August 2022 -

Superfoods Aren’t Some Magical Doorway To Good Health. Here’s Why?

Did you buy a SUPERFOOD yesterday?

Acha parso to khareeda hoga? Nahi? (Probably day before yesterday?)
Acha usse ek din pehle? (May be a day before that?)

Kher koi nahi! (Nonetheless!)

We all fall for this marketing gimmick. But according to Wikipedia, superfood is just a marketing term, and has no medical or scientific relevance. And I’d like to think so.

A better way to describe these foods is that they are nutrient-dense foods that contain a rich amount of certain nutrients that are beneficial for health.

But, the way they are marketed or sold – we think of them as a magical doorway to our good health.

But this exercise is primarily done, to exponentially increase the prices of specific foods.

Rather than fixing our unhealthy lifestyle, we start eating them as pills. Rather than going for a walk in a park, we walk to the supermarket to purchase the superfood.

And the result is a surging demand and exorbitant price of that superfood.

But, truth be told, if blueberry is good for health, so is a 5 rupee banana, if chia is good for health, so is peanut, and if matcha tea is good for health, so is a normal tea.

The point is – it is not a single food in isolation that is super, but a combination of a variety of whole foods consumed consistently in moderation along with regular exercise – That will make you a superhuman.

Do you need a #superfoodforthought?

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Body Detoxification Is The Biggest Scam. Here’s Why?

Detox drinks & diets are claimed to have detoxifying properties that can help the body get rid of toxins (not sure which toxins) or undesirable substances that can have negative health outcomes.

The pitch given to sell the detox idea is – “From time to time we need to clear toxic waste from our body.”

Activities include – dieting, fasting, avoiding or consuming specific foods or drinks such as various concoctions of water mixed with fruits, vegetables, herbs, spices, and other ingredients, etc.

Juice fast is a very common word these days.

Whatever the format of detoxification is – a detox is done primarily for two reasons –

1. Weight Loss

2. Detoxifying various body parts such as the liver, kidney, intestines, gut, etc.

Let’s talk both.

Weight loss – Yes, you will lose weight in short term. In fact, detoxification studies show that people saw positive results in fat loss, weight loss, insulin resistance, blood pressure, etc. however, the study themselves had flawed methodologies (1).

Proponents of such cleanses also claim that it also helps the body get rid of excess fat by releasing fat-stored toxins via blood, urine, feces, breath, etc. This in itself has no scientific relevance.

But just for context, people who’re put on detox diets, are made to consume severely low calories either by eating only fruits, vegetables, herbs, or juices made out of them for one day to several days in a row.

So, being in a state of caloric deficit, you’ll anyway lose weight however, whether that weight is actually fat, we doubt. And more importantly, you’ll gain all that weight as soon as you’re back to a normal diet.

Moving to the second part of the puzzle – the detox mechanism.

Detoxifying the system – Don’t waste your time, your body is capable of eliminating toxins on its own. Organs such as the liver, kidney, and digestive system are capable of that.

British Dietetic Association conducted a review of detox diets in 2014 on both accounts mentioned above and it was found that no randomized controlled trials are conducted to ascertain the effectiveness of commercial detox diets in humans and whatever studies that were conducted in the past either had flawed methodologies & small sample sizes (2).

And on the contrary, because of extreme calorie restriction via these detox programs, you may feel weak, extremely hungry, and your nutritional needs will remain unmet.

Some other side effects include low blood sugar, muscle ache, fatigue, dizziness, nausea, headache, anxiety, insomnia etc.

And, what proponents or promoters of such cleanses claim here is funny – the bad stuff is leaving your body, while the fact is you have major nutrient deficiencies surfacing as a result of detox.

While, principally, having fruits, herbs, vegetables, and juices are all very good if they’re part of an overall diet. But in isolation, they’re not enough to complete all your nutritional requirements.

But the use of commercial detox products may contain harmful ingredients (1).

Our body has evolved as a piece of sophisticated & versatile machinery that has been through centuries of evolution and hence smart enough to protect & detoxify you from alien agents when needed.

The kidney, liver, digestive system, etc. are all involved in the detoxifying process, you just need to give them, the right atmosphere – by reducing alcohol consumption & consumption of highly processed & low nutrient foods, eating whole & nutrient-dense foods that are rich in fiber, protein & other nutrients, sufficient sleep, water, & regular physical activity etc.

To put this in a nutshell, whether it’s a detox product or any other product that intends to improve your health or make you feel or look better, basically promises quick results, here’s something you should know.

Marketers know that we as human beings are always looking for shortcuts, and will take one when shown to them, irrespective of the results.

So, in the name of health, when the market is largely unregulated, the opportunity is huge & awareness is missing, there is no harm in making a business out of something that doesn’t even make sense.

At last, remember that no amount of detoxification programs and drinks can replace a bad lifestyle. It never will.

Give the body it needs, and it will detox itself.

Research Conducted by: Cerenay Sarier

References used –
“Detoxes” and “Cleanses”: What You Need To Know

Klein AV, Kiat H. Detox diets for toxin elimination and weight management: a critical review of the evidence. J Hum Nutr Diet. 2015 Dec;28(6):675-86. doi: 10.1111/jhn.12286. Epub 2014 Dec 18. PMID: 25522674.

Cheapest Protein Sources In India

Let’s look at the cheapest protein sources in India.

Food	Cost	Quantity (g)	Protein/100g	Total Protein	Protein/Rupee
Soy Chunks	45	220	52	114.4	2.54
Black Chana	100	1000	19	190	1.90
Green Moong	130	1000	24	240	1.85
Lobia	150	1000	24	240	1.60
Peanuts	165	1000	25	250	1.52
Chickpea	130	1000	19	190	1.46
Rajma	180	1000	24	240	1.33
Egg	5.5	per piece	12	6	1.09
Sattu	250	1000	23	230	0.92
Peanut Butter	400	1000	30	300	0.75
Oats	160	1000	12	120	0.75
Rohu Fish	300	1000	22	220	0.73
Flax Seeds	28	100	20	20	0.71
Milk	23	500ml	3	15	0.65
Chicken Breast	200	500	25	125	0.63
Whey	1500	1000	8	80	0.62
Paneer	75	200	19	38	0.51
Roasted Chana	178	1000	9	90	0.51
Tofu	60	200	14	28	0.47
Curd	40	400	3.7	15	0.37

Everything About Pre & Post Workout Nutrition

There is a lot of confusion about Pre and post-workout nutrition. Let’s clear them in this article once and for all.

However, as always let’s get the basics right first –

Basics about Pre and Post-Workout Nutrition

The role of a pre-workout is to provide sustained energy during training.

Any carbohydrate-rich food is an excellent pre-workout source.

Eat any fast-digesting carb if you have 45 minutes or less for your workout and any slow-digesting or complex carbohydrate if you have roughly 2 hours left for training.

There is a notion that if you don’t consume protein before workout, you will lose muscle during training however, that is not the case as long as you’re meeting your protein requirement for the day.

The role of a good post-workout is to ensure recovery, muscle retention & growth.

Any combination of carbohydrate and protein-rich food is a good post-workout.

Though the role of fat is limited around workout, however, fat will not hamper your progress and gains. But just like complex carbohydrates, fats also take time to digest, so don’t have any fat-rich meals closer to the workout.

Morning Pre-Workout

Mornings are usually busy with less time at hand, so a fast-digesting carb makes sense.

In the morning – a black coffee alone or along with some fast digesting carbohydrates like fruit (banana, apple, or any other), fruit juice, dried fruit, etc. will work.

Morning Post Workout

After the workout, ensure that you’re getting a good supply of complete protein sources (whey or plant protein, egg, dairy such as milk, chicken, fish, paneer, curd, tofu, soy). Combine protein with any simple or complex carbohydrate – banana, potatoes, bread, or any other regular breakfast option.

Some meal options could be (These are just ideas. adjust quantities as per your appetite and goals) –

1 scoop whey or plant protein + bananas

1/2 scoop whey + bananas + milk (blend)

3 egg whites + 2 whole eggs + banana or boiled potatoes

smoothie – banana + 20g sattu + 1/2 scoop whey + 16g peanut butter + milk (blend)

2 whole wheat bread + (70g paneer or 70g tofu or 70g grilled chicken or 2 eggs or 32g peanut butter) + milk

In case you just want to have a breakfast that’s cooked at your house. Then ensure that you’re getting at least 20g of protein in this meal using the sources mentioned above in the required quantity.

Quantity of protein foods required to get 20g protein –

Whey/Plant protein powder – 30g – 22g protein

Soy chunk – 40g – 21g protein

Soybean dal – 45g – 20g protein

Whole Egg – 3 – 19g protein

Egg White – 6 – 22g protein

Tofu – 100g – 18g protein

Paneer – 100g – 19g protein

Chicken breast – 100g – 22g protein

Milk – 600 ml – 20g protein

Dahi – 600g – 19g protein

Combine this with any regular breakfast such as parantha, cheela, idli, dosa, uttapam, dalia, thepla, muesli, litti chokha, etc.

Evening Pre-Workout

All morning options will work even for your evening pre and post-workout meals. But here’s the approach you can follow for your evening workout meals.

If you have 2-3 hours for training, you probably don’t need a post-workout. Just ensure sufficient quality protein at lunch.

If needed, copy morning pre-workout options here as well. (coffee or/and fast-digesting carb)

As mentioned earlier, the role of a pre-workout is to provide sustained energy during a workout, so if you feel a lack of energy in the second half better consume anything.

If the time gap between lunch and workout is around 1.5 hours, consume any complex carb before workout.

Sattu, roasted chana, makhana, peanuts, roti or bread peanut butter, boiled potato, curd potato, boiled chana, and soaked moong are all good options.

If 40 minutes or less to workout, copy morning pre-workout options.

Evening Post-Workout

If there is 3-4 hours time gap between workout and meal (dinner), consume any protein source such as whey or plant protein, milk, eggs, tofu, paneer, fish, chicken, or protein bar after your workout, and then proceed with regular dinner later.

You can also make a post-workout shake as well.

If you eat dinner within 1-1.5 hours of the workout then no need for a post-workout.

Have your regular meal and ensure at least 20g of complete protein in this meal.

Important things about nutrition around workouts

If you’re a beginner, increase your protein intake gradually, otherwise, you may experience digestive issues.
Protein intake of 1.2g-2g/kg of body weight is optimal for muscle growth. Find your range by experimenting with different quantities. So if you’re 80kg, your protein requirement is between 96-160g.
It’s not mandatory to have your protein immediately after a workout. You can have it later as well.
Completing your protein requirement for the day is absolutely important.
Distributing protein across meals will further help for better gains. At least 20g of quality protein is found to be beneficial.
For building lean muscle, around 200-300 calorie surplus from your maintenance calories is a good range to ensure maximum muscle and minimal fat gain.
Adjust quantities for all foods as per your requirements & goals using any calorie tracker.

Conclusion

So in order of priority, completing your protein comes first, followed by distribution across meals, a surplus of 300 calories and sufficient rest is all that matters for building muscle.

Using Science To Evaluate Popular Weight Loss Tips On the Internet

The Internet is flooded with a number of weight loss tips but which tips to trust & follow and which are a complete waste of your time, let’s find out using science.

In the first category, we have the worst tips.

These are worst because they’re ineffective at moving the weight scale one bit and driven mainly by word of mouth and their effectiveness is largely anecdotal, no scientific evidence.

Contestants we have here are – drinking lukewarm water, lemon water, herbs & spice water, apple cider vinegar shots, eating spicy food, use of weight loss supplements, use of caffeine & green tea, not eating post 7 PM, eating smaller meals throughout the day, no fat in the diet, detox drinks, eating organic food, etc.

Though a lot of them are really good habits to adopt from a general health perspective, but weight loss isn’t one of its benefits.

So better not rely on them.

In case, you’ve experienced weight loss with any one of them, that has happened primarily because of creating a negative energy balance, knowingly or unknowingly – maybe you increased your activity along with them or reduced consumption of food.

Negative energy balance is spending more calories (via walking, workouts) than consuming (via food).

Either move more or eat less or both.

If somebody is trying to sell any products that fall under this category, better stay away.

Second category is bad tips, where you see weight loss on the scale but these tips have some foundational mistakes.

These are – crash dieting, eating salads, skipping meals, drinking meal replacement shakes, excessive or empty stomach cardio.

These are primarily based on the principle of negative energy balance – Meaning, amongst the first 4 of them, you’re eating lesser than your requirement or maintenance calories resulting in weight loss.

In the last 2 tips, you’re creating a negative energy balance by spending more calories.

The foundational mistakes here are –

Driven by a sense of urgency hence not long-term sustainable.
It will impact your metabolism negatively.
May result in muscle loss in absence of appropriate protein & weight training.

Amongst the good tips, we have –

Mindful eating. Although, the weight loss results from a 2015 systematic review were inconsistent (1), but, it surely helps in bringing overall positive outcomes for health.

The second is drinking sufficient water or staying hydrated. This has also shown mixed results from a weight loss perspective, however, was effective at reducing 5.15% weight if sufficient water consumed throughout the day, replacing calorie beverages with water, and drinking water before meals according to a 2019 systematic review however, the quality of evidence was low due to short duration of studies (2).

But other potential benefits of hydration demands the inclusion of this transparent beverage in your life more often.

Next is to sleep well. Lack of sleep creates an imbalance between hunger & satiety hormones resulting in binging on salt & sugar-loaded high-calorie foods. Sleep well to wane out unnecessary cravings and save calories (3).

Next up, reduce consumption of processed food & alcohol. Now, both empty calorie foods have minimal to no nutrition to offer but they significantly add up calories.

Just to give you some perspective, a regular McDonald’s Aloo Tikki burger has 367 calories (4), 1 Kingfisher Ultra Beer Pint has 140 calories (5) and a Teacher’s 30ml drink has 76 calories (6).

Fifth tip is to include protein & fiber-rich foods aka complex carbohydrates in diet. Both are proven to increase satiety & help reduce caloric intake (7,8 & 9). Add minimal 1.2g/kg body weight protein to avoid any muscle loss.

Couple this with quantifying food using a scale & tracking on a calorie counting app to consume the desired number of calories according to your goal. A calorie deficit of 300-500 is appropriate for weight loss.

Next is NEAT. In simple words, increase your physical activity – move more, sit less – cycle, walk, run. This is will increase energy expense.

The last good tip is Resistance or weight training because (1) muscle burns more calories than fat, (2) it preserves muscle mass during a calorie deficit, and (3) it gives aesthetically pleasing results from weight loss.

In conclusion, (1) prioritize negative energy balance by eating less calories and spending more calories (2) preserve & build muscle by weight training (3) include sufficient protein & complex carbs to stay satiated for longer and (4) rest well to see great outcomes.

Remember a good weight loss strategy is driven by bringing long-term sustainable changes in lifestyle.

Article research conducted by Sanjana Suresh

How To Find Maintenance Calories?

In simple terms, maintenance calories are calories required to maintain weight. Meaning if your weight hasn’t moved much, this means that you’re eating just about the same calories your body needs.

And, if you’re gaining weight, you’re consuming more energy (calories) than maintenance and if you’re losing you’re eating less than maintenance.

So, you see, if you have any fitness goal, either losing fat or gaining weight/muscle, it’s important to find maintenance calories.

And, people often find it difficult to know their maintenance calories and therefore, cannot accurately track their fitness progress.

So, let’s try to make it easy for you.

Maintenance calories equals BMR multiplied by your activity level.

BMR is the minimal amount of energy your body needs to perform internal functions while at rest. This means that even if you don’t move an inch you’ll still need this much energy to sustain life. And, BMR typically makes up for almost 60-70% of your daily energy needs.

There are two approaches to finding your maintenance calories –

(1) Mathematical Way – Formulas

As far as the first approach is concerned, several people & institutions have given different equations for calculating BMR but a few popular ones used in the majority of online calculators are given by Mifflin St. Jeor, Harris-Benedict (1984), and Schofield.

Harris-Benedict equation (1984) –

Male | BMR = 88.362 + (13.397 x weight in kg) + (4.799 x height in cm) – (5.677 x age in years)

Female | BMR = 447. 593 + (9.247 x weight in kg) + (3.098 x height in cm) – (4.330 x age in years)

Mifflin-St. Jeor Equation –

10 × weight (kg) + 6.25 × height (cm) – 5 × age (y) + S (kcal / day)

Where X is +5 for males & -161 for females

Multiply BMR by appropriate activity level factor to find an estimate of your total daily energy expenditure or maintenance calories.

Sedentary (little or no activity)	BMR x 1.2
Lightly Active (light exercise/sports : 1-3 days/week)	BMR x 1.375
Moderately Active (moderate exercise/sports : 3-5 days/week)	BMR x 1.55
Very Active (hard exercise/sports : 6-7 days/week)	BMR x 1.725
Extra Active (hard exercise/sports & physical job)	BMR x 1.9

Most online calculators use either one of them.

These will give you a rough estimate of your maintenance calories. Now, you need to experiment for a few days/weeks to by consuming your estimated maintenance to find the right number.

(2) Methodological Way – Diet History

The second approach focuses on tracking your current dietary intake for a few days up to a week and record changes in weight.

If no change, you’re consuming your maintenance, if weight is increasing, you’re in energy surplus, and vice versa.

Once, you figure out maintenance, start quantifying your food using a scale & record it in any calorie counting app and take the desired route as per your fitness goal.

10 Healthy Snacks Under 200 Calories

Consuming low-calorie snacks between meals is a matter of enhancing your nutrition knowledge and using a food scale.

We’re giving you 10 options in this article. Rest you can get creative, quantify your food and use a calorie-counting app to find the right combinations for you.

1. Nuts

Nuts are both calorie and nutrient-dense foods with about 600 calories per 100g, So, quantifying them is absolutely necessary to stay within your calorie limit.

25g of any nut such as cashew, almond, walnut, etc. will give about 160-170 calories. Rest calories can be filled with 10g raisin or 2 small dates.

2. Bread Peanut butter

One whole wheat bread slice is about 77 calories. Apply any 15g all-natural peanut butter giving about 100 calories and get 175 calories from this snack.

You can also apply 15g peanut butter on roti (95 cal) or a combination with 1 brown rice cake (35 cal) will work just as well.

3. Chai makhana

Chai makhana is a popular Indian snack combination. Makhana being low in calories will just give 87 calories per 25g. For tea, 125 ml of milk (70 cal) & a teaspoon of sweetener (30 cal) will help stay within 200 calorie limit.

You can replace makhana with the same amount of popcorn or 20g roasted chana.

4. Boiled egg

2 hard-boiled eggs give 77 cal per piece.

You can make a combo of 1 boiled egg (77 cal) & whole wheat bread (77 Cal) as well.

5. Peanut chat

For peanut chat, use 25g roasted peanuts (142 cal), 1 onion (28 cal), 1 tomato (20 cal), then some salt & spices for the mix. Done.

Another variation of this is -15g peanuts (85 cal), 15g puffed rice (50 cal), 1 onion (28 cal), 1 tomato (20 cal), then some salt & spices for the mix. Done.

6. Curd (Yogurt)

To increase the flow of healthy bacteria in your intestines, curd is one of the cheapest alternatives.

200g curd (124 cal) & 1 teaspoon sweetener (20-30 cal) is a great snack that will come in under 200 calories.

Some other variations of curd –

200g curd (124 cal) & 20g Raisin (62 cal)

200g curd (124 cal) & small apple (60 cal)

200g curd (124 cal), small mango (80 cal) and blend together to make a mango lassi.

7. Potato

Boil any medium size potato (about 100g) and get 100 cal.

And in case you don’t know, potatoes have the highest satiety index (SI – 323) – meaning they keep you full for much longer than other foods. (1)

Cut & combine it with 100g curd to get additional 62 cal and still stay less than 200 calories.

8. Fruit

Either 2 medium bananas, 2 medium apples, or 300-350g fruit chat, will all come under 200 calories.

9. Milk

This one’s easy. Just 250-300 ml (150-180 cal) of this filling drink is good enough to give you good amount of protein & several micronutrients – all under 200 calories.

10. Sprouts

Last up, sprouts. Moong is usually the easiest to make, so, soak 35 g moong (117 cal) for about 12 hours, then pack it nicely in a muslin cloth for another 12 hours.

That’s it. Your sprouts will be ready. Now, combine them with 1 onion, 1 tomato, salt, & spices to make sprout chat.

In conclusion, healthy snacking is about 2 things only – (1) choosing the right ingredient & (2) consuming in moderation.

Kitchen items under ₹ 399 That’ll Help You Stay Fit

People often think that fitness is a destination, and once you reach there, you’re done.

But fitness is a journey, you walk this path every day, and if you don’t, you’ll soon end up becoming unfit again.

Let’s set the expectation straight right at the beginning of this article.

So, rather than reaching there and stopping, making your journey easier is what you should aim for.

And we found the following kitchen items useful in our journey, so thought of sharing them with you.

And the first one is –

Egg boiler

Now, boiling eggs in a pan have some issues –

Wait for a full boil to sim the stove.
Remember to shut the stove after 10-15 min
Removing eggs on a different plate to avoid overcooking

This egg boiler will help you with all three. Just add water using the measuring cup, add eggs, cover, turn on the switch and get to your work.

Your eggs will boil for almost 8 minutes. And you don’t even have to turn it off, it’ll auto-cut after time is over.

And what you get is consistent results every single time at just ₹359.

Food scale

The second item is this food scale. Every household must have it, without exception. Especially the ones, who want to manage their weight and stay fit.

Don’t make guesses about food, measure it, you have the tools. You might find difficulty tracking initially but don’t worry, you’ll learn over time.

Make use of the following points when using it.

Use the mode button to switch between grams & ounce.
The third button tare will help turn the quantity to 0 grams. Let’s say, you’re measuring milk. So, you put the cup first and you don’t want the weight of the empty cup to show up. Just press the tare button after putting the cup and proceed with adding milk.
After measuring food quantity, track your calories using any calorie counting app.

It’ll come at just ₹339.

Oil Sprayer

The next item is this oil sprayer, that helps moderate your oil consumption.

Just add oil by opening up the lid, closing it, and start using it. It’s that simple. It’ll come at ₹295.

Vegetable chopper

Chopping does take a lot of time unless you’re an expert.

Add any vegetable of choice in this vegetable chopper and pull the string to chop.

Depending on how fine or rough chop you want, pull the string and save your time with this amazing item @ ₹265.

Steamer Basket

This vegetable steamer is really durable and can fit into utensils of all shapes and sizes. You can steam more or less batch of vegetables depending on your requirement and fill your plate with micronutrients loaded vegetables using this steamer basket @ just ₹299.

Mistakes You’re Making In Fixing Skinny Fat And Doing It The Right Way!

Skinny fat is majorly a lifestyle situation that can be fixed obviously by lifestyle modifications.

But mistakes, most people make when trying to get rid of skinny fat is that they attempt to lose weight by performing excessive cardio & ab exercises at the gym.

But if you lose weight, you’ll also lose muscle (in absence of weight training & optimal protein) and end up looking more skinnier than before.

And more importantly, you’ve to look at it carefully, skinny fat is a lack of muscle mass on the body and a higher body fat percentage.

So how do you fix that?

By building muscle & losing fat at the same time, aka Body Recomposition. Simple.

Well, it’s not as simple as it sounds.

But body recomposition is very much possible with untrained people and detrained people (who’ve not trained for a longer period).

Now, let’s look at the right approach.

1. Resistance training

The first step is to build muscle. Improve your muscle mass by performing all major muscle group exercises at least twice a week.

If you have three days, do full body workouts. If you have 4 days, perform upper body lower body split and if you have 5 or 6 days, push, pull, and leg is a good split for you.

Also, four steps to optimize your weight training –

Perfect your form first to avoid any injuries.
Prioritize range of motion over number of repetitions in a set (meaning, don’t rush for doing more reps, go easy – feel the contraction).
6-20 reps per set for hypertrophy however, this doesn’t mean you short rep (read the previous point if you do).
Include compound movements for improved strength such as the deadlift, bench press, barbell squats, barbell shoulder press, etc.

Once workouts are optimized, the next step is to fix the nutrition.

2. Nutrition

The topmost priority is to consume optimal protein for muscle gain. Try anything between 1.2-2g/kg of body weight to see what works best for you.

Food such as chicken, fish, egg, dairy, soy, bean & lentils, nut, nut butter, whey, plant protein etc. are good ways to increase protein intake.

Distribute the remaining calories between complex carbohydrates & healthy fats.

After the protein is sorted, the next step in nutrition is to create a calorie deficit or negative energy balance.

How do you do that?

Use any online calculator to find your maintenance calories.
Start by eating 200-300 calories less than your maintenance.
Increase your NEAT or physical activity level in general beyond your gym workouts, such as walking, bicycling, etc. Moving more throughout the day.

Now, what is happening here?

Resistance training & optimal protein will create a favorable environment to build muscle and a small calorie deficit will get rid of that excess fat.

3. Tracking

The last step to getting rid of skinny fat is tracking. Because only, if you track, you’ll know if you’re progressing in the right direction or not.

Three important things here as well.

Use a food scale to quantify your food
Record in a calorie counting app
Click your photos every week to witness changes in body composition.

Also, use this US army calculator for body composition and find your body fat percentage by entering the required information.

Once, you reach a body fat between 10-12% for males & 20-22% for females, you can start with a small calorie surplus to build lean muscle.

This sums it all!

And remembers one thing, the reason you’re skinny could be your genetics but the reason you’re skinny fat is definitely your lifestyle. So, fix that. Make slow but sustainable changes for a better lifestyle. Coming out of the skinny fat zone is just a small outcome of that.

Are you trying to lose side fat? Try this instead!

Now, you may have gotten tired of doing those love handles or side bend exercises at the gym however, that stubborn side fat doesn’t seem to be going anywhere. Right?

Does that sound familiar? Well, fret not! In this article, you’ll learn a practical & science-based approach to losing love handles.

First things first, side fat is just like fat on any other area of your body. There’s nothing you can specifically perform, to get rid of just that layer of fat.

How your body stores fat is determined by factors such as genes, hormones & gender, and how your body loses fat is also determined by factors beyond your control.

Simply put, the process of losing fat from your body will be randomized. You can’t do much. So what you can do instead?

1. Create a negative energy balance or calorie deficit

Either by expending more calories or/and by eating fewer calories.

How to expend more calories?

a. Increase your physical activity

But get the basics first and understand how your body burns calories.

i. BMR/RMR – These are the calories that are required for internal body functions. Meaning, that even if you don’t move an inch, how many calories your body will burn is BMR. It is also called Resting metabolic rate. You can increase this by building muscle but we’ll get to that in a minute.

ii. Thermic effect of food – The energy that is spent to digest the food you eat. Protein foods usually have a higher thermic effect of food, but in the overall scheme of things to lose fat, this won’t matter much.

iii. EAT or exercise activity thermogenesis – This is the active workouts you do such as resistance training, cardio, playing sports, etc.

iv. Last is, NEAT or non-exercise activity thermogenesis – Now, this is an area that can significantly increase your calorie spent. Any physical activity other than EAT will come here such as walking, household chores, etc. Just moving around basically. The idea is to move more and spend more calories. This will have a significant impact on your fat loss journey.

The good thing about NEAT is that a person of any age and body composition can do this easily.

The second step to create a negative energy balance is

b. Decreasing calories consumed

Consuming less than your maintenance (calories where weight remains the same) will help you stay in a calorie deficit.

How do you do that?

Find your maintenance calories using an online calculator
Started by eating 200-300 calories less than maintenance.

Let’s say your maintenance calories come out to be 2000, start eating 1700 calories.

But what to eat in these 1700 calories is also very important.

Here are a few strategies for that as well because eating less food isn’t easy for everyone. Hence, making the right food choices is absolutely important.

Consume protein in the range of 1.2-1.8 g/kg of body weight. So if your weight is 80kg, your minimum protein intake should be 96g daily. Two reasons for this – (a) protein helps preserve muscle during fat loss and (b) it is a high-satiety food, will save you from unnecessary cravings and help you eat less.
Now, distribute the remaining calories in complex carbohydrates & healthy fats. Use a food scale to quantify your food.

After a negative energy balance is created, the next step is

2. Resistance training

Remember we talked about increasing the RMR above, this is how you do that. Muscle is a metabolically active tissue that burns calories all day, even at rest. So build muscle!

Improve your muscle mass by performing all major muscle group exercises at least twice a week.

If you have three days, do full body workouts. If you have 4 days, perform upper body lower body split and if you have 5 or 6 days, push, pull, and leg is a good split for you.

Secondly, other than the strength gains & plethora of other physiological benefits, when you lose fat from the body, your results will look far more aesthetically pleasing.

So to summarize, negative energy balance & optimal protein will help lose fat, and resistance training will help preserve and build muscle and bring aesthetically pleasing results.

Keep tracking your progress, and remember, consistency & long-term changes in one’s lifestyle are the keys to losing fat and sustaining it.

Research conducted by Anmol Abraham

Monthly Archives: August 2022