The Ten Commandments of Fat Loss

Above all others the following ten are absolutes when trying to lose fat. No exceptions, no substitutions. Follow these commandments and you will reach your fat loss potential. No ‘yeah but’, no ‘I have no time for this’, no ‘this won’t work for me’. All of those are just lame excuses because I know a lot of very, very busy people that have made the time and have been extremely successful. I have had individuals with slow metabolism and a sluggish thyroid, clients over 60 male and female. Over a huge spectrum of people these 10 have held strong and worked every time, and they will work for you. So if you want to lose fat, here are your ten commandments to live by.

Commandment #1 You shall eat a fruit or veggie with a lean protein every time you eat. That is five to six small meals throughout the day. Doing this will allow you to get enough protein AND enough fruits and veggies to satisfy your muscles and your body’s need for quality nutrients. Proteins and vegetables have the highest thermogenic effect and fruits add much needed vitamins and minerals helping your body recover adequately.

You won’t have to worry as much about calories when you follow this commandment as you will feel full longer and more satisfied with each meal, but this isn’t a green light to go hog wild, there is some self control involved here.

Commandment #2 You shall exercise supportively 5 to 6 times per week. Exercising supportively means performing weight training three to four times per week and performing interval based cardio training two to three times per week. Weight training for fat loss involves short rests and medium repetitions and moderate weight which translates to high intensity. Circuit based training works well in this format (one set of one exercise then to another after minimal rest, etc).

Interval based cardio training will burn 9 times more fat than steady state cardio AND is time efficient. Interval cardio is alternating high intensity work periods with low intensity recovery periods. A typical work to rest time would be 30 seconds or 45 seconds of work and 60 to 90 second recovery. Think of sprinting and walking as a good method of interval cardio (but this can be done over a broad spectrum of modes of exercise)

Commandment #3 You shall create a support system with friends, neighbors, family, co-workers and others that will REALLY support your effort. Surround yourself with people that will participate with your or at very least support your efforts entirely. Lean on these people often for help and guidance through the mentally difficult times. Surrounding yourself with unsupportive people is a recipe for disaster and you will eventually give up.

Commandment #4 You shall plan your exercise and meals ahead of time. Planning and preparation are two very important components of success. I won’t lie it takes work and it isn’t easy, but anyone who tells you fat loss is easy is filling you with a line of Bullshit. Shop, chop, and cooking meals in advance will set you up for being successful in eating supportively especially when life gets busy. Set aside two hours on Sunday or your day of choice and shop, then prepare meals for the week. That also means setting a menu for the week and keeping it on your refrigerator so you can easily follow the menu and it will be one less thing you have to think about during the chaos that is your typical week.

Exercise is no different. Schedule your time for exercise and keep that schedule like you would a doctor’s appointment or any other appointment. Don’t let anything else get crowded into that spot.

Commandment #5 You shall remain consistent 90% of the time. You should be eating at least 35 meals per week (5 meals a day for 7 days). Of those 35 meals you must eat supportively 32 out of those 35. That means only three times can you eat an unsupportive meal, cheat, or miss a meal (yes missing a meal counts against you). If you are 90% compliant you WILL get results. The key here is to remain CONSISTENT.

Commandment #6 You shall take in at least ½ your bodyweight in ounces of water per day. But since you are exercising for fat loss you must take in more, so think .6 to .7 ounces per pound of bodyweight of water per day. Dehydration shuts the body down including the metabolism and prevents full effort in your workouts as your muscles are made up of mostly water. Think of having a water bottle (and drinking from it) with you all day.

Commandment #7 You shall take in a quality multivitamin every single day. Even if you are not on a fat loss program this is a must. Multivitamins fill the gaps to any discrepancies in your nutrition plan. And even though you are eating at least five fruits or veggies a day on your fat loss program, you need 7-10 servings of fruit AND veggies per day to satisfy all the vitamins and minerals you need.

Commandment #8 You shall have a strong powerful goal or reason for taking on this project. If you just want to get in shape then stop reading because this isn’t for you. Your goal has to be much more than just getting in shape. Your goal, when you read it should get you fired up and excited. Write down your goal and read it every single day so that your subconscious mind will take over and help you. Spend a lot of time on this commandment because this will ultimately determine your success. Start with the end goal and work backward so you can set up some midrange goals and several short term goals. Once you have this mapped out and read it every day you have essentially set up a roadmap for your success and all you have to do is hit those mini milestones to keep the motivation burning hot.

Commandment #9 You shall have a realistic approach. You will not succeed your goals in one day. And you will not succeed by taking a pill or exercising extra in one week. You will not succeed long term by eating perfect one week and eating great ½ the time the next week. You must be realistic with your approach and understand that this is a journey not a destination. Achieving your ultimate fat loss goal is your destination but the journey is making it a lifestyle and incorporating new habits that will stay with you forever. Results are only as good as long as they stay results. If you revert back to old habits after reaching your goal, you haven’t achieved anything. Implement strategies that are realistic and that will allow you to KEEP off the fat you are working so hard at losing.

Commandment #10 You shall not give up if you fall down. Mistakes are going to happen, especially when you are trying to make changes to hard fastened habits. Understand that it may take several attempts before you succeed at just one of these commandments, but when you do others will get easier. It is ok to be less than perfect, and understand that you are working on it and do better the next time. The more perseverance you have the much more likely you will be to succeed.

Follow these commandments and you will absolutely be successful in your fat loss goals.

4 Signs It's Time to Step Off the Scale Does Weight Weigh Heavily on Your Mind?

What is with this obsession we have with the scale? For most people, the scale can be an adversary or an ally, depending on the day. We often hate what it says or argue with it, but we still feel the desire to use it. When used properly and taken for what it is, it can actually be a very useful tool for weight management. But for many, the scale does more than measure the total weight of all your various parts. It somehow defines who you are as a person. And sadly, it can determine your own self-worth. We read way too much into this single-purposed tool.

Here are four signs that you might put too much weight on weighing in:

1. You constantly worry about weighing in.
When you're trying to lose weight, it's normal to experience some hesitation when it's time for your weekly weigh in. After all, you want to see the numbers go down as confirmation that all of your hard work has paid off. We all want to be rewarded for our efforts, and it can be discouraging when you have done everything right and things still don’t pan out. However, if you find yourself preoccupied with worrisome thoughts of what the scale is going to say tomorrow or the next day, then you might be a little too obsessed with the scale

2. You weigh in more than once per day.

I recommend weighing in once a week (or even less). Ever wonder why it's not a good idea to do it more often? Your body weight can and will fluctuate from day to day, and change throughout a single day, too. There is no sense in putting yourself on that roller coaster of ups and downs. In the war on weight, if you become so concerned that you weigh yourself daily or several times a day, you are fighting a losing battle and you will be discouraged. If you feel like you can't control yourself or stop yourself from weighing in each day, then you could be headed for trouble.

3. You can recite your weight to the nearest fraction at all times.
This is a sure sign that you are relying too heavily on the scale. Anyone who can tell you not only how much she weighs each day, but measures her weight loss to the nearest quarter of a pound is probably weighing in too often. There is nothing wrong with wanting to see a lower number on the scale, even if it's a quarter pound lower, but remember that weighing in is more about trends (an average decrease or consistency in weight over time).

4. The scale determines how you feel about yourself for the day.
When the number is down, you step off the scale singing and have a jump in your step all day. When the number goes up (or stays the same when you expected a loss), you feel like Charlie Brown walking around with a rain cloud above your head. To me, this is the saddest situation of all—to let the scale dictate how you should feel. How would you feel about yourself if you hadn't weighed in that day? What other ways would you determine your self-worth if weight didn't exist?

If one (or all) of these situations sound familiar to you, it's time to step away from the scale. Go cold turkey. Or at the very least, weigh in less often. But what's a "compulsive weigher" to do?

Instead letting the scale alone determine whether you're a success or failure, use more reliable measures to determine your progress. My philosophy is that weight loss is not a goal, but the result of healthy habits like a better diet and regular exercise. When you do step on the scale and don't see the reading you had hoped for, ask yourself these questions: Am I doing what I am supposed to be doing? Am I making healthy food choices most of the time? Am I exercising consistently? If you are, then rust that your body is making positive changes, and the results will come. If you are not, then resolve to be consistent in healthy behaviors to see the results you want.

Weighing yourself is definitely helpful and it has its place. Just make sure you don’t go overboard and give too much credence to this one measurement! After all, other measures (like how much energy you have, how much easier it is to climb a flight of stairs, or how well your clothes fit) might not be as precise or scientific, but they're sure to make you feel happier and more successful than a scale ever can.