#1 : 7 – 8 hours sleep every night
Cortisol levels rise when you don’t get enough sleep. This is bad because it causes the body to store fat.
#2 : Hydrate with clean liquids
Avoid sugar filled drinks. Plain water is best. If you must, choose low-calorie soft drinks. Remember, though, that they are very low PH, and contribute to making your body too acidic, which compromises good health.
#3 : Eat Fibre
30 grams daily. Helps fill you up, and keep your arterial walls free of plaque, and intestines cleaner.
#4 : Have a consistent eating schedule
Plan your meals in advance, whenever possible, and eat around the same time each day
#5 : Protein and fat
You should eat protein at every meal. Try a high protein and fat breakfast, and keep carbs low at this meal. This is in contrast to the usual advice. Many people are getting good results with this.
#6 : Remember post – workout nutrition
Try to get some protein within 15 minutes after your workout, at least 10 grams, preferably mixed with carbs.
#7 : Stop training to feel sore
Many of us get into the habit of judging the quality of our workouts by how sore we are the next day, or whatever. This mindset will cause us to overtrain frequently. Always have ‘easy’ and ‘moderate’ days in your weekly schedule. This helps to avoid going stale, and maintain progress.
#8 : HIIT – high intensity interval training
Unless you’re training for endurance events, such as marathon, triathlon, etc., you will get better results combining short periods of high intensity, followed by low intensity active recoveries. Research shows metabolism remains elevated for a longer period, thus promoting more fat burning.
#9 : Always plan your workouts
Common sense! If you want maximum results, you must have a well thought out plan, and this includes knowing what you want to achieve in each workout. I have always written my workout sessions on a pad beforehand, then transferred the actual session into a diary, or training logbook afterward. I consider this part of my ‘accountability’. Helps keep me focussed on the objective, too.
#10 : Accountability
So important! Plan your training sessions, always record the results so you can analyze where improvements can be made. Are you doing too much? Too little? Too heavy? Too hard, too often? Are you feeling tired lately? Perhaps you aren’t getting enough sleep, but when you analyse your workouts in the logbook, it will give you strong indicators to make some adjustments. Most likely, you are either missing too many workouts, or training too hard, too often. Your training record is your most vital tool! Hold yourself accountable!
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