Weight Loss

Drinking water is so important in every day life but did you know that drinking water can help you burn bodyfat. People that are dehydrated generally experience a significant drop in their metabolic rate which basically means they experience a decrease in how much fat they burn in a day. If you’re completely hydrated your optimum fat burning rate is at its highest.

While I am standing in the check out line at the super market, I take a moment to glance through various health & fitness magazines. “Lose 30 lbs. in 30 days!” “Use BRAND X, the most powerful fat burner in the world!” Recently, I actually saw an ad that said, “Have your cheesecake and build muscle, too!” The sad part is, many consumers believe this stuff!

Some of my new clients have been exposed to so much myth-information that they don’t even trust common sense, anymore. Their belief system is so firmly in place, they can’t even move towards their personal health and fitness goals until these beliefs are addressed and then thrown out, for good!

The common problems I see are listed below.

1. The media makes carbohydrates out to be the enemy. Low-carb diets are everywhere. Minimizing the processed and refined carbohydrates (cakes, bread, crackers) makes good nutrition sense but to make all carbohydrates “bad” does us all a great disservice. Starches, grains, fruits and vegetables are carbohydrates that come from the earth. These foods give us energy. We need them.
2. The idea that dietary fat makes you fat is still an idea that is alive and well. Of course dietary fat is more calorically dense than carbohydrates and proteins, but no macronutrient makes you fat. Gaining weight is caused by too much energy in (calories) and not enough energy out (exercise).

I’ve learned how to get a glimpse into the future! If you look at your daily routine, it is possible to see what the future looks like. Let’s take a look at yesterday for instance. Take a moment and answer these questions for me.

1. Did everything you ate and drank yesterday add to or take away from you reaching your fitness goal?
2. Did you do your resistance training program?
3. Did you perform some type of cardiovascular exercise?

If your answers to these questions were not positive, did you have a good reason?

“I’ll do anything to lose weight — except eat right and exercise!”

My friend Julia has been struggling to get her weight down. She tends to start into things with a little too much enthusiasm, and then she’ll just get completely sidetracked. I think a lot of people share this pattern, but Julia is learning from her experiences and she’s smart enough to keep a sense of humor about the whole thing. She knows that her goals are attainable, and she trusts that God will help her find the right time to make them happen.

“I’ll do anything to lose weight,” Julia says. “Except eat right and exercise! That’s too basic. Give me pills, powders, homeopathic remedies, or the latest diet that promises to help me lose 20 pounds in two weeks. But when I look back on the years when I’ve lost weight, put on muscle, and felt great, none of those get-thin-quick schemes could take the credit. I turn to those things in a panic when I gain weight. We all want the quick fix. The only thing I’ve ever found that got the weight off and kept it off is a lifestyle of healthy eating and daily exercise.

When you step on the scale, is that numerical weight really an important number? Men and women are so focused on how much they weigh. It is almost the driving force for them to go to the gym. Let me tell you something: that number that pops up when you weigh yourself is not that important. Matter of fact, it can be very misleading because it doesn’t tell you muscle and how much fat you have.

The numerical weight you want to focus on is your true lean muscle weight after doing a body fat test. The body fat test will tell you your body-fat percentage, your fat weight, and your lean muscle weight. That is the number you want to focus on because it will truly tell you how fit and lean you are. Many people are afraid to do a body-fat test because it may reveal all of their weaknesses. However, once you get those numbers it gives you the greatest gauge on your fitness level and what you have to do to remain fit for your age.

The bowl is on your co-worker’s desk. The same desk you pass on your way to your own desk. The bright, shiny wrappers are just calling your name. Plus, the bite-sized chocolates are so small. Surely just one or two won’t hurt…or three…or four.

A common dieting pitfall is not knowing when to stop. But new research suggests that the packaging of smaller items can confuse that boundary even more for dieters. A new study out of Lisbon, Portugal observed subjects as they watched episodes of Friends and ate snacks (I want to be in that study!). The participants thought the study was about analyzing the commercials – but in reality, the research team was monitoring the quantity of potato chips they consumed while viewing. The potato chips were given to the subjects in two sizes of bags. Viewers who received the smaller bags of chips ate a significantly greater amount of chips than those who had the bigger bags.

Remember that book that came out a few years ago, “French Women Don’t Get Fat”? Say what you will about the French, but the fact remains that French women are typically very slender and healthy. One of the key points of the book was that French women still indulge in pastries and breads and delicacies – but they know their limits and apply other strategies and routines to retain their sleek physiques. This is all well and good – but how do you know exactly how much to indulge in? Where do you draw the line? If you have trouble figuring out exactly how much you can get away with, the three-bite rule may be the perfect fit for you.

It’s simple, easy, and guilt-free. You can eat your favorite foods, but the quantity will be so small that it won’t impact your waistline. It’s exactly how it sounds – just take three bites of that dessert or favorite dish that’s tempting you. There are a few other rules, of course – you won’t make much progress if you liberally apply the three-bite rule, taking three bites of everything on the table, or if you decide to take abnormally large bites. To make it work, just think about your eating actions before you take them. Do you really want another cookie, or would you feel better if you had celery sticks and low-fat peanut butter, a handful of air-popped popcorn, or a couple of grapes?

However, let’s say you’re at a wedding or family event. Do you really want to sacrifice a delicious taste of your Aunt Sue’s devil’s food cake, which you only get a crack at a couple times per year?

Who does this sound like? I have trouble getting out of bed in the morning, I have low energy most days, I have gained some extra weight, I am not sleeping too well at night, I tend to have a decreased libido, I am feeling a bit depressed and I’m not particularly handling stress too well.

It sounds to me like most Americans these days.

So, what’s the remedy for being tired and fatigued: Starbucks, Mountain Dew, or Rockstar.

So, what’s the remedy for the extra weight gain: Caffeine, ephedrine, or even clenbuterol for you veterans.

Now with all of the stimulants circulating around your body, you can’t sleep.

So, what’s the remedy for sleeplessness: Sleeping pills.

And the remedy for decreased libido: Um, no sex (oh no).

How about the remedy for the depression and handling the extra stress: Anti-depressants and Anxiolytics.

Gosh, we have a cabinet full of meds now. Ever wonder what the CAUSE of all of these symptoms might be? Well, I’m going to help you out.

Your adrenal glands are tiny triangle shaped endocrine (hormone producing) glands that sit right on top of your kidneys. Their primary function is to regulate your body’s “stress response.” A stress response is any stress put on your body that forces it to work harder. Examples include exercise, anxiety, and BINGO—stimulants. Stimulants cause your body to induce a stress response, making these tiny glands work harder to pump out hormones called epinephrine (adrenaline) and norepinephrine (noradrenaline).

I've been in and around gyms for longer than many of you have been alive (I know we have some young members) and I've done my fair share of cardio. I've also seen countless people doing cardio and never getting any results.

The first mistake many people make is that they never change their choice of cardio machines. If you read my "get tweaked" article (Check out part 1 and part 2), you know I covered the fact that the human body quickly and efficiently adapts to the demands that are placed on it and no more. That's why I suggested making simple changes in your training program to ensure that your body always had to adapt, therefore causing a neurological response, then recruiting different muscle fibers. I also covered that in my Video Blog on Shoulder Presses (Watch it here!).

Well, cardio is no different. If you've been doing treadmill for the past ten years I think it's time for a change because your body is cruising right along having already figured out that you aren't going to ask any more from it. I know people that NEVER change the treadmill they use either. Talk about being a creature of habit.

Well, if that is you let this simple article be your wake up call to try something different, not just the location of your treadmill, but your choice of cardio altogether. Most gyms have at least an upright bike, elliptical, and recumbent, and some of the bigger chains will have rowing machines, perpetual stairs, and running tracks.

What I would suggest is switching up every few days. Keep some variety and keep your body guessing. You'll also want to train in your THR (Target Heart Rate). This is easily determined by taking 220(subtract your age) and multiply by .75-.85. This will give you your THR. If you train in your THR, you will begin to burn fat more efficiently.

Many dieters have one wish: to eliminate belly fat and gain a six-pack. They get frustrated when the latest schemes don’t pan out, and give up on their attempts. What they don’t know is that there is really no quick fix to get rid of the obnoxious, dangerous abdominal fat. Studies have shown that consistent, regular exercise, a steady diet full of vegetables and other natural foods, and strength training specific to the core area are all associated with reductions in belly fat.