Fitness Professionals: Rule number 1 about exercising/weight training is safety. You will have the piece of mind that you will be dealing with Registered Exercise Professionals (REPs) fitness professionals who will ensure you are carrying out an exercise to the best of your ability. (Please see Personal Trainer profiles.)
Education: An explanation of the merits of doing a particular exercise will be given so as to clarify exactly why you’re doing what you’re doing.
Motivation: Our fitness professionals are there to spur you on. They can also “spot” you whenever the going gets tough by helping you with a resistance exercise for example. In addition if it suits you they can even be your training partner which should hopefully prove that they practice what they preach!
ADVICE TO HELP MAKE YOU LEANER
Tip #1 - Don’t starve yourself.
Reducing your calorie intake to an amount less than eight times your bodyweight may cause your metabolism to institute severe energy-saving measures that will make you dumb and grumpy, as well as reduce the rate your body burns calories.
It may also cause a reduction in lean body mass. During severe calorie restriction, excess muscle is regarded as expendable and fat reserves are not.
Tip #2 - Eat six times a day.
By feeding your body frequently throughout the day, you can avoid binge eating; maintain stable energy levels and facilitate a healthy metabolism. It’s also a great way to provide your body with the nutrients it needs to recover from resistance training. If consuming six meals a day is a challenge, add meal replacement drinks into your array of meal options.
Tip # 3 - Eat protein and carbs at each meal.
By combining protein and carbohydrates in each meal, you’ll maintain more stable energy levels and provide your body with a constant supply of amino acids and glucose which help support muscle tissue.
Tip # 4 – Prepare meals ahead of time.
Most of us are too busy to prepare healthy, low-fat foods every day - that’s the secret to the success of fast-food restaurants. One possible solution would be to prepare some nutrient dense, low calorie meals on Sunday night or whenever you have some extra time and then freeze them.
Tip # 5 - Snack frequently but wisely.
It’s been shown that spreading your calorie intake throughout the day by eating more often increases your metabolism. Obviously, you need to make good choices, but the increase in your metabolism from frequent feedings and the improved ability to avoid binge eating and poor food selection due to never reaching ‘I’m starving’ status will yield significant fat loss.
Tip # 6 - Keep the alcohol to a minimum.
For some reason, people tend to ignore the caloric content of alcohol when monitoring their calories. A bottle of wine or a six-pack of beer can add anywhere from 625 to 1,100 calories to your diet. In addition, a gram of alcohol has about seven calories—nearly as much as a gram of fat, but both are metabolized and stored by the body very easily.
Tip # 7 - Don’t hang out with ‘fat people’ who aren’t trying to lose weight.
On the surface, this may seem a little mean. But think about it this way – do you know any millionaires that hang out with people that are destitute? (Professional athletes not included.) You are more likely to become what you surround yourself with.
Tip # 8 – Utilize interval training.
Interval training is undoubtedly the optimal way to utilize cardiovascular exercise for fat loss. Alternate brief (15 – 60 seconds) bouts of high intensity exercise with periods of lower intensity exercise. You cut the time you’re spending doing cardio significantly and get much better results. Think about it - have you ever seen a fat sprinter?
Tip #9 – Consume more protein.
One of the most important aspects of a healthy fat-loss nutrition plan is making sure you’re consuming enough protein. Studies show the anabolic effects of intense training are increased by a high-protein diet. And when you’re losing fat, you need even more protein because your body burns more protein on a reduced calorie diet.
Tip #10 - Cut back on “empty” carbs.
Cut back on low-nutrient carbs by eliminating bread, pasta, candy, juices, crackers, bagels and such from your diet. It’s a known scientific fact that your body has trouble burning fat when your insulin levels are elevated. (Eating an excess of “empty” carbs causes a spike in insulin.) Instead, focus on eating “low-glycemic” carbs, such as black beans, brown rice, sweet potatoes and oatmeal. (The glycemic index determines how fast a particular food raises blood sugar.)
Tip #11 – Eat more fibre.
A diet high in fibre instigates fat loss whether you cut calories or not. It seems fibre facilitates fat loss by thwarting the entry of some carbohydrates into the bloodstream, which in turn slows the entry of sugar into the blood. High levels of sugar in the bloodstream spike insulin levels, which, as we’ve already discussed, slows fat burning. Good sources of fibre include bran, brown rice and beans, as well as green vegetables such as spinach, broccoli and asparagus. Try to consume fibrous vegetables with at least two of your six daily meals.
Tip #12 - Drink plenty of water.
Healthy muscle is comprised of more than 70 percent water. Water is also an essential transport mechanism for a vast array of nutrients like vitamins and minerals and even carbohydrates. It serves an important role in all cellular activity. If your water intake is low, your ability to transport nutrients becomes compromised, and you’ll lose strength and feel sluggish because of the build up of ammonia, urea, uric acid and a whole host of other stuff you don’t want hanging around in your body.
Drinking water can also help you control your appetite. If you find that the portions of food you’re eating don’t quite satisfy you, try drinking another glass of water with your meal. You’ll find this helps alleviate that feeling of not having eaten enough.
Tip #13 - Consume whole foods for at least 4 of your 6 daily meals.
Most people don’t have the time to shop for and prepare six nutritionally balanced, complete whole-food meals each and every day. It’s just not practical. Fortunately, meal-replacement shakes offer a solution to this problem. They’re quick, convenient and make “eating right” a lot less complicated. However, relying on these ‘snacks’ for more than a couple of your daily meals is not a good strategy for anyone wanting to quickly lose body fat. The process of digesting solid food every few hours actually increases your metabolic rate— this is known as the “thermic effect of food.” Despite their high nutrient value and multitude of health benefits, meal-replacement shakes are rapidly digested and absorbed—resulting in a minimal metabolic boost.
Whole foods should be the cornerstone of your nutrition regimen. Eating a diet primarily of clean whole-food carbohydrate and protein sources requires your body to use more energy for digestion, absorption and disposal of the ingested food—which ultimately contributes to fat loss.
Tip #14 – Reduce carb consumption in the evening.
It’s a scientific fact that your body cannot burn fat when your insulin levels are elevated. It’s also a fact that carbs cause insulin levels to go up. So, it’s especially important to limit your carb intake in the evening. Carbs consumed in the evening are more likely to be converted to body fat and/or reduce the amount of fat your body may burn during sleep.
Tip #15 - Cheat once a week.
No one can eat “perfectly” all the time without feeling overly restricted. If you’re craving something that doesn’t fit into your nutritional plan, hold off that craving until your “cheat day.” One day a week, forget calorie counting, portion control, etc., and eat whatever you’d like. By giving yourself this option, you can maintain the discipline you need to be successful the other six days of the week.
Tip #16 - Build more muscle.
Not only will additional muscle help you look leaner but it will also make your body more metabolically active. Muscle burns calories just sitting there. It makes sense, though. Fat is metabolically inactive. It’s simply stored, just ‘hanging around’ until it’s needed. Muscle, on the other hand, is constantly demanding energy (calories.) The more muscle you have, the more calories you need just to maintain your present weight.
