It's almost SUMMER! Time to grab your Smaller-Body for summer-smaller-clothes! But where do you turn? There's a virtual sea of information on how to" lose weight fast", "flatten abs", "get your best butt ever", "eat clean". What do you read? Who do you believe? THINK and use your fitness sense.
Regardless of the focus, every solid fitness strategy and/or weight loss plan should have these -
Top 3 Things To Look For in A Fitness Plan
1. Nutrition! Nutrients, sustenance, edibles, provisions! Whatever you call it, any healthy plan must include vitamins and minerals from ALL the major food groups, NOT just one (think, the grapefruit diet) and will map out healthy proportions & food combinations. Most importantly, the food plan should be one you can live with forever.
2. The right amount of exercise. Certainly this varies from person to person, so a good plan/book or professional should give you good advice on how to modify workouts based on fitness level. Note: Newbies should not start with Crossfit or sprints. Working out too hard isn't the answer, and too soft can get you nowhere. And just to be clear, you can lose weight without exercise, but you can't get fit.
3. Realistic time-frame. If you're the kind of person who can stick to a program no matter what, then some of the 4 week or 6 week plans might work for you. But don't be too discouraged if they don't. Again, there is no one-size-fits-all for fitness and what works for one may not work for another. Generally, stay away from promises of fitness in a time-frame.
Bottom line - if you hire someone, buy a book, or look online, the advice should stay in line with good ol' healthy common sense. You know what that is... it's when something just doesn't seem to ring true, it probably isn't.
by Heather Frey
Founder of SmashFit.com, Fitness X-pert for the TV show Miami Moms on NBC Miami Nonstop, CPT, Writer, Artist, Fitness Model, National Figure Competitor
.jpg)