SHRED Your Body Fat with These 12 Strategies

Posted on by Wes Wise.

As discussed in Episode 9 of the Wise Eats Podcast

Any time I set a goal to lose weight, the method I use to achieve it can be broken into 7 general steps:

Step 1: Establish a goal to lose body fat.

Step 2: Estimate my daily calorie needs based on activity level.

Step 3: Eating 300-500 calories less than my needs in order to create a deficit.

Step 4: Eat real, whole foods and drink plenty of water. Also avoid toxins and refined sugar as much as possible.

Step 5: Track every meal and stay as close to my calorie and macronutrient requirements as possible.

Step 6: Lift weights 3-6 days per week to grow and retain muscle and doing 20-30 minutes of cardio a couple times per week

Step 7: Rest fully, minimize stress, and recover actively

Effective weight loss all comes down to energy balance. How many calories does your body burn on a daily basis? How many additional calories does it burn based on your activity level? When you combine those two numbers to get your total daily energy expenditure (TDEE), you have a pretty accurate estimate of the calories you need in a day to maintain your current weight. From there, it’s simply a matter of taking in slightly less calories to lose weight, or taking in slightly more to build your body up. After that, it’s just dedication and consistency. Also, keep in mind that as your body changes, so do your daily needs. As my bodyweight decreased during this weight cut, I eventually had to drop a few hundred calories per day in order to keep the weight loss going. After the cut was over, I slowly increased calories to maintain weight and build some strength.

Here are 12 tips to help you along in your fat loss journey:

  1. If I Can Do It, You Can Do It. I’m not a certified trainer or nutritionist, yet. I’m not a bodybuilder or training for a competition. I’ve never even played sports. I used to be 90lbs overweight, smoking a pack of cigarettes a day, living solely on fast food, and bordering on alcoholism. I abused my body with no regard for my health or longevity. But, I turned it all around, and today I’m in the best shape of my life. If I can start from the bottom and work my way up, you can too. I promise.
  2. No Fad Diets Necessary. I didn’t use Paleo, keto, Atkins, or any other secret formula to lose weight during this time. Essentially, the strategy I use to lose weight in 2019 is the is the same I used back in 2009. Eat based on energy requirements, exercise consistently, stop poisoning yourself, and try to have healthy foods in wide variety as much as possible.
  3. You Have to Meal Prep. Honestly, I spend quite a bit of time in the kitchen, but cut corners everywhere I can. Making large batches of food to have for several meals is key. At the start of the week, I’ll make enough of the breakfast energy bowl to have for multiple days. I’ll prep salads two at a time to have for today and tomorrow’s lunch. I’ll bake large portions of chicken, potatoes, and steamed rice all at once to have on hand for quick and easy meals. Accountability and preparation are key in your ability to improve your health.
  4. Think of Food as Fuel. On average, I had around 6 meals per day and ate every 2-3 hours based on activity levels during this weight loss. Most meals were designed to either fuel up for or recover from a workout, nothing more. Try to think of food as fuel rather than just for pleasure or satisfaction. Of course, I absolutely love the healthy meals I eat on a regular basis, but the primary goal is to always keep my body and mind performing at its best. If you can’t get up and go for a quick jog around the block because of what you just ate, then you done messed up.
  5. Treat Yourself in Moderation. Discipline will help you see results much faster,but treating yourself can also help keep you motivated and avoid burning out. Throughout the 13 week cut, I had about one cheat meal every week. Sometimes, it was eating out, sometimes it was home cooked. Sure, I could’ve lost weight faster without cheating, but I’m pretty proud of the shape I got in despite going off the rails here and there. The trick is not allowing yourself to spiral out of control. I didn’t let one meal turn into an entire day or weekend or full week of bad eating like I used to. Enjoy just that one meal, don’t lose sight of your goal, and get right back on track.
  6. Lose Fat Faster with Cardio. I know I said in Episode 8 that cardio is not required, and I stand by that statement, but after losing an average of 1lb per week in the first half, I was able to lose an average of nearly 1.5lbs per week in the second half. The biggest change I made was increasing cardio through walking, biking, and a few high intensity kettlebell routines. Cardio does not need to exceed 20-30mins a couple days per week to get results, so don’t overdo it. You don’t even have to do it at all, but it might get you to your fat loss goal faster. Plus, it feels amazing and is really good for your overall health, so if you love doing it, more power to you.
  7. You Gotta Lift Some Weight to Lose Some Weight. Weight training is my favorite form of exercise, and offers the best bang for your buck when it comes to fat loss and improving your body composition. During this weight cut, I gained strength consistently during the first half and felt great despite being in a calorie deficit. It wasn’t until the last few weeks where I experienced a noticeable drop-off in gains and energy levels. At that point, I knew it was time to call an end to the weight loss challenge and give my body some much needed rest. Lifting weights is the best way to build or retain muscle while getting lean and losing body fat, so I can’t recommend it enough.
  8. Avoid the Clean Eating Trap. Prior to this weight loss, I spent years trying to gain as much muscle as possible, but got to the point where I was easily eating up to 5,000 calories a day, including excessive amounts of dietary fat. I figured since I was lifting weights and building muscle, I could just eat as much nutrient dense food as I wanted. Wrong. Just because food is healthy doesn’t mean you can eat as much of it as you want and not gain extra weight. Bummer, I know.
  9. Be More Mindful of What You Eat. Specific ingredients, total calories, and macronutrient amounts. Once you control these things and understand them, changing your physique becomes a matter of routine, math, and proper dietary choices. Some experts debunk calorie counting, but I can say for sure that it’s worked wonders for me, both in my original 90lb weight loss and this 15lb weight cut. Calorie counting or not, you need to take control of what you put in your body.
  10. Reverse Dieting. After a period of sustained weight loss, your body is highly susceptible to gaining fat very quickly if overfed. It’s important to “reverse diet” by slowly increasing your calorie intake to avoid putting the body fat right back on. If you just call an end to your diet and start eating like crazy, you can quickly undo any progress you’ve made. So, after this challenge, I slightly bumped up calories each week, which allowed my energy levels to return to normal and start building strength again.
  11. Get Hooked on Improvement. Tracking your meals and workouts takes some work, but the feeling of knowing you’re in control and making progress becomes addictive. Plus, it’s a lot harder to move forward when you’re not sure where you’ve been. Evaluate your performance and strive to keep getting better. Get more reps, lift heavier weight with good form, or increase your intensity. If you’re getting better each time, chances are you’re doing everything right. If you’re not making progress though, something is likely off with your training, diet, stress levels, or rest. Also, if you’re monitoring your weight, don’t get caught up in day-to-day fluctuations. I recommend weighing yourself each day and taking an average for the week, which is a more accurate indicator of progress than the day-to-day number. Stay focused and, over time, the scale will move in the direction you want.
  12. Keep Exercise Simple. If you’re just beginning a workout routine, don’t make it too complicated. Start with some light activities that you can do safely and comfortably then build yourself up from there. Go for walks and focus on quality bodyweight movements like squats, burpees, jumping jacks, lunges, and core routines. If you can’t even do a push-up or pull-up, it’s probably too early to start throwing weights around. Just get out there and get your body moving. You don’t have to break yourself down for an hour in the gym to get an effective workout. You just gotta start somewhere.

I got into the best shape of my life using these strategies. Summer is coming, so it’s time wise up. Make one positive change today and it will add up to major benefits in the future! Thanks a lot for reading this article. Now, get out there, get ready for summer, and start making some wise choices!

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9 Tips to Stay Fit on Vacation

Posted on by Wes Wise.

As discussed on Episode 7 of the Wise Eats Podcast

Well aloha, mahalo, and welcome to another episode of Wise Eats. In today’s article, I want to share some diet and fitness tips that I took away from my recent trip to Maui that you can apply to your travels in life, not just for vacation, but in other areas of your life:

Tip #1: Food Prep

Prepare food to have in your carry-on bag. Cook meals where you’re staying, if possible. On this trip, my carry-on was loaded with protein bars, energy Bowl, cauliflower fried rice (recipe pending), sweet potato, and other healthy snacks. I had enough food for our 13-hour trip and then some. It was the same theme on the ride home. We cooked everything we had leftover and packed it to go on the plane, so we ended up with chicken, vegetables, energy bowl, potatoes, and rx bars. All we left behind food-wise was a couple extra cases of water.

Many people think you can’t bring snacks on a plane, which is not true. You can bring snacks, prepared food, just have to watch out for fresh produce and liquids.

Resist the urge to given into convenience and stay accountable by preparing your travel meals. Avoid airport food and in-flight snacks whenever possible. Stick to real food and wise choices.

Tip #2: Grocery Shop

Obviously, this doesn’t really work if you’re going on a cruise or all-inclusive. One of the reasons we chose Maui was because we enjoy going to a place where we have the freedom to prepare our own meals when we want. We rented a condo on the ocean stocked with a full kitchen, freezer, refrigerator, blender. There’s a Costco in town, along with a local farmer’s market and grocery store.

No matter what my circumstance, on vacation or in normal life, I need to have healthy options on hand. So, after we got off the plane, we went to Costco which was right around the corner from the airport. We stocked up on healthy options like chicken, rice, fresh and frozen produce, water, and other essentials. We even placed orders on Amazon and had them shipped directly to our room so it was waiting for us when we got to Maui.

Tip #3: Cook Your Own Meals

I know this probably sounds so boring. But I don’t care if I’m on getting on a plane to go across the world or driving across town to a family function, I always stay prepared when it comes to food. I have healthy meals as back up and plenty of filtered water. You need accountability for the things you’re putting in your body, so the more you can control that, the better off you’re going to be.

On this trip, we made breakfast every day: Scrambled eggs, gluten-free pancakes, fresh fruit, energy bowl, protein shakes with kale, and others. We often made lunch or dinner, as well. Of course, we ate out at times, but it was usually only one meal or so per day, not the entire time.

Vacation should involve a break from your normal routine, but it’s not a free pass to just eat crap for a week straight. Eat well as much as possible and save unhealthy meals for the moments where it will truly be memorable, like a nice dinner out or something you know you’ll really enjoy in the moment. A sub sandwich and bag of chips on a plane is not memorable or good for your body.

Tip #4: Control Your Portions

I fight myself with this all the time. Pick your poison, but try not to overindulge. Instead of eating half a pizza or a whole pizza, have a slice or two. Easier said than done, but the more you focus your mindset toward restriction, the better you’ll do in the long run. Portion control is something I struggled with for years, and still fail at from time to time, but has gotten much easier. I did overeat quite a bit on this trip, but it was usually healthy foods. Plus, who’s got time for calorie restriction on vacation? It’s time to enjoy yourself, of course! But you can do that while making wise choices in the process.

Tip #5: Not Every Meal is a Cheat Meal

Treat yourself, but get in as much home cooked, healthy prepared meals as possible to go along with it. If you completely binge the whole time like I used to, you’re going to come back needing a vacation from your vacation. We cooked many meals that we would normally have at home, but also enjoyed some local flavors and fresh produce. We actually enjoyed some sort of “bad” food every single day. We simply limited it to one meal and surrounded it with other healthy meals so we didn’t go too far overboard.

Our favorite dishes from this trip: Carrot cake (fresh made daily), fresh baked pie, tamales, pizza, shave ice, sushi, haupia

Tip #6: Get Moving

I’m not saying you have to sign up for a nearby gym for the week you’re on vacation, but if you can, it’s not a bad idea. In my previous trip to Maui, I focused too much on getting to the gym, but you have a built-in gym inside you. Take a break from your normal routine and just do some bodyweight exercises. Pushups, squats, lunges, jumping jacks, running, walking, stretching, playing. There are so many things you can do outside of a normal gym routine. Enjoy nature, get in the water, the sand. At a minimum, keep a mindset of movement.

Normally, I lift weights 5-6 days per week, so I usually try to have a gym nearby whenever I travel, but that was not an option on this trip. In preparation, I really pushed hard in the weeks leading up so I could feel good about taking time off for recovery. Instead of going to the gym, I moved as much as I could every single day. I walked in the airports, did bodyweight squats on the plane, stretched, bodyweight, ab routines. Instead of chest day, I did a push-up challenge. Instead of leg day, I did a bodyweight squat challenge. I also made it a requirement to jump in the ocean every single day: real hard, I know. The idea is to embrace the opportunity to take a break from your normal training routine and try some different things that make you feel good.

Tip #7: Stay Hydrated

Water, water, water. Drink it, a lot. Swim in it. Play in it. Live in it. Staying hydrated will help keep you from overeating and also feeling energized. Hydration is a very simple hack to optimize your health all the time, not just on vacation. We bought like 8 cases of water from Costco and it lasted our entire trip. We were never without fresh water and challenged one another to drink as much as possible every day.

Tip #8: Limit Alcohol Intake

Oh boy, this is the holy grail. Wes, what good is a vacation without alcohol? Trust me, I get it. I used to drink every day whether I was on vacation or not. Wes from 5 years ago doesn’t even know who I am today.

My vacations used to be centered around alcohol. Room was always fully stocked with bottles. Whether I was on vacation or headed to a sporting event or concert, I would travel with mini bottles full of vodka so I always had quick access to free booze.

These days, however, it’s a much different story. Out of our 12 nights in Hawaii, we only drank alcohol twice and never got drunk, just had a few drinks. I really just enjoyed myself more without the alcohol. I want my body feeling good and to enjoy my surroundings fully. I want to rest fully and wake up feeling refreshed, energized, and ready to take on all of the amazing wonders Maui has to offer. I’m not saying I never drink, but it’s less and less all the time because my goals are so much bigger now, and alcohol is a poison that only detracts from those goals. If you want to drink and party all the time, that’s perfectly fine, and I won’t be mad at you because I’ve been there. But if your goal is longevity and vitality, you may want to rethink your priorities like I had to.

All that said, we enjoyed a few local beers while we were in Hawaii, so shout out to the Maui Brewing Company. Loved their nitro brewed coconut hiwa porter. Fantastic.

Tip #9: Enjoy yourself.

Eating healthy and exercising are great, but at the end of the day, it is vacation. I encourage you to make as many wise choices as you can, but at the end of the day, advise you to worry less, and relax more. Have some fun and don’t be so hard on yourself!

In closing, don’t use vacation as an excuse to just eat junk the whole time. A getaway is a chance to recharge your batteries and come back feeling better than you did when you left. It’s not a week long session of poisoning yourself and then spending a whole month just to get back to where you were before.

I might sound like a boring date to take on vacation, but trust me, I’ve been on both ends of the spectrum. From being focused on nothing but eating and drinking myself into oblivion to slowing down and enjoying myself in other ways beyond food and alcohol. I want to feel good on my vacation. I don’t want to be tired, lethargic, or hungover. I want to fully enjoy my surroundings and remember the great times I had.

That’s gonna do it for the lifestyle tips while on vacation. Shoot me an e-mail with any questions or comments you have over at WiseEatsPodcast@gmail.com. I turned my life around completely by focusing on health and fitness, and want to do whatever I can to help you do the same. I haven’t found some magic bullet or special diet or fancy supplement or a quick shortcut. What I did was make a conscious decision to change my lifestyle, then made small positive changes that grew into a permanent lifestyle over time. It’s all about developing a mindset that centers around movement, gratitude, hard work, and real food. So, thanks again for reading, please let me know how I can help, and until next time, aloha, mahalo, and make wise choices!

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