Sorry guys, but this one is for the ladies only.
Also, if you are a guy and you're reading this, I don't recommend forwarding it on to your wife or girlfriend unless you want to become single or any less of a man. Just a cautionary warning.
Anyway...
I haven't come across too many ladies who are totally pleased with their butt and didn't want to lose butt fat.
Actually I can't remember meeting one woman who, when it got down to what they wanted, was totally satisfied with the size, or "roundness" of her butt.
Some have wanted a bigger, rounder butt, but most women I meet want their butt to be smaller, yet round...or "A butt that stops traffic" as one former client put it.
So what does it take to lose inches off your butt? Is it all about some "sculpting" exercise you learned about in some women's magazine?
Or maybe you need to use the latest gadget found on late night infomercials or some magic lotion that you slather on your booty.
All of those things are wrong, and you should never, ever buy those gizmos off the late night infomercials. Not when you can get better exercises done without spending anything.
The first thing you need to fix is your nutrition. Are you eating for a nice butt? A butt worthy of a bikini, or tight jeans?
That doesn't mean you have to go on some crazy crash diet. Quite the opposite. You need to eat enough to maintain your muscle, because muscle is what gives you a nice butt.
You need to make sure you eat lots of fruits and vegetables throughout the day and that could be by eating whole, raw fruits and vegetables, or by preparing your own smoothies made with real fruits and veggies, not juices.
You also need to make sure you're getting enough protein and fat. Yes I said fat. You need to consume fat if you really want to lose inches off your butt. However the fat should come from healthy nuts like almonds, or cold water fish like salmon and albacore tuna. Eating those will also ensure you get your protein and fiber.
But what exercises should you do to lose butt fat?
Forget about those "sculpting" moves found in the latest women's magazine from the checkout line at the grocery store.
You need to do exercises that use a lot of muscle and thus burn a lot more fat.
You need to do exercises like squats and lunges. You need to do them with your own bodyweight and/or you need to add some resistance in the form of dumbbells
You should also do your exercises in the form of supersets or circuits.
Try this mini-circuit the next time you're at the gym or in your home gym.
1A) Dumbbell Reverse Lunge - 8 reps per leg
1B) Bodyweight Squat - 15 reps
1C) Hip Extension - 15 reps
Perform those 3 exercises as a circuit moving from one to the next with little to no rest and repeat the circuit 3-4 times.
That circuit, if done properly, will work the butt muscles hard. Add that circuit to the beginning of your workout, when you're still fresh and do it 2-3 times per week for 4 weeks and you will have a smaller, firmer, rounder butt by the end of that month.
Stay tuned to your inbox tomorrow ladies where I'll give you a couple videos that work those trouble spots you have come to love to hate.
Have a good day!
Ed
P.S. - If you liked that mini-circuit for the booty, one of the f.ree b.onuses that comes with my Fat Loss To Go program totally revolves around mini-workouts for women's trouble spots. The butt, legs, flabby arms, etc. The workouts are designed to be done after or before your regular workout and only add about 5 minutes to your regular workout and they work those trouble spots hard. Check it out at www.fatlosstogo.com/ladies.html
Showing posts with label fat loss. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fat loss. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Monday, June 30, 2008
You Eat Right And Exercise, But Why Can't You Lose Fat?
It’s reader mail time!
Here is one of the most common questions I get and the way I always respond to it.
Q: I eat right and I workout all the time, but I’m not losing fat. What else can I do, or what am I doing wrong?
A: I get this question all the time and it’s a very, very frustrating situation to be in to say the least.
You think you’re doing everything right, and the scale isn’t moving.
First you have to ask yourself if your clothes are fitting better. If they are, then don’t even worry about the scale because the number on the scale will begin to fall if you notice your clothes getting loose in the places you want.
If that’s not the case, you really need to examine what you say you’re doing “right.”
You say you’re eating right, but what does that mean?
That usually means there’s something you’re not understanding or are you’re just lying to yourself.
I don’t mean to be rude, but if you truly do eat “right”, then there’s no reason you should be maintaining your current weight (if you want to lose). If you were really eating the way you should if you want to lose fat (and you’re overweight), and the scale isn’t moving, then you should probably become some sort of lab rat for the UN because you could solve world hunger.
I would never outright call someone a liar. I just think that you may be misunderstanding what it means to eat to lose fat. There’s a lot of misinformation out there and sometimes what seems like the most common sense approach is actually the worst approach.
So let’s see if I can solve your dilemma right now.
Does “eating right” mean you eat like a bird, if you eat at all, most of the day, then eat a huge meal at night?
If so, there’s your problem right there. You can’t eat little to nothing for a good portion of the day, then eat a huge meal later on. Your body doesn’t work that way. If you consume more calories in one sitting than your body can use, the remainder will get stored as fat. It really is that simple.
Eat over 1000 calories in one sitting (which is very easy to do), then count on a good chunk of those calories going right to your gut, butt, thighs or chest as fat.
Or maybe you’ve got some hidden calories in the form of sauces, salad dressings, coffee drinks, soda/pop/cola, sweetened teas, breads, etc.
Most of those things that I just mentioned are loaded with calories and you wouldn’t normally even think of them because they’re not your “main dish”, they’re add-ons. But believe me when I tell you that salad dressings and sauces WILL turn a fat fighting meal into a fat gaining meal.
Read the label, don’t douse your food with the stuff, and switch to low calorie versions.
If you drink those calorie bomb coffee drinks, cut them out. There’s no place for them if you’re trying to lose fat. Many of them can be well over 600 calories.
The other thing it could be is portion sizes. Most people under-estimate their portions by around 25%. That one thing right there could be your whole problem.
You may think you’re consuming around 2000 calories per day, when in actuality you may be consuming 2500.
If all else is equal, that could mean a pound of fat gain per week, or if you understand that and fix it, it could mean a pound of fat loss per week. It really is that simple and it’s your choice.
The last thing I’ll cover today is the weekend.
I know people who eat perfectly all week long, then when Friday night rolls around…everything gets thrown out the window and on comes the beer, fast food, junk food, etc.
That will ruin your fat loss plans and you should count yourself lucky if you’re even maintaining your current weight rather than gaining fat.
To succeed on the weekends, you’ve got to treat it as if they were any other day. Sure you can relax a little bit, but if you’re trying to lose fat, you have to maintain some discipline.
Remember what you’re trying to accomplish?
So before you tell someone that you’re eating right, exercising, and doing all the right things and the scale isn’t moving, you really need take a long hard look at how you’re actually eating.
Have a good day!
Ed
P.S. – My Fat Loss To Go program comes with a Nutrition eBook that covers all the healthy, fat fighting eating habits you should be doing, plus it tells you what things to avoid and how to eat to lose fat. It’s not some sort of fad diet, it’s eating to live and eating to fight fat rather than starving yourself or going on some goofy fad diet. Check it out at www.fatlosstogo.com
Here is one of the most common questions I get and the way I always respond to it.
Q: I eat right and I workout all the time, but I’m not losing fat. What else can I do, or what am I doing wrong?
A: I get this question all the time and it’s a very, very frustrating situation to be in to say the least.
You think you’re doing everything right, and the scale isn’t moving.
First you have to ask yourself if your clothes are fitting better. If they are, then don’t even worry about the scale because the number on the scale will begin to fall if you notice your clothes getting loose in the places you want.
If that’s not the case, you really need to examine what you say you’re doing “right.”
You say you’re eating right, but what does that mean?
That usually means there’s something you’re not understanding or are you’re just lying to yourself.
I don’t mean to be rude, but if you truly do eat “right”, then there’s no reason you should be maintaining your current weight (if you want to lose). If you were really eating the way you should if you want to lose fat (and you’re overweight), and the scale isn’t moving, then you should probably become some sort of lab rat for the UN because you could solve world hunger.
I would never outright call someone a liar. I just think that you may be misunderstanding what it means to eat to lose fat. There’s a lot of misinformation out there and sometimes what seems like the most common sense approach is actually the worst approach.
So let’s see if I can solve your dilemma right now.
Does “eating right” mean you eat like a bird, if you eat at all, most of the day, then eat a huge meal at night?
If so, there’s your problem right there. You can’t eat little to nothing for a good portion of the day, then eat a huge meal later on. Your body doesn’t work that way. If you consume more calories in one sitting than your body can use, the remainder will get stored as fat. It really is that simple.
Eat over 1000 calories in one sitting (which is very easy to do), then count on a good chunk of those calories going right to your gut, butt, thighs or chest as fat.
Or maybe you’ve got some hidden calories in the form of sauces, salad dressings, coffee drinks, soda/pop/cola, sweetened teas, breads, etc.
Most of those things that I just mentioned are loaded with calories and you wouldn’t normally even think of them because they’re not your “main dish”, they’re add-ons. But believe me when I tell you that salad dressings and sauces WILL turn a fat fighting meal into a fat gaining meal.
Read the label, don’t douse your food with the stuff, and switch to low calorie versions.
If you drink those calorie bomb coffee drinks, cut them out. There’s no place for them if you’re trying to lose fat. Many of them can be well over 600 calories.
The other thing it could be is portion sizes. Most people under-estimate their portions by around 25%. That one thing right there could be your whole problem.
You may think you’re consuming around 2000 calories per day, when in actuality you may be consuming 2500.
If all else is equal, that could mean a pound of fat gain per week, or if you understand that and fix it, it could mean a pound of fat loss per week. It really is that simple and it’s your choice.
The last thing I’ll cover today is the weekend.
I know people who eat perfectly all week long, then when Friday night rolls around…everything gets thrown out the window and on comes the beer, fast food, junk food, etc.
That will ruin your fat loss plans and you should count yourself lucky if you’re even maintaining your current weight rather than gaining fat.
To succeed on the weekends, you’ve got to treat it as if they were any other day. Sure you can relax a little bit, but if you’re trying to lose fat, you have to maintain some discipline.
Remember what you’re trying to accomplish?
So before you tell someone that you’re eating right, exercising, and doing all the right things and the scale isn’t moving, you really need take a long hard look at how you’re actually eating.
Have a good day!
Ed
P.S. – My Fat Loss To Go program comes with a Nutrition eBook that covers all the healthy, fat fighting eating habits you should be doing, plus it tells you what things to avoid and how to eat to lose fat. It’s not some sort of fad diet, it’s eating to live and eating to fight fat rather than starving yourself or going on some goofy fad diet. Check it out at www.fatlosstogo.com
Monday, June 23, 2008
Quick Abs Workout To Help You Lose Stomach Fat
Do you have too much stomach fat? Do you want to lose stomach fat?
Is that a stupid question? I think it probably is. Why would you be reading this if you have a six-pack or flat stomach that’s the envy of everyone around you?
But how do you get that flat stomach? Do you need to do more crunches or use that stupid abs exercise gizmo from the infomercials to lose stomach fat?
In short…No!!
You need to stop doing so many crunches and put your credit card back in your wallet and stop buying those worthless pieces of metal and plastic in the form of 3 easy payments.
Those models don’t use those things to get their ripped abs or flat, sexy stomachs.
So what are you supposed to do?
Besides eating lots of fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, whole-grains, legumes and nuts?
Besides doing full body resistance training workouts and interval training?
You can add mini-circuits like the one I’m going to show you below to help burn stomach fat and get the abs of your dreams.
After your normal full-body resistance training workout or interval training I want you to perform the following mini-circuit.
Do the exercises one after the other with little to no rest until after you’ve done the third exercise. Then you can rest for 30 seconds and repeat the circuit 2-3 more times.
Remember to perform the exercises slow and in a controlled manner
1A) Stability Ball Jack Knife – 10 reps
1B) Reverse Crunch – 15 reps
1C) Plank – 60 seconds
In case you don’t know how to do the exercises, here’s a quick run-through.
Jack Knife – Roll out on a stability ball so your hands are on the floor and your feet are on the ball. Your body should be in a straight line and stomach tight. Pull the ball toward your by bending your knees, and contracting your abs. Then slowly return the ball back to the starting position.
Reverse crunch – Lie on your back on the floor with your knees and hips bent at 90 degree angles. Contract your abs and bring your knees toward your head. This is the important part…to really work your abs you have to curl your hips off the floor as you bring your knees in. If you don’t, you won’t work your abs. Slowly return to the starting position.
Plank – Lie on the floor in the top push-up position. Then lower your body and place your forearms on the floor so only your forearms and toes are on the floor and your body is in a straight line. Hold that position, keeping your stomach and butt tight for the prescribed time.
Do that mini-circuit 3-4 times per week and I guarantee that after 4 weeks you’ll see noticeable results in your stomach. You’ll lose stomach fat, your pants will fit better and you won’t have as much back pain.
Have a good day!
Ed
P.S. - If you liked that quick abs workout, check out my Fat Loss To Go program. One of the free bonuses is an eBook dedicated entirely to quick ab workouts that are meant to be done after your normal workout. Check it out at www.fatlosstogo.com
Is that a stupid question? I think it probably is. Why would you be reading this if you have a six-pack or flat stomach that’s the envy of everyone around you?
But how do you get that flat stomach? Do you need to do more crunches or use that stupid abs exercise gizmo from the infomercials to lose stomach fat?
In short…No!!
You need to stop doing so many crunches and put your credit card back in your wallet and stop buying those worthless pieces of metal and plastic in the form of 3 easy payments.
Those models don’t use those things to get their ripped abs or flat, sexy stomachs.
So what are you supposed to do?
Besides eating lots of fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, whole-grains, legumes and nuts?
Besides doing full body resistance training workouts and interval training?
You can add mini-circuits like the one I’m going to show you below to help burn stomach fat and get the abs of your dreams.
After your normal full-body resistance training workout or interval training I want you to perform the following mini-circuit.
Do the exercises one after the other with little to no rest until after you’ve done the third exercise. Then you can rest for 30 seconds and repeat the circuit 2-3 more times.
Remember to perform the exercises slow and in a controlled manner
1A) Stability Ball Jack Knife – 10 reps
1B) Reverse Crunch – 15 reps
1C) Plank – 60 seconds
In case you don’t know how to do the exercises, here’s a quick run-through.
Jack Knife – Roll out on a stability ball so your hands are on the floor and your feet are on the ball. Your body should be in a straight line and stomach tight. Pull the ball toward your by bending your knees, and contracting your abs. Then slowly return the ball back to the starting position.
Reverse crunch – Lie on your back on the floor with your knees and hips bent at 90 degree angles. Contract your abs and bring your knees toward your head. This is the important part…to really work your abs you have to curl your hips off the floor as you bring your knees in. If you don’t, you won’t work your abs. Slowly return to the starting position.
Plank – Lie on the floor in the top push-up position. Then lower your body and place your forearms on the floor so only your forearms and toes are on the floor and your body is in a straight line. Hold that position, keeping your stomach and butt tight for the prescribed time.
Do that mini-circuit 3-4 times per week and I guarantee that after 4 weeks you’ll see noticeable results in your stomach. You’ll lose stomach fat, your pants will fit better and you won’t have as much back pain.
Have a good day!
Ed
P.S. - If you liked that quick abs workout, check out my Fat Loss To Go program. One of the free bonuses is an eBook dedicated entirely to quick ab workouts that are meant to be done after your normal workout. Check it out at www.fatlosstogo.com
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
What If You Woke Up This Morning With Your Ideal Body?
I want you to do something for me.
I want you to close your eyes...well, on second thought, don't close your eyes because then you won't be able to finish reading this. So, just imagine you wake up in the morning, head to the bathroom to start getting ready for the day and when you look in the mirror you notice that you have suddenly been given your ideal body.
No longer do you have the extra cushion around your midsection that you've been wanting to get rid of. No longer is your posture all slumped over.
You have what, in your eyes, is your ideal body.
Do you have that picture in your head?
Good.
Now, I want you to think about how you would act if you had that ideal body. Not how you would act towards other people. I don't want you to say that you'd go show your new body off to an ex, or go parading around town in your tightie whities. All good thoughts, I assure you, but I want to keep your mind focused on something else.
I want you to think about how you would eat. Would you eat differently because you want to maintain your new physique? Would you eat more fresh fruits and vegetables because you know that would help you maintain your ideal body? Would you eat more protein and fiber and get rid of all the junk?
What about exercise?
Would you workout more often to maintain your fat free body? Would you do more resistance training to keep that newfound muscle?
Do you see where I'm going with this?
I'll put it another way. There's what's known, or thought to be known, as the "Curse of the Lottery". Something about how when people win the lottery, and get all the money, that their lives turn out worse than before they had all the money. Somehow this blessing turns into a curse.
I don't think it's a "curse", rather I think it's just that the people who won that money don't know how to handle it. They do stupid things with the money, and don't save anything, and oftentimes end up with less than they started with. Or their friends and family disown them because they expected so much.
The same thing would happen to a lot of people if they woke up one day with their ideal body, rather than working for it. They wouldn't know how to handle that new physique and would go back to eating however they wanted, and pretty soon, that new "ideal physique" would be gone.
If you want to attain that ideal physique, and lose that fat, you must eat to lose fat and exercise to lose fat.
You need to do resistance training, using full body workouts, 3 times per week and you must do cardio, in the form of interval training, 2-3 times per week.
You must also eat lots of fruits and veggies, lean sources of protein, and quality carbohydrates while limiting processed carbohydrates, sodas, coffee drinks, chips, alcohol, white bread, etc.
Only then can you get your ideal physique...and keep it.
Have a good day!
Ed
P.S. - If you need help attaining that ideal physique, check out my Fat Loss To Go program. It's a 16 week fat loss program designed specifically for busy men and women and can be done out of the comfort of your own home. Check it out at www.fatlosstogo.com
I want you to close your eyes...well, on second thought, don't close your eyes because then you won't be able to finish reading this. So, just imagine you wake up in the morning, head to the bathroom to start getting ready for the day and when you look in the mirror you notice that you have suddenly been given your ideal body.
No longer do you have the extra cushion around your midsection that you've been wanting to get rid of. No longer is your posture all slumped over.
You have what, in your eyes, is your ideal body.
Do you have that picture in your head?
Good.
Now, I want you to think about how you would act if you had that ideal body. Not how you would act towards other people. I don't want you to say that you'd go show your new body off to an ex, or go parading around town in your tightie whities. All good thoughts, I assure you, but I want to keep your mind focused on something else.
I want you to think about how you would eat. Would you eat differently because you want to maintain your new physique? Would you eat more fresh fruits and vegetables because you know that would help you maintain your ideal body? Would you eat more protein and fiber and get rid of all the junk?
What about exercise?
Would you workout more often to maintain your fat free body? Would you do more resistance training to keep that newfound muscle?
Do you see where I'm going with this?
I'll put it another way. There's what's known, or thought to be known, as the "Curse of the Lottery". Something about how when people win the lottery, and get all the money, that their lives turn out worse than before they had all the money. Somehow this blessing turns into a curse.
I don't think it's a "curse", rather I think it's just that the people who won that money don't know how to handle it. They do stupid things with the money, and don't save anything, and oftentimes end up with less than they started with. Or their friends and family disown them because they expected so much.
The same thing would happen to a lot of people if they woke up one day with their ideal body, rather than working for it. They wouldn't know how to handle that new physique and would go back to eating however they wanted, and pretty soon, that new "ideal physique" would be gone.
If you want to attain that ideal physique, and lose that fat, you must eat to lose fat and exercise to lose fat.
You need to do resistance training, using full body workouts, 3 times per week and you must do cardio, in the form of interval training, 2-3 times per week.
You must also eat lots of fruits and veggies, lean sources of protein, and quality carbohydrates while limiting processed carbohydrates, sodas, coffee drinks, chips, alcohol, white bread, etc.
Only then can you get your ideal physique...and keep it.
Have a good day!
Ed
P.S. - If you need help attaining that ideal physique, check out my Fat Loss To Go program. It's a 16 week fat loss program designed specifically for busy men and women and can be done out of the comfort of your own home. Check it out at www.fatlosstogo.com
Monday, June 16, 2008
Busy Mom Fat Loss Tips
I think the term “busy mom” is really an idiotic statement. If you’re a mom isn’t it assumed that you’re busy?
I can’t think of any mom who wasn’t working her hands to the bone taking care of her family. It just kind of comes with the territory.
Unfortunately, this often doesn’t include much time for yourself when it comes to taking care of your body and fat loss.
Many of my training clients are busy moms trying to lose fat and they all want to know how to fit fat loss workouts into their busy days and nights.
The good thing is that it’s not as difficult as you think to fit effective fat loss workouts into your busy days.
You just need to follow these tips.
1) Stop following the fat loss workouts you find in the women’s magazines from the checkout counter. Most of those fat loss workouts are designed by people who don’t actually train people, let alone busy moms who have limited time to lose fat if they can even make it to the gym.
Plus they load those workouts up with goofy exercises that some gymnasts wouldn’t be able to do, or spend the whole time dealing with “isolation” exercises that when done need at least 45-60 minutes of gym time.
You need to start following a fat loss program that is designed to be done quickly and from the comfort of your own home. The program needs to focus on movements that get your whole body moving in order to lose fat. Movements like push-ups, squats, lunges, and full body ab exercises rather than thousands of crunches.
It should have you in and out of the gym in less than 20 minutes or make it so you can do it from home.
Your free time is precious. Do you really want to spend what little you have loading the kids up to head to the gym, driving there, working out, then loading the kids back up to commute home?
2) Stop trying to do cardio for 60-90 minutes per day. I don’t even want you to think about that anymore. It’s just not feasible for a busy mom who wants to lose fat to try to do slow, boring cardio for that long.
Rather you need to start doing interval training for your cardio. You’ll get done a lot quicker, and burn a lot more fat.
As a matter of fact, much of the cardio I have my female clients perform gets them done in less than 20 minutes and they lose a lot more fat than by doing it my way than they had in the years of doing long, boring, monotonous bouts of cardio.
3) Stop eating like you’re a kid. Most moms I know gained weight after their kids were born because they would eat what their kids didn’t. If their child didn’t eat all of his hot dog, she finished it for him. Or, if she was making cookies for the kids, she would eat just as much, if not more than the kids.
You have to stop doing this to yourself if you really want to lose fat.
Instead you need to focus on eating lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, lean sources of protein like chicken and turkey breast, soy, almonds, salmon, etc. while cutting out processed carbohydrates, which basically means anything found in a bag or box.
Have a good day!
Ed
P.S. - My Fat Loss To Go program is an excellent source for moms on the go who are looking to lose fat...and lose it quickly. The workouts only take about 15 minutes to complete plus one of the free bonuses is a whole load of 10 minute workouts. Check it out at www.fatlosstogo.com
I can’t think of any mom who wasn’t working her hands to the bone taking care of her family. It just kind of comes with the territory.
Unfortunately, this often doesn’t include much time for yourself when it comes to taking care of your body and fat loss.
Many of my training clients are busy moms trying to lose fat and they all want to know how to fit fat loss workouts into their busy days and nights.
The good thing is that it’s not as difficult as you think to fit effective fat loss workouts into your busy days.
You just need to follow these tips.
1) Stop following the fat loss workouts you find in the women’s magazines from the checkout counter. Most of those fat loss workouts are designed by people who don’t actually train people, let alone busy moms who have limited time to lose fat if they can even make it to the gym.
Plus they load those workouts up with goofy exercises that some gymnasts wouldn’t be able to do, or spend the whole time dealing with “isolation” exercises that when done need at least 45-60 minutes of gym time.
You need to start following a fat loss program that is designed to be done quickly and from the comfort of your own home. The program needs to focus on movements that get your whole body moving in order to lose fat. Movements like push-ups, squats, lunges, and full body ab exercises rather than thousands of crunches.
It should have you in and out of the gym in less than 20 minutes or make it so you can do it from home.
Your free time is precious. Do you really want to spend what little you have loading the kids up to head to the gym, driving there, working out, then loading the kids back up to commute home?
2) Stop trying to do cardio for 60-90 minutes per day. I don’t even want you to think about that anymore. It’s just not feasible for a busy mom who wants to lose fat to try to do slow, boring cardio for that long.
Rather you need to start doing interval training for your cardio. You’ll get done a lot quicker, and burn a lot more fat.
As a matter of fact, much of the cardio I have my female clients perform gets them done in less than 20 minutes and they lose a lot more fat than by doing it my way than they had in the years of doing long, boring, monotonous bouts of cardio.
3) Stop eating like you’re a kid. Most moms I know gained weight after their kids were born because they would eat what their kids didn’t. If their child didn’t eat all of his hot dog, she finished it for him. Or, if she was making cookies for the kids, she would eat just as much, if not more than the kids.
You have to stop doing this to yourself if you really want to lose fat.
Instead you need to focus on eating lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, lean sources of protein like chicken and turkey breast, soy, almonds, salmon, etc. while cutting out processed carbohydrates, which basically means anything found in a bag or box.
Have a good day!
Ed
P.S. - My Fat Loss To Go program is an excellent source for moms on the go who are looking to lose fat...and lose it quickly. The workouts only take about 15 minutes to complete plus one of the free bonuses is a whole load of 10 minute workouts. Check it out at www.fatlosstogo.com
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Is It Possible To Do A Fat Loss Workout In 4 Minutes?
I’ll make this short and sweet.
I created a few 4 minute fat loss workout videos last week and I want you to check them out.
They all involve using resistance tubing and they can all be completed in around 4 minutes.
But is that possible? Can you really burn fat in only 4 minutes?
You can. It’s called Tabata Protocol and it is very real.
All you do is perform a big, full body exercise for 20 seconds, rest for 10 and repeat the cycle until 4 minutes is up.
You can use 2 exercises like push-ups and lunges, or you can use 4 like push-ups, squats, mountain climbers and decline push-ups.
There really is no limit to what kind of workouts you can create.
So the next time you get crunched for time, try one of these 4 minute workouts below:
Have a good weekend!
Ed
P.S. – I’ll have a few more 4 minute workout videos for you next week and maybe even the push-up video that about made my head explode. I tried doing 20 different push-up variations (some easy, some very hard) without resting and my arms were shaking when I was done…plus I am very sore today. I don’t recommend doing that. It’s just plain stupid!
I created a few 4 minute fat loss workout videos last week and I want you to check them out.
They all involve using resistance tubing and they can all be completed in around 4 minutes.
But is that possible? Can you really burn fat in only 4 minutes?
You can. It’s called Tabata Protocol and it is very real.
All you do is perform a big, full body exercise for 20 seconds, rest for 10 and repeat the cycle until 4 minutes is up.
You can use 2 exercises like push-ups and lunges, or you can use 4 like push-ups, squats, mountain climbers and decline push-ups.
There really is no limit to what kind of workouts you can create.
So the next time you get crunched for time, try one of these 4 minute workouts below:
Have a good weekend!
Ed
P.S. – I’ll have a few more 4 minute workout videos for you next week and maybe even the push-up video that about made my head explode. I tried doing 20 different push-up variations (some easy, some very hard) without resting and my arms were shaking when I was done…plus I am very sore today. I don’t recommend doing that. It’s just plain stupid!
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Will Smoothies Make You Fat?
Last weekend my wife and I decided we wanted to have a smoothie for lunch.
Not one of the smoothies we make from home, no we decided to go to the local place just up the street from our house.
We used to go there quite a bit when a good friend of ours was a manager, but haven't been there regularly in quite some time.
I've also never looked at the nutrition information on the smoothies we usually get.
But why should I? Aren't smoothies supposed to be healthy?
That's how they're marketed. The healthy alternative to fast food, or the perfect "snack" or meal on the go.
Anyway, I took a look at the two smoothies my wife and I normally get and was floored!
The one my wife normally gets is a whopping 1050 calories! Plus it had over 200 grams of carbohydrates, and it didn't even include how much sugar was in it. That really made me worry when they included all this other information, including its vitamin breakdown, but didn't even include how much of the carbohydrate was simple sugar.
I think it's a pretty safe bet to say that an overwhelming majority of that 200g number was sugar.
Mine was a little better, having only 450 calories, but it still had a ton of carbohydrates, but again no sugar breakdown.
I knew there was going to be a lot of carbohydrates because it's a smoothie and smoothies are supposed to be made with a lot of fruits/juices.
But 1050 calories is just about how many calories my wife should be consuming in one day, yet here we were thinking we were doing something "light" yet getting a ton of calories.
There really is no reason that anyone should be consuming that many calories in one sitting, unless you're trying to gain weight.
Does that sound like you? Do you want to gain weight?
Didn't think so.
That's just one more reason you should be mindful of what you eat and of food marketing. Most food marketers are not concerned about your health or waist line, they're concerned with their bottom line.
So what're you supposed to do? Here we were trying to fit in something a little healthy for lunch and ended up getting smacked with a ton of sugar and a ton of calories (in my wife's case).
Well, you could check the nutrition breakdown before you order (which I will do whenever I go back to that smoothie shop).
You could make your own smoothies from home. I've got over 170 recipes as a bonus to my Fat Loss To Go program (shameless plug, I know).
You could just assume the worst and ask for a half order or a kid's size, or order one and ask for it to be put in 2 cups and share it with your spouse or friend.
Or you could never eat a meal or snack away from home. If that's you, let me know because you may be the only person in the world who fits that bill.
Have a good day!
Ed
P.S. - I was serious about the 170 smoothie recipes that come with my Fat Loss To Go program. Check it out at www.fatlosstogo.com
Not one of the smoothies we make from home, no we decided to go to the local place just up the street from our house.
We used to go there quite a bit when a good friend of ours was a manager, but haven't been there regularly in quite some time.
I've also never looked at the nutrition information on the smoothies we usually get.
But why should I? Aren't smoothies supposed to be healthy?
That's how they're marketed. The healthy alternative to fast food, or the perfect "snack" or meal on the go.
Anyway, I took a look at the two smoothies my wife and I normally get and was floored!
The one my wife normally gets is a whopping 1050 calories! Plus it had over 200 grams of carbohydrates, and it didn't even include how much sugar was in it. That really made me worry when they included all this other information, including its vitamin breakdown, but didn't even include how much of the carbohydrate was simple sugar.
I think it's a pretty safe bet to say that an overwhelming majority of that 200g number was sugar.
Mine was a little better, having only 450 calories, but it still had a ton of carbohydrates, but again no sugar breakdown.
I knew there was going to be a lot of carbohydrates because it's a smoothie and smoothies are supposed to be made with a lot of fruits/juices.
But 1050 calories is just about how many calories my wife should be consuming in one day, yet here we were thinking we were doing something "light" yet getting a ton of calories.
There really is no reason that anyone should be consuming that many calories in one sitting, unless you're trying to gain weight.
Does that sound like you? Do you want to gain weight?
Didn't think so.
That's just one more reason you should be mindful of what you eat and of food marketing. Most food marketers are not concerned about your health or waist line, they're concerned with their bottom line.
So what're you supposed to do? Here we were trying to fit in something a little healthy for lunch and ended up getting smacked with a ton of sugar and a ton of calories (in my wife's case).
Well, you could check the nutrition breakdown before you order (which I will do whenever I go back to that smoothie shop).
You could make your own smoothies from home. I've got over 170 recipes as a bonus to my Fat Loss To Go program (shameless plug, I know).
You could just assume the worst and ask for a half order or a kid's size, or order one and ask for it to be put in 2 cups and share it with your spouse or friend.
Or you could never eat a meal or snack away from home. If that's you, let me know because you may be the only person in the world who fits that bill.
Have a good day!
Ed
P.S. - I was serious about the 170 smoothie recipes that come with my Fat Loss To Go program. Check it out at www.fatlosstogo.com
Friday, June 6, 2008
Happy National Donut Day!
I’m not kidding. Today is National Donut Day here in America.
Does anybody wonder why 60% of this country is overweight or obese?
In the art of full disclosure, the day did start out with good intentions. It was for fundraising during World War 1, but if memory serves that war ended a couple years ago.
Now I like my donuts as much as the next person, but they are quite possibly one of the worst foods on the planet.
You take overly processed grain (white flour), deep fat fry it and then cover it in lots and lots and lots of sugary coatings and maybe even add a few sprinkles for good measure.
Then there are the other kinds of donuts that get stuffed full of sugary jelly or fatty creams. I could go on and on describing all the different kinds of donuts, but it would just make me hungry.
You should never eat donuts. They will do nothing but make you fat.
In fact I’m going to go out on a limb and tell you that you will gain 5 pounds for every donut you eat. That’s not true, but I want that to be stuck in your head the next time you decide to eat a donut.
The tough thing is that a lot of companies put boxes of donuts in their breakrooms for their employees to snack on.
And we wonder why our health insurance rates are sky high.
That’s it for my soap box preaching today.
Have a good weekend and please, for the love of God, don’t take part in National Donut Day.
Ed
Does anybody wonder why 60% of this country is overweight or obese?
In the art of full disclosure, the day did start out with good intentions. It was for fundraising during World War 1, but if memory serves that war ended a couple years ago.
Now I like my donuts as much as the next person, but they are quite possibly one of the worst foods on the planet.
You take overly processed grain (white flour), deep fat fry it and then cover it in lots and lots and lots of sugary coatings and maybe even add a few sprinkles for good measure.
Then there are the other kinds of donuts that get stuffed full of sugary jelly or fatty creams. I could go on and on describing all the different kinds of donuts, but it would just make me hungry.
You should never eat donuts. They will do nothing but make you fat.
In fact I’m going to go out on a limb and tell you that you will gain 5 pounds for every donut you eat. That’s not true, but I want that to be stuck in your head the next time you decide to eat a donut.
The tough thing is that a lot of companies put boxes of donuts in their breakrooms for their employees to snack on.
And we wonder why our health insurance rates are sky high.
That’s it for my soap box preaching today.
Have a good weekend and please, for the love of God, don’t take part in National Donut Day.
Ed
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Will Diet Soda and Artificial Sweeteners Make You Fat?
I think it's pretty safe to say you know how bad regular, or "heavy" soda (pop, Coke, or whatever it's called in your area) is to your waist line.
It's loaded with sugar and does nothing but make you addicted to caffeine and sugar and make you fat. It's just that plain and simple.
But did you know that diet soda may be as bad or even worse when it comes to fat loss? Not only that, but did you know that the artificial sweeteners included in many of today's foods, including diet soda, may also make you gain fat or even harmful to your health?
It's true. There is mounting evidence that shows artificial sweeteners (including those found in diet soda) are actually bad for you. They're touted as a healthy alternative to sugar, when in fact, natural sugar is healthier. At least it's found in nature and not manufactured in a lab by people in white coats and masks.
One study I found on WebMD stated they found that people who drank only diet soda were actually at a higher risk of obesity. They even found that there was a 41% increase in risk of being overweight for every can or bottle of diet soda a person drinks per day.
That's crazy! Something that has been touted as being a healthy alternative to the sugar-loaded regular sodas may actually be more of a risk?
Why do you think this is?
One reason may be that you subconsciously think that because you're drinking diet soda, you're saving calories, so it's OK to eat a little extra. That's all well and good if you don't over eat already, but when you haven't gotten a control over your eating, this makes for a disastrous combination.
Another reason is that the artificial sweeteners found in diet sodas may actually make you crave for sweets or processed carbohydrates.
Kind of weird, isn't it?
Not only that, but those same artificial sweeteners may actually make the hormones that make you store fat, get cranked up a little bit, which makes you store even more fat than you would if you didn't drink the diet soda.
There are also a bunch of health risks that may be associated with artificial sweeteners as well.
Small things like cancer, gastrointestinal problems (gas, diarrhea, constipation), headaches, etc.
You're OK with those things aren't you? I thought not.
So what's your alternative? It seems like there's nothing safe out there anymore. You can't consume too much sugar because it'll make you fat, now I'm telling you not to drink diet soda because it might be worse than regular.
Well first off, you can drink diet soda and consume artificial sweeteners in moderation. Many of the studies about cancer risk are blown out of proportion because they used a lot more artificial sweeteners in the tests than you could consume in a lifetime.
However many people, like me, feel bloated when they drink diet soda. I retain water when I drink diet soda so I tend to stay away as much as possible.
The best thing to do is to change your habits and get rid of diet soda entirely and switch to natural teas, naturally flavored waters, etc. Just make sure you're not swapping diet soda for another drink that's loaded with artificial sweeteners or sugar.
Or, if you want to add something sweet to your regular brewed tea, you can use Stevia.
Stevia is not a man-made sweetener. It's actually an herb that's dried into a powder and it's a lot sweeter than sugar.
You learn something new every day, don't you.
Have a good day!
Ed
It's loaded with sugar and does nothing but make you addicted to caffeine and sugar and make you fat. It's just that plain and simple.
But did you know that diet soda may be as bad or even worse when it comes to fat loss? Not only that, but did you know that the artificial sweeteners included in many of today's foods, including diet soda, may also make you gain fat or even harmful to your health?
It's true. There is mounting evidence that shows artificial sweeteners (including those found in diet soda) are actually bad for you. They're touted as a healthy alternative to sugar, when in fact, natural sugar is healthier. At least it's found in nature and not manufactured in a lab by people in white coats and masks.
One study I found on WebMD stated they found that people who drank only diet soda were actually at a higher risk of obesity. They even found that there was a 41% increase in risk of being overweight for every can or bottle of diet soda a person drinks per day.
That's crazy! Something that has been touted as being a healthy alternative to the sugar-loaded regular sodas may actually be more of a risk?
Why do you think this is?
One reason may be that you subconsciously think that because you're drinking diet soda, you're saving calories, so it's OK to eat a little extra. That's all well and good if you don't over eat already, but when you haven't gotten a control over your eating, this makes for a disastrous combination.
Another reason is that the artificial sweeteners found in diet sodas may actually make you crave for sweets or processed carbohydrates.
Kind of weird, isn't it?
Not only that, but those same artificial sweeteners may actually make the hormones that make you store fat, get cranked up a little bit, which makes you store even more fat than you would if you didn't drink the diet soda.
There are also a bunch of health risks that may be associated with artificial sweeteners as well.
Small things like cancer, gastrointestinal problems (gas, diarrhea, constipation), headaches, etc.
You're OK with those things aren't you? I thought not.
So what's your alternative? It seems like there's nothing safe out there anymore. You can't consume too much sugar because it'll make you fat, now I'm telling you not to drink diet soda because it might be worse than regular.
Well first off, you can drink diet soda and consume artificial sweeteners in moderation. Many of the studies about cancer risk are blown out of proportion because they used a lot more artificial sweeteners in the tests than you could consume in a lifetime.
However many people, like me, feel bloated when they drink diet soda. I retain water when I drink diet soda so I tend to stay away as much as possible.
The best thing to do is to change your habits and get rid of diet soda entirely and switch to natural teas, naturally flavored waters, etc. Just make sure you're not swapping diet soda for another drink that's loaded with artificial sweeteners or sugar.
Or, if you want to add something sweet to your regular brewed tea, you can use Stevia.
Stevia is not a man-made sweetener. It's actually an herb that's dried into a powder and it's a lot sweeter than sugar.
You learn something new every day, don't you.
Have a good day!
Ed
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Are Those Stupid Push-Ups Really Necessary and Can They Really Help Me Lose Stomach Fat?
Here's a question/comment I get quite often and how to get past this common workout problem.
Question: "What if I can't do push-ups?" Or. "What if I can only do 5 push-ups but your workout calls for 10?"
A: Surprisingly this is a pretty common problem. Many people are either too heavy or too weak to perform a single push-up. Or if they can do push-ups they can't do very many at one time. (FYI: You can substitute virtually any exercise for push-ups like squats, planks, lunges, etc. that people have trouble doing)
That's not a good problem to have, but it's not the end of the world if you take action.
There are a few reasons you may not be able to do any push-ups (or very few).
The obvious ones are that you're too heavy or too weak. That's easy.
However, there are some people who are relatively strong and not too heavy who still can't do push-ups. They may be able to do a decent amount of weight in exercises like the dumbbell chest press or machine chest press, but push-ups are just too darn hard.
These people may be weak in their core. I say that because if your low back, abs and all the little, deep stabilizer muscles aren't strong enough to hold you up, you can't do push-ups.
Or your shoulder stabilizers may be too weak. This is a very common problem, even in people who regularly exercise but only use the machines found in health clubs or a big home gym. You have lots of little muscles around your shoulder that help stabilize that joint. If they're weak, you won't be able to hold yourself in a push-up position, let alone lower your body and press it back up.
But do you really need to do push-ups? Are they all that valuable outside of gym class from middle school?
Absolutely! Push-ups are, by far, the most valuable upper body exercise around. They work way too much muscle to be excluded and help strengthen virtually every muscle in your upper body, including your abs and low back - muscles that everybody wants worked.
But how do you get to a point where you can do push-ups if you're having trouble doing 1, or if you can only do a few?
Well, if you're someone who's too heavy - lose weight. Easy answer, huh?
Seriously though, you can substitute an exercise that I love to use called a "Standing Resistance Tube Chest Press". You just need some resistance tubing and a place to anchor it, like a door.
Anchor the tube and stand facing away from the tubes with your hands at your sides at chest height. You then press your arms straight out in front of you so you are essentially doing a push-up in the standing position. It's very important to keep your abs braced and tight throughout the movement. If you don't, you'll wobble all over the place like a flower in the wind.
Once you've mastered that movement, and are doing it perfectly, give the push-ups a try again. If at that point you can do at least 5 push-ups, you're good to go.
Now that you can do a few push-ups, but can't do the recommended number a workout calls for, you just need to tweak a few things.
Let's say you can do 5 push-ups and the workout calls for 3 sets of 10.
I want you to perform 3 sets of 4 push-ups. By only doing 4, rather than your maximum of 5, you ensure you won't completely tire yourself out, yet in total you'll do 12 push-ups, which is pretty good progress in my book.
Then each week, try and do more push-ups than the last. Pretty soon you'll be a push-up master and will be able to move on and do more difficult versions.
If you can do regular push-ups and want to step it up a notch and do some more difficult ones, check out these 2 videos I made:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CuvTYGxazc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MsF3uyWBZNw
Have a good day!
Ed
P.S. - I love push-ups, and for good reason. They are an excellent upper body exercise and strengthen your chest, shoulders, triceps (back of your arms), upper back, abs, low back and glutes (butt). They are a fantastic fat burning move and they're one exercise that you can perform endless variations of. If you want to learn how to integrate push-ups into your fat burning workout, check out my Fat Loss To Go program now at www.fatlosstogo.com
Question: "What if I can't do push-ups?" Or. "What if I can only do 5 push-ups but your workout calls for 10?"
A: Surprisingly this is a pretty common problem. Many people are either too heavy or too weak to perform a single push-up. Or if they can do push-ups they can't do very many at one time. (FYI: You can substitute virtually any exercise for push-ups like squats, planks, lunges, etc. that people have trouble doing)
That's not a good problem to have, but it's not the end of the world if you take action.
There are a few reasons you may not be able to do any push-ups (or very few).
The obvious ones are that you're too heavy or too weak. That's easy.
However, there are some people who are relatively strong and not too heavy who still can't do push-ups. They may be able to do a decent amount of weight in exercises like the dumbbell chest press or machine chest press, but push-ups are just too darn hard.
These people may be weak in their core. I say that because if your low back, abs and all the little, deep stabilizer muscles aren't strong enough to hold you up, you can't do push-ups.
Or your shoulder stabilizers may be too weak. This is a very common problem, even in people who regularly exercise but only use the machines found in health clubs or a big home gym. You have lots of little muscles around your shoulder that help stabilize that joint. If they're weak, you won't be able to hold yourself in a push-up position, let alone lower your body and press it back up.
But do you really need to do push-ups? Are they all that valuable outside of gym class from middle school?
Absolutely! Push-ups are, by far, the most valuable upper body exercise around. They work way too much muscle to be excluded and help strengthen virtually every muscle in your upper body, including your abs and low back - muscles that everybody wants worked.
But how do you get to a point where you can do push-ups if you're having trouble doing 1, or if you can only do a few?
Well, if you're someone who's too heavy - lose weight. Easy answer, huh?
Seriously though, you can substitute an exercise that I love to use called a "Standing Resistance Tube Chest Press". You just need some resistance tubing and a place to anchor it, like a door.
Anchor the tube and stand facing away from the tubes with your hands at your sides at chest height. You then press your arms straight out in front of you so you are essentially doing a push-up in the standing position. It's very important to keep your abs braced and tight throughout the movement. If you don't, you'll wobble all over the place like a flower in the wind.
Once you've mastered that movement, and are doing it perfectly, give the push-ups a try again. If at that point you can do at least 5 push-ups, you're good to go.
Now that you can do a few push-ups, but can't do the recommended number a workout calls for, you just need to tweak a few things.
Let's say you can do 5 push-ups and the workout calls for 3 sets of 10.
I want you to perform 3 sets of 4 push-ups. By only doing 4, rather than your maximum of 5, you ensure you won't completely tire yourself out, yet in total you'll do 12 push-ups, which is pretty good progress in my book.
Then each week, try and do more push-ups than the last. Pretty soon you'll be a push-up master and will be able to move on and do more difficult versions.
If you can do regular push-ups and want to step it up a notch and do some more difficult ones, check out these 2 videos I made:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CuvTYGxazc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MsF3uyWBZNw
Have a good day!
Ed
P.S. - I love push-ups, and for good reason. They are an excellent upper body exercise and strengthen your chest, shoulders, triceps (back of your arms), upper back, abs, low back and glutes (butt). They are a fantastic fat burning move and they're one exercise that you can perform endless variations of. If you want to learn how to integrate push-ups into your fat burning workout, check out my Fat Loss To Go program now at www.fatlosstogo.com
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Are Hidden Calories Sabotaging Your Fat Loss Goals?
In my training business, I have the pleasure of training married couples. Sometimes they train together and sometimes they come in at different times because they know they wouldn't be able to workout together without annoying one another (or me).
I've also had the opportunity to work with mother/daughter duos. Again sometimes they train together and sometimes not.
However I learn the most about the other when they don't train together. Not that I pry and try to wrestle out deep, dark secrets. Maybe I do sometimes as a form of bribery for the future, but not often.
But I learn a lot about the other's eating habits, entirely by accident. I don't ask, it just comes out through normal conversation.
What I find is that the other half of the duo is not entirely truthful with me.
Sometimes it's on purpose, but most of the time it's just an oversight.
People forget about certain parts of their daily diet.
They neglect to tell me that in addition to their morning eggs and toast, they put a lot of sugary jelly on the toast. Or that they drink 4 cups of coffee that are loaded with heavy creamer or sugar.
Again, I don't think my clients lie to me, I just think they don't realize what they're eating and how it can affect their waist line.
I call these things "hidden calories."
Hidden calories include things like jellies, sauces, salad dressings, juices, adding sugar to coffee or teas, etc.
They are things that seem minor, but can add up to hundreds of calories very quickly and if it's a habit to do them every day, that adds up to lots of fat over the weeks, months and years.
Do you have any hidden calories?
Do you put ketchup on every single bite of food?
Do you add a couple scoops of sugar to your morning cups of coffee?
Do you add salad dressing by the scoopful to your otherwise healthy salad, turning it into a calorie bomb?
Maybe you like to have a bagel for breakfast or for a mid-morning snack. That's all fine and dandy until you realize that most store-bought bagels are loaded with calories, the majority of them highly processed carbohydrates that will send your blood sugars through the roof, then send you crashing back to earth, only to be hungrier than before.
Maybe you eat perfectly all day (uh-huh, sure you do) only to succumb to a bowl of ice cream or cereal before bed. Bam! There's a few hundred worthless calories right there.
My point is that these hidden calories will add up...quickly. They will add up in the form of fat around your waist, on your butt or giving you a little more jiggle than you're comfortable with. Or, they'll just de-rail your otherwise healthy eating plan and stop your fat loss dead in its tracks.
Your assignment, should you choose to accept it, is to find these hidden calories and get rid of them (sorry, I watched Mission impossible the other day). Or at least greatly reduce them so they're no longer a factor in your fat loss.
Get rid of the sauces.
Cut your salad dressing in half.
Cut the sugar and cream out of your coffee.
Drink brewed green tea rather than the store bought kind that doesn't have all the health benefits anyway.
Think about what yours are and fix them.
Have a good day!
Ed
I've also had the opportunity to work with mother/daughter duos. Again sometimes they train together and sometimes not.
However I learn the most about the other when they don't train together. Not that I pry and try to wrestle out deep, dark secrets. Maybe I do sometimes as a form of bribery for the future, but not often.
But I learn a lot about the other's eating habits, entirely by accident. I don't ask, it just comes out through normal conversation.
What I find is that the other half of the duo is not entirely truthful with me.
Sometimes it's on purpose, but most of the time it's just an oversight.
People forget about certain parts of their daily diet.
They neglect to tell me that in addition to their morning eggs and toast, they put a lot of sugary jelly on the toast. Or that they drink 4 cups of coffee that are loaded with heavy creamer or sugar.
Again, I don't think my clients lie to me, I just think they don't realize what they're eating and how it can affect their waist line.
I call these things "hidden calories."
Hidden calories include things like jellies, sauces, salad dressings, juices, adding sugar to coffee or teas, etc.
They are things that seem minor, but can add up to hundreds of calories very quickly and if it's a habit to do them every day, that adds up to lots of fat over the weeks, months and years.
Do you have any hidden calories?
Do you put ketchup on every single bite of food?
Do you add a couple scoops of sugar to your morning cups of coffee?
Do you add salad dressing by the scoopful to your otherwise healthy salad, turning it into a calorie bomb?
Maybe you like to have a bagel for breakfast or for a mid-morning snack. That's all fine and dandy until you realize that most store-bought bagels are loaded with calories, the majority of them highly processed carbohydrates that will send your blood sugars through the roof, then send you crashing back to earth, only to be hungrier than before.
Maybe you eat perfectly all day (uh-huh, sure you do) only to succumb to a bowl of ice cream or cereal before bed. Bam! There's a few hundred worthless calories right there.
My point is that these hidden calories will add up...quickly. They will add up in the form of fat around your waist, on your butt or giving you a little more jiggle than you're comfortable with. Or, they'll just de-rail your otherwise healthy eating plan and stop your fat loss dead in its tracks.
Your assignment, should you choose to accept it, is to find these hidden calories and get rid of them (sorry, I watched Mission impossible the other day). Or at least greatly reduce them so they're no longer a factor in your fat loss.
Get rid of the sauces.
Cut your salad dressing in half.
Cut the sugar and cream out of your coffee.
Drink brewed green tea rather than the store bought kind that doesn't have all the health benefits anyway.
Think about what yours are and fix them.
Have a good day!
Ed
Monday, May 26, 2008
Summer Fat Loss Starts Now
I meant to post this last week, but didn't. Oh well, everybody makes mistakes. But it still holds true today, even though many of you in the U.S. don't check email on holidays.
Throughout the winter and early spring I kept reminding you that, in the U.S., Memorial Day was coming up.
I told you how Memorial weekend was the unofficial start to summer and how many people take their first trips to the pool, or beach on the long weekend.
I told you that you should set a goal for yourself and start moving in the right direction to achieving that goal by Memorial weekend.
Well, it's here. Did you achieve your fitness and fat loss goal?
Did you lose the amount of fat you said you would back in January or are you at the same point you were then?
Maybe you set some other fitness goal that didn't have as much to do with losing fat as it did with getting in better shape. Maybe you signed up for a run that was being held this weekend. If so, how'd you do?
If you didn't achieve what you set, don't worry about it. Just move on to the next goal.
The next big summer holiday here in the U.S. is 4th of July. There's barbecues, lots and lots of loud and annoying fireworks and more trips to the pool and/or beach.
Will you be ready for that one? You've got a little over a month, so if you set a good goal and stick to it you can achieve it.
You'd be amazed how much you can achieve in what seems like such a short amount of time.
So what is it? What's your goal?
Think about it.
Write it down.
Put it in places you'll see it routinely throughout the day like your bathroom mirror, refrigerator door, desk, computer monitor, in your car, etc.
Look at it and read it out loud throughout the day and ACT!
To steal a corny, but worthwhile, line from Nike "Just Do It!"
Have a good day!
Ed
P.S. - If you need help getting started on your fat loss goals, check out my Fat Loss To Go program at www.fatlosstogo.com. The main program is a 16 week fat loss program designed to be done in around 15 minutes per day and all from the comfort of your own home. Plus with all the bonuses included, you'll be doing workouts for well over 6 months before you repeat anything. Give it a try. I promise you'll love it.
Throughout the winter and early spring I kept reminding you that, in the U.S., Memorial Day was coming up.
I told you how Memorial weekend was the unofficial start to summer and how many people take their first trips to the pool, or beach on the long weekend.
I told you that you should set a goal for yourself and start moving in the right direction to achieving that goal by Memorial weekend.
Well, it's here. Did you achieve your fitness and fat loss goal?
Did you lose the amount of fat you said you would back in January or are you at the same point you were then?
Maybe you set some other fitness goal that didn't have as much to do with losing fat as it did with getting in better shape. Maybe you signed up for a run that was being held this weekend. If so, how'd you do?
If you didn't achieve what you set, don't worry about it. Just move on to the next goal.
The next big summer holiday here in the U.S. is 4th of July. There's barbecues, lots and lots of loud and annoying fireworks and more trips to the pool and/or beach.
Will you be ready for that one? You've got a little over a month, so if you set a good goal and stick to it you can achieve it.
You'd be amazed how much you can achieve in what seems like such a short amount of time.
So what is it? What's your goal?
Think about it.
Write it down.
Put it in places you'll see it routinely throughout the day like your bathroom mirror, refrigerator door, desk, computer monitor, in your car, etc.
Look at it and read it out loud throughout the day and ACT!
To steal a corny, but worthwhile, line from Nike "Just Do It!"
Have a good day!
Ed
P.S. - If you need help getting started on your fat loss goals, check out my Fat Loss To Go program at www.fatlosstogo.com. The main program is a 16 week fat loss program designed to be done in around 15 minutes per day and all from the comfort of your own home. Plus with all the bonuses included, you'll be doing workouts for well over 6 months before you repeat anything. Give it a try. I promise you'll love it.
Monday, May 19, 2008
Why Do You Want To Lose Fat?
I like to talk about my daughter and family life quite a bit in my newsletters.
I don't do it to brag...well maybe I do.
But one of the main reasons I fill you in on my family life is because it is very, very important to me.
It's the reason I work so hard.
It's the reason I put in a lot of 12 hour days.
I want to work very hard now and build something so that sometime soon I won't have to work as hard and can spend more time doing the things I really love like taking my daughter to the pool, zoo or children's museum. Or just get to take her to the park more often when the weather's nice, which is kind of rare here in Nebraska.
It's also a reason I work hard when I do my own workouts.
I want to have as much energy as humanly possible so that I can keep up with her. I couldn't possibly see myself as one of those dads who gets worn out because he's too out of shape to play with his kids.
I also have my vanity reasons for working out so often (who doesn't want to look better?), but a big reason is for health.
What's your reason?
Why do you want to get in better shape and lose fat, or stay at your current fitness level?
Do you have a reason?
If not, you better get one figured out because it's very important.
Your success may hinge on it.
If you don't have a strong reason, a strong "why" for wanting to get lose fat, get healthier, then what's going to stop you from having seconds at the buffet line? What's going to motivate you?
You need a "why". You need a very strong "why".
Is it your kids?
Maybe your doctor told you that you're pre-diabetic and that you need to get your weight under control before it becomes full blown diabetes.
Maybe you someone in your family died of a heart attack and you don't want to succumb to the same fate.
Or maybe you just want to look as good as possible with or without your clothes on.
That's fine. That's one of my reasons. I think that's probably one of yours too, if you were totally honest.
That's your assignment for today.
Figure out your "why". I'd actually like you to tell me what your "why" is. I want to know.
Plus it helps to tell someone you can trust to help hold you accountable. I may not be able to stop you from eating the french fries or drinking your third (or sixth) beer, but I can check in on you from time to time and make sure you're on track.
Have a good day!
Ed
I don't do it to brag...well maybe I do.
But one of the main reasons I fill you in on my family life is because it is very, very important to me.
It's the reason I work so hard.
It's the reason I put in a lot of 12 hour days.
I want to work very hard now and build something so that sometime soon I won't have to work as hard and can spend more time doing the things I really love like taking my daughter to the pool, zoo or children's museum. Or just get to take her to the park more often when the weather's nice, which is kind of rare here in Nebraska.
It's also a reason I work hard when I do my own workouts.
I want to have as much energy as humanly possible so that I can keep up with her. I couldn't possibly see myself as one of those dads who gets worn out because he's too out of shape to play with his kids.
I also have my vanity reasons for working out so often (who doesn't want to look better?), but a big reason is for health.
What's your reason?
Why do you want to get in better shape and lose fat, or stay at your current fitness level?
Do you have a reason?
If not, you better get one figured out because it's very important.
Your success may hinge on it.
If you don't have a strong reason, a strong "why" for wanting to get lose fat, get healthier, then what's going to stop you from having seconds at the buffet line? What's going to motivate you?
You need a "why". You need a very strong "why".
Is it your kids?
Maybe your doctor told you that you're pre-diabetic and that you need to get your weight under control before it becomes full blown diabetes.
Maybe you someone in your family died of a heart attack and you don't want to succumb to the same fate.
Or maybe you just want to look as good as possible with or without your clothes on.
That's fine. That's one of my reasons. I think that's probably one of yours too, if you were totally honest.
That's your assignment for today.
Figure out your "why". I'd actually like you to tell me what your "why" is. I want to know.
Plus it helps to tell someone you can trust to help hold you accountable. I may not be able to stop you from eating the french fries or drinking your third (or sixth) beer, but I can check in on you from time to time and make sure you're on track.
Have a good day!
Ed
Monday, May 12, 2008
Baby Steps And Fat Loss?
Last Fall my daughter took her first steps. It was October to be exact.
We were playing outside and I set her down in front of me and she took a few steps. I followed her very closely to keep her confidence up, and she took a few more steps.
Some people don't believe me because I was the only one there at the time and my wife was kind of disappointed because she missed Maren's first steps.
It didn't help my case that she didn't take another step on her own for about a month and a half. Then she started to wobble a little bit more on her own and now, 7 months later, she is running everywhere. She loves to run around out side. She loves to carry things around. She loves to hold a phone up to her ear and walk around and "talk". It's the cutest thing you've ever seen.
But she didn't get to this point easily. She fell...a lot. She still falls...a lot. But she's gotten much better at walking/running, but it wasn't the easiest thing in the world for her.
The same can be said when it comes to changing your eating or exercise habits. You know what you want to do and you have a goal you want to reach, but you've got to take "baby steps" in order to achieve that goal.
No one should even let it cross their minds that they're going to eat perfectly and exercise everyday of the week when they don't exercise at all now and have horrible eating habits.
That's just plain dumb. Not only that, but it sets you up for failure and a quick failure at that.
You have to take things one step at a time and build on each little success until you find yourself running rather than wobbling around barely able to walk.
Let's say that you have a soda drinking problem, in addition to a lot of other poor eating habits. You should first conquer the soda drinking and totally cut that out or relegate it to a "reward meal". Once you have that habit down, THEN you can start on another habit. But don't move on until you have successfully kicked the soda drinking habit.
Or, let's say that you like to eat a lot of junk food between supper and bedtime. You should get that under control before you even worry about the snacks available in the breakroom.
The same correlation can be made with exercise. If you are totally new to exercise, you should start small. Start by setting an appointment with yourself when you're going to workout. Once you get that going, then progress from there.
Taking these "baby steps" when it comes to fat loss will greatly increase your chances of success. It does because if you only focus on 1 or 2 things rather than your entire lifestyle, it makes it much easier to conquer each poor habit and replace it with a good habit. You just keep putting one foot in front of the other and pretty soon you'll notice that your clothes are fitting better, people are taking notice of how much different you look and you'll find yourself with more energy than you thought possible.
So what are your baby steps? What can you work on RIGHT NOW to help you lose fat? Do you need to cut out drinking soda or coffee drinks? Do you need to cut out the nightly glasses of wine or beer? Do you need to make appointments with yourself or a personal trainer to make yourself workout? Do you need to get a hold of a good fat loss program to get you started?
What is it? Figure it out and do it. Then after a few weeks when you've got that one habit down, pick the next one and just keep building.
Have a good day!
Ed Scow
P.S. - If you do need a good fat loss program, check out my Fat Loss To Go program at www.fatlosstogo.com It comes with over 29 weeks of fat loss workouts, 10 minute workouts, workouts that can be done while traveling, plus tons of nutrition information.
We were playing outside and I set her down in front of me and she took a few steps. I followed her very closely to keep her confidence up, and she took a few more steps.
Some people don't believe me because I was the only one there at the time and my wife was kind of disappointed because she missed Maren's first steps.
It didn't help my case that she didn't take another step on her own for about a month and a half. Then she started to wobble a little bit more on her own and now, 7 months later, she is running everywhere. She loves to run around out side. She loves to carry things around. She loves to hold a phone up to her ear and walk around and "talk". It's the cutest thing you've ever seen.
But she didn't get to this point easily. She fell...a lot. She still falls...a lot. But she's gotten much better at walking/running, but it wasn't the easiest thing in the world for her.
The same can be said when it comes to changing your eating or exercise habits. You know what you want to do and you have a goal you want to reach, but you've got to take "baby steps" in order to achieve that goal.
No one should even let it cross their minds that they're going to eat perfectly and exercise everyday of the week when they don't exercise at all now and have horrible eating habits.
That's just plain dumb. Not only that, but it sets you up for failure and a quick failure at that.
You have to take things one step at a time and build on each little success until you find yourself running rather than wobbling around barely able to walk.
Let's say that you have a soda drinking problem, in addition to a lot of other poor eating habits. You should first conquer the soda drinking and totally cut that out or relegate it to a "reward meal". Once you have that habit down, THEN you can start on another habit. But don't move on until you have successfully kicked the soda drinking habit.
Or, let's say that you like to eat a lot of junk food between supper and bedtime. You should get that under control before you even worry about the snacks available in the breakroom.
The same correlation can be made with exercise. If you are totally new to exercise, you should start small. Start by setting an appointment with yourself when you're going to workout. Once you get that going, then progress from there.
Taking these "baby steps" when it comes to fat loss will greatly increase your chances of success. It does because if you only focus on 1 or 2 things rather than your entire lifestyle, it makes it much easier to conquer each poor habit and replace it with a good habit. You just keep putting one foot in front of the other and pretty soon you'll notice that your clothes are fitting better, people are taking notice of how much different you look and you'll find yourself with more energy than you thought possible.
So what are your baby steps? What can you work on RIGHT NOW to help you lose fat? Do you need to cut out drinking soda or coffee drinks? Do you need to cut out the nightly glasses of wine or beer? Do you need to make appointments with yourself or a personal trainer to make yourself workout? Do you need to get a hold of a good fat loss program to get you started?
What is it? Figure it out and do it. Then after a few weeks when you've got that one habit down, pick the next one and just keep building.
Have a good day!
Ed Scow
P.S. - If you do need a good fat loss program, check out my Fat Loss To Go program at www.fatlosstogo.com It comes with over 29 weeks of fat loss workouts, 10 minute workouts, workouts that can be done while traveling, plus tons of nutrition information.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
What Can My 17 Month Old Daughter Teach You About Fat Loss?
You learn a lot about life and life’s principles when raising a child.
You learn how to be patient…relatively.
You learn how much joy one little person can bring you.
You learn how much you have an effect on someone else.
But one thing I’ve learned, as it pertains to fat loss, or really any goal, is that of perseverance and patience.
I learn this whenever my daughter is trying something new.
Take her walking for example. A number of months ago she took her first steps. She was very wobbly at first, but after a while she got the hang of it and now she’s running, and falling, everywhere.
But when she was first learning, it was kind of driving me crazy. Don’t get me wrong, it was awesome watching her learn, but it was making me crazy because I wanted it to happen NOW.
I didn’t want to have to wait weeks for her to get the hang of it. I wanted her to just stand up and go.
But looking back, those weeks (or days, really) weren’t that big of a deal.
They were at the time, but aren’t now.
The same can be said about fat loss. It can make you crazy at first.
The pounds don’t come off as fast as you’d like.
You’re not gaining the leanness or muscle tone you want fast enough.
It doesn’t seem like your waist line is shrinking.
However, if you stick with it and don’t give up, a few months from now you’ll be amazed at how far you’ve come.
You’ll be amazed at how many inches you’ve lost and how much smaller your waist line is from when you started.
But you have to keep at it. You must persevere.
You must realize that it takes time, not that much in the big scheme of things, but it takes time.
However, like I said before, if you stick with it, just like my daughter did when she was learning to walk, you will succeed and a few months from now all this struggle won’t seem like such a big deal.
Have a good day!
Ed
P.S. – If you want to learn all the healthy eating habits and get enough 15 and 10 minute workouts to last you about 6 months, check out my Fat Loss To Go program. Go to www.fatlosstogo.com to pick it up.
P.P.S. – Don’t forget that in a couple weeks I’ve got some big announcements for my Fat Loss To Go product. I’ve got a bunch of new bonuses lined up that will only be available for a limited time, however they will be given to everyone who’s already purchased. So if you don’t want to miss out, pick up your copy today and you’ll be sure to get all the new bonuses as soon as I get them ready.
You learn how to be patient…relatively.
You learn how much joy one little person can bring you.
You learn how much you have an effect on someone else.
But one thing I’ve learned, as it pertains to fat loss, or really any goal, is that of perseverance and patience.
I learn this whenever my daughter is trying something new.
Take her walking for example. A number of months ago she took her first steps. She was very wobbly at first, but after a while she got the hang of it and now she’s running, and falling, everywhere.
But when she was first learning, it was kind of driving me crazy. Don’t get me wrong, it was awesome watching her learn, but it was making me crazy because I wanted it to happen NOW.
I didn’t want to have to wait weeks for her to get the hang of it. I wanted her to just stand up and go.
But looking back, those weeks (or days, really) weren’t that big of a deal.
They were at the time, but aren’t now.
The same can be said about fat loss. It can make you crazy at first.
The pounds don’t come off as fast as you’d like.
You’re not gaining the leanness or muscle tone you want fast enough.
It doesn’t seem like your waist line is shrinking.
However, if you stick with it and don’t give up, a few months from now you’ll be amazed at how far you’ve come.
You’ll be amazed at how many inches you’ve lost and how much smaller your waist line is from when you started.
But you have to keep at it. You must persevere.
You must realize that it takes time, not that much in the big scheme of things, but it takes time.
However, like I said before, if you stick with it, just like my daughter did when she was learning to walk, you will succeed and a few months from now all this struggle won’t seem like such a big deal.
Have a good day!
Ed
P.S. – If you want to learn all the healthy eating habits and get enough 15 and 10 minute workouts to last you about 6 months, check out my Fat Loss To Go program. Go to www.fatlosstogo.com to pick it up.
P.P.S. – Don’t forget that in a couple weeks I’ve got some big announcements for my Fat Loss To Go product. I’ve got a bunch of new bonuses lined up that will only be available for a limited time, however they will be given to everyone who’s already purchased. So if you don’t want to miss out, pick up your copy today and you’ll be sure to get all the new bonuses as soon as I get them ready.
Monday, April 28, 2008
How To Instantly Shrink Your Waist Line By 1-2 Inches
I'm sorry about the subject line, but I wanted to make sure you read this.
But that is the most common question I get, not only from clients but from everyday people who have found out I'm a personal trainer.
"How do I get rid of this...quickly?" It's usually asked while grabbing a hold of a little goo sitting on the tummy.
The proper answer is that it takes exercise and better eating habits, but there is a quicker answer that may surprise you.
All you have to do is learn to control your abdominal, low back and butt muscles and you will instantly lose a couple inches off your stomach.
It's not really magic, it's just learning to use proper posture while sitting and standing.
Today's population has horrible posture. I see it everyday, not only in my training studio and massage clients, but just from "people watching".
Everybody is slouching with rounded shoulders, flat butts or they let their gut hang out which gives them a big curve in their lower back.
That's why I am constantly telling my training clients to keep their tummies tight while doing their workouts.
The ladies in my boot camps can attest to this. I'm constantly harping on them to keep their tummies tight.
I can tell when they are and when they aren't, because their stomachs will shrink by a couple inches when they keep their stomachs tight and controlled.
It's probably the easiest thing you can do, right now, to make your stomach shrink. Not only that, but your body will feel better.
When you have poor posture, or let your stomach muscles get too relaxed, your body has to work harder to keep you upright. That means you'll get tired easily.
Not only that, but you won't perform as well in your day-to-day tasks. All because of poor posture.
So here's what you can do right now, while reading this, to help remedy the situation.
Sit up straight, or stand up straight. Lift your chin up so you're looking straight ahead.
Pull your shoulders back by squeezing your shoulder blades together. Lift your chest up and relax your shoulders so you're not all hunched up.
Now contract your abs like someone is going to punch you in the gut. Not too hard, just enough that you know they're tight.
Now, if you're someone who lets their gut hang out, creating a nasty curve in your lower back, I want you to tighten your glutes
(butt) and "tuck your tail under" so that your stomach comes back and that curve in your low back goes back to normal.
If you've done this right, you should look like a soldier standing at attention.
There's a reason soldiers look so fit and intimidating when they're standing at attention. They're using perfect posture (plus they're in damn good shape). They're standing upright without any hunches and are not letting their guts hang out.
Practice this routine multiple times per day until it becomes routine.
Not only that, but when you're exercising, concentrate on keeping your stomach tight. You will be amazed at the results you see in the mirror. Actually, that's another good tip. Practice this in front of a mirror.
You, and the people around you, will think that you have lost 10 pounds.
Have a good day!
Ed Scow
P.S. - Every one of the workouts in my Fat Loss To Go program focus not only on fat loss, but giving you better posture. I didn't design the program using any of the fancy machines found in a health club, which can make the problems worse. These workouts will give you better posture, when done correctly, and will have you keeping your stomach tightened, which will help you lose even more inches off your waist line. Check it out at www.fatlosstogo.com
But that is the most common question I get, not only from clients but from everyday people who have found out I'm a personal trainer.
"How do I get rid of this...quickly?" It's usually asked while grabbing a hold of a little goo sitting on the tummy.
The proper answer is that it takes exercise and better eating habits, but there is a quicker answer that may surprise you.
All you have to do is learn to control your abdominal, low back and butt muscles and you will instantly lose a couple inches off your stomach.
It's not really magic, it's just learning to use proper posture while sitting and standing.
Today's population has horrible posture. I see it everyday, not only in my training studio and massage clients, but just from "people watching".
Everybody is slouching with rounded shoulders, flat butts or they let their gut hang out which gives them a big curve in their lower back.
That's why I am constantly telling my training clients to keep their tummies tight while doing their workouts.
The ladies in my boot camps can attest to this. I'm constantly harping on them to keep their tummies tight.
I can tell when they are and when they aren't, because their stomachs will shrink by a couple inches when they keep their stomachs tight and controlled.
It's probably the easiest thing you can do, right now, to make your stomach shrink. Not only that, but your body will feel better.
When you have poor posture, or let your stomach muscles get too relaxed, your body has to work harder to keep you upright. That means you'll get tired easily.
Not only that, but you won't perform as well in your day-to-day tasks. All because of poor posture.
So here's what you can do right now, while reading this, to help remedy the situation.
Sit up straight, or stand up straight. Lift your chin up so you're looking straight ahead.
Pull your shoulders back by squeezing your shoulder blades together. Lift your chest up and relax your shoulders so you're not all hunched up.
Now contract your abs like someone is going to punch you in the gut. Not too hard, just enough that you know they're tight.
Now, if you're someone who lets their gut hang out, creating a nasty curve in your lower back, I want you to tighten your glutes
(butt) and "tuck your tail under" so that your stomach comes back and that curve in your low back goes back to normal.
If you've done this right, you should look like a soldier standing at attention.
There's a reason soldiers look so fit and intimidating when they're standing at attention. They're using perfect posture (plus they're in damn good shape). They're standing upright without any hunches and are not letting their guts hang out.
Practice this routine multiple times per day until it becomes routine.
Not only that, but when you're exercising, concentrate on keeping your stomach tight. You will be amazed at the results you see in the mirror. Actually, that's another good tip. Practice this in front of a mirror.
You, and the people around you, will think that you have lost 10 pounds.
Have a good day!
Ed Scow
P.S. - Every one of the workouts in my Fat Loss To Go program focus not only on fat loss, but giving you better posture. I didn't design the program using any of the fancy machines found in a health club, which can make the problems worse. These workouts will give you better posture, when done correctly, and will have you keeping your stomach tightened, which will help you lose even more inches off your waist line. Check it out at www.fatlosstogo.com
Friday, April 25, 2008
10 Minute Fat Loss Workout
I love doing 10 minute workouts.
Some people don't seem to think that a workout that only lasts 10 minutes can be worthwhile, however when done correctly they are FANTASTIC.
They are great if you don't have the time to fit in a longer workout, or if you just want to do something different.
Below is another one of my 10 minute workout videos. Check it out and give this workout a try sometime. Just make sure you make it challenging.
No weenie weights!
Some people don't seem to think that a workout that only lasts 10 minutes can be worthwhile, however when done correctly they are FANTASTIC.
They are great if you don't have the time to fit in a longer workout, or if you just want to do something different.
Below is another one of my 10 minute workout videos. Check it out and give this workout a try sometime. Just make sure you make it challenging.
No weenie weights!
Thursday, April 24, 2008
How Does Me Singing Relate To Your Fat Loss?
Do you like to sing? How about karaoke?
Personally, I hate singing and I definitely hate karaoke.
I'm a horrible singer. My dog howls when I sing. Not really, but he does look at me goofy.
I can remember a couple years ago being at a family reunion on my wife's side and there was karaoke.
A few of my relatives decided to do an old Sinatra song and wanted a group of guys to do it "rat pack" style.
They needed one more person, so I decided to fill the gap. That was a horrible mistake on my part.
We got booed...by family!
That was the first and last time I ever did karaoke. The bad thing is that my 16 month old daughter loves music and loves to dance so I have to occasionally sing.
She doesn't care that I am a horrible singer, she just wants to hear a melody, no matter how horrible it is.
How does this parallel to fitness and fat loss?
Because there are going to be things that you don't enjoy doing, but must do if you want to succeed and live a healthy, fat free lifestyle.
Maybe you don't like vegetables. Too bad. You have to eat them.
Maybe you don't like to exercise. Too bad. You have to do it. You can search out things you enjoy doing, but it must elicit enough of a calorie burn to make a difference and going for a leisurely stroll with your spouse or friends doesn't count.
Maybe you enjoy drinking soda and don't want to give it up. Too bad. You have to give up that habit if you want to lose fat. And sometimes diet soda is worse than its regular, sugar-laden counterpart.
Maybe you like the donuts in the break room everyday or hitting the vending machine around mid-morning. Too bad. You can't eat donuts or junk food on a regular basis if you want to be fit. You can have it occasionally or for one of your "cheat" meals, but that's it.
You get the idea, right?
Sometimes you have to do things you don't like because they're good for you.
It may sound horrible, but I promise you that if you give it a shot for a few weeks it will be easier and will become a habit. It's just getting to the point where it becomes habit that's difficult.
I'm actually starting to enjoy singing. Well to my daughter at least. She likes it, so I like it.
Have a good day!
Ed Scow
P.S. - Who knows you may enjoy eating broccoli, drinking green tea, or, God forbid, doing resistance training a few times per week followed by some interval training for about 15 minutes each. That doesn't sound too bad, does it? Give it a shot. You just may surprise yourself. And if you're really smart you'll pick up my Fat Loss To Go program and get started today with your fast fat loss workouts and common sense nutrition. Check it out at www.fatlosstogo.com
Personally, I hate singing and I definitely hate karaoke.
I'm a horrible singer. My dog howls when I sing. Not really, but he does look at me goofy.
I can remember a couple years ago being at a family reunion on my wife's side and there was karaoke.
A few of my relatives decided to do an old Sinatra song and wanted a group of guys to do it "rat pack" style.
They needed one more person, so I decided to fill the gap. That was a horrible mistake on my part.
We got booed...by family!
That was the first and last time I ever did karaoke. The bad thing is that my 16 month old daughter loves music and loves to dance so I have to occasionally sing.
She doesn't care that I am a horrible singer, she just wants to hear a melody, no matter how horrible it is.
How does this parallel to fitness and fat loss?
Because there are going to be things that you don't enjoy doing, but must do if you want to succeed and live a healthy, fat free lifestyle.
Maybe you don't like vegetables. Too bad. You have to eat them.
Maybe you don't like to exercise. Too bad. You have to do it. You can search out things you enjoy doing, but it must elicit enough of a calorie burn to make a difference and going for a leisurely stroll with your spouse or friends doesn't count.
Maybe you enjoy drinking soda and don't want to give it up. Too bad. You have to give up that habit if you want to lose fat. And sometimes diet soda is worse than its regular, sugar-laden counterpart.
Maybe you like the donuts in the break room everyday or hitting the vending machine around mid-morning. Too bad. You can't eat donuts or junk food on a regular basis if you want to be fit. You can have it occasionally or for one of your "cheat" meals, but that's it.
You get the idea, right?
Sometimes you have to do things you don't like because they're good for you.
It may sound horrible, but I promise you that if you give it a shot for a few weeks it will be easier and will become a habit. It's just getting to the point where it becomes habit that's difficult.
I'm actually starting to enjoy singing. Well to my daughter at least. She likes it, so I like it.
Have a good day!
Ed Scow
P.S. - Who knows you may enjoy eating broccoli, drinking green tea, or, God forbid, doing resistance training a few times per week followed by some interval training for about 15 minutes each. That doesn't sound too bad, does it? Give it a shot. You just may surprise yourself. And if you're really smart you'll pick up my Fat Loss To Go program and get started today with your fast fat loss workouts and common sense nutrition. Check it out at www.fatlosstogo.com
Friday, April 18, 2008
Hotel Room Fat Loss Workout
Last week I got back from a fantastic, but very short, trip to Toronto where I had a mastermind meeting with 10 of the top fitness professionals in the world.
That’s no exaggeration.
Most of us were fitness professionals only, but a few were nutrition experts and I’ve got some very exciting things planned with all of them in the near future.
Anyway, I learned two very valuable lessons while in Toronto.
The first thing I learned was that there are a lot of refugees from Somalia in Toronto. My cab driver to the hotel was from Somalia and when asked about his home he didn’t seem too eager to talk about it.
I took the hint.
The next thing I learned is that when doing your bodyweight workout in your hotel room in the morning you should catch your breath before answering the door to tell housekeeping to go away.
I was near the end of my workout when I got the knock and ran to answer the door to tell her to go away…and I was panting.
She looked at me kind of funny and said she’d come back later.
So that’s where this newsletter has taken me. Hotel room workouts.
My workout only took me about 15 minutes to complete, included nothing but bodyweight exercises, and as the housekeeper found out, left me breathless.
So here’s what I did, and you should try too the next time you find yourself in a hotel but not wanting to head down to the workout facility.
I did a quick warm-up consisting of push-ups and squats. I did 3 sets of 10 each with little to no rest between sets.
I then did 4 sets of the following supersets, only resting 20-30 seconds after the second exercise before returning to the first:
1A) Push-up w/Hand Raise – 12 per hand
1B) 1-Leg Hip Extension – 15 reps per leg
2A) Pike Push-up – 15 reps
2B) Reverse Lunge – 15 reps per leg
3A) “T” Push-up – 16 reps
3B) Overhead Squats – 20 reps
After those exercises, I had a pretty good sweat worked up.
You could even give that workout a try this weekend. Do it first thing in the morning before anything else gets in the way and pushes the workout to the back burner.
Have a good weekend!
Ed Scow
P.S. – As I said earlier, I met with 10 of the greatest fitness and nutritional professionals in the world this week and have some exciting things in the works for my Fat Loss To Go e-book (www.fatlosstogo.com). Stay tuned in the coming weeks for more information.
That’s no exaggeration.
Most of us were fitness professionals only, but a few were nutrition experts and I’ve got some very exciting things planned with all of them in the near future.
Anyway, I learned two very valuable lessons while in Toronto.
The first thing I learned was that there are a lot of refugees from Somalia in Toronto. My cab driver to the hotel was from Somalia and when asked about his home he didn’t seem too eager to talk about it.
I took the hint.
The next thing I learned is that when doing your bodyweight workout in your hotel room in the morning you should catch your breath before answering the door to tell housekeeping to go away.
I was near the end of my workout when I got the knock and ran to answer the door to tell her to go away…and I was panting.
She looked at me kind of funny and said she’d come back later.
So that’s where this newsletter has taken me. Hotel room workouts.
My workout only took me about 15 minutes to complete, included nothing but bodyweight exercises, and as the housekeeper found out, left me breathless.
So here’s what I did, and you should try too the next time you find yourself in a hotel but not wanting to head down to the workout facility.
I did a quick warm-up consisting of push-ups and squats. I did 3 sets of 10 each with little to no rest between sets.
I then did 4 sets of the following supersets, only resting 20-30 seconds after the second exercise before returning to the first:
1A) Push-up w/Hand Raise – 12 per hand
1B) 1-Leg Hip Extension – 15 reps per leg
2A) Pike Push-up – 15 reps
2B) Reverse Lunge – 15 reps per leg
3A) “T” Push-up – 16 reps
3B) Overhead Squats – 20 reps
After those exercises, I had a pretty good sweat worked up.
You could even give that workout a try this weekend. Do it first thing in the morning before anything else gets in the way and pushes the workout to the back burner.
Have a good weekend!
Ed Scow
P.S. – As I said earlier, I met with 10 of the greatest fitness and nutritional professionals in the world this week and have some exciting things in the works for my Fat Loss To Go e-book (www.fatlosstogo.com). Stay tuned in the coming weeks for more information.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
How To Dine Out And Still Lose Fat
Have you ever been eating at a restaurant and wondered how many calories are in the meal sitting before you?
No? OK, well maybe it's just me, but after reading this you may want to do the same.
Some have the information available upon request, but most don’t make it available.
Well, my aunt sent me an email that had the worst restaurant meals and their caloric content and nutritional breakdown.
Here’s just a few examples.
McDonald’s 5 piece Chicken Selects with ranch sauce has over 800 calories with 55g of fat. 55 Grams of fat! That’s insane. Especially when you consider that they advertised them under the guise of healthy food because they were supposed to be chicken breast, but even chicken breast isn’t healthy when it’s doused in batter and deep fried.
My favorite, though was the smoothie from Jamba Juice. When you hear smoothie you probably think it’s healthy, right? That’s how they’re marketed after all. But this smoothie from Jamba Juice had 900 calories, with 160g of sugar! That’s unbelievable!
By the way, those two I just gave you were the “best of the worst”. There were plenty with upwards of 1500 and 2000 calories. That’s how many calories many people should be consuming in an entire day if they want to lose fat and these entrees (or some appetizers) have them in one shot.
Hearing numbers like that it should be no surprise to anyone that we have an obesity epidemic in this country. We simply eat too much, or don’t pay any attention to what’s going in our mouths, and don’t notice until it’s wound up as gooey fat sitting on our gut, butt or thighs.
You should be wary of any meal when dining out. I’m not saying that you shouldn’t go out to eat. Quite the contrary. I think it’s necessary that we get out of the house and frequent restaurants. I’d go crazy and get cabin fever if I didn’t get out of the house and eat at restaurants. What I am saying is that you need to understand that many meals and drinks are not prepared with the idea that they’re going to keep your waist line in check.
They are made to taste as good and but as cheaply as possible because restaurants need to make money, after all. So in order to make many foods taste better, they are fried, sautéed, or otherwise prepared to increase the fat, because fat makes food taste better, or are smothered in sugar and fat loaded creams and sauces.
So here are a couple tips to watch out for when dining out.
First, avoid the appetizer. Appetizers are usually loaded with fat, and this includes the veggie dishes because they come with some sort of dipping sauce.
Next, avoid anything fried, sautéed or cooked in some sort of sauce. It may sound healthy because it’s salmon or chicken or vegetarian, but if it’s fried, sautéed or cooked in sauce, it’s high in fat and loaded with calories.
Last, if you’ve decided that you’re going to eat poorly when you’re eating in a restaurant, at least get a half order. The proportions on full orders are so out of whack they could feed an entire village in some starving country. So do yourself a favor and just ask for a half order, or split it with whomever you’re dining.
Another easy thing to do is to take a drink of water between every bite. Water will fill you up a little faster, which means you won’t be able to eat as much, which means you won’t store as much fat.
I hope I’ve enlightened you a little bit, and will begin to eat a little more consciously when you’re out and about.
Have a good day!
Ed Scow
P.S. – I have an entire bonus dedicated to traveling and eating out that comes free with my Fat Loss To Go program. It comes with tons of fat loss workouts to do on the road and how to read menus to keep you on your fat loss track. Check it out at www.fatlosstogo.com
No? OK, well maybe it's just me, but after reading this you may want to do the same.
Some have the information available upon request, but most don’t make it available.
Well, my aunt sent me an email that had the worst restaurant meals and their caloric content and nutritional breakdown.
Here’s just a few examples.
McDonald’s 5 piece Chicken Selects with ranch sauce has over 800 calories with 55g of fat. 55 Grams of fat! That’s insane. Especially when you consider that they advertised them under the guise of healthy food because they were supposed to be chicken breast, but even chicken breast isn’t healthy when it’s doused in batter and deep fried.
My favorite, though was the smoothie from Jamba Juice. When you hear smoothie you probably think it’s healthy, right? That’s how they’re marketed after all. But this smoothie from Jamba Juice had 900 calories, with 160g of sugar! That’s unbelievable!
By the way, those two I just gave you were the “best of the worst”. There were plenty with upwards of 1500 and 2000 calories. That’s how many calories many people should be consuming in an entire day if they want to lose fat and these entrees (or some appetizers) have them in one shot.
Hearing numbers like that it should be no surprise to anyone that we have an obesity epidemic in this country. We simply eat too much, or don’t pay any attention to what’s going in our mouths, and don’t notice until it’s wound up as gooey fat sitting on our gut, butt or thighs.
You should be wary of any meal when dining out. I’m not saying that you shouldn’t go out to eat. Quite the contrary. I think it’s necessary that we get out of the house and frequent restaurants. I’d go crazy and get cabin fever if I didn’t get out of the house and eat at restaurants. What I am saying is that you need to understand that many meals and drinks are not prepared with the idea that they’re going to keep your waist line in check.
They are made to taste as good and but as cheaply as possible because restaurants need to make money, after all. So in order to make many foods taste better, they are fried, sautéed, or otherwise prepared to increase the fat, because fat makes food taste better, or are smothered in sugar and fat loaded creams and sauces.
So here are a couple tips to watch out for when dining out.
First, avoid the appetizer. Appetizers are usually loaded with fat, and this includes the veggie dishes because they come with some sort of dipping sauce.
Next, avoid anything fried, sautéed or cooked in some sort of sauce. It may sound healthy because it’s salmon or chicken or vegetarian, but if it’s fried, sautéed or cooked in sauce, it’s high in fat and loaded with calories.
Last, if you’ve decided that you’re going to eat poorly when you’re eating in a restaurant, at least get a half order. The proportions on full orders are so out of whack they could feed an entire village in some starving country. So do yourself a favor and just ask for a half order, or split it with whomever you’re dining.
Another easy thing to do is to take a drink of water between every bite. Water will fill you up a little faster, which means you won’t be able to eat as much, which means you won’t store as much fat.
I hope I’ve enlightened you a little bit, and will begin to eat a little more consciously when you’re out and about.
Have a good day!
Ed Scow
P.S. – I have an entire bonus dedicated to traveling and eating out that comes free with my Fat Loss To Go program. It comes with tons of fat loss workouts to do on the road and how to read menus to keep you on your fat loss track. Check it out at www.fatlosstogo.com
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