Well here we are in 2010 already (happy new year by the way) and if you are like me, you may have made a resolution to lose a little bit of fat (a little bit more than before the holiday season started in my case) and trim up.
Here is what I plan to do to get the fat down:
1. Spend more time in my fuel efficiency zone
Exercising at a very low intensity is a great way for me to burn fat. By spending time doing my training at this low intensity early in the year, my body becomes more efficient at metabolizing fat and essentially makes me a more efficient and faster (not to mention leaner) athlete in the long run. When I combine this with step 2 (see below), I become a fat burning machine and not only am I effectively burning fat when I exercise (at any intensity), I am burning a higher amount of fat when doing nothing. This is what will help me reach my goal.
You can retrain your body using a few simple techniques to become a fat burning machine.
2. Try to eat organic and less processed foods
This for me is a tricky one and is most definitely a work in progress. I have a very sweet tooth and am struggling to replace my soft drinks with water and my chocolate / sweets and fast food with less processed, less surgery foods.
Foods such as cheese, whole milk, butter, french fries, burgers, sweets, energy bars, and soft drinks are what are known as energy dense foods as they are very high in calories relative to their size or volume. This has been a typical diet of mine for the past 20 years.
Now that I am older (and wiser I hope) I am trying hard to change my nutrition habits to eat more nutrient dense foods such as fruits, vegetables, fish and lean cuts of meat. I am hoping that along with the weight loss benefits, I will see an improvement in my energy, complexion and focus.
So far the plan seems to be working, since 1 Jan when I started this, I have already lost 4mm of fat and am feeling a little more energetic. This doesn’t sound like much but it is pretty good in just 1 week. I am now at 61mm of fat and the goal is to get back down to <50mm by 21 March (half ironman). We will see how it goes.
All the best to everyone for a happy, healthy and safe 2010!
Ben