What everyone already knows
Working out is important. This shouldn’t come as a shock to anyone. If you’re in the midwest, and you’re around a Farrell’s gym, I can’t recommend it enough. It’s amazing. No matter where you work out, the issue is you’re only really in a gym for an hour or so a day. It’s the other 23 hours that are harder to focus on.
So where’s the breakdown?
Why is it so hard to get back into shape? Why do so many people throw in the towel? Bad genes? Weak? Lack of willpower? You’ll hear everyone toss blame at someone who “isn’t really trying” to lose weight. They’ll say that it’s a choice, that people just don’t want it enough. The problem is, it’s possible that people don’t even know what “it” is.
Education and proper planning are key
I never really had any success in losing weight the few times I tried to “get moving”. I also didn’t have a plan of action in place. For example, I couldn’t just say I wanted to lose X pounds. That’s to easy to put off. It works when you set a definite, realistic goal that is measurable. Without a plan in place, you’re just spinning your wheels.
“I will lose 25 pounds of fat by Sep 30th and I’ll measure my progress by checking my body fat every two weeks.”
With a goal post in place, set up smaller checkpoints along the way. Write them down. Tell someone. Make yourself accountable to someone other than yourself. Share your goal with your girlfriend, spouse, anybody. Get your goal on paper, and get ready. Get a little crazy.
Got a goal. What now?
With a goal set, now comes the hard part. Planning and Execution. How do I lose the weight, properly fuel my body, and stay healthy?
This is where the education begins.
Not getting enough fuel to get you through the day is just as bad as getting too much. You’ll lose weight, but it isn’t sustainable. The reason all those models / actresses look like they’re starving? They are. This type of weight loss isn’t permanent or healthy. If you are going to work your ass off to get back in shape and lose all the extra body fat, why not make it permanent? This is where I really struggled.
It requires a lifestyle change, with a complete overhaul of my diet. Not a diet, MY diet. This isn’t a bad thing. You don’t have to remove anything you love to eat. I didn’t. I just changed how I ate these things.
Key take away here is it isn’t about a temporary fix, it’s about a sustainable change in the way you fuel your body.
Conventional Thinking:
- weight loss requires extreme hunger and deprivation.
- calories in versus calories out.
- you’re going to suffer, be grumpy
- you should only eat three times a day
- don’t eat anything after 7PM
- eat lots of fruits and vegetables
- eat lots of fiber
- Eat six small meals a day (For me that works out to: 5AM, 9:30AM, 12:15ish, 3:00PM, 6PM, 9PM
- Once every two weeks measure your body fat, use it to calculate your lean body mass
- Eat your weight in grams of carbs / 6 at 5 of your six meals.
- Eat your lean body mass x2 / 6 in grams of protein at every (6) meal
- Your meal farthest from your workout is an all protein meal. No carbs at this meal! (for me this is my 9PM meal usually a protein shake or cottage cheese)
- Fruits before lunch only
- Veggies whenever (mostly in the evenings for convenience for me)
- No processed starches after 3PM
- Log everything you eat (except Saturdays). Keep a tally. This is critical.
- Cardio 3 times a week, Resistance training 3 times a week (yes this means I’m in the gym 6 days a week Mon-Sat)
- Drink 80+ ounces of water a day.
- No soda, no fruit juice, no gatorade! Water, milk, and coffee only during the week.
- Saturday is a free day after 9AM. I eat/drink whatever. (BEER)
I’ve done this. It didn’t work for me. I was tired, and I didn’t lose weight. Frankly, I constantly struggled to NOT sneak something that wasn’t on the menu. I had horrible cravings. It just didn’t work.
Was I doing it wrong?
Consider for a moment it’s more complicated than calories in/calories out. One of the best things Farrell’s does is proving it’s students with a meal plan. I’ve tweaked it for myself, based off some other things I’ve read, or learned, and here are some of the key points of….
What’s working for me
Note: here’s a simple calculator to figure your lean body mass.
I’m eating more food than I was before, and I’m losing weight. The idea here is your metabolism is like a furnace that needs fuel to get working. Convince your body you’re going to consistently fuel it properly, and it will let go of what it doesn’t need.
I’m not starving, and when I’m hungry it’s usually time to eat again.
Just as important as diet and exercise? Sleep.
Get 8 hours. No excuses. Nuff said.