Cause Your Health Counts

The time has come where it’s getting close to the bathing suite season. Are you ready? If not you can be, so don’t give up As a quick guide refer back to last months article what to eat. Providing you are able to do a workout program 3 times a week here are some tips that can help you trim down. Let’s start by speeding up our metabolism, this can be done, simply by eating 5 to 6 small meals per day.

This eating plan is to be followed for two weeks. First you need to eat breakfast, if your not already doing this you will never get the ball rolling to jump start your metabolism. Secondly let’s increase our HDL levels by adding real olive oil in our salad greens with grilled chicken, which by the way will make for an excellent lunch! Dinner is lean meat again with fiber-rich vegetables. Remember to cut back on the starchy carbohydrates or eliminate them all together and include a protein in each meal.

Highly processed carbohydrates can cause a cycle of overeating, White bread, for example, is digested quickly, resulting in a spike in insulin levels. Once the carbohydrates are used up, you’re left with too much circulating insulin, which causes your body to crave more food. Eating simple carbohydrates makes you want to eat more simple carbohydrates, and in the process, you gain weight, disrupt your lipid levels, and expose your cardiovascular system to unnecessary stress.

In your first two weeks it is very important to avoid fruit, bread, rice, potatoes, pasta, or baked goods. No sugar of any kind, ice cream, cookies, or cake. And no alcoholic drinks of any kind. During your first two weeks it is important that you perform some form of cardiovascular and weight training program. A circuit training program would be a good basis to follow, remember 1-2 sets light weights performing 50 to 100 reps with a low level of muscle fatigue. Be sure to perform a 30 min. Cardio program after your weight training workout.

After the first two weeks you should see a reduction in weight. For the next phase in your diet reduce you eating schedule to 3 meals for the next 2 to 3 weeks. You will only need to eat three times per day breakfast, lunch, and dinner. You should increase the size of each meal only enough so that your not hungry in the next hour or so. During this phase you may reintroduce slowly red wine, fruit; preferably red apples and whole-grain breads in subsequent phases.

Now it’s time to change your weight training program for the next two weeks by increasing the intensity and type of training. Try a split training routine only with 2 sets. The first set should be with a heavier weight, something you can lift for 6 to 8 reps followed by a second set of the same exercise with a much lighter weight of 20 reps. After this period return back to your circuit training program and repeat the process as well as the diet guide lines and enjoy the new you in a few weeks!