Erik Ciccarelli, Private Personal Trainer and PICP III, USAW Coach at ZUM, discusses the complex topic of training and diet in regards to fat loss. As a part of the monthly ZUM U lecture series for ZUM Fitness members, Erik’s talk covers the following:

There are 3 major areas to think about when your goal is fat loss. Fat loss isn’t a linear thing. Meaning there isn’t a take a pill and it’s fixed approach. But getting control of these three areas will set you up for success.

1. Insulin – it’s a hormone that’s 100% controllable. You’re always deciding what to eat. No one is ever forcing you to eat anything. Choose real food. A good indicator of what real food would be is seeing if the ingredients have less than two ingredients.

2. Stress (Cortisol) – An abundance of this hormone being released in the body will wreak havoc. We’re humans living in the current modern world. We’re going to be stressed. Minimizing it effects insulin, sleep, mood, appetite and your brain age.

3. Exercise – Incorporate strength training into you routine. Minimize your rest time when training. Also practice more eccentric training. You want to become a fat burning machine!

You can’t outwork a bad diet.

Additionally, Erik has some follow up advice not covered in the talk:

– There are a few carb trackers I’ve heard of over the years. The best one I currently know about is https://www.carbmanager.com/

There is a fee involved with this one. But everyone I’ve talked to really loves it.

Supplements – We didn’t touch on this much. I would recommend taking these four.

Zinc – 150-200mg a day. Pill form. It’s a mineral that has been depleted from food from poor soil.

Magnesium – 200-300mg at night after dinner. In pill form. This mineral will make you tired and stay asleep. Usually magnesium is a missing link with sleep issues. Calcium is a big branded supplement that you see everywhere. What you don’t see is that it can’t be absorbed properly without magnesium.

Magnesium is a building block to many things in the body. 

Fish Oil – The main ingredient is EPA and DHA. If you’re looking at the bottle make sure it says at least 300-400mg of both DHA and EPA. EPA is more inflammatory driven and DHA is more brain health driven. Meaning the total amount of both combined should be at least 700-800mg. Otherwise it’s a waste of money. You’ll see a lot of bottles with this ~ next to the EPA or DHA. That means it not in there. Which means your consuming some random oil…

Vitamin D – Any city north of LA is deficient in Vitamin D. Try getting 1000-3000iu of vitamin D five days a week. It’s just super important. Trust me. 

There is obviously so many things to think about. Control you food, get 8 hours of sleep and prioritize strength training.