Objectives
At the end of this phase, you should complete the following:
- Identify sources of good food around you
- Learn how to do Effective Cardio (Cardio aimed for Weight loss)
- Learn "what u need to know" about Calories
1 - Identify sources of good food around you
At this point of the Operation, we are still focusing on ur First Right, which is the Right Food, since u (hopefully) quit Junk food and Sugar, u need to know what to switch to, u need to switch to healthy food.
Healthy food is all around you, it’s in the grocery store where you buy your food, in the restaurant you frequent, (even in fast food joints, but very limited). So, all you need to do is learn where to look. In this section we will discuss exactly that. Let’s begin with the easy one; restaurants.
Food from restaurants
The next time you visit a restaurant, survey its menu, and create an inventory (in your mind) of the available food options. From the knowledge you gained from Phase I, you should identify what is healthy food, and what is not.
For example, let’s take a fish restaurant. They offer two types of fish platters, fried and grilled. Which one do you think is healthier?, let’s think about it, they are both fish, the exact same food, only the cooking method is different. If you guessed grilled then you’d be OK.
Grilled would be healthier because you have no idea what oil they used when they fried the fish. Besides, no matter what oil they use, fried means extra fat. So, if I was choosing, I would choose grilled. How about drinks? (cold drinks)
Your Choices are "fruit Juice, carbonated drinks, and mineral water", which one you think is healthiest? The answer is Mineral Water. Juice is better than carbonated drinks, but unfortunately, most juices are soaked with sugar, which is not good, remember?
Why stop there, let’s keep going. The table below shows a list of average food you find in restaurants, and if it’s healthy or not, and what you can do to make them healthy options.
(Click on Image to enlarge it)
So, as you can see, you can apply the knowledge you gained from Phase I, you can identify healthy options in the menus of your favorite restaurants. Perhaps you could modify your orders a little bit to make it healthier, you could ask for less (or no) sugar, no Mayo, and so on.
Another thing you can do when you are eating out is to try new restaurants. Perhaps other places serve better and healthier food options. Some restaurants specialize in grilled food, others in fried food, this makes it obvious, right?
Food at home
Unless you plant and grow your own food, eating healthy at home is all about improving your grocery list. Most likely you buy food from a grocery shop or a market. Either you buy it ready to eat, or buy the ingredients and cook at home.
Improving your grocery shopping list
Once again, you need to apply the knowledge you gained from the previous section to buy only healthy food options. First, you need to do some research on the web and identify food sources of low GI index foods, foods low in sugar, and foods in healthy fats.
Healthy grocery items include fresh white meats (chicken and poultry), fresh fruits and Veggies. Beans, seeds, and nuts. None fat dairy products (milk, cheese, and yogurt). Whole grains (bread, pasta, cereals, and rice). Finally, healthy oils, such as sunflower cooking oil, sunflower margarine, and olive oil.
Unhealthy grocery items include red meats, frozen (to be fried) foods, such as burger patties, hot dogs, and fries (big NO). Canned fruit salads and juices (Loaded with sugar). Whole fat dairy products, fruity yogurts and drinks (even if non-fat, avoid them because they are loaded with sugar)
Of course, anything loaded with sugar is banned, these include sugars, ice creams, chocolates, potatoes, and corn, crackers biscuits, soups, TV food (microwave) foods, and others.
In your research, you could also find some wonderful recipes for healthy foods, that include healthy food items, learn about these. Make it a target to learn a new recipe every week. Then identify its ingredients, and then include those in your shopping list. This way, you are making the switch to healthy food while at the same time enjoying your food.
Unfortunately, sometimes you have no choice but to buy canned food, or bottled food, that’s because you cannot shop every day, so you might need to buy food items that can last outside a fridge. Therefore, in order to buy the healthy options of canned/bottled foods, you need to learn how to read the food labels properly.
Reading food labels properly.
By reading the label you’d be able to tell if a certain food is healthy or not. Reading the food label is a skill you must gain if you are serious about weight loss. This skill allows you – in a flash – to determine if a food item is healthy or not.
There are three areas of information you would be looking for when you are reading a label. How many calories, how much fat there is (and its type), and how much Carbs (and its type). For now, however, we will skip the calories, because at this point we don’t care about the amount of food, only the type.
For now, all we care about is the fats and carbs and their types. In order to so, let’s take a look at some food label samples and see how we can do that.
Below are two samples of a food labels. Different countries/food manufacturers might have different labels, your job is to extract the information you need, regardless of the type of the label.
(a) (b)
(click on picture to view large)
The 100gm values, your instant calculator
On label (b), you can see that the values are shown in two sizes, one for the serving size, and one for 100 grams of the food item. Personally, I believe the 100gms values to be really helpful. It can tell you instantly if the food is healthy or not.
As you can see in 100gms values of the label, there are 12.4 gm protein, 1.4gm fat, and 67gm carbs. That’s all lovely and all, but since these numbers are out of 100gms, they are also percentages. Meaning this food has 12.4% [(12.4/100)*100%] protein, 1.4% fat, and 67% carbs.
This is called a weight ratio. It’s a good starting point to learn if food is good or bad, or if you are comparing two food items. In fact, you could go further, you could see that saturated fats are a meager 0.3%, sugar is only 3.3%, and fiber is 11%. You can learn all that by simply reading the 100gms values.
Sadly, not all labels contain the 100gm values. You then have no choice but to calculate the percentages. So, on the label (a), you can calculate the percentage of protein by multiplying its grams by 4, then dividing the result by the total calories, or 3x4 = 12, then 12/90 = 0.133 or 13.3% of protein.
Why 4?, because 1gm of protein provides 4 calories (more on this later). Now, I know I know, no one likes math, but these are simple calculations, after a couple of times, you’d get used to them. Also, most of the time, you would need do this only once (for each food item). So, take it easy.
The Daily Values indicator
I will make this very blunt. I find this indicator very useless, I never used it. It is made based on a lot of assumptions that most of the time do not apply to you. So, I recommend you simply ignore it.
2 - Learn how to do Effective Cardio workout
Most people have the general idea that Jogging for 40 minutes a day = weight loss.
Unfortunately, that is not accurate. Yes, jogging 40 minutes a day will help, but only because it will do a lot of great thing to your health first, then it will help u lose weight.
That's because, general Cardio workout can be aimed for two purposes, general health OR weight loss. if u just simply jog for 40 minutes, u will improve your general health, and as a side effect, you will drop some weight.
But if u really want to focus ur Cardio for weight loss (and general health as a side effect), then u need to perform an effective cardio workout.
So, what IS an effective cardio workout?
Effective Cardio is any activity that elevates your heart rate to the “Purple Zone” (figure below), or to 65% - 85% of the maximum heart rate for at least 20 minutes (the absolute minimum). It does not matter what you do, you could walk, jog, dance, swim, play, etc. as long as it satisfies these requirements.
(click to enlarge)
When you walk or jog leisurely, you heart rate (beats per minute) is not elevated to the right level. As such, it won’t be sufficient for weight loss, it will be good only for general health. Therefore, to make your cardio effective, you need to maintain your heart rate at the right level, the purple zone for the duration of 20 or 30 minutes.
How do I know if I elevated my heart rate to the right level?
You need to learn how to monitor your heart rate. There are several techniques you could apply here. You could measure your own pulse (like a doctor), you could use a heart rate monitor (in a watch), or you could simply observe your breathing.
It doesn’t matter what technique you use, as long as you use it. Doing Cardio without keeping track of your heart rate is like driving aimlessly, you will not get anywhere. All of the above methods work just fine, it is really a matter of preference. But I found monitoring your breathing to be the most convenient and cost effective, it goes like this:
You are below Cardio level if: Your breathing is normal, you can speak normally just as before workout, and you barely broke a sweat. Increase.
You are at the cardio level if: Your breathing is slightly elevated, yet you can still talk/sing, your heart is beating faster, but not pounding. Maintain.
You are Above the cardio level if: You are out of breath (not enough oxygen), you cannot talk/sing out loud and your heart is pounding. Slow down.
Learning to monitor ur breathing
Mastering this technique might be tricky in the beginning, so you need some help. Luckily, help is available. You can use the gym to practice this technique. Many (if not all) gyms offer a single-entry (or daily) pass, meaning you can pay a small fee and enter the gym for a day and use all of its facilities without committing to a long term deal.
First, use the image above to identify ur heart rate range, based on ur age. For example, if you are 20 yrs old, then your target heart rates will be from 110 to 130 bpm.Then, on your next visit to the gym, get on a good cardio machine and start walking/jogging or cycling, the built-in sensors will measure heart rate and display it on the monitor.
Keep going till you reach your target rate. Once you do, just keep a mental note of your body condition at that moment, i.e. your intensity and breathing at that moment. So, the next time you exercise in the park or anywhere else, all you have to do is recreate that condition.
As we agreed above, ANY exercise is good enough for weight loss, as long as u can elevate ur heart rate for 30 to 40 minutes. So, technically speaking, ANYTHING is good. However, Cardio could be as boring as hell, especially if u have to do it for an extended period of time.
The following points are based on my experience, you may or may not agree with some of the points below, that’s ok. It simply means your experience is different than mine. Also, you may have already determined what’s best for you, if this is the case, then by all means go ahead a use it.
Walking
Pros Walking is an excellent beginner workout. All you need is some comfortable clothing, and you’d be ready. It is also an excellent warm up (and cool down) to other exercises.
Cons In order to raise your heart rate to the right level, you may need to walk faster and longer than usual, this could mean longer exercise sessions, which may not be possible for everyone.
Jogging
Pros Jogging is ideal to being an effective Cardio, it is a full body workout, so the ability to reach target heart rate is there.
Cons If u are a beginner, or too overweight, then Jogging could be a challenge, so in this case u may need to combine periods of Jogging with Walking, and gradually try to increase the jogging period ... in other words, you may need to "condition ur body" for jogging
Cycling
Pros The primary advantage of cycling is in the fact that your body is supported by the seat. This greatly reduces the weight exerted on your legs, and so reduces joint pain.
Cons Cycling would be difficult while climbing up a hill, especially for beginners. Also, Overweight people might find it difficult to balance on a bicycle, or bear the pain of the bicycle seat.
Swimming
Pros Swimming is great. Your body weight is fully supported by the water so there is NO impact at all. Swimming works out the whole body (legs and arms), so it burns the most calories. It is also a great exercise if your leg was hurt or injured (rehab)
Cons Effective swimming is not easy, you need to learn the proper breathing technique from young age to achieve the benefits of swimming, remember cardio is all about breathing, so if you are holding your breath underwater, then you will not benefit from swimming.
Dancing/Aerobic/Sports Clubs
Pros Joining a dance/aerobic club is a lot of fun. Not only would you be working out, but you would have a great time as well, not to mention learning a new skill.
Cons You need to join a club, so everything we discussed on gyms applies here, you may need to experiment before committing. Some instructors pause to teach a move here and there. If this happens a lot , then it will be difficult for you to maintain your heart rate at the right level.
Ok, once again, the choice here is purely personal. The important point to remember is convenience, your options must make cardio comfortable, fits smoothly within your day, and enjoyable.
Ok, how do I experiment?
Right now, you are doing your walking 3 days a week, and as we discussed before in step 2, you are doing it in the local park, or around your neighborhood/home. Well, now you can try some other places, Remember those single entry passes you can get at any gym?, you can use those.
One day you can do your walking in the outdoors (in the streets) early in the morning, another day you could do it in a gym (use a single entry pass) after work, and yet on another day you could try another gym. In other words, for the next two weeks, you could try as many combinations as you can.
Furthermore, you could use these single entries to compare between gyms. Or to see if going to the gym is worth it in the first place. Remember, it’s not just about the gym, it’s also about convenience, time availability, parking availability (if you have to drive to the gym), and so on.
WARNING: Don’t buy anything yet!
You might feel great after your first visit to the gym that you would be tempted to buy a gym membership, or an expensive machine (for home use), so I will make this simple, DON’T. Let’s make an agreement, you will not buy anything expensive until the end of step5, deal?
Performing an effective cardio workout
Regardless of what cardio exercise you choose, be it jogging, cycling, etc. you still need to perform it properly to maximize its benefits and eliminate injury. So, do this on your next cardio.
Warm up
Start with slow movement, brisk walk, slow cycling, etc. the point here is to get some juice flowing in your muscles and joints. This should last for five minutes or so. Then, stop and do some Stretching. Once your muscles are warmed up and stretched, then you are ready for your workout.
Go gradual
You need to reach the target heart during your workout and keep it there for at least 2 minutes. Failure to do so will simply void your exercise. I mean, I it will still good for general health and all, but it will be useless for weight loss.
Build your fitness gradually
In the beginning, it could be difficult to even reach the target heart rate, let alone maintain it for 20 minutes. So, you may need to take it gradually. This means you should try to target to reach target heart rate and maintain it for just 5 minutes. Then, gradually increase this time week by week. before you know it, you will be able to reach 60 minutes.
Cool Down
You cannot abrubtly stop your cardio, you need to slow down and allow your muscles to cool off naturally, if you don’t, you will have many muscular problems the next day.
3 - Learn "what u need to know" about Calories
But, how small the meal should be?, this depends on how many calories you need. We will discuss calories next. In the next phase (Phase III), we will identify exactly that. but for now, let's learn a bit more about Calories.
Energy generated for burning food is measured in many units, either Joules or Calories, depending on where you live. For the purposes of this discussion, we will use Calories.
However, on food labels you might find different variations to the word calorie, you might see Calories, calories, Cals, cals, Kilo calories, Kcals. These variations might look confusing. But, all you really need to understand here is that all these terms mean exactly the same thing: calories. If you accept this, then you can skip the next few paragraphs and jump to “Calories from food”, otherwise, read on.
Warning: Scientific Jargon (Skip to “Calories from food” if you don’t want to be bothered)
The Calorie, Kilo calorie, Cals, Kcals, refers to the large calorie, the kilogram calorie. The energy needed to increase the temperature of one kilogram of water by 1 degree Celsius. Whereas the calorie, with a small c, is the energy needed to increase the temperature of one gram of water by 1 degree Celsius.
In food energy measurement, however, only the large calorie is used, that’s because a small calorie is not significant enough to affect the human body. Unfortunately, using capitalization or adding the prefixes K and kilo is not adhered to by everyone in industry.
Some argue that small calories do not affect the human body, so why bother to distinguish between them in the first place. As such, understand this, on food labels, the following terms, Kcals, Cals, cals, calories, Kcalories mean exactly the same thing, calories.
Calories from food
1 gram of protein or carbohydrates (regardless good or bad) provides us with 4 calories, while 1 gram of fat provides us with 9 calories (regardless good or bad). Vitamins and minerals do not have any calories.
Therefore, if you know the size of the meal (how many grams), then you can calculate its energy in a simple calculation. On the other hand, if you know how many calories your body needs, then you can adjust the meal size to match your caloric needs. Complicated? Let’s take an example.
If you know that one apple contains 70 calories, then you’d know every time you eat an apple, you’d get 70 calories worth of energy. On the other hand, if your target is to consume only 35 calories, then all you have to do is eat half of that apple.
The Metabolic Rate
We already agreed that if you consume more calories than what you need, you will put on weight. So, the question is, how many calories do we need?, and how do we find out?
The answer comes from the metabolic rate, or the amount of calories your body needs in an hour, a day, or any other time frame. The higher the metabolic rate, the higher the calories you’d need. The amount of calories we need in an hour is referred to as the hourly metabolic rate, and so on.
The Metabolic rate is made of three components, they are:
- The Basal (or Basic) Metabolic Rate (the BMR), which is the minimum amount of energy needed to sustain your life and support internal organs, such as the heart, brain, liver, lungs, etc. It is the energy burnt while we are at complete rest, like sleeping or watching TV.
- Energy required for physical activities, is the energy needed to move muscles, etc. It is the energy we need to walk, talk, play sports, drive a car, and perform any other physical activity.
- The Thermic Effect of Food (TEF) is the energy needed to process food. The energy needed to chew, igest and metabolize food. It usually counted as about 10% of the amount of calories we consume.
So coming back to the apple example, even though it contains 70 calories, in reality you will get only 63 calories, the other 7 cals (10% of 70) was used to digest that apple.
OK, how do I determine my Metabolic rate
Based on your age, gender, height, etc. the BMR is determined. Then this value is adjusted to incorporate your physical activities, based on how active you are. Then that number is further adjusted to incorporate the TEF. The final number that comes out would be your metabolic rate.
We will do all that in the Next Phase .... for now however, let's recap ...
SO ..... It's Time To Go to WORK.
OK, by now you have a complete picture of you need to do, here is a refresher.
- Identify sources of good food around you
- Learn how to do Effective Cardio (Cardio aimed for Weight loss)
- Learn "what u need to know" about Calories
Just remember, that awkward feeling of discomfort, which you are feeling right now is perfectly normal and is temporary. Remember our discussion in “Before you begin”?. You just need to make an initial effort, and the more familiar you get, the more comfortable you will get.
So .... all the best, and i will keep in touch !!
