Yesterday, I was working out at Gold’s Gym here in Oklahoma City and I ran in to a childhood friend.
I was happy to see him. It had been almost 15 years since I saw him last.
But one thing really shocked me… and to be honest, concerns me greatly right now.
You see, he’s put on a lot of weight and is obese now. In high school I called him the home run king, he was fantastic at baseball. My friend was an athlete… not just an average one, but a great one. I can remember playing in our “PGA” at our local park. The Park Golfers Association was pretty competitive.
For example, one guy had a 7 AND a 9-iron. That extra club really gave him an unfair advantage over the rest of the PGA players. Even so, my friend used to dominate the PGA with just one club.
Today, I don’t see the athlete on the outside… but guess what? It’s still there.
In fact, I train with another buddy Sal almost daily. Sal told me he has noticed my friend working out every day. Basically, he is SHOWING UP.
He’s taken the first and most important step by admitting things have to change. The athlete will be making a return very soon, once he gets the weight off.
To be honest, I wrote this article for my friend – that I’m now giving to you for free.
This plan was designed to put my friend on the fast track – and YOUR results – because research shows people who start losing fat quickly – get better LONG-TERM fat loss results as well.
Before you begin, take down your weight and measure yourself. I also want you to take your before pictures. These will serve as proof of our progress on day 14.
And don’t forget, I want you to send me these before and after photo’s and tell me about your success!
14-DAY Fat LOSS – Action Plan:
Day 1 – Plan, Shop, & Prepare (preferably start on a Saturday)
Planning ahead is our key to success. It allows us to avoid pitfalls of being unprepared.
Today, you will first plan you meals, shop at the grocery store, and prepare your meals in advance.
Prepare your meals for the next 7 days.
I don’t mean planning what you are going to eat for dinner. I want you to plan EVERY meal for the next two weeks.
You will then get in your car, bus, plane, train, tennis shoes, and go to the grocery store.
Skip your workout if necessary. You read that right. This is mission critical and the first step to successful fat loss.
An example fat loss meal plan would be:
Breakfast – 2 eggs, 1 apple or banana, Green Tea, fish oil
Snack – 1 oz raw almonds, 1 pear, Green Tea
Lunch – Grilled chicken/salmon or black bean salad with spinach, onion, peppers, mushrooms, etc., 1 banana or bowl of cherries, 2 cups unsweetened iced tea with lime or lemon
Snack – Carrots or Celery and hummus (you can make this easily at home)
Dinner – Protein and vegetables and fruit… a small piece of steak, chicken, or fish, along with your favorite vegetables, and a bowl of your favorite fruit.
Stop listening to ridiculous statements about fruit. Fruit is good for you. Fruit has a lot of vitamins and minerals. Fruit is NATURAL. The carb controlling diets everyone has been brainwashed DON’T WORK. Eat fruit.
To keep things simple, try maintaining the meal plan above for the first two weeks. You will get bored after two weeks and that’s why we switch it up at that point.
And then once per week schedule a meal of your favorite food.
You can stick to this plan for 14 days. You can expect to lose between 5 to 12 pounds of fat within the first two weeks.
Fat loss is simple, not easy. So just stick with the plan and never give up!
3-step guide to Day 1.
- Plan your meals.
- Shop for the food.
- Prepare the food.
Day 2 – Keep a Food Journal (Sunday)
You can do this very easily by going to FitDay.com.
Studies show that keeping a food journal will help you lose fat faster.
Next, make sure you do 60 minutes of activity today AND take a “before” photo along with your weight, body fat (if possible), and measurements of your waist, hips, arms, and thighs. Continue to weigh yourself every other day, as research shows that frequent check-ins lead to greater weight loss.
Day 3 – Learn More About Shed Pounds to Shave Strokes (Monday)
Today you’re going to workout. The first two days are preparations. In fact, we are going to do a Golf Specific Fat Loss workout.
It is important you make an appointment and a set time for your workouts. This is an appointment you MUST keep – just like a doctor’s visit. Only a true emergency should stop you from working out.
Most of you are probably still trading time for weight loss. I wish it were that simple. It’s not.
If you are currently using long, slow, boring cardio to lose fat, stop that bad habit immediately. It’s time for a new approach.
If you need to learn more about Shed pounds, visit the website where you can learn more about the program. While you are there, you can enter your name in the form to get a free Golf Fat Loss workout and email support.
If you are a beginner, please start conservatively with the beginner program of Shed Pounds to Shave Strokes. The full system contains over 90-days of workouts. But if you have been working out for a while, the next 3 weeks are your time to step your workouts up a notch.
Day 4 – Goal Planning (Tuesday)
After yesterday’s Shed Pounds to Shave Strokes workout, you’ll have a recovery day today.
Schedule 30-60 minutes of easy to moderate activity. This is the perfect time to get on the golf course (weather permitting) and get in nine holes or practice. You could even take a golf lesson to get the swing well oiled.
In the evening, sit down with a pen and paper. Write out 3 short term goals and 3 long term goals. Write down EXACTLY what you want to accomplish during this 14-day fat loss primer. Be specific. Then plan ahead and write down what you want to accomplish in the following 90 days.
Then it’s time to create a contract between yourself. One time, I took a picture of a can of dog food and posted it on my Facebook page. Either I reached my goal, or I ate the dog food. Good thing I reached the goal. I had friends begging to watch me eat the dog food.
Sign the contract and review it everyday to keep you on track. Post it on your refrigerator or pantry.
Day 5 – Social Support Recruiting (Wednesday)
Today you’ll do your next Shed Pounds to Shave Strokes workout. If you are not using this workout, make sure you are using a professionally designed and proven fat loss workout,. Winging it doesn’t work. Worse, avoid the long, slow, boring cardio everyone else is doing.
In addition, you will need to find some social support for your fat loss team. Research shows that having social support helps achieve your goal. Social support can be one of, or all of:
- Nutrition buddy
- Workout partner
- Fat loss forum accountability buddies
- Facebook group (such as our GetGolfFit page where many like minded individuals are on the same journey as you are)
By playing the odds, we can increase our chances for success. Research shows that:
- Keeping a food journal and having someone review your meals increases your chance of losing fat.
- Workout with a partner who is losing fat, or has lost fat. This increases your chances for success.
- Subjects who checked in daily to an online fat loss forum (soon to come to GetGolfFit) were more likely to lose fat.
By playing the percentages, we increase the chance of success.
Day 6 – The 30 Minute of Activity (Thursday)
Stay moving, stay busy and you reduce the likelihood you are sitting around stuffing your face. Get off your butt and walk on the treadmill and watch tv at the same time. This beats sitting.
And if the weather is nice, get out to the golf course and hit some balls.
Every minute you spend moving, you are NOT snacking.
The biggest problem you have is your diet. Stay moving to avoid getting bored and snacking to fill the time.
Day 7 – The Challenge (Friday)
Your 3rd Shed Pounds to Shave Strokes workout has been designed to be a challenge. This measures our progress through the week and gives us a benchmark. Each week you will measure yourself with Workout C.
Each week, you will get stronger and better and FASTER at the exercises. By improving your performance, your physique will improve as well. You can get the Shed Pounds to Shave Strokes program here.
Day 8 – Reward Meal and Diet Review (Saturday)
Congratulations, you’ve made it through 7 days of fat burning! Now it’s time to double check your meals and how you did.
Moving forward – eliminate all liquid calories and replace with water and Green Tea.
If you ahven’t began yet, start using the free service called Fitday.com. It will help you track your calories.
Some of you may struggle with late night snacking. I am guilty of this and I can tell you from experience it will WRECK fat loss.
Place a small mirror on your fridge door. Look at yourself before opening it. Think about what your goal is and how you will look and feel after the 14-days.
Research shows that subjects consumed fewer calories when they did this because it will remind you to make smarter choices.
Now for the best part!
Reward yourself for all of your hard work. Treat yourself to a meal that you love. This does not mean to overeat and stuff yourself so you fall asleep in the car on the way home or on your couch. No, enjoy the meal in moderation.
When the meal is over, don’t go back for seconds. Get right back on the 14-day meal plan you designed instead.
Days 8 & 9 are also off-day activity days. Get your ass on the course.
Day 9 – Review your goals (Sunday)
How many times have you made a resolution or a goal and simply forgot about it? To avoid this, take a look at the goals you created in Day 4.
Visualize yourself already attaining these goals. Imagine a healthier you. A skinner you… and able to crush the golf ball further than ever!
Review your goals every week, if not daily.
Believe in yourself, keep a positive attitude, stay motivated and you’ll continue to make fast fat loss progress every day.
This is also the day you plan, shop, and prepare your meals for the coming week. If you didn’t like some of the meals, take this time to adjust the menu plan.
Day 10 – Take It to Another Level (Monday)
One week under our belts and we should be feeling better. Now it’s time to turn up the workouts. Only 5 days (including today) remain in our 14-day plan.
If you can afford it, I want you to hire a trainer for just one Shed Pounds to Shave Strokes session. This is to make sure you are doing all of the exercises correctly and pushing yourself.
And a good trainer should be able to estimate your body fat better than any of those “fat scales” you can buy at a store…so get them to check that too for you.
Day 11– Plan Your Next Shopping Trip (Tuesday)
30-60 minutes of off-day activity, preferably on the golf course. I also want you to focus on nutrition HARD today.
What I want you to do is focus on eating more whole foods. Sit down and really think about getting more whole foods in to your diet planning.
For one, there isn’t a lot of prep time involved with whole foods. A bit of seasoning and you are good to go.
Simple nutrition. Focus on raw fruits, vegetables, and nuts. Research shows that eating more of these 3 foods will help you lose weight better than a diet that is low in fruits, vegetables and nuts.
And one of my mentors, Craig Ballantyne suggests you try one new fruit, vegetable, and nut each week during your between meal snacks.
He also suggests adding a new vegetable – such as broccoli, cauliflower, or asparagus – to your dinner. And to try walnuts or pecans instead of almonds at your morning break.
Slowly but surely increase the fiber in your diet until you hit the recommended amount of 35 grams per day. Fiber goes a long way to keeping you full feeling throughout the day and can prevent cravings.
By now, you should have eliminated all foods that contain added sugar. This is the easiest and fastest way to fat loss.
Day 12 – Recruit Again (Wednesday)
We need to be gaining strength not only in our body, but with our social support team. Today, seek out and add a new member to your team. This could be a family member, friends, facebook friend, or a trainer.
If possible, join a transformation contest online such as our Golf Body Challenge, or start one among your friends or co-workers.
Today is also another Shed Pounds to Shave Strokes fat loss workout day, so give it your best and beat what you did last week.
Day 13 – Check-In Time (Thursday)
It’s time to check our progress. Today you’ll re-measure your weight, body fat, and measurements. I want you to also take your after photo’s. These are important to show the progress you made.
If you have a lot of weight to lose, the results may not be completely visible on the outside. On the inside, we know you have transformed yourself. It will just take time to take the weight off, you didn’t put it on overnight.
Get a tan! Why? Because simply adding a little bit of color to your body can make you look leaner and you actually feel more confident about yourself.
Now is the time to try on any outfits you maybe couldn’t fit in to or you look great in. Clothing usually is the first ‘measurement’ we take of ourselves where we realize progress has been made.
Be sure to take your measurements first thing in the morning.
Day 14 – Mental Performance Review (Friday)
Today is our second Workout C from Shed Pounds to Shave Strokes. I am sure you will see some noticeable performance improvements. And best yet, these improvements carry over to your golf game!
Better stamina, strength, and flexibility.
After your workout, write down all obstacles that are still in your way of success. Then brainstorm two or three ideas to overcome each obstacle. Problem. Solution.
Then all you need to do is take action!
Your social support team needs to know about your obstacles as well. They can help you overcome them. The more you and your team share solutions, the more fat you – and everyone else – will lose.
You may have discovered you pick up food in the drive through and eat it in the car. So to combat this, you would create a rule, “No eating in the car” to help cut down on bad food choices.
A social support member may suggest “brush your teeth after dinner to avoid night-time snacking”.
Day 15– Review, Plan, & Prepare (Saturday)
Graduation day!
By now, you’ll probably have lost 5-12 pounds of fat. Amazing.
More importantly, you have developed a proven and repeatable plan that works. No more crash dieting or magic pills.
These are life long fat burning habits you can use the rest of your life.
Review your goals and repeat this whole system. This is the plan you have been wanting.
Now, go do your planning, shopping, and preparing for another week, and get ready for even more fat loss.
These are a lot of changes to commit to in 14 days. If you had any trouble at all, repeat this program and improve.
Crush it!
Please email me with your success story in 14 days along with any pictures!
Chris
