Losing Weight With Clean Eating

My disclaimer: I am writing this post to answer some questions that a few friends of mine have asked. I get these same questions routinely and this is my area to put those thoughts into words that I can reference them later. I am not a trainer (yet) or a nutritionist. I am simply a girl who has a passion for fitness and clean eating along with helping out her friends. Feel free to ask any questions. I will do my best to locate the answer if I do not already know it.

This is not a post for the "absolute beginner" nor is it a post for the "advanced". This is a post for those of you who already know the basics of clean eating and working out and just need a few "reminders" to get back on track. This is also not a be all, end all list of information. I am a strong believer that if it is important to you, you will research it for yourself. Hopefully these tips will give you a starting point to be able to jump from. So, here we go...

First and Foremost (despite what the title says),

ITS NOT ABOUT LOSING WEIGHT---ITS ABOUT TURNING YOUR BODY INTO A FAT BURNING MACHINE!

Take a look at these tips and take note on areas you could improve on to help increase your metabolism and burn that fat AWAY (for good)!

Eating Tips:

• Eat within one hour of waking-this will start your metabolism for the rest of the day.
• Eat every 2-3 hours (roughly 5-6 small meals a day)-this will keep your metabolism going throughout the day.
• Eat as close to natural (God made and not man made) as possible
• Have protein at every meal--keeps you fuller longer and your body has to work to digest (more calories burned)
• Have the majority of your carbs in the first 1/2 or 2/3 of your day
• Drink 1 gallon of water daily-keeps your system clean and flushed out.
• Incorporate metabolism increasing foods into your diet-ginger, cinnamon, grapefruit, hot sauces (research first)...you can Google more.
• Cheat one meal a week-to much will ruin your hard earned work but a cheat meal has been proven to rev your metabolism IF you follow the other tips.

Timing is essential when training your body to increase its burning. If your body knows when it is going to eat again, it will be more likely to quickly burn off what you just ate. I eat roughly at the same times every day.

Workout Tips:

• Workout 4-6 times a week-keeps your metabolism high
• Never take more than 2 days off at a time-keeps your metabolism going.
• Take preworkout and post workout supplements-helps increase your metabolism (stopping the drag that may happen), burn fat instead of muscle, build muscle and recover from your workouts better.
• Drink a protein shake within 30 minutes of working out-protein is necessary to repair the muscle breakdown created in a workout, which in turn builds more muscle.
• Incorporate BOTH strength training (weights) with cardio-cardio will burn calories but weight training will increase your metabolism (by building more muscle which burns more calories than fat)--thus you lose more in the long run with weight training. I bolded this because SO SO many get this part wrong. If you only have time for one in a day pick weight training over cardio. I currently rotate them each day.

Other Things to Consider:

• Sleep-know your body. Get what you need but it should be between 7-9 hours of sleep.

It may seem like a lot of work (and it may be at first) but it is so worth it. To help alleviate some of the work to begin with I would recommend "stealing" from others. Utilize the workout programs that have already been created and are free. Follow the food samples that have already been created.

Here are some links to programs that give you a food plan:

• http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/jamie-eason-post-pregnancy-trainer-nutrition-overview.html --Don't let the name fool you, the food list can be used for anyone.
• http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/ashley-conrads-21-day-clutch-cut-nutrition.html
• http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/jamie-eason-livefit-trainer-approved-foods-list.html

Here are some links to workout programs you can follow if you don't know where to begin:

• http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/jamie-easons-livefit-phase-1.html -Is a 3 Phase Program for the beginner, intermediate, or advanced. This one is a gym workout.
• http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/clutch-life-ashley-conrad-24-7-fitness-trainer.html- A P90X type workout program. This is a video series that can be done in the gym or a home workout.
• http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/new-year-start-here-7-day-beginner-trainer-day-1.html --7 Day beginner program.
• http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/jamie-eason-post-pregnancy-trainer.html -once again don't let the name fool you. It can be used by ANYONE!

Can you tell I like bodybuilding? ;)

A quick word about calories: Many get stuck on the concept of "calories". Personally, I think you should have a ballpark figure but as long as you are eating clean, no calorie counting is necessary. That being said. If you want to figure your ballpark numbers, simply take your goal weight, multiply that by 100. Add 200-500 calories to your answer and that's your ballpark range. KNOW YOUR BODY though. Once your metabolism increases you may need to raise what you eat in order to maintain your body.

Example: 125 x 100 = 1250 + 200 = 1450........1250 + 500 = 1750. So my calorie range is 1450-1750.

One more quick note and then I am done. To build the best fat burning machine possible. EVERYTHING has to be in sync. You are not able to slack on workouts, or slack on food, or even slack on sleep and still see the results you could. What you put into it is what you will get out.

That's enough for now. I will leave you with my before and after picture to prove that what I have listed above actually works.

This is my before and after picture. The picture on the left I took just a couple months after my first child was born. The picture on the right was the last day of the Clutch Cut Workout program (after my second pregnancy). Thirty pound difference!

I am currently following the clean lifestyle in order to get back to that after picture (pound wise I am about 4lbs away).

 

As always, feel free to share any comments or post any questions!