What to Take Before Your Workout for Optimum Fat and Weight Loss

UPDATE!!!

In 2009 I created a 28-day nutrition and fitness program called Virtual Boot Camp!   Participants averaged 13 lbs. of weight loss during the program in 2009!!! Get 28 days of perfect nutrition and exercise (complete with a grocery list, access to videos, and more!) for only $100 (NOTE: This is the very package I charge thousands for...the only thing you are missing is my physical presence!).  Enrollment ends on January 10th, so click to this website now!

Now, back to the blog...

One of the reasons I became a personal trainer (and now travel the world helping people pull off the most amazing body change possible!) is this: I got tired of hearing stories about personal trainers giving horrible nutrition and supplementation advice. Many personal trainers can name 80% of the muscles in the body, but don't know how to engage the various types of muscle fibers during workouts, cannot lock in fat loss without the help of a heart rate monitor, and cannot skillfully guide their clients around a nutrition store or grocery store. No wonder so many people who hire trainers struggle to see results!

What Fat Burners and Thermogenics Are Designed to Do

People spend billions of dollars a year on weight-loss supplements. Most of this money goes to fat burners and thermogenics. First of all, fat burners and thermogenics usually belong in the same category. If a supplement raises heart rate (therefore increasing body temperature), it is a thermogenic. A lot of products try to sell a technology as fat burning (and some products, the NxCare's Methyl Ripped seem to be onto something) when, in reality, they are primarily focused on raising a person's heart rate.

When a thermogenic raises your heart rate, your body is working harder, which means it is burning more calories. When taking a thermogenic, any exercise feels like an extra effort as far as your heart and metabolism are concerned. Therefore, walking feels like jogging, jogging feels like running, etc. When you burn more calories, you lose more weight.

Unfortunately, most people who use a thermogenic lose muscle! In fact, if a pre-workout thermogenic was the only supplement a person took, they would most certainly lose lots of muscle. Losing muscle would slow down the metabolism over time, paving the way for weight gain...which paves the way for the purchase of more thermogenics. In truth, most thermogenic products create a muscle loss/weight loss/slowed metabolism/weight gain/thermogenic-product-purchase cycle.

What Fat Burners and Thermogenics Need to Succeed

Every client I work with uses one of two fat-burning supplements to coincide with a thermogenic (if indeed it makes sense for them to use one...and it is a per-case basis). Idea #1 is conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), a natural nutrient of grass that used to be prevalent in our dairy products when cows were grass fed. When we take a thermogenic (which helps burn more calories) and CLA (which helps burn fat, the RIGHT calories), we end up burning more of the right calories. Idea #2 is to take a very specific pre-workout shake or bar (email me at adam@rapidresultsfitnessmn.com to find out which shake/bar), which will help yield the optimum fat and weight loss in the gym when taken with a thermogenic/fat burner.

The bottom line is that a thermogenic/fat burner is not a stand alone product. When taken in conjunction with a nutritional piece (CLA or secret idea #2) that locks in fat burning, we can really get somewhere with our bodies in a very short amount of time.

Why I Recommend Thermogenics in Conjunction with Nutrition-Based Fat Loss Supplements

The reason I recommend thermogenics is simple: when taken in conjunction with CLA or secret fat loss shake/bar (send email adam@rapidresultsfitnessmn.com to learn what it is), the body burns more fat and keeps more muscle, which increases the metabolism and turns a person into a calorie-burning machine over time!

When I work with a client, my end goal for them is for their body to be a natural calorie-burning machine. Whenever fat is subtracted and muscle is added, this is guaranteed to be the case. And this is where most people go wrong: they only take a thermogenic (which typically locks in muscle loss) instead of taking it with a fat-burning-focused nutritional supplement that biochemically forces the body to lock in fat loss and muscle gain.

Supplements are helpful only when they are used correctly. Unfortunately for most of the people who are emptying their pocketbook and schedules to lose weight, they are one or two supplement strategies short of hitting the mark.

Adam Erwin is a personal trainer who travels the world to deliver one-on-one intensive boot camps for those looking to change their body now! His work is documented at www.rapidresultsfitnessmn.com.  Currently, he resides in Minnepaolis, MN and trains athletes and serious weight-loss clients.

Minneapolis Personal Trainer Gives Back More Than He Ever Has Before!

It has been a few days since my last blog.  However, on the upside, I have been hard at work with a new project and new blog.  I am leading a group of participants through the best thing I have ever done: the Virtual Boot Camp!

Virtual Boot Camp Launched!

At the end of 2008, I sat down to reflect on my personal training business.  I wrote down some questions, and one jumped off the page.  I asked myself, "what is the biggest problem in your business and how can you fix it?"  Answer: I want everyone to get the best of my services and only a select few can afford them.  I need to be able to offer more to everyone across the financial spectrum.

After much creative thought, I came up with the Virtual Boot Camp!  It is the same program I offer my premium clients, without my physical presence!

Want to Experience Weight Loss, Muscle Gain, and a Killer Boot Camp?

There are two places you must visit to learn about the Virtual Boot Camp.  You must go to www. rapidresultsfitnessmn.com/virtualbootcamp.html to see what is cooking there.  Also, you must visit virtualbootcamp.wordpress.com to get a sneak peak inside the program.  I will be making the Word Press Virtual Boot Camp blog private in a few days...so access it while you can!

That's all for now....I have a lot of emails to answer!

Adam Erwin is a Minneapolis-based personal trainer who is helping people lose weight, burn fat, gain muscle, and experience the best exercise and nutrition month of their life with his "Virtual Boot Camp!"  When not leading people through his online boot camp, Adam travels around to Eden Praire, Minnetonka, Edina, Medina, Wayzata, and Chanhassen to work one-on-one as the in-home personal trainer.  To learn more about what Adam does and how he can help you, visit www.rapidresultsfitnessmn.com today!

Minneapolis Personal Trainer Brings Best Out of Boot Camp Clients

Personal trainer Adam Erwin might be in Wayzata at daybreak, in Eden Prairie by 10am, Edina at noon, Minnetonka by 3pm, and in his office at night to walk through the next day's plan for his clients.  In addition to spear-heading vigorous workouts for his boot camp clients, he also emails them their daily menu and exercise plan, delivers accountability (sending text messages, emails, and phone calls to his clients throughout the day to make sure the details of each plan are being followed), and walks with his clients through their body change success journey.

One mother of two is down 10% on her body fat test.  A musician is sporting a notch on his belt he hasn't touched in three years.  And a 52 year-old woman who hasn't worn a pair of shoes in over two years (thanks to a car accident and several reconstructive surgeries) is now walking normally up and down stairs in her brand new shoes!

Boot camp might mean weight loss for some clients or "get my life back" for others.  To this personal trainer, it's all about helping his clients live the perfect nutrition and exercise day for as many days as he is hired.

Boot Camp Success: Tough Workouts

When working through one of Adam's boot camps, you may find yourself chopping wood one day, running hill intervals the next day, or swinging kettle bells the day after that.  Few trainers can get the body to respond to a workout like Adam.  If your body is stuck and the same old routine isn't doing the trick, sending an email to adam@keepyourbetterhalf.com should be your next move.

Boot Camp Success: Lose Fat

Many boot camps focus on burning calories at any cost, with little attention to what type of calories are being burned.  Adam is a fat loss expert, one of the few personal trainers who studies how to help the body burn fat through exercise and proper nutrition.  If wearing a heart monitor is your idea of losing fat (or your trainer's idea, yikes!), it's time to send an email to adam@keepyourbetterhalf.com to learn more about how he can help you burn more fat in less time.

Boot Camp Success: Lose Weight

Few things are more exciting than hopping on the scale to see a lower number or looking in the mirror to see less chins.  When nutrition and exercise are built in a way to maximize your day (and then your perfect day is executed for a few weeks in a row), the response from your body can be extraordinary.  If losing weight is the goal of this holiday season, send an email to adam@keepyourbetterhalf.com now!

Minneapolis Personal Trainer on Losing The Weight (Fat) Around the Middle and Getting Nice Abs!

I was at a family function today, talking to a family friend about weight loss and ab work.  Jim, our friend, was frustrated because he had been trying to lose weight around the middle and had worked really hard but wasn't seeing the results he thought he would be seeing.

Most people work really hard on their belly fat and don't see results because...

Ab Workout and Weight Loss Secret #1: If your hormones aren't right, your belly fat isn't going anywhere!

Stress and belly fat are closely linked.  When people are stressed, they produce extra cortisol, which is a hormone that prevents belly fat from being easy to burn off.  When we don't get good sleep (between the primetime hours of 11pm and 4am) and don't fight off stress (working out, breathing exercises, slowing down), our stress hormones will be in high gear and the belly fat won't be going anywhere.  To help the belly fat go away, attack stress by getting better sleep and fitting exercise into your day.  Fighting stress is huge for attacking belly fat!

Ab Workout and Mid-Section Weight Loss Secret #2: Sequence is everything!

If you were handed six numbers (239402) and were told to unlock a combination, it would be very difficult to unlock it unless you knew the correct sequence of the numbers (34, 29, 02, etc.).  If you are trying to work out your abs and lose weight but don't know how to sequence your efforts, it would be difficult to unlock belly fat loss.

When people hire me to train them and help them lose fat around their midsection, we don't really address that work until we have established a nice improvement in body composition.  If you focus on improving your muscle/fat ratio, your ability to burn calories will be significantly increased.  If you focus on ab workouts and weight loss around the middle after you have more calorie-burning potential, it's a lot easier to get your ab work done successfully.  Sequence is everything.  Body composition groundwork first, abs focus later.

Ab Workout and Mid-section Weight Loss Secret #3: Make Water Your Focus!

A well-hydrated fat cell will burn much more easily than a poorly hydrated fat cell.  With that in mind, be sure to focus on drinking a large amount of water (1/2 your body weight in ounces of water) every single day.  The more water available to the body, the less water it will retain.  And, the more water present in the body, the better chance of burning off fat cells!

If you hungry for more information like this, email Adam at adam@keepyourbetterhalf.com and ask about the forthcoming "Little Ebook on Fat Loss and Weight Loss".

Adam Erwin is an in-home personal trainer who travels the world to work with people who are ready to put excuses aside and work hard to change their body.  Visit www.keepyourbetterhalf.com to learn more about what Adam does, who he works with, and how you can have him come and work with you!  A Minneapolis resident, Adam will work close to home (Eden Prairie, Wayzata, Minnetonka, Edina) or will travel to your location (San Diego, Miami, Phoenx, Sidney Australia) to work with you.

How to Pick Up Energy, Drop Pant Sizes, and Spend Less Time in the Gym!

As a personal trainer, I possess the deadliest of combinations: I'm a fast talker with a lot to say.  My clients can go from "ready to learn" to "eyes glazed over and brain full" in record time!  In part, my ebook is for them.  It's a way to slow things down, stop the madness, and digest the information I am feeding them.

It's also for you, the person I may never meet.  It is me pulling back the curtain on how I helped a 43 year-old mother of three loses 61 lbs. and wear her smallest dress as an adult.  It is me showing you how I helped a 30 year-old man go from maxing out on diabetes medication to losing 30 lbs. and not having to medicate his diabetes at all (and fitting into his smallest pant size since sixth grade!).  It is me putting a bug in your ear from the second you get up and walking with you through your day to help you eat the right snack, execute the right type of cardio workout, and take action in ways to demonstrate that your eyes are on the prize. 

I will be giving you sneak peeks of "The Little Ebook on Fat Loss and Weight Loss" until the book launches on October 15th.  You can pre-order a copy for half-price this week only (ending at 11:59pm on October 5th!).  Go to www.keepyourbetterhalf.com or send an email to adam@keepyourbetterhalf.com for more information.

And now....for a sneak peek at "The Little Ebook on Fat Loss and Weight Loss"...

Step Away From The Scale!

How to Measure Your Progress and Keep Your Sanity

I hate scales.  Do you know why I hate scales?  Scales have taught us that our weight will be up when we expect it to be down, our weight will be stuck when we expect it to move, and we will seldom be able to explain the results the scale sends us.  Based on the unprediactability and ever-changing nature of scales, I'm beginning to think they were invented by women.  

Every week I can count on a phone call from a scale-driven new client.  It goes something like this:

Laura the New Client: "Adam, I gained two pounds this week!"

Adam the Personal Trainer: "Laura, this is your first week.  I told you that you would either break even or gain a pound or two this week.  And I asked you not to step on the scale, remember?"

Laura: "I know, I know.  I just wanted to see how much progress I was making."

Adam: "The scale doesn't measure progress, it measures gravity's pull on our progress.  Have you been doing your cardio every day?"

Laura: "Yes."

Adam: "Have you been getting your protein shakes in and eating your snacks?"

Laura: "Yes."

Adam:  "Then you are making great progress!"

Laura: "But why am I up two pounds?"

Adam: "It could be because you are gaining muscle.  It could be because you aren't getting enough water and your body is retaining water.  It could be because you are drinking lots of water and haven't used the restroom in three hours.  The two pounds probably came from new muscle growth.  Let me ask you this, how do your clothes fit?"

Laura: "They seem a little looser around the waist."

Adam: "Good.  What does the mirror say?"

Laura: "I think I look a little bit more toned."

Adam: "Good.  Has your husband noticed anything?"

Laura: "No.  Hasn't said a word."

Adam: "And he probably won't.  One day he'll just start chasing you around the house, which is why we need to keep you on that interval training...for those days when you aren't in the mood."

Laura: After a giggle, "Okay."

Adam: "You are doing great.  I'll see you in a few days."

I get that call almost every week from someone who has forgotten the truth about the scale.  And the truth is that a scale can't tell you very much about your progress.  It can't tell you if you lost fat.  It can't tell you if you gained muscle.  A scale only tells you what you weigh (gravity's pull on you) but it doesn't tell you what your weight is (the amount of fat, muscle, and water that are constantly fluctuating in your body).

Measuring fat loss and weight loss progress is not a scale-driven activity.  Here is how to measure progress while pursuing body change.

The First Step To Keeping Sanity While Measuring Body Change: Measure Activity Goals

In the conversation above I asked Laura if she had been doing her cardio, drinking her protein shakes and eating her snacks.  Since successful and healthy fat loss and weight loss are contingent upon doing the right things, measure your progress based upon what you are doing. 

It is amazing what can happen when the body gets WHAT it needs WHEN it needs it.  It is easy to keep your sanity by measuring what you are doing for your body and when you are doing it.  If your mid-morning snack consists of you eating the right food at the right time, you are winning!

In this ebook we will teach you what to eat and when!  We will provide a chart to help you measure your progress on your activity goals. 

The Second Step To Keeping Your Sanity While Measuring Body Change: Let the Clothes and the Mirror Tell You How You are Doing

I am sure you noticed that I asked Laura how her clothes were fitting her.  Clothes are a great truth teller.  If we are losing inches around the waist (or in the arms, or around the thighs), our clothes are the first ones to tell us.  Look for that progress, then celebrate when your jeans require the assistance of a tighter slot in your belt!

The mirror can also be a great tool for determining progress.  "Adam, I have shoulders!" my client Sarah exclaimed recently.  "You've always had shoulders," I told her.  "No, you don't understand," she said. "When I look in the mirror, I have shoulders now.  I'm not round any more in my shoulders!  I have some definition coming in!"

The mirror can help us to see if we have lost half a chin and are more firm in an area or two.  The mirror can be a great tool, accurately displaying progress that a scale can miss.  However, it is important to know yourself when it comes to using a mirror.  If you are one of those people who have a difficult time with body image and honest visual feedback, the mirror can be a very difficult tool to use successfully.  If you are confident of your ability to use the mirror for a realistic tool to measure body change, be sure to use it.  If you are unsure of your ability to use the mirror to accurately assess your body, refrain from using it as a guide for your progress.

For many of you, the way your clothes fit and the image the mirror displays will more accurately pinpoint progress in body change than a scale ever could.

The Third Step To Keeping Your Sanity While Measuring Body Change: Reacquire the "Look What I Can Do" Mentality

Every time I see my 5 year-old nephew, he is showing me all the new stuff he can do.  "Look what I can do, Uncle Adam," he'll yell as he tempts fate with his latest daredevil feat (like jumping up and hitting a leaf on a tree, running fast in a circle, things like that).  He's cute.

Sadly, most people miss significant progress points with their body change because they fail to recognize...... IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO READ THE REST OF THIS SECTION, THE EBOOK IS RIGHT FOR YOU!!!!

IF YOU LIKED THE SNEAK PEEK OF "THE LITTLE EBOOK ON FAT LOSS AND WEIGHT LOSS", GO TO WWW.KEEPYOURBETTERHALF.COM OR SEND EMAIL TO ADAM@KEEPYOURBETTERHALF.COM TO GET A SPECIAL PRICE ON A PRE-ORDERED COPY OF THIS EBOOK!

Adam Erwin is a personal trainer (with a nutrition background) who travels the world working with people who want to experience fat loss and weight loss in record-time. He currently resides in Minneapolis, MN and loves to train with people whose health does not match their lifestyle. Adam works closely in the Eden Prairie, Wayzata, Excelsior, Minnetonka, and Edina communities.  Visit www.keepyourbetterhalf.com to learn more about his work.

Weight-Loss Goal, Exercise Plan, Fat-Loss Focus Transform Woman From Self-Conscious to Sexy

Most people want to lose weight. Brandy HAD to lose weight. Her reasons, which were very privately hers, instilled her with a determination that was bound for success. All she needed was the right game plan, the right answers, and the right person to help her uncover the beautiful woman she knew that she was. I was that person for her.

Weight Loss with the Right Personal Trainer

Unlike most personal trainers, I help my clients attack what is truly getting in the way of their success.  Most people talk about portion control being a big problem with their foods.  The portions aren't the problem, the food choices are (going nuts on chocolate cake is bad news...going gangbusters on celery is not a problem).  Often times it is not infrequent gym visits, its the lack of fat loss/weight loss gameplan for the workouts (why not burn more calories on a treamill in 10 minutes than you can in 40?).  Usually the problem isn't a lack of progress, it's a lack of understanding about what progress looks like in the beginning, middle, and end of a body change and weight loss program.

With Brandy, I trained her in Medina once-to-twice a week, created workouts for her every day she exercised, and worked with her to create a food plan that she could execute every day.  With a few emails, text messages, and phone calls to check in and provide encouragement and accountability, I worked hard to provide the services and be the right personal trainer for her weight loss transformation.

Weight-Loss Success Story

So what does a 61-pound weight loss story look like?  And how does a 43 year-old mother of three go from a size 18 to a size 6 (which also hapens to be her smallest size as an adult!!!)?

Brandy was focused from the beginning and lost 25 pounds in her first six weeks.  With a weight-training-based program and cardio program concentrated on fat loss, paired with a food plan focused on nutrients over quantities, Brandy saw success quite quickly.  She started at 206 and was down to 181 pretty quickly.  We continued to chip away...some weeks no pounds lost, some weeks five pounds lost.  She didn't eat perfectly, but she consistenlty hit her nutritional marks.

We worked around Thanksgiving, Christmas & New Years, and a surgery (almost every great weight loss story has major obstacles with time frame, peer/family pressure at celebration gatherings, etc.).  When all was said and done, Brandy had lost 61 pounds...and it was virtually all fat.  I cannot express to you her joy, when buying her first ever pair of size six pants, she figured out that she weighed a few pounds more than her previous adult low, but was a few sizes smaller than she could remember being.  That is a body composition triumph my friends!

Weight Loss You Can't See

(punctuation note: perhaps no one cares but me, but I will say that I am using/not using hyphens correctly in my headings...not sure if anyone even noticed but me...my copy editor for my upcoming book is a junkie on hyphens!  I digress...)

What makes Brandy's story remarkable is not necessarily her weight loss, not necessarily her fat loss, and not even her very obvious body composition change and related reduction in pant size.  What makes her story great is that, in the first ten days she lost zero pounds.  The scale, which is just an indicator of progress but not THE indicator of progress per se, didn't tip early in the journey.

I told Brandy to expect that, though.  She did lose weight in her first 10 day...she lost fat.  However, her fat loss coincided with some muscle gain.  The net result was zero change on the scale, but the fat loss/muscle gain switch was four pounds.  She was kicking butt those first ten days and didn't even know it...which is why it is important to include fat loss measurements in any significant weight loss program!

Why Most People Fail at Weight Loss: The Scale

Brandy is a scale monger.  She steps on the confidence-killer every single day...almost as if she was a stock to be traded on Wall Street or something.  Weight loss is not day trading, people!

Most people, when they start an exercise program in accordance with a nutrition plan, actually kick butt during the first couple weeks.  However, that progress doesn't show up on the scale.  It might be a tiny bit noticeable in how clothes fit (looser, perhaps) and the mirror might tease with signs of progress, but the scale says "No change here!" a lot during the first seven-to-ten days. 

For people who are trying to lose weight, I encourage you to take heart during the beginning process of your journey.  Your body is likely to burn some fat and build some muscle (especially if you are working with a good personal trainer!) in the early going, but not show that progress on the scale.  Keep at it, don't lose heart, and the visible and scale-based progress will come!

Adam Erwin is a personal trainer who travels the world working with people who want to experience fat loss and weight loss in record-time. He currently resides in Minneapolis, MN and loves to train the great folks in the Eden Prairie area. Visit www.keepyourbetterhalf.com to learn more about his work.

A Personal Trainer's Secrets to Increase Metabolism, Lose Weight, and Lose Fat

Most of the people I work with have weight plateaus they cannot crack and stubborn fat they cannot lose. My job is to help them break the plateau and get a restraining order for the pesky fat that stalks them. Both of these tasks point toward one common foe: slow metabolism. Here are some of the metabolism secrets I use when helping a client look and feel their best.

Personal Trainer Metabolism Secret #1: Stop Robbing the Body of Nutrients

Everybody knows they should take a multivitamin (my doctor says....) but few people do consistently. I'm a firm believer (as in I really believe in it, and also my body is firm).

How many of us track our daily intake of magnesium? I'd say about nobody...I don't know and don't care about how much magnesium is in my foods. I know it's in my multivitman. I also know that magnesium plays a role in over 300 biological reactions in the body. It's an important mineral! How about the B-vitamin family? It's in my multivitamin, so I don't really worry about it (and it's water-soluble, so I can't really overdose on B). The B vitamins help process protein, fight stress, supply energy...their job description is endless!

A strong metabolism is one that can process the foods you eat. You need the right nutrients to process food correctly. Taking a multivitamin to ensure that your body gets enough nutriets (the right ones and the right amounts) is incredibly important. If you email me and tell me a bit about your situation (age, pertinent medical conditions i.e. anemia, osteoperosis, etc.) I can suggest a multivitamin to you (adam@keepyourbetterhalf.com).  I promise I will not suggest Centrum!

Personal Trainer Metabolism Secret #2: Eat Early and Often

Again, everybody knows this...but how many of us actually do it? Breakfast skippers are insane! So are late-night-big-dinner-eaters! You people are CRAZY! So are the too-busy-at-work-to-eat employees. Your boss WILL understand if you stop and grab some nutrients to increase your productivity in the afternoon.

Here's the thing about eating: it doesn't have to be a big deal. Eat a handful of almonds. Grab a dozen grapes. Surround yourself with "It doesn't matter how many of these I eat" snacks that are good fuel (and not likely to be stored as fat...again, email me, and I'll send you a list of foods you should go after). If you pick healthy options (not watermelon by the way, email me!!!!), they will be a blessing to your system and your metabolism . Eat SOMETHING every 2-3 hours. Make it your mission!

Personal Trainer Metabolism Secret #3: Make Your Workouts Fiber-Tearing Intense

When people tear a lot of muscle fibers during their workout (which almost always requires weight training), the metabolism is forced to work harder to break down nutrients better to repair the torn tissue quicker. Therefore, make weight-training a staple of your workouts. Studys have prove that metabolisms are boosted up to 39 hours after weight training, compared to up to 24 hours after intense cardio training. Read my other blogs about weight training to get an idea of what to do (or...you guessed it, email me....or submit a comment and I'll blog an answer for you). And after your intense weight-training workout, follow it up with a whey-isolate-based protein shake.

Personal Trainer Metabolism Secret #4: Run Away From Artificial Sweeteners (like Diet Soda!)

Artificial sweeteners are metabolsim killers (read the diet soda blog to learn more!). A 12 oz. can of regular Pepsi has 41 grams of sugar in it. Guess what Diet Pepsi has to live up to: 41 grams of sugar. If my only job was to drive around the Twin Cities area (Wayzata, Eden Prairie, Woodbury, Minnetonka, Maple Grove, Minneapolis, St. Paul) and take diet soda out of the hands of people on the street and give them water instead, I'd have a full-time job (with a lot of angry, addicted diet soda drinkers chasing after me!).

Natural sugars in moderate quantities is much better than massive quantities of artificial sweeteners. Running away from artificial sweeteners will help to repair a broken metabolism.

Personal Trainer Metabolism Secret #5: Do Everything You Can to Feed Muscle-Growth

If I were to guess, I would say 90% of people pursuing weight loss go wrong by trying to lose any type of weight instead of focusing on losing fat weight. Guess what, I wrote an article on that too (keep reading the blog and you'll do just fine!). If you focus on feeding your muscle, your body will be forced to burn fat. And...the more muscle tissue you have (and it can be lean muscle tissue...I'm not talking about biceps that are so big that you can't scratch your own back!), the more calorie-burning capacity you have.

When we focus our foods and supplements on keeping, repairing, or gaining muscle, our body is forced to respond by burning fat (again, read the blog for more on this topic).

If a weight-loss-minded person took these five ideas to heart and applied the principles discussed above, their metabolism would be sure to take off...which would result in more calories burned, which would result (assuming secret #5 is being followed) in fat loss and weight loss.

AdamErwin is a personal trainer who travels the world working with people who want to experience fat loss and weight loss in record-time. He currently resides in Minneapolis, MN and loves to train the great folks in the Lake Minnetonka area. Visit www.keepyourbetterhalf.com to learn more about his work.

Fat Loss Must Be Fed

One of the greatest sources of confusion for my weight loss and fat loss clients is how to conceptualize fat loss. Many of my clients say, "I don't want to gain muscle, I just want to burn fat." That's like saying, "I don't want to make money, I just want to pay off debt." Good luck with that.

The reality is that gaining muscle and losing fat are two sides of the same coin. Most of the time our body is either burning fat to supply energy or burning muscle to supply energy. And breaking down muscle (also called being in the "catabolic state") is the energy source of choice for our body.

Here is the cool thing about our body: we cannot grow muscle and burn muscle at the same time. Another way to say this is, "If we are growing muscle we are forcing our body to burn fat." Ah ha! As long as we concentrate on muscle growth, our body will be forced to respond with fat loss (except in extreme cases of low body fat %, rare diabetes cases, etc.).

Here are three sure-fire ways to grow more muscle....I mean burn more fat...by concentrating on gaining muscle.

Burning Fat and Gaining Muscle Tip #1: Sprinkle Protein Throughout Your Day

Protein intake and digestion triggers a muscle tissue repair process in our body. The quicker the absortion of protein (whey protein is fastest, for example), the quicker muscles are fed and repaired. By consuming protein throughout the day (a whey protein shake here, a serving of cottage cheese there, a few handfuls of almonds now, a casein protein shake later), we constantly feed our muscles, which keeps them from being broken down for energy, which increases the body's fat burning mechanism to supply energy.

Burning Fat and Gaining Muscle Tip #2: Focus Workouts to Optimize Muscle Gain

Most "fat loss" workouts are long (40 minutes on treadmill, yikes!) with a weight-training focus on high repititions (you're killing me, Smalls!). There are several factors to implement for optimizing muscle gain (and hence fat loss). First, read my previous blog titled How to Burn Fat: 3 Key Ideas to Fat-Based Weight Loss and apply fat loss tip#1 regarding the 10 sec/15 sec cardio interval (and hard-core interval cardio, as it turns out, majorly helps on the hormone side of fat loss/muscle gain...stick with me ladies and gentlemen...I'll get you where you want to go!). Second, stick mostly to 10 rep / 3 sets when weight training...and have the 10 be heavy. Third, fit your workouts into 40 minutes to optimize growth hormone (natural GH made by your body, that is). If you apply these three ideas to your workouts, you wil set yourself up for more muscle gain and a lot more fat loss!

Burning Fat and Gaining Muscle Tip #3: Do Anything and Everything to Fight Off Stress

When our minds are stressed our bodies are stressed. The more effectively you can handle stress, the more effectivley you will handle the fat-causing, stress-induced hormone called cortisol. I can't dive deeply into all of these stress fighting strategies right now, but here are some important ones: deep breathing at a 1:3:2 ratio (inhale for 5 seconds, hold for 15, exhale for 10...any 1:3:2 ratio), laughing as much as possible, getting a workout in during a stressful day, consuming a B-vitamin complex (time-released, preferably), get 8 quality hours of sleep, eat slowly, and be in control of your time (don't run late!).

If losing fat is your goal, make sure to focus on ways to gain muscle. If you focus on gaining muscle, I can guarantee your body will respond by burning fat.

Adam Erwin is a personal trainer who travels the world working with people who want to change their body now! Adam follows good weather, which means he is currently training clients in Minnesota…anywhere within a 10 mile radius of Wayzata, MN. When fall and winter arrive, Adam will be headed toward Florida, Arizona, Australia, Malaysia, and other warm climates. Visit www.keepyourbetterhalf.com to learn more about his work and how he can help you lose fat, keep muscle, and keep your better half.

Worst Diet Plan Ever: Diet Soda

"You look amazing! Have you lost weight?" I overheard a gentleman ask a lady acquaintance of his at the local coffee shop.

"Yes," she said, "Ever since I started drinking diet soda, the pounds have just fallen off me." Then he invited her to sit down and chat over a Diet Coke, and they fell in love. And that was the day Diet Coke put match.com to shame.

Okay, I admit, the scene above did not transpire. Seriously, when was the last time you heard someone tout diet soda as their weight loss solution? Never. Diet Coke, Diet Pepsi, and Diet Mountain Dew do not have a Jared like Subway does. When I think of the stereotypical diet soda drinker (or pop, as they call it in Minnesota....dummies), they are an overweight person who appear overjoyed to drink such a tasty beverage that is also conducive to being on a diet.

As a personal trainer with a nutrition background, I cannot stress enough how bad diet soda is for people trying to lose weight. It is bad for all of us, but it is an emergency brake to momentum for the weight-loss minded. I have three major problems with diet soda.

Diet Soda Slows Down Metabolism

Our bodies have a positive natural metabolic response to sugar. When we consume sugar, be it in fruits or in candy, our body picks up on the presence of sugar and says, "I pity the fool who ate sugar. It's time to turn on the metabolism because an energy rush is coming!" (Yes friends, we all sound like Mr. T on the inside). Every single time we eat sugar, our metabolism kicks on in anticipation of the pending energy rush.

Enter the artificial sweeteners in diet soda. When we consume them, our metabolism turns on because it anticipates the energy rush that usually follows the consumption of a sweet taste. Artificial sweeteners, however, do not increase the blood sugar like real sugar does. As we drink more and more diet soda with artificial sweeteners, and all of them have artificial sweeteners, our body begins to adapt to the idea that a sweet taste does not result in an energy rush (as sugar has taught it).

The end result is that our metabolism is taught over time not to respond to sweet tastes, even when it should. Artificial sweeteners, in fact, teach our body's metabolism not to respond properly to sugar. Diet soda is a dagger to the metabolism!

Diet Soda Makes Us Eat More

Quite simply, the artificial sweeteners in diet soda confuse the digestive and metabolic system. Studies have proven that humans who consume diet sodas are more likely to be obese and havemetabolic syndrome (discussed above).

In a Purdue University study (see it for yourself here), rats who were given calorie-free and artificially-sweetened yogurt ate more over time than rats who consumed yogurt sweetened with glucose. The rats fed artificial sweeteners gained significantly more weight and more fat, and showed no ability to cut back on their intake later. These results are consistent with what scientists have seen in diet soda drinkers among humans.

The ingredients in diet soda confuse our system, which results in weight gain and fat gain. Yikes!

Diet Soda Makes Cardio More Difficult

Some might be thinking, "Okay, I'll keep my diet soda and just do more cardio to keep my metabolism in gear." Fat chance.

If you have ever been off soda for awhile and then you have one, it burns your lungs for a second. That is your lungs saying, "I pity the fool who just made my lungs cringe!" (Again, we all sound like Mr. T on the inside). The carbonation in soda is a killer to lung capacity. That's right, the diet soda you had at 3pm is going to reak havoc on your 6pm cardio session. You won't be able to intake as much oxygen. Proven.

The negative effects carbonation has on your lung capacity goes away over time, but why compromise your workouts and favorite athletic activities?

If you want a premium metabolism, a better chance at weight loss, and a better cardio session, stay away from diet soda!

Adam Erwin is a personal trainer who travels the world working with people who want to change their body now! Adam follows good weather, which means he is currently training clients in Minnesota…anywhere within a 10 mile radius of Wayzata, MN When fall and winter arrive, Adam will be headed toward Florida, Arizona, Australia, and other warm climates. Visit www.rapidresultsfitnessmn.com to learn more about his work and how he can help you lose fat, keep muscle, and keep your better half.

Do You Make Successful Weight-Loss Choices?

I am advising a client in St. Louis, MO on a special fat loss and weight loss project. Kristen is making tremendous strides in her journey to lose fat and weight (her goal is upwards of 50 lbs!).

I was talking with her mother yesterday, who said, "Any weight loss she gets is going to defy her genes."

Armed with a thorough idea of her eating habits and patterns over the last few years, I said, "I'm not sure I agree with that. Genes don't make a person eat Taco Bell. Genes don't make a person take the elevator instead of the stairs or park in the closest parking spot instead of one that requires a longer walk. Choices will beat genes almost every time. You get what you focus on, whether it is fitting into a tight pair of blue jeans or fitting an entire blueberry pie into your mouth. Focused decision-making rules in the fat loss world."

She thought for a minute, smiled, and then said, "That's no nonsense right there. And you're right!" I smiled. I've learned in my time on this planet that when momma says you're right, you are right!

The bottom line, though, is that anyone who wants to lose fat can do so if they focus on what they want instead of focusing on their obstacles to getting there. "Everyone in my family has a slow metabolism." "I can't exercise very much because I have a bad case of asthma (or cholesterol, or high blood pressure, etc.)."

Almost everyone who has yet to get the body they want has a story about why they can't get it. Most of those stories include an excuse about genetic pre-disposition to being fat. To that I say, "Lean turkey baloney!"

Here are three choices regarding focus that will help you burn more fat (and lose more weight), despite your "genetic predisposition":

FAT LOSS CHOICE #1: Choose to write down what you eat, daily!

A study just came out (as of 7/8/2008 ) showing that those who write in a food journal lose twice as much weight as those who do not write down their food intake. Whether you are tracking spending or food intake, tracking inspires results. Numbers don't lie, which is why I like them. Focus on writing down your food and your genes will allow you to fit into your jeans.

FAT LOSS CHOICE #2: Choose to have a plan for your workout.

Every client I work with experiences better results in the gym when they walk through the door with a plan for their workout. When we have a paper in our hand that tells us what to do, we usually do it. Experts agree that making lists is the best way to shop for groceries, run a business, manage a day, and produce results in the gym. When you come to the gym prepared for your workout with a written out game plan, you tell your body and your time where to go instead of wondering where they went.

FAT LOSS CHOICE #3: Choose to put your goals in front of you, daily.

Remember in 2007 when our military shot down a satellite that had gone astray and was going to crash to earth if we didn't detonate it from afar? The failed satellite was the size of a bus, and was shot down 130 miles above us. Talk about hitting a far away target! Humans, however, can be even more impressive when they focus with complete intensity on their goals. If it is a pair of jeans, a dress, or a picture of you from the past, put your body goal in front you so you will see it daily. It doesn't matter how far away your target is...you can hit it if you choose to focus on it daily.

Adam Erwin is a personal trainer who travels the world working with people who want to change their body now! Adam follows good weather, which means he is currently training clients in Minnesota...anywhere within a 10 mile radius of Lake Minnetonka. When fall and winter arrive, Adam will be headed toward Florida, Arizona, Australia, and other warm climates. Visit www.keepyourbetterhalf.com to learn more about his work and how he can help you lose fat, keep muscle, and keep your better half.

Three Steps To Guaranteed Fat Loss

Whenever I meet someone, the conversation usually steers toward business. They ask, “What do you do?”

I answer, “I work with people who want to keep their better half.”

“Oh, so you are a relationship counselor?”

“No, I’m a personal trainer. I help people keep their muscle and burn their fat.”

They smile, sometimes laugh, and then start asking a thousand questions about fitness, food, supplements. Business is good.

Question for you…when you go to the gym, what do you burn? “Well,” you might say, “I keep very careful tabs on my heart rate so I burn a lot of fat.” Really? Few people I meet in the gym actually burn fat on a consistent basis. It’s a very hard thing for a body to do, which is why people usually burn more muscle than fat, even on shows like “The Biggest Loser.” In my time as a nutrition minded personal trainer, I have helped many clients burn fat at an unbelievable rate.

As I've studied fat loss and passed along key fat loss ideas to other trainers, I have been amazed by their feedback. A few trainers have mentioned idea #2 from the list below, but I have NEVER, EVER heard a trainer mention ideas #1 or #3. From my work alongside other trainers, it is clear that the following is uncommon wisdom.

Here are three ideas that I drive home with anyone I work with:

FAT LOSS TIP #1: Become a Believer in 10-second cardio

In 20 minutes, you can burn 3x more fat than someone else in 40 minutes. How? Utilize the body’s natural fat burning process.

Your muscles need oxygen to be available to burn fat. Your muscles have little stores of oxygen, that last for 10-15 seconds. To maximize fat loss, go as hard as you can on an elliptical or bike machine for 10 seconds, then half speed for 15 seconds (the oxygen store needs to recover its supply, which takes 1.5 times the amount of exertion). By alternating between 10-second bursts of 100% effort and 15-second recovery at 50%, you will maximize fat loss during cardio. If you can use this cardio interval for a twenty minute workout, you are a champ…a fat burning champ!

FAT LOSS TIP #2: Take the Right Fat Loss Supplement

When I first started really studying fat loss, I made one critical addition to my nutrition plan and lost four pant sizes in 10 weeks without changing my diet or my workouts. The only thing I did differently during that time span was add Tonalin CLA. Conjugated linoleic acid is a natural ingredient of the earth (linoleic acid comes from grass) that helps the body to use fat stores as a primary energy source. This is important because when the body is burning fat it is not burning muscle!

Clinical studies have shown that 3.4 grams of tonalin CLA (tonalin is the only kind proven to work) per day is the amount the body needs to initiate this fat loss in full force. Assuming each pill is 1 gram, take 2 pills twice daily. Two CLA first thing in the morning, two CLA mid-afternoon.

FAT LOSS TIP #3: Follow the most important secret in fat loss.

There is a clinically proven way to lock-in fat burning, increase workout productivity, and decrease soreness. Very few people know about the best way to guarantee a great workout and lock-in fat-burning in the process. I’m not about to give this one away, but you can email me (adam@keepyourbetterhalf.com) and I will be glad to share with you the most important secret I’ve discovered on fat loss.

Armed with the three strategies above (you have to email me for the third strategy…I don’t give away secrets to people who aren’t willing to go the extra mile), you will optimize fat loss every single time you hit the gym.

Adam Erwin is a personal trainer who travels the world working with people who want to change their body now! Adam follows good weather, which means he is currently training clients in Minnesota, specifically Eden Praire, MN. When fall and winter arrive, Adam will be headed toward Florida, Arizona, Australia, and other warm climates. Visit www.keepyourbetterhalf.com to learn more about his work and how he can help you lose fat, keep muscle, and keep your better half.

Tags: cardio, fat loss, personal trainer, weight loss