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10 THINGS THAT KEEP YOU FROM REACHING YOUR FULL FITNESS POTENTIAL!

By Holly Leonard

ESSENTIAL STRATEGIES FOR LASTING WEIGHT LOSS AND LIFELONG FITNESS

Have you been going to the gym on a regular basis and not achieving the weight loss goals you dream of? If you are like most people, fitness success can be wrecked from many different things. It seems there are always better things to do than workout. Being fit is a life long journey. It just does not occur over night. If someone tells you it does, run the other direction because it’s a scam.

If your fitness results are not where they should be, then you are more than likely falling victim to one of the ten things that keep you from reaching your full fitness potential. Right now I’m going to reveal to you the 10 fitness pitfalls that keep you from achieving your health, fitness and weight loss goals. Simply begin implementing one or two of the strategies I outline and watch the changes start to occur.

1. Lack of planning: This is the most common thing I find among busy professionals (That includes you stay at home Moms too). They become so consumed with all the daily activities that they do not schedule any time for themselves. I find using a weekly scheduling book works wonders. Spend 30 minutes one night per week and write out your weekly plan. Put yourself in as a appointment – in pen, not pencil! Give yourself ample time to spend a minimum of 30 minutes working out. If you are saying “that is easier than it sounds”, well, you are right. But evaluate your entire day, and you are surely doing two or three activities that are non-productive to your health that require sitting for longer than 30 minutes. TV is usually one that comes to mind. Give up 30 minutes of TV for example 3 times per week and this will get you headed in the right direction.

2. Unrealistic expectations: So many people that I meet on a daily basis have completely false expectations of what 20 minutes of exercise 3 times per week should do to their body. Keep in mind everyone will respond completely different, but there is a rare percentage of people who can do less than 5 to 6 hours of physical activity a week an expect to have the body they want. If you look at the girl in the bikini at grocery store magazine rack and expect to get that body by walking 3 times per week, let me tell you it is not going to happen. Sit down with a professional and find out what is realistic for you and your time commitment.

3. Undefined Goals: There has to be a final destination in sight in order to attempt to get there. If you have no defined goals, you will spin your wheels for years without success. Goals need to be written down and frequently revisited. They need to be in a place where you can see them often. They may change over time as you reach certain milestones. Please do not attempt to tackle a fitness result without goals, it will be the biggest mistake of all.

4. No initial measurements besides the scale: I see so many clients come in and hop on the scale on a daily basis. They gain one pound and beat themselves up about it until the next time they jump on the scale. When you start a weight loss or fitness program you must have beginning body composition measurements taken. If you do not know your muscle to fat ratio you are missing out. Your goal with any weight loss or fitness program should be to build calorie burning lean muscle and burn unwanted fat. If you do this at the same rate in the beginning of your program the scale will be disappointing and it can’t show this. This is why you must find a coach to do your beginning measurements. Then re-check on a monthly or six week basis.

5. Start Out Too Aggressive: No matter what your fitness level start out slow and increase the work load over time. Most of the time when people begin exercise programs they go after all the results in week one. They are at the gym for 12 hours that first week. By overdoing it the first couple of weeks, what happens to people is they become overly sore, fatigued, and do not get the result desired. So they reflect back on week one and think there is no way they can keep that pace. So what usually happens is people get frustrated and quit. If you begin your program slow and work up the intensity you will eliminate all the deep soreness, and feeling of being so broke down. You will give your body more time to adapt to the changes and may actually see an increase in energy in week one. Progressing slow is much better for your joints, it allows the muscles and joints more time to get used to having a increase load placed on them. In order to truly know where you need to start with your program, I advise hiring a fitness professional and let them design a program specifically for you.

6. Not Using Resistance Training: The biggest mistake you can make is leaving resistance training out of the equation when seeking long-term weight loss. Resistance training stimulates muscle growth, which in turns increases your calorie and fat burning ability. The more muscle you have, the better at burning fat you will be. If you can add two pounds of lean muscle to your frame you can burn approximately 70 to 100 more calories at rest. For females the phrase, grow more muscle usually freaks them out. But you must understand adding muscle is the secret to losing body fat for long term. Muscle is your fat burning furnace. You must have resistance training to build lean tissue. It is the only way. For any resistance program to be effective it must stimulate the body. Your program mus

t be ever changing, challenging enough to stimulate the muscle, and use all major muscle groups on a weekly basis.

7. Doing Too Much Aerobic Exercise: Aerobic exercise increases heart rate and is usually thought of when people think of losing weight. Aerobic exercise is a very important part of the equation when it comes to weight loss, but it is not the magic bullet. Actually doing too much aerobic exercise can be detrimental to your success. What happens when you do too much aerobic activity, your body will burn muscle for fuel instead of fat. When you burn muscle for fuel you actually make yourself fatter. Obviously we know this is counterproductive if your goal is long term weight loss. There are many ways to go about doing aerobics, but one of the best for fat loss is interval training with periods of high intensity followed by low intensity intervals. There needs to be a high intensity and low-moderate intensity depending on your fitness levels. Aerobic sessions can be anywhere from 20 minutes to 60 minutes depending upon your fitness level and your goals. If you do this for the majority of your cardio sessions you will see results faster than spending countless hours on the treadmill with no purpose.

8. Cutting Carbohydrates Out Of Their Diet: Cutting carbohydrates is usually done to lose weight quickly. Most of the weight you lose with carbohydrate restriction is usually water. This is one of the diet centers favorite tricks to take your money. As you know water weight loss means nothing in the big scheme of things. If you stay on a low carbohydrate diet long enough your body will adapt and become efficient at converting amino acids for energy. This is very counterproductive because we need our amino acids to help the building muscle process. Carbohydrates are protein sparing nutrients. There are two types of carbohydrates simple and complex. Simple carbohydrates are things like fruit, crackers, chips, or some cereals. Complex carbohydrates are things like vegetables, beans, or sweet potatoes. Our bodies must work harder to break down complex carbohydrates, therefore we have less calories for storage. Complex carbohydrates also help control blood sugar more than simple carbohydrates. Anytime you can eat a complex carbohydrate as opposed to a simple this will help your weight loss efforts. But do not cut carbohydrates out of your daily plan all together, they are your bodies main source of energy. And we all want more energy.

9. Not Eating Enough Protein: Many times protein intake is the missing ingredient for most folks. Protein is what your body uses for repairing tissue after a hard workout (or daily life). Protein is made up of amino acids, these amino acids are like little carpenters coming to work at night when we sleep to rebuild our muscles. This muscle is what raises our metabolism. Protein is vital for weight loss. So the big question is how much protein do we need? For active people a good place to start is take your body weight and multiply it by .7. This is the amount of protein you should eat in grams per day. For example a 150lb person should eat 105 grams per day. If you divide that 105 by 5 this will give us 21 which is how much you should eat at each meal. If you have trouble maintaining or gaining muscle with this amount of protein then you can add accordingly.

10. Not Getting Enough Sleep: Last but not least is proper rest. When we consistently exercise our bodies must have time to repair. When we are sleeping is when most of the repair process occurs. If you do not get the recommended 7 to 8 hours of sleep per night you are cheating yourself of some hard earned muscle development. As you now know protein rebuilds our muscle tissue. This process occurs when we are sleeping. Our body must also reset its endocrine system (hormones), this is also done during our deep patterns of sleep. One of the most frustrating things that occurs to a weight loss plan is a plateau before reaching your ultimate goal. I have worked with clients in the past who are eating healthy, performing consistent resistance training sessions, and performing the right amount of aerobic activity and still see minimal change. The one thing these clients usually have in common is poor sleep patterns or inconsistent sleep patterns. When you get 7 to 8 hours of sleep per night your results will shine through. If you are having trouble sleeping then try to avoid caffeine late in the day, read a book before bedtime, or listen to a relaxation cd prior to falling asleep.

There it is…10 Things That Keep You From Reaching Your Full Fitness Potential. I realize that starting (or re-starting) a productive and effective health and fitness program is not easy. That’s why I encourage you to get help. If you’re sick, you go to the doctor. If you’ve got a tax problem, you see an accountant or attorney. Have a toothache? You’re off to the dentist. Leaky pipes result in a call to the plumber. So why is it that so many people attempt to solve their health and fitness problems without consulting an expert? I don’t know exactly, but I encourage you to make the investment in yourself, in your quality of life, by hiring a qualified professional to educate you and help you get started. The hardest part is getting started and sustaining your motivation until fitness becomes habitual. Once you develop the habit, which can take as little as thirty days, your whole life will change for the better!

About the Author:

Coach Holly Leonard, owner of BeFit Health and Wellness Solutions, is a Body Transformation Expert who has helped over 300 Pioneer Valley men and women reclaim their healthy, fitness and vitality through proper fitness and nutrition. For more expert advice on how to master your metabolism so you can make 2009 your best year ever, check out http://www.befithealthandwellness.com Today!