The Top 3 Things to Change in Order to Get Lean

If you are already “healthy” but looking to lean out, then this post is for you.

I see many people working out hard and losing little to no weight. It is almost like they are trapped in time, only to keep repeating the same workouts with no real results. If you are already working hard to lose weight and eat relatively healthier than the average person, you shouldn’t take all year to lean out. So I wanted to share the top 3 things that you may need to change in order to get lean.

1. You aren’t eating that healthy.

If you are already eating relatively healthier than the average Joe, then you shouldn’t be eating at any fast food restaurant at any given time, nor consuming ultra processed packaged foods like cosmic brownies, snickers or Doritos . If you are still doing those things, you may be fooling yourself and should first cut those things out. But if you are honestly not eating those items, could you still be eating to much refined carbs and sugars? 

Refined carbs are hiding in all those processed food boxes and fast food, sure, but they are also hiding in whole wheat bread, pastas, homemade pizzas, pancakes and more... If you really want to lean out, you should be checking every single ingredient in any packaged, man-made food you buy and avoiding carbs and sugars at all costs. This means eliminating some of your favorite snack food items and even your morning oatmeal (unless you are going to hit a major glucose consuming workout) and shoot for package-free whole foods instead.

2. Your doing to much or to little cardio.

Are you spending an hour a day doing max heart rate cardio? Or are you sitting on your butt after a workout the rest of the day? Both these things will keep you flabby.

To much cardio raises your cortisol to a high level releasing stress hormones and creating inflammation. It can compromise your fat loss by breaking down muscle fibers, making you more soft and slowing your fat loss. And can also make you hungrier for high carb and sugar meals. While no cardio will contribute to lack of a great cardiovascular system and fat gains from lack of movement resulting in an inflamed, sore and stiff body.

So what to do? Your cardio doesn’t need to be hard and intensive each day of training. Most of the time you should just MOVE and keep your cardio light and easy throughout the day, like long walks, a light hike, or a bike-ride. If you are looking to have cardio boost fat loss, move comfortably through the day and also throw in a short, no more than 25 minutes, intensive cardio workout like a HITT workout. You can also do full out sprints every 7-10 days, going until form begins to sacrifice, which activate the human growth hormone, which is essential for health, fat loss and muscle growth! Just look at pictures of sprinters and those who do to much running and biking and you’ll see a clear difference of leanness vs skinny.

3. You are eating to little meat.

If you really want to lean out, skip on the fruits and excessive amounts of root vegetables and eat more meat! Your body is what it eats and if you want to look lean, like you have muscle, you must eat muscle. Sure veggies and fruits have their benefits too. But to much fruit is to much sugar and to many veggies leaves less room for all that protein. I am not saying skip out on your salad topped with avocado, but what I am saying is make sure you’re eating more meat and less than everything else.

Have you ever heard of the keto diet? The results on fat loss are amazing. And it comes with awesome health benefits. Am I saying go keto? No, but I am saying, if you want to get lean fast, shoot for more of that lifestyle. More meats, less sugar and carbs and you’ll be loosing fat in no time.

One last thing I want to add. Lifting heavy weights plays a huge part in leanness and fat loss. Spend time learning Olympic Weightlifting and reading about the amazing health benefits of it...and if you happen to need a coach, hit me up!