This is a concept that came about right around the time that gym goers would wear neon headbands and full body lycra to aerobics class without regret. Along with those mistakes, we also thought that reducing fat from our diets would make us lose fat. This is absolutely not true. Incorporating good fats throughout the day such as the fats found in nuts, fish, avocado and olive oil will boost your bodies ability to burn fat and get you to your goal faster.
Quiktrain Top Fat Loss Habit: “Supplement with a multivitamin and fish oil daily”
The leading research has shown us that supplementing with fish oil has tremendous affects on fat loss by increasing insulin sensitivity in the body. Increasing insulin sensitivity is important because it makes our bodies better at using stored fat for energy. So don’t be afraid of fats and make sure you incorporate them into every meal!
Bonus Fat Loss Tip: Two-a -days (two workouts in one day) boosts insulin sensitivity and helps accelerate fat burning.
Here we go again! It’s the holidays!
Dinners, parties,wine, chocolate, cookies, candy, pastries and the list goes on! If your mouth is watering right now with the thoughts of cheating on your diet then this post is for you!
If you’ve been on a workout program chasing down that flat tummy or those bulging biceps now’s not the time to blow it! Make sure your diet survives the hollidays with some top strategies to help you enjoy the holiday cheer without having it spill over into the new year and your beltline
Tip # 1: Revisit your goals and focus
Remind yourself why you are doing this in the first place. Write it down. Try on your goal dress or pin up your old college ball pics. Getting fit is about looking and feeling your best. Is it a six pack you’re after, are you trying to improve your health markers like blood pressure or cholesterol. Do you want more energy to play with your kids, look good in a bikini or finally have the confidence to go shopping and love what you try on? Stirring up all these passionate reasons will give you the focus to maintain your workout schedule and make excellent food choices.
Tip # 2 Keep it clean and light
You know when your celebrations are scheduled. You also know that there are going to be tasty delights circulating around the office waiting to hijack your willpower and drown you in sugary calories. So for the next two weeks make sure you are keeping you calories in check by substituting your heavier breads, pastas and rice with a variety of veggies. Aim for 5 servings a day. Remember vegetable are carbs too. Anything you can eat in a sandwich you can have in a salad. Have 1 big salad a day. This substation will reduce your calories without you feeling hungry all the time and this way if you do end up having some treats you will balance out your net calorie intake.
Tip # 3 incorporate mini workouts
Mini workouts wake up your metabolism and give you doses of happy hormones that can keep you feeling great for hours after your workout. But perhaps the biggest value occurs on a much deeper physiological level. The trick is to get in a workout before you eat a big meal. This signals your body to devote those post workout calories to restoring energy balance vs. fat storage. For the biggest metabolic boost do combination exercises that use more than one muscle at once and train in a circuit. Aim for 15-20 minutes high intensity!
Tip # 4 Drink lots of water
Continue to drink lots of water throughout the day. The excess sodium from preserved foods and snacks can overload your kidneys and cause you to retain water and feel dehydrated. If this happens the last thing you’ll want to do is work out and the first thing you’ll want to do is reach for a sugary carb loaded pick me up. Avoid this cycle at all costs. Flush your body out with water to keep from retaining water and feeling dehydrated and fatigued. Start with 2 litres for women and 3 for men. If it’s a workout day you’ll need more.
Tip # 5 Be Selective
The rule is, if it’s not at least 8 out of 10 on your delicious scale then just say no. It’s not worth the extra calories. Personally, i’m a big cheesecake fan and I have no problems putting down a mediocre cheesecake. Savour the treats that you most enjoy in small amounts and leave the fillers out. Go for quality, not quantity
At the end of the day remember that its not what you eat from Christmas to New Years, its what you eat from New Years to Christmas so aim to eat well 90% of the time and you’ll have no problems keeping your body in check when it counts.
Coach D
P.S. Special thanks to Elizabeth for some great ideas for this post!
Here is one of my first attempts at the Turkish Getup. This exercise makes mice out of men and reduces gods to trembling sissies. I was happy to get one off with a decent weight – 88 lbs. There are some cool videos on YouTube of people doing this exercise with people for weights! Really cool, but I’ll have to build up to that. Unless somone wants to lend me their toddler….
D
Life is a balancing act. We are working more and more hours for the things we want on top of having family, friends and social obligations. So when you finally decide that it’s time to lose unwanted belly fat there’s no time to waste.
No time to hit the gym? You can still easily tackle the first two rules of fat loss:
1) Diet
2) See number 1
Reducing your calorie intake is the most important factor to fat loss. If you think about it, working out is just another method of calorie reduction. So do that too. Most diets, as different as they may seem, are really just various methods of cutting back on calories so your body burns stored fat for fuel. Fortunately for you this doesn’t necessarily mean eating less.
Simple tip: Eat 5 servings of vegetables per day. (1 serving= your fist)
Vegetable carbohydrates have fiber and water which will help increase the feeling of fullness but while taking in significantly less calories when compared to starchy carbohydrates like breads cereals, pasta and potatoes. So long as you eat enough vegetables with your lean proteins and healthy fats you will get all the nutrients you need, stave off hunger and have tons of energy!
If you are a performance athlete or on an intense workout program (training over 4x per week) you may need heavier carbs to keep up with energy demands of your activity while still losing fat. In this case you can have starchy carbohydrates but save them for right after a workout when your body prioritizes replenishing stored fuel. Eating a modest amount of carbs in this window of time 0 – 30 minutes after your workout will help with recovery and ensure your next training session is as effective as the last!
Some studies show that up to 90% of people aren’t getting enough of one or more essential vitamins and minerals. This deficiency can lead to intense insatiable cravings. Veggies are packed with vitamins and minerals so as an added benefit, getting 5 servings of veggies per day will help you reduce cravings from not having what you need.
In my experience following the first two rules of fat loss can make a signifigant impact on your weight, bellyfat and energy levels so give it a try!
Derick
Special thanks to everyone who dontaed to help put an end to prostate cancer. Although I didn’t reach my final end goal, every little bit was apprecated and we’ll pick up the slack next November. For those of you that dontated, stay tuned for more info about the Metabolic Mayhem conditioning class which you and a friend will be able to attend for free in early January!
A couple of weeks ago when consulting with Elizabeth, a Quiktrain client, on her goals, we got into a conversation about why she trains. I found it really inspirational especially since I know how far she’s come since our initial consultation two years ago. So I asked her to do a short write up and I’ve included it as a blog.
Check it out!
A couple days ago when talking about my future goals, Derick asked me what training means to me. So I decided to write down a couple notes and share them. If it inspires one person to make a change then it’s totally worth it!
For years, I’ve had a hate-love relationship with my body… I’ve hated trying to love it. Arms? Flabby. Hips? Too wide. Thighs? Let’s not go there. And I hated the way I felt when I tried aerobics classes or used the machines at a gym…embarrassed, self-conscious, and uncoordinated. Finally, after 15 or so years of thinking about changing lifestyle, my body, and my confidence level, I did something about it… I started working with Derick about 2 years ago, and even though I’ve long since reached and exceeded my transformation goals, I’m still going strong.
Of course, I could talk about all the health changes… I’ve noticed like a lower resting heart rate, increased strength and endurance, etc., but you’ve likely heard or read about them before. I’d rather talk about some of the unexpected bonuses.
My closet used to be filled with only neutrals and darks… “slimming” colours, shades that were meant to hide. And now? I still have all those colours, except now I wear them with oranges, blues, greens, pinks, purple, and patterns with no wardrobe malfunctions!
My clothes have finally caught up to my shoes. Shopping is actually a lot of fun now and can even be an ego boost. Now salespeople bring me things my teenage niece would wear claiming that “I have the body for it!” The first time this happened I remember thinking, “Not me. Not the girl who used to only do black and baggy.” Now when someone tells me I look great I actually believe them and I’m able to say “thank you” instead of shying away. I feel comfortable and confident in my new body!
Jeans – Yes, jeans. I even have skinny ones and what my niece calls jeggings! (jeans/leggings).
Bikinis – That’s right. Plural. I own several and have even worn them out in public.
Right now, I’m in the best shape I’ve ever been and that makes me so happy! I know that I’ll be better able to manage whatever challenges await me, I’ll be able to be active with my family for a long time.
If anything I’ve said resonates with you then don’t wait. Get fit while you can still enjoy it. You’ll be happy you did!
Sincerely,
Elizabeth 🙂
P.S. I included a picture of me in one of my fave outfits!
I’ve committed to 30 days of mustache in order to raise awareness for prostate cancer. My goal is to raise $1000 for the cause.
Here is a link to my donations page:
A donation of any amount is helpful. Check out my starting picture and feel free to leave comments of encouragement or mockery… all are welcome!
Derick
Being a vegetarian for a lot of people can be a poor choice if not taken seriously. The problem is that in an attempt to avoid meat you can deprive yourself of essential amino acids, the building blocks of protein.
The majority of tissues in your body are made up of protein – one of the most important being muscle. Having the right amino acid balance will ensure that you maintain lean muscle good energy and a tight toned look. Make sure you are combining foods properly to make a complete protein so you can maximize your results.
Below is a protein partnerships chart that will help you to organize your meals so that you are getting the right balance of nutrients.
To create a complete protein, combine food from column 1, 2, 3 with any food from another column.
Complete Protein |
1 Low in Lysine |
2 Low in sulphur-carrying amino acids |
3 Low in Tryptophan |
Dairy Products Cheese (except cream cheese) Cottage cheese Milk Yogurt Kefir Eggs Soybeans Tofu Soy flour Soy milk Tempeh Meat Fish |
Peanuts Barley Buckwheat Bulgur Cornmeal Millet Oats Rice Rye Wheat Almonds Brazil nuts Cashews Coconut Filberts Pecans Pumpkin seeds Sunflower seeds Walnuts Asparagus Beet greens Corn Kale Mushrooms Potatoes Sweet potatoes |
Black beans Pinto beans Kidney beans Navy beans Black-eyed peas Chickpeas Lentils Lima beans Mung beans Filberts Asparagus Green beans Beet greens Broccoli Brussels sprouts Mushrooms Parsley Green peas Potatoes Soybeans Swiss chard |
Black beans Pinto beans Kidney beans Navy beans Chickpeas Lima beans Mung beans Cornmeal Almonds Brazil nuts Walnuts Corn Beet greens Mushrooms Green peas Swiss chard |
For a protein supplement choose vega sport. This will improve recovery time from your workouts.
Hey all!
Check out some of these tire flips I did as part of a metabolic training workout. Talk about high intensity! Tire flips, usually reserved for strong man training, are an amazing full body activity that builds real functional strength that translates to athleticism. Stay tuned for more unique training moves that you can add to your routine!
Derick
Continue Reading…
Running the Sporting life 10k race this past Sunday was big for me for a couple reasons but the most important was that I did something I love (exercise) to help people in need (kids with cancer).
Believe me training was not the most enjoyable. The spring so far has been rainy and cold and the ankle that I broke a couple years back aches like your grandaddys trick knee if I run for any longer than ten minutes. But yet the task was made much easier knowing that I had your support.
Together we raised $655 for camp Oochigeas and helped send a child with cancer to camp so he/she can enjoy their youth the way you and I did. It was an amazing feeling crossing that finish line with 12,000 other people who could have been doing anything else but decided to help a bunch of kids that really need it.
For those that donated I sincerely thank you for your generosity. At the risk of sounding like a hippie, I believe that when we give gifts that matter the energy we create in the world reciprocates and makes the world better overall. I’m happy that we could be a part of that positivity that we all want to see in the world.
I managed to trick one other person to run with me so special thanks to Elizabeth who ran and came in at 1:06:00, a great finish.
Stay fit and have fun doing it,
D