Interested in trying the TurboCharged program for yourself? Here’s your chance – we’re giving away one FREE copy of the book! Details at the bottom of the post…

In part one of my interview with health expert and TurboCharged author Tom Griesel, we spoke about the different types of carbohydrates and how the body processes them, along with the best foods to eat to help prevent excess fat storage.

Next up, I wanted to get into the nitty-gritty of his program, which stems from the Griesel’s belief that by learning to work with your body and feeding it the correct type of foods, you can automatically improve the way it functions and looks.

Here we chat more about role of exercise in his healthy lifestyle plan, along with how he can help ‘Turbocharge’ your body’s fat burning abilities to radically improve your body (and mind) in a short period of time.

In your book, ‘TurboCharged,’ you talk about helping people make the switch from using sugar to fat as fuel for the body. Can you elaborate on that?

There are two fuels that our bodies will use: sugar or fat (three if we include alcohol). We are also in either a fat-storage or fat-burning mode, depending on what types of food we choose to eat.

By eating a diet more in line with our ancestral or evolutional adaptations, and avoiding a constant stream of concentrated carbohydrates and the subsequent insulin release and fat storage they promote, our bodies become accustomed to using more fat—including our body fat for our energy needs.

Without our diet increasing the hormones that store excess sugar as fat, we are then able to use our own body fat for energy, as well as being better nourished.

Another important point is that most “sugar burners” will convert lean body mass into sugar for energy instead of sourcing their body fat due to an easier conversion process and a preference for sugar. Loss of lean body mass is the main cause of diet failure and recidivism.

Give us a quick overview of a ‘day in the life’ of the program.

First, more water is consumed, particularly first thing in the morning, to ensure adequate hydration needed for normal body processes. Metabolic waste is meant to be eliminated through the kidneys. When the kidneys can’t handle the job due to inadequate hydration, the liver is forced to do the job (definitely not optimal).

The morning is the most important time, because we usually use about a quart of water for normal respiration and metabolic function overnight while we are sleeping.

Water is also not sipped but used in larger quantity to fill the stomach. Doing so has the same effect as various bariatric surgeries. Satiety hormones are released when the stomach is full. Many studies confirm this happens with food, liquid or a combination of the two.

Next, when we are actually hungry, we choose a food that is more in line with our ancestral diets: fruits, leafy greens, non-starchy vegetables, nuts, seeds, legumes, eggs, meats and seafood (all high nutrient per calorie and mostly moisture-rich).

Meals are also very simple with just a few different ingredients and often just one item (mono-meals). This speeds digestion, eliminates common digestive problems, and most importantly, increases fat burning by greatly reducing the release of insulin—the fat storage hormone—which can be triggered by large meals or combinations of foods.

Engaging in low-to-moderate activity as much as possible is encouraged, along with one-minute periods of strength training three to five times each day, stress reduction techniques and a good night’s sleep.

Can you share one of your favorite tips for readers who want to start incorporating healthier habits into their day?  

Thirst and hunger are often confused. This is probably because our natural diet always consisted of very moisture-rich foods that supplied water and nutrition at the same time. Today, many people confuse thirst for hunger and eat when they should be drinking water. Choosing the wrong foods or beverages when this happens only compounds the dehydration problem.

And, finally, as a long-distance runner, I’ve got to ask: How does exercise come into play in your plan?

Exercise is good for us. However, too much exercise is just as bad as too little, particularly if losing excess body fat is the goal. Exercise is a very inefficient way to manage caloric intake and lose excess body fat.

In fact, when a reduced-calorie diet is being implemented, less exercise is better than more and low-intensity activity is better than more strenuous exercise. This is because the combination of reduced calories and strenuous exercise such as aerobics results in the loss of lean body mass due to the inability to source body fat quickly enough to adequately fuel the activity. This is particularly true for sugar burners whose bodies would rather convert protein to sugar rather than using their excess fat.

Light resistance exercise, for about one minute, three to five times per day is sufficient to maintain (and in some cases build) lean body mass while dieting. On a normal calorie intake, when performed regularly with intensity, it is sufficient to build and strengthen without creating excess stress.

All stress, good or bad, results in the release of catabolic (muscle-wasting) hormones and is best avoided. Loss of lean body mass from any cause, including strenuous exercise, triggers primal survival mechanisms that will cause anxiety and feelings of hunger until the lean body mass is returned. When faced with this situation, eating a typical diet will result in most of the weight regained being fat, not muscle.

GIVEAWAY:

One KineticFix reader will have the chance to win his/her very own copy of the book. (Open to U.S. and Canada residents only).

To enter:
1. [Mandatory] Leave a comment below telling me why you want to get TurboCharged on Tom’s program
2. [Optional] Tweet the following, “I want to win a copy of ‘TurboCharged’ from @KineticFix and @TurboChargeDiet wp.me/p3iGmO-cT ”

I will randomly pick a winner on Thursday, June 13. Good luck!