Mark Wilson

Howdy!
Welcome back to Fitness Friday!

This week, we were going to answer How to stay motivated and Keeping yourself accountable, but I’m going to leave that for next week, because I have decided that we will work on getting your eating habits straight.

The biggest problem I’ve found people have with their new found diet or exercise routine is that they don’t stick to it. It’s really quite frustrating to see so many people join the gym January 1^st and within 2-4 weeks about 10% maintain it. Now this can be broken down into two main parts: The Diet & The Exercise.

Today we’re going to talk about ‘The Diet’
First off, it shouldn’t be called a ‘diet’, because that word signifies ‘temporary’ or some major change most people wouldn’t actually stick to. Most weight loss systems out there promote these drastic changes that have you SO restricted that you end up falling back into old routines and gaining every pound lost back and more. They do this for the marketing and sales, it’s fairly simple… show people they can lose weight fast, peak interest, generate sales. They don’t show ‘long-term’ results, because a lot of these people fall off the wagon and gain it all back.
Having said all of that, here’s my point. You cannot make an extreme change in your eating habits without repercussions. My theory is simple, but maybe not the ‘fastest way to lose weight’.

First, you need to maintain your eating frequency… and then add meals. Now I bet you’re saying ‘whhaaaaat??? You’re crazy!’, but hear me out before you write me off.

Every time you eat, your body has to ‘power up’ and burn the food ingested, which takes several hours. During this time, you’re burning calories by keeping your metabolism firing. You’ve heard what they say about children and their metabolism; they can eat anything and never gain a lb. Part of this is because they eat so often that their body is constantly burning (the other part being because they are growing).

The opposite part, skipping meals, has a terribly negative effect on your metabolism. Your body, when restricted from food, begins to ‘hibernate’ and actually store fat! This is bad (but I’m hoping you figured that out…).

Your first step to eating will be to eat more often throughout the day. My suggestion is every 2-3 hours, following something along these lines…

7am – Meal 1
10am – Meal 2
1pm – Meal 3
4pm – Meal 4
7pm – Meal 5
10pm – Meal 6 (usually quite light)

Or

7am – Meal 1
10am – Snack 1
12pm – Meal 2
3pm – Snack 2
5pm – Meal 3
8pm – Snack 3
10pm – Meal 4 (again, usually quite light, but I will answer specific meal questions later)

This plan will keep your metabolism firing at all hours, creating a furnace within, not allowing your body to begin storing fat in hibernation mode.
Your meals will need to be smaller on this plan, as if you eat 1500 calorie meals 6 times a day… you’d probably be well suited for sumo wrestling and trying to sue me for terrible advice.

I will speak more specifically to types of meals at a later date, but as a general rule, a fistful of protein (i.e. meat, tofu, etc.), a cup of complex carbohydrates (rice, pasta, bread, beans, etc.), and the rest veggies (also a carb, but very low). You will also want to incorporate some fat in your meal, but this can usually be done with a little olive oil, peanut butter, chia seeds, or the natural meat fats if you’re as carnivorous as I. Your plate will likely look ¼ protein, ¼ complex carb, ½ veggies. Your snacks would be slightly smaller than a meal if you choose the 2^nd meal plan. In the early morning you will want to consume more carbohydrates compared to the evening. I try to stay away from a lot of carbs late at night, as your body will not need the sustained energy quite like it does earlier.

Now, you should be thrilled to hear that you don’t have to stop eating to lose weight. However, I have a bit of bad news… that burger and fries you eat every lunch with your co-workers, probably isn’t the best idea. We’re going to have to make some sacrifices here, starting with the types of meals. Most of the stuff you will find on this blog is whole and very health conscious. These are the types of foods you want to be feeding your body. You cannot go through this new meal plan and eat pizza for every meal expecting to lose weight. What we’re going to do is start incorporating more complex carbohydrates, lean protein, and vegetables.
A complex carbohydrate is anything from brown rice, whole grain pasta, whole grain bread, oats, quinoa, brown couscous, etc. Aka. Not a sesame seed bun or pizza crust!

A lean protein is chicken (white meat), turkey, white pork meat, fish, eggs, protein powder (more on these later), some lean cuts of beef or bison, etc. You want to stay away from the greasy fast food burger or sausages that are riddled with fat to keep them moist. You can easily enjoy a lean meat just as well as a fatty greasy burger, in fact, you’ll feel a heck of a lot better when you’re thinking about how much better all this great tasting food is for you!

Vegetables are fair game for the most part. Until you start getting into glycemic indexes and really hardcore in your eating habits, simply incorporating all sorts of veggies will be extremely beneficial. Try to choose many colors and deep greens (broccoli, spinach, carrots, peppers, etc.). A variety will bring so many health benefits from all the nutrients. Note: potatoes, yams, most forms of beans — these are under the carb category and not accepted as a ‘veggie’.

You can also eat fruit, but try not to over indulge because there are sugars present. While it is natural, you shouldn’t DEVOUR them, but don’t feel restricted. I always say if you’re trying to curb a sweet craving, eating a piece of fruit will hands down 100% of the time be better than the next option in your cupboard made with refined sugar!

I also want to briefly touch on counting calories. Though we may talk about this later, I don’t like to count calories. All this does is stress you out and make it an obsession. I’ve been there, done that, it’s no fun. Just keep your meals portioned out and balanced. If you need to cut back a bit on the meal size to lose that next pound, fair enough, but don’t try to count every calorie. Odds are you’ll probably not be accurate anyways. Eat until you’re satisfied, not stuffed. If you eat frequently, you won’t need as much food as you might normally eat in one sitting.

Be sure when you’re eating that you don’t fully restrict yourself from foods you love. Every now and then it’s OK to eat that piece of cake or that cheat meal of a burger and fries. It will be so much easier to stay on the program and make a lifestyle by not over stressing about what you eat. Be conscious and make wise decisions, but don’t over restrict yourself. Gradually you’ll get more involved with your healthy eating and WANT to make good decisions. I used to have an absolute problem with potato chips and cinnamon buns. No matter what, I would NEVER turn down those options as a snack. Now… I could smell fresh cinnamon buns in the oven and not even bat an eyelash at them, just ask Anna! It’s a lifestyle decision that has truly changed my life. It takes time and you’ll gradually progress into the changes, but it’s a LIFE and not a DIET.

So what have we covered here, let’s sum this up for today.

1 – Eat 6-8 meals per day spaced out evenly
2 – Eat balanced and smaller meals throughout the day, making smart choices on the types of protein, carb and fat you consume.
3 – Don’t over restrict, but make smart decisions on what you eat. Think long-term, not immediate results.

Last, we need an exercise for you to challenge this week!

We’re going to focus on the SQUAT. This is truly the king of all exercises (next to the deadlift). It incorporates over 250 muscles (primarily 4-5 large muscles) throughout your body. This will help you ramp up that internal furnace with the push ups and build some muscle in your legs.

 
*photos courtesy of bodybuilding.com

You can complete this exercise without any weight on your back at first, and then gradually move up to incorporating weight.

1. Stand with your feet shoulder width apart toes facing forward or pointed slightly outward
2. Keep your back straight, bend your knees and lower your bum towards the floor
3. When your legs are parallel with the floor, push through your heels and stand straight
   Use your arms to help you balance, as this challenges your stabilizer muscles as well.

See the link below for more details on performing the squat

http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/detail/view/name/barbell-squat

As always, if you have any questions, feel free to shoot me an email or catch me on twitter, I’m always here to help!

Signing out,

Marky Mark