As much as we all would love to workout and magically have the trouble areas suddenly improve, this is much more of a wish than reality. There are exercises to improve muscle size, firmness and roundness. But, there’s no such thing as target training fat away. Your body is going to lose fat on its own terms from wherever it deems fit first. On the bright side, there’s a tried and true formula to improving the worrisome under butt cheek area or tighten the upper triceps jiggle – it’s proper nutrition, work ethic in the gym and proper supplementation. This trifecta will give you a big jump start in fat loss, muscle tone and result in the physique you’ve been dying for.

Proper Nutrition

What you eat and how much you put into your body determines how you feel, the kind of energy you will have and your overall wellness. A great side-effect of eating for health and fitness is the fat loss and physique gains – the goals you want to accomplish, right? It would be amazing to be able to eat anything our hearts desire and have a banging body while we do that (this might be a small dream of mine). Unfortunately, it’s the rare individual that can do this and I’m definitely not one of those people. Eating balanced meals throughout the day while keeping my sugar intake low is a daily goal and something that takes effort to accomplish.

Tracking and counting macro nutrients is an excellent method of controlling portions and making sure you are not over eating. You can also keep the macros in certain ratios to each other that will help you achieve results faster. A great starting point, which can later be adjusted to what works for your specific body, is forty percent of your daily caloric intake coming from protein, forty percent from complex carbohydrates and twenty percent from healthy fats. I tend to feel better and look better when I eat more complex carbs than protein and raise my healthy fats to twenty-five percent of my intake. Everyone has a different ratio that works best for their body. Some general rules to follow when tailoring macro nutrient counts to your specific needs and are:

1. Never increase your healthy fats above thirty percent of your caloric intake; and,
2. Keep your protein intake at or below forty percent of your intake.

Equally as important as monitoring the quantity you intake is what exactly you are eating to fill up your daily calories. There’s going to be a much different result from having 1600 calories of junk food than from 1600 calories from whole foods. Eat foods that are conducive to speeding up your metabolism and aim at improving health to get faster results of fat loss. Two servings of low sugar fruits as well as three servings of vegetables daily will give your body the disease fighting antioxidants needed to stay healthy and fiber required for gut health. Understandably, not everyone is a fruit and vegetable eater and the food that we eat isn’t as nutritious as it once was, which brings us to the next prong of the trifecta…

Proper Supplementation

Supplements are super useful in supporting your body for your exercise regime as well as filling in gaps in your nutritional needs. But, before diving into what supplements will help your work out, it’s important to supplement for health and be sure that you are absorbing what you are feeding your body - both nutritionally with food as well as performance supplement wise. Fiber and probiotics help keep your gastrointestinal system functioning properly. Probiotics work wonders on balancing healthy bacteria in your gut flora and fiber makes sure the lining of the intestines is clean and clear enough to absorb what your body needs from food.

Food doesn’t always contain all of the nutritional needs of our bodies. Did you know that the fruits and vegetables on your kitchen table from the food store are an average age of about six to eight weeks old? This isn’t to say that you should grow your own veggies or eating them is a waste of time, but more about knowing how to get all of the micronutrients you need. Plus, not everyone loves eating fruit or might despise the taste of broccoli. Supplementing with Redcon1 GI Juice will give your body the needed nutrients from fruits and vegetables with less sugar. Even if you are a fruit and veggie eater, supplementing ensures your body is receiving the proper nutrition the food you’re eating might be lacking.

After you’ve gotten your body to properly absorb nutrition and supplementation for your health, support for your muscles and gym performance is essential. All of the weight lifting we do in the gym tears down muscle tissue, it’s in the repair and recovery of those muscles that we find the results that we are looking for. Both essential amino acids and branched chain amino acids are needed to support muscle tissue growth prior to work out as well as post workout. Essential amino acids, like Redcon1 Grunt, are a complete protein source that are most beneficial to the body taken prior to work out to aid in recovery and reduce soreness. Similarly, BCAAs support your muscles repair and recovery best when taken after they are depleted to reap the most out of your time spent in the gym. Rest and recovery coupled with proper supplementation will help you consistently perform at your best.

To complete the trifecta of improving trouble areas, find my article Best Exercises for the Trouble Areas for ideas on work outs that target common physique complaints. Focusing on all three areas – nutrition, supplementation and workout - will help you make progress towards the physique you’ve been wanting with patience, consistency and hard work!

Written by: Samantha Meinrod

IG: @sammiegirl_fitness

Email: sammiemeinrod@gmail.com

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