Dr. Altman’s Magic Fat-loss Formula

#1…70% is what you eat

#2…20% is your activity (exercise, or lack thereof)

#3…10% is related to toxicity, liver, thyroid, adrenal, or hormonal issues

The body is a self-regulating ship as long as you keep the rocks and the coral reefs out of the way. The body constantly strives for homeostasis (balance), but the body can only correct the ship if the captain is sober and there is no damage to the ship.

Let’s start with #1 since 2/3 of Americans are too heavy, and about 2/3 of the weight gain relates to diet. I’m not talking about how many meals you eat or how many calories you eat. If you are eating one meal and snacking all day or eating 5 smaller meals a day and feel great and look great, do whatever works for you.

Now, on to fat. The majority of diet guru’s and nutritionists will die thinking fat makes you fat, all the while living an artificial existence on Viagra or hormone pills. Fat makes you a man or a woman. Testosterone and Progesterone are made from… hold the suspense

…Drum roll please…

…Cholesterol. Oh my gosh! The horrible evil cholesterol monster has reared its ugly head once again. Run for your life…No wait, run for the Lipitor.

The single worst diet advice to come out in the last 50 years was a Low-Fat Diet. Healthy good fats make your skin nice, keep your joints lubed up, and allows your body to make hormones. A low-fat diet will make you less of a man and less of a woman. At least, 30% of your diet should be good fats.

If you want a list of good fats see the chart below for some or head to our website www.docaltman.com and look in the categories for Good Fats.

So what should you do? Cut out sugar. If you are overweight and want to shed a few pounds, get your sugar intake down to zero for 2 weeks and get back to me on what happens. Sugar spikes insulin —> which stores fat. Have you ever seen someone who works out everyday and has for years, and looks the same or is heavier? That’s because you can’t out exercise a bad diet.

You can’t work off 300 calories, have an after- workout shake of 500 calories, and expect any changes. That doesn’t fit for everyone, but that’s where rule #2 comes in.

#2 Sometimes you can do everything “right” but not lose an inch. Your “exercise” is too low in intensity. Think about this.

Would you rather…

…Look like a sprinter or

…Look like a marathon runner?

I know this is a generalization and it doesn’t fit everyone, but that’s the point. What’s the difference in body style? MUSCLE. Sprinters are ripped, and here is lesson #2, muscle is like having a free fat-loss plan. While I sit here writing to you, my body is burning calories to maintain my muscle, and is repairing and building new muscle from my workout this morning.

If you are serious about weight-loss, it would be far more efficient to redirect your efforts to weight training rather than low intensity cardio. I’m not saying cardio is bad for you, just do less of it, maybe only once or twice a week. Spend your extra 20 minutes on the weights instead, women included. 

#1 Eat your good fats, #2 high quality protein, and #3 eat your green veggies.

Part 4 of the Magic Fat-Loss Formula

Mental toughness.

Here is the hard part…it’s hard. Eating veggies is harder than eating donuts. Working out is harder than watching T.V. Bringing good food to work is harder than getting fast food. I actually know people who could never dream of not having toast for breakfast.

I think you can make changes…but you need to make the decision to do something. Unless you start-you will never finish. It might take a while, but so what, changing the body is slow.

This entry was posted on Monday, September 8th, 2008 at 3:52 pm and is filed under Good fats, Weight loss, fats and oils, Better eating. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.