Update
October 15, 2003
The
5 VIPs of Fat Loss
and the Fat Loss Do's and Don'ts
 Why
do so many people “exercise and eat right” and still fail
to get results? Sometimes the answer lies not in a lack of
effort, but rather in a lack of understanding the little biochemical
players that work at the cellular level. In other words,
if the effort is there but the environment isn’t suitable
for fat release, results can be nil. Unfortunately, too many
abandon the effort rather than ever coming to understand little
shifts that can work to create the optimal fat loss environment.
Results are my business.
Results are the foundation upon which I’ve built my reputation.
Results always follow empowerment. My seminars have consistently
proven to empower people to take control of their bodies,
and on November 1, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, I’m conducting
what promises to be my
greatest Breakthroughs seminar ever. Not only will I
be sharing the realities behind nutrition and exercise that
allow people to take control of their bodies, but I’ll also
explain in detail precisely how the body “decides” whether
to store or burn fat. I’ll convert the biochemical mystery
into something everyone understands.
 With
an understanding, you become the sculptor, your body becomes
the clay. There are two primary challenges in seeking understanding
of biochemistry. It’s complicated and it’s boring. I remember
my high school chemistry teacher. I remember my 9th
grade biology teacher. I also remember falling asleep in
class.
 Keeping
those former teachers in mind, I work hard to avoid sending
people into snooze land when discussing complicated scientific
topics. It isn’t an accident when people leave my seminars
with huge smiles on their faces, empowered and “fired up”
with an awareness their lives are about to change. I’ll try
to deliver the information in this article in much the same
fashion as it comes through in a seminar. If you start snoozing,
well . . . at least give me points for trying.
Let’s put both your brain and imagination
to work. Imagine a ceremony in which I am presenting awards
to . . .
The five VIP’s of Fat Loss!
“Ladies
and Gentleman, the first of the Very Important Players in
the Fat Loss Arena, The Pancreas.” The crowd goes
wild as the pancreas takes the stage to accept the award and
I begin my opening dialogue.
“The pancreas is extremely deserving
of this award because of his incredible production ability.
Yes, on a daily basis, this tough organ is called to act
every time food enters the digestive tract, and he has proven
incredibly reliable in his production of both insulin and
glucagon. Insulin is the “storage” hormone, and acts to
transport glucose molecules into the muscles and into the
liver to be stored as a fuel reserve. Glucagon is the fat
release hormone that allows adipose material to escape the
walls of the fat cell and travel within the bloodstream
to be burned as fuel.”
The pancreas has its challenges.
Every time you put a simple sugar, a meal high in refined
carbs, or some snack chips into your mouth, you send a rush
of tiny glucose molecules into the bloodstream. As a result
blood sugar skyrockets and the pancreas has to make a sudden
shift. It has to shift to “insulin dominance,” cranking
out significant amounts of the storage hormone so all of
that sugar can be stored and blood sugar can return to normal.
In an insulin dominant environment, fat loss ability is
crippled. When the pancreas is forced to produce an abundance
of insulin, it backs off on its production of glucagon (remember,
that’s the hormone that allows for fat release).
In the fat loss arena, if you
throw off the insulin:glucagon balance, if you create an
insulin dominant hormonal environment, you throw a cog in
the fat loss mechanism. The pancreas will continue to work
hard to maintain the necessary balance, but it requires
your assistance. Rather than spiking blood sugar, keep
blood sugar constant. How do you do that? Firstly, by
avoiding those simple sugars, bleached flours, and refined
carbs that complicate things for the hard working pancreas.
“The next award goes to . .
. our good friend, another hard working member of the team,
Miss Thyroid. She lives in the neck and never sleeps.
Miss thyroid acts in a supervisory role, constantly working
to regulate metabolic function. She, like the pancreas, produces
hormones, primarily the hormones T3 and T4, both of which
won awards for their acting at last year’s ceremony. Unfortunately,
T3 and T4 cannot be here tonight as Miss Thyroid has run into
some issues. She did her job quite efficiently, but an estrogen
storm prevented T3 and T4 from making it to their destinations.
Normally T3 and T4 take the progesterone limousine but they
just couldn’t get past the flood of estrogen.”
T3 and T4 work to regulate body
temperature as well as to orchestrate many other players
in the hormonal cascade. When they are blocked by estrogen
increases, stress related hormones, or the chemical interactions
that result from dietary irregularities, they fail to do
their job efficiently. The thyroid doesn’t give up. It
keeps trying, but as the pancreas, also needs your assistance.
When you back off on calories, when you diet erratically,
or when you exercise excessively and fail to nutritionally
support the effort, the thyroid attempts to make metabolic
adjustments to help you survive. Unfortunately, it doesn’t
quite understand why you’re doing what you’re doing. It
senses too little fuel is coming in to support metabolic
activity, so it backs off on its hormonal production to
keep you alive. Metabolism is simply the speed at which
your body converts fuel (food) into energy. If you are
not taking in enough fuel, a metabolic slowdown keeps you
functioning, although if fat loss is a goal, the absence
of adequate fuel is a sure ticket to failure. By eating
small to moderately sized meals containing lean proteins,
a small starchy carb from a natural complex source, and
a fibrous vegetable every 3 – 3 ½ hours, not only do you
further assist the pancreas in maintaining balance, but
you reassure the thyroid gland that all is well and it’s
OK to keep metabolism at its peak.
Please, save your applause for
the end. We still have three more VIP’s to introduce.
“Will the distinguished Sir
Pituitary please come up to the podium? Ah, Sir Pituitary,
you are indeed an amazing artist and director and it is no
wonder you are at times referred to as the Master Gland.
Although you’re smaller than a pea, you manage to artistically
repair and rejuvenate cells, but you also direct a major part
of the hormonal orchestra.”
The pituitary gland creates thyroid
stimulating hormone (TSH) which signals the thyroid to pump
out her hormones. We can also count on the pituitary to
produce Growth Hormone, a key to optimizing the growth of
lean body mass and the loss of fat. In creating Follicle
Stimulating Hormone (FSH) and Leutenizing Hormone (LH) it
also signals the ovaries and the testes to balance out appropriate
testosterone and estrogen levels and acts to regulate cortisol
(the stress hormone) levels. To keep Sir Pituitary working
at his best, it’s important that you regularly challenge
resistance, that you get adequate nutrition, and that you
get proper rest and relaxation.
By now you should be able to sense
how vital the interaction between these glands is. Too much
estrogen? Fat loss becomes challenging. Too little GH?
Muscle tissue may disintegrate. Too little T4? Metabolism
slows. By negatively impacting one hormone, you actually
send the entire hormonal cascade into a chaotic state of mayhem
and the ability to release and burn fat is quick to suffer.
Let’s go back to the awards ceremony,
as two more awards have to be granted.
“Clear the stage. C’mon, c’mon
make room. The next VIP is a biggie. You’ve seen his artful
mastery at Gold’s Gym in Venice, on the Mr. Olympia Stage
in Vegas, and in the World’s Strongest competitions on TV.
Yes, the next award goes to none other than, the Muscular
System! While renowned for its strength and definition,
the muscular system is rarely recognized for its role as “The
Fat Incinerator.”
The muscular system is the actual
machine that burns fat. After fat is released, it travels
into the mitochondria of the muscle cell to be burned as
fuel. Any loss of muscle (which often accompanies diet-induced
weight reduction) results in a metabolic slowdown and a
decrease in momentary fat burning ability. One of the tricks
in optimizing fat loss is preserving that vital fat burning
engine, “muscle.”
“There’s still one more award to
be granted, and that has to go the system responsible both
for feeding the cells and for transporting those little fatty
acids to their ultimate destination. Yes, the final VIP award
goes to the circulatory system.”
 The
heart does an incredible job of pumping blood, which is really
oxygenated and nutrient filled water, to every cell in the
body. At the cellular level, by optimizing blood flow you
optimize metabolic function including the healthy rebuilding
of cells and the efficient release and burning of fat.
So now that you’ve visited with
us at the VIP awards, now that you know the Five VIP’s, how
can you use this information to optimize fat loss?
The Fat Loss Checklist – DO’s
and DON’T’s
DO assist the pancreas
in keeping blood sugar stable – frequent meals containing
protein, fiber, and slow release carbs from natural unrefined
sources help maintain the balance of pancreatic hormones
necessary for consistent and ongoing fat release
DO NOT think of “feedings”
as “snacks.” Snacks are typically low nutrient high sugar
or high fat foodstuffs. They typically contain those refined
carbs that inhibit the optimal fat loss environment. Even
“healthy’ snacks are typically fruit which when consumed
by themselves can spike blood sugar and effect insulin levels.
Forget the term “snack” and think in terms of meals, every
“meal” containing protein and natural unrefined carbs.
Rather than “a snack” of raisins, consume the raisins mixed
in some sugar free fat free yogurt to make up a meal. Rather
than “a muffin” which is full of sugar and bleached flour,
consider a piece of whole grain bread wrapped around some
turkey breast, tomato, and spinach.
DO challenge your muscles,
optimize circulation, then relax (in that order). This works
to healthfully optimize the process of protein synthesis
and fat release. Weight training is fueled by stored glyocen
in muscle tissue, and if aerobic movement follows exercise
that depletes glyogen stores, hormonal shifts amplify fat
release. Resistance exercise stimulates increases in GH
production which actually take place during down time.
DO NOT train with weights
after an intense aerobic workout or train beyond your body’s
ability to adequately recuperate. The pituitary may reduce
GH production and increase production of the “stress hormone”
which may break down muscle tissue.
DO commit to brief but
intense exercise sessions 5-6 days per week integrating
both aerobic and anaerobic movement as this optimizes blood
flow and strengthens not only the muscular system but the
heart.
DO NOT consume foods that
are high in simple sugars, white flour, bleached and processed
grains, or hydrogenated fats.
DO supplement with an
antioxidant formula. A quality formula containing Vitamin
C, Vitamin E, Zinc, and other free radical scavengers can
work to optimize blood flow and rid the body of tiny toxins
which left uncontrolled can do cellular damage.
DO NOT rely on herbal
stimulants compounds labeled “thermogenic” “anabolic” “lipotropic”
etc. These often contain substances that may have long-term
adverse effects on pituitary and thyroid activity.
Obey the DO’s and DON’T’s and fat
loss can be ongoing and consistent until the body that stares
back at you from the other side of the mirror brings a huge
grin to your face, and that grin leads to a positive impact
on virtually every aspect of your life.
If fat loss fails, don’t throw
in the proverbial towel. Just fix the fat burning machine!
If
you want the program that shares it all . . . get The Best
You've Ever Been!!
 The
testimonials keep coming.
"It's been the most unbelievable
8 weeks of my life. I've always worked out, always thought
I'd always eaten right, and just thought that after the age
of 40 I'd have to settle for the body I was in. I realize
now it took just a few little changes in my nutrition and
a complete overhaul of my exercise program to get me back
into a body that looks great, even without clothes, and as
you say, "performs" at its peak, and my wife agrees!"
- Terry Mattson, Houston, TX
Phil's Radio Show
. . . Anytime!
Previous Updates
(Visit the Update Menu):
Update
7/7/03 - Bars and Meal Replacements . . . What's Best?
Update
6/9/03 - The Ab-solute Truth
Update
4/20/03 - The Great Diet Debate & Atkins Revisited
Update
3/22/03 - I Know What I Should Eat, But . . .
Update
3/6/03 - Deceptive Food Labels
Update
2/4/03 - The Relationship Between Sex and Fitness
Update
1/25/03 - Phil's Biggest Mistake - The EAT! Formula Screw
Up
Update
1/12/03 - The Talk Show Illusion (Infomercials exposed)
Update
12/14/02 - Penis Enlargers and Breast Enhancing Pills
Update
11/20/02 - How Do I Lose This?
Update
8/27/02 - The Promise and the Real Story Behind the Infomercials
Update 8/01/02 - Clearing
up Four Prevalent Myths
Update
6/20/02 - Giving Credit Where Credit is Due
Update 5/11/02 - Miracle
GH, What "Works"
Update 3/25/02 - Women on
Steroids and More on Core Training
Update
2/15/02 - the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of Fitness
Update
1/14/02 - Counting Calories
Update
12/28 - 'Twas the Night Before New Years
Update
12/8 - The New Electronic Ab Offerings
Update
12/12 - The "Magic" is Within You
Update 11/20 - Holiday
eating!
Update
11/3 - Weight Loss Bread and other Nonsense!
Update 10/29 - Supplement
Values
Update
10/3 - Getting Back to Doing What We Do
Update 9/19 - Tragedy and
Love, RE: Sept 11
Update 8/15 - Myths, Fallacies,
False Beliefs
Update 8/1 - The Internet,
Leptin, Steroids, and more
Update
7/9 - The New Supplements
Update 6/14 - Seminar
offerings and clarity on "Brownies"
Update 5/29 - Lose
Weight, Eat Brownies?!?!?
Update 5/1/01 - Pizza, Beer, and Fitness
Update 4/7/01 - "Phil-osophies"
and Rip-Off Realities!
Update 4/1/01 - Gourmet Recipes!
Update 3/15/01 - Research Has
Proven?
Update 3/1/01 - Preparing for
The New Infomercial
Update 2/1/01 - Time, Space,
Matter, and Energy
Update 1/15/01 - Atkins hits
the UK
Update 10/7/00 - Supplements,
Additional Clarity
Update 7/27/00 - The Experts
Round Table, Almada, Colgan, Parillo
Update 7/3/00 - Core Training
& Metabolism Boosters
[
Home ] [ Site
Menu ] [ For Fitness Professionals
] [ Superstore ] [ Update
Menu ] [ Ask
Phil
]
[ Small
Group Workshops ] [ Programs
]
This
site is designed and operated by Phil Kaplan
Phil Kaplan's Fitness is located at
3132 Fortune Way, #D1
Wellington, Florida 33414
The TOLL-FREE Product Order Line is 1 800 552-1998
The Direct Office Number is 561 204-2014
The Fax Number is 561 204-2184
e-mail phil@philkaplan.com
|
