Five Principles for Diet with BalanX EMS Training
BalanX EMS is a good tool for training and it could affect multiple aspects of your life. I will share some of my experiences with you about all things you should know about BalanX.
Before I use BalanX EMS, it usually takes more than 1 hour to work out 3~5 times a week to lose weight. However, I found it is not very effective for me since I usually ended up fatter after I stopped training.
However, from last year (2019) when the product finished its trial production, I started to use BalanX for training. For only one month, I lost 20 pounds (10 kg).
From March 2020, I start a new training cycle to lose more weight. In order to make this process more scientific and efficient, I read lots of books and learn about nutrition and diet. With the help of and 30 min EMS training 3~5 times a week, I lose another 20 pounds(10kg) very quickly.
Following tips are based on my learning and experience while I am training with BalanX
1. Know your ENERGY BALANCE
No matter your goal is to lose weight or gain muscle, you should know how much calories your intake and consume for each day.
For losing weight, you should have a 10~20% energy deficit every day, which means the calories your intake should be 10%~20% shorter than you consume.
For muscle gain, you should have a 10% energy surplus every day, to prevent losing muscle for energy because of low blood sugar level.
Based on the study of ACSM[1], for obese adults to lose weight, 200~300min work out per week is needed. That means one should exercise 60mins for 5 days a week with an average 700 cal burning per exercise[2]. However, you have to admit it is usually hard for an overweight person to exercise over 30mins.
For comparison, when I was training with Balanx EMS, my Apple Watch records energy consumption for training no more than 300cal every time, which is significantly lower than the intended 700 cal. What’s more, I often forgot training because of my busy schedule. However, I can still lose weight every week. That may be proof of the fact that EMS training could double or even triple the energy consumption if you are doing the same workout.
2. Do not train with BalanX EMS before you have breakfast
Someone may think it is a good idea for the human body to burn fat when we have just woken up, considering the blood sugar level is low. However, in low blood glucose levels, the cortisol (‘stress’ hormone) will burn muscle instead of fat to supply energy.
So, I won’t recommend you do EMS training in the early morning. But If you have to do so, please eat a small amount of food before training.
I usually eat a simple breakfast before training if I have to do it in the morning: Sugar-free yogurt provides liquid protein, Banana helps balance the blood sugar level swiftly, and Nuts provide energy since they are high in fat, carbohydrates, not to mention their high Vitamin Value.
3. Do eat some starch-rich food before your muscle training
Someone may say starch-rich food is bad for diet, However, if you eat one piece of biscuits half an hour before you use BalanX EMS for muscle training, it will have a great effect.
Firstly, it can increase blood sugar levels which will prevent muscle loss during your training, which is definitely something you want to avoid.
Secondly, since insulin is widely known as the key to the stabilization of glucose level and consuming fat to provide energy, eating something to reach a high level of insulin is actually a trick to lose weight. The chart below further shows the relationships between glucose level and insulin, which could prove my theory.
By Jakob Suckale, Michele Solimena - Solimena Lab and Review Suckale Solimena 2008 Frontiers in Bioscience, preprint PDF from Nature Precedings, original data: Daly et al. 1998 PMID 18508724, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=68564534
4. Do eat some superior protein and carbohydrates in half and one hour after your training, but not fat
After training, we should immediately supplement nutrition. Quality protein (beef, chicken, and fish) is always advised.
If your main purpose for training is to lose weight, vegetables are an obvious choice over carbohydrates. The extra effort your body makes to digest vegetables will burn more fat and keep you full for a longer period.
However, if you want to gain more muscle, food with a certain percentage of starch is always recommended. If you do not eat enough carbohydrates after training, the body may burn muscle for energy immediately (Instead of burning fat).
I personally prefer chickpea and sweet potato. They can make me happy after training.
5. Last but not least: sleep in four hours after your training
Considering that the EMS training is highly intensive, your sympathetic nervous system will be agitated during your exercise.
However, your sympathetic nervous system will suppress after the training, and your parasympathetic nervous system will be on the stage, which explains your feelings of tiredness after your EMS training.
That’s is why you will feel tried after you train EMS, it is similar to the feeling of just having sex.
In that regard, if you are training during the day, I advise you to take a nap. Or if you are training at night, I advise you to go to sleep 4 hours after training.
This four-hour advice is not strict since everybody has different circumstances. However, if this window passes, you will feel recharged, and it is hard for you to fall asleep again for a while.
Try your best, and keep the balance in your life
These five points are my study and experiences on diet for BalanX EMS training. Diet is complicated, but everyone can have their own feeling about the balance between eating, sleeping, and training. So just do it, make your own balance of your life.
I hope to hear from you more in the community and share your experience with us.
Reference
[1] Appropriate Physical Activity Intervention Strategies for Weight Loss and Prevention of Weight Regain for Adults. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2009;41(2):459–71
[2] Reduction in obesity and related comorbid conditions after diet-induced weight loss or exercise-induced weight loss in men. Ann Intern Med. 2000;133: 92-103.
Introduction of writer
Bill Zhang is the CEO of BalanX Tech INC. He is an entrepreneur with a biomedical engineering background and years of experience in developing and manufacturing healthcare/medical hardware and accessories.
Having received his Master’s Degree from Peking Union Medical College in 2010 on study neural science, he spent years studying neural electrophysiology in The Clinical Electrophysiology, Neural Engineering Laboratory of Hong Kong University and Scoliosis Center of Sun Yat-Sen University. The study field includes Intraoperative Neurophysiology Monitoring in scoliosis surgery, postoperative rehabilitation.
In 2014, Bill founded Beilan Tech, the former company of Balanx Tech. It focuses on medical equipment development and manufacture. BalanX EMS was kicked-off in late 2017, the team was founded to develop a new whole-body EMS technology using high-tech fabric and portable products.
