Supercharge your workouts with this key protocol and discover the 5 best nutrition tips from Blue Waters Resort trainers!
Recently, I returned from a fabulous vacation with my mother and two teenage daughters. We were in Antigua at the Blue Waters Resort enjoying a living wellness retreat, and I must tell you, what an invigorating experience that I will gladly repeat! I returned feeling full of energy and my body is tighter and more toned after my workouts with my wonderful trainers, Kristin and Fatima. Not only did they help me focus on physical exercise, but we also discussed healthy lifestyle habits that I will share with you in a moment.
Now, we all know that exercise is proven to help us lose weight, get in better shape, and even reduce the risk of illnesses. But, every Monday morning, we can create any excuse not to get up that half hour earlier or why we’re simply too busy…yet, we can still log in countless hours in front of our televisions, computers, or cell phones.
It’s time to stop the excuses and get moving! Numerous studies have been done documenting the health benefits of consistent exercise, such as preventing the risk of diabetes, reducing the risk of cancer, improving the quality of sleep, better short-term memory, and so much more.
How to Melt Body Fat from Your Whole Body
Burning off fat can be a real challenge. You exercise hard but maybe, you’ve hit a plateau…or the results aren’t coming fast enough. Many people want to lose their belly fat specifically, but you simply cannot target only one area to achieve desired results. You’ll need to turn your whole body into an effective fat-burning machine to see a slimmer stomach!
Losing that excess layer of body fat has many health benefits, besides gaining a beautiful body. You will:
- Reduce your risk of heart disease and diabetes
- Balance blood sugar levels
- Increase your sex drive
- Boost your self-confidence
- Sleep better
- Increase your energy
- Reduce joint pain
- Have better cognitive functions – i.e. no brain fog!
So, what is the key to melting body fat? Intervals! Otherwise known as High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT), this very popular concept has been around for years and it’s no wonder, since it helps people achieve their fitness goals faster than ever. Bodies become slimmer, muscles become more sculpted, and fitness levels dramatically improve.
The Mayo Clinic recognizes the fact that intervals used to be only utilized by “elite” athletes but have since become more and more widely used by average people for its various benefits. It also suggests that if you are just starting to workout, or perhaps you haven’t done much cardio exercises recently, to start off slow and keep building as your body allows. This will minimize risk of injury while your muscles get used to this advanced style of training.
Research has shown intervals to improve fitness levels while maximizing calorie burn compared to slower-paced, steady cardio. By adding them a few days a week, along with your regular workout, can turn your body into a fat-burning machine! Simply spiking your heart rate periodically ensures your body doesn’t get comfortable and set you into a plateau.
But if you really want to get serious results, circuit training combined with intervals really targets body fat and studies have proven it sheds pounds faster than regular cardio ever could. There are tremendous benefits to both cardio and lifting weights, and it is worth your time to add both into your circuit!
Cardio can help:
- Weight loss
- Strengthen your heart and lungs
- Increased bone density
- Lower stress
- Reduce your risk of heart disease and some cancers
- Boost your confidence and self-esteem
- Increase your energy and mood
- Better quality of sleep
Whereas using weights or resistance training can:
- Improves your ability to perform day-to-day actions
- Strengthens bone density
- Boosts your metabolism which burns more body fat
- Reduces your risk of injury as you will have stronger muscles, tendons, and connective tissues
- Gives you a leaner physique, boosting your confidence
- Easily maintain a healthy weight
My instructors focused on a whole body approach when it came to exercise and circuit training is the perfect balance. People often find that they have lower levels of boredom when doing total body workouts as well since they are not repeating the same activity over-and-over again. This also helps keep you more interested in working out too!
Top 5 Nutrition Tips from Blue Waters Resorts
When I first met Kristin and Fatima, I asked, “Do you eat?!” They practically had zero body fat! They reassured me that, yes, they do eat; they simply choose healthy foods to fuel their bodies with.
Out of curiosity, I asked them to give me their 5 best tips to help someone lose weight, and I’m going to share them with you today:
- Mix cardio with weight training
- Circuit train by performing 45 second intervals of each station
- Eliminate alcohol
- Eat frequent meals throughout the day
- Decrease sugar intake
Incorporate these easy nutrition and lifestyle tips into your daily regime and very soon, you’ll see and feel wonderful changes in your body!
I’ve included a few more tips that you can easily adapt into your lifestyle over time.
- Eliminate sugar, soda and energy drinks, fruit juices, deep fried foods, and processed and fast foods.
- Include protein at every meal and snack.
- Consume fish 2-3 times per week to get healthy essential fatty acids which are delicious aids in releasing belly fat fast!
- Enjoy vegetables/salads at every meal and snack as they are low in calories yet high in nutrients.
- Limit fruits to once or twice per day as even natural sugar can cause insulin spikes which leads to the creation of more fat.
- Limit your intake of grains – less carbs equals quicker results.
- Stop eating at least 2 hours before bedtime to burn more fat.
- Drink plenty of water and green tea throughout the day to increase your metabolism and flush out toxins.
- Take some time each day for yourself to relax: meditation, walking outdoors, yoga.
- Get your body moving with exercise and activities you enjoy!
- Strive for plenty of sleep as relaxation is proven to aid in weight loss.
Your Personal Invite…
Life is meant to be enjoyed and keeping fit and healthy is no exception. Remember, total health is a healthy body and a healthy mind.
Blue Waters Resort has a mantra that I absolutely love: Retreat, Recharge, Rebalance, and Results. This really speaks about their whole body approach to fitness and well-being and I can attest that their processes helped me continue with my healthy lifestyle and also kick-started my new love for water aerobics! They truly change the way you eat and make exercise fun!
In the not-too-distant future, my goal is to book a week-long retreat at Blue Waters Resorts and am personally inviting you to join me! During the retreat, I will also offer a series of lectures for beautiful, powerful women like you. Stay tuned for more details…
