I recently attended a seminar lead by professional bodybuilder, trainer, and educator, big Ben Pakulski (BPak). In his presentation, Advanced Techniques for Hypertrophy and Fat Loss, Ben shared some important tips for gaining muscle and shedding fat. In this post I wanted to share with you his 5 Powerful Fat Loss Tips.

Fat Loss Tip #1: Carbohydrates are NOT the body’s preferred energy source!

Although carbs are burned faster than fat, they are not the most efficient or healthiest energy source. Carbs have only 4 kcal per gram, whereas fat has 9 kcal per gram… more than twice the available energy. Fat is also a slower burning fuel source and will provide longer lasting energy. Fat is an essential nutrient, as is protein (Note: Essential Fatty Acids in fat; Essential Amino Acids in protein; carbohydrates are non-essential), and even most saturated fats and cholesterol are healthy and necessary, EXCEPT if consumed along with carbs! That’s right, that bacon for breakfast isn’t necessarily a bad thing in moderation, UNLESS you eat it along with sugar (such as pancakes and syrup)… that’s when the saturated fats become an issue!

Another issue with our typically high carbohydrate grain-eating culture is that it leads to insulin sensitivity problems, obesity, and diabetes.  Ben suggested that part of the reason our government and “nutrition experts” recommend such huge amounts of starchy carbs and grains is that it is a cheap and plentiful food source for a growing global population.  If everyone on earth recognized that we need to consume more proteins and animal products we’d run out of animals pretty fast… so to avoid eating each other we’re encouraged to eat tons of wheat and corn instead, LOL.  So we have an obese, unhealthy society, but at least most people are being fed something.

Fat Loss Tip #2: Do not be afraid of fats!

As introduced in the first tip, fats are a healthier fuel source than carbohydrates and are also used for many other important functions in your body, such as hormone production and reducing inflammation. However, when carbs and fats are consumed at the same time, your body will use carbs first. For this reason you need to reduce your intake of carbohydrates to favor the use of fat as a fuel, and certainly do not consume high carbs and high fats in the same meal.

Fat Loss Tip #3: High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) is the most effective form of cardio

I’ve said this myself many times in my previous blog posts, and it was good to hear it confirmed by an expert of Ben’s caliber. Long slow “fat burn zone” cardio can lead to oxidative stress, increased cortisol (the “belly fat” stress hormone), and muscle-wasting, whereas HIIT can increase your metabolism for hours after exercise, increase growth hormone (the “fat-burning” youth hormone), and preserve lean muscle… in a much shorter time! Just do it.

Fat Loss Tip #4: Start your day with protein

When it comes to fat loss, Ben recommend’s starting your day with a high-protein, LOW-carb breakfast. This has less affect on insulin and will favor the metabolism of body fat due to several mechanisms. Admittedly, I had often recommended to clients that the two most appropriate times for consuming carbs were post-workout (Ben agreed) and first thing in the AM… however, after speaking with him about this further he has convinced me as to the benefit of a high protein breakfast with reduced carbs.

Fat Loss Tip #5: Choose the right supplements

Ben gave us a lot information about the supplements he believes are most effective, but the ones that stood out most to me related to fat loss were:

i) L-carnitine

ii) Green Tea

iii) EFA’s (essential fatty acids ie: Omega 3)

He recommended against using stimulant-based fat burning supplements as they can fatigue your adrenals and create dependency. You can order quality supplements online at excellent prices from True Nutrition (you can use my discount code TOPFORM for 5% off your order).

There you have it… the Top 5 Fat Burning Tips from one of the top fitness experts and physique competitors in the world!  Great advice.  If you have any questions or comments about this information, leave a comment in the section below and I’ll be sure to reply.

Next time I’ll share with you Ben Pakulski’s Top 5 Hypertrophy Tips (for gaining lean muscle)!  Meanwhile, if you are interested in developing more muscle mass, Ben gave me a link to download one of his products FREE for my readers!  Grab your copy of “5 Tricks to Immediately Double Your Gains” here:

Check out his ebook, and watch for my next blog post on the same topic.

Stay fit,

Josh