#13, Same Routine = Same Results; every 3-6 weeks you should mix it up.

#12, Not Keeping a food & cardio journal; gotta keep records to beat records

#11, Too Many Splurge Meals; 2 meals or 10% of your meals can be splurges (no sugar).

#10, Drinking too much alcohol; save it for the splurges & no more than 3 drinks per week.

#9, 1st: No sugar at all. 2nd, limit sugar free sweeteners to 1-2x/wk (save it for your splurges)

#8, too many starchy carbs, not enough vegetables and fruits

#7, not enough sleep: minimum of 7 hours

#6, Drinking calories, and not enough water; 0.5oz / lb body weight / day

#6, Not timing your meals; starchy carbs are best after a workout; veggies & fruits every meal

#5, Eating too late: either nothing after 8pm or finish your last meal 3hrs before bedtime.

#4, Not the right cardio: weight bearing, W=225-250min/wk, M=150-175min/wk; RPE=7-10

#3, Not the right strength training: 2+ days/wk, total body circuits, minimal rest, fast paced.

#2, Not eating best quality protein, fats & carbs @ every meal.

#1, It’s a want, but not a must. You’re not ready yet.

by Mike Alves

p.s.  If you want to lose weight…, master this list!

p.p.s.  Once you reach your goal weight, you can reduce your cardio a bit & splurge 15% of your meals.  Still no sugars if you want to keep it off.

Having an increase in your metabolism means that there is an increase in the amount of calories that your body is burning to maintain its normal functions. If you have been having a difficult time burning fat and losing weight these 5 tips can help you get over the hump and help you maximize your metabolism and have you burning more calories all day long even while you are resting.

1. Strength Training

Strength training can help increase your metabolism in a few different ways. The first way is from the calories that you will burn during the workout itself. The second way is from the afterburn effect strength training has on your body, known as Excessive Post-Exercise Oxygen Consumption (EPOC). EPOC can be described as an increase in your body’s metabolic activity following a strength training workout as your body is trying to recover and return itself to a pre-exercise state.   A third way strength training increases the metabolism, is because it builds build lean muscle mass. This is important because the more lean muscle mass that you have, the more calories it takes for your body to maintain it. So as a result it causes an increase in your metabolism, so even will you are resting, your body will be burning more calories to support your lean muscle mass.

2. Interval Training

Similar to strength training, interval training also places the body in an anaerobic training state. The high intensity levels used during interval training can cause the body to have an oxygen debt which leads to an increase in EPOC following a workout. Similar to strength training, interval training also creates an afterburn effect, as your body recovery from the workout. The higher the intensity of the workout is the longer the after burn effect will last. This means the more calories your body will burn as your body recovers from the workout.

3. Small Frequent Meals

Since it requires energy for your body to digest and absorb the nutrients from foods, there is an increase in metabolic activity every time you eat. Eating small frequent meals every 3 hours will help to keep your metabolism burning at a higher speed all day long as it is using calories to break down the calories from the foods you consume. In addition to eating small frequent meals throughout the day, it will help to keep your insulin and blood sugar levels stable which will help to increase your energy levels and decrease the amount of extra calories your body wants to store as fat to be used as a source of energy later on.

4. Never skip Breakfast

Eating breakfast is the most important meal of the day. As we just previously discussed the importance of eating small frequent meals throughout the day, breakfast is the first meal to get your metabolism jump started for the day. While you are sleeping at night your body’s metabolism slows down as a way to conserve energy. Eating breakfast is important because it gets your metabolism started for the day.

5. Eat a lean Protein with every meal

As we already discussed, every time you eat, it requires calories to digest the calories that you consume. This is known as the thermic effect of food. Each of the different nutrients that you consume through your diet has a different thermic effect. Out of all of the nutrients protein has the highest thermic effect. Approximately 25 percent of the calories consumed from protein are burned during the digestive process, compared to only 15 percent of the calories from carbohydrates during the digestion process. Fats on the other hand have little to no thermic effect and as a result they should not be your main source of calories.

What this means for you is that consuming a source of lean protein with every meal will help to increase your metabolism because of the natural thermic effect it has during the digestion process.

Putting it all together

It’s important to add strength training, interval training, small frequent meals, eating breakfast, and eating protein with every meal into your current routine to help you maximize your metabolism, help you burn more calories on a daily basis, increase your energy levels, and help you burn off fat faster.

Specific. Measureable. Attainable. Realistic. Timeline.

By Michael L. Alves, ATC, CSCS

O.K.  If you’re considering changing your body and getting in your best shape for 2009, then you must set S.M.A.R.T. goals.

What are S.M.A.R.T. goals?  S.M.A.R.T. is an acronym for specific, measureable, attainable, realistic and timeline and is a formula for achieving goals.  Read on to learn more.

Specific:  You must set specific goals if you want to achieve them.  General goals gets you general (read:  mediocre) results, specific goals, get you…you guessed it, specific (read:  awesome) results.

Ask yourself, “What is it I must change now?  What way am I tired of being and I must do it now or I’m only going to get older and it’s never going to change.”

Measurable:  You must be able to measure your progress in the short term (to keep excited or to make adjustments if not going as planned) and long term (how will you know you’ve achieved your goal).

What feeling/emotions and actions will you measure daily?

What objective & subjective things can you measure each week/month to give you feedback on your progress?

What objective/subjective things can you measure that will let you know when you’ve achieved your goal?

Attainable:  The attainable acronym is your action steps.  The things you will do to achieve your goal.  “If I want this, I need to do this, this, and this.”  What do you need to do to achieve this goal?  What do you have to stop doing now and what do you need to start doing now?  What habits, people, routines, distractions, foods, etc… are holding you back and what exciting and adventurous new habits can you start?

Realistic:  O.K.  You may have specific goals, ways to measure them and action steps to achieve them, but let’s play devil’s advocate for a moment.  Are they realistic to your current situation, chosen lifestyle, personal schedule and family, social and work environments?  Only you know.  You may have to tone your goals down, extend the time to achieve them or just “cowboy up” and “get it done”.

Timeline:  Now you have to set a date / deadline when will you complete this by including mini dates and deadlines?  When will you achieve your specific goal by?  You need to know.  You have to have something to look forward to.  You need a sense of urgency.

What to do next?  Now that you know what a S.M.A.R.T. Goal is, go ahead and create one for yourself.  Write out each of the acronyms on the left hand margin of your word processing software and write your responses next to each acronym.  Save it.  Print it out and post it somewhere you’ll see it everyday, like at your desk, on your mirror, above your dresser and on your bedroom door.  Also print one out and keep it in your wallet.  Review this everyday.  Then announce your S.M.A.R.T. Goal(s) below.   Making them public will inspire others and reinforce your commitment to them.

Cheers!

Your personal coach,

Mike Alves, ATC, CSCS

www.mikealves.com

www.changeyourbodychallenge.com

Check out this video below it is hilarious!

This is what would happen if the majority of us tried the Michael Phelps diet!