Sunday, April 4, 2010

Countdown To Our 10 Week Cutting Diet

We have one more day on the Growth Phase -- heavy weight, added calories, neurological intensity in addition to muscle breakdown. Really changing body shape.

But, and this is a big but, you can't gain muscle without gaining some fat. Because I like to have the lean look, I'm actually looking forward to the next 10 weeks of dieting that begins Thursday.

I will drop from about 14% to 10% body fat during that period. It is a 4% move. At 171 pounds today, that is about 6 - 7 pounds of fat to lose carefully over 10 weeks.

"Carefully" is the operative term. It is easy to lose weight, hard to preserve muscle during the process. I wish it was just cutting out 3,500 calories a week and losing a pound of fat. It's not.

Here's a few significant factors to consider when dieting off the last bit of fat, followed by an excellent article that discusses each of them:

1. The body adapts to reduced-calorie intake.

2. Some calories are more readily stored as bodyfat.

3. Protein protects muscle mass.

4. Hormones shift during a diet.

5. The glycemic index of foods impacts bodyfat burning.

6. Meal frequency is very important.

7. What you eat and when matters.


Here's an excellent article discussing each of these factors in detail. I highly recommend it!

http://fullyflexed.com/evolution-of-fat-loss


Train hard, diet harder!

Jim

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