The Vlog

Have you ever politely denied a cookie or cake by someone and they took offense? Have they ever said something like “what are you on a diet or something? Have you ever come back with something like “no, but you should be on a diet.” I have and it’s not a pretty sight. The real problem here is the guilt of people who offer this stuff. It eats people up inside. Some obese people externalize it through ridicule and scorn. Others internalize it and just live with it. The fact is that it sucks. This however must be worked through and I believe forgiveness of oneself is extremely valuable. Talking about it can also be extremely valuable as a way to let go of this shame. The next time you work with a fitness professional, don’t feel bad if you have these problems to talk it out. That’s what we’re here for.

Just so you know, some diets allow “cheating.” I even recommend it sometimes to my clients if they’re state of mind is dwindling and it looks like they might soon be seen on a suicide hotline billboard. My only qualification is that they’ve followed their diet perfectly and they need some mental relief. You might be wondering, “how can cheating be good for you?” I’m going to tell you how it can be good for you and if it is good for you, why would we call it cheating? I like to call it strategic eating. Foods like pizza, ice cream, and pastries can be very good for jump-starting the metabolism because it increases amount of leptin in your body which is a hormone which helps the body release fat. Basically, these foods contain a lot of carbohydrates and fat which have been shown to aid in leptin production. But don’t get me wrong, this isn’t permission to always eat these kinds of foods, only when you have followed your diet plan perfectly and your fat loss might plateau.

I’ve indentified a few major factors which are important for keeping the long-term weight loss. Some of these are no-brainers, but don’t underestimate the importance of them.

1. Stick to the basic plan – If you lost 20 or 150 pounds on a plan, then obviously it works for you and you should probably stick to the basic template. Whether it’s low-carb, moderate-carb, vegetarian, or whatever, stick to it!
2. Experiment with food choices – If you don’t experiment and find what tastes good, you’ll cheat more and have a greater likelihood of just blowing the whole thing. Find new recipes in books, internets, and groups. There are thoursands of recipes out there, you must find what tastes good to you.
3. Make it convenient – If your food isn’t convenient, you will likely go for something more convenient and probably less healthy. Piggybacking from principal 2, find a meal which is both convenient and tastes great. This is the holy grail of a diet plan!
4. Cheat (but not once in a while) – Allow yourself to be less strict a couple of times a week once you reach your target weight. Eat whatever you want and don’t feel bad about it. Guilt sucks anyways.
5. Exercise regularly – You will keep toned, keep your weight off, and be more motivated to eat well if you are exercising. Whatever it is you like to do and makes you work hard, do that.

Von

It’s very popular in the fitness field to hear “the only way you lose weight is through dieting.” This is a false statement. Several studies have demonstrated that if you reduce your calories by 500 calories or if you burn 500 calories through exercise, you’ll lose the same amount of weight. Why don’t people then lose weight with steady-state cardio? Simple, they compensate by eating more. What’s the important thing to take away from this blog? Let’s say that when you began dieting and exercising, you lowered your calories by 1000 just through dieting and expended 500 calories through exercise. Let’s say you’ve been on this diet for 12 weeks and your about ready to throw your boss in the garbage bins outside. The solution? Raise your calories by 500 or 1000 and you’ll still lose weight just through the exercise! You’ll get mental relief and still get weight loss. The trick is to know EXACTLY how much you eat because if you don’t, you’ll likely binge and gorge yourself into oblivion. If you do keep careful track of your calories, you’ll however keep losing and when you’re ready to diet again, you’ll reach your goal.

Von

The research says that the fastest way to lose fat is diet + resistance training. This combination beats all weight loss medications (and actually by a ton). If you don’t diet, you’ll like lose nothing, so diet is of prime importance when losing weight. The next is resistance training. By including resistance training, you will make sure all the weight you lose will be fat and not muscle. To optimize diet, use a diet that you can follow long-term. But you must NOT diet longer than 16 weeks. I repeat you must NOT go hypo-caloric longer than 16 weeks. Increase your calories after this point for at least a month and maybe even longer. Then you can go back to reducing calories. To optimize resistance training, do circuits with lilttle rest between sets or no rest in-between sets.

Von

Von

I choose my trainers very carefully. Yes, I use trainers and although they may not be looking over my shoulder, I know what they would say if they did see me in the gym. What are some signs to spot a good trainer? The first is that they must provide an exercise and nutritional plan. If you’re not eating correctly, you’ll go nowhere and that’s guaranteed. The second quality is that they must keep a record of what you do and where your at with your progress. How in the hell do you know you’re getting stronger or losing fat off of your waist. The third is that they adjust the program to fit your needs. If you hurt your wrist sliding into second in your softball game, will your trainer adjust the program to you? What happens if you feel sick during the session? The last quality of a good trainer is that they make you compliant with the plan. If you are compliant, you’ll see results and that means picking a trainer who you know you will be compliant with. This is ultimately what were in the game for, to get those results!

Von

Von

I will see one out of twenty or thirty people in the gym use stopwatches. Usually, guys will do some sets of the bench press, sit down for a while, and go back to benching. Usually, they’ll wait at least a couple of minutes. I’ve observed that the longer the rest interval, the bigger the belly. I’ve also observed the opposite – the shorter the rest intervals, the smaller the belly. Why is this? Shorter rest intervals promote lactic acid buildup which is a potent fat killer. How short or long should your rest intervals be for fat loss? For some exercises, you don’t need any rest in-between like leg extensions and triceps pressdowns. For going between squats and chin-ups, you might wait for 60 seconds if you still want a fat-burning effect. The point is, if your going to train for fat loss, use shorter rest intervals and time yourself.

Von

We don’t really learn about nutrition in school. Sure, we learn how to read, write, perform some math operations, but oddly, we hardly learn anything about nutrition. If you really think about it, nutrition is something you began using since the day you were born. You had to; otherwise, you would die. You would think that maybe after 10 years or so, people would be educated and very good at something they did everyday, right? If you were a carpenter after 10 years, I would imagine you would know at least what the hell you were doing and probably would be pretty good at it. This is not the case with nutrition. For most individuals whether their 10 or 70, they eat sub-optimally. They consistently make poor nutritional choices every single day. And I’m not just talking about the 63% of Americans who are overweight (which obviously indicates poor nutrition), but about the other normal and underweight individuals as well. Most skinny people I know don’t eat very well either. But this isn’t the failure of them, it’s just missing education. I’m not just talking about information either, I’m talking about education in making lifestyle changes, cooking, shopping, individualizing, etc. The benefits of good nutrition are plentiful, but for me, the biggest are that I never suffer from lack of energy, I prevent disease, I have a good body, and it makes me feel good. What are your reasons for the way you eat?

Von