Beach Body in 1, 2, 3 !

As summer approaches I can name at least a few friends that have embarked on a mission to get beach body ready.  Yes it’s true that even the least superficial among us may occasionally have the thought cross our minds as we dig our old swimwear out of the back of the bottom dresser drawer.  This is especially true if we’ve gained a few pounds and have an upcoming seven-day cruise to Cancun. 

In today’s blurb, I’ll cover the top three things on which to focus to get leaner as fast as possible. 

Keep in mind that I’m not talking about a magic pill solution.  If you’re 100lbs overweight you should not believe that following the advice in this article will have you in your “skinny jeans” by summer … at least not this summer.  I’m simply covering the basics that some people seem to forget while trying to get to their ever elusive fitness goals.

Dietary Focus

There are about as many diets as there are people who use them.  I’ve never been much of a fan of diets, but I do understand the need.  One thing to remember about diets is that all of them must adhere to basic principles.  One is a mathematical rule that states calories in minus calories out determines caloric deficit.  Deficit is directly proportional to weight loss (yes I realize there are exceptions to that rule).
Diet focuses on the calories in part.

Now I should be clear that what we want in a good diet is not weight loss, but fat loss.   

That is the trick isn’t it?

Now since there are so many diets I am not going to go over them.  At this point in the year you are either on a diet or not.  If you are not and feel the need, just pick one.  There is growing evidence that successful diets are not all that different.  Recently an article popped up in the Annals of Internal Medicine that was the culmination of a two year study on low carb vs. low fat diets.  This is what people with more brains, time, and money than most of us figured out about these two popular diets.
Foster, Wyatt, Hill, Makris, Rosenbaum, Brill, Stein, Mohamed, Miller, Rader, Zemel, Wadden, Tenhave, Newcomb, and Klein (2010) stated, "Successful weight loss can be achieved with either a low-fat or low-carbohydrate diet when coupled with behavioral treatment."  And for anyone that still believes low carb diets are bad for you Foster et al. (2010) goes on to state, "A low-carbohydrate diet is associated with favorable changes in cardiovascular disease risk factors at 2 years."

What is most important is not the type of diet you choose but choosing a diet you can own without falling off.  You must also be able to finish the diet when you reach your goals without reverting to the state that motivated you to do all of this in the first place.  If you still can't figure out which one to pick, I'll make it easy.  Just stop eating any and all carbohydrates after 10AM.  That is it.  Let's move on.

Exercise

This should come as no surprise but to lose weight quickly (and keep it off) you'll need to exercise.

Right now there are some wealthy women fresh from their last lipo surgery scoffing at this statement.  Wait a couple of years and visit this thought again.
The point is that in our mathematical rule of calories in minus calories out, the deficit can be increased by increasing the calories out with exercise.  

Now here is a surprise.  Unlike our diets, the type of exercise done really does make a difference.

Specifically, resistance training (training with weights) must be included.  I can already hear multiple women saying aloud, " I don't want to be built like a muscle man or a Russian shot putter".  We know better than that now.  Today it is very common for women to lift weights and remain extremely feminine.  The chances of women becoming "manly" by lifting weights is virtually impossible (as long as you're not taking male hormones).  

Another recent study proves what we've known for years.  Jabek, Moe, Meen, Tomten, and Hostmark (2010) concluded that,"Resistance exercise in combination with a ketogenic diet may reduce body fat without significantly changing LBM, while resistance exercise on a regular diet may increase LBM in without significantly affecting fat mass."  The first part of this conclusion is significant in that if you don't lose LBM (lean body mass) while dieting, your metabolic rate will remains stable.  That means you won't fall into the "yo yo" dieting trap (if enough readers post questions on this I will elaborate).

Cardiovascular exercise is also good, but it is the resistance exercise that must be included for the long-term results.  The good news is cardio can be anything that raises your heart rate.  My advice is to find something you like and do the heck out of it.  The bad news is you really need at least a few sessions with a good trainer to do the weights.  You can go it alone, but I DO NOT recommend it.  It is simply too easy to do permanent damage if you are unfamiliar.  If you do not have experience in weight training and you go it alone there is a saying you will learn.  "Pay me now or pay me later."

Rest and Restoration

Now it seems like we have everything we need.  We have a diet (or no eating carbs after 10AM if you didn't take any other option ) and some exercise.  That's the calories in and calories out covered.  What more is there?  Who needs 3 when you can have a beach body in 2?

Not so fast.  The third part to this base is one of the most ignored.  SLEEP!

This is the one thing that some of us have the hardest time doing.  Some of us can move mountains but when it comes to sleep, we will always find a reason to skimp.  We do this at our own peril and especially when it comes to fat loss.  Your body simply cannot do what needs to be done if it doesn't get its eight.

You've heard this before and probably thought it was propaganda the likes of Reefer Madness, but this one is actually true.  Another research experiment documented in the Annals of Internal Medicine was a randomized controlled trial consisting of two groups.  One group slept 8.5 hrs per night the other only 5.5 hrs per night.  

Nedeltcheva, Kilkus, Imperial, Shoeller, and Penev (2010) concluded that, 

Sleep curtailment decreased the proportion of weight lost as fat by 55% (1.4 vs. 0.6 kg with 8.5 vs. 5.5 hours of sleep opportunity, respectively; P = 0.043) and increased the loss of fat-free body mass by 60% (1.5 vs. 2.4 kg; P = 0.002). This was accompanied by markers of enhanced neuroendocrine adaptation to caloric restriction, increased hunger, and a shift in relative substrate utilization toward oxidation of less fat.

So less sleep not only means that you'll lose less fat, you actually tend to lose significantly more lean body mass, increase the sensation of hunger, and make your body adapt in such a way that your diet becomes much less effective.  Then with less lean body mass your metabolic rate is lower at rest making it even easier for you to gain weight. 

I'll bet this sounds familiar to some dieters who have tried and failed.

In closing, we now have renewed focus on the big 3 things necessary for the quickest route to our beach bodies.  

1. Insert your diet here (or no carbs after 10AM)

2. Resistance exercise at least 2-3 times per week ( cardio can be added to this if you like)

3. Sleep eight plus hours per night ( make time for this or dump 1 & 2.  Why work for nothing and be disappointed too)

Remember that there are plenty of other things that go into health and fitness.  I will try to touch upon them in my blog and I hope that you will stop by every once in a while to read them.  Stay strong and have a great summer!