This is an article that I wrote regarding changing to a healthy lifestyle. Hope you enjoy. Feel free to comment in the comments section.
Lifestyle for the ones that want to be the best they can be.................
Corny saying huh "be the best you can be"? The Marines have it right. Are we ever the best we can be? I think not. I'm 54 and still working on being the best father, husband, grandfather, friend, mentor and human being and I still have a lot to improve on.
But one thing I will always remember from boot camp was this very large man screaming at me asking me if that's all I had. Think about what that drill sergeant was asking as I guide you through what I have learned about taking care of your body and soul. Keep thinking that thought........it this all I got? Is this the best I can be?
God created an unbelievable piece of art when he created the human body and soul. Don't you think we should repay him by taking care of it? Look in your bible; see any fat people in there? We as a society have become so complicated and stressed out we can't see the big picture anymore. We're so worried about that new car or boat or big house or whatever, we lose sight of what's truly important in life. Walk outside and look up in the sky and take in a big gulp of life. I guess that's why I choose to live on the coast..I can drive down the beach drive and right in front of me is god's creation, that very moment is what is worth being here. The most precious things in life are all around us; we just can't see it sometimes and need to be reminded.
If we are to improve ourselves we first have to set goals, both short term and long term. What are your goals? To lose weight.short term. To make sure you live long enough to share the experiences of life with your grandchildren.long term. Write your goals down. Put the short term ones on the frig, in your face so you don't lose track.
We all need a support team. I have the most wonderful person in the world that helps me. I'm sure you do too, now you have to get them to buy into your goal. That doesn't mean you have to preach to them or force your way of thinking on them, that will just push them away from helping you achieve your goal. Just show them how this is important in your life and how it will also make them happier to be around you because you are happier being healthier.
Ok, first there is no dieting. There is only lifestyle changing. There are hundreds of diets that will aid in weight loss. Not one of them will help you keep the weight off once you have achieved your short term goal. That requires a change in your lifestyle.
The first step in achieving a healthy lifestyle is to assess your current lifestyle for overall health and fitness. To do this, write down everything you eat in a 3 consecutive day period. Don't sugar coat it, be honest, this is not to make you feel guilty, rather a litmus to determine where you are. Now go to a calorie counter website or buy a calorie counter at a local bookstore. I use a site calledwww.calorieking.com; it's free, easy to use and will calculate your macros for you as well. More on that later. Once you have calculated all the calories you have eaten in the last 3 days, divide that by 3 and you have your base diet. This number is what it takes to keep you looking the way you do now. The objective is to lose some weight so we have to drop that number or at least adjust how we get to that number. The principle is so simple it's ridiculous....burn more calories than you put in.
Ok, we have our number; let's say its 4000 calories. Tomorrow let's get that down to 3500 calories. Nothing magical about that number, just lower it. Now what kind of activity do you do in a day? Nothing? Ok, let's start with something.
Simple, get up off your ass and walk. Nothing complicated so far? That's the norm. Now the other side of the spectrum is fit people. Calorie intake is 2500 and they run 25 miles a week and still can't lose weight. Again you need to study what you are doing and adjust accordingly. If you are on a low calorie intake and you don't lose weight then look at the foods you eat and see where you can improve. Example: sweet potato replacing French fries. Different foods react differently to each individual so articles you read that say eat more sweet potatoes and you will be fixed are crap. Everyone's makeup is different and you are going to have to work at it too see what works best for you.
I will leave it here with some tips that may help:
Alcohol is full of sugar. It also goes straight to the liver to be processed because it basically is a poison to the system and the liver is frantically trying to protect you from it. Ever wonder why it makes you feel bad? Number one question I get from people, "how do you look like that, what are you on"? Do you know how insulting that is to someone that busts their ass and doesn't take drugs? I always bite my lip and tell them it is diet. Then they ask for my advice on their diet. My first question is, do you drink beer? The answer is almost always, well certainly doesn't everyone? Sorry to break this to you folks but if you are going to drink beer, then you are going to be lugging around some extra body fat. The grains and sugar that are in beer are some of the most wasted calories you can consume. There are 2 ways to combat this without becoming a t-totaler. For every beer you drink, drink a glass of water, this will help flush it out and the liver won't have to work as hard. Remember the liver is a vital part of your metabolism, the fat burning mechanism. The more you can help relieve the liver of the function of keeping you alive the more it can be working on burning fat. The other thing you can do for your alcohol fixation is to drink red wine in moderation. It is actually good for you.
Eating small frequent meals.All meals should include protein, complex carbs and omega 3 fats.
Eat breakfast. it is by far the most important meal. The word breakfast comes from breaking from the fasting. You are fasting while you are asleep and your body needs nutrition when it awakes.
Meal timing and quantity. You should eat your standard 3 meals a day and eat at least 2 snacks in between these meals. Wow, now that's a novel idea. We're talking about losing weight and you want me to eat more? Think I'm crazy, try it for 2 weeks and then call me crazy. Now your meals should be small portions. Don't eat until you are full. If you do that, you have over eaten. Eat small portions. Look on the labels of foods, it will tell you what a portion consists of. Snacks in between meals should consist of nuts, fruits and veggies.
Eat all the veggies you want, the more the better, they are full of fiber. Be careful with the fruit. Google Glycemic index and it will describe the best fruits for you. I.e.: bananas are full of sugar, apples are not. Anything with the word "berry" is a good thing.
Beverages. Drink as much water as you can. A gallon a day is great but not easy, you have to build up to it. Again this helps keep you flushed. Drinking cold water also helps keep the metabolism running hard as it tells the body to waste energy on keeping itself at 98 degrees while you're pouring cold water in it. Takes energy to do this. Say no to sugar, especially soft drinks. Wasted calories, nothing good comes out of drinking a coke. Go with diet drinks or crystal lite drinks, they come in all kinds of great flavors. Green tea is also a good beverage.
Fats. Anything that has saturated fats or high cholesterol needs to be avoided at all costs. However do not be afraid of the word "fats". Unsaturated fats and omega 3 fats are good for you and are essential in maintaining good health. Example: olive oil, nuts, fish oils, etc.
I could write a book on nutrition but this is not the place, so I will stop here. If you have specific questions I will be glad to help. I don't know everything but I do know enough experts that I can get you the answer.
Now comes the part everyone hates. The C word. CARDIO. Cardio means a lot of different things but the basic meaning of it here is doing something that you normally don't do. If you sit around all day, then it can be getting up and walking around. It's simple and easy to adapt to. In the bodybuilding world it is one of the most important things folks do to get into lean conditioning.
There are 2 types that I will discuss here: HIIT and steady state. HIIT=High Intensity Interval Training. Basically it's changing pace, start off warming up, pick up the pace, cool down a bit then pick it back up, never letting the body getting used to what the amount of stress you are putting it under. This is pretty advanced stuff so unless you're already fairly fit you would want to start off by doing what is called steady state cardio. That is doing some form of exercise that elevates your heart rate to something that is just above the level of having a comfortable conversation for an extended period of time. Example would be walking fast enough that you can carry on a conversation with someone but it's not particularly comfortable to do so. Fat burning process with cardio takes place in steady state exercise after 20 minutes. Example: if you walk for 45 minutes you have actually been burning fat for the last 25 minutes. HIIT, whole different story. You can burn fat in as little as 10 minutes with this method if you make it hard enough.
Big secret: Fasting cardio. Once you get fit or if you are already fit try this for the ultimate in fat burning. It helped me get to 3% body fat at 205lbs. After waking in the morning, drink 1-3 cups of coffee and a bottle of water. Do not eat anything. Empty everything you can. Now go do some cardio for as long as you can. If you're up to it, the HIIT technique is the best method, as intense and as long as you can. When you feel your stomach start it eat itself then you know you had enough. I do 30-40 mile cycling rides before breakfast to achieve low body fat levels. This is truly magical stuff if done correctly.
Here's what you can look like at 54 years old with 9 knee operations, 2 stints, torn rotator cuffs and a gallbladder full of stones if you don't make excuses. I'm not showing you this to brag but rather say hey if the old man can do this, then certainly you can make an effort to be the best you can be.
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