By Stefano Chiriaco | Categories: NUTRITION
If you are a Dad struggling with excess belly fat and are tired of all the conflicting information, today we will be covering the 5 golden rules of high-quality nutrition so you can achieve your goals.
By Stefano Chiriaco | Categories: NUTRITION
By Stefano Chiriaco | Categories: NUTRITION
Steven was struggling with his weight, down on his energy and only had time for work. Even though he has sciatica and couldn’t train, changing his mindset and nutrition habits has had life changing impacts.
Since, he’s now more active with his family and even his partner has lost almost 2 stone just by his own example.
By Stefano Chiriaco | Categories: NUTRITION
Ray was struggling with his dad-bod and has maintained his results for almost 8 months now. He was sick and tired of looking at himself in the mirror and after watching us on Facebook for a whole, he jumped right in.
He’s previously tried to keep active and has run a lot, but since becoming self employed and losing time his diet consisted of quick easy foods and less exercise.
He got into bad habits with drinking more and this is his story on how he turned things around.
By Stefano Chiriaco | Categories: NUTRITION
![How To Lose Belly Fat [Best 5 Tips]](https://www.ultimatedadtransformation.com/core/wp-content/uploads/YouTube-Thumbnail-640x360.jpg)
If you are a busy Dad struggling to work out how to lose belly fat and you aren’t getting the results you deserve even when dieting and training, then you’ll need these top 5 tips to ensure you see the results you are looking for!
We are going to cover the main 5 areas that will hold you back and also debunk many things most people do which actually makes it harder to lose belly fat!
By Stefano Chiriaco | Categories: NUTRITION
This pretty much leaves you feeling confused and of course, when you do not have clarity and certainty you do not take action.
There is so much that we can agree and disagree on because of studies, health claims and peoples opinions.
For example, is fruit good for you when you want to lose weight?
Blueberries have high levels of anti-oxidants which can combat cancer but at the same time fructose (sugars found in fruit) is natures candy.
So the answer?
Depends on many factors which you may not even be aware of yet, soon you’ll see why simply counting calories and exercising alone is not the answer to long term weight loss.
[ENERGY IN] – [ENERGY OUT] = Change In Body Composition
In other words, when you consume than you burn you gain weight.
When you consume less than you burn, you lose weight.
When consumption and expenditure are matched, you stay the same.
Pretty simple right? Not quite.
Although this statement is true and agreed on by educated health and fitness professionals, there are many factors that influence your energy in vs energy out balance since your brain alone can increase and decrease your metabolism which has a massive impact on your results.
As you can see, there are a lot of factors involved in ensuring you truly achieve a deficit but for today we are going to focus 4 main areas. Let’s start of with protein!
Diets suck, especially when you are hungry all of the time which is why this first one makes all the difference to your life.
There are 2 main reasons why protein is so important when it comes to losing weight, firstly research shows that protein helps you feel fuller for longer and as a result, weight loss can be more easily achieved.
Protein takes longer to break down in the stomach compared to carbs or fat whilst stimulating the bodies satiation hormones in the gut so you naturally eat less but also feel more satisfied.
The other reason is that without protein, our bodies do not function well and we need protein to ensure that the weight loss isn’t lean muscle tissue. When protein levels are low, the body will extract it from elsewhere, usually muscle mass which is detrimental to your metabolism.
For every pound of muscle you lose, you burn 50 calories a day less so 7 pounds of lost muscle means 2,100 calories a week lost in metabolic activity.
Simply counting calories without looking at your fundamental nutrition is a big mistake, in fact many of our clients do not count calories because real, whole foods naturally put you in a deficit and nourish you more.
Foods that are less processed contain all the goodness that you need to thrive as a human being including vitamins, minerals and nutrients.
Research shows us that we are healthier when we consumer whole foods over refined, processed foods.
The more processed the food, the higher the additives, preservatives, sugar, salt, trans-fats and refined starch it will contain plus the lower the nutrition due to reduced fiber, essential fats, vitamins and minerals.
For example below shows you a fast food burger with fries (918 cals) vs a steak with broccoli and medium potato (562 calories).
A diet in less processed foods can help to lower heart disease, cancer, diabetes and excess weight whilst helping you to feel energetic, healthy and full.
When your diet is full of processed food, you are likely to eat more due to a lack of nutrition and satisfaction.
What makes a food processed? Cereals instead of brown rice, apple muffins instead of apples, orange juice instead of an orange, fresh nuts instead of nut bars.
The biggest issue that most people experience is some kind of a dietary plateau, what will take you to your first 5KG of weight loss won’t necessarily help you with your second 5KG or weight loss and so on.
Cycling of energy balance is key to ensure you are in the best place metabolically, hormonally and with overall health plus it ensures you actually stick to the plan.
This is why low carb diets generally fail due to the metabolism adapting to the new energy intake and also a lack of sustainability plus down regulation of your fat burning hormonal activity such as T3 thyroid and hunger boosting hormones such as ghrelin.
Our system shows you exactly how to stop metabolic down regulation and hormonal regulation to ensure you see consistent weight loss weekly.
Your initial deficit works great simply by eating less, but then your body adapts whilst increasing hunger signals to help you survive it’s ‘starvation’ triggers to keep you alive and defend your setpoint weight (your internal normal thermostat on bodyfat levels).
When you eat less, leptin decreases which tells your brain and body to decrease energy output to compensate so we use this mechanism to our advantage.
The more you eat particularly in certain foods, the more energy you burn so temporary boosts in food intake help to overcome progress halting stalls.
Many Dads who work long hours and have a family suffer with their sleep and this can often get in the way of achieving their goals.
I have seen multiple clients simply get more sleep and their weight loss sparks up again, it’s hard to accept something so simple works but there is a good scientific reason.
When you are in a sleep deprived state you impair your bodies fat burning ability through key hormones.
Ghrelin levels rise, triggering hunger.
Leptin falls, taking longer to feel full.
Food seems more pleasurable so you eat more to ‘pick up energy’
This makes it harder and harder to resist all of the fattening foods that you enjoy such as cookies, muffins and take aways.
Sleeping less makes you crave more poor quality food and you also tend to move less which is a bad combination.
Studies show how sleep deprived people tend to eat 300 calories a day more than people who get enough sleep.
As you can see while many people follow strict diets to reach their goals, it rarely works out because if it was that simple, everyone would be in great shape.
A combination of diet quality, set point weight management, plateau busting strategy, stress, hormonal triggers, fullness, eating enough and following the right training plan are the secret to it all and it’s why we’ve successful helped over 450 Dads with the Ultimate Dad Blueprint which gives you everything you need to know to start seeing long term results.
If you are ready to finally lose weight long term, PRESS HERE to apply for our next 12 week transformation.
By Stefano Chiriaco | Categories: FITNESS, NUTRITION
If you are looking to lose body fat, the body needs to become good at using fat for fuel and this is largely dictated by your food choices, NOT the calories you consume.
If you are looking to optimise your body and train effectively, you need to be able to effectively use carbohydrates for fuel, but a high carb diet is not good for weight loss.
Can you see the conflict here?
Higher fat diets are great for getting your body to burn fat for fuel and although it works well, it’s not sustainable nor healthy.
Why? Because vowing to never eat fruit or starch again is very unlikely to happen, you’ll be missing out on vital nutrients for optimal health and it can really mess up your hormones!
In fact, keto diets over extended periods have been shown in multiple studies to WRECK the normal function of the thyroid gland and training intensively on this type of diet can cause further stress and damage. So what does that mean?
The metabolism will drop down and it becomes harder to lose weight.
Anything that you start which can’t be maintained is a waste of time in my opinion because it’s not a lifestyle change.
So what’s the answer? My clients use a hybrid version where they can burn fat for fuel and carbs for energy, at the same time!
That means they can eat from ALL food groups making it sustainable, which is why we have clients maintaining their bodyfat levels for around 2 years now since UDT started.
The answer is called ‘The Lean Dad Blueprint’ and it’s a 5 step system.
Step 1 – We get them to follow a clean diet with just REAL FOOD (JERF) which automatically removes all added sugars, trans fats, high salt and ‘fake food’ from their diet, this step alone has helped people lose 5-8KG alone without following any ‘diet’.
Step 2 – We reset the leptin & insulin functions by healing the process of insulin resistance that many people suffer with due to high sugar, processed diets. Without doing this, counting calories or not, it will be near impossible to effectively burn fat. This process also allows for ‘better use’ of carbohydrate for energy without automatically storing it as fat.
Step 3 – We then use a rotational system to ensure the diet doesn’t plateau out by constantly changing the types and amounts of foods eaten every 4-7 days so the body doesn’t adapt to the diet. This pretty much goes against every ounce of traditional dieting advice given by health professionals who actually promote starvation and calorie restriction, but the body works against this by making it harder to lose weight or worse… burning off precious muscle tissue.
Step 4 – We then optimise athletic performance by giving people more energy rich foods at the perfect times of day to exercise harder and more effectively, whilst continuing to lose body fat. If you rely on fats for fuel when doing high intensity exercise, you’ll very quickly lose steam so there are times where you need to be able to burn sugar and carbs for fuel to get the most out of your sessions or you’ll struggle to burn fat and build a better body.
Step 5 – This is about retention of results, this is where ALL diets fail… but not with UDT. At this point, you’ll be able to effectively burn fat for fuel, carbs for fuel (without weight gain) and follow a more balanced approach where you do not gain the weight back that you’ve lost. This is why our system is sustainable.
The truth is, you can’t and won’t find this way of working anywhere else because it’s unique and an accumulation of more than 16 years, real life working experience with clients and producing body transformations.
If you’d like to implement ‘The Lean Dad Blueprint’ along with the full ‘UDT Method’ which delivers 10KG + in sustainable weight loss, better energy and health and getting you back to your prime again, PRESS HERE to apply now to see if we can help.
By Stefano Chiriaco | Categories: NUTRITION
Up until 10,000 years ago, human beings got their nutritional needs met through hunting and gathering and from scientific research shows meat consumption up until around 2,000,000 years ago.
Fast forward to the age of agriculture and things started to change as we now had a predictable food source which has contributed to the massive growth in the populations of our species where grains, barley and wheat have been available in abundance.
But food hasn’t always been abundant due to the seasons of our planet which means that our bodies became very good at one thing which has been paramount to our survival as a species; the storing of body fat to get us through lean times.
In todays world, we have food available around every single corner and very rarely to we actually become hungry or starved like our ancestors did but the last 10,000 years hasn’t allowed our bodies to catch up to the environment that we now live in, evolution is a very slow process.
That means we have a body that is predisposed to store fat whenever excess energy is consumed to ensure survival and an abundance of calories through the availability of processed foods is ruining our health. If we couple this with the fact that we can drive to work, get an elevator up to our desks and sit down all day, we truly are not working in alignment with how our bodies are destined to work; hunt and gather.
This brings to mind the ‘fish out of water analogy’ which is exactly why there is more disease in our populations that ever before. The fish (humanity) are living in a septic tank (our new environment with poor quality food) which is slowly causing it to die and mutate in unnatural ways.
That isn’t the only gripe, because we have been exposed to heavily processed foods and sugars our bodies are losing the ability to burn fat for fuel becoming a fat storing mechanism which is the leading cause of diabetes and heart disease.
Insulin resistance happens when the cells in the body stop responding to it’s normal functions which are to store glucose for energy for later use, these come from all sources of carbohydrates including fruits, grains, starches, sugar and even vegetables.
You may think you are not at risk but the driving forces to having this issue are excess belly fat (not only obesity), lack of exercise and skipping quality sleep. There is a ‘soft rule’ that if you waist is above 35 inches for a man, you are currently at risk.
According to Diabetes UK, by 2025 over 5 million people in the UK will have diabetes and 460 people each day die from a heart attack. This brings to mind the importance of consciously taking steps to overcome the challenges of busy lifestyles, eating for convenience and allowing our health to diminish.
So how can you improve your health and waistline to avoid suffering with the above?
The answer is simple, lose weight and improve the quality of your diet by eating more real food and following an exercise programme that will support your goals. It’s important to remember that sugar is the main culprit so simply eating more healthy food is not the answer because you can gain weight from any food if the energy consumption exceeds your current level of metabolism.
Calories themselves are not the only thing to take note of but the quality of the calories and also the response you have to those foods to ensure you are able to improve your insulin sensitivity and therefor improve your bodies own ability to burn fat.
How does UDT help to not only burn fat, but improve ones health also?
Our system is one of the only coaching programmes available that focuses on fixing this mechanism, focusing on natural real foods (without any supplements) and building positive habits into your daily life through the unique posting system we use where you are truly accountable to your actions.
This is important because many people make the mistake that they think as long as they know how ‘they can do it alone’ but if you look at the recent finding that over 40% of all doctors are overweight (source: The Five Minute Journal), it clearly shows that knowing isn’t enough.
In todays world, there are more training plans and videos on ‘how to lose weight’ than ever before and yet people are struggling more than ever with their health and weight because they do not have the support or accountability needed to help them develop new habits.
Many of our clients realised that the quick fix mentality was keeping them stuck and in the endless cycle of losing and gaining (more) weight so it came to the point that a lifestyle change was needed to really get the results they wanted, see below.
If you are currently tired of trying diets with no real results and you finally want to get rid of the gut, improve your health and be the role model your family looks up to (because you’ll be helping them too), then apply for 1 of our 10 monthly spots to join the UDT programme and we will help you change your life.
PRESS HERE to apply now for coaching.
By Stefano Chiriaco | Categories: NUTRITION
Do you ever feel like you are retreading old ground with your diet?
I was on the phone to a Dad who wanted me to help him with his diet and he was very motivated to change, but before real change can happen it’s important to understand why the current methods weren’t really working for him anymore.
At the start of the conversation he told me about how good he was during the week, that he didn’t really eat bad food and that he struggled mainly at the weekends.
Let’s delve a little deeper into what happens and the psychology behind why he is stuck in a constant weight loss and weight gain yo-yo.
Over The Weekend
He would essential have what he wanted, no real structure and reward himself for being ‘good’ during the week usually in the form of beers, maybe something sweet, anything goes really.
Sunday Evening
After a weekend of being completely off plan with no real structure, the guilt would set in and there is a moment of realisation that maybe he should have been a little more disciplined.
Monday Morning
The cycle beings again but with a focus to get back quickly to the weight he was prior to over doing it over the weekend, desperate for success he would not eat much at all, not have any fats and try to live on salads and proteins.
Friday Morning
The weight has come off, wohoo! But he is starving because he wasn’t eating enough and relying on will power to keep to the plan even though it isn’t sustainable.
The previous weekend is already forgotten, the guilt, the weight gain, he just wants to eat food that satisfies him and enjoys!
The cycle continues again and again which only makes the situation worse.
Can you relate to this? Crash dieting doesn’t really last, here’s what you should do instead.
DITCH THE FAD DIETS & CHASING QUICK RESULTS
Imagine sustainably losing weight every single week for an extended period where 2 lbs loss every week racks up to something substantial which actually stays off, wouldn’t that be great?
That’s exactly why you need to make a lifestyle change which is a commitment to a better quality of life, body, health and confidence for the long haul.
There is nothing worse than remaining on the weight loss merry go round and living your life emotionally by what the scales tell you.
Neither is focusing on short term results because in reality, you aren’t really getting anywhere and the motivation will die, it can even diminish your ability to lose weight in the future making it harder and harder.
If you are currently unhappy with the way you look and feel, possibly even concerned about your health letting you down then something needs to change.
Would you like help implementing a new way to sustainably lose weight, improve your energy, health and body confidence?
If you do, I’d like to offer you a free personal blueprint call, here’s how it works;
– First we will find out what your current challenges are and what is holding you back.
– You’ll receive some helpful insights that will create immediate shifts in your diet, fitness & mindset.
– We’ll review your goals for the next 90 days and discover where you’ll need help.
– Based on the conversation and if we have a good fit, you’ll discover exactly how to reach your goals within 12 weeks.
Sounds good? If you want to take action click PRESS HERE to start your transformation with us.
By Stefano Chiriaco | Categories: NUTRITION
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