Bridal Fitness: The Gameplan

From Jonny Chai, our Bridal Fitness editor:

I’ve mentioned in previous posts how important it is to have Goals, and hopefully by now you have a detailed description of what yours are. You know exactly what you’re going to be working hard for, making sacrifices for, and doing those consistently for. But is that enough?

What’s your Gameplan?

Seeing the end result is of great importance. But that doesn’t help any if you don’t know how to get there. That’s where your gameplan comes in. “The Gameplan” as I like to call it, is what you’re going to implement that will bring about the results you want to see. It is what keeps you accountable for your actions. It keeps you focused. And if you don’t have one, you’ll be wandering aimlessly, only to let that “Bride Body” you’ve been working for, evade you.

What is the Gameplan?

The thing is, most people don’t know how to implement a proper gameplan. They pick up bits and pieces from magazines, what their friends are doing, or maybe even from watching the Biggest Loser. But that’s where people usually make the first mistake. As much weight as I’ve lost in the past, and as much weight as I’ve helped my clients lose, there is one thing that stands true. There can be any number of gameplans which work. There is no single trick or exercise or anything else which will get you to where you want to be. The point of the gameplan is to implement certain changes to your daily routine, whether it be eating or exercise, which get you closer to that goal of yours.

How to create a Gameplan

There are 2 things I always give my clients when they start training with me. One of which is a training routine, the second being a Nutrition Guideline. Now most people would think the training program followed would be the key to getting in the best possible shape, but they’d be wrong. Considering the goal of most women is to lose some weight in the form of bodyfat, the main factor to be considered is Nutrition. In order to get a nice flat stomach, toned arms and legs, and lose the muffin tops and bat wings, you’ll need a combination of training and nutrition. But every time, if you work your tail off in your workouts without addressing your eating habits, you’ll never see the results you want. For this reason I’ll show you how to set up a proper nutrition Gameplan, and save the workouts for a future post.

Nutrition: How to Optimize your Results

I’m going to lay out a simple format, the same format that I provide for my clients. If you follow this program with consistency, you can count on seeing that number on the scale drop at a rate faster than you’ve seen in the past.

Now on to what you need to eat. Instead of counting Calories like many fad diets, it is best to choose certain foods, and eat “controlled portions” of those specific foods. If you do this consistently, you can expect your calories to be where they need to be without you stressing the numbers.

Basically what you will do is eat 4 times a day. So you can eat your breakfast/lunch/dinner with another small meal in between as a snack. You will have these food groups to choose from, and you can arrange your meals with the food groups of your choice.

3 food groups:

Protein = P
Carbs = C
Fats = F
(see the list below for good choices of all these groups)

Your four meals will consist of the following food groups:

P+C
P+C
P+F
P+F
Now it doesn’t matter when you eat your fats or your carbs, just as long as you eat protein with every meal, and stick to the prescribed servings of each food for the day.

Protein Foods NOTE: 1 serving is a palm sized portion. This means the size of your hand with no fingers, like the size of a deck of cards.
Chicken breast
Turkey breast
Lean ground turkey
Lean ground beef 96/4
low fat or ff cottage cheese
low fat or ff greek yogurt (plain)
Protein powder
Eggs 1 serving (1 whole egg plus 3 whites. 4 total eggs)

Carb foods NOTE: 1 serving is a (palm) sized portion.
Old fashioned oats, steel cut oats
brown rice, wild rice
sweet potato, red potato
apple, orange, plum, all berries
Quinoa

Healthy Fats (serving size)
Extra virgin olive oil (1 tblsp)
Raw almonds (20 almonds)
Raw almond butter (1 large tbls)
Flax seeds (2 tbls)
avocado (1/2)

GREEN VEGETABLES: EAT AS MUCH AS YOU WANT!

Beverages: Stick to calorie free drinks. If you drink coffee, try and do a cup with a bit of added cream. Ditch the latte

Heres what sample plan might look like:

Breakfast:
Eggs (1 whole, 3 xtra whites)
1 serving oatmeal or strawberries
coffee

Lunch:
Turkey/chicken breast, 1/2 avocado, celery sticks

Snack:
1 serving low fat cottage cheese w/ 1 serving fruit

Dinner:
1 serving Chicken breast (any sugar free seasonings)
veggies (unlimited) w/ 1tbls olive oil

Stick to this format of eating and I promise you’ll see incredible results, quite shocking actually. After you have been compliant with this plan, you can implement a “cheat meal” on the 7th day. The cheat meal is implemented for ease of mind, as well as a time you to be social with friends and family. I’ve found that cheat meals are best saved for friday or saturday nights, as it is easier for most people to stay compliant through the week days.

If you have any questions, please leave me a comment below or contact Jacin so we can include in my next post!

~Jonny