So you have your goal, you’re fired up, and you’re ready to go. Now what? In this chapter I lay out the nine steps of the program that you will use to achieve your S.P.E.E.D. goal. Later in the book, I go into more detail about your workouts, but this chapter describes the overall techniques for customizing the plan to fit your body’s needs.
A healthy person practices healthy habits. This program focuses on changing your habits to include actions that will speed up your metabolism, detox your system, strengthen your body, and balance your blood sugar. Your good habits will create actions that will lead to your success.
Everyone has individual, short-term goals. This program is designed to provide a basic execution plan with core guidelines that are flexible for reaching your personal goals. If your goal is to lose weight, gain muscle, become a better runner, tighten up your tummy, or build bigger biceps, you can use the S.P.E.E.D. method and these rules to reach that goal. Keep in mind that you are your best advocate when you’re designing a diet and exercise regimen. Discovering your mental, emotional, and physical strengths and weaknesses is all part of this No More Excuses process. You will find out what works best for you only if you are willing to try things that may end up not working; the faster you fail, the faster you’ll find the techniques that succeed!
You deserve to have a body that you love. If you don’t yet have one that you love, then you need to believe in and take this No More Excuses journey. This is a new route, marked on a road map that’s easier to follow. You aren’t fast-climbing this weight-loss mountain so you can overheat and exhaust your engine; you are going up the mountain slowly, making gradual changes and developing strengths that will move you past each plateau.
Throughout the book, I give you strategies and suggestions for how to eat, exercise, and evaluate your progress, but those are also the basic principles of the program! There is a tried-and-true way of losing weight and of speeding up your metabolism, and these rules embody that method. While these rules might seem simple, they are game-changing life lessons when you use them properly. Let’s look at each of them in more detail.
1. EAT BREAKFAST EVERY MORNING. After a full night’s rest, your body wakes in a fasted state; you have to wake up your metabolism as well so that your body’s engine is revved up for the day’s activities. It’s important to refuel with a healthy meal, even though you may not feel hungry. Eating a solid breakfast will also mean you will not overeat during lunch.
Many people think that in order to lose weight, they have to stop eating. Wrong! If your metabolism receives food on a steady basis, then it will speed up, but if the body’s food supply is intermittent, then the metabolism will slow down, storing food as reserves. You need your body to trust that you will feed it regularly, and a great way to establish that trust is with breakfast each morning. The goal is to build a lean, mean fat-burning machine. I’m not suggesting you have a giant stack of pancakes and orange juice every morning, though. Start your day with a boost of nutrients that leave you feeling energized and poised to excel.
Hunger is a habit; if you’ve trained your body to starve each morning, you will initially struggle with incorporating a morning meal. Set a goal for yourself to eat breakfast for three consecutive days, and this new habit will become easier. By the end of this program you will have created a whole new body routine, in which you’re eating, sleeping, and pooping (yes, I just said that) at the same time each day.
2. WRITE DOWN EVERYTHING YOU EAT. Accountability will prevent you from overeating and will give you a good idea of what you’re doing right and wrong. Writing down your foods will allow you to look back and fix areas that need improvement, especially when you hit weight-loss plateaus. Make sure you document the time, portion size, and estimated number of calories. Your diet will be responsible for 80 percent of your results, so it’s important to document your food intake.
If you see that there are tempting foods you tend to overeat, get rid of them! Nobody needs them there, not even your kids—no matter how much they protest at first. Get organized, plan your grocery list, prepare your meals, and keep healthy snacks in your car, at your office, and in your purse.
3. WORK OUT THREE TO FIVE TIMES A WEEK. Exercise sometimes gets a bad rap—it can take too long, make you uncomfortable, leave you sweaty—but that thinking has got to change! Exercise is a gift you give your body and your mind; it is your fountain of youth, your life’s game changer, and your most powerful weight-loss weapon. It will not only rev up your metabolism but also increase its at-rest burn rate. Besides building muscle and protecting your bones, exercise also releases endorphins, a happy hormone that makes you feel less stressed and anxious. Devote 30 to 60 minutes a day three or four times a week (or more) at any exercise that focuses on flexibility, cardio conditioning, and strength training. You need all three components to build a balanced body.
Dedicating 30 minutes a day to moving your body takes only 2 percent of your total day. You can fit this in when you wake up in the morning, during your lunch break, while watching your kids at the park, or right after they fall asleep. Finding the time to exercise will make you more efficient at completing tasks, prioritizing your to-do list, and sacrificing unimportant activities.
4. DRINK ONLY WATER. Oftentimes we consume extra calories in the form of fancy coffee drinks, juices, smoothies, sodas, energy drinks, and sweetened teas. You can eliminate these calories and detox your digestive system simply by drinking only water. Diet sodas and beverages with artificial sugars are not allowed in this program. A Yale University study showed that consuming artificial sweeteners makes you crave sweeteners more; they also cause bloating and digestive issues, so it’s best to stay away from them and cleanse your body of toxins.
For the next three weeks, drink only water. You can also have 2 or 3 cups of black coffee or unsweetened tea per day. If you want to add flavoring, put some lemon or thinly cut fruit, mint, or cucumbers in the water. The acidity in lemons helps balance and detoxify your body. You may also indulge in one glass of wine a week, but outside of that, avoid the empty calories in alcohol, as that will slow down your weight-loss progress.
5. EAT SMALL MEALS CONTAINING PROTEIN, HEALTHY FATS, AND CARBOHYDRATES THROUGHOUT THE DAY. Consume 30 percent protein, 30 percent carbohydrates, and 30 percent fats. You can customize the last 10 percent to reflect your activity level and your short-term goals. Remember that each macronutrient serves a bodily function, so alter your intake depending on what functions your body is performing. For example, if your body requires more energy, it will need more carbohydrates; utilize the flexible 10 percent to carbo-load if you have an intense training schedule. More sedentary individuals might use that 10 percent for additional lean protein or healthy fats. If you ate well during the day and have allotted calories left over for a small splurge, enjoy a miniature chocolate bar or a small portion of your favorite snack. Splurges are allowed (more on this later).
This is not a starvation diet. It’s important to consistently fuel your body throughout the day with a balanced menu of whole, unprocessed foods. Don’t omit any of your essential macronutrients, as you need protein for muscle building, carbohydrates for energy, and fat for brain health. Eating small meals will keep your blood sugar levels stable and will minimize your chances of overeating.
Dieting is a progression. For example, you can’t expect to run a marathon without spending weeks or months training for it, and you can’t expect to overhaul your diet overnight. Like training to run a marathon, the diet starts slowly and makes small adjustments until you have established lifelong good habits. You need to build your mental discipline and physical strength to lose weight. If you weigh 200 pounds, you are eating an average of 3,500 calories daily, but starting immediately on a 1,200-calorie/day diet will doom you to failure. Your next weight-loss stop should be to eat like a 190-pound person, cutting down your total calories slowly. Start by consuming 3,000 calories a day and watch your body change. Change always begets change, and at each diet plateau you reach, you can lower your caloric intake or alter your proportion of macronutrients.
6. PLAN YOUR TREAT MEALS, WHICH YOU CAN HAVE IN MODERATION. If you follow a strict 30/30/30 diet plan, then the remaining 10 percent can be used for a light, planned splurge. A splurge is when you consume something outside of your normal diet. For example, since I am a busy working mother, moderation is my mantra. Normally my daily 10 percent (of my total daily intake) is used to eat the leftovers of my child’s meal or a square of dark chocolate. However, if I have eaten well all week, without any treats, I top off the week with a satisfying portion of chocolate cake! It’s up to you to apply the 10 percent to either daily intake or weekly intake.
Planned treat meals are different from unplanned ones because you own your action and you understand why it’s important for your overall plan. Most diets fail because they don’t leave room for change and, most of all, for balance. Being able to moderately splurge is my saving grace and will become yours also! When you treat yourself to a favorite not-so-healthy dish once in a while, it not only gives you mental satisfaction but it also surprises your body. And surprising your body improves your metabolism because it breaks the pattern of caloric deficit. A treat meal speeds up your metabolism and therefore speeds up the rate of weight loss.
However, a meal only works if you get right back on track immediately after it. There is no guilt involved, so don’t skip the next meals, overexercise to compensate, or beat yourself up for allowing that indulgence.
7. STOP EATING THREE HOURS BEFORE BEDTIME. I say stop eating before bedtime for a few reasons. First, there’s a lot of late-night snacking for many folks, especially in front of the TV. This can lead to mindless eating and taking in calories that you not only don’t need but also aren’t even enjoying consuming. If you stop eating after dinner, you’re less likely to plow through a quart of ice cream or a bag of chips while watching your favorite show. Also, you’re giving your digestive system a solid break from processing foods, the welcome overnight fast that’s broken with breakfast the next day. As your body prepares for slumber, you become less active, requiring fewer calories. If you consume a lot of calories at this point and overcompensate for your body’s caloric expenditure, those extra calories turn into stored fat.
8. MEASURE YOURSELF EVERY THREE WEEKS. A number on a scale is not the only measure of progress! That’s why I want you to perform the measurement tests I describe in Chapter 4 every three weeks. I guarantee that you will see and feel a change; maybe you’ll be able to do more push-ups or get closer to touching your toes. Rather than be fixated on just one measure of success, you will appreciate the steady progress that your whole body is making with the good work you’re doing every single day.
9. REFLECT ON YOUR PROGRAM WEEKLY. It’s important to take time each day to review and consider what you want out of this life. Dreaming of possibilities each day will keep you motivated and focused on the end result. Reflect on your past excuses. Were they that you lacked time to change your life? You didn’t have any support? You were under stress? For many people, the resounding reason they don’t fulfill their fitness goals is, in truth, that they lack motivation.
So, rather than fall victim to this, write down motivational quotes that will help you make better choices. Post them where you’ll see them regularly; for example, I have posted “Focus on Progress, Not Perfection” on my bedroom wall. I’ve put “Take Action” above my TV, and I have “Nothing Tastes Better Than Being Fit” on my refrigerator. Find quotes and role models that motivate and inspire you, and record them in your journal.
Not only does reflection help you define areas for improvement, but it also helps you document your progress and internal outlook. This journey is not just about attaining physical fitness; it’s about learning about you—what makes you motivated, weak, depressed, sad, excited, and, ultimately, successful.