Making just two simple changes to my routine got me to my goal weight and a six-pack
A CARDIOLOGIST has revealed how he changed his routine to get a six pack and reach his goal weight.
Dr Amar Shere, of Atlantic Health System in Morristown, New Jersey, said he dropped 30lb by following two simple, healthy habits.
Despite regularly telling his patients to improve their diets and up their exercise, last year Dr Shere realised he wasn’t practising what he preached.
He told Insider: “I realised I was not listening to my own advice and I wasn’t being the doctor I wanted to be for my patients.”
He got in contact with Kunal Makwana, a personal trainer with KMAK Fitness, who helped him build a fitness routine he could stick to.
1. Increasing protein
Dr Shere found he needed to change his diet to start shedding fat and build lean muscle mass.
As a vegan, he thought he was eating healthily — but actually he was relying too much on processed foods and takeaways.
He said: “The biggest change I made was to increase my protein.
“I wasn’t eating the right amount of protein to see the results, to gain muscle mass and lose the weight I wanted to lose.”
Dr Shere upped his protein to up to 1.2g per kg of bodyweight per day, based on recent research, published in Sports Medicine – Open, suggesting it is close to the ideal amount to trigger muscle growth.
His go-to, plant-based sources of the nutrient included tofu, tempeh and lentils.
While he increased his protein intake, he also dropped his overall calories to ensure he was in a deficit to help shed fat.
But that didn’t mean he cut out all sweet treats.
To help him stay on the diet, he allowed the occasional dessert to satisfy his sweet tooth, including plant-based yoghurt with dark chocolate, berries and walnuts.
2. Lifting weights
Dr Shere was already doing plenty of aerobic exercise to improve his heart health as a dance instructor prior to shifting his routine.
Making sure he hit 10,000 steps a day and get at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity exercise helped insure his risk of heart disease and stroke were at a minimum.
However, cardio never seemed to help him get to his body goals and he knew he had to add something else to his routine.
Mr Makwana introduced weightlifting to his exercise programme to help trigger muscle growth and torch away the fat.
He slowly increased the weights he was using over time and found the most important thing was to stay consistent.
As a busy doctor working up to 70 hours a week, he asked his personal trainer to help construct a manageable program.
This included three workouts a week for a total of around two-and-a-half to three hours.
He split these in to upper-body, lower-body and full-body movements, focusing on big compound lifts like squats, bench press and shoulder press.