Weighing In, Of course, the primary indicator of your success on the Hormone Revolution program will be your weight. When beginning on the eating plan, you should use a standard scale to measure your weight every day, at the same time of day. Because your weight can fluctuate throughout the day, you should weigh yourself either first thing in the morning or right before you go to bed. Write down your weight in your eating log so you can follow your long-term trends.
Perdita di peso, After you have lost an initial 5 to 10 pounds, or when you begin the second month of the program, you should start using a body-fat scale (for more information, see the section “Body-Fat Scales” later in this article), which measures the percentage of your weight that is from fat, instead of a standard weight scale.
This method will be more accurate in recording your progress as it can help you ensure that you are losing weight due to fat loss, not muscle loss (see the “Troubleshooting” section below if you suspect your weight loss is not due to a decrease in your body fat). Again, it is important to measure your body fat at the same time of day every day in order to get consistent measurements. Each day you should record your body-fat measurement in your log.
When recording your first measurements with a body-fat scale, you should also make some additional calculations. You will need a calculator to measure two key indicators of your progress: (1) your total body fat in pounds, and (2) your lean (nonfat) body weight in pounds.
You can calculate your total body fat simply by multiplying your body-fat percentage by your total weight. For example, if you weigh 160 pounds and your body-fat percentage is 25 percent, then your total body-fat weight would be:
25 x 160 = 40 pounds
Your lean body weight is simply your total weight minus your body-fat weight. In this example, your lean body weight would be:
160 – 40 = 120 pounds
Good progress is marked by decreasing body-fat weight and a constant or decreasing lean body weight. This means that you are losing fat while gaining or preserving muscle mass. An ideal body-fat percentage for men is 10 to 15 percent and 15 to 20 percent for women. An ideal goal to achieve this result is try to lose ½ to 1 pond of body-fat weight per week.
If you do not want to buy a body-fat measurement scale, you can have your body fat measured using the skin-caliper method, which can be performed by an experienced personal trainer or health professional. While the skin-caliper method is not especially accurate, it can be useful for detecting long-term trends if a knowledgeable person makes the measurements on a regular basis.
Troubleshooting
So what should you do if you are not making the progress you think you should be making on your Hormone Revolution Eating Plan? Below is a list of common pitfalls and my diagonis and prescription for overcoming them.
Your Body-Fat and Lean Body Weight Are Going Down: this could indicate that you are losing both muscle and fat. The most likely cause of this is that you are not eating enough protein. Make sure you eat at least 30 grams of protein during your Magic Window Meal, and at least 1 gram of protein per pound of your lean body weight in four to six divided portions per day. You also might want to try drinking a high-protein/low-carbohydrate shake before your workouts.
You Are Not Losing Any Body-Fat Weight: if you lose any body-fat weight for two weeks in a row in spite of the regular exercise and dieting recommended in Article 2, you should take a careful look at your diet logs: there may be hidden sources of calories in your food. Here are some solutions to some of the most common calorie impediments to success:
• The most common sources of hidden calories are sauces and cooking oils. Make sure you are using only the low-calorie sauces suggested in Article 3. Also, make sure you are not eating too many fried foods or eating too many of your meals (more than two a week) at restaurants.
• Strictly limit all starch and moderate-and low-fiber foods (even some fruits and vegetables) to the postworkout Magic Window Meal only. Also keep your consumption of oil, even canola oil and olive oil, to an absolute minimum. Once you start losing weight again, you can begin to slowly add servings of fruits and moderate-fiber vegetables, along with small amounts of healthy oils, back to your diet. This further adjustment of your diets is just a temporary “emergency” measure to get your progress back on track.
• If all else fails, count calories. I am not a huge fan of calories counting, but for some people it is the only way to flush out hidden calorie sources. If you are preparing your own meals, estimating your daily calorie intake should be quite easy. There are numerous books and website (see the web resources in the back of this book) that give calories counts of common foods.
Also designer foods such as high-protein bars and meal-replacement drinks have accurate calorie counts on the labels. Likely, you will find that your excess calories do not come from vegetables or lean sources of protein, but from other sources. If you are a man of average weight (170 to 175 pounds), make sure your calorie count is around 1.600 per day. To calculate the minimum amount of calories you should be eating, multiply your lean body weight by thirteen.
Extreme Hunger and Insomnia at Night: many people on diets find themselves starving and unable to sleep. Bedtime is when we are often most vulnerable to cheating on our diets. I have designed my program the best way possible to avoid this problem, but if you are finding it difficult to sleep at night here are some suggestions:
• Eat before you go to sleep! You probably have been told that eating before you go to bed is fattening, but this is only true if you overeat or eat the wrong foods (starchy or carbohydrates). Eating some protein, like a protein bar or a small bowl of nonfat cottage cheese, before bed can help stop your nighttime hunger and provide your body with fuel to repair and build muscle while you sleep.
• If you are highly anxious at night, then you can make the exception of occasionally eating one piece of toast or two to three crackers with your late-night protein meal. This may calm you down for better sleep.
• Try taking the supplement 5 hydroxy-tryptophan (5HTP) to calm down and get better sleep. This supplement also can help some people with carbohydrate cravings.
• Eat a larger breakfast. People who eat a small breakfast or skip it entirely are most likely to have hunger cravings later in the day.
Perdita di peso, After you have lost an initial 5 to 10 pounds, or when you begin the second month of the program, you should start using a body-fat scale (for more information, see the section “Body-Fat Scales” later in this article), which measures the percentage of your weight that is from fat, instead of a standard weight scale.
This method will be more accurate in recording your progress as it can help you ensure that you are losing weight due to fat loss, not muscle loss (see the “Troubleshooting” section below if you suspect your weight loss is not due to a decrease in your body fat). Again, it is important to measure your body fat at the same time of day every day in order to get consistent measurements. Each day you should record your body-fat measurement in your log.
When recording your first measurements with a body-fat scale, you should also make some additional calculations. You will need a calculator to measure two key indicators of your progress: (1) your total body fat in pounds, and (2) your lean (nonfat) body weight in pounds.
You can calculate your total body fat simply by multiplying your body-fat percentage by your total weight. For example, if you weigh 160 pounds and your body-fat percentage is 25 percent, then your total body-fat weight would be:
25 x 160 = 40 pounds
Your lean body weight is simply your total weight minus your body-fat weight. In this example, your lean body weight would be:
160 – 40 = 120 pounds
Good progress is marked by decreasing body-fat weight and a constant or decreasing lean body weight. This means that you are losing fat while gaining or preserving muscle mass. An ideal body-fat percentage for men is 10 to 15 percent and 15 to 20 percent for women. An ideal goal to achieve this result is try to lose ½ to 1 pond of body-fat weight per week.
If you do not want to buy a body-fat measurement scale, you can have your body fat measured using the skin-caliper method, which can be performed by an experienced personal trainer or health professional. While the skin-caliper method is not especially accurate, it can be useful for detecting long-term trends if a knowledgeable person makes the measurements on a regular basis.
Troubleshooting
So what should you do if you are not making the progress you think you should be making on your Hormone Revolution Eating Plan? Below is a list of common pitfalls and my diagonis and prescription for overcoming them.
Your Body-Fat and Lean Body Weight Are Going Down: this could indicate that you are losing both muscle and fat. The most likely cause of this is that you are not eating enough protein. Make sure you eat at least 30 grams of protein during your Magic Window Meal, and at least 1 gram of protein per pound of your lean body weight in four to six divided portions per day. You also might want to try drinking a high-protein/low-carbohydrate shake before your workouts.
You Are Not Losing Any Body-Fat Weight: if you lose any body-fat weight for two weeks in a row in spite of the regular exercise and dieting recommended in Article 2, you should take a careful look at your diet logs: there may be hidden sources of calories in your food. Here are some solutions to some of the most common calorie impediments to success:
• The most common sources of hidden calories are sauces and cooking oils. Make sure you are using only the low-calorie sauces suggested in Article 3. Also, make sure you are not eating too many fried foods or eating too many of your meals (more than two a week) at restaurants.
• Strictly limit all starch and moderate-and low-fiber foods (even some fruits and vegetables) to the postworkout Magic Window Meal only. Also keep your consumption of oil, even canola oil and olive oil, to an absolute minimum. Once you start losing weight again, you can begin to slowly add servings of fruits and moderate-fiber vegetables, along with small amounts of healthy oils, back to your diet. This further adjustment of your diets is just a temporary “emergency” measure to get your progress back on track.
• If all else fails, count calories. I am not a huge fan of calories counting, but for some people it is the only way to flush out hidden calorie sources. If you are preparing your own meals, estimating your daily calorie intake should be quite easy. There are numerous books and website (see the web resources in the back of this book) that give calories counts of common foods.
Also designer foods such as high-protein bars and meal-replacement drinks have accurate calorie counts on the labels. Likely, you will find that your excess calories do not come from vegetables or lean sources of protein, but from other sources. If you are a man of average weight (170 to 175 pounds), make sure your calorie count is around 1.600 per day. To calculate the minimum amount of calories you should be eating, multiply your lean body weight by thirteen.
Extreme Hunger and Insomnia at Night: many people on diets find themselves starving and unable to sleep. Bedtime is when we are often most vulnerable to cheating on our diets. I have designed my program the best way possible to avoid this problem, but if you are finding it difficult to sleep at night here are some suggestions:
• Eat before you go to sleep! You probably have been told that eating before you go to bed is fattening, but this is only true if you overeat or eat the wrong foods (starchy or carbohydrates). Eating some protein, like a protein bar or a small bowl of nonfat cottage cheese, before bed can help stop your nighttime hunger and provide your body with fuel to repair and build muscle while you sleep.
• If you are highly anxious at night, then you can make the exception of occasionally eating one piece of toast or two to three crackers with your late-night protein meal. This may calm you down for better sleep.
• Try taking the supplement 5 hydroxy-tryptophan (5HTP) to calm down and get better sleep. This supplement also can help some people with carbohydrate cravings.
• Eat a larger breakfast. People who eat a small breakfast or skip it entirely are most likely to have hunger cravings later in the day.
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