Table of Contents: • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Introduction and My Story Problems Most Women Have How to Fix Your Sad, Broken Metabolism Diet Myths You Must Avoid What is Intermittent Fasting and Why it Works 10 Benefits of IF For Women How to Integrate into the IF and Bad-Ass Body Lifestyle The Basics The Fasting Period During the Day Eating Period The Night-Time Eating Period How Much to Eat Cheat Days and Why They Work What I Do Personally Shopping List Supplements Quick Start Guide Training FAQ Quick Start Check List About the Author
Introduction I wonʼt bore you too much with the details of my life story. I want this book to be about you and the success that you can achieve through this diet and lifestyle. Growing up I was an athlete; I played soccer, basketball, participated in karate and gymnastics and was generally active. I went on to play soccer and basketball in college. During that time my workout regime was pretty great. Being a soccer player I was lean and had great endurance. I lifted weights 3 times a week and was explosive and flexible at the same time. This all happened by no real planning of my own, I just trained like an athlete. I jumped, sprinted, lifted weights and trained in intervals by default on the soccer field. After I graduated from college I ran into what many former athletes do. What do I do with my competitive spirit now that Iʼm done playing sports? So, I did what many athletes that I knew were doing. I took up running. It was a great way to pass the time and to “keep in shape,” or so I thought. I was running a minimum of 3 miles per day, often times more. I was lifting weights but not as regularly. What happened to my body in this time? Looking back itʼs very easy to see. I became slower, more flabby and soft (even though I didnʼt have a lot of body fat, I didnʼt look lean and athletic) and I had much less energy. After a few years of working as a personal trainer, I was getting back into the gym, lifting weights and doing some different things with my nutrition. I was also taking a very close look at my clientele and what their situations were like. As it turns out, the majority of people were coming in with very similar situations. Here is what most new clients were telling me: • I usually do cardio for about 30 to 45 minutes • I donʼt do any strength training (this is usually because of feelings of intimidation, lack of knowledge or fear of getting bulky) • I weigh myself 3-4 times per week • I eat cereal for breakfast, a sandwich for lunch and pasta for dinner • I drink 2-3 cups of coffee every day and I drink 2 bottles of water • I sleep 6 hours a night • I work in an office or a lab for 8-9 hours each day These comments are taken directly from very real clients of mine. This may sound a bit like your lifestyle. You may be wondering whatʼs wrong with this? If you are, then Iʼm excited for you because Iʼm about to open some doors to a lifestyle and a body shape that you never knew existed. You may also be thinking that you understand most of these things are incorrect when it comes to fat loss but youʼre not sure how to change
them. Iʼm excited for you too, because you are going to embark on a thrilling journey of fat loss, body reconstruction and most importantly, lifestyle transformation. Over the last 8 years as a personal trainer and fat loss coach I have seen a lot of the trends listed above in my female clients. Once I get them in the door and get them to buy into our system of training and learning how to reshape their bodies, the results are amazing. The one thing that is a lingering problem is the nutrition. Why is that? Well, when you commit to a training plan you have structure, accountability and someone to guide you with correct exercises, form and progression along the way. There are lots of ways to screw up your nutrition. There are 23 extra hours in the day that youʼre not in the gym and staying accountable to your trainer. There are so many diets and nutrition plans out there. Low carb, high carb, carb backloading, intermittent fasting, Paleo, Vegan, 5-6 small meals each day, Ketonic, and the list goes on. Iʼm not here to bash any type of eating plan or say that one is better than the other. They are all a means to an end and they all work. The problem becomes figuring out which one to choose. Confusion and becoming “over-informed” can be your biggest problems. Trying to figure out which style of eating works best for you, jumping from one fad to the next and basically just never seeing results....sounds familiar, right? So why do you stop? Most of the time itʼs because you donʼt see any results. How motivating is it to continue on a certain path of eating when you never see changes? Hereʼs where all of that stops. Iʼve spent years researching, testing, tweaking and developing the most effective and easiest to follow nutrition plan. The best part is that itʼs designed specifically for women. This is not a menʼs nutrition plan developed by a man and then “edited” for the goals of a female. This is your ticket to the bad ass, sculpted body that youʼve always wanted but never knew how to get. Here is your road map to success. We all hear about how nutrition is close to 80% of the battle when you want results. So why donʼt people do it right? They usually just donʼt know what to do. Now you can eliminate all of that. Simply follow the plan outlined and get ready to transform your body into the ultimate bad ass.
Problems that Most Women Have Before we begin this program I need to address some of the problems that most women are struggling with. This has come from years of researching and training clients, primarily women ages 25-45. As we get older, our metabolism slows down. Thatʼs just a fact of life. Often times there are issues at work well before we hit that dreaded age of 30. I know this has happened to you. It might even be happening to you right now, hence you reading this book. You work out, you eat right and you are doing “all the right stuff” but the fat is just not coming off. Weʼre going to fix that once and for all. Iʼm going to be blunt in this section of the book. Itʼs not my nature to beat around the bush and with my training clients I take the same approach. Iʼm going to tell you right now that your training is probably not intense enough, youʼre doing too much cardio and your eating is not as healthy as you think it is. Donʼt worry because all of that will be fixed by simply following the plan in later chapters. What happens when you get that pretty under control and youʼre still not seeing the results that you want?
These are the major reasons women are not getting results. 1. Too much cardio 2. Not enough strength training and specifically not enough heavy lifting 3. Eating too many carbs and not eating them at the right times 4. Eating low calorie processed foods instead of nutrient rich, real foods 5. Calorie restriction for too long
We also need to look a little deeper at some of the physiological functions, or lack of functions in some cases.
Here are just some of the struggles that women encounter and most of them you donʼt even know about.
1. Elevated estrogen levels 2. Low testosterone levels (yes, this is important) 3. Adrenal fatigue 4. Elevated cortisol 5. Poor insulin sensitivity 6. Inflammation 7. Poor Digestion What do all of these things mean? Do you have all of them? Maybe. A lot of these problems go hand in hand and the remedies can cover a lot of the bases for you. All of the above issues are hormone related. Your hormones are responsible for many different processes and functions in the body. Hormones are like messengers in your body that give orders to your cells for particular functions. They are chemicals that are manufactured by glands and released into the bloodstream. Most hormones are produced by organs called ductless glands (endocrines) and these include the two adrenal glands, the pituitary gland, the four parathyroid glands, the sex glands and the thyroid gland. Various endocrine glands secrete hormones into the blood, which carries them through the body. When a hormone arrives at itʼs target organ or tissue, a certain action takes place. Hormones are grouped based on the functions that they control; the way the body uses food, growth, sex and reproduction, the regulation of the composition of blood, the bodyʼs reaction to emergencies and the actual control of hormones themselves. Most human hormones can be divided into two groups- steroid and amino acid based hormones.
Letʼs get into each of the issues individually • Estrogen is the female sex hormone and is a steroidal hormone, which means it readily diffuses across the cell membrane. Estrogen is present at all times in women but it significantly higher during the reproductive age. It promotes sexual characteristics and is involved in aspects of regulating the menstruation cycle.Women need estrogen but levels are often too high.
Here are some other structural changes often brought about by the presence of estrogen: Increase in fat stores Reduction in bone resorption, increase bone formation Reduction of muscle mass Salt and water retention Sudden estrogen withdrawal, fluctuating estrogen or periods of sustained low levels can cause significant mood lowering • Body fat stored around the chest and hips • • • • •
" Testosterone is the male sex hormone, the counterpart to estrogen. Even though men are always looking to increase their testosterone levels and it is seen as a very manly thing, itʼs necessary for women as well. This hormone is responsible for building muscle and also aids in the fat burning process, which is why itʼs important for women. Adrenal Fatigue is very simply, your body is overworked, overstressed and overtired. The adrenal glands control most of what goes on in your body and when that is taxed, nothing will be working correctly. Think of this as a system short circuiting. Losing body fat when your system is fatigued and damaged is next to impossible. Cortisol is known to most people as the stress hormone or the belly fat hormone. This is a nasty issue as most women today are dealing with a lot of stress and have trouble winding down to relax. The most common characteristic of high cortisol is extra fat around the belly area. Insulin Sensitivity is one thing that most women donʼt even think about when they are struggling to lose fat. This means that your ability to tolerate carbohydrates is weak and disfunctional. If you are unable to tolerate carbs, this leads to extra body fat. Most women who are lean enough can tolerate some carbohydrates especially post-workout without an issue. However, for the general population this is not the case. Thus leading to the thought that carbs are the enemy. In this book Iʼll teach you how to fix this. Inflammation is most often caused by an improper diet. Iʼm talking about the inflammation of your organs, joints, muscles, everything. This can make you look and feel a lot older than you actually are and it will really put a damper on your training and recovery. Remember, better training sessions equals better results. The biggest culprits in todayʼs diets are corn, sugar, dairy, soy and grains. These are often things that women consider to be “healthy” but they are just doing more harm than good. If your body is inflammed, not only will your training be awful, you will walk around looking puffy and worn out.
Poor Digestion is a huge factor when it comes to fat loss but itʼs another one that is severely overlooked. If your body canʼt break down and process the food that itʼs taking in, nothing will function properly. This can lead to fat gain, skin breakouts, immune system deficincies and an overall feeling of fogginess. Okay, so these sound like some pretty bad problems right? Yes they are. And most of the time you arenʼt even aware of them. Iʼm not writing about this to scare you and to get you to fire up Web-MD to start freaking yourself out, but I want you to start implementing some very simple lifestyle tweaks which will help improve all of the problems I listed above. As youʼll soon see, a lot of the remedies are going to cover many of the issues and once you get these things in place in your life and combine them with the training and nutrition we discuss in this book, youʼll be looking leaner, more cut and more bad ass than you can ever imagine.
How to Fix Your Sad, Broken Metabolism: After reading all of the issues in that last chapter Iʼm sure youʼre eager to figure out how to fix them. Remember, you may not have all of the problems but a lot of them are related and once you clean up one thing you can significantly improve other functions. How to Fix Low Estrogen Levels: • First and foremost, drop body fat • Eat grass fed meat, cage free eggs and wild caught fish • Avoid large amounts of beer and detox your liver. All estrogen compounds pass through the liver and if the liver is messed up from too much booze, you will have an excess • Avoid soy products • Get 8-9 hours of sleep per night How to Increase Testosterone Levels (to lose body fat): • Eat adequate amounts of Omega 3ʼs • Avoid traditional cardio training as this has been shown to increase cortisol and cause testosterone levels to dip • Limit training sessions to 45-60 minutes • Perform 3-4 days per week of strength training with taxing loads • Perform 2-3 days of high intensity conditioning such as sprints or hill sprints • Get 8-9 hours of sleep per night
How to Improve Adrenal Fatigue: • Get 8-9 hours of sleep per night • Never train to failure • Lower your stress (I know, easier said than done) • Limit your caffeine to 1-2 cups of black coffee each day • Take 1-2 grams of Vitamin C each day How to Lower Cortisol Levels: • Limit your training sessions to 45-60 minutes • Avoid steady-state cardio for long durations (this has been shown to increase cortisol levels) • Lower your stress. Give yourself 10 minutes each day to “shut down” and relax and think. No phones, computers or anything electronic • Get 8-9 hours of sleep each night • Cut all gluten products out of your diet How to Improve Insulin Sensitivity: • Lower your body fat (below 22%) • Keep carbohydrates low during the day and only consume them at night on your heavy strength training days (youʼll learn all about this in the upcoming chapters) • Avoid gluten, soy, wheat, grains and sugary foods How to Reduce Inflammation: • Reduce stress • Get 8-9 hours of sleep each night • Practice intermittent fasting and keeping your carbohydrates low for 16-20 hours each day • Avoid grains, soy, legumes, wheat and dairy How to Improve Digestion: • Practice Intermittent Fasting (16 hours) to give your system a break from processing food • Eat only 2-3 meals each day • Use probiotics • Drink plenty of water (at least 1/2 your pound body weight in ounces) • Donʼt consumer water while you are eating, wait until after
Typical Dieting Myths that You Need to Avoid
• Breakfast is the most important meal of the day I have no problem with breakfast. I love breakfast foods. Breakfast is an important meal, you just wonʼt be eating it first thing in the morning. Right now my breakfast is anytime between 12 and 1pm, my first meal of the day. During an entire night of fasting your body is in primed position for burning fat first thing in the morning. Your insulin levels are low which puts your body in a great position to use fat as fuel. If you eat first thing in the morning you are spiking your insulin (even if you are eating a protein based meal) and thus stopping that fat burning train in itʼs tracks. Growth hormone levels are also high first thing in the morning but again, only if you keep the insulin levels low. Growth hormone is the powerhouse fat burning hormone. One other sneaky hormone that can actually help you out at this time of the day is cortisol. Most people think of cortisol as the “stress hormone” and that it can lead to belly fat from a variety of reasons including stress, overtraining with cardio, diet and sleep. In the morning however, cortisol is your friend. It will help break down body fat by increasing the release of fatty acids to be used for energy.
• You need to eat every 2-3 hours I think everyone has fallen victim to this old school rule. Iʼm not here to dispute that eating every few hours can work. Iʼve done it and it did work for me but I became a slave to my food and you can only maintain eating 6 meals of 150-200 calories for so long. For our purposes of creating a lean, beast mode body we will be completely eliminating the frequent eating because the costs outweigh the benefits over the long term. If you look back in history, the warriors and hunters of our past were not sitting down to eat every 3 hours. They were working, hunting and fighting off predators. Fast forward through the years of body builders and Olympic athletes in the 40ʼs and 50ʼs. They were eating 3 times per day. As supplement and food companies evolved in the 70ʼs and 80ʼs the notion of eating every 3 hours to “stoke your metabolism” became the norm. It was all about selling products.
So what does that mean for you? Eating every few hours is a pain in the neck. You have to pack a dayʼs worth of food, bring it to work, drop what you are doing to get your 3 hour snack in between meals, time your lunches no matter what you are already doing and your body is now completely reliant on that timing of food. Youʼre actually not hungry, you have just trained your body to believe that you are. Physically itʼs also very demanding on your digestive system. Your system never gets a chance to rest and your liver gets so overwhelmed with toxins that it canʼt metabolize fat properly. Even if youʼre eating healthy foods, itʼs still extremely taxing and not worth the long term punishment and eventual slowing of your metabolism.
• Your body will go into starvation mode if you donʼt eat for a long period of time This is another myth brought about by food and supplement companies to sell more products and get you on board with fancy protein shakes and snacks to “keep your metabolism up” during meals. Your body can go long periods of time without food and most often it creates a more productive, clear and healthy mindset. Physically your energy levels are higher because your body has not shifted into the parasympathetic mode of digesting food. You will not lose muscle and start to store fat due to a slowing of your metabolism. Recent studies show that your body can maintain a steady metabolic rate with no issue for as long as 92 hours of fasting.
• Carbs will make you fat Any food eaten in excess can lead to increased body fat. Carbohydrates are not the enemy. Specifically here we will be focusing on eliminating grain, white carbs and most dairy sugars. Carbohydrates are necessary for brain and body functions but you need to be sure youʼre eating them at the right times and paired with the right macronutrients (more on this in later chapters). Any excess carbohydrates that are not burned as fuel can be stored as fat but with correct timing, training sessions and daily fasting you will never have this issue again.
• Fat will make you fat This was the fad of the 80ʼs and early 90ʼs. Low fat diets were king and we saw how that turned out. America is now one of the fattest countries in the world. Just like carbohydrates, any excess of calories can lead to fat gain but the key is to pair your macronutrients up correctly and keep your daily intake at the correct amount. Fat is a healthy source for energy, it aids in digestion and brain functioning and provides insulation for our organs. Itʼs also quite tasty in the form of nut butters and avocado.
• Your body can only digest a certain amount of protein This is another myth that youʼll hear from the 22 year old kid selling you worthless supplements at GNC. Protein intake is dependent on your body weight, lean tissue and your workouts but the body does not have a digestion limit. The one factor we will look at with this program is that protein does spike insulin so we need to be aware of the nutrient timing to ensure we keep insulin levels low during the day. That just means keeping protein under 20 grams during the early eating phase. Again, more on this later.
• Eating after 7pm will cause you to gain weight Eating too much will cause you to gain weight (fat). If you eat a ton during the day and then a ton after 7pm, you will get fat. With correct timing of your food intakes and fasting periods youʼll see that you can eat large amounts of food late into the evening and actually get leaner and more ripped.
What is Fasting and Why it Works:
Intermittent fasting is a concept that has been highly discussed over the last few years. It has also been challenging all of the norms and the typical “eat every 2-3 hours to stoke your metabolism” theory. Iʼm not here to debate the merits of the different types of diets. As I mentioned earlier in this chapter, they are all a means to an end. When you are on a diet you are trying to get to an end point. That end point is different for different women, some are trying to lose a good deal of weight, some are trying to reshape their bodies and add some lean muscle and some are trying to lose that “stubborn fat” (more about this lovely gem later in the book).
Most diets work if you put in the work. The problem becomes when you then try something different. Your body reacts in a variety of ways, most commonly to put back on the weight that you lost during your dieting phase. That sucks and weʼve all experienced it because you canʼt sustain a typical diet forever. Thatʼs all about to change. Enter intermittent fasting. This concept and nutrition plan is a diet of course, but itʼs a lifestyle. Many people that I have coaching and myself included have been integrating intermittent fasting for years and with incredible results. Youʼll see some case studies on this later in the book as well. Before I get into the science and exact concepts of intermittent fasting I want you to think about your childhood and children in general. They actually have it right. Do kids eat every 3 hours, by the book, getting in their protein and healthy fats at every sitting? Nope. Kids are intermittent fasters by nature. I remember as a kid I would wake up and have a small breakfast before school or before camp in the summer. Then I would eat lunch and that was pretty small too. The biggest meal was at night, with the family, after practice and games and whatever else we had going on. Maybe I had a snack before soccer practice but everything was small. I wasnʼt concerned with the timing of my food and typically I just ate when I was hungry. Now with this program and intermittent fasting there is a bit more science involved but the point Iʼm trying to make is that as adults we have become so caught up in eating at the right time and shoving nutrients into our faces every 3 hours but with what result? Are people any leaner than they were 20-30 years ago? No way. Weʼre actually bigger, unhealthier, more stressed, more fatigued, suffering from inflammation, diseases and a lower quality of life.
I donʼt know about you, but that doesnʼt sound too appealing to me. I would rather feel free from food and actually enjoy it when it comes across my plate instead of eating when Iʼm not even hungry because someone says I need to get in protein every 3 hours.
Iʼd also like to be able to reap the benefits of a nutrition plan that allows me to get leaner, have more energy, clarity, mental focus and will rid my body of the inflammation (that most people donʼt even know they have) and will improve my workouts and overall quality of life. For several months, very recently, I followed a pretty strict diet plan. Earlier in 2011 my training business was taking off. I was opening a new training facility and getting that up and running. I was training and eat right but it just wasnʼt the same intensity and with everything going on with the business I noticed that I was getting a little bit soft. So I got myself set up on a fat loss plan where I was eating 6 times per day and just about 200 calories at every sitting. Guess what happened? I lost fat fast. I also lost muscle and energy. Did this diet plan work? Sure it did but after several months, even though my body was looking great, I was kind of miserable. I had a food scale out at all times, I couldnʼt enjoy meals out with friends and when I went to hang out at my best friendʼs house she had to cook me separate meals. That was very nice of her, but thatʼs not a life that you can live for very long. I was feeling chained to my food. It was all about eating in the next two hours and my body became such a robot to that lifestyle. As I said, it worked and I lost close to 10 pounds of body fat but I knew it couldnʼt go on forever if I actually wanted to enjoy myself. That was when I started experimenting with intermittent fasting and from there I developed this system that can simplify your life and allow you to enjoy food and reap the benefits of a fat loss plan that will get you lean, ripped and boost your energy levels along the way. I donʼt know about you but I have noticed a trend in most nutrition and diet books these days. They are all geared toward men and have just a little side note that “these tactics can be used for women as well.” Then you have to sift through all the mass building, calorie loading plans to get to how it might actually work for you. Or they might have a separate section for women thatʼs just a few pages and maybe a womenʼs workout mixed in with all the mass building, body building split workouts. Not here my friends. This is written 100% for women, from a womanʼs point of view and tested and tweaked for years by women. This is the best of the best but donʼt you worry, this is no pink weight lifting, salad eating plan. You are going to get lean, ripped and bad ass. Just follow the plan and enjoy life.
Does this sound good to you too? I hope so. Letʼs dive in. What is intermittent fasting? The simplest definition is this: alternating periods of not eating (your fasting period) with periods of eating (feeding period). The windows of each can vary depending on the plan that works best for you and also depending on the day. Generally speaking 16-36 hour fasts are going to work best but Iʼm going to give you in depth strategies on all of these in later chapters. That seems pretty simple, right? Just donʼt eat for a specific amount of time and then eat and enjoy your food during the feeding window. Yes, itʼs cool. So why does it work?
Why intermittent fasting works
Intermittent fasting is a lifestyle. It has some very important characteristics that relate to long-term weight loss (specifically fat loss). 1. Fasting allows your body to operate in the itʼs most efficient state and will in turn stimulate fat burning hormones and suppress any fat gaining hormones. 2. Fasting is a lifestyle, not a short-term diet. You can adjust the fasting periods depending on the day, the week, the time that you work out, if you have an important family event or dinner coming up, no matter what the situation intermittent fasting can work. As long as you hit your macronutrients for the day or for the week, youʼre all good. During the fasting periods some major hormone players are being manipulated. When you want to lose fat you must regulate your hormones accordingly. Most people donʼt know how to do this and thatʼs why they only see results up to a point. Thatʼs not your fault though, this is pretty high level stuff but Iʼm going to make it simple and allow you to manipulate your hormones (the good and bad ones) every single day to make your body a fat burning machine.
During the fasting period growth hormone, glucagon, insulin and cortisol are all manipulated and will achieve optimum balance. All of these combined will help you reach your metabolic potential and allow for faster fat loss and a better feeling body.
Some benefits of hormone manipulation in the fasting phase are: 1. Burning fat- during the fasting phase growth hormone and glucagon are elevated. This combined with the decline of the hormone insulin will help your body burn fat at a faster rate. 2. Anti-aging- youʼll experience an elevation of growth hormone, removal of toxins and an increase in sex hormones that can not only help you feel better but will promote anti-aging. 3. Improved ability to resist fatigue and stress- cortisol is controlled during a fasted state and the body will become more resistant to fatigue and stress 4. A more energetic state- brain neurotransmitters are boosted through blood circulation and increased production of cellular proteins. This promotes energy, alertness and vigor.
10 Benefits of Intermittent Fasting for Women
1. Reduce cravings- with most diet plans you have trained your body to eat at certain times. You have probably also trained your body to eat certain types of foods. Some starchy food at dinner, a piece of chocolate after dinner because you “need” something sweet. With intermittent fasting cravings can be virtually eliminated. When you go through periods of fasting you are letting go of your obsession with food, eliminating the feeling of having to eat every 2-3 hours. Over time you continue to make smart food choices during your feeding windows and cravings for sweets, salty foods, whatever your triggers are, will be gone. Youʼll also see later in this book how you can seemlessly tie in any cravings that you still have right into the meal plan and still lose fat. 2. Less feeling tied to food- As I mentioned in the above section, you have probably tried the standard eating every 2-3 hours because thatʼs what keeps your metabolism up. This is a very old school way of thinking and yes, eating every 2-3 hours can work but to what detriment? Did you feel tied to food? Chained down by the clock, making
sure you eat at the right time because all of a sudden youʼre totally starving? Iʼve been there, done that. Itʼs awful and even though I did lose fat when I ate like that, it wasnʼt a great way of life for me and I know itʼs probably not for you either. With IF you donʼt have to pack a cooler full of food to bring to work, you donʼt have to time your lunch out perfectly if youʼre going out with co-workers, and you donʼt have to rush home after the gym to start cooking that last meal of the day. Flexibility is a huge benefit to IF and as youʼll see in the applied section of this book, you will learn to enjoy food again. 3. Improved production of growth hormone- Losing fat and weight all comes down to eating less calories, right? Yes and no. Thatʼs really only half the battle. The other half is the hard part that most women struggle with and they donʼt even know it. This is the battle of the hormones. In order to really lose fat and keep it off, you must manage your hormones and stimulate the ones that burn fat. The big ticket here is growth hormone. GH has been shown to be the best fat burning, anti-aging and muscle building hormone that your body produces. Recent research suggests that you can boost GH production up to 6 times more than average with some short term fasting. Growth hormone helps your body burn fat and ensures that fat cells donʼt even form, it helps you build muscle and also helps you look younger. 4. Allows you to control your appetite- How many times have you heard that you need to eat breakfast first thing in the morning, that itʼs the most important meal of the day? So you start eating breakfast and over time your body starts to feel hungry at that exact time. Then you start getting hungry right before your 10am snack. Weird, huh? Not so much. Hunger is not so much a physical response but often times a cognitive one thatʼs developed by environmental factors (you). You are training your body to be hungry and youʼre manipulating the ghrelin in your body. What is ghrelin, you ask? Just another hormone that needs to be controlled (luckily, we can do that). Ghrelin is a hormone thatʼs produced in the hypothalamus, kidneys and pituitary gland and synthesized in and released by the stomach. It precedes, predicts your mealtimes and induces hunger. The ghrelin schedule in your body follows your eating schedule almost to a T so after a few days of fasting you will change the ghrelin response thus reducing the “hunger feeling” every few hours and allowing you to control your appetite. 5. Easy way to reduce calories and overeating- With IF youʼre going to be eating 2-3 times each day. With all the factors listed above and your brand new appetite control, youʼll be taking in less calories. The other cool thing is that you can manipulate your fasting windows to give you a bit of wiggle room if you went over your daily requirements the previous day.
6. Improve productivity- There are a couple of cool factors at play here. The first is that you are not tied down to food, trying to plan your eating schedule to get in your 6 meals every 2 hours. You can focus on the important daily tasks at hand and youʼll get more done. The other factor is that you wonʼt experience the food coma. How often have you gone out for a lunch or even just after your normal meal and you feel sleepy and unproductive? It happens to all of us. With this plan youʼll eliminate any mid-day crashes and again, youʼll get more done. At first people fear that they will be lethargic and they wonʼt be able to function if they havenʼt eaten. The exact opposite is true and in my experience and the experience of my clients, during the fasting phase, productivity, creativity and overall focus is at itʼs highest. 7. Reduce your sugar levels- In order to efficiently and permanently lose fat you need to improve your insulin sensitivity and lower your blood sugar. Eating 5-6 times per day does the exact opposite. It decreases insulin sensitivity and increases blood sugar. With IF you are lowering your blood sugar, eliminating insulin spikes from frequent meals and improving your ability to process sugars. This allows for more efficient fat burning potential. 8. Improves fat oxidation- Fat oxidation is your bodyʼs ability to use stored fats to produce energy. With IF you are increasing your bodyʼs potential to do just that. This means that when youʼre burning calories they are coming directly from fat. Cool, huh? When youʼre fasting you are not adding extra insulin (sugars) to your body like you do with frequent meals. So it gives your body no other choice but to dip into the fat stores for energy. 9. Lowers inflammation and helps you to look younger- Metabolic inflammation is the inappropriate activation of the immune system which can disrupt many of your bodyʼs systems and can have severe effects on weight gain. Most Americans suffer from high levels of inflammation and they donʼt even know it. IF drastically reduces inflammation in the body and helps turn your body into an efficient state, able to burn fat and improve immune system functioning.
10.You donʼt actually feel hungry anymore- I mentioned ghrelin in the sections above. Everytime ghrelin is secreted it creates a hunger response. The more you delay this hunger response through IF, you train your body to handle the hunger inducing effects of ghrelin. Combine this with the increased levels of growth hormone and youʼve got a fat burning furnace of a body ready and waiting.
How to Integrate into the IF and the Bad-Ass Body Lifestyle
Itʼs time to learn how to integrate the brand new, bad-ass and totally life changing lifestyle. This is not a diet or a short term plan. Sure you can use it for a tune-up on your body to get lean, ripped and fierce but once you have all that, why stop? The bad ass body lifestyle is frankly too cool to stop and Iʼm going to show you how to make this like second nature for amazing results and a better quality of life. There are some building blocks and initial concerns that many women have and weʼll address those now. Hereʼs how to get started. 1. Give intermittent fasting a try for 3 weeks. That will give you a kick start and allow your body to adapt. At first it will feel strange and you will have to get past the initial habit hunger that comes from eating every 2-3 hours. Donʼt give up though, after a few weeks youʼll start to see results both physically and mentally. 2. Drink lots of water. Water can help curb your appetite when you begin intermittent fasting, plus it actually helps in the fat burning process. You want to shoot for 1/2 your body weight in ounces of water each day. If you weigh 140 pounds you should drink 70 ounces, minimum. 3. Keep yourself busy. Donʼt try to fast when youʼre just sitting around watching TV. That will be awful and painful. Make sure you plan your fasts around your busiest days (for me Monday is a good time for a long fast) and before you know it you wonʼt even think about food. 4. Drink coffee or tea in the morning to curb your hunger and give you a kick start. I have 1 cup of black coffee every morning along with a big glass of water and Iʼve never felt better. My body gets a little kick start without the boost of insulin (remember, that slows down fat loss) and the parasympathetic response to food which actually makes you feel a bit tired. 5. Drink water first thing in the morning. As I mentioned above, it will give your brain and body a nice little pick-me-up. After 6-9 hours of dehydration your body needs the fluid.
6. Donʼt tell people about your fasting. Everyone is going to have an opinion and many times itʼs going to be a negative one. Until youʼve established a great routine for yourself, just donʼt talk about it too much. Once people see the amazing body changes theyʼll start asking you so then you can talk about how awesome it is. 7. Get out of the house. Being home and bored youʼll find too much temptation. This goes along with point #3 about keeping yourself busy. If you are at work, running errands or getting stuff done you will be less likely to feel tempted and frustrated by food. Remember though, this is only in the beginning. Once you establish these habits itʼs really easy. 8. IF doesnʼt mean that when you eat, you can eat junk. Make sure once you begin your feeding period you stick to the clean foods. In upcoming chapters youʼll see the entire plan laid out for you, including what foods to eat and at what times. Initially youʼll feel really hungry at the end of your fast so donʼt give into temptations. After a few weeks you will actually feel that you can go longer into the fast without food, so breaking the fast wonʼt be such a big deal. Along with this point, make sure that your entire feeding period is made up of the foods that are prescribed. Donʼt let yourself have “just this little piece” of whatever the junk food is. Save it for your cheat day and simply enjoy the benefits of clean, healthy food thatʼs going to speed up your fat loss after you kicked that fast periodʼs ass.
How this Program Works
Now weʼll get into the nitty gritty and the part that everyone has been skimming the book waiting for. How to actually do the program. The first thing I would recommend is that you go back and really read the introductory material. Get yourself familiar with the concepts and why this will work for you. I made the information very user friendly and you can easily see how it will apply to you in the real world. This is not a diet and itʼs not one of the latest fads that youʼll see die out in a year or so.
Here are the basics. 1. Youʼll eat 4 meals each day 2. The timing and breakdown of these meals will be discussed in detail later in the book 3. Skip breakfast 4. Youʼll have 16 hours of fasting each day followed by an 8 hour feeding window 5. Youʼll have one cheat day per week 6. That cheat day is followed up by a longer fast day 7. All carbs are eaten in the post-workout window Youʼll find this plan to be very easy to follow as the daily food intake is minimal and you can focus on being very productive without having to stop to eat every few hours. The other benefit is that your body will never slip into the parasympathetic mode of feeling very tired and sluggish. Instead youʼll be operating with your sympathetic nervous system, the “fight or flight” mechanism. Youʼll feel energized, focused and productive. During the day youʼll be eating one or two light meals, depending on the time of your workout, and during that time the carbohydrates will be limited. Initially your body may feel deprived but as you go along, this will feel normal and actually quite freeing because you know that at night you can enjoy a larger, more satisfying meal. This is when the majority of people have more time to eat. You can also enjoy time with the family and with friends without having to feel restricted.
The Fasting Period The benefits of intermittent fasting have been discussed in the previous chapter. Here Iʼm going to break down exactly what to do during your fasting period. Youʼre going to eat nothing from after dinner until late morning or early afternoon the next day. This all depends on what time you finished that last meal. If you finished at 7pm youʼll fast until 11am the next day to hit your 16 hour period. If it was 9pm youʼll fast until 1pm. This does not have to be the same window every day, thatʼs the great part about IF, it allows for some freedom and flexibility within the 16/8 windows. During this fast youʼll accomplish many things. The first and one of the most important initially is the mental aspect. Youʼll feel like you really conquered a tough task and your body will feel pretty bad ass after just a few days. Physically, your body will get a break from digestion. This is a very stressful process and giving your organs a break will help to reduce inflammation, improve overall digestion, reduce the risk of illness, slow down the aging process and of course spark up the fat burning process like crazy.
During the fast youʼll have an increase in Growth Hormone (GH) and insulin like growth factor (IGF) which will both speed up the fat burning process, help with anti-aging and help build more lean tissue (aka muscle). Many women have terrible insulin sensitivity, meaning their body has trouble processing and using insulin, thus eventually storing it as fat. If you are keeping your carbs low for 16-20 hours each day your body will improve this process and also dip into itʼs fat stores for energy because there is nothing else to use. Who doesnʼt want 16-20 hours of straight fat torching power? Well youʼve got it here. With your fasting period your liver also has a chance to detox. Even if you are eating healthy food, your liver is strained to break down chemicals in both food and foreign materials. Over time this can lead to illness and disease but with a daily fasting period you will not only feel better but your long term health will improve. During this fasting period you wonʼt be taking in any food, but you want to be sure to keep your body hydrated. Water is a key element in the fat burning process. You want to try and drink 1/2 your body weight (in ounces) of water each day. If you weigh 140 pounds youʼll want at least 70 ounces. During this period, black coffee is allowed as caffeine can help to burn fat and itʼs also an appetite supressant. I personally have 1 cup of black coffee every morning before I train and Iʼve never felt better. Iʼll touch more on this in the later chapters. No other beverages are allowed during the fasting period and for the most part you should avoid everything but water, tea and coffee during your entire day. Hereʼs a summary of the fasting period: • • • •
Stop eating anywhere between 6 and 10pm Have nothing but water and coffee in the morning (1 cup of coffee is ideal) Drink water all day to hit your 1/2 body weight marker Start your eating period 16 hours after your last meal
During the Day The daily eating period is the beginning of your day, after you break your fast. This will be 16-18 hours after your last meal. At first this will be tough because after coming off a long fast period, your body will be craving food. Itʼs important to have your first meal planned out ahead of time so that you donʼt over eat. The daily eating period will be one of two options. If you trained in the morning with weights, your two meals will look like this: #1- P+C (protein + carbs) #2- P+C If you are on an off day, you only did conditioning or you are training at night your two meals will look like this: #1- P+F #2- P+F For the P+C meals you want to focus on combining only protein and carbohydrates. Itʼs impossible to keep the fat content at zero, so just focus on keeping it below 10 grams. For the P+F meals you want to focus on combining only protein and fats. In the same way that you canʼt keep carbohydrates to zero, focus on keeping them under 10 grams. As you progress in your acclimation of the fasting/feeding cycles, your control will be much better. What should you eat during this time? It all depends on what time you train. The timing of this first meal will just depend on what time you started your fast the night before. For me the fasts are typically 7pm to 11am the next day and thatʼs pretty reasonable for most people so letʼs use that as an example. I like to break my fast with a shake because itʼs simple to make, satisfies my cravings for a bit of protein and fat and allows me to include a lot of important nutrients. This is recommended but not required. If I train, the shake is higher in carbohydrates and if I donʼt, itʼs a bit lower or none at all. A few minutes before this first feeding there are a few things that youʼll want to do to enhance the effectiveness of your fasting period. The first thing is to take a digestive enzyme which will help with all things related to your stomach health that we discussed in the previous chapter. This drink also reduces inflammation in the body which can hinder your fat loss and
The second item is a greens drink mixed with water. Now I know what youʼre thinking already, those greens drinks are straight up nasty. Yes, most of them are and even though they are loaded with nutrients and serve as a great insurance policy for your nutrition plan, they are much like drinking dirt mixed with water and more dirt. I have the solution for you. The best tasting, most effective greens drink is made by Prograde and this stuff is essential. Mix a packet with 8 ounces of water right before your first feeding and youʼll be good to go. Even though you do want to eat vegetables with every meal during the day, itʼs often difficult to get the volume that you need. Here is the link for your Prograde Genesis greens drink. This will also be included in the quick start guide along with everything else you need to make this plan a complete success. http://calliedurbrow.getprograde.com/green-drink.html As I mentioned the daily-eating phase will be slightly different depending on when you train and what you are doing for training that day. Below I am giving you two examples of how you should structure your daily eating phase. Most people like to eat twice during this time and thatʼs a good starting point, but youʼll also see an advanced version that includes only one meal. If you are fairly new to Intermittent Fasting and are used to eating several times each day, start with 2 small meals during your under eating phase. Sample Meals- Daily Eating Phase- Conditioning or Off-Day or Night Time Training Use these samples if you are on a non-training day, a conditioning day or if you are training with weights later in the afternoon or evening. First meal: 1 cup of unsweetened almond milk 1 scoop of whey protein (chocolate or vanilla) 1 tablespoon of raw cacao powder 1 tablespoon of chai seeds 1 handful of baby spinach 2-3 ice cubes Blend in a blender or Magic Bullet *On off days or conditioning days you can also throw in some frozen fruit for your first meal to give you a small dose of carbs*
Second Meal: Your second meal will most likely be lunch and should come 2-3 hours after your above shake. This is going to be a protein and fat based meal along with veggies. A great option here is a huge salad (all the veggies you can stuff in there, the greener the better) with a protein source on top (chicken, fish, turkey, steak) and an olive and vinegar dressing. Avoid the creamy dressings or anything low fat as that equals high sugar.
Sample Meal Plan- Morning Training Day Use this meal plan sample if you are training with weights in the morning or late morning. The only difference is a slight bump in your carbohydrates post-workout but after that you are going right back to low carb. If you are doing conditioning work then stick to the lower carb options listed above. If you are training in the morning your fast may be a bit shorter and thatʼs okay. For example, I typically stop eating at 7pm and there are some days when my training session finishes at 9:30 am so my fast is not 16 hours. Thatʼs totally fine because the main goal is to get your post-workout nutrition, this is critical. This is also the beauty of the program, you can be flexible and still reap amazing benefits. A post-workout shake should be consumed around 30-60 minutes after you finish training. Hereʼs my favorite one. Simply add 2 scoops to water in a shaker and boom, youʼre good to go. First Meal on morning strength days P+C http://calliedurbrow.getprograde.com/pre-and-post-workout-drink.html Then we move into meal two. This is going to be a protein and carb meal and should be about 2-3 hours after your shake, so most likely lunch time. If you want to push it to 4 hours out, thatʼs totally fine too.
Second Meal P+C Have a protein and carb based meal with free veggies as desired. Typically youʼll be having this meal at work so my suggestion is to bring something that you can easily heat up. Here are a couple of examples: 4 ounces of chicken breast 1/2 sweet potato mashed with cinnamon any veggies Chicken or beef stir fry made with veggies and quinoa Grass fed ground beef chili with kidney beans
The Nighttime Eating Period The nighttime eating period will consist of two meals, again corresponding to your training plan for that day. This will be a snack (or a post workout shake) and dinner. Sample Meal Plan for Morning Training, Conditioning or Off-Day: Third Meal P+F In this third meal it will likely be a mid to later afternoon snack. You want to combine protein and fats only, keeping your carbohydrate count below 10 grams. Here are some great choices:
1 serving of whey protein powder with 1 cup of unsweetened almond milk 2 hard boiled eggs with sliced veggies 4 ounces of beef jerky with sliced veggies Meal Four P+F This meal will be dinner. Your focus will be proteins, veggies and healthy fats. Here are some great examples: 4-5 ounces of lean protein (chicken, turkey, fish, steak, grass fed ground beef) huge salad with oil and vinegar side of green veggies (broccoli, asparagus) 3 egg omelette with your choice of veggies and salsa 1/2 avocado The possibilities are really endless for dinner as you can combine different kinds of meats with vegetables every day of the week. Here are some examples of lean protein that you can choose from. • • • • • •
Free range chicken breast Grass fed burgers (no bun) Grass fed ground beef Lean cuts of steak Chicken sausage White fish (wild caught)
You can even do a combination of those above. Most of the time my dinners consist of 1-2 grass fed burgers and a chicken sausage or a chicken breast and a small filet steak. Sample Meal Plan for Evening Training: Meal Three P+C
This is going to be your post-workout shake. Use the link below to purchase the easiest and best tasting post workout shake. Have this 30-60 minutes after you train. http://calliedurbrow.getprograde.com/pre-and-post-workout-drink.html Meal Four P+C Meal four in this sequence is going to be dinner. Many people are terrified to eat carbohydrates at night but in this nutrition plan, itʼs critical. The most important time to ingest carbohydrates is in the window after you strength train. In this case you have eaten two P+F meals then you had your P+C workout shake, now itʼs time to have your final meal which will be P+C. Keep your fat intake below 10 grams here. Here you want to use the same examples that I listed in the earlier section where you were having your P+C as your lunch if you trained in the morning. Here are those examples again. 4 ounces of chicken breast 1/2 sweet potato mashed with cinnamon any veggies Chicken or beef stir fry made with veggies and quinoa Grass fed ground beef chili with kidney beans The important piece of this meal is the carbohydrates. Donʼt let this scare you. It will take some getting used to but this is critical, if you have strength trained that day. Here you want to stay away from all things wheat, gluten and whole grain. We are going against the grain (pun intended) here because most of what youʼve learned is that whole grain is better. Itʼs actually not in this plan because you want to get your carb sources from fast digesting carbs as this is in your post-workout window. Slow digesting carbs like whole grain sources will keep your insulin levels elevated too long and will slow down the fat burning process. Wheat and gluten sources have also been shown to increase inflammation which is something that weʼre trying to control with our hormone regulation that I spoke about in the earlier chapter.
Here are some good carbohydrate sources: • • • • • • • • • •
Sweet potato Yams Red potato White potato Russet or Yukon Gold potato Beets Squash Pumpkin White Rice Jasmine Rice
All of this should commence in a 2-3 hour window at night. If you are coming off a conditioning day or an off day, you simply want to cut the carbohydrates out of this dinner. In this case you can up the servings of protein and also add in a tablespoon of all-natural nut butter (peanut, almond, cashew, whatever you like) to take care of the extra calories. The great thing about this nutrition plan is that you donʼt have to be obsessed with counting calories. Itʼs a very freeing way to live and to eat. Obviously if you are overeating every day you will get fat, so we want to have a baseline so that you can adhere to in order to be sure youʼre getting enough of your macronutrients and your calories are in check for your desired body fat.
Hereʼs a recap. Morning Strength Training Days: #1- P+C #2- P+C #3- P+F #4- P+F Evening Strength Training Days: #1- P+F #2- P+F #3- P+C #4- P+C Off Days or Conditioning Days: #1- P+C #2- P+F #3- P+F #4- P+F
How Much to Eat
Even though the Bad Ass Body Plan is a freeing lifestyle, I want you to have a starting point. In this section youʼll be able to calculate your caloric intake as well as your protein, carbohydrates and fat. Use this as a jumping off point but as you get into the daily routine of this nutrition plan you can really just ballpark things in your head. 1 gram of protein = 4 calories 1 gram of carbohydrates = 4 calories 1 gram of fat = 9 calories Calorie Counter: Current Body Fat
Calories
6-12% 12.1-15% 15.1-19% 19.1-22% 22.1% or above
17 calories/pound of LBM 16 calories/pound of LBM 15 calories/pound of LBM 14 calories/pound of LBM 13 calories/pound of LBM
To use this chart youʼll need to find out your body fat percentage. You can get that done by a qualified fitness professional using calipers. Do not rely on an electric bathroom scale or the handheld devices as the results can fluctuate from day to day depending on your hydration levels.
Once you have your body fat percentage, multiply your weight by that percentage then subtract that number from your weight to find out your lean mass and use that number to determine your calories. This will give you a starting maintenance point for your calories. If you are looking to drop some body fat you will want to adjust your calories a bit, dropping them by about 250 especially on conditioning and off days.
Once you start developing more lean tissue you will have to up your calories again to support your metabolism, so play around with this. Start by taking your temperature for 3 days as I discussed in the earlier section when you begin the program. Do this a few months into it as well and adjust your calories from there. If your temperature is below 97 consistently youʼll want to up your calories back to the baseline point. Do not get too wrapped up in the calorie numbers because your body is going to fluctuate. I just want to give you a starting point because most people grossly overestimate the number of calories that they need and then they never see results. Once you have your numbers you will start plugging food into those areas that fit the criteria. Then you will begin to develop a lifestyle and you wonʼt have to sit there and check labels because youʼll become very familiar with how things fit into the equation.
Protein Intake: Daily protein intake is crucial for lean tissue development and to help you meet your overall nutrient requirements. This is a pretty simple calculation as weʼre going to want a lot of protein. Donʼt believe the hype that your body can only digest a certain amount of protein at a time. Every day you want to shoot for 1 gram of protein per pound of lean body mass. So if you weigh 140 and using the calculations above you have 18% body fat that would give you 25 pounds of body fat. Subtract 25 from 140 for your lean tissue total of 115. Your protein intake should be around 115 grams. If you are still feeling hungry after a few weeks on this you can bump up the protein to 1.5 grams per pound of LBM. Carbohydrate Intake: By now Iʼm hoping that you are over your fear of carbohydrates. In this plan carbs are not your enemy because you will be timing them specifically for the maximum benefit and theyʼll be working for you to improve your training sessions and burn fat at the end of the day. Itʼs also important to remember that on your conditioning or off days youʼll want your carbohydrates very low. This will help to improve your insulin sensitivity and also create a deficit so that your body continues to burn fat in addition to all of the other tactics youʼre using.
On your strength training days you can have more carbohydrates but be sure that they all fall in the post-workout shake and in your meal after the training session. Off Days or Conditioning Days: Carbohydrates should be below 20-30 grams. Strength Training Days: Start with carbohydrates at .75 grams per pound of lean body mass. This will help you assess your sensitivity to the carbs. If you feel great, youʼre losing fat and your energy is high then stick with that or bump it up to 1 gram per pound of LBM. A good test is that after your carb meals, if you are looking lean in the morning and not puffy and bloated then you are right on target with the carb intake. If you are feeling sluggish and puffy, drop the carbs to .5 grams per pound of LBM but give this some time, donʼt fear the carbs right away. Fat Intake: Your fat intake will make up the remainder of the daily intake so here youʼll have to do a bit of calculations but again, I want to reiterate that this is a jumping off point so once you have the calculations you are done. You wonʼt have to count numbers day in and day out. Take your lean body mass number that you found above Subtract 250 to get the number of calories you need for fat loss Take your protein intake number (1 gram x your LBM) Take your carbohydrate number (.75 grams x your LBM) Add the protein number and carbohydrate number together and multiply by 4 Subtract that number from your fat loss calories • This is how many fat calories you need • Divide this number by 9, this will give you your fat calories • • • • • •
This is what your daily intake would be for a strength training day because youʼre bumping up your carbs. On your off days or conditioning days your carbs will be lower, thus the fat intake will be higher. To figure out your fat intake for those days simply use the same equation above but replace the .75 with .25 for your carbohydrate calculation.
If we are using the 140 pound, 18% body fat example, her strength day would look like this: 1460 Calories 114 grams of protein 85 grams of carbohydrates 73 grams of fat Then her conditioning or off days would look like this: 1260 Calories 114 grams of protein 20-30 grams of carbohydrates 100 grams of fat
Cheat Days and Why They Work
This could quite possibly be the coolest part of this book. In a nutrition plan you get a cheat day. Yes, that means eating whatever you want and not feeling guilty about it, plus losing fat along the way. The first thing I will say about the cheat day is that you have to earn it. If your body fat percentage is over 25% then you need to stick with 1-2 cheat meals each week. That means a little splurge at dinner or ice cream once a week. The leaner that you are, the more you can cheat and the better it will work. Now you may be wondering, why in the heck am I getting a cheat day when I’m trying to lose body fat? Well, this is the most fabulous part of the program. The cheat day actually helps you to burn fat and get lean. Why does this cheat thing work? There is actually a ton of science behind this and if you ever want to read any studies about leptin levels and hormone regulation just let me know, I can pass them on to you. You probably don’t, so I’ll just give you the skinny on why it works for you. This is all about leptin. Leptin is a hormone found in the blood and produced by and released from fat cells. It’s basically in charge of your starvation status. In a perfect world there is abundant amounts of leptin and the brain receives messages that everything is normal and tells you that you are full. When someone is very thin or not taking in enough food (aka: a “diet”), leptin levels are low. Leptin is directly related to the amount of body fat that you have.
The reason this becomes important is because when you diet, you typically lose fat. This causes the leptin levels to decrease and here’s what happens: Less fat = less leptin. Less leptin = red flag message to the brain The same correlation between body fat and leptin levels happens with leptin and the amount of food that you take in. Studies are now finding that even if people are overweight or over-fat and they are taking in a low amount of food, their leptin levels are going to be low as well. Calorie restriction = low leptin levels. Low leptin levels = red flag message to the brain. Now what is this red flag message? After the brain gets this message it will send out some signals to the rest of the body. These can be kind of unfortunate for people who are trying to “diet.” 1. Levels of thyroid hormones significantly decline (these play a huge role in metabolism and energy) 2. Overall metabolic rate and energy expenditure drop very low in order to preserve fat mass 3. Serum cortisol, a stress hormone that is largely responsible for belly fat storage will skyrocket 4. The concentration of ghrelin increases. Ghrelin is an appetite regulating hormone produced in the stomach. Basically this triggers hunger and cravings
Leptin is a pretty tricky hormone that controls a lot of things. The long and short of it is that when calories drop over a period of time the body basically works against itself, making it almost impossible to lose fat and not crave tons of food.
How does the cheat day help this, you ask?
After days of low leptin levels, this cheat day allows for an increase in overall leptin which actually speeds up your metabolism. All of those negative factors that go along with low leptin levels are reversed and we are basically resetting the body and allowing optimal fat burning potential to occur again.
Cheat days also allow you to “let go” and enjoy some great food without feeling guilty. Instead of binging during the week and then falling off the wagon, this is a built in piece of the puzzle that actually increases fat burning results.
Basic rules for the cheat day: 1. Have a 16 hour fast the night and morning before 2. Drink plenty of water to counteract all of the sugar consumed 3. Eat whatever you want for an 8 hour period. Ideally from 12-8pm. It’s much easier to eat somewhat healthy and then cheat, instead of the other way around 4. Avoid alcohol on your cheat day. This will counteract what we’re trying to do and can actually slow your metabolic rate 5. Eat whatever you want without getting to the point of feeling totally sick. Enjoy yourself 6. Don’t have the cheat foods in the house until the day of your cheat day 7. If there are any leftovers from the cheat day, throw them out 8. Get right back on the wagon the next day, no feeling guilty. This is helping you burn fat
How do you really kick up the fat burning potential and get even leaner? Follow your cheat day with a full 24-36 hour fast. The best thing to do is have your cheat day on a Sunday and then follow that up with the full fast on Monday which for most people is their busiest day of the week.
If you can take your mind off the lack of food initially, the fast gets much easier. Make sure you are not just sitting around the house being bored. I used to have my cheat days on Saturdays and then Sundays were straight up brutal because I would train in the morning and then be bored all day just thinking about food.
The longer fast has the same effect as the 16 hour fasts that youʼll be doing each night/ morning during the week except it turns it into overdrive. Start out with 24 hours and then build yourself up 1-2 hours each week. Many women fear that their hunger will be out of control during a fast that lasts that long. The thing about hunger is that it comes in waves. You wonʼt be 24 times as hungry as you were at the beginning. Instead youʼll be experiencing small waves of hunger that you can simply get through by staying busy and drinking lots of water. Typically women will feel a wave of hunger after their training session, during the middle of the day and then as you get to around the 20 hour mark. The amazing thing is that when you get to the tail end of the fast, you will probably feel like you could go a few more hours.
Remember, during this fast period your body is using fat as itʼs fuel source. Youʼll likely experience some bloating from your cheat day but that will clear up in about 1 day.
Supplements
I get a lot of questions about supplements from my clients and friends. My take is pretty simple. There are a lot of crappy products out there that make false claims. Itʼs tough to decipher which ones are actually going to help you with your ultimate goal of losing fat, so itʼs best to keep it basic. If you are taking in quality foods in a balanced manner then supplements can be kept to a minimum. Here is what I take on a daily basis: • • • • •
Black coffee (I do consider caffeine a supplement) Daily fish oil Daily multi-vitamin Post-workout shake (this is used post-strength training only) Daily greens drink
That may look like a lot to you if you havenʼt had any experience in this area, but itʼs really quite simple. I take my coffee in the morning first thing, I break my fast with my greens drink and then my post-workout shake and multivitamin and then at my two later meals I have a serving of fish oil with each one.
Sure, you have to get into the habit of remembering the pills but other than that, itʼs quite simple. Here are the benefits of each one: Prograde Workout Post-Workout Shake: • Workout is the ideal formulation of fast acting proteins and carbohydrates to support stimulate lean muscle mass and recovery.
• This takes all the guess-work out of what to put into your shake, what to eat and how much to eat. • Simple mix 2 scoops of this with water, shake it up and drink it about 30 minutes after you train to break your fast and kick start that fat loss for the entire day Prograde EFA Icon (Essential Fatty Acid = Fish Oil) To name just a few of the fat burning and health benefits these “wonder” fats possess, omega-3 fatty acids have been shown to decrease the risk for developing heart disease and cancer, decrease blood pressure, improve liver and kidney function, reduce joint pain,improve vision, improve diabetic conditions, decrease occurrences and intensities of migraine headaches, increase circulating levels of leptin, reduce stress, and increase metabolic rate.
Here are just some of the other benefits: • Skin health • Hair appearance • Nail strength • Teeth hardness • Brain function • Fat loss • Insulin sensitivity
You have probably seen fish oil supplements in most stores. You can get them at the local CVS or grocery store and thatʼs okay, but the important thing to remember is that fish oil needs to be taken in fairly high doses and what youʼll get from Prograde is the best. Itʼs high potency Krill Oil and the other great thing is it doesnʼt taste or smell like fish like some of the other brands. Prograde Multi-Vitamin A multi-vitamin is like your insurance policy. Itʼll provide all the essential daily stuff that you may be getting with your foods, but just in higher doses. Again, you can get these at your local store but most products are made with synthetic coating and a lot of other fillers and junk that your body doesnʼt need. You want to make sure itʼs all natural and a high dose of all the important nutrients.
Prograde Genesis (Greens Drink) Just like the multi-vitamin, the greens drink provides you with an extra punch of really healthy ingredients. With Genesis youʼll get about 12 servings of fruits and vegetables in just one glass. I have a glass of this to break my fast every day and it gives me a nice shot of energy. Most greens drinks taste 100% awful so most people take them for a few days and then toss them. Iʼve done that with countless brands but Prograde has kept me hooked. Their Genesis tastes like lemon/lime and with a hint of mint. It tastes really good and not just compared to other greens. Hereʼs where you can get all of these items in one place. The cool thing about Prograde is that you can get everything on an auto-ship, right to your door every month. You get free shipping that way and you save on each order. This is great because youʼll go through these supplements quickly. The thing I want you to remember is that these arenʼt “extra” things you need to buy. These are essential to your results and this particular company has been the best in terms of quality and results. The money you are spending here is money you would be spending on extra food, but with your intermittent fasting schedule youʼll be buying less food. Give these a try, and for your first order Iʼve hooked you up with a 15% off coupon. When you get to the check-out just type in Callie15 and youʼll be good to go.
Shopping Lists Grocery shopping is often one of the biggest obstacles that women face when they embark on their fat loss plan. It seems like a simple task, go to the store and buy food, but there are many questions about what to buy and thereʼs the ever lurking temptation of the ice cream, cookies and candy. The key to grocery shopping is planning. You need to take a few minutes each week to plan out what you are going to eat and when you are going to eat it (with this plan it becomes very, very simple) and then you need to plan out what youʼre going to buy in order to prep those meals and snacks. Youʼll notice a trend in what you buy as soon as you begin the plan and youʼll also start spending a lot less on food because youʼre not eating 5-6 times per day. Eating 3 times throughout the day with one of those often being a post-workout shake, youʼll go through a lot less food. Hereʼs what you will be buying. Use anything from this list when planning your meals, make sure you get one protein source for each day for your larger nighttime meal. Proteins: • Salmon • Swordfish • Tuna (canned in water) • Tuna Steak • Halibut • Mackerel • Mahi Mahi • Crab • Lobster • Chicken (skinless, free range) • Turkey Breast (not deli meat) • Ground Turkey (extra lean) • Buffalo Meat • Flank Steak • Filet Mignon • Extra Lean Ground Beef (grass fed, 93% lean) • Pork Loin Fats: • Canola Oil • Coconut Oil • Coconut Milk (from a can, full fat and unsweetened) • Extra Virgin Olive Oil • Avocado
• • • • • • • • •
Pumpkin Seeds Almonds Cashews Macadamia Nuts Pecan Walnuts Peanuts All-Natural Nut Butters (peanut, sunflower, almond, pecan, cashew) Heavy Cream
Carbohydrates: *Remember these are to be eaten in the post-workout or evening window and we are going against the norm a bit to shy away from gluten products and any slow absorbing, complex carbs. • • • • • • • • • • •
Beets Sweet Potatoes Red Potatoes Yams White Rice Green apples Blackberries Blueberries Raspberries Strawberries Grapes
Vegetables: *Reminder: these are free to eat at any time and the goal is to eat green vegetables with every meal. Iʼll show you how this can be done even for your shakes. • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Mixed Greens Spinach Asparagus Broccoli Green Beans Snap Peas Cucumber Celery Mushrooms Eggplant Bell Peppers (all colors) Romaine Lettuce (best if mixed with darker lettuce in the salad) Carrots
Beverages:
• • • •
Coffee Tea Water Sparkling Water
Condiments and Extras: • Balsamic Vinegar • Apple Cider Vinegar • Cayenne Pepper • Garlic • Herbs and Spices (any) • Mustard • Salsa • Ketchup • BBQ Sauce • Salad Dressing (balsamic vinagrette or Italian)
What I Do Personally
Training has always been a staple in my life but nutrition has been something Iʼve always had to work on and experiment with. Once I found the intermittent fasting protocol and was able to create this program that worked wonders for me, I had to share it with you. I have to work really, really hard to lose fat. My body is naturally muscular but not super lean so I have to really dial in my nutrition. I store all (and I mean all) of my body fat in my abdominal area. My schedule allows me to train whenever I want and right now training in between 8am and 10am works well. I strength train 3-4 days per week and that can vary depending on the time of year. There is typically one heavy day, 2 metabolic style lifting days with full body training and one day with kettlebells, Battling Ropes and odd objects. There will be two conditioning days consisting of stadium sprints, hill sprints, bike sprints or sprints at the track near my home.
Here is a sample day for me on the mornings I train groups at the gym in the early morning. These are strength training days. 5am wake up and 1 black coffee, water 8am train 9am post workout shake 12pm P+C snack 3pm P+F meal (lunch) 6:30pm P+F meal (dinner) Here is a sample day that I donʼt train or simply do yoga. These are often later days for me as I work from home or itʼs a weekend. 6:30 wake up and 1-2 black coffees, water 10am yoga 11am P+C meal (protein shake with fruit) 2pm P+F meal (lunch) 4:30pm P+F snack (protein shake and fish oil) 6:30pm P+F meal (dinner)
Training
Creating a training plan is something that will be way beyond the scope of this book but itʼs an important component so I want to give you some frameworks. The most important thing is that you need to go against everything you read in the magazines or watch on TV. You will not get ripped, lean and totally bad ass by doing cardio and lifting tiny weights for high reps. You may burn some calories along the way but it wonʼt effectively support the nutrition and lifestyle that youʼre leading now. Your training should consist of 3-4 days per week of full body strength training utilizing heavy lifts as your primary work. You can set these up into supersets (perform one exercise and then move right into the next with minimal rest) or you can set them up in a circuit format with a bit of rest in between each exercise. For each training session you want one of the following lower body lifts: • • • • • •
Back Squat Front Squat Dumbbell Squat (holding them at your sides) Goblet Squat (Kettlebell or DB) Barbell Dead Lift (sumo or traditional) Kettlebell Dead Lift (a KB at each side)
For each session you want 1-2 of the following upper body lifts: • • • • • • •
Push Ups Chin Ups or Pull Ups (assisted if needed) Inverted Rows (bar, rings or TRX) Barbell Overhead Press DB Overhead Press Barbell Bench Press DB Bench Press (Incline or Flat)
For each session you then want to pick an accessory lower body movement. This is a great time to choose a single leg movement or something a bit more dynamic: • • • • • •
KB Swing KB Snatch KB Clean & Press Single Leg Dead Lift variations (DB, BB, KB) Single Leg Squat Lateral Lunges
• Walking Lunges • Reverse Lunges Include some core work, choose 1 of these for each session: • • • • • • •
Plank Variations Valslide Body Saws Physio Ball Ab Roll-Outs Power Wheel or Ab Wheel Roll-Outs or Walks Hand Walk-Outs Pike Ups (Power Wheel, Physio Ball, TRX) TRX Ab Tucks
Here are some other great movements to include: • • • • •
Sandbag work Loaded carries (KBʼs, Kegs, Farmers Handles) Battling Ropes Prowler Sprints Turkish Get Ups
Hereʼs a sample strength workout: A1. Barbell Front Squat 5x5 A2. Chin Ups (perform 5 sets of submaximal effort on each one. Leave 1 rep in the tank on each set. Use assistance if needed) B1. DB Walking Lunges 3x24 steps B2. Barbell Overhead Press 3x10 C1. TRX Ab Tuck 3x10 C2. KB Farmerʼs Carry 3x (use as much distance as you have, go heavy) C3. Battling Ropes 3x30 seconds
For your conditioning workouts you want to focus on intensity and a shorter duration. This goes against what most women are taught but remember, weʼre going against the norm here for your lean and ripped body. Your conditioning sessions should not last any longer than 30 minutes. Perform these sessions 1-2 times per week. Here are your choices: • • • • • •
Hill Sprints Stadium Stair Sprints Track Sprints Bike Sprints Prowler Sprints Tire Flips (if you have access)
Hill sprints are a great way place to start as they reduce the load on your body and thereʼs less instance for injury when youʼre building up your strength. They are incredible as you get stronger as well.
If you have access to a stadium, the sprints here are similar to a hill sprint but even more dynamic.
Hereʼs a sample hill sprint workout: • • • •
Find a hill thatʼs 50-80 yards in length Sprint up as fast as possible Walk down and rest for 60-90 seconds at the bottom Repeat for 8-12 repetitions depending on your conditioning level
Hereʼs a sample stadium sprint workout: • The stadium should be at least 20 large steps up to the top • Sprint up as fast as possible • Walk down and sprint up as soon as you get to the bottom • Repeat this for 4 sprints • Rest for 2-3 minutes • Repeat for 2 more rounds for a total of 12 sprints
Bike sprints can be done in the gym or in your home. Hereʼs a sample bike sprint workout: • 3 minute warm-up ride • Set the bike to a moderate to high resistance (make sure you can sprint hard) • Sprint for 20 seconds • Drop the resistance to the lowest level and recover for 40 seconds • Repeat this cycle for 10 sets • 3 minute cool down ride with no resistance
Track sprints are another great way to get ripped and lean. Hereʼs a sample: • 100 meter sprint x4 (rest 60-90 seconds between sprints) • 60 meter sprints x5 (rest 60 seconds between sprints) • 40 meter sprint x6 (rest 45 seconds between sprints) Your weekly schedule should consist of 3-4 days per week of full body strength work and 1-2 days of high intensity conditioning. Focus on lifting heavy and hard with perfect form and going hard and intense on your conditioning sets with plenty of recovery between sets. Itʼs not cardio, so you want to be fresh for each set and have the ability to go 100% effort with your speed.
Quick Start Guide
Hereʼs exactly what you need to do to get started on the Bad- Ass Body lifestyle plan right away. Be sure to read every section of this book to get the concepts down and start planning your new lifestyle. I know thereʼs an overload of new information so once youʼre done reading, come back to this section and use this simple check list to get rocking. 1. Take your temperature 3 days in a row in the mid-afternoon. If itʼs below 98.1 consistently, youʼve got some work to do to fix your metabolism so increase your calories by 300 for at least a week to recharge your metabolism and then get started. 2. Get your body fat percentage calculated and use the numbers provided to find your daily intake for macronutrients. 3. Take a before photo and a waist measurement. 4. Plan your weekly food and then make a shopping list using the one provided as a guide 5. Start skipping breakfast 6. Drink only black coffee and water in the morning hours 7. Fast for 16 hours, from your last meal that night until the next morning (typically 11-7 or 12-8) 8. Combine either P+C or P+F depending on the time of day and when you trained
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Do green vegetables count toward my daily carbs? Green vegetables do not count toward your daily carbohydrate total. The more green veggies, the better each day. 2. Why am I not doing more cardio? Cardio is not the most efficient way to train for fat loss. In this system youʼll be lifting heavy and hard and your conditioning workouts will be 100% effort, eliciting a boost in your metabolism and ensuring that your cortisol levels are not increased. 3. Arenʼt I going to get fat if I consume that much fat each day? Fat is not the enemy with this system. Carbohydrates are the macronutrient that spike your insulin levels so they need to be timed correctly. As long as you are not going too far over your fat intake each day, your body is learning to use fat as fuel during your lower carb portions of the day. 4. Can I cut carbs lower to lose fat faster? You could, but you would eventually end up with pretty low energy levels and not a lot of strength for your training sessions. Timing your carbohydrates for post-workout and later in the evening is the key to this program. 5. What if Iʼm starving in the morning but I still need to fast 3-4 more hours, what do I do? During the first 1-2 weeks of your introduction to IF you will feel hungry in the morning. This is because your body is used to eating first thing. Eventually this habit will be broken and youʼll feel totally fine in the morning. Have a cup of black coffee to curb the hunger and to also kick start the fat burning process. 6. How do I know how much to eat every day? Use the formats provided in this book to get a ball park number for your calories and macronutrients. Donʼt become married to this number because it will be ever-changing, especially as you become leaner and need to take in more calories. Just get within 5% of this every day and youʼll be fine. As for what to eat, youʼll need to experiment with different foods to see what works for you. I canʼt tell you exactly what to eat at what times but just use the frameworks.
7.How long will it take for me to see results? If all of your training and eating is on point, you should see results in just a few weeks. Youʼll notice your strength increasing during your training and you should start to see some nice cutting of your abs and arms. 7. Am I going to feel bloated if I eat my carbs at night? As long as you donʼt over-do the carbs you should actually wake up looking leaner and tighter. Stay away from gluten and wheat sources of carbs though. 8. Should I have a post-workout shake after I do my high intensity conditioning (sprints)? You donʼt need the carb based post-workout shake after a conditioning workout. Make this just a regular day and break your fast with the lower carb shake at your scheduled time. 9. Should I do any running to enhance my results? No. Focus on higher intensity activities like sprints, hill sprints and bike sprints. These will burn more calories, spike up your metabolism and get you much more efficient results. 10.What supplements should I be taking? Protein powder, post-workout shake, Prograde Genesis, EFA, Daily Vitamin and in addition I always recommend some raw maca for your shakes.
Quick Start Check-List Use this quick start check-list to ensure that youʼre ready to rock. 1. Get your body fat measurements done, either by a fitness professional using a caliper measurement or better yet, find a facility that has a Bod Pod machine. Search your local area as many colleges have them. 2. Measure your waist, hips and thighs 3. Take a “before” photo from the front and side in just shorts and a sports bra 4. Order your supplements from Prograde 5. Print out the shopping list and make a list of what youʼll be preparing for your first week 6. Get your weekly training plan in order using the frameworks provided in this book 7. Establish your support system. Get friends, family members and boyfriends or husbands on board with your goals. And if you really want to up the stakes, put your photos on Facebook along with the deadline for your success
About the Author: Callie Durbrow is a fitness professional and personal trainer based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Sheʼs the owner of Durbrow Performance Training and has spent over 9 years helping women get lean, ripped and bad ass while enjoying training and food. For more information and fitness tips contact Callie through her blog at http:// www.ultimateathleticfitness.com or on twitter @calliedurbrow
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