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Published: February 2007
Already given up on your New Year's fitness resolution? Don't lose hope, our own Dan Adams has some tips to stay on the path to a healthy lifestyle.
New Year's resolutions are hard to stick to. People often get bored or frustrated at a lack of progress, and quit. One of the most common New Year's resolutions is weight loss, and I'm going to tell you how to not only stick to this resolution but get great results!
The first thing you have to do is analyze your diet. Now this may seem like common sense, but a lot of people go into denial when thinking about what foods are considered "junk" foods. For example, a chocolate chip cookie is obviously considered a junk food, but a cheeseburger from McDonalds may not be considered junk by most people. One Big Mac at McDonald's has 540 calories, with over half of the calories coming from fat sources, and it also contains 45g of the worst kind of carbohydrates the kind your body has a lot of trouble digesting. Not only that, but studies have shown that when bad fats and bad carbs are eaten together, they have a synergistic effect which is much worse for the body and fat gain than eating just fats or carbs alone. I'm not going to cite any more examples, but just take my word for it fast foods are JUNK foods! The real test is if a food didn't exist 100 years ago, you most likely shouldn't be eating it. The production of food may have changed, but the human body didn't as evident by the recent large increases in obesity, heart disease, and cancer.
Now, the body needs to consume carbohydrates and fats in order to function properly, but there are certain types of each which are better than others. Basically, don't eat any carbohydrate that's white. Eat wheat and whole grains products. Also, don't eat more than 30g of carbohydrates within 4 hours of your bedtime. Your late night snack should consist of protein and good fats, not carbs. One of the only carbs which can be eaten at this time are fruits and vegetables. Fruits and vegetables are delicious and filling, and will prevent you from bingeing on bad food as well as making you healthier overall. Be sure to get at least 5 servings a day. As far as fats go, the general rule is to cook with olive oil rather than butter.. You don't have to use just olive oil though, the following oils are the good oils, do not stray from this list: flax-seed, canola, peanut, olive, safflower and sunflower. There are a few other oils which are not bad, but NEVER use: vegetable oil, margarine, butter, palm oil or coconut oil. Also, include lots of protein in your diet, it will promote a lean, muscular physique. Use at least one gram of protein per kilogram of bodyweight (more if you are exercising). Last but not least, breakfast should be your biggest meal of the day. It will supply you with energy for the day, and will prevent afternoon bingeing. All of your meals should be balanced and should include a source of protein, good carbs, good fats, and fruits and/or vegetables. Also, try to snack on a piece of fruit roughly once every 3 hours, and drink around a gallon of water a day to purge your body of its toxins.
Now the fun part, exercise! If your goal is to lose weight, you should be doing circuit strength training once or twice a week: rotate from exercise to exercise without taking a break. The most important portion of your exercise routine, however, should be cardio. Recent studies have shown that intensity is the most important factor in fat loss, not duration. Now if you do 30 minutes of running with an elevated heart rate at around 120-150 beats per minute then that works too, you will just get better results from doing high intensity cardiovascular training. This means that you should run, ride a bike, swim, etc. for a short duration at an intensity rated around 60-85% of your max heart rate. Your max heart rate can be calculated roughly by 220-age, although you should always be okayed by your doctor before starting high intensity training.
Here's an example of a weekly program:
Monday
High intensity cardiovascular training at 60-85% of your max heart rate.
TOTAL of 15 minutes, not all at one time: take breaks.
Tuesday - Off
Wednesday - Circuit Training:
Lat Pulldown 1x15
Dumbell Bench press 1x12
Barbell Curl 1x8-10
Lunges 1x20
Seated Cable Row 1x12
Rest 5 minutes after everything is complete, repeat 2-3 times.
Thursday
Low intensity, long duration (>25min) cardiovascular training.
Friday Off
Saturday
High intensity cardiovascular training at 60-85% of your max heart rate.
TOTAL of 15 minutes, not all at one time: take breaks.
Sunday Off
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