Tips for Fast Fat Loss
The desire to lose body fat is one of the primary reasons people enlist the services of a personal trainer. The reason for this is simple- with all of the conflicting information out there it is no wonder that people are confused! Fortunately, you have found a company that not only understands what to do and how to do it they have actually written the book on the subject!
The following are 15 strategies that you can implement today to start reaping the benefits tomorrow.
1. Eat every 2-3 hours, between 5-8 meals/snacks per day.
This is probably one of the most overlooked fat- loss principals. While traditional thinking dictates that, when trying to lose body fat, the less often you eat the better this could not be farther from the truth. Eating small, nutrient dense and calorie sparse meals throughout the day will stimulate lean muscle growth and improve your metabolic functioning. Now, you don’t need to eat a full meal every 2-3 hours but you do need to eat 5-8 meals/snacks that conform to the other rules below.
2. Eat complete lean proteins with every meal (15-50 grams per meal/snack).
Be sure to consume quality protein with every meal and snack. The source of these proteins should vary from meal to meal (try to not eat the same foods back to back). Animal proteins are best for muscle metabolism. However, if you are vegetarian the rule still applies. Supplemental protein shakes make getting more protein in your diet easier but should not be used as a sole source of protein.
3. Eat low density carbohydrates like vegetables with every meal.
With each and every meal, in addition to a complete, lean protein source, you need to eat some vegetables. Some fruit should be eaten as well but be sure to not skip the veggies.
4. Daily fats should make up approximately 25-30% of daily energy intake.
There are 4 types of fat – omega 3, 6, 7 and 9. Eating all three kinds in a healthy balance can dramatically improve your health and even help you lose fat.
Get your essential fats from mixed raw nuts and seeds, olive oil, fish oil, flaxseed oil and avocado.
5. Drink only non-calorie containing beverages the best being water and green tea (except for your protein drinks).No fruit juices.
Ensure that all of your drinks come from non-calorie containing beverages. Remove fruit juice, alcoholic drinks, and sodas as these only provide empty non-beneficial calories. Your absolute best choices are water and green tea. (Green tea being one of the most health promoting beverages in the world- it even speeds up fat loss!)
6. Eat mostly whole foods with minimum processing.
Almost all of your dietary intake should come from whole foods. However, there are a few times where supplement drinks and shakes are useful such as immediately following your weight training workout or when you do not have access to a whole food meal. But most of the time, you’ll do best with whole, largely unprocessed foods.
7. Develop daily food preparation strategies.
The hardest part about eating well is making sure you can follow the 6 rules above consistently. The more often you put these rules into practice the easier it will become. In fact, after a while you will wonder how you lived any other way!
8. Remember the 5% rule.
100% nutritional discipline is never required for optimal progress. The difference, in results, between 95% adherence to your nutrition program and 100% adherence is negligible.
Just make sure you do the math and determine what 5% of the time really means. For example, if you’re eating 6 meals per day for 7 days of the week – that’s 42 meals. 5% of 42 is about 2. Therefore you’re allowed to “break the rules” 2 meals each week. Remember that the “best” time for you to enjoy a “cheat” meal is immediately following a weight training workout. This “timing” of your cheat meal will minimize both the damage and the guilt!
9. Eliminate Sugar Intake. Eating foods that are processed and high in sugar accelerates fat gain. When we eat sugar, our pancreas secretes insulin which carries the sugar into our cells so that blood sugar levels are kept in homeostasis. Chronic high levels of insulin lead to obesity, diabetes, heart disease and cancer. Alternatives to sugar include a herb call Sevia. Stevia has no affect on blood sugar levels.
10. Be sure to drink enough purified water – at least 8 glasses of water a day (250 ml). Often we misinterpret thirst signals as a sign of hunger, causing us to eat when we really should be drinking water. Water is critical to keeping your body in an anabolic state. It is responsible for regulating all our biological processes, such as synthesizing hormones. You can tell if you are drinking enough water by monitoring the color of your urine. If your urine is pale yellow to clear throughout the day, then you are probably consuming enough water for your body’s requirements. If your urine is strong smelling or dark yellow, your kidneys are working too hard and your body needs more water throughout the day. You should drink water throughout the day.
11. Do not eat after 7:30pm – Eating at night will cause your pituitary gland to cease secreting growth hormone (GH) which is essential for fat burning and building lean muscle during deep sleep.
12. Try to get a minimum of 8 hours of sleep every day, and make sure your sleep environment is in complete darkness (no night lights). A lack of sleep decreases the secretion of growth hormone (GH), which is imperative for burning fat and building lean muscle tissue. GH is responsible for controlling the body’s fat and muscle proportions. It is released in spurts during deep sleep. A lack of sleep also disrupts other hormones like leptin, which is responsible for telling your body when to eat. Sleep debt causes leptin to decrease resulting in cravings for fats and refined carbohydrates. This in turn raises insulin levels which add to fat gain. Sleeping in complete darkness triggers your pineal gland to release melatonin, which is a very potent antioxidant, and allows the body to regenerate while sleeping. If there is light present in the room (night lights, clock radios, TVs, etc.) it will interfere with this process.
13. Exercise 3-6 times per week. Get a customized fitness program that is right for you and your body. Make sure that your exercise program is comprised of resistance training, cardiovascular training and stretching. Exercise in the morning is best for fat loss. It will allow you to burn fat for a full 12 hours. Your BODiZONE personal trainer will design the right program for you, your body and your goals.
14. Incorporate Omega 3 fish oils in your diet for fat loss. Research shows that omega 3 fats help promote fat loss and are necessary for the body to shift towards a leaner and healthier body. Omega-3s promote fat loss through a variety of ways:
- Increases thermogenesis – a process that generates heat that promotes fat loss
- Regulates the area of the brain which is responsible for the perception of fullness (satiety) therefore causing you to reduce the calories consumed
- Decreases body fat mass and fat cell volume, particularly in the abdominal area
- Increases the ability to maintain fat loss
15. Add fiber to your daily routine. Fiber helps balance blood sugar levels and creates a feeling of satiety. An average person should consume 40 grams of fiber a day to keep a healthy digestive tract. Fiber soaks up waste from the intestinal system and eliminates it from the bowel. If we do not get enough fiber, a lot of the waste does not get excreted and it accumulates and hardens in the intestines which prevent the absorption of nutrients from food. This will also cause weight gain, because the brain will detect that the body is not getting enough nutrients, and signals us to eat in order to obtain more nutrients.
You can learn more about this and more in the new book- The fat Fighter Diet (www.thefatfighterdiet.com). You can also follow all of these rules on-line using our www.bodizone.com online nutritionist. With thousands of recipes, shopping lists, workouts and videos, our system takes all of the guesswork out of designing meal plans that suit you. We look forward to helping you succeed!
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