- Calories in vs. Calories out! Despite what anybody tries to tell you, calories do matter! In fact it is the single most important factor in your success. You have to be consuming fewer calories than your body burns if you hope to lose weight or body fat. In order to do this, you have to know approximately how many calories your body burns and definitely how many calories you consume in any given day. The best way to be sure you are in a deficit is to record everything you eat and drink and the calories associated with these foods. There are many tools you can use like food labels, journals, calorie books, web sites, etc. for finding and recording this information, I can help you with this if you need help. As far as how many calories your body burns, this gets a little more difficult because we are all different, your initial body composition test here at the T-Zone will give a very good picture based on actual activity levels.
- Another, more simple shortcut to get you started, is to just take your body weight and multiply by 7! This number would then be your target for the number of calories you should consume in a day! (Example: wt. 200lbs x 7 = 1400 max. calories per day) Do not put yourself into starvation mode by consuming much less than this amount or the body will resist dropping weight and store more as fat for reserve energy.
- Eat 4-6 Balanced Meals Per Day! The key to healthy eating for weight/fat loss is to eat smaller more frequent meals. Ideally, you should take your target calorie maximum and divide it into 3 balanced meals with 2 snacks figured in between meals. Try not to go more than 3 hours without eating, this will keep your body balanced, nourished, and not starving or craving those nasty quick pick-me-up snacks. (Soda, coffee, chips, candy etc.) The key is to eat balanced meals and snacks that contain a variety of nutrients from protein, carbohydrates and fats. Proteins and natural whole grain fiber are essential to helping you feel full and satisfied. Try to eat foods in their Natural Form as much as possible, stay away from refined and processed foods, as these tend to digest very quickly and raise blood sugar levels and promote fat storage.
- Drink lots of water! You need to consume at least 64 oz (1/2 Gallon Jug) of water throughout the day. Water plays a major role in weight loss by helping regulate metabolism, if your dehydrated your metabolism slows down! Try to drink your water ice cold, as the body has to warm it up, which burns extra calories.
- Eat less… Move More… the mathematical formula for weight/fat loss! We have talked briefly about how to eat to loose, now let’s talk about exercising to loose! First off before we start… remember that just adding an exercise program and continuing to eat the way you have been will not produce the results you are looking for! Successful, long term, weight/fat loss requires a combination of healthy eating and exercise. In order to see change, you must make dramatic changes to your lifestyle in the form of how you eat and move. Remember 1 pound of fat = 3500 calories, by burning up an extra 250 – 500 calories per day by exercising you could loose up to a pound of fat per week just from consistent exercise.
- The Combination of Cardio and Circuit Training is the most effective type of exercise you can do for maximizing your results in the shortest amount of time! The key in this busy world is to find the type of exercise that best fits your lifestyle. How much time can you devote to exercise per day? Where will you exercise? What type of exercise equipment is available to you? What type of plan should you follow to match your current condition and goals? These are the things you need to discuss with fitness professional before starting your program. I can tell you that as far as what type of exercise to do… A combination of Cardio Training and Circuit Strength Training is the most time-effective method I have found in my experience as a Fitness Professional!
Congratulations on your decision to take action to improve your Health & Fitness! I would like to help you in any way that I can to reach your goals, so please feel free to call me anytime.
Sincerely,
Bill Morgan / CFT
The Training Zone Fitness Center
