AN EFFECTIVE FAT LOSS PLAN – HOW TO GET STARTED…

1. The first step is to decide to make the commitment – are you REALLY going to make changes in eating habits and begin to exercise? If not, do not waste your time even attempting the endeavor because you won’t go far. You have to be 100% committed or you will not see significant results.

2. Your dietary intake is a huge factor in fat loss. It’s about 80% of the work you need to do. What you eat and drink, therefore, can ruin good intentions. But think about this: if what you eat is 80% of the battle, this is a controllable variable. But it takes DISCIPLINE! Analyze your dietary intake – keep a food diary and record EVERYTHING you eat and drink. Notice patterns such as the time of day you eat, emotional eating, specific food/drink choices, weekend vs. weekday habits, etc.

3. Start moving. Even though exercise is the other 20% of the battle, it is highly recommended for many reasons. Use the stairs, walk to work, park your car further way, stand instead of sitting, walk instead of standing, etc. If you are not motivated to start exercising, start with as low as 10 minutes 2-3 days/week with something that involves moving: walking, running, circuit training or basic calisthenics. DO SOMETHING!

4. Lose fat with a partner. Having a partner with the same goal in mind will give you someone to lean on, exercise with, and even compete with. When tempted to stray from good eating and/or exercise habits, your partner can be a source of motivation and encouragement.

5. Don’t bite off more than you can chew (no pun intended). Make small changes rather than overwhelming wholesale changes. Gradually phasing into it will make it more tolerable and prevent you from getting frustrated and giving up.

WHEN YOU GET STARTED AND WANT TO KEEP IT GOING…

1. Make better food choices. When you determine food choices in your food diary, replace them with better choices. Examples: Lemon water over soda pop, apple over potato chips, celery stick over cookies, plain popcorn over buttered popcorn, any fruit or vegetable over any processed junk food, skim milk over whole milk, and the list goes on.

2. Vary eating habits. Try new forms of nutritious foods (many varieties of fruits and vegetables are available), try new recipes and eat (smartly) at different venues.

3. Make exercise fun. Vary choices between walking, running and circuit training. Walk or run new routes, speed walk or do interval runs, add new exercises, use dumbbells, barbells and machines, perform exercises differently, use a stepper, treadmill or elliptical machine, enroll in a boot camp class, etc. Remember, it’s MOVING that is the key, so incorporate variety into your exercise routine.

4. Pick up the pace. The harder you work the more calories you will burn. If walking, walk a little faster or do fast-walking intervals. If running, run a little faster or incorporate intervals. When doing ANY activity, turning it up a notch or two will give you more bang-for-the-buck.

5. Strength training: the missing link in fat loss. Restricting calorie intake and performing low-level aerobic exercise can definitely lead to fat loss. However, many times muscle mass (and muscle weight) is lost in the process. That is not optimal. Muscle tissue is metabolically expensive, so the more muscle you have (males and females alike), the more calories you require each day (all other factors being equal). Performing a strength training session 2-3 times per week for as little as 20 minutes can at least keep the muscle you have -- or stimulate a little growth -- which will facilitate greater fat loss. LIFT WEIGHTS TO GET “LEAN” AND “TONE.”

6. Circuit strength training: the total package. On the topic of strength training, if you had to choose one best form of exercise, it would be circuit strength training. That is, regular strength training exercises (e.g., chest presses, lat pulldowns, leg presses, squats, or any free weight and machine exercise) performed with minimal rest between them. With this, you not only get muscle maintenance or growth, you also get a HUGE calorie demand both during and after the workout. It is the ultimate form of exercise when it comes to expediting fat loss. Provided your calorie intake is appropriate, it forces your body to tap stored body fat for energy, but keeps muscle since you’re working it hard! Why is circuit strength training not more popular? The answer is simple: it’s hard to do if done properly! That is, it’s not easy and temporarily discomforting. However, if you learn to appreciate it, it can take you a long way in your goal to lose fat.

7. Reward yourself. As the pounds come off, reward yourself with something: a trip, a SMALLER article of clothing, a sensible day of “cheating” on your food intake, or some dumbbells for a home-workout routine. Think about this: if 7 out of every 10 of your days are good in terms of proper diet and productive exercise, you will go far (provided the 3 “bad” days are not totally awful).

3 STEPS TO SUCCESSFUL FAT LOSS – YOUR ACTUAL PROGRAM…

1. Determine your daily calorie requirements. You need a specific number of calories each day just to stay alive. This is your basal metabolism, or basal metabolic rate (BMR). You also need calories to fuel the activities you partake in each day (e.g., walking, stair-climbing, manual labor, exercise, etc.). Therefore, one day may be different than the other depending on your activity level. Regardless, you need to create a calorie deficit each day in order to tap body fat storage sites. A deficit of 500 calories per day can lead to a loss of one pound of body fat per week, all other factors being equal. That may not seem like much, but over ten weeks that would be 10 pounds of healthy and realistic fat loss. Remember, it’s a gradual process and one pound per week is reasonable.

To determine the number of calories you need each day, use the “How many calories do you need?” Microsoft Excel worksheet on the Photos & Misc. page:

   A. Click on the men or women tab.

   B. Type in your weight (in lbs.), height (in inches) and age.

   C. Your BMR will be calculated.

   D. Go to the WEIGHT LOSS (middle) section and determine your activity level for that day.

   E. The calories needed to support that activity level – including a 500 calorie deficit – are listed.

   F. Carbohydrate, protein and fat gram breakdown per day and per 5-meals/day is also provided.

2. Develop a sensible weekly exercise plan. There are numerous ways to structure exercise sessions over the week, but be realistic. You may want to exercise 6-days per week at 1-hour per session, but will your daily commitments (work, travel, family, etc.) allow time for this? Things come up, thus you need to start slow and be flexible. The following are some formats that will work IF YOU ACTUALLY DO THEM:

  A. 2 days/week at 1-hour per session.

  B. 3 days/week at 45 minutes per session.

  C. 3 days/week at 1-hour per session.

  D. 4 days/week at 30 minutes per session.

  E. 4 days/week at 45 minutes per session.

  F. 5 days/week at 20 minutes per session.

  G. 5 days/week at 30 minutes per session.

Whatever format you choose, stick with it.

3. Perform maximal calorie-burning exercise and strength training within the weekly format chosen. Many options are available. The main “plug-in” options should be 1) interval training (via walking or running on land or on a cardio machine), regular strength training and/or circuit strength training. Using the above days-per-week formats, here are some possible combinations. Whatever is selected, the goal is to maximally burn calories during the session by moving intensely and/or by some form of strength training.

  A. 2 days/1-hour per session (M-Th or W-Sa):

      1) 30 minutes of intervals and 30 minutes of regular full-body strength training each day.

      2) 15 minutes of intervals and 45 minutes of regular full-body strength training each day.

      3) 1-hour of full-body circuit strength training each day.

.

  B. 3 days/45 minutes per session (M-W-F or Tu-Th-Sa):

      1) 15 minutes of intervals and 30 minutes of regular full-body strength training each day.

      2) 45 minutes of full-body circuit strength training each day.

      3) Days 1 & 3 = 15 minutes of intervals and 30 minutes of regular full-body strength training.

           Day 2 = 45 minutes of full-body circuit strength training.

.

  C. 3 days/1-hour per session (M-W-F or Tu-Th-Sa):

      1) 30 minutes of intervals and 30 minutes of regular full-body strength training each day.

      2) 15 minutes of intervals and 45 minutes of regular full-body strength training each day.

      3) 1-hour of full-body circuit strength training each day.

      4) Days 1 & 3 = 30 minutes of intervals and 30 minutes of regular full-body strength training.

           Day 2 = 1-hour of full-body circuit strength training.

.

  D. 4 days/30 minutes per session (M-Tu-Th-F or Sn-Tu-Th-Sa):

      1) Days 1 & 3 = 30 minutes of intervals. Days 2 & 4 = 30 minutes of regular full-body strength training.

      2) Days 1 & 3 = 30 minutes of intervals. Days 2 & 4 = 30 minutes of full-body circuit strength training.

      3) Days 1 & 3 = 15 minutes of intervals and 15 minutes of regular upper-body strength training.

           Days 2 & 4 = 15 minutes of intervals and 15 minutes of regular lower-body strength training.

.

  E. 4 days/45 minutes per session (M-Tu-Th-F or Sn-Tu-Th-Sa):

      1) Days 1 & 3 = 20 minutes of intervals and 25 minutes of regular upper-body strength training.

           Days 2 & 4 = 20 minutes of intervals and 25 minutes of regular lower-body strength training.

      2) Days 1 & 3 = 45 minutes of intervals. Days 2 & 4 = 45 minutes of regular full-body strength training.

.

  F) 5 days/20 minutes per session (M thru F or Sa-Sn-Tu-W-Th):

      1) Days 1, 3, and 5 = 20 minutes of intervals. Days 2 & 4 = 20 minutes of full-body circuit strength training.

      2) Days 1, 3, and 5 = 20 minutes of full-body circuit strength training. Days 2 & 4 = 20 minutes of intervals.

  G) 5 days/30 minutes per session (M thru F or Sa-Sn-Tu-W-Th):

      1) Days 1, 3, and 5 = 30 minutes of intervals. Days 2 & 4 = 30 minutes of full-body circuit strength training.

      2) Days 1, 3, and 5 = 30 minutes of regular full-body strength training. Days 2 & 4 = 20 minutes of intervals.

      3) Days 1, 3 and 5 = 15 minutes of intervals and 15 minutes of regular lower-body strength training.

           Days 2 & 4 = 30 minutes of regular upper-body strength training.

      4) Day 1 = 15 minutes of intervals and 15 minutes of regular upper-body strength training.

           Day 2 = 30 minutes of intervals.

           Day 3 = 30 minutes of full-body circuit strength training.

           Day 4 = 30 minutes of intervals.

           Day 5 = 15 minutes of intervals and 15 minutes of regular lower-body strength training.

When you train, work as hard as you can each session.

To summarize…

1. Know what your daily calorie intake should be and create a calorie deficit of 500 calories per day. Do not go over that number and be disciplined in your eating and drinking habits.

2. Develop a workable weekly plan that includes maximal calorie-burning activities and strength training. Whatever format you choose, stick with it.

3. Train as hard as you can each session. The harder you work, the more calories you burn.