You looked amazing all summer long.  Everyone was jealous of how you looked in your new bathing suit.  And you liked it that way.

Well, summer is now over and you won’t be able to show that body off again for another seven months. Sucks, I know.

Don’t let this be an excuse to gain weight and slack off over the colder months.  Remember how hard it was to get the fat off this year.

You can’t see those toned muscles (in the mirror) if they’re buried under layers of fat.

So to keep (or get) that hot body just follow these rules.

1).  Protein, protein, protein. – Replacing starchy carbs with an equal amount of protein (meat, fish, eggs, dairy) can help you get rid of that unwanted fat, especially the fat around your middle.  When researches analyzed peoples diets you know what they discovered?

No.  Well I will tell you.

The researchers found that when starchy carbs were exchanged for an equal amount of protein the people lost fat.  The best thing about it was that a lot of the fat that the people lost was from around their middles.   So instead of a bagel for breakfast have some eggs and turkey sausages.

While I commend your desire to slim down before baring it all, I’m here to warn you of the 5 myths that most people believe. Don’t waste your time on these:

Myth #1: Take diet pills (a.k.a drugs)to speed results.
I know it’s so tempting! The ads make compelling claims about the power of popping a pill, but don’t fall for it. There is no ‘magic pill’. Diet pills are more likely to burn through your pocketbook than to slim you down.

• Tip: Don’t pop a pill – instead burn calories with intense exercise.

Especially diet drugs.

Myth #2: Do extra crunches to flatten your abs.
Excessive crunches aren’t the answer for tight abs. In order to achieve a toned look you’ll have to focus on burning off the layer of fat that is covering up your tummy.

• Tip: Don’t obsess about crunches – instead focus on fat burning.

I can think of more productive things she could be doing to lose the gut.

Myth #3: Turn to packaged diet products to boost results.
Don’t fall for the foods that are packaged as ‘diet’ or ‘weight loss’ aids. Quite often these products are packed with refined sugar and other artificial ingredients that your body doesn’t need, and certainly won’t help you attain that tight tummy.

• Tip: Don’t eat packaged diet foods – instead stick with nutritious whole foods.

eat more of these and none of these

Myth #4: Avoid all carbohydrates in order to achieve tight abs.
Carbohydrates have been given a bad rap, which is unfortunate because you can (and should) eat carbs while slimming down. The key is to stick with whole grains, oatmeal and brown rice while avoiding processed and refined flours and sugars (see the recipe below for Power Oatmeal).

• Tip: Don’t give up all carbohydrates – instead stick with wholesome carbs.

Myth #5: Starve the chub away. Trying to lose weight by starving yourself is not only ineffective it can also be dangerous. It may seem that severe calorie restriction would deliver the quickest weight loss, but your body is complex and by doing so you’ll disrupt your metabolism and slow your results.

• Tip: Don’t starve yourself – instead eat small wholesome meals throughout the day.

I’m guessing that this isn’t the look your going for.

Now that you know what not to do in order to achieve tight abs, it’s time to go over your flat tummy game plan. Here’s what you need to know in 3 simple steps:

• Step One: No more junk.
  The best way to do this is by purging your kitchen. Throw out the sugary, processed and fat-filled foods. Once the junk has been cleared out, don’t buy any more of it. Remember that your beach-ready abs depend on what you eat – don’t eat junk!
• Step Two: Eat whole foods. Replace the junk food in your life with plenty of the following: cooked and raw vegetables, fresh fruits, whole grains, moderate amounts of seeds and nuts, lean meats and low fat dairy. Clean eating really is that simple.
• Step Three: Come train with me. This is the most obvious step. You’re ready to get into great shape and I’m in a unique position to make that happen for you. Call or reply to this email to get started on an exercise plan that will get you those amazing abs.

Your Friend and Trainer,

Paul F. Sweatt

Nothing could be farther from the truth.

I have gone thorugh my passed blog posts and looked for simple ways to improve your health and fitness.

So if you want to be (or stay) fit just follow the simple practices below everyday.

• Throw out your big dinner plates. Using small plates at home effortlessly reduces calorie intake and promotes weight loss.
• Make exercise a regular part of your life. Create a network of accountability with workout partners or by working with me, your local fitness expert.
• Know what you want to accomplish. Visualize the end result of your hard work.
• Believe in you. I know that you CAN accomplish your goals.
• Don’t be a wimp. Keep the intensity high during your workouts. Remember that you don’t want to kill time; you want to burn calories and strengthen your body through intense exercise.
• Drink water all day long.
• Know when to ask for help.
• Incorporate High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) into your routine by doing bursts of high intensity rather than exercising at a single steady pace.
• Maintain your metabolism by eating a healthy snack or meal every three hours. This food should be unprocessed, low in fat and high in fiber.
• Forget will-power; it’s about WANT-power. How badly do you want it.
• Never eat processed foods. These items are high in empty calories and contain a plethora of chemicals that are harmful to your health.
• Fat contains twice the caloric density of carbohydrates and protein, so limit the amount of it that you eat. Fill your diet with lean protein and carbohydrates from leafy plants and whole grains.
• It’s OK to be a skeptic. Watch out for products that are labeled as ‘health food’. Always read the nutrition labels and make your own informed opinion.
• Talk is cheap. Act now and get the job done.
• Exercise with people that are in better shape than you. This will encourage you to push your limits.
• Never indulge in negative self-talk.
• Don’t drink calories.
• Pay attention to everything that you eat.
• Keep consistent. Exercise at least three or four times each week.
• Expect more from yourself.
• Never eat High Fructose Corn Syrup. It spikes your blood sugar levels and encourages your body to store fat.
• Eat plenty of whole plant foods. Vegetables, fruits and whole grains are filled with fiber and antioxidants, great for good health and weight loss.
• Do your cardiovascular exercise after weight training to encourage more fat burn. Your stored sugars will be depleted during the weight training then your body will rely on fat stores to get you through the cardio workout.
• Breakfast should be a balance of carbohydrates, protein and fat to get your metabolism going strong.
• If you know that you deserve better…then go get it.
• Challenge yourself during each workout. Try something new and exciting.
• Set specific, measurable, attainable goals and track your progress.
• Even if they are whole grain, eat carbohydrates sparingly. Carbohydrates are quickly stored as fat.
• Put an end to your struggle to get and stay fit. Call or email me today to get started on a proven fitness program that will change your life and body forever.

Print this list and place it somewhere that you’ll see every day

Your Friend and Trainer,

Paul F. Sweatt

Ahi tuna is high in protein and low in fat, the perfect combination for building a lean, toned body. Add a side of roasted asparagus for a delicious healthy meal.
Servings: 4

Here’s what you need:

• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon red chili flakes
• 2 Tablespoons cilantro, minced
• dash of salt and pepper
• 4 (6oz) ahi tuna steaks

1. In a large re-sealable plastic bag combine the first six ingredients; mix well.
2. Add tuna to the marinade, cover and refrigerate for 1-1/2 hours, turning once. Drain and discard marinade. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
3. Place the tuna in a glass pan. Bake for 10 minutes. Turn the steaks and bake for another 10 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork.

Nutritional Analysis: One serving equals: 312 calories, 10g fat, .6g carbohydrate, .2g fiber, and 50g protein.

How about being up to 3 pants or dress sizes smaller.  Sound good?

Just image how you would look 3 sizes smaller?

You would probably no longer be afraid to look the the mirror now that it reflects back a whole new, sexier you.

Sound like a suggestion for hard work is coming?

It’s actually much easier than you think.

And no, you don’t have to have  costly, invasive surgery, take dangerous pills or potions, or perform grueling workout routines.

I do recommend you try the latter.

All you have to do is lose one pound each week until you reach your goal weight.

One measly pound.

One.

Sound to good to be true, keep reading as I break it down mathematically.

And no you won’t need a math degree to make sense of it

To lose a pound you need a 3,500 calorie deficit.  Divide 3,500 by 7  and you find that you need a 500 calorie deficit each day to lose 1 pound in a week.

To achieve your calorie deficit you can: increase calorie expenditure with exercise, decrease calorie consumption by eating less or do a combination of both.

Again I recommend the latter.

Here’s how to do it:

1.)  Find out how much you currently exercise.  Everything counts.  By everything I mean walking, sports and any other structured exercise you might do.  Ok got all that.  Good.  This is where you want to start from.  Now you will need to add an additional 3,500 calories of exercise on top of what you are already doing.  Currently a couch potato.  Well get off your butt and move.  Anything you do will count towards you 3,500 calorie goal.

2.)  Figure out how much you are eating on a weekly basis.    Make sure you record everything that passes your lips.  Yes, even those bon-bons you sneak at work when no one’s looking still count.  Sorry.  Once you have the total for the week divide by 7 to get your average for the day.  You will probably be shocked when you find out just how much you are actually eating every day.

3.)  Now determine how to break up the 3,500.  Do you want to go 50-50 (1,500 for exercise and 1,500 less calories)?  More willing to kick your ass in the gym  than eat less? Rather eat less more than go to the gym?  Whatever works for you just make sure you do a little of both?

Not sure how many calories you are actually burning or cutting out of your diet?

Here are some way to cut (at least) 250 calories:

• Drink plain coffee or tea instead of those sweetened drink they serve at the coffee house.
• Skip the treats.  Every time you do this you will put a smile on your knowing those calories you saved will not end up on your waistline.
• Jog.  Just make sure you do this for 30 minutes or more.  And don’t worry, once you get you sneakers on and take the first few steps you will want to keep going.
• Drink water instead of soda.  This is the easiest way to eliminate spoonfuls of useless sugar from your diet. And your hips.
• Swim.  This is for the people that can’t or won’t jog.  Start with 30 minutes.
• Eat fruit.  Whenever you have a sugar craving you just can’t shake have some fruit.  Not only is fruit naturally sweet but its also way lower in calories than typical treats.
• Workout.  Especially with me. In a workout with me you can easily burn up to 500 calories in a half hour.  Not only will you torch calories during the session but I make it so your metabolism stays revved for up to 2 days later.  This means you will burn more calories doing nothing.

Follow the tips I give above and you will be shedding the weight in no time.  You can even lose 50 pounds by the end of the year.

And if you’d rather have me do most of the work for you, then call or email to set up your no obligation consultation.

Workout with me and the weight will fall off in no time.

Sounds awesome, right?

Your Friend and Trainer,

Paul F. Sweatt

The best personal trainer in Wellesley.

Please don’t “taste the cream filling”.

For those who might have been vacationing under said rock hears the story.  Mark Haub, a nutrition professor from Kansas State University, lost over 25 lbs in less than 3 month on a diet that consisted mainly of Twinkies and other convenience store foods.

The supposed nutrition professor.

Haub did this because he wanted to prove that losing weight is a simple process.  Eat fewer calories than you burn and you will lose weight.

Well, he did lose weight.  But not only did he lose weight he apparently got healthier.  His HDL rose by 20%, his LDL fell be 20% and his triglycerides dropped.

After seeing this it probably makes you wonder if you really need to eat healthy foods or if you can eat whatever the heck you want just as long as you stay within your calorie range.

Not so fast there Speedy.

I know that this way of dieting is something that you hope is true but let’s take a little closer look at some of the “facts” of the story.

• Haub only ate 1800 calories a day.
• The diet was 2/3’s junk food.
• The “experiment” lasted 10 weeks
• Certain health indicators were checked and got better.
• It was all over the news
• Haub’s BMI went from 28.8 (obese) to 24.9 (normal)

As you know there are always two side to every story, so here are some things about the experiment that might not have been mentioned.  Because let’s be honest here people, reporters are not health/nutrition experts and are just looking to hype a story to get ratings.  But you knew that.

1.) The average male eats around 3700 calories a day.  Haub was eating 1800 during his experiment.  Even if we assume that Haud ate a more normal 2800 calories a day, that is still a 1000 calories a day difference.  That’s a crash diet folks and can’t be maintained.

Grapefruit diet anyone.

Almost anyone will initially lose weight cutting their calorie intake that much.  Then they will gain it back (and more)when they go back to the way they ate before.

2.)  Haub made sure that he ate every 3 hours. I have told you before that if you eat smaller meals more often that it will keep your metabolism up and you WILL burn more calorie than eating that standard 3 squares a day.

3.) Only that health indicators that are guaranteed to go down if you lose weight were checked.  Haub seems to have forgotten to have things like his blood sugar levels checked.  Checking things that don’t necessarily get better with weight lose would be a better indicator of how “healthy” the diet was.

4.)  Just because Haub is a nutrition professor and supposedly knows a lot about nutrition does not mean he is a healthy person. His diet could have been bad to begin with.  I have seen severely obese dietitians.  According to Haub, he started the experiment he was eating a healthy diet and was healthy in general. None of this was documented.

These are actual obese dietitians.  Sad, hunh.

5.) Even though the diet was 2/3’s junk, Haub also ate a fairly substantial amount of vegetables daily. We all know how healthy vegetables are for us, right?  RIGHT?

6.)  Haub also drank a few protein shakes every day to make sure that he was getting enough.  Even though it was never released how many of the aforementioned vegetables or how much protein he was getting from the shakes, I am guessing that he had to been getting at least 100 grams of protein a day.  Unless Haub was eating a truck load of veggies this had to have been the case.

Taking in the protein helped Haub keep his metabolism up so it did not drop as much as it would have if someone without that much nutrition knowledge went on a similar diet.  Eating protein also helps your body to use fat for fuel when you are on a low calorie diet.

I hate to tell you but the average person on a junk food diet probably wouldn’t really bother with eating vegetables or making sure they got lots of protein. They would not see the same results Haub did.

7.)  Only Haub’s BMI was measured.  This is a horrible way to measure health.  You can have a high BMI and be very lean or you can have a “normal” BMI and still be obese.

How is that possible?

Obesity is not a measure of how much you weigh but of how much body fat you contain.  I have a very low body fat % but I am considered obese according to my BMI.  I also know people that are skinny fat.  Yes you can be skinny fat.  You can still be in a desirable weight range but be too fat.

8.)  The results are not scientifically significant because it was not a well done study. Their was no control group that ate a healthy low calorie diet. What if they didn’t eat the veggies or drink the protein shakes?  It was not double blind.  Both the conductors and the subjects involved (Haub) knew what they where eating. There were too few participants.  How would other people react to a high sugar/fat diet? Worse? Better?  Haub could have been a high lier.  Meaning his result where not typical.  And the last thing, as any drug company knows, you can always tweak data to get the results you want.

Some other things that weren’t mentioned.

What did Haub weigh before hand? Did Haub recently gain weight?   How was his energy during the experiment?  Did he have to drink lots of caffiene to stay going? Was he able to focus?  Did he feel good?  Did he workout?  If he did workout, did he workout out harder?

What am I getting at with this?

Yes calories in vs. calories out is important but isn’t every thing when you are trying to lose or gain weight.

Regularly eating and being healthy can help your body cope during time of malnutrition (i.e The Twinkie Diet).

Just because the weight is coming off doesn’t mean you are getting healthier.  Or that you will be able to keep it off later.

Remember you want to lose fat not weight and to do this and stay healthy you must focus on a proper nutrition within your calorie range and to exercise frequently.

Think smart and don’t fall for a fad diet that will leave you fatter and more unhealthy than when you started.

Your Friend and Trainer,

Paul F. Sweatt

Wellesley’s Best Personal Trainer

P.S. Food should be something that you can imagine where it came from originally. There are no Twinkie Trees. Sorry.

Even though I am not currently trying to lose weight I still eat proper portions of healthy foods 90% of the time.

Notice I said 90% of the time.

Yes that right, I occasionally eat something that is “bad” for me or allow myself to have a little more of the healthy foods that I love.

Heck, sometime I even overeat the “bad” stuff.  More on that later.

I also have cheat meals (or days) when I am eating for fat loss and I believe that you should too.

How many times have you failed to lose weight because you just couldn’t stand to deprive yourself of certain foods any longer?

Or failed at your fat loss attempt because your stomach was growling  so much that you started to understand what it was saying and it telling was you to do very bad things?

I know why that happened.

It was because you didn’t/wouldn’t/were told you couldn’t cheat. You were told or under the impression that if you wanted to lose inches from around your waist you had to stick to your fat loss eating plan 24 hour a day, 7 day a week, 52 week of the year.  And if you couldn’t do that you would not reach your goals.  How’d that turn out for you?

Well guess what?  Even if your fat loss eating plan was designed by someone that knew what they were doing, as soon as they told you not to cheat they set you up to fail.  No they didn’t do it purposely.  I am sure they had your best interests at heart.

Cheating will help you accomplish two things:

1. It will help keep you sane.  No matter how varied your eating plan is you will eventually get bored with eating the same things.  And even if you don’t get bored you will eventually crave something that is not on your list or be tempted by the demon that is known as “Little Debbie” and go hog wild.  Most people when they do this feel so bad that they consider there fat loss effort blown and give up. To avoid being turned to the dark side give in to temptation every now and again. Notice the every now and again part. If you think your every now and again will become just a now I advise that you plan when you are going to cheat.  Have a party/event/ night out coming up, make sure you are extra good before and after but when you are at the party/event/night out have something that you have been dying for.  Just don’t have everything you’ve been craving. You will get to cheat again.
2. It will help keep your metabolism up.  When you cut calories your body will eventually teach itself how to function on fewer calories and your fat loss will stop.  This is due to your metabolism.  If you don’t keep it up it will slow down.  To keep it up you must go above and beyond your daily calorie intake.  Think of it as putting extra wood on the fire.  When you keep putting wood on the fire frequently the fire stays high and hot but when you either if you only sporadically put wood on the fire will burn much lower and not as hot.  And as with a fire too much wood will lead to an uncontrollable blaze or in your case fat gain.

Those are just a couple of way that cheating on your diet can help you  stick to it and lose more fat in the long run.

By the way after you do intentional cheat please don’t use the cardio confessional.  It kind of defeats the purpose.

Your Friend and Trainer,

Paul F. Sweatt

P.S.  For those of you that would like to know what I had over my birthday weekend here it goes:

• Numerous pieces of garlic bread
• numerous pieces of Italian bread w/olive oil
• dinner salad (I know, this is healthy)
• Very large seafood and pasta dish (lots of seafood, little pasta)
• 1 Black IPA
• medium DQ Oreo cheesecake Blizzard
• small loaf of warm brown bread w/ butter
• Kain’s Steakhouse Burger w/bun
• French Fries
• 2 glasses wild berry lemonade
• 1 very large piece of someone named Lynda’s cake.

And starting on Tuesday, the day of my birthday, I was back on track.

As most of you already know I am not a fan of  long duration, sustained (i.e. boring) cardio.  I keep telling people time and again that if you really want to get your dream body AND become healthier you want to focus on your diet, resistance train and do interval style cardio.  But some people totally ingnore my advice and then complain to me that they  eat so little and do so much long duration, sustained cardio but can’t lose weight and still have high blood pressure and high cholesterol.

Awhile back I wrote and article entitled Cardio Bad for Fat Loss and Your Health? .  I got an interesting and vulgarity filled comment from someone who referred to me as Doctor Boy and wanted to know where I came up with this info.  I get all my facts from articles from scientific journals and from authors that I trust.  I don’t just read one random article by someone that I have never heard of and assume that it is fact.  Also,  I don’t just tell you what you should do to lose weight and get healthier.  Anything that I suggest to you is what I would do myself.  And I guarantee that I am way fitter and healthier than anyone who thinks that cardio is the end all be all for fat loss and health.

Over the past couple months I have been scoured though dozens of article about cardio, fat loss and over all health. Doing so I have discovered that not only should long duration, sustained cardio be very low on your list of fat loss techniques, it can also have detrimental effects on someone who is already fit.

I would like to state before I go any further that if you like doing cardio or do it for performance enhancement, sport specific training,stress relief or for the endorphin rush, by all means keep doing cardio.  But if you are doing it for fat loss and/or general health just know that there are more productive ways to spend your time.

Here are some of the facts that were mentioned repeated in the articles that used scientifically tested real world information, not just assumptions.

1.)  No one wants to have the skinny fat look of a marathon runner.

But everyone wants to look like a sprinter.

2.)  The men and women with the best bodies and health base their programs around resistance training.  Yes they may supplement in some cardio but it is not where they start. They know that diet and strength training is what changes you for the better.

Abs by resistance training.

3.)  Losing fat isn’t as simple as calories in versus calories out.  Losing fat is more about your resting metabolic rate and manipulating what hormones and enzymes your body produces.  And unless you are looking for a way to get your body to store more fat resistance training is the way to go.

4.)  You can’t just focus on cutting calories and doing long bouts of cardio to lose fat.  You will end up sending your body into starvation mode.  Starvation mode causes your body to burn muscle tissue for fuel and to store more fat. When this happens the person involved does one of two (or possibly both) things,  they either cut calories more or do more cardio.  This leads to a viscous cycle of fewer calories and more cardio until the person is doing hours of cardio a day while starving wonder all the while why they are still fat and flabby.

5.)  Even if the above person realizes their mistake and starts to eat more and do less cardio the damage is already done.  The muscle loss due to the excessive cardio causes their metabolism to screech to a halt.  The slower metabolism causes the person to gain the weight back and possibly more which will cause them to starve themselves again and do even more cardio than before.  If this person keeps gaining and losing weight like this they can PERMANENTLY damage their body.

6.)   You want your body to burn fat all day long, not just when you exercise.  To keep your metabolism revved all day every day you need to focus on resistance and interval training.  After a bout of  long duration, sustained cardio your metabolism is back to normal within a half hour.  Where as your metabolism stays elevated for up to 2 DAYS after a bout of resistance training or intervals.  It takes energy which your body will take from fat to repair your muscles.

7.)  Doing long duration, sustained (i.e. boring) cardio causes you body to make and release more cortisol.  To the point where the excess cortisol is chronically elevated.  This is bad because cortisol causes your body to break down the lean tissue that keep your metabolism up and it also increased fat accumulation around your stomach.

I guessing that’s not the look you are trying to achieve.  No she’s not pregnant.

Excessive cortisol in your body has also been shown to have an adverse effect on your immune system.  If your immune system is nut running all all cylinders you will get sick.  Very sick.

8.)  On the other hand, resistance training raises testosterone and growth hormone levels.  And if you are eating correctly (i.e. 1gram of protein per pound of bodyweight) this will cause your body to hold on to/ build the lean tissue you need to keep your metabolism up.

Betcha this is more the look you are after.

9.)  When you do long duration, sustained (i.e. boring) cardio your body uses fat as its main fuel source.  No that is not good.  Why?  Because your body will start to turn more of the nutrients you take in to fat and store that fat to help fuel your long duration, sustained cardio sessions.

10.)  Where as you use glycogen as fuel when you do resistance and interval training.  This causes your body to make and store more glycogen for your muscles.  More nutrients to your muscle means less to your fat cells.  And that’s a very good thing.

I didn’t get much in to the health aspect of things since I did a lot of that in the previous article.  But as everyone knows carrying to much fat is not healthy and as you can tell by the above information doing long duration, sustained cardio will not only not help you get rid of the fat but may actually cause you to gain more.

So if you truly want to lose the fat and get healthier make sure that you clean up your diet and focus on resistance and interval style training and leave the long duration, sustained cardio  those who want to be skinny fat.

Your friend and trainer,

Paul F. Sweatt

P.S.  I promise that if you keep the swears and insults to a minimum I will print your comments.  Even if I don’t agree.  Just make sure you include some facts to support your stance.

Hello everyone it’s your good, old, soon to be not as fat friend McLuvhandles here again.  Due to constant badgering from Mr. Train To Sweatt (and his lawyers),  I have “decided” to stop spreading my FGAA rhetoric and hop on the fat loss Train.  Hee Hee. Get it.  Train.  Oh whatever.  Never mind.

Fat LOSS never being my thing I decide to Google fat loss strategies.  And came up with about a thousand pages of tips.  Not kidding.  Try it yourself.  Since I didn’t really want to put that much effort into, I decide to go with the top 5 that I found.

Even though I wish McLuvhandles all the best in his (very suspect) new founded fat loss journey, I don’t agree with his supposed “fat loss” stratagies.  I think this is just a ploy to get more unwitting members for his FGAA.  Because of my “suspicions” and that fact that NONE of his tips will actually help you lose fat I have added my own proven tips to the list.

So here we go:

McLuvhandles’ Fat loss Strategy #1:  Do hours and hours of low intensity, steady state cardio.

Doing this type of cardio has been shown to keep you in your body’s fat burning zone.  Meaning that of the calories that you burn a larger percentage come from fat then would happen if you exercised more intensely.

Actually, the “fat burning zone” is a myth.  If you really wanted to do something that burned the largest portion of it calories from fat, go lie down.  Yes, you read that right.  Lying down doing nothing burns 50+% of its calories form fat.  But if you decide to take up this exercise I guarantee you won’t be happy with the results.  In addition, it has been shown in studies that doing hours of low intensity, steady state cardio will actually cause your body to use lean muscle tissue for fuel.  This will not have the fat loss result you want.  Not all weight loss is good weight loss.  When you lose muscle your metabolism slows down.  When your metabolism slows down you use less calories for fuel and stop losing weight (or possibly gain it back).

He’s burning 50+% of his calories from fat.  As you can see it’s  not working.

You can prevent lean muscle tissue break down by doing some high intensity interval training.  Not only does doing  interval training spare lean muscle tissue (won’t use it for fuel), it also INCREASES your metabolism (will burn more fat doing nothing) and can be done in as little as 10 minutes after your weight workout.

McLuvhandles’ Fat Loss Strategy #2: Lift light weights for high reps (20+)

What better and easier way is there to lose fat then to pick up something light and move it a bunch of times to lose fat?

I have one.  Pick up a heavy weight and move it 12 or less times.

She lifts heavy.  And I mean heavy.

When you lift light weights you are only using the smaller, weaker fibers in the muscle and using these few fibers will have absolutely no effect on your metabolism or fat loss.  If you really want to crank up your metabolism and your fat loss results you have to use as many fibers in the muscle that you possibly can.  To get all those fibers firing you need to pick up a weight that is challenging.  The weight should heavy enough that the exercise becomes really challenging around rep 8.  (Make sure you stop when your form starts to go, you don’t want any injuries.)   Also make sure you stick to exercises that work the most muscles.  The more muscles firing the higher your metabolism and calories burned.

McLuvhandles’ Fat Loss Strategy #3:  Make losing fat your only purpose for working out.

Trying to gain muscle tone and strength will only take away form your fat loss goals.

Sure if you want to look like a runway model on a cocaine and celery diet.

I guessing this isn’t the look you are going for.

Getting a lean, toned and fit looking body requires more than just fat loss.  If you really want to get the body of your dreams (and it is not to look like the aforementioned runway model) you also have to increase the amount of lean muscle tissue on your body.  To increase lean tissue and get the desired muscle tone you are looking for you must more heavy weights.  To move these heavy weights you must get stronger.  The stronger you get – the heavier weights you can move – the more muscle fibers you recruit-  the higher your metabolism.  Remember, higher metabolism means greater fat loss.

Also, it has been shown that the stronger you are the faster you can move.  The faster you move the more fat you burn during exercise (and afterwards).

McLuvhandles’ Fat Loss Strategy #4:  The less you eat, the less you weight.

To lose weight just eat less.  Simple

(Rolls eyes.) If it where that easy, there wouldn’t be as many overweight people suffering from hunger pangs afraid to step on the scale.

The only thing you will lose eating this little is the feeling of being satisfied.

Your body and metabolism need calories and nutrients to function properly.  The less calories you take in the fewer nutrients your body gets.  If your body does not get the calories and nutrients it needs (i.e. amino acids, vitamins, minerals, omega-3s) it will bring your metabolism to a halt.  And to make matters worse if you lower your calories to much your body will start breaking down the lean muscle tissue you do have to get the nutrients that it needs.  Less calories=less muscle=slower metabolism=more fat.  Seem familiar?

To prevent this viscous cycle from occurring or reoccurring as the case maybe, make sure you replace all the low-quality foods (crap) you eat (i.e. sweets, stratches, fatty & processed foods) with high-quality, nutrient dense foods (i.e. fruits, vegetables and lean proteins).

What better way to lose weight than to fill yourself up with fresh, tasty, good for you food.

Fresh, tasty and good for you.

McLuvhandles’ Fat Loss Strategy #5:  Workout every day.

The more often you workout the more fat you will burn off.

I think his suggestions get worse and worse as he goes.

Training every day is very bad on your body as this method does not give your body the appropriate time it needs to recuperate and rebuild.  If you do not give your boy the rest it needs you will quickly end up in a over-trained state.  Being over-trained is very stressful on your body and when you body is under stress it release cortisol.  Guess what this is really bad for your fat loss results.  Cortisol tells your body to store and to hold on to as much fat as it possible can.

Do your body a favor and give it at least 3 day of rest a week.

I advise find something a little more comfortable to rest on.

So just follow my fat loss strategies and you will be an official member of the FG….er, I mean toned and ripped in no time.  I knew it. I myself haven’t actually started using any of my strategies yet but I plan on starting next Monday.  Seriously.  I mean it this time.

Yeah right.  I am sure you know the drill by now.  Don’t listen to McLuvhandles,  follow the advice in blue and you will be one of the people at your gym that actually sees the results they want.  I know people whom have used these exact tips to lose 25+ lbs in 39 days.  Trust me they work.

Your friend and trainer,

Paul F. Sweatt

Wellesley’s Fat Loss Expert