About a week ago I heard one of my friends simplify fat loss into one sentence which pretty much covered everything. It was so simple that it’s no wonder people get confused when we try to over-complicate it.
Then I read a post by a bodybuilder about how any type of physical transformation is considered body building. He was spot on, because the goal of the body builder is to lose fat and gain or maintain muscle. It just requires a dedication to training and diet.
Then I heard every excuse under the sun in this parody video by one of my crazy mates from the USA…
Since then I’ve had this phrase running through my head for how I see health, fitness and fat loss in the simplest of ways.
‘Train Like An Athlete, Eat Like A Caveman’
To break it down, this is what it means.
Train Like An Athlete.
Do some strength training to build strength and muscle and increase metabolism.
Do some high intensity cardio interval training to get fit fast and increase metabolism.
Do some recovery work and corrective exercise to stay healthy and reduce the risk of injury, such as foam rolling, stretching, yoga, massage, physio, etc.
Eat Like A Caveman
If you can catch it, kill it, pick it or dig it up, you can eat it.
The caveman would catch and eat meat or fish depending on location, pick fruits and berries that would have been seasonal, eaten any freshly picked or dug-up vegetables they could find above or below the ground, and not much else.
This is very difficult for us to do. Having only just survived No Junk January, I can vouch for the fact that keeping up Caveman eating ALL THE TIME is impossible. Hence the 90% Rule.
I have also heard the phrase ‘If Your Grandmother Wouldn’t Eat It, Neither Should You’ which is also pretty good, although grandma would have been around in the farming age so grains may have been a bigger part of her diet.
Possible Reasons Why You Still Look The Same
1. You are not exercising enough or doing enough of the right type of exercise.
To transform your body quickly you need to train often and with intensity.
You should be doing 3 cardio strength training sessions a week like we do at my Bootcamp.
You should be doing 3 cardio interval training workouts a week such as boxing, skipping, hill sprints, flat ground sprints, intervals on the rowing machine, spin classes, basketball, hockey, netball, etc.
You can do intervals in 20, 30, 45 seconds on 30, 60, 90 off, etc. It doesn’t matter so much about the exact times. Just go hard for a short burst followed by a recovery period to get your heart rate back down.
You should be walking fast 3-6 days a week preferably on an empty stomach before breakfast.
If you are a little crazy, you could do two sessions a day (extra cardio interval training – no more than 20 mins) for a few weeks to really ramp up your metabolism but very few people will be able to do this.
You need to take one day off per week to rest and recover.
2. You are not sticking to your diet.
You need to be following some sort of diet to reach your goal.
I have said in the past that diets suck because they are often so hard to stick to, but for many people it’s the only way for them to have any self control. And it’s the fastest way to results if you stick to it.
Not all diets are DIETS, but even a healthy diet is still a DIET. A junk food diet is still a DIET.
The 90% Rule still applies with any diet so you can still eat your favourite foods, occasionally.
I am on a diet which just tells me which foods I’m allowed to eat and what not to eat. That’s a basic one. There’s no strict quantities and I’m eating a ton of fat and still losing fat. But I’m not eating junk.
The caveman diet such as ‘The Paleo Solution’ is another basic one.
Following The Ten Food Rules is another one.
Other effective diets include Tim Ferris’ ‘Slow Carb Diet’ from the 4 Hour Body, ‘The Carb Rotation Diet’ from Jayson Hunter, ‘The Abs Diet’ from Mens Health and many others.
If you were eating Light’n’Easy meals every day for 90% of your meals, that’s another one.
Just pick a diet and stick to it.
3. Your diet needs some fine tuning.
So you are following a diet and doing pretty well, but you have started to add in a few comfort foods because they are easier and more convenient for you. That may work or may not.
You are still sneaking in a few drinks and maybe a few more (alcoholic or sugar based).
You may have an allergy to a particular food or one food may just not sit well with you. Examples are grains, legumes and dairy, certain nuts and seeds, certain fruits or vegetables. You can get tested for food allergies.
At the end of the day you may just need to take out a few things or replace them with foods that are more natural or just get stricter again.
The best place to start is keep a food diary for a week and list everything that you eat and drink and at what time so you can see exactly what you’ve been doing. Then compare that to your diet and see if you really complied at least 90%.
The last 3 kilos are the hardest to lose and will require a higher commitment to your diet for a short period of time.
4. You have an inner health problem that is halting your progress.
Some people (myself included) have digestive or hormonal problems that make getting your body to change near impossible. If the body is busy trying to operate when some of its parts are ‘Out Of Order’ then you may understand why.
Addicted to chocolate? This could be a sign.
Storing fat around your stomach but nowhere else is another sign.
Stress, interrupted sleep, stomach pain, problems with relux, acne and fatigue are other signs, but there are many more.
If you think this is you, get in touch with me and we’ll discuss how to move you forward. I’m a CHEK Holistic Lifestyle Coach and have gone through so much of this digestive repair stuff that I know what you need to do, how to do it and the easiest ways for maximum results.
It is worth it. Once you get past the digestive problems, you will find it much easier to deal with stress, lose fat, gain muscle and be happy.
