By Sean Lerwill
This time of year everyone decides it’s time to make a conscious effort to be healthier and thus improve their fitness and hopefully lower their body fat (or lose weight as most see it). For most they have no idea where to start, so join the gym, start eating just fruit and veg and eventually fall off the wagon when results aren’t seen, tiredness kicks in and life takes over. Well, here are 10 simple steps to making sure your 2015 fitness regime sticks:
1. Take
it slow
When changing your life, very few people can stick with complete
upheavals. A much better option is to change one thing each week, or if you’re
feeling brave, each day. That way it doesn’t seem overwhelming and is more
likely to become habit over time. For example: start today by consciously
drinking more water. Tomorrow, carry on drinking more water but also add
getting into bed 30-60mins earlier than usual. The next day add to water and
sleep ensuring you eat breakfast. etc.
2. Add
some simple exercise to your lifestyle.
Walking is a great addition; if you drive/get the bus or train/underground
to work try getting off/parking a mile from work. Walk that last little bit at
the beginning and end of the day. It’ll not only burn a few more calories but
it’ll give you time for some fresh air and fresh thoughts on life.
3. Work
out your calorie needs.
If you don’t know what your body needs, the likelihood is you’ll
overfeed or drastically underfeed it. Either can have negative effects compared
to what you want. Overfeed and you’ll gain weight. If you aren’t training for
muscle growth, this will be body fat. if you drastically underfeed you’ll
breakdown muscle tissue, we don’t want that. So, work out your calorie needs
(explained how in my Transformation manual) and use a smartphone app like
MyFitnessPal to log what is eaten. It’s a chore to do for some, but it makes a
huge difference.
4. Eat
breakfast.
It really is the most important meal of the day. Your body goes
into starvation over night (hence Break-fast). In the morning your body needs
fuel or it starts to feed on itself. The bad news is it’s likely to start
breaking down your muscle tissue and we don’t want that. Your muscle tissue is
metabolic tissue; meaning it actually burns calories and helps you lose fat. We
want to keep it, so eat breakfast, everyday!
5. Eat
less carbohydrate.
In the world we live in most of us overdo carbohydrate. We eat
too much bread, pasta, potatoes, rice, crisps, chocolate etc. It’s not just our
fault; the takeaway foods we get from the highstreet sandwich chains and
supermarkets are carb heavy. It’s cheaper for the supermarket. Studies have
shown that taking carbohydrate down from 60-70% of a daily diet to 20-30% can
increase the use of fat as a fuel by up to 70%. What this means is that if you
eat less carbs your body will burn more of your excess body fat. Don’t cut
carbohydrate out altogether. It’s still necessary for your body to have some
good, naturally occurring carbs, but avoid the processed versions and lower the
overall amount.
6.
Drink more water.
Water is required for nearly every bodily process. Humans are
actually 70% water. We need a constant supply of water to help remove toxins,
keep the immune system strong and to metabolise fat. Try drinking 1litre per
20kg of bodyweight. For a 60kg woman = 3litres, for an 80kg man = 4litres. And
for every hour of exercise drink another 1-1.5litres extra.
7. Eat
more protein and fats.
Fats have been given a bad name over the last 20-30years. The
thought process that fat makes you fat; not just because of the name, but
because of fats being 9kcals per gram compared to protein and carbs which are
4kcals per gram. Yes fats may be more calorific but they are also essential to
many bodily functions. Good fats like oils from oily fish, avocados, olive oil,
coconut oil and butter/dairy are very good for the body. Equally they help
ensure a lower carb diet which as stated above helps with fat utilisation as a
fuel. As does eating more fat itself.
Eating more protein helps with repair and recovery following
illness, injury or simply working out. Studies have shown that eating 20grams
of protein every 3hrs through the day helps keep muscle synthesis switched on;
ie. it ensures the hard work in the gym under the weights bar is fully
utilised. Furthermore, eating protein regularly can help keep hunger pangs at
bay and stop you reaching for the biscuits.
8.
Sleep more.
Lack of sleep is not good for the body. It adds stress and
stress leads to certain hormones being released to cope with the stress. Due to
our evolution those stress hormones make our bodies’ want to store body fat.
Simply put, they are our comfy, warm, portable blanket for when the snow comes
in (our stresses of days gone past). Try to sleep 7-8hrs a night uninterrupted.
It will help avoid injury and illness, help lower stress levels and thus help with
burning fat and building muscle by aiding recovery.
9.
Supplement.
Although not necessary for many, supplements can really help.
It’s important to first eat a balanced diet of the correct kcal's for you and
the right percentages of fats, carbs and proteins. However, beyond that, using
supplements can really help. For example, many people don’t get enough vit D,
especially in the UK so a supplement can be essential. The same for omega 3
fish oils. If you don't eat oily fish everyday, then supplement with omega 3s.
If you struggle to eat enough protein, try a whey or soya protein. Check the
ingredients and try to avoid too many sugar and additives. Other supplements
that can aid fat loss are green tea extract, CLA, a multivitamin and vitamin c.
10.
More weights, less cardio.
The standard thought process is that to lose weight (bodyfat)
you run, cycle, walk etc. Although those activities will burn calories, we
don’t just want to burn calories in our training sessions, we want to trigger
muscle growth, which as explained above is metabolic tissue and thus burns
calories while we sleep, sit at our desk or watch TV. Therefore, weight
training/resistance training is far more beneficial than cardio training when
trying to lose bodyfat. Try to use weights (even if just body weight resistance
training) 2-3 times a week and if you enjoy it, cardio 1-2 times a week. If
it’s a choice between one or the other, I would always advise resistance
training over cardio. However, it is imperative that every session is intense. If
you can lift a weight easily for 10, 15 or whatever the reps are, it’s too
light. You need to be lifting it so that the muscle hurt/burn, thus you are
giving the body something to repair and adapt to. This in itself burns more
calories after the session itself, but also encourages the body to produce a
little bit more muscle (don’t worry girls, not much - it takes years to grow
big muscles) which means more metabolic tissue and thus more calories burned
when at work/rest. Remember, make it intense. if it’s easy, it’s not enough.
Sean Lerwill, Author of the Haynes Body Transformation Manual,
is a well-known Personal Trainer and ex-Royal Marines PT Instructor. Sean
regularly features in leading fitness publications offering help and advice to
the masses and as a Marine PT Instructor helped numerous Marines complete what
many regard as the hardest Military training regime in the world. Other Haynes
publications written by Sean are: Haynes Royal Marine Fitness Manual, Haynes
Running Manual and the Haynes Triathlon Manual. All of Sean’s Haynes Manuals
can be found at Haynes Online
Haynes
