Stepping up to your best body ever in 5 quick steps!
by Tamara Sherrill
You’ve heard it all. To get the body of your dreams eat this, don’t eat that, or take a miracle pill. Despite following advice, results are still meager or not happening quickly enough. Forget the gimmicks, they only frustrate. A little patience and guidance from top nutritional and anti-aging experts will whip you into shape – for good, not temporarily.
If you want more out of training and life, read on. Regardless of your fitness level, embrace the following five rules and enjoy the results.
1. Train your brain
Talk to any fit person and they will tell you that “life flows more smoothly” when they eat right and work hard at the gym each day. Are they just lucky, or more disciplined, making the choice to stay fit easier? No. The difference between a fit person and someone always struggling with weight is their view of a healthy lifestyle. In a recent survey (1) conducted of women ages 25-69, the number one reason overweight respondents dropped out of a program was because they placed a low value on exercise and nutrition. Although, they had strong desires to lose weight, these respondents thought life was too short to prioritize healthy choices. This belief system will prevent goals from happening, further supporting their current belief that there is no urgency to start a healthy lifestyle. You must train your brain to value your health above the comfort and convenience of living carelessly.
Another distinct difference between the normal weight and over weight respondents was their reason for starting a program. The overweight group attempted fitness plans to please a significant other or lose weight. The problem with this mindset is that the external motivation overshadows their own intrinsic value of being fit, which usually means temporary results. They lose 10 pounds and stop the program. This is the primary reason for yo-yo dieting. The fit person focuses on how healthy living makes them feel and what they want to look like. When the focus is on internal rewards and a vision of the body you want, the outcome is life-long, healthy habits. And, aesthetics naturally follow a health-minded conscience.
2. Eat for Power
Ever wonder what to eat? Our society has access to countless resources for healthy eating, yet there is still confusion. Most experts at least agree on one thing – a fundamental healthy diet should include small, frequent meals with one serving of protein, un-saturated fat source, and a fibrous /whole-grain carbohydrate. That’s for basic for health.
To power pack your diet, choose nutrient dense “power foods”, such as the recommendations from Dr. Nicholas Perricone, author of “The Perricone Promise”. He suggests including foods from the “power food” list at each meal to reduce inflammation and boost your metabolism. Eating for power will help you feel more satisfied, thus reducing cravings for less wholesome foods. (2)
Power Foods:
Broccoli
Spinach
Acai & other berries (all varieties)
Cantaloupe
Salmon (wild)
Cage free Eggs
Raw almonds
Purified Water
Yogurt/Kefir
Tofu
Sprouts
Green foods (blue green algae, wheat grass)
Red Bell peppers
Onions, garlic, chives
Whole grains
A few benefits of nourishing yourself correctly are: Improved athletic performance, increased energy, improved concentration, effortless weight loss, decreased mental health issues, less chronic disease and slowing of the aging process.
Another approach to refining your diet, involves customizing foods for your metabolic type. Dr. William Wolcott, Author of “ The Metabolic Typing Diet”, discovered the critical relationship between our individual needs and our diet.
Dr Wolcott says, “Once you recognize your metabolic individuality, however, everything changes”. “Suddenly you’re the one in control of food, it’s not in control of you”, he concludes. Metabolic typing takes the guesswork out of what you need eat. (3)
Spend more time becoming an expert on your body and eat for alimentary purposes first. You’ll not only surpass goals, you’ll feel brand-new.
3. Prepare & Schedule:
Lack of preparation is a major pitfall in the quest for a lean, sculpted body. Want to know the secret to a beautiful physique? Every fitness model, competitor and fit person knows it. A basic, but monumental secret to shape the body you want is to create supporting habits. Genetics aren’t the only reason those inspiring bodies look so good. They prepare and measure meals, plus prioritize & schedule a planned workout. Hours in the gym won’t chisel your body, but consistent, concentrated effort will.
Working out is only half of the equation to realizing your fitness goals. You must also prepare exact portions of foods to eat throughout each day. Preparation and measuring is paramount to your success, particularly with our busy lifestyles.
Choose a “planning day” and plan your meals and workouts for the whole week. Go a step further and schedule your meals and workouts on a calendar just like any other appointment (really). With meals in hand, and a time set aside to workout, the upshot is your best body ever. Set this system into habit, then soon, it’s like brushing your teeth – you just do it.
4. Balance stress hormones & burn fat:
Hormones are the root cause for nearly all ailments in people of all ages. Depression, PMS, infertility, osteoporosis, diabetes, hereditary diseases, cancer, moodiness, muscle size, energy level, body fat distribution, and thousands more.
Hormonal disruptors:
Stress
Sugar
Refined carbohydrates
Hormones in foods
Lack of protein
Sedentary lifestyle
Alcohol
Ketogenic diet
High carbohydrate diet
Kidney or liver problems
Hormonal excess
Smoking
Pregnancy
“Every bite of food that you put into your mouth affects your hormones”, says Dr. Scott Isaacs, endocrinologist and ?medical director of Intelligent Health Center. Our body is a delicate balance of chemical messengers produced by glands to regulate activities of cells and organs (4). These vital molecules regulate many aspects of human function, including metabolism, emotions, interest in exercise, and food cravings. “Because hormones work by turning on and off genes, you can fight against your genetic predisposition to being overweight by changing your hormones”, says Dr. Isaacs.
Hormones play such a significant role in our ability to perform and lose fat, that if one is too high or too low, other key hormones are disrupted. Chronic disruption of a single hormone will result in behavioral or physical problems.
Cortisol, for example, is known as the “stress hormone” because the body releases it during physical or emotional stress. “The wrong type of dieting can cause physical stress because the body thinks (it’s) starving”, cautioned Dr. Scott. Too many refined carbohydrates and sugars will spike cortisol and norepinephrine, causing the body to store fat, slow metabolism and accelerate aging. In severe cases, chronic stress compromises the immune system putting you at risk for cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer, and high blood pressure (5)
The body can tolerate only so much abuse before the signals get crossed or missed altogether. Stay on top of any undesirable symptom, from weight gain to sleep disturbances. Chances are that your hormones are to blame. The key is to keep hormones balanced to reach your full potential and beyond. Stress reduction, exercise, positive thinking, whole nutrition, avoidance of sugar, and deep sleep are a few natural ways to reach hormonal homeostasis.
5. Be consistent:
Each rule has significance. But, consistency is the surest way to reach your goals. Strive to use the fortitude within you to push through the moments when you’d rather have pizza than salmon, or curl up on the couch instead of training. Aim for balance in your body, diet, exercise and life to break through to your highest level yet.
References:
(1) Sherrill, T (2008). Client Survey. Retrieved July 19, 2008. Web site: http://www.isimplefitness.com/tamarasherrill.com/Blog/Entries/2008/7/19_Survey_results
(2) Perricone, N. (2004). The Perricone Promise: Look Younger, Live Longer in Three Easy Steps. New York: Warner Books.
(3) Wolcott, W. & Fahey, T. (2000). The Metabolic Typing Diet: Customize Your Diet to Your Own Unique Body Chemistry. New York: Random House.
(4) Insel, P. & Roth W. (2006). Core Concepts in Health: Tenth Edition. New York: McGraw Hill Companies.
(5) Isaacs, S. (2002). Hormonal Balance: Understanding Hormones, Weight, and Your Metabolism. Boulder, CO: Bull Publishing.
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