Even though balanced nutrition is the key element to success here, I believe that supplements can play a very useful role in this balance.
The foundation is a nutrient dense, properly prepared diet and the pillars are what support you and make you beautiful and functioning.
Extra support can be very beneficial.
Focus on the foundations of your nutrition and then experiment with herbs because they are like tools that unlock elements of biological metabolism.
Your body has unique needs.
The truth is that the best diet plan is the one that is best for you. The only way to learn what is best for you is to listen to the wisdom of your own body. A professional can assist you in learning how to understand the needs of your body. For example, people can work with me one on one.
No matter what, I’ll still share with you some of the best fat burning supplements that I have experienced and believe in.
Be careful if you have a sensitive stomach already. Some of the supplements below can be fairly stimulating.
If you have been following me for a while, this will come as no surprise to you.
Matcha provides some of the most nutrient dense source of caffeine possible. The antioxidants from matcha are loaded in free radical scavenging capability, while a significant source of amino acid L-Theanine nourishes the brain.
The green tea amino acid, L-theanine (L-THE) is associated with several health benefits, including improvements in mood, cognition and a reduction of stress and anxiety-like symptoms.
The benefits of matcha is something that is worth reading a book about.
Used to be very rare as a supplement, but has lately gained accessibility due to advances in growing and extraction technology. This is still considered a complete food, which means that it is full of vitamins, minerals, proteins, antioxidants and much more.
Previously, I talked about the benefits of green superfoods. I still concur with those benefits. However, blue superfoods are on the rise (despite still being more rare).
The blue pigment has a very high antioxidant ability. I actually think my eyes improve when I consume this supplement.
There is a level of naturally occurring abundance of phenylethylamine, considered to stimulate the brain. It also stimulates the metabolism and is great for exercise and fitness related events.
Also known as ACV, apple cider vinegar boasts a powerful reputation in the natural health community for blood sugar benefits.
Even though it is acidic, it is still alkaline forming due to the way it interacts with the body.
Many recent scientific investigations have documented that vinegar ingestion reduces the glucose response to a carbohydrate load in healthy adults and in individuals with diabetes. There is also some evidence that vinegar ingestion increases short-term satiety.
It is versatile as it can be used in salad dressing and refreshing beverages.
Apple cider vinegar is great for dealing with cravings. That’s also why I really like the Kevita brand of products.
Caution: Perhaps fat burning should NOT be a primary goal.
Let me be clear. While I do help clients burn fat and gain muscular development that is balanced, my primary duty is to teach people actions they can take to support the foundations of health like digestion/elimination, blood sugar regulation, and stress management.
You will understand the foundations of health in future blog posts.
As you understand the foundations better, you can begin to play with more advanced ideas relating to your nutritional enlightenment.
Burning fat can be rewarding.
You don’t need me to write a blog post about the benefits of being lean, do you? Did already
Besides, you probably already know that there are many untapped benefits in developing strong lean muscle and healthy range of motion in all of your joints.
I just wanted to share a few tricks that I use to keep my body fat percentage in the teens or below for years on end.
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Dear readers, you’re great. Blog followers, you’re the best.
If weight loss was as simple as basic arithmetic, calories would be the only information that you needed.
Nutrition is full of layers upon layers from the human aspect to understandings of energy transfer throughout the universe. If fat loss was as simple as calories in vs calories out, humans wouldn’t be facing the unprecedented obesity epidemic of 2020s.
Obesity itself isn’t even the problem. What lies beneath obesity and excess can also be found in normal weight people as well. The problems are:
Metabolic disease including diabetes etc.
Inflammatory processes dangerously overactive for a period of years. (dysfunction and eventual scarring)
Toxic relationships with food and a highly detached and simultaneously capitalistic (exploitative) food supply chain.
You need guidance in order to delay instant gratification and to gain protection from succumbing to the temptations of excess.
Learning how to have a healthy relationship with food is not an isolated activity that one can simply switch on from day to day. It is important to look at food as more than just energy.
I am very interested in the essence of that which we consume. Perhaps you would benefit from a broader definition of energy than just a measure of heat or work done within a period of time.
Because we have our energy needs met, we need to look at food in two ways: as a source of wisdom/information and a source of material to create our cells.
We have an amazing capacity to access the wisdom of food. I’ll give you some examples:
Cooking to make nutrients more bioavailable
Cooking to reduce anti-nutrients such as the lectins on kidney beans (never eat raw kidney beans)
Cooking to kill / deactivate potential pathogens
Fermentation methods to increase the biological value of food (bacteria such as lactobacilli in sauerkraut)
Fermentation to increase enzyme activity (catalysts for biological processes)
Fermentation to deactivate natural plant defenses and/or toxins
And more…
Of course there are many foods that are perfect raw such as avocado or blueberries.
We also have great methods of food preservation in our refrigeration units, WHICH MEANS YOU HAVE NO EXCUSE TO NOT PLAN AHEAD.
One day, you will realize your own natural intuition about food. Until then, you need a plan, framework, or some sort of guiding knowledge to help you make progress through your mistakes.
Here are my own personal reasons to have a spiritual component in my nutrition.
1. At the beginning of the universe, there was darkness and there was light.
If we are to believe the Big Bang theory, then every person likely shares a star as a common ancestor. To say that we came from the stars is basically factual knowledge in astrophysics and quantum mechanics.
In essence, nutrition has far more depth and layers than science can ever show. My goal is to illuminate some of these darker areas in our understanding so that we can make progress forward instead of dying from disease of modern times.
2. Light nourishes us, but it can also burn us, therefore a balance must be sought after.
Energy balance obviously is the key to healthy weight. It is important to accept the offerings of nourishment while also protecting yourself from that which causes disease.
I’ll give you a practical example of protection within nutrition:
Red meat is carcinogenic, but if you eat kimchi with garlic along with it, it is possible to protect yourself from the cancer causing chemicals.
3. Don’t just eat for yourself: Eat for your future generation, eat for your ancestors who never had the opportunity to indulge, and eat for the people around you.
Eating for the future generation is about reducing the risk of intergenerational trauma and helping your children reach their potential. High quality foods containing a variety of antioxidants will help your sperm or eggs maintain integrity.
Eating for your ancestors is honoring the long and arduous journey to get here. And what I mean by here is that we live in an environment of relative food security. In fact, most of us have abundance and excess. Be thankful for these offerings.
Eating for the people around you is about setting a great example and inspiring others. It’s okay to have weak moments because your vulnerabilities should be seen as an advantage. At the same time, when you are capable of strength through healthy nutrition, it will be like a cloud of inspiration that gently sprinkles purity of motivation on those around you.
4. The human spirit may be pure, but without nourishment of the physical body, the output can become corrupt.
In one of my favorite home school classes, we watched Star Wars. The lesson at the end is that while an entity is seemingly pure evil, there is still good inside everybody.
My theory on why so many powerful people have become corrupt is that they lack nourishment. Of course the nourishment they lack could be in the form of emotions or other ways. Just think though, if you are constantly eating processed food, then you will constantly have high inflammation, and then over time parts of your body will begin to degrade, rot, or scar.
I believe many corrupt people have experienced scarring in parts of their brains or nerves from a lifetime of poor nourishment (or anti-nourishment like refined sugar, alcohol, etc). Some of these people will be the crazies you see on the street, while others will be the crazies that you read about in the history books (Hitler comes to mind).
This might be an unpopular opinion, but I believe that deep down, even the spirit of Hitler still had light within.
Nutrition is one very important way that we can protect ourselves from evil forces. Don’t become a Hitler. Eat your vegetables.
5. Everything is interconnected AND the universe is accelerating.
The universe is accelerating, meaning that galaxies are moving away from each other at a faster rate and in some cases maybe moving towards eachother at a faster pace. I see this as a metaphor for humanity and the acceleration of technology.
We are moving faster towards something. Will you sit back, eat junk, and accept your fate?
Or will you take a stand for yourself and fulfill your destiny?
I hope this nourishes your spirit in some way so that you can gain daily motivation towards nutritional enlightenment.
Thank you for reading and stay tuned. Follow the blog, please.
Here are some benefits of getting down to a lower body fat that might help you stay focused this year.
Benefits of Low Body Fat Percentage:
1. Exercises become less challenging and you become more capable.
When your body is functioning in a lean condition, every movement requires less power than before because now you have decreased excess body fat.
Everything from running, jumping, to burpees and even squatting become less challenging to perform. As a result, you will be able to do more volume, run faster, jump higher, and you will need to add additional resistance to exercises like squats because you have already overcome your bodyweight.
2. Clothes fit better.
I am assuming that you are also working out, not simply dieting to lose body fat. Due to your exercise, you should have some lean muscle to fill out the contours of your clothing while having a V-shape torso for the men and hourglass figure for the women.
3. More confidence in your appearance.
Even though having low body fat does not mean you will magically have more confidence, there is a good chance that you will gain confidence from all of the challenges that you had to overcome and also from being able to standing up tall due to your superior posture and presentation.
These benefits can definitely help with your dating life/marriage and your professional life as you have interactions that are no longer dragged down by issues of confidence and self-esteem.
4. You will probably live longer.
Unfortunately, most people will get diseases at some point. For you, the low-body fat individual, these diseases may be delayed much further than the average person. So while some people may be getting major illnesses in their 50’s and 60’s, the person with lower body fat has a better chance of sticking it out until the 80’s and 90’s and beyond before succumbing to some inevitable fate.
Basically, people with lower body fat are likely to have an additional 20-30 years of quality of life than people who eat the Standard American Diet every day.
5. Society treats you better.
Not something that is ideal, but something that is common. People who have a fitter appearance are perceived to be more attractive and of higher social status. With low body fat, people are likely to make positive assumptions about you such as ability to have discipline, a healthy social/dating life, and better career options.
6. Increased athleticism.
Being athletic is not reserved for people who play sports all of the time. You can become quite athletic through structured training regimens and also by decreasing your body fat at the same time.
With lower body fat, you will be able to move your body more efficiently and possibly have more impact for yourself or for your team.
7. You may have less inflammation in the body.
Body fat CAUSES inflammation. When a person has excessive body fat, it actually increases the release of inflammatory cytokines in the body and makes it even harder to burn fat.
The best way to manage inflammation is through healthy nutritional and lifestyle choices.
8. The older you get, the more rare and special you will be.
People in their 40s, 50s, and 60s, or beyond who have low body fat and healthy muscle tone are a rarity. Having low body fat into the middle and older ages is a sign of health, status, and overall discipline. If this is you, congratulations because you are seen as being more attractive and desirable for many social reasons.
9. You have more confidence in your body.
You can take your shirt off now. The beach? No problem. The pool? No problem. You might even start showing off subtlety or explicitly. Physical confidence can be fun, exciting, and alluring. And the best part is that you know that you earned it.
10. Your life is priceless.
If you are lean and fit, it is worth more than any sports car or any mansion or any material item. Having your health, physically and mentally, is something that should never be taken for granted. You could lose it today. So go out and do some good with your lean self.
You must NEVER fat-shame others.
My fit friends, fat shaming is unacceptable just as fit-shaming is. You never know a story of a person until they actually share it with you. I don’t think that having a lean body is the ultimate goal for everybody nor should it be. The pursuit of health is more important than having ripped abs — therefore we must support our fellow people no matter their shape, size, age, or any other criteria related to appearance.
For tips about what food to eat to get lean, continue reading this blog!
The word obesity makes people uncomfortable. When we have conversations about obesity, the way we frame the conversation has a huge impact on the effect that it has on others.
Even though obesity is an important concern for modern humans, I don’t believe that it is proper to label an individual as, “obese.”
I can’t imagine myself — where I am today — ever telling a person, “you are obese.” That seems so rude and insensitive. The word obesity carries a significant stigma because medical researchers have produced alarming studies that suggest there are many dangers of carrying excessive adipose tissue. If you take an objective look at the research, it is undeniable that there are real risks associated with existing in a much larger body for a long period of time.
Nobody wants to be objectified.
This is why I understand the powerful emotional response of people who have been told by doctors or other professionals that they are obese. It’s hurtful and de-humanizing to be judged for your body alone and this can be true in many contexts including romantic and professional.
Many people who have struggled with weight issues feel that they are being unfairly attacked in all areas of society simply for existing. For anybody who has ever struggled with weight, we know that it’s not so simple as just waking up tomorrow and eating better. There are very powerful beliefs that we carry with us that either help us move forward, help us maintain, or cause us to regress. We need motivation, inspiration, and support.
It’s your beliefs and values that help you achieve the body that you have today.
Even though we are inseparable from the messages that society sends us, I know that the most successful people in life are those who take responsibility for their own beliefs without blaming others for their failures. I look at my personal failures and I own them. It doesn’t feel good to think about my mistakes, but it feels good when I stop making the same mistakes that have held me back in the past.
Fat shaming is highly inappropriate and rightfully offensive. However, only you can choose to take responsibility for your own choices. Attempting to change other people will only frustrate you and cause you to lose focus on what really matters. Think about changing the ways that you let other people affect you and perhaps you will become empowered. Nobody can affect you unless you let them.
Life is about balance — but some of us are already way too far out of balance.
It’s a fair analogy to say that being overweight is like being in debt. Carrying excess adipose tissue is literally a metabolic debt and the worst part about being in debt is having to pay interest on your debt.
People don’t realize that body fat is metabolically active and quite dangerous in the long term. Excess body fat releases inflammatory compounds which stimulate the immune system, cause stress on the body, and make it even harder to lose weight. Just like accumulating interest on a credit card balance, the longer you carry excess body fat, the more challenging it will be to pay off the metabolic debt. That’s why it will, “cost more,” metabolically speaking for an overweight person to consume high sugar because it adds to the debt, which adds to the accumulating interest payments which comes in the form of high inflammatory compounds.
People who’ve existed in larger bodies for a longer period of time may benefit from looking at the situation just like a person who has been in financial debt for a long period of time.
How to get out of debt?
Stop spending on things you don’t need: sugars, high saturated fats, alcohol etc.
Start increasing your wealth/income: consume the most nutrient dense foods like green vegetables and probiotic foods.
Focus on yourself: people who are broke are often that way because of their beliefs about money/spending. People who are overweight are often that way because of their beliefs about activity/eating. It won’t get better unless you get better.
The term obesity is meant to be used in the context of the population, not so much as an application for the individual.
Obesity is “diagnosed” using the body mass index, which I am not a big fan of. Body mass index is simply an index of height and weight, leaving no other data to give us indication about the health of an individual.
Because we come in all different shapes and sizes, a person who is “obese,” on the body mass index could be very much a healthy person. That’s why obesity should be spoken of in the context of population-scale issues instead of applying the term to an individual. I personally don’t like labels in many capacities because I find labels to be self-limiting.
How we talk about our bodies and the bodies of others is definitely an area of opportunity for most people, especially parents. Self talk is always an opportunity for all of us.
There is no ideal body, only your ideal body.
I think your ideal body is one which helps you feel empowered, confident, capable and allows you to do whatever you want to do in life. Much of your ideal body has to do with your beliefs about your body and your beliefs about food.
You know you have achieved your ideal body when people’s comments no longer affect you. You know you’ve reached your ideal body when you feel that your existence is a blessing to others and this may even have nothing to do with your physical shape and everything to do with the love that you have for yourself and the love that you share for other people.
While weight loss is the goal for many people, I truly like to emphasize the many reasons and benefits for lifestyle change in itself. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: when people lose a ton of weight, the valuable part isn’t the fact that they lost weight — instead the most valuable part is that these individuals were able to change their habits and challenge their discipline day in and day out.
Orangetheory Fitness Seattle, Lower Queen Anne’s Winter 2017 Weight Loss Challenge Winners and some of our coaches
Every Body is capable of healthy changes, both inside and out.
Even though the human body can be seemingly complex at times, the formula is simple.
Step 1: Eat Nutrient Dense Foods
Step 2: Get 8 hours of sleep
Step 3: Have an active lifestyle and cultivate an athletic mindset no matter what level coordination you have.
The most challenging aspect of lifestyle change are the thoughts that go on inside your head. That’s why I believe it is fundamental to surround yourself with encouraging, positive, and motivating people who share some layer of goals with you.
You can definitely lose 30-40 lbs in eight weeks by exercising and working out with me.
On the flip side, you could also work out all of the time and still not lose any weight if the nutritional habits are poor. It’s just a fact of the matter that you cannot out-train a bad diet. Workouts are challenging and often give immediate gratification and sense of accomplishment once the workout is complete, yet your nutritional habits are responsible for the vast majority of your results.
Nutrition is responsible for all human biological function and linked strongly to gene expression as well as the state of your human ecosystem (read: trillions of bacteria cells that live in and on us).
As I mentioned earlier in this post, every body is capable of fat loss. There are genes that regulate how much fat you can lose and how fast you can burn that fat so yes every body is different in that regard. However, we are learning more and more that certain foods (nutrient dense foods) are actually able to increase the gene expression of genes which are responsible for fat loss. You are not limited by your genetics as much as you are limited by your mind. You must challenge your limiting beliefs about food so that you can cultivate a lifestyle which supports healthy nutritional habits as part of your core values.
Moreover, for your biological processes to be in a healthy, functioning state, you must digest healthful, nutrient-dense foods on a regular basis. Food contains lots of nutrients like vitamins, minerals, healthy fats, amino acids, antioxidants, phytonutrients, and other currently undiscovered components which likely support human health. I know this, because I know that which I do not know. The wisdom of nature must be valued, so let thy food be thy medicine. Hundreds of thousands of years of human knowledge should be honored. Millions of years of evolution suggests that plants are good for us and chemicals (aka processed foods) are not. I’m sure there are parts of an apple that are good for us that science will never discover, and that’s okay. Don’t overthink it.
Of course you need to decrease your calories in order to achieve weight loss.
That doesn’t mean that you should allow yourself to fall into a dangerous mindset of restriction. I 100% believe that healthy nutritional habits are far more realistic to sustain when you are able to have an abundance mentality. You literally have an abundance of healthy food options if you are willing to be creative and seek knowledge. Never settle.
In our modern era, we have access to more nutrients than even our paleo ancestors. The difference between paleo ancestors and ourselves is that we seem to have become burdened by choice. Even worse, there are multi-billion dollar corporations which prefer to mislead us through advertising and through government lobbying and these groups certainly do not have our best interests in mind.
Here is your challenge: Get the MOST amount of nutrients with the fewest calories.
If you eat the most nutrient dense foods, then you will always have an abundance of food that fills you up, energizes you, and gets you ready for a successful tomorrow.
Nutrient density = the highest amount of overall nutrient value for the lowest amount of caloric value.
When I think of nutrients I think of:
Fiber (Try to get at least 30 grams per day which is the government recommendation to reduce risk of colon cancer. Fiber also helps to maintain healthy blood sugar / diabetes management, also insulin senstivity and feed the beneficial bacteria in the gut… of course all of these things are related to fat loss and health).
Protein
Saturated fats like Medium Chain Triglycerides (coconut oil source)
Phytonutrients (natural components that support healthy hormones, we are learning how broccoli/b-sprouts/cabbage/cauliflower helps fight cancer)
Sidenote: If you can support a healthy immune system and gut function, you’ll likely be able to burn more fat and be able to train harder, thereby making even more fitness gains
Anti-inflammatory compounds (often these are antioxidants, such as those found in tart cherries, leafy green vegetables, herbs like ginger/turmeric/garlic).
Probiotic potential or live probiotics (pre-biotic foods like foods high in fiber that feed healthy gut bacteria or actual live probiotics found in raw sauerkraut and real kefir)
Cardiovascular supporting compounds (I love beets because they are packed with nutrients despite containing natural sugars. Beets are a nutrient powerhouse that act as a methyl donor to support the remethylation of homocysteine, something that most people will never learn about — but basically is crucial for healthy cardio and managing risk of ever having a heart attack or stroke.)
Enzymes — even though our bodies can create enzymes, our ability to do so decreases as we age. A prominent doctor in Japan argues for a sort of mythical “source enzyme” that once is depleted, then we die. So you must eat foods that support healthy enzyme production (such as the foods listed above). Additionally, you can also eat foods that contain active enzymes which are raw foods and raw probiotic foods. Cooking and the heating process tends to kill enzymes (even though cooking does release/enhance other nutrients), so you still want to get some raw food and raw probiotic food in your diet. Related: Top Probiotic Food / supplements
I’m sure there are other nutrients to consider, these are just the considerations that come to the top of my head when I’m choosing foods to eat mindfully.
The key is to educate yourself because you’ll find yourself making better choices simply by having a better foundation of knowledge.
Knowledge truly is power. I encourage you to read about the benefits of real, natural foods and I also encourage you to read about the harmful effects of processed, junk, sweets, etc even if it is uncomfortable to read about. Take time in your day to follow my blog, and/or follow other trustworthy sources online or otherwise.
It doesn’t have to be all or nothing.
Growing up, my father would always say, “everything in moderation.” I believed in that phrase for a while, but now I realize that there are some things that you should simply never do or never have. And that’s okay. Some things are just. not. worth it.
The important point is that you are caring about yourself in your lifestyle. If you have to be 100% on and then when you fall off you go food binge and drink, then that says that maybe you’re an on again off again type person who isn’t willing to be committed to themselves. Let yourself have a lifestyle that allows for mistakes, forgiveness, and moving forward.
If you think that you have to be on a restrictive diet to be successful, then why aren’t you successful yet? If it has worked for you in the past, but only temporarily, then did it really work for you? I want you to engage in thought processes that allow for long term success.
Sometimes your thoughts will come crashing inside like waves in a storm and that’s when you just need to hunker down and care for yourself, otherwise you’re going to drown. Those are the hard times.
Other times, your thoughts will be like an oasis in the desert where you think everything is just perfection, but maybe it is just a mirage? Those are even harder times because it forces you to face the truth: Sometimes you have to stay hungry. And that’s okay too. But if you’re planning your meals properly, then you’ll have nutrient dense food waiting for you around the next corner.
How much do you really care about yourself?
We all have struggles. I just need you to take a moment to think about all of the actions that you take on a daily basis that demonstrate self-care. When you are mindful, when you plan for success, and when you surrender your entitlement, then you will find yourself in a whole new reality of empowerment.
Love is action. Good luck, my people! Stay tuned for more, subscribe to my brand new YouTube channel and click that Follow Blog button on the top left (show sidebar for mobile users).
Dre Fitness 