Keys To Being Fit

I have over the past year or so been asked to assist a number of my fellow soldiers in getting fit and at the right weight. Well in doing that I have done a TON of research and, upon my findings, here is the abridged version of my Keys to Being Fit.

There are really 2 keys to weight loss: diet and cardio. We'll start with the diet.

The diet is by far the most important facet of good health. You must take in all the right nutrients or your body will not work correctly. Let's do a quick analogy: your body is a lot like a car engine. There are many different components to a car engine and each one requires a different fluid, amount of electricity, etc. If your car's engine is missing something, it won't run correctly. The same goes for your body. If you take away too much of something ( i.e. carbs, protein, etc.) you are depriving your body of what it needs to run at peak performance.

So enough with the geeky mumbo jumbo...here's the stuff you want:

Eat 3 square meals a day in addition to at least 2 snacks.
Live by the food pyramid (www.mypyramid.gov) as this is the most important part of your diet
On average you should consume between 1800-2300 calories a day
Eat a lot of protein and fiber, those two use more calories to digest (build muscle and burn fat by eating!)

Sample Diet:

-Breakfast: 1 Cup instant oatmeal with a handful of almonds, 1 tablespoon of peanut butter and a banana or ½ a can of fruit in light syrup with 2 cups of coffee.
-Snack: 2 String Cheese Sticks with a piece of fruit and a glass of milk
-Lunch: Turkey Sandwich on wheat bread with American Cheese, mustard and all the veggies you want with a side of veggies. Wash it down with unsweetened Iced Tea.
-Pre Workout: A second Turkey Sandwich with cheese and meat only (excellent pre workout snack)
-Post Workout: Chocolate Milk and a handful of almonds.
-Dinner: BBQ Pork Chops with baked sweet potatoes topped with Smart Balance and Cinnamon, canned green beans, and a whole wheat roll. Washed down with a Light Beer. (Michelob Ultra is the choice beer for dieters, FYI.)

You can always adjust this to your personal tastes and just email me if you need help with a swap question. I can normally find a healthy alternative for any food you can throw at me.

Healthy “Real Food” Recipes:
Mens Health: http://www.menshealth.com/cda/contentlist.do?site=MensHealth&channel=nutrition&category=food.for.fitness&type=recipe

Exercise:

The worst part of losing weight is the exercise. Cardio is essential to losing weight. Walking, swimming, kayaking, running, tennis, racquetball, biking, hiking, basketball, soccer, etc. etc. etc. 20 minutes per day 4 days per week minimum. When I personally was going through my biggest weight loss stage I was running 4-5 miles a day, 5-6 days a week. When I was trying to get all cut up when I first got to Cuba, I was running 6 miles daily, swimming for 30-45 minutes on top of 1 hour of weight training daily. 7 days a week.

Point Blank: You must do cardio. And remember this: you're only going to get results for what you put into it. I can give you all the direction in the world and get you started, but ultimately it falls in your lap. Don't let that be words of discouragement, but words of a challenge. Are you up for that challenge?