As a dedicated fitness enthusiast every time I prepare for a competition, or backstage waiting to compete in fitness modelling, the biggest discussion I hear is always ‘what is/was your choice of diet and why?’If you’re like me and you love food, and don’t like the idea of dramatically reducing the amount of food you eat, then I have good news! There are specific, easy to follow diets, and TPW supplements which will help you get shredded without the need to dramatically cut your calories!
One the biggest reasons why people love low carb diets is because it significantly reduces the amount of insulin released into your body. Insulin is a vital hormone which is released by the pancreas when you eat to help deliver nutrients from your blood into cells around the body! Whilst this doesn’t sound bad, insulin hinders the breakdown of fat cells by telling the body to stop burning stored fat but in fact store more. If you haven’t already guessed the body loves to store as much energy as it can.
The result of having a low carb diet puts your body into a state of ketosis (generally if your carbohydrates are lower than 50g p/d). When your body is ketosis (this can be measured by the use of a ketostick from your local pharmacy) you stop burning carbohydrates for fuel but instead, ketones.
‘If I cut my carbs I’m going to be hungry’ Nope! Now your carbohydrates have been reduced, you will need to increase your fat and protein intake to ensure your daily macro intake fits your personal needs.
I’ve often used TPW supplements and protein products to support my low carb dietary needs! I reccomend trying ‘Diet Whey Isolate 97’ with 0g Carbs & 29g Protein alongside ‘Red Cell’ with break-through technology packed inside. ‘Red Cell’ has a dual release system which combines premium-grade versions of scientifically back ingredients.
Low calorie diets have a great success rate, helping to reduce medical conditions and improving overall health for certain people depending on their current BMI. It needs to be noted that very-low calorie diets will help aggressively attack fat loss but cannot be a long term solution to healthy living.
If your BMI is 30 or over then restricting your calories can work perfectly for you, resulting in losing 3 – 5 pounds per week, and once your body goal has been met, a more sustainable diet will be needed.
Low calorie diets do have their place in the world of weight loss and if you’re extremely careful with calorie counting then you can see good results. The simplest way I can explain this is if you’re not eating the calories to meet your personal TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) then you’re burning more calories throughout the day. This will result in your body diving into your body’s storage for energy.
What is your TDEE? Your TDEE is your BMR multiplied by a number depending on your activity level: 1.2 not active / 1.4 active / 1.8 very active. Notice the change of words from fat loss with the low carb diet to weight loss with the low calorie diet. One of the main reasons as to why people steer clear of the low calorie diet is that by reducing all of your macros by a slight percentage, you will not be eating enough to maintain things like muscle mass. If one of your main concerns is to maintain muscle mass then I would highly recommend the low carb diet as your protein intake isn’t reduced, but actually increased. If you don’t like the idea of reducing your carbs and don’t like the idea of losing some muscle mass with the low calorie diet, rather than aiming to lose 3 – 5 pounds p/w aim to lose 1 pound per week on the low calorie diet to maintain as much muscle mass as possible.
If this is your preferred method of dieting then I recommend TPW’s Diet Whey Complex with 9.2g carbs and 34g protein – it’ll be sure to keep you on the road to success.
Both diets will work wonderfully if you dedicate yourself to it. ‘The Protein Works’ is here for you every step of the way, offering you supplements to meet the demands of your environment and goal!
Written by online coach Leo Mcneill, @lkm_physique
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