These rest days are essential for making progress on my 8-Week Fat-loss Figure Trainer. I want you to take advantage of them and really get the most from your rest days. I also want you to put some time, effort, and thought into reevaluating your progress at the end of each week.
Here are my bullet points for what you should do to evaluate your progress. And then I’m making some suggestions in case you’re not seeing the results you expected.
YOUR DAY 7 TO-DO LIST
WEIGH YOURSELF: Do this right after you wake up—before you take in any fluids, protein or food. Do it before you shower! The key is to see how much your weight has shifted since you began the program.
I told you that weight isn’t the best measure of your progress in terms of fat loss, but it is a key marker in determining how you should move forward. Remember that multiple factors contribute to weight loss. These include how much water, body fat, and muscle mass you’ve dropped. The goal is NOT to lose weight, but to use it as a way to measure how well your fat-loss program is working.
Some tips, based on your change in weight:
* I have added weight. If this is the case, then cut your calorie consumption to 14g per pound of bodyweight each day and bump up every session of steady-state cardio to 30 minutes. Pay strict attention to every food you’re consuming, and make sure there are no errors in your program.
* I haven’t lost any weight: I recommend that you hold steady for another week. It’s possible that you’re adding muscle mass while losing body fat—people tend to add quality mass more quickly than they’re able to shed body fat. You can bump your daily cardio session up to 30 minutes a day if you don’t think that’s what is happening for you. We’ll do another round of evaluation on Day 14, and you’ll have a better sense of what’s working for you.
* I’ve lost 1-2 pounds: I recommend that you don’t make any shifts to your cardio, training, or nutrition programs. This is about what you should expect after cleaning up your diet, cutting calories a bit and training with intensity.
* I’ve lost more than 2 pounds: You may be losing weight too quickly, and this may be a sign that you’re burning muscle mass. It’s unlikely that you’ve burned more than 2 pounds of body fat in one week. Reduce your cardio to 15 minutes per day, and up your calorie consumption to 16g per pound of bodyweight each day for the second week of Phase One. That means if you were targeting 2100 calories you’ll shoot for about 2250. Go with a little more slow-digesting carbs, especially upon rising.
TAKE PHOTOS: You’re going to take photos of yourself on every rest-and-reevaluate day to keep a clear record of your progress. You should take these photos the same way you did during your prep. That means wearing the same clothes, using the same photographer (even if that’s you). Shoot yourself from the same angles in the same place with the same lighting. And position your body as you did for your “before” photos.
UPDATE YOUR JOURNAL: Make sure that you’ve recorded all of your workouts throughout the week. Also make certain that you’ve included all of the foods and supplements you’ve taken in during the week. This record is a huge benefit in helping you figure out if you have any weaknesses in the big picture while you’re following my 8-Week Fat-loss Figure Trainer.
CHEAT MEAL
If you’ve been strict with your nutrition throughout the week, then I strongly recommend that you include a cheat meal today. You can do this for brunch, mid-day or later in the day.
This meal is not only a reward for adhering to your program throughout the week, but it provides multiple benefits as you head into the second week of this Figure Trainer.
- It will make you feel better.
- It will help your body re-load muscle glycogen that you’ll burn over the next few days.
- It will help keep your metabolism revving, which better supports fat-loss over time.
For this meal you can take in about 5 calories for your target weight. That means, if you’re trying to get to 140 pounds as your end goal, you can go with up to about 700 calories for this meal (140 x 5 = 700). Trust me, you’re going to put those calories to good use tomorrow.
As far as foods go, I don’t want you to go with just fast-digesting carbs. You can consume foods such as pizza, pasta or hamburgers that contain protein, dietary fats and carbs. Just keep the sugar moderate to minimal.
REST ACTIVITY
You can also perform some activity today. Just because it’s a rest day, that doesn’t mean you need to sit home on the couch. Take your kids to the park; enjoy the day or the evening with your significant other. It’s okay to make this an active family day or date night. The key is to give your body a break from your typical weight-training and cardio routines. You’ll be back to that tomorrow, so enjoy today.
