If you want to see a change in your body you have to eat healthy. That's right--EAT HEALTHY!
As much as I would love to tell you that by working out you can eat whatever you want and still look and feel great, that's just not the truth. As a rule, I like to remind myself that what I do in the gym is shown in the kitchen. Let me explain this by using the following example...
There's this common misconception that doing crunches from sunrise to sunset seven days a week will give you six pack abs. I'm here to tell you that this is not the case. You will never see those muscles if they're hiding behind a layer of fat. In order to achieve the looking you're longing for you must:
a) do cardio at least 3 days a week,
and more importantly, in my opinion...
b) eat clean, healthy meals.
The basic concept of clean eating is simple: eat fresh food. Don't fill up on processed food that you buy from a fast-food establishment or convenient store. Don't eat food that is deep fried or has a bunch of butter slathered on it. Instead, eat fresh fruits and veggies, foods with clean fats (like ones from almonds and small amounts of lean meats such as fish and chicken), and low fat dairy products.
Another important part of eating clean is remembering to eat small meals throughout the day. Remember that old rule about eating three large meals a day? --Kick that habit! Eat small meals and snack every couple of hours. Spreading out your meals helps jump start and speed up your metabolism, not to mention you will feel full throughout the entire day. It is also important to get a good night's sleep. Staying up till 2 A.M. won't do you any favors in terms of midnight snacking.
Despite the idea of clean eating appearing seemingly straight forward, I realize that at first it might be a bit baffling for some people to make the transition. That's perfectly alright! There are plenty of tools out there to help you start out. Look for recipes on the internet, or go to your local library and look for books on clean eating. I also recommend purchasing a cookbook from amazon or another online source. I also urge you all to purchase the following book to start out.
This book gives you a bit of background on how the eat-clean movement started, and over 50 recipes to help you start building your healthy cookbook. Plus, the author, Tosca Reno, is a really great guide. She talks about her own struggles with being over weight and then under weight, and then finally, at the age of 42, challenging herself to make some changes and compete in her very first bodybuilding competition. For me, it's these anecdotes that make this book so valuable. Her own struggles and personal barriers make the narrative real forcing the reader to realize that she is an actual person and someone we can all relate to.
One last thing. A lot of people are intimidate by the term "eat-clean diet". The important thing to remember is that it isn't a diet it's a change in your lifestyle. I promise you will feel happier and healthier after you make the transition! :)
