Hey guys and gals!

Hope your summer has been epic to say the least. Hopefully your life calms down some with school starting back up, for all you parents may you have more peaceful days as your child goes back to school. For all you college kids may you slow down a bit and get back to hitting those books instead of... well lets just call them extra curriculars. My summer was great, I went home to visit family, did some hiking, surfing, did some Jiu Jitsu tournaments, got bossed around by Logan (my 3 year old boss). So it was a good summer. In this blog and the coming ones, I’d like to cover “diets,” specifically how they work, their guidelines, and if they really work. For me the most often question I get asked is:” what’s the best diet?”
 
I never have the answer, mainly because I don’t have knowledge on all the diets out there. So this mini-series as we will call it, will be informative to you as well as me.

​Guys! It has been a while. Things have been pretty hectic for myself here lately, between moving, family visiting, training Madi (our newest trainer), and trying not to crash off energy drinks I have in my mind slacked! Life has finally slowed down a bit and thanks to my son and fiancé have a desk to do my work at, needless to say I will certainly stay up to par with my blogs and tutorials in the future. I’m sorry, but I am going to be selfish this week and blog about a topic that I have been dying to learn more about; The Ketogenic Diet, more specifically what it is exactly and if it works. I know I preach about performing good eating habits and not doing so much of a “specific diet” but I had too. You see my favorite scientists swear by this so I deemed it worth looking over.

​First thing first, the breakdown of the ketogenic diet. In a nut shell, it’s a diet (more like a lifestyle change) that consists of consuming 5-10% of your calories from Carbohydrates, 15-30% of your calories from proteins, and lastly 60-80% of your calories from fats. To make it easier, if you are on a daily caloric intake of 2000 calories and you eat 10% as carbohydrates it would be 200 calories worth of carbs. 30% as protein would be 600 calories, leaving 60% of your calories as fats; a whopping 1200 calories from fat! It is very similar if not identical to the “counting your macros method,” (macronutrients).

​I know what you are thinking because I was thinking the same thing, this sounds crazy right? Well let’s go over the reasoning for this caloric breakdown. The goal of this “diet “is for the body to become “keto-adapted.”
 
Keto Adapted simply means the body has altered its metabolic system (the way energy is produced in the body). In normal human function carbohydrates are the bodies primary source of energy, when becoming Keto adapted the bodies predominant energy source becomes fat. The body then shifts from storing fat normally to fat oxidation. Fat oxidation is basically the body breaking down giant stored lipids (fat) into smaller pieces (Triglycerides for example), this becomes our source of energy to run on throughout the day. Without the fat oxidation, the fat molecules would stay in the bigger stored form as they cannot be used as an energy source if not broken down.
 
I know this sounds like the cure to loosing fat but it is a lot harder than it sounds, the biochemical changes that are necessary to change the body from reliance on glucose for energy (glucocentric metabolism) to a reliance on fats for energy ( adipocentric metabolism) are tough to say the least. It requires the restriction of carbohydrates (thus the 5-10%) for several weeks and depending on the person, even several months or a long period of fasting (In other words starvation). ​First thing first, the breakdown of the ketogenic diet. In a nut shell, it’s a diet (more like a lifestyle change) that consists of consuming 5-10% of your calories from Carbohydrates, 15-30% of your calories from proteins, and lastly 60-80% of your calories from fats. To make it easier, if you are on a daily caloric intake of 2000 calories and you eat 10% as carbohydrates it would be 200 calories worth of carbs. 30% as protein would be 600 calories, leaving 60% of your calories as fats; a whopping 1200 calories from fat! It is very similar if not identical to the “counting your macros method,” (macronutrients).

​First of all, DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE STARVE YOURSELF! I cannot make it any more clear, there are so many reasons why but it comes down to this, it is literally the worst thing you can do to your body, well besides tattooing a sports team on your body that ISNT the Dallas Cowboys. That leaves us with restricting carbs for several weeks/months.
 
Have you ever gone a full week without any carbs? Like seriously exercised, worked, and did everything normal just no carbs? If you haven’t, let me tell you IT IS HARD! I would do it to make weight for competitions and I about lost my family after 2 hours. Seriously though, it is difficult to run on little to no carbs, it’s like having a low gas tank and trying to make it last 100 miles, crankiness, irritability, and tiredness are just some of the side effects of a no/low carb diet.
 
After reading TONS of research science shows the claims of the ketogenic diet to be accurate, when followed properly (strict with very minimal ”slip ups”) keto-adapted can be reached and the use of fats as an energy source can be achieved. Now my biggest concern was the loss of muscle mass due to gluconeogenesis and the lack of carbohydrates tearing into our proteins (muscles) as fuel. After reading the research science shows the ketones (broken down fatty acids) preserve and prevent muscle catabolism, furthermore muscle anabolism (muscle mass increase) may occur after one has become “keto-adapted.”
 
Before I give my final thoughts on the Ketogenic diet, I must state that it is very common to experience rapid weight loss-due to water secretion from the lack of carbohydrates- headaches, muscle cramps, fatigue, nausea, lethargy, lack of energy/strength, and something known as the Keto-flu which is every symptom at once.
 
It sounds terrible but once the “infant stage of the ketogenic diet is complete and you become keto-adapted you will be burning your stored fat throughout the day. It is also important to note an increase in energy, appetite con troll, cognitive enhancement, and body composition will all increase as well once “keto-adapted.”
 
My final thoughts are this; using stored fats as fuel is more efficient in the weight/fat loss journey than carbohydrates as fuel. If you have the discipline-remember this can take months of strict discipline before any benefits occur- than it is a great lifestyle change. I personally would love to experiment with this and hope to do so in the near future, that means get ready Kristy because this family is about to make a lifestyle change!
 
I hope somebody out there is disciplined enough to try this with me, please do not hesitate to share your results and progress with me.
 
 
Below is a list of recommended foods and a pie chart of how your calories should be distributed when following the ketogenic diet;

​Hey everyone, hope this week has been a productive one! Its graduation season, so if you have recently graduated CONGRATULATIONS! That is a HUGE accomplishment. May you continue to succeed in all your endeavors. This past weekend I had the pleasure to watch some very good friends of mine walk the stage and graduate college. I wrestled with many of these kids and am still scratching my head at how some of them managed to graduate! Proud of them would be an understatement, I would like to send some very well deserved congratulations to Fernando, Dillon, Felipe, Abel, and Adrian, may you continue to succeed in life.
 
I hope your weekend was as eventful (but not as stressful) as mine, so to this week’s topic on the people’s blog; Blood flow resistance training, mainly what is it and does it really work?

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​Basically, Blood Flow Restriction training is what it sounds like, using tools such as plastic wraps to keep blood centered in whatever muscle is being worked. What the plastic wraps around the muscle does is control cardiac output. Broken down even further venous return (blood flow from the periphery to the right atrium) is restricted enough to keep the blood pumped into the muscle and allowing it to become filled. This is done while allowing enough flow of blood back into the body to not cause any serious damage to the person. To do this safely the top portion of the muscle wanting to be worked is wrapped carefully. Many scientists compare it to filling an unpoppable water balloon to its maximum capacity, except in real life it is the muscle being targeted being filled to maximum capacity.
 
I know what you’re thinking, why would anyone do this to themselves, they look like drug addicts.

​Well some would argue that the “pump” they get from doing BFR training is better than any drug. You see when you exercise to gain size, strength the muscles being worked fill with blood, or commonly referred to as ‘The Pump.” This is why when you are in the middle of a workout you look bigger then when you are not exercising, it’s because you have a “pump.” (I’m not making this up, that’s what it’s really called). While exercising normally you reach a state were your muscles can’t get any bigger (at the moment), the blood flow wont allow it. When you have the bands around the muscle being worked it causes the muscle to literally swell and become “supersized.” The theory behind it is that it cellular swelling which in turn tricks the muscles into faster growth. The trick happens when metabolic stress (one of 3 factors that cause muscle growth) is placed on the area due to lack oxygen, this causes your body to faster and under a longer duration of time sending you into an induced “hypertrophy state.” Doing this also causes your body to rely on type 2 muscle fibers as the type 1 muscle fibers (slow twitch) rely on oxygen to be efficient. This is important due to type 2 fibers rarely being worked (fast twitch fibers used during explosive heavy movements). Working these fibers will lead to an increase in size as well as explosiveness.
 
Ok guys bear with me, now we know what BFR is and how it works-in theory. Now it’s for the important part, does it work?
Before I even get into this, I want to say I may be a bit biased as 2 of my favorite scientists in the world published many articles on this topic (Dr. Jacob Wilson PHD., Ryan Lowry PHDc. M.S., so not that I agree with them completely off bias but science is science and as we all know it doesn’t lie.
 
The first study we look at had 2 groups, one performing leg press with blood flow restricted training at a low intensity (sets of 30,15,15,15 at 30% of their leg press max). The other group had the men performing leg press at the same rate (30,15,15,15 @ 30% Max). Muscle swelling, power, and soreness were recorded. After performing the repetitions, the control group with no wraps had no changes within the muscle. The BFR group had muscle thickness increased immediately after performing their sets. Muscle activation was greater in the BFR group than the control. This study indicates Blood Flow Resistance training increases muscle activation and muscle thickness without causing damage to the muscles being worked.
 
So, while performing BFR may seem extreme, it is in fact not harmful to the body when done properly. It also is proven to train the body into a “hypertrophy state” (increase in the muscles cells, causing growth) with less weight, which means less strain on the body.
 
The science behind BFR training is still not clear. What is clear is it can cause muscle hypertrophy at a rapid pace. A common theory is hormones are elevated through the rapid muscular hypertrophy, as well as the recruitment of the fast twitch muscle fibers. Since we are in this state longer and faster than traditional strength training we in turn elevate these hormones as well as create the need to enlarge more cells.
 
The remainder of the studies all suggest BFR training will lead to hypertrophy much quicker at a lower volume than traditional strength training. When looking to put on muscle it is our goal to reach the “hypertrophy state” It was previously thought the best technique to reach this state was through overloading our muscles with weight within 70% or higher of our 1 Rep Max (per movement), or from pushing our muscles to failure with lower weight (typically requires a lot of sets, reps, and time). If the goal then is to reach this state and we can reach it at a faster/safer route then I strongly feel it is worth trying. I myself will be partaking in this BFR training to see if significant change occurs within my body. If we can increase muscle size with little wear and tear to the body, it is worth trying. I hope further research is done and the scientific community can prove the effectiveness or BFR training and back it 100%.  As a professional within this field it would be awesome to be able to use techniques like this with clients whom struggle from previous injuries or cannot lift as heavy as needed to reach a hypertrophy state. ​

​Hey there, this week went by so fast. I feel like yesterday was just Monday! Our baby boy just turned 2! So that was pretty heart breaking, I’m sure all you parents feel the same way every time your kids have birthdays. It’s crazy, I never imagined I would be THAT parent, you know the one that takes his son out for 3 different birthday diners and he’s not even old enough to appreciate them, but here I am making him a spoiled brat. Hope your week has been great if you had a birthday recently then happy birthday to you (shout out to Devon)! So back to The Peoples Blog, this week I left our topic open to YOU (the reader). This week’s topic brought to you by Sandy Ross is “what is the best for reducing belly fat?”

​To begin our topic, we must understand that belly fat is also known as visceral fat; visceral fat is body fat that is stored near our internal organs and abdominal region. As we know the abdominal region is in our belly area, thus when reducing our belly fat, we are in turn reducing our visceral fat.
 
Our first study had 21 groups (a total of 582 subjects) perform aerobic activity in hopes of reducing visceral fat. The aerobic exercise was performed at 10 METs or more. MET is short for Metabolic Equivalent Task, in short it measures the amount of energy you expend per movement. MET is measured from 1.3 (Standing) – 16 (Running at a speed of 10 MPH). A measurement of 10 which the movements were performed at would be equivalent to running 6 MPH.  Out of the 21 groups, 17 of them showed a reduction of fat. The other 4 groups showed no correlation of aerobic exercise reducing visceral fat. After further testing they eliminated all the subjects with metabolic related disorders, what was left was 425 subjects. From those subjects, it was concluded that aerobic exercise at a rate of 10 METs is REQUIRED for visceral fat reduction in people without metabolic related disorders. In short running at a pace of 6 MPH will put you in the zone to burn this belly fat. Running is not required, any aerobic exercise performed at 10 METS  will reduce the fat, we just have to make sure we keep the correct pace.
 
For example, when exercising your heart rate and body should be at a level of intensity like that of running at a 6 MPH pace. This means the dilly dallying, gossiping, and extra-long water breaks must cease if you are serious about burning the belly fat. The goal then is to keep the intense pace for the duration of the workout or until your body says no more.
 
To test what methods of training was best for reducing belly fat scientists studied the effects of HIIE (high intensity intermittent exercise) and the effects of SSE (steady state exercise) and measured their effects of belly fat reduction. HIIE is commonly referred to as HIT or high intensity training, in short it is a form of interval training that focuses on short bursts of maximum effort followed by a brief rest most commonly consisting of a movement of lower intensity. The intensity of the training continues until one cannot perform any longer, often leading to fatigue faster than traditional training methods. SSE is a form of training were one stays in a constant continuous intensity as opposed to spiking effort and heart rate. The object is to work at a fairly intense pace for a longer duration of time. This study took a total of 15 weeks, after the duration of this study both groups showed a tremendous increase in cardio fitness, but only the HIIE group showed a significant reduction of total body mass, fat mass, and trunk fat (also known as belly fat). The study concludes with HIIE performed 3 times a week for a duration of 15 weeks will reduce body fat and trunk fat at a significantly greater rate than SSE training. In short, when choosing a type of program to perform you will get a lot more “bang for your buck” doing HIIE training to reduce belly fat.
 
For this example, I take the usual fitness goer (myself included) whom does body building type of workouts. Do a few sets here, move on, then a few more sets, while we are sweating we are not feeling at that peak intense level. We may feel at that level during our set but our break and dilly dally time is so long we just never get that “dying” and exhausted feeling. Now if your goal is to target the belly fat this type of training will not bring the results wanted as fast as HIT movements. Now “CrossFit” gets a bad rap due to their workouts being “deemed” extreme, in reality if you are serious about burning the belly fat your programming should be much more related to a “CrossFit” style program than a bodybuilding/powerlifting program. The intensity and minimal rest times (if any) used in CrossFit programming is essential in ridding the body of belly fat.
 
Two studies, both have proven results to reduce the visceral/trunk fat in the body with one thing in common, the intensity of the exercise performed. We can then conclude that reducing belly fat is directly related to the intensity you are working at. If we want to “shrink” down that belly, be prepared to work hard and push yourself at an intense pace. As always and it goes without saying, be sure you are receiving proper nourishment and are performing good eating habits. Until next time, stay safe and enjoy your weekend!

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