As bathing suit weather quickly approaches, many have asked for a program on how to lose inches off your waist and get ripped fast. The following program covers key principles that will help you lose body fat, build muscle and increase your metabolism. Try it for 30 days, be vigilant in your pursuit and enjoy your body’s transformation.

1. Make A Goal

Make a goal that will challenge and motivate you. For example, I want to lose 12 lbs in 30 days or I want to lose two inches off my waist in 30 days or I want to lose my muffin top in 30 days.

2. Keep a Fitness Journal

Keeping a fitness journal provides many benefits including, but not limited to, the following: brings awareness to what you eat; helps curb compulsive eating; allows you to monitor your training activity and progress; emphasizes your commitment to health; serves as a medical record; and, helps you stay motivated, break old habits and form new ones.

Recommended journal entries:

THE GOAL

Writing down your goal will reinforce and serve as a constant reminder of the task at hand.

TAKE A BEFORE PHOTO

Take a picture that accurately depicts your current physical condition. Reality! Put one in your journal and one on the refrigerator as reminders.

RECORD BODY WEIGHT AND MEASUREMENTS

Enter your weight and the circumference of the widest part of your arms, legs, waist, hips, back/chest and neck. Determine your body fat with a body fat caliper. For consistency purposes, use the same measuring devices from start to finish and measure the same areas of your body. Record your starting measurements and weekly follow-ups.

RECORD WORKOUTS

For weight training, record each workout including the exercise, set, reps, weight, start and stop time. For cardio/aerobic exercise, monitor the type of exercise, the intensity level and the length of exercise.

ENTER MEALS

Record your caloric intake. If you are too busy to write everything down, then record one thing - your sugar consumption. It is that important! Calorie counters (many of which are found free on the internet) are great tools to help you monitor your caloric intake and nutritional choices.

3. Don’t Diet - Follow Nutritional Guidelines

When it comes to losing weight and keeping it off, a healthy eating plan trumps dieting every time. Why? Because nutritious eating is a lifestyle change whereas dieting is short-lived. The goal is to lose body fat in a quick and healthy manner. Adopt the following the best you can.

DRINK WATER

Drink as much as you can - keep your urine clear. Every morning drink 12 - 16 oz water, with juice from half a lemon and enough cayenne pepper to feel the heat (1/2 tsp.). This will jump start your digestive system and boost your metabolism.

EAT BREAKFAST

Eat within an hour of waking - it is your most important meal of the day! An example of a well-balanced breakfast would include three eggs, ½ grapefruit and an 8 oz. glass of low fat milk.

EAT BALANCED MEALS

Eat three balanced meals and a minimum of three snacks per day.

• Meals - include Protein, Carbohydrates and Fat in every meal. Try the following daily amounts to maximize fat loss: Protein – eat the weight of your lean body mass converted to grams of protein (for example, if your lean body mass is 150 lbs, eat 150 grams protein); Carbohydrates and Fat – keep your consumption of each between thirty and forty percent of the total meal.

• Snacks – keep the same ratio of protein, carbohydrates and fats as discussed above (this ratio does not pertain to the protein shakes/snacks mentioned below). Try to keep the snack’s calorie count at approximately 200 (if you like protein bars, chose bars with as little sugar as possible).

DRINK A PROTEIN SHAKE AFTER YOUR WORKOUT

Drink a low carb protein shake within an hour after your weight training and/or cardio workout. Your body needs to be replenished with the nutrients it burned during exercise so that it can build muscle and maintain an increased metabolism. Each shake should include between 22 and 45 grams of protein. Chose a protein powder that contains Whey and Casein proten (not soy protein) and a low carbohydrate/sugar content (under 5 grams per serving).

EAT A LIGHT SNACK BEFORE BED

Eat a light snack (a cup of cottage cheese, low carb protein bar or a low carb protein shake) before bed to keep your metabolism running high during sleep.

THE "EVEN LATER" LATE NIGHT SNACK

If you want to take full advantage or your metabolism, drink a protein shake approximately 3 hours after you first fall asleep. Drastic? Yes, but works!

NO SUGAR

Limit your sugar intake as much as possible. Determine the sugar content of everything you eat by reading the Nutrition Facts label. Avoid foods with sugar content higher than 5-10 grams/serving.

NO BREADS OR STARCHY VEGETABLES

Don’t eat breads, crackers, tortillas, chips, rice, potatoes, etc. Compensate by eating lots of greens.

NO ALCOHOL OR SODA (INCLUDING DIET SODA)

For a reward or a little stress relief, one glass or red wine with dinner is ok.

TAKE VITAMINS AND SUPPLEMENTS

Consider the following: multi-vitamin; fiber; fish oil; green tea; probiotics; and, garlic. Only take the recommended daily dosage and remember most nutrients will come from the foods you eat. Many protein powders contain added vitamins, minerals and amino acids as well.

4. Workout Daily

Daily exercise is required to build/tone muscle, boost your metabolism and burn calories that stem from fat. Incorporate the following exercises into your routine for maximum results.

WEIGHT TRAINING

Lift weights 3x/week with at least one day’s rest between workouts (train Monday, Wednesday, Friday, for example). Try to keep your workouts within an hour and pick a training program that focuses on full body workouts for each training session.

FINISHERS

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! Upon completing your weight training session, rest a couple of minutes and do a short high intensity workout. Some examples of this include the following:

• Sprints - sprint 30 seconds, rest 30 seconds and repeat and additional 9 times

• Jump rope - continuously for fifteen minutes, increase the repetitions on each subsequent workout

• Countdowns - pick two exercises (dumbbell swings and squat thrusts, for example) and, with no rest, do 10 reps of the first exercise, 10 reps of the second, 9 reps of the first, 9 reps of the second, and continue down to zero

• 100 squat thrusts – try to beat your best time on each subsequent workout

CARDIO

Do cardio/aerobics on days you are not weight training. Any type of cardio/aerobic exercise is fine - power walk, treadmill, elliptical, stair master, rowing, etc. Start with 40 minutes cardio on the first day and increase each subsequent workout by five minutes.

IMPORTANT TIP: For maximum fat loss, keep your heart rate in the Low Intensity Zone (65 -70% of your maximum heart rate) for the entire cardio session. Use a heart rate monitor - they will help you stay in the low intensity zone for more extended periods of time.

Conclusion

This program on how to lose inches off your waist and get ripped for summer works! Commit to your goal, stay focused on the task at hand and envision your body’s transformation.

"The most important key to achieving great success is to decide upon your goal and launch, get started, take action, move." – John Wooden, Hall of Fame Basketball Player and Coach.