Fat Loss Made Simple!?

We are down 1 month (please tell me where January went) and this is the time of the year where the serious people start to fall off the wagon.

We were Sooo good! - Some might even say enthusiastic about working out 4 times per week, eating less junk. But then...I wake up, the sun's not up the radio is yelling at me - what a high of -4! Arrgh... my pillow is just right and I am warm and comfy - I can work out tomorrow, 5:30 is really too early for today - I hit the snooze, take a quick nap and wake up in a over tired funk.... 7 o'clock...I'm running late, brush my hair, comb my teeth - arrgh, why didn't I get up earlier and workout! - Grab my coat, Keys.... where are my f'n keys, oh, feed fish -- good found the keys... Out the.... no, breakfast, don't have time.... what can I wash down with my pills - Ahhhh anything will do...then I spot them - Yum Orieos and RC for breakfast! Championship material for sure...

Gosh I've been there before....

I truly believe that nutrition is the biggest, component of a good fat loss program.
There's a saying in the fitness industry, "you can't out-train a bad diet", and that holds true almost 100% of the time (and especially as we get older).

Fortunately, I also believe that good nutrition for fat loss is pretty simple. (Simple "ain't" easy and can be very hard - see previous post) So I want to share with you 5 steps to building a fast fat burning diet.

1) Find out how much you are eating now. A site I use often is http://www.fitday.com/.

2) If you are not losing weight, eat less. That does not give you permission to sit on the scale 23 hours per day... Weigh yourself once or twice per week. If you don't like the result. You can change it!

3) Eat fruits, vegetables, nuts, and good protein sources. Don't eat junk from a bag or a box.

4) Give yourself one treat meal per week to look forward to - not a treat day, just a treat meal.

5) Plan ahead. Prepare your meals (spend 1-2 hours on the weekend getting your meals and meal plan ready for the week). The first few times, its a pain...but once it starts to be part of your routine, it can be fun. For me it's a time I can spend with family or friends and just enjoy the smells in the kitchen and good conversation. It's also a good time to identify obstacles and come up with creative solutions to avoid them. Sometimes your family and friends have great ideas.

That is it! I know you were looking for some major secret weren't you? But it is pretty simple.

Most people do pretty well on 1-3 and even 5, but mess up on number 4. I often hear how well someone did all day long, but then while making dinner or waiting in the car for their child after practice they snacked on upwards of 500 calories of their kid's treats, or other processed carbohydrates they have lying around.

The little things can add up to big time problems. So take a good long look at everything you eat.
And again, all of this can be avoided if you follow rule #5. Even kids snacks for the car.

Use these simple nutrition rules with three short workouts per week of resistance training and interval training, and you have a very manageable fat loss plan that can fit any busy lifestyle.

Til next time....