The Toxic Age And Why Your Doctor Is Making You Sicker (PART ONE)

Ever get the feeling when you visit your doctor that you actually know more about nutrition than them? Let me put this another way, when you look at your doctor do you think that this is a person following the healthy lifestyle? A person that is truly living and breathing optimum health? Someone that is practising what they’re preaching?

I think it’s fair to say that most of the doctors I’ve visited are the exact opposite to this. Sadly, most look overweight, stressed out from all the long hours they do and their knowledge on nutrition appears extremely limited. OK, not ALL doctors are like this but the harsh reality is that the majority are.

Don’t get me wrong I’m not Doc bashing here, I think they do a great job primarily. Their knowledge on medication is second to none at the end of the day they’re trying to help us which is a good thing right?

But (and there’s always a but right!)

Are we truly any better off with medication?
Is medication making us healthier or sicker?
Have we forgotten how to heal our bodies naturally?

In this article I’m going to address some of these burning questions and hopefully give you more clarity on what’s going on underneath the surface of the medical profession:

The cold facts

There’s a valid reason why doctors knowledge on nutrition appears limited.
By law, no med schools HAVE to have nutrition on their syllabus. It’s not a requirement. So, knowing this, only 25% of all med schools have a nutrition program on their syllabus.

In 9 years of studying medicine a doctor on average receives 2 HOURS of nutrition education. Yep you heard me right, 2 hours. So, in all of those 9 years of study, only 2 hours are dedicated to nutrition and even then, the exam at the end of it is optional, so they don’t have to take it if they don’t want to.

Is medicine helping or hindering?

Let’s look at the facts:

In the last 100 years:

- Cancer has risen from 3% to 30%
(¼ of ALL deaths are cancer related)
- Diabetes has risen from 0.1% to 20%
- Heart disease has risen from

Between 1974 and 1997 there has been a 300% rise in brain disease (Alzheimer’s etc.)

When doctors went on strike

Research shows that when doctors strike, there’s a reduction in death rate:
In the year 2000, doctors in Israel decided to go on strike; demanding increases in pay. Before long, morticians began to notice a bizarre trend.

“The number of funerals we have performed has fallen drastically”. — Hananya Shahor, the veteran director of Jerusalem's Kehilat Yerushalayim burial society.

The longer the doctors' strike continued, the more the death rate fell. In some locations, the death rate dropped by an astounding 50%. Unfortunately, the doctors eventually stopped their strike, and the mortality rates returned to normal again.

In 1976 in Bogota, Columbia, there was a 52 day period in which doctors disappeared altogether except for emergency care. The "National Catholic Reporter" described "a string of unusual side effects" from the strike. The death rate went down 35%. A spokesman for the National Morticians Associations said, "It might be a coincidence but it is a fact.”

He also tells about an 18% drop in the death rate in 1976 when doctors went on a strike in Los Angeles County. After the strike, the death rate returned to pre-strike levels.

When we stop interfering with medicine, there seems to be a reduction in death rate.

In the UK, medical errors account for an estimated 40,000 deaths each year and have officially become Britain's third biggest killer behind cancer and heart disease.

Something’s going wrong down the line. The human body is an amazing piece of machinery and it’s not really designed to get sick. Way back in the cave man days they seemed to do just fine without medicine so why have we become so heavily reliant on it over the years? Have we forgotten that with the right nutrition and lifestyle that our bodies can heal naturally?

It’s clear from these statistics that we’re not getting healthier, we are becoming sicker and medication doesn’t appear to be working.

Now the most common reply I get when I talk about how we’re getting sicker is “well, we’re living much longer now than at any point in history. Our life expectancy is much higher now than before so we must be healthier as a result.”

Well here’s the thing…

Yes, there’s no denying the fact that we are definitely living longer (not by much) but I can assure you it’s not because we are healthier.

These “extra years” are hardly quality years though are they? Yes diseases are being caught earlier these days but most people will spend those “extra years” albeit drugged up.

Also, life expectancy increases when infant mortality rates decrease. With better sanitation procedures, infants die less than when they did over 100 years ago so life expectancy increases.

So, to come back to the title of this article “Is your doctor making you sicker?”

Well, you have some of the facts now. I’ll let you decide…

What’s happened to us? Why are we getting sicker?

I believe that we’ve fully entered a new age.

The Toxic Age.



Toxins and chemicals have been polluting our environment at an alarming rate. Think of the most remote place in the world, the polar ice caps right through to the amazon rain forests. We have successfully polluted EVERY part of our planet. There isn’t anywhere in the world that is free from pollution.

Our food and water is currently more toxic than it’s ever been in our history and we are now the most contaminated species on the planet.
We spray our crops with an alarming amount of pesticides. From seed to supermarket the average seed is sprayed over 20 times from 20 different pesticides and we stuff our livestock full of antibiotics and steroids for no reason other than to bulk them up quicker for market day.

We are experiencing the birth of the toxic age.

We’re in it right now.

So how does this affect us I hear you say? Surely the body can cope with all these toxins?

Well, a lot of so-called health experts and “professors” will have you believe that the body is perfectly designed to deal with these toxins and that we don’t need to go on “detox” diets to sort this out.

Well, I agree with this up to a point. One of the liver’s roles is to detoxify any nasty’s coming in but what happens when they’re coming in at an alarming rate? (i.e. too many for the liver to deal with?)

You see, the more polluted your body is, your body is more likely to hold onto water. When the liver and digestive system are compromised your body will store the chemicals in fat cells. If you're VERY polluted then you will be fatter and unhealthier.

If there was a small amount of toxins coming in then yes you’re liver could probably just about cope but the problem is this:

No one is doing anywhere near “small amounts of toxins” and we haven’t for a while now.

The reality is that most peoples livers are overwhelmed with chemicals and toxins from our food on a daily basis and these toxins will build up over a period of weeks, months and decades so your liver never really has a chance to properly detox these nasties from your system.

And it doesn’t stop there; most of these toxins have a very negative health effect on the body.

Pesticides



Let’s take pesticides as an example. Pesticides used by commercial farms that are sprayed on our crops to help them grow.

Pesticides are designed for one thing and one thing alone.

TO KILL pests right?

So who’s to say over a period of years, decades they’re not going to do the same to a human being?

And it just so happens that there’s now very strong and alarming research linking pesticides to Parkinson’s disease.

Some pesticides are also designed to make these crop pests infertile so they stop reproducing. It just so happens that male infertility has gone up dramatically over the last 100 years as well.

You don’t need to be a rocket science to work out that ingesting pesticide is bad news – for ANY species on this planet! It’s poisonous.

Preservatives & Processed food



Most of the food we see in our supermarkets these days has been denatured. Anything tinned canned or packaged has some kind of preservative in it to preserve its lifespan. Even the pre-packed meats and fish that you see have been treated with chemicals so that they last longer.

Cereals, breads, anything tinned that you might consider to be healthy (like tinned tuna) would all come under this category. Sugar has also found its way into pretty much EVERYTHING these days. We have become a fast food nation. We live our lives at 100mph and want everything quickly, even our food. We very rarely find the time to cook our food how it should be.

Basically, any food that has been processed before it gets to you, or any crop that has been sprayed with chemicals, then the nutritional value will decrease. This means on a cellular level, your body won’t get enough nutrients and will eventually become sick. Sick cells lead to sick organs, sick organs lead to a sick system, a sick system (e.g. digestion, cardiovascular, hormones) leads to more sick systems and sick systems lead to a sick body which leads to the body breaking down which in time, results in disease.

Medication cannot stop this from happening. Medication is a disease management. Doctors can only help when your body is broken. Disease is the end result of a body that’s been sick for quite some time.

A doctor is happy to label conditions and offer prescriptions, but cannot offer any sound protocols on burning fat or how to heal with wholesome foods.

What can we do?

Now before you get your knickers in a twist, I’m not suggesting for one minute that we should all come off our medication and slag doctors off for the rest of our days but simply understand that with the right lifestyle and the right nutrition then our bodies can heal ourselves naturally without the aid of medication.

Removing chemicals from our diet, eating organically whenever we can and eating the way Mother Nature intended us to eat is a start. Although taking control of your health is more than just sticking to a diet. It means asking questions like "What lifestyle would suit me better?" It means no longer seeing the doctor as "the go-to guy" for your health but more as a partner to help find the best healing process for you.

In part two of this article, i'll be talking about how we can achieve all of the above and before you say eating organically is expensive and eating healthy is really boring and it feels like you’re denying yourself then you should definitely read part two of this as this will apply directly to you.

Here’s to a healthy toxic-free 2012,

Sam Winkworth – the south east’s leading fat loss coach

PS - Because you have this article, I'd like to offer you a free nutrition & lifestyle consultation (worth £56) with me based in Tonbridge, Kent. The training system I use with all my paying clients is designed to bring about great results in health, wellbeing & weight loss and what's more I guarantee results or you don't pay me a penny!

Simply call 07817 403398 or email sam@evolutionfitnessandnutrition.com to secure your place but hurry though, places are offered on a first come, first served basis and places fill quickly!!!

Is Weight Watchers Healthy?

First of all, let me just set the record straight and clarify that I won't be slagging off Weight Watchers in this article. I really don't feel the need to anymore as I know what I do gets the best results possible without compromising health.

Before we get into the meat of the article, I'm not disputing the fact that Weight Watchers definitely works and gets results so please don't think Im saying that it doesn't, HOWEVER IAM asking one simple question and that is:

Does it promote optimum health?

I believe that there's some MAJOR flaws in the weight watchers fatloss model, some of which I'd like to tackle in this article. so read on and lets get it on:

Is Weight Watchers Healthy?

As a fitness professional that promotes health and focuses on nutritional cleansing, I simply CANNOT advocate a system that allows you to:

1) Eat in moderation,
2) Consume sugar & processed food,
3) Focus on overall weight loss and not fat loss!

Eating In Moderation

As you may already know, the Weight Watchers model encourages you to "eat in moderation" which is fine (if you're actually eating in moderation!)but as I've said before in previous articles, the problem with eating in moderation is that no can do it?

Be honest, when was the last time you ate (and drank) in 'moderation' and got outstanding, draw dropping fat loss results that left your friends absolutely dumbfounded by your transformation?

Ask yourself this,

If eating in moderation worked then why is the UK now the fattest country in Europe?
If eating in moderation worked then why is there currently an obesity epidemic?
And if eating in moderation worked then why is no one getting AWESOME fat loss results from their programmes?

You may have guessed that I have a real problem with this piece of dietary advice and if you want to lose bodyfat (NOT WEIGHT) anytime soon than you simply HAVE to stop listening to this advice! Its not working for you!

2) Consume Sugar & Processed Food



When I first saw this picture above I couldn't believe it! The label above is from a Weight Watchers cereal bar. Interesting isn't it when you read the ingredients, especially when you'd think a weight watchers cereal bar would be considered "healthy" right?

Well, it's quite staggering the amount of sugar and cr*ap thats in this bar. MOST of the ingredients in it is basically sugar, chemicals and preservatives.

REALLY not great if you want to dump bodyfat anytime soon.

The problem with most of these so-called healthy cereal bars (not just weight watchers!)is that they are stuffed full of chemicals and preservatives. Chemicals that your body won't recognise and in order to get them out of your system will dump them into your fat cells. If you want to lose bodyfat then the first thing you need to do is get rid of the chemicals and toxins from your adipose tissue (fat cells).

Don't get me wrong, once you've achieved your fat loss results it's ok to have a dessert or a treat every now and then but there are healthier treats out there that are free from all these chemicals and preservatives that won't overburden your liver, so just because its from weight watchers, don't automatically think its a "healthy" option cos it aint!

3) Works with Weight Loss and Not Fat Loss!

The problem with overall weight loss is that you have to use the scales as a way of measuring your progress which is a TERRIBLE way of tracking your results. I'll give you an example:

You've lost BODYFAT and increased lean muscle tissue (which is a good thing because the more muscle tissue you have, your bodies ability to burn bodyfat quickens up considerably which is EXACTLY what you want) BUT on the scales your overall weight may not have changed? This often then leads to disappointment, demotivation and worse still, dropping out of the healthy eating plan completely.

This makes a mockery of the whole weight watchers way (and other slimming clubs that like to use scales to monitor progress), they look at overall weight loss and not fat loss.



Let me put it another way, would you be happy to be the same weight that you are now but have no bodyfat, have an amazing killer physique with an abundance of energy?

I rest my case!

Heck I recently finished a 9 week six pack challenge with some of my fellow fitness professionals and I didn't lose ANY WEIGHT (not a single pound!) but my bodyfat levels went from 10% down to 8%, my waist went form a 32 to a 30 and I had a killer sixpack to show off! (and I didn't eat in moderation!)



See what I'm getting at?

So now that we've highlighted a few flaws in the weight watchers model lets talk about some things you can do that Weight Watchers doesn't talk so much about:

1) Stop eating in moderation and focus on Cleansing your fat cells!

Lets face it, this advice isn't working for you is it. If it did, then you would have already achieved your dream body by now right?
Focus on cleansing your fat cells for the next 28 days. If you want to drop body fat then you need to allow time for your liver to heal. Your body will choose to drop bodyfat once youve restored liver health. No wheat, sugar, processed food and alcohol for 28 days.Focus on lean proteins with plenty of fresh fruit & vegetables. Be strict with yourself (no piss poor excuses! If you can't give up alcohol for 28 days then you need to take a long hard look at yourself) and remember you don't have to be boring to eat healthy. You can check out the Evolution Cookbook if you want some recipe ideas. Over 60 wheat, gluten & sugar free recipes to choose from (including chicken pizza, healthy fish & chips, chocolate brownies & clean choc chip cookies)

2) BIN THE SCALES!

Scales have to be THE WORSE way to measure your progress! Ditch the scales and go on how you look, how you feel and how your clothes fit you. Take measurements before you start from your chest, waist, hips and thighs, all at the widest point) and measure as you go to monitor your results. Do ANYTHING! just stop using the scales!!! If you dont trust yourself then just bin them! Im serious!

So to come back to the title of this article? Is Weight Watchers healthy?

Here's where I respectfully disagree.

Definitely get's results for some as Im sure many will testify but for me it doesn't advocate optimum health. We should be striving to restore our health, going back to basics with our nutritin and when we do then we'll naturally achieve our ideal bodyshape and we wont have to worry about calorie counting and complicated point scoring.

It really is THAT SIMPLE!

In the words of my business partner and fellow fat loss expert Nisha Obaidulla:

"WEIGHT WATCHERS. GREAT BUSINESS MODEL, CRAP FAT LOSS MODEL".
Couldn't have put it better myself!

Peace out :-)

Sam

My Six Pack Journey (I'm REALLY proud of myself!)

Hey!

Hows it going? First of all I'd like to apologise for not updating this blog sooner. Things have been CRAZZZZY busy for me over the last few months both personally and professionally so I promise to update more frequently from now on.

But hey, enough of that, I just wanted to share my Six pack journey with you that I've just been on over the last few months.

Let me put you in the picture as to why I decided to go on a quest for six pack abs:

At the start of this year, my goals were very different. I placed a huge emphasis on improving my endurance running. I have 2 epic challenges that I want to do soon which partly involve endurance running so my main fitness goal was to improve on my distance running. This was one of the reasons why I went to Club La Santa, Lanzarote in June - to get some mileage in my legs, take part in a couple of races and basically lock myself away and just focus on my own training.



The last few months have been crazy busy for me. My Bootcamp and personal training business have literally been "blown up!" (thanks to my business mentor Paul Mort). My Sevenoaks Bootcamps are now thriving with positive action takers, I'm about to open another Bootcamp in Tonbridge and I'm now in the position where I only train people on a 1-2-1 basis who I want to train. Its invite only.

And I'm now ALSO working with fellow fat loss expert Nisha Obaidullah on our new sixpack abdominals programme (for fit pro's and general members of the public who want their abs back!) which Im really excited about and is the reason why I embarked on my own six pack journey.

As myself and Nisha are spearheading the challenge then it's only right that we're kept accountable and practising what we're preaching. I personally believe that there are WAY too may fat unhealthy personal trainers out there in the industry giving out "health" advice to their clients that blatantly can't do it themselves.

So I decided from June onwards to change my fitness goals slightly and focus 100% on obtaining a six pack.

Now don't get me wrong, Ive always been lean and have always had bit of a sixpack but never what I call, a proper one! Never one that was visible even when I wasn't tensing! Never a six pack that was truly outstanding so I decided that I was gonna get A KICK ASS sixpack just like the male fitness models on the front cover of Mens Health! Hell if those 'goons' could get one then I could DEFINITELY do it :-)

So my goal would change from endurance running (at the start of the year) to training purely for aestetics for the next few months, and at the end of it I'd book myself in for a professional photo shoot to show off the abs ;-)

Once I decided what my goal was, I made sure I planned 100% for it. I would be following my Elimiation Diet to the letter so I made sure I had all the clean, allowable foods in my cupboards. I made sure I knew what I was going to eat (and at what time) for the weeks ahead and I made sure I planned ALL my workouts in at the start of the week aswell. I put the workouts in my diary and I made sure I was 100% committed to doing EVERY single one of them, no BULLSH*T!

One of the things I found VERY hard during my Six pack journey and that was eating out with friends and family. I usually associate eating out with "pleasure" and normally when I eat out, I like to have a few beers and a dessert (cheesecake is my achilles heel!)so I did find it difficult at times resisting the temptation, especially when my deer Dad was tucking into a dessert or if at the cinema, my buddies munching on popcorn, BUT I stayed strong, my will power was good and I didn't cave in.



I'd like to point out something important here about Willpower, something that my mentor told me which REALLY hit home with me and that is:

"If you're WHY is strong enough then WILLPOWER doesn't come into it."

This basically means if you know EXACTLY what your goal is, you know WHEN you want to achieve it by, you know HOW you're going to do it and you know WHY you want to do it then WILLPOWER doesn't even come into it!

In my case, my goal was to be SHREDDED by September (so I had a deadline!), I knew how I was going to do it, I would be following my Elimination Diet 100% without fail no excuses and training 6 days a week. I'd also be adopting an Eat Stop Eat lifetyle during my journey aswell. The reason that I was doing this (so my WHY!!) was because I wanted sixpack abs.

I made sure my WHY was strong enough before I started this journey, I made sure my goal was 100% crystal clear before I started. If I didnt do this then I dont think I would have got the results that I did.

FINAL RESULTS

So since I embarked on my Sixpack journey (starting from June)

my bodyfat levels have gone from 10% down to 8%,
My sixpack is more visable,
I've gone from a 32 inch waist to a 30!
and I feel and look sooo much more leaner than before!

Below is my Before & After pictures:



I'm REALLy proud of myself for achieving my sixpack goal. It wasn't all plain sailing. There were times when I thought I wasn't gonna do it but I stayed strong, I kept focused, I had my photo shoot done and I got the result I wanted.

What next for me? well, Im gonna get back into my endurance running and refocus my attention on my 2 endurance challenges for next year that I want to do. Can't say too much at this point but lets just say that they'll be a huge challenge for me!

I hope my story and pictures inspire you to achieve the fat loss goals that you deserve.

Onto the next challenge!

Peace out :-)

Sam Winkworth
CPT, SPN

PS - I'll be uploading all my pictures from the photo shoot I had done last week so keep 'em peeled. They look pretty awesome if I dont say so myself! Sorry if that sounded big headed, I dont mean it to be, its just that Im SUPER proud of myself for achieving these results :-)

PPS - If you're interested in the detailed nutrition plan and the exact daily workouts that I used to achieve my six pack goal then get yourself over to my facebook page, add me as a buddy and keep an eye out for mine and Nisha's six pack 6 week challenge details. The results are unbelieveable ;-)

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Why "Eating In Moderation" Is Making You Fatter!

As a fat loss coach, if I had a pound for every time I heard the advice "eat in moderation" from personal trainers, nutritionists & doctors then I'd be a millionaire, infact even if I had a penny for every time this was said then I'd STILL be pretty damn well off too!

So why is "Eating in Moderation" making you fatter I hear you ask?

Well read on; let me tell you what I mean...

On the surface, this advice sounds pretty innocent right? After all, eating in moderation allows you to lose weight whilst having your favourite foods doesn't it? You don't have to stress about being too strict with your diet do you, you can have that treat whenever you want and still get results right?

WRONG!

Here's my issue with this advice:

If "Eating in Moderation" worked then why have we currently got an obesity epidemic here in the UK and is getting worse?
If "Eating in Moderation" worked then why is the UK now the fattest country in Europe?
If “Eating in Moderation” worked then why is no one getting amazing fat loss results?

Sure, if people ACTUALLY DID eat in moderation then this advice would hold some clout but the truth of the matter is that NO ONE can do" Moderation". Be honest, when was the last time you ate (and drank) in moderation?

The other issue I have with moderation is that it differs from person to person, where do you draw the line? Everyone has their own concept of “moderation”, your version of moderation might be completely different to my version which makes it a really cr*p piece of dietary advice to give out and to follow aswell.

Let's not beat around the bush here, if you want to drop bodyfat anytime soon then you simply HAVE to STOP listening to this piece of advice. IT DOESN’T WORK!

As you may have guessed I have a real problem with "Eating in Moderation." This is usually something that fat people say to make themselves feel better (which is why they’ll never be dropping bodyfat anytime soon either), or people that have always been skinny and have NEVER had any concept of being overweight. That sounded really harsh and I apologise if I offended anyone but unfortunately is true.

Below is a picture my personal trainer and good buddy Austin Lawrence designed to highlight the "Eating In Moderation" point:



Ask yourself this:

Are you looking for ‘moderate’ results or results that will see you blow people away with how you look in that new dress or suit? Results that leave your friends totally shell shocked with your total body transformation? Put simply, the more times you "eat in moderation", then the more ‘moderate’ and decidedly average your results will be after the 28 days. It’s as simple as that really.

So do yourself a favour and stop listening to this bit of advice, it’s not working for you.

Eat clean for the next 28 days, remove wheat, dairy, processed food & sugar from your diet. Stop drinking alcohol, drink plenty of fresh clean water, keep it strict, stick to the rules and remember:

MODERATION SUCKS!

Peace out ;-)

Sam Winkworth - The South East's Leading Fat loss Expert

PS - Our next Bootcamp kicks off on Monday 25th July. Because you have this article, you're entitled to your first week FREE! Call us on 07817 403 398 to register your place or go to www.evolutionbootcamp.com Our campers regularly lose between 5-7lbs in the first week.

Why You're STILL Fat! And What To Do About It!

Ever wondered why some people are successful when it comes to losing bodyfat while others simply won't get anywhere near the results that they thought they would?

In this blog, Iam going to address the reasons why you're still fat (or unable to shift that last inch), and tell you what to do about it.

I've been a fat loss coach for well over 10 years now, during which time I have consultated, coached and trained thousands of people who want to lose weight and drop their bodyfat. Below are my top 5 mistakes that people make (on a regular basis!) when it comes burning that stubborn bodyfat:

1) They Are "Victims"

Your success begins with taking 100% responsibility of your life and dropping ALL the reasons you can't succeed and haven't succeeded when following a diet programme in the past.

"I don't have time"
"I'm too busy"
"My kids come first"
"My mates will put peer-pressure on me"

are ALL victim stories or to put it simpler: EXCUSES that are stopping you achieve the fat loss success that has eluded you all these years. Sorry if that sounded harsh but until you REALISE that you simply HAVE to ditch the excuses and victim stories to achieve success, the better.

2) They Are Suffering With" Dietary Dishonesty"

Alot of people I've spoken to, THINK they eat healthy, when the truth of the matter is that when I analyse what they've eaten and drank over the week, they are not eating healthily at all. Quite the opposite infact. Eating healthy is NOT having cereal for breakfast and a shop bought sandwich for lunch. Cereal actually has a ton of sugar in it (and completely strips your magnesium levels, but thats for another article) and consuming bread on a daily basis will put a huge hault on your fat loss progress. Oh, and eating healthy during the week and then going out at the weekend and getting wrecked surprisingly won't do your fat loss progress any good either!

3) Their Planning Sucks!

Planning what you're going to eat over the week is probably the most important thing to do when embarking on a fat loss programme yet 90% of people starting off simply dont do it. Being caught with not having anything healthy to eat out (on day trip for example) or "only being able to buy something on the run whilst at work" are both common mistakes that people make who don't plan ahead.

4) They'll Start "Tomorrow"

Alot of people wait for the "perfect time" to start their exercise/ nutrition plan when the truth of the matter is that there isn't one. Life always gets in the way. Holidays, work do's, weddings will ALWAYS be there. People who do this usually spend their whole life "yo-yo dieting" which is the exact opposite of what their trying to achieve.

5) They're Doing The Wrong Exercise

Those of you that regularly follow my blogs will know that I'm always talking about creating "metabolic disturbance" which is how many calories you burn long after the session finishes. Long, slow boring cardio, like jogging, swimming, using the cross trainer/stepper will NOT achieve metabolic disturbance and are therefore not the greatest workouts for burning bodyfat.

Alot of people are also training TOO MUCH, which, if this is the case, then until they cut down on their training and take a frickin rest then they will quite simply never get rid of that last inch of belly/hip fat.

So now that you know where you might be going wrong, here's what to do about it RIGHT NOW:

1) Toughen Up!

Quit blaming your circumstances for the reason why you're still fat. Man up and stop using excuses. Excuses are the number 1 reason why people will NEVER achieve success. Maintain a positive can-do attitude throughout and get rid of any negative people in your life and surround yourself with people who have the same fat loss goals as you.

2) Eat Clean & Use a food diary.

For the next 21 days, eat only organic meats, fresh fruit and veg.Only drink fresh clean water, avoid caffeine, alcohol and processed foods and write down what you're eating. Research shows that those who use a food diary are more likely to achieve fat loss results than those that don't. You can download the exact food diary I use with all my private clients over at www.evolutionfitnessandnutrition.com This will stop any "dietary dishonesty" going on.

3) Plan Ahead!

Know what you're going to eat on a weekly basis. If you're gonna be at work for 10 hours (or out for the day) then sort your life out and pack a lunch box the night before. Why do people have such an issue with this? It takes 5 frickin minutes. This is a VERY good nutritional habit to get into. Never be caught out with not having anything to eat for the day. If you know you're gonna be out for the morning, then make sure you have a good breakfast (you should be having one anyway but especially if you know you're going straight out), pack some almonds with a greek yoghurt or a piece of fruit for mid morning to keep you going until lunch.

4) Start Taking Action NOW!

Don't wait to start after that wedding or holiday, just get to it! You don't HAVE to be all or nothing to start off with! Done is better than perfect, even if its just doing a 10 minute bodyweight workout at home, it's a start and you can always build up at a later date. Orjust simply eliminating caffeine and sugar, thats fine, as long as you MAKE THAT START!

5) Intervals And Resistance Training Are Awesome Fat Loss Workouts

Stick to short burst workouts like circuits or intervals aswell as Resistance training (either using bodyweight, bands, free weights or barbells). These workouts have been research proven to burn more bodyfat than slow jogging, cycling or swimming long after the session finishes. Please don't misunderstand me here guys, I am not jumping on the "cardio bashing band-wagon", and I actually love going out for a run myself but I dont rely on it TOTALLY for fat loss. I still make sure I'm doing some resistance training workouts to help with creating that metabolic disturbance.

So there you have it, the main reasons why ALOT of people are STILL fat and how to start doing something about it. Follow those tips for the next 21 days and you'll start seeing some awesome improvements to your fat loss levels and your bodyshape.

Peace out : )

Sam

PS - Our new Fat Loss Bootcamp In Sevenoaks kicks off on Monday 11th April. Message me for details or check out the website on www.evolutionbootcamp.com Our campers regularly drop over 7 lbs a month whilst NEVER counting calories!

Why Zumba Is "PANTS" For Burning Bodyfat

My business mentor Paul Mort (who is also the UK's number one fat loss coach)recently wrote about this subject only a few months ago. He actually beat me to it (the swine!) but I feel, on a personal level that I need to write about this aswell as it's been on my mind for quite some time now.

Unless you've been living under a rock for the last 6 years,ZUMBA is the latest dance craze to hit our studio time tables.It combines latin dance moves in an aerobic style format. It's currently in over 90,000 locations across 110 countries so you could say that it's been a success!

Now before I get every ZUMBA instructor and their dog emailing me saying that Im being totally unfair and that you're "well out of order" for slagging off Zumba then let me tell you that I'm not.

I think ZUMBA is a great dance class and every time I watch it, it looks really fun. I've not tried it yet, although I've participated in many similar dance formats at fitness conventions/seminars and actually spent over 2 years teaching advanced choreography at the YMCA in Tottenham Court Road so I feel very qualified to talk about this subject.

So what's my issue with ZUMBA?

Well, although Zumba "is an exhilarating, effective, easy-to-follow, Latin-inspired, calorie-burning dance fitness-party" (as the company like to put it), it's not the best way to burn bodyfat.

Sure, its fun, just like the nintendo wii is fun when your playing wii tennis or wii fit but for burning bodyfat?

Hell no!

Let me tell you what I mean...

Slow,steady cardio, which is what you see most people doing in the gym day in, day out is NOT the best way to burn bodyfat. Infact, I've met very few people who have successfully used cardio to burn bodyfat.

ZUMBA, and other classes of the same genre are ALL in this category. Sure, you might get some moves that feel harder than others on occassions but its likely that a zumba style workout will be a steady state session (meaning no true interval training involved).

However, Research shows if you want to lose stomach fat, or any other fat for that matter, you MUST increase the intensity of your workout by doing short burst workouts like circuits or intervals.

Why?

To burn more calories long AFTER the workout has finished, that's why!

You see,when you exercise with intervals and resistance training, your body uses far more calories in the hours AFTER exercise than it would if you did ZUMBA or any other long, steady state workout.

This is what's called "The Afterburn Affect" and will help you lose that stubborn bodyfat and gain more muscle in less time than if you were doing your long, slow boring cardio that you've always done.

Dr Pompa says it best in the video below:



The Moral Of The Story?

ZUMBA classes are alot of fun and are a great way to get moving and maybe improve on your stamina somewhat but to use it as part of your fat loss plan?

Definitely not!

Stick to short burst workouts like circuits or intervals along with a good nutrition plan. Follow my advice and you'll see much better results than you're currently getting.

Peace out!

Sam

PS - Did you know that I run a really popular Fat Loss Bootcamp in Knole Park Sevenoaks with morning and evening sessions? Text/Call me on 07817 403398 to find out what special offer I have on at the minute.