3 Keys to Getting Lean and Staying Lean

Losing fat in general isn’t the hardest thing in the world. Eat less, move more.

Doesn’t sound too bad, right?

Wrong.

Telling people to eat less and move more is the exact reason so many Americans yo-yo year after year. They starve themselves, run until they pass out, and lose all their weight. Then, 6 months later, they’ve gained more body fat back than they had in the first place.

This has GOT to stop.

To make it stop, we need to approach fat loss differently. We need to not only make a plan to lose fat, but make a plan to keep it off as well.

The key to keeping the fat off is losing the fat in the most sustainable way possible. Let me give you an oversimplification for example. Let’s say Linda want’s to lose 50 pounds. She walks 30 minutes per day and loses the 50 pounds. That is VERY sustainable. After she has lost the weight, she will likely continue walking for 30 minutes per day. If Linda lost the weight eating 500 calories per day, and running for two hours per day, the chances she maintains that after she loses the weight are extremely low. I have a better chance of developing the worlds greatest calves.

It ain’t happening.

Linda needs to lose this weight as sustainably and realistically as possible, and so do you. Here are three keys to getting lean and staying lean.

#1: EAT ENOUGH PROTEIN

Too many people seem to think that higher protein intake is just for meatheads and bodybuilders. Nope. It’s for the rest of us, too. Protein serves so many different functions, but let’s talk about why increasing your protein intake can help you get lean and stay lean.

The major reason protein is important along your journey is because it helps preserve and build lean muscle tissue. Muscle tissue is expensive to maintain. This means that your body will burn lots of calories working to preserve that lean muscle.

More muscle (even a tiny bit more muscle) means more calories burned at rest. The more calories you burn at rest, the easier fat loss is.

This is exactly what I help my clients do. Before most of them work with me, they can’t figure out why they won’t lose fat. Well, the reason they won’t lose fat is because their metabolism is slow. They’re eating 1200 calories per day and are still not losing weight. If that’s not a red flag signaling a slow metabolism, then I don’t know what is.

To improve their metabolism, I have them eat plenty of protein to preserve and build lean muscle.

And as an added bonus, they end up getting that tight and defined look they’ve always wanted.

Unless you’re highly overweight or obese, I recommend getting anywhere from .6-1g of protein per pound of bodyweight. There is individual variance, but I have found that sticking around .8g of protein per pound of body weight works real well for my clients.

#2: LIFT WEIGHTS

Another part of speeding up my clients’ metabolisms is weight lifting. I have preached this 1,000 times over and I will continue to do so. Because it WORKS.

When we lift weights, we send a signal to our body to become stronger and increase lean muscle tissue. This also means that your body will burn more calories throughout the day.

Lifting weights will speed up your metabolism.

The actual muscle tissue that we add to our body doesn’t equate to massive amounts of additional calories burned at rest, but something else is going on when we lift weights.

We don’t quite know what it is yet, but we know that it works.

Take Joy for example. She was a client of mine years back. When she first started working with me, she was lifting but not optimally for the results she wanted. She was maintaining her weight at about 1600 calories. Which isn’t bad, but it didn’t leave her much room to reduce calories if she wanted to get leaner and stay leaner.

So, over the course of 6 months or so, we tweaked her lifting and introduced more protein into her diet. By the end of our time together, she was maintaining her weight at 2800 calories.

What did we tweak with her lifting? Well, we shifted her focus. And this is what I recommend a large majority of you do.

You see, simply lifting weights isn’t going to cut it. I can go to the gym, grab some five-pound dumbbells, and go through the motions, but just because I’m lifting weights doesn’t mean my arms are going to get any bigger.

If I want my arms to change, if I want my body to change, I need to demand it to change based on the exercise I am giving it when I am in the gym.

You need to lift with a different intent. You need to be purposeful. Think about going to the grocery store. If you just need to go to the grocery store, you drive there. You’ve done it hundreds of times. You take the same route and it is almost automatic. You get in your car and next thing you know, you’re there. But what if you want to get to the grocery store in ten minutes, in the middle of rush hour, with road construction? You’re going to be driving with intent, taking backroads, timing lights, etc. Same goes for lifting. You need to use the weights and how you’re lifting them to tell your body to change.

For most people, simply shifting your focus to strength and getting stronger, rather than sweating and getting your heart rate up, will do wonders. Sweating and getting your heart rate up doesn’t really help with getting lean and staying lean sustainably. Would you rather maintain your results lifting three days per week, or running seven days per week?

#3: REDUCE PROCESSED FOOD INTAKE

Hear me out.

Processed food in and of itself doesn’t make you fat. Take a look at the Twinkie professor from Kansas State. The dude ate nothing but a Twinkie every three hours and lost a butt ton of weight. Sure, he lost muscle and he probably didn’t feel well, but the point is that no one food inherently makes you fat.

However, processed foods will make your getting lean and staying lean journey a b*tch. They are engineered to hijack your taste buds and neurological pathways to make you want more and eat more.

You know how it’s really hard to eat a potato chip and not eat another. Almost impossible! Yeah, that isn’t an accident. They intended it to be that way.

Here’s a fun fact for you. There are about 4-5 potatoes in a bag of Lays chips. I don’t know about you, but I could easily down a bag of Lays potato chips. No problem. But eating 4-5 baked potatoes? Forget about it. That ain’t happening.

The point is, whole natural foods help you regulate your hunger and satiety levels. They don’t trick you into wanting more when you don’t need more. They nourish your body and keep you fuller for longer.

Highly processed foods do not. They cause you to crave more and eat more. And to make it worse, they are very calorie dense and lack in quality nutrients.

Does this mean you need to avoid highly processed foods at all costs? Absolutely not. For goodness’ sake, live a little. Eat a cookie.

But, the more processed food you eat, the harder getting lean and staying lean will become.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Adam is a fitness professional, baseball fan, and cookie fanatic based in Fort Collins, Colorado. After hanging up the cleats, he found a strong interest in the human body and how it performs. Since then, Adam has been transforming lives through fitness in a fun and encouraging atmosphere. As an ACE CPT and Fitness Nutrition Specialist, he is constantly moved to help people improve in all walks of life.

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This Mindset Shift Can Change Your Health and Fitness Forever

I don’t know if it’s an American thing, or a human thing, but we enjoy the ends of the spectrum. For some reason we enjoy choosing left or right, up or down. For some reason, we feel a need to go all in, or give up.

This is especially true in health, fitness, and nutrition. We go all the way in and give it our all, and as soon as we feel we haven’t done everything perfectly, we say f*** it and give it all up.

And this is the exact reason why most people fail when it comes to reaching their health and fitness goals. This is also the reason why people yo-yo. They lose 50 pounds and gain it all back, because they’re either dieting like a mad-man, or eating the whole tray of Girl Scout cookies.

It needs to stop. We need to stop living on one end of the spectrum. But how?

APPRECIATE THE LONG GAME

The first part of improving the way you think about your health and fitness is to first understand that your health and fitness is so much more than the goal you want to achieve in the next three months. Your health and fitness is about your quality of life now, tomorrow, next month, next year, and 20 years from now. Constantly striving for perfection is going to hurt you because perfection can’t be reached, you will always fall short. And perfection certainly doesn’t exist 20 years in a row.

Similar to almost anything in life, change starts by making small changes. Small changes compound to make big results. No one sits there and says “investing is pointless. Why would I invest $100 now? It’s better to invest 1 million dollars now.” That’s absurd. Anyone that understands and appreciates investing understands that it’s a long game and the sooner you start, the better, no matter how small the start is.

The same applies with your health, fitness, and nutrition. You need to have your eyes set on the long term, knowing that the decisions you make today, no matter how big or small, will contribute to a much better you down the road.

CHANGE YOUR MINDSET

Having said that, it’s absolutely crucial to change your mindset. You must stop living at one end of the spectrum, thinking you need to be perfect in every workout and every meal. You need to make a mindset shift. You need to make the shift towards simply being a little bit better.

That’s it.

Seriously.

All you need to do to completely transform the way you look, feel, and perform is focus on being a little bit better.

Let’s go back to the finances. I love the story of Ben and Arthur. Ben starts investing $2,000 per year at age 19, and stops at age 26. His brother, Arthur, starts investing at 27 years old, and stops at age 65. In total, Ben saved $16,000 and Arthur saved $76,000. At age 65, with a 12% return, Ben ends up with $2,288,996 and Arthur ends up with $1,532,166. That is a massive difference.

There are tons of variables that go into investments and returns like this. But the point is that Ben simply started making a dent, even if it was small, earlier than Arthur.

The same thing happens with health and fitness. The same exact thing. Those that choose to make a change now, even if it’s the smallest change, are completely different people down the road. Those that decided to go all in for a few months, and all out for another few months, are the same exact person as when they started.

Change your mindset. Don’t focus on being perfect. You won’t get there. Focus on being better. Focus on the ERs.

The ERs are the two magic letters at the end of words that make you a better person down the road. Don’t worry about being healthy today. Focus on being healthiER today than you were yesterday. Don’t worry about being the strongest today. Focus on being strongER today than you were yesterday. Don’t worry about being a super fit person today. Focus on being fittER today than you were yesterday.

You get the point. Make the mindset shift.

Let’s go through some ways you can apply this to your life right now.

MAKING THE SHIFT: REAL LIFE APPLICATIONS

There are a few different areas I like to have my clients focus on when they are moving toward any sort of goal.

The first is their performance in the gym. Most of look at our workouts as a means to an end, but that’s not the way to go about it. We need to be intentional and fully immersed in our workouts to see the results we want to see. We need to enjoy them for what they are.

In order to do this, I have my clients focus on setting at least two personal bests every time they workout. The app their program is uploaded on helps them keep track of personal bests and progress. Their job is to focus on adding more weight to the bar. My job is to change sets, reps, rest, etc., and their job is to focus on getting stronger.

You can and should do the same. Rather than focusing on a workout as a way to help you burn calories, focus on getting stronger in the workout. Remember, your workouts are not a means to an end. Challenge yourself to lift more than you did during last week’s workout. Do that week after week and you can completely change the way you look and feel.

The next thing I have my clients focus on is their activity during the day. I want them to be able to reach their goals and learn how to maintain them while maintaining a balanced lifestyle. Although burning tons of extra calories can help in some cases, I don’t want them adding more and more formal workouts to their days and weeks. That comes to be unsustainable very quick.

Rather than more and more workouts, I have them focus on increasing their steps. Adding steps in the day is a great way to make our lives more active and less sedentary.

Find out what your average step count was last week, and make a goal of increasing your average by 1k this week. Once that becomes a habit, increase it by another 1k. Before you know it, you’ll be living a more active life and that change will be far more sustainable than an extra hour of cardio each day.

Lastly, I have my clients apply this mindset shift to their nutrition. So many people want to be on a diet or meal plan, and quickly come to the realization that they can’t enjoy life at the same time. So, instead of doing that B.S., just focus on improving one thing about your nutrition. If you hardly ever eat any greens, try to get one serving of greens in per day. If you struggle eating enough protein, add an extra palm-sized serving of protein to your day. Maybe you just forget to eat and you don’t eat enough. Set an alarm on your phone reminding you to eat the snack you brought to work with you. Focus on one small thing, and make it better and better as each week goes by.

Don’t make things perfect. Make things better than they were, no matter how small.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Appreciate the long game. This is a long race, and it’s not going to end three months from now. Make changes that last.

• Make the mindset shift to stop living on one end of the spectrum. Just be a little bit better than you were last week.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Adam is a fitness professional, baseball fan, and cookie fanatic based in Fort Collins, Colorado. After hanging up the cleats, he found a strong interest in the human body and how it performs. Since then, Adam has been transforming lives through fitness in a fun and encouraging atmosphere. As an ACE CPT and Fitness Nutrition Specialist, he is constantly moved to help people improve in all walks of life.

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Download any of our guides for FREE in the “free” tab at the top of the page.

Tips to Get Your Kids to Eat More Greens

Getting your kids to eat a healthy, well-balance diet is like getting a camel to go through the head of a needle. All they want to do is eat sugar, bread, pasta, and any other form of carbohydrates they can get their hands on. Nothing is wrong with carbohydrates, but a diet rich in carbs and nothing else is a diet that can lead to suboptimal health.

I can only imagine how difficult it may be to get them consistently eating veggies. And I can imagine that it’s far easier to cave and just have them eat something, because something is better than nothing.

But don’t.

Don’t cave, don’t give in. Encouraging your kid to eat a well balanced diet isn’t only going to allow them to have a healthier childhood, but it will also impact the behaviors and habits they have as adults. This is something worth fighting for, and these tips will help you continue to fight for your kid’s health.

TIP #1: THINK LIKE A KID

As adults, we tend to forget that we used to be kids. We used to hate certain foods, especially vegetables. Heck, a lot of us still act like kids when it comes to food. I know I’m guilty of eating a massive bowl of cereal instead of a massive bowl of brussels sprouts because that sugary crunch just sounded better.

In order to get our kids to eat well, we need to think like them.

Kids have an amazing imagination. They can create their own world spontaneously as each new thought crosses their mind. They can put themselves into the eyes of a superhero, an animal, or whatever it may be.

Cater to that.

One of my favorite, mind-blowing tips to give people when they want to get their kids to eat more nutrient dense food is to cater to their role-model or favorite super hero. I don’t know one boy that doesn’t like the hulk. I also don’t know one boy that doesn’t like pancakes. But most of them hate spinach. So, blend the spinach in the pancake mix, making it green, and call them hulk pancakes. They can put syrup, agave, honey, or whatever they like on top. And they have a serving of greens that they won’t even taste.

No matter what it is, you can find a way to sneak veggies into your kids meals. The good ol’ pancake mix works real well.

TIP #2: ORDER FOODS BY IMPORTANCE

You may see this as mean, but parents that have used this tip swear by it.

There is usually an order in which kids want to eat their food. They want eat the carbs and fat first, the protein second, and if they’re absolutely ravenous the may eat the vegetables. But usually, they finish their carb and hardly make it through the protein.

So, here’s what you do. Rather than giving them the whole meal at one time, give them what they never eat but should eat first. That can be a salad or whatever other veggies you are serving for dinner. Tell them that when they are done with their veggies, they can have their protein. And when they’re done with their protein they can have their carb.

Sorry, kiddo. If you want your mashed potatoes, you need to eat your salad first. Then after you eat your salad you can have your steak. And when you’re done with your steak you can have your mashed potatoes!

They likely will revolt and refuse to eat anything at all. This is where you gotta stand strong. They know that if they threaten to go the night without food, you may cave because you love them so darn much you don’t want them to starve.

They won’t starve.

Let them end the night without food. They will be irritable, grouchy, and a royal pain in your ass, but if you stand firm they’ll realize mom and dad aren’t f****ing around, and they’ll do what you say. Because they ultimately don’t want to starve. And if they’re that hungry, they’ll eat what is in front of them.

TIP #3: ONLY HEALTHY OPTIONS IN THE HOUSE

One of the easiest ways to get your kids to eat healthier is to make eating healthy the only possible choice. That’s what we even do as adults. Heck, that’s what I do, and I’m a health and fitness coach. I live a much healthier life when I have to go way out of my way to get my hands on the unhealthy snack that I am craving.

Do the same with your kids.

If they like to snack on goldfish, have some cheese and fruit ready for them to snack on. If they want to snack on chips, air-fry some potato wedges. If they want to have milkshake, make them a super smoothie with some greens.

If they really want that snack, they’ll take the healthy alternative. If they don’t, they’ll say “eh, that doesn’t sound good.” And that’s when you say “ok” and get along with your day.

A great way to live a healthy lifestyle is to make the good choices the easy choices, and make the bad choices, the hard choices.

TIP #4: GET CREATIVE

In order to get your kids to eat more veggies, you’re going to need to get creative with your recipes. Make a list of some of their favorite meals and foods. Then, find ways you can sneak some greens in there. One of my favorites is to serve spinach pasta or black bean pasta instead of regular pasta. The texture is the same, and they won’t even notice the taste because it’s drenched in spaghetti sauce anyway.

Maybe they love lasagna, find a way to throw some veggies in there. Maybe they love fruit juice and they want to drink it by the gallon. Make a smoothie with a little fruit juice and some blended greens would do the trick.

You get the point. You’re simply going to have to go out of your way and do lots of trial and error, but it’ll be worth it.

TIP #5: TAKE ANYTHING AS A VICTORY

A lot of parents get frustrated because the expectations they have on their kids are absurd. “Johnny is so frustrating. He only eats about a handful of salad which is about one tenth the massive bowl I serve him.”

Woah, cool it, Karen. Johnny is doing fine.

When I coach my clients, make recommendations to people, or even aim to improve my health and fitness journey, I always begin by suggesting very small changes to build upon. I’ll give you an example. I neglect my stretching and mobility more than any other thing in regards to fitness. I hardly ever do it. So my goal for 2020 was to do five, 10-minute stretching and mobility sessions per week. Sounds pretty simple, right? Only 10 minutes per day. Well, I didn’t do it. And I got so frustrated with myself. In the midst of that frustration I had a realization. I thought, why in the world am I this upset when I used to do literally no stretching or mobility work before? So, I reduced the expectation. I set out to complete ONE stretching and mobility session per week, and I’ve been consistently building.

Same goes for your kid. You can’t expect your kid to want to eat like some sort of prehistoric herbivore when he/she used to vomit at the thought of vegetables.

Start small with them. If they never eat anything green, and they choose to eat two bites of your hulk pancake before pushing it away, that is a HUGE victory.

Start small with them, and build when they are consistent with the initial challenge you gave them.

TIP #6: LEAD BY EXAMPLE

This tip is the last thing parents want to hear, because it causes accountability and responsibility to be put on us. But, we must take that and lead by example.

You may not realize it, but you are your kids’ idols. They may want to watch some youtuber’s videos all day long, but they really do look up to you, and they will mimic your actions. So you must lead.

If you want your kids to eat their greens before they can eat their potatoes, you need to do the same for yourself. If you want your kids to only eat healthy snacks, you need to do the same for yourself. Being an adult does not exempt you from the responsibility of leading.

When you choose to do what your kids are asking you to do, they will see that it is done for a reason, as opposed to being something that their parents are making them do because they are kids. There is nothing worse than a kid being told that they have to do something because they’re kids and mommy and daddy don’t because they’re adults.

That’s a cop out. Don’t do that. Lead by example.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Get in your kid’s head. Make veggies cool. Make them apply to their life and interests, rather than your desire for them to be healthy.

• Does your kid really want her fries? Too bad, she can’t have them until she finishes her salad.

• Make the good choices the easy choices, and the bad choices the hard choices.

• Get creative. Think of ways you can introduce veggies into your kid’s favorite recipes

• A win is a win, no matter how small.

• Don’t ask your kid to do something you wouldn’t do. Lead by example.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Adam is a fitness professional, baseball fan, and cookie fanatic based in Fort Collins, Colorado. After hanging up the cleats, he found a strong interest in the human body and how it performs. Since then, Adam has been transforming lives through fitness in a fun and encouraging atmosphere. As an ACE CPT and Fitness Nutrition Specialist, he is constantly moved to help people improve in all walks of life.

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