Nutrition

How to Lose Weight and Stimulate Your Metabolism

Introduction

No Question about it, burning fat is a 24/7 endeavour. To keep the fires hot, you need to eat regularly throughout the day. Not only that but you 
must choose the right foods in the right amounts to keep your metabolism 
revved up so you burn fat without losing muscle. The way we see it there 
are 14 fundamentals – laws if you will – that are all you need to shed
 excess body fat from your midsection and elsewhere. Food, as we will see
, not only supplies the body with energy, building blocks and essential
 nutrients it also has a significant effect on our hormonal systems which in 
turn can dramatically affect our ability to lose weight and replace lean 
tissue. Food also plays a major role in our ability to exercise and 
recuperate properly from training. 

Stored Triglycerides -
 Body Fat We Want to LOSE

While all cells contain some fat, it is mainly
 stored in muscle (intramuscular 
triglycerides) and in adipose tissue (body
fat). Adipose tissue is the body’s main fat
storage site and the fat we all want to
 lose.

Adipose tissue is divided into individual 
cells called adipocytes. These adipocytes 
hold stored triglyceride (1 glycerol
 molecule bonded to 3 fatty acids)
droplets, which serve as a source of 
energy for the body. These droplets make
up 95% of adipocytes’ volume. In order
 for this storage of potential energy 
(60,000-100,000 kcal) to be used and to
 LOSE BODYFAT (everyone’s goal), it must
 be mobilized through lipolysis (the
 breakdown of triglycerides).

Lipolysis involves splitting the triglycerides 
into a glycerol molecule and 3 separate 
fatty acids (FFA). Once the fatty acids
 diffuse (exit) from the adipocytes, they
 bind to plasma albumin (a protein in the 
blood) in order to be transported to active 
tissues where they can be utilised. In
 order to lose body fat, the fatty acids must
 be burned as an energy source.

1 – Calorie Control

The biggest factor in reducing fat levels is
 calories in versus calories out; your total
 calories will determine if you lose or gain
 weight. Eating too many calories will lead
 to fat gain. But If you don’t eat enough 
calories you will lose lean muscle tissue, slowing down your metabolism. Your
 calorie intake should be set by your
 requirements for Protein Complex Carbohydrates and Essential Fats based upon your lean body mass.( your body weight minus your weight in fat) Setting a target calorie intake based upon 
this is vital to losing fat and gaining lean
 muscle.

While your total caloric intake is the most
 important diet factor, the ratio of protein to 
carbohydrates to fat can dictate whether
 the weight you lose is muscle or fat. A diet
 that contains 80% of calories from
 carbohydrates, 10% from protein, and
 10% from fat will produce a different result 
than a diet containing 40% of calories 
from complex carbohydrates, 40% from
protein, and 20% from fat.

In order to get lean and stay lean, it is 
essential that your diet contains all
 the food groups.
 Carbohydrates for energy, Protein for 
building blocks and Fats to support a healthy metabolic process. 

2 – Eat more frequently

Meal frequency, or how many times you 
eat each day, affects your overall 
metabolism. Every time you eat, the
 body’s calorie-burning engine, also known 
as metabolism, slightly increases. This is
 especially true for meals that contain 
protein. So if you eat five times a day
 you’ll experience five metabolic surges a
 day, rather than just three if you eat only
three times a day. This is the only way to lean out 
without having to drastically reduce
 calories. Frequent feedings tend to 
increase the chance that what you eat will
 be utilized by the body rather than being 
packed away as body fat.
 Eating habits can have a detrimental effect 
on your metabolism. Eating very little for
 breakfast and lunch followed by a surge of
 calories in the evening triggers the body to
 overcompensate and put away calories in the form of fat, in case you starve yourself 
again tomorrow. You teach your body to 
become very efficient at storing calories
 rather than utilizing them. This will not only 
add to your fat deposits, it’s also bad for 
your health and will drag down your
 energy and vitality.

Do This:

Eat 5 small meals per
 day, spaced 2-3 hours apart. Don’t
 go longer than three hours without 
eating – your body will go into
 starvation mode, increasing stress  
levels which in turn will trigger the
 adrenal cortex to release excessive 
levels of Cortisol which in turn breaks
down muscle fibre slowing your 
metabolism and increasing fat 
storage and making it more likely that
 you’ll overeat at your next meal.
 Speaking of overeating, just because
 you’re consuming more meals
 doesn’t mean you should be taking in more total calories. We determine
 your ideal daily caloric intake for fat-
burning not on guesswork but on 
Macronutrient requirements based 
on your lean body mass.

3 – Control Carbohydrates

Though calorie control is a must,
hormonal control is nearly as important. 
Coupled with calories, hormones govern 
fat-burning. Suppress fat-storing
 hormones and you can expect a
significant amount of body fat to melt
away. The ideal way to control these
 hormones is to keep your carbohydrate 
intake in check since simple 
carbohydrates especially kick up insulin, a 
hormone that inhibits fat breakdown and
 drives fat storage. Eat the correct amount 
of complex carbohydrates coupled with
 protein and insulin levels will tend to 
moderate, leading to fat loss.
 Of course, not all carbohydrates are 
equal. In short, fast-digesting simple
 carbohydrates tend to create a large
 insulin burst, leading to more potential fat 
gain. These carbohydrates include white
 bread, most cold cereals, any sweets or
 cakes, rice cakes, white rice and white
 pasta. Conversely, slow-digesting 
complex carbohydrates (found in whole-
grain, oatmeal, sweet potatoes vegetables
fruit and legumes) don’t cause much of an
insulin rise, so these should make up the
 vast majority of your carbohydrate 
consumption. Carbohydrates also spare 
protein from being used as an energy
 source and leave the proteins to do their 
most important job which is to supply the 
body with amino acids or building blocks 
for the rebuilding of cells.
 Diets deficient in Complex Carbohydrate 
increase the chances of burning muscle
 as an energy source. Every pound of
 muscle we lose will slow down the
 metabolism by approximately 60 calories 
per day. So starving the body of complex 
carbohydrate can have a detrimental
effect on your metabolism leading to an
 increase in body fat.

Do This:

The most effective 
approach is to eat 1 to 1.5 grams of
 complex carbohydrates per pound of
 lean body mass per day, this will give 
you the optimum amount of energy
 so you can train with intensity and 
have plenty of zest for the other 
things in your life but not so much
 that it prevents your body from
 burning fat. As an example, if your
 lean body mass was 150 lbs. you 
would require a minimum of 150
grams of complex carbohydrates 
spread over 5 meals giving you
 30 grams per meal which is equal to
 120 calories per meal from 
carbohydrates alone as 1 gram of
carbohydrate is worth 4 calories. The 
key is spreading out the calories
throughout the day so they are 
properly utilized and not stored as fat.

4 – Stress Protein

Is a calorie truly a calorie? Not always. 1
 gram of carbohydrate and 1 gram of
protein both supply 4 calories per gram 
and fat has 9 calories per gram. These
 different types of calories can affect your
 body and your results differently. Dietary
 fat, for example, is more difficult to utilize
as an energy source than complex
 carbohydrate because it’s less likely to be 
used to fuel muscle contraction. Granted, 
excess carbohydrates can potentially 
make you fat, but they also directly fuel
 your training. Protein? That’s a no-brainer: 
It directly supplies the building blocks to 
enhance muscle recovery and muscle
 density.

But if you’re trying to get lean, you must
 minimize your consumption of Saturated 
Fat and simple carbohydrates. Protein, on
 the other hand, not only feeds your lean 
tissue – key in boosting the metabolism -
but actually increases your metabolism 
more directly. The body burns more
 calories processing protein than it burns 
to process carbohydrates or fat, known as 
the Thermogenic effect of food. It also 
induces the body to release GCG a 
hormone which triggers the body into the 
fat burning process called lipolysis. That’s
the main reason diets that include enough 
protein result in the greater fat loss than low-
protein diets, even when both diets
 contain the same amount of calories.

Do This:

We can’t harp on this
 advice too much: Eat at least 1 gram
 of protein per pound of Lean Body
 Mass every day. Your major protein
 sources should be lean meats
(chicken, steak, turkey breast, fish)
 egg whites (the yolks contain the fat
 so discard most of them when you’re
 trying to lose fat).

5 – Keep the Lean

The biggest enemy of fat is muscle. 
People who tend to be overfat tend to be 
under muscled. Why? Every pound of
 muscle lost will actually slow down your
 metabolism by around 60 calories per day. 
For most people, a combination of lifestyle 
and genetics attributes to 5 to 10 pounds
 of muscle density being stripped from the 
body every decade. This slows down the
 metabolism by 300 to 600 calories per 
day making it more difficult to stay lean.
 The primary biomarker of aging is muscle
atrophy (wastage) and it not only has a 
negative effect on your metabolism it can
 also have a negative effect on the
 Endocrine (hormonal system) which has a 
major part to play in your body’s ability to 
maintain a healthy physical condition.

Do This:

Don’t starve your body, it 
will help you to lose even more
 muscle speeding the aging process 
and slowing down your metabolism.
 Avoid overtraining with low-intensity endurance type workouts which will
 also lead to a reduction in muscle
density. Keep the workouts short,
intense and remember that rest days are as important as training days.
 This will elevate your metabolic
 stimulating hormones, hGH and Testosterone which 
will enhance your ability to get lean
and stay lean.

6 – Control Stress

Cortisol is a stress hormone, it is the
 enemy of muscle and a friend of fat.
 Cortisol is a stress hormone released by
 the adrenal glands, it is essential to good 
health but when overproduced it has 3
 negative effects on your body’s 
physiology.

• It activates the body to break down 
muscle and connective tissue and
 convert them into Glucose, in turn, it can
 make the body glucose intolerant. This
 will lead cravings for fast-acting 
carbohydrates driving up blood sugar s
and insulin-making the body susceptible
 to storing fat.
• It impedes the Thyroid Gland
 converting T4 into the active Thyroxin
 T3 which can severely inhibit 
metabolism and energy levels.
• It also interferes with the hypothalamus-pituitary axis inhibiting hGH 
release, slowing down the metabolism
 while hampering recovery rate and
 tissue repair.

As we get older our testosterone levels 
tend to drop leaving us more susceptible
to the overproduction of Cortisol. Hence 
as we get older we need to be vigilant in
controlling Cortisol if we want to stay in 
good physical condition. Avoid Coffee, Tea
 and other artificial stimulants especially on
 an empty stomach as they raise Cortisol 
levels and leave us more susceptible to 
insulin.

Do This:

Don’t miss meals; this
 prevents the body getting over 
stressed. Ensure you always eat breakfast especially as this helps
 suppress Cortisol levels in the
 morning keeping them balanced for 
the day. Train with intensity but don’t 
overtrain, rest days are just as 
important and don’t drink alcohol on
 an empty stomach. Change your 
association to food and remember
 that less is not necessarily better. 
Regular meals with the correct 
proportions of food groups 
combined with short intensive 
workouts and plenty of rest days will
 help to control Cortisol levels and 
improve your chances of losing fat 
and holding on to lean tissue.

7 – Eat fat to Burn Fat

Essential Fatty Acids are vital to the proper
 functioning of your body. Every
 physiological process in the body 
depends upon them. Dietary fats got a
bad reputation due to the diet fads of the
 80’s and 90’s which promoted eating as
 little fat as possible, but in reality, EFAs are
 needed by the body and are part of a 
healthy diet. Eating fats does not equate
 to getting fat. In fact, most EFAs help 
support the fat burning process lipolysis
 which is the body’s ability to break down
 triglycerides (stored body fat) and maintain 
a lean body. Do not be scared to eat good 
fats. EFAs are not the enemy. 
So we need to consume fat to burn
fat. People who try to lose weight and who 
are deficient in essential fats especially 
omega 3 run a higher risk of losing muscle
 and becoming lethargic. The production of 
every cell in the body is dependent on
omega 3 and omegas 6. They regulate 
hormonal levels and aid in the absorption
 of vitamins and minerals.

Do This:

Eat oily fish twice per
 week and supplement with a high-quality EFA like cold-pressed flaxseed
 oil or Udo's oil. You will feel a 
dramatic difference in your energy 
levels and sleep patterns. Keep fat to
 about 20-30% of your overall calorie 
intakes each day.

8 – Never Eat Carbohydrates
 on their own

Keep the Carbohydrates
 low before bed
 when attempting to lose body fat, insulin 
control is crucial. The total amount of
 insulin released by the body isn’t related to 
just how many carbohydrates you eat but
 how fast those carbohydrates are digested. 
Refined carbohydrates digest quickly,
raising insulin levels substantially, which is 
why you should avoid them. But even
 when you are eating complex
 carbohydrates never eat them on their 
own, always balance the meal with protein,
 this slows down the release of glucose into 
the bloodstream leading to prolonged
 energy levels. This causes less insulin to be 
released and therefore will have less of an
 impact on your ability to burn fat.

Do This:

One way to slow digestion 
is to eat Carbohydrates with Protein 
and small amounts of fat. Never eat 
Carbohydrates alone. Accompany
 that sweet potato for example, with a
 chicken fillet. Eat plenty of vegetables,
 such as broccoli, cauliflower, green
beans and green salads, with your
meals. Although these foods contain
 carbohydrates they actually slow the breakdown and digestion rate of all 
carbohydrates enhancing the body’s
ability to burn fat. They also contain  
micronutrients essential for good
health.

9 – Keep the Carbohydrates low Before Bed

Once again, it’s about hormones. At night 
your insulin sensitivity decreases, meaning
your body must release more insulin than
 usual to put any carbohydrates you eat at
night to use in the body. And by now you 
know that higher insulin levels can 
decrease fat-burning and enhance fat
 storage. In addition, the body naturally 
produces a fat-liberating hormone called
 hGH within the initial 90
minutes of sleep.
 GH not only increases fat-burning but it is
required to build lean tissue and 
strengthen the immune system. Simple
 fast acting carbohydrates inhibit GH
 release, so it’s ideal to go to bed under 
one of two scenarios: on an empty
stomach or, even better, having
consumed only protein and small amounts
 of complex carbohydrates. This allows
blood glucose – the high-tech name for
 digested carbohydrates circulating in the 
blood – to remain low, which facilitates the 
rise in nocturnal GH production.

 Do This:

Eat your last meal no
later than 1 to 2 hours before bed 
maintaining your protein and complex
c carbohydrate balance. Whitefish,
 vegetables and whole grain grew basmati rice. These combinations will
 ensure you have enough
 carbohydrates not to feel irritable so
 you can’t sleep properly but not so
 much that you will inhibit GH release.

10 – Prioritize Post Workout
 Meal After

After you train, your metabolism is fired
 up. Why? Depleted, broken-down
muscles soak up both protein and
 carbohydrates for recovery. If you eat too
 little at this time, you may actually set 
yourself back by impeding recovery;
 supporting recovery actually increases 
metabolism while impeding it slows the 
metabolism. In terms of spurring recovery 
and muscle density, just about the most
 counterproductive thing you can do after a 
hard workout is to starve yourself.

Do This:

Eat within half an hour
after you train including both protein
 and complex carbohydrates to 
ensure maximum recovery and
 stimulation of your metabolism.

11 – Avoid Fast Acting
 carbohydrates before you
 train

When you are trying to burn fat the worst 
thing to do is to eat or drink those fast
 acting carbohydrates before you train
. When you hit the gym, the body releases
 a fat-liberating messenger called 
epinephrine, which attaches itself to fat
 cells and allows fat to be burned as fuel.
 And, you guessed it, carbohydrates come
 into play here. Refined Carbohydrates 
consumed before training suppress the
 induced rise in epinephrine compared to
 eating the same amount of slower-
digesting carbohydrates. Refined 
carbohydrates also boost insulin levels,
 further hampering fat-burning during the
 workout bottom line, avoid refined
 Carbohydrates or so-called performance 
drinks altogether before training.

Do This:

If you are training early in
the morning you can train on an
 empty stomach otherwise leave at 
least 1 hour before training when you
 eat your balanced meal of protein
 carbohydrates and fat.

12 – Empty your glycogen 
stores once every four 
weeks

Glycogen is the unused and stored form of
 carbohydrates in muscles. When glycogen
 stores begin to peak from eating plenty of carbohydrates, the body upgrades its fat-
storing ability. Conversely, as glycogen
 stores are depleted, fat-burning increases. 
One way to kick-start the fat-burning
 process is to go extremely low-
carbohydrate on two consecutive days 
every couple of weeks. This ensures that
 you tap into your glycogen stores for fuel,
which signals the body to burn more fat.
 But more importantly, you only remain low
 for a short time so you don’t go into ketosis
 and don’t trigger a loss of muscle tissue.

Do This:

Limit your total
 carbohydrates on two consecutive
 days every 4 weeks or so to less than
 1 gram per pound of lean body mass 
per day. This will require you to know 
how many grams of carbohydrates are in the foods you eat and have the 
discipline to be very strict on your
intake. Your diligence will be rewarded
 with a noticeable difference in body fat 
reduction. After two days, you can 
return to a more normal, though not
 excessive, carbohydrate intake.

13 – Train with intensity but
 don’t over train

It’s the age-old question: How many sets, 
how many exercises, how many
 repetitions do you need, and how much 
time should you spend in the gym each
 day? The answer is intensity and not 
duration.

Resistance exercise is anaerobic by nature
meaning the working muscles derive 
energy primarily from glycogen without
 oxygen. This depletes glycogen stores
 rapidly so the average individual only has
 around 20 minutes of stored glycogen
 available for anaerobic exercise. When
 burning fat is the primary goal, it is 
imperative that you don’t train for too long
 and not to the point where you’re 
flattened and thoroughly exhausted. That
 type of overtraining may seem the way to
 go, but it does nothing for your anabolic
 (recovery) hormones.

Serious fat loss requires you to retain
 muscle mass, the body’s primary 
metabolic driver. If you go over 30 minutes 
in the gym your body starts running out of
 glycogen and starts burning muscle; 
testosterone and hGH goes into
 free fall, and your metabolism follows suit.

Do This:

Go ahead, train as
 intensely as we can, just don’t go 
longer than 30 minutes in any one
 workout. Do as many sets and reps
 as we can during this time, using
shorter rest periods and precise 
exercise technique. This generates 
enough muscular and cardiovascular overload to stimulate the nervous system to enhance a positive hormonal and metabolic response. You become leaner lighter fitter and stronger all at the same time.

14 – Do (HIIT) Cardio at the 
right time to help burn 
stubborn fat

If you are doing Cardio on your own be
aware that it exerts two benefits: it burns
 calories and affects hormone levels in the 
body Specifically, cardio helps raise levels 
of norepinephrine (NE) Yet when you do 
cardio makes a big difference to how your
 body handles the hormonal changes. 
Cardio on an empty stomach allows (NE) 
to readily target fat cells, which triggers
 maximal fat-burning. On the flip side, if you 
eat before doing cardio, and particularly if you eat fast carbohydrates, the fat-
blocking hormone insulin rises, making
 your body less effective at burning fat.
 We learned that NE activates the
 receptors that stimulate lipolysis (fat
breakdown). Research shows that NE
 secretion increases with exercise intensity.
In addition, as cardio duration increases
 fat utilization increases while carbohydrate
 utilization decreases. So we need to
 perform high-intensity cardio for a long 
duration of time to maximize fat burning.
 The only problem is one cannot maintain
 high-intensity cardio for a long duration.
 So how can we overcome this while 
maximizing fat loss? By doing the
 following: Example 10-15 minutes of HIIT 
followed by 10-15 minutes of Low-
Intensity Cardio.
 High-Intensity Interval Training or HIIT is
 training where you alternate between 
intervals of high-intensity and low-intensity
 exercise. Example 15 seconds all out
followed by 45 seconds of low-intensity
 cardio:

• Repeat 10-15 times.
• 10-15 minutes of low-intensity cardio
• Your trainer will explain. This is just an
example of a (HIIT) for your
 understanding

This type of cardio is less stressful and
 more effective than conventional cardio
 sessions performed at low intensity for
 long durations. Conventional cardio can
 produce high levels of Cortisol which can
 slow your resting metabolism as we have
 explained, so even though you’re burning
 calories on one side you’re losing on the
 other. Also, the metabolism returns back to 
normal very quickly after low-intensity cardio sessions. HIIT training actually
 helps to minimise Cortisol levels and can
 keep the metabolism high for nearly 12 to
 18 hours after training.

Do This:

Only do cardio on your
 own if your trainer thinks it is 
necessary. It depends on how often
 you are training at New You and how
 much cardio you are doing with your 
trainer. If needed he will lay out your 
specific routine anyway, remember 
more is not always better. First thing
 in the morning on an empty stomach
 with 2 glasses of cold water before 
you start is best. Perform a short
 warm up and stretch properly before
 you start. Do your cardio on opposite
days to weight training. We
 recommend you use a cross trainer 
or bike as there is less impact and
 less chance of injury.

* IMPORTANT 
- Men and Women – Do They 
Need to Train and Diet 
Differently?
 

The primary concern women have when it 
comes to weight training is, I don’t want 
to get big or bulky.” We are here to tell you 
that you won’t! The hormone testosterone
 is responsible for the large increases in 
muscle mass seen when men lift heavy
 weights and even then it is difficult to 
achieve. Women’s testosterone levels are
a fraction of men’s testosterone levels.
 Normal testosterone levels in men are 200-
1200 ng/dl while 15-70 ng/dl are normal in
 women.

As you can see, men’s testosterone levels
 are significantly higher than women’s. 
Even if a man is at the LOW end of the
 men’s normal testosterone range (200
ng/dl), he still has more than twice the 
amount of testosterone as a woman at the 
HIGH end of the women’s normal
 testosterone range (70 ng/dl). If we look at 
the median or mid-range testosterone
 levels in men and women, men = 700 and
women = 42.5.

So on an average, men have 16.47 times
 more testosterone than women! It is clear
 that women do not have the hormonal
 support (testosterone) to gain muscle
mass like men. Therefore, the fear of
 becoming big and bulky is impossible.
 Either way even for a man to become
 bulky it requires a high-calorie diet in
conjunction with specific training methods.

Conclusion

Your driving force

Let’s face it. If you looked and felt your 
best, you wouldn’t be here.

You are because you carry around an extra
 15, 30 or even 60 pounds or more of
 excess body fat. At this stage, you’re
 probably fed up and tired of it too. Maybe
 you put it on over the last 20 years or
 maybe it’s all new weight.

Either way, it doesn’t matter, your health is 
probably at risk, you don’t feel comfortable
 with your physical condition and your 
energy levels often leave you feeling tired
 and irritable.

You have tried dieting only to end up losing
 and regaining the same weight (and then
 some) over and over again. You’re left
 starved feeling depressed and even 
heavier than when you started.

You have messed around aimlessly in
health clubs achieving very little because
 you were given the wrong advice or simply 
didn’t know what you were doing.

If you really want to make a significant
 change to your physical condition once
 and for all, it is imperative that you get 
clarity with regard to the outcome you 
want. It’s not just about wandering into New You to lose a few pounds, it’s about a 
significant effort to become leaner lighter
 fitter and stronger all at the same time.
 This requires discipline and self-belief.

Discipline actually comes from establishing
 strong reasons for getting into better
 physical condition. When you ask most
 people what they want to achieve they are
 pretty quick with the answer when you
 ask them why sometimes they are not
 sure.

As well as setting clear and definitive
 targets for your physical improvements it is imperative for you to establish major
 benefits you will get to your life as a result
 of being in better physical condition. Your
 reasons will be your driving force.

Most people tend to come to New You 
when they get to the point of no return.
 Unfortunately, sometimes it is necessary to
 get fairly frustrated about your physical
 condition before you can really take action 
and do something about it. It is a good
 lever to get you started, it’s not enough to 
carry you all the way. Stop focusing on the 
problem ie (your weight) and start focusing 
on the end result (feeling better, looking
better) Be definite about your reasons for
 improvement, this will make you purpose
 driven and when you are purpose driven
 you won’t need to motivate yourself on a 
daily basis, you will do what is needed
 automatically and you will enjoy it too.

So establish some major benefits you feel
 you will gain from really getting into the
 best physical condition you can achieve, 
don’t hold back with limiting beliefs that 
will hamper you from attaining life-changing results. It’s crucial to understand
 why you can do this as much as it is to 
appreciate why you must do it.

Walking into New You for the first time
 may have been difficult. Getting started is 
the most challenging part of the process. 
Don’t worry you have already gained
 some momentum by taking the active step
 of booking your initial assessment with our 
nurse.

Once your assessment is completed you
 will be allocated your own trainer who will 
be by your side every step of the way. Your
eating plan will be tailored to your specific
 body composition. Your trainer will explain
in detail how, why and what we do before
 you start. We will put an action plan in
 place if you follow it to the tee you will
 ensure your success.

Triangle of physical condition

Bellow depicts the correlation between exercise nutrition and rest. All components are 
required in order to achieve real long lasting results. The New You method is governed by
 these factors. Leave out one component and the rest will suffer. Your trainer will explain the
 integration before you begin.