Over the past few decades I’ve completed countless hours of research, received a college degree in Exercise Science, obtained many fitness certifications and won a silver medal in the 1988 science fair for my report on Plyometrics (I’ve been an exercise geek all my life). Having a long background in fitness and being in tune with the latest research, I’ve found that the following fitness tips, which are by no means new news, have helped more of my clients lose weight and get in shape than any cutting edge training technique.
-Jeff Deal, CSCS
1. Avoid Fad Workouts and Diets
Products or diets that offer amazing results in little time are phony! The Ab-tron 3000-x that you’ll see infomercials for at 3am is not the answer to your fitness problems. There are no quick fixes when it comes to safely and effectively losing weight. If you didn’t gain that extra 30 lbs. over night you certainly can’t get rid of it over night. The principles of weight loss are simple: exercise more and eat healthy. A safe and effective rate to lose weight is around 2 lbs. per week. This pace makes it easier to keep the weight you lose off for good!
2. Know what you are putting into your body.
Just because a product is diet or fat free doesn’t mean it is healthy. Take the extra time to read how much sugar, saturated and trans fats and total calories your foods have. Products that are labeled as ‘low fat’ usually contain an incredible amount of added sugar to enhance the flavor that was taken out with the fat. These products are full of nothing but empty calories and bad carbs.
3. Lift Weights!
Resistance training is the best way to gain lean muscle and drop excess fat. By gaining strength through resistance training your body’s metabolism will increase, and your body will burn more calories at a faster rate throughout the day even when not exercising!
4. All women should lift weights
In order to decrease the effects of osteoporosis or to help prevent osteoporosis, it is essential to do resistance training. Walking, running and riding bikes are great forms of exercise and fantastic for your heart and lungs, do next to nothing for increasing bone density Resistance training with a moderately heavy load is the only form of exercise that has been shown to decrease the chances of the onset and effects of osteoporosis.
5. Never skip meals
Eating 5-6 healthy meals per day helps to keep blood sugar and energy levels up for a long period of time. More importantly making our metabolism work at a faster pace throughout the day which will in turn burn more calories through our normal daily activities. Not eating or eating one big meal has the opposite effect on the body and slows your metabolism throughout the day. It is amazing how many people learn the hard way how not eating can actually make them gain weight!
6. Eliminate sugars
Our bodies secretes 2 hormones to regulate blood glucose levels, glucagon which promotes fat burning and insulin which promotes fat storing. When we take in foods high in sugars our blood glucose levels rise and thus insulin levels immediately spike to lower the blood glucose levels. This is done by shifting the metabolism into a storage state and by converting glucose in glycogen. Excess glucose that is not converted into glycogen is converted into newly stored FAT. Eating foods higher in protein and fiber will keep insulin levels down and stimulate the release of glucagon to break down proteins. Glucagon shifts the body’s metabolism into a “burning” mode and promotes the breakdown of stored fats.
7. Don’t go to the grocery store hungry
Going to the grocery store on an empty stomach drastically increases the chances of buying junk food. Buy healthy foods at the grocery store and eat at home. We all get the urge to eat a stack of cookies from time to time but if there are no cookies at home we obviously can’t eat those cookies and the urge will pass.
8. Don’t get overwhelmed
Making lifestyle changes can be difficult and overwhelming at times. Instead of changing everything in your life, try just starting your exercise routine first and the diet may come around on its own. Most people are amazed how their food cravings change from chips and soda to fruit and lean proteins after working out for a few weeks.
9. Divide and Conquer
Divide the items on your plate by how healthy they are for you and eat in order of best to worst. Try eating your lean proteins, veggies and fruits first then top off the meal with a portion of the stuff that is salty, sweet or fattening. This method helps to control blood sugar by not filling up on empty calories and fills you up on the good stuff so that you don’t overindulge on the bad.
10. Stay hydrated by drinking lots of water.
The human body is roughly 65% water (give or take per the individual). The human must have an adequate supply of H2O for the kidneys to filter out toxins and so that the liver may properly metabolize fat for energy. It may sounds strange but not taking in enough water will make the body “hold on” to what water it does have thus giving you a bloated appearance. Conversely the opposite is also true, when the body is properly hydrated, more water will be excreted from the body and you will have a leaner appearance.
11. You will not look like the Incredible Bulk in 2 days
One of the first things I always hear when meeting with a new client is “I don’t want to get too big or bulky.” That is not going to happen to someone who is not working at getting that way for years. Women especially should not be concerned as they simply do not produce enough testosterone naturally to get “bulky”. Adding lean muscle to your body will help increase your energy levels and decrease your amount of body fat.
12. You cannot spot reduce
A buns blaster will not minimize your gluteus maximus just like performing loads of crunches will not bring out your six pack abdominals. All of us have abdominal muscles but most of us have those muscles covered with a certain amount of subcutaneous fat. Fat covers our bodies from head to toe and the only way to get our muscles to show is to reduce the amount of fat that surrounds them. When your body burns fat for energy it will grab fat from all over your body. To speed up this process follow a high intensity resistance training and aerobic program (cardio) 3 or more days per week.