Tuesday, January 31, 2012

A Nutritional Plan That Will Help Break Through Your Fitness Plateau


Question from C.R. – “What are you eating? Do you have a set meal plan? I'm down 45 pounds, but hitting a plateau.”


Reaching a plateau can be frustrating especially if you have been doing so well trying to lose weight.  Your body goes through a lot of changes when you lose weight.  Therefore, when you reach a plateau, you need a new routine.  Change your diet or exercise routine, maybe both.

I personally don’t have a set meal plan.  I’m very active and burn a lot of calories throughout the day and find myself eating more to maintain my weight.  I’m not complaining, it’s a good problem to have.  Although I can eat anything I desire, I tend to eat fairly healthy and control my meal portions.  Your body is like a sports car, you have to give it the right fuel for the best performance.  Food is 80% responsible for your weight loss or gain.

I recommend following the menu below until you’ve reached your goal.  When you have reached your goal, then you can eat whatever you like but keep in mind the amount of calories you’re eating along with exercise.  The logic of losing weight is plain and simple.  Don’t consume more calories than you can burn off.  Until you are able to learn how to control your weight pound by pound, stick with this low calorie menu below.


BREAKFAST

Pick one main dish:
1) 2-4 egg whites
2) 1-2 eggs
3) Egg beater veggie omelet
5) Oatmeal mixed w/berries (instead of using any sugar)

Pick one side dish:
1) Rice cake
2) Low calorie wheat toast
3) Whole wheat English muffin
4) ½ Bagel

LUNCH & DINNER

Pick one main dish:
1) 6-8 oz. broiled/grilled fish
2) 6-8 oz. broiled/grilled skinless chicken breast
3) 6-8 oz. turkey breast
4) Tofu
5) Salad w/fat free vinaigrette dressing

Pick one side dish:
1) Vegetable dish
2) Dry baked potatoes or yam
3) Rice

OTHERS

Drinks:
1) Water
2) All natural fruit juice (with no corn syrup or fructose)
3) Coffee black or with non-fat milk
4) Green tea

Snacks (small portion):
1) Fruits
2) Popsicle (Use all natural juice and make your own)
3) Yogurt (non-fat)
4) Beef jerky (all natural)
5) Nuts

Meal Substitutes:
1) 8-10oz. of non-fat cottage cheese
2) Fruit smoothie (made with all natural fruit, w/non fat yogurt, fruit juice with no corn syrup or fructose)

Only use this weight loss menu as a guideline.  This weight loss menu contains approximately 1500 calories.  I also recommend drinking 8 glasses of water a day. 

If you reach a plateau, give my weight loss menu a try.  Otherwise, cut your meal portions or perhaps change your work out routine by doing more cardio exercises.  I promise combining with exercise, this menu will work! 

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Sculpting The Perfect Abs


Questions from R.F. – “So is working out your abs a good idea to do everyday or every other day and how long is good for a work out?  Just wondering if they need time to rest like arms and legs do with weights.”
           

When it comes to abs, there’s no right or wrong way to work out.  It all depends on your goal.  Whether your goal is to have a runner’s lean abs or a muscular bodybuilder’s abs, it requires doing a lot of cardio exercises and a healthy diet.  Doing ab exercises alone may not be enough to give you the sexy abs you desire.  It requires work and consistency.

I enjoy running and I used to jog 4 miles daily for my choice of cardio exercise but I had to find a balance because I was losing too much weight.  Now, I jog 4 miles every other day to maintain my weight.  I eat fairly healthy and I don’t feel the need to eat more just so I can jog daily.

If you want a lean runner’s abs, you can do a shorter weightless ab workout everyday or every other day.  If you’re just starting out, start slowly and work your way up. My suggestion to start is 3 sets of 12 sit-ups (5 minutes).

But if you want a muscular abs like the bodybuilders, then it requires an intense 1 hour of ab workout with heavy weights once or twice a week.  Ab muscles are like any other muscles in your body, it needs time to rest.

I personally do 500 (5 different ab exercises @ 100 reps) weightless ab exercises daily at least 5 days a week.  My ab workout takes me about 45 minutes and is not for everybody.  When it comes to abs, as a woman, I think it’s more complicated than a man.  I like my abs to be somewhere in between a runner’s and a bodybuilder’s abs with some definitions, just enough ab muscles to find it sexy but not too much to considered masculine.

There’s no right or wrong way to sculpt your perfect abs.  The choice is yours.  Whatever time and effort you put in will be the result. 

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Losing The Last 10 lbs.

Questions from P.N. – “I've gained 10 lbs and I'm now chubby.  Is it best to work out when I wake up which is usually around 1pm or before I go to bed, which is around 6am.  How often do I need to do cardio per week?  Is it alright to just eat 1 big meal per day?”


Whether you just started to gain or are trying to loss the last 10lbs., 10 seems to be the ultimate number.  It may not sound like it’s a lot but I applaud anyone keeping track or staying conscious of their body.  If you’re like me, 10 pounds would be quite a dramatic physical change because of my height.  I think finding the time to work out anytime of the day is fantastic!  If you have a choice, I recommend working out in the in the morning. It’ll jump start your metabolism for the day and burn stored fat instead of the food you’ve just eaten.  Before bedtime might not be a good idea because it will raise your energy level and may make it harder for you to fall asleep.

Cardio exercises are best for losing weight.  I recommend 1 hour per day at least 5 days a week until you reached your fitness goal.  If you’re just starting out, I recommend walking because it’s low impact and you can do it practically anywhere.  As you get more comfortable with your choice of cardio exercises, pick up the pace to burn even more calories!

I say it often and I’ll say it again.  Food is 80% responsible for your weight loss or gain, therefore eating healthy and cutting your meal portion is best.  I don’t recommend eating 1 meal per day because you’ll end up eating more than what you need.  Your body will then store the extra fat, which will make you gain even more weight.  If you choose to skip a meal, replace it with a healthy smoothie but don’t starve yourself to loss weight.  I recommend eating a regular healthy meal 3 times a day and carry a healthy snack throughout the day if you’re still hungry.  That means no fast food, sodas or alcohol.  Drinks a lot of water (8 glasses per day is recommended).

The key is to break your daily routine and try something different.  You can’t expect to get results doing the same thing.  The concept to losing weight is quite simple, eat less and work out more!  Follow these guidelines and you’ll loss that 10lbs. in less time and effortlessly.