Increase Fiber for Fat Loss

So you’ve been working out at the gym for months now; you’ve increased your protein intake and you’ve been doing cardio like a madman or woman, but you’re still not getting the fat loss results that you desire. This is happening to countless people around the world as they strive for that dream body and those six pack abs. As a trainer I can’t tell you how many people tell me that they want to lose inches around their midsection, get rid of their man boobs or lose those cottage cheese thighs, but never take the time to look a bit closer at their diet. As they say, you can’t always have the cake, eat it too and expect to look like an abs model.

You see, exercise alone will never get you the results you desire. It is only through exercise and a well balanced diet that you will be able to shed those extra kilos of body fat. So at Fitcorp Asia when I make recommendations regarding diet, one of the first things that I instruct a client is that they need to increase their consumption of whole foods; mainly vegetables.

Most of us frown at the site of vegetables and many of us were conditioned from an early age to dislike vegetables as our parents typically had no idea how to present them or prepare them and simply put them on the plate as an afterthought. We were commanded to eat them and told that if we didn’t eat them we couldn’t have desert. So what do we do as adults? We say, my parents aren’t here to tell me what to do so I’ll skip the vegetables and go straight for the desert.

But here lies the problem in our quest for Fat Loss. The dietary fiber which comes from vegetables is a key component for not only your body’s overall health but it’s also a strong support in fat loss. Of course we’ve been told that fiber will help fight against heart disease, cholesterol, diabetes and colon cancer, but there is much more to fiber than meets the eye. Here are a few ways that fiber can help you to your fat loss goals.

Fiber controls appetite. Insoluble fibers do not dissolve in water and absorb large amounts of water while traveling through your digestive tract. It tends to add bulk and will give you a full feeling of satiety. This will assist you in consuming less calories overall.

Research shows that fiber lowers estrogen levels, which in men is tremendously important in preventing prostate cancer. But estrogen also causes the body to store more fat. This is why women tend to carry more body fat than men. Men also have estrogen within the body and it can be lowered by increasing the amount of fiber in the daily diet.

Fiber has been shown to improve protein absorption by slowing the rate of protein moving through the body and allowing your body a longer period of time to digest and absorb it.

Insulin is a major factor if fat loss or fat storage. By slowing the process of sugar absorption, the release of insulin into the bloodstream is also slowed. Insulin contributes to the storage of excess body fat so the lower the insulin spike is the better off your body fat will be.

If you’re not consuming fiber then it’s time to get on it. The average person consumes well below a suitable level of fiber per day. There are no specific guidelines but research has shown that 25 to 30 grams of fiber per day is a good level. Unfortunately, most people are consuming less than 15 grams per day of fiber.

Now don’t run out and jump to 30 grams immediately. Take your time and work your way up. Increasing fiber immediately can have adverse reactions like gas, irritable bowels, bloating, etc. Increase slowly and give your body time to adjust.

Also be sure to divide your fiber intake throughout your meals. If you are on a 5 to 6 meal a day plan which includes snacks, try to get 5 to 6 grams of fiber with each.

Make sure to get both types of fiber, insoluble and soluble. To decrease body fat insoluble fiber is recommended. Whole grain cereals and apples are a good choice. Psyillium Husk can also be an excellent source of insoluble fiber.

Like I have said in many of my previous articles, fat loss doesn’t happen overnight. For fat loss you will need a bit of patience. Don’t set your expectations too high. Give it a few months before you start to see the long term external benefits of fiber, but realize that from day one you have started the cleanup process from the inside.

By Rich Thurman, B.Sc., MA, CSCS, CPT.

Rich is the Fitness Development Manager and a Fitness Coach at Fitcorp Asia. Thailand's leading personal training, sports performance and corporate wellness organization. With a Bachelors degree in Physiological Science from UCLA a Masters in Sports Management from The University of San Francisco, Rich has over 10 years of experience in Fitness, Sports Performance, Injury Prevention and Rehabilitation. Rich and other coaches from Fitcorp Asia can be contacted via email at info@fitcorpasia.com.

I Just Started Working Out; Why am I gaining weight?

So you’ve just signed up for a membership at your local gym, or you just began working with a trainer, but after the first two weeks you get on the scale and realize that you’re a kilo heavier. What’s going on? Well first of all, if you have a trainer I’m sure he or she has told you to stay off the scale. Time and time again as fitness professionals we find ourselves locked in battle with the treacherous scale as people obsess over weight instead of the stuff that really matters i.e., body fat, girth measurements and how your clothes fit. So first things first, throw that scale out the window. Whether you gain weight or not has a significant amount to do with many factors, including body type and nutrition.





At Fitcorp Asia the fitness trainers begin an assessment with a body stat test, which is used to measure body fat versus lean mass, resting metabolism (# of calories needed to sustain your current muscle mass without moving) and average metabolic rate (# of calories that should be consumed by your body on average during an active day. When you begin to lift weights, your body which is now stimulated by heavier loads establishes new links between your brain and muscle. Your body begins to recruit more muscle and this increases its demands for energy.

It is this increase in demand that makes you feel hungrier than normal and it represents a change in your metabolism. This is a very critical time for you as you must now make better choices on what to consume and when to consume it, in order to meet the demands of increased muscle activity. The problem that many personal trainers find is that their clients will begin to use this newly revved up metabolism as a sort of credit card which affords them the luxury of eating junk food. This is however counterproductive to your goals of fat and weight loss and most people will experience weight gain if this is not monitored carefully. This is a time where you have a chance to combine your training with low calorie, high nutritional value foods and get the most out of your metabolism. At Fitcorp Asia, we encourage our clients to eat often, but to make sure that you’re eating quality foods.

Not only is nutrition a key reason for why you may be gaining weight, but consider this:

• Muscle is about 70% water and when you work out more; your body’s response places a higher demand for consumption of more water. Also in response to weight training your body needs to prepare itself for heavier loads. One of the ways it does this is to increase surface area by hydrating the muscle fibers in order to increase surface area and provide higher power outputs.





• Your lean mass includes muscle, bone and organs. Weight bearing activity stimulates muscle growth and stimulates an increase in bone density. These two things can easily cause significant weight gain within the first couple of months. This is where it is important to have a look at girth measurements and body fat. Muscle is heavier and denser than fat and as more muscle is stimulated, the body’s ability to burn fat increases, which sometimes results in a loss of inches with an overall gain of weight.

Similar to the old saying, “Guns don’t kill people, people kill people”. Exercise doesn’t make you fat, the choices a person makes, makes that person fat.

At Fitcorp Asia we believe it’s about changing your lifestyle and by lifestyle we mean changing the way your body moves, the amount of movement that it does and changing the fuel that you run on.

The take home messages are clear. Throw out the scale and focus on getting stronger and increasing your metabolism by moving more and eating right. The rest will fall into place over time. Rome was not built in a day and your body took years to get this far; sometimes 10, 20 or 30+. The process of reprogramming your body is not an overnight miracle, but a life-long commitment to change.

From an excerpt of Maya Angelou, “If you don’t like something, change it.





If you can’t change it, change your attitude”. Realize that your trainer or fitness coach is there to assist you in reaching your goals, as well as support you along your journey to change. We give you the tools to succeed, but it just may be your attitude towards food, nutrition and exercise are the only thing holding you back from a better you.

By Rich Thurman, B.Sc., MA, CSCS, CPT.
Rich is the Fitness Development Manager and a Fitness Coach at Fitcorp Asia. Thailand's leading personal training, sports performance and corporate wellness organization. With a Bachelors degree in Physiological Science from UCLA a Masters in Sports Management from The University of San Francisco, Rich has over 10 years of experience in Fitness, Sports Performance, Injury Prevention and Rehabilitation. Whether it’s fat loss or toning, personal training or group exercise Fitcorp Asia, Thailand’s leading sports experts has something for everyone. For more information check out our website at www.fitcorpasia.com or drop Rich a line at Richard@fitcorpasia.com