My Lose 5kg In Time For Summer Plan

I'm not really a "real" body builder like some of the boys & girls I know who take it very seriously and do whatever it takes to get into elite level shape, ready to take the stage and hopefully come home with a trophy. That sort of thing... well I've never done it and it's not what I coach people to do, but I can only imagine it takes some quite specific nutrition planning, hard and constructive training, and a lot of dedication and will power.

My own goals are a lot more modest. I want to gain some size every year, still be relatively lean in the summer, and I guess it's important to look the part as a trainer - especially at the gym in Brunswick where I work, with so many top level elite athletes present. Also though, I want to eat a fucktonne of pizza.

I think for all of us, our approach should be a nice balance between the result that we want, and what we're prepared to do to get it. For most of us who's goal falls somewhere short of "elite level competition shape"... well as I've said many times; you can get into better shape than 95% of the population with a flexible approach to dieting, so long as you are also training strategically.

What I do... I'd like to use a fancy term like "periodisation" but really what I do is more like your traditional, old style "bulk and cut". Gain in the winter, trim up again in the spring. Here's how I do it.

Winter / Bulking Period:

Always starts out with a plan to gain slowly without much chance of fat gain. So, dial in calories & macros for an expected increase of 3 - 5kg. Then get frustrated that it's taking too long to see any gains, so increase calories again to an amount expected to gain 10kg.

Now for me... it always takes a LOT more calories than expected to gain any weight, and then it's HARD to actually consume that amount of calories anyway. So I have to start looking for ways to add more calories, like adding some coconut to my protein shakes, and maybe grabbing a handful of nuts every time I walk into the kitchen for some reason. That stuff adds up.

When that still doesn't see me gain much weight though, replace the nuts with "a packet of crumpets" and no matter what I have for dinner, it needs to be served on a bed of potato wedges. With cheese.

So what starts out as a calculated and balanced plan to slowly gain muscle without gaining fat ends up more like eating as much as possible as often as possible, with total disregard for macro ratios. And the result goes through a few stages as follows:

1. Starting to gain a little bit of weight, but still quite lean. Good.
2. Have put on a little around the waist, but it's all good that's to be expected.
3. Starting to get a bit fat, but no problem it is all strategic.
4. Actually quite fat now, lol that's funny.
5. OK this isn't funny anymore.

Aaaaand one I hit stage 5 that's time to trim up again. Usually this is about the end of Winter anyway and right on schedule. This year total weight gain was 8kg.

Training in this winter period is all strength / resistance training with a near perfect balance of movements... as follows:

• Balance between upper and lower body exercises.
• Balance between pushing and pulling exercises.
• Balance between horizontal and vertical movements.
• Balance between incline and decline movements.
• Balance between compound and isolation exercises too.

Spring Cutting / Trim Up In Time For Summer Period:

My idea of a cutting or "trim up in time for summer" plan involves drawing up a meal plan with perfectly balanced macros at a total intake expected to maintain 5kg below my highest weight during the winter. And then exercising the slightest amount of restraint in not completely abandoning the plan as soon as I get the urge to sneak in something different and/or extra due to boredom or whatever other reason. 

If that wasn't clear what I'm saying is the plan is near perfect but the adherence is not so strict. It still works beautifully but by Thursday literally every 3rd thought that enters my head is about pizza... which I don't actually eat until official pizza night aka Saturday.

I was thinking though, if that's what happens to me after 4 days of not very strict adherence to a flexible plan at a slight deficit, imagine what it's like to be on a strict, ultra low calorie diet with a limited choice of bland and boring "clean" foods that you're NEVER allowed to cheat on. 

Screw that. It's no wonder the trainers who think such extreme and drastic measures are necessary all tend to go bat shit insane. 

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"Clean Eating" Personal Trainers Promote Orthorexia

This about sums up my feelings on the matter,
and it's nice when someone agrees for a change!
You'd be surprised how many people
 in the business would argue this point.

This was supposed to be a more amusing type of post that was going to be titled "recent arguments with industry cretins", but it turned out... well, as you see.

What's amusing to me is the amount of "what we do is best, nothing else works and if you think it does you need to get with the times" type of people in this industry, and how they can't actually back up their position when challenged. And quite ironically, they usually end up getting shitty and telling you "you think your way is the only way!"... which is ironic because that's actually what they were saying and all you really asked was "well how come all these other people have been successful without doing all that stuff that you think is make or break?"

I wrote an article yesterday where I said there are some things that just don't work, but there are also all sorts of many and varied approaches that can produce a result, depending on how specific your goal is. Obviously stuff that just doesn't work is a bad idea, but some of the stuff that will work might not be the best idea either if it is excessively restrictive and promotes a disordered way of thinking and an unhealthy relationship with food.

Now as far as excessively restrictive "very low calorie" diets go, we all know these don't work. Unfortunately lots of people are still trying to starve themselves thin with this approach but within the industry it has lead to a rejection of the "Calories In / Calories Out" model amongst certain groups. Depending on who you're talking to... the issue is either that carbs make people fat, or just "bad carbs" (there's a difference apparently), or it is processed food that is doing the damage and people need to "eat clean" or eat "paleo" in the style of stone age ancestors. Total calories is certainly not the issue though, according to some.

The end result of all of this is that as well as having more and more super-mega-hyper-obese people out there (in my opinion) as a direct result of yo-yoing on and off these extreme low calorie or zero carb diets, we've also got a huge increase in instances of eating disorders such as orthorexia and binge eating disorder. One goes hand in hand with the other. The proponents of so called "clean eating" demonise various food choices, and in particular anything that one might eat purely for enjoyment and not strictly because it is the best possible choice from a micronutritional standpoint.

Now... obviously yes, in an ideal world everyone would develop a passion for cooking delicious and nutritious meals from scratch, they'd be eating more fresh vegetables and so on. But to suggest that a new weight loss client needs to completely change their eating habits like this overnight shows a total lack of any empathy. It is an entirely unrealistic expectation. More to the point, it is unnecessary as well.

Rather than this, the more moderate and more empathic recommendation would be to use "Flexible Dieting" principles. In short, this means we determine an appropriate range of calories that we would expect to be suitable to maintain a healthy goal weight, and we also set target ranges for the ratio of fats to protein to carbohydrates. We encourage the inclusion of fresh produce such as fruits and vegetables to ensure adequate intake of important vitamins and minerals... and we are set. Within these guidelines it is quite easy for any client to meet their nutritional requirements with their choice of foods, including some purely for enjoyment or indulgence. Nothing is off limits.

This is important and beneficial for a variety of reasons. Since the client is able to make their own choices of foods, we have greater consistency of adherence. Since nothing is off limits, the client can honestly report their daily intake without omitting anything that the trainer has demonised as a "bad" food that they shouldn't be eating. They are not developing a disordered relationship with food due to feelings of guilt or failure associated with eating for enjoyment, as nothing is off limits. Through all of this, the client becomes empowered and develops a stronger belief in their ability to meet their nutritional requirements in order to achieve their goal weight and body type.

It is as close to a perfect strategy as you are ever likely to get. However, that still aint good enough for some of the "clean eating" people, who honestly seem to believe that including any amount of processed / high carb / low nutrient density / so called "junk" food rules out any chance of losing weight and ensures poor health. In any amount.

As far as I am concerned, that line of thinking IS orthorexia and it is about the last thing anyone (especially professionals in this industry) should be promoting. It is just as... perhaps even more harmful than the "eat less and less and less" approaches of the past.

Now here's the thing. You don't actually need to argue the science with these people. There's a lot of people who can explain how a certain food contains a certain property that has a certain effect upon a certain organ which produces a certain hormonal response and this is of crucial importance and if you think it's just about calories you need to get better educated. But you don't need to argue on those terms, on a logical level all you need to do is point out that countless people have in fact lost weight and gotten into great shape despite not having taken any of that into account. They've simply consumed "about the right amount" and been active enough to utilise the fuel that they've put in, and they've even enjoyed some delicious icecream when they felt like it.

Now I've seen a lot of comments to the effect of "ice cream! how can you justify eating ice cream of all things!" in response to various articles and blog posts on the subject... but really, are you actually suggesting that no one who was ever in shape has ever eaten an ice cream? Are you really suggesting that everyone who ever got into shape had a strict and restrictive diet plan that consisted of only very top level of most nutrient dense foods creating a perfect balance of vitamins and minerals that they stuck to obsessively and never cheated on? Do you actually believe that such an approach is not only required, but is indicative of good mental health?

Fortunately there IS a growing "anti-orthorexia" movement starting to happen amongst fitness enthusiasts, and the general public are becoming better educated in such matters. I have noticed at least a handful of industry people who I had considered the biggest promoters of orthorexia style half truths moving to a more moderate position, perhaps out of necessity to reflect a change in the market. I like to think that I have played my part in this change, if not spearheaded it directly.

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Official Acknowledgement: My Way Is Not The Only Way To Get Into Shape

I've said that dozens of times I'm sure. I happen to believe that more resistance training and a little cardio on the side is the best way... but depending on your goal, your circumstances, your preferences... hey, knock yourself out. I've said a lot that if you have a specific goal you need a specific course of action, but other than that as long as it is safe and enjoyable go do whatever you want to do.

Now having said all that... there are certain things that just don't work, or are a bad idea for other reasons. Those stupid VLCD meal replacement products, for example. I've talked a lot about what a bad idea they are and how they're likely to backfire in a number of ways. Exercising with no more strategic purpose than "to burn calories" is another pointless and futile waste of time and effort as well, as previously discussed.

It does sell a lot of equipment though. Home treadmills, stationary bikes, cross trainers, those gadgets that count how many calories you've supposedly burned during exercise... lawd. Whether it's at home or in a gym, the people who just walk on the treadmills for an hour or more per day... do they ever seem to change shape?

So... there's some stuff that doesn't work and isn't a good idea and unfortunately that happens to be the stuff that the industry promotes because there is money in it. It's also stuff that seems reasonable to more people, I guess. Walking on a treadmill, I can do that. Right?

Regardless of how much stuff doesn't work, there's still plenty that does. My program for example. I've put it together strategically with a few different things in mind to keep it evolving, keep it varied and interesting, and most of all to produce tremendous results in body sculpting through strength training. It does the job very well, but could you expect similar results with some other similar resistance based program? Absolutely. Of course there are elements to my program that I think are quite unique and beneficial, but you can take your pick of any strength training program and as long as there is a good balance of movements and you keep trying to do a little more than you did the week before, you'll make progress and get results.

Push / Pull splits, Push / Pull / Legs.... I've kind of gone off the 5 day splits I used to use but whatever... there's plenty of options and any of them could be good. Or, you might not want to do a weight training program at all. Plenty of other options out there too.

What's a little amusing though and very ironic is the people out there who DO think their way is the only way, and nothing else works. For a lot of people out there, it's not enough just to say "this is how I do it, and it works very nicely indeed", or even "this is what I do and I think it's best way and you'll be hard pressed to find something better". Nope, their way is the only way that works for all of these reasons they'll spell out to you, and if you don't have all of that stuff covered you can't expect any results.

It's entirely normal for us human beings to want to be "right". It seems to me though, in terms of what's the best approach in training and nutrition... there's not much point arguing about things. If you think your way is the best, go out there and get better results than anyone else. I'd suggest if you're really happy with the results you are getting, you'd be secure enough in your self esteem not to feel the need to tell everyone else that they're wrong. You'd already know that what you're doing is great.

The only reason this stuff is worth arguing about is when the information being put out to the public is not just incorrect or misleading, but potentially harmful and damaging to vulnerable people. This is especially true in areas of nutrition and dieting that directly effect people's physical and mental health.

Now you've got different reasons for this from different people. Some of them are just flat out scam artists, some are real trainers but they've been getting lessons from marketers that turn them into borderline scam artists themselves, and others are people who have got some issues of their own especially related to eating disorders, which influences their ability to objectively process information and form an opinion based on logical reasoning. These are all dangerous people to have in the industry, spreading potentially damaging misinformation.

The ironic part is when you call these people out on their bullshit and they can't explain their position, and they get shitty and tell you "you think your way is the only way!" When they were actually the one saying "none of that works you have to do it like I do it", and all you were saying is "but plenty of people have done it other ways".

Morons.

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