Most people are familiar with the concept of eating 4-6 small meals per day, but many of my clients ask me why this is necessary. There are several reasons, and this method of eating works for people trying to put on muscle as well as those who are trying to lose weight.
To be fit, trim, healthy, and have lots of energy, you’ve got to feed your metabolism! That means eating every two to three hours. Skipping meals or drastically cutting calories is never the answer because it tricks your body into storing fat rather than shedding it!
Below are more reasons why this way of eating works:
Metabolism
By eating 4-6 small meals per day, you are taking in some food about every 3 hours. This means your body has to digest something every 3 hours. The process of digestion actually uses a fair amount of calories, so you are increasing your metabolism by doing this!
If you eat five small meals or snacks throughout the day and at roughly the same time each day, your body will soon get into a new rhythm of eating. In essence, it will begin to trust that it will be fed regularly. It will begin to trust that it does not have to lock down what is held in storage within your fat cells, and it will begin to release body fat naturally. Your body will adjust so that it expends what you eat for fuel rather than conserve or store away nutrients for later use. This is the process of speeding up your metabolism!
Losing Body Fat
Through a physiological process called “Starvation Mode”, your body, after four hours or so, doesn’t know when it will get its next meal and “partitions” more of your next meal into fat cells than it would if you simply ate more often. Without a constant supply of small meals, commonly known as “grazing”, you’ll find yourself drowsy in the afternoon, fighting cravings, making impulsive food choices, bingeing, and, worst of all, gaining fat!
By eating smaller meals, more frequently, you are hopefully taking in enough calories to cover immediate energy requirements and rebuilding muscle, without taking in excess that would be stored as body fat.
Level Blood Sugar
By eating more frequently, you maintain a more even blood sugar level. This means a fairly steady energy level, without all those highs and lows most people experience when eating only 3 large meals per day, with a long time between meals. (Anybody who works 9-5 and has indulged in a large lunch knows that sleepy, fatigued feeling that hits about 2:30pm)!
More Protein Intake
Protein builds and repairs muscle, and an ample intake is absolutely necessary if you are working out and challenging the body. But, like anything else, if you take in too much at once, the excess will be stored as body fat. By eating 4-6 small meals per day, you have more opportunities to increase protein consumption, without having too much at one sitting!
The whole idea is to make your body a fat-burning, muscle-building machine. By increasing lean muscle, you will burn more calories, even at rest (muscle is more metabolically active than fat). See how it all comes together?
To your health!
Rebecca Attanasio, CPT
Owner, e-FitSolutions
http://www.e-fitsolutions.com/
email: Rebecca@e-FitSolutions.com
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Online Personal Training and Fat Loss Success - It's All About Accountability...
I wanted to talk to you a little bit about accountability and why it's so important to your fat loss success. Accountability is a key component to fat loss success that is often overlooked. I see it every day - people that have a good plan worked out for them, access to healthy foods and a health club, and the knowledge of what they should be doing ... but they don't do it. Or they get off to a good start, and then not long after, they slip back to their old bad habits.
So, there's more to your success than just the "know-how" ... and of all the people that I've seen that have lost fat, and kept it off for good, are those that have a coach or a mentor or some sort of support group to hold them accountable. And by accountability, I'm talking about someone you can report to each day with what you've been doing and eating. Just simply knowing that everything you do and everything you eat will be reported to someone, keeps you motivated, focused and on track each day.
I actually suggest having two types of people hold you accountable: The first should be a certified personal trainer and/or nutritionist who can not only check in on you each day, but also review everything you've been doing and eating and offer expert feedback. I call this an "accountability professional" - a qualified expert who is responsible for keeping you on track each day. My clients who progress the most are those that actually have me review each of their workouts and each of the meals they've eaten, and then show them what they've done right and should continue doing, as well as ways they could improve for even better results. This not only makes sure that they maximize all their time, energy and efforts for the best results in the shortest amount of time, it's a really good learning experience for them ... soon after a few weeks of offering this daily feedback, they know exactly what they should be doing, and how much, when and what they should be eating at every meal. This ensures that the results they achieve aren't just fast, but permanent as well. (I'll be doing this for you, by the way, when you decide to become an online member at e-FitSolutions).
Now, the second kind of person that should hold you accountable each day is someone just like you, who's going through the same process and trying to achieve the same level of results. For many, working out and eating right is a big change for them and change is often uncomfortable. Quite honestly, it can be an emotional roller-coaster, so it's very important to have someone there to listen and support you, who actually understands what you're going through and can share their feelings and tips and ideas they have for getting through the tough times. I call this an "accountability partner." It is so important to surround yourself with positive, supportive people during your fat loss journey, so be selective in finding that right person to hold you accountable. People generally turn to their families first for support. If you can get active together as a family and choose to make healthier choices as a group, that's great!
But, unfortunately, sometimes it isn't that simple. As much as you want your relatives to understand your journey and your needs, they may not want to help for a variety of reasons.
a. They get jealous of your fat loss success.
b. They aren't ready to change their lifestyle.
c. They are at a different fitness level.
d. They don't have the positive attitude you need to succeed. OR
e. They are simply insecure with change.
When you don't find the support you need from your family, it is time to branch out. It isn't important where you find the support, the key is to find it, use it, and stay accountable! Although it can be tough when your family or friends don't seem to be behind you, I find in most cases, unsupportive family or friends usually end up jumping on board when they see your SUCCESS! ... But you don't want to wait for them to come around, you need to find the right "accountability partner" right away to achieve the success you want in the first place. Here's what to look for in an "Accountability Partner":
a. Someone you can relate to.
b. Someone you can trust.
c. Someone who is readily available by phone or email.
d. Someone who is going through a similar experience.
e. Someone that has a positive attitude.
f. And someone who's willing to listen and support you.
I truly mean it when I say, I’m 100% committed to your success, and I’ll do whatever it takes to make absolutely sure that you achieve the results you're looking for. The most important kind of accountability - accountability from myself, a certified fitness professional - will be offered with online membership at http://www.e-fitsolutions.com/
Think of how valuable it would be to not only have me custom-tailor a workout and nutrition plan specifically for you ... and not only answer all your questions promptly each day ... but a qualified fitness professional to review what you've done and offer suggestions for improvement and plan ahead so you know exactly what to do each day for the best possible results.
I hope this information on accountability was helpful, and I hope you'll go get your "accountability partner" and "accountability professional" today. This is a key to your success. I look forward to having the opportunity to guide, support, motivate, and hold you accountable soon with the perfect “fat loss” program designed just for YOU!
**Hurry…Spaces fill up quick! Sign-Up TODAY at:
http://www.e-fitsolutions.com/
Reserve your spot NOW!
To Your Health,
Rebecca Attanasio, CPT
Owner, e-FitSolutions
http://www.e-fitsolutions.com/
email: Rebecca@e-FitSolutions.com
So, there's more to your success than just the "know-how" ... and of all the people that I've seen that have lost fat, and kept it off for good, are those that have a coach or a mentor or some sort of support group to hold them accountable. And by accountability, I'm talking about someone you can report to each day with what you've been doing and eating. Just simply knowing that everything you do and everything you eat will be reported to someone, keeps you motivated, focused and on track each day.
I actually suggest having two types of people hold you accountable: The first should be a certified personal trainer and/or nutritionist who can not only check in on you each day, but also review everything you've been doing and eating and offer expert feedback. I call this an "accountability professional" - a qualified expert who is responsible for keeping you on track each day. My clients who progress the most are those that actually have me review each of their workouts and each of the meals they've eaten, and then show them what they've done right and should continue doing, as well as ways they could improve for even better results. This not only makes sure that they maximize all their time, energy and efforts for the best results in the shortest amount of time, it's a really good learning experience for them ... soon after a few weeks of offering this daily feedback, they know exactly what they should be doing, and how much, when and what they should be eating at every meal. This ensures that the results they achieve aren't just fast, but permanent as well. (I'll be doing this for you, by the way, when you decide to become an online member at e-FitSolutions).
Now, the second kind of person that should hold you accountable each day is someone just like you, who's going through the same process and trying to achieve the same level of results. For many, working out and eating right is a big change for them and change is often uncomfortable. Quite honestly, it can be an emotional roller-coaster, so it's very important to have someone there to listen and support you, who actually understands what you're going through and can share their feelings and tips and ideas they have for getting through the tough times. I call this an "accountability partner." It is so important to surround yourself with positive, supportive people during your fat loss journey, so be selective in finding that right person to hold you accountable. People generally turn to their families first for support. If you can get active together as a family and choose to make healthier choices as a group, that's great!
But, unfortunately, sometimes it isn't that simple. As much as you want your relatives to understand your journey and your needs, they may not want to help for a variety of reasons.
a. They get jealous of your fat loss success.
b. They aren't ready to change their lifestyle.
c. They are at a different fitness level.
d. They don't have the positive attitude you need to succeed. OR
e. They are simply insecure with change.
When you don't find the support you need from your family, it is time to branch out. It isn't important where you find the support, the key is to find it, use it, and stay accountable! Although it can be tough when your family or friends don't seem to be behind you, I find in most cases, unsupportive family or friends usually end up jumping on board when they see your SUCCESS! ... But you don't want to wait for them to come around, you need to find the right "accountability partner" right away to achieve the success you want in the first place. Here's what to look for in an "Accountability Partner":
a. Someone you can relate to.
b. Someone you can trust.
c. Someone who is readily available by phone or email.
d. Someone who is going through a similar experience.
e. Someone that has a positive attitude.
f. And someone who's willing to listen and support you.
I truly mean it when I say, I’m 100% committed to your success, and I’ll do whatever it takes to make absolutely sure that you achieve the results you're looking for. The most important kind of accountability - accountability from myself, a certified fitness professional - will be offered with online membership at http://www.e-fitsolutions.com/
Think of how valuable it would be to not only have me custom-tailor a workout and nutrition plan specifically for you ... and not only answer all your questions promptly each day ... but a qualified fitness professional to review what you've done and offer suggestions for improvement and plan ahead so you know exactly what to do each day for the best possible results.
I hope this information on accountability was helpful, and I hope you'll go get your "accountability partner" and "accountability professional" today. This is a key to your success. I look forward to having the opportunity to guide, support, motivate, and hold you accountable soon with the perfect “fat loss” program designed just for YOU!
**Hurry…Spaces fill up quick! Sign-Up TODAY at:
http://www.e-fitsolutions.com/
Reserve your spot NOW!
To Your Health,
Rebecca Attanasio, CPT
Owner, e-FitSolutions
http://www.e-fitsolutions.com/
email: Rebecca@e-FitSolutions.com
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