The No More Excuses Diet Read Online Free PDF Page B

month or 2 pounds each week. It takes 3,500 calories to burn 1 pound of body fat, so you need a diet and exercise regimen that will get you burning 7,000 calories each week. Seem like a lot? Not if you create a caloric deficit of 500 calories in your diet for seven days; then you will have burned 3,500 calories in that one week! Your second pound lost will come from consistent exercise. With this knowledge, losing 25 pounds in three months feels more reachable!
    If your goal is to run a half-marathon (13.1 miles), start by focusing on running 1 mile, rather than staring down the whole distance at once. Pick a training program and integrate it into your life, one day at a time. As you build strength and endurance, you can add mileage weekly. After a few months of cardio conditioning, a half-marathon will become more mentally feasible, but it starts with running 1 mile today!
    Building your best body is 80 percent planning and 20 percent execution. So this is the moment to create a blueprint for what you will build to achieve your goal. There are resources in this book to help you get organized and create a plan that works realistically with your lifestyle; in Chapter 7 , you’ll find guides for healthier eating, in Chapter 6 and the Appendix , you’ll find workout guides that you can customize. Plan a workout schedule and make time to prepare your meals. Give away your junk food and clear out your cupboards of any trigger snacks. Stock your refrigerator with fresh fruits and vegetables. Buy all your necessary equipment, including a water bottle, sweat towels, workout outfits, healthy cookbooks, exercise DVDs, and/or a gym membership. Load your guns and prepare for battle.
    ENVISION THE JOURNEY. Visualize the steps you will take to achieve your goal. Some people fail before they begin because they are stuck on bad past experiences. To succeed, envision yourself succeeding. Write down your goals and remind yourself of them daily. When you wake up each day, imagine how your day will go and see yourself saying no to procrastination. Rehearse persuasive arguments against eating poorly. Focus on staying strong and avoiding temptation. When you’ve fought the battle in your mind, you’ve gained the mental strength to win the real battles in life.
    Picture yourself gathering the ingredients for your next healthymeal, preparing the meal, and enjoying the delicious results. Before you start a workout, visualize yourself warming up, taking the first few steps, and then launching into it. Imagine pushing through your physical discomfort and completing each set with stamina to spare. Think about how good you will feel, how strong you will become, and how happy you will be when you walk out of the gym after a powerful workout. These mental images will keep you motivated, and they will help you to be aware of your goal each day. (Keep in mind that there is a difference between a little discomfort and pain. If you are in serious pain, stop what you are doing and, if necessary, seek a medical professional.)
    EXECUTE THE PLAN. Of course, you can’t just visualize success—you also need to takeaction! This means waking up each morning and preparing those meals, completing your training, taking your vitamins, getting enough water, and enjoying a full night’s sleep. The simple act of following through on what you say you will do is success in itself. Perhaps your action won’t be 100 percent perfect, but no one is perfect. Just make it a point to stop procrastinating and start doing what you say you’re going to do. The more your actions support your plans, the closer you come to achieving your best body.
    DELIVER THE RESULTS. Perhaps you’ve tried other diets before but gave up when you weren’t getting the results you wanted. That’s not going to happen this time. The No More Excuses diet is not just about celebrating results; it’s also about celebrating all the work you put into achieving good health. Each day you have countless