Fitness and diet is NOT complicated. People make it that way. Why? I don't know.
But you can really simplify it down to a few basic points:
1. Be active. Try to get in some sort of workout every other day.
2. Recovery (I'll get more into this one later as it took me by far the longest to learn.)
3. Eat fairly clean. Or, more bluntly, stop eating crap.
It's really this easy. And it's fun when it's this easy.
Let's start with being active and working out.. #1
Working out should not be a two hour overly complicated session at the gym that has you dreading your next session and leaves you feeling crippled the next day. Most studies will show workouts lasting over an hour will actually lead to increased cortisol production (the body's stress reducing hormone) and can be counter productive. And keep your workouts simple too! For the most part, if you stick to total body muscle building workouts that include compound exercises like squats, pushups, pull ups, rows, jumps, and the many variations, you can't go wrong. Just always focus on good form and work hard!
(and for the love of god avoid machines and steady state cardio equipment like treadmills and ellipticals like the plague....I'll write about those evils later but if they're always full of overweight people chatting and reading magazines do you really think they do anything other than waste time and energy?)
#2 Recovery
For now I'll keep this one short. When you workout you're basically tearing your muscles so they can rebuild stronger. Will busting your ass at the gym everyday burn a ton of calories? Sure. And you might even see some great results, but only for a short while. Then lack of recovery and rest will lead to plateaus, injury, general frustration, and leave you sapped for strength for your next session. So try to get AT LEAST one day of rest in between workouts, refuel with real foods, and recover! (This however is NOT a license to sit on your ass on off days. Go for a walk. Maybe some dynamic stretching. It'll get your blood flowing and aid recovery. Trust me. It's good for you!)
3. Eat clean and avoid crap.
I once heard the advice, "If your grandparents or great grandparents wouldn't something as food, you probably shouldn't eat it. Your body won't either." So true. A great rule to live by.
Dieting isn't hard. In fact, I would avoid saying "I'm dieting" or "I'm on a diet." All diet really is is what you eat. Period.
Later I'll get into how truly HORRIBLE sodas and artificial sweeteners are for your body and metabolism (Did you know over time you can dissolve a mouse in Mountain Dew, or use Coke to get oil off a driveway? True) and the nightmare that is energy drinks like red bull and monster, which are serious threats to metabolism and heart health.
But for the most part, just try to avoid garbage. You don't have to overdo it and become some organic hippie nutball (completely unnecessary and usually unhealthy ) but just try to avoid what YOU KNOW DAMN WELL is bad for you and your body cannot process. Fried foods. (ever have a job where you had to clean a frier and see what you're eating? Yuck) Soda. Chips. The sugary bean bag chairs that are cinnabons. Etc. (But if it'll help you stay on track, eat a little crap once in awhile, or learn to enjoy healthy treats like dark chocolate. Yum)
A quick word on fad diets, which I plan to tear apart at a later date, avoid them. They're fads for a reason. They work well initially and then they fail. Take low carb diets for example. First of all, you absolutely NEED carbs. Low carb diets are popular because fitness models and bodybuilders use them to cut off some fat a couple weeks before competing. But cutting carbs long term is no bueno.
Realistically, your diet should be about 60% carbs, you need them for energy, for muscle building, for a lot. People who try low carb usually fail because they plateau quickly, and fall off the wagon when they're starving and sapped for energy. Did you ever notice how overweight people are always trying low carb diets, yet the most cut guys and gals you know eat plenty of them? Hell I eat plenty of them and my BF hovers around 5%! So eat them! (The same goes for the crowds doing steady rate cardio which those of us who are in shape and know better avoid!)
Also, eat healthy fats. Please. You need fat I promise. Fats from animal sources, avocados, nuts, etc.
Not synthetic crap fat though like ranch dressing (AKA Fat Girl Gravy) Research sometime all the crap they put in low fat food to make it taste better. Lots of crap that'll wreck you. Whole milk rules and I'll write an article on it's benefits later, but listen to Parks and Recs' Ron Swanson. Avoid Skim. It's just water pretending to be milk;)
So that's it for today's post! Keep it simple!
Be active, recover , and don't eat crap! It's so easy!
-Tom
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