Lean Bodies Consulting Newsletter

Volume 8, October 15, 2007 

Well, it's been a while since the last newsletter, but welcome to another addition of the Lean Bodies Consulting Newsletter! If you haven't received the previous issues of the newsletter and you'd like to, you can now find the archives here. 

I apologize for the length of time between this newsletter and the last one. With it being right in the middle of contest season and some other things keeping me nice and busy, I've let the newsletter updates slip a bit. Anyway, in this issue we've got a Q&A on macronutrient splitting as well as an interview with NGA Pro Bodybuilder and LBC client Jen Heath.    

What’s New At Lean Bodies Consulting?

Well, while this is probably old news to many of you who are already aware of this, the big news is, or at least was, that the Lean Bodies Consulting site received a complete face lift. Check out the updated site design and if you've got any feedback you'd like to share, please feel free to drop me a line.

The exercise database is finally up and ready to go. The idea behind this was to provide LBC clients a resource to get clarification on how to do certain movements. Of course, it's never going to be as good as getting some in-person instruction on how to fine tune your technique, but my hope is that this will still be a useful resource. Rather than either myself or LBC clients having to head on over to Google to locate a sample video, now they can just watch the relevant clip right here. If you're a current client of mine, just drop me a line and I'll provide you with the current user name and password if you don't already have it. Right now it's a 90-exercise database showing most of the movements from two angles. I'll continue to add more and more exercises to this database over time. If there's an exercise you want to see added, just drop me an email.

And there's a couple new (again, not so new now due to the gap between newsletter updates) blogs which I think most will find enjoyable. So far I've only had competitor clients of mine host a blog on my site. While they've definitely been a hit and the feedback has been great, I realize that not everyone can 'relate' to a competitor. So, I asked a couple other clients, namely Lyn Sherrell, and Sheryl Stokes, if they'd be willing to do a blog for me. They've been up for while now, but they're already a great hit. To date Lyn is down over 50lbs and Sheryl is closing in on 25lbs.  

Check out Lyn's blog here – www.leanbodiesconsulting.com/lyns and Sheryl's blog here www.leanbodiesconsulting.com/sheryls.  

You can also check out Noel's ongoing blog at www.leanbodiesconsulting.com/noelc as she shifts gears from contest dieting to offseason muscle building. 

Interview with Fat Loss Pros Creator Jen Heath

EL: First off Jen, thanks for agreeing to the interview. You've put together an awesome new product that showcases the fat loss and physique transformation ideas of 18 fat loss experts. Now, while I don't consider myself an 'expert' per se, I'm honored to have been included in those you asked to contribute. I've received some great feedback from those who have already heard my interview. Can you tell me what audience you had in mind when you created this product?

JH: Fat Loss Pros is for any person wanting to cut out all the fluffy information they see and read about on fat loss. I have received a lot of feedback from everyday people who have purchased Fat Loss Pros saying how wonderful it is for them to finally hear the truths about fat loss revealed. To know that there are actually certain, specific bits of information they needed in order to finally start losing fat effectively! I have also received an overwhelming response from personal trainers, who after listening to the interviews have been able to fine tune their programs for their clients and get them better results. They simply took the information they learned, applied it to their clients and started experiencing phenomenal results that they hadn't seen before.

EL: What prompted the idea for this product? How'd you come up with the concept and why?

JH: I came about creating Fat Loss Pros as a result of much research and personal implementation of fat loss principles. I realized through my own journey that there was a lot of information and “cookie cutter” programs out there that just didn’t work, and that there were things that just did. I discovered that the people who really knew the nitty gritty were not about cookie cutter plans. They had the information people (including me) so desperately needed in order to “personalize” fat loss for themselves. I wanted all people to have access to this information, hence compiling the collection.

EL: What kind of information will listeners find in this compilation of interviews?

JH: Numerous topics are covered from proper weight training for fat loss, dispelling the myths about cardiovascular training, how nutrients are processed in the body and how to maximize that through diet in order to burn fat optimally. Each professional on the product gives a unique perspective in the areas of their own expertise on fat loss.

EL: With so many experts, I'm sure there's a lot of varied opinions presented in these interviews. As we both know there's more than one approach to successful fat loss. Do you think that the listener might end up confused? Or is there a lot of commonalities between the contributor's recommendations?

JH: What’s so great about this product is that the real solid, foundational principles of fat loss are unchanged, and those are presented in an understandable way from ALL of the experts. There are other things like low carb vs high carb, carb cycling, nutrient timing, periodizing nutrition with training and other topics that are covered. The product gives light to the “more than one approach to successful fat” that you mentioned and actually helps the listener know what fine-tuned options will work best for them and how to apply that to the overtone of the whole collection, which is supported by all of the professionals interviewed.

EL: Switching gears a bit, you've got four kids, your own consulting business and you're a professional bodybuilder – four weeks out from your next show for that matter. Do you have any advice for other busy moms or people in general for that matter who are out there and struggling to 'get it all in'? How does Jen Heath do it?

JH: Mainly, it is about prioritizing, and then acting on those priorities. I have to eat certain foods, so I have a weekly trip to the grocery store. I try to get my husband to watch the kids so I can do that without too much trouble, but sometimes I even take them with me. I also prepare foods over the weekend so I can grab and go. I have my vitamins all set out for the week. I make going to the gym in the morning a priority too. I have a nursery package there, so that I can bring my kids with me. Another thing that I try to do is not to “obsess” over all of it. I have ingrained it into my life so that I don’t have to talk about it or worry about all the time. It doesn’t affect those around me negatively or impose on them unnecessarily.

Another thing is that I have educated myself to the point of knowing when it is and is not appropriate according to my diet and training schedule to eat foods that may be considered “non-bodybuilding” foods. Knowing how to use those foods to your advantage is huge, especially when you have lots of kids like I do.

Doing what I do is a matter of setting a schedule and sticking to it. Staying this fit is about getting your diet right, and training hard. Once you find ways like I mentioned, to keep those two things in check, the results come on their own.

EL: Nice. That's good information. Anything else you think we can hit on? Anything else about your product? You? My closing question will be this one though - admit it , I'm your favorite Fat Loss Pros contributor aren't I? You can lie if you need to.

JH: Just want to include that I really have learned what works and what doesn’t and I only value information that will lead to true fat loss. That is the whole basis behind the product, and yes Erik, particularly since you're my coach, you are most certainly my “favorite contributor”.

EL: Thanks for the interview Jen. Good luck in the competition.

Volume V Q & A

Question:
What's the deal with separating fat and carb from each other? Some people seem to swear by it, and others seem to think it's a load of nonsense. Is it better for fat loss? Is there any 'magic' to it?

Answer:
There is definitely no magic to macronutrient splitting. Do you have to split carbs and fats to see progress? Of course not. And it's correct that there's no published data to support it either. Mind you, there's really not any that directly refutes it either. It is but ONE way of setting up a diet. Nothing magical, just a convenient way for some people to eat.

What tends to be most important is caloric intake. Second to that would be adequate protein and adequate omega-3 fats. Anything that meets these qualifications and isn't otherwise dumb will work ... up to a point of course.

There ARE times during the day when you need and want certain macronutrients and times when these same nutrients are less than ideal, or even simply not really needed - and this really just reflects carb intake. Generally speaking, when consumed around greater periods of activity, nutrients tend to be absorbed and utilized more effectively. Everyone knows about the post-workout hooplah, so suffice to say it's a period when you want what ideally? Protein and carbs. Not fat. I think everyone (most at least) will agree with that. Extend that to the the post-post workout meal – there'd still be an argument for this meal to be predominately protein and carbs, although some fat would be fine here as well. Of course, this all depends on the goals of the individual and the carbohydrate they're alloted for the day. 

Outside of the hours following an intensive workout, our bodies aren't so cooperative when it comes to making efficient use of nutrients. Once the effects of the workout have worn off, we return to normal physiological functioning, which is characterized by normal insulin sensitivity/resistance and a relative reduction in anabolic hormone levels. The rest of the day has the greatest variability obviously, but for the average person, while protein is a constant, quite simply, you don't need as many carbs, so you can use fat (I'd say some fruit as well) as a caloric ballast to help you meet your daily caloric goals and aid in recovery. Basically low-carb meals because the carbohydrates are not really needed.

That's it. One way of timing macros according to your training. Not magic. It's not about the magic of macro splitting. It's simply a method of nutrient timing – timing certain macronutrients around periods you need them most.

“Every failure, obstacle or hardship is an opportunity in disguise.
Success in many cases is failure turned inside out.” 

If you know anyone you think would enjoy or benefit from this newsletter, please forward it on and pass on the newsletter sign up link http://www.leanbodiesconsulting.com/newsletter.html  

Until next time, thanks for reading.

Erik Ledin, CSCS, CISSN 
http://www.leanbodiesconsulting.com