Train to Build Muscle NOT to Burn Fat

When you go to the gym do you know what type of training you should be doing?

What are your goals, is a better definition of muscle you desire or is it just for you to lose a few inches around your waist?

Or do you go to BURN FAT? 

The type of exercising I see and hear people performing is mainly cardiovascular exercise, such as running or walking on treadmills or cycling for miles on the the stationary bike.

This type of exercise has benefits on the cardiovascular (CV) system, the heart and lungs. HOWEVER, this type of low intensity exercise does not promote a great deal of lean muscle growth and wont help in fight against fat long term.

Lean muscle is what gives our body it's definition, unfortunately it's easily covered by the layers of fat that our body stores on itself. Lean muscle is a living tissue and requires energy to survive. The energy it uses, in the form of calories, can be from the glucose from the foods that we eat or from the energy the body can release from the fat cells. 

So more muscle tissue requires more energy. If the body is in a "fat burning" environment, this means with low blood sugar levels, the muscle is able to use your own body fat for its energy! 

The goal to burn fat starts with building more muscle, to enable the body to burn more fat 24 hours a day, rather than the half hour treadmill session 3 times a week....do the maths and there's only one winner here!

Resistance training is the key to building muscle. Resistance training is exercise in the form of weight training or bodyweight exercises where there is resistance on the muscle causing it to contract. Examples of these exercise can be seen in this previous post.

The goal of the exercise is to break the muscle fibres down and then rest, recover and provide your body with all the nutrition it needs in the form of essential fats, complete proteins, vitamins and minerals. The muscle will then rebuild bigger, stronger and more calorie hungry than before.

Ladies thinking that they don't want to build muscle and look "bulky" rest assured this will not happen. To grow large muscle mass the body requires specific hormones that are a lot more prevalent in males than females. 

The theory of fat burning zones and exercising at low intensity has it's limitations. The body can only burn fat if you are in the fat burning, low blood sugar zone. It's no good having that lucozade before the hour of power walking!

Also, the low intensity exercise does not promote the the breakdown of muscle and release of muscle building hormones that can create a more defined body and calorie hungry tissue!

Start today and change the way you exercise, leave the treadmill alone and pick up the weights. 

Build muscle to burn fat 24 hours a day, 7days a week. 

What does the flight deck door and our muscles have in common?

The fight deck door and your muscles are more common than you think.

The flight deck door is built so no-one can easily break in. It's tough and you won't break in by knocking gently on the door. The crash axe on the other hand offers a much greater force and gives a better chance of breaking down the door...... it's all about the force! 

A similar scenario relates to our muscles, by gently "knocking on the door" (basically cardio exercise for long periods) we won't break down the muscle. We need force to break into our muscles, much like the crash axe (resistance training), to cause muscle breakdown and this leads to greater muscle growth.

Note:

Cardiovascular Exercise = low intensity exercise for a long period of time, for example, jogging.

Resistance Exercise = exercise that requires force from your muscle to move a resistant weight, for example, weights or bodyweight exercises.

The benefits of muscle muscle growth include:

1. Looking leaner
2. Feeling stronger
3. Having more "energy hungry" muscle to help us burn more fat

Lets look at these benefits in a little more detail:

1. Looking Leaner 

The worry about weight is over, muscle weighs MORE than fat! And we want more muscle!

Why? 

Because muscle is denser. For example, a kilo of bricks is the same weight as a kilo of feathers but they LOOK much different! The amount of bricks are smaller than the amount of feathers. The same as a kilo of muscle looks smaller than a kilo of fat. 

Building muscle defines our bodies. Muscle makes us look leaner, as it is denser and more compact than fat. 

Ladies are you worried about looking too "bulky" and muscular?

There is NO need to worry, as big muscle growth relies on hormones such as testosterone and growth hormones. You do not possess enough of these hormones naturally. Even the biggest of men take "steroids" (hormones) to allow the unnatural bulky muscle growth.

Resistance exercise will allow you to build more defined muscle and look leaner.

2. Feeling Stronger 

Through resistance training we can use enough weight/resistance that causes our muscle to produce a force intense enough to break the muscle fibres down. Through our recovery period, with the correct diet and rest, our muscle will  grow back stronger and bigger than before.

With more muscle, we will feel stronger. We are able to manage our bodies better in day to day movements such as walking up stairs, getting up from laying down and carrying our flight bag becomes easier.

3. Having more "energy hungry" muscle to help us burn more fat

Muscle is a living tissue and requires energy to survive. We need to feed our muscles. If we eat the real foods suggested throughout the flight crew health and fitness blog, it allows our body to burn body fat for energy. 

If we need more energy because of more muscle, we can burn more body fat, look leaner and feel stronger!

The flight deck door is always locked and so are your muscles, break them down with resistance exercises.

Check out this post on my top 5 hotel room exercises to find out what resistance exercises you can do today without going to the gym!

How I Burn Fat Snacking and Flying

Snacking is probably the worst habit all pilots and cabin crew have to endure and it's not our fault! In this post I'll cover the reasons why flight crew snack, how we can deal with snacking and how I snack to help burn fat!

I love this quote used by Zoe Harcombe:

"You are not a cow, stop grazing"

Zoe is a leading UK obesity expert working against the worlds obesity epidemic. This quote details the "normal" life of 3 to 6 full meals a day that would be welcomed into any healthy lifestyle. However, the days of the 25 minutes turn around are here to stay, with just enough time to catch our breath, a "sit down" meal eaten slowly and enjoyably is unlikely to happen (unless you are in the long haul business then reason #1 below is more likely your snacking excuse).

So, snacking will be part of our daily lives as Flight Crew and there are several reasons for this:

1. Boredom

2. No time to eat a "sit down" meal

3. Living out of a suitcase 

4. Commuting to work

5. Unnatural body clock due to work pattern

Let's be honest, there's only so much monitoring of the instruments and the blue yonder outside we can gaze at before our tummys rumble and a subconscious hand movement leads us to the food bags! Boredom is definitely the #1 reason we snack. Even in the cabin, a quiet passenger load or not so talkative crew can lead to boredom at 30000ft!

But how can we overcome this? Or should we accept this will happen and prepare ourselves for our bodies drive to keep us entertained and supply us with nutritious foods?

I don't want to fight against my body or my subconscious mind, there's only one winner in the long term. With so many things going on around me I won't win this battle, so this is what I do....

PREPARE! PREPARE! PREPARE!

The 5 P's - Preparation Prevents P**s Poor Performance is the key!

I know the day I am about to live, my roster tells me this. I know the meals I have available to me, my roster tells me this and I know I will want to snack as my roster tells me this. Through examining your roster you will see the eating pattern that you are likely to follow that day. 

Prepare your snacks before work and you won't let your unhealthy subconscious mind choose your foods!

My top 4 foods for snacking are:

1. Nuts and Seeds

I always carry a bag of my favourite nuts and seeds : almonds, cashews and pumpkin seeds.

These are wholesome foods providing essential fats and proteins. 

I avoid peanuts as a snack, even if they are unsalted, as the way the body digests peanuts is different to other nuts and results in a less fat burning effect! 

2. Vegetables 

All vegetables apart from potatoes are good snack foods.Carrots and Celery are easily carried in ones flight bag and can be eaten raw. Vegetables provide fibre and carbohydrates to your diet without the extra sugar content of fruits, so this is my preferred choice of snack. Don't limit yourself these foods will fill you and not your fat cells!

3. Dark Chocolate 

That's right ... Chocolate! Dark chocolate with cocoa content of 70% or more will satisfy your chocolate cravings without the added sugar content of normal chocolate bars. 

4. Mackerel 

The tinned version of this healthy oily fish is ideal for snacking. However,you may find problems with airport security so please check your airport. The fish is high in omega 3 fats and high in protein. Perfect for the car or commute to work. The tinned mackerel normally has a pull ring to easily open the tin. 

Thats my top 4 snacks whilst on the move. All are low in sugar, with mackerel, nuts and seeds providing valuable nutrition to our bodies with their proteins and essential fats.
This nutrition allows our bodies to burn fat and not store it.

The daily life of pilots and cabin crew is not the "normal life". We are unable to eat 3-6 healthy meals a day with the disruption we have to endure. So, don't fight against your body, work with it. Snack on healthy foods and be happy not hungry!

Try it today:

Prepare these nutritious snacks in your flight bag and never go hungry on the move again!

G

Don't Fool Yourself With A New Year FAD Diet

Happy New Year everyone!

2016 is here and with that the everyday conversation from the flight deck and cabin is... "I have started my diet and I've joined the gym. I need to to lose .. ..... pounds by ....." ( I'll leave you to fill in the blanks).

But 95% of people fail to lose weight AND maintain an ideal weight, so will it all be over by February for most? 

The over indulgence of food and drink at Christmas is a short term event and if you are feeling "bigger" and overweight I ask you.....do you think this happened over that 2 week period?

The crash diets of January will help everyone lose pounds, of course they will. Some diets dehydrate you and others shock the body with calorie restriction, anyone can lose weight rapidly, just think of a boxer at a weigh-in before his fight. The boxer will lose up to 10 pounds in 2 days before a weigh-in, so he can fight in a lower weight category. After weigh-in, his weight returns to normal as he over compensates with food and drink. This is a discipline and a specific event that is controlled to achieve a weight but, realistically his weight will return. 

This is NOT a healthy way to lose weight. In fact it is near impossible to maintain the weight loss from a rapid weight loss FAD diet because of human nature and ones self discipline to fight against our own feelings and desires. Let's talk about a diet I seen on TV a couple of days ago...... 

The diet was for 7 days and apparently Beyonce, the music artist, used this diet. Already note it's only for 7 days....what happens then?

There is NO food in this diet. You can drink 6 -12 drinks of their special drink. The drink was water, a drop of lemon juice and cayenne pepper (to help speed up metabolism). The figure quoted was a loss of 20 pounds in a week! But at what cost to the person and what will it achieve in the long run? 

The lady in the study subjected to this diet lasted just 2 days, she was hungry, agitated, moody and just not satisfied. In fact even a tv film about her could not maintain her will power to stick to this diet. How did this affect her friends, family and even work....let's start living in the real world guys!

Even if Beyonce did carry out this crash diet she would have health professionals around her, monitoring the situation, she would not be getting up at 4am for a 4 Sector day of flying!

This is just one of many crazy crash diets I've seen this year but really the only diet everyone should eat is one of REAL FOOD (it surprises me that someone eating real food is said to be on a diet!). The new years resolution of just cooking more will help you lose weight. A diet of meat, fish, eggs, nuts, seeds, fruit, veg and some dairy is a sustainable way of eating to lose weight and maintain a healthy weight, if you cook the food yourself. 

Remember....you did not become overweight over Christmas so don't try to be underweight by February!

Start your real food regime today and keep yourself full, healthy and lose weight...

This year my new years resolution to flight crew health and fitness is to provide you with delicious recipes, training regimes, time saving tips and more in depth knowledge behind the science of nutrition and training. (I've also bought some interesting products for the home which I'll be reviewing over the next few weeks to share my experiences with you!).

* if you've seen or tried any new diets this year let me know in the comments below, share your experiences I'd love to know how you are doing*

Understanding Macronutrients - What Is Carbohydrate, Fat and Protein.

Becoming the expert on what our food is composed of will create understanding and better food choices for a healthier lifestyle. We see food labels containing carbohydrate, fats and protein content and these are the macronutrients.

Macronutrients are the building blocks of all food. We have all heard of them in some form or another, but do we know what they actually mean and how they affect our diet?

In this post I aim to break each macronutrient down and simplify its role within our diets, let's go.....

There are 3 Macronutrients, in no particular order:

1 . Carbohydrate

Carbohydrate is used within the body as "fuel" for energy, it has NO other role. 

It's the equivalent of Jet A1 fuel used in our aircraft engines!

When Carbohydrate is digested ALL carbohydrates are broken down to glucose (sugar) whether complex carbs or simple sugars.

Foods with the highest ratio of carbohydrates compared to the other macronutrients include starches and sweets, such as cereals, bread,  pasta, potatoes, sugar, and sweets. These carbohydrates can be used for energy, however, we typically over eat this type of food which is paramount to us GAINING weight and body fat. Also, there is very little nutrition associated with these types of carbohydrates.

Non starchy vegetables, defined as "vegetables you can eat raw", such as spinach, lettuce, onion, mushrooms and peppers (typically salad foods) are the BEST form of carbohydrates offering an abundance of nutrients for a "low calorie" intake of carbohydrates. 

Other than potatoes, all vegetables will form the majority proportion of your meals to ensure nutrient dense fullness with carbohydrates.

2 . Fat

The breakdown of fats in the digestive system results in fatty acids.

Fats are "essential" to a healthy body, that is why they are called ESSENTIAL FATS. The term essential is used because the body requires these fats to function. However, the body cannot produce these fats for itself and therefore we need to consume essential fats within our diet from food. 

Fats play a vital role in cell repair and recovery, for example our nails and skin are made up of millions of cells that fats help to maintain them looking healthy and feeling strong.

Without fats, the body is UNABLE to accept some micronutrients, vitamins A D E & K are just some of the "fat soluble vitamins" we need for optimum health. That is why your vitamin tablets state you should consume vitamin supplements "with food".

However, not all fats are created equal. To keep it simple, fats found in natural, real food such as avocado, red meat, chicken, fish, eggs, nuts and seeds provide us with an abundance of nutrients and essential fats.

Oils are 100% fat. Olive oil and coconut oil are used as part of the healthy way of living.  Use coconut oil to cook foods and use olive oil as a dressing.  An easy way to remember this is that coconut oil is solid at room temperature so heating it while cooking breaks it down. 

Dairy products such as milk and cheese, also provide fats in the diet, whilst butter can be used for cooking as an alternative to coconut oil.

Low quality fats found in fast food and processed foods will not provide you with the nutritional advantages of real food! 


3. Protein

Proteins are the building blocks of our living tissue, such as muscle. As carbohydrates are digested down to glucose, proteins are digested into amino acids. The body cannot produce all amino acids required for optimum health, therefore it is VITAL we consume high quality, complete proteins within our diet.

Protein is found in most foods, as with all the macronutrients. However, the highest quality proteins and most proteins per calorie can be found in foods such as the non starchy vegetables (spinach and broccoli), meat, fish and eggs....real food!

Some dairy products have a higher ratio of protein too, such as cottage cheese.

We all need to increase protein intake for improved health. Increased protein intake is key to weight loss with a real food diet. This is because protein makes you feel "fuller" for longer and this helps to avoid overeating wasteful calories that are otherwise stored as body fat!

The 3 Macronutrients.....

Thats the breakdown of the 3 Macronutrients within our foods, carbohydrate, fat and protein. They all form different ratios in all our food with a couple of exceptions:

1. Sugar = 100% carbohydrate
2. Oil = 100% fat

Understanding what the different macronutrients provide for us and what happens when we digest the food we eat is key to healthy choices and fuelling our body.  For example . If you have just undertaken a 60km bike ride that is now the time to fuel your body with carbohydrates and protein rich food to replace the energy used and rebuild muscle tissue.

Another example is one of a 4 hour flight sat on your backside. Minimal carbohydrates are needed as you are not using much energy. Protein and fat rich food (not processed) will help you feel full and no sugar spikes will help your concentration.

The common theme throughout the macronutrients is one of real food. The real food provides all the macronutrients in correct ratios and provides all essential nutrition for us....we just have to eat it!

Through greater understanding and armed with this basic knowledge of what makes up our food, you can make better decisions and food choices.

In further posts I'll dig a little deeper into each macronutrient and the science behind them...

All interesting stuff...don't miss out by adding your email address to my news feed newsletter on the top right of the screen and I'll send you my latest post straight to you.

Keep flying and live healthy,

G