Tuesday, 29 March 2011

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!

Friday, 18 March 2011

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.