Expert Advice > Archived Articles > Getting Back in Shape After Christmas 04/01/2010
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Getting Back in Shape After Christmas 04/01/2010Getting Back in Shape After Christmas 4/01/2010 Christmas and New years are awesome times! You eat and drink lots and you have heaps of fun. The last thing you worry about is putting on a little weight; however, once the New Year starts and the festivities are over, getting back physically to where you were before the holiday period can be a little difficult for some. Here are some tips to get you back into shape! Don’t feel guilty about the over indulging. You have to let your hair down some time and if you’ve put a little weight on, sweet as! Having the right frame of mind is a huge asset when trying to get into shape. Be positive and go hard! The rest of the tips here will get the excess fat off you in no time. New Year’s resolutions (goals) are great but they have to be SMARTER and they have to be written down: Specific (I will lose 3 kilos of body fat) Measurable (I will need to have a body fat test every 2 weeks to see if it is fat I am losing not muscle) Achievable (Do I have all the tools, exercises, etc….. at my disposal to achieve this goal?) Realistic (Are my goals realistic with work, money, time and other responsibilities?) Time frame (I will lose the 3 kilos of body fat in 6 weeks) Evaluate (I will have shorter 2 week goals to ascertain my progress) Reset (I will reset my goals to be more achievable- this will depend on if I am below or exceeding my expectations!) Read 5 books on nutrition and training; knowledge is power! I read somewhere that if you read 5 books on a particular subject you will have more knowledge about that subject than 95% of the population. Here are 5 books I highly recommend to get you thinking about what you can do to get in shape. The Blood type Diet: By Paul D’Adamo The Genotype Diet: By Paul D’Adamo The Warrior Diet: By Ori Hofmekler German Body comp programme: By Charles Poliquin Burkes law: A new fitness paradigm for the mature male: By Paul. T Burke Invest some money- it is amazing how motivated you can get when you have spent a bit of cash on something. Join a gym, purchase supplements that are useful to your specific goals or enlist the help of a personal trainer to help you get in shape. Make a bet with a friend that you will reach your goal by a specific date, even better get them to join you and make a competition out of it. Detoxify the body- We all know your body stores fat if you have eaten excess calories, but a lot of people don’t consider the fact that if your body is toxic from a lot of processed foods and alcohol your body stores fat to put these toxins somewhere as it can not detoxify it all. Drink lots of water (2-4litres) a day, eat lots of fresh vegetables and some fruit, avoid processed foods, and eat lean cuts of meat. A number of amino acids in protein powders are beneficial for detoxification as well as other supplements like milk thistle, glutathione, psyllium husks and dandelion. You will be surprised how quickly you can lose weight when you put the right fuel in your body. Resistance training- Resistance training is awesome for increasing lean muscle tissue and burning calories. I also think it is an excellent cardio workout when done with minimal or no rest in between sets. If you don’t enjoy doing traditional cardio to get in shape, why do it? Increase protein intake- Increasing protein intake (from lean cuts of meat, dairy and protein powders) will help you gain extra muscle. It will also keep you more satisfied from each meal. A basic guide to follow is to have 2 grams per kilo of bodyweight. I find it much easier to stick to an eating programme to lose body fat when I have around 3 grams of protein per kilo of lean muscle mass. Decrease processed carbohydrates- If you think about processed carbohydrates (any food that has been altered from its natural state): they are a relatively new addition (on an evolutionary scale) to the human diet. They are often low in nutrients, high on the glycemic index and have many added toxins that our bodies are unable to deal with. To lose body fat quickly I would substantially decrease or eliminate processed carbohydrates from your diet. Increase good fats- Omega 3 fats are found less and less in our diets so supplementing with them is a good idea for our bodies to function properly. I swear by fish oil as an excellent supplement to lose body fat fast along with all its other health benefits. Drink lots of water- Water is often overlooked as a useful tool to change our body shape for the better. Our bodies work in an aqueous solution so if we are dehydrated in any way we will be unable to train as hard, think as clearly, transport nutrients around the body or eliminate toxins and wastes as effectively. Drink up –it’s free! Enjoy what you do- Your exercise programme or physical activities should not be a chore, but something you love to do. If weights is your cup of tea do it. If you like mountain climbing, climb. I personally have never enjoyed walking on a treadmill or cycling so I don’t do it. You can manipulate any activity you do to make it suit your goals. For example, when I train with weights I move from one exercise to the next without a break- not only do I continue to make gains in strength and muscle, but I also get my heart rate up for an extended length of time which burns calories too. The most important thing is that I am reaching my goals and loving every second of it! It’s the New Year; you now have the tools to get back into shape after Xmas. Eat well, train hard and enjoy 2010! |
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