3 Proven Habits To Create a Lean Body For Life
It’s awesome to get to that point when you’re ready to make a change and start taking action.
Ever since my 4th child, I had let my body get out of shape. Several months ago I had gotten up to 188 which is my heaviest.
I’m happy to say as I currently write this I’m 178 and can feel and see the fat burn away. I am only 3 pounds away from my goal weight of 175.
I am fortunate because I have been training and teaching people for 27 years how to burn fat and transform their health without the use of fad diets or extreme approaches.
I ruthlessly avoid idiotic dieting and training principles in my own life as well and want to share the 3 foundational habits that have made the biggest difference in helping people like you create a lean body.
These are 3 proven habits you can rely on to get you back into great shape.
Lean Body Habit # 1 - Metabolic Strength Training 3 x a Week
I developed and use a method I call Metabolic Strength Training (MST) to help clients shred fat and stay strong.
I love this style of training for busy people because each session takes between 20 and 30 minutes to complete. You end up getting a nice dose of intensity and challenge but not too much to over stress your body and impair recovery.
The goal is not only fat loss, it’s maintain your muscle mass and even
Weight loss doesn’t automatically mean fat loss. You can lose weight and have a much of the weight come from muscle.
Muscle is the organ system of longevity. It’s what keeps you performing at your highest level as you age.
I developed and use a method I call Metabolic Strength Training (MST) to help clients shred fat and stay strong.
The Basics of MST:
Training the full body every session (upper body and lower body)
Choosing 1 leg exercise, 1 pushing exercise, 1 pulling exercise & 1 core exercise.
Perform 2 to 4 movements in a circuit.
Choose movements that you can safely load and fit you orthopedically.
3-6 reps (fast twitch dominant)
6-10 reps (combination of slow twitch and fast twitch muscle fibers)
10-15 reps (slow twitch dominant)
3 workouts per week is the sweet spot.
In fact, this is the very training system I used to get my wife back in shape after the birth of our children.
Short. Sweet. And just what she needed to PRIME her metabolism and start stimulating some muscle gains.
The result: she shed the unwanted fat and got into the best shape of her life.
Lean Body Habit # 2 - Flexible Nutrition
If there is one thing I hate with dieting culture, it’s dogma and a cult like worship of the “one size” fits all approach.
The best approach in my experience is being flexible with your nutrition and finding ways to make your food plan sustainable.
As the old cliche goes, “there are many roads to Rome.”
Nobody cares if you are gluten free, dairly free, grain free, sugar free, keto, carnivore, vegan, etc…
What matters is ADHERENCE.
Can you adhere to your nutrition plan? Yes? Awesome.
If the answer is no, find something that you can adhere to.
What also matters is NUTRITIONAL DENSITY.
If 80% of your diet comes from single ingredient foods, you are in a good place.
There will always be room for some processed food if your foundation is based on nutrient dense food.
In my coaching program I focus on the Big 2 nutrition indicators that drive fat loss.
The 2 indicators are::
Calories
Protein
Dialing in your calories will ensure the “mathematics” of fat loss are accurate. Carbs and fat intake can fluctuate from day to day but calories and protein are the targets you want to focus on
A simple way to calculate your calorie deficit:
Goal body weight x 12 (if you have an active job and move all day)
Goal body weight x 11 (if you workout and walk most days but have a sedentary job)
Goal body weight x 10 (if you don’t workout at all and have a sedentary job)
Dialing in your protein requirements will ensure you keep as much muscle mass as possible during the dieting process.
With protein you want to shoot for 1 gram of protein per pound of ideal body weight.
For example, if your goal bodyweight is 150 pounds, you would try to aim between 130 and 150 grams of protein daily.
For most people that means you will get 4 protein servings a day of roughly 30 to 50 grams of protein at each meal.
Lean Body Habit # 3 - Daily Walking
I consider walking to be the meta habit of the 21st century.
It not only helps metabolic health, it’s been shown to improve creativity and problem solving.
With all the benefits of walking, I personally love it because it gets us into nature and it’s the most sustainable form of exercise there is.
Walking is gentler on the joints as we age and won’t radically increase hunger like high intensity cardio can.
For these reasons it’s my first choice of daily movement that I recommend to all people.
The truth is we all need a plan and strategy that fits our current lifestyle and doesn’t require us to live in the gym or dedicate our entire life to fitness.
Most importantly, you gotta get off the couch and take action.
The hardest part of the journey is not the destination, it’s getting started.
And you will never regret starting the journey that gives you the body you deserve.
No more waiting. Start your journey!
I know 100% that if you are consistent with foundational habits, you will get the body you want.
Thank you for reading and enjoy the rest of your day.
Franz
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