Uncomplicated Nutrition and Fitness
Written by Mike Cheliak on April 29, 2009 – 8:28 am -OK, I like many or most of you have gone through, read through and tried numerous programs, plans and so called solutions that have had some effect, no effect or a negative effect. Every time you are on the Internet there always seems to be a new magic potion or unbeatable diet plan or fitness machine that will burn away your inches like melting away ice.
WRONG! There is only ONE solution to getting results. Hard work! You must work hard at your fitness, you must work hard at making healthy food choices, you must work hard at understanding your body and what it needs and you must work hard to stick with your program!
The more you complicate matters, the more convoluted your nutrition and fitness becomes. I went through the exact same issues for years before I finally realized I was sabotaging my efforts.
You have to sort out a number of things when you are choosing your programs and methods.
1. You need to assess “where you want to be”. This means you have to say to yourself, it am too fat and I don’t have enough muscle. I want to lose 40 pounds of fat and gain 10 pounds of muscle. That is a definite goal and something you have to come to terms with.
2. You need to assess “why you want to be there”. This is easy. For most of us, we just want to live a healthier, more enjoyable quality of life. It is really that simple
3. You need to STOP looking for a quick fix, easy way out solution. It doesn’t exist! Anything that gives you some crazy idea that with almost no work and no time, you will get amazing results is LYING TO YOU!
4. You need to STOP making excuses. This is the hard one because if you have been stuck in a pattern of poor health choices for a while, you really do have to enter into the psychology of your habits and change them one by one. This is not a daunting task but one that should be taken seriously. Excuses are easy to throw at a problem…it’s genetics, I don’t have time, I hate gyms, I can’t run, BLAH BLAH BLAH.
At 46 years of age, I have lost 50 pounds of fat and gained back almost 20 pounds of lean mass. I don’t do drugs, I don’t use any magic potions other than the odd protein shake and I am not a magician. I took me more than 2 years to achieve this and I busted my ass doing it. Slip and fall…yep…but I got right back up and kept going.
Now comes to the simplification factor. We always tend to over think and in doing so miss the obvious. Here are a some pointers that should give you an idea as to what you should look for in a fitness and nutrition program.
NUTRITION PROGRAM
Look for programs that preach eating whole foods. You need to realize that the packaged crap on the shelves is just that, crap. It’s easy to grab something that you can chuck in the nuke for 3 minutes but read the label! It’s crazy what they put in those products.
You need to select fresh veggies and fruits, fresh lean meats, eggs, egg whites, nuts and seeds and if you are tolerant, good quality lower fat dairy. Natural grain fed meats without hormones and drugs and organic foods can be more expensive but are also a good choice to make.
You need to avoid programs that preach supplements. Protein shakes are a great treat once in a while and can act as a complete meal if you add a little fruit but they are NOT your ideal choice. People who tell you to buy all these supplements are doing so because they get a kick back from all the supplements you buy.
You also don’t need to eat 6-8 micro meals a day. That is a pile of crap and only useful if you are a competitive body builder or fitness competitor. You need to manage your meals to fit your schedule but ideally you should have 3 main meals and two snacks per day so that you don’t go hungry and overeat at your next sitting. Make healthy choices for your snacks like fruit and nuts or natural nut butter, veggies and hummus or any other number of healthy, easy to bring food choices.
The best solution for you is going to be one that you can stick with. Remember to be human as well. Complete adherence to a program means letting yourself have little treats! If you stick to your guidelines 90% of the time the other 10% of the time you can have a little treat. Just don’t overindulge. As an example; if you eat 21 meals and 14 snacks per week, make 2 of your meals “cheat meals” where you can have something a little naughty and also make 2 snacks a little treat (maybe some chocolate!!!).
FITNESS PROGRAM
Do you like sitting on an elliptical trainer for an hour thinking how many lovely calories the machine is telling you that are melting away? If you do, STOP…if you don’t, rejoice, it doesn’t do anything for you. Cardio sucks…period! The only time that long, steady state cardio is beneficial is if you are an endurance athlete. It is NOT the answer if you want to manage your weight.
You need to realize right from the start that you HAVE to find a program that involves strength conditioning. That means lifting weights and using body weight exercises that create resistance. Muscle burns more calories than fat…more muscle = more calories burned every day = easier to maintain healthy weight.
The program you need to look for must be one that preaches strength conditioning first and foremost. Second to that is a routine called HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training). Interval training makes you work as hard as you can for a period of time and then recover and repeat. You will burn more calories in a much shorter time and your metabolism will continue to soar for hours after you have stopped. Steady state cardio will only burn as you are exercising and also can be catabolic (burns muscle).
The strength conditioning shouldn’t get you all worried about getting “huge”. The experts with good programs know exactly how to prescribe a program that will be just right for your needs. Your program has to be one that you can grow with. You really need to keep changing parts and portions of your workouts to ensure you don’t adapt. About every 4 weeks you should be “shaking up” your routine and adding/changing parts of your routine.
Another thing to look for is a program that is time efficient. If you are working out for more than 45 minutes, you are likely doing more harm than good! That is a FACT! You need to have a program that is efficient (super sets, short rest periods…). Your routine including your HIIT should get you in and out of the gym (or your basement) in 45 minutes. This is great because now in less time than it takes to watch a soap opera on TV, you have done yourself a HUGE service!
I hope some of this information is useful and invite you to email me at info@mikecheliak.com if you have any questions. You can also sign up for my free Newsletter that I send out every month. I have photography tips, fitness and nutrition articles and more.
In happiness and health as always!
Mike C.
Posted in Mike's Posts | 1 Comment »
By Krista Henderson on Apr 29, 2009 | Reply
Hey Mike,
Great post. For the most part, I agree with eveything with everything you say, but on one aspect. If you tell yourself its hard, there will always be resistance.
Pyschologically, people will always gravitate towards things that are easy…so if we teach ourselves to think that maintaining a healthy weight, make good food choices etc are all easy b/c they are in our control, there could be more sucess.
Also, I think cardio on the elliptical is fine if you are maintaining, and its good for recovery workouts.