The Best Way To Get In Shape Quickly
80We've all experienced it before. You're looking at the calendar and notice am important event coming up that you are a little less than prepared for. Maybe it's a high school reunion, maybe it's a wedding, or maybe it's just an important date with a special someone. Whatever it is, an alarm goes off in your head because you've haven't been so careful with regards to your diet and exercise program lately. Now you have one week to get ready. What do you do?
If the first thought that comes to your mind is to starve yourself for a week and become more intimate with your treadmill than you'd like to admit, you may want to think again. That is not going to be a smart approach, unless of course you enjoy a good week-long, self torture adventure.
The following are the things you should be doing, not only to optimize how you feel on the big day, but also to also ensure you look your best.
Reduce Your Carbohydrate Intake
One week before your target date you are going to make a few changes to your diet in order to promote a small amount of weight loss, a decrease in bloating and a healthy complexion.
The first thing to do will be to minimize the amount of carbohydrates you are consuming. The reasoning behind this is because for every gram of carbohydrate you take in your body is going to hold onto four grams of water. This will contribute to additional weight on the scale and a potential bloating effect. Often individuals who all of a sudden adopted a very low carbohydrate diet (such as the Atkins diet) notice a significant drop in weight right off the bat. This leads them to go about promoting how great that diet is to everyone that crosses their path when in all reality, a large contributing effect to their almost instant drop in weight is simply this decrease in water retention.
What you want to do is focus on consuming the majority of your carbohydrates from vegetable sources while taking in plenty of lean protein and healthy fats. Not only will this reduce overall carbohydrate intake but will likely also slightly reduce your total calorie consumption which is the true determinant of weight loss.
Here is a sample day of what your diet should look like the week prior to your event. (based on a 130-140 pound person)
Breakfast:
6 egg white omelette made with fresh vegetables
1 tbsp peanut butter smeared over an apple or banana
Cup of coffee or tea
Glass of Water
Mid-Morning Snack
Sugar Free yogurt
2 tablespoons peanuts or other nut of choice
Glass of Water
Lunch
1 can of tuna or 3 oz. lean chicken breast
2 cups fresh romaine lettuce, sliced carrots, celery and baby tomatoes
2 tbsp olive oil based salad dressed
Glass of Water
Afternoon Snack
½ can salmon spread over 3-4 low sodium crackers
Glass of Water or Diet Cola
Dinner
6 oz grilled chicken breast
2 cups stir-fried vegetables in 1 tbsp olive oil
Glass of Water
Before Bed Snack
3-4 celery sticks with 2 tbsp peanut butter
Increase Your Cardiovascular Exercise
The next factor you should consider is increasing your cardiovascular exercise this week. Now, don't take this to mean you should begin marathon-like training sessions as that is a fantastic way to sideline yourself fast. Rather, simply add a few extra sessions this week above what you would normally do or lengthen the ones you are currently doing by 10-15 minutes. This will serve to burn a few extra calories, thus helping you to potentially see a one to two pound weight loss while also helping to stave off food cravings. Most people find that when they get a sudden urge to eat, if they head outside for a quick ten minute power walk, upon returning the craving has disappeared. So if an extra bout of cardio can keep you out of the pantry, it is well worth your time.
Don't Neglect Your Strength Training
One of the biggest mistakes individuals make when trying to drop weight quickly is to avoid strength training at all costs. They think that if anything strength training will cause their weight to go up and since that is opposite of their aim, it should be avoided. Unfortunately that is farthest from the truth. One of the best things about strength training is that it increases your metabolism for a long period after the training is done. That means you will be burning more calories while you are sitting on the couch watching your favourite reality show later in the evening. Who wouldn't want that?
Additionally, weight training will help get the blood moving through your muscles, bringing more oxygen and nutrients to the muscle fibers and helping them look more defined. To you this means a tighter stomach, less under arm jiggle and a firmer back end.
Drink An Extra Glass Of Water
More water? That's right, contrary to what you are likely thinking after reading point one about trying to reduce the amount of water your body is carrying, drinking more water will actually help this process along. The reason for this is because if you happen to eat something in your diet that is higher in sodium, that can cause you to also retain more water. I'm sure you've experienced it before, waking up the morning after a party when you've consumed your fair share of snack foods such as peanuts, chips, pickles or pizza and discovered the number on the scale has shot upwards. Likewise, you probably also noticed that within a day or two your weight returned back to normal. This is your body getting itself back to homeostasis with regards to its sodium and potassium levels. Right now, your goal is to prevent it from becoming out of balance in the first place. Drinking more water is going to accomplish this. As long as you can deal with one or two extra trips to the bathroom each day this week, pouring yourself an extra glass before each meal is a very smart thing to do.
Take Time To Relax
Believe it or not, your stress level is also going to play a role in how good your body looks come the big day. When we are stressed our bodies have a tendency to increase cortisol output. Cortisol is a hormone, produced by the adrenal gland, that signals the body to prepare to fight. When it's levels become high, you will actually notice that you have higher cravings for carbohydrates, which as you learned above, is something you want to avoid. Taking time each day this week to read a book, take a bath, do some yoga, or whatever else relaxes you will help to keep cortisol levels lower and keep both your mind and body feeling fresh.
So next time you are under pressure to get ready for a special occasion and are tempted to resort to drastic measures, you may want to rethink your plan. With a week of proper planning and implementation you can arrive at the function looking great and enjoy yourself in the process.
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Comments
Nice Hub, Keep it up!
Luv it. I'd never be hungry eating like that. Do you have any hubs on Theraband workouts?
What equipment is needed, and exercises to do? I'd appreciate it. Thanks.
Better yet is the Tabata Protocol - only takes 6-10 minutes, but will get you in the best shape of your life.
Thanks alot, I already have a fast Metabolism and such so I will keep weight and strength training!
I just wanted people to realize that you can't show off what's hidden. So if you want to build it up muscle-wise under that layer of fat then no one will really see it. Your first aim should be to get that fat off your belly. You can do ab exercises while you slim down and it'll help make them stronger for whenever you actually do have visible abs. Or, if you want, you can wait until you've slimmed down and THEN start working directly on your abs.. All up to you, but that fat has to go!
Isabella Snow says:
2 years ago
Great hub, thank you!