12 week get ready for summer!!

Hello everyone and thank you for your interest in the 12 week get ready for summer support group. My goal here is to have everyone helping each other and supporting each other. I will offer some guidelines as to what I think will help. I also welcome any questions along the way. It looks as though we have about 10 people in our group so far and I’m sure a few more will join in as we progress.
My name is Mike I’m 27 years old and I’ve been training for 8 years I live in Pennsylvania. What are all your names?

Week 1: Some of this stuff you may already doing but I think it is some of the most important aspects of losing weight and I want you all to try to implement most of these suggestions into your daily routine.

1. Water - 6-10 cups daily dependent on how much you are moving and sweating can even be more! No less than 6.

2. Cardio - Aim for 30-45 minutes of Cardio on most days of week or a minimum of 150-180 moderate-minimally intense cardio minutes per week. (Cycling, Elliptical, Walking, Running, Incline Treadmill, Aerobic Classic, etc.) Not so intense you do not want to do it the next day but intense enough to keep you shredding.

3. Strength Training - Those of you with gym memberships I would suggest 2-3 days per week weight lifting 8-10 exercises done for 3 sets of 12-20 repetitions. If you don't have a gym membership some dumbbells a yoga mat and a stability ball or medicine ball goes a long way. I will be posting some circuits to try as well.

4. Eat the Rainbow- No excuses if you don't like vegetables learn to blend them and drink as a smoothie. You should be eating a minimum of 2 fruits and 3-5 vegetables daily preferably of different Colors, because different colors adds different vitamins and minerals. Fruit is best eaten about 1 hour pre-workout and avoided the rest of the day due to high sugar content when trying to lose weight.

5. Weight Yourself - Only once per week Friday Mornings after using the restroom on the same scale with as little clothing as possible for accurate results.

6. Measurements - Waist around belly button with stomach released not sucked in and Hips widest point all the way around. Take these measurements now and every 4 weeks and post them back on the page.

7. Protein - Protein will help build muscle but remember you do not need to go crazy I would follow the recommendations on my fitness pal and perhaps go slightly over daily not under.

8. Carbohydrates- First 3 meals of the day mainly. Choose whole grains and non-refined (oatmeal, rice, quinoa, beans, vegetables, 100% whole grain bread up to 2 slices daily, low sodium couscous, etc.)

9. Fats - Avocados, Olive Oil, Nuts, Almond Milk, Coconut milk, you need fat to lose fat but be mindful of the calories.

10. Supplements - Not a big advocate if you want to do a protein shake post workout let me know and I can recommend some products. Also meal replacement protein bars I know some good ones. As far as vitamins and creatine and all that you don't need them unless you want to take them as long as you are following the fruit and vegetable protocol outlined above.

11. Motivation - The more people you have on board in your family and friends the better your results will be. Also having someone to walk run or elliptical with will make that 30-45 minutes roll on by quickly.

12. Sodium - Make sure you are staying under what MFP recommends this can be difficult but it can be done!!

13. Meals - I would say eat 3 moderate meals and 2 small snacks daily to keep metabolism up. Limit carbs within 3 hours of Bed.

14. Sleep - Come hell or high water 7-8 hours of sleep a night MAKE IT HAPPEN. Your body recovers while you sleep muscles are not made in the gym they are MADE IN BED AND IN THE KITCHEN.

15. Stretching - Look up full body stretching and do some quick 30 second stretches for each muscle group after each session to prevent injuries and provide Flexibility.

That is your starting point. Go get it I welcome questions and I look forward to helping you all reach your goals. Please Comment your name your starting weight, hips and waist measurements if comfortable sharing and goal weights on the message board. This is going to be fun! We will all be amazing come JUNE!! Go get it Friends!!

Count me in .. sounds great (even though I'm heading into winter) ...

Sorry, did answer the questions - I'm Julie, I've been watching what I eat for the last 4 weeks - only 1 on MFP - and I was aiming to start incorporating cardio starting on Monday so this fits in well.

So in response to the Challenge question from above. I'm not going to be doing specific challenges weekly. This will be an open forum for people to ask questions and support each other. I may post videos or workouts which we can all try. I will not be able to get back to everyone individually but I will try my best to help everyone. Post questions on the board and each week I will take the time to address some questions. The first 15 suggestions are posted and I want everyone to print it out and post on the FRIDGE and try and follow all of those guidelines for week 1. Go get IT!! I'm off to the gym now will check back in 2m.