For bodybuilders, models, to average humans walking this Earth, this blog and video will cover fitness, food and lifestyle tips to LEAN OUT your mass with realistic approaches. 

Tips To Lean Out Your Body through Fitness, Food & Lifestyle Tips

I’ve had a lot of questions and feedback on previous video I did on Stretches to Lean Out & Get Taller (will share this one at the bottom of this post). So, I thought it would be ideal to share some information on all of the variables that go into your height and body composition.

This blog and video is going to address movement, food, daily health habits, as well as a few things that just might be beyond our control.

I am a certified health coach. However, first and foremost, you’re going to want to listen to your doctor. If you have any pre-existing medical conditions take that into consideration as well.

Here are my tips to lean out through food, fitness and lifestyle habits.

1. FOOD: DON’T STARVE

I said from the beginning, starvation is not one of these tips. When your body goes into starvation mode, it also starts to hold on to whatever it’s got, minimizing your metabolism.

Instead, prime your body with the proper nutrition and balance of foods to be at your optimal, lean self. More on this in the upcoming tips.

2. FOOD: EASY ON THE PROTEIN

Often times in the American diet, we think “protein protein protein” to lose weight. I’m here to share with you, protein is not the only answer to being lean.

Lean protein does help your body stay slim, but if you have too much protein, your body can start to store it as fat. So you want to find a proper balance of healthy and clean proteins.

Having meats is not always the answer either. Try out a variety of different proteins into your diet, see how your body responds and then adjust accordingly.

For myself, I am flexitarian. As you know, I try not to fit into any one category. I will have, on occasion, an animal protein but most of the time I am plant based. That eating strategy works best for my body, and I encourage you to sample out what works best for yours.

Typically, we’re getting plenty of protein that we don’t need to add more in. Get the proper amount of protein not too much, not too little.

3. FOOD: UP YOUR GREENS

Make sure you’re getting plenty of greens. Yes, your spinach. Yes, your your broccoli. But also think of incorporating spirulina, chlorella…any one of these really powerful superfood greens are going to help to detox your cells on a cellular level.

For the record, superfoods like spirulina or chlorella are not buzzwords or food gimmicks. They have been around for thousands of years. Someone actually wrote me a comment on YouTube that spirulina was a marketing tactic. My reply? I don’t think so it’s actually been used by the Mayans for years as a source of protein.

It’s not a fad. It is actually something that works. For example, spirulina is a plant based protein, and also helps to clean out your cells. I love to add any one of those superfoods into a bunch of mix, The video below is a full guide on spirulina and will give you some recipe ideas as well.

Moringa is another green you can use. If you prefer to drink your greens, check out The Ultimate Elixir by Live Ultimate (comes in two sizes) that has a green mix that you can add into simply water or just about anything. That’s going to help to clean out yourself so you’re not holding or retaining and it helps to reduce inflammation. Inflammation makes us bigger.

4. FOOD: DRINK PLENTY OF WATER

The other thing that will help to reduce inflammation, make sure you’re drinking plenty of water. That’s nothing new for you to hear, but you have to actually do it! Track how much water you’re drinking and try and keep that to a balanced level.

How much water should you be getting? Check out the video below for some tips.

Caffeine, I love my coffee. It can be helpful for staying trim and lean, but you want to have not too much. Another great alternative to caffeine is green tea. Green tea and some coffee can be great. Just try not to over consume because you will never sleep more on that later. And it over does your kidneys and your adrenals. And it has the reverse effect, actually. Balance!

5. FOOD: DRINK WISELY

Adding on to that note of beverages and drinks, you’re going to want to mind the beverages that you have. Alcohol calories start to add up. Actually, alcohol convert to sugars. So does what you’re putting into your coffees and what kind of coffee! I’m not gonna even go there with how much junk and calories are in some of those Starbucks drinks. I go for black coffee, nothing else.

While smoothies can be good for you, they can be really easy to put a bunch of things into a smoothie, but that can also add up really fast to a lot of extra calories that you’re going to drink down. I know myself, drinking a smoothie doesn’t leave me satiated or full. In the past when I had smoothies, I would also need to have some nuts along with it to choose something. Personally, I prefer to eat my food and have it blended.

Juices are another one, and have a lot of just pure sugar. If you’re having an orange juice or something similar (even if it is freshly pressed) it’s still a lot of sugar. Whole fruits provide us with fibers, they’re going to be good for you and keeping you fuller longer.

6. FOOD: EAT LESS IN THE EVENING

Try eating the bulk of your foods midday and a bit less towards the evening. I try and cut down eating anything three hours before I go to bed. What I’ve been doing for my #lifestylenotadiet has been intermittent fasting. I will link a video below that you can check out that will share more details on that. In brief, I stop any of my food consumption after dinner which tends to end around eight or 8:30 in the evening. Then, I don’t eat until the next day. That gives my body the proper time to digest so that when I go to sleep, and my body can focus on sleeping and restoring the body, not digesting and processing more food.

7. FOOD: EAT HEALTHY FATS

I had a big misconception in the past that fats were bad and fat would make you fat. Maybe something that was a fad in the 80s and 90s? Who knows. Either way, it was so, so, so off, and I was I was wrong.

I was really wrong to think that because having the right kind of healthy fats is what your body needs to reduce the not-so-healthy fat that you will store and hold on to. Some of my favorite sources of healthy fats include olive oils, avocados, nuts and seeds. Those are all great sources of healthy fats, you want to keep those in your diet in moderation. Again, moderation is key for all of healthy living.

So, have a that little bit of healthy fat in there as well. Personally, t I try and add in some healthy fat at each and every one of the meals that I’m eating.

8. FOOD: EAT FIBROUS FOODS

We mentioned greens before, but here, we’re targeting fibrous vegetables. Lots of cruciferous vegetables, things that will keep you fuller for longer. So think broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts — when they’re in season, all of those are delicious.

It took me a while to come on to Brussels, and now I love them. And they keep you fuller longer. So you’re not going to be going for I noticed this when I have a salad. If it’s just a salad or just lettuce, my body digests that really fast and then I’m hungry again. Add in something that’s going to last a little bit longer.

9. FITNESS: MOVE YOUR BODY

Movement is KEY. Further, doing some of the right movement in addition to, perhaps, what you’re doing already for fitness will help you to create a leaner physique.

I have found for me the proper combination of doing cardio weights and yoga or stretching, along with recovery have been the best for my body type. So, I am doing weights because when you build up the muscle, it helps your body to burn off fat longer and in for a duration that lasts beyond the gym. Cardio, getting your body moving and burning off some of the the calories in your body and fat stores, getting the “engine” going.

The important part in this element to add especially for bodybuilders that are out there or if you’re frequently doing just cardio or frequently doing just weights, add in the following two fitness exercises below to help lengthen and lean out.

10. FITNESS: STRETCHING

If you don’t want to do yoga, call it stretching. Stretch your body. When you workout and lift weights, or just sit, you’re constantly contracting the muscles. This can make them bigger (if you’re lifting) and tighter, in general.

Remember our goal, to lengthen and lean? Stretching does that!

Another tip, although it may not feel awesome, foam rolling can be really amazing for muscle recovery. In addition, foam rolling can get the muscle fibers back in line with where they were meant to be. That’s going to create a longer, and leaner muscle as well.

11. FITNESS: LYMPHATIC MASSAGE

Each night before bed, I do a lymphatic massage on my body. Lymphatic massage is known to smooth skin and can reduce cellulite.

I also do kind of lymphatic “massage” called Dry Brushing three times a week after a workout or showering. I will link a video below here of the lymphatic massage and how you’re supposed to do that. But that’s another way to clean and lean the body out.

12. LIFESTYLE: SLEEP WELL

There are a lot of key components to being at your optimal weight that are rooted in your daily habits that have nothing to do with food or fitness.

Sleeping properly is so key. If you’re not sleeping well, your body is going to be hungrier. You’re also going to store a lot more fat, typically, in the midsection, I’ve read a lot about this and your body will hold on to it, so you want to get proper sleep.

13. LIFESTYLE: STRESS LESS

When you’re stressed, you’re not going to choose the right foods, you’re not going to make time for moving. Plus, moving and exercising can actually reduce your stress levels.

I know for myself, when I’m suffering from anxiety, and just whatever’s going on in my life, I don’t sleep as well. Some tips to lower your stress levels can be: breathing meditation, taking walks outside yoga, movement, eating greens, drinking enough water, a balance of caffeine, or all of these things together, and listed in this post.

14. LIFESTYLE: BE REALISTIC

The last and final note, be realistic. I’m five seven, and do I honestly think I’m going to grow to be 5’11” no matter how much I stretch and eat spinach? No, it’s not going to happen.

You have to be realistic with your genetics and what is really achievable. Then, the biggest goal for you to work on at that point is self acceptance. The more you love yourself and the more you accept yourself, the more you’re going to see what you love in the mirror and that is going to be the absolute perfect, ideal height, weight and body for YOU.

CLOSE

I hope those tips were helpful to lean out the healthy way, hitting up food fitness, lifestyle habits and a touch of a reality check. Remember, create a lifestyle not a diet, and chose your habits for the long-term, not the short sprint.