you can’t out-exercise a crap diet.
• 10% of your body composition is down to the type, and quality, of exercise you do. So for all those that are just about to shoot off in the car to the gym which is 2 miles away to go for a 2 mile run on the treadmill…. think again!

Most people think that’s it…. only diet and exercise. But there’s a little more to it than that….

• 5% of your body composition is down to the quality of your sleep. Interesting don’t you think? We’re conditioned to believe that you just need 7-8 hours of sleep a night and everything will be fine. But there’s more to it…. oh, and forget being the modern day hero by managing with just the 4 hours. It’s not healthy
• 5% of your body composition is down to how well you manage stress. We’ve evolved to cope with BRIEF periods of stress – through our fight-or-flight response to avoid being the victims of prey. But stress today is prevalent in our lives. With stress comes cortisol – the stress hormone… and it can play havoc with your ability to burn fat.

So that’s the 100% – nutrition, exercise, sleep and stress. But there’s one more critical factor that encapsulates everything….

…. SELF-SABOTAGE

How you manage your mindset is literally everything. It’s the 100%. Our reptilian brains want instant gratification. It doesn’t think long term. It’s your emotional response. And we’re surrounded by constant temptation. The ability to self-sabotage our fat loss is a constant threat….

…. IF YOU ALLOW IT

It’s time to dig deep into each of the 5 factors that impact your body composition; how you can optimise each to support fat loss; and provide you with an actionable plan that’ll get you started today. Ready?

THE REBEL’S GUIDE TO MEN’S FAT LOSS

NUTRITION

Follow this ONE simple but controversial guideline, and you’ll be well on your way with your NEW fat loss lifestyle…..

NO SUGAR – NO GRAINS (breakfast cereal, bread, pasta, bagels, etc.)

The inclusion of sugar should be no surprise, but grains?…..  Allow me to explain.

Irrespective of how you consume the sugar, or eat the grain, they have the same impact on your body…. and whilst most believe it’s only sugar that’s the bad boy, they’re in fact both as bad as each other.

They both make you FAT!… and why? It’s because of the impact they have on your master hormone — insulin.

So what happens when you eat carbohydrates? Every type of carbohydrate is eventually converted into the simple sugar glucose in your body. I mean every carbohydrate – bread, pasta, cereal, desserts, soda and sweets.

And yes, glucose is a fuel for the body…. but it is toxic in excess amounts unless it is being burned inside your cells. Don’t worry too much – we’ve developed an elegant way to get it OUT of the bloodstream quickly so we can store it in the cells. Our body does this by storing some of the excess glucose in the form of glycogen in the liver and your muscles.

How you might ask…..?

The pancreas senses an excess of glucose in your bloodstream after eating a carb meal and secretes insulin…. This hormone’s job is to provide the glucose access to the muscle and liver cells so it can be stored as glycogen. All sounds nice and dandy right! But… there’s a catch.

Once the cells are full of glycogen, the rest of the glucose is converted into…. wait for it…. FAT! This is especially the case for the lazy arses out there. How bloody ironic is it that it’s not the fat that gets stored as fat…. it’s actually sugar! And that’s where everyone…. including the so-called experts and your government get it so bloody wrong.

Prior to the onset of agriculture – which was around 10,000 years ago – sugar or any form of carbohydrate were in short supply. Some suggest that our ancestors consumed about 80 grams of carbohydrate per day. Whilst today that figure has more than quadrupled with the typical American consuming between a massive 350 to 600 grams per day.

The impact is huge. When you eat too many carbs, the pancreas pumps out the insulin as expected…. but if the liver and muscle cells are already full to the brim with glycogen, the cells become resistant to insulin.

What this means is that over time, the cells become less efficient in storing glycogen. Not good! And the glucose remains in the bloodstream… And the pancreas senses there’s too much glucose in the blood and frantically pumps out even more insulin which causes the cells to become even more insulin resistant.

Eventually the insulin assists in getting the glucose into your fat calls where it gets stored as…. you guessed it FAT! Over time, as we continue down the path of excess carbs and sitting on our lazy arses, the degree of insulin resistance increases….

… and more and more sugar gets stored and you get fatter and fatter.

The solution?….. Simply by limiting your dietary carbohydrate to between 50-100 grams per day will allow you to lose 1-2 lbs of fat per week.

So what should you be eating instead of the pre-dominance of carbs?….

…. animals in the form of meat, fish, poultry and eggs; and plants in the form of vegetables, buts and seeds.

These foods should represent the ENTIRE composition of your diet. It’s an eating pattern that’s high in healthy fats, moderate protein and relatively low in carbohydrate. Remember hitting a sweet spot of between 50-100 grams of carbohydrate per day best serves healthy fat loss.

You can call this style of eating Paleo or Primal or low-carb…… call it whatever you like. It’s how nature intended us to eat. It’s how we’ve evolved over the last 2 million years. To me it’s the most logical way to eat. There’s no more roller-coaster energy levels…. no more brain fog…. no more hunger…. and it supports men’s fat loss effortlessly.

EXERCISE

You now know that nutrition contributes 80% to your body composition….. with only 10% from exercise…. but that doesn’t give you the excuse to just sit on your arse. Far from it….

… the right exercise at the right intensity for the right duration ACCELERATES fat loss (and increases muscle mass, delays ageing, enhances the immune system, and makes you feel good).

AND I’m not talking about extended chronic cardio sessions either! Excessive cardio at 75%+ of your maximum heart rate (I’m talking about those guys and girls you see on the treadmill for hours on end down the gym sweating blood, and not changing their body shape… ever) causes a number of problems in itself and can actually make you fatter by increasing your appetite for carbohydrate-based foods.

Instead, I’m advocating an evolutionary-based exercise regime that promotes fat loss with 3 elements:

1. Walk daily
2. Lift heavy stuff a couple of times a week (no more than 30 minutes a session)
3. Sprint like crazy in short bursts once a week (no more than 10 minutes a session)

The resistance and sprint workouts should be at high intensity and completed in a short timeframe – it’s often referred to as High Intensity Interval Training or H.I.I.T. It promotes fat loss even hours after your workout is complete.

It’s nothing complicated. It’s just 1-2 hours per week of intense exercise…. and the rest is just walking. Pretty cool, right!

STRESS

It shouldn’t be eliminated from your life. In fact it’s healthy to experience short periods of high intensity stress activities to develop strength and resilience – both physically and mentally. That’s how we’ve evolved.

But that’s not where we’re at with the busy, hyper-active, and attention-deficit lives we lead today. It’s constant stress…. in the workplace for sure, and often at home…. and that’s a problem.

And it’s all linked to CORTISOL – the stress hormone which plays the pre-dominant role in the ‘fight-or-flight’ response mechanism. In short, cortisol acts as a catalyst for optimum performance since it increases heart-rate, blood pressure and mobilises blood glucose – key requirements when you’re in danger!

However…. chronic or long-term production of cortisol (due to our modern lifestyle) accelerates fat storage particularly in the abdomen, and increases appetite…. especially for sugary foods.

Management of stress in your daily life, therefore, is key for you to successfully attain your desired weight. There are many ways to manage the constant battle of stress through emotional intelligence and resilience, breathing exercises, yoga, and meditation. It takes practice though. Train your mind and body to better manage the stress triggers and your responses…. but it’ll be worth the effort.

A great way to manage and track your stress is by measuring your heart-rate variability (HRV) using software such as HeartMath on your iPhone. I’ll be writing about this technique in more detail in a future post.

SLEEP

Optimising both your sleep quality and duration may be a surprising significant contributor to your body composition and your fat loss goals. Cycling your sleep naturally through the different phases of sleep every night is key to regulating the hormones that effect appetite and metabolism. Poor or insufficient sleep, on the other hand, disturbs hormone function and can promote excessive calorie consumption…. and ultimately fat storage.

Some of the best ways to optimise your sleep include….

1. Minimise artificial light and the use of electronic equipment for 2 hours before bedtime.
2. Ensure your sleeping environment is quiet and dark – use blackout curtains if possible.
3. Wake naturally rather than using an alarm. This avoids your waking from a deep sleep which can leave you feeling like crap (and raise your cortisol levels) for the rest of the day.
4. Eat like a Primal Rebel (as outlined above). This had a massive impact on my sleep quality.

A great way to track your sleep is with an iPhone App called Sleep Cycle. Simply place your iPhone on the mattress, and its in-built accelerometer tracks your movements through the night and converts this to the depth of your sleep over time. Track this daily and you’ll quickly get to know the key factors that impact your sleep quality.

[Note: there’s also a super-cool feature whereby the app will determine when best to wake you such that you are not woken from a deep sleep].

SELF-SABOTAGE

How you engage your mind each and every moment of every day is everything. And it’s the one over-arching critical success factor when it comes to fat loss. It’s the 100%. Getting to the starting line and accelerating away for the first few steps is the easy part. Damn I did this EVERY DAY for years. Every day…. a new beginning. New hope. More willpower…. until the first or second temptation came my way.

Ever wondered why you ‘give in’ to temptation when you’re trying to lose the excess weight? Think instant gratification. You’ve been hard-wired to think short-term. It’s the survival instinct.

Your focus NOW has to shift to the longer term….

What’s that one powerful reason WHY you want to lose the 40 lbs? What’s the one thing that…. irrespective of every temptation that may come your way…. will keep you eating real nutritious foods day in and day out?

But even then… you may need some extra ‘help’. Here are 4 ways that will assist you off the starting blocks….

1. Eliminate Temptation. If you’re surrounded by junk food in the home, you’re not going to last long eating clean. You can have all the willpower in the world, but it won’t be much use if you’ve got temptation within touching distance. Willpower is over-rated. Don’t ever rely on it. So step one is fundamental…. get rid of all the processed and other junk food in your house. Do it NOW!
2. Eating Out. Who doesn’t enjoy eating out at a fancy-pants restaurant? Just because you’re now choosing a healthier and leaner version of you doesn’t mean you can’t ever eat out. Choose the restaurant wisely…. and select foods from the menu that support your new eating habits. If it’s not on the menu, just ask for it. You’re the customer. I’ve always found most restaurants will accommodate the foods you want, and leave off your plate the foods to avoid. Just ask!
3. Falling Off The Wagon. Eliminating bad habits won’t happen overnight. Times vary…. depending on the individual and the severity of the habit change. Aiming at 100% compliance is a lofty, but ‘near-impossible’ goal…. especially during the early days. But what’s important is you don’t beat yourself up if you have one bad meal or a cookie or two. Instead, understand the trigger for you to sabotage in the first place, and then do your best to avoid that trigger again….. or replace your response to that trigger.
4. Accountability. Who’s looking out for you? Who’s supporting you when temptations take hold? Who’s there to give you words of encouragement and support with your new Primal Rebel lifestyle. It’s been shown time and time again that those who are the most successful at losing the weight (and keeping it off) are those that hold themselves accountable to others…. a close friend, spouse or coach. It’s psychological…. once you’ve made that commitment, you don’t want to let them down or show you’re weak.

WHAT RESULTS CAN YOU EXPECT WITH THE REBEL’S GUIDE TO MEN’S FAT LOSS?

I know you’re after instant results…. that’s the reptilian brain talking remember!?! But it doesn’t quite work that way. Nothing does if you’re looking for long-term success.

I’m going to ask you to stick with it for ONE MONTH. If you can commit to 30 days and stick to the plan, you’ll start SEEING and FEELING the results….

• Lose 1-2 pounds of fat per week
• Reduced inflammation and abdominal bloating
• Clear head and improved clarity of thinking
• Niggly aches and pains banished
• Higher levels of energy throughout the day
• Better performance in every area of your life

…. and they’re not just random claims. They’re all scientifically sound. I’ve witnessed them first-hand… not least on myself.

Adopting this Primal Rebel lifestyle is liberating. Once you start seeing and feeling the amazing results, you won’t ever want to go back to your old poor habits ever again. Why would you?

WHAT THIS MEANS FOR YOU?

Let me ask you this….

WHY WOULDN’T YOU WANT TO GIVE THIS A TRY?

You’re pissed with your body and your performance right now, and what you have in front of you is an effective guideline for finally moving away from your internal suffering and embarrassment, and instead achieve the body, health, fitness and confidence you’ve long desired.

Work colleagues may look at you a little oddly for a few days as you pass on the bread and the pasta at lunch….

…. but they’ll be seeking you out in a couple of weeks asking you how the hell you’ve achieved such an amazing physical transformation in such a short timeframe!

There’s some amazing resources out there that will help you – just click through some of the links in this guide to get better clarity on those elements that you’re unsure about. Alternatively, send me an email to [email protected], or post a comment below.

WANT SOME PERSONAL ATTENTION?

If you’re looking for a little more personal attention through your Primal Rebel Fat Loss journey, I may be able to help you….

I have openings for a LIMITED number of personal clients (maximum of 6 at any one time), where I personally guide you through your transformation over a 12 week period. It’s one-on-one!

Inclusion into my personal coaching program is by application only, since I only want those that are committed to their success.

If you’re interested, then click on the button in the sidebar of this post, and answer the few simple questions that follow. We’ll then get on a call together (at zero cost to you) to better understand where you’re at, and your ultimate goals.

During the call, we’ll develop an actionable plan for you to start implementing right away, and find out if you’d like to become a personal client.

Remember, there’s no obligation during the call….. and if you think I’ve wasted your time, let me know and I’ll send you one of my Rebel Male Guides for free.

Can’t get much fairer than that, right?!

The post The Rebel’s Guide to Men’s Fat Loss appeared first on Rebel Male.