Nutrition – Your Partner In Fat Loss And Getting That Body You Desire
Navigate over to Part 1 where you can learn why resistance training is so vital to your fat loss goals and achieving your ideal body and what pitfalls to avoid so as not to waste your precious time and hard earned moolah.
I can’t stress how important nutrition is for dropping fat in conjunction with a resistance training program.
So it is important that you choose a plan of attack that you can live with, stick to and see progressive results.
Is this going to be easy for most people?
Nope – but most worthwhile, life changing and lasting goals never are.
Let’s face it, if fat loss was as easy as taking a “miracle” pill or supplement or following the advice of some unscrupulous Hollywood fitness phony then all the malls and Wal Marts in this country would have clientele resembling olympic athletes instead of the sad reality of the barely mobile, alarmingly overweight and unhealthy folks you see shuffling around these establishments instead.
I am not trying to be funny or insensitive- This is the reality we have created for ourselves and allowed to get this way. It saddens me that being overweight and unhealthy is rapidly becoming the new norm in this country.
Go out and take a look around you and see if I am exaggerating.
Take Action And Declare War
On Fat that is!
Don’t kid yourself – you need to declare war on fat and take charge over what you consume. You need to stay focused on your desired fat loss goal, demonstrate initiative, be willing to take action, ignore the enablers and toxic Nay Sayers around you and dare to take control of your life!
I would argue that these same qualities you need to cultivate, demonstrate and apply to the war against fat will serve you well when applied to other aspects of your life as well like your relationships, career and social network.
Remember, taking that first step and deciding to take action and commit to declaring war on your fat is the most difficult part of the journey.
Your Journey will get easier once you resign to take action and become motivated and empowered by all the fat loss victories that will follow.
Your small victories will add up to huge life changing upgrades to your appearance, how you feel and send your sense of self accomplishment through the roof! You will start to see your pants get looser, hear encouraging comments from your friends, family and co-workers and have you loving what stares back at you in the mirror!
This actually sounds like a good war to get involved in! The only casualties are a bunch of nasty fat and some bad habits you need to get rid of. Remember, All these good things will only happen once you decide you are finally fed up carrying all that excess fat around, commit to take action and assume control of your life.
Don’t Over Complicate Things
I am not a big fan of following complicated diets which seem to be all over the place, super hyped and in our face constantly.
Why? Because the average person will not stick with them due to the many regimented rules and ponderous steps like super strict counting of calories, weighing foods and the exhaustive prep work involved.
Don’t get caught up in an eating program where you are constantly over analyzing and obsessing over EVERY variable of the act of eating unless you represent that small part of the population wired to get good results from this behavior.
Do yourself a favor and avoid diet plans that seem too good to be true, extreme or downright unhealthy. liquid only diets, starving yourself, ingesting mystery powders and pills or ridiculous plans plastered on magazine covers that spout “cookie only” diets endorsed by some quack passing themselves off as a medical professional immediately come to mind.
You can fill landfills with the reams of nutritional advice and diets out there, which quite frankly is where a lot of it belongs! If you really want to ramp up the fat loss once you decide to take action, then you must first have the knowledge of what to consume as well as those foods you need to cut back on or eliminate.
Instead, look at the big picture and practice modifying your eating habits for meaningful and lasting fat loss and improved health. Really concentrate on eating the incredible variety of foods that have stood the test of time as builders of great bodies and healthy, active lifestyles.
I am all about breaking down the way too complicated and maddening dilemma of what to eat to achieve your fat loss and fitness goals into simple terms that gets results and won’t have you constantly in a frazzle second guessing your eating 24/7 .
General Guidelines For Success
These are the basic principles I have learned, adopted and practiced for many years that have kept me lean and healthy without sacrificing my sanity trying to adhere to these concepts.
I don’t starve or deprive myself, since the majority of the foods I consume are nutrient dense and healthy.
Is this the only or best way to lose fat? Nope, but it sure works for me and others that adopted these basics.
I will never be so pompous as to think that my way is the best or only way to arrive at your goals since we all have differing levels of self motivation, life circumstances and support networks.
But I hope you find something here in the foundational basics I list that you can adopt into a successful fat loss plan for yourself.
Here Are My Basics For Fat Loss Nutrition
Eat protein , healthy fats, vegetables and fruits from various sources locally grown and raised if possible.
Drink plenty of water from a pure source
Cut back or eliminate sugary drinks, foods, candies, breads, pasta, rice.
Eat whole foods that exist on this planet in their natural, unadulterated form that need minimal or no processing. In other words, If Man made it – try not to eat it.
If it can be grown naturally in soil/water or it is an edible organism that swims, walks, flies, crawls, climbs, runs, burrows, hops (you get the picture) then eat it!
Bonus health points if these sources are organic, cage free, grass fed or wild caught!
Most foods that come out of a box that are commercially processed with mystery ingredients that would challenge a Harvard professor to pronounce or translate are probably detrimental to a successful and healthy nutritional fat loss plan.
Most people cannot immediately eliminate problem foods from their diet cold turkey. That’s OK and perfectly normal. Try weaning yourself off of these foods slowly week to week. For example, if you drink 30 sodas in a week, then next week maybe drink 20 sodas, then 10 sodas the next week and so on.The key is to continue to reduce your consumption of problem foods in manageable bits from week to week. Reduce these drains on your fat loss success over time so you minimize cravings and withdrawal. But if you are the type that can quit something cold turkey – go for it.
Try to live by the 80/20 rule :
If you eat right 80% of the time & lapse a little 20% of the time, you will still make progress. I am not telling you to live like a Monk or Nun & deprive yourself of everything, but remember the more you stray off the nutritional path, the slower the fat loss results. It all depends how determined you are to get to your fat loss goal. If you are super motivated you will see quicker results tweaking that ratio to 90/10 – eating clean 90% of the time and surrendering to your “comfort” foods 10% of the time. Hint – Try not to surrender too much!
Even though these concepts may be easy to digest, don’t rely on your memory alone to keep you on the right track and accountable when you modify your eating habits. Position yourself for fat loss success by keeping a Food Activity Journal to keep you motivated, responsible and constantly progressing.
These principles and methods are what a solid foundation of maintaining an ideal body composition and healthy body is comprised of. A solid foundation based on good eating habits is a strong base of support that will work in your favor even if you have an eating lapse at times (which we all do) and keep us from losing ground in the war against fat.
Remember, it’s tough to erode a solid , strong foundation built on good habits. That’s why thoughtfully modifying and improving your eating habits will always trump constantly switching media hyped diets and wasting your precious mental energies jumping through all the hoops associated with them.
Realize That There Will Be Bumps In The Road
Are there going to be distractions that try to sabotage your fat loss efforts? Yup.
Those of us who choose to live in the real world and not fantasy land understand that there will be various crises, family emergencies, unexpected life happenings, career responsibilities and a ton of other distractions that will attempt to sidetrack you from your fat loss efforts.
The truth is some of them will knock you off track. Just don’t let these distractions erode that solid foundation of good habits you have built for too long.
Realize that these are only setbacks so don’t dwell on them or beat yourself up mentally. Create some forward momentum and resume those consistent good habits and you will succeed!
Focus On Actions That Have The Greatest Impact On Your Success
Your best weapons in the war against fat and to improve your health are a resistance training program backed by sound nutritional habits and knowing what types of programs to avoid in order to preserve your sanity and really get you on track to the results you desire and deserve.
Don’t be content to sit on the sidelines of life and let fat and poor health be your defining characteristics and what you are remembered for in this lifetime. I try to step back and look at the big picture – we only go around once on this planet and are blessed with being caretakers of the most amazing piece of organic engineering ever created in this universe – our bodies!
So why not put the effort into kicking your excess fat to the curb and forging your own ideal body? You will experience the benefits of improved daily performance, super charge your physical and mental well being, ooze unparalleled confidence and pride and position yourself for a life of healthy active vitality and longevity.
Oh – and you will love what stares back at you in the mirror! Let’s not gloss over that!
Stay Well! Take Action! Be Consistent! Train and Eat Smart! Get Rid of the Drains and Pains in Your Life! Value your loved ones and friends and get out and have some active, safe fun!
Mark Mellohusky
I Eat T-Bone Steaks, Lift Kettlebell Weights and Catch Wild Fish!