Category Nutrition

This article is only for those who are completely fed up with trying to lose fat and inches through diet and exercise…
You’re probably thinking: What’s the deal? Why won’t the weight come off? You are doing everything you can think of to make it happen.

There’s one simple thing standing between you and a slimmed down, amazingly fit body. One. Simple. Thing.

And here it is…You eat too many calories.

That’s it.

Solve this problem and your dream body will quickly and easily become reality.

Wait, don’t give me the excuse that, “I only eat healthy calories.” That’s great, but even healthy calories add up to extra pounds when we let them go unchecked.

Back to Basics: Why Calorie Counting Works

You may have heard about the professor from Kansas State University, Mark Haub, who performed a famous junk food diet. Professor Haub proved a powerful lesson for anyone who still has weight to lose.

In a demonstrative experiment for his nutrition class, Professor Haub ate a diet of pure junk food for 2 months. I’m talking candy bars and packaged snacks – the kinds of things you find in a snack machine.

You’d expect him to gain weight, right? Well, there was one catch. He was only allowed to eat 1800 calories each day. Yes, those calories were pure junk, but the limit was firmly put at 1800 calories.

Before the experiment, Professor Haub’s typical calorie intake was closer to 2600 calories. So his junk food diet put him at an 800 calorie per day deficit.

Boy did that calorie deficit pay off. Within 2 months he had dropped 30 pounds, bringing his BMI from overweight down to normal.

No, I’m NOT recommending a junk food diet as your answer for fat loss. What I am pointing out is how powerful a reduction in calories is when it comes to lowering your body weight.

Do you know how many calories you eat each day?

If you’re not sure, don’t worry. You’re about to learn the one fat loss tool that will change everything for you. First we need to get to the bottom of how many calories you’re eating each day.

Yes, even those healthy calories.

Let me explain. Food journaling doesn’t involved lugging around a journal, writing down each food item throughout the day then looking everything up at the end of the day to manually tally calories like it used to.

These days food journaling has gone digital, and tracking your calories only takes seconds of your time.

Here’s what I need you to do:

#1: Download a food journal application to your smart phone. At the touch of your fingers, you’ll be able to look up food items and instantly see your running calorie tally. My Fitness Pal is a great app for this.

#2: Meet with your doctor to find a daily calorie count that will allow for safe weight loss and then diligently maintain that number. Eat healthy, fresh foods and when you decide to indulge, make sure to do so within your target calorie range.

#3: Meet with me for a consistent and challenging exercise routine. My exercise programs are specifically crafted to get you into amazing shape as quickly as possible.

These three, simple steps will give you structure and clarity that you need when it comes to making food choices and will quickly result in pounds lost and goals achieved.

Once your goal weight is met, your target calorie range will be adjusted for maintenance. Sounds good, right? If so, start today with steps 1, 2 & 3 above, and you’ll be on your way to your goal weight!

Belly fat is the worst…and these days it’s harder than ever to get rid of. With social pressures and modern conveniences constantly in your face and in abundance in the grocery store, it’s no wonder that your waistline continues to expand.

While losing fat, and losing it quickly, can feel impossible, I’m here today to give you a 3-pronged approached to shrink your belly fat once and for all.

#1: Eat Well

It may seem obvious, but everything you put in your body has the potential to go to your belly. The top offender for growing your belly is sugar. This means if you want to slim down around your waistline, cutting sugar from your diet is going to help you fast track your way to your goal. Don’t think this means just avoiding chocolate cake at birthday parties. It means giving up the three tablespoons of sugar you add to your coffee, saying no to soda, and skipping sports drinks. Get your sugars from whole fruits with natural sweetness that also has nutrition.

While cutting sugar from your diet, you’ll need to fill your belly with satiating foods. One of the best options is lean protein. It helps you build muscle (extra muscle = extra belly fat-burning ability) and keeps you full for a longer amount of time. Of course, it also gives you extra energy that helps your workout endurance in the gym.

#2: Work Out Well

Speaking of workout endurance, if you’re going to really shed belly fat, you’re going to have to commit yourself to exercise. No more excuses, and if you are coming to the gym, no more halfway doing it. You’ve got to go all out. But before you laser focus on your core, you should know that, burning off belly fat by targeting all exercises directly at your abs won’t work.

Instead, you’ll need to put in a full-body exercise routine that gets your heart pumping. That means on top of a solid foundation of weights and other strength-training exercises, you’ll want to pile on plenty of high intensity cardio exercises.

#3: Track It All

Getting rid of belly fat is a daunting task, and even when it’s going well, it can feel remarkably slow. By keeping track of your progress and your daily intake and output of calories, you can better determine what’s working and what’s not, and have a better perspective on your actual progress.

Tracking isn’t just good for seeing where you’ve been. It’s also useful for setting goals. Run for 20 minutes yesterday? Go for another couple minutes today. Or better yet, if it took 20 minutes to run two miles yesterday, try running an extra tenth of a mile in the same amount of time today. Keep piling new on challenges for yourself, and that fat that has clung so tightly to your belly through the years will soon start dropping off your frame.

Even the best exercise routine in the world is fruitless if you throw away your results with sloppy eating. Remember to keep your meals lean by avoiding processed carbs, packaged foods or fried items. Fill up on lean proteins and fresh vegetables and reward yourself with organic, seasonal fruit (if it’s on your meal plan.) That, my friend, is lean living!

If you haven’t made an appointment for a nutrition consultation, now is the perfect time to get started. Just text me to set one up. With the fresh summer vegetables that are in season, you can make some delicious, nutritious meals that well help melt that belly fat away in no time flat! If you already a Full Spectrum Fitness client, thank you so very much for your continued support. If your friends have asked you ‘what have you been doing?’ please tell them to come in and check out our offerings, or go the website to learn more. Thank you.

Ever wonder what it would be like to open your fridge to find a full week of healthy, delicious food that’s prepped and ready to be eaten? Sure would make sticking with your diet and achieving fat loss a lot easier…

Meal prep is a fantastic way to keep on track with your eating throughout the entire week.

The idea is to plan out all of your meals on the weekend, most often on Sunday, then do the shopping and the prep at one time for the entire week. This day is labor intensive, but then your food is ready-to-eat for the next 6 full days.

Here’s my 5 Step Meal Prep Guide to make your next food prep week really simple:

Step One: Planning

Get out your notebook and pen or pull up a blank note page on your iPad, it’s time to start planning for the week. Here are the questions that you’ll need to answer:

1) How many meals do I need each day?

• Check your calendar for special events
• Consider your appetite throughout the day
• Look at each day separately

2) How many servings do I need for each meal?

• Consider each family members’ needs
• Check the calendar for guests or visitors
• Look at each day separately

Step Two: Recipes

Now it’s time to translate those meals + servings into actual recipes. Take a moment to consider the produce that is in season and any special requests or food allergies.

1) Find your recipes

• Browse around on your favorite recipe site
• Pull out your favorite cookbooks
• Find your family favorite recipes

2) Focus on a core group of ingredients

• Plan recipes that use similar ingredients

3) Calculate leftover meals

• Making enough of some recipes for leftover meals saves time

4) Make your list

• Narrow down to the exact list of recipes

Step Three: Grocery List

Take your list of recipes and create a grocery list. A few things to keep in mind…

1) Pay attention to recipes that you’ll double or triple

• Make sure to include all ingredients in your list

2) Organize your list into these convenient sections:

• Meat/Seafood/Egg
• Organic Produce
• Herbs/Flavors
• Pantry Items

3) Check your pantry for items that you already have

• Save money by avoiding double purchases

Step Four: Shopping

It’s time to head to the grocery store! Take your list and, if you’re lucky, a helper down to your local market and go through each section item by item.

Step Five: Food Prep

You have options when it comes to the actual prep of each of your meals. Many you’ll be able to fully make right away and pack in the fridge. Other recipes you’ll want to simply do the chopping, measuring and organizing in order to make the meal hot and quick before you plan to eat it.

Which recipes should you fully cook in advance? The truth is that this is really up to you and your schedule. Here’s a good game plan if you don’t want to fully cook everything on Sunday: <ol >

• Fully make the baked goods for the week.
• Chop all vegetables.
• Gather all seasonings.
• Fully cook Monday’s dinner.

Getting into the habit of prepping your meals for the week is a surefire way to accelerate your fat loss results. It’s my goal to help people, just like you, conquer their fear of exercise and clear up their confusion with healthy eating. I know that a healthy life is within your reach – I’ve seen hundreds of my clients before you do it, and I’ll see hundreds after you do it. Today it’s your turn.