A lot of intelligent people fail because they ignore the basics of success and one of them happens to be goal setting.

You can only commit yourself to action if you have a plan of what you want to achieve, why you want to achieve it and how you are going to make your goal a reality and not just a dream.

Setting your goals and committing to their realization ultimately produces action. Goals motivate an individual towards their realization. Failures or setbacks become temporary and are just are pit stops towards success. Success begins with a making a conscious decision and writing down your goals so that you can measure your progress towards success.

Keep Yourself Focused

It is important to focus all your thoughts and energy towards the achievement of your goals. Staying focused keeps you on the right track. Forget about all the negative experiences and attitudes you may have regarding weight loss and dieting, throw them out of your system.

Be conscious of your negative thoughts, get rid of them and maintain a positive attitude instead. It is very important to take control over your thoughts and teach yourself to think positively. This is one area of life that we have 100% total control – what we think!

- Be conscious of your thoughts.

- Learn how to switch off the negative thoughts and turn on the positive.

- Replace “I can’t” with “I’ll do it!”

However, it simply does not follow that if you eat more calories than you burn, you will store the excess as body fat and if you eat fewer calories than you burn, you will lose fat.

It is only at the initial stages of a calorie restricted diet that weight loss occurs rapidly; however, weight loss slows down and eventually stops. This happens because the human body has developed a weight-regulating mechanism that recognizes when there is a fuel shortage (carbohydrates, proteins and fats) thereby automatically triggering a decrease in energy expenditure to protect the human body.

Physicians and fitness experts call this survival mechanism the starvation response.

1. Slows Down Metabolism

Lower calories results in a slower metabolism becomes because there is less for the body to burn. The slowing down of metabolism makes it harder for the body to burn fat even if there are lesser calories to work on. Severe calorie restrictions decrease metabolism by as much as 20 to 30%, which is why people on a calorie restricted diet find it almost impossible to the lose the last 10 or 20 pounds towards their optimal target weight.

2. Results to Muscle Loss

A low calorie diet always results to the loss of muscle tissue. Once the body reacts to severe calorie restrictions, the body begins to look for ways to conserve energy; since the muscle is a metabolically active tissue, getting rid of it is the body’s initial response to decrease energy expenditure. The body starts converting muscle including skeletal muscles, internal organs, even the heart muscle into glucose!

3. Increases Activity of Fat-Storing Enzymes and Decreases Activity of Fat Burning Enzymes

Rapid decreases of calorie intake results to the production of fat storing enzyme called Lipoprotein Lipase (LPL) and a decrease in the production of fat burning enzymes.

4. Decreases Output of Thyroid Hormone

Calorie reduction in results in a corresponding reduction in the output of active thyroid hormone which results to an overall decrease in the metabolic rate and fewer calories burned.

5. Weight Gain Rebound

Although a low calorie diet results in immediate weight loss, it never takes long for the body to catch on and starts conserving energy. When this happens, losing weight becomes much harder. Because no more results are visible, hunger pangs cause people to give up the diet program. As soon as they stop the diet program, weight is regained immediately.

6. Decreases Energy and Work Capacity.

Restricted calorie diets generally make you tired, lethargic and unable to work out. High levels of activity or intense workouts are crucial if you aim for long-term fat loss.

1.Change your Eating Habits

To lose fat permanently and going on quick-fix diets, change your eating habits instead. Dieting is a defective method because it is temporary. Having this type of attitude sets you up for failure even before you begin your diet. You do not lose fat permanent by restricting your calorie intake. You can only achieve permanent fat loss by adopting new exercise and nutrition habits for the rest of your life.

2.Build up and Tone your Muscles

Muscles burn fat. The more toned muscles you have, the more calories you burn even while resting. The best way to burn more calories and lose body fat is to gain more muscle.

3. Induce Calorie Deficits

Induce calorie deficits by engaging in sustained activity, decreasing calorie intake or a combination of both. The best way to bring about fat loss is to decrease your calories just a little while at the same time increasing your physical activity.

4. Do Simple Exercise Instead of Dieting

A successful and more permanent way to induce calorie deficit is to increase the amount of calories you burn though exercise.

Burning off calories is the superior method of losing fat. The most effective fat and weight loss program is to eat more of the right foods and exercise to burn the excess fat.

5.Determine your Minimum Calorie Requirements

This guarantees that you will not trigger the body’s natural starvation mode response and you will not inadvertently slow down your metabolic rate. The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSN) recommends 1200 calories as the minimal daily calorie level for women and 1800 for men. They also suggest a maximum deficit of 1000 calories below maintenance. Following the ACSM recommendation, the maximum calorie deficit for women would be 240 calories with a minimum calorie requirement of 960 (1200 less 240) calories per day.

6. Eat Frequently BUT Never Skip Meals

Eat approximately every three hours. Make sure you establish meal times and follow them strictly. Eat smaller portions (rather than eating less frequently but of greater quantity) frequently so that you can eat less without starving yourself.

7. Do not Keep Your Calorie Intake Constant

Eating more frequently makes the body automatically burn more calories. Raising and lowering your calorie intake regularly results into a more effective calorie burning procedure for the body.

8. Lose Weight Gradually

Lose weight gradually through a combination of exercise and healthy eating rather than severe calorie restriction.

The recommended maximum weight loss rate is two pounds weekly, the universally accepted standard guideline for safe weight loss. Although you can lose more than two pounds a week, it is highly unlikely that you can lose more than two pounds of fat per week. A loss of more than two pounds per week will result to muscle loss.

If you lose weight slowly and gradually, it becomes easier to keep the fat off. It’s better to lose only one pound of fat weekly than is to lose two pounds weekly with one pound from muscle and one pound from fat.

It may take a long time but it is one of the keys to permanent fat loss. For most individuals, losing more than two pounds per week actually means they should eat more and that you are actually losing muscle as well!

This is where the misconception about weight loss begins; majority of people want to lose weight simply because they weigh more than they should. The total body weight is not just fat. Losing weight is very easy the real challenge lies in losing fat and keeping it off. By dehydrating yourself and using natural diuretics, you can easily lose 15 pounds in a period of three days; however, you also easily gain back what you lost within days!

Measuring and Testing for Body Fat

The importance of determining body fat and muscle weight instead of simply body weight enables you to monitor progress correctly. Fat loss and muscle gain is the correct program you want and measuring body fat and body composition is the proper way to gauge your success.

Average and Ideal Levels of Body Fat

Average body fat generally varies between males and females. Women normally have approximately 5% more body fat than men because of the female hormone.

Here some factors that influence fat loss and fitness

1. Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR)

This is the amount of calories an individual burns at rest to maintain normal bodily functions.

2. Carbohydrate Sensitivity and Insulin Response

A person’s level of sensitivity to carbohydrates directly affects an individual’s ability to lose body fat.

3. Digestive Ability

Efficiency of an individual’s digestive system to absorb and utilize nutrients.

4. Fat Cell Quantity.

Some individuals are born with more fat cells than others. The quantity of an individual’s fat cell increases but it cannot decrease. However, you can shrink the size of fat cells through a nutrition and exercise.

5. Limb Lengths

These are natural and can not be changed.

6. Muscle Fiber Type

Although we have predetermined number of muscle fibers, we have different types of muscle fibers. The differences between each person’s ratios of muscle fibers account for why some people make better endurance athletes while others become weightlifters.

7. Muscle Insertions

Muscles insert onto the same bones in all humans but the insertion points vary between individuals. Minute differences in insertion points create large increases in an individual’s mechanical advantage over others.

Heredity is a determinant whether an individual will have an easy (or difficult) time getting fit and healthy. However, results are not dictated by these factors but by adopting proper exercise and nutrition strategies.

-Endomorphs are the fat retainers and have more difficulty in losing fat, typified by excess body fat, roundness and large joints.

-Mesomorphs are lean, muscular and naturally athletic; they lose fat and gain muscle easily.

-Ectomorphs are lean, skinny and bony with fast metabolisms and extremely low body fat.

Ectomorph

Ectomorphs are generally tall and skinny individuals with small joints. Their metabolism is super efficient that they can eat anything without gaining fat however, they have great difficulty building up muscles.

Ectomorphic individuals can only achieve excellent muscular definition through persistence and hard work. Their body responds best to low volume, staggered, high intensity weight training.

Ectomorph Guidelines on Nutrition and Training 

-Slow down and relax often. 
- Get extra sleep. 
- Reduce stress. 
- Avoid overtraining. 
- Maintain high calorie intake. 
- Focus on food quality and nutritional value.

Mesomorph

Individuals who are pure mesomorphs are typically lean, muscular and broad shouldered with medium-sized joints. They are considered as natural-born athletes and bodybuilders and already exhibit clear muscle development even before they even start working out.

Mesomorphic individuals gain muscle and lose fat very easily. Their bodies positively respond like crazy to minimum nutrition/training regimens.

Mesomorph Guidelines on Nutrition and Training

As luck would have it, pure mesomorphs automatically lose body fat and gain muscle! Regardless of their genetic advantage, mesormorphic individuals should pursue a light exercise/workout regimen regularly in order to tone their muscles and develop better definition.

Endomorph

Endomorphic individuals are those who continually struggle to lose body fat, have generally slow metabolism and store fat easily. Endomorphs are mostly large framed individuals with medium to large joints.

They generally have a very difficult time losing fat through dieting alone and need adequate aerobic/exercise/workout regimen to trigger adequate fat loss. The bottom line is an endomorph definitely needs metabolism boost physical activity provides.

An endomorph generally responds better to high protein/low to moderate carbohydrate diets and frequent, high intensity aerobic/exercise/workout training regimen.

Endomorph Guidelines on Nutrition and Training

Endomorphs require a well-planned approach to nutrition and training to induce fat loss. They need high levels of activity, strict discipline and consistency in nutritional habits.

- High protein, medium to low carbohydrate intake. 
- Exercise is an absolute necessity. 
- Endomorphs must avoid short-term approaches to fitness. 
- Sleep early and wake up early. 
- Restrict carbohydrates to the minimum. 
- Consistency and persistence in nutrition and exercise activities.

Never oversimplify your conclusion regarding body types based on physical properties alone. Although heredity plays an important role to lose fat, never forget that excess fat is the cumulative result of many other influences which are not genetically dictated.

Never blame your genes for your present situation. There are other factors that contribute to your present condition which are under your control. It is up to you to take charge.

Regardless of your genetic makeup, you can totally transform yourself with a positive attitude and hard work.

1. Decide and Make a Commitment to Yourself and your Goal(s)

Know where you want to go and what you want to achieve. Without a concrete idea, you will never achieve your goals.

2. Determine your Starting Point

Know your starting and end points to get a clearer idea of what to do, how to do them and where to begin and end.

3. Create a Strategic Game Plan

Create your personal strategy that fit your requirements, do not copy somebody else’s. A game plan ensures that any obstacle you may encounter can easily be handled without losing sight of your goal. It is your road map to success.

4. Follow your Game Plan.

Act and follow your own game plan, there is no way you will achieve success without acting on it. Hard work and commitment bring you closer to your goal.

5. Patience is the Key

Patience ensures your success. Do not be afraid to commit mistakes but be sure to learn from them. Monitor your progress to make you aware of your accomplishments and mistakes.

6. Improvise

Not all game plans are perfect. If your game plan does not work, you have to act swiftly and make necessary changes and adapt to the situation. Having a plan allows you to improvise and adapt new plans without having to begin all over again. Immediately adjust and modify your approach. Be prepared to make necessary adjustments as many times as necessary. Your goal is a work in progress and your plan should room for improvisation.

Remember, your formula for success depends on your body type. This means there is no specific method that will work for all individuals as each person is unique.

It is also the amount of energy in food and the amount of energy stored in the body as body fat (adipose tissue) and stored carbohydrate (glycogen).

Body fat is very similar to a storage tank for energy, it is the fuel that we use up for all of our activities. An individual’s lack of inactivity makes body fat just sit in storage until you need it. If you weigh 200 pounds with about 18% body fat, you have 126,000 calories of energy reserves sitting idly in your tissues!

The body’s energy reserves, if unused, accumulate over time and turn to fatty tissue because the body is a very efficient fat-storing machine.

People have to realize that it is unhealthy to maintain excess fat deposits in today’s day and age. As much as possible, calorie intake and energy use should be maintained at a balance to reduce the effect of excess fat accumulation in the body’s muscle tissues. Better yet, engaging in aerobic/exercise/workout activities should be undertaken to turn excess calories into muscle growth and development for a healthier and more productive lifestyle.

Make a list of your breakfast-lunch-dinner food from the time you wake up to the time you go to bed. Make sure to include everything; add them all up and you will get a calorie count of your average daily intake!

Although the total amount of your average daily calorie intake may surprise you, do not make radical changes all at once. Radical calorie changes often cause diet relapses because most people can not cope with the diet change. When you have finished your calorie calculations, determine your optimal calorie level.

If your current caloric intake is significantly higher or lower than your optimal calorie level, make the adjustment slowly. An immediate increase or decrease induces fat gain or triggers the starvation response.

If your optimal calorie level is greater than your current calorie intake then make a gradual increase over a period of weeks to allow the body to make the necessary adjustments; if it is the opposite, make the necessary reductions over the same period of time.

It is not necessary to write down the amount of calorie that you eat every day; however, it is vital that you develop an understanding of calorie balance and acquire an estimate of your current daily intake. Do not settle for guesswork, the lack of progress can also be the result of guesstimates!

To be on the safe side, make a list of your calorie intake for at least 30 days in order to have an idea of your actual daily calorie intake.

Success can only be achieved if you do what is necessary, even if it is hard!

If you sleep 8 full hours daily, you have 16 waking hours. Divide this by the amount of time necessary to digest each meal (16 ÷ 3) and you get 5.33, the number of meals you must eat daily if you sleep 8 hours a day! Five meals daily therefore is the optimal number of times we must eat daily. Going beyond is taxing your metabolism because there would be one meal that is left undigested in your stomach!

Eating small amounts but frequent meals on a regular basis raises the performance level of your metabolism to its maximum level because it digests food completely and normalizes its working time to the maximum level. It make you burn more calories because the body’s natural calorie burning rate is accelerated.

Skipping breakfast and making up for it during the day and then going to bed encourages your body to store fat because you are training your body to go without fuel for more than 12 hours. This invariably causes muscle loss and metabolic slow down!

Frequent Meals is the Secret to Successful Fat Loss

Speeds up the Metabolism due to the Heat Transfer Effect of Food

Each and every bodily process requires energy – the pumping of the heart, breathing, blood circulation, food digestion and absorption, cell regeneration, thinking, even sleeping. Some diet and exercise programs refer to the process with an intimidating term, “thermogenic.”

Some foods have higher thermic effects and low calorie density than others. Green vegetables like asparagus, broccoli, okra are some examples of food that have high thermic effect and low calorie density – they can not be stored as fat because their calorie content are burned off just to digest them. For a successful fat and weight loss program, it is best that your diet consist mostly of foods with high thermic effect. The higher the thermic property of food the better.

Inhibits Cravings

Eating frequently makes yourself less likely to have cravings because you always feel full and you do not suffer from a prolonged gap between meals.
More importantly, the bad habit of missing meals is detrimental to the cardiovascular system and is contributory to the escalation of atherosclerotic disease, high LDL cholesterol levels in the bloodstream and obesity.

Maintains High Energy Levels

Frequent meals in small amounts and the right types of carbohydrates and lean proteins provide more energy and stabilize your blood sugar and insulin levels. Eating small meals every 3 hours keeps the muscle’s glycogen levels high and provides plenty of energy to fuel high-intensity exercise.

Eating carbohydrates in small and regulated quantities regulates the release of insulin because the more carbohydrates you consume, the more insulin the pancreas produce. Overproduction of insulin removes sugar from the blood and causes hypoglycemia which cause fatigue, intense hunger and cravings.

Promotes Muscle Growth

Moderate and steady output of insulin is necessary for muscle growth and glycogen storage. The body’s regular and steady production of insulin to deliver glucose and protein amino acids to muscle cells for regeneration and muscle growth can only be accomplished by eating small meals more frequently instead of just 3 times a day.

Prevents Muscle Breakdown

Skipping meals to induce weight lose is a misconception. What it will do is burn up muscle protein; cutting off the continual flow of amino acids by skipping meals makes the body literally eat muscle tissue to feed its amino acid requirements because the body does not have the ability to store proteins.

Promotes Better Utilization of Food Nutrients

Eating more at regular intervals provides for more efficient utilization not only carbohydrates and proteins but also vitamins, minerals and virtually every nutrients food contain.

Reduces Fat Storage

Frequent meals prevents the over consumption of calories. Since excess calories are always converted into body fat, a more efficient metabolism brought about by eating small frequent meals ensures the efficient burning of food calories, regular and constant distribution of glycogen and amino acids throughout the body preventing the storage of body fat.

What Comes After Calculating Your Daily Calorie Expenditure (DCE)?

After getting arriving at your DCE value, divide up your daily ration among the three major macronutrients proteins and carbohydrates including fats. Dividing up and properly apportioning calories into the appropriate ratios can have a great effect on your overall body composition. If you eat a 2200 calorie diet of ice cream one day and a 2200 calorie diet of boiled yam and grilled swordfish the next, the ice cream diet will make you fatter whereas the yam-swordfish combination will do wonders for your body.

Nutrient ratios has one basic rule which you should always keep in mind. Food intake should never consist primarily of one food or macronutrient type; you must strive for proper P-C-F balance with more importance on the P-C combination. Using the P-C-F mnemonics, you will never go wrong because that is the exact order of importance of the macronutrients the body needs: Proteins-Carbohydrates-Fats. Do not simply eat P’s, C’s or F’s by themselves because by themselves they will invariably do more harm to your body than good.

Essential Meal Combinations

Whether you are on a diet or not, meals are always a combination of various forms of P-C and F. A complete meal generally consists of  lean proteins and complex carbohydrates and very little fat. Snacks on the other hand may simply be a protein drink, or a carbohydrate or protein food by itself.

The ultimate and essential meal is a proper combination of proteins (lean) and carbohydrates (both starchy and fibrous) eaten together all at the same meal.

Advantages of Essential P-C-F Food Combinations

-Eating more proteins than carbohydrates maintains positive nitrogen balance ensuring a gain of muscle tissue. Since protein can not be stored in the body like carbohydrates, protein intake needs to be regular and constant otherwise your body will break down muscle tissues to get the amino acids it requires. Insulin distributes the amino acids from protein to the cells and tissues of the body. Eating carbohydrates triggers the body’s production of insulin to ensure the distribution of the amino acids. Therefore, one can not go without the other. If you eat carbohydrates by themselves, this results in a rapid increase in blood sugar which are followed by sharp drops and cause cravings, hunger and fatigue.

-Rapid blood sugar elevations from excess carbohydrate intake cause overproduction and release of insulin. High concentrations of insulin in the bloodstream promote the storage of body fat and can lead to diabetes.

-Eating proteins and carbohydrates separately contributes to the depletion of the body's muscle glycogen, the primary source of energy for physical activities and weight training. A combination of restricted carbohydrate intake with high protein and high fat foods inevitably cause energy reductions due to glycogen depletion. The best way is to insure a slow and moderate entry of proteins, complex carbohydrates and fat throughout the day.

-Eating lean proteins and fibrous carbohydrates combined slows down the digestion of complex carbohydrates, resulting in stable blood sugar and energy levels and moderate output of insulin – without the erratic ups and downs if you eat carbohydrates by themselves.

-Protein enhances the thermic effect of food and accelerates the body’s metabolism. Meals that consist of carbohydrates alone without the protein and complex carbohydrate component is not as good or beneficial.

In the past two decades, a lot of people have cut out fats from their diets with the introduction of fat free foods not knowing that not all fat free products are as healthy as claimed by their manufacturers and that fat is essential to health.

The disadvantage of fat-free foods is that they are high in refined sugar contents, one of the contributory factors of unregulated insulin production, obesity metabolic slow down.

Fat helps slow down the absorption of carbohydrates into the bloodstream to prevent high blood sugar and insulin levels. Zero fat inhibits fat/weigh and zaps your energy levels.

Advantages of Eating Healthy Fats

-Inhibits the body’s starvation response because zero fat intake also triggers the body’s self preservation starvation response.

-Contributes to the maintain the body’s slow release of carbohydrate nutrients into the bloodstream and regulates blood sugar levels.

-Regulates a constant release of insulin into the bloodstream to prevent storage of fat in muscles and tissues.

-Does not cause hormonally induced hungers and cravings due to highly fluctuating blood sugar levels due to the total absence of fat in the diets.

-Ensures the body a regular supply of essential fatty acids (EFA).

Disadvantages of Excessive Fat Intake

Although it is safe to eat healthy fats as opposed to harmful fats, excessive fat intake even of the healthy variety is considerably damaging to the body. Too much of anything is not a healthy option.

Regardless of the type of fat you eat, always keep your overall fat intake low preferably at the 20% level of your daily calorie requirements.

-Fats are more calorie dense than other types of food. Each gram of fat contains 9 calories compared to carbohydrates and proteins which contain only 4 calories. Therefore, the more fatty types of food you eat the higher the percentage of fat is stored in the body.

-Fats have the lowest thermic property (3%) compared to carbohydrates and proteins. This means only 3% of the total fat intake is digested and absorbed into the body and the remaining 97% are stored as body fat!

-Certain types of fat like saturated and processed fats (trans-fatty acids) are linked to the cause serious health problems like heart disease, cancer and diabetes.

-A high fat diet negates the balanced diet approach for fat loss and a healthy lifestyle.

-Unnecessary fats reduce the muscles’ sensitivity to insulin resulting to blood sugar build up in the body. This is not only detrimental to your fat loss efforts but also dangerous to your health.

-Dietary fats are more easily stored as body fat than any other type of nutrient because it does not require any energy conversion; it is composed of glycerol and fatty acids, exactly the same chemical make up of body fats making it very easy to store unlike complex carbohydrates and lean proteins. Moreover, dietary fats are not efficient fuel sources for high intensity aerobic/workout activities.

-Excessive dietary fat does not promote muscle growth. Making your nutrition program high fat requires sacrificing lean proteins and carbohydrates quantities which are the main sources of macronutrients for muscle buildup.

Generally, saturated fats are harmful and contribute to high blood cholesterol levels, making you more prone to heart disease and they also interfere with insulin function. On the other hand, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats contain healthy essential fatty acids (EFA) such as Omega-3 and Omega-6 and tend to lower blood cholesterol levels. Unsaturated fats improve the body’s insulin function, counteract some of the negative effects of saturated fats, increases energy and helps you lose body fat.

-Saturated Fat. Not only are they very harmful, they do not have the essential fatty acids the body needs. Saturated fats are primarily animal fats and tend to be solid at room temperatures. Examples of saturated fats are butter, cheese, chocolate, egg yolk, meat fat, dairy fat and shortening.

-Unsaturated Fats. These type of fats are healthy and generally lowers cholesterol levels; there are two sub-groupings as follows:

• Polyunsaturated. Includes include oil from fish, walnuts, pecans, almonds, flax, soybean, sunflower and safflower.
• Monounsaturated. Includes oil from avocado, cashew, peanut, pecan and olive.
The body does not manufacture essential fatty acids (EFA) contained in monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. The EFA’s are Omega-6 – (Linoleic Acid or LA) and Omega-3 – (Alpha Linolenic Acid or LNA).

Very low levels of fat intake therefore results in deficiencies of healthy fats characterized by the symptoms such as dry and flaky skin.

It is therefore an absolute necessity to have at least 12 to 15% fats of the monounsaturated and polyunsaturated varieties as part of your diet to induce fat-reduction and stimulate muscle build up.

The most effective strategy therefore is to stay away from foods that contain saturated fats including dairy products as much as possible avoiding to completely cut off all fat intake. Keeping fat intake to the acceptable minimum levels are most advantageous for a healthy lifestyle.

There are several fat/oil substitutes you can use for cooking or snacks (without adding unnecessary calories to your meal) such as low calorie butter flavored sprays, cooking sprays, fat-free butter spreads and fat-free dressings.

Although vegetables contain significant amounts of protein, their type of proteins does not provide the complete essential amino acids required by the body for building muscle.

Since protein can not be stored in the body for later use like carbohydrates, it is obligatory to consume complete proteins in every meal to stimulate the body’s muscle building activity. Complete proteins are the highest quality type of proteins that contain all of the essential and non-essential amino acids required by the body. Common sources of complete lean proteins are chicken breast, egg white, fish, lean red meat, milk, egg, shellfish and turkey breast.

The body stores carbohydrates as the main energy source and fat as a backup energy reserve. For low intensity, long duration exercises, an individual’s energy is derived from fat while for high intensity exercises, glycogen (carbohydrate) is used as the main fuel.

Since carbohydrates are the more efficient fuel source compared to fat, they are the limiting factor in athletic performance. Strenuous physical activity quickly uses up muscle glycogen for fuel and if you fail to replace it by eating high carbohydrate foods daily, the body’s glycogen stores quickly diminishes. In doing weight training and high intensity exercises, glycogen is the primary energy source of the body. This explains why your energy levels are low when you don’t eat enough carbohydrates.

Just like proteins and fats, there are also types of carbohydrates that can either be beneficial or disadvantageous to health. Knowing the differences between the two and making the right choice and eating them in the right amounts at the right times is very important to achieving a healthy lifestyle.

Simple Carbohydrates

Simple carbohydrates are composed of monosaccharides and disaccharides; monosaccharides include fructose (fruit sugar), glucose (blood sugar) and galactose. On the other hand, disaccharides are formed by the combination of two monosaccharide molecules such as the combination of fructose and glucose (table sugar) and lactose galactose and glucose (lactose).

Due to their simple molecular structure, simple carbohydrates are very quickly digested and cause a rapid rise in blood sugar levels.

Simple Carbohydrates Increase Blood Sugar and Insulin Levels

Excessive intake of simple carbohydrates inevitably cause high levels of blood sugar and insulin in the body which activates the body’s fat storage enzymes and promotes transfer of fat from the bloodstream into fat cells for storage.

In addition, high insulin levels in the blood inhibit enzymes that helps break down stored body fat. Although insulin is not necessarily unhealthy, complications and problems arise when there’s too much insulin produced by eating excessive simple and refined carbohydrates. When the body has high blood sugar and insulin levels, calories are not burned but are stored as fat!

Not all simple carbohydrates are bad, there are simple carbohydrates which are healthy like fructose (found in fruits) and lactose (found in dairy products) as long as they are eaten in moderation. It is the refined (processed) simple carbohydrates that are bad for weight and fat loss (refined sugar and refined flour products).

Dairy products are healthy foods and should be included in any balanced diets. They are a good source of high quality protein, calcium and Vitamin D and contain lactose. For lactose intolerant individuals, there are low fat milk, sour cream, mayonnaise and yogurt and non-cheese cottage cheese and cream cheese. Keep in mind however that dairy products should not the primary source of proteins or carbohydrates. They are simple carbohydrates.

Fructose is the other naturally occurring simple type of sugar and is found in fruits. Fruit sugar is considerably healthier than refined sugar (sucrose). Fruits also contain large amounts of antioxidants, vitamins, phytochemicals and fiber but getting a large percentage of your daily carbohydrates requirements from fruit is not efficient for fat loss. All simple carbohydrates should be eaten in moderation during a weight loss program with the balance coming from green fibrous carbohydrates and complex starchy carbohydrates.

Complex Carbohydrates

Complex carbohydrates are known as polysaccharides and are formed when thousands of sugar molecules are linked together and form long chains which take longer to digest than simple carbohydrates. There are two types of complex carbohydrates – starchy and fibrous.

Aside from the simple and complex classifications of carbohydrates, there are also fibrous and starchy carbohydrates, natural and refined carbohydrates, high glycemic and low glycemic carbohydrates.

Starchy Complex Carbohydrates

Starch is the storage form of energy in plants, much like glycogen is an energy storage form in human muscle. Starchy carbohydrates are found in potatoes, cereals, grains, bread, pasta, rice, oats, wheat and beans. Your body is able to completely absorb and digest all the caloric energy in starches, therefore the calorie density of starch is higher than fibrous carbohydrates.

Fibrous Complex Carbohydrates

On the other hand, fiber is the indigestible portion of a plant which passes straight through your digestive tract without all the caloric energy being absorbed. It gives bulk to intestinal contents, promotes healthy digestion and bowel movement and provides protection from gastrointestinal diseases and colon cancer.

Eating fibrous carbohydrates is important and plays a major role in a reducing body fat because they do not contain as much calories as other types of nutrients and have low calorie density. Due to their low calorie density property, fibrous carbohydrates play a very important role in body fat reduction since they make you feel full without exceeding your calorie limits.

Advantages of Complex Carbohydrates

Compared to simple carbohydrates, complex carbohydrates take longer to digest and absorb. They provide us with a constant supply of energy unlike the irregular highs and lows of blood sugar and energy levels caused by eating simple carbohydrates. The fiber content of complex carbohydrates helps regulate blood sugar and insulin production because they take longer to digest and absorb. In addition, natural complex carbohydrates are the most nutrient dense type of carbohydrates you can eat.

This is the very reason why since we were young, we have been told to drink at least 8 to 10 glasses of water everyday. Even slight dehydration can make anybody feel tired! Common side effects or manifestations of dehydration are headache, fatigue and tiredness.

Most people usually correlate these effects with being overworked or lack of sleep but not with dehydration; the main reason why the importance of water is often overlooked.

Our Body Processes Depend on Water

The importance of drinking plenty of water daily and keeping adequately hydrated is very important because almost all of our body’s physiological processes depend on water.

Water is the body’s most abundant nutrient; our body is contains approximately 60-70% water: blood is of 90% water; muscles are 70% water and bones are 20% water. The body can not and will not function properly without adequate water. Every physiological process of our body either takes place in water or depends on water. Water regulates our body’s temperature, transports nutrients and helps build tissues. Our body needs water to lubricate our joints, digest, enhance blood circulation, perform respiratory functions, and absorb nutrients and to eliminate toxic waste from the body. We can go without food for more than 10 days but without water, we would die in less than 5 days. Water is the most important nutrient in our body.

Dehydration causes our body’s core temperature to increase significantly affecting our cardiovascular function and reduces our capacity for physical activity. Medical studies show that even a minimal dehydration of 3% of body weight decreases strength by as much as 10%. If dehydration reaches more than 10-12% of the body’s weight, death becomes a possibility

Food quality does not fall neatly into two categories of good or bad. It covers a wide spectrum of choices but can be made easier if you make the best food choice from the different types of foods available under any circumstances. Although you may not be able to eat the best type of food at any given circumstance, it assures you that you can make h best choice all the time.

Guidelines in Making your Food Choice

-Choose Foods with High Thermic Values. Proteins and fibrous complex carbohydrates are the two food types with very high thermic values. Making these two food groups an essential part of your daily nutrition ensures that your metabolism will function at its optimal level and provide you the necessary nutrients required by the body.

-Avoid Fat Producing Foods and Food Combinations. Certain foods and beverages promote fat storage and are more likely to be converted to fat than others. These are:
• Foods with high fat content (pork sausages, bacon, baby back ribs, etc…)
• Foods with high refined sugar or refined carbohydrates content (cakes, brownies, muffins, ice cream)
• Alcohol
These foods and beverages all have high calorie content but nutrient empty and have a very low thermic value compared to lean proteins and complex carbohydrates.

Avoid the worst possible food combinations:

• Fat + Sugar. Combining fat and sugar elevates fat, sugar and insulin levels in the blood simultaneously. The fat and sugar combination is a sure way to regaining body fat! Eaten together, these food types are contributing factors in the development of nearly every major disease.
• Alcohol + Sugar. The second worst food combination is alcohol and sugar. Alcohol mixed with high sugar content drinks literally supply thousands of calories in one sitting. Moreover, alcohol inhibits fat burning.

-Choose Natural Foods with High Nutrient Contents. Get maximum nutritional value from every calorie of food you eat by choosing nutrient dense foods. As much as possible, make your choice natural food instead of boxed, canned, refined and processed foods. Some examples are brown rice, vegetables, fruit potatoes, fruit and oatmeal.

Aerobic exercise is the real secret to permanently losing body fat. Without exercise, it is impossible to lose fat permanently by dieting alone. Not incorporating an aerobic exercise program with a diet plan is one of the major reasons of failure to sustain permanent weight loss. Eating often and performing regular aerobic exercises boosts the body’s metabolic rate inducing weight loss of body fats!

An aerobic exercise is any cardiovascular activity that involves large muscle groups and can be performed continuously for long periods of time (30 = 60 minutes). Common aerobic activities are fast walking, jogging, bicycling, stair climbing, rowing, cross-country skiing and elliptical exercises.

Why are aerobic exercises necessary for fat loss? The best choice of physical activity to achieve measurable fat loss is one that makes the body burn fats instead of carbohydrates for fuel. Intermittent physical activities or sports are not as efficient as aerobics in burning fat because they are anaerobic. Short bursts of physical activities (anaerobic) primarily burn carbohydrate for fuel. Burning fat requires the presence of large amounts of oxygen in the body and this happens only during aerobic activities.

To achieve permanent fat loss, it is therefore ideal to burn body fat by performing longer duration exercises at a moderate to moderately high intensity levels.

The debate about whether it is more beneficial to have a low carbohydrate or high carbohydrate intake is the subject of confusion and controversy. The best way to evaluate this supposed dilemma caused by several diet and fitness experts including medical practitioners is to be on the safe side by factoring in the differences between individuals. Since each one of us have basic genetic differences, it is therefore logical to put forward that there is no single diet program that can be considered as the best for everyone.

Do not be taken in by quick weight loss proponents to immediately begin with a Low Carbohydrate / High Protein (LC/HP) Diet; remember, your goal is to lose weight and fat permanently – not temporarily!   The LC/HP Diet is considered as an advanced technique in losing weight and should be used only as much as possible by athletes. It is always best to stick to the fundamentals in order to achieve your goal of permanent fat and weight loss.

Advantages

-Low Carbohydrate High Protein Increases Metabolic Rate. Due to protein’s high thermic value, LC HP diets speeds up the body’s metabolism; its high thermic value of almost 30% makes protein less likely to be converted to body fat compared to other food type. Lower carbohydrate intake with the accompanying increase in protein ration raises an entire meal’s thermic value.

-Reduced Carbohydrates + Increased Protein Intake Regulates Insulin. Large amounts of carbohydrates results in the increase of insulin production. Therefore, the best way to regulate and manage the body’s insulin level is to restrict carbohydrate intake while increasing protein intake for a healthy fat loss program. Fats cause negligible insulin release while proteins cause only a minimal increase in insulin production.

-Lower Carbohydrate Intake Decreases Glycogen Levels and Forces the Body to use Fat for Fuel. Moderate to low carbohydrate intake considerably lowers the body’s glycogen levels resulting to better digestion and absorption of carbohydrates as glycogen for the muscles instead of being stored as fat.

-Lesser Carbohydrates + More Protein Reduces Water Retention. A low carbohydrate high protein diet decreases water retention resulting to better and improved muscle definition; this is the main reason fitness competitors favor the LC HP diet.

Disadvantages

-Impossible to Maintain. Restrictive carbohydrate diets almost always set you up for cravings resulting to diet failure which is why it is not recommended as a long term solution.

-Weight/Fat Gain Regression. Since it is almost impossible to maintain a low carbohydrate diet for extended periods of time, the probability of regression is very high. The lower you drop your carbohydrate intake, the more your body will bounce back to its original state the moment carbohydrates are re-introduced back into the diet.

-Lacks Essential Nutrients. It's not healthy to remove entire food groups from the Carbohydrate Protein Fat triad for a long period of time. The best way is to balance the ratios of each of the different food group in order to maximize the gain without sacrificing nutrients. Without the essential nutrients, you are going in the direction of future health problems or heart disease.

-Lowers Energy Levels. Although fat loss occurs at a fast rate due to restricted carbohydrate intake, energy levels and performance also drop dramatically if you cut down too much since carbohydrates are the body’s ideal energy source. 

-Very Low Carbohydrate Diet Weight Loss can be Deceiving. Believe it or not, very low carbohydrate diets can induce as much as 5 pounds weight loss weekly. Only 20% of this can be attributed to actual fat loss while 80% are water and muscle loss! When this happens, your nutrition program is not working to your advantage.

-Causes Irritability and Mood Swings. Since our brain and central nervous system depends almost exclusively on glucose, prolonged carbohydrate restriction can make an individual tired, weak, irritable, grouchy and moody for not reason at all.

-Induces Muscle Loss. Depletion of the body’s glycogen levels due to low carbohydrate intake often triggers gluconeogenesis – the burning of proteins for energy wherein muscle tissues are converted into the body’s much needed glucose. Enough carbohydrates in your diet ensures that muscles are not burned by the body for energy.

The logic is fairly simple: the longer you perform medium to high intensity aerobic work outs, the more calories you burn; the more calories you burn, the more fat you lose. In performing longer workouts, the body favors the use of glycogen early in the workout, as your glycogen supply becomes depleted, the body turns to stored body fat as the primary fuel source.

Moderate to high intensity aerobics for more than 30 minutes result in health benefits such as decreased blood pressure, decreased blood cholesterol and lowered resting heart rate.

The minimum recommended duration of moderate to high intensity aerobic workout is 30 minutes and the maximum is 60 minutes. Most body types respond to a 30 minute continuous aerobic exercise to burn a significant amount of body fat; 30 to 45 minutes continuously per session is the recommended duration for optimum fat loss and 60 minutes should be the maximum. Going beyond 60 minutes per aerobic session increases the likelihood of injury, over-training and adaptation.

Frequency of Aerobic Exercises

At a minimum, you should do 3 days per week of 20 to 30 minutes aerobic workout as part of your routine, for health reasons and fat loss. The number of days per week you do aerobic workouts is largely dependent on your goals. If fat loss is your goal, then you can increase the frequency to 4 or 5 or even make it a daily regimen to maximize results.

If you are just starting out with the program, 3 days a week of aerobic training should be the baseline. Since your body is not used to strenuous physical activities, initial results are very impressive. However, the baseline 3 day weekly aerobics workout is used only as a starting point or as maintenance level workout. Results are immediate because any increase in physical activity from zero activity always produces results; however, these results will soon taper off (another progress gap) as the body adapts itself to the new nutrition and physical regimen. When this happens, it is necessary to gradually increase the frequency of physical activity.

For best results of the program, recommended frequencies of aerobic exercises are as follows:

-Maintenance, Health and Physical Conditioning: 3-4 Days/Weekly
-Maximum Fat Loss: 5-7 Days/Weekly

If you have a completely sedentary lifestyle, are overweight or have poor physical condition, it is recommended that you start your training at an intensity level lower than your minimum target heart rate. Start slowly, and gradually increase the intensity of your aerobic workouts as you become more fit until you eventually reach the ideal OTL.

By monitoring your breathing patterns when performing aerobic workouts, you will be able to accurately tell if the level you are working at is your OTL to burn off body fat. You should be breathing heavier than normal but not gasping for air; if you are out of breath but can’t hold a conversation or complete a sentence, you are definitely working beyond your OTL. When you are doing aerobic workouts, the rule of thumb is the harder you breathe, the higher your intensity level is and the more fat you burn – as long as you sustain the activity for the required amount of time. If you are not breathing hard, you are not working out hard enough!

When performing your aerobics workout, you should periodically monitor your pulse rate to determine if you are within your THR @ OTL so that you can make the necessary adjustments by increasing or decreasing the intensity of your activity.

You can check your pulse rate by dividing your THR by 6 to calculate your 10-second count; this way, you do not have to stop our workout if you were to take a full 60-second count.

A common concern about fasted aerobics is the possibility of muscle loss. Although this is a possibility, it can only happen if you perform extreme amounts of high impact, high intensity aerobics! However, since you are tracking your progress on a weekly basis, you would immediately be aware if this were the case. If it is, then you can also immediately make the necessary modifications to your nutrition program and aerobics regimen by adjusting nutrient rations and intensity and frequency levels of workout.

The most likely causes of muscle loss are:
• Low calorie intake
• Inadequate protein
• Dieting without including a cardio/weight training program

Make sure that you develop a suitable nutritional program that includes adequate meal frequency with the correct protein carbohydrates-fats ratio and total calories, and it is highly unlikely that you will lose muscle even if you perform cardio workouts at the advanced level daily.

Cross Country Skiing. Cross-country ski machines have a very high calorie and fat burning potential and is a non-impact exercise. Unlike other exercise machines, using a cross country ski machine requires skill and coordination.

Elliptical Machine. Ellipticals have gained the distinction as the most popular exercise machine because they provide very high fat-burning potential together with excellent aerobic conditioning and muscle-developing workout that’s at the same time easy to learn, fun and entertaining. Its no-impact elliptical striding motion is an ideal exercise to strengthen the knees and lower extremities. Elliptical machines also provide excellent cross-training advantages. Depending on the machine cross ramp angle different, the machine can simulate such activities as hiking, cycling, running, walking and cross-country skiing targeting different muscle groups.

Outdoor Cycling. If you choose outdoor cycling instead of riding an indoor stationary bike, keep in mind that you have to push yourself harder and for longer periods. Due to the distraction of the scenery, outdoor cycling tends to become recreation-oriented rather than training-oriented.

Rowing Machine. Rowing is regarded to be the most complete exercise because it works all of the body’s major muscle groups such as the legs, buttocks, back, abdominals and arms. It is a safe and non-impact activity but is not recommended if you have low back problems. Generally, rowing is an excellent exercise for burning fat, endurance and strength conditioning workout; however, it is very exhausting and difficult to sustain for long periods.

Running. One of the highly recommended aerobics exercise is running. It is an excellent way to burn off excess fat and does not require any special equipment, just a pair of good running shoes! Running is classified as a high impact exercise and as such is not recommended for beginners. Overweight individuals should avoid running until after considerable weight loss because of the high risk of injury. Running has an overall reducing effect on muscles so don’t overdo it if you decide to include running in your regimen.

Stairclimbers. Stair climbing machines provide an excellent aerobic conditioning workout and are ideal for weight loss. Stairclimbers effectively target the body’s gluteals, quadriceps, hamstrings and calves and provides several levels of difficulty for the beginner to the advanced levels. You can adjust the intensity of your workout at any time with the easy to use control buttons.

Stationary Recumbent Bicycle. Recumbent bicycling has all the advantages of upright cycling but is more comfortable than the upright version because the lower back is supported. The ergonomically designed seat makes recumbent cycling perfect for people who have lower back problems or are overweight. It also provides a good work out for the gluteal and hamstring muscles since you push the pedals forward instead of up and down.

Stationary Upright Bicycle. Another low impact exercise is stationary cycling on an upright bicycle. Some stationary bikes have built-in pre-programmed courses that allow the rider to ride on an even keel, go uphill or do interval training. The rider can increase the exercise intensity by pedaling vigorously or by increasing the resistance on the pedal.

Treadmill. You can either walk, jog or run on a treadmill. Exercises done on a treadmill are considered low impact because the decks flex thereby greatly reducing the potential of injury. Treadmills offer continuous feedback on time, speed, distance and heart rate; you can also put it on an incline to increase the intensity of your workout and burn more calories. Your workout is not hampered weather conditions since you can use it indoors.

Walking. Walking is highly recommended for the sedentary or overweight individual as a basic exercise to induce fat and weight loss. It is considered as a low to moderate exercise and should be done briskly and continuously for at least 30 minutes in order to achieve successful fat and weight loss.

To have a more successful and permanent fat and weight loss, weight training is necessary to reinforce your nutrition and aerobic exercises.

Weight training is not totally all about building muscle and increasing strength. It is very important to fat and weight loss because it increases your muscle mass (Mm) which in turn helps speed up your metabolic rate so that you can burn more calories even while resting – the number of calories you burn at your basal metabolic rate (BMR) is directly proportional to the amount of muscle you have.

One very common erroneous belief is that you should lose fat with aerobics first before starting a weight-training program. Aerobics by itself can not induce effective fat and weight loss. It has to be complemented by weight training in order to accelerate fat loss; it is as important as aerobic training because lifting weights builds muscle, a metabolically active tissue that burns body fat. It does not mean that you have to do weight training in the same manner as bodybuilders do!

All athletes do serious weight training to increase and maintain their athletic performance at optimum levels and weight training is highly recommended by the ACSM for cardiovascular health and to improve bone density.

One of the benefits of weight training is the increase in the body’s resting metabolism (BMR) even after the activity. Aerobics on the other does not have this after effect (unless you engage in very high aerobics exercises) however, it provides the complementary margin of the fat loss benefits during the workout itself because aerobics uses up oxygen. The 1-2-3 combination of proper nutrition, aerobics and weight training provides a sustained program for fat and weight loss regardless of your body type. Doing all three as part of one unified program is they key.

-Find time and make time for your aerobics and weight training schedule. You don’t have to join a fitness or health club to do weight training. It’s probably better to train at home since it saves time and is very convenient. Basic free weights are all you need to get started. When you progress from the beginner level to intermediate to advanced, you can either then add the following equipments a bench and barbell set, a cable-pulley machine and an adjustable squat rack.

-Perform stretching exercises to loosen up your joints and muscles and maintain flexibility.

-Do not train for more than 60 minutes. The total optimal workout duration including aerobics should be between 45 = 60 minutes. Long workouts exhaust the body’s nervous and endocrine systems, decreases the body’s growth and testosterone levels and increases cortisol levels (a hormone that breaks down muscles).

If you have the time, you can split up your aerobics and weight training sessions if you do them on the same day. You could do 30-45 minutes of aerobics before breakfast and 30-45 minutes of weight training in the late morning or afternoon.

-Do not engage in weight training two days in a row. You will become prone to overtraining and injury. To maximize the benefits of weight training, the goal is to let the muscles rest after an intense workout. You have to give your muscles the time to rest, recover and get toned!

• Beginner Level: 3 full body workouts weekly on nonconsecutive days
• Intermediate Level: 4 2-day split routine workouts weekly (half the body one day, half the next)
• Advanced Level: 4 or 5 days weekly (3 or 4-day split routines)

-1 Set vs. 3 Sets of exercises. For beginners, 1 set of exercises weekly is the recommended starting point. After the initial 1 set week, it should be increased to 2 sets per week and then 3 sets on the third week. The 3 sets weekly full-body workout should be the baseline. The number of repetitions you use on your weight training depends on your goals, muscle development and fat loss. Use the following guidelines in establishing the number of reps/exercise you will use. The logic is to use a range of repetition instead of a fixed number of repetition. Doing a range of repetitions helps condition and prepare the muscles for progressive resistance.
• 1 – 5 reps for Strength and Power
• 6 – 12 reps for Bulk and Strength
• 12 – 20 reps for Endurance
• 10 – 25 reps for Abdominals and Calves

-At the Beginner’s Level, start with just one exercise. Go up to the Intermediate and Advanced levels only when the body and muscles have adjusted to progressive resistance.

• Beginner Level: 1 Exercise/Muscle Group (full body workout)
• Intermediate Level: 2 Exercises/Muscle Group (2-day split)
• Advanced Level: 3 Exercises/Muscle Group (3-day split)

-Normally, you should take approximately a 1-minute rest in between sets. However, since your goal is fat and weight loss, gradually reduce your rest intervals to as little as 30-45 seconds between sets to induce an aerobic effect to your weight workouts and increase growth hormone release.

-You should always perform your repetitions slowly and under control: 2-3 seconds to raise the weight and 3-4 to lower the weight. Avoid fast, bouncing or uncontrolled movements. Raising or lowering weights quickly uses up energy and takes the stress off the muscle group you are trying to develop and increases the possibility of injury.
• 2-3 second to lift weight
-pause at the top
• 3-4 second eccentric (lowering the weight)
- pause at the bottom

-Do not be impatient when doing your weight exercises. Add weights and increase the duration of exercises only when you are positive your system can handle it. Do not go up to intermediate and training levels unless your weekly progress record warrants it. When you increase the weights, make sure they are in small increments to avoid burnout. Achieving fitness and a healthy lifestyle can not be fast tracked!

-As a beginner, it is best to start training your entire body in one session. Performing full body workouts 3 days weekly should be your target. Only after 3 or 4 months  (minimum) should you consider going up to the next level. When you advance, it is better to split your routines in order to be able to add more exercises to your regimen and avoid overtraining.

A lot of people refrain from drinking plenty of water because of the misconception that it will lead to fluid retention. The exact opposite is true. Dehydration causes the body to hold on to all the water that’s available in the body. Consuming plenty of water causes the body to feel hydrated and enables the kidneys to flush the water out as they normally and regularly do, resulting in less water retention.

The general rule for water intake of 8 to 10 eight ounce glasses (1920ml to 3000ml) of water daily is only a guideline. A more accurate calculation of daily water requirements should also include physical activity levels and caloric expenditure in order to achieve a more realistic estimate of individual water needs.

To get a more accurate estimate of your particular water needs, it is recommended to factor in your activity level using your daily calorie expenditure (DCE). The recommended dietary allowance for water is 1.0-1.5ml per kilocalorie expended per day. The following chart lists the required water amount based on your daily calorie expenditure.

Calories
Expended Daily H2O
Requirement
2000 2000 to 3000 ml
2500 2500 to 3750 ml
3000 3000 to 4500 ml
3500 3500 to 5250 ml
4000 4000 to 6000 ml
4500 4000 to 6375 ml
5000 5000 to 7500 ml

Using this formula, a 200 pound man with a daily calorie expenditure (DCE) of 2800 calories daily needs a minimum of 2800ml to 4200ml of water every day. The eight to ten glasses (1920ml to 3000ml) of water guideline should be used as the baseline minimum regardless of daily calorie expenditure.

Never rely on thirst as an indicator or signal to drink water; we feel thirsty when we are already dehydrated, therefore, continue drinking water throughout the day even when you are not thirsty. If in doubt, drink more water, you can never drink enough.

Make it a habit to drink water all day long, especially before, during and after your workout program.