Be Fit Lifestyle

Lifestyle is the answer to your fitness goals...

What works best to help us become more fit and enjoy more active lifestyles? It is not surprising why people are so confused about what to do in our modern "information overload" society. So many people talking about miracle pills, potions, diets, and exercises.

Our modern diet and high caloric foods can be a problem without a decent understanding of nutrition and energy balance. There are so many complicated diet choices that are unsustainable. What about hormone balance, stress, boredom, stages of life, eating disorders, metabolic disorders, and the list goes on.

What happens when you stop dieting?

Energy balance is the key! You probably studied thermodynamics in high school. Without getting into the technicalities of it, this means that to create the deficit that is required to lose bodyfat, we need to consume less calories than what the body needs for a period of time that is sufficient for the weight loss goal to occur. To maintain bodyweight, the energy balance must be equal for calories in versus calories out. (This must happen at the end of a diet) To gain weight for certain sports or to recover from health issues, we need to exceed what the body requires to maitain weight for a time. Its all about calories in vs calories out right?

Right! Mostly. This is true, and yet there are a number of interesting factors that can make the creation of a caloric deficit more difficult. Some of these factors create psychological challenges. Things such as food choices, hormones that cause hunger, type II diabetes, hypothyroidism, inactivity, lack of sleep, stress, and more all become obstacles that must be faced with the willingness to create the discipline to stay on course with goals.

What are we to do with all of the information out there? How do we sort through what works and what does not? Who do we listen to?

There are people such as myself who have been in the health and fitness industry following the science of what works for decades. As a Master qualifed Strength and Conditioning / Nutrition Coach, I keep up with the latest scientific research about nutrition and exercise. I am motivated because I am busy, and I do not wish to waste my time with unsuatainable and ineffective methods. We need to be efficient.

The title of this article really is the answer. It has always been the answer, and it always will be! We find sustainable ways to change our lifestyles in a positive way so that our fitness or health goals are achieved or maintained. It will always stay the same! You can count on it.

Then what lifestyle changes do we adopt? The simplest is to begin exercising regularly. It is not as fast as dieting combined with exercise though. Most people do best with a combination of lifestyle changes. It is a bit more challenging for busy people, or those with health problems, and yet it can be done. Make lifestyle changes one at a time. What do you like and where do you begin?Start with exercise first and you are on your way. Resistance training with weights can be a great way to coax your body to keep muscle when you do start making changes to create a calorie reduction.

What activities do you like best? Make a choice for a healthier lifestyle. When the new change becomes a habit, you are ready to add another change... Enjoy a new beginning and transform your life. DM me and I can show you how I can help. 🙂

Want to feel better about yourself?

Getting started with a healthier lifestyle works... Add some healthier habits.
Food and exercise habits are a great way to start. Choose one or both and you are on your way to feeling better about yourself.

Simple enough right? Not for some people. A busy lifestyle creates challenges. Travelling frequently creates challeges. People who weigh more than they want to usually have extra challenges that need to be looked into.

What has been done that hasn't worked?

What will work?

Lifestyle changes work. Changing relationships with ourselves and how we care for our bodies helps. It is not a quick fix, and yet it works with time.

Make the committment to feel better!

We Need More Protein.

We need more protein as we age to prevent or minimize muscle loss.
We need more protein as we increase our physical activity.
We need more protein when we restrict calories as in a diet.

Where do you fit on the graphic? And what if I told you, it is a positive lifestyle change that makes it easier to control bodyweight?

As an Older Adult who likes to lift heavy weights, I target 225 grams per day, which places me at 2.4 grams per kilogram. This level is also consistent with what the scientific literature of the past three years has indicated. It is easier to control my weight if I arrange my meals to have 40-60 grams of protein each to total around 225 grams by the end of the day. Maintenance calories for me are 3300 per day, and 900 are from protein giving me 2400 left to play with. Some fat calories come along with the protein that I choose. So I then divide my calories into fats and carbs accordingly. It is a small adjustment that brings the rewards of better health and vitality.

Eat enough protein for your situation, and lift weights…even if you are youger. 😀

What type of fitness information would be most useful for you? What topics would you like to see?
Let me know by DM or ask in the comments section below.

Shortcuts to Weight Training Goals

When working out with weights, are you Lifting or Building? Are you training a movement or a muscle?

When training with weights (not simply exercising) we have more specific goals. Specific goals need more specificity in training. So why is it important to know the difference between lifting and building?

Lifting implies that we are training to get stronger and lift more. It is necessary to “train a movement” to become stronger in it. We lift with the best “technique” and repetition range to load up the bar maximally. As coordination and stability both improve with practice, we increase our ability to activate more muscle fibres. We will accumulate more muscle, but our bodies will prioritize and adapt by increasing strength if we train with the proper specificity. Training progressions (programs) in this case are designed for strength training specificity.

Building a muscle means a different focus where the emphasis is placed on creating tension on a specific muscle. This means that we “train a muscle.” The focus is on using an exercise technique and repetition range that puts emphasis on the muscle that we are training. Each exercise must be performed in a way that allows us to place the load on the muscle that we are training. Optimal technique will result in optimal muscle growth. We get stronger, and build muscle this way. Exercise progressions are designed for focusing on a muscle and building it up.

Please feel welcome to DM me or ask questions on this page. Engagement is appreciated and encouraged. What are your goals?
Follow me, Like my page, share it with friends, then DM me to let me know. You will be entered in a draw for a free consultation and a one-month training package.

What Supplements are Worth Your Money?

There are a lot of people out there who are bombarded by information showing that a supplement "may" or "should be beneficial for their goals. The premise is that by taking said supplement that you will suddenly "come alive" with energy, or "pack on slabs of muscle while losing massive amounts of bodyfat". They make promises that are based on research that is only suggestive (not actually proven) that it may work.

And then there are the ones that actually do work. Is it worth your money though? Most products are relatively expensive and only provide a minimal boost to performance that is hardly noticeable.

If you are a recreational athlete or someone with the goal of improving fitness, then you don't need much if you have a healthy diet. A healthy diet incudes all essential vitamins and minerals which means that vitamins are not required unless calories are being restricted for weight loss. Certain medications might make it necessary to supplement certain vitamins because they reduce absorption. Bottom line - unless you have a shortage of a certain nutrient, you will not even notice a performance improving effect by taking vitamins.

What supplements actualy work and can be included with a healthy diet? The following items are not costly and are proven winners.

Creatine Monohydrate works for many people and it has lots of benefits that have been scientifically proven. Your money is well spent on creatine monohydrate because it helps you perform better in the gym.

Caffeine works great one hour before a workout if you can tolerate it. You can actually purchase pure caffeine to make your own pre-workout formula or have it alone - and you need to be very precise with measurement or you can become over-stimulated.

Protein Powder is excellent. I like Whey Protein Isolate as well as Casein. Being active in the gym, I like to consume at least 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight and a protein shake makes this very easy and is a low calorie alternative. If you get enough protein with your diet and protein shakes, then BCAA's and EAA's are of no use and are a waste of money. A protein shake will include the same amino acids that are in BCAA's and EAA's.

Save your money for travelling by sticking to suppplements that are proven to work!

Fit Over Fifty

We need strength, mobility, and endurance even more as we age.

Have you ever heard the saying "Use it or lose it?" As people get older, they tend to become less active in their lifestyles. They move up into jobs that are more mentally demanding and less physically demanding while their bodies become weaker as a result.

Unused muscles become smaller and weaker, leaving us with slower metabolisms and less energy, strength and stamina. Without regular physical activity, our nervous systems begin rewiring our muscles or even pruning some connections that are not used.

This means that regular weight bearing exercise (with weights) is even more important than for younger people. Why? Because it prevents muscle loss or wasting, and makes stronger bones that are more resistant to breaking. Stronger muscles are also more stable, and that translates into reducing the hazard of a fall.

Get strong, build some muscle, and enjoy the benefits of looking better, feeling better, and moving better. It even helps you to live longer... Call or DM me for help getting started, or to get you to the next level.