Three Phrases That Transform Fat to Fit!

As I finish watching my second episode of "Heavy" on Netflix, I am reminded that a major mind shift is mandatory for a major body shift.  Thinking and saying the right thing is imperative to arriving at our health goals!

Sadly, most of us get caught up in saying what most people say when trying to transform from fat to fit.  Most people say the wrong things, which means they think the wrong things.

Here are three phrases that will help get your mind right, your words right, and help you hit your health goals!

Say This: I'm On a Mission!      Not That: I'm On a Diet.

Fit people, and people who are pursuing being fit, are on a mission.  When someone offers them a brownie, they say, "No thanks, I'm on a mission here!"  Fat people are always "on a diet."

People who diet feel like they are living through temporary punishment...which means there seems to be an unnecessary emphasis on the first three letters in the word diet.  They feel like they are dying!

Being on a mission is entirely different.  It is positive, captivating, and it even sparks interest from others.  Virtually every adult has "been on a diet", but very few have considered themselves "on a mission!"

Make sure to fire the phrase "I'm on a diet" and replace it with "I'm on a mission!"  When someone asks you about your mission, talk about your fitness and nutrition plan.  Fit people do.

Say This: what do i need to eat?      Not That:what do i want to eat?

Fit people feed their body.  Fat people feed their cravings.  The funny thing is, cravings take control when we focus on what we want instead of focusing on what we need.

If we ask ourselves "What do I want to eat?", our brain will search through the list of our favorite vices.  Brain will answer, "chocolate peanut butter ice cream!" or "pizza!" or "Zebra Cakes!!!".  Silly brain.

If we ask ourselves "What do I need to eat?", our brain will take inventory of our recent food and exercise, then spit out the right answer.  Brain will answer, "grilled chicken and roasted asparagus" or "protein shake" or "southwestern omelet with eggs, green peppers, spinach, and onions!"  Awesome.

To get the right answer from our brain, it is imperative to ask the right question.  Drill into your brain, "What do I need to eat?"  It's what fit people say!

Say This: It's time to be the hardest-working person in the gym!      Not That: i need to go workout.

Everyone has a gear, an extra gear, that can be tapped into when we DECIDE to get our butt in gear.  When it's time to exercise, do so with purpose.  Be the hardest worker in the gym, or the hardest walker on the block.  Get in the zone instead of zoning out.  Hop on an elliptical and stay plugged in by doing short intervals instead of watching TV while moving .2 miles per hour.

Our stress level, cardiovascular system, circulatory system, lymphatic system, and respiratory system CANNOT WAIT for us to engage them.  Be the hardest working man or woman on the block!  Get after it in the gym.  Tap into your inner best.  Have fun with it!  This is what fit people do!

Adam Erwin is a fitness and nutrition coach.  Based in Minneapolis, Adam helps people solve their biggest health problem which include high cholesterol, type II diabetes, asthma, obesity, rheumatoid arthritis, and others!

Fitness and Nutrition Coach Offers $50, 14-Day Plan to Get Slim During the Most Fattening Time of the Year

The average American adult will gain eight lbs. over the holidays.  EIGHT POUNDS!!!!  If you can't afford to gain eight more lbs. this holiday season, I'd like to help create a 15 lbs. gap between you and the rest of America this December.  And it will only take 14 days to do it!

I am here to announce the December 10th launch of the brand new 15 Lb, Two-Week Turnaround. From December 10th-23rd, you and 29 others can:

• Lose unhealthy weight around your mid-section and attack fat!
• Spark your metabolism to get a head start on 2010!
• Give your body what it needs to fight off flu season more effectively!
• Increase your energy to power through your day!
• Show up for your holiday destination looking your best!

For the first 30 people who register (using the PayPal link below or contacting me for a $25 discount offer), I will offer the following:

1. 14-day meal plan including the exact foods and amounts to eat!
2. 14-day exercise plan that features online videos and workout sheets to track your progress (choose either the home program or gym program)!
3. A grocery list for each week so you know exactly what to buy at the store!
4. Daily blog that teaches you WHY we do WHAT we do (and offers special deals on jewelry massage and more...deals subject to geographic limitations)!
5. A full list of recommended supplements to help you maximize this program AND beyond!
6. $50 discount on a 28-day program for 2010!
7. Recommendations for how to attack 2010 healthfully!

To recap, $50 gives you the fitness and nutrition blueprint to lose 7 lbs. in 14 days. "Wait a minute!" you may be thinking...."you said 15 lbs., Adam." I did. In addition to the 7 lbs. you could lose, this program is helping to spare you from the 8 lbs. of weight gain that may otherwise take place. 7 lbs of possible loss (my record for healthy weight loss for an online client in two weeks is 19 lbs!) and 8 lbs. not gained gives you a 15 lb. turnaround!

To sign up now for one of the 30 spots (as of 7:40pm on December 2nd, 6 spots are already taken). To find out how to reserve your spot (and maybe even for for $25!), send an email to adam@rapidresultsfitnessmn.com immediately.

30 people will have a chance at a 15 lb. turn around. Will it be you? Registration closes when 30 spots fill up or on December 7th at 11am CTD.

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.

Be the Biggest Loser in Your Neighborhood with Unique Fat Camp with Personal Trainer!

I am watching an ABC "Nightline" program that is focusing on a fat camp.  To be more specific, "Nightline" is focusing on a family weight loss camp.  I have no question this camp is doing good work and helping people.  However, in the few minutes of footage being shown, the biggest thing missing from the weight loss camp is this: real life application.

For people who want to truly succeed with a significant body change, here is what they need to consider.

Fat Camp at Home Consideration #1:  Weight Loss Camps Are....Camps

I don't live at a weight loss camp.  You don't live at a weight loss camp.  We live in our home, in a city or town.  We have jobs, we have responsibilities, we have lives.  The biggest problem I have with a fat camp is that, since we don't live at camps, it is unrealistic to expect someone to take a camp lifestyle and integrate it into a daily routine.

For this reason, I created a program that brings me to you.  I come into your life and work with you daily to help change your life in your own habitat.  To be successful with weight loss in the long run, a weight loss camp needs to fit into your everyday life.  I bring my weight loss camp to you so you can succeed in everyday life, and not just at a camp.

Fat Camp at Home Consideration #2:  Weight Loss Camps Cook Your Food for You!

Do you have a chef on hand in your home?  I don't.  My nutrition success or failure falls on me.  The foods I buy and the foods I cook are the foods I consume.  At a camp, most of the foods you consume are not made by you (or purchased by you at the store).  You are served, not taught.

When I travel to someone's home to work with them, I teach them how to cook the best foods for them.  Each meal is a meal you cook, so that you know that you can do it on your own.  A fat camp doesn't afford you that learning opportunity.

The success of your body change is mostly the result of what YOU do.  It's what YOU cook, it's how YOU exercise.  Being catered to at a camp is great customer service, but it is unfortunate disservice to those trying to learn how to incorporate proper foods into their life at home.

Fat Camp Consideration #3:  Weight Loss Camps Do Not Include Customized Exercise

What type of exercise does YOUR body need?  If you are in need of a boot camp experience, it is important to make sure that your exercises are built specifically for your body.

In the "Primetime" exercise footage, some of the exercises being performed at the fat camp were very poorly executed.  Again, it is important to note that I am on board with any person who is helping someone to lose weight, so I'm not bashing the efforts or intentions of the camp.  However, as a personal trainer and as a guy who studies how an overweight body should move, I am not pleased with the execution of the exercises displayed at this camp.

I work with people to make sure their exercises are the built to their needs.  Bad knees, bad backs, or bad feet....how your body moves needs to be build so you can stay healthy and not get hurt.  A fat camp exercise program for teens may be built differently than a fat camp exercise program for an adult.

As the "Primetime" episode closes down, I am really pleased at the results the people experienced.  However, I've helped more people lose more weight in less time (and do it more healthfully!) than what was displayed on the ABC "Primetime" episode.

If you are looking into exploring a fat camp or weight loss camp opportunity, I'd love to talk with you about bringing a camp experience to you so that your success can begin and be maintained in your own home.  If you are interested in exploring a home-based weight loss boot camp, visit rapidresultsfitnessmn.com or send email to adam@rapidresultsfitnessmn.com.

Adam Erwin is a nutrition and fitness coach.  Based in Minneapolis, he travels the United States to help people experience the best food and fitness month of their lives.  His cutting edge online program, Virtual Boot Camp, is helping people lose weight and change their body in record time!

The Missing Links for Weight Loss, Fat Loss, and Body Change

2009 UPDATE!!!

Before you read this blog, there are two things you need to know:

1) Open enrollment has begun for the Virtual Boot Camp: Total Body Makeover!   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 http://keepyourbetterhalf.com/virtualbootcamp.html now!

2) If you would like the free report "The 27 Factors Affecting Fat Loss and Weight Loss", send me an email and I'll get the report to you!

Now, back to the blog...

Boot camps are all over the place.  Pick a gym, find an instructor, and get ready to sweat next to seven other strangers.  When push comes to shove (or push-up comes to crunch), exercise is about 10% of your day.  The other 90% takes place outside the gym.

A good boot camp will take care of maybe 10% of your day.  What is missing in the 90% not covered by your boot camp?  Your pre-workout fat-burning supplement.  Your perfect post-workout shake.  The breakfast you need to eat.  A mid-morning snack with the right amount AND TYPES of carbs/proteins.  The on-target lunch, perfect mid-afternoon snack, and nutritionally appropriate dinner. 

The missing links in your boot camp are the 90% of your day that your boot camp doesn't help you build.  What would happen if your boot camp were designed with your nutrition in mind?

Boot Camp Designed Differently

What would happen if your nutrition was as on-target as your workouts?  More fat loss more quickly. Less soreness and body aching.  More visible progress your friends and co-workers would notice.  Less wondering "am I doing the right thing?"  All in all, you'd have one heck of a boot camp on your hands!  More importantly, you would have a body change experience everyone around you would be talking about!  Many people put too much stock in their workout boot camp and not enough stock in the nutrition and life habits that make or break their day and their boot camp progress.

Enter the Body Change Boot Camp!  With the Body Change Boot Camp (the BCBC), clients get a nutritional boot camp in addition to the exercise boot camp.  Want to know what to have for lunch at the corporate luncheon?  We'll help.  Need to know what type of chocolate will be best for that midnight craving?  We're on it.

With the BCBC we challenge you with great workouts and walk with you through your day to make sure you get the nutrition you need at just the moment you need it.  Need a protein shake in the afternoon?  We are already on the way to the office.  Need dinner made and delivered to you?  Done! 

Suddenly, the 90% of your day that doesn't involve exercise just got a lot better! 

Where to Find the Body Change Boot Camp?

The BCBC takes place in Minneapolis, MN.  We can travel to your door if need be.  And not just in the Twin Cities.  We can travel to San Diego, Delray Beach, FL, Australia, or wherever your body change needs to take place.  Visit www.keepyourbetterhalf.com for details!

About the Author: Personal Trainer Adam Erwin

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.

The Word on Weight Loss Books, Fat Loss Guides, and Muscle-Building Programs

Have you ever stared at a jigsaw puzzle and been a little overwhelmed at the bijillion pieces laying before you? I am not good at putting puzzles together. Every time I pick up a piece, I have a hard time figuring out where it is supposed to go. Or if I'm playing with my nephew, I wonder if the puzzle piece I'm holding even belongs to the puzzle we're trying to put together.

At some time or another, most of us have perused the weight loss/diet/exercise section of Borders, Barnes & Noble, Amazon.com, or wherever good books are sold.   Today I'm coming to you live from the Borders in Minnetonka, MN.  There is SO MUCH information out here...probably too much!

The problem I have with these books is that you can read for five or ten pages and not get one take-home idea about weight loss, fat loss, or body change.    This is why I am putting together an e-book that is short, to the point, and without needless information.  I want to pack as much wisdom into each page as I can...which is hard to do.  Shoot me an email if you'd like more information abou the e-book, which will be released soon.

For now, here is my list of "Three Things You Need to Know Before You Pick up a Book on Weight Loss":

Things You Need to Know Before You Pick Up a Book on Weight-Loss: It's 90% NOT About Your Workout

The biggest idea about weight loss is that 90% has nothing to do with a workout.  What you do outside the gym (or outside of your home-workout) is the biggest piece of the puzzle.  Major changes in eating habits (what you eat, when you eat it, and how much of it you eat) is a required activity of weight loss.  Putting together a fool-proof plan for the 90% of your time that is spent outside the gym is the most important criteria to weight loss one must consider when looking into a book or two about what to do.

Things You Need to Know Before You Pick Up a Book on Weight-Loss: It's Not About Consuming Less Food

Did you fall out of your chair upon reading the headline?  Some of you might have.  In reality, it's not about eating less food.  It's about what foods you eat.  Wanna go crazy on celery?  Be my guest.  Wanna eat grapes until you burst?  Feel free.  What kills us is not the habit of eating (or even the quantities), it's the types of foods that we eat that kill us.  Trading grapes for cupcakes and almonds for potato chips, that's what it's about: the substitutes.  Any book that tells you otherwise is not really with the program.

Things You Need to Know Before You Pick Up a Book on Weight-Loss: There are Lots of Right Ideas About Weight Loss

Many of the books I pick up about weight loss have ideas that make sense and could work.  There are a lot of good ideas out there, and most books tout their way as THE way.  THere are lots of ways to gain muslce, lots of ways to burn fat, and lots of ways to lose weight.  They may not all be created equal, but most are doable.

The best way to change your body, however, is to hire someone to help you that studies this stuff for a living.  I travel the nation helping people change their body.  If you'd like help with your body change, visit www.keepyourbetterhalf.com.

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.

Successful Weight Loss in 30 Days: Turning the Tide on Being Overweight, Diabetic, and on the Brink of Major Health Problems

Is your life upside down? If your energy is down and your cholesterol is up, if your new diagnosis of type II diabetes is supposed to be the tip of your pending medical iceburg, and if your waistline is growing faster than your company's bottom line...it's time for the 30-day weight loss program. What is the successful 30-day weight-loss program?

A Day in the Life of Successful Weight Loss in 30 Day

Day 11: Imagine you awoke at 6am to the sound of your favorite song. You roll out of bed, feeling pretty good. After all, you just lost 12 lbs in seven days, have enjoyed peaceful sleep, and notice that you are ready to get out of bed when you hear your daily anthem. Your new personal trainer was right, that cleanse last week was just what your body needed...and thank God he did it with you!

Morning Cardio with the Successful 30-Day Exerciser

You put on your workout clothes, head to the fridge and commence downing 12 ounces of water, the perfect first step for your day. You eat the perfect pre-cardio bite, which guarantees that you will burn fat for the next two hours.

You step outside and start your morning cardio. Your personal trainer (the one who set up your music, your water, your pre-workout nibble, and the current cardio session that is different from yesterday...and good thing because that one kicked your butt!) guides you through a quick warm up, a satisfying series of stretches, and then a fun little course he has set up on the beach of Lake Minnetonka.

After your cardio session, you return home and check email while your trainer makes you the perfect post-workout shake (a complete blend of the types of proteins your body needs at the moment). You sip it down and head off to shower.

Upon getting dressed and heading down to grab breakfast (a savory 300-calorie dish you had once last week and couldn't wait to eat again), you head to the office with your water in hand, mid-morning snack already in the car, and confident you have already conquered more of the world in your first two hours than anyone else will accomplish all day.

At the Office with the Successful 30-Day Dieter

Before you know it noon arrives. The mid-morning almond and fruit mix went down two hours ago and it's time to refuel. You walk out of your downtown Minneapolis office and find your hot lunch already in the lunch room, waiting for you. Your personal trainer IS GOOD! Another right-sized dish, a tender piece of tilapia, grilled to perfection with some basmati rice and a fresh salad. Accompanying your lunch is your afternoon nutrition: a protein shake, which awaits you in the breakroom refrigerator....compliments of your trainer.

The Workout Routine of Successful 30-Day Weight Loss

The workday breezes by and you head home, change clothes, eat a pre-workout bar (which must have been stolen from the Thin Mint cookie formula the Girl Scouts use), and begin your evening exercises with your personal trainer. Sweating, challenged, and invigorated, you churn through the workout, stretch, and relax as your trainer prepares your post-workout protein shake. You down the shake, shower, and prepare for dinner out on the town.

The Restaurant Experience of a Successful 30-Day Dieter

Before you leave for the restaurant for your business meeting, you get a note from your trainer with the perfect order at the restaurant tonight...he's already analyzed the menu and picked out the meal that will provide the best nutrients (considering the carbs, protein, fat, cholesterol, and calories he's already logged for you today from your meals, snacks and shakes) during this evening hour.

Dinner is flawless. You feel satisfied but know you haven't overeaten. You return home to find a note from your personal trainer, tomorrow's agenda, and a delicous and healthy midnight snack...should you have a late-hour need.

Wrapping Up the Day of the Successful 30-Day Program

As you retire to your bedroom, you think about what your day used to look like: waking up groggy and fighting with the snooze button, skipping breakfast, eating treats or vending machine junk until lunch, a gotta-grab-something-quick-because-I'm-too-busy-to-eat-right lunch, four diet sodas, an embarassingly huge dinner, and the guilty feeling of driving by the gym on the way home...knowing you have yet to visit there this month.

You contrast THAT day with the life you lead now: up early and feeling great, swift cardio, breakfast while overlooking Lake Minnetonka, a power day at the office, meals that are thought about for you so you don't have to think about them, the right snack at the right time, an invigorating late afternoon workout, a dinner out that actually serves your body, and the satisfaction of a well-executed day.

As you drift off to sleep, you think about your 19 remaining days of having your very own in-home personal trainer (and his comprehensive 30-day plan to teach you how to eat right without thinking about it, get more from your exercise in less time, and build a day of successful health and fitness habits), how he has helped turn around your life, and how your doctor, co-workers, family, and friends will not believe how much progress you have made in 30 days. Oh wait, you think, I forgot to take some of my diabetes medication today...and I still felt great. Hmmmm.....zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!

Adam Erwin is an in-home personal trainer who travels the world helping people turn around their health in 30 days or less. Follow his work at www.keepyourbetterhalf.com. If you believe you are a candidate for his comprehensive body-change boot camp, email him at adam@keepyourbetterhalf.com to learn more.

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.

Why Water Can Change Your Nutrition, Health, Weight, and More

I just bought a new water filter today. What a difference a good glass of water makes. In fact, water is one of the most common starting points when I work with clients on losing weight, losing fat, improving health, even eating less. Water is the wonder drink to cure what ails most of us. Why?

Water Helps You Consume Less Calories

A 12 oz. can of Coca-Cola contains 140 calories and 39 g of sugar. Yikes! Juices aren't much better. Nor is tea (except maybe green tea). Diet soda...don't make me go there. The artificial sweeteners are killing your metabolism and causing you to eat more food (that's for another blog on another day!).

Water is calorie free. The average person will consume 40% less calories by substituting water in as their only beverage. Try it for a week and you will be a water fiend. Water also triggers a human stomach to feel satisfied (the signals for hunger and thirst are the same in the human body). By merely consuming an 8 oz. glass of water before a meal, we are guaranteed to eat less.

Drink only water for a week and shed 40% of your caloric intake (and that's from beverages alone!). Drink water before and during meals (for the real fanatics, don't drink anything during a meal to maximize digestion) to cut down on food-based calories for a week. Weight loss is a cinch with water. And if you are overweight, losing a few pounds with a water-focused plan can improve blood pressure, diabetes, cholesterol, and joint function. Yes, it's that simple. Simple, however, is not always easy.

Water Increases Your Metabolism

Guess what 8 oz. beverage you can drink first thing in the mornig to improve your metabolic response by 24%? Water! Our metabolism was designed to respond to water. Studies prove that drinking water upon rising is a sure-fire way to get your metabolism in gear. In addition, drinking cold water increases calorie burning (not by a lot, but every calorie burned adds up). If your metabolism is in gear, not only are you burning more calories, but you are also processing nutrients more quickly. When it comes to muscle repair, processing nutrients (giving the body what it needs when it needs it) is a really big deal!

Water Helps Cure Many Ailments

I'm going to get in trouble for this one, I just know it. The truth is that increased water consumption can improve the condition of virtually every cell in the human body. Skin is in bad shape, drink more water. Joints or muscles are aching, drink more water. Body is retaining too much water, drink more water (seriously!).

Water can help to lower cholesterol. Water can help increase brain function. Need more lung capacity, perhaps try water (and definitely eliminate carbonated beverages)! Water is a big deal.

When drinking water (64-120 oz. a day) becomes a habit for you, watch out! You may be completely unstoppable.

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.keepyourbetterhalf.com to learn more about his work and how he can help you lose fat, keep muscle, and keep your better half.