No long post today, just a few pointers for the start to 2013 regarding New Year Resolutions.

Seriously. Brace Yourselves.

If you’re a regular gym goer, be patient.  Every year, the month of January turns the gym into a mad house;  What’s especially frustrating is watching people take up equipment and knowing that you’ll only see them during the month of January.  If you’re an impatient person, now is the time to hone your skills and become patient, especially if you have a training day scheduled for the first of the year.  (As we do. . .  I try to plan maintenance weeks around the beginning of the year, but this year it didn’t line up.)

If you’re one of the “New Year Resolution Gym Members,” don’t be.  A healthy lifestyle is just that–  A lifestyle.  Resolving to go the gym all year “as my next year resolution” won’t cut it, nor will creating a resolution simply from pressure by others;  The desire to change has to be present, otherwise you’ll only ever know the gym during January.

If you are making health, fitness, nutrition, or all of the above a part of your new year resolutions, be realistic.  I’ve read countless articles about the reason resolutions fail, and in most cases, it’s because unrealistic resolutions were decided on.  Start small, and allow your goals to evolve as you reach certain benchmarks, or stick with it long enough.  Everything in life can be looked at as a staircase;  You can try to jump from the floor to the sixth step, but failure is very likely. . .  It’s best to look at the path ahead and take it one step at a time.  (Even if your resolutions have nothing to with health or fitness, that still applies!)

Regarding my health / fitness goals, I only really have two, and both are within my grasp since I’ve been working toward them for some time:  The first is to finally deadlift four plates (405 lbs. 1 X 5);  I’ve been working on this for over a year and am at 395 lbs. currently.  My second goal is to continue on the path I’m on and compete in a natural physique competition this summer.

We just survived the “Apocalypse,” so let’s make 2013 a great year!

Filed under: Body Building, Fitness, Health, Personal by DeVinePhysiques
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I wanted to take a little time today to debunk a major myth among women. Women shouldn’t do heavy weight lifting. For some reason as a society we have trained ourselves to think that it is just fine for men to lift heavy in the gym, but that women should only lift light weights and do more reps of the exercise.

Women have a fear that if they start to lift heavy they will get huge and bulky muscle, this is only a concern if that woman is taking steroids. The female body doesn’t produce enough testosterone to build muscle like that. All that will happen when a woman lifts heavy is that she will start to build some muscle  burn more fat, and look leaner and more toned.

I recently told another lady how much weight I can deadlift (195lbs) and her response was hysterical to me. She said “lifting weight that is heavier than you can’t be good for your body.” I am not sure how she even decided that in her head because I can see absolutely no reason that could possibly be bad for you. If you train with correct posture and know how lifting heavy will never hurt you.

I can’t even begin to describe how much my body has changed for the good since I really started lifting heavy. I look better, I feel confident in my abilities and my appearance, and I know that I can handle anything that comes my way physically.

If you are a woman, do yourself a favor… start lifting heavier weights. You won’t believe how quickly your body will transform and how much stronger you will become.

If you do it right you will only gain benefits!

Filed under: Body Building, Fitness, Fitness Myths, Health by DeVinePhysiques
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The title of this post may seem counter intuitive to what you’ve heard, but most of what you’re told is actually wrong when it comes to dietary fat.  It’s worth noting that we’ve been planning on writing this article for sometime, but what made it a reality was this article, which we will refute at the end of this post.

Let’s start with what Dietary Fat is.  Fat is a high energy (Meaning high calorie) macro nutrient that is essential for proper body development and functioning.  In terms of energy content, the other two macro nutrients (Carbohydrates and Protein) offer 4 calories per gram, whereas Dietary Fat is 9 calories per gram;  This means that foods higher in dietary fat typically have a higher calorie count.  Dietary fat is also where you get your “EFAs,” or Essential Fatty Acids from.  (Remember, an “Essential Nutrient” is one that your body can’t manufacture on it’s own but needs to function)  Dietary Fats are often divided into two categories depending on their state at room temperature:  Fats that are a liquid form at room temperature are often referred to as “oils,” whereas fats in solid form at room temperature are usually referred to as “fats.”  Further, fats are also separated into camps based on their source:  Animal fats (Fish oil, butter, milk, etc.) or plant based fats. (Peanut butter, nuts, avocado, etc.)  Fats can further be broken down into Unsaturated, Saturated, and Trans fats, which we’ll discuss briefly toward the end.

So why do I need dietary fat?  Well, to start, “Vitamins A, D, E, and K are all fat-soluble, meaning they can only be digested, absorbed, and transported in conjunction with fats.”  While you may get those vitamins from sources without fat (such as a multivitamin), your body needs dietary fat to put them to use.  Dietary fat also helps maintain balanced hormone levels, and in absence can lead to decreased testosterone levels.  (Take note!  You need testosterone to build and maintain muscle.)  Dietary fat is very slowly absorbed in your body, which helps keep you feeling full longer, and brings down the glycemic load of accompanying foods since they can’t be easily turned into glucose in your body in the presence of fat.  Dietary fat also helps to maintain healthy skin and hair, promotes healthy cell function, and is (of course) the source of essential fatty acids, which your body needs to function properly.  There are many other benefits that have been discovered in other studies, but the aforementioned are all concrete.

Important note for some:  If you’re on a low carb (or no carb) diet, Dietary Fat is essential, as this will be your fuel source when your body enters ketosis.  This is why all ketogenic diets are high fat diets.

So really, eating really low fat is dangerous for you.

I was told that I should eat a low fat diet–  Why are you telling me I need dietary fat?  If you notice, throughout the course of this article, I try to always refer to fat as “dietary fat,” and it’s because there needs to be a distinction.  At some point, someone looked at the word “fat” on a nutrition label and decided that must be what makes people fat, when really, the opposite is true.  At the end of the day, weight gain is dictated by simple math–  If you eat more calories than you burn, your body will increase in weight;  Fat intake has nothing to do with gaining fat.  There is a macro nutrient responsible for fat gain specifically, and it’s not fat;  Carbohydrates, specifically simple carbs, or high GI carbs, will cause a spike in blood sugar, which will produce an insulin response, which will thus lead to fat storage.  When it comes down to it, if you’re trying to lose weight, it’s better to eat a low carb diet, as carbs are specifically responsible for gaining fat.  (Or you can go full on ketogenic with carb cycling, which will actually make your body burn dietary fat, and body fat, for fuel.)

Fat has a bad reputation simply because of the name.

Many nutritionists agree that peanut butter will cause World War III

When it comes down to it, the only fats you should completely avoid are trans fats.  Unsaturated Fats (both “Polyunsaturated and Monounsaturated) are great for you, and Saturated Fats are in a weird limbo right now–  For a long time it’s been thought that they’re bad for you, only to be consumed in moderation, but recent research has shown that the adverse effects of saturated fats are only of danger in extremely overweight / obese people, if at all.  (My thoughts on saturated fats:  I would advise everyone to make their own decisions based on their own research.  I don’t eat any of the biggest offender foods, so I don’t stress about it too much.  Big offenders:  Cheese, Milk, Ice Cream, Butter.)

So, about that article I mentioned in the opening. . .  Their claim is that to lose weight, just cut the fat out of your day.  What they see is a correlation between weight loss and food substitution–  The people who ate diets with dietary fat were over eating, plain and simple.  The people who ate lower fat diets, or substituted fats for carbs were eating below their TDEE, which would lead to weight loss no matter the macro nutrient breakdown.  The problem isn’t the dietary fat–  It’s how many calories they were consuming, and while it’s true that simple substitution can put you on the road toward a possibly “healthier” and thinner you, remember:  First and foremost, one must concern themselves with how many calories they’re consuming in a day.  In the end, we’ll leave you with this quote from the Harvard School of Public Health: “Detailed research—much of it done at Harvard—shows that the total amount of fat in the diet isn’t really linked with weight or disease.“

Filed under: Nutrition by DeVinePhysiques
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