Happy New Year!

I'm back from the holidays, well almost. As you all know this is the time everyone floods the gym with their New Year's fitness goals fresh in their minds. Sad truth is that in about 90 days most of those resolute individuals will have dropped out of their fitness programs.

There are a couple of reasons why this happens but the main reason is lack of results. If they hired a trainer, even if it's just for a couple of sessions, they would be more likely to stick with their program.

My suggestion is to spend the money to meet with a trainer once a week for a couple of months and you will have given yourself accountability, motivation and a clear program to follow. Get that trainer to take your measurements, body fat and weight. You have to know where you are to know where you are going. 'I just want to lose some weight' is an ambiguous goal. Be clear. 'I want to lost 10 pounds of body fat' is a much clearer goal. Set a time to reach that goal. Be specific. If you read my blog regularly you know that I prefer non-aesthetic goals. Instead of setting a goal to lose 10 pounds how about setting a goal to run 3 miles, 3 times a week in 2 months? Your aesthetic goals will be a fantastic benefit of your fitness goal. Break down your larger goal into smaller goals. Using the goal to run 3 miles, 3 times a week decide that during the first week you will run three times a week. Jog for 10-15 minutes. Jog/walk a familiar route. Slowly build the length of time you spend jogging until you are jogging 3 times a week for about 30 minutes. There you go....but be specific with your weekly goals so you feel successful each time you meet one.

Success breeds success and no one was ever successful at reaching a goal by giving up.

No-time, Fat Burning Workout

As I mentioned earlier, try to stick to an exercise schedule throughout the holiday season. Here is a short, challenging workout that can be done anywhere with no equipment.

Jog in place for 2 minutes, easier intensity to get some blood flowing.

Jog with high knees up, pumping your arms, for 2 minutes between each of the below exercises.

Perform a 'prisoner squat' for 15 reps, going as deep as possible. A prisoner squat is executed with your hands on your head and feet shoulder width apart. Squat deeply.

Perform a 'waiter's bow' (or a good morning) for 15 reps. Place your hands behind your back and bow forward from your hips, not your waist.

Perform a step lunge going all the way down to the floor and placing your hands on either side of your foot. Push yourself back up and repeat on the other side. Perform 30 reps, or 15 per side.

Perform a single leg dead lift. Hinging at your hips reach down toward the floor as you lift one leg behind you to hip level. Perform 30 reps, alternation legs.

Perform a back step lunge, alternating legs, for a total of 30 reps.

Perform 15 push-ups

Perform 50 bicycles.

Stretch.

The above workout should take about 20 minutes.

Remember, stick to a routine!!!

Holiday Season Tricks and Tips

As I am heading out to a holiday party I realized that I haven't shared some of my staying lean tips with you! So here they are:

#1 Don't throw all your progress away just because you ate a little too much at a party or dinner!! A lot of people just say 'screw it' and go back to terrible eating habits for the entire month of holiday activities. They often stop going to the gym as well. Why?! Exercise eliviates stress (mother-in-laws anyone?), helps you sleep better and will help control depression which is often felt around this time of year. Why do your think there are so many New Years resolutions involving weight loss? I bet it has a lot to do with the guilt people feel for throwing it all out the window between Thanksgiving and New Years.

#2 Pick three events and eat, drink and be merry! Don't worry about what your eating and drinking. Enjoy yourself and your friends and family. Don't think about low-fat or low-carb or low-anything. It might be your company blow-out party of the year. It might have been Thanksgiving dinner. It might be New Years Eve. Choose three and have some fun!

#3 Set realistic goals when it comes to working out. Don't expect to have as much time to go to the gym as your normally do. Plan to go three times a week for 30-45 minutes and get your butt there! Once your there I bet you'll stay a little longer and I know you'll feel a lot better.

#4 Finally, if your pants feel tighter the day after one of your parties don't yell at yourself! I can almost guarantee that what you feel is a little water weight gain. It takes a lot of extra calories to gain a pound of fat. You can't gain 3 pounds overnight! If the scale says you did, it's water that you are holding, not fat. Eat clean throughout the day, drink a lot of water and go to the gym. Your pants will fit better and you'll be a lot happier.

Now go out and enjoy this time of year it's made for good cheer, not regrets!

Work Out Of The Week November 29th, 2009

15 Minute Workout - Power Surge
For each set perform the exercises back to back without resting between, 10 repetitions each. Perform three rounds of each super set, resting a couple of minutes between sets.

Super Set #1

Plyometric Push-Up
In full push up position lower yourself to the floor then push yourself up with enough force so your hands leave the floor.

Dumbbell Bench Press
Lie on bench with a set of dumbbells and perform a dumbbell chest press.

Super Set #2

Explosive Step Ups
Perform a regular bench step up but explode off the floor and bench. Repeat all on the right and then all on the left.

Alternating Dumbbell Step Ups
Hold dumbbells, step up and down on a bench. Repeat all on the right, then all on the left.

Super Set #3

V-Up
Lie on the floor with legs straight out and arms extended over your head. Jackknife up to a full V sit up, touching hand to shoelaces.

Weighted Sit Up
Lie on the floor, holding a dumbbell at your chest. Perform a regular crunch.

Following the above workout with 30 minutes of cardio will increase your fat loss significantly.

Chicken Florentine

This is one of my very favorite chicken breast recipes and the nutritional value is phenomenal!

Chicken Florentine

1 Package (10 Ounces) frozen spinach
2 Garlic cloves (I used garlic that is already chopped. They sell huge jars at Costco that are very good).
1 pound thinly sliced chicken cutlets (I buy regular chicken breast because it's cheaper and then pound it down so it's thinner).
Salt and pepper
1/4 cup olive oil
3 Tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

1. Thaw the spinach in a microwave on high for 1 to 2 minutes. Drain well. Squeeze to remove as much moisture as possible. Finely chop the garlic.

2. Season the chicken cutlets with salt and pepper. Heat 3 tablespoons of the oil in a large frying pan. Add the chicken and cook over med-high heat, turning, until lightly browned and cooked throughout, 1 1/2- 2 minutes per side. Remove to a plate and cover with foil to keep warm.

3. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil to the pan and reduce the heat to medium. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until softened and fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in the spinach and cook, stirring, until heated through, about 1 minute. Stir in the cheese and remove from the heat. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

4. To serve, spread the spinach on a platter and arrange the chicken on top. Drizzle any juices from the plate over all.

You really don't need to add anything to this dish. It's a full meal with lean protein and leafy, dark green vegies and the garlic and Parmesan makes it very flavorful.

Enjoy!!

Workout of the Week November 16th, 2009

Hey guys!

Another fabulous treadmill workout. Again, only 30 minutes. You don't need to go for an hour. As a matter of fact you will get more benefit going shorter and harder. You don't need to workout longer, just more efficiently.

After 3-5 minute warm up.

Take around 3 minutes to find a comfortable pace (walking OR running).

Here's the interval sequence:

2 minutes at 6% incline
1 minute at 0% incline
90 seconds at 8% incline
1 minute at 0% incline
60 seconds at 10% incline
1 minute at 0% incline
30 seconds at 12% incline
1 minute at 0% incline

Repeat the entire sequence again.
Recover at 0% incline and then slow your speed to a very comfortable walk.
Lower speed to a 1 on the treadmill and walk backward for at least 1 minute.
Hop off the treadmill and stretch hamstrings, quads, hips and calves.

Now reap the benefits of a hard workout because you are burning 6X more fat and your metabolism has been raised for the next 24-48 hours. Then you can repeat it again and continue on that fat burning track.

Garlic Chicken in Balsamic Vinegar

Skinless, boneless chicken breast is probably the number one choice for getting lean protein in your diet. It is easy to find and can be inexpensive.


I have had several requests lately to post some good chicken breast recipes. Yes - skinless, boneless chicken breast is flat-out boring and am not one to spend hours in the kitchen so any dish that I cook has to have a few ingredients and be easy to make.



Garlic Chicken in Balsamic Vinegar

1 pound thinly sliced chicken cutlets (easy to make your own)
Salt and Pepper
4 Garlic Cloves
1/4 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 Tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar
3 Tablespoons Chopped Parsley

Season cutlets with salt and pepper and chop the garlic.

Heat 3 tablespoons of the oil in a pan. Add chicken and cook over med-high heat, turning once, until browned (about 1.5 minutes per side). Remove to plate, leaving drippings in pan.

Add the remaining tablespoon of oil to the pan along with the garlic. Cook over med-low heat, stirring, until softened but not brown, about one minute. Add the vinegar and 1/2 cup water to the pan. Bring to a boil, stirring up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan, Boil one minute. Stir in the parsley.

Return the chicken and any accumulated juices on the plate to the pan and simmer for one minute to heat through.

I have several great recipes in my stash and I will post more in the future.

Work Out of The Week November 2nd, 2009

Hey guys! Here is this week's workout:

This cardio interval workout is best done on a stationary bike, but can be performed on any club cardio machine except the treadmill. You can run outside and perform the intervals. A treadmill just doesn't react quickly enough to accommodate the short speed increases and decreases of this workout. My past workouts have all involved a treadmill so I thought I'd shake it up a little bit.

A study was conducted in Sweden a couple of years ago and they discovered that shorter bursts of high intensity output followed by recovery at at 1:1.5 ratio burned NINE times more fat then steady state cardio. The thing is this workout is harder to manage then the previous workouts that I have posted.

Warm up for 4-5 minutes.

Starting at the top of the minute go full out, run for your life hard, for 8 seconds (that's right, just 8 seconds) followed by 12 seconds of recovery. Continue this 8/12 pattern for 20 minutes followed by a cool down.

You have to have a clock with a second hand right in front of you or a watch that can be set to beep every time you need to race/recover.

I usually do this workout once a week on a bike in the cycle room at one my clubs. It is really challenging (and uncomfortable in a not-so-good way) to do the intervals on one of the cardio bikes out on the floor. You know the ones - they have really big bike seats and you have to sit really upright. It is better to do them on a recumbent bike if you don't have an indoor cycle available for your use, I know some clubs lock their cycle rooms between classes.

Good luck!

Workout Of The Week October 24th, 2009

Cardio only. Yes, another treadmill interval workout. Hey, they're very effective so don't fight it!

Warm up for 3-5 minutes finding a comfortable walking or running pace. Raise the incline to 8% (or 10%) and stay there for two minutes. Return treadmill to 0% incline for one minute. Repeat the two minute/one minute cycle for a total of seven rotations. Cool down for 3-5 minutes. Walk backward on the treadmill at a speed of 1.0, for one minute or more. Stretch.

Exercise counteracts fat loss?!!?

A couple of months ago TIME magazine published a cover story questioning the benefits of exercise in weight management. I was pretty disappointed when I saw the cover, and even more disappointed when I read the article. I felt it was really irresponsible to put something like that out there to the general public when we already have an obesity epidemic in this country. Plus it simply isn't true. The author sounded disgruntled with HIS fitness routine and maybe he should re-think what he is currently doing for exercise. Maybe then he can actually enjoy the benefits of exercise instead of complaining about it.

Cardio activity and weight conditioning will help you lose weight. Research has shown that it works. I know it works. I can tell you from personal experience, if I don't perform some sort of intense exercise three times per week I put on five pounds pretty darn quickly. So I continue to do my three-times-per-week workouts. The TIME magazine article further states that intense exercise actually counteracts fat loss because participants find themselves hungrier and therefore eat more. I'd have to say the opposite is true for me. I find that I am less hungry after I finish an intense workout. Actually I am usually hungrier after I take my dogs for a long walk.

As written by Shaun Dreisbach in an article for Glamour magazine, "Quite simply, exercise is the most powerful drug I've ever seen. Get your fix three times a week at least."

Enough said.

Read the November 2009 GLAMOUR Mag

Hey guys! You should really pick up a copy of the November 2009 issue of Glamour magazine (the one with Scarlett Johannson on the front).

On page 121 there is an article on how effective interval training is for burning fat. You know that's what I have been preaching forever. The article states '.....recent research found that woman who cycled for just 20 minutes three times a week but included intervals lost six pounds of fat after 15 weeks, while those who did a consistent pace for 40 minutes lost, get this, NONE.' Whoah.

The intervals have to be intense. On the perceived exertion scale, a scale of 1-10, 1 being easy and 10 being very hard, the interval should be an 8 or 9. The recovery can be very comfortable (3-4). There are many different ways you can train using the interval method. If you haven't ever done any kind of interval training I suggest you start with a bursts of 20-30 seconds, followed by 60-75 seconds of recovery. Within a couple of weeks increase your rotation to 30 seconds on/ 60 seconds off. Then work your way up to 60 on/60 off.

Interval training is the only type of cardio I do. I train three times a week for about 30 minutes per session. One day I use the incline on the treadmill, going up for 60 seconds and then returning to the flat for 60 seconds (just like the workout of the week 1o/4/09). Sometimes I will do speed work - running 6 minute miles for 30 seconds, followed by 30 seconds of recovery. Sometimes I run outside and sprint between two landmarks, for example; two telephone poles, and then I'll jog to the next pole and repeat (this method is called fartlek, a swedish term). Don't forget to warm up, cool down and stretch. The body of my workout is 20 minutes, with warm up and cool down it's about 30 minutes total. There is also a great workout at the end of the article and it's super tough.

Losing six pounds of fat, or zero pounds of fat. Hm. Now that's a tough question..........

Workout of the Week 10/5/09

Here's the workout of the week:

Warm up by doing some NON-weighted walking lunges and squats.

Grab some 15lb dumbbells and head to a weight bench (or chair, if your at home). Perform step-ups, 15 a side (do all 15 with the right leg leading and then all 15 with the left leg leading). Put one dumbbell down, hold the other one at your chest. With feet about hip width apart touch your butt to the bench and then hop up out of the squat (do not sit down, just barely touch). Repeat the jumps squats 15 times. Repeat all of the above for a total of three cycles.

Hold one of the 15lb dumbbells over your head and take a giant step forward on your right foot, stepping into a stable stance lunge (you won't move your feet). Perform 15 lunges with the weight over your head, straight arms, weight high. Repeat on the other side. Immediately following return to the bench and put your weight aside. Place your right foot on top of the bench. Push off with your left foot as you pull yourself up with your right, performing a single leg hop up onto the bench. Leave your right foot on the bench and return the left to the floor. Repeat 15 times per side. Repeat both of the above drills, back to back, for three cycles.

Continue to hold the 15lb dumbbells (you may need to drop the weight for this one). With feet hip distance apart perform a squat as you perform a bicep curl - repeat that for two reps and then raise up onto your toes (calf raise) performing a shoulder press at the same time. Repeat the sequence for 15. Keep the weights in your hands and perform squat thrusts with the weights in your hands, jumping out of each one. Repeat 15 times and then repeat above sequence for three cycles.

Take one of the dumbbells over your head. In a wide stance perform an overhead triceps extension. Repeat for 15 (yes, again with the 15). Put the weight down and immediately perform 20 jump squat with your feet very wide and with one hand touching the floor as you squat down and then reaching for the ceiling when you jump out of the squat. Yes, repeat all for three cycles.

Alternate push-ups and pull-ups, 15-20 each, for three cycles. For abs perform a very slow bicycle for 20 repetitions and repeat two more times (this is an old-school bicycle, twisting right and left).

*In between each of the above super-sets (ie; step-ups followed by hops up onto the bench), rest for 1 minute*

Immediately after all of the above go to the treadmill. Spend the first 3 minutes finding a comfortable running (approx. 5.0-6.0) or challenging walking pace (approx. 4.0-4.8). Take the treadmill to a 10% incline and hold your pace for one minute. Bring treadmill back to 0% incline for one minute. Repeat the 10%/60 seconds, 0%/60 seconds rotation for a total of 10 cycles. Stay at 0% incline and slow to an easy walk. For the last minute slow the treadmill to 1.o and slowly walk backwards, hold onto the treadmills side railings.

Spend 5-10 minutes stretching hamstrings, quads, calves, chest and back.

Rant Of The Moment

I am disappointed when celebrity trainers hock weight loss products. Especially rapid weight loss products and 'cleansing' products. All that stuff is crap. Don't you think that if they really did work we would all be using them? It taps into people,s need for a quick fix and there is no such thing. When it comes to fat loss you need to change your lifestyle. You need to make changes that will stick for the rest of your life. That's one of the reasons I never, ever write out a diet for a client. If I wrote out a diet for someone that included items that my client did not like or enjoy, how likely is it that they will stick to it for any significant length of time?

I ask my clients to keep a food journal for 4-5 days and that log has to include at least one weekend day, preferably both. Then I look at it to see what my client likes to eat. I want to see what they gravitate towards. I have a client who loves to go out with her husband. They have no kids and stressful jobs so at the end of the day they often go out, away from their stresses, talk and drink some wine. She wants to lose fat. I am sure as hell not going to tell her she can't go out with her husband. That is an integral part of her life and she will resent the food plan and eventually reject it completely. What I have done is work with her on the types of places that they go and the types of foods that she eats (of course). As I mentioned in an earlier post, I also encourage her to stop half way through her meal and ask the server to package it up in a to-go container so it's off her plate. She can now enjoy her conversation with her husband with out being tempted by what's left on her plate.

One very famous celebrity trainer - 'Americas Toughest Trainer' - who appears on one of the most popular weight loss shows on television (I'm sure you know who I mean) is currently selling products with her name on them which include Quickstart Rapid Weight Loss System, Maximum Strength Calorie Control, Maximum Strength Fat Burner and some sort of Detox product. And, get this, you have to pay extra to get what really matters - diet and exercise tips - because she wants you to join her online program.

There is no such thing as a 'fat burner' supplement. There has been a lot of research that has proven that the body does not need to be cleansed and/or detoxed. Yes, you may feel less bloated after following some sort of detox regimen, but guess what? As soon as you are back to eating, everything will be the same as it was before the detox.

This celebrity trainer has a TWO PAGE advertising spread in Marie Claire right now, as well as most other major magazine including two popular weekly gossip mags. She also has an ad on my blog (I haven't figured out a way to control the ads that are shown here yet).

Do you realize how much that costs in advertise in major magazines?!? That's how much cash she is producing. She can place large ads in most major magazines! She is making a lot of money offering products that buy into people's hope that there really is an easy way to lose fat.

Guys, there is no easy fix. That's the sober truth. Trust me and don't buy those products. Please don't waist your money. Read the fine print, all those products have disclaimers.

Workout of the Week 9/27/09

Lots of people get stuck or bored with their workout routine. I am going to post a workout a week that will help you break out of your rut. You can continue to do your same workout and just add in the below workout once or twice or you can take a break from your regular routine and just follow what is written here. It is a really (really) good idea to take a complete break from what you normally do because it 'shocks' your body into making changes. Remember, even if fat-loss is not your main goal everyone wants to continue to move forward with their fitness goals, right?


For the following workout you will need a treadmill, either in your home or at the gym.

Hold a 10-20 pound weight at your chest. Take two counts to sit down on a weight bench or a chair and two counts to stand up. Repeat 15 times. Immediately following your 15 reps, continue holding the same weight but this time when you squat down barely touch the bench (chair) with your butt and when you come up, hop up. Repeat 15 times. Repeat the sequence two more times, for a total of three cycles.

Immediately go to a treadmill. Find a running pace that is comfortable (10-12 minute miles). At the 60 second mark increase the incline to 2%, at the 90 second mark increase the incline to 4%, at the 2 minute mark increase the incline to 6%, etc - increasing the incline by 2% every 30 seconds until you reach a 14% grade. Return treadmill to 0% incline for one minute. Spend 1-2 minutes lowering the incline or slowing down before hopping off the treadmill.

Return to your bench/chair. Pick up two dumbbells (use the same 10-20 pounds). Step up and down onto the bench/chair, on the same foot, with the weights in your hands, 15 times on each side. Put the weights down this time and perform 30 split jumps. A split jumps is when you start in a lunge position (one foot forward, the other foot back) and jump into the air, switching the feet so you land with the feet in the reverse position. That is one repetition (so repeat it 29 more times). Repeat both drills two more times, for a total of three cycles.

Immediately return to the treadmill. Find a comfortable running pace. At the 60 second mark increase the incline to 10% and stay there for one minute. Return to 0% incline and continue to run for one minute. Repeat the 10% for 60 seconds/0% for 60 seconds sequence for a total of five cycles. Spend 1-2 minutes lowering incline and/or slowing your pace before hopping off.

Return and pick up your dumbbells. Bring your feet together so the balls of your feet almost touch and both feet face forward, with heels in-line with your toes. Holding the dumbbells by your side perform close-stance squats for 15 repetitions. Immediately following your squats perform 15 squat thrusts, with the dumbbells still in your hands, jumping out of each squat thrust as you come up. A squat thrust: place both hands on the floor, just outside your feet. Kick both legs back into a push-up position. Hop both feet back in to hands. Hop up as you bring your body to a full upright position. Repeat weighted squat thrusts for a total of 15 repetitions. Repeat above drills for a total of (again) three cycles.

Immediately return to the treadmill. Find a comfortable running pace. At the 60 second mark increase the incline to 14%. At 90 seconds drop the incline to 12%. At the 2 minute mark, lower it to 10%. Repeat lowering the incline by 2% every 30 seconds until the treadmill has returned to 0% incline. Spend one minute running/jogging at 0% incline. Take the next 2-3 minutes to slow your pace to an easy walk before hopping off the treadmill.

Finish the workout with a good stretch for hamstrings, quads and glutes (especially the glutes). Enjoy the benefits of a great workout. This one is tough but entirely worth it!

This workout should take you about 45 minutes. Make sure you move quickly from the weighted work to the treadmill. You can take a breather AFTER the treadmill and before you move on to the next weighted drills.

Goal Setting For Results

Do one thing today to bring you closer to your goal.

Research shows that people tend to give up their goal if they focus on the end result. Let's say that you would like to lose 40 pounds. You set a realistic goal of losing the weight in 6 months. After one month you have lost 5 pounds and you think 'If I only lose 5 pounds a month I will never reach my goal!' You get discouraged and give up. A fat loss of 5 pounds per month is great, but it doesn't seem like enough and your goal seems further and further away.

6 months can seems pretty far off for some people. The end result is a loss of 40 pounds but what can you do everyday to help you reach your goal? Ask yourself that question right now. 'What can I do today to help me reach my goal?' Start with picking one thing. Maybe it's that today you are going to eat a healthy breakfast. Even if you do that one thing you will feel successful, I guarantee it! It is also helpful to set a weekly goal so you can include in your schedule fitness, grocery store runs for fresh produce and some time you can take out of your daily schedule to focus on stress release (a big one that can contribute to weight gain).

Since fat loss is an emotional issue, especially with woman, research also shows that changing your goal from weight loss to fitness, achieves better results. Maybe your goal could be to run a 5K in three months, and then pick a race and train for that event. It could be to anchor the swim-leg of a triathlon - why not split the race up to accommodate every one's strengths? If racing isn't your thing what about setting a goal to ride your bike for 25 miles continuously - it doesn't have to have anything at all to do with racing. Another goal maybe to participate in three dance classes per week - Zumba, hip hop, ballet, cardio striptease -whatever excites you. Maybe schedule a yoga class during your week. Whatever seems doable to you. Forget what other people say and focus on what you want to do that is fitness, not fat loss, related.

Making a goal that is NOT weight related might feel less emotional and empower you to accomplish something other then fat loss. The end result will be what you wanted all along - a feeling of success and an appreciation for your body.

Diet Tip

If fat loss is your goal, this week try eating half of everything you make or order. It is hard when you are really hungry.

All blogs/books/DVDs/Infomercials/trainers will tell you to think about how hungry you are before you eat, right? That's good advice but you have to know what real hunger is first. Until you can identify the difference between 'I want a sandwich' and 'I need to eat' it will be very difficult to figure out that true hunger cue. If you make yourself a whole sandwich, eat half and walk away. Check your e-mail, fold some laundry, walk your dog again....anything. After that, ask yourself how hungry you still are. You would be amazed at how little can make you feel full. Beside what is wrong with eating the second half and hour or two later? Eating every 2-3 hours is a great way to stay satiated all day. The food police are not going to arrest you for eating throughout the day, as a matter of fact they would probably REWARD you. It's a much better way then the three-squares thing.

It's sort of the same thing as the put-your-fork-down-between-bites or eat slowly advice except that you have a very clear goal. Stop at half. Plus if you are eating out with someone you get caught up in the conversation and may not think about putting your fork down. Everyone should enjoy going out!

I remember when I was bodybuilding I avoided going out. I never accepted dinner and party invitations and I refused date-nights with my husband. All I thought about was food. I didn't enjoy any of it! That's an extreme because I absolutely could not waver from my diet, but I was miserable without friends and family to enjoy some time with.

Socializing is part of our nature. So don't stop going out! Look at your plate, decide what's half and then have some fun.

I think it's easier at home. After I eat out I have to carry my doggy-bag with me and it's very enticing. Try putting it in the backseat and think about something else.

Try it this week and see what it does for you!!!

Toning?

What the heck is toning, anyway?

Actually, I'm not sure what people (women) mean when they tell me 'I just want to tone up'. I mean, I know what they mean but they still think lifting light weights is how to 'tone'. Toning is simply shaping the muscle and being able to see definition, right? You can't do that with light weights. I often wonder if those women really see themselves. I see scores of participants in weight conditioning classes that look exactly the same after 6 months of taking classes regularly. Guess what? They never increase their weights and, that's right, they are the ones that use 5 pound weights for their large muscle groups (legs, back and chest) and 3 (!) pound weights for everything else.

The other day one of my friends, who also happens to be a fitness instructor, ask me a great question. She asked me 'If you feel a burning sensation when you are lifting those light weights, isn't that working the muscle?' Of course she knows that you are working the muscle but she was asking why then do you need to work heavier weights, especially since you feel a burning sensation while lifting those light weights. The muscle will not change if you have been lifting the same amount of weight over a 3+ months. That burning sensation that you feel is your body's inability to process lactic acid (a bi-product of exercise) out of your muscle at the rate your are producing it. In reality you shouldn't feel a burn at all, your muscle should ultimately fatigue so you have to struggle to complete the last repetition. The discomfort you SHOULD feel is soreness within 24-48 hours. I am not saying that you should feel debilitating soreness, but you should feel your workout the next day, or the day after. If that's happening, you will get the results you are want.

To elaborate on when you should increase your weights, research now shows that the body adapts to a particular exercise or drill within 6-8 weeks, give or take a little bit. They used to think it took about 3 months for your body to adapt. That's a huge difference. What that means is that every couple of months you need to change what your doing. If you take a weight conditioning class, and your club has heavier weights then you are currently using, you need to increase the amount of weight you are using so that you can keep moving forward with your fitness goals.

If you aren't getting the results that you want, change up what your doing and see what happens.

Fat Loss and Goals

Eat less, move more. Right? If it really were that simple we wouldn't have an obesity rate approaching 75%. There are a lot more factors involved. Culture, our habits and our genes play a significant role in fat loss. We don't all gain fat or lose fat for the same reasons, or at the same rate. Each person has to think about their own obstacles. Following are a few to consider:

* Not enough exercise (this is the duh one).
#1 excuse? Not enough time. If you have time to sit at the computer and play around on Facebook, you have enough time to exercise. It's all about choices. Start by making a plan and schedule exercise into your week. START SMALL!!! I think that is the one that trips up the most people. They think 'I can't go to the gym for an hour so I might as well not go at all'. Wrong. Jogging 2 miles takes approx 30 minutes. Not long at all and you don't even have to figure in the travel time. I wouldn't expect you to bench press 400 pounds the first time I worked with you. That's ridiculous, right? Then why do you expect to go to the gym and workout for an hour or two when you haven't been going at all. Another great motivator? An iPod loaded with your favorite music.

* Choosing the wrong foods.
You may be rolling your eyes and saying 'I know! I know!' but it isn't as complicated as it seems. If you have a sweet tooth, try fruit first. And two you already know - eat a better breakfast and eat slowly. Seriously. Try it. Good breakfast choices? Half a bagel with light cream cheese and some fruit. Low fat yogurt, fruit and toast. Hard boiled egg and oatmeal. If you find something that you like eat it every day. Studies find that when people stick closely to meals that they like and are healthy they maintain a leaner physique. I'm not saying that you need to eat the same thing every day, but stick close to it. Eating slowly involves putting your fork down. Talk to people if you are dining with anyone, but do it without taking bites between words. Sip some water. You really will be amazed at how little it takes to fill you up.

* Mindless eating.
This is really a mind/body disconnect. You aren't really aware of what your eating or how much. Anytime you eat when your not hungry or don't stop when your full, the food you are eating has no connection to your body. Use yoga breathing to focus. Breathe slowly in through your nose and out through your mouth. I usually use a count of four - inhale-2-3-4, exhale 2-3-4, etc. Remove distractions when you are eating. Turn off the computer, even if you need to eat at your desk. Hang up the phone. Turn off the television. This one also involves portion control. If you are eating mindlessly, you aren't aware of how much your eating. Try smaller bowls and plates. And never, ever eat straight out of the bag, carton or package. Ever.

* Stress and fatigue.
The less you take care of yourself the more likely you are to gain fat. For an example, look at the nursing population. They are notorious for devoting all their love and care to other people and never taking care of themselves. They are wonderful people in a thankless career, but when you don't care of yourself depression follows and with depression there is often fat gain. Get more sleep. Write down what is causing your stress and list ways to help alleviate it. Yoga, deep breathing and meditation are all wonderful for reducing stress but many people aren't comfortable with those methods or feel silly doing them. My suggestion is to find something that you love to do and do it regularly. It could be painting, dancing, reading, getting your nails done, thrifting/garage saling, etc. It's your life so take care of you.

My best advice for tackling a goal, any goal, is to break it down. Way down. Try to do something every single day that helps you reach your goal. Maybe your overall goal is to lose 40 pounds. That will probably seem over whelming and the majority of people will give up before you start. First, I would suggest that you change that goal to something like, running a 5K by the end of October or walking in the Breast Cancer Walk on whatever date. Those goals will get you to the fat loss just by the nature of the goal itself. So everyday you walk, or run, or ride, or whatever it is, brings you closer to your goal. Maybe it's running for 15 minutes.....or even 5 minutes. It doesn't matter because you are still moving forward, not backward. If fat loss is your goal, try changing one thing about your diet everyday as well. Exchange your morning donut for fruit. Trade in your whole milk for 2%. Pretty soon all those things become second nature and now you don't even miss what you were eating before.

That is the recipe for permanent change and that's what you have to do to be healthy. You hear it all the time. Life-style change - that's what works.

Moderate Exercise

I wanted to follow up on my earlier post about low-intensity vs high intensity cardiovascular exercise. I don't want you to think that if you don't perform high intensity exercise every time you workout, you aren't getting any benefit. That's not true. There are a ton of benefits that can be achieved by engaging in moderate exercise.

Here are just a few:

*It plays an integral in maintaining weight and metabolic balance.
*It tones all the muscles, joints and connective tissue needed for heavier activity.
*It physiologically and hormonally counters the effects of stress.
*It reduces the risk of breast cancer and death due to cardiovascular disease.
*It can decrease overall systemic inflammation in the body and the risk for a vast array of diseases that it causes.
*Believe it or not, it reduces the risk of the common cold.
*It elevates mood and the sense of well being for 2+ hours after performing the activity.
*It can help alleviate the symptoms of chronic depression.
*It promotes better sleep.

So why am I suggesting that higher intensity is better then lower intensity (overall)? Because it is necessary for fat loss. If you notice above it states that it is great for maintaining weight, not losing fat. It is also great for metabolic balance not increasing metabolic rate.

All the benefits above are fantastic and worth pursuing. So if moderate exercise is what you do, fabulous! But if fat loss is what you seek, you need to up the intensity. Period.

What constitutes moderate exercise? Rollerblading, heavy gardening, leisurely bike riding, brisk walk, mowing the lawn, outdoor hiking, light swimming, dancing, badminton or ping pong - you get the picture. Just lead an active life and you'll reap all the benefits of moderate exercise. But, again, if it's fat loss you want you will have to increase your energy output.

Low Intensity Vs Higher Intensity Cardio

I have received several follow up questions on the posts that I wrote earlier on cardio vascular training, so I am going to elaborate a little more on that.

We are going to look at lower-intensity vs higher-intensity, not interval training per se.

One of the reasons that people have a hard time changing the way they think about cardio vascular training is because of past media attention to the 'fat burning' zone. The fat-burning zone does exist, well, sort of. Yes, the body burns a greater percentage of fat at lower-intensity aerobic training, not a greater amount of fat. That's where all the confusion comes into play.

Working out at a lower intensity may burn 50% of your total caloric expenditure in fat, and working out at a higher intensity may burn 35% of your total caloric expenditure in fat. That looks like you should keep going at in the lower intensity range, right? Well, let's look at the numbers:

A 150 pound woman who is reasonably fit gets on the elliptical trainer for 45 minutes at a low intensity (reading her Cosmo or watching TV - this is the most likely scenario in any health club). She has been doing this same thing for, let's say, six months now. During that 45 minutes she burns approx. 200-300 calories. *The machine will say she has burned more, but in reality she is probably burning a little less every time she performs the activity because her body is used to it.* Of that 200-300 calories, she has burned 100-150 calories of fat, based on the above equation.

Now the same 150 pound woman hires me as her trainer (very smart woman). The elliptical is a safe piece of equipment (my least favorite) so we stick with it. To make it simple, before I really start to push her, I ask her to select the interval or hill program listed on the machines console. I also ask her to forward through all the prompts asking for her age, weight and sex. The machine is supposed to be able to figure out how many calories you burn with that information which is absolutely ridiculous. Does the machine know your resting heart rate? Does the machine know how much muscle you have? Does the machine know if you are on medication? Didn't think so.
Anyway, we get her going and I monitor her exertion by asking her how she feels, but I also watch her. If she starts to look around the gym at the other members during the higher intensity segments, I increase the intensity. If she is focused, we stay at the same intensity. I do not expect her to go at a high intensity for the full 30 minutes. If your mind is wondering, you are not pushing yourself hard enough.

Now she has burned approx. 300-400 calories, 100-150 of them from fat. She has burned the same number of calories from fat but in a lot less time. As long as she monitors her intensity, and she doesn't start zoning out (which will lower her caloric expenditure), she will continue to burn more fat. Next step would be interval training to bump that fat burn even more.

Remember, this is not INTERVAL training, this is just increasing the intensity of your cardio vascular training. I will write more about interval training later. This is a great place to start learning why increasing the intensity of your cardio vascular workout is so great for your fitness and fat loss goals.

All you have to remember is: If you can read a magazine while working out, you might as well get off the machine.

Lift More Weight For Significant Fat Loss

One thing I hear women say all the time is "I don't lift weights, because I don't want to get big". That is a myth. A myth that just doesn't seem to go away! Strength training is one of the three components of fitness - strength, cardio vascular endurance and flexibility - you need to do all three to be your fbest shape. Lean and defined, that's what most people want when they say they want to lose weight. I tell them 'Nope, you want to lose fat".

You won't get big by lifting weights, unless that is your specific goal. You would need to increase your caloric intake significantly in order to build that much muscle. Women are not predisposed to building large muscles. We don't have enough testosterone in our system. When you see pictures of bodybuilders, including women, they are huge. They take performance enhancing drugs. Period. I've seen it myself. I competed as a natural bodybuilder. When I was in the back, before a competition, I would see other women who had the side-affects of male hormone and steroid use. It is horrible. Back acne. Enlarged jaw. Enlarged clitoris. Some women even had to tape down their private parts so they wouldn't show through the competition bathing suit. And they were competing in a natural bodybuilding show. Very little drug testing was done, due to the cost. I could never understand why women would do that to their bodies just for a trophy.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, no 5 pound weights. That does not constitute a weight training program. You need to tax your muscle in order to build muscle. I think the term 'build muscle' is how the myth of getting big started. The 'building' part of weight training is actually very small. You create tiny, micro-fiber tears in your muscles whenever you lift weight enough weigt to challenge the muscle. Sounds bad, but it's good! When you create those tiny tears your body has to work at repairing the muscle tissue by knitting it back together. Ever time the body knits a muscle back together, it is stronger then it was before. Repairing the muscles also takes more energy (calories), so your metabolism is raised for the next 24 HOURS(!) after you weight train.

Of course, just lifting weights will not account for significant fat loss, although most of my clients notice a big difference in body composition with in 3-4 weeks of training regularly. You do need to do some cardio (but not much) and develop better eating habits. But you won't have to cut your calories by as much as you would if you didn't lift weights regularly.

There are a lot of really great books out there that will help you design a weight training program. Start slow and build from there. A little soreness is good (that's the discomfort from breaking down the muscle tissue), but I-can't-get-out-of-bed sore, well, that's not so good, although it may happen the first couple of times. You don't even need to join a gym to get a good weight work out. All you need to do is buy a set of dumbbells (NO 5 POUND WEIGHTS) and a bench, and that bench could be a step aerobics bench which you could use for so many different things that I can't even list them all here.

The formula for fat loss? Weight training 2-3 times per week, cardio 2-3 times per week (but short and intense is best) and a good diet. Remember, I don't believe in significantly cutting calories. You should eat when your hungry and stop when your full. Try to get more protein into your diet and try to get rid of starchy carbs, such as white bread, white rice and sugar. Replace them with whole vegies, fruits and whole grains - not whole wheat, but whole grain. There is a big difference.

I often ask clients and my class participants "Do you think I look too muscular". Assuming they are answering honestly, they almost always say no. I lift heavy weights regularly. It keeps me strong, lean and defined.


If you don't believe me, check it out.

Treadmill Workout

If you work out on indoor cardio equipment (well, really, what is OUTDOOR cardio equipment?), then you may be awfully bored with what you have been doing. The following is a fantastic treadmill workout which my clients love (to hate)!

First check your treadmill to see what the incline percentage is, i.e. is the range 0%-10%, or 0%-15%. They do vary, but most treadmills now have the 0% to 15% range.

Start on the 0% incline, at 3.5 miles per hour, or a comfortable walk. Stay there for about 3 minutes and then increase your speed until you are at the fastest, but also comfortable walking or running speed. What that means is, if you are a runner, you will need to increase your speed until you are running very comfortably. For a walker you will have to increase your speed until you feel as if you need to break into a run, and then back it off until you are walking at a brisk pace, but comfortably.

Once you have established your pace, the workout really begins. I am going to outline one workout in this post. There are quite a few you can do, but I am going to leave those for later posts, so check back.

After you warm-up and find your pace (which should take approx. 5 minutes), increase the incline to 5% for one minute. You must try to keep your original pace throughout the workout. After one minute at 5%, drop the incline back to 0% for one minute. Repeat, raising the incline to 7%, dropping to 0%. Repeat the same sequence at 9%, 11%, 13% and 15%. In other words, up one minute, down one minute. Again, throughout the work out you need to try to maintain your original pace. Cool down for 3-5 minutes and then stretch.

This is an interval workout without the need to increase your speed, which a lot of people assume they need to do. I love this type of cardio training because you do not have to be a runner, walkers can achieve the same intensity (and same results) without running.

The workout takes 25-30 minutes to complete and burns approx. 9X more fat then steady-state cardio activity. SO if you got on the treadmill and walked or ran steadily for 45-60 minutes, you would achieve LESS fat loss results then if you performed the above workout for 25-30 minutes.

I would say that was much better use of your time, wouldn't you?

More Nutrition Information

Fat loss is not as simple as cutting calories and increasing activity. Calories are not the primary focus of some very successful fat-loss programs. How much you eat may not be as important as what you eat. Fats are no longer considered bad. And eating a lot of carbohydrates may make you fatter, even as much as cheese and steaks can. Research shows that certain carbs may cause more metabolic problems than any other food you put in your mouth, because of the assault of glucose on your system, which essentially shuts down almost all other nutrition processing functions (including fat burning) while it is being processed.

Eating more protein will even speed up your metabolism and slow down your appetite. It will make you feel full faster then either carbohydrates or fats. You body uses more energy to to digest then carbs or fat. The more protein you eat, the harder your body has to work to digest it, which means more expended calories. People that eat a high-protein diet (over a high-carb diet) burned more then twice as many calories during the hours after they eat.

Everybody has heard of good carbs vs bad carbs. The good carbs are the ones that empty out of your stomach slower. Bad carbs empty out quickly. The longer it takes for something to process through the system, the more satiated you will feel.

So what do you eat?

Best protein sources are (you probably already know these):

* Lean beef
* Chicken breast
* Turkey breast
* All types of fish

How about carbs? (these may surprise you):

* Breads - pumpernickel and sourdough
* Grains - Barley, parboiled rice, Bulgar and kasha
* Pasta - Angel hair, linguine and other thin strand pasta; bean threads or cellophane noodles; whole grain spaghetti
* Cereals - Rice bran, unsweetened high-fiber, like an all bran cereal.
* Vegies - Sweet potatoes, yams, green peas, tomatoes
* Fruits - Mangoes, bananas, kiwi, oranges, grapes, apples, pears, strawberries, dried apricots, peaches, plums and cherries
* Snacks - Cheese, nuts and olives
* Protein-carbs - Unsweetened peanut butter, beans, eggs and unsweetened soy milk
* Misc - Low-fat yogurt, foods sweetened w/sucralose, saccharine, fructose or aspartame.

What about fats?

* Olive oil
* Canola oil
* Corn oil
* Walnut oil
* Soybean oil

Got it? The easiest way to think about the above foods is to ask yourself, 'How many steps did this food take to get to my table'? If the answer is, 'Alot'. Avoid it. A whole, fresh potato? Ground to produce section. Potato chips? Ground, processing factory, packaging factory, long truck transport (most likely) and then to the grocery shelves. Phew.

Good luck on your fat loss goals, and refer to the above lists often.

The Power Of Protein

You have probably heard all you want to hear about the benefits of eating more protein, but I am going to talk about it even more.

Make note of the following: Eating more protein is essential to fat loss.

Why? The main reason is that protein repairs tissue, not just muscle tissue, but all tissue. That is it's job. You want to keep your muscle at all cost, because everyone knows that the more muscle you have, the higher your metabolism. The higher your metabolism, the more calories you can consume. I am a big proponent in not cutting your calories. Once you have reduced your calories to, say, 1200 per day, your body will adjust down to that level. Sure, on the Biggest Loser they are eating very few calories AND working out 4 hours a day. That show is completely unrealistic. Do you want to spend the rest of your life working out 4 hours a day and starving? I don't think so. And, have they checked in with all the participants? Nope. But the one's that they have checked on have gain all or some of the weight back. They keep that part on the down-low.

I'm going to use myself as an example. When I started bodybuilding I went on a low-fat, high carb diet of around 1500 calories a day. I lifted weights twice a day and taught my regular load of group exercise classes, which was around 5 per week, and added in about 45 minutes of cardio on top of it. You usually start a bodybuilding diet 15 weeks out from the show. In 15 weeks I lost a total of 5 POUNDS!!! I am serious. How disappointed was I? I was devastated when I got on stage and look soft next to my opponents.

But I didn't give up. The next couple of times I experimented with diets. The best I ever looked was when I ate 3,000(!) calories a day, low carb/high protein/med fat. All the fats were good fats, and that's where I got my energy. My metabolism has never slowed down.

The other thing about protein is that it does not hold water. Carbs hold 4 gms of water to every 1 gm of carbohydrate. That's why your body weight can fluctuate 5 pounds over night. Mine did, until I changed the way I ate.

Even vegetarians can eat a diet higher in protein. I will say that vegetarians will almost never have a lot of lean muscle mass. It just is what it is. And I am not saying that if you eat a lot of protein you will get huge muscles. I tried to get more muscular when I was competing. It just doesn't work for women because we don't have enough testosterone in our system to build that much muscle. When you see a woman with a lot of muscle mass, she has probably taken performance enhancing drugs. I have seen it, even at 'natural' bodybuilding' shows. You have to trust me on that.

Try it. Eat a higher protein, lower carb diet for 3-4 weeks and see what happens. Obviously, you will have to continue to exercise, but see how your body changes. Then let me know.

No Juice No Smoothies

The unfortunate truth is that juice affects the body very much in the same way as pop. Both of them contained refined sugar. I know your thinking 'but juice just has to be better'! Well, yes, juice doesn't (usually) contain chemicals, as does pop, but it is still sugar and your body recognizes both in almost the same way. Really juice IS processed sugar. They took all the fiber out of the fruit and/or vegetable and all you have left is (duh) the juice. Your body doesn't have to do much work to break it down. It enters your stomach already partially digested (yup, they did some of the work for you and that is never a good thing when it comes to nutrition) and if you aren't about ready to run 5 miles it is immediately stored as energy (fat). The worst juice? Apple. It kills me when I see mom's giving their kids apple juice in a sippy cup thinking it is nutritious. I have gotten in many an arguement with moms on that very subject. Sugar is sugar. White sugar comes form a plant right? Apples come from a tree, right? There you go.

That's why they talk about the glycemic index so flippin' much! The longer it takes for something to empty out of your stomach the better it is for you.

When I have analyzed food logs, for men especially, they usually take in a lot of calories in the form of liquid (your thinking alcohol, but that is for a later post). Men are pretty clear that sugared pop is not a good thing if they want to be lean, but I have seen food logs where men are drinking a half-gallon of juice every day! As soon as they stop, they quickly lose 5 pounds.

Smoothies are another story entirely. They are packed, packed, packed with sugar and calories. You have to be super diligent about checking the ingredients whenever you think about ordering one. When I order a smoothie, I always order a low-carb version. For no other reason then that low carb usually means low sugar. Again, smoothies have done some of the digestive work for you. If that's true, your whole system is putting out less energy, and, remember, that's not something you want. Period.

Think before you drink. And I'll say that again later. And probably again after that.

No 5 lb weights!!!

I think one of my most frustrating things in teaching a group fitness class is those people (usually women) that grab 5 lb weighs for the workout! I always tell the class that my gym bag weighs more then 5 lbs and as proof I weighed it. It weighed 7.3 lbs.

How can lifting 5 lb weights help you reach your fitness goals if you lift more then that on a regular basis? Again, I don't assume that everyone is in my class for fat loss, but I'm pretty darn sure they have some sort of goal they are trying to reach. IF THE BODY ISN'T CHALLENGED, IT WILL NOT CHANGE! Another way to look at it: It nothing changes, nothing changes.

I'm sure participants that aren't looking for fat loss want to get stronger, more defined and have an over all sense of well being, all of which are benefits of exercise....IF it makes your body react. I have written this before as well: even if you don't have fat loss goals, I'm pretty darn sure you don't want to burn muscle to fuel your work outs. I bet you would prefer to burn stored fat, which is really stored energy, instead. If you burn muscle, your metabolism will DEcrease, something I know no one wants to happen!

So remember, next time you take a group fitness class, or go into the gym to lift some weights:

NO FIVE POUND WEIGHTS!!!!!
(otherwise you'll like the shapeless, but thin, woman above from 1985).

Best Cardio For Fat Loss

If fat loss is your goal, steady state cardio is not your friend. Getting on the elliptical for 45 minutes 3-4 times per week or walking four+ miles is not going to do it for you. Why? Because your body gets used to those activities very quickly. As a matter of fact, research shows that a body probably adapts to an exercise within 2-3 weeks of performing that exercise regularly. We used to think it took 12 weeks! That's a big difference. Interval training burns 9X more fat then steady state cardio. Let me explain. When you get super uncomfortable, or near maximum output, followed by recovery of course, your body thinks 'if he/she is going to do this again, what can I do to make it easier?' The heart and lungs are muscles, so now it thinks 'if I were a little lighter (weight loss) then my heart and lungs wouldn't have to work so hard, so I'll use a little of my stored energy (fat) to fuel these workouts and repair muscle (increased metabolism AFTER the workout). I don't want to burn muscle as fuel because he/she is using that muscle, so I will sacrifice the fat, lightening the load, and thereby making the activity easier'.

When you perform steady state cardio, your body thinks 'no big deal, I want to survive, this is low intensity so I'll just put out less effort'. And there's the difference. The body doesn't want to put out much effort. It is always in survival mode. How can it make anything easier, so it will last longer.

I think people stick with the 3-4X per week cardio-machine workout because A. It's easy and B. They initially see results so they think it is still working, even though they see no change in body composition. Plus, I don't think people like to get uncomfortable. I see it with my clients all the time. They don't like the work but they absolutely LOVE the results. Leaner, tighter and more defined. Who doesn't want that?!

I'm shrinking!

I'm really surprised that no one has really written about this phenomena. I have pretty much always been the same weight - ever since high school. Yes, my body has changed because of my fitness level. I have much more muscle definition from my years of lifting weights, but my weight has stayed the same. The thing is, I have dropped two sizes in the past five years. This whole thing involving clothing manufactures making sizes bigger is so strange to me!

I realize that they do it to sell more clothes. Designers have always up-sized, but now everybody is doing it. I also understand that we now have an almost 50% obesity rate in the US. The CDC is predicting that, if we continue the way we are going, we will have 100% obesity by 2040. Of course, that is impossible, because some people just don't gain fat. That statistics just goes to show us how much the rate is increasing year to year. Therefore, if the general public is getting fatter, then why not make current sizes bigger? That way the over-fat people can still fit into ready-to-wear, and readily available, clothing.

Maybe I'll shrink even more? My prediction? Probably.

What's the best exercise?

I get asked that all the time. My answer? The one you'll do. Your first goal should be to get moving. Once you have a form of movement on your schedule regularly, then we can talk about what else you can do to get the results that you want. I never assume that fat loss is my client's goal. Maybe it's stress release or a sense of well being or better sleep or better sex. All of those are great benefits of exercise which can be achieved by low intensity movement. Do you like to dance? Try a ballet barre class...or hip hop....of NIA. There are many, many choices. Do you like nature? Simply walking or riding a bike, for fun, will bring you those benefits. Bowling, square dancing, golf, roller-blading, etc - all those activities have many benefits BUT fat loss is not one of them. Maybe initially, if you haven't moved your body for a long time, but after a couple of weeks of regular activity you will need more. Especially if fat loss is a goal.

Research now shows that a body will get 'used to' an activity in as little as two weeks. That means that if you take up a walking program say, three days a week, you will intially see results but after about two weeks those changes will level out. Why? Because your body recognizes the activity and adjusts down. I know. That sucks. But your body is always in survival mode. It thinks 'if he/she does this all the time, I need to put out LESS energy in order to last (live) longer'. So now you add an extra day per week of walking. Again, you'll probably see a little results in the next couple of weeks, but then your body will adapt again. Adaption is a very good thing. That is one of the reasons we have survived this world/environment of ours over the years. People used to live to be 40 years old, now we live to be 80 or 85 or even 100. Statistic show that almost 50% of women today will live to be 100. 100!! That's incredible! Don't you want to make it the best 100 years ever?

Fat Loss Not Weight Loss

July 13th, 2008

People confuse fat loss with weight loss. Really, weight loss isn't important. Fat loss is. The number on the scale does not reflect how lean you are....or how good you look. I am 5" 8' and I weigh 145lbs. Picture a person that you think looks like those stats. You probably pictured someone that was pretty over fat. I'm not. That's just a fact. It takes thought, planning and work, but not as much work as you think. It's all about choices. I will talk about those choices more later.