Summer is coming. Are you ready for your summer clothes?
If not, Jason Scott Johnson offers some great tips. He ought to know. He's a Hollywood Personal Trainer, former World Kickboxing Champion, an Iron Man competitor and a member of the elite Force Recon Marines. He's also the author of Re-Create Yourself: Simple Steps to Burn Fat and Sculpt Your Body.
The first thing you might wonder is, do you have enough time to get ready for summer? Yes, there certainly is time, at least enough to make significant improvements.
According to Johnson, you must start with a goal that is meaningful to you, and write it down. For many women, it can mean being able to get back into their "skinny jeans," according to Johnson. Men might have a goal of being able to bench press a certain amount of weight.
"When you create a meaningful goal, everything else that will not help you reach that goal goes to the wayside," Johnson said.
A common, and realistic goal, is to lose one to two pounds per week, perhaps more if you have a lot of weight to lose. "You have a higher chance of keeping the muscle you have or even gaining muscle, as opposed to a drastic weight loss program where a lot of weight falls off in the beginning and then plateaus and even rebounds," Johnson said.
It is also important to incorporate regular exercise into your weight loss program. He recommends some kind of movement, such as walking, coupled with resistance training, such as weights, pushups and working with a medicine ball. But don't overdo it. "Start where you are," Johnson said. "If you are unfamiliar with the movements, work with a personal trainer for a couple of weeks."
The next key element to healthy weight loss is balanced nutrition. Johnson recommends getting enough protein to help keep muscle tone, carbs from fruits and vegetables and healthy fats from such things as nuts, fish oil and salmon.
Finally, be sure to drink enough water, at least 96 ounces per day, according to Johnson.
The way to guarantee weight loss is to take in fewer calories than you burn," Johnson said. "If you do that, you have to lose weight."
Learn more about Johnson's book.
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