Rob - Fit For Life - Stronger Every Decade

Habits that will help fat loss:

- 3L water per day
- 7+ hours of sleep
- 10k steps per day
- Lifting 3x per week
- Later meals
- Tracking food intake
- High protein intake
- Protein at every meal
- High volume/low calorie foods
- No liquid calories
- Brushing teeth after dinner

All you need is a calorie deficit.

These tips will help you create one or help you stay on track.

If you want to lose 10-20 lbs of fat in 60 days, you should get on the next intake of my fat loss coaching program Shred in 60.

Sign up to the priority list here if you want the first option on a space in the March intake:

https://t.co/l8ZRE2VGoo

Want 21 free high protein recipes?

Get them here:

https://t.co/WIrxanaRFw

I help dads with no time go from out of shape to lean and strong with short workouts and easy to follow nutrition plans. DM for coaching.

Rob - Nothing Barred Fitness

Saturated fat = heart disease and death.

Is this true or a myth?

And should you worry about eating it?

I'll attempt to answer this whilst looking at what the evidence says.

Thread 🧵👇 https://t.co/hzafaUIw92

First, what IS saturated fat?

Fat comes in several forms.

There's saturated fat, unsaturated fat and polyunsaturated fat.

The difference lies in the number of double bonds in the fatty acid chain (I won't get too deep into the explanation of this here).

Unsaturated fats have one or more double bonds and fewer hydrogen atoms on their carbon chains.

Saturated fats lack these double bonds.

Saturated fats tend to be solid at room temperature, while unsaturated fats tend to be liquid.

Here's some sources of saturated fat:

- Fatty cuts of meat
- Products with meat in them
- Animal fats like butter, lard, tallow
- Coconuts and coconut oil
- Cheese
- Some oils, like palm oil
- Cream and ice cream
- A lot of snack and junk foods (varies by region)

Saturated fat has been believed to be bad for human health since the 1950s.

This was originally based on observational studies that showed a link between higher saturated fat consumption and higher rates of death from heart disease.

This led to the creation of the diet-heart hypothesis which states saturated fat raises levels of LDL (bad) cholesterol in the blood, which lodges in the arteries, causing heart disease.

This has never been scientifically proven but many official diet guidelines are based on it.

There are still lots of studies looking into this link, with many recent studies finding no association between saturated fat and heart disease.

The issue may be more nuanced than the diet-heart hypothesis makes it seem.

For example, this meta-analysis looked at 15 randomized controlled trials, totalling 59,000 participants in studies where saturated fat was reduced for at least 2 years.

The study found no reduction in deaths, heart attacks or strokes from reducing SF.
https://t.co/oELAr6cV44

However, it was found that replacing some saturated fat with polyunsaturated fat led to a 27% lower risk of cardiovascular events - but no significant findings for deaths, heart attacks or strokes.

This 2014 review looked at 76 studies, including 27 randomized controlled trials.

The conclusion was that current evidence doesn't support guidelines to reduce saturated fats and increase consumption of polyunsaturated fatty acids.
https://t.co/fD4nxbfMlr

Here's another meta-analysis, this time looking at 75 studies.

No link was found between consuming higher levels of saturated fat and heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes or dying from any cause.
https://t.co/wz8GsYYiir

This review looked at d 607 studies, analysing all of the data, and finding that saturated fats are not associated with all cause mortality, CVD, CHD, ischemic stroke, or type 2 diabetes.
https://t.co/2Ein5J510S

A limitation of these reviews is that they look at such a large amount of data from different studies, using different methods - so it's hard to draw overall conclusions.

Even so, no associations were found between higher saturated fat intake and cardiovascular diseases.

It has been argued that lowering saturated fat doesn't reduce CVD risk, but what those saturated fats are replaced with might

In some studies it's replaced with monounsaturated fat, in others it's replaced with polyunsaturated fat, and in others it's replaced with carbohydrates.

Saturated fat may be neither positive or negative for health, but other types of fats (for example, monounsaturated fats found in avocados and olives) may be a positive for health. 

Replacing some saturated fats with monounsaturated fats would therefore present a net benefit.

When studies claim a link between saturated fat intake and cardiovascular disease, you should question whether the levels of mono and poly unsaturated fats, carbohydrates, overall calories, etc. as well as  BMI and other risk factors are being controlled for.

It's also worth thinking about the different sources of saturated fat.

Saturated fat is present in lots of junk foods, whereas unsaturated fat is present in a lot of whole foods.

It seems logical that regular consumption of avocados and olives is going to be better for you than regular consumption of chips and ice cream (if the amount of fat is equated).

But is this because of the type of fat, or because of something else?

One thing that IS strongly linked to heart disease strongly, is obesity.

Whilst consumption of saturated fat hasn't been proven to cause build up of fatty material in arteries, there is strong evidence that being overweight and obese does.
https://t.co/f2sfMYFrTa

This is the case even if you have a healthy lifestyle with many health seeking behaviours and "healthy foods".

Being overweight increases your risk of heart attacks by up to 28%
https://t.co/keVOH05U9o

It's been found that overweight individuals tend to have a higher intake of saturated fat.

This study found that a higher intake of saturated fat (>15.5% of calories) was strongly linked with a BMI of over 25 (overweight).
https://t.co/dBFSN7XcYe

Correlation, however, is not causation.

Overweight and obesity is caused by consumption of more energy than you need over a prolonged period of time. As fat in all forms is the most calorific macronutrient, it explains why high intakes of SF tend to be correlated with obesity.

It would be interesting to see a randomized controlled study looking at saturated fat intake, over a long period, which splits participants by BMI.

If anyone knows of such a study, please mention it!

The number one thing you can do to decrease your risk of cardiovascular diseases is to achieve a healthy bodyweight.

You could do this by reducing ANY type of food from your intake whilst increasing your physical activity.

If you have a high intake of dietary fat, reducing this may be an effective way to lose weight - as fatty foods are more calorically dense than other macronutrients.

However, monounsaturated fats appear to have a health benefit, so it would be wise not to limit these too much.

It should be mentioned that fat is an ESSENTIAL part of a healthy diet.

Many vitamins are fat-soluble, meaning you need fat in your diet in order to absorb them.

Excessively limiting your fat intake could lead to nutrient deficiencies as you're unable to get these vitamins.

What do you think?

Are you convinced saturated fat is harmful?

Or has this thread made you reconsider?

If you found this thread useful or you learned something, please give the first tweet a RT!

You can click the link below to jump back there now. It's much appreciated!
https://t.co/3by5V2BTia

P.S. I'm running a 60 day fat loss program starting 6th March. You will be helped and guided through this.

If you want more info nearer the time, sign up to receive a notification once spaces are live (first come, first serve)
https://t.co/l8ZRE2VGoo

Do you want 7 free workout programs?

That's what you'll get when you join my email list (and you'll also get a week of free tips sent to your inbox!)

Sign up here 👇

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P.P.S. I’m looking for 3 men who want to lose at least 20 lbs of fat in the next 3-4 months.

You'll work closely with me, one to one, and I'll get you results.

Tap the button below to send me a DM.

(Not cheap but results are guaranteed)

https://t.co/LqkD5DQLj2

Was $20, free for next 24 hours!

- Home workout guide
- Recommended equipment that doesn't take up space
- Videos & instructions for 27 exercises
- Arranged into sample home workout programs for you.

Do this:

1. Follow
2. Retweet this tweet
3. Comment "done"

I'll send a link

P.S My fat loss program Shred in 60 opens again on the 6th of March!

Sign up to the priority list here to have the first chance to grab a space:

https://t.co/l8ZRE2VGoo

I'm afraid I can't send any more DMs. You can get the guide here:

https://t.co/D48dWCr7Nl

You aren't fat.

You HAVE fat.

You could lose it if you choose.

Stop identifying with your fat.

If you're looking for a better way to lose fat, check out this fat loss ebook (it's free).

I'll also send you some fat loss tips over the next few days.

https://t.co/s6FhQOHCy4

Want to train your whole body with the minimum time investment and put muscle on your whole body? 

You need one lift from each of these 6 categories (54 examples given) https://t.co/jvN09Sjk9J

Your program needs these 6 movements to cover all of the major muscles of your body:

- Horizontal push
- Horizontal pull
- Vertical push
- Vertical pull
- Hip hinge
- Squat

These are all compound movement patterns and involve multiple muscle groups and joints.

This gets more done with less time. 

Pick 1 or 2 of each, hit weekly, progressively overload & watch yourself transform!

Read on for specifics👇

7 of the best horizontal pushing exercises to add muscle to your chest, triceps and shoulders:

1. Pushups
2. Incline bench press
3. Barbell bench press
4. Decline bench press
5. Standing chest press
6. Chest press machine
7. Dumbbell bench press

8 of the best horizontal pulling exercises to add muscle to your back and biceps:

1. Barbell bent over row
2. Chest supported row
3. Seated cable row
4. Dumbbell row
5. Inverted row
6. Prone row 
7. T-bar row
8. Ring rows

7 of the best vertical pushing exercises to add muscle to your shoulders, triceps and chest:

1. Seated barbell overhead press
2. Swiss bar overhead press
3. Standing dumbbell press
4. Shoulder press machine
5. Seated dumbbell press
6. Barbell military press
7. Handstand pushup

6 of the best vertical pulling exercises to add muscle to your back and biceps:

1. Pullups
2. Chinups
3. Lat pulldown
4. Neutral grip pullups
5. One arm cable pulldown
6. Resistance band pulldown

7 of the best hip hinge exercise to add muscle to your glutes, hamstrings and lower back:

1. Barbell deadlift
2. Dumbbell deadlift
3. Cable pull-through
4. Straight leg deadlift
5. Glute drive machine
6. Barbell good morning
7. Barbell Romanian deadlift

7 of the best squat exercises for adding muscle to your quads, hamstrings and glutes.

1. Leg press
2. Hack squats
3. Barbell back squats
4. Barbell front squats
5. Smith machine squats
6. Dumbbell goblet squats
7. Safety squat bar squats

Let's add calves and abs to ensure they don't get left behind!

6 of the best calf exercises:

- Standing bodyweight calf raise
- Standing dumbbell calf raise
- Seated machine calf raise
- Standing machine calf raise
- Smith machine calf raise
- Standing barbell calf raise

5 of the best ab exercises:

- Hanging leg raises
- Dip machine knee raise
- Ab wheel rollout
- Barbell rollout
- Stability ball rollout
- Plank

Pick one or two of each of these, arrange into either:

- 2 or 3 workouts per week covering all 6 movements

- 4 workouts per week, 2 with upper body only exercises & 2 with lower body only exercises.

- 6 workouts per week, two of each of pushing, pulling & lower body workouts.

Always lift with control using textbook form. No momentum or jerky movements. 

As long as you're lifting close to failure (within 2-3 reps) you will provide enough stimulus for building muscle.

A wide variety of rep ranges will build muscle (up to 30 reps). 

If you have no aim to win any strength competitions then you never need to lift in a low rep range to pack on muscle.

You don't need a ton of sets. Most people will make great progress with just 2 or 3 sets per exercise (and just 1 or 2 exercises from the categories I listed).

Keep 48-72 hours recovery time before working the same muscles again.

Your muscles need to recover from the stress you've put them through in order to get stronger. 

This takes time. Don't interfere with this process by working them again before it is complete.

Make sure you've got more (or equal) sets of pulling to pushing.

Too much pushing results in the muscles of the chest and front of the shoulder pulling the shoulders forward and making them rounded. 

This will lead to poor posture and possibly shoulder pain.

Congrats, you've now got a balanced routine that works with your schedule and the equipment you have access to!

If you: 

- Sleep 7 hours per night
- Eat in a slight calorie surplus
- Stay consistent on your lifting routine
- Eat 1.6g protein per kg of your bodyweight

You'll build a good amount of muscle over 1-2 years.

Keep lifting for 5-10 years to see incredible results.

When my son was born I had to reinvent my approach to keep lifting and seeing progress when sleep was awful and I could only spare 20 minutes to workout 3-4x per week.

You can find the full plan here and get 66% off for the next 24 hours:

https://t.co/jAlDkEfE9B

If you found this thread useful, please use this link to jump back to the first tweet and give it a retweet!

Follow me @Rob_NBF for more threads on building muscle and losing fat.

P.S. I’m looking for 3 men who want to lose at least 20 lbs of fat in the next 3-4 months.

You'll work closely with me, one to one, and I'll get you results.

Tap the button below to send me a DM.

(Not cheap but results are guaranteed)

https://t.co/LqkD5DQdtu

Are you following me on Instagram?

If not, you're missing out:

https://t.co/zHjcg7Tjy5

7 things no one tells you about fat loss

(don't miss number 5) https://t.co/htKv8jZvfI

Fat loss is way simpler than the fitness industry and the internet will have you believe.

But the vast majority who attempt it, will fail.

Here are 7 things no one tells you about fat loss to help you on your journey.

1. You burn more calories by eating certain foods.

EVERY food requires energy to digest it.

Some foods require more.

Unprocessed foods require about 10% more energy to digest than processed foods.

And protein requires 20-30% more calories to digest than carbs and fat.

2. Different foods have different effects on hunger

Your food choices will impact how hungry you feel.

This is regardless of that food's calorie content.

High calorie foods can result in you feeling hungry again sooner.

Low calorie foods can keep you full for a long time.

Key things to note here are:

Protein: protein is the most satiating macronutrient.

Refined carbs: Processed flour and sugar will lead to sooner hunger. Limit these if you want to reduce hunger.

Fibre: Fibre influences how long it takes food to travel through your system.

Focus on lean proteins, high fibre vegetables and avoid highly refined carbs and sugar if you want to stay feeling as full as possible.

Certain foods influence hunger hormones too, like eggs, which raises levels of the hormone PYY.

This is a potent satiety hormone.

Studies find that people who consume eggs for breakfast are likely to eat fewer calories throughout the day.

3. The scale lies.

Don't worry about day to day changes on the scale.

Mostly they are due to changes in the amount of water and food your body is holding.

Take you weight daily, but only so you can take an average of the week.

Compare each week's average to gauge progress.

I am in love with an app called MacroFactor for tracking my food and my weight.

One of the features is that it smooths out the scale's fluctuations and shows your "trend weight", as well as a 30 day prediction.

It will adjust your macros and calories based on your progress.

Use code ROBNBF during signup to get 14 days of MacroFactor for free.

4. Not all body fat is created equal

Alpha and beta receptors in fat cells determine how easy it is to lose fat from an area.

Alpha receptors tell the body to store fat & beta to lose it.

Wherever you have stubborn fat is likely where you have more alpha receptors.

5. Not all weight loss is fat loss.

Stop eating and drinking for 24 hours and you will weigh a lot less on the next day.

This isn't fat loss. You just have less water and food inside you.

When you're in a calorie deficit for a prolonged period you'll drop water from your muscles & under your skin, dropping weight further.

When someone says "I've lost 8 lbs in a week!" they haven't lost 8 lbs of fat.

When they eat normally again they'll regain most of the weight.

6. Faster weight loss isn't better.

Losing a lot of weight quickly is often held up as something to celebrate.

But it usually means the methods were unsustainable, and the dieter is likely to regain their weight at some point.

Fast weight loss also comes with a big risk of losing muscle - something which is never going to improve your appearance.

7. You can't spot reduce fat... 

...but building muscle in an area will improve appearance.

Crunches won't burn stomach fat & triceps kickbacks won't burn upper arm fat.

But building muscle means fat has to spread out to cover a greater area, making the body part look leaner

Want my "Fat Burner Framework" that I use with my 1-2-1 coaching clients? 

I've made it into a video course with programs for home and the gym so you can easily lose 20-30 lbs of fat in the next 3 months!

Over 66% off (first 20 orders only)

If you enjoyed this thread, please retweet the first tweet below to save someone else from bad fat loss information!

Follow me @Rob_NBF if you want to get in the shape of your life this year!

https://t.co/CYEdKqdxUL

9 steps to lose fat without losing muscle https://t.co/ciUbSSAWmG

Most people have no idea how to lose fat without losing muscle.

This results in them looking the same as before, only smaller.

Read the following 9 steps to learn how to lose fat whilst keeping muscle so you can get ripped! 👇

1. Keep your calorie deficit moderate.

One of the biggest mistakes people make is they over-restrict and lose weight too quickly.

This puts muscle at risk as your body will be more likely to use it as an energy source.

An extreme calorie deficit also makes it harder to recover from workouts and rebuild muscle tissue following your workouts.

2. Eat protein and spread it out.

Your body needs protein for many different functions.

But the only way your body can store protein is as lean mass.

Therefore, you've got to ensure your body has a steady supply of protein for rebuilding muscle, other tissues & other needs.

You should be eating at least 1.6g per kg of your bodyweight (0.72g per lb).

Spread this amount across the day. Don't wait until dinner to hit most of it.

Muscle protein synthesis remains elevated for 3-4 hours post-meal.

Eat 25% of your goal at 4 servings, 4 hours apart.

3. Resistance train at least twice per week.

You don't need much resistance training at all to maintain muscle as you lose fat.

But you do need some.

If you don't resistance train, your body has no reason to keep your calorically expensive muscle.

Most studies and anecdotal evidence find that training each muscle group twice per week with minimal volume (but high intensity) is enough to maintain muscle mass.

Mike Mentzer was an advocate of just 1 hard set to failure of 1-2 exercises per bodypart every 10 days or so. https://t.co/7TDzrQujPS

4. Continue to lift at a high intensity

Your weight selection needn't change when you want to lose fat.

Don't suddenly switch to much lighter weights and higher reps.

Fight to continue lifting the same weights for the same reps.

Your sets should come close to failure.

5. Cycle calories

24 hours post workout you're in a prime state to build muscle.

It's better to shift more calories to training days + the 24h following to fuel more intense sessions + allow more calories for recovery.

Take calories from days you're not training or recovering.

It could look something like this:

Monday: Train - higher calories
Tuesday: Rest - higher calories
Wednesday: Rest - lower calories
Thursday: Train - higher calories
Friday: Rest - higher calories
Saturday: Rest - lower calories
Sunday: Rest - lower calories

6. Avoid a low fat diet

Dropping fat too low is going to result in testosterone levels dropping.

That's not something you want if your aim is to retain muscle.

Don't go below 0.3g per lb of your bodyweight.

7. Get 7 hours sleep

Poor sleep is something else that will kill your testosterone levels.

Aim to get 7 hours unbroken, or the best you can.

Here's a thread that will help you:

https://t.co/iOQDlSVLAk

8. Avoid excessive cardio

Doing high intensity cardio that pushes you near your limits will interfere with recovery from resistance training. 

Your body struggles to adapt to the two different training stimuli at the same time.

Cardio is still a good option to increase the rate of fat loss.

If you want to burn more calories through cardio, stick to low intensity steady state cardio. 

Brisk walking, or more walking in general, is a good option.

9. Limit alcohol

Alcohol impairs fat loss, lowers testosterone and impairs protein synthesis.

If you want to lose fat, it won't help you.

If you want to build or retain muscle, it won't help you.

9 steps to lose fat without losing muscle:

1. Keep your calorie deficit moderate
2. Spread out your protein intake
3. Resistance train 2x per week
4. Lift at a high intensity
5. Cycle calories
6. Avoid a low fat diet
7. Sleep 7 hours
8. Avoid excessive cardio
9. Limit alcohol

I managed to retain muscle and lose over 30 lbs of fat, despite many life complications that made for a less than ideal situation.

Get my full plan here:

https://t.co/jAlDkEfE9B

If you enjoyed this thread, retweet the first tweet below to help someone else!

Follow me @Rob_NBF if you want to get in the best shape of your life this year.

https://t.co/zlUxhgjdGJ

P.S. I’ve had a few one to one coaching spots open up for men who want to lose at least 15 lbs of fat.

You'll work closely with me, one to one, and I'll get you results.

Tap the button below to send me a DM.

(Not cheap but results are guaranteed)

https://t.co/LqkD5DQdtu

7 things you don't need to do to lose fat.

(some of these will surprise you) https://t.co/gYBaQKEj7n

1. Exercise

What happens if you lock someone in a cell and feed them very little food or water?

They'll lose weight.

Fat loss is caused by a calorie deficit.

Lower your calorie intake enough and you will get into a calorie deficit.

I do still recommend exercise though.

Any exercise is will burn calories and help you get into a calorie deficit.

I recommend resistance training. Although it will burn fewer calories, it will provide a stimulus to maintain muscle (so most of the weight you lose is fat).

2. Sleep 7 hours a night

Sleep always appears on lists about fat loss because it will influence hormones that regulate appetite and movement.

But you can lose fat on any amount of sleep if you can control your food intake.

Poor sleep just makes it harder to do that.

3. Reduce stress

Like sleep, stress doesn't impact fat loss or gain directly.

When stressed you'll be more likely to comfort eat and consume too many calories.

But control your intake, maintain movement levels and you'll still be able to create a calorie deficit and lose fat.

4. Limit carbs

Severely restricting carbs will make it likely you get into a calorie deficit.

But so will lowering fat, or lowering both by a more moderate amount.

It's not the carbs, it's the calorie consumption that usually comes with eating a lot of carbs.

5. Do intermittent fasting

How much time you spend fasting doesn't govern fat loss.

Energy in vs. energy out does.

Time-restricted eating makes it more likely you'll consume less & be in a calorie deficit.

But you can still eat too much in 4, 6 or 8 hours & make it pointless.

6. Consume nutrient-dense foods.

I do recommend you consume nutrient dense foods, but it's not actually a requirement for losing fat.

A calorie deficit is the only requirement and you could be in one if you were eating cake and protein shakes.

This has been studied.

The most famous example is Dr Mark Haub.

For 10 weeks, he consumed 1800 calories a day of Twinkies, Doritos, Oreos and protein shakes.

He lost 27 lbs.

Nutrient dense foods are a better option as you'll be less hungry (they're more filling) and they're difficult to overeat.

And obviously; they're nutrient dense.

Therefore good for your health, recovery, bodily functions, etc.

7. Change the number of meals you eat.

Some people will say you need to eat 6 smaller meals a day.

Others will say you must only eat 2 or even 1 meal a day.

You can lose fat on however many meals or snacks you like.

All that matters is the total number of calories consumed.

7 things you don't need to do to lose fat:

1. Exercise
2. Sleep 7 hours
3. Reduce stress
4. Eliminate carbs
5. Do intermittent fasting
6. Consume nutrient-dense foods
7. Change the number of meals you eat

(Read the thread above)

I like to simplify fat loss.

This is the ONE non-negotiable:

1. Be in a calorie deficit.

These are my recommended steps for fat loss in addition to being in a calorie deficit:

1. Regular resistance training.
2. Increase walking.
3. Maintain sleep quality & duration.
4. Consume 1.6g protein per kg of bodyweight.
5. Split protein intake across 3 or 4 servings per day.

I got in my leanest ever condition whilst:

- Getting awful sleep with a newborn baby
- Spending 70% less time in the gym
- Eating more chocolate than ever before

The full program I used is here (66% off today)

https://t.co/jAlDkEfE9B

If someone put a gun to your head and said they'd come back and kill you unless you lost 20 lbs in 3 months...

You'd find a way to do it.

You know what to do.

It's just a question of accountability.

Seen a few takes recently about building muscle being something that "just gym bros care about" and it "makes you boring".

Whether you lift muscle for vanity reasons, or other, there is a huge health benefit to it - physical & mental.

And it doesn't mean you can't read a book.

My anecdotal experience with myself and others is that lifting and building muscle also correlates with more pursuits of general self improvement.

The compound effects are unquantifiable.

Instead of shooting others down, why not try it for yourself and see what all the fuss is about!

You can get 7 free workout programs to start with.

Get them here 👇

https://t.co/k0LSc0S3VJ

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