Keep Your Body Changing!

What is the purpose of learning how to change body composition?

To attain your fitness goals, it is vital to know how to continually lose body fat and build muscle or maintain lean muscle mass. With proper nutrition and exercise information it is possible to change your body composition every three to four weeks.

Why is it important to keep working towards new fitness goals?

As the body adapts to the level of exercise it is performing it will reach a plateau in terms of muscular increase, strength and fat loss.

Old eating habits and exercise habits may resurface if you do not experience body composition changes at a steady pace. This will result in a return to your original body composition.

The body must experience a caloric deficit to continually lose body fat.

Unless it is physically challenged and properly nourished the body will struggle to return to its original comfort zone.

How can you make continual changes in body composition?

Examine your nutrition and exercise records daily. Review your fitness goals weekly. Assess your body composition every three to four weeks.

Proper food Intake: To utilize fat stores for energy, the body requires a nutritionally rich diet that is below its caloric maintenance level.

Proper Cardiovascular: Exercise activity should be varied in terms of frequency, intensity, and duration to continually mobilize fat stores.

Proper Supplementation: An increase in activity without increasing calories creates the need for supplementation. Providing the body with above-maintenance level nutrients feeds lean muscle tissue and allows the utilization of stored calories.

Proper Resistance Training: Strength training will maintain or increase lean muscle tissue if the body is provided with the proper nutrients and calories.

What is the importance of supplementation?

Proper supplementation helps to compensate for normal dietary deficiencies and makes it possible to provide nutrients at critical absorption times. This is particularly important when attempting to lose body fat, as supplements allow you to feed your body nutrients without caloric intake.

Why do you need to supplement your diet?

American diets fall short of the Recommended Daily Allowance. A detailed study shows that not one of the 21,500 people surveyed consumed 100 percent of the RDA for each of ten nutrients.

Supplements make it possible to lose fat without losing muscle by supplying the nutrients necessary to increase or maintain lean muscle tissue. This is accomplished without adding extra calories.

Nutrients, naturally present in foods, are often destroyed or diminished by food preparations, improper storage and food processing.

Use of caffeine, alcohol or tobacco increases the need for supplementation.

If you experience poor digestion, food allergies or sensitivities, supplementation is vital.

Nutrient depleted farm lands and pesticide use increases the need for diet supplementation.

Physical or mental stress is aided by supplementation.

Supplementation can help relieve the symptoms of premenstrual syndrome.

Elderly individuals should supplement their diets to meet increased nutritional needs.

Ninety percent of all athletes use supplementation because they have greater nutrient needs due to increased energy utilization.

Supplementation provides added protection from free radical damage caused by the environment and aging.

A meal replacement drink is an economical and convenient way to provide your body with low calorie nutrients.

Why do you need supplements after reaching your fitness goals?

After reaching your goal, it is important to supplement a well-balanced diet by taking your multi-vitamin one to two times per day to maintain good health.

Why is it important to understand food labels and shopping skills?

Packaged, processed and convenience foods are preserved and flavored with sugar, fat, and sodium. When attempting to reach your fitness goals, it is important to limit your daily intake of these additives. Remember - extra sugar calories can be stored as fat. Eating excessive sugar calories and inefficient fat calories can reduce fat utilization during exercise.

Having foods available that are part of your meal plan will greatly diminish the risk of becoming hungry, overeating or skipping meals.

Keeping food on hand that is easily prepared and convenient to carry will reduce the chance that you will eat foods not included in your meal plan.

When grocery shopping and healthy cooking become a habit, you will probably not choose to eat out as often.

How do you shop and read food labels effectively?

Have the ingredients of your five most frequently eaten meals on hand at all times.

Shop with your list so that you will not forget anything.

When shopping, begin along the outside perimeter of the store, where fresh perishable foods are generally stocked. Next, go to the middle aisles for non-perishable items such as oatmeal, rice, beans, and canned fish. Finish your shopping in the frozen food section.

Plan your shopping trips so to save time and insure that frequently needed foods are always available.

What is the purpose of timing and balancing meals?

To achieve your body composition goals, it is important that you eat throughout the day and balance your nutrients.

Why is it important to eat frequently and balance carbohydrates, protein, and fat?

Eating every two to four hours will provide your body with the nutrients and energy it needs to contend with daily activities and stress. It will also prevent hunger and overeating.

The body requires energy in the form of glucose and glycogen (carbohydrate stored in muscle) at all times, or it will begin to use muscle tissue for energy.

Eating a properly balanced meal replaces glycogen stores and provides the energy necessary to repair and build lean muscle tissue.

Providing your body with high quality protein before and after exercise supplies the amino acids needed to build and repair muscle tissue.

Carbohydrates provide available energy to the brain and muscles and supply the energy necessary for muscle repair.