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For a short term Fat loss
 
*Increase your Cardio: preferably High intensity interval training (HIIT): look it up in the muscledog glossary)


*Lower your carbs and increase protein and healthy fats


*Eat low glycemic carbs such as oatmeal, sweat potatoes, quinoa (first thing in the morning and post workout.


*Drinks lots of water


*Lower your sodium


*Eat 6 meals per day to speed your metabolism


*Eat protein at ever meal


*Eats tons of veggies


*Measure and portion all your food


*Eat bellow maintance calories: check out muscledog’s calorie calculator located in the tool fitness box)


*Journal your food intake to make sure you are on target with your calorie range, fitday.com is a great recourse.

good info llulko for beginners lookin to lose weight.  most people who join a gym or hire a trainer are looking to lose weight.  i think they’re expecting trainers to have some secret answer to lose weight. it’s really quite simple. in layman’s terms: eat less and move more. that’s the answer.  it basically comes down to energy input vs energy output. 

Hit the sack when the sun goes down and get plenty of rest. This turns on our hormones, these help with regulating your metabolism and muscle recovery. Take advantage of sleep, you will watch your progress and energy level do amazing things.

Read this article on MuscleDog.com
 
Getting into Gear with Cortisol: When to Use It and When to Lose It
 
It explains how rest and recovery help aid in fat loss and gaining lean muscle mass.
 
http://www.muscledog.com/article/view/34/GETTING_INTO_GEAR_WITH_CORTISOL_WHEN_TO_USE_-
IT_AND_WHEN_TO_LOSE_IT#
 
I truly believe this is one key aspect of reaching your goals which many bodybuilders and fitness enthusiast fail to believe and follow. 

I have been a victim of over training and not letting my body rest.
 
I reached a plateau and my body rejected all my training and dieting efforts.  I finally realized that I was harming and stressing my body.  I backed down on training and added more healthy calories to by diet.  My body was in a starvation mode and held onto every ounce of fat, carbohydrate and protein that I consumed. 
 
NOW, I have more energy, free time, and ACTUAL results.  I let my body rest and recover. 
 
Rest & Recover = Building lean muscle mass, Fat Loss, and RESULTS!!!

rest is key for any goal, when the body sleeps it actually does the most work. thats when the muscle recover they actually grow. One should shoot for a min amount of 8 hours of sleep a night.

Slep is very key, whenever your body sleeps into goes into a state of rem which allows the brain to relax and the muscles to start to gain protein in the cells. It is a very complicated process that takes months and even years to show gains in genetic build and muscle strength, however, it does work with quite a bit of benefit. Sleep is very beneficial to training becuase of the recovery it allows your body and the effort you are able to put into the next day of training, what is why sleep is more important then almost anything besides eating enough calories. If you get these two things down pat you should be able to make gains in your training in a good amount of time and see very drastic improvements.

Those are some really good, basic, fat loss tips. THose are great for beginners who might have zero idea what the heck they are doing. Good stuff llulko

yep just a starting base..

I have also heard that taking baby steps is a good way to look at your fat loss goals, you cant every plan to little with this goal. You can however, plan to highly of yourself and get frustrated with the lack of results when looking at your overall goal. So it is good to plan little and take every goal with a brick in the road, because weightloss is very slow and menotonis process. But in the end it is something that is worth it and everyone is not only healthier but happier in the end.

 
So you would recommend focusing just on your short term goals? AKA trying to lose 1lb for the current week rather than just trying to focus on losing 50lbs over the next 8 months? Perfect! I am with you on that one. Sometimes the larger goal can seem like too much to overcome, whereasif you just break down that larger goal into a series of smaller goals they seem much more attainable.

Short term goals are great!! it helps you focus on one day at a time… its really all about planning and preparing your entire week and staying disciplined….
 
if you are consistently looking at the big picture to lose a Ton of weight it can set you up for failure.. You have to accept that there will be some says you fall off the ban wagon but make sure you pick yourself right up and try to understand what caused you to fall off your diet or training… it’s really all about preparation… YOU NEED a plan….

Good stuff but more than a plan…it should be so you get a martial arts type of view on eating instead of planning how about second nature…get to a point where you know what you should be doing and do it…without thinking habit.

Good point… but this is not going happen right away for beginners… you and i are at this point because we made it our lifestyle to eat healthy and workout… its in our nature were we don’t need to think twice.. We pretty much know what foods are healthy and not… i think we are past reading labels on general food…
 
 
However beginners should practice this first…
 

For a pure beginner - don’t you tnink eating 6 times per day will make them obsess about eating and probably make them more lilkely to overeat at each meal (not knowing what a GOOD portion size is)? Just curious. I have even given this recommendation out to people, but, I see many many beginners have problems with it for those reasons…

It is overwhelming for most people to plan that much. I agree that learning what a portion is would be a great start. Weight watchers is probably still one of the best guides to learning what a portion is. Not so much the poits thing but portion good:)

Completely agree. Also, I think one of the most important things also is to get a lifting  and/or workout partner! Some type of workout partner is absolutely critical in ensuring your adherance to the exercise program. Find a good friend or family member to go with!

True getting there is the most important thing. Being accountable.

 
Great point Mike… when i suggest beginners to eat 6 meals a day they get all confused, panicky, and lose motivation due to time restrictions and not understanding proper preparations and time management for cooking meals in bulk… I just suggest beginners to eat 3 portion size balanced meals with easy on the go healthy snacks… i don’t think that’s so hard??
 
A small portion of nuts, fruit, protein shake, on the go veggies, rice cakes ect…
 
They SHOULD have a balanced healthy breakfast lunch and dinner… how hard is it to have these 2-3 extra snacks a day??
 
I do agree with you that they first need to learn portion control, understand nutritional labels and distinguish healthy food from unhealthy processed food…
 
Great point! 
 
 

I could not agree more with you! You are very correct. EVERYONE can get in 3 solid, basic meals a day. If they say they can’t they are either making excuses or just flat out lying haha! Honestly, sometimes simple is better.

yes.. simple is better.. people dont have to get all fancy counting points, making fresh different meals everyday… just keep it simple and portable… think whole foods, balanced meals (protein, veggies, healthy fats, heathy fiber rich carbs, water, portion control, and you are good to go! 

 
HAha! Counting points. That is hilarious. That stuff is just too comical. Have you heard of the HCG diet? They say that if you take their product (which is supposed to help raise your own HCG levels) and eat only 500 calories per day you wil llose weight.
 
DUH! Why would you lose weight?
 
Because if you ate 500 calories worth of ice cream daily you would lose wieght!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1 You burn more than 500 calories per day if you just sat in a chair all day. HAha no joke. So, it doesn’t matter what you eat youi will most likely eat on your own muscle and lose weight. terrible unhealthy. Just sad that people believe in these fads and listen.
 
 

I read about that diet! Unbelieveable that someone would think 500 cals is a good idea.

Omg!!! 500 calories… HOW?? I could never.
 
That is sooo dumb… i was reading peoples magazine about celebrity fat loss tips…
 
They eat like birds and avoid lifting heavy because i quote them “they don’t want top bulk”..
With personal trainers I would think they would not this myth?
 
 
The Real fitness experts try to get the point across that lifting wont make women bulk and then you read this shit in peoples magazine… talk about mixed messages.
 
These celebrities probably just do yoga, Pilates and jog… most of them don’t have an ounce of muscle and go on detox diets at least 3 times a week.. I totally understand why beginners are so confused… they see these skinny celebrities and strive to look like them…

 
Yes! Thank you. Exactly. The celebrities ensorse some DUMMMBBB products and diets just to get a quick buck. What they don’t know is how many lives they actually effect by doing so. Because people worship the ground that they walk on they decide to give the diet or the product a shot. Just ridiculous. They are not completely to blame obviously, but, I just feel it isn’t SOLELY on the beginner. Ya know?

I share your feelings… I was on the treadmill talking to a girl i knew… She starting telling me about all the great diet tips from celebrities in her “life style” weekly magazine and offered to let me read it when she was done…
 
This is the same girl that i have tried to convince that she needs to eat more to speed her metabolism and lift heavy which won’t make her bulk…With many attempts i finally accepted that she is a stubborn typical stereotype of most women gym goers always trying to find the next best thing… I read her stupid magazine for pure entertainment and laughs. I could not believe the diet tips celebrities shared… CRAZY cleanses, fasting, low calories diets, no protein and processed CRAP!
Also, a lot of there celebrities have special meals plans delivered to them… this does NOT teach you how to eat or cook healthy… They are super expensive and un educational…
Also of these diets contain a piece of cheese cake the size of quarter, processed bars ect.  They is not a way of life! I would be STARVING! And i would HATE to follow a strict plan…
 
Dam if i am not in the mood to eat chicken at least i have the right to eat fish lol… these idiots are suckered in!

A great short term fat loss tip is to eat healthy, exercise more, and sleep more! haha. Wait, is that more than one tip? IF only we could just get most of the people to do the little things right!

Hhah yep it is that simple (accept if your goal is to have a VERY low body fat % like competitors) it gets a little tricky… but for he average Joe who wants to lose a few lbs… COME!!! Its not rocket science… don’t make it harder then it is… JUST DO IT! It takes effort… maybe we should just tell people the trick is effort! I think they already what they have to do…
 
haha i just found the magic word… effort…
 
that’s what i will tell the next person who asks me for diet tips

Haha no kidding. I could not agree more. Of course - don’t you think that is the same for every goal anyone EVER has? Haha ya know? If you want to reach a goal - it will require a lot of effort. Of course - for beginners it is about doing it the smart way and seeing results. Then, the results serve as positive reinforcement so they can be encouraged moving forward.

yep it goes with every goal.. your body adapts and you have to work so much harder to improve.. your body wants to stay in its safe zone and fight back…
 
why does our body do that?? why cant it like change!
 
why does it work so easy for beginers but not advancees..