This issue we're going to help you get your outline together. You can call it your blueprint to physical fitness.This outline must consist of a three-pronged approach, basically three pillars to stand on as a foundation. The first is a sound nutrition plan. The second, a good resistance (anaerobic) training regimen. Finally, the third one is a good cardio (aerobic) regimen. All three of these pillars are crucial to a successful and complete physical fitness program.
This issue of Semper Fitness we'll discuss the eating plan. Why? Because you can do all of the exercise in the world, but if you neglect your eating habits, there's a good chance that you will fail. Enough of the chitchat, let's get on with the scoop.
Nutrition, nutrition, nutrition! Everyone makes such a big deal about nutrition. What do I do? Should I follow a low fat, high carb diet or should I follow a high protein, low carb diet? What about Jenny Craig or Weight watchers?
The truth is that there are a lot of effective weight loss plans out there. Some are more effective than others. As for myself, I've always preferred a lower fat higher protein and medium carb diet. I followed this plan when I was competing in natural bodybuilding and I follow it now. Although, I'm not as strict as I once was. I believe in being able to eat what you want, just in moderation. I'm not a big fan of diets. I prefer that you just monitor what you eat, when you eat and how you eat. At some point in time I want you to graduate to that level.
If you ask my honest opinion though, I would tell most beginners to start out on a high protein low carbohydrate eating regimen. Not because it is the most nutritious, but because it is the easiest to follow.
That's the problem with some diets. They become too hard to follow and we get discouraged because we feel that we're being deprived of something. Well, because the protein diet allows you to eat things like steak, eggs, cheese, butter and fried foods, this plan is easier to adjust to. For those of you who have a hard time staying on diets or monitoring your eating habits, this may be the plan for you. However, I would advise taking a multivitamin to make up for some of the lost vitamins due to diet change. If you want to learn about this plan, take a look in the Semper Fitness archive. Remember, we're starting from the beginning so don't start some difficult diet that you're going to quit after a couple of weeks.
Now, that you have a decent plan to start with, you need to take a look at how much you eat and when. To give you some insight into how much, take a look into the Semper Fitness archive and look under Darth Metabolism. That will explain some information about the amount of calories that we should be taking in.
After you've made the decision to get fit and found a sound nutrition plan that you can follow, it's time to set yourself up with a good cardiovascular (aerobic) plan. That's what we'll be discussing in our next issue of Semper Fitness. Until then, stay pumped, stay motivated and oo-rah!
Semper Fi!
