When we are trying to lose weight the most important thing we need to do is reduce the total number of calories we eat. That's number one. To learn exactly how much to reduce you calories by you can use a simple formula to determine your current daily caloric requirements such as the Mifflin. This formula takes your age, mass, and activity level and provides an estimate for your individualized, base-level need for calories on any given day. If you take that number and subtract 500, you will have a good caloric total to aim for to promote fat-loss. Every time you lose 3-5lbs while using this formula, revisit the formula at your new body weight, and repeat.

Begin tracking your calories simply by counting only the calories you receive from protein. You want to consume at least one gram per pound of body weight per day (in pounds, and ideally spread throughout the day at least 2hrs apart). Among other reasons, this is a helpful strategy because your cravings for more food (snacking, binging at meals, etc.) will be greatly diminished once your body's protein needs are met. There are four calories in every gram of protein. So a 100lbs person would need to eat at least 400 calories per day from protein (100g). Do the math for your own body weight and subtract this number from the total daily requirement you received from the Mifflin formula. For the remaining daily calories eat in such a way that you are able to maintain a “manageable” hunger, and drink plenty of water. But what is "manageable" hunger and how do you achieve it?

"Manageable” hunger means that you will live within a level of hunger that is comfortable enough for you to tolerate, and time your meals accordingly. When you have a meal, you will not eat until you are full, but will eat your food slowly enough to be able to stop once your level of hunger returns to a tolerable state. Between meals you will fast (no snacking) and drink water. The part people struggle with most is the fasting between meals. As mentioned above, meeting the body's protein needs is the first step to defeat the craving for a snack. The second step is choosing foods that provide us with long-lasting energy - but that don't give us more calories than we need. We also don't want to neglect our daily requirements for micronutrients (vitamins and minerals).

That is where LivSteady (formerly called, “Superstarch”) comes in. This is a product that provides a steady dose of energy with a controlled number of calories (90 calories per scoop), helping you to manage hunger while keeping your blood sugars level - encouraging the burning of body fat. Use LivSteady to replace the snacks and starchy carbohydrates you would usually eat at meals (chips, baked treats, bread, rice, potato, pasta, etc.). Along with the adequate protein intake mentioned earlier, using Superstarch in this way will help you curb your snack cravings - keeping you feeling energized while your daily caloric intake remains low. Remember that the calories in Superstarch contribute to the daily caloric goal as well. Mix some of this product into the water you drink between meals, as needed.

Below is a picture of the nutrition facts for a scoop of the Cran-Raz flavour of Superstarch:

While LivSteady is a product largely formulated to help fuel athletes during periods of activity where there isn't time to ingest solid food - such as during a tournament or when going back-to-back between training and practice - its active ingredient is very effective in helping to promote a more favourable body composition for anyone. A good protocol is to start by replacing the starchy carbohydrates listed above with a scoop or less of this powerful product to help manage your hunger. Keep the remainder of your carbohydrate intake - if any - to fruits and vegetables (using a greens supplement in addition to or in place of the fruits/vegetables can go a long way here in adding to your micronutrient intake without adding calories to your day).

Lastly, taking 3g a day of HMB (hydryoxy methylbuturate) will help you to spare muscle loss when in a caloric deficit. If you are strength training during this period of time, your results with HMB will be even greater and this product should be considered a "must!"

Happy Training.

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