10 Commandments of Getting Cut Part 2 of 3

Part II from The 10 Commandments of Getting Cut

Losing Fat, Not Just Weight by Chris  McClinch

Eating the Right Foods

5. Thou shalt eat the right foods.
To burn fat, you've got to know what makes you fat. The first thing that makes you fat is eating more calories than your body can use. Rather than eliminating the excess calories, your body stores them as body fat. We've taken care of that problem with the caloric deficit, but it's also important to understand that certain types of food are more likely to make you fat.

Some of the foods that make you fat are obvious: candy, soda, beer, chips, pizza, and fast food have no place in a healthy diet, period. When you're not dieting, they're okay as occasional cheat foods, but even then, pay careful attention to the words "occasional" and "cheat." As in, you're not going to be eating these foods on any kind of a regular basis, and you're fully aware of the fact that they represent a step back from your physique goals. An occasional step back is healthy, but 90% of what you eat should be quality bodybuilding foods.
 
The next group of foods is less obvious, especially since so many foods in this group are traditionally considered "diet" foods. This group includes pasta, bread, pretzels, crackers, white rice, rice cakes, breakfast cereals, and fruit juices. What do these have in common? They're all highly processed carbohydrates--high on the glycemic index, low in fiber, low in nutrients, and not terribly filling. They massively spike insulin release in the body, don't provide much other than calories, and leave you feeling hungry again shortly after you eat them. You don't need to go aggressively low-carb to lose fat, but you do want to severely limit your intake of processed carbs. You're much better off with fruits, vegetables, brown rice, yams, and old-fashioned oatmeal (the stuff that comes in the canister, not the packets) as your primary sources of carbohydrates.

Healthy sources of protein are hugely important for getting cut. Remember, you're not just trying to lose fat; you're trying to preserve as much muscle as possible, and one gram of protein per pound of body weight should be your goal here. Good sources of protein include lean cuts of beef, 90% or leaner ground beef, ground chicken, ground turkey, chicken breast, turkey breast, pork tenderloin, fish, eggs and egg whites, cottage cheese, and egg-, whey-, and casein-based protein powders. I can't recommend soy to anyone other than vegetarians or vegans because of the high concentrations of phytoestrogens present in soy protein. Other protein sources to avoid? Bacon, pork chops, sausages, hot dogs, prime rib, fatty cuts of beef, and the other high-saturated fat usual suspects.


Finally, you need good fats in your diet. The big message moving forward should be that you need to eat the right fats if you want to burn fat. Let's start with what the wrong fats are: saturated fats and trans fatty acids. Saturated fats you're familiar with--they're the fats in butter, red meat, and hard cheeses. Any fat that's solid at room temperature is a saturated fat and to be eaten only in moderation. Try and keep them at less than half of your daily fat intake. Trans fatty acids are chemically manipulated vegetable fats such as you find in margarine or Crisco. Essentially, they're polyunsaturated fatty acids with hydrogen atoms added to them to turn them into pseudo-saturated fats. If the words "partially hydrogenated" appear anywhere on the label, it's best avoided entirely.

Good Fats The good fats are the monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, particularly those high in Omega-3 fatty acids. These fats can help boost testosterone levels and lower blood cholesterol. They also blunt insulin release and aid in the absorption of vitamins A, D, E, and K. The majority of your fats should come from sources such as flax oil, olive oil, fish oil, natural peanut butter (if it has ingredients other than peanuts and salt, it's not natural), macadamia nuts, almonds, cashews, peanuts, olives, and ground flax seeds.

Diets, Carbs and Cutting

The traditional high-carb, low-protein, low-fat eating plan is out.It's a nutritional and hormonal disaster, prompting massive insulin releases, obesity, adult-onset diabetes, and higher hunger levels. Uncontrolled insulin levels are the primary culprit here, so you want a plan that controls insulin while creating the caloric deficit you need to lose weight. There are several plans that have proven highly effective, but some are far more restrictive than others. Your ideal plan is the least restrictive one that gives you the results you want.
"Zone Diets"

The least restrictive of the plans I can recommend is the Zone--Barry Sears's diet. The basic premise is that every time you eat, 40% of the calories should come from carbohydrates, 30% should come from protein, and 30% should come from fats. Basically, the easiest way to plan a Zone meal is to get 1 1/3 grams of carbohydrate and half a gram of fat for every gram of protein. My only real caveat is that the calorie figures are too low for most athletes and that the advice on exercise (walk 30 minutes every day) is insufficient.

Not everyone does well on The Zone. Research has shown that while combining fat with carbohydrates blunts insulin release, the combination actually increases insulin resistance in some people. These people--the rare individuals who find themselves gaining body fat on a Zone diet--are better off with an eating plan that stresses separating fats from carbohydrates. This is John Berardi's Massive Eating protocol, which calls for eating your meals as either protein and fat or protein and carbs. Essentially, protein and carbs would be eaten immediately post-workout and for breakfast, with protein and fat constituting the rest of your meals. This one's a little more restrictive than the Zone, but if you find that your body doesn't handle the combination of fat and carbs well, this one's probably for you.

Low Carb Diets

Next on the list come the diets in which carbohydrates don't make up a significant portion of your daily calories at all. I wouldn't recommend these unless you're dieting for a competition or are obese and looking to lose the weight quickly, because they're not much fun. Most people feel drained, cranky, and dumb without carbohydrates, and there's a 1-2 week period of gastrointestinal adjustment that isn't pleasant. The least restrictive version of the low-carb diets is the cyclical ketogenic diet. There are two ways to do this. The most common way is to eat less than 70 grams of carbohydrates a day from Monday through Friday (under 30 on days that you don't lift), then eat whatever you want on the weekend. Obviously, the better your weekend choices, the better your results, but I can tell you from personal experience that it works even if your weekend choices run along the lines of pizza, Doritos, Coke, beer, candy, and Hot Pockets.

The less-common, more restrictive version of the cyclical ketogenic diet is to eat low-carb every day, with 2-3 carb-up meals a week. Typical carb-up foods here run along the lines of a sweet potato with butter, a banana, and two cups of brown rice or oatmeal. Not much fun, but it replenishes the muscle glycogen and temporarily boosts insulin enough to keep you training.


Next, there is the targeted ketogenic diet. On this plan, you eat just enough carbs to fuel your workouts, with no carbohydrates the rest of the day. This is the only one of the diet plans I've mentioned here that I've never followed, but I've had personal training clients do it with excellent results. The easiest way to do it is to carry a bottle of Powerade to the gym and sip from it between sets.


Finally, there is the strict ketogenic diet--the Atkins diet. All low-carb, all the time. Frankly, I don't recommend this one for people who work out because I don't think it provides an optimal hormonal environment for recovery or conservation of lean mass. Use this one only if none of the less restrictive diet plans work for you.

Chris McClinch is an Arlington, VA-based bodybuilder and personal trainer. He won the middleweight title at the 2001 International Natural Bodybuilding Federation's collegiate national championships. As a trainer, he specializes in physique transformation and sport-specific strength training preparation, and is an active member of the IronOnline bulletin board.

Halibut for Dinner (different)

I never seem to get enough fish...I love it year round. I thoroughly enjoyed this halibut and everything about this is totally appropriate for a pre-competition diet!

This is 6 ounces (uncooked weight) of fresh halibut that I have patted dry then sprinkled with smokey Spanish paprika and black pepper. Pat onto the flesh to make sure it adheres.

I heat a cast iron skillet over very high heat until very hot, spray with olive oil cooking spray then sear on each side 2 minutes, then lower heat and cook 1 minute longer on each side. It will be moist and just barely cooked though.

I topped it with a wonderful puree of bar-b-qued tomatillos.

Take a large bag of tomatillos, remove the papery husks then rinse with cool water. Bar-B-Que them until they are blistered and hot, some may start to split, take them off as soon as they do this. You can alternatively roast them in a hot skillet indoors, or broil them.

Place them in a blender with a small amount of water (about 1/2 cup for a pound of tomatillos), blend until nicely pureed.

This makes a great salsa with no added salt.  The salsa went over the fish, then a nice pop of fresh cilantro leaves. Yes tomatillos have some calories and carbs, they are a vegetable after all, but I used 2 Tbsps, it was like having a little extra vegetable.

I also have  roasted golden beets. Scrub beets to remove all debris, place in a small baking dish and add about a half cup water, cover with foil. Bake in a 400 degree oven until very soft when pierced with a knife, anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour depending on size and freshness.

When the beets are done, remove the skins with a paring knife, they will pull off easily, as long as you do not use the red beets, your fingers won't get stained.

Cut the beets into quarters or even more pieces if large, place in a bowl and add black pepper and red wine vinegar, about 3 Tbsps for a pound of beets. Allow them to macerate for at least a half hour or as long as you like.

Par boiled green beans, plain.

I squeeze lemon all over everything, it goes great with all of the flavors.
 

Do you notice I have no starch? Yes, this is true.

It's my way of "carb cycling" and it's not even close to what most people have heard of.

I think carbs are good for you. I do not believe that extremely low carb diets are healthy for many reasons.

The first reason is I don't think that any diet that is so restrictive that you cannot maintain it, or something very close to it year round is  ever going to be successful. My definition of success is not a weight loss that is regained, it is a change in body composition forever.

If you cut carbs extremely low, you cannot or will not sustain it long, most people just won't do it. Most people will also feel extremely deprived and will binge and not stay on the diet.

Also, carbs make your body function properly, you need them for brain function and for energy.  Your muscles look full when you have eaten carbs, your body looks healthy.

Without them you look thin, emaciated, tired, not a look I can recall ever striving for.

However,  there are times when I need to lose some bodyfat and by a certain time, so that's when I will manipulate my carbs.

First, I never ever cut them really low, it doesn't work for me. I have met people who swear by it, but I have not yet met anyone who can live with it very long.

I maintain a clean, healthy diet year round. I of course will go though periods of eating completely unhealthy things a couple weeks after a competition, then it's back to a balanced diet, all the time.

I will not deprive myself in the off season, but I will make the right choices most of the time. I aim for 90% compliance.

I feel that eating right year round ensures I never gain a tremendous amount of weight like many competitors do, I don't have to struggle to lose it, and my "pre-competition diet" is really not much different than my "off-season diet", I just cut out some higher fat, higher sugar items and limit portions a bit more.

I eat carbs (starches) at every meal except my final meal immediately prior to bed. At that meal I have some vegetable, which has a very small amount of carbs, but not much.

When I am close to competition time, I eliminate those carbs (it is usually one cup of spinach). And then, I will cycle just a little in and out in my 5th meal (dinner).

So tonight, no carbs at dinner. It's ok, I won't be exercising, I don't need the energy. I will do this three nights, then the fourth, have carbs for dinner again (3 ounces rice or potato). Then three nights no carbs with dinner, and add them again on the fourth.

If I am stuck and not losing weight, and I have made sure I am eating the correct protein and vegetables, and am doing extra cardio, I may reduce my starches at other meals for a few days also, no more than one ounce though. If I do this, is it typically no longer than 2 weeks.

This very small change makes a difference, but I will never suffer, I will never look gaunt, I will remain full and healthy looking.