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"Discover The Often Overlooked ‘Secret’ To Ramping Up Your Metabolism, Burning Fat Like Crazy, And Getting Maximum Results In Minimum Time From Your Health And Fitness Program” Part 2

By Holly Leonard

In last month’s article (part 1) I shared with you the REAL secret to getting serious results from your health and fitness program. Just in case you missed my article, the often OVERLOOKED SECRET that’s absolutely critical to getting great results is your nutrition habits.

This month I’ll be providing you with more detailed information about the 6 Essential Nutrition Habits you need to have in place, discuss why you need to start integrating them into your daily routine and provide you with a sample meal plan to continue helping you improve your nutrition plan and RESULTS.

I know I stated it last month, but it’s so important I want to state it again - There’s nothing more important to your success than building a solid foundation of healthy nutrition and supplementation habits into your life.

Without further ado, let’s dig in…

The 6 Highly Effective Habits Of The Healthy, Fit, and Firm

There are six healthy nutrition habits that are essential to your long-term progress. Let’s talk about them and why you need to start integrating them into your daily routine right now.

1. Increase your meal frequency. You need to strive for five to six “mini-meals” per day. By that, I mean taking the total calories for the day, dividing them by six and having a “mini-meal” every three to four hours. That way you’re balancing your caloric intake over the day. This is critical to keeping your metabolism going and really ramping it up. Doing so ensures you’re keeping blood sugar levels stable in your body and maintaining a muscle-building, fat-burning state.

2. Balance your meals. You should always have a balance of lean protein sources, low-glycemic carbohydrates, fruits, vegetables, good fats and fiber. Every meal should be balanced with about equal amounts of carbohydrates as protein, and a little bit of healthy fat to provide satiety, so that you’re giving your body the essential fats needed to be lean and allow optimal function.

3. Drink enough water throughout the day to keep your body hydrated. Hydration is so important to keeping your body functioning optimally. Water flushes out your kidneys, liver and keeps everything running clean. I’ve worked with hundreds of clients and I can tell you that no one drinks nearly enough water. But if you’re not drinking enough water, the kidneys can back up, and then the liver has to help and can’t do its job proper of breaking down fat. At a minimum you need to take in ½ of your bodyweight in ounces of pure, clean water each and every day.

4. Take a vitamin/mineral supplement everyday. All the research today shows that we simply don’t get all the nutrients we need in our bodies from our food alone. That’s why every major medical and health organization in the country now recommends that everyone take a daily multi-vitamin/mineral supplement. Notice the word “daily.” Not when you remember it, not if you happen to think about it, but every single day. Don’t miss. Vitamins and minerals (also called micro-nutrients), are food too, just like carbohydrates, fats and proteins (macro-nutrients) are. Just as you can’t eat all of our protein for the day in one sitting, nor can you just feed body micronutrients at one sitting or every other day either. Therefore, I recommend you break up your vitamin/mineral supplementation into a serving in the morning with breakfast and again in the evening with dinner. Always take with food for best absorption.

5. Use meal replacement shakes and bars for snacks and meals on the go. For snacks and convenient meals on the go, good meal replacement products are a must. Remember when I talked about eating 5-6 “mini-meals” per day? I don’t know anyone who can realistically do that without using a meal replacement product to get through the day. Meal replacement products include both bars and shakes, but shakes are always going to be a better choice. Generally speaking, they contain less preservatives and unnecessary ingredients. (they don’t have to have to be kept in a wrapper on a shelf for a long time like a bar.) Shake products also generally contain a much higher fiber content, without tasting like a brick (like some bars do). Plus they’re simple and convenient to prepare. All you have to do is mix it up in milk or water. Use them for in-between meals and those days when you don’t have time for a full breakfast or need a healthy meal on the go.

6. Always take a recovery shake after your workout. Get into the habit right now. It will pay dividends later. Post workout nutrition dramatically speeds up the recovery process. It will reduce your soreness, maximize your release of anabolic hormones (like growth hormone and testosterone), and allow your body to maximize building muscle and burning fat. When you consume a well-balanced shake after exercise, carbohydrate stimulates insulin to drive the branch between amino acids (protein) to the muscle cell. That way you can maximize recovery and get right back in the gym again very soon- ensuring faster results from your program. Note: post-workout shakes are not just for those folks looking to build muscle. It’s absolutely critical to your fat loss success. If you don’t have one immediately following training you’re wasting your time. “How To Fine Tune Your Nutrition Program To Ramp Up Your Metabolism, Burn Fat All Day Long, And Achieve The Best Results Possible From Your Fitness Program!”

If you start following the nutrition and supplementation principles I outlined above, you’ll feel great and improve your health tremendously. But, to achieve amazing fat-burning, muscle-building results, you’ll need to determine exactly how many calories you need to consume on a daily basis and design a daily meal plan.

During the first week implementing the above principles, you’ll want to just focus on cleaning things up and getting started with healthier nutrition habits. Start drinking enough water (1/2 your bodyweight in ounces), start eating 5 meals a day, eliminate or reduce the junk and begin logging your nutrition in a notebook. Continue implementing these principles until you feel comfortable and ready to take on the next challenge (1-4 weeks).

Once you’re ready to get even more serious about your plan and ramp up your fat loss results, I have broken the basic nutrition rules down for you below. Go through each rule and check it off if you are already doing it or get started today and by the end of the first week you should have already lost some weight just following these basic rules.

You must have these basic rules down before you can move on.
  1. Consume a lean protein, a healthy grain and a fibrous carbohydrate with every meal.
  2. Eat a supportive meal every 3-3 ½ hours (5- 6 meals per day).
  3. Consume a multi-vitamin/mineral supplement with breakfast and dinner.
  4. Consume a post-workout drink immediately after your workout (You should be working out for best results).
  5. Limit your intake of processed foods. Eat whole, natural foods as much as possible.
  6. Eat 25-35 grams of fiber a day.
  7. Track your nutrition intake in a notebook or online.
  8. Stay hydrated with zero calorie drinks throughout the day. It is not uncommon to lose 5 pounds the first week just by drinking enough water.
  9. If you haven’t already, write down your goals with a deadline and practice reading it several times everyday.
  10. Plan ahead and be prepared for the unexpected (i.e. advanced cooking session and keep bars and shakes at the office or in your car for convenience).
After you have implemented the above habits for a solid 2-4 weeks you can begin to fine-tune your nutrition plan and implement a more individualized meal plan. Below you will find a sample meal plan using the principles I’ve included in this article.

Sample Meal Plan

Meal 1: Within 30-60 minutes of waking
Low fat cottage cheese – ½ cup
Whole GrainToast – 1-2 pieces
Strawberries – ½ cup
All natural peanut butter – ½ tbsp.
16 ounces H20
1 cup coffee
Multi-vitamin

Meal 2: 3 Hours Later
2 ounces cheese
1 small apple
11 almonds
4 ounces H20

Meal 3: 3 Hours Later
3 ounces chicken breast sliced
Whole Wheat Wrap
Onions, mushrooms, peppers
1 tbsp. guacamole
2 tbsp. salsa
16 ounces H20

Meal 4: 3 Hours Later
Non-fat plain yogurt – ¾ cup
Orange – 1 small
All natural peanut butter – ½ tbsp.
H20: 16 ounces

Meal 5: 3 Hours Later
Lean meat (chicken, beef, ham, fish, etc) – 3 ounces
Brown rice– ½ cup cooked
Unlimited veggies
Olive Oil Salad Dressing – 1tbsp.
16 ounces H20

*Please note the above plan may not fit your caloric needs to achieve your goals.

After working with MANY clients over the years, I’m FULLY AWARE that it takes some time to get this nutrition thing “down-pat”. You’re going to stumble, have challenges, have obstacles and you’re going to go through an “adjustment” period with this. That’s OK. Just remember take it one day at a time and make it your goal to do one thing better tomorrow than you did today.

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!