:by Kate Dee, MD
At Glow, we have been developing our body sculpting program for over 3 years to create the most advanced, comprehensive treatments with 4 different devices that alone or in combination can:
- Kill Fat
- Tighten skin
- Build muscle
- Smooth cellulite
I’ve written about how these devices work in previous posts on Emsculpt, Vanquish ME, Exilis Ultra and Cellutone. Your diet and fluid intake can make a huge difference in how these machines work and how robust the treatment can be.
Whether you are in our body sculpting program or not, you can change whether you are actively Making Fat or Killing Fat with your diet alone.
If you go into Killing Fat Mode while you are in our program, you are going to accelerate the process and maximize results.
To break down fat, your body must burn fat for calories instead of carbohydrates– you must become Fat Adapted. This has nothing to do with “calories in vs calories burned.” It means that you have to burn more calories than you store. What does that mean in your daily life? I’m going to spare you the biochemistry… (but if you’re a science geek like me and want to talk about it, come on in!!) It means that you have to do away with calorie restriction and focus on the total carbs you eat each day.
Diet: The ideal daily intake for burning fat:
- Eat under 100 grams of carbs: from mostly vegetables, some fruit. No grains.
- Eat a moderate amount of protein each day (0.5 gm/lean body mass– need help figuring that out? We can do it for you at Glow)
- Eat healthy fats: coconut oil, avocado oil, extra virgin olive oil, ghee, omega-3’s and animal fats (no trans fats or polyunsaturated fats like vegetable and canola oil)
The best part about this diet is that the protein and fat make you feel full and happy. You’re never hungry. There is no calorie limit. Did you know that carbs go to your brain and make you hungrier? Did you know that excess carbs are turned into fat? Because protein and fat make you feel full, you are extremely unlikely to eat too much of them, as long as you’re limiting the total carbs.
Hydration: being well-hydrated is critical for the body-sculpting devices to work their best. These machines use the difference in hydration of your fat (not hydrated much) and the rest of the tissues (muscle and skin are very well hydrated) in order to target the fat and kill it. So, minimize alcohol consumption, which is the most dehydrating (and stops fat burning) and also try to limit caffeine.
Exercise: to maximize fat burning, you don’t need to do tons of cardio!
- 20-40 minute of strength training twice/week
- Once each week, do seven or eight 10-15 second all-out sprints (running, cycling, or any activity you love most) separated by 30-60 seconds of rest. You can do this in under 10 minutes!
- Move frequently in your daily life (don’t be a couch potato)
What if you love your cardio? Spin class? Try to limit daily cardio to under 45 min. Once your body has used up the sugar supply, it starts to break down MUSCLE (not fat!!). Why do long distance runners look so scrawny? They’re burning their muscle to keep going… You need that muscle–which has a higher metabolic rate and is how you kill fat–so you don’t want to kill your muscle.
I’ve enjoyed having these discussions with my patients so much I decided to become a certified Primal Health Coach. Doctors don’t learn much about nutrition in medical school, and the science around nutrition and exercise has completely changed since 1994 when I left Yale as a newly-minted MD. I am excited to bring an official program to help support my patients look and feel their best. Stay tuned for what I’m calling Glow Fit. Questions? Call us at 206-800-7379 or book a consultation online.
