[DAD FITNESS] The REAL Secret To Transforming Your Body

“The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.”

“If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.”

“Knowledge is power.”

Inspirational quotes are great for motivation and posting on your Facebook account, but they will do nothing for you if you don’t take action.

Along with taking action, do you want to know the real secret to transforming your body and losing weight?

It’s what everyone uses to be successful to lose weight and gain lean muscle in the shortest amount of time.

Professional athletes use it…

Competitive bodybuilders use it…

Brides to be use it…

and busy dads like us use it to get that beach body for summer.

Nope, it’s not a pill for $19.95

…It’s a deadline.

If you want to be successful with anything in life you need a deadline to keep you accountable to your goals.

Changing your body is no different.

You may be thinking, “I don’t want drastic changes in my life!”

Don’t look at this as change, look at it as improving your life and maybe even saving your life.

Why wait until January to set a resolution? Now is as good a time than ever to take things up a notch and start an all out war on the battle of the bulge.

Just think, you won’t get mistaken for Santa this year at the Christmas party and you will already be in great shape by the end of the year while everyone else spends January waiting in line for equipment at the gym.

So mark it down.

Paint it on your wall (just let your wife choose the color).

Tweet it. Tumble it. Stumble it. Digg it… Or whatever new social network just came on seen in the last 5 seconds.

Just tell your family and friends that you are committed to improving your health once and for all. Get your kids on board and show them that people still play real-life sports that don’t begin with Wii.

There are all kinds of workouts available from 4 minute, 15 minute, bodyweight workouts, home workouts and beginner to advanced gym workouts.

You can also find all the nutritional guidance you need with meal plans, recipes and cookbooks… and tons more resources online to help you be successful in your weight loss journey.

So if you haven’t marked your workouts in your planner for the week, go ahead and plan them out now.

Then, sit with your family and at least plan out your dinners for each evening, so you can eat healthy meals together.

Also try to plan out a healthy breakfast and lunch so you don’t get tempted to eat something during the day that won’t bring you closer to your fat loss goals.

I also encourage you to have a small healthy snack mid-morning and mid-afternoon. Fruit, veggies, mixed nuts, yogurt, cheese, and even a protein shake are great ideas.

So it’s really pretty simple actually….

3 simple but intense workouts a week and 3 meals a day, with 2 snacks.

Once you have a plan, all is left is to take action and execute!

You really have to make every day count if you want to see the best results in the shortest amount of time.

If you plan most of your meals and your workouts, and follow through each week that’s all there is to it.

Don’t worry about being Mr. Perfect, especially if this is a big lifestyle change for you. “Aim for success, not perfection.” (Couldn’t resist another quote!)

You want to take the stress away from living a healthy lifestyle.

Try to follow the 90% rule with your nutrition.

It gives you maximum results while allowing just enough wiggle room to enjoy the journey while focusing on the end result. To make sure you stick to the 90% rule, just take your 5 daily meals or snacks and multiply it by 7 days, which gives you 35 feedings during the week.

This allows you to stray off your planned meals 3 times during the week, without it affecting your results.

Don’t think this means 3 meals where you can stuff yourself silly. This is real life, not some late night infomercial…

But of the 3 unplanned meals, I highly recommend you have one “reward” meal each week of whatever you desire. Pizza, burgers, fries, ice cream, it doesn’t matter.

(I like to refer to it as a “reward” meal instead of a “cheat” meal, because cheating just makes you feel guilty that you are doing something wrong.)

This reward meal has two benefits, one mental and one physical.

Mentally, it makes this healthy lifestyle change feel like a sprint, not a marathon. The more practical and flexible the plan, the more likely you will stick to it over the long-term. That’s where the real results are, the long-term…

Whether, its a big dinner with your family or a night out with the guys for a beer and some wings, take advantage of this one time each week to relax and enjoy food.

Physically, eating a high calorie meal once a week when you are following a fat burning fitness plan actually keeps you losing fat week after week by convincing your body that you are not starving and to keep burning bodyfat for fuel because food is in constant supply.

Without getting all “sciency” on you, a hormone called Leptin that controls appetite, energy, and metabolic rate is the main factor is this process.

So there you have it, you can have your cake and eat it too by following a smart fitness plan that allows you to be healthy and happy while actually getting real results!