We want to look our best at any age. Whether we are preparing for our wedding day or celebrating our 30th anniversary, the pursuit of a fit and healthy body is something we never outgrow. Alli Ferguson, international fitness, and health coach understands our desire to feel beautiful at any age. That was one of the motivations behind the creation of the interactive fitness program website BrideBod.com. “We all envision at some point in our lives what the best version of ourselves would look like,” she said. “And that is what encompasses the name of the program.”
Based on your profile, Ferguson designs a customized fitness plan for you, and your feedback helps her adjust your workout to optimize your results. But a large part of your success relies on a commitment to stick with the program every day. Along with that, here are three tips for finding the body you once loved.
1.Lift weights.
Experts will tell you that hitting the weights is one of the fastest ways to see results. Strength training controls weight gain, reduces the risk of bone loss, improves cardiovascular health, builds essential muscle mass, and staves off disease. “As if that isn’t enough to convince you, strength training has also been shown to be a great antidepressant, to help you sleep better, and to improve your overall quality of life,” Chris Iliades, M.D., says. And we need our sleep.
2. Get some sleep.
We know that late nights at the office often lead to a run for takeout food, and that wreaks havoc on our waistlines. But a prolonged lack of sleep also wrecks our body’s ability to function properly. “When your insulin is functioning well, fat cells remove fatty acids and lipids from your bloodstream and prevent storage. When you become more insulin resistant, fats (lipids) circulate in your blood and pump out more insulin,” health contributor Adam Bornstein says. “Eventually this excess insulin ends up storing fat in all the wrong places, such as tissues like your liver.” And this is exactly how you become fat. Even worse, you become more susceptible to disease.
3. Practice intermittent fasting.
The big advantage of fasting is the build-up of the Human Growth Hormone (HGH), which naturally handles cell growth and regeneration. A healthy dose of HGH increases muscle mass, cognitive function, and slows the progression of age-related degenerative diseases. “Intermittent fasting is not actually a diet but rather described as an eating pattern,” Anthony Bevilacqua, CPT, says. A popular model is an 18-hour fast with a 6-hour eating window or a 20-hour fast with a 4-hour eating window.
If you want to rekindle your romance with the body you once had, or hope to find, the proven methods of strength training, sleep, and a controlled diet will get you back to the body you want. And new technology like fitness apps will help you stay on track for a lifelong relationship with good health and fitness.
