Training For Life

Here’s some good news for everyone out there suffering on a diet right now—it isn’t working. No, actually, this is not bad news. I meant what I said when I said it was good news—you can finally stop starving yourself.

I’ll admit some diets might work for a little while, but think about it—can you really survive on 1,000 calories a day for the rest of your life? Would you really enjoy life that way? I think not. And it’s ultimately counterproductive. When your caloric intake drops drastically below your body’s baseline needs, your body reacts by going into “starvation mode.”

Unfortunately, your body doesn’t get the memo that you’re deliberately starving yourself—it thinks you must be going through a time of famine and so it hangs on tight to every little calorie you do consume. Your body decides to try to burn less energy, and your metabolism grinds to a halt. In order to get the fuel it’s no longer getting from food, your starving body will breakdown any lean muscle tissue you have—that’s very bad because lean muscle tissue burns through a lot of calories. The longer you starve yourself, the more obsessed with food your brain becomes—because when you lose fat too quickly the hormones that control your appetite plummet. So when you do finally cave in from hunger after weeks of eating nothing but salad, you’re probably going to gain back more weight than you lost.

So dieting is a bust—that’s a relief! But then, how in the world are you supposed to lose that extra weight? First off, remember the real reason you’re doing this. Your ultimate motivation shouldn’t be some essentially arbitrary number on a scale—your ultimate motivation should be to treat your body right so you look and feel better for life.

Now, let’s just be clear on one thing. Am I giving you free license to go polish off a bag of chips whenever the whim should strike you? I think you know the answer to that. You do need to remember that ancient maxim “all things in moderation.” But instead of starving and punishing your body, focus on giving your body the right amounts of healthy, high-quality fuel so it can build muscle and charge through tough workouts like never before—and you will get fitter. Here’s your new strategy for weight loss:

Eat More and Burn More

Start every morning with a good solid breakfast, and make the time for healthy snacks in between major meals to avoid getting too hungry. That will keep your metabolism humming along all day and keep your blood sugar levels stable. And dust off that exercise DVD that’s been lying around in your basement for months. Working out is the best thing you can do to lose weight—hard-working muscles need a lot of calories, and just three pounds of muscle can eat up to 150 extra calories a day. You don’t need to start off with anything too intense. Just get your body used to the idea of a regular exercise regimen. Once you get started, it will be hard to stop—you’ll get hooked on all those feel-good endorphins.

Start Small

It’s a daunting task to revamp your entire life all at once. If you try to go from couch-potato and midnight snacker to gym rat and protein shake aficionado in 24 hours, you’re setting yourself up for failure—big time. So take on one goal at a time. This week, trade those calorie-packed Starbucks treats for lighter homemade coffee. Next week, start trading out white processed carbs for whole grains.

Listen To Your Body

You honestly don’t need to count calories or calculate fat and protein percentages— if you just pay attention to what your body is telling you. Eat when you feel hungry. Eat slowly so you have time to realize when you’re full—and when you’ ve had enough, stop.

If you’re not really hungry while you’re watching television and you’re just eating because you’re bored and want something to do—well then, don’t eat! I know it sounds obvious—but we’re all guilty of boredom-eating sometimes. So get off the couch and go for a jog—you’ll beat boredom and fat that way.

Remember to consult your doctor before trying any new fitness or nutrition program.  Happy Training!

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Posted under Cardio, Diet, Fitness, Health, Lifting