Howdy all,

Just thought I'd shed some light on 'weight loss'. Let's be real here, most of us are referring to fat loss more so than weight loss. So that's what I'll be referring to for the remainder of this post.

I suppose I'll introduce myself, my name is Dave, I'm a Personal Trainer, Dietitian, Nutritionist, Sports Science Specialist and I work with all kinds of people ranging from special needs clients (disabled, autistic, diabetic, obese, asthmatic, pregnant women) to elite level athletes, body builders and those who just have fitness goals and need guidance to help achieve them.

Below are 5 bits of information that I hope will help you with your fitness goals, let's do this!

#1 - Resistance Training (weights) is one of the best ways of burning unwanted fat! Using full range of motion, controlled movements, correct form as well as appropriate weights stresses your body big time! With rest intervals between sets at only 30 seconds, your routine will act as cardiovascular training also, keeping your heart rate high and metabolism firing for hours after as well as the days after recovering.

#2 - Warming up is essential! Warming up for a leg routine does NOT involve swinging your arms around for 10 seconds like a windmill. Dynamic movements such as 2 sets of 1:1:1 tempo full body weight squats is a warm up for a leg session, as is light weight Military press for shoulders. This is to pump blood into the areas to be worked so they are efficient and ready for the working sets ahead as well as practicing full range of motion.

#3 - Drink water! A glass of cold water has been proven to up your metabolism up to 30% temporarily. It's the elixir of life, please steer clear of the energy drinks and sodas!

#4 - Eat your fats! This is going to be a big one, but bear with me please. Polyunsaturated, monounsaturated & saturated. Yes, I said saturated fats. It has been known for a while now that the correlation between cholesterol and saturated fat intake is false as the produce industry has been focused on a 99% fat free strategy for the last decade only to have more deaths than ever from coronary heart disease. Heart surgeons and research institutes have released numerous studies showing this. Only 30% of your cholesterol comes from your diet, the rest is produced and regulated by our bodies. So yes... Eat your egg yolks people!

Here's a link regarding saturated fats, heart disease, cholesterol etc for those interested. http://www.sott.net/articles/show/242516-Heart-Surgeon-Speaks-Out-On-What-Really-Causes-Heart-Disease

#5 - Low carbohydrate crash diets do not work! Our bodies need carbohydrates to maintain optimal function, let alone getting pummeled in the gym! Sure, initially this starvation will drop a few pounds, but what happens after? To put it simply, we're all descendants of the 'hunter gatherers', there was no guarantee that foraging/hunting would provide sustenance for them, so whilst famine was in the midst they sure as hell didn't run around to burn calories, their bodies would resort to using their fat stores to sustain life, lower fat stores result in the body winding down the metabolism so they could hum along during the hungry times on bare minimum. Whereas during fruitful seasons they would have sufficient feeds, their fat stores would be up and the metabolism would be firing all pistons. Anyway, basically it means, don't starve yourself to lose fat. Eat the right foods, exercise right for long term results!

Last but not least, here are some ingredients that will really vamp up your fat loss. Let me know how you go with them!

Cinnamon, Green Tea, Coconut Oil, Cold Water, Grape fruit, Pineapple, Avocado, Chili, Fish Oils, Flax Seed Oils.

Health & Fitness is my passion, it's my life and I'd love for anyone and everyone to give it a chance and to make it part of their lives too. All the best with your fitness goals!

Any questions, please feel free to inbox me. Or comment below with feedback. Thanks for reading! :-)

You forgot the leg muscles are the largest muscles so you definitely need to get them going to burn cals/fats off. And 3x a week is the optimum workout so rest your muscles every other day. OK to do cardio every day (I don't understand why this is so).

What do you suggest for exercising that isn't very high stress? I have a bad back and a few other issues that prevent me from doing high stress work outs.
I am working on losing weight, to date I've lost about 85 lbs, still have a ways to go. I keep coming to points where it just stops. Gain 2 lbs, lose 2 lbs, etc. I do swimming, I like walks, I have a personal size trampoline that I do some jumping on, and one of those exercise balls I use daily. But I can't work out for long periods straight without a break. I always make an effort to move more than I sit. I never sit for more than an hour at a time, even during a movie I make a point to get up and walk around. I LOVE LOVE LOVE fresh fruits and veggies of all kinds, fish, that kind of stuff. I actually rarely eat sweets of any kind. I don't drink alot of just plain water but I do drink iced unsweetened tea all day, no sodas.

Good tip buddy! I just threw this all together, didn't intend for it to cover all angles, just some tips is all. Thanks for additional tips! Not only are your Quadriceps and Hamstrings among the largest muscles (Gluteus Maximus is rather large too!), working them via Resistance Training also increases the Testosterone production internally which promotes maximum growth and metabolic function. :-)




First off, congratulations on your efforts thus far! Indeed the road is long, but it's worth it! It's great that you're staying mobile and your diet listings sound fantastic indeed. If your respiratory/cardiovascular system is without issue, I'd suggest doing interval training 3-4 times a week if not more. In saying that, a cross trainer or incline seated exercise bike can assist/support your back as a form of cardiovascular exercise.

In terms of your back issues, is it the spinal column or joints/ligaments that are causing the pain/discomfort?

It actually goes back to when I had my daughter, the epidural they gave me, they didn't get it in right, they actually tried it 9, count um 9 times in my back. It's never been right since and that was 14 years ago. Things like sweeping, raking, that causes me to twist can aggravate it. Sometimes I can walk for a few miles no problem. Other times it starts hurting within a few blocks. I just go as far as I can, stop and rest, and continue when I can.

I'm sorry you were subjected to that kind of malpractice/inexperience during a procedure preparation shot that should have been simple, it's not so hard to locate between the L3-L4. I can't claim expertise on the spinal column, have you had a professional look at it? If indeed the pain stems from the actual spine, I'd definitely recommend a credible and recommended Chiropractor, if it's the tissue surrounding, a Myotherapist would be a good start. I hope you find a way to alleviate the pain, keep up the good work, it's great that you fight through the pain, but definitely need to have it looked at and treated properly.

Okay, maybe you can give me some of your input on this...I'm in the military, so fitness is pretty high. I used to be faithful at my daily workouts. But ever since I started working midnight 12 hour shifts, I hardly work out. I have to be in the mood (on my day off) to go work out. Other than that, I sleep a lot. And to top that off, I work for food service. Yeah, I'm around food a lot. Ha ha! Any suggestions?

Hiya! I'm not so familiar with the military fitness standards in the states, as I'm from Australia and have only dealt with our troops mainly. As far as I know, standards around the world are all set quite high. In regards to your query, I don't blame you at all! 12 hour shifts at midnight! You're a machine haha, but I suppose we have to do what we have to do. I feel you as all throughout University I was doing the same graveyard hours heading straight to lectures from work.

First thing's first, your body clock must be so out of the zone, we're really not meant to be nocturnal beings. The sunlight/moonlight is there for a very good reason and that's to guide our active and rest phases daily. Sleeping isn't the issue as your body is taxed from challenging days at work. Food shouldn't be a vice either as if you are conscious of healthy choices and you truly eat cleanly, one dose of unhealthy food will spike your insulin, inflame your inner organs and having you dropping like an anvil, voiding you from doing so again.

The main thing I'll point out for certain is that we are creatures of habit. Once we make it a habit to work 12 hours a day whilst we're meant to be asleep, sleeping 8-10 hours during the day we're supposed to be awake, leaves us little time left for other activities. Our habits tend to stick, all you'll need to break out of the mold is well... To break out of the mold.

7 hours sleep is sufficient, oversleeping is a habit, not a necessity. I'd suggest balancing your diet if you're always feeling fatigued and unmotivated. A one off killer workout should fill you with enough endorphin's to reignite your passion for looking after yourself too. Get high... On life you know? :-)

I hope you can prioritize your health & fitness again soon, I know you'll rock it for sure! Workouts don't have to go for hours on end, 5 minutes warm up, 45 minutes resistance training, 10 minutes core/balance, 20-30 minutes cardio and then 5 minutes of cooldowns and stretching 3 times a week would be great!

All the best!

Thanks so much!

Welcome! :-)

What can you tell me about Pilates? I have had lower back surgery, blown out my achilles, 2 surgeries (including a knee replacement) on my knee and surgery on my other foot to repair 2 tears in a tendon and had a bunion repaired.. Would pilates be good for me? I see they have a pilates chair now and as I can't get down on the floor, wondered if this would be good for me...thanks

Why do you say fat loss rather than weight loss? I'm carrying about 15-20 extra pounds. That's extra weight above what the tables say is ideal for my height. Why wouldn't I want to lose that weight?

-- quit the military

-- get another job

-- get in the mood more often (by some Andrews Sisters albums and invite me over)

-- wake up more often or sooner than usual

-- increase the number of days to have off

-- if you really only work midnights steady, then in effect your job is one second long every day (from the beginning of 12:00:00 AM to the end of 12:00:00 AM.) and not the touted 12 hours.

In fact we suspect you work overtime just to be with your secret lover at work. (We know "his" name, too. It is "chocolate cheese cake with secret sauce".)

Your body only needs about 30 grams of carbs a day to perform properly. Your liver can easily make that many carbs from excess protein in your diet. Yes, the first two weeks on a low carb diet can be hard while your body adjusts, but after that, you will feel better than you did on the carbs. I know for me, I feel better and I can think more clearly when I'm eating low carb.

Low carb diets aren't starvation and they aren't "crash". I lost 50 pounds in a matter of months and kept most of it off (40 pounds) even when I stopped eating low carb for 6-8 months.

Low carb diets have been shown to cure type 2 diabetes, cure swollen ankles, improve conditions caused by lupus, autism, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and other diseases of the metabolism and brain.

Anthropologists have discovered that modern diseases (diabetes, heart disease, obesity) first started in Egypt with the farming of grains. Prior to that, humans ate a diet of mostly meat supplemented with vegetables, nuts, fruit and eggs.

I know you mean well, but you couldn't be more wrong about low carb.

Because you don't want to lose the muscle, you want to lose the fat. Muscle loss is never appropriate. If your lean weight is higher than your ideal weight, then your ideal weight needs to your lean weight at a minimum.

That's old science. You should workout each muscle group once every five days for optimum gain.

Is there a word left out in your last sentence? I don't understand it. Anyway I think of "lean" as meaning "with minimum fat" like hamburger, or like "racing fit" in a horse.

Isn't there a difference between how men and women carry fat? Also, don't we always lose fat first, and only start losing muscle when we get too extreme with the dieting?

I think maybe with the lean vs. ideal weight, you're getting a lot more complex than I was thinking about. I always exercise when I'm trying to lose weight anyway, and I don't think there's much chance of my ever becoming too thin.

Howdy, great input. I'm happy for you that the Ketogenic diet has helped you and I'm well aware that it can be very beneficial for those suffering from certain conditions. The bigger picture is, despite the minimal necessity of carbohydrates for the body to function, anyone undertaking resistance training who actually wants to function correctly and optimally, needs more than the proposed 30grams of carbohydrates. Your glycogen stores are already running minimally and would leave you working out at less than desirable efficiency to perform and endure as your energy systems rely on having a sufficient supply of loaded glycogen which occurs through glycolysis which occurs through carbohydrate intake.

It's interesting that the Ketogenic diet has you in a better mood as I've trained countless clients who've tried it and they've felt irritable and lethargic throughout their time on it. Each to their own however. Thanks for your listing your experiences.

In regards, to leg workouts. That's not really old science, he's just pointing out they are indeed the largest and calorie taxing muscle groups to work. He didn't mention neglecting other muscle groups, and you do know 5 times is probably not feasible for the average person wanting to stay in shape. 3 times is certainly better than dreaming of 5. :-)

I believe what that the 15-20 pounds extra you mentioned, is above what you're recommended to be weighing based on your age/height etc. However it's not the ideal method in measuring whether you are 'over fat' or not. As we need to put into account the ratio between your lean muscle tissue, organs, skeletal system etc in comparison to your fat, this is known as your body fat percentage. Some larger professional athletes often reach up to Obesity Class 1-2 on the traditional Body Mass Index charts yet they are completely healthy and lean.

Most people would happily look and feel leaner than worry about a specific poundage they wish to lose, as volume wise muscle does weigh more than fat. :-)

Fat weight is your percentage of body fat * total body weight. Example: If Soandso weighted 200 pounds and had a body fat percentage of 20%, Soandso's fat weight would be 40 pounds.

Lean weight is your total body weight minus your fat weight. In the example above, the lean weight would be 160 pounds. The lean weight is the the weight of your body without fat. 160 pounds would be the least that Soandso should ever want to weight, even if some guide said Soandso's ideal weight was 150 pounds. But Soandso should look at a guide for a healthy fat percentage and figure that into his weight. If he should have a body fat percentage of 10% for his age, then he would want to stop his weight loss around 176 pounds, giving him 90% lean and 10% fat.

Like you said, probably a lot more complex than you care about.