Cliff Sheats
This is the book that helped me lose the ten pounds with which I'd been struggling for the past ten years. There's nothing faddish about it, nor does it promise an unrealistic rate of weight loss. What is different about it is the idea that you actually need to increase quality (key word here) calories in order for your body's metabolism to be at its optimal rate. By upping the quality of food you eat, eating more frequently throughout the day, increasing the number of calories you eat each week (up to a point), and exercising both aerobically and with weight training, you can lose fat safely and permanently.
Although to go into great detail would take too much time and room, I'll describe some key points:
The book states that women should start at 1500 calories per day on the program and go up from there, increasing calories each week until the individual ascertains what is, for her, the best calorie level that will allow her to both lose fat and maintain or increase energy. No starvation diet here.
You should eat 5 meals each day, with each main meal (3 per day)ideally being comprised of a lean protein, one or two starchy carbohydrates, and one or two lean, fibrous vegetables, and each mini-meal or snack (2 per day) being comprised of a lean protein or low-fat dairy product and a starchy carbohydrate.
Here is a sample day:
Breakfast: egg whites and oatmeal
Mini Meal: sports nutrition bar
Lunch: chicken, egg whites, corn, tomatoes, cucumber
Mini Meal: tuna and peas
Dinner: Chicken, egg whites, green beans, tomatoes, cauliflower, cucumber, carrots
Although specific sample menus are given, I followed the principles only and did not follow the exact menus. I did not weigh and measure anything, either. I don't even know exactly how many calories I had; I just estimated and increased portion sizes a bit each week until I found my best calorie level (currently, it's 2500 per day and my weight holds steady right where I want it).
Here are some more tips from Lean Bodies:
*Do not skip any meals
*Stop eating 2-3 hours before bedtime
*Spread your meals throughout the day
*Drink 8-10 glasses of water each day - apart from coffee, tea and soft drinks
*When you eat fruit, try to stick to those that are low in sugar, such as strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, green apples, kiwi and pears.
*All vegetables should be prepared without the use of butter, margarine or sauces. Cooking oil, etc. for other foods should be kept to an absolute minimum.
*Make sure you do both aerobic and strength training exercises. Work up to 4 or 5 days per week of aerobic exercise, and 2 or 3 nonconsecutive days of strength training per week.
*To accelerate fat loss (which still should not go beyond 2 pounds per week), increase the intensity of your aerobic exercise. Another idea is to perform aerobics after strength training. The theory is that since your body draws on muscle glycogen for fuel, during a 30 to 45 minute weight training session, your body uses up a lot of glycogen and then starts drawing of fatty acids for energy during the aerobics.
This is the book that Tracie Long, from The Firm, has recommended previously, and it was based upon her suggestion that I decided to give it a try. There's nothing magical or unrealistic here. It's a series of rather simple guidelines that you can follow for a lifetime rather than just until swimsuit season or some other event occurs.
Katie O
8/10/98
