The Healthier Way
to start losing fat, gaining muscle, and increasing strength Starts Now!
Start The Clock
Well done on taking the first step towards change that so many fail to!
Now it's time to start your life changing journey, but before we begin, I'm going to ask you to make yourself a promise. In return I'll make you several promises! The catch is that the promises I make you will only come to fruition if you keep your promise to yourself.
So, are you ready?
All I ask is that you promise yourself to follow through with this program for the next 12 weeks. If you do, I can promise that it will be life changing! Not only will it transform your physique, but it will also change your mind about much of what you've been taught by the health and fitness industry when it comes to losing weight, keeping it off, and being healthy.
Unlike many of the cookie cutter fad diets and "fast" weight loss solutions out there (I'll explain why fast is in quotations later on), our method, The Healthier Way, will help you increase your energy levels, not deplete them. It will help you feel stronger and gain muscle rather than burning muscle and leaving you feeling weak. And most importantly, it will be something you can maintain for the rest of your life!
With that, start the clock and don't forget to take a before photo to compare with your results12 weeks...aka 84 days from now!
Keyword: SIMPLE
If you read the quick start guide, you already saw the 3 simple steps below outlined. Think of this program as simply taking you by the hand and walking you through each one of those steps.
Yes, it's going to take 20 minutes out of your day to do a little extra reading, but if you can get through it, those 20 minutes will be life changing...Assuming you keep your promise.
Just because it's simple doesn't mean there isn't a time and effort investment, but if you're serious about change and about your health, then it's a small price to pay!
1. Calculate Your Calorie Goal and Start Tracking
2. Lift 3x Per Week and Increase Weight and/or Reps Each Week (Optional)
3. Optimize Your Life. More Effort on the Most Important Things. Less Effort Overall
Determine Your Goal
First, before we can know exactly what your body's requirements are, we need to determine your goal.
Most people want to lose weight and gain a little muscle. You might call it getting "tone" or "shredded," or perhaps getting a "beach body." Basically, you don't want to look like you're on steroids, but you also wouldn't mind being a little thinner and having some muscle definition. In other words, what a majority of people would like. Got it! Obviously if your goals are less than that this program will still work for you, but I'm just letting you know what's possible. Ultimately you'll get to choose all of that, but we're getting there!
Even if your desired fat loss to muscle gain ratio isn't exactly the same as someone else's, the process is still 99% the same, which is why this program will still work regardless.
In fact, the only thing that will vary slightly is your nutritional requirement.
Conveniently, the same form of exercise is most effective for fat loss, muscle building and strength gain. There's no need to get fancy or over complicate it. We'll just focus on what's been proven to work the best, and it's not cardio.
Yup, there's the first thing you've been told incorrectly all of these years. Most people think cardio is the best form of exercise for fat loss. There's nothing wrong with cardio. It has many health benefits, but when we're looking at the best tools for both losing fat as well as gaining muscle and strength, some form of resistance training (especially lifting weights) is unmatched.
However, you may have noticed in the list above that the resistance training is an optional step in this process. That's because you can still lose weight even without any form of exercise if you maintain a calorie deficit, but it will be much more restrictive on the calorie side of things, and you definitely won’t be gaining any muscle tone. Just things to keep in mind. Whatever you choose can still result in weight loss, but it will impact your answers in the next section, and you'll just want to make sure that your path aligns with your goals.
Now, with your new understanding, let's figure out your personal calorie needs in order to reach your goals!
When you're ready, Click Here to access the simple to use calorie goal tool. Keep this page open so you can go back and forth for further explanation on how to use the tool.
If you're in the right place it will look something like this Image below (it may look slightly different on mobile or if they've updated the platform).
I'm assuming since you are here, you're not sure how many calories you need in order to reach your goals, so go ahead and hit "not sure"
Next, follow the prompts and add in all of your details.
Activity level is referring to intentional exercise. Below the next paragraph on this page is a helpful breakdown.
Make sure to include the amount of exercise you plan to do on a regular basis going forward. Don't over commit though. If you know you're only going to do 3 workouts per week regularly, don't put 4-5 just because you may occasionally do that much. It's better to be on the conservative side.
Sedentary - I think you know
Lightly Active - Exercise 1-3 times per week
Moderately Active - Exercise 4-5 times per week
Very Active - Exercise daily or extremely intense exercise 4-5 days per week
Extremely Active - Extremely intense exercise 6-7 days per week
Next, hit "calculate."
Tada! You now know how many calories you need to eat each day in order to reach your goal!
Now, you may notice that there's a very large variance in the amount of carbs, fats and protein that you can afford each day. That's because from a practical standpoint, it doesn't actually matter, at least not when it comes to losing weight.
Yup, another lie you've been told! Low carb doesn't equal more fat loss. It all comes down to the average number of calories you are eating.
A calorie is simply a unit of energy. Your body needs energy to function. If you consume more energy than you expend on average over time, your body will store that energy as fat for later use. If you consume the same amount of energy as you expend on average over time, you will neither gain nor lose any fat. However, if you consume less energy than you expend on average over time (no matter what source of energy it is that you are consuming, energy is energy), then you will burn that stored fat.
All of that being said, if you were to pay attention to one of the 3 macronutrients (carbs, fat and protein), I would recommend paying attention to your protein intake.
A proper amount of protein is necessary for not only building, but also maintaining muscle and strength.
What does that mean? Well, don't get enough protein and instead of only burning that fat you're so happy to part with, you may also begin burning muscle!
Some other benefits of including a healthy amount of protein into your diet are a decreased appetite and an increased metabolism. Can't complain about that!
So how much protein should you be aiming for each day? You'll want to eat anywhere between 1g per pound of your goal body weight and .7g per pound. In other words, if your goal body weight was 170 pounds, you would want to eat between 170 - 119g per day.
Okay, back to your calorie goal. Once you hit "apply these settings" you'll be able to generate a meal plan. These aren't necessary to use, but if they are helpful, then go for it!
You can click on the little pie chart icon under "today's meal plan" to edit the macronutrient ranges. Once you hit generate again it will suggest meals within the parameters you set. You can also substitute out individual recipes or save ones that you like.
Tracking Calories
Statistics show that people tend to manage or sometimes even lose weight by simply knowing how many calories they can afford to have each day. We're going to take it a step further though.
If you're beginning to wonder what you've promised to commit to over the next 12 weeks, bear with me!
Lies number 3 through probably 57 that you've been told are in regard to calorie tracking. All calorie tracking really is when you get down to it, is a budget.
Maybe you don't need a physical budget when it comes to your finances. Maybe you just have a good handle on it, or maybe you just don't spend much, so it's never really been an issue.
Imagine however, if someone was racking up a large amount of debt and their financial advisor told them that they don't need a budget. Perhaps the individual has expressed that budgeting is difficult for them, or whenever they do try to budget it gives them anxiety.
I promise that the anxiety isn't from learning how to budget, but rather the massive amount of debt that is hanging over their head. It's easier in the short term to keep ignoring it rather than facing reality and dealing with it head on.
The task ahead seems overwhelming, and in some ways, trying to hit the lottery and having all their problems fixed at once probably feels like an easier and faster solution. Is that true though? Sure, it will take less effort, but in most instances, 5 years down the road they will be in way worse debt than when they started.
I'm here to tell you, it's all the same with losing weight and counting calories. Some people have a good handle on it or just naturally don't overeat, but if that hasn't been the story for you, then it's time to start a budget my friend, a calorie budget.
The "fast" solutions out there may result in some quick weight reduction initially, but they don't produce long term results, and a few years down the road, most people end up worse off than when they started.
If you start slowly focusing on what works today, you'll be much further along than if you continue to prolong and waste time on the "quick" "easy" "solutions."
So, forget any of the negative things you've maybe heard about counting calories, and just realize that it's the necessary next step for you to get where you want to go.
Even though it may seem overwhelming now, just realize that not only is it going to transform your life, but it's also going to be something you get better at with practice until it comes more naturally.
You may even get to the point where you no longer need to physically track your calories. Many people do get there because they get a good handle on what they can and can't afford each day, which is the entire point of a budget.
With that, hopefully you are ready for the next step! Click Here to set up a MyFitnessPal account if you don't already have one.
MFP makes tracking your calories way easier. You simply search for the food or ingredients in the meal you're about to eat, and it automatically enters all the details from the nutrition label. Additionally, it will automatically add up the calories and nutrients from each food that you enter, so you don't need to do any math.
If the calorie and macro breakdown MFP gives you matches what I had you figure out above, then you are good to go. However, I've found that while it's good for tracking your meals, MFP typically gets the calorie goal and protein goal off. If that's the case you'll need to go to "goals" within the MFP app, then find "calorie, carbs, protein and fat goals." You'll be able to manually adjust the numbers from there to match the numbers I helped you get.
*Tip - Make sure to read through the emails I will be sending your way for the next 12 weeks. I'll be sending lots of encouragement and helpful tips as well as tutorial videos giving more in depth visual explanations of the Calorie Calculator and MyFitnessPal.
Workout Program
The next most important part of the process is your workout program or exercise routine. Is it completely necessary for losing weight or keeping it off? No, but it's the single most effective thing you can do to aid in the process.
Remember, exercise alone doesn't automatically equal weight loss. You have to be in a calorie deficit, which can be done without exercise. However, without some form of exercise, it's going to be a lot tougher on the dieting side of things, and the results will come much slower.
Below is a quick example just to put things into perspective. I used all of my own stats in each example and entered that I wanted to lose 10lbs at a rate of 1.5lbs per week in both instances. The only difference is that in example one, I put that I was sedentary. In example two, I put down that I am moderately active. Notice the difference in calories that I can afford to eat each day.
In both examples I will get the results in the same amount of time, but I'll be able to eat roughly 637 more calories per day if I exercise 4 to 5 times per week! THAT IS A LOT.
With that many extra calories there are ways you can get creative with it depending on what works best for you. An example would be still eating 1,457 calories per day during the week and storing up those 637 calories per day extra giving you an additional 3,185 calories to use on the weekend!
Like a high protein diet, resistance style training will also help reduce the likelihood of burning muscle. It's even possible to gain some muscle while cutting fat, which will help speed up your metabolism, and make you appear leaner.
I won't take time here to discuss the myriads of other health benefits that come from a regular exercise routine, but hopefully you're convinced enough that it's worthwhile from the extra calories you'll be able to afford alone!
So, if you want to rethink the amount of days you're going to exercise it's certainly not too late. Just go back into the calorie tool we used and see the difference based on the different activity levels you can choose between.
Once you've mad your final decision on how much exercise you're going to do and determined your calorie goal, you're ready to start an exercise routine, but where do you start?
Well, as mentioned, there's no magic workout program. What's most important is that you start out where you are comfortable, slowly progress over time, and stay consistent.
In your course area you'll notice 2 downloadable PDF's I put together. One is simply a progressive workout template you can use to easily create your own progressive workout program. The nice part about this option is that you can select types of exercise you personally enjoy or perhaps don't hate as much. The other is my Beginner At-Home Workout program that you have access to completely for free. I'll link to each of them below as well.
Template:
Beginner At-Home Workout:
Optimization
Alright, it's time for the last piece of the puzzle...Optimization a.k.a. getting hyper focused! Optimizing your life is as much a mental exercise as it is a physical one. It's also more about eliminating things rather than adding new ones.
One of the biggest mistakes you can make if you struggle with consistency is adding a bunch of new things to your plate without removing anything else.
Our goal is to only add a couple of things that are going to make the greatest impact when it comes to reaching your goals, improving your health, and keeping the results. To break it down in the simplest way possible, your greatest focus starting out needs to be on averaging your calorie budget for the week, and consistently getting in some form of exercise that slowly progresses every week or two.
If you consistently (I didn't say perfectly) focus on doing those two things and nothing else, you WILL get results. Part of what makes doing those two things so difficult however, is that most people are trying to do too many other things that only account for less than 1% of their results. A name I like to use for them is distractions.
Once you've stayed consistent with maintaining a healthy calorie deficit long enough to reach your goals and maintained the results for at least a year, then you can begin thinking about other things like supplements, intermittent fasting, carb cycling, cutting out added sugar etc.
It's not that there's anything inherently wrong with any of those things, but until you can nail down the 2 things that account for 99% of the results you want, all of those other things are just what? Yes, they're distractions that will only keep you stuck.
You have to understand that those other things have very little impact if any at all in comparison to a consistently balanced diet that meets your body's calorie requirement, and a regular exercise routine that progresses over time.
Have I made the point clear?
So, I want to challenge you not to attempt to flip a switch and "be healthy" starting today. Instead, I want you to give yourself some grace and begin the process of being HEALTHIER. It doesn't happen all at once like we would like it to, and it's definitely not a perfect process. It is however a commitment. And as long as you make the decision to always get back on the horse and keep focusing on those two most important things, I promise, you will get there!
What things have been distracting you from focusing on what actually makes a change and produces results? How can you eliminate those things?
How can you slowly start putting most of your focus on hitting your daily calorie goal and sticking with a regular exercise routine? You're already taking the first step!
The next thing I would recommend is that while you implement those steps over the next 12 weeks that you read every email I send out. I will be giving you more valuable information and many different tips and tricks that others, just like you, have implemented and experienced success with!
I will leave you with one last piece of important advice. I'm bringing it up last so that it's the last thing that sticks with you and hopefully you take it to heart. Somehow, some way, you need to recognize and accept that this isn't a 30 day, 3 month, or even 2 year sprint towards a certain weight goal. It's a long-term, lifestyle change. And in order for it to be a long-term lifestyle for you, you're going to need to be okay with taking it slow, progressing over time, and having lots of ups and downs along the way. It takes most people 7 attempts at losing weight before they succeed. It usually takes even more to keep it off, but it's worth it! That could be discouraging to you, but that's not my goal in sharing it. Instead, I hope it will help you be patient and gracious with yourself. We often compare ourselves to others who we think are doing better than we are, but knowing the truth that MOST people struggle can be a helpful reality. The difference however, between you and most people, is that you've stumbled upon a program and system that isn't built to get you a fast result and then leave you to struggle. This program is meant to be the final program. The one that gives you the power to not only get results but also keep them!
Finally, and perhaps most importantly of all, you need to believe and adopt the understanding that reaching a number on the scale isn't what will change your mindset and ultimately your life. Rather, changing your mindset and no longer fixating on the number on the scale, but instead focusing on consistently doing the 2 first steps of this process, will both change the number on the scale and your life.
So, start the clock, but realize that the new you doesn't stop after 84 days. This is just the beginning!
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