Fitness and eating right

THERE’S a saying, “Once the truth is revealed, the path becomes clear.” In my previous column, I discussed some health and fitness questions which hopefully helped  clear your confusion about fitness concept. You have answered questions most people never even asked. Now, let’s talk more about fitness and eating right.

Many people are confused about what to eat and type of exercise they want to follow because if they ask 100 different experts on eating right and exercise, they’ll get 100 different answers. On top of that, there are those TV infomercials that claim this or that exercise gadget or miracle pill is the answer. We have  those workout videos, fitness magazines and hundreds of books. But do we have answers?  Well, no. What we have  is a junk heap  of false conclusions, endless

contradictions and half-baked exercise and nutrition theories that are creating so much uncertainty and confusion. These myths have been around for so long that some people have already regard  them as truths.  These myths  rear their ugly heads when you least

expect them and threaten to destroy your efforts to build a leaner, stronger, more energetic body.

Let’s not allow that to happen. Let’s conquer those myths, s separate fact from fiction and

create some clarity  once and for all. To get more information and enlighten your mind about these myths and wrong concepts, I  researced and culled information about eating right and exercise. These are based on   my experience in fitness industry for more than 30  years.

Q: Is aerobics better for shaping than weight training?

A: To transform your physique, you must train with weights. Walking around the block or

simply climbing a flight of stairs is better than just sitting there doing nothing. But the best form of exercise for reshaping your body is weight training. Through resistance training, you can also significantly increase your metabolic rate, the rate at which your body burns fat. As you may already know when you gain muscle, your body requires more energy to maintain that new muscle. Fat weight doesn’t require any at all to maintain because it just sits there. That’s why weight training is even superior to aerobic exercise for people who want to lose fat. If you do nothing but aerobic exercise even if you eat less, your results will not be optimal. Yes, you may lose weight but your overall shape will stay the same. If you start an aerobic exercise program shaped like a pear, the most likely result is you will  end up looking like a smaller pear, which is fine, if that’s what you want. But that’s not what I call a transformation. With weight training, you not only burn fat but you can also change the shape of your body–you can achiever  wider shoulders and a narrower waist. You can build muscular arms, lean, defined abdominal muscles, strong legs and you can become empowered, confident and strong.

So even though aerobic exercise does help burn fat, when it comes to transforming your body, proper weight training can’t be beat.

Q: If you exercise, does it not matter what you eat?

A: The fact is, if you exercise, it matters even more what you eat. More people are exercising now than ever before. And that’s got to be good news, right? We must be making up for those high-fat, high-calorie diets with the positive

effects of exercise because those effects are just, well, so positive. Think again! Despite the fact that more and more people are giving exercise a try, we’re still seeing a rapid increase in the number of people who are obese and are  suffering from health problems caused by being unfit.

There are millions of people who are completely overlooking the fact that physically

active individuals need more nutrients than their sedentary counterparts. So many people are very  misinformed about proper nutrition. I wish I could go to several places in the country and tell all  fitness enthusiasts that whether they are walking, running, swimming or spinning, lifting weights or whatever they are doing,  without the proper nutrition  your body needs, you are not going to get results you’re looking for.

Eating right

It’s time to eat right! I’ve included in this column vital information that will help you achieve optimum health. There are just two key secrets to eating right to drop that pants and jeans size in two weeks:

1. Timing. A crucial component of this eating plan is eating approximately every three hours. Ideally you’ll eat breakfast within one hour of waking up, then three hours later, you’ll eat a snack. Three hours later you eat lunch followed by a snack. Yes, three hours after lunch. Finally, you’ll eat dinner three hours after your afternoon snack and before you go to bed, you’ll have your last snack.

Many of my clients ask how many calories they will be eating. And the truth with this program is that the quality of your meals is more important than the calories you consume. Don’t worry about counting calories. Yes, you heard me right. Calories are not going to be as important as the quality of what you are eating. This eating plan is fiber dense and nutrients rich and will leave you feeling completely satisfied. If at first it doesn’t feel quite right for your appetite, give it a few days and you will love how fulfilled, fresh and energized you feel.

Why is eating every three hours so crucial? Essentially, it does three vital things: reduces cortisol

hormone levels that contribute to belly fats; helps you maintain a high metabolic rate so you stay

energized and continue to burn fat; helps you

control your appetite, so you don’t binge. The bottom line is that, numerous research studies support that eating small meals throughout the day reduces hunger and enhances weight loss.

2. Quality nutrients

You know that you are going to eat every three hours, but which foods from the endless supermarket shelves and fast food drive-thru’s do you choose? Our society offers so many choices that we are often confused about what is healthy food. In this plan there is no deprivation and no food had been omitted. This plan is about a quality, delicious, filling and balanced diet that will help you burn fat and restore muscle tissue.

In my next column, I will reveal to you the secrets of how you can achieve the body that you want and dream of.