Image by drurydrama via Flickr

Losing weight can often be a lonely experience. Most of the times it’s a journey you’re undergoing alone and those around you really don’t know what you’re going through at any particular moment.

It’s even more difficult when those around you are not helping. More often then not, the environment you’re in is not conducive to your fat loss goals (i.e. Your significant other brings home a gallon of your favorite ice cream and eats in front of you or you have children in the house which usually means lots of cookies and other junk).

Going it alone is tough. I’ve always known that being held accountable to someone (or a group of someones) has been a key success factor for many when it comes to getting in shape. I believe that in many cases, this is why personal trainers get better results for their clients vs. them going it alone. People show up because they KNOW someone is keeping an eye on them and their progress and they don’t want to “let them down”.

Read the rest of this entry »

Image via Wikipedia

Making simple swaps in your every day diet can go a long way in helping you lose weight and staying fit in the long term. A few painless ways that you can cut about 50 calories without making an huge changes to your diet are:

1. Leave the cheese off your sandwich.
2. Swap your cup of whole milk with skim milk.
3. Swap your donut with an English muffin.
4. Use one tablespoon less cream cheese.
5. Use one less pat of mayonnaise.
6. Spread one tablespoon of jam on your bread instead of one tablespoon of butter.

Two swaps like this a day and you can easily cut back 100 calories a day. If you could add another 100 calories worth of exercise every day and you could lose almost half a pound a week!

Post and share any of your own ideas to save 50 calories!

Image via Wikipedia

We all know that the only way to lose weight is to create a caloric deficit (expend more calories than you consume). However, eating fewer calories isn’t always easy (or else everyone would presumably be much thinner).

When it comes to weight loss, we’re constantly being bombarded by conflicting information. We hear anything from low-fat, to low-carb, to “stay away from fruit” to fasting as the “solution”.

Today I want to give you just one piece of advice that will make eating fewer calories easier:

Don’t stop eating carbs. Just be smart about what type of carbs you eat.

This ONE change in your lifestyle can make a tremendous difference. Let me elaborate:

The idea is to make the carbs you eat count. The goal is to eat carbs that are high in fiber and low in starch.

Why? Fiber helps you feel full and has minimal effect on your blood sugar. But foods like bread, rice and pasta that are high in starch  can elevate your blood sugar significantly.

That becomes undesirable because when your blood sugar rises quickly it triggers your pancreas to release a flood of insulin, a hormone that lowers blood sugar but also signals your body to store fat.

Some foods that contain carbs that are high in fiber and low in starch are brussels sprouts, peppers, spinach and broccoli.

So choose your carbs carefully by selecting foods with the greatest ratio of fiber to total carbs. What this does is normalize your insulin levels and help reduce your hunger…thus making eating fewer calories easier.

Image via Wikipedia

If you live in the Northeast, New York in particular, you’re probably fed up with the rain. June has been a virtual downpour all month long (and it’s raining right now!). Someone told me yesterday that it’s been raining 17 out of the last 22 days. Now I don’t know if that statistic is true or not, but it feels about right.

We’re actually supposed to have some sun this weekend…yipee!!! So if you’re a gym goer, use the great weather as an excuse to NOT go to the gym this weekend. If you work out at home, take it outdoors. Either way, get outside and while you’re there, try the 10 minute workout below. You’ll be done in 10 minutes and you won’t feel guilty about skipping the gym.

Rest for 15 seconds after each exercise (no more). Once you’re done, rest for 2-3 minutes. Do the entire circuit again (Feel free to repeat as many times as you feel you could handle!).

If you can’t complete the number of reps for each exercise, rest only as much as you need to finish the exercise.

1) Jumping Jacks: Do 30.

2) Advanced Burpee (or squat thrust with pushup): Do 20

From a standing position, bend at the hips and knees to lower yourself
into a deep squat. Place your hands on the floor in front of you, then
kick your legs back so you’re in pushup position. Do a pushup.  Immediately bring
your legs forward again so you’re back in squat position and stand up.

3) Mountain Climbers: 45 seconds

Stand with your arms by your sides, feet together. Bend down and put your hands shoulder width apart on the floor. Place yourself in the basic push-up position with your arms in line with your chest and your legs extended outward. Rest on the balls of your feet while bringing one leg (for this example we’ll say left leg) forward to your chest and back to its original position. Keep the right leg tucked during the forward and back movement of the left leg. Check to be sure your bent leg and hands carry the weight of your body and that you hold your head up during the back and forth leg movements. Repeat the motion rapidly, alternating one leg forward and one leg back. This movement mimics the “climbing of a mountain.”

4) Prisoner Squats: Do 25

Begin with feet wide and the hands behind the head. Squat as low as you can, taking the torso slightly forward without rounding the back. Jump up as high as you can, keeping the hands behind the head. Repeat.

5) Jump Rope for 90 seconds.

Image by Kake Pugh via Flickr

Go Low-Carb
It’s the easiest way to drop weight fast. The cravings are hard at first, but it gets easier-especially when you start seeing the results.

Skip the Starches

Chips, pretzels, white bread, potatoes and pasta are what make you fat. If you must have pasta, make it whole-wheat, or even better, try this zero calorie noodle. Same goes for bread, and swap white potatoes for sweet potatoes. But even then, keep it to a minimum.

Perform a Full Body Workout Three Times a Week

Building muscles will not only improve performance in all aspects of your life, but they’ll rev up your metabolism so you’re burning calories way after your workout is over ( a benefit you won’t get for long, boring, steady-state cardio).

Use your Noggin’

Think before you put that next piece of chocolate in your mouth. Don’t just stuff your face with left over junk from the party. You should be eating what tastes good AND is good for you. Take your time when you eat, chew each bit 30 times (for maximum digestion and minimizing upset stomachs) and you’ll stay full longer.

Skip the Doughnuts for Breakfast
You’re an adult, so eat an adults breakfast. Skip the sugary cereals, pop tarts and muffins. Make sure your breakfast includes some protein and fat. Eggs and a few sausage links will keep you fuller longer than a fatty doughnut will.

Run, Forrest, Run
You may think I’m against cardio, but I’m not. I’m only against the long, boring type. Who wants to spend hours a week on the treadmill? It’s faster to alternate between hard and easy running instead of going for a long run-especially if you don’t like running.

Image by Fonzie’s cousin via Flickr

I’m a huge believer in sticking with fast, high intensity full body workouts as a way to lose fat and build lean muscle. I believe spending hours a week exercising is not only not necessary, but potentially time wasted. However, the vast majority of people who exercise have muscle imbalances and sometimes you have to spend some time fixing them.

Most guys LOVE to go big on the bench and give their back muscles short thrift or ignore them all together. Even when doing full body workouts, you’ll often see that back muscles get the least attention. However, this could lead to muscle imbalance, slouched shoulders and joint pain. Building your back muscles will help realign your joints and bring some balance to your physique.

Most gym-goers use the lat-pulldown machine as their primary back exercise. However, nothing beats the classic chinup when it comes to building your back. Practically every book on the subject says this yet most people avoid it simply because it’s tough.

The chinup is a GREAT addition to any full body workout. Additionally, it will help build your arms. Chinups require more effort from your biceps and place less strain on your shoulders than pullups do.

If you don’t have a chinup bar in your home, no worries.

I actually recommend you buy the Lebert Equalizer instead. It’s much more versatile (you can literally perform dozens of exercises with it) and is easily stored away. I actually use this great piece of equipment in almost every one of my workouts. In fact, I did a quick video review a few months ago (when I ran the BusyGuy Fit Club which has now morphed into the iWorkoutAtHome Association). The video is kind of dark and I’m out of breath because I just finished a workout, but you’ll get the message. If you haven’t seen it, here it is again:

So how do you get started doing chinups, especially if you struggle doing them?

Step One: Test Yourself

Try doing as many chinups as you can. Start from a full hang with your hands shoulder width apart, your palms facing you. Proceed to pull yourself up until your chin is over the bar then lower yourself to the starting position while controlling the descent.

Read the rest of this entry »

Just a quick note to let you know that the next issue of the BusyBod Fat Loss Secrets Ezine has been posted here: http://busybod.com/busybodfatlosssecretsvol1issue14.html.

Hope you had a GREAT Fathers Day!

First: Happy Father’s Day to all the dads out there!

Second: Dad, I love you.

You’re awesome. Thank you so much for everything you do.

Please take care of yourself.

Stop eating the cold cuts.

Start exercising, get some full body workouts in, I mean come on, you now have the time since you’re retired.

Go for walks every day.

Skip the Entemanns cake in the morning and start eating more fruit.

Please, please, please take care of yourself.

We need you around.

By taking care of yourself, you’re taking care of us.

I love you Dad.

Image via Wikipedia

Yesterday I gave you the first four Nutrition Tips for Father’s Day. Here’s the next five:

Tip Five: Eat Fish

The American Heart Association recommends eating fish twice per week. Fish provide omega-3 fatty acids that are associated with good cardiovascular health and other health benefits. If you don’t like fish, most doctors recommend fish oil supplements.

Tip Six: Learn to Like the Rainbow

It’s important to eat as many different colors of fruits and vegetables as you can. Different colors usually carry different nutrients. Shoot for 8 servings of fruits and vegetables combined. There are many benefits just not found in other foods and because they are so high in fiber, you’ll get pretty full and won’t be hungry for too much more.

Shoot for fruits that are nutrient dense such as raspberries, strawberries and blueberries.

Tip Seven: Drink LOTS of Water

Yes, I know this has become standard advice, but the truth is most people still are constantly dehydrated. Remember, if you’re thirsty, you’re already dehydrated. I like to drink 2/3 of my bodyweight in water everyday, however I’ve also read anywhere between 1/2 your bodyweight to 1.5. An important point to remember is that you should have a glass every hour (or more) instead of just trying to have 5 or 6 glasses at once twice a day.

Read the rest of this entry »

Quite frankly I love Father’s Day. I love being a father and I love having my two little girls try to make me breakfast and give me hand made cards and gifts, and I love spending every minute of the day with them. It’s one of my favorite days of the year.

(YES, THAT’S A GRATUITOUS “LEAN & SEXY BIKINI SHOT FOR ALL THE DAD’S OUT THERE)

Image via Wikipedia

So most of us don’t consider our fathers “lean and sexy” and that’s ok . However most of our dad’s can’t even get the “lean” part down.

The truth is most of our dads are probably in the absolute worst shape of their lives. Most of our dad’s are sporting the big guts, have terrible diets and are getting little to no exercise.

Inactivity, poor nutrition and lack of general knowledge on what it takes to be fit and healthy are just some of the reasons why our dad’s end up like this. Heck, my own dad who just a few short months ago had stints put in, is still eating cold cuts regularly…I just don’t get it…

So, if your dad looks like the guy below, please share some of these tips with him and maybe you can BOTH look “lean and sexy”.

 Email This Post

Tags: Fat Loss, fathers day, nutrition tips

No Comments