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Weight Loss - 60 lbs of fat in just months

Free Weight Loss Plan

Note: This is not a sales page! Just read, apply, get fit!

Office work, restaurants, stress and comfort food packed with calories galore… One day I woke up weighing 95 kgs, which is A LOT for my 172 cm (about 5′8″).

What follows is the result of my research on how weight loss works. If glycemic index, insulinic index, prebiotic fiber, hydrolisis, peripheral lipolysis, pasteur effect or glycolysis don’t sound familiar then there are things for you to learn here.

And those are just a few examples.

Note that I am not a doctor, and am not qualified to diagnose or prescribe treatment. This is for informational purposes only, and should be undertaken only under proper medical supervision.

The free weight loss plan doesn’t go much into details, but past and future fat loss theory articles will cover them. I encourage you to learn and adapt this plan so that it can work for you. Following it blindly will probably lead to failure. I strongly believe that understanding is a big part of achieving!

The basic principles: put an end to addiction to sugar, cure insulin resistance, improve lipolysis, maintain metabolism rate, enduce an average calorie deficit over time and control hunger. The plan that follows achieves all of that, and the theory articles will teach you why.

Keeping it simple.

That is essential. An effective diet or workouts aren’t much help when they are too hard to follow. Much of the theory is based on low glycemic index, as suggested by Michel Montignac, but it goes further, incorporating how hunger works, frequently overlooked nutrients, psychology and understanding the theory, which does wonders for motivation.

 These are the rules my research led me to follow, and lose 60 lbs.  Later posts will go into the science details, but for now, I’m keeping it simple and practical.

1. Low glycemic (and insulinic) index and low calories to mass ratio. Only eat carbs that have a glycemic index under 35, and foods that are under 150 calories per 100 grams (with a preference for those that are under 100). For me those boiled down to the following foods:

Carbohydrates (GI):
Beans (35), peas (35), chick peas (35), lentils (30), spinach (15), tomato juice (35), chinese noodles (35), low fat yoghurt (35).
Peaches (35), nectarines (35), oranges (35), apricots (30), pears (30), cherries (25), strawberries (25), rasberries (25).

Note: skim milk (30) has a high insulinic index, which overrules the low GI! I hadn’t known that for a long time and this slowed me down.

Look up a food’s GI, or consult lists by index on Montignac’s glycemic index tables and you can make up your own diet. But remember that low GI isn’t the only requirement: there has to be a low calorie to mass ratio as well. Almonds, for example, have an excellent GI of 15, but 600 calories per 100 grams.

Protein (lean meats):
Sliced ham, chicken, turkey.

2. Drink lots of water, and only water.

Everyone knows this, but few pay close enough attention to it. Put a water bottle everywhere you go often (desk, bedside, where you put your keys, in front of the TV set, on the car passenger seat…) and take a few swigs everytime you see one, thirsty or not. I will explain why water is necessary in a future article.

3. Eat your fiber (there are three types)

Insoluble fiber: I have been using this little trick for insoluble fiber, but also soluble and omega-3.

Non sweet version (most efficient, we’ll see why).

Fat loss cocktail - the most overlooked nutrients in one take.

All Bran mixed with warm tomato juice and canola oil (for the omega-3). Add the canola oil after mixing (stir with a spoon), or the blender will be a pain to wash. Do not blend for more than a few seconds, blending too long breaks the fiber and makes it less efficient.

Sweet version.

All Bran, mixed with a diced half apple, warm soja milk (dairy isn’t allowed due to high insulinic index), and a tablespoon of canola oil, blended for just a few seconds (blending too long breaks the insoluble fiber and makes it less efficient). That takes care of the fiber and omega-3. Oranges, nectarines and grapefruit have insoluble fiber as well.

Note that All Bran has a glycemic index of 50 (too high) but the soluble fiber in the apples or tomato juice lowers the overall index.

Remember that milk isn’t allowed due to a high insulinic index. This is actually an update. I lost weight despite milk but I had very little. Having a half cup in the morning did not prevent me from getting results, but have slowed down the process. I discuss glycemic index and insulinic index in a separate article.

Soluble fiber: This is taken care of with the dry vegetables, or beans, peas, chick-peas, lentils and apples (those should be the center of your diet alongside the lean meats).
Prebiotic fiber: This kind of fiber stimulates probiotic intestinal bacteria and is found in garlic (GI 30) and onions (GI 15).

4. Apply all known remedies to resistance to insulin.

 
The slow carbs mentioned above (and no fast carbs).
omega-3: canola/flaxseed/colza oil (three names for the same thing). You only need a tablespoon a day, but you need it every day if possible.
Magnesium, chromium and vitamin D (multi-vitamin supplements that include minerals and trace elements). These micro nutrients have all been reported to have positive results on resistance to insulin, which I discuss in detail in a separate article.

5. Keep calories as low as possible without going hungry.

Eat slowly. It takes your brain time to be informed that you have eaten enough (stop feeling hungry).

You can optionally count calories and compare it to your daily calorie needs, but following the low GI and low calories to mass principle should allow you to maintain a good deficit without the hassle. At 70 calories / 100 grams, it takes a lot to overeat with lentils.

Daily calorie needs can be determined using the Harris-Benedict formula:
Men:    66 + (13.7 X weight in kg) + (5 X height in cm) – (6.8 X age)
Women:  655 + (9.6 X weight in kg) + (1.8 X height in cm) – (4.7 X age)

This is the basal metabolic rate, or energy spent without moving. Multiply by the following activity coefficient:

Sedentary            = 1.2   (little or no exercise)
Lightly active       = 1.375 (light exercise 1-3 days/wk)
Moderately active    = 1.55  (moderate exercise 3-5 days/wk)
Very active          = 1.725 (hard exercise 6-7 days/wk)
Extremely active     = 1.9   (pro athlete or physical job + hard exercise)

This is very theoretical, but gives a somewhat reliable ballpark figure. Keeping foods down to a few chosen favorites makes calorie counting feasible. I started doing this later on to speed up the process.

6. Take a day off a week, or two (the whole weekend).

 On days off, pizza, soda, ice cream – everything is allowed, as much of it as you like. You’ll find that the slow carb + fiber curb your hunger so well that “as much as you like” will end up being much less than you think. But you need to be strict the other days. Days off keep the hunger under control (glycogen supply), help maintain morale, and gives a metabolic kick (leptin secretion).

Glycogen supply and leptin are the theory behind this rule which I will cover in a future article. There are many other scientific principles behind this plan. Understanding was a significant part of success. It really helps when doubt is taken out of the picture.

About exercise:

 While exercise isn’t technically necessary, it helps a lot. What counts is the cumulated calorie deficit. Exercise will burn more calories (roughly 500 to 1000 per hour) and help with resistance to insulin (increasing number of glucose receptors on cell walls). It will also build muscle, which slightly increases metabolism (the more living cells you have, the higher the metabolism). Don’t expect that to add more than 100 to 200 calories a day though. Exercise will never make up for a large calorie surplus.

 Muscle type has a very big impact on the effectiveness of cardio / strength training.  When you are ready to add an exercise routine to your weight loss strategy (yes, waiting makes sense), a quality gym membership (example) may be a good choice but it isn’t the only one (swimming, martial arts, running…). The article on muscle type explains why your ideal exercise is your own, depending on your muscle type predominance.

Don’t underestimate the power of understanding the theory.

Existing articles on theory are listed in the strength section, and I will complete them gradually. You will then understand why this works. This alone is a great motivation to apply it.

Please share this page in whichever way you can and help others reach their fitness goals. Thanks

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