Beach Ready

Ok, so today's blog is the result of a real question asked from one of my friends and one of my blog readers!! Thanks!! The question is this:

"We are going to Cancun exactly one month from today. Aside from going to the gym every day between now and then and REALLY being picky about what I eat, how do I get fab in a hurry?"

Hmmm. This sounds like a common question and a coaching challenge. Well, the first thing to note is that everyone's body reacts differently as far as time goes and to various exercises, foods, etc. However, I think this is very doable, especially with the right foods, products, fitness, and most importantly, adequate rest and discretion on alcohol consumption. Here are some steps I would take if I was facing this challenge:

1. Evaluate what you are doing now in terms of both nutrition and fitness. What are you eating, how much are you eating, when are you eating certain foods? These are all things that I have had to tweak for my fitness routine. If you don't have a set nutrition routine, get one. The best way to do this is to first take a day or two and write down everything you are eating and really take a look at the nutrition. A great, free web tool to help you evaluate and plan your nutritional intake is http://www.myfitnesspal.com. Check out this site, set up a free profile, put in your specs, tweak your goals, and when you enter your foods in (you will find most in the database already) you will see the nutritional breakdown. Since your goal is to really tone down, try to really limit your carbohydrate servings (grains, etc) to 1-2 per day, 1 fruit serving per day, 1 fat serving per day, and 1 dairy serving per day. Also, eat your carbs/fruits in the beginning of the day to give you a morning energy boost and also to ensure you will be using these for energy instead of storing it as fat. Really load up on vegetables, about 4-6 servings including lettuce, carrots, broccoli, spinach, mushrooms, etc. Great stuff. If you have a juicer, it will be easier to drink 16 oz of carrot juice, for example, than eating mounds of salads. V8 will prob help if you don't have one. Also, eat plenty of good proteins. Lean meats like chicken breast, pork tenderloin, and fish are great, and if you are a vegetarian, eat plenty of beans, tofu, etc, and don't be afraid to pick up some protein powder. mix some with soy milk and that will take care of a few servings for you. Your total calorie intake should be a couple hundred less than what you estimate you use and burn in a typical day (you can get a good estimate also at myfitnesspal), and this will help you burn some stored fat. Try to eat 5-6 smaller meals throughout the day instead of 2-3 huge ones to keep your body burning calories and keeping your metabolism up, and try to eat your last meal 2-4 hours before bed and don't snack afterwards! This is a fasting technique that helped me get ready for pictures and I actually lost about 5 pounds in a week! I like a 12/12 fast but some people recommend a 8/16 fast, which means 8 hours during the day you can eat, and the other 16 (sleeping included) you don't eat.

2. Include some supplements, such as a slimming formula, meal replacement shake, etc. Click on the title of this to go to my Beachbody coach page and click "Shop" to check out the store. On the left of the popup window in the menu go to "nutrition" then "weight management" and you will be able to view and check out some of these great products. If you haven't already, first set up a free profile by clicking "join" on my page so you can join my team! I'm here to support you and it's FREE! There are tools on the web here that will also help, and you can connect with others who are trying to live healthier, too! Anyways, besides supplements, try drinking a cup of green tea every day. I do, and I saw a stat somewhere that this can help you increase your metabolism by up to 5%! Delicious, and can't hurt. Also, try eating half a grapefruit before meals. Research has shown this is a proven weight loss technique (learn more about this and other weight loss foods too!). Awesome!

3. For your fitness routine, up it a little bit and include strength/resistance training 3 times a week along with cardio interval training 4-5 times a week (no treadmill or elliptical because these don't actually do much for you). If you want to look like an athlete, you have to train like an athlete and BE an athlete.

Remember, small steps lead to big accomplishments and always keep focused on your goal to help you push through your workouts and use discretion in your diet. Please contact me if you want more explanation on any of the things I just covered, and I'll be happy to visit you and consult you in person as well. We can do this together!! Thanks for reading and check back tomorrow! Have an awesome day!