When it comes to changing my body, I know what to do.
My workouts need to be intense and I need to be breaking records everyday.
My diet needs to be tight - meaning that I should be sticking to the 90-10 Rule focusing on eating fresh, unprocessed, HIGH-QUALITY foods. I should be eating at least 1-2 servings of fruit and/or vegetables at every meal and should be eating lean protein like chicken, fish, eggs & lean cuts of beef and pork AND consuming good fats like olive oil, nuts, seeds, avocados and saturated fats from naturally raised animals.
But, for me, that's the easy part.
In fact, I attribute my slight gain in belly fat to stress and lifestyle factors. And the biggest culprit, I believe, is me not getting enough SLEEP.
I've written about what I need to do to make sure I have a productive day when I'm SLEEP DEPRIVED. But that's just a band-aid solution.
In order for me to get to where I want to be, I need to tackle the problem head-on.
It's tough, because as soon as I get home, I'm on point - pick-up the kids, get dinner ready, help with homework, feed them, bath time, story time, bed time...when it's all said and done, it's about 9pm.
After that, I like to spend time with my wife (whom I haven't seen all day) and sometimes there are miscellaneous things to get done at home - paying bills, filing, laundry, clean-up, etc.
When that's all done, it's usually 11/11:30pm. That's not a bad bedtime when you get up at 7am...but I wake-up at 5am (sometimes 4:30). 5-6 hours of sleep per night is NOT going to cut it if I want to lose 5-6 inches off my waist.
Lack of sleep causes your body to produce the hormone cortisol. High levels of cortisol are directly related to the storage of belly fat.
So I need to create a better routine and better habits.
Over the next 12-weeks, for my FitAndBusyDad Transformation Challenge, I'm going to form the habits of...
-Getting to bed by 10pm
-Watching less TV (with the NCAA tournament going on, that'll be tough)
-Reading 1hr everyday
-Shutting the computer down between 4pm and 9pm so I can spend dedicated time with the family
-Spending at least 1-hour of alone time with each one of my girls individually (that includes my wife) once per week
-Avoiding "eating out" at all costs, EXCEPT once per week (which will constitute my reward meal)
What are you going to do to help TRANSFORM your body and BE A BETTER DAD?
(make sure to leave you comments below!)
Chris Lopez
The FitAndBusyDad
P.S. Are you up for the CHALLENGE? Get on board with the other guys in the FitAndBusyDad Community and start your Transformation Today for your chance to win $750 CASH!
=>Get Started with FitAndBusyDad workouts and join the FitAndBusyDad Challenge!
1 comment:
That is exactly it! My major obstacle with losing fat and gaining muscle is my lack of sleep. Because of my job, there are stretches of DAYS where I'm getting-if lucky-two 1.5 hour naps a day. Getting more sleep is a focus of mine too. Good luck!
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