Are you sure that exercise and dieting is making your healthier?

Something I have been thinking about a lot over the past few days is the importance of training with a focus on good health. It seems obvious, right? We eat right and work out because we want to stay healthy.

That might not really be the case though. I mean... you can't imagine many people NOT wanting to be healthy, or actually wanting to be unhealthy (no matter how much their behaviour / lifestyle would suggest it), but I'm saying this is more of an intellectual, logical reason rather than an emotional one. I think we are usually more motivated by emotion than logic, and the motivation to work out is usually to do with wanting to feel better about yourself. 

There's a bit of a politically correct notion around at the moment that we should all just feel better about ourselves automatically because we're nice people whether we're actually putting some effort into life or not. It's a nice thought and hard to argue with, but really... let's be real here; human beings did not become the dominant intelligent species by NOT applying themselves. We feel better about ourselves when we know we're not neglecting our health, are looking our best, and are taking steps in the direction we want our lives to go in.

So, whatever. Health may not be your primary motivator and that is fine as far as I'm concerned. But this next part is important. If you are training for aesthetics (aka "a hot body") and / or happiness, you are not likely to achieve either of these goals with an approach that is detrimental to your health. Sporting performance, however, is a different matter entirely.

Something I have talked about recently is that there is a Basic Level Of Human Fitness which relates to just being able to function in a natural environment, and then there is sports fitness. Particularly when we are talking about high intensity activities or endurance sports, we are applying a level of stress to our bodies that is beyond what would be expected under normal, natural conditions. 

Is this a good thing, or a bad thing? Well, it depends. 

As I keep saying, our bodies are designed for survival and are very good at adapting. Therefore, with an appropriate amount of an appropriate type of exercise we will get stronger, and healthier. Assuming of course, that we are providing enough resources (that means nutrients, which means food) to allow the body to make this adaptation.

Is that what most people do though? Is that the message that is put out by the diet and weight loss industries, or the majority of the fitness industry? 

Nope. What most people are encouraged to do is "eat less, burn more".... this might be reasonable advice for people with a sedentary lifestyle and gluttonous junk food eating habits, but it DOES NOT APPLY to people who are actually exercising. 

The result of this message is that people are influenced towards activities that they believe "burn more calories", rather than those that will actually produce the desired physical results. Usually this means excessive amounts of high intensity cardio (perhaps in those fast paced, dance based group fitness programs), and / or excessive amounts of endurance training. I just got distracted because a commercial just came on the TV for a product to help "burn more calories while exercising". Now, why on Earth would that be a good thing?

More exercise on less fuel only means that you are putting your body through a level of stress that is not designed to endure, without giving it the opportunity to adapt and become stronger. Even if you are losing weight, even if your performance is still improving... you are not getting healthier, you are running yourself into the ground. 

Read More

How the diet industry exploits vulnerable people.

I really should say "diet scam artists" rather than "diet industry" because I don't like to tar the genuine people people with the same brush as the horrible ones.

Over the past month or so I seem to have made a bit of a name for myself by calling out certain people and products for the dangerous and unhealthy methods they are pushing, or for the offensive and unethical business and marketing strategies they use.

I was thinking about it, and it kind of makes sense. I had a career in Security for 9 or 10 years, and most of that I would describe as "standing my ground against horrible people" and "looking out for vulnerable people". It makes sense that I've found myself doing more or less the same thing in terms of trying to stop horrible people from exploiting vulnerable people with harmful messages and dangerous products related to diet and weight loss.

So far I've been calling out the worst people in the world as far as the world of (what is supposed to be) health and fitness is concerned, in the order that they've come to my attention.

First up, literally the worst thing imaginable. I called out Dr Charles Livingston and asked him how could sleep at night while his Fat Loss Factor Diet Program Is Marketed To Anorexic Teens Via Spam Floods On Tumblr And Pinterest. He didn't want to talk to me though, for some reason.

While on the subject of the Fat Loss Factor, that's not all these people are up to. It came to my attention that   the "success stories" on their marketing sites are actually Stolen Before and After Photos From Tumblr Weight Loss Blogs. That is, they steal photos from people who've lost weight through putting in the effort with exercise and sensible nutrition, and claim credit for it even though the people have never used their product. That's pretty shifty!

Word is spreading about these horrifying tactics, and a few other websites have ran reports about it since.

Finally I called out a so called "celebrity fitness guru" for pushing some of the most ridiculous ... no, not "some of" but actually THE most ridiculous nonsense disguised as exercise advice that I have ever seen in all my days. You call also read about how the Tracy Anderson Diet Plan Results In The Same Effects Of Malnutrition As Found In Anorexia Patients in another article I reference.

As I said on my facebook the other day, there will always be differing opinions on the best methods to lose weight and get into shape, and what's best for one person may not necessarily be the best choice for someone else. What's not up for debate though, is that human beings are a species that requires food. Any time some moron starts telling people "stop eating food if you want to lose weight", there is gonna be a fight.

People need to consume The Right Amount of food. Not too much, not too little. There's a false perception that "less calories" or "eating as little as possible" is better for weight loss... but how could "less than enough" possibly be better than "The Right Amount"?

By the way, Dr Oz; you're next.

Read More

Choosing an exercise program for weight loss.

I used to say "the best form of exercise is the one that you're more likely to do, so choose something you can get enthusiastic about it and then go and get stuck into it". It makes sense, right?

Here's the thing though. When it comes to producing a specific physical result, not all forms of exercise are equally effective. Anything is better than nothing at all, but if you're serious about getting results you need to be doing what is actually required to produce those results.

First let's consider the factors that might influence you to make a particular choice of training program.

1. It fits with my current self perception.
2. Social or entertainment value.
3. It will actually produce the physical result that I desire.

Option 1 ties in with what we discussed in an earlier entry, and this piece about how your beliefs influence your choice of program, over on my business site. To summarise, people often adopt an exercise strategy that fits in with who they think they are now, rather than who they are trying to become. Subconsciously they gravitate towards something that's unlikely to produce a result, due to not really believing that it is possible for them to successfully achieve the result.

Option 2... well, you know. This might be the latest trend in group fitness, and even some personal trainers market more on "variety" so that "you won't get bored doing the same workout twice" rather than actually promising specific results. I guess... anything that gets up and active, working up a bit of a sweat and feeling good about yourself is a good thing. On the other hand I'd be a little concerned that if they're putting in a decent effort to something that won't produce the required result, eventually they're likely to lose motivation, or worse, start to believe that it is not possible for them to achieve the result they are looking for. That's worst case scenario, but perhaps the best case scenario of this activity leading into some more serious training towards a specific result is just as likely.

Which leads us to...

Option 3. Clearly the most favourable, logical and desirable option.

The best advice I can offer people is, if you have a specific result in mind... first off, your goal should be to achieve your dream body... not just "to be slightly less overweight" or something reasonable like that. Forget reasonable. Be ambitious! Now, someone in that sort of shape already... how would they train? Now obviously as a new person going from no active to some activity, you can't expect to match the performance of someone who as already achieved your goal. However, you most certainly can (and should) attempted to emulate their approach.

More often, people think along the lines of "well, that's what I'll do once I've gotten into better shape... but I'll just stick to this other activity for now, that is more suitable to my current shape". In other words you could say "I'm a fat person, so I'll train like a fat person until I'm in shape, and then I'll train like an in shape person!"

The obvious problem here is that transition never occurs. If you want to get into shape, you must train to the best of your ability, in the style of someone who is in the sort of shape you would like to be in. If your goal is to lose weight, why would you do what all the other people who are failing to lose weight are doing? You must "begin with the end in mind", and train accordingly.

If you are serious about learning how to manage your weight and build a lean, toned and attractive physique, you should check out my brand new "Lose Weight, No Bullshit" site and study up! It has everything you need to know, and it is free.

Follow this link for more information about my Personal Training And Weight Loss Services In Brunswick.

Read More

Weight Loss Education and Exercise

This is BRAND NEW and exciting. I've been working on a new Weight Loss Education and Exercise Program for the past few weeks, and finally launched it officially yesterday. I still plan to add some more content, but already there's enough there to keep people busy for a couple of weeks.

What I have noticed lately (and this is a good thing) is that more people are genuinely interested in learning the hows and whys of fitness and nutrition, rather than just wanting someone to give them "a diet" to blindly follow. People actually want to take control and take responsibility for their own outcomes, and to understand what they should be doing and why they should be doing it.

And these are really the people I'm most interested in working with. The people who actually want a genuine solution that will deliver results. The only problem though is that there is SO MUCH information out there that is incorrect, unhelpful, or actually unhealthy and dangerous (not to mention all the scams!) that it is really easy for people to get lead down the wrong path.

So at the same time... I realised I had so much information already written up and posted at various locations around the internet, as well as a heap of stuff typed up on the computer but never published... I decided it would be a good idea to organise everything and put it together as an education program all in the one place, indexed and ordered. It's also a nice way to showcase my writing on the subject of health and fitness, which is something I intend to develop as a career path in the future.

Anyway enough of the background info... here's the gist of what I cover in the education program.

• Using BMI to determine your goal weight.
• IIFYM Nutrition Theory.
• Sample 1700 Calorie IIFYM Meal Plan.
• Belief Systems, Self Perception and how they influence your choice of weight loss / fitness / exercise program.
• Resistance Training or Cardio; which is better for weight loss?
• Introductory Resistance Training Program.
• Interval Training Routine.
• And it almost goes without saying that I do a lot of health, fitness & weight loss myth busting and scam busting as well.
• I even finally, definitively answer the enduring question "Does Eating Bread Make You Fat?", once and for all!

If I do say so myself, this has come together nicely and it is an awesome program. If people read one article a day, I'd go so far as to say that within two weeks they'll have a better understanding of nutrition and exercise programming for weight loss that the average newly qualified personal trainer.

Go have a look.

Get Educated, Get Empowered, Get Results!

Read More

IIFYM vs other weight management strategies

First off, conventional crash / starvation dieting. We all know by now that this doesn't work. You might even know this from personal experience. By definition, when you talk about "going on a diet" the implication is that it is a temporary measure, and a temporary measure can only produce a temporary result... unless you count the actual long term result which is actually GAINING weight when you come off the diet.

There's about 8 million different versions I've seen people (coworkers when I was a corporate square) go on and off. Soup diets, yogurt diets, cabbage diets... the list goes on and on but they're all boil down to the same thing; eating as little as possible. Also known as "starving yourself to lose weight". Something we all shake our heads and say "oh isn't that terrible" when there's a story about teenage girls with eating disorders, but as grown adults we'll adopt the same unhealthy, unsustainable and self-destructive habits in order to shed some weight.

I've already talked about the VLCD (Very Low Calorie Diet) products as well, which also push this false notion of "eating as little as possible to lose weight". As I've said, it's not a good strategy for weight management in the first place, and it's a TERRIBLE idea if you are remotely interested in being healthy and / or happy.

Here's another article I've published about why conventional weight loss methods and in particular Very Low Calorie Diets are dangerous and ineffective. If you could give it a rating of "awesome" when you're done reading, that would be nice.

Since you're here reading about how to lose weight through sensible nutrition and exercise I'll go ahead and assume that you're not interested in these phony "quick fix" products anyway so we'll move right along.

What is IIFYM, anyway?

IIFYM stands for "If It Fits Your Macros". Macros being short for "macronutrients", better know as Proteins, Fats, and Carbohydrates. The idea is pretty simple; at the end of the day you are either (a) consuming the appropriate amount of calories (and appropriate ratio of Proteins, Fats and Carbs) or (b) you are NOT consuming the appropriate amount of calories to achieve and maintain your goal weight.

So when people might ask "is it OK to eat [insert particular food here] while I'm trying to lose weight?" the answer is "if it fits your macros". In other words, will eating that food mean that you end up consuming too many calories over all? If it won't, then it is OK.

There's an article on my business site about how to reach your goal weight with IIFYM dieting, so if you go and read that one it will save me from repeating myself too much here.

To summarise though... there's a lot of talk about needing to time your meals in this way or that way, not eat certain foods at the same time, not eat certain foods are particular times of the day, glycemic index and so on... let me put it to you like this:

Let's say I have a client who needs to lose 20kg to get down to our primary goal of BMI 23, which for the sake of example we'll say is 60kg. So I crunch the numbers and come up with a plan of 1700 calories with 40% from protein, 40% carbs and 20% fats which should be about right to support a healthy 60kg and get results from training. Now, you're trying to tell me that's not going to work unless she spaces her meals precisely 3 hours apart, and we can forget the whole thing if she eats a fucking potato after 4pm?

Ridiculous! If your body requires x amount of calories and you do not exceed that amount, it is going to utilise those calories regardless of what time of day you consume them. Especially when we're eating at a calorie deficit (ie - less than required to maintain current bodyweight), as if your body is going to say "wow I could really use this fuel for energy and recovery from that workout this afternoon, but it's late in the day so instead it goes straight to the love handles". Preposterous.

What about "clean eating" though?

Absolutely. If you're currently indulging in high calorie junk foods, and you "clean up" your diet by eliminating these and replacing them with more nutritious choices you are quite likely to lose weight. Of course no matter how "clean" you eat, too many calories is too many calories. And I must reiterate that too few calories is no better than too many. Personally I want to be certain. I want to do the maths and come up with a plan and be 100% confident of success.

The other issues with "clean eating" are that (a) it is such a vague and subjective term, and (b) people can get far too carried away with it and it becomes something more like orthorexia.

Remember; results come from what you do habitually.

This is important because it should take some of the stress and pressure out of dieting. If you are in the habit of consuming the right amount of calories to support your goal weight, the results will come. So having a small slice of cake at your friend's birthday party doesn't spell the end of your progress even though it might mean that you exceed your targets on that particular day. Even if you do go a bit overboard, as long as you get back on track the next day it is barely even a bump in the road.

Keep it in perspective.

Read More