It doesn’t have to be the new year to make a change. 

To set a goal.  Or make a resolution.  It’s always your choice to decide. 

On.  Any.  Single.  Day.

So my first post for 2012 will not be about achieving your health goals this year.  Instead I’d like to focus on some easy steps to make fat loss Simple.  Natural.  Sustainable.

One of my learnings from 2011 was that the chick who’s chases too many goals does not get to achieve any of them.  At least not to the extent she would like!

Now although I’m referring primarily to business.  It’s the same for fat loss.

Once you realize fat loss is difficult, then it becomes simple.

The actions you need to take might be difficult to do as consistently as is necessary, however they are simple.

If you’re on my email list you be familiar with the 3 principles that guide a lot of the decisions I make.

• FUEL  (everything food)
• MOVE  (everything exercise)
• LIFE (everything time) Life = Time.  Time = Life.

First up let’s apply ‘less is more’ to Fuel.  Beyond the obvious (!) as I actually recommend a lot of my clients eat MORE FUEL.  Just better quality.

Simplifying Fuel for Fat Loss.

1. Eat primarily 1 Ingredient Foods.

Veggies.  Fruit.  Eggs.  Lean Meat.  Fish.  Nuts.  Seeds.  Oats.  Beans.

2. Know your danger times/situations and have a plan ready.  Preferably 2 plans!

This will simplify your decisions and combat poor choices triggered by emotions, social situation, convenience.

3.  Aim to have the majority of your meals follow the Ritual Eating format 5-6 days a week.  For at least 4-6 weeks eat the same thing for each meal.  Yes, breakfast is different to lunch which is different to dinner…however, breakie today and breakie tomorrow vary only slightly.  Most people who eat clean food long term without feeling restricted have found what works best for them, in terms of results AND enjoyment factor and they eat a lot of similar meals.

I’m not saying eat exactly the same thing day in day out (I know a lot of Personal Trainers have put people off tuna and cottage cheese for life!).  I’m simply recommending settling on what works and giving yourself less opportunity to make a poor nutritional decision.

Less Movement, More Fat Loss?

That would be too good to be true!  I’ll come close though…

1. Work at a higher intensity for less time to get leaner faster.

In an industry where it’s possible to find the facts and studies to support and then dispute almost every theory…this one is near undisputed.  Your metabolism will stay elevated for up to 48 hours after an intense work-out such as Metabolic Resistance Training. MRT incorporates circuit style lifting and body weight exercises with little rest.  Do it!

2. The less decisions you have to make in keeping to your training plan the more easily you’ll stick to it.  For example Monday to Saturday = Move.  Sunday = Rest.  Simple. 🙂

Finally Simplifying ‘Life’ for Fat Loss.

Sounds like a bold call.   This is the area I learnt most about last year so I’ll give it a shot…

1.  Chasing the next best thing whether with fat loss, marketing, or whatever will result in you starting a lot and finishing nothing.  Frustrating.  With so many choices, my new approach is to find someONE I respect – Who Already Has The Results I’m Seeking – and model them until I have those same results.  One.  Person.  4 each area I’m looking to improve.

2.  The same applies to your fat loss goal.  One.  Goal.  Get undeniably clear on what specifically you want, why you want it, and most importantly the price you’re willing to pay to get it.  And….Do it!  Ok, maybe it’s not ‘Nike’ easy….so here’s something to implement.  Once you’re clear on That One Goal make sure that you do something every single day to bring you closer to that goal B4 you do anything else.  This one simple rule is insanely effective.

3.  The thing that without doubt is most effective at simplifying my life – the thing that makes fat loss (when I choose it) and maintenance (most of the time)…Simple.  Natural.  Sustainable.  Is my love of rules.  As long as I’m the one making them (!) I LOVE RULES.

Rules let me know what I need to do when to achieve the result I want.  I don’t need to think – “will I get away with eating this now?” and I don’t Ever waste energy feeling guilty about something I ate or some training I didn’t do.

Here’s the thing, I get that everything here is easy to do in the areas you’re Already excelling in.

The challenge is to be able to apply what’s working in the areas of your (my!) life that we’re happy with to the areas that we want to improve.  That is my personal goal this year and also my personal challenge to you.