“No matter what I do, I just can’t seem to get
in shape.” Does this statement sound familiar? Do you
put effort out each week in trying to eat right and
exercise, only to fall short by the third day?
If you are constantly starting a healthy exercise and
eating program, only to let it fall by the wayside by the
middle of the week you are destroying your metabolism, and
killing any motivation you might have had.
Getting in shape is just as much as a mental approach as it
is a physical one. If you want to get in shape once and for
all you have to make some changes. Below are some tips on
how to get in shape to prevent falling off the wagon again.
Tip #1
Make a committed goal – Goal setting, blah, blah,
blah. You may think this is an unnecessary step and a waste
of time, but NOT making a committed goal can be your
biggest reason for failure.
As cliché as it is, it is true… Failing to
plan is planning to fail.
Goal setting doesn’t have to be a written contract
outlined like a house deed; it can be as simple as marking
out your training and nutrition on a calendar for a quick,
daily birds-eye-view. Simply map out a week or two on your
calendar and follow it.
Tip #2
Stick to your goal - Don’t keep changing your mind
– Sure, just because you have some goals written down
or outlined on your calendar doesn’t mean you will
get in shape. You have to actually follow your plan.
The problem many people have with goal setting is they make
the decision in their mind, and they may even write it
down, but they keep changing their minds of what they want
on a weekly basis.
You have to decide, do you want to lose fat, build muscle,
or transform? There are no right or wrong answers here, and
it’s not anyone else’s decision. You have to
decide what you want to do, and stick to it.
Constantly changing your goals every week will only cause
you to lose motivation and lead to frustration.
Set a goal, and stick to it.
Tip #3
Eat balanced meals – Eating balanced meals is one of
the most important aspects of getting in shape. Most people
tend to think that a can of tuna or an apple is a meal.
Wrong. A meal is a combination of a complete protein and a
carbohydrate.
Your body needs nutrients from all the macronutrients in
order to build hormones, burn fat, build lean muscle
tissue, and just keep you healthy and functioning.
To keep your energy levels high and to stay motivated, eat
several balanced meals throughout the day.
Tip #4
Eat real food – Any food won’t do. You should
be feeding your body quality nutrients in the form of
natural foods.
Far too many people rely on processed food-like items in
boxes labeled “healthy,” low-fat,”
low-carb,” etc. for health and weight loss.
There thousands of synthetic chemicals in processed foods,
and many of them have carcinogenic properties. The human
body isn’t designed to process chemicals to the
degree we are putting them in our bodies.
These synthetic chemicals become lodged in your fat stores
as toxins and make fat loss an even greater chore. To add
to the equation, the amount of toxins trapped in your body
makes your body work even harder to purge them, adding
stress to your immune system and leaving you open to
illnesses and diseases.
For the best quality food, eat those that Mother Nature has
provided. If you can hunt, pick, gather, or harvest it, you
can eat it. More importantly, it would be wise to eat
organic as much as possible.
Tip #5
Don’t skip meals – Many people think that in
order to get in shape they have to be in a caloric deficit
mode. While this might stand true to an extent, most people
are going about it in the wrong manner by skipping meals.
Your body relies on food from your meals to rebuild itself,
to keep you healthy, to build lean muscle tissue, and to
burn fat. When you skip meals you miss out on opportunities
to get in shape and transform your body.
Missing meals leads to metabolic downgrade.
Tip #6
Don’t cut the carbs – The no-carb craze is
still in high gear. Granted, lowering carbs can have an
effect on fat loss to a certain degree, but there’s a
certain procedure you have to use to do it correctly to
prevent fatigue, burnout, and excess muscle loss.
Too many people jump into extreme low carbs and burn out in
a matter of days. Take the lowering carb process slowly for
it to be fully effective.
Tip #7
Don’t kill the Cardio - Cardio is fine, provided you
are eating the right nutrients to support it. The problem
many people have when trying to get in shape is that they
drastically cut their calories AND carbs, and then suddenly
jump on an hour of high intensity cardio a day. This is
simply as recipe for disaster because it leads to metabolic
downgrade.
Cardio does not need to be an all out torture session. When
you eat the correct combination of macronutrients and
implement cardio by listening to your body, you will
achiever far greater results than going through dieting and
cardio abuse.
Tip #8
Don’t put your faith in the latest wonder drug -
People become desperate when they want to shed pounds,
build muscle, or just get in shape. This can lead you to
taking “fat burning supplements” with high
promises and disappointing results.
Supplement companies prey on your emotions. They know you
may be feeling hopeless and despondent. Therefore, they use
that opportunity to employ deceptive marketing techniques
with misleading before and after pictures, false claims,
and a whole host of other marketing tactics used to draw
you in, and make you buy their “latest breakthrough
supplement.”
Now, don’t get me wrong. There are a lot of effective
supplements on the market, but you have to know what they
are and how to take them for them to properly work.
Conclusion
Now that you have some crucial guidelines to follow to get
you on the right path and to literally get you in shape,
use them to your advantage. Nothing worth having comes
easy. So, put forth the effort and the time it takes to get
you in the best shape of your life.
----------------------------------------------------
Karen Sessions has been in the fitness industry since 1988.
She is a nationally qualified bodybuilder and holds two
personal training certifications. She has written 6 ebooks
on fitness and has helped hundreds of clients transform
their bodies.
http://www.Dangerous-Curves-Ebook.com
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