The Ten Immutable Laws of Effective Fat Loss

The following Ten "Commandments" of Effective Fat Loss are absolutes when one is attempting to drop body fat. There is no room for compromise, no exceptions and certainly no substitutions. If you will follow these commandments then there is little doubt that you will reach your fat loss potential.

There is no room for “yeah but” or “I have no time for this” or even, “I’m afraid this won’t work for me”. They are weakness displayed as lame excuses because I personally know quite many extremely busy people who’ve made the time and have been enormously successful.

I have trained individuals with slow metabolisms and a sluggish thyroid; I’ve worked with clients over 60, both male and female, and have seen them achieve massive, measurable and positive results when these Commandments were properly adhered to. Time and again, over a huge spectrum of people, these 10 “laws” have held strong and worked in every instance they were properly applied. Consequently they will work for you.

Therefore, if you are truly serious about fat loss…here are the ten commandments to live by.

Commandment #1 – You shall eat a fruit or veggie with a lean protein each and every time you eat. That is five to six small meals throughout the day. By doing this you will ensure that 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.
Calories counting becomes a thing of the past 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 a measure of self control involved here.

Commandment #2 – You shall exercise supportively 4 to 5 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 will translate 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 to 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 and 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. Accountability is a tool for success, so use it.

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. As one of my colleague’s states, “Fat loss is easy once you realize how difficult it is.” When you shop, chop, and cook your meals in advance you set yourself up for success by eating supportively…especially when life gets hectic. Set aside two hours on Sunday (or your day of choice) to shop, and then prepare your meals for the week. This also means setting a menu for the week and keeping it on your refrigerator so you can easily follow it. This also provides clarity as it gives you 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. Prioritize your time and stick to it. The old cliché’s are true for a reason; “Failure to plan is planning to fail.”

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 may need to drink a bit more, so think .6 to .7 ounces per pound of bodyweight of water per day. Dehydration shuts the body down, which includes the metabolism, and will prevent your full effort in your workouts. This is because your muscles consist of mainly water. Consider carrying a stainless water bottle (not plastic) with you and drinking from it consistently throughout the day.

Commandment #7 – You shall take in a quality multivitamin and Omega 3 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.
Select a quality multivitamin based in whole foods. Prograde VGF25+ for men and for women is a high quality multivitamin that will give you what you are looking for. I also take and personally recommend Prograde EFA Icon as a great source of Omega 3’s.
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 broader and far reaching than just getting into 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. If you need a map for goal setting, this is a good start.

Commandment #9 – You shall have a realistic approach. Let’s get clarity: You will not succeed with your goals in one day. You will also not succeed by taking some pill or by exercising extra in one week. You will not succeed long term by eating perfect one week and eating great half the time the next. 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 long established 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 quite acceptable to be less than perfect, and console yourself in the knowledge that you are working on it and will do better the next time. The more perseverance you have the much more likely you will be to succeed.

There you have it. If you will make a decision to follow these commandments I am positive that you will absolutely be successful in your fat loss goals.

Steve

3 Tips to Halt Overeating

I feel a good spiritual cleansing coming on, so let's be totally honest with each other, shall we? If you’re hauling around some extra pounds right now, I’m 99.9% sure they are due to your overeating…pure and simple. Call me crazy, but I'm betting it's true!

If that’s the case, then let’s look at a few reasons as to why you overeat? This is a brief list of the three likely culprits:

1. Habit: Like it, loathe it or just don’t realize it the way in which you eat (i.e., food choices) is a learned model, rather than that of need. Mom & Dad taught you to clean your plate, so that’s exactly what you do. Ignoring your body’s signals that you are “full” you plow ahead with what’s on your plate, never stopping to listen to that little voice telling you, “That’s enough.” You instinctively throw two pieces of bread into the toaster for breakfast, salivating as the timer goes off while buttering them rather than questioning if one piece would be plenty.
2. Forgetfulness: You absentmindedly “graze” throughout the day. We’ve all done it when we forget to pay attention while we eat. When the movie in the DVD player starts your mind goes on autopilot and you thoughtlessly eat while viewing. Or maybe you keep a few “road snacks” in the care to calm you while you drive. Maybe you’re one of the cooks who likes to taste test the foods you prepare…albeit frequently. These little added moments of absentminded calories add up to extra weight.
3. A “Deeper” Issue: Some of us use food for recreation or to change our mood. “Comfort food” I believe is the term. While these foods, and the added calories they offer, may lend you a temporary sense of comfort or pleasure, at the end of the day your body, health and mental state suffer from the indulgence.

“So what, if anything, can be done to fix it, Uncle Steve?”

Try these 3 Tips to Halt Overeating the next time you encounter this issue.

Step #1: Pay Attention

That’s it, really. Simply be aware of what and how much you eat. This straightforward idea will prevent you from ingesting hundreds, maybe even thousands, of needless calories each week.

Here’s how to put this principle into practice: Never eat or consume anything so long as your attention is drawn to or distracted by another activity. Make it a conscious effort to “be here now” and to only put food in your mouth when you are A) hungry, and B) conscious of it. For most of you this will mean turning off the T.V., getting out of your car, and (and this is a biggie) under no circumstances are you to graze in the kitchen while cooking.

Step #2: Observe Balance

Take special notice of the types of food that you eat during each meal. Make a concerted effort to ensure that each meal is balanced. By eating a well balanced diet of lean protein, lots of veggies, a few daily servings of fruit and whole grains and some “good for you” fats, (of course, VERY limited sweets), you’ll get more nutrition in the form of vitamins, minerals and such and your body will thank you by losing the urge to overeat.

By nourishing yourself this way in a supportive eating fashion you get more “food in your food” and your body recognizes it. So don’t eat meals that are primarily carbohydrate based, or high fat meals. Take a quick mental inventory of the food groups that you've eaten in the last few days. Did your meals contain lean protein? Did they have plenty of vegetables? Did you avoid eating more than one or two primarily carbohydrate-based meals? Do this now, and do it frequently because it could save you from making food decisions that you'd later regret.

Step #3: Listen to your body’s signals

God designed you very well and as such your body offers lots of feedback relative to your surroundings. Your body will always tell you when its hunger has been satisfied…ALWAYS! The issue is that you've grown so good at ignoring those signals that you often rifle through your meal at breakneck speed. It isn’t until you sit back to breathe that you realize the payload in your stomach is akin to a gut grenade waiting to explode.

During your mealtime, make it a habit to put down your fork, take a deep breath and listen to your body.

A key component of being tuned in is to eat more slowly. Doing this will allow you to pay attention to your body’s signals and notice that point when each bite becomes less and less satisfying. This is your body's way of letting you know that you've had enough to eat and that each continued bite is simply too much. And no matter what your Mother taught you, if your plate still has half the pasta on it and your body says, “Done”…from now on your body wins. O.K.?

Take responsibility for your eating and learn to control your eating habits. In doing so you'll find that fat loss and weight management occur simply and naturally.

And if you’re really serious about losing the fat, getting into shape and keeping it off for good, then we need to talk. I've got knowledge, experience and tools to help you achieve the successful weight loss and fitness goal you want. No guess work, no fad diets, and no super long workouts.

Please write me: steve@safatloss.com or visit my website, http://safatloss.com today and let’s get together to make your dreams come to fruition!

Steve

Your Prograde Professional

5 Fat Loss Mistakes San Antonian’s Make and How to Correct Them

Here are five of the biggest fat loss train-wrecks that I see men and women making each and every day...fix these, and you'll lose fat.

1) Not having sufficient support and backup.
Trying to lose fat without adequate social support is not the ideal way to lose fat. Ideally, you'd have a medical professional, an RD, a fitness professional, your workout partner, your spouse, your workmates, and your friends all behind you. A substantial amount of research has demonstrated that you will benefit most from a health professional (i.e. a trainer) and a successful workout partner. When you have those two members of your team it is then time to then work on getting the rest of the group.

2) Not using a professionally designed, structured program.
When you go to the gym, do you have a plan for improvement and gain, or do you wander around wondering what to do next? If you said the latter, then you're merely wasting your time. That’s the beauty of The 28 Day Miracle Fat Loss Program. With it, you know what you have to do; you can stick to it, and see it through. No wasted time wandering around the gym deciding where to start and you get guaranteed results.

3) Not changing your workout after 4 weeks.
That's the longest you should go on one program. If it's been 6-months, give your head a shake. That’s a secret of success from The Firestorm Fitness Systems Fat Burning Fit Camps. We never do the same workout twice. Ask yourself this question: If my workout hasn't worked yet, why do I think it's magically going to start now? Change it up frequently. You'll get more results and you'll have more fun.

4) Failing to understand that your results will come more from good nutrition than from training.
You want to lose fat? You have to eat right for fat loss. You've heard me say it before, "No amount of hard work will overcome crummy eating habits."
Try as you might, you can train like an animal and eat junk like a pig and never see any fat loss. No program is that good. Diet beats training every time, like the Celtics beat the Lakers.
Eat whole, natural and unprocessed foods in 6 smaller meals per day. Load up on fiber, lots of protein, and lots of vegetables. Eat healthy fats, but avoid trans fats. Drink lots of water and tea. It’s so simple…and so effective. Eat for energy, not for gluttony.

5) Not knowing when to quit.
Here’s an example of an email I get daily: “Do I need to add more cardio or lift longer to see better results?” It sounds logical, right? After all, if some is good, more training must be better?

Wrong.

If your program is solid, and you’re not making progress, then you’re either:
A) lacking intensity,
B) not following your nutrition, or
C) both of the aforementioned principles.

You have to draw the line somewhere. You simply cannot keep adding more and more exercise.

Have you ever heard of the law of diminishing returns? Well it applies here because for each additional set you do, and from every extra cardio session it gets harder and harder to recover. Also, your body can break down quickly from too much work, particularly when you are calorically challenging yourself from a strict diet.

Overtraining and low calories go together like a Hershey Bar and sardines. Neither of these combos will speed your metabolism.

Instead, set your sights on quality over quantity. The "volume approach to fat loss" popularized in the 80's (lots of cardio and lots of carbs) was a disaster. Guess what? It still doesn’t work...and for good reason. Stick to high quality nutrition, and high-quality training.

Here’s the bottom line: What really matters is results. Not "the pump", not muscle soreness, not feeling exhausted after each workout, and not feeling deprived of food.

Quality work and quality food for a better quality body and life. That’s the REAL solution!

SP
SAFatLoss.com
Firestorm Fitcamps