What can you eat?

In order to keep your results maximized, you must have a SOLID diet plan and stick to it for at least a month before cheating. First things first, pick a source of protein that you like. Chicken, LEAN beef/steak, fish, even cottage cheese but don't make that your ONLY source. If you don't like those then you need to find a source of protein like a shake. Nectar Syntrax makes GREAT tasting protein powders that mix best with water or crystal light. Now that you have at least one protein source you need to pick a solid carbohydrate source. Potatoes, wheat bread, wheat pasta, brown or white rice are all really solid carbohydrates. Okay, so you have proteins and carbs, what about fats? A healthy diet of fats that are rich with omegas 3, 6, and 9 are crucial to fat loss, as those healthy fats release the bad fats so your body can burn them. Natural peanut butter, fish oils, flax OIL, not seeds, nuts (almonds preferably) are all very good sources of healthy fats. Ok, now get your grocery list out and add these items to it. If you don't like ANYTHING I have listed, just follow the simple steps to finding a good source. Look at the labels and see how much saturated fat, protein and carbs. Pizza has a good source of protein, carb and fats, but we all know pizza is no good in a diet. Pick out foods that have little to no carbs and fats, but are high in protein. Do the same for carbohydrate foods and fatty foods. Carbohydrate foods should not have a high amount of fat and vice versa.

Weights

Building muscle is very important in the fat burning process. The more muscle you have, the more fat you burn all day long. Keep in mind that unless you are eating A LOT of food, your not going to look like a pro bodybuilder after a few months or even a few years. It takes a LOOOONG time to look like that. SOOOOO, after your morning cardio you should give yourself plenty of time to rest and recover. I'm talking like 6-8 hours. Cardio and weights need to be kept as far apart in the day as possible, if not then just remember that which ever you choose to do first, the other will suffer from pure fatigue. Most people are afraid of lifting weights because they just don't know how to and they are embarrassed. We'll forget about EVERYONE else there and start with one muscle group a day. For beginners start with two exercises of that muscle group and get a weight that your EXTREMELY comfortable with and warm up. EX: Mon-Chest: bench press and pec flys. If you don't know what those exercises are, you can google them or www.bodybuilding.com will show you. After you feel good and warmed up, step up the weight a little and try to do 10 repetitions. Now you can either increase the weight and lower the repetitions or you can keep that weight and repetitions, whichever you feel comfortable. Then do that two more times, then switch to the next exercise. Be sure to give yourself a minute or two in between the sets. Don't sit too long and get relaxed. Then the next day, choose back exercises, biceps, triceps, or legs. That is enough for five days, but the workouts will only be 30-45 minutes maximum. Try this for a few weeks then we can combine muscle groups and only lift around 3 times a week.

Cardio

In order for cardio exercise to be optimal, it is a standard 45 minutes at 65%-75% of your max heart rate. Your target heart rate can be found by taking 220 - your age and *.65 - .75. This will be where you need to keep your heart rate in order to burn the most fat and keep the most muscle. Twenty minutes should be the minimum and start here if your a newbie and your not sure what you can do. Try to do twenty minutes at 65% and work up from there. For maximum results cardio should be done right after you get up on an empty stomach. Again this is for MAXIMUM results. If something here is not possible for you to do try to get as close as you can.

Exercise habits

Along with a solid diet you need a good balance of cardio and weights. I'm not talking an hour on the treadmill at lightspeed. I'm also not talking about doing deadlifts and power cleans. If your doing those exercises you probably don't need my advice because you already know that those are essential to a strong base. I'm talking about a solid 20-45 minutes of cardio that only gets your heart going around 65%-75% of your maximum heart rate. Unless your training for a marathon or you just really enjoy running, there is no need to exceed that for a healthy and good looking body. When do you lift and when do you run you ask?

Eating habits

If you plan on being healthier and being successful, you must get into a pattern of good eating habits. I'm not talking about not eating carbs or not eating at all. I'm talking about knowing what to eat at what time of day and what foods can be eaten together and which foods shouldn't be eaten together. It's really easy to eat good and still have food that's enjoyable. Eating chicken, steak, fish etc.... all are a good base to ANY solid diet. Carbohydrates play an important part in the diet if you use them correctly and not in excess. Excess goes with anything here, if you eat a two pound steak and your not 400 pounds, your probably going to store most of that steak as fat, your body just cannot handle all that protein and fat. Over the next few weeks I'm going to tell you how to use the foods you love to help you lose weight or build muscle or even both. For right now get your mind set about eating the foods you love, I'll just be tweaking it a bit to fit your new lifestyle.

First steps to a successful diet.

Check with you doctor to make sure you are ready for a life change. Then you must first get the mind set that you are going to be successful. If you believe that you are going to fail then the fact is you probably will. This is a life changing mindset that will keep you from failing. You have to set reasonable and achievable goals. Don't think your going to lose 50 pounds the first month. If you set that for a goal you will fail. Set up small goals to achieve them. The more small goals you achieve the more you will be motivated to continue to work hard. No matter what your goal is, I can set you up to achieve it within a realistic amount of time. I not only want you to achieve your goal but I want to do it in a healthy way. I also don't want you to achieve your goal and then quit your diet and become what you worked so hard to leave behind. Not only can I get you to lose weight, gain weight, gain muscle, lose fat and not muscle, I can keep help keep you at your goal. The hardest part is getting started, then once you achieve your goal it is A LOT easier to stay there with little to no effort. If you have the mindset and if you have the desire to achieve a goal and get your body healthier look no further.