Monday, June 23, 2008

Advanced Fat Loss Methods for the Body of Your Dreams

Recently, I just posted about my easy tips to get your own "babely" body (thank you Jaya for that term ;) ) . To some people, this may seem to simple and they may want a more defined prescription for reaching their own body goals.

So, here a three advanced tips that I use to help me get where I want when things start getting serious:

#1) Have a plan for what you will eat each day.

Your plan can be as precise as knowing every meal down to the exact amount and type of food, or it can be a little more flexible by just giving goals for calories and macronutrients. Or, it can be a combination of both.

Some people like to have their meals exactly laid out for them for the entire day, where others like to have more choice and freedom to just choose foods that fit into a pre-determined mold. Either way will work, it just depends on what you want.

Your meals will be a division of your total daily intake - and will depend on your total amount of activity for the day, your type of activity and your access to foods. For example, you wouldn't want to plan a meal of scrambled eggs and spinach if you aren't anywhere near a stove -- or eggs for that matter. That's just common sense.

If you don't have the tools to determine these breakdowns for yourself (i.e. a nutrition program to help you make all the calculations), you can always follow a plan from a reputable source (book, nutritionist, credible website, etc), or hire someone. People hire me to create plans for them based on their own personal goals and needs, as I've been doing this for sometime now and have a good track record. Then, I do this for myself as well.

#2) Have a plan for what you will do for exercise each day.

Like nutrition, this can be as precise as exact exercises, sets and reps, or can be as general as a focus on certain muscle groups or functional movements.

I'm someone who likes having a specific plan, so, I either write these out myself or contract someone I trust to make it for me. Sometimes I get stuck in a rut doing the same things for my exercise plan, so I find it good to go to someone outside of my realm and obtain a new training prescription. Right now I'm working side-by-side Jonathan Fass of Accelerated Strength and am absolutely loving my programming.

You too can either write your own programs, hire a one-on-one personal trainer (check them out before you work with them full-time though as I've seen some HORRIFIC personal trainers in my gym and have no idea how they haven't completely injured someone already), or contract someone to make programs for you online. There are a lot of great trainers on the Internet now, but there are also some not-so-good ones, so make sure you do your homework on them thoroughly before you buy into a long term plan.

#3) Always make sure you plan time for yourself and your family and friends. This helps to keep your life in balance and can guarantee happiness.

Although working out and eating to a fine-tune can be considered doing things for yourself, you also need to take time to slow down and smell the roses (literally). This is all part of the de-stressing I spoke about last time. You need to keep your life in harmony by doing things you love, especially alongside those you love.

Nothing is worse than a cranky, irritable dieter. It's not healthy to be like that for you or for people around you. So, taking a day (or few days) off from training and dieting to enable relaxation and reduce stressors can be the best thing your body could ever ask for. Some people also refer to this as a deloading week which is very important to prevent over-reaching and over-training which can have long-term negative effects on your health and life.

So, enjoy your body recomposition goals and learn to take a break every once in a while. It will not only keep you happy and healthy, but will do the same for those around you that you love.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

I thought your blog would be blown up with comments. But maybe that's just cause I am a huge fan!
I got The New Rules of Lifting for Women about eh...well I *just* started phase 2 so 6 weeks or so ago. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!! The things that have happened to my postbaby body are unreal! I am in the best shape of my life. I will be an avid reader of your blog! So keep on bloggin girlfriend!

Roxanne said...

I really love reading your blogs.Continue posting for more!