10 Weeks Until Summer: Week 5

Halfway to summer, and I hope everyone is doing well with making lifetime changes towards a better version of you.

At the halfway point, there is always potential for a few hiccups along the way. You may be doing really well with one aspect of your changes, but completely forgetting or ignoring another. What do I mean?

Maybe you are killing it in the gym, but completely ignoring your nutrition, eating aimlessly. Or maybe you are under eating to lose weight, but losing muscle mass in the process (not a good idea!)

The following are a few things that you may be missing from your summer plans for success:

1 – Hydration

Water and fluid intake is VERY important, no matter what your goals may be. If you are dehydrated, your body may present this as hunger. Also, low back pain can sometimes be caused by dehydration. Our bodies are made up of 60-65% water, make sure you are getting enough.

Goal – at least 1/2 oz. per pound of bodyweight/day – 100 oz. for a 200 lb man

Tip – mark up a gallon jug with goal lines, or set an alarm in your phone for every 3 hours or so to refill your water bottle. Make drinking water a habit. You may pee more at first, but your body will adjust.

2 – Weekend Binges

Food Festivals, Weddings, Nights Out at the Ballpark – all things that are synonymous with summertime. Unfortunately, they can also ruin your entire week if you aren’t careful. How can this be?

Example: Monday through Thursday you eat at a 300 calorie deficit, creating a 1200 calorie deficit for the week. Then Friday night comes, and you go out and have some drinks, appetizers, and a hardy meal (+600 cals – hypothetically). Saturday is a wedding with all you can eat and drink (+1000 cals – can easily be done), and Sunday your head feels like a bomb went off, and all you want is pizza (+500 cals – been there!)

Now you are at a hypothetical 900 calorie surplus for the week. Weight loss stalled.

Goal – manage your weekends accordingly. Realize that they still are part of the bigger plan, and you need to remain mindful. 

Tips – if I know that I’m going to have one of these type of weekends, I prepare. First, try to get in as much activity as you can. An extra workout, long hikes, bike rides, anything you can. Second, eat as normal as possible, as much as possible. Have you normal breakfast and lunch if you can, minimize the damage from later. 

To take it once step further, most guilty pleasure meals are super high in carbs and fat. Often times, I will try to eat as low carb and fat as I can leading up to the PM meal (wedding/night out/food fest, etc) – essentially “banking” my carbs and fat for later.

Breakfast and lunch will usually be high protein and veggies, with a protein shake late afternoon before heading out.

3. Your Not Tracking Anything

You want results, but you don’t want to pay attention to anything that will get you there. Changes happen when you start paying more attention to the things that cause changes.

Do you go to the gym weekly, but just wonder around, picking random exercise that you enjoy, and selecting weights that “feel” right? How do you know if you are getting stronger or faster?

Want to lose body fat, but you don’t want to give tracking, or at least portion control a try? While it can be done, it makes it much harder to follow trends and to see what you did right vs. wrong. 

Goal – pay more attention to food intake, and exercise output. Even tracking portions at each meal can be a huge help.

Tip – Create a checklist for each meal, make sure it contains a high quality protein, fruit or veggies, palm size serving of carbs, and a little healthy fat. By simply tracking this, you will at least be doing something to keep yourself accountable. Click HERE to download for FREE.

Try tracking your workouts too. How much you lifted, what body parts, etc. It can go a long way to progressing.

Make sure you are managing these three things, and you will find that your results possibly speed up!

The following recipe is my all time favorite salad. It counts as a whole meal, because it has a nice balance of carbs, protein and fat. Enjoy!

 

Chopped Chicken Salad (4 servings)

• 1 cup cooked, Totallt Tubular Pasta
• 1 cup, Petite Diced Tomatoes
• 2 cups chopped romaine lettuce
• 2 cup shredded, iceberg Lettuce
• 1 cups, shredded, Radicchio, raw
• 1/2 cup, Gorgonzola Cheese
• 1/4 cup, Onions, young green, tops only
• 1/4 diced, avocado
• 4 slices, Bacon (chopped)
• 8 ounce, Chicken Breast (chopped)

Chop all ingredients, and add favorite Italian Dressing. This salad makes for a great light, but whole meal. ***NOTE SODIUM CONTENT IS HIGH – but if you use lower sodium bacon, and cheese – it will significantly drop***

 

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Stay healthy my friends,