How To Get Lean – The Best Tips From Fellow Fitness Bloggers

Most athletes and models in the magazines and websites make being lean look easy; however, we need to be honest. Nothing could be further from the truth. It takes time, it is hard, and it demands an unwavering level of dedication and discipline. In my ongoing effort to help you learn how to get lean, I have laid out several effective weight loss tips to help you achieve your ultimate weight loss goals.

With the help of the Customized Fat Loss program, I have been able to get rid of a fair amount of fat. However, I still need to lose about ten pounds of that last bit of subcutaneous layer of blubber to uncover the lean, tight body I’ve got hidden underneath.

I am enjoying the process of losing weight; unfortunately, as most people who have gone through the process know, getting rid of those last few pounds is extremely tough. If you want to lose weight, now is the perfect time to start. If you follow the following expert tips, you will be well on your way into making significant progress towards achieving your goals.

A few years ago Zenhabits owner Leo Babauta posted his favorite weight loss bloggers and, in turn, the weight loss blogs they like. Later, he asked these bloggers to give him some effective tips to getting lean. Some of the questions he posed to them include:

• The best tips to getting lean
• How a somewhat healthy person with little time to spare can lose weight
• How people who eat healthy and exercise regularly can further improve their shape

Below are the answers:

How to Get Lean — Getting Rid of Stubborn Fat

1. Mark’s Daily Apple

Mark Sisson is one of the leading campaigners of a return to the activity and diet of our ancient ancestors. From his book, The Primal Blueprint, Mark takes readers on a captivating journey through human evolution. He compares the robust health and lifestyle of our primal ancestors with that of the modern man, thus revealing potential health problems caused by our eating habits and lifestyles.

Some of Mark’s favorite get-lean tips include:

• Making faster, shorter and more intense workouts, combined with slower and longer workouts.
Most people trying to get lean make the mistake of overtraining. They misguidedly believe that more is better when it comes to training. However, the reality couldn’t be further from the truth. Excessive workouts send a danger message to your body.

According to Mark, running, climbing, lifting, and throwing usually meant that our ancient ancestors were being chased or were chasing something. When you spend an hour on your elliptical machine or jogging on a treadmill, your body experiences the fight or flight mode automatically.

On the other hand, if you choose to weight train every day, your body will start sending danger sighs. Why would anyone subject his/her body to such kind of torture daily, if not for the sake of survival? The main aim of excessive training is to secrete excess cortisol, which is a stress hormone.

However, too much of this hormone leads to muscle waste, insulin resistance, and weight gain. That said, it is important to have small doses of intense workouts. So, instead of having a 2-hour intense workout, try limiting it to a 45-minute all-out workout.

• Intermittent fasting
You are probably surprised to learn that fasting can help you get a lean body. It goes against everything you have read about proper nutrition and fitness. Mark suggests that people who want to get rid of stubborn fat should fast once or twice a week before workouts. Fasting for 18 to 30 hours once in a while can stimulate fat burning while conserving strength and maintaining muscle mass. In the age of the hunter-gatherers, people had to go without food after an unsuccessful hunt; however, they still had to find a way to dig up enough energy for the next hunt. Your body burns fat for energy, which is the reason we store it in the first place.

2. Fitness Black Book

A leading authority on creating a slim, lean, athletic looking body, Rusty Moore is the author of a new ebook called Visual Impact — Mastering the Skill of Gaining Muscle without Body fat. Some of Rusty’s favorite tips for getting rid of stubborn fat include:

• Creating a weekly caloric deficit.
Everyone loves a good party, wedding reception, social gathering, picnic or holiday. One thing that is common with such events is the sumptuous food and sweet drinks. Fortunately, you can party and still lose weight. All you need to do is to choose certain days of the week when you will go below maintenance. You do not have to lock yourself in your house for fear of adding on more weight.

Rusty’s other tips for getting lean include:

• When you are eating alone go for lower calorie meals
• Do your workouts in a fasted state
• Avoid insulin spikes
• The number of meals you take each day does not matter. Go with what feels natural

3. Zen to Fitness

This is an easy to follow guide to eating well. In this fitness guide, Chris educates, informs, and inspires readers in all things related to fitness. Some of his favorite fitness tips include:

• Eat wholefoods at least 80% of the time
• Try to relax more
• Retire to bed slightly hungry
• Aim to break a sweat by increasing the intensity of your workouts
• Take a few cups of green tea each day
• Get 7 to 9 hours of sound sleep each night

4. Fit and Busy Dad

These fitness tips, offered by Chris Lopez, are great for anyone who is busy; particularly parents who want to get and stay in good shape. Some of his tips include:

• Understand that getting lean is extremely simple to achieve, but also very difficult
• Plan your day from the time you wake up to the time you sleep, including your workout time and your meals
• Get 8 to 9 hours of good sleep each night
• Eat whole natural foods
• Train with intensity
• Balance high intensity training with complimentary workouts such as yoga
• Keep a workout and diet journal

5. Fitness Spotlight

Fitness Spotlight.com was another excellent source of weight loss tips (site is unfortunately offline now). The articles, written weekly by Mike O’Donnell and Scott Kustes, offered some simple tips that anyone can follow. They include:

• Stay away from booze
• Understand that stubborn fat is, well, stubborn
• Always have a caloric deficit
• Building and keeping muscle is a great way of resting your energy expenditure
• Keep your insulin stable
• Take fish oil
• Take a cup of coffee 30 minutes before your workouts

I know that you really want to learn how to get lean, which is why these tips from fellow fitness bloggers can help. However, you will have to work hard for every pound. I can promise you that the effort is well worth it. 😉