Is Resistance Training Important?

By now you know that aerobic exercise burns fat, but doing to much aerobice activity breaks down amino acids and that those amion acids are coming from muscle tissue, which can cause the loss of muscle!

There is another term we need to become familiar with and that is anaerobic exercise.  Anaerobic means without oxygen.  Aerobic you might have guessed means with oxygen. Anaerobic exercise are activityes in which you become exhausted very quickly (ie sprinting or weight training).  Anaerobic activities build muscle.  What you should know anerobic exercise develops muscle and aerobic exercise burns fat.  Fat is burned inside the muscles.  As you develop more muscle you have the ability to burn more fat when you do the appropriate amount of cardio (aerobic) activity.  Good  news right?  Well for most yes, but for others the image of getting big muscular body is not something they want to visualize.  Let us examine the commonly used phrase, "I don't want to get big I just want to get toned."  Take a deep breath, "toned" means to grow or gain muscle.  What happens here is as the muscles grow they utilized more fat in the body.  As the muscles demand the use of fat stored in the body the muscles grow the fat disappears and you begin to see muscle definition- muscle tone!

So how do you build muscle?  In order to build muscle you must ask the muscles to do more work than they are accustomed.  Then provide supportive nutrition to supply the muscles with the right nutritients to grow.

To sum it up.  Anerobic exercise builds muscle.  Fat is burned inside muscles.  Aerobic exericse is the primary system in which to burn fat.  More muscle means faster utilization of fat.


 

6 Great Tips for Fat Loss

Exercise alone will not lead to fat loss.  Exercise must be accompanied by sound nutrition.  The success of any fat loss program is dependent not on the number of workouts you get per week, but the quality of food you eat.  Support your fat loss efforts by incorporation the follow 6 Great Tips for Fat Loss.

1. Eat every 2-3 waking hours

It is important to focus on fueling the body for the results you want.  In the case of fat loss you will be looking to fuel the body every 2-3 waking hours.  Use hunger as your guide. If your start the day off with a healthy breakfast you will find with in 2-3 hours you will be hungry again.  This pattern will repeat through out the day as long as you are eating healthy foods.  If you find yourself feeling hungry sooner then increase the protein intake for each meal.  Don’t confuse hunger with boredom.  Often people with nothing to do will hunt through the kitchen in search of something to eat.  Don’t fall into this trap. Two tips to prevent you from falling into the trap: 1. find something to do, 2. drink water.

2. Don’t count calories

Counting calories isn’t fun.  I do recommend food journaling as a means of keeping you accountable and knowledgeable about what you are eating, but it is not necessary to count the calories.  The key is to adjust your mindset when it comes to portion sizes.  Use visualization to help you determine portion sizes.

 

3. Don’t drink you calories

Don’t forget to account for the calories in drinks.  Juices, coffees, teas and alcohol contain additional calories.  If your goal is to lose fat; you need to be accountable for these hidden calories.  The extra calories consumed in most beverages come from sweeteners.  Sweeteners will impede the body’s ability to burn fat.

4. Start the day with breakfast

Eating a healthy breakfast to start the day will start the day off on the right track.  It gets the fat burning engine running.  Skipping breakfast to save calories is a flawed strategy.  People who skip breakfast, in an effort to save calories, are more likely to be famished by lunch time. Therefore, consuming more calories at lunch than they would have if they eaten breakfast.

5. Cheat once a week

Eating healthy is good for our bodies, but sometimes we need a mental break.  It is okay to give into a craving from time to time.  Give yourself permission to cheat on one meal per week.  This concept allows you to post pone bad eating choices through out the week.  So go ahead and choose one meal to indulge in your favorite foods.

6. Focus on single ingredient foods

Look at it this way: avoid processed foods. Nature has served man well for thousands of years.  There is no need to venture far from the life giving foods that are naturally provided for us.  Processed foods do more harm that good.  Make a concerted effort to avoid them whenever possible.

Here are two examples of processed foods (comment below if you know what they are):

Item 1: Whole grain oats, modified corn starch, sugar, salt, tripotassium phosphate, wheat starch, vitamin E (mixed tocopherols) added to preserve freshness.

Item 2: mechanically separated turkey, turkey, water, sugar, salt, potassium lactate, natural smoke flavor (canola oil, natural smoke, natural flavoring), sodium diacetate, sodium phosphate, natural flavoring, sodium erythorbate, sodium nitrite.

Integrate these six tips into your fat loss regimen and you will be well on your way to a leaner sexier you.

Fat Loss 101 Believe That You Can

In the third part of the fat loss series I want to address the importance of believing in you.  When you watch infomercials and see before and after pictures there is a disclaimer at the bottom that states ‘results may vary’ or ‘results not typical’.  This is because one of the three items was missing; commitment to make better choices, a technology that works, or a belief that you can.  If you commit to making better choices and find a technology that works; then all that is missing is the belief that you can.

I find the vast majority of people when looking for the best fat loss plans or best fat loss programs truly don’t believe that they can change.  Believing and wanting to change are two different things.  It is easy to want.  Saying I want to lose body fat is easy.  Believing that you can is another.  Everyone wants something very few ever get what they want. 

It is not uncommon for someone to start a fat loss program with the best of intentions.  They believe they can use will power to get them through the program.  In reality will power only buys you a couple of days.  In fact will power usually doesn’t kick in until day three or four and quickly fads away between days eight and fourteen.  Most fat loss programs target this two week window.  The marketing is designed to feed upon the individuals emotional needs and achieve a fast result.  The programs are designed to provide fast results to strengthen the belief that you can do it.  Resolve gets tested.  Excuses begin to arise. Distractions become obstacles. It is at this point that distinguishes those who can and those who won’t succeed.  It is the person who has a strong enough belief in themselves that will go on to be successful.  The person that truly doesn’t believe they will succeed will not. Think of the first two weeks on a fat loss program as a jump start to developing a habit.  On average it takes 28 days to make a habit.  It is going to be your belief that you can and your commitment to make better choices that will allow you to press on after will power is no longer the driving force.

                     

There are hundreds of books and resources discussing the power of belief so I am not going to go into all the science and research.  What I am going to tell you is that if you have doubt in yourself and you do not believe you can be successful you are selling yourself short and I truly believe you will never be happy or satisfied with who you are.  Remember this quote “whether you think you can or can not, you are right”. 

 

When starting a fat loss program make sure it meets the criteria “A Technology that Works”. If the program meets the criteria then it is up to you to bring a commitment to make better choices and a belief that you can.  If all three are present you will succeed.

Fat Loss 101 'A Technology That Works'

In the first article in the Fat Loss 101 series we discussed the number one priority when it comes to fat loss; committing to make better choices. The second thing you need to have is a technology that works.  The phrase “a technology that works” simply refers to the right knowledge.  Here is what you need to know regarding fat loss.  First you need supportive nutrition.  Second a concern for muscle and third moderate aerobic exercise.

Supportive nutrition - Supportive nutrition means fueling the body for the desired results.  If fat loss is the goal then you need to practice the following two nutritional concepts.  First, eat a supportive meal every 3 to 3.5 waking hours. Second, each supportive meal should consist of the following: a lean protein, starchy carbohydrate and fibrous carbohydrate. Here is a sample of what your meals might look like:

• Breakfast- eggs, spinach and brown rice
• Mid morning snack- goat yogurt w/celery
• Lunch- spinach based salad with broccoli, green peppers and chicken
• Mid afternoon snack- almond butter with apple slices and celery sticks
• Dinner- Salmon, asparagus, quinoa

Have a concern for muscle - Fat is burned in the muscles. In fact you should think of your muscles as a fat burning furnace. The more muscle you have the more fat you can burn.  This doesn’t mean you have to be a massive body builder.  But it does mean that you need to maintain or increase the amount of muscle you currently have.  In order to maintain or build muscle you need to provide a stimulus the challenges the muscles. The easiest way to challenge the muscles is through resistance training.  Resistance training can come through the use of body weight exercises, dumbbells, exercise tubes, etc.  How much weight, how many times, and how often will be determined by your current fitness level. 

Moderate aerobic activity (cardio) - Performing endless hours of cardio is not the goal.  In fact the mere thought of having to do long bouts of cardio is a real turn off. I recommend only 20-30 minutes.  The best way to accomplish this is to perform interval training.  Interval training basically means combining moments of high intensity activity with periods of low intensity activity.

When you combine supportive nutrition, a concern for muscle and moderate aerobic activity you will see fat loss.  Your body will change.  You will see an increase in energy levels.  Decrease in clothing sizes.  Increase in self confidence.