Weight Loss Averages and Expectations

According to the N.S.C.A., you can lose 1% of your total body weight in a week. I usually will say that up to 2lbs. a week is what you can do on a healthy level and maintain until goal weight. I will give you the three components to healthy weight loss and some realistic expectations on weight loss.

It is not easy to lose weight and at the same time it is. If you are doing everything right, it will happen. If you fight it, it won't happen. The formula for losing weight works but there are no short cuts.

There are three components to healthy and successful weight loss. The first and easiest is resistance training. I recommend resistance training anywhere from 2 to 6 days a week depending on your individual goals. If balance, core, joint strength, overall muscular endurance is your goal, then 2 to three full body workouts a week is sufficient. If weight loss, toning and shaping are your main goals, I recommend 3 to 4 times a week with different styles of workouts to fit you as an individual. If muscle and strength gains are your goals, then I recommend 4 to 6 times a week with a split routine. If you have a medical condition or are doing rehabilitation, I would only make recommendations on an individual basis.

Next is cardio. Cardio is the second hardest of the three, and sometimes it is the easiest depending on the individual and their personality. I recommend cardio 4 to 6 times a week, again depending on your individual goals. If weight loss is your most important goal right now, then you want to be closer to 6 times a week.

The third and final is the toughest. The eating. If you have a mind set that you want to be healthy and learn better overall eating habits, you will succeed. Because with this frame of mind, it is easy to say no to chips, soda, snacks, lattes, dessert, etc. Healthy people just don't eat that stuff. So if your frame of mind is to eat a restrictive diet for a short period of time for a great result, well then we have changed nothing and we will gain the weight back. And often times even gain more weight because with a restrictive diet you may slow your metabolism. So I recommend adopting healthy eating habits.

So to give some numbers here on what to expect, as I stated you can lose two pounds a week in a healthy fashion. For this to happen, it is simply a math problem. 2 pounds of fat equals 7,000 calories. So that is 1,000 calories a day. We want to do this by 500 calories coming form caloric intake and the other 500 calories coming from exercise. So you can see that if you are missing on one of the three components, it makes the other two that much more important.

Remember that calories are cumulative so if you overeat by 96 calories a day, that is equal to 10 pounds over a year. Hmmm.. how much is in that latte or desert or glass of wine?

I hope this has been helpful to put some perspective to exercise program and weight loss. If you have any questions just DM me on Facebook, email me at justin@betterbodiestucson.com or call us at 520-318-3488

Justin List
Owner: Better Bodies on Campbell

Diet Defined by the N.S.C.A.

"Diet refers to the usual eating pattern of an individual, not a restrictive weight loss plan." This is how the N.S.C.A defines diet.

Were we fall short of weight loss and maintaining a healthy weight is that we generally use just the opposite definition. We tend to use the fad diets, quick weight loss plans, etc. This I define as "a restrictive way of eating over a short period of time for a great result." It is like a get rich quick plan. They don't work and are not long lasting. When considering a "diet" always ask yourself, "Then What?"

The key is to adopt healthy eating habits. This comes first with knowledge. It takes time to learn so don't get frustrated and allow yourself years to really eat well. You will find what works for you and your eating habits should be something that you can do everyday for the rest of your life without sacrificing health.

How long does it take to get through college or an apprentice program? It does not happen overnite, so allow yourself time to learn healthy eating habits. I have a few suggestions to get started.

First, get used to the grocery store. If you generally don't go to the grocery store then this itself will take time to get used to. Try to stay on the outside of the grocery store. This is were the whole foods are. If you are reading labels, chances are you shouldn't be eating it. I like to put it this way, "if it can last on a shelf for months without going bad, how do you expect your body to be able to break it down? The food company made it 'indestructible' so you generally are getting less out of what you eat." This causes you to eat more because it takes more to get the nutritional value that your body is calling for. Now your body has to figure out what to do with this excess material.

Next, look for or listen for the parallels. What I mean by this is if you hear a news program about a certain food or eating habit, and then read the same idea in a magazine, then again in a book, then chances are this is a good eating habit. If I hear something once, I don't think much of it. If I hear it twice, I start listening. If I hear the same philosophy three times, I am now asking questions and researching it and looking to adopt this eating habit as part of my diet. Ideas will change over time as with egg yolks and other food items that were once bad and now are considered good. But look at what the "experts" have been saying for 20 to 30 years.

Also, I always ask myself, "does it makes sense?" Does this eating habit or health claim that I am reading or hearing about even make sense. If it doesn't, I usually disregard it.

Last, portion control. It takes your body approximately 20 minutes to send the message to your brain that you are full. So if you eat until you are full, you have really been eating for 20 minutes too long. A good example of this is when you were a kid and you finished your plate. You were still hungry so you asked your mom to make you more food. By the time your mom made the food, you were no longer hungry. So I give you two tips withing portion control. First is to make your plate of food as to what you know is a sufficient amount. Don't make your plate as big as you possibly think you can eat. Second, eat until you are not hungry as apposed to eating until you are full.

I recommend to eat 4 to 6 times a day. Small portions; snacks and meals are both considered meals so don't think you have to sit down to 6 big meals a day. Who really has time for that? I usually will make a large dinner and cut it into 3 meals. One is dinner, the next two are lunch for the next day. This give me three of my meals with only cooking once.

There are many more tips and plans that I could write quite a bit. I will leave this here for starters and if you have any question feel free to call Justin at (520-318-3488) email (justinlist1@gmail.com) or you can find us on Facebook at Better Bodies.

I hope this was helpful. I always appreciate feedback so that I can improve on communication.

Thank you,

Justin List
Owner: Better Bodies on Campbell
520-318-3488

Justin's Health & Fitness: Caffeine; Good or Bad?

Justin's Health & Fitness: Caffeine; Good or Bad?

Caffeine; Good or Bad?

A lot of people ask about caffeine with workouts and also just in general. When you think of caffeine or anything that you put in your body, you should always ask yourself, "why am I eating or drinking this? What will this do to me or for me?" This is the first step to conscious eating which leads to better health and fitness and overall results.

So, back to the question. Is caffeine good or bad? It can be both. When used in moderation for pre-workout it can be a very useful tool. It can get your mind set ready for your workout and increase overall performance. It increases adrenalin which gets you pumped up or psyched up for your workout. You have greater energy and a more aggressive nature to work harder.

When using caffeine or any performance enhancer, keep in mind that more is not always better. Know your limits. There are several things to take into consideration.

First, how much caffeine have you already had? Morning coffee, monster, 5 hour energy, etc. Even after the effects of caffeine have worn off, it is still in your system. So when your using caffeine as a pre-workout enhancer, remember that you could be overloading your system.

Next, take into consideration how much sleep you have had. If you are sleep deprived you may need more caffeine to get that up feeling and once again you may be overloading your system. On the flip side here, if you generally don't get enough sleep and for this particular day you do, you may need less caffeine. So think before you drink. Read labels and be conscious of what you are putting in your body.

Last, remember to drink plenty of water. Caffeine is a natural diuretic. This can do a couple of things. For one, it can make you feel sluggish, like the caffeine is not working. So then you take more and make the problem worse. Now you are overloading your system and being less effective. Remember that if you use a tool, you want to use it to its maximum effect and don't abuse it. Paying attention to your body and what you are putting in it will make you more effective with less caffeine. You want this. I use caffeine myself, but I use the least amount possible to be effective. Second, being a diuretic, caffeine can make you dehydrated and will decrease the effectiveness of your workout, decrease results, lessen performance, and greatly increase the risk of injury. So drink plenty of water. If you use caffeine and it makes you feel more tired, try drinking 32 oz. of water and see how you feel.

So you have heard me repeat about having too much caffeine in your system. What happens is it becomes a cycle. You don't get enough sleep so you drink some caffeine, then you use it for a pre-workout. You are so tired that you don't feel the caffeine and going to sleep is not a problem. So it seems. Remember that the caffeine is still in your system and caffeine taxes the adrenal gland. Since caffeine stimulates adrenalin, it will use it up faster than the body can replace it. This causes us to feel more tired, not sleep as deep, and wake up feeling like we need something to help us wake up even though we slept plenty. If you fall into this category, skip the caffeine on the days you don't need it. Like on a day that you don't work. Don't have caffeine in the morning and take a nap if you need to. This will help the adrenal gland to function better come Monday and give you better results, more alert, better brain function, and better performance in you exercise.

There is a lot to cover here so if you have any questions just DM (facebook@betterbodies), call (318-3488) or email Justin at justin@betterbodiestucson.com