Answers For Losing Weight!

I wish I could make a dollar for every time I had someone asks me "why isn't my workout routine working?” They will tell me that they exercise but they are still not getting any results. There are lots of reasons that can be the culprit behind the problem but I have broken it down into 4 secrets to help you fix the problem.


1. You can't just exercise and expect to loss weight. It's the right way to start but proper nutrition has to follow. Everyone should create a food diary. If you just kept a diary for one week you would be able to see why it's so important. The combination of exercise and diet is the only way to building lean muscle; raise your metabolism, increase energy, and lose weight that will stay off. I'm not talking about a diet that you do for 90 days and then you can go back to your old habits. I'm talking about a total life style transformation that lasts forever.


2. Here’s a secret…if you don't eat breakfast then you will be fat! I can't stress that enough. You've been fasting for 10-12 hrs without food and your body has to slow down in order to conserve what nutrients it has. When you get up you have to eat within the first hour in order to get your metabolism going. This is also why I recommend that you eat something within 2 hours before bed. That doesn't include Ben and Jerry's, cookies, brownies, cakes or pies either. You need to eat quality foods that are made up of proteins and fibers. You must eat 4-6 times a day and always have a protein with a carbohydrate. Protein takes a lot longer to digest and will keep you full longer. Also when you combine a protein with a carbohydrate you will prevent from creating spikes in your blood sugar. Increase your fiber intake. Last but not least, always try to eat whole foods when possible that are not processed or milled into powder and always try to buy organic foods. Remember if you can follow these things you will fire up your metabolism and burn more fat throughout the day.


3. Most people join a gym thinking that if they make the money commitment all their fitness problems will be over. They come in and just work out on the treadmill or they will do the little circuit of equipment that the gym has set up for new members. Don't get me wrong these circuits are good stuff to help beginners or when you need a fast routine. But the bottom line is you have to mix it up. You can't just do the same thing over and over again for 12 weeks and expect big results. This is the reason why 30 minute workout fitness franchises are not the answer to your fitness goals. It's a good start for someone who is sedentary but after performing the same workout over a longer period of time your muscles become unchallenged and you reach a plateau. Think of your muscle as a building and every time you work out it’s like a hurricane hitting that building and causing damage. As the muscle repairs itself it builds the building stronger or in this case muscle fibers strong. The next time you work out the muscles are ready for it. This is a good thing but in order to keep getting results we have to change the routine by including modified techniques incorporating interval training, circuit training, hiking, obstacle courses, biking, and swimming, etc.


4. It is really hard to get people to understand that just eating healthier isn't always the answer. So you went from eating hamburgers after your workouts to those meal replacement protein shakes at the gym. A hamburger might have 300 calories and most meal replacement drinks have at least 300 calories. You still have the same amount of calories to burn. Calories are calories no matter if they are healthy ones or bad ones. You have made the step in the right direction but you must have a caloric deficit to lose weight. One pound equals 3500 calories. If you really want to lose weight then you need to create around a 500 calorie deficit in your diet to lose one pound per week.
Take for example, if you are a women who weighs 200 pounds, your resting metabolic rate would be approximately 2,000 calories a day just to maintain your normal activity. If you work out and burn 300 calories, your daily caloric expenditure would be 2,300 calories. If you wanted to lose one pound per week you would need to take in approximately 1,800 calories daily to see a steady weight loss.


In closing, remember that just going to the gym is not the answer. Start a food diary so that you can see what is going into your body. Your nutrition is a critical part of the transformation. Just by eating 4-6 times a day and making sure you start your day off right by eating a healthy breakfast within that first hour after waking up is essential to increasing your metabolism and promoting weight loss. You can have fun doing many different activities and by mixing up your routine get better results. You must have a 500 calorie deficit a day to equal a pound of weight loss per week.

This is a lifestyle change and you can do it! Just imagine how great you will look and feel after implementing these 4 secrets into your life. Life is an adventure and you need to train for it!

Be Well,

Gregory Hoff
Fitness Expert & Certified Adventure Trainer
North Myrtle Beach Adventure Boot Camp
http://www.nmbeachbootcamp.com/
843-267-9359