smallkine blogger

If you’re a man who’s trying to lose weight and get fit, you’ve probably noticed that most of the books, magazines, and programs on these subjects aren’t really aimed at you. Most are for women. And the others seem to have bodybuilders and competitive athletes in mind—not regular guys who simply want to get in shape.

But your needs are different than those of women, and the fitness strategies you should follow aren’t the same as those of a bodybuilder. This article is for YOU-all regular dudes out there. It will tackle three of the most common questions regular dudes have about weight loss:

1. How fast is too fast to lose weight?
2. How should I eat or exercise when I’m trying to build some muscle and also lose some fat?
3. Should I eat more than 1,200 calories to avoid “starving mode”?

I’m losing weight faster than my wife. Is this normal, and how fast is too fast?
It’s true that many men can and usually do lose weight faster than women, but this isn’t entirely good news. For one thing, if you share your life with a woman who is also trying to lose weight, you might need a few lessons in domestic diplomacy when she gets frustrated at your seemingly easy and fast results. For another, one of the main reasons that you do lose weight more easily turns out to be a double-edged sword.

The fat that’s easiest to lose is the fat stored in the upper body, particularly within the abdominal area—the infamous male beer belly. Men tend to store more fat in this area and less fat in the hips and thighs, while women tend to do the opposite. The “intra-abdominal” or “visceral” fat that makes up that beer belly (it’s stored underneath the abdominal muscles) is more metabolically active, which means that it’s the fat your body burns first.

The flip side of this “advantage” is that metabolically active fat is dangerous to your health. It’s associated with a higher risk for heart disease, stroke, and many other health problems. So while it may be easier to lose this fat, it’s also more crucial to your health that you do so—now! That large waist puts you at much higher risk of health problems than people who store weight in the lower body. So don’t put it off.

But you don’t need a six pack to greatly reduce your health risk. What you want is to lose your keg—to be able to lay down flat on your back without your stomach sticking up higher than your rib cage.

The other things that help men to lose weight more easily, such as more muscle mass and more testosterone, can be used to your advantage when it comes to shedding that dangerous visceral fat—but only if you use those muscles— by doing plenty of cardio exercise and strength training along with watching your diet.

I’m trying to build muscle and also lose fat. Do I need to eat more protein or avoid cardio?
No. Eating extra protein doesn’t build muscle tissue and, unless you’re doing something excessive, cardio exercise won’t cause you to break down muscle tissue.

You do need adequate protein intake so that your body can repair and rebuild your muscles after exercise—that’s when the growth in size and performance actually happens. But a diet that provides 15%-35% of total calories from protein is plenty to meet this need, and there’s no muscle building advantage to eating more than this amount of protein. People who do a lot of strenuous physical activity, either as work or as extended bouts of training or exercise, may do better to stay towards the higher end of that recommended protein range, but there’s no evidence to suggest that going over 35% is necessary or beneficial. It’s the work that your muscles to do (specifically, working to fatigue when weight training) that induces muscle growth and development—not how much protein you eat.

How much cardio exercise you should do, and when to do it, is a more complicated question. During extended bouts (over 45 minutes) of moderate to high intensity cardio exercise, your body will gradually increase the percentage of protein (stored in your body as muscle tissue) it uses for fuel. When exercise goes on for 90 minutes or more, the amount of energy provided by protein can be as high as 10-12%, compared to the normal 1-2%. So, doing cardio exercise for longer than 45 minutes at a time may be counterproductive if you are trying to increase muscle mass. The best bet for burning maximum calories without sacrificing muscle mass would be shorter, 20-40 minute bouts of higher intensity cardio exercise; interval training, or High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) would be ideal.

Timing of exercise and meals can also be important here. The most significant period for recovery from both strength training and cardio exercise is the first two hours after your exercise ends. That’s when your body is really primed to use what you eat to replace the fuel reserves you used up during your workout. If your goal is to add or maintain muscle mass, the best thing you can do soon after your strength workout is to have something to eat—ideally, up to 300 calories with a 3-1 ratio of carbs to protein. A few examples might be: a protein or energy bar, a smoothie (made with fruit juice, yogurt and/or protein powder), yogurt with some fruit, or half a sandwich (peanut butter or turkey, for example) on whole grain bread. Try to do your cardio on different days, or a few hours before or after your strength training, to ensure you have maximum energy available for your strength workout and keep your cardio exercise from using too much protein for fuel.

Is it true that men need to eat more than 1,200 calories each day to avoid “starving mode?”
For many men, 1,200 calories per day will be too low. Because men typically have more muscle mass than women (a function of higher testosterone levels), men and women who weigh the same will have different metabolic rates and calorie requirements. On average, this difference usually works out to about 250-300 calories per day. Therefore, the minimum calorie requirement necessary for maintaining a high metabolic rate will be closer to 1,500 calories per day for most men, and your SparkDiet program should reflect this. Keep in mind that this is usually the minimum—eating fewer calories will result in other problems collectively known as “starvation mode,” which can also hurt your weight loss efforts.

The evidence is now absolutely overwhelming — physical activity is one of the most important things you can do for yourself. Regular exercise throughout life works to maintain a healthy body, enhance psychological well-being, and prevent premature death. That’s right — exercise prolongs life. As it does so, it improves the quality of your life as well.But you know this, right? The sad truth is, even those who know it don’t do it. Most adults say they don’t have the time to exercise, or don’t have a safe environment in which to do so. In fact, according to government statistics, only 15% of adults get the recommended amount of exercise, and a shocking 40% get no exercise at all! Women typically engage in less activity then men at all ages. By age 75, one-third of men and one-half of women get no regular physical activity at all!

Now, you may be one of those people who are always planning to exercise. “I’ll start tomorrow,” you say. But tomorrow — just like today — serves up a host of things that get in the way: taking the kids to practice, shopping for food, starting the new job, paying the bills, getting past the holidays. Tomorrow’s start never comes, and you continue to wait until you have time to get fit. While you wait, however, your body doesn’t freeze in time while you work out your schedule. It is fading the entire time.

Inactivity affects all systems in your body: from the strength of your muscles and the ability of your heart to pump blood to the efficiency of your cells to metabolize sugar and the sharpness of your brain. In fact, as you age, it becomes more important to exercise to ward off the inevitable decline that occurs in the later years. Posture, strength, balance, flexibility, and endurance all begin to wane as you age. However, with regular physical exercise, you can reverse the effects of aging (or at least slow them). The antidote to aging is exercise.

It pays off

What are the rewards of regular physical activity? They are numerous — and in total, add up to tremendous gains not only physically, but psychologically as well. First and foremost, regular exercise is associated with lower death rates for adults of any age, even when only moderate levels of activity are undertaken. Exercise also reduces blood pressure and cholesterol levels, in turn, decreasing the risk of major killer diseases, such as heart disease and stroke. It also decreases the risk of developing diabetes and a number of types of cancers (including breast cancer). What else does it do? Regular exercise:

• Helps burn excess calories and aids in weight control or weight loss
• Decreases body fat and increases lean muscle
• Increases the strength of muscles and bones
• Improves mood and reduces anxiety and depression
• Improves well-being through enhanced self-esteem
• Creates more energy
• Improves sleep patterns
• Increases sexual desire and performance

Although we live in the land of plenty — and for the most part overeat — there are some critical vitamins that people tend to be short on, especially women. These include calcium, folic acid, iron, and vitamin D. Despite trying to eat well, we may not get all the nutrients we need, so taking a daily multivitamin is a good idea. More difficult than the decision of whether to take a multivitamin, though, is which one to take. How do you make that decision? It can be difficult, given the aisles of choices that face us today. Here are some guidelines to help you find a good multivitamin that will provide you with the safety net you’re looking for:

Beware of hollow promises. Don’t make choices based on the claims on the label — words like “Energy Pak,” “Performance Enhancer,” and “Stress Control” have no science to back them up.

Search for a vitamin with most of your daily needs. Look for a vitamin with 100 percent of the daily value for the following vitamins: vitamins A, B1 (thiamin), B2 (riboflavin), B3 (niacin), B6, B12, C, D, E, and folic acid.

Take calcium separately. Because calcium is bulky, you can’t get the daily value in a single tablet or capsule. Take a calcium supplement if you’re not getting enough from your diet instead of trying to make up for it with two or more multivitamins a day.

Watch out for missing ingredients. Some multivitamins are short on some vitamins and minerals ‐ check for brands with at least some of the daily value amount of chromium, selenium, zinc, and vitamin K. Note however, if you take blood thinners, vitamin K could be a problem (which is why a lot of multivitamins don’t contain vitamin K); ask your doctor if you can take it and how much is optimum for you.

Remember that more is not better. Too much of a good thing can cause harm: High amounts of vitamins in supplements plus what you get in food can put you over the safe limit. There are several vitamins that you can go overboard on: vitamin A, vitamin B6, vitamin E, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, and zinc. Beware of mega-amounts — several fold beyond the daily value — in supplements.

Take your age and gender into account. The amount of iron you need depends on both. Men and postmenopausal women need only around 8 mg a day, while premenopausal women (who are still menstruating) need 18 mg a day. Going with one of the age formulas — under or over 50 — is a good idea.

Finally, don’t expect a multivitamin to be a miracle pill. Your daily diet should be the main source of your nutrients, including vitamins and minerals. Be sure to eat a wholesome diet of plenty of fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains, lean proteins, low-fat dairy products, and good fats (such as those found in olive oil, nuts, and cold-water fish like salmon and tuna).