So...you want to look good naked--now what?

Every time I hear that commercial on the radio I think--"Yes! Yes, I DO want to look good naked!" Well, guess what? You have to DO something! It doesn't come in a bottle or a pill, if it did--we would all look great. There is no substitution for work. Period. It just doesn't work like that. Sorry. But the good news is that it can be done. But, it will take some changes and work on your part. There is just no way around it. And unfortunately, the older we get the more work we have to do... Three main things to think about--diet, cardio and exercise. Diet is listed first because it is by far the most important one on the list. If you change your diet and do nothing else, you will see changes in your body.

DIET. I am not talking about going on a diet. If you go ON a diet then at some point you go OFF the diet. I'm talking about changing your diet. It is all about choices. Making better choices to get you where you want to be--no matter where that is. First of all, you have to eat! If you don't eat, your metabolism slows down. Think about your body like a fireplace. If you have a fire and someone is there putting wood on it all the time--your house stays warm. If not, the fire goes out and your house gets cold. Ta da! Simple as that. In order to keep your metabolism going, you have to keep fueling the fire. If you don't eat but once a day, your body goes into starvation mode and will hold on to everything you eat regardless of what it is. (For the life of me, I don't know how people make it on one meal a day!) Obviously you are going to try to start eating better--better quality food and more frequently. The more you give your body something to do, the more it will burn for you. That is the point--have your body working for you all the time. The cleaner you eat, the better--and faster--your body will respond. No fried foods, cut out the sodas (liquid calories!), sweets, breads. The closer to nature you eat, the better. Translation--stuff you can pick out of a garden or off a tree/vine. The more natural it is, the better it will be for you. No processed foods. I'm not saying that you can't have a cookie from time to time but you just can't eat crap all the time and expect to get the results you want. Make changes and choices. With that being said, this is not an all or nothing deal. If you have a piece of cake at the office birthday party, so what? Just don't have two... Since this is going to be a lifestyle change for most people, do it one meal at a time. If you have only been eating once a day, it is totally unrealistic to think you are going to start eating 5 times a day. Start slowly--two meals a day, three meals a day, etc. Eventually you would really try to eat 6 times a day. I know that sounds like a lot but, remember the fireplace... And, when you start eating more frequently you will eat smaller portions just because you will not be able to eat a ton each time. I consider every time you eat to be a meal even if it isn't steak, potato and salad. Example: breakfast, mid-morning snack, lunch, mid-afternoon snack, dinner and then another small something before bed. At first, you will have to make yourself eat more. But eventually, it will just be a way of life. Trust me! Snacks can be fruit, nuts, yogurt, etc. Nuts you want to be as unprocessed as possible--not honey roasted, dry roasted, etc. Remember as close to nature as you can get. Another thing to consider is portion size. When you go out to eat these days, mostly your entree is two meals. I always cut it in half and take home another meal for later. If you think about your plate--divide it in half and you want protein on one side and everything else on the other. For example, you have some chicken and then to go with it maybe some potatoes, pinto beans and corn. Since I'm from the south I kinda like the word "piles". So, you want your piles of potatoes, beans and corn to be roughly equal to the amount of chicken. Does that make sense? You don't have to count ANYthing. Just start being aware of what you are putting in your body. Make better choices to get you to where you want to be. Is that bag of cheetos gonna help you look good naked? I don't think so--pick up an apple instead. Protein is a big part of this too. Your body needs protein to build muscle--we will get to the muscle building later. Basically protein is meat--chicken, beef, pork, seafood--and dairy. There are vegetable proteins too but generally speaking, protein is your piece of meat. Try to have protein at every meal. I recommend 30 grams of protein at each meal but for now, just try to get some protein in at each meal. After you have cleaned up your diet, you won't want to eat the crappy foods again. They will make you feel bad when you eat them. Sweets will be too sweet and the feeling you get after eating crap just isn't worth it. I promise!

WATER. I can't talk about changing your diet without talking about water. Many people are walking around dehydrated and don't even know it. After all these years of working with clients of all types, I am still amazed at how many people don't drink water at all or liquids either for that matter. I have been drinking water as my main source of liquids for over 15 years now. I can't do without it and frankly don't know how others do without it either. I always have a bottle of water with me. I don't think you can drink too much water. When you first increase your water intake, you will have to visit the bathroom more frequently but that goes away. Really. So, what I am saying here is that along with changing your diet, you need to increase your water. Get rid of the empty calories in sodas, teas, and other drinks that you might be drinking. If pure water is too hard for you, try some Crystal Light. But drink up! And I would like to add here that diet sodas are bad for you too--that's another discussion... Just drink water!

Ok, I think that is about enough for today. Besides, if I told you everything you need to know now...you wouldn't come back!

Stay tuned for Part 2--cardio.