Robster Le Monster

Getting Back into Shape

Hey there, welcome back to the science of Robster Le Monster.

This article is all about giving you a helping hand when it comes down to how to diet. Let's face it, many of us know how to do it but how many of us actually do. This is about getting you back in shape rather than competition shape. From my years of bodybuilding I have learnt that it is better for me to keep a relatively clean diet for most of the year as it makes it much easier to stay within striking distance of the competition weight or shape. I find if I'm 3 stone (20kg) overweight from my usual contest weight then it's much harder to pull in and remain sharp. I also notice that I can't stay sharp for any extended length of time longer than a couple of weeks as the body tends toward the 'rubber band' or 'rebound' effect where I balloon up heavier than I ever was previously. I believe one of the first pioneers of this 'non ballooning' method was Shawn Ray. He stayed about 5 to 7kg over contest weight all year round making dieting not such a heavy toll on the body. This meant that he was only 6 weeks out from contest shape all year round.

Here are some of my top tips on how to get lean for that holiday, that date or that photo shoot.

Lower your overall carbohydrate intake. Excess carbs have a tendency to get stored into adipose tissue (fat cells) by insulin. I especially lower my carb intake in the late evening otherwise that large pasta meal will sit in my gut all night making me look like a pregnant when I wake up in the morning. The entire Atkin's diet is based around insulin response to carbohydrates. It tries to eliminate carbs thereby preventing the usual surges caused by high carb meals. I don't agree with it as I feel that carbs make up the majority of our food sources and to eliminate them from the diet could cause binge eating and digestive problems. I believe a lower amount to be more beneficial.

Lower your overall fat intake. You are attempting to burn fat from your body, it makes no sense to take in extra fat to burn off. That way you'll never burn off what you've already got. Try to still eat healthy fats, found in nuts and vegetable oils, but be aware that if you drop fats too much you may find the body stops losing weight. The body is a wonderfully adaptive device. If it feels that it is not receiving enough fat it will slow down the metabolic rate to burn calories more slowly causing you to hold onto more fat. A great way of fooling the body is my next tip.

Play around with your carbs. Sometimes in order to kick the metabolism back into high gear it is necessary to eat a high amount of carbs. This will shock the body into producing a lot of insulin which will lead to an increase in body temperature which in turn, will burn calories at a faster rate. Obviously if you continue to eat high carbs every day then you will put on extra weight. My advice is to keep the carbs low for about 4 days and boost it up on the 5th. This should enable you to get the benefits of high and low carbs. You can probably get away with eating bad foods once in awhile and for it to be useful as a fat burning aid.

Increase your protein and fibre. There are many that state that you need 1.5 to 2g of protein per pound of bodyweight daily. Therefore a 200lb man requires between 350g to 400g of protein daily. I believe this current information to be false and misleading. If you look at the diets of prisoners you will see that the vast majority lack high amounts of protein daily. The average protein consumption would be around 100g daily yet these guys tend to have amazing physiques. Obviously their muscle mass is due to their training and not solely their diet. I'd advise about 1.2g per pound of bodyweight daily which would be much less than commonly advised. The reason being is that you need 4g of carbs to 1g of protein in order to build muscle. Therefore if you take in 400g of protein a day then you'd need 1600g of carbs to convert that protein to muscle tissue. That equals 8000 calories a day!

I think the most important thing I can tell you today is the consumption of water. On average I will drink between 3 to 4 litres a day. When I am dieting I will take in about 6 litres. All chemical reactions occur in water. No building can occur if water isn't present. Your body actually stores over 90% of the water that it takes in. It may make you have to go to the toilet a lot but it's like having a constant water change. I guarantee your entire system and organs will function at an optimum rate. Water also controls iodine which in turn affects the thyroid gland. By taking in less water the body will have a tendency to put on weight as the metabolic rate slows down. So water inadvertently keeps you burning calories.

I hope these words have helped you in some way realise where you were going wrong with your current diet plan. I think the important thing here is to use this information wisely and see what works best for you. I wish you well in all your training goals.

Keep Pumpin' cos I'll be watchin'

Robster Le Monster