One of the best ways to make a dramatic improvement in your body and your fitness level is to participate in a challenge. It is a chance to take a hard look at where you currently stand with your weight and conditioning, and to set a goal with an end date for making big changes and progress.
It’s your opportunity to produce really impressive “before” and “after” photos.
Do you have what it takes to stick with a challenge all the way through? Will you stick with the diet plan and avoid falling for temptations? Will you show up to your workouts day after day, even when your muscles are tired and sore?
They key to your success is to be deeply disturbed with your current shape. Recognize that the body you have is no longer in sync with the body that you are able to accept for yourself.
Why are you still living life in your “before” body?
Sure, you have obstacles that get in your way – your schedule, your job, your kids, the weather, your knee injury from college…but ultimately you have the body that you accept.
I’m going to repeat that so it will really sink in.
You have the body that you accept.
Transform from “Before” to “After”
You may not realize it, but you already posses everything you need to crush a fitness challenge by transforming your body, and it all starts with taking responsibility for the body that you have today.
You are in your current shape because, until this moment, you’ve been OK with it.
Oh I know you aren’t thrilled with it, and you even talk about dropping body fat and getting fit—but you haven’t changed what you’ll accept.
Here’s how to Crush a Fitness Challenge in 3 steps:
Step One: Feel Disturbed
It has been said that emotion creates motion. This is essential when it comes to personal transformation. To transform your body you must first decide that you can’t live another day in the body you currently have.
Get your emotions stirred up. Make a list of all the reasons that you’re ready to lose fat and get fit. Get disturbed.
Step Two: Decide What You Want
Without clarity you’ll never get where you want to go. Now that you’re disturbed with the body you have, decide what the body you can accept looks like.
Think in concrete and specific terms. Do you want to drop 50 lbs? Would you like to lose 8 inches from your waist? Is your ultimate goal to go from a size 14 to a size 8?
Get a clear picture in your mind of what you’ll look like in your “after” picture. The more specific the better.
Step Three: Take Action
The time spent between your inspiration (now) and taking action determines whether you will succeed or fail. Don’t allow yourself to get stuck between inspiration and action—there is always something that you can do immediately.
Take action by emailing or calling me now to set up a fitness consultation.
I am here to take you from your “before” picture to your “after” picture. Let’s make this your best year yet!
Losing fat isn’t easy…I don’t have to tell you that. You’ve been striving for a fat loss goal for so long. To work towards your goal, you slave in the gym and watch what you eat every day.
But what if you could drop 100 calories or more by making a single change to your meal or snack? It is possible. You’ve just got to know where to swap. Check out the list below to find out seven easy swaps that will make your diet drop 100 calories instantly. Ready? Get swapping!
#1: From 2 Slices of Bread to 1
No, you don’t have to give up bread altogether. If you want to quickly watch 100 calories slide off your meal, all you’ve got to do is toss the top piece of bread from your sandwich or the top bun from your burger. It may require a bit of balancing on your part, but it will instantly save you 100 calories and help that loaf of bread go twice as far.
#2: From Cream to Nonfat Milk
Have a hard time taking your coffee straight? You’re not alone. Not interested in giving up coffee altogether? Then you’re going to need to find a new option to the creamer-heavy concoction you make on a daily basis. The easiest solution is to swap out your creamer for nonfat milk. Lucky for you, this small swap pays off big, cutting 100 calories from your morning jolt.
#3: From Juice to the Real Thing
Orange juice is a staple of many folks’ breakfast routines. What if you tossed the juice and went for the real thing—a genuine, bona fide orange? You probably already guessed that this, too, would shave a lot of calories from your meal. At the same time, you’ll get more fiber to keep your day moving along well.
#4: From Peanuts to Edamame
They’re readily available, taste great, and give you the salt fix you need. Peanuts are not, however, a low-calorie snacking option. Swap them out for edamame and you’ll grab 4 bonus grams of protein, while cutting your calorie count by 100.
#5: From Shake to Milk
When the stress of life gets to you, few things help you forget about your troubles better than a chocolate milkshake. Unfortunately, that shake leaves you feeling bloated and for good reason. It’s jam packed with calories. Get the same chocolate comfort with a glass of chocolate milk instead of a shake and cut out at least 100 calories.
#6: From Bacon to…Bacon
You grew up eating maple pork bacon and you’ve trained your kids to salivate at the thought of it. What if there was a way to have your bacon and eat it, too—without quite as many calories? There is. Going for an ounce—yes, just one ounce—of maple turkey bacon instead of the pork version will shave more than 100 calories from your daily consumption. And you still get to eat bacon!
#7: From Raisins to Grapes
They won’t stay fresh for months, but if you eat fresh grapes instead of their wrinkled siblings, you’ll cut right around 100 calories at once. Yes, it is that easy.
Remember that exercise is a huge part of the equation for achieving weight loss. Call or email me today and we will get you started on the exercise program that will reshape your body once and for all!
The foods that you eat make a huge impact on your fat loss results. But it’s not just about what you are eating, it’s also about how much and how frequently you eat.
All of these factors make the topic of how to eat for best results a hot one with my clients! So let’s dive into the most popular eating strategies…
A quick online search produces two popular eat-for-fat-loss strategies: Intermittent Fasting versus Six Small Meals.
Which strategy works best? And, more importantly, which strategy would work best for YOU? Let’s find out…
Intermittent Fasting: this eating strategy cycles between periods of eating and periods of fasting. The content of your meals during eating periods is not a factor. Some cycle between eating and fasting each day, creating a small window for eating and fasting for at least 16 hours, while others cycle eating and fasting across several days, taking as much as 48 hours at a time to fast.
Pros: Humans have been fasting for thousands of years. Our bodies are well equipped to handle periods of fasting. Research shows that fasting produces benefits for disease prevention, metabolic health, weight loss and even life extension. Some find it less work to fast rather than to plan for several small meals. During eating periods you get to eat whatever you want.
Cons: Abstaining from nourishment for long periods of time can be challenging, especially when food is all around you. Socially it can be awkward to skip meals while your friends and family break bread together. Some find themselves overeating during eating cycles, and some find the ongoing absence of food to aggravate food obsession and to produce an unbalanced focus on food.
Six Small Meals: this eating strategy, of breaking the traditional 3 square meals into 6 smaller meals that are spaced 2-3 hours apart, has been used by body builders and fitness competitors for years. The content and size of each meal is an important factor of this eating plan. Meals early in the day contain lean protein, fiber-filled veggies and a small portion of complex carbs, while meals later in the day are smaller and do not contain any complex carbs. All meals are low in fat.
Pros: You never feel hungry. By fueling up every 2-3 hours you never get the feeling of deprivation that comes with fasting. Energy levels are steady and high due to the constant supply of wholesome calories. Fat loss results are steady, and, when done with an exercise plan, muscle is maintained.
Cons: You have to plan ahead. Every. Single. Day. Get used to carrying around a small cooler filled with containers of chicken, broccoli, brown rice and sweet potatoes. Each meal is small, so restraint is required. Unless you are including the occasional cheat meal, or cheat day, there is no room in this diet for empty calories or comfort foods.
Conclusion: The facts are out there to prove that both of these eat-for-fat-loss strategies work. There are photos of real, actual people who have subscribed to each of these methods and have gone from flabby to lean. Both methods irrefutably work.
But why? How can two methods that utilize opposing strategies both produce fat loss results? And which one is better? Let’s dive deeper into what makes these eating strategies work…
1. Meal Timing: When you eat is a factor with both of these eating plans. This means that subscribers to both plans are required to wait until the appointed time to eat. So mindless snacking, or grabbing a muffin just because it’s there, is out of the question. This reduces overall calories, which is key to weight loss, and explains why both plans produce results.
2. Meal Content: The Six-Small-Meals plan focuses on the content of each of your small meals in great detail. Your meals contain lean proteins, fiber-filled veggies, and limited complex carbs. This detailed control of calorie content is largely why this plan is a sure bet for fat loss, not just weight loss.
Intermittent Fasting does not consider the content of your meals during eating periods.
3. Meal Size: The Six-Small-Meals plan also focuses on the exact size of your meals, which makes sense since you are eating six times each day, and excess calories would quickly add up. Typically this is done by weight, so as you pack your meals for the day you’ll be using a food scale to ensure that you have exactly the right amount of lean protein and complex carbs. Veggies are often measured rather than weighed.
Intermittent Fasting does not consider the size of your meals during eating periods.
So What’s the BEST Eating Strategy for FAST Results? As we’ve discussed, both of the eating strategies above are capable of producing results. This is due to the fact that both plans result in a lowered caloric intake.
When it’s all said and done, weight loss comes from caloric balance.
Remember the junk food diet where the professor lost weight eating restricted calories of only vending machine food? As long as you are taking in fewer calories that you are burning, you will end up losing weight.
While both of the strategies above end up curbing your calories, only the Six-Small-Meals plan encourages wholesome calories that are ideal for burning fat and building muscle, which is why this is the plan most used by body builders and fitness competitors.
When it comes down to you choosing your own eating strategy it’s important to determine what will work best with your lifestyle. If carrying a cooler with you and making time to stop every 3 hours to eat a meal is simply not something you can see yourself doing, then Intermittent Fasting may produce better results for you. The key is to figure out a plan for restricting calories that you would realistically be motivated to stick with. And the more wholesome the content of those restricted calories, the better and quicker your results will come!
Want more guidance as you take your body from flab to fab? I’d love to help you! Give me a call or shoot me an email and let’s get you on track to shed some major fat together!
Let’s do this together.