The First Step to Ultimate Fitness
Where do I start? How can I possibly lose all this extra weight? It’s amazing how years of a sedentary lifestyle can really sneak up on you…
So where do you begin? Is it still a low-carb, high protein diet that is the latest fad? Or how about that all-grapefruit diet?
The truth is, NONE of those fad diets really work, that’s why they’re called FADS. In theory, many of those diets can help you lose weight. Unfortunately, the weight usually only stays off until you go back to your regular diet. And the weight loss is never the right kind.
Lets take the Atkins Diet as an example. This diet is comprised of eating nothing but protein and fat.
Protein is the obvious one, we need it to build muscle. But why fat? Well in theory we have two energy sources that we consume; fat and carbs. So it makes sense that if we stop eating carbs, the body is forced to use fat as fuel, right? Wrong. Carbohydrates are our main energy source. They are also stored in other places in our body such as our muscles. Our brain needs a minimum of 60 grams of carbs per day just to function properly.
Carbs are more readily accessible to the body than fat, so they end up getting pulled from vital organs where they are needed before fat is used as energy. So what’s the result? Immediate weight loss, but of the wrong kind. You are losing muscle, not fat! Not to mention that your metabolism is grinding to a halt, forcing those fat cells to become even more stubborn.
So how do you jumpstart that metabolism? How can you turn your body into a lean, mean, fat-burning machine?
The number-one most important thing is to focus on your water intake. If you’re not drinking a minimum of 8 glasses (8 oz) per day, you’re not getting enough. Even worse, if you drink caffeinated or alcoholic beverages (which are diuretics) you are further dehydrating yourself.
So how is water vital in fat-burning?
For starters, we are made up of mostly water. One-quarter of bone tissue, three-quarters of the brain and muscle tissue, and more than 80% of the blood and lungs are composed of water. Secondly, water is vital in energy production. When we consume carbs, fats and proteins, water is needed in order to convert them into ATP (adenosine triphosphate), which can then be used as energy. ATP must be broken down by water in a process called hydrolysis (meaning ‘water broken’) in order for energy to be released. To sum it all up, dehydration equals insufficient energy production. Water is also essential in removing waste products from our bodies. When we consume toxins in certain foods (typically high-fat fast foods), they get stored in our fat cells. When those fat cells are used as energy, the toxins are released into our bodies, and require water to detoxify them. Otherwise they end up right back in our fat cells again. Other signs and symptoms of dehydration are: heartburn, joint pain, back pain, migraine headaches, hypertension, old-age diabetes, colitis, dry skin, constipation, and cholesterol buildup (King, Brad J., Fat Wars Action Planner, 2003).
Ideally, you want to consume a glass of water before breakfast, one after each meal and snack (3 meals and a snack between each meal), and one at the end of the day. That’s your minimum ‘8 glasses a day’. Also, try to get into the habit of weighing yourself before and after a workout. You should drink 1 glass for every pound of weight lost through sweat. Try sticking to these guidelines for a couple weeks and you should notice a big change in your energy, and overall daily performance.