Eliminate your last hints of extra fat with this Meal x Meal plan. Say goodbye to the chubby nickname.
Dr. Lonnie Lowery lives a double life. At 42, he is not only a competitive bodybuilder but also a professor of exercise science and nutrition at Winona State University in Minnesota. Both in the classroom and at the gym, Lowery has learned to use every last minute to stay in better shape than most people his age.
Just keep in mind that no one eats and exercises this way all the time. Lowery uses this strict regimen only when preparing for a competition or special event (which, by the way, is a good approach for you to see it that way too). It is not like the rest of the year you are stuck with food, but rather you eat more to allow your body to recover from the wear and tear caused by your diet. Consider it your thesis seminar to compete for the management of “waist”.
Tomorrow: kick start your metabolism, control your blood sugar level and get ready for the heavy load of afternoon work.
Before consuming food Caffeine and cardio
No one wakes up ready to exercise. But morning is a great time to train. Lowery tells us: “Before breakfast, you burn a higher percentage of fat because the available energy source – from carbohydrates – is depleted, and the hormonal state makes your body’s fat available. Plus, coffee can help squeeze even more of your body fat. ” In Lowery’s plan, the workout is not overly elaborate: an hour’s walk or run, be it low or medium intensity, right after you have a cup of coffee. But if you try to do more than that, you won’t have enough strength for the power training you will do later in the day. This is the first big difference with the traditional Men`s Health tips (in this case, eat before exercising).
All things being equal, you will probably train harder if you have something in your stomach, and that leaves you with better long-term benefits. But, in this example, Lowery is not looking for these kinds of benefits, nor is he trying to exercise intensively. His goal is to get rid of fats stored in the body. A 2006 study of applied physiology, nutrition and metabolism says that people who exercised following a fast night burned more fat for energy, although they did not burn more calories than they would have used if they had eaten before training. One additional point about this morning workout: It’s not the main event for Lowery. That will happen later in the day when you get to the gym. If you don’t have time to exercise twice a day, You should choose a hard weight training instead of this low-intensity routine. Think of it this way: This exercise dynamic is designed to stimulate fat loss, but as a supplement to your regular routine.
Breakfast Protein and carbohydrates that burn slowly
Lowery says, “I make a very low-fat breakfast and stick with the slow-acting carbs, so I feel quite satisfied for the next few hours.” Again: low-fat breakfast is not what we generally suggest, but it makes sense in this quest for single-digit body fat. Specifically, Lowery tries to manage the insulin hormone. It registers its lowest level during the early morning but reacts like a beast to the first food of the day. If you ate too much, that is, if you consumed more calories than you burned, the insulin surge could lead to more fat storage. But in the opposite context, when you are burning more calories than you eat, fat storage is unlikely. This is why an average person on a diet
But Lowery plays a more complicated game than the rest of us. He wants an increase in insulin to carry protein and carbohydrates to his muscles. When carbohydrates are stored inside muscles, like glycogen, they carry water with them, and this helps them improve their function and rebuild. But if he adds a few grams of fat to the mix, there’s a small chance that it ends up in the fat cells he tries to eliminate by exercising in the morning on an empty stomach. Extra fat can also interfere with the body’s ability to metabolize carbohydrates correctly. And that is a risk that he does not want to take. So for Lowery, an ideal breakfast consists of two whole eggs plus four whites, for a total of 24 grams of protein.
Second breakfast and lunch Protein and fiber
For a mid-morning bite, Lowery likes to grab some blackberry oatmeal and a tablespoon of vanilla-flavored protein powder. Lunch, which you should have between 2.5 and three hours later, can consist, for example, of a roasted chicken breast, accompanied by some type of fiber-rich vegetable, such as broccoli, along with a cup of brown rice (if you are looking for more fiber, add some black beans) or two chambray potatoes. Meals like this require extensive chewing, and this slows your appetite and gives the brain time to send out the “stop eating” signal. The high protein content can also speed up your metabolism.
Afternoon: Fill up on fuel, exercise, and recover.
Food before exercise Protein and carbohydrates that burn quickly
From noon to mid-afternoon, it’s time to consume some fuel before entering the gym. Half a turkey breast sandwich and a banana will suffice. Turkey protein gives your muscles a little bit of material to work through the endless process of repair and rebuilding. On the other hand, fast-acting carbohydrates provide the energy necessary for impending training. This combination also increases your insulin levels, opening the blood vessels and promoting better pumping to the muscles that are working. Pumping is not only a nice reward for hard work, but it also fills your muscles with nutrients, thereby speeding your recovery.
During exercise Strategic destruction of muscle fibers
Building muscles while dieting and having limited calories is difficult, but not impossible if you execute the correct strategy to achieve it. The key is to do as much as you can without compromising your resilience for the next workout. Lowery suggests that you divide your exercises so that you rarely work your upper and lower body on the same day. Instead, it forces your muscles to the brink of exhaustion, always working “from the center of your body outward.” Thus, he begins training the chest and the back (center) and advances outwards, to the shoulders, with the aim of ending with the arms. In order to exercise the upper torso with the Lowery system, you must start with heavy lifts, for example, three or four sets of five repetitions on barbell and dumbbell row bench press. Next, you will need to perform three sets of 10 to 12 repetitions of the shoulder press with dumbbells and side pulls. To finish with one or two sets of 20 repetitions (do them slowly) of bicep curls and tricep extensions.
Shake after exercise More nutrients than speed
You don’t need a lot of protein and carbohydrates at the end of your workout; a small protein shake or a smoothie will do the job, even a glass of whole milk or two semi-skimmed or skimmed milk (don’t worry about fat, since the moment you consume it your metabolism will do the same as it does with proteins or carbohydrates).
Night: relax, load up on energy and get ready to rest.
Protein and fat dinner
Never dine-in excess. A couple of hours later, the end of the day food arrives. As usual, this will be the one where Lowery will consume the most fat all day. This is because, as fuel, fat seems to be preferable to carbohydrates at this time. The entire insulin and carbohydrate system does not work well at this time of day. Plus, Lowery’s daily diet range is enhanced with healthy fats, which he hasn’t had until now. Chicken with sauteed vegetables or a good steak will give you what you need, in addition to a green salad with little dressing. Protein and fat, along with fiber from vegetables, will help you feel full until bedtime, which will probably be very soon, considering everything you’ve worked on so far.