10 tips for a Lean Life.

1.     Get Lean by ditching soft drink for drink high quality H2O! 
        I literally have water bottles everywhere, beside my bed, in the car at work, in my hand bag, in the shower.. haha ok, well maybe not the shower but pretty much everywhere. Water is good shit. It helps us in digestion, absorption, circulation, creation of saliva, transportation of nutrients, and maintenance of body temperature. Many people have asked me ‘How much water should I drink per day?”, well i've read many articles on this. Paul Chek recommends that you have half your body weight in ounces of water per day.. but meh, just drink water nothing else, many people don't realize how many calories they are drinking. A Big M has almost 14 teaspoons of sugar in it. Try to make water your drink of choice, drink when you are thirsty, and try to make yourself drink a little more then you usually do (especially if its hot, or your are exercising a lot). Grab yourself a bottle and try to sip on it throughout the day. Or set yourself a challenge, I sometimes fill my drink bottle up before my drive to work- its my mission to finish it before I step out of the car.

Did you know 4g of sugar  is equivalent to 1 teaspoon!
2. Get lean by incorporating protein at every meal. 
        Protein is your friend when it comes to fat loss and muscle preservation.  Getting woman to eat more protein is HARD, and many of them are resistant to doing it- you mean I should swap a muffin for steak?  .. well maybe not a steak, but things like eggs,  nuts, cottage cheese and greek yoghurt make for a high protein and delicious snack. All of my meals consist of a good palm size portion of protein. If you are a bit of a whiz in the kitchen you can try experimenting by baking with protein powder. Check out this website for some cracking ideas http://www.proteinpow.com

Beating egg whites to add to greek yoghurt!

3. Get lean by knowing about the food you are eating.
         People who are lean have a really clear idea of which foods are mostly carbs, proteins and fats. You’ll usually find that they have a pretty clear understanding of what each of those components do within the body and eat them according to their environmental demands. When teaching my 9-year-old cousin about foods I explained that:
  • Protein is anything that has eyes, or comes from something that has eyes and it makes you strong. 
  • Fats are good for your brain and will help you to solve problems and remember things at school. 
  • Carbohydrates come from trees or underground and give you lots of energy so you should have them when you run around lots during the day.






4. Get lean by listen to your body and finding a solution to what it is trying to tell you. 
       Many people are not in tune with what their body is trying to tell them. If you bloat after a meal, if you get an itchy mouth, dry, eyes, brake out in a rash or have gas- that is your body trying to tell you something! Take the time to listen to what your body is trying to tell you, if you are tired after work and your head is aching, don’t force yourself to go to the gym- go and have a nap. Find a solution to what your body is trying to tell you, not a band aid. What do I mean by that? Well, if you have heartburn and you are taking antacids every night, you are putting a band aid over the problem, you are not fixing it. 


5.    Get lean by looking in the toilet.
      ...Say what now? Yep, you read that correctly. I can stress the importance of good digestion in fat loss and body composition. If your pee is fluro, you might need to drink some more water. If you are clogged up or you are flowing like a Niagara Falls, there is something going on inside you that may need some attention. Paul Chek has a little diagram called the ‘Poopie Line Up’, take a look at this article for more info. But you should be aiming to make some quality police men every day. http://holisticwellnessnetwork.com/content/poopie-police





6.     Get lean by doing weight bearing exercises. 
        This doesn't mean you have to go bench-pressing the bench press (although, that would be awesome). Lifting weights can take a number of different forms, this can be body weight exercises or using equipment like a TRX, Medicine Balls or a ViPR. If you want to start lifting weight but have no idea where to begin, I suggest a personal trainer (wink wink, I totes know a good one) or trying a Bodypump class at the gym would be a nice introduction. Lifting weights has many benefits that are not only aesthetic. Lifting helps to increase bone density, builds muscle, helps to stabilize joints, learning body awareness, becoming more coordinated and improving range of motion. Not to mention you can carry stuff without looking like a weak princess, 'Thanks mate but ill carry my own suitcase.' Lifting weights has made the difference to my body composition, if you want that 'toned' look (like i know you do) get off the treadmill & start lifting weights. Weights are your golden ticket to a bangin bod.

 
Clearly hard at work here.

7. Get lean by moving. 
          Movement is the key to longevity, this doesn’t mean you have to run a marathon everyday, but you need to stand up and move. I always suggest you find something you love, as you will be far more likely to continue to do it if you enjoy it. Walk the dog, play with your kids, kick the football. A friend of mine who is almost a qualified physiotherapist once told me “All I know from my own experience and almost everything I have ever been taught is that exercise is almost the ultimate cure all. Whether it is for CVD prevention, Diabetes, OA, injury rehab, even mental illness treatment usually recommends some sort of exercise. The body was made to move!" I could agree more.


8. Get lean by setting goals & celebrating the small things.
             I constantly have new goals and challenges. This week I will be in bed by 9.30 every night, this week I will train three times before work, this week ill drink more water. Every week I come up with something new. It keeps me motivated and allows me to celebrate the small things. I remember when I first did a bicep track in a bodypump class with 5kg on each end- I was stoked, don’t think I stopped talking about it for a week, in fact im still kinda proud of it, that class is hard.

9.    Get lean by tossing the scales & getting more sleep.
                Scales shmales, you're wasting your time. Check out my previous post.
  Sleep is crucial to fat loss. When you sleep it gives your body time to repair and recuperate. Many people underestimate the importance of sleep in their fat loss journeys, keeping your stress levels low and getting good amounts of sleep will ensure you keep your cortisol levels down and avoid storing excess fat. 


10. Get lean by preparing meals and making time to eat. 
            No, this doesn’t mean plastic containers full of chicken and broccoli. This means cooking a little extra at dinner to have for lunch the next day, it means carrying nuts in your handbag, having veggies cut up in the fridge, having fruit in the crisper, having eggs boiled and ready to eat. It means thinking about dinner before you get so hungry you could drive your car into the front of McDonalds and dive into the fries warmer. I know you are busy, but make time to eat, sit down, eat slowly, taste everything and enjoy your food.


Eggporn

I hope this has helps you to make some small changes on the way to becoming a lean machine.


Mel xx

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