Americans are flat out terrible at staying fit and healthy. It turns out, it’s really simple – people have just been given terrible advice. Today I’ll tell you what I do to maintain my awesome physique with almost no work at all.
But first, let’s look at what went wrong. This is what you’ve probably been told about getting (and staying) in shape:
- Eat less.
- Hit the treadmill.
And that advice SUCKS.
First, eating less than you want to eat is no way to live. You’ve only got one life to live (and it goes by pretty fast). Living that life in a state of deprivation sounds like a terrible plan to me. Also, it doesn’t work. Calorie counting is useless if you’re eating the wrong foods – it’s just plain fact.
Second, “cardio” is a terrible way to exercise. In fact, it’s actively bad for you. From “The Case Against Cardio“:
Here’s what we know:
- Cardio causes heart disease.
- Cardio causes joint pain and inflammation.
- Cardio doesn’t build muscle.
- Cardio doesn’t burn fat well.
So why on earth would you ever “do cardio” again?
Ok so we know that advice sucks – what do I do instead?
Simple, two-step process:
- Eat Real Food, Only Real Food, As Much As You Want
- Don’t Be Inactive / Make Active Fun
Let’s break it down.
1. Eat Real Food, As Much As You Want
I’ve covered this before, in “Eat Real Food“:
When making a food decision, we can think, “Who made this food?”
If the answer is no one, it’s probably good to eat. Real food is made by nature; fake food is made by people.
This isn’t to say that all food made by nature is good, or that all food made by people is bad, but it’s a really good starting point.
If food is Real Food, it will almost always be a plant or animal. Apples and Beef are clearly made by nature. Bread and Oreos are clearly unnatural items made by people.
This Real/Fake dichotomy is super powerful, because if you eat nothing but Real Food, you can eat as much as you want. That means no feelings of deprivation. No willpower required.
If you have fat to lose, eating Real Food will result in a serious decrease in your appetite. The pounds will naturally and easily melt away. If you’re already lean, you’ll get much healthier – and easily maintain that health and fitness for life.
For more in depth discussion, you should read “Eat Real Food” and “The Definitive Guide to Healthy Eating“.
2. Don’t Be Inactive / Make Active Fun
One of the largest myths out there is that being fit and healthy requires lots of exercise. This isn’t the case. The real truth is that you just need to avoid being inactive for long periods of time.
Sure, smart intense exercise is great for your health (and abs), but it’s not a requirement. You can get pretty damn healthy with these simple recommendations:
- Don’t sit for more than 3hrs per day
- Walk outdoors at least a mile per day
- Bonus: one intense/heavy workout per week
Even better, you can make being active more fun. Join an adult sports league (softball, hockey, soccer, ultimate frisbee, etc) or go mountain biking. Even hiking and hunting are great ways to make exercise fun.
Kick Your Results Up A Notch
If you want a totally killer physique, you’re going to need to exercise. You still don’t need to go crazy though. In fact, the MasculON Six-Week Guide to Six Pack Abs has gotten fantastic results for thousands of men, and it only requires three 20 minute workouts per week (it’s part of the MasculON Fitness Course, including tons of real food recipes and exercise training videos – and it’s currently 50% off. Click here to learn more).
The two bullet points above will guarantee easy weight maintenance, but for optimal health, you need to go further. You also need to be careful with sleep, nutritional variety, sun exposure, cold exposure, testosterone, and much more. That’s covered all over this blog, and in depth in the MasculON Fitness eBook (also part of the course – ok I’ll stop with the plugs).
Enjoy eating as much as you want while being fitter and healthier than ever before.
Following the two simple results for bulletproof weight maintenance is a fantastic start, and joining the free email course is a great next step.
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