By Chris Hitchko/Show Up Fitness Founder
How many times have you been told that cardio and proper diet will result in fat loss? What if I told you that you could lose fat without changing much of your diet, and not doing any cardio? I have four steps that will help you conquer fat loss goals without that dreadful word “diet” and cardio.
Step one: Show up!
Step two: Win the week
Step three: Drink half your body weight in ounces of water
Step four: Eat more protein
Fat loss is really that easy. I challenge any capable body to implement these four steps for a month. Follow these steps for 30 days and you’ll see a decrease in body fat, blood pressure, chances of developing cancer, diabetes, and heart disease. Additionally, you’ll see an increase in lean body mass, sex drive, energy levels, skin vibrancy, and self-confidence. It’s as easy as 1,2,3,4!
Step One: Show Up!
Step one is the hardest: showing up. Establishing new habits is challenging for most people to accept. We’re comfortable in our mundane lives and change is something new with uncertainty. For many, the idea of change is viewed negatively due to the fact of failure in the past. Psychologically, we’re afraid of Showing Up because we’ve failed so many times in the past. Why try again if I know I’m going to fail? Hockey great Wayne Gretzky said it best, “You miss 100 percent of the shots you don’t take.”
We need to grab that weak inner voice inside us all and let it know who’s the boss: you will not fail. Once you know you’re capable of awesomeness, the results will begin pouring in. I know you can do it. Start today, and show up!
Step Two: Winning the week
Step two is as important as step one. At Show Up Fitness, we stress to all our clients to win the week. This entails exercising with weights, at least four days. If you do this, you’ve won the week. Walking, yoga, cardio, group classes, and cycling are all great, but the imposed demands on the muscle are not nearly enough. We encourage clients to engage in these “fun” activities as a supplement to resistance training, but not solely the only method. Lean body mass aka muscle, is the answer to making the body a better machine. To all the women who cringed at the idea of “bulking up”, don’t you worry, you have about 1/20th the amount of testosterone as males, it won’t happen. I explain to clients that winning the week is like the recent NBA Basketball Championship Series. You only have to win four out of the seven games to be champs! Imagine if Golden State would’ve lost the first game. Does that mean they should’ve given up? What if they lost game two? Game three? They’re still alive to play another game. To be world champions, you need to win four games; it doesn’t matter how you do it, you need to win four!
Take the same approach with resistance training and days in the week. If you go to a family BBQ, or have a date night, don’t worry, indulge, be human, and have fun! Lift weights the next day (or even better before the event) and you’ll be taking the proper steps to success. Even if you didn’t workout Monday through Wednesday, no problem. Lift weights the next four days and you’ve won the week.
Step Three: Drink more water
The human body consists of 60 percent water; muscle is over 70 percent. If you’re dehydrated, the body will not function optimal. Fat loss will be minimized, cell regeneration compromised, a decrease in energy levels, and a lack of water is probably why you have headaches. Start with drinking more than you did yesterday. If you’re not consuming any water, start with 12 ounces and win the week. Do that four out of the seven days and you’re on track. The next week, aim for two glasses. After you’ve programmed your brain to consume water regularly, you’ll be amazed at the changes in your disposition. The best method to monitor hydration is via urine. It should be lemonade color. If your urine is the color of apple juice, you need to drink 2-3 glasses immediately. The same mechanism for hunger is thirst. A lot of people misconstrue thirst for hunger. This is a cascading problem. When we’re thirsty and reach for a sodium filled snack (chips, bread, soda, crackers), they could make us more dehydrated. If you’re a beginning client at Show Up Fitness (first month of training), the only nutrition advice we give is to drink more water.
Step Four: Eat More Protein
Protein does amazing things. It’s the building block for muscle, and great for your skin, hair, nails, teeth, and produces optimal levels of fat loss hormones like testosterone. There’s no need to fret over harming your kidneys (unless you have kidney disease); the more protein the better. Consuming at least 30 grams of protein per meal will keep you full longer, and maximize protein synthesis. The more protein that you consume, the less likely you’ll be hungry later and binge on caloric dense foods such as chips, breads, and sweets. Protein will also help decrease the infamous sweat and salty tooth that a lot of us have. When in doubt, drink more water, and eat more protein.
My Challenge To You
Implement four resistance-training days into your life for a month, drink more water, eat more protein, and most importantly, show up! At Show Up Fitness, we stress being human, and never beating yourself up over a “cheat meal”, or missing a workout. Go to www.showupfitness.com and fill out our online assessment to get your free personal training session today! The Show Up Fitness training studio is located at 1207 4th Street (Suite 150), Santa Monica.
