Happy Monday!  Hope you all had a fabulous Easter.  Its nice having all those days off, isn’t it?  I work from home, so its always a steady stream of work for me, but its nice to have the hubby around.

Since its finally spring, everyone seems to be getting even more conscious about bathing suit season coming up.  If you’re planning on losing a few pounds and tightening up, now’s the time to do it.

Please excuse the slight boob hang! 😉

I thought this would be an interesting topic to discuss today for News, Facts & Fitness Monday. Especially as I’m starting to see more and more ads popping up for popular diet plans like Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig etc.

In my opinion, if someone is overweight, they can benefit from any sort of diet plan out there.  Their main focus should be losing the excess weight and getting their health in check (especially if they have high blood pressure, heart disease, high cholesterol, type 2 diabetes etc).  Most of those conditions can be alleviated by simply changing your diet and getting moving.

The above people wouldn’t apply to what I’m discussing in this post.

I’m talking about people that want to lose up to 15-20 pounds and change the composition of their body. Not just lose weight.

Since this is an open discussion, I’d love to hear your feedback as well, and if anyone has any success stories to share, I’d love to hear them!

Lets just say that I’m of the belief that if you want to change your body composition (replace fat with lean muscle), its not just about counting calories.  While programs like Weight Watchers (for example) are great for very overweight people, I don’t think its necessarily the best choice for people wanting to look leaner and toned.

When you’re counting points and calories, there is less focus on the food you’re actually taking in.  You see a lot of “Weight Watchers” packaged foods, and a lot of carbs.

For example:

Sugar isn’t taken into the equation at all.  Just calories, fat (and only until recently) protein.  I was definitely happy to see that Weight Watchers finally added protein into their new points plan, and whole foods has some focus now, but not nearly enough.

Honestly though, if a lot of this type of food above is in your diet regularly, getting lean will go out the window.  But sadly, I don’t think a lot of people know that.  Losing weight is NOT the same as getting lean and toned.  I’ve been there, done that, and eating with a calorie focus versus a food focus never got me the body that I wanted.

Don’t get me wrong, I believe in balance, and the occasional treat will not sabotage your goals.  I’m talking about the “weight watchers friendly” bars, muffins, microwavable foods that are incorporated in everyday eating.

As for exercise (which is a whole other topic).  Its 30% of your results.  Food is the rest.  If being “toned” is a goal, weight training and/or body weight exercises are a must.  Even yoga is great.  But the food intake needs to be on point.

Here’s a few resources that will get you on the right track.

– Health Food Grocery Shopping List

– 25 Quick & Healthy Snack Ideas

– Quick & Healthy Breakfast Ideas

– 5 Ways to Lose the Last 5 Pounds

The Plan that I’d Recommend:

The LiveFit Trainer from Jamie Eason.  Its a solid 12-week based plan, and its FREE!  In my opinion, it kicks butt on ANY traditional diet plan out there.  My husband did it, and got great results!  I’m planning on doing it as a jump-start after I give birth to this baby 😉 Its based around good, wholesome food, its very structured, and workouts are also included.

QUESTION: Do you know anyone that has managed to get lean by following a popular diet plan. I’d love to know!

See you tomorrow with a new recipe!