Dragonboat Blog | The Dragonboating Resource

dragonboat talk for dragonboaters.

Today I’m going to explain to you about the second phase of weight loss. If you haven’t taken the detox diet before reading this, I suggest you read about the 3 Day Detox first.

Second Phase: Weight Loss
This is actually the phase where weight loss occurs and as long as you remain in this phase for as long as you need you’ll be able to lose weight.

During this phase your primary goal is to train the body to draw on body fat stores for fuel, meaning low carb, low fat, low intensity physique goal approach.

Day Off
I suggest you have a ‘Day Off’ from this program after the first 3-5 days to give you a break from the disciplined eating. Once you have taken a ‘Day Off’ you will fall quickly into a weekly eating routine.

Therefore you have 1 ‘Day Off’ every week and the ‘Day Off’ you have doesn’t have to be the same each week.

Extra tips to help make your weight loss phase successful:
* Do not go to bed hungry – protein snacks keep your metabolism burning.

* Wait at least 1 hour between protein snacks.

* Aim for 10,000 steps a day (walking)

* Drink at least 2-3 litres of water a day.

* Fruit must be limited to 1 serve at breakfast only. As fruit contains too much sugar to be consumed in the latter part of the day and must be eating with a protein serve.

* You should take a ‘Day Off’ every week (You can eat whatever you want, however I recommend sticking to protein snacks)

* Avoid the following foods during the second phase: pasta, rice, potatoes, noodles, pastries, dairy, ice-cream, chocolate, sweets, lollies, biscuits, soft drinks, carrot, corn, nuts and fruit juice.

NOTE: Also remember to take a multivitamin with Omega 3 every day.

So set your goals and start eating healthy!

There are two phases in the weight loss diet and today I will be introducing you to the first phase. I will go through and explain how it works and give you some examples of foods that will help you complete this first phase. Don’t worry, it’s only a 3 day detox diet to help you get started!

First Phase: A Carb Detox

This phase is protein only, which means no fibrous carbs such as salad and vegetables. The reasons behind this are very important as it:

1. Carb Depletion: This is the major role of the first phase and it opens the door for fat burning. By eating 3 days of protein your body is forced to start to use stored body fat for fuel. This is important for weight loss and sets up the second phase of weight loss, which I’ll be discussing tomorrow.

2. Say goodbye to cravings: Since you will only be eating protein for 3 days sugar spikes and blood sugar levels come under control, which stops cravings. There are no longer the highs and lows to experience when eating sugary foods. These cravings will be gone after 3 days of protein eating only because your hormones and blood sugar levels will be regulated back to normal.

3. Consistent mood: Because there no sugar highs to experience the lows, you will feel an improved and more consistent mood state.

4. Greater levels of energy: Most people will experience a sensation of more energy because the body has now drawn on body fat for fuel and is no longer reliant on sugar hits.

5. Fast weight loss: You will notice a quick drop in body weight and this is normal as the body is undergoing detox. Basically it is flushing the system and it is a good sign that your body is learning to adapt to your new eating program. Take note: You will notice a greater need to urinate because of the drop in carbohydrates and constant fluid loss. Make you sure you are drinking plenty of water (at least 2 litres of water a day).

By understanding the above points, it allows you to take the next step and start following this detailed plan for the first phase. Simply eat protein meals for 3 days and you will be on your way to losing weight.

A sample 3 day protein diet plan:

Serving sizes:
Females: Main meals should be 100g or less and snacks 50-100g
Males: Main meals should be 150g or less and snacks 50-100g

Whilst you are taking this 3 day detox diet, I would recommend taking a daily multivitamin with Omega 3 along with a fibre supplement. For example Centrium is a good one to take.

Extra Tips to make your Carb detox successful:

* Always remember the 3 hour rule.

* Wait at least 1 hour between snacks. (It’s okay to have more than one protein snack if under three hours)

* Drink at least 2-3 litres of water per day.

* Condiments and sauces can be used with your meals.

* Avoid the following foods during this phase: pasta, rice, noodles, pastries, dairy, ice-cream, chocolate, lollies and sweets, non-diet soft drinks, fruit juice, nuts and all vegetables and salads.

One last thing, if you have a kidney disease/problem, please consult your doctor first before taking on this Carb detox, as taking protein in this detox may be over your daily requirement.

Good luck!

I have spoken to numerous people in the past about why they joined dragonboating and there seems to be 3 common reasons:

1. To lose weight
2. To get fit and then to maintain that level of fitness
3. To be competitive in the sport

So, over the next few days I will be talking about how food plays a role in each of these areas and how it is invariably different for each.

For today, I will be discussing about losing weight in Dragonboating. Now most people may think that if they don’t eat much and just train hard, they’ll burn those calories and then the fat will automatically come off. There is truth to that part, but that is only a small role it plays – around 10-20% of losing weight. The majority of the work comings from eating the right foods, and I have discussed about the different types of food in my post Nutrition for Dragonboating, which gives you a detailed explanation of the different food substances that we need to fuel our body. If you haven’t read it I suggest reading it now to get a better understanding before reading further.

The role of food in weight loss
Good news is that with weight loss you don’t have to worry about counting the calories, but focus on changing what you eat. You can still eat just as much to feel satisfied and still end up losing fat without obsessively counting calories.

3 Fundamental Steps in weight loss
There are three simple steps to achieving weight loss and it is only when these three steps are adhered to that you can achieve permanent weight loss.

Step 1: Energy in Vs Energy Out
The ‘Law of Energy Balance’ states that in order to lose weight, you must burn more calories than you consume each day. This is generally not a problem for most people attempting to lose weight, but is only part of the equation (which is why most people fail at losing weight). If your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) is greater than your food intake and you follow fundamental steps 2 and 3 you will burn fat for fuel, which is always the goal to weight loss.

Step 2: Meal Timing
This is one of the key problems why most people are not able to lose weight. People rarely eat frequently enough! As hunter gatherers our bodies are always looking for triggers to store fat. This is known as our starvation or survival response and it has kept us alive for tens of thousands of years throughout times of famine. It is our starvation response that is always attempting to add to our fat batteries to ensure our survival. When we don’t eat at least every 3 waking hours our bodies go into fat storing mode, not fat burning mode, as our body fears famine is coming.

Step 3: Meal Type
A calorie is not just a calorie. It is important that meals are made up of the correct macronutrients (As discussed in the previous post here) for permanent weight management. If a meal type is not correct then it creates a series of biochemicals signals that make it impossible to burn fat due to the role of hormones.

Therefore a simple formula is:

Thermic Effect of Food
Did you know that you burn energy when you digest food? Well, good news is that if you understand this simple principle you will be on your way to losing weight. This is called the thermic effect of food or dietary thermogenesis. Let me give you an example how this works:

Lean proteins are highly thermic, around 30% compared to most carbs and fats which is around 3-4% thermic. So if you ate say 100 calories of chicken breast (protein) your body will use 30 calories simply in the breakdown and digestion. This forces your digestive system to start working and in turn elevates your resting metabolism.

By eating 6 protein meals a day your body’s resting metabolism will increase and in turn burn fats for fuel automatically during the day. You can say then that protein is a metabolic stimulant.

Metabolism
Metabolic rate is without question the most crucial factor in weight loss and must be the number one priority to focus on. By eating every 2-3 waking hours is the most powerful thing you can do to help your body lose weight and increasing your metabolism. Therefore this equates to 6 serves a day and ensures that your body will never go into starvation mode. A very simple concept to follow below will help you eat 6 meals a day:

1. 7am: (Meal) Breakfast

2. 10am: Protein Snack

3. 1pm: (Meal) Lunch

4. 3pm: Protein Snack

5. 6pm: (Meal) Dinner

6. 9pm: Protein Snack

Remember that our bodies are designed to store fat for survival. At any given moment the body is looking for a reason to store fat just incase for a famine. Your job is to not give it a reason to. Furthermore having big meals also cause storage as the body assumes you are stocking up for lean times ahead. Therefore portion control is important so that your body doesn’t think you are going into starvation. Keeping to small meals every 2-3 hours is essential.

I will continue more about weight loss tomorrow with some additional information to help create a simple step by step diet and exercise program.