All posts by Mike Shannon

There’s nothing quite as frustrating as that stubborn belly fat that sits around your waist, makes your pants tight and destroys your confidence.

If you have belly fat to lose, then chances are great that you are harboring one or more of these 5 habits that cause belly fat.

Read the 5 Belly Fat Habits below to identify the reason why your stubborn belly fat won’t budge…

Belly Fat Habit #1: Too Much Sugar

Sugar is found in many of the foods that you eat daily. From breakfast cereals, to coffee drinks, to protein bars, to energy drinks…more items in your daily diet contain sugar than you’re probably aware of. All of these sugar calories add up quickly and translate into many pounds gained.

Make it a habit to read the ingredients and the sugar count in the foods you are eating. Pay special attention to breakfast items, yogurts, protein bars and any item that is packaged. Avoid eating foods that contain added sugars as a part of your daily diet.

Belly Fat Habit #2: Daily Dessert

There used to be a time and place when desserts were reserved for Sunday evenings and special occasions. Not anymore! These days dessert has become a daily occurrence. Much like the first Belly Fat Habit, having dessert is another form of having too much sugar, and all those sugar calories rapidly turn to fat.

Forget eating dessert every day. Save desserts for cheat days and special occasions, and stick with fresh fruit as your daily after-meal sweet – if you must.

Belly Fat Habit #3: Bad Snacking

In recent years snacking has been named one of the best ways to maintain your metabolism, in order to burn fat all day long; and while there is some truth to eating small, high protein-high fiber meals frequently, for the most part all of this snacking has done nothing better than make us fat.

Most snack items are crunchy and salty, (two qualities that you’ll rarely find in a healthy snack) and contain loads of simple carbohydrates and, you guessed it, more sugar. In order to avoid belly fat, you’re better off avoiding all traditional snack foods, and to fall out of the habit of ‘snacking’ entirely.

If you’re hungry between meals then eat a small amount of protein and fiber, such as a hard-boiled egg with cucumber, or a packet of tuna with celery.

Belly Fat Habit #4: Daily Alcohol

Having that drink with dinner (or two, or three…) can quickly become a fast and steady habit. It’s easy to justify the drinks because you had a long, hard day and you deserve it. The alcohol takes your mind off of your troubles and loosens you up for a good time. However, all those alcohol calories are basically sugar, and all that sugar is going straight to your belly. (Beer belly, anyone?)

Breaking your daily alcohol habit is tough, I’ll give you that, however it may motivate you to know that it’s nearly impossible to lose fat on a day when you’re drinking alcohol. Alcohol = fat storage mode. Also it’s great to know that once you’ve allocated alcohol to cheat days and special occasions, you’ll lose fat quicker and easier than ever before.

Belly Fat Habit #5: Lack of Exercise

This one is kind of a no-brainer, right? If you aren’t moving your body in a consistent, challenging way then you’re going to store body fat, plain and simple. An effective, invigorating exercise routine is the ticket you need to dump that fat for good.

I’m here to help you simply and easily lose all of your unwanted belly fat. There’s no time like the present to begin an exercise program that really works – and my programs have been proven to be very effective, so let’s get going!

Call me today, or schedule an appointment to ditch that belly fat forever.

The holidays have come and gone, and you’re left to deal with the aftermath of all that less-than-healthy eating… Is your body is puffy and bloated? Your joints are achy? Do your clothes feel tight?
Maybe you are feeling this way right now.

Below I’ve outlined the 5 steps you’ll need to quickly and seamlessly get back on the fitness fast track.

Holiday Recovery Step One: Get Focused.

The holidays happened. You ate things from your “never eat these” list, you drank more that you should have, but now it’s over.

Draw a line in the sand. The bad eating stops now.

Don’t beat yourself up for falling off the fitness wagon this once. Simply get back up, dust yourself off and get re-focused. Leave the past, and your slip-ups, in the past.

Holiday Recovery Step Two: Get Hydrated.

While bad eating can take on many forms, the end result is most often dehydration and water retention. The only way to restore balance is to get hydrated.

Your first priority in getting back on track is to drink plenty of water throughout your day. Start with a tall glass of water in the morning, and carry a water bottle with you.

Don’t add artificial sweeteners or stimulants to your water – these will work against your hydration efforts. To add flavor, slice fresh fruit, herbs or vegetables to place in your water.

Holiday Recovery Step Three: Get Picky.

For the next few days I need you to be extra picky about what you eat. Stick with only whole, real foods like fruits, vegetables and some lean meat. Whole, real foods will quickly help to restore balance.

Don’t eat packaged foods for the next few days. This means saying no to snack foods, processed meat slices, dairy, baked goods and alcohol.

Holiday Recovery Step Four: Get Juicing.

Making your own juice can be beneficial when recovering from a weekend of bad eating. The key is to use ingredients that will hydrate and nourish your body and to avoid ingredients that are high in sugar.

These ingredients are fantastic for your recovery juice: fresh ginger, spinach, cucumber, kale, green apple, lemon, and celery.

These ingredients should be used sparingly, due to high sugar content: carrots, oranges, red apples, melons or pineapple.

Holiday Recovery Step Five: Get Moving.

So you’ve put an end to the eating madness, you’ve hydrated, you’ve eaten only whole foods and you’ve enjoyed a recovery juice…it’s now time to sweat it out.

Schedule a personal training appointment, or come use the cardio equipment. When you start your workout, ease in slowly. Before you arrive, take the time to warm up and stretch your muscles before powering up to a solid 30-minute exercise routine.

Together, I can help you get back on track to help you recover from your holiday indulgences, and help keep you motivated and going strong in the future.

If you have a friend in the same boat, or maybe in the water, but want to just get in the boat, please forward this email. Now is the perfect time to start a fitness program in the new year. I can help get you focused on your goals with my results-driven method.

Simply call or schedule an online appointment to set up your first workout.

Lean eating does not mean complicated eating…it just means eating smart, and it will make fat loss second nature. And don’t worry, lean eating can still be very delicious. In fact, you’ll find many of your new, lean meals to be better in flavor and more satisfying than your old, fattening eats.  

Lean Eating Rule #1. Eat the RIGHT Type of Carbs

There is a hierarchy of carbs a lean diet, which rank from healthy (good) to empty (which will only fatten you up.) The success of your eating plan rests squarely on which of these carbs you regularly include in your diet.

1. Green Vegetables
2. Non-Green Vegetables
3. Fruit
4. Whole Grains and Starches
5. Refined Grains
6. Foods with Added Sugar

The top 3 ranked carbs should comprise 90 percent of the carbs in your diet…in order to get that lean physique that you want. Immediately cut out the bottom 2 (refined grains and foods with added sugar), and on occasion include a limited amount of Whole Grains and Starches.

Lean Eating Rule #2. Track What You Eat

The only way to improve upon your diet is to actually know what you’re currently eating. Keep a food journal, or use an app (like VIVO), and input all of the calories that you consume over the course of a week. This will give you a broad look at where your low quality calories are coming from (high sugar, empty calories). Your first step will be to eliminate these fattening calories and to start replacing empty calories with nutrient-filled whole foods.

Lean Eating Rule #3. Never Restrict Calories to the Extreme

There’s a certain allure in the idea of temporarily restricting calories to the extreme. The idea that one can drop a down a size or two in just as many weeks is quite tempting. I hate to be the one to burst your overambitious bubble, but extreme calorie restriction NEVER WORKS. It’s terrible for your body, and it is not something that is sustainable (namely because you’d starve to death) so the pendulum inevitably swings in the other direction, resulting in binges.

The key to being lean for life is to eat in a way that you can sustain forever. Eat whole foods. Eat a moderate amount of the RIGHT calories. Every day, ongoing, forever.

Lean Eating Rule #4. Eat Veggies First

This may go against all of your instincts, but hear this one out. When you sit down to a meal first eat all of the veggies and salad, before moving on to the main dish. This simple strategy helps to fill you up with lower calorie foods first, before moving on to the higher calorie items.

By making this a habit you’ll naturally and effortlessly consume fewer calories at each meal, which will have a big impact on weight loss.

Lean Eating Rule #5. Include Protein at Every Meal

Each of your meals should be built around a healthy serving of protein. This protein could be meat (chicken breast, fish fillet, roasted turkey, braised beef etc.) eggs, or protein powder (such as Beverly International UMP.)

Having protein as the focal point of your meal is important for two reasons: 1) You’re fueling up in a way that builds muscles rather than stores fat, and 2) By default, you’re avoiding high calorie main dishes, which are what really cause most weight gain.

Lean Eating Rule #6. Ban Liquid Calories

Liquid calories have no place in a lean eating plan. No place at all. Anytime that you are drinking calories, it’s safe to assume that you’re adding inches to your waistline. Put down the beer, just say no to the blended coffee drink, and forget about fully loaded soda pop. Filtered water and unsweetened tea are the best alternatives to calorie-laden beverages.

Lean Eating Rule #7. Avoid Prepackaged Foods

Prepackaged foods and snacks have no place in a lean eating plan. These processed foods contain numerous fattening ingredients such as refined sugar, sodium, grains, fillers and other artificial ingredients. If you are currently eating packaged foods on a daily basis, cutting these items out will quickly translate into pounds lost.

Lean Eating Rule #8. Swim Upstream

As a society we are overweight, riddled with obesity related ailments, uncomfortable in our own skin, and craving weight loss. So…it’s safe to say that whatever you see the masses around you do, when it comes to food and exercise, you should aim to do the opposite.

See a line wrapped around that fast food joint’s drive thru? Do not enter. Instead, eat a simple meal made with vegetables and lean protein.

See all 5 people ahead of you in line at the coffee shop order a sweet drink? Do not follow suit. Instead, order an unsweetened drink.

See the movie theatre parking lot packed to the brim, and the gym parking lot empty? Skip the movie and hit the gym.

Swim upstream, be different than the masses by living in a desirable, healthy, lean body.

There is no magic machine, pill or diet that will accelerate weight loss. Call or email me today to get started on a nutrition plan that really works, or to review your current plan. Or, schedule an appointment to get back on track.