Fueling your body to get results

It's January 23rd! Wow, I believe this year will go as fast as last year. It seems like just a few years ago I was raising a champagne glass to celebrate the turn of the century. Though people say time is all we have, it sure does feel like more time is what we need these days.

February is one week away. How is the new year treating you? Me? It's definitely not been the start I had envisioned: gall bladder surgery, time off from work, and this overwhelming feeling of unfitness that I cannot shake even if my rational thought is saying, "You are recovering from surgery!"

I have been asked several times this week either from clients or from acquaintances in conversation what steps can one take to get the physical results most are in quest of when starting a fitness regimen. I find myself often perplexed as to how to answer this. It's an answer where you have to consider science and strategy. Some trainers believe there's a fool proof system...I do not. If there was most people then would be in shape and living the life they crave in good health.

My philosophy is based on four definitive parts of the fitness equation that if adhered to I believe one could see results. They are: Goal Setting/Schedule planning, Clean Nutrition and preparation, Exercise, Sleep, rest and recovery.

1. Goal Setting/Schedule Planning:
First, you have to know what you are working for and why you are working for it. No matter what, whether it is weight loss, strength gain, to fit into cute clothes, to lower your risk of health problems, or to rehabilitate from injury without a goal and a reason for your health and fitness quest it's easy to fall off track. Second, planning your workouts and scheduling them as meetings in your weekly itinerary is key to making time for exercise. We make time for everything else and yet we will skip a workout just like that, ignoring what we personally need to do to be fit and in control of our lives. Exercise is non-negotiable in my books. The body needs to move in order to burn excess calories and to promote blood and oxygen flow. Set a goal. Plan your workouts. Commit to get fit.

2. Clean Nutrition and Preparation:
This is the one area that most will struggle with, including myself. Unfortunately, it is 80% of the equation! You can exercise 6 days a week and sleep 8 hours a night; however if you do not follow a clean nutrition plan your effort will be sidelined and the scale will not budge. I am not a calorie counter. I follow clean eating 5 days a week and then on the weekends I indulge reasonably. Nutrition is tricky though and your goals do have to be 100% considered when trying to find a nutrition game plan that works for you. Clean nutrition for me is: limiting processed food items, sugar, salt, drinking 3 liters of water a day, eating 5-7 small meals a day that all include lean protein, complex carbohydrates, and healthy fats. I plan and prep my meals daily so I do not find myself starving standing in front of a buffet in the middle of the day. I am not strict with food but I will say the following nutritional guidelines will reduce fat and increase lean muscle mass: (side note: I do not always follow this but if you are looking to be lean and fit these will get you there)

A. Eliminate bacon, sausage, butter, heavy cream, cheese, refined sugar and carbohydrates, desserts, alcohol
B. Consume 3 portions of carbohydrates the size of your palm in the first part of your day, before 4pm
C. Consume 5 small meals a day and count calories! Know how many calories your body needs and then create a 500 calorie deficit a day to lose a lb a week.
D. Eat 20-30g of protein within 30 minutes after a workout... and liquid form is best utilized.

3. Exercise:
Without movement you will not burn excess calories, bottom line. Yes, some have loss weight without exercise by following a strict nutrition plan. Again, that's the immense effectiveness of strict nutrition. However, I believe that it's essential to enjoy your life as well and there's nothing like good food and drink with friends to help alleviate the stresses of life! We need to exercise. Cardiovascular and resistance training are key components of the exercise game plan. The American College of Sports Medicine recommends: For weight loss, do 250 - 300 cardio minutes per week; to prevent weight gain, do 150 to 250 cardio minutes a week; for cardiovascular health, do cardio between three to five times a week for 20-60 minutes. I RECOMMEND 4 20-60 minute weight training workouts a week. The more lean muscle you have the better your metabolism will be. I am 5'6, 152lbs, and a size 6. I have been the same weight relatively for almost a year and I have not been able to workout due to injury for about 9 months. Thank you lean muscle mass!

4. Sleep, rest and recovery:
The more sleep deprived you are the more your body will produce the hormone cortisol which enables your body to store fat around your mid-section. Just like exercise, we all sacrifice our sleep in order to accomplish everything we need to do through out the day. It is imperative to sleep at least 7-9 hours a day for the body to fully rest and recover from not only exercise but most importantly the physical, emotional and environmental stresses we face every day. Also, I recommend at least one day a week where you do not exercise nor work. I know that this is difficult - speaking from first hand experience - however if properly rested and recovered we will be on the right track to reaching our fitness goals.

Today reevaluate what you have been doing to make fitness a lifestyle and to reach the goals that you have set for yourself at the beginning of the year. Do you have a well thought out exercise game plan? Are your workouts scheduled weekly? Do you know what you are working for and why? Are you eating clean 80% of the time? Do you exercise at least 5xs a week for 60 minutes? Are you sleeping at least 7-9 hours a day? Just like any plan, your fitness game plan will constantly need to be re-evaluated, re-adapted, changed, and payed specific attention to in order to obtain the physical and emotional results you are looking for.

What can your body do?