Lifting Club Gets Shredded Part II

Lifting Club Gets Shredded Part II
Buenos noches, amigos,

DISCLAIMER: I’ll expand upon this later, but it’s important to remember that to achieve optimal results you have to focus on one goal at a time. You’ll have a hard time being both a spelling-bee champ and a jiu-jitsu champ. The same goes for fat loss. While undergoing fat loss, it’s hard for your body to gain muscle or otherwise perform optimally. What does this mean practically? It might not be the best idea to follow a low-carb, fat loss diet during your competitive season depending on your sport.

This newsletter is a little late due to Upper Spring being a little too Upper Spring-y. Of course, I still got to sleep at 11 or earlier every night this week, so it’s all good. In this newsletter, I’ll be continuing the discussion about fat loss. I’ll get to a lot of important topics, but first I’ll recap what I said in the last newsletter.
- Eat protein. It’s filling, burns calories when you digest it, and preserves muscle.
- Avoid vegetable and soybean oils, which cause inflammation. Use olive oil on salads instead.
- Ditch the grains, which disturb gut bacteria, raise insulin, and don’t fill you up much.
- Eat vegetables and many different types. Don’t just get lettuce and chicken. Lots of good vitamins and minerals, fiber, and they’re filling.
- Have some fruit. There’s fiber in fruit, which is filling, but don’t go overboard.
- Only drink water, tea, and/or coffee. Protein shakes are also acceptable.

Onto the new material. I’ll first talk about supplements, which everyone loves to talk about because it takes no effort. If you’ve been reading my newsletters for long enough, this won’t surprise you, but one of the best supplements for fat loss and overall health is fish oil.

Fish oil has a whole host of benefits from cognitive function, skin and nail health, mood, anti-inflammatory functions, but it also lowers insulin, the storage hormone. Lowering insulin is “wicked” important for fat loss and overall health.
- What type? There’s been lawsuits against CVS and other fish oil brands for have toxins in their fish oil (these toxins come from pollutants). It’s probably safest to take a trip down to Whole Foods and get some even if it costs a little more. Carlson’s is a good brand, but pretty expensive. You can probably get the Whole Foods brand for less. Trust me, it’s worth the extra money.
- How much? Most people I’ve read recommend 1-3g of EPA+DHA, which usually translates into 4-10 capsules a day (depending on the brand). I take about 8 capsules a day, which sounds extreme, but it really isn’t.

Vitamin D and Calcium. I feel like lumping these two together because they work together because I’m lazy.
- I’ve spent way too much time talking and reading about vitamin d. Long story short, supplementing with vitamin d may promote weight loss.
- Calcium intake is also linked to increase fat loss. However, since milk is off-limits, supplementing is a good idea. You can get calcium from vegetables, but not enough. Bone marrow is also an option, but I have a feeling that isn’t a popular choice.
- How much? For vitamin d, 1000-5000 IU’s a day is good. The wide range is due to individual specificity. If you’re black and living in New England, I would bet my younger brother that you’re vitamin d deficient. White-skinned people aren’t as likely to be deficient, so they might want to supplement on the lower end. Of course, if you are getting lots of sunlight, you may not need any at all. A word on sunscreen: I don’t use sunscreen (yes, I’m paranoid) and think that clothing is the best protection. I aim for a healthy tan.
- How much calcium? I take a supplement that gives me 50% of my daily value. Some days I take one pill, other times two. I don’t know where the line is drawn, but too much is unhealthy. If you can, buy a calcium supplement that also has other vitamins/minerals. Mine has calcium, magnesium, zinc, vitamin d (not enough), and copper.

Protein powders.
- Protein powders are a convenient way to consume high quality protein around your workouts or for a snack. As I’ve said before, protein is good.
- I am allergic to casein, a protein found in milk, so I stick to a cheap whey powder. You can also get powders that have a combination of whey and casein, which may be ideal.
- How much? I make a smoothie with 3 scoops of whey (~65g protein from the powder alone) and drink half of it before and the rest after my workout. The general recommendations are .25g/lb of protein before and .25g/lb after your workouts. For me (160lbs), that’s about 40g before and after. Most people only consume their shakes after, but there’s evidence suggesting that before and after is superior to just after. However, if you have a tight budget, drinking it after is fine.

Probiotics.
- I’ve discussed this before, but gut health has become a hot topic (okay, so maybe nobody else cares, but I do). Eliminating grains and eating more vegetables will help improve your gut health, but a probiotic can also be helpful.
- How much? There have been questions raised about how well certain probiotics work and whether or not stomach acid destroys them before they reach the intestines. Anyway, you can get a good one down at Whole Foods. My probiotic lasts 3 months and costs $30.

That’s all for this week, but there’s still more to cover. Yay!

Hugs,
Palmer