There is something magical about the beginning of a new year that fills our hearts with hope. Maybe that’s why millions of people start their year with a list of resolutions that they don’t intend to keep. It is almost as if we are throwing wishes at the Universe, not committing to a goal. We dream big, over promise, and under deliver. By the end of January, we can’t even remember most of the items on the list. However, this year could be different. You just need to follow a few steps:
Clean Your Diet
You have been exercising regularly for a while, and now you feel it is time to make positive changes in your diet. If you want to eat better but have no idea how, I have a few tips for you. Just follow the next steps to a healthier diet.
1. Clean your pantry
Some foods are supposed to be eaten in moderation, meaning once or twice a month. If you keep those foods at home, chances are you are going to eat them more often than you should. Thus, to clean your diet, you should get rid of those foods. Get a garbage back and throw away the following items (if you have them at home, otherwise you are already half way to success).
Healthy Eating – Breakfast
You have probably heard that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. But do you know why? Researches show that people who start their day with a morning meal tend to weigh less than those who skip breakfast, are less likely to snack throughout the day, and perform better at mental activities.
Weight-Loss and Energy Balance
In my experience as a fitness professional, I could say that most people who join a gym do so in the hopes of changing their looks, and weight-loss is certainly one of the most common fitness goals out there. Even though regular physical activity is definitely an important piece of the equation, when it comes to slimming down, exercise alone may not be enough. This means that everyone trying to shrink their waistline should pay close attention to their diets.
To comprehend how weight-loss occurs, one must first understand the principles of energy balance. The set of chemical reactions that happen in our body is called metabolism. Metabolism is the balance between the energy that comes in through the food we consume and the energy that goes out through our daily activities. However, according to the law of conservation of energy, energy cannot be created or destroyed, only changed in form. For the human body, this means that whatever energy we consume but do not burn is stored as fat.
New Address
I am happy to share with you my new work address. I’ll be providing personal training services at G Fitness, Rhodes, NSW, Australia.
G Fitness
3 Rider Boulevard, ground floor, Rhodes, NSW, 2138
Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead
This is not a new movie (from 2010) but I have just watched it and I really recommend it. It is a documentary based on a guy’s quest for the cure of a rare skin condition. After being on medication for years with little results, Joe Cross decides to reboot his life through juicing. He spent 60 days cruising the USA while on a complete juice fast[1] interviewing Americans along the way.
What Is Body Sculpting?
Sculpting comes from the word sculpture which refers to a structure that have been carefully carved or molded by very experienced hands resulting in harmonic lines that please the eyes. Well, body sculpting is not much different.
One thing to keep in mind is that as with the plastic arts, body sculpting is a long-term project not an easy-fix measure. You may have seen those late-night infomercials promising a super-toned perfect body if you only use their gadget every day for five minutes. Those ads are mesmerizing – it looks so simple! Then we buy their product and soon enough realize that we’ve been duped. The problem is that they hire very fit models who have been working on their physique for years, physiques that we all dream to have one day.
Does this mean that you will never get a better body unless you were born with good genes? Absolutely not – all it means is that you need to train appropriately.
Body sculpting is not much different than body building. Both use weight lifting techniques to improve body composition, aka reduce body fat and increase muscle mass. I would say that the term “body sculpting” is used to sell strength training to females because the term “body building” scares women away.
The goal of body sculpting is to increase lean body mass as you decrease fat deposits, creating a more defined toned look. Most women don’t want to show off some serious muscle definition; all they want is to be firm and not jiggle. However, to get this look, you must lift weights and lift a little heavy. All right, calm down – YOU WILL NOT GET BULKY! Trust me on this one; getting muscles to grow is hard work. You would need way more than a couple of strength training sessions per week to get big.
Many women seem to go to the gym every day, but can’t seem to get the results they expect. They spend hours on cardio machines in the hopes of getting toned legs but in reality they are just wasting their muscles away. Don’t get me wrong – cardiovascular training is a valuable tool to improve heart and lungs health, but it won’t help you building muscles. Keep in mind that one of the most important principles of training is specificity which means that the results you get are closely related to the type of training you do. Therefore, if you want a lean body that shows off some muscle definition, you must train for this outcome.
Ask yourself what you really want to accomplish. If it is a sculpted, toned, firm look, then you must lift weights in order to build some muscle. And I don’t mean doing bicep curls with “Barbie dumbbells” (those pink one-kilo dumbbells reserved for females) for tons of repetitions. You must choose exercises and loads that challenge different muscle groups to elicit change. Otherwise it is just a waste of your time.
Now if you never trained with weights and have no clue how to start, you are better off hiring a trainer to help you set up a balanced program that addresses your particular needs. You can discuss with your PT what you want to achieve, how much time you can commit and by when you would like to get the results.
Keep in mind that it is a lifelong process – not a short-term goal. As you become more proficient, your body will suffer adaptations and you will need to redesign your program in order to keep getting results. A competent trainer can guide you through this process and help you get the best looking body you’ve ever had.
Carla Torres is an AIF Master Trainer based in Rhodes, NSW. Her mission is to promote exercise, proper nutrition and healthy habits as a way to empower individuals to make decisions leading to better quality of life.
Can an Old Dog Learn New Tricks?
Behavior change is one of the major components of weight management programs. It is true that exercise and diet play important roles in weight loss, however if the individual cannot build healthier lifestyle habits, the results won’t last. This is because once the person goes back to his/hers old habits chances are that the pounds are going to begin piling up again. Therefore, long-term commitment is a must.
Changing someone’s behaviors is not an easy task. First, the person must be open to change (for more on that read “Increasing the Odds of Successful Change”). Keep in mind that change is only possible if the individual is willing to change. However, once the person is on board, change is possible if habits are addressed.
Working with a Personal Trainer
For a beginner, the gym environment can be very overwhelming. Lots of complicated equipment, big guys grunting and throwing weights around, and flirtatious girls in spandex is not something that is easy to handle at first. So for new gym goers, having a personal trainer can be the best way to feel welcome and safe in a health club. If you just joined a gym on impulse and have no idea how to start training, consider the following:
The first thing you’ll need is to learn how to use the machines and other fitness equipment which means you may need some assistance. Even though, some machines may seem self-explanatory, you must set them up correctly before using them. You will also need to know which ones to use in order to have a balanced program (otherwise you will end up doing only bicep exercises, for instance). Lastly, you need to know proper lifting technique so you won’t injure yourself in the process. Therefore, you are better off hiring someone who will take care of all those details for you.