The wedding is 30 days away and you’re frazzled. Don’t panic! You just need a good bride workout. Whether your dress is too snug or you’re looking for mega stress relief, we’ve got you covered with these 5 moves:

1. Round Up the Bridesmaids

A fitness program done with friends is more effective than taking on the challenge solo. Why? Support, accountability, exchange of ideas, exchange of woes… need I go on? Studies show that people who join a fitness group or weight loss community achieve faster, lasting success (of course, it doesn’t take research to tell us that misery loves company!). Besides, your bridesmaids want to look hot  in their gowns too! Get the girls together and tackle the dress boot camp below.

2. Get Energy and Glow

Let’s face it: you’ve got a big day ahead. Now is not the time to lose beauty—or sanity—sleep. “Most brides-to-be find themselves having some late nights, but try your best not to skimp on sleep,” Denise Schipani cautions. “You don’t want to get sick now,” she says. “Plus, well-rested gals look their best.”

Can’t sleep? Make meditation or hypnotherapy part of your wind-down ritual. And on the big day, don’t be afraid to pull a little runaway bride: sneak away for a nap between party and reception. It only takes a few minutes of well-planned shut-eye to feel revitalized!

3. Tailor Your Workout to Your Dress

Is your gown sleeveless? Backless? Gorgeously snug? Use these moves to whip your shoulders, arms and core into bodice-befitting shape. For best results, get pumped with the Fit Bottomed Girls’ Fit for a Bride Workout Playlist and work multiple muscles at once with compound movements:

• For Sleeveless and Strapless Gowns — work arms, shoulders, chest and core with a dumbbell pullover to crunch, and zero in on your lats, biceps and triceps with this overhead press.
• For Backless Gowns and Low-cut Necklines — work your chest, back and shoulders with a deadlift flys and rows, and score some leg toning with these too. Add a lifting series to boost your bust.
• For Fitted Waists — get an all-over workout (shoulders, core, arms, legs and glutes) with the dumbbell squat to overhead press and take this no frills, total core approach to nipping in your waist and defining your stomach.
• Tropical Honeymoon? Firm your glutes and erase cellulite to look flawless in your swimsuit.

4. Rev Your Metabolism

It’s crunch time, I know, but don’t resort to extreme diets. You may shed some pounds, but Bridal Guide warns that “starving yourself in that crucial time before the wedding can leave you tired and sallow-skinned, with dull hair and dark circles under your eyes.” Instead of slimming down at the expense of your health, choose the faster, more sensible route to glamour and glow: set a healthy, well-rounded nutrition plan with plenty of moves that maximize your metabolism.

5. Easy Stress Relief

• Curb caffeine. Turns out those double shots can make you double tired and stressed out! That’s because caffeine stimulates by blocking adenosine receptors, thus keeping the brain and body in constant fight-or-flight mode. Have one caffeinated drink and then switch to healthy energy sources to power through your last-minute planning.
• Pencil in a day off. “Take a time out from all things wedding,” psychologist Jennifer J. Baumgartner tells brides-to-be. “Give yourself one day to remove any talk of dresses, cakes, reception, and flowers out of your vocabulary.” She says it will freshen your mind, refocus your perspective, and prepare you to enjoy all the wonderful times to come after your wedding!
• Revive your morning routine. Try IdealShape’s tips for waking up refreshed on the big day.

Q: I hit a plateau. I initially lost 34 pounds and want to lose 10-15 more. I have been working out like crazy doing Beach Bodies Insanity Workout. I eat between 1400-1600 calories a day and I eat pretty healthy, but I stopped losing weight three weeks ago. How do I get moving again?

A: Finishing the last leg of your journey to your ideal shape can be the most difficult, but it doesn’t have to be.

As most of you know, hitting a plateau is a pretty common occurrence in the fitness community. Sometimes it’s caused by a poor exercise program and other times by a poor nutrition plan. In this case I think nutrition is the culprit.

One of the most common mistakes made by individuals trying to get to their ideal shape is being in calorie deficit for long periods of time. Your body is very efficient and wants more than anything to keep you alive. When you put your body into calorie restriction, it thinks it is starving and the hormones in your body respond by trying to maintain fat stores.

There is a specific hormone called leptin whose function is to communicate your nutrition status to your body and brain. After a period of time of dieting, leptin levels fall dramatically, telling your brain and body it needs more nutrition even though you have plenty of fat (nutrition) stored.  Your body then goes to work to decrease the number of calories it burns each day, in order to be able to hang on to as much fat as possible in case the nutrition situation gets worse. The result is decreased thyroid function and skyrocketing cortisol levels. On top of that, since muscle burns so many calories (50 calories per pound a day), your body goes to work shedding as much muscle as possible to more efficiently keep fat stores. Hence the diet-induced plateau.

So what is the solution?

Convince your body it isn’t starving and get your leptin levels up!

How do you do that?

Take at least one day a week and increase your caloric intake beyond your daily requirement. This instantly increases leptin levels and the body responds by giving in to the “calorie in, calorie out” model. The greater that deficit, the more body fat you are going to lose if you do it correctly. You don’t want to lose muscle in the process.

Keeping your hormones in balance by taking in extra calories once a week will allow your body to give up more energy (fat) to rebuild and grow lean muscle mass. Body for Life was the initial creator of this strategy and it was later improved by Joel Marion through his Cheat Your Way Thin Manual and his more aggressive program Xtreme Fat Loss Diet. The cheat day concept from a healthy eating perspective has yielded the best results with our clients. We have modified the eating program slightly for our clients.

We preach consistently at AskFitnessCoach that you must shorten the time you are in calorie restriction as much as possible. The effects of long periods of calorie restriction can be horrible on your metabolism. Anyone using calorie restriction to get to their ideal shape should have a very strong maintenance plan in place to prevent yo-yo dieting.

Disclaimer: we are affiliates of all these programs just in case you decide to buy one of them.

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Love Breakfast, Lose Weight

For many years I have been working on achieving my ideal shape and helping others create theirs. For many people the reality of achieving their ideal shape is about as believable as finding that pot of gold. Many have tried and failed repeatedly to get there.

I have lamented for years about how to get those I am helping to their ideal shape.  Over and over I have asked myself what is the key to getting people there? In the beginning I told my clients they just needed to work harder and get to the gym more often. For some that was true but for the majority they didn’t get results. See my experience with weight loss was being the fat kid in  junior high that ended up playing high school sports and losing all the weight. I spent two to three hours in the gym everyday to do that.

Ok, so in my arrogance I thought that you could out workout a bad diet.  People wanted to eat junk I just wanted to provide them a way to get to their ideal shape that would allow them to keep doing that. I quickly realized that most people’s metabolism, with the addition help of the workouts, wasn’t good enough to make up for the excess calories they were taking in.

I finally relented and decided I would get serious about teaching people about the importance of healthy eating.  I would educate them about what to eat and then help them plan the meals. A few more people got it and started losing weight and getting to their ideal shape, but still the majority were struggling.  They may have even been wildly successful with the exercise and healthy eating in the beginning only to struggle as time went along.

More questions started to surface for me. Why couldn’t these people stick to a meal plan? Why were they lying to me about what they were eating? Why were they settling for mediocrity? Don’t you just set the goal, make a plan, and go out and get it done? Why were they sabotaging themselves on the road to their ideal shape? Don’t these people care about themselves?

Then one day it clicked I was training my clients how to exercise and how to eat, but I wasn’t doing anything for their head.  What was I going to do?  I wasn’t a psychologist. I already knew more about their pasts then I wanted to and I knew that goal setting only got people so far. It was time to make that pot of gold a reality for people but how?

That is when I was introduced to hypnotherapy for child birth by one of my family members.  My wife decided she would use it to help her have our second child naturally. “Naturally” I was recruited to be her coach. I went to all of the classes and was involved with the birth. Amazingly she was able to have our second child naturally and was able to manage the pain very well.

I was convinced hypnotherapy worked.  The power of hypnotherapy is that it works on the subconscious mind.  The place were all the junk from our past is stored. Come to find out there is research out there that says addiction recovery using hypnotherapy is 93% after 6 sessions versus 38% after 600 sessions of traditional talk therapy. Here was the tool that would help my clients get in the right mindset and stay in the right mindset.  I went to work on finding a competent therapist and created a program called mastering your mind to achieve your ideal shape. Now all of my clients begin the journey to their pot of gold(ideal shape) by visualizing what it looks like and acquiring the tools to make it a reality.

The success rate has sky rocketed.

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The Mediterranean Diet is often described as a “non-diet.” It’s essentially the cuisine and eating habits practiced by residents of many countries that border the Mediterranean Sea. The combination of factors is believed to grant robust health and a slimmer figure.

The Typical Mediterranean Cuisine Includes:

• Seasoning with herbs and spices instead of salt
• More fish, less red meat
• Swapping butter and heavy sauces for small amounts of olive oil
• Lots (I mean lots) of fruits and vegetables
• Less saturated and trans fats (including hydrogenated oils)
• Choosing the low-fat version of dairy (milk, cheese, yogurt)
• Whole grain bread, pasta and rice
• Moderate red wine consumption
• A handful of unseasoned nuts a day

Benefits of the Mediterranean Diet

• Promotes heart health
• Can be effective for weight loss
• Healthy—variety and balance are key
• Humane—includes plenty of delicious foods that most of us already eat

Healthy Fats

Research has proven that effective weight loss nutrition is not simply removing fat from your diet. Rather it’s eating healthful foods, which in fact include moderate amounts of healthy fat, such as monounsaturated fats (olive oil) and polyunsaturated fats (fish, canola oil, nuts).

ABC News followed a diet study that compared the success of three diet regimens—low-carb, low-fat and Mediterranean. The surprising findings: the Mediterranean diet “beat out the low-fat diet both in terms of how much weight patients lost, as well as how many health benefits they gained as a result of the diet.”

Why Olive Oil is Good for You

Olive oil is a Mediterranean Diet mainstay. They drizzle it on whole grain pasta and salad and cook with it instead of using sauces, dressings, butter and margarine. “More than half the fat calories in a Mediterranean diet come from monounsaturated fats (mainly from olive oil),” says the American Heart Association. “Monounsaturated fat doesn’t raise blood cholesterol levels the way saturated fat does.”

In addition to reducing one’s risk of heart disease, olive oil is an antioxidant. Virgin and extra virgin are the best kind to buy.

Do You Have to Drink Wine?

Some of my friends have reservations about trying the Mediterranean Diet because of its wine component. But wine is just one of many beneficial elements of the cuisine, so if you don’t like it, skip it—you’ll still get several health rewards. In fact, the suspected benefits of red wine (antioxidant, longevity, metabolism-booster) are linked to its concentration of resveratrol, not alcohol, so you can probably get the same effects with a resveratrol supplement.

The Mediterranean Lifestyle

The dieting masses may have abandoned the French diet (remember French Women Don’t Get Fat?) for the Mediterranean craze, but the truth is they aren’t that different. The secret to both French and Mediterranean cuisines is not bread, cheese, butter or wine. It’s eating for pleasure.

Having an appreciation of healthy food—fresh ingredients, ritual preparation, armfuls of in-season produce—leads to smarter food choices. It also means you’re more likely to savor smaller portions of the sweet and fattening stuff. (I believe they call that “moderation.”)

The Mediterranean lifestyle is also characterized by less stress and more physical activity than the American lifestyle. Both good habits will do wonders for your health.

Summary of the Mediterranean Diet

The only downside I found: people in Mediterranean countries often have nothing more than a cup of coffee for breakfast, and they eat bigger lunches and late dinners. While I’m a fan of the big lunch, I need my morning meal (for energy and metabolism) and I prefer an earlier or smaller dinner so I’m ready for tomorrow’s breakfast. Thankfully, the diet is easy to merge with your own preferences, so you can still do 5-6 smaller meals a day, stay within your caloric need and keep an eye on the calories you consume from fat.

It’s great to see today’s popular “diets” focusing as much on the way we eat as what we eat. The Mediterranean Diet can teach us about mindful eating and enjoying flavor and freshness (and yes, even fat). Adding to its benefits, this nutrition plan is sustainable and tasty, which is why it has been found to have high staying power among dieters.

Start today: Pick up fruits, veggies, cheeses, whole grain bread and freshly pressed olive oil at your local farmers’ market and throw together healthy summer recipes like these: Mediterranean Orzo Salad and Spring Greek Salad.

Let your love affair with healthy food begin!

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A: Sorry to hear about the auto accident. I bet you’re ready to get moving again! I’ve got a few ideas for things you can do to help with firming up, provided they feel comfortable and there is no danger of aggravating your injuries.

(Please keep in mind that I’m not a physical therapist, so I’m not prescribing exercises for specific injuries. Rather, the following are great tips for anyone starting a new body sculpting routine – if the situation permits!)

For fool-proof body firming, you’ll want to create a solid routine, one that you enjoy so much you’ll do it at least three times a week. Your routine should combine cardio and strength training, either on the same day or alternating days. It’s important to leave at least a day between strength training sessions. Your new regimen should also incorporate the right nutrition (more on that later).

Firming Up with Cardio

Simple cardio activity like cycling and brisk walking will help improve firmness and burn fat. I love both of these because they’re simple and I can really feel them working, especially when I engage my glutes, legs and core as I go. When walking I always add arm movements, such as arm circles. To do them, just extend your arms out at your sides and pump them in mini circles forward or backward. You’ll feel the burn in your shoulders and arms pretty quick!

Tone Your Arms

For more targeted toning, do sculpting and resistance exercises. Compound movements are very efficient because they work multiple muscle groups at once. Here are some of my favorites for the arms (and more!):

• Deadlift with Fly or Row: works triceps, shoulders, core and legs. Watch a demonstration at YouTube (their bosu ball is optional).
• Dumbbell Squat to Overhead Press: works shoulders, core, arms, glutes and legs. Pictures at Women’s Health Magazine
• Dumbbell Pullover to Crunch: works shoulders, core, arms. Pictures at Women’s Health Magazine
• Overhead Press: works back, shoulders and triceps. More at FitSugar. You can also add a bicep curl to this movement.

Tone Your Legs

Sculpting exercises – high repetition, low stress – can firm your legs, hips and glutes without the resistance of your whole body. Leg lifts and bicycle maneuver are two good examples (descriptions here). If you’re able to use your body weight, some no-fail resistance exercises are squats, lunges and pliés. These will really target your legs and your glutes. Read more on firming your glutes in this post, which includes an ultra-firming walking lunge series.

Compound movements like the above are wonderful, however they often involve engaging your core (back and abs) which may exacerbate some injuries. Your physician or physical therapist can weigh in here.

Body Firming Foods

While cardio and strength training can help you shape up, you can’t get a firm figure without a fat-blasting diet. That means keeping your metabolism high and eating 5-6 small healthy, balanced meals every day, starting with breakfast! Poke around this site for a wealth of info on using nutrition to shape your body.

For extra firmness, be sure to use a protein supplement after your workouts. Whether it’s a protein shake, protein bar or other healthy source (milk, yogurt, cheese, lean meats), post-workout protein will facilitate muscle recovery and growth. Muscle facilitates fat burn, helping you create firmer arms, legs and glutes in no time.

And finally, don’t forget to measure your results so you know what’s working!

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How to Restart Your Fitness Routine After a Setback

Well, it’s been six days and I’m pleased to report that I have not sprinted into the nearest Starbucks for an afternoon double shot with a craving for my delectable energy boosters. Nor have I sleepwalked to the pantry in the middle of the night (I don’t think) to brew a second cup.

But these uncharted, under-caffeinated waters have washed up one problem…

Since Monday, I’ve scaled back from five caffeinated beverages a day to one. This means not only am I consuming less caffeine, I’m also consuming less sugar.

What’s going to wake me up now?!

I’ve spent the last few days consulting fellow bloggers and experts for energy ideas of the non-caffeinated variety. Today at 7 a.m. I set out to test the lineup. So, do these alleged energizers out-perk caffeine?

Alleged Energizer #1: The Apple

“Have an apple,” people always tell me when they catch me grumbling about my coffee deficit. OK. Is an apple really going to amp me up better than a latte? I asked Google this question, and a prompt came up to assist my search: “Does an apple have caffeine?”

Apparently others are equally confused about the apple’s mysterious power to refresh. Now, I know apples don’t have caffeine, but why does it pack energy? Maybe it’s a boost from the natural sugars, or the fact that it’s water-rich?

Result: I noticed a perk-up. But is the apple more energizing than other fruits? (Really, people just like to prescribe apples, don’t they?) I’m not a big apple fan, so my next test: to see if I can suck the same energy out of a tomato, berry, banana, melon or avocado.

Next.

Alleged Energizer #2: Nix Starchy Carbs

This midday energy idea was courtesy of Noshtopia: skip the starchy carbs—pasta, rice, potatoes, cereal, bread—at lunch. Starch, a complex carb, takes longer for the body to digest and convert to energy. Steph says: “Eating vegetarian, or veg+carb, or veg+meat, is less work for the bod and it helps you feel lighter until dinner.”

Result: Instead of my usual turkey, tomato and lettuce sandwich, I had the same ingredients in salad form minus the bread. And? I did indeed feel lighter, and it was a refreshing change. I have a quick metabolism and didn’t quite last ’til dinner, but I’d lean on this light-lunch advice again for sure.

Alleged Energizer #3: Amino Acids

The authors of Mind & Mood Foods say certain amino acids found in protein stimulate the brain. To clear your head, they suggest milk, yogurt, cheese, lean meats, legumes, and fish/shellfish (which contain tyrosine, an amino acid that skyrockets alertness).

Doesn’t this “neurostimulant” sound perfect for those afternoons when you need to make it through one last project at work or lecture at school?

Result: I picked low-fat yogurt to get my amino acid advantage. I love yogurt but never paid attention to its energy effects or nutritional value: did you know one cup of yogurt contains 12 grams of protein and 17 grams of carbohydrates?!  Flavored yogurts tend to contain loads of sugar (or artificial sugar), so I had plain with a small swirl of jam and wheat germ to cancel out the sour. Not only did it lift my energy, but it lifted my spirits: it seemed like dessert!

Alleged Energizer #4: Water

For an energy boost, the guy behind Mark’s Daily Apple (again with the apple) proposes water. “Just 3% dehydration can compromise brain function and create feelings of fatigue,” explains Mark, who adds that water-rich fruits and veggies count, too.

Result: Aha! All week I’ve been replacing daily coffees Two, Three, Four and Five with water (as you can see, I sip out of habit) and despite the afternoon lulls, I have been more awake in the evening! Now, I need to work on adding water-packed foods (fruits, veggies, soups, shakes) to my diet.

P.S. Extra energy isn’t the only reason water rocks: it can help you wash away excess fat.

Alleged Energizer #5: Energy Bars

Big workout plans? Bring out the big guns. That’s what I did for my 25-mile bike ride this morning. (What’s that? I can’t put a mug of coffee in my bottle cage?)

I knew I’d need some serious energy, so at the recommendation of an enthusiastic grocery store shelver, I tried a PowerBar Performance Energy bar. Despite a dizzying ingredient list, I was able to pick out protein, vitamins and minerals, oats and cane juice… which means ample energy to the muscles, right?

Result: 20 minutes before my ride I had cereal and a piece of whole wheat toast. I was a slug. While I know I can partly blame the uphill-against-the-wind factor, other cyclists were whizzing by. Next time I’ll eat these slow-energy-releasers (see above) at least an hour in advance.

However, when I stopped to eat my Performance bar, I got instant energy. I felt like I was riding on a cloud for nearly two hours, and topped my record. Woo hoo!

(I’m not being paid to promote ProBar, by the way, I’m just stoked on it today. I usually go for Luna, CLIF Builders or Tiger’s Milk, which don’t deliver more than a snack’s worth of energy. If you’ve got a favorite sports energy bar or drink, please share it!)

Well, if you’ve joined the One Cup of Coffee challenge with me (bless you!), give the above five a try and tell us: do they perk you up better than caffeine?

<<One Cup, Day Two: Making Goals a Reality

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A: Sandy, I’ve been thinking about that lately, too! The weather just warmed up here in Utah and I pulled out my summer shorts—only to find they don’t look so great on me right now… Despite all the naysayers, I have found a few things that work for cellulite, including exercise, and I’ll be doing them along with you!

What Causes Cellulite?

Unfortunately, you can’t get rid of cellulite by simply shedding fat. It’s not the existence of subcutaneous fat but the way it’s distributed that causes this dimpling of the skin. According to Wikipedia, 80-90% of females have cellulite. (Guys get it, too, just not as often, and they don’t seem to care all that much).

Many dermatologists insist there’s nothing you can do about cellulite: it’s in the genes, they say. Still others claim that metabolism, hormones and stress play a part.

In the end, little has been concluded scientifically about cellulite’s causes or cures. Nonetheless, there’s plenty of advice out there for banishing it—from creams (I’ve had minimal luck), to body wraps, to massaging the skin with a boar-bristled brush (not pleasant, I’ve found, even if it does work).

If you’re lucky enough to see results from these “quick fixes,” it’s surely fleeting. Which is why I’m glad you asked about exercise.

Exercise: A Cure for Cellulite?

While experts aren’t explicitly saying that exercise gets rid of cellulite, Mayo Clinic asserts that an inactive lifestyle can cause it. They also say excess fat will make cellulite more noticeable. What I draw from that?

1. Even if you can’t control how your body distributes fat under the skin, shedding excess fat helps.
2. Firmer legs and buns can make cellulite look less apparent.

So Let’s Get Moving!

High-intensity cardio like power-walking is a great start for keeping legs trim, but to add firmness, you’ll want to start doing resistance exercises, too.

Squats, lunges, pliés and stair-climbing will firm up your inner thighs, outer thighs and glutes. These movements build muscle, which means double fat burn! For extra inner thigh toning, you can also do side leg lifts (inwards and outwards) with a resistance band or body bar.

If you’d like to start with a guided workout, one of my favorites is The Firm® Hips, Thighs and Abs DVD. It’s a quick 30 minute routine with a “Firm Box” (I just use an aerobic step) that delivers great leg and glute tone. It also has the best ab workout I’ve ever done. For those who get the tummy and “love handle” cellulite, a thorough core workout can be a godsend!

In addition to exercise, here’s what many people do to help improve tone and firmness:

• Foam rolling: If massage helps to smooth out cellulite dimples, then foam rolling surely will too. Plus, it feels much better than a bristle brush massage! Read more about foam rolling and watch a demonstration here.
• Protein: It facilitates muscle tone and development, so have a shake, bar or other protein source after every strength training workout. Get tips for maximizing protein’s benefits here.
• Supplements: Natural substances like green tea and resveratrol help the body metabolize fat more efficiently, and can be taken in supplement form. I’ve used both with very noticeable results.
• Water: Staying hydrated will preserve the skin’s elasticity, making it less likely to dimple and dent around fatty spots. So drink up!

(Many of the products I’ve mentioned, like the foam roller, exercise bands and metabolism-boosting supplements, can be found at IdealShape.)

While exercise can help reduce the appearance of cellulite (not to mention improve your health, strength and figure), remember this: The women who are considered to have the most beautiful bodies in the world have cellulite. This was revealed in an article about the dozens of layers of makeup applied to Victoria’s Secret models’ buns for a runway show. If 90% of us ladies—including the world’s top models—have cellulite and stretch marks, they can’t be that bad, right?

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Believe it or not, skipping breakfast could be the number one saboteur of your weight loss program.

Not Hungry? Eat Anyway.

Only 44 percent of Americans eat breakfast, Joe Kita reported in last month’s Reader’s Digest. (And, of those 44% of breakfasters, how many get it at “Mickey D’s”?)

A lot of people skip breakfast and maybe even lunch because they don’t get hungry in the A.M. Then, for that big end-of-day dinner (bad time to chow down, by the way), they devour two plates of food because “they haven’t eaten anything all day.”

It’s a vicious cycle: eat late at night and you won’t be hungry in the morning. Skip breakfast and your metabolism will slow down. Not hungry at lunchtime… and you’ll eat a big dinner.

While it’s important to listen to your body’s hunger cues—and not eat when you don’t feel hungry—you can reprogram your body to be hungry at optimum times. If you eat smaller meals more frequently, you’ll speed up your metabolism. So break the cycle by gradually eating a little more for breakfast each day. Or gradually eat a little less for dinner:

“If you eat less at night, you’ll wake up hungrier and eat a bigger breakfast,” Kita offers. “As a general fat-fighting rule, try to get the bulk of your daily calories at breakfast and lunch.”

My details:

Gender: M

Age: 23

Height: 5’11″

Weight: 200 lbs.

I started working out a few days back, burning 500 calories every day. My daily intake is around 1,500 calories. I’m doing weights also. – Raj

A: Unfortunately, the midsection is where most guys tend to put on the pounds. But there are lots of ways to send that fat packing!

Here are some of our favorite middle-fat-blasters:

Skip the Steady State Cardio – When it comes to trimming your midsection, high-intensity interval training (HIIT) is a better use of your gym time. So bypass the stationary machines and triple your fat burn with routines like metabolic circuits.

Add Green Tea to Your Diet – The evidence supporting green tea’s fat-blasting properties is irrefutable. The only question is, should you sip a cup or take green tea extract?

Work That Core – Find out how to blast stomach fat and put a six-pack in its place!

Eat More Protein – Protein shakes are an efficient, easy way to get your protein, which boosts fat loss by helping you build lean muscle mass. Be sure to have a protein shake within 60 minutes of your resistance training workout for maximum muscle recovery.

Suppress Your Sweet Tooth – We all know sugar makes us gain weight, but the reasons may surprise you!

Double Up with Compound Exercises – We’re glad to hear you’re doing strength training on top of your cardio. Lifting weights is a good way to tone your chest, abs and back—not just your arms and shoulders. But in order to make the most of your lifting, you need to focus on getting full-body results.

A Note About Your Diet

Are you eating enough of the right foods? Nutrition is key to losing weight and staying healthy, and it’s about more than caloric intake. To begin with, try to cover all your bases: the government offers helpful dietary guidelines, and they’ll also tell you how much of each food group to eat based on your age, sex, height and activity level.

Next, calculate your caloric need. Remember, you only need to consume 300-500 less than your caloric need in order to lose excess fat. As a tall, young male, you probably need more than 1,500 calories a day, especially if you’re burning 500 of them! Eat too few calories and you’re just as likely to gain/keep weight because you’ll send your body into starvation mode. Your metabolism will slow down and your body will hoard fat.

What you want to do is keep your metabolism high. To do that, meet your caloric need, stay active throughout the day on top of exercise, and eat 5-6 small, healthy meals. One of those meals can be a nutritious protein shake. And whatever you do, don’t skip breakfast!

Sticking to Your New Fitness Routine

Since it sounds like you’ve just kicked your exercise regimen up a notch, we thought we’d give mindset a mention. Frame of mind is often overlooked in fitness, and yet it’s the most important aspect: staying on track is the only way to achieve and keep your results. Once you’ve geared your mind for weight loss, you’re ready to apply these tips from other experts about starting a new regimen and staying on track.

Good luck, and keep us posted on your progress! We want to hear what works for you and what doesn’t.

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Q: OK so I have been running 4-6 miles on the stair-master, cross-trainer or treadmill 4-5 times a week. And taking one hour classes (weight training, cycling,  kickboxing, or machines) about 4 times a week. I eat my normal diet, that hasn’t changed much, but I am a vegetarian and it is semi healthy…  with a little oil, sufficient carbs and lots of greens.

I have been doing this for the last 5 months. Initially, I lost some weight, but lately the scale says that I gained weight. I assume that could be muscle, however, my inches are no longer going down, nor does it seem like my body is losing anything anywhere anymore…

I just finished medical school (I know, I should be able to answer my own question then =) ). So my life outside of the gym consists of stress and sitting in front of the books for 14 hours studying for the boards… Obviously I was initially doing something right so my diet cannot be the sole reason. So what am I doing wrong and what should I do differently? – Megha

A: Kudos for finding the time to work out so diligently and for being determined in your goals. Don’t get discouraged! There are many factors involved in fitness. That means we’re required to try lots of things as we get to know our bodies and discover what will create optimal results for us.

Weight loss plateaus are common, too: the body is so smart that it adapts quickly in order to conserve energy. But to lose excess fat, we want it to burn energy. The key is to keep the body off balance. So while you may not be doing anything wrong, it’s probably time to switch up your routine.

Let’s first look at what you’re eating, and then we’ll point you to some great resources on this site for maximizing fitness results.

WHAT TO EAT (AND WHAT NOT TO!)

Essentially, you should be eating plentiful fruits and vegetables, calcium-rich low-fat dairy, whole grains, and—in your case, as a vegetarian—ample non-meat sources of protein. Make sure to incorporate a variety of foods in your diet. Here are some basic guidelines for the three major dietary nutrients:

Protein

Protein is fundamental for keeping—and building—lean muscle mass. It will increase your metabolism as well as make your workouts more effective, so you’ll burn more fat. (By the way, you are right to ask whether your increased weight could be muscle gain. Don’t put too much emphasis on what the scale says.) While trying to gain muscle, you should eat more than the average RDI. Whey protein and soy protein (which can be found in powder form) are great sources of protein, as are nuts and eggs. You can also time your protein and carb intake to maximize workout results.

Carbohydrates

By reducing your carbohydrate intake, your body will turn to fat for fuel and start burning it up. But don’t cut carbs completely; it’s still needed for extra energy, and you don’t want your body to go after your muscle instead. So, on the days that you do high-intensity workouts, include more carbohydrates in your diet. On your steady state cardio days, have a low carb intake. And on your days off—those all-important recovery days—skip carbs completely.

Many of your non-meat (plant) protein sources also have extra carbohydrate content (lentils, beans), which is something to be aware of. Still, these are a better source of carbs than starchy carbohydrates without any protein, such as pasta, bread and rice.

Fats

Believe it or not, you won’t want to cut fat completely out of your diet. It, too, supplies your body with needed energy. You will of course want to stick to the healthy, fat-containing foods: low-fat milk products, legumes, and oils (canola, corn, soy bean and olive). Some good sources of unsaturated fat: avocados, nuts (almonds, hazelnuts, pecans) and seeds (flax, sesame, pumpkin).

Weight Loss Villains

Avoid these ingredients in your diet:

• Sodium
• Caloric sweeteners (added sugar and artificial sweeteners)
• Saturated fat (whole milk, cheese, ice cream)
• Trans fat (cookies, crackers, chips and other commercial baked goods)

WHEN TO EAT

This is almost as important as what you eat! We recommend eating 5-6 small nutritious meals throughout the day, as opposed to 2-3 large meals. This will do three things:

1. Speed up your metabolism
2. Supply your body with ample energy throughout the day
3. Keep you from overeating. Many people only have one big meal, often at the end of the day. Starving, they overeat, and then plop down on the couch or head for bed. This is a recipe for sluggish metabolism and fat gain!

HOW MUCH TO EAT

In order to lose excess body fat, you also need to lower your caloric intake (while still meeting your body’s nutrient needs). Find a calculator that can tell you what your caloric needs are, and then subtract 300-500. Your body will turn to fat stores for energy, allowing you to burn up that excess fat throughout your body.

Remember that it’s going to be about more than eating, say, 1700 calories, if this is your target. It’s even more important to focus on eating a lower-carb diet than on lowering your caloric intake. After all, more calories in a healthier diet will always be better for you than having fewer calories, but less healthy foods. The most effective approach to losing weight would be a low calorie, low carb diet.

WHAT ARE YOU DRINKING?

Poring over the books for extended periods of time can cause lead us to caffeinated beverages and not enough water. If you’re propping your eyelids open with soda, red bull, and vanilla lattes, don’t! Caffeine is fine in moderation, and can even give your metabolism a little boost while suppressing your appetite (that’s why many weight loss supplements include a small amount). But skip the sugar, creamer and flavoring. And after your first cup or two, switch to green tea, which has caffeine plus incredible weight loss and health benefits. Or, have an apple or a protein shake for energy. And we’ll say it again: drink more water!

ARE YOU SUPPLEMENTING?

Taking a supplement is important for everyone, but critical for those trying to lose weight. Dietary supplements are an easy way to give your body the vitamins, minerals and other nutrients it needs that you can’t get from food alone. Go for a multivitamin for overall health. A metabolism booster like Green Tea Extract is good, too. Weight loss support supplements like ResveraShape can be a boon when you’re trying to lose excess fat. The right ones will combine essential nutrients with metabolism-boosting (green tea, kelp, grapefruit extract) and appetite-suppressing ingredients (resveratrol, caffeine).

KEEP A HEALTH LOG

We bet we don’t need to tell a medical school graduate this, but just in case: it’s really important to keep a daily exercise and nutrition log. Not only will this give you a clear picture of your habits and patterns, so you can see what works and what doesn’t; but it will also keep your goals in focus. Without a visible record, it’s easy to miscount how many “just this once” indulgences we give in to!

Keep a note, too, of your weight and measurements. Don’t compare them from day to day, or you won’t notice much difference, and you may get discouraged. Compare every other week, or at the end of the month, however, and you’ll see the difference.

Getting others involved in your journal is even more effective, and fun, too. Don’t believe us? Just ask weight loss bloggers Cara and Ryan, who have tracked their way to incredible results.

MASTERING THE MIND

Finally, don’t discount the role your mental state plays in weight loss. Are you getting enough sleep? Not only is adequate rest necessary for overall health and performance, but it’s also necessary if you want to get anything out of your exercise routine. It’s during sleep that your body recovers from your workouts and builds muscle. It’s also important to keep stress and depression at bay, as they can make weight management hard. Many people find that achieving balance and focus is ultimately the most important step in their weight loss journey.

MAKING THE MOST OF YOUR GYM TIME

Your weight training and resistance exercises (like stair-climbing), along with high intensity cardio (kick boxing), are great! Just make sure to progressively add resistance and repetitions, and switch up the activity type every so often. You can skip the machines, which only deliver isolated exercises, unless you are honing in on one specific area. Otherwise, compound movements that work multiple muscle groups are best. Make sure you aren’t working the same muscle group every day, or your body won’t have time to recover and progress. Steady state cardio on the bike or treadmill will allow your muscles a rest between intense training days.

For the full scoop, check out these posts:

Interval Training vs. Steady State Cardio

Which first: cardio or strength training?

So you want to build muscle, but not bulk up?

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