Weight-Loss Goal, Exercise Plan, Fat-Loss Focus Transform Woman From Self-Conscious to Sexy

Most people want to lose weight. Brandy HAD to lose weight. Her reasons, which were very privately hers, instilled her with a determination that was bound for success. All she needed was the right game plan, the right answers, and the right person to help her uncover the beautiful woman she knew that she was. I was that person for her.

Weight Loss with the Right Personal Trainer

Unlike most personal trainers, I help my clients attack what is truly getting in the way of their success.  Most people talk about portion control being a big problem with their foods.  The portions aren't the problem, the food choices are (going nuts on chocolate cake is bad news...going gangbusters on celery is not a problem).  Often times it is not infrequent gym visits, its the lack of fat loss/weight loss gameplan for the workouts (why not burn more calories on a treamill in 10 minutes than you can in 40?).  Usually the problem isn't a lack of progress, it's a lack of understanding about what progress looks like in the beginning, middle, and end of a body change and weight loss program.

With Brandy, I trained her in Medina once-to-twice a week, created workouts for her every day she exercised, and worked with her to create a food plan that she could execute every day.  With a few emails, text messages, and phone calls to check in and provide encouragement and accountability, I worked hard to provide the services and be the right personal trainer for her weight loss transformation.

Weight-Loss Success Story

So what does a 61-pound weight loss story look like?  And how does a 43 year-old mother of three go from a size 18 to a size 6 (which also hapens to be her smallest size as an adult!!!)?

Brandy was focused from the beginning and lost 25 pounds in her first six weeks.  With a weight-training-based program and cardio program concentrated on fat loss, paired with a food plan focused on nutrients over quantities, Brandy saw success quite quickly.  She started at 206 and was down to 181 pretty quickly.  We continued to chip away...some weeks no pounds lost, some weeks five pounds lost.  She didn't eat perfectly, but she consistenlty hit her nutritional marks.

We worked around Thanksgiving, Christmas & New Years, and a surgery (almost every great weight loss story has major obstacles with time frame, peer/family pressure at celebration gatherings, etc.).  When all was said and done, Brandy had lost 61 pounds...and it was virtually all fat.  I cannot express to you her joy, when buying her first ever pair of size six pants, she figured out that she weighed a few pounds more than her previous adult low, but was a few sizes smaller than she could remember being.  That is a body composition triumph my friends!

Weight Loss You Can't See

(punctuation note: perhaps no one cares but me, but I will say that I am using/not using hyphens correctly in my headings...not sure if anyone even noticed but me...my copy editor for my upcoming book is a junkie on hyphens!  I digress...)

What makes Brandy's story remarkable is not necessarily her weight loss, not necessarily her fat loss, and not even her very obvious body composition change and related reduction in pant size.  What makes her story great is that, in the first ten days she lost zero pounds.  The scale, which is just an indicator of progress but not THE indicator of progress per se, didn't tip early in the journey.

I told Brandy to expect that, though.  She did lose weight in her first 10 day...she lost fat.  However, her fat loss coincided with some muscle gain.  The net result was zero change on the scale, but the fat loss/muscle gain switch was four pounds.  She was kicking butt those first ten days and didn't even know it...which is why it is important to include fat loss measurements in any significant weight loss program!

Why Most People Fail at Weight Loss: The Scale

Brandy is a scale monger.  She steps on the confidence-killer every single day...almost as if she was a stock to be traded on Wall Street or something.  Weight loss is not day trading, people!

Most people, when they start an exercise program in accordance with a nutrition plan, actually kick butt during the first couple weeks.  However, that progress doesn't show up on the scale.  It might be a tiny bit noticeable in how clothes fit (looser, perhaps) and the mirror might tease with signs of progress, but the scale says "No change here!" a lot during the first seven-to-ten days. 

For people who are trying to lose weight, I encourage you to take heart during the beginning process of your journey.  Your body is likely to burn some fat and build some muscle (especially if you are working with a good personal trainer!) in the early going, but not show that progress on the scale.  Keep at it, don't lose heart, and the visible and scale-based progress will come!

Adam Erwin is a personal trainer who travels the world working with people who want to experience fat loss and weight loss in record-time. He currently resides in Minneapolis, MN and loves to train the great folks in the Eden Prairie area. Visit www.keepyourbetterhalf.com to learn more about his work.

The Word on Weight Loss Books, Fat Loss Guides, and Muscle-Building Programs

Have you ever stared at a jigsaw puzzle and been a little overwhelmed at the bijillion pieces laying before you? I am not good at putting puzzles together. Every time I pick up a piece, I have a hard time figuring out where it is supposed to go. Or if I'm playing with my nephew, I wonder if the puzzle piece I'm holding even belongs to the puzzle we're trying to put together.

At some time or another, most of us have perused the weight loss/diet/exercise section of Borders, Barnes & Noble, Amazon.com, or wherever good books are sold.   Today I'm coming to you live from the Borders in Minnetonka, MN.  There is SO MUCH information out here...probably too much!

The problem I have with these books is that you can read for five or ten pages and not get one take-home idea about weight loss, fat loss, or body change.    This is why I am putting together an e-book that is short, to the point, and without needless information.  I want to pack as much wisdom into each page as I can...which is hard to do.  Shoot me an email if you'd like more information abou the e-book, which will be released soon.

For now, here is my list of "Three Things You Need to Know Before You Pick up a Book on Weight Loss":

Things You Need to Know Before You Pick Up a Book on Weight-Loss: It's 90% NOT About Your Workout

The biggest idea about weight loss is that 90% has nothing to do with a workout.  What you do outside the gym (or outside of your home-workout) is the biggest piece of the puzzle.  Major changes in eating habits (what you eat, when you eat it, and how much of it you eat) is a required activity of weight loss.  Putting together a fool-proof plan for the 90% of your time that is spent outside the gym is the most important criteria to weight loss one must consider when looking into a book or two about what to do.

Things You Need to Know Before You Pick Up a Book on Weight-Loss: It's Not About Consuming Less Food

Did you fall out of your chair upon reading the headline?  Some of you might have.  In reality, it's not about eating less food.  It's about what foods you eat.  Wanna go crazy on celery?  Be my guest.  Wanna eat grapes until you burst?  Feel free.  What kills us is not the habit of eating (or even the quantities), it's the types of foods that we eat that kill us.  Trading grapes for cupcakes and almonds for potato chips, that's what it's about: the substitutes.  Any book that tells you otherwise is not really with the program.

Things You Need to Know Before You Pick Up a Book on Weight-Loss: There are Lots of Right Ideas About Weight Loss

Many of the books I pick up about weight loss have ideas that make sense and could work.  There are a lot of good ideas out there, and most books tout their way as THE way.  THere are lots of ways to gain muslce, lots of ways to burn fat, and lots of ways to lose weight.  They may not all be created equal, but most are doable.

The best way to change your body, however, is to hire someone to help you that studies this stuff for a living.  I travel the nation helping people change their body.  If you'd like help with your body change, visit www.keepyourbetterhalf.com.

AdamErwin is a personal trainer who travels the world working with people who want to experience fat loss and weight loss in record-time. He currently resides in Minneapolis, MN and loves to train the great folks in the Lake Minnetonka area. Visit www.keepyourbetterhalf.com to learn more about his work.

A Personal Trainer's Secrets to Increase Metabolism, Lose Weight, and Lose Fat

Most of the people I work with have weight plateaus they cannot crack and stubborn fat they cannot lose. My job is to help them break the plateau and get a restraining order for the pesky fat that stalks them. Both of these tasks point toward one common foe: slow metabolism. Here are some of the metabolism secrets I use when helping a client look and feel their best.

Personal Trainer Metabolism Secret #1: Stop Robbing the Body of Nutrients

Everybody knows they should take a multivitamin (my doctor says....) but few people do consistently. I'm a firm believer (as in I really believe in it, and also my body is firm).

How many of us track our daily intake of magnesium? I'd say about nobody...I don't know and don't care about how much magnesium is in my foods. I know it's in my multivitman. I also know that magnesium plays a role in over 300 biological reactions in the body. It's an important mineral! How about the B-vitamin family? It's in my multivitamin, so I don't really worry about it (and it's water-soluble, so I can't really overdose on B). The B vitamins help process protein, fight stress, supply energy...their job description is endless!

A strong metabolism is one that can process the foods you eat. You need the right nutrients to process food correctly. Taking a multivitamin to ensure that your body gets enough nutriets (the right ones and the right amounts) is incredibly important. If you email me and tell me a bit about your situation (age, pertinent medical conditions i.e. anemia, osteoperosis, etc.) I can suggest a multivitamin to you (adam@keepyourbetterhalf.com).  I promise I will not suggest Centrum!

Personal Trainer Metabolism Secret #2: Eat Early and Often

Again, everybody knows this...but how many of us actually do it? Breakfast skippers are insane! So are late-night-big-dinner-eaters! You people are CRAZY! So are the too-busy-at-work-to-eat employees. Your boss WILL understand if you stop and grab some nutrients to increase your productivity in the afternoon.

Here's the thing about eating: it doesn't have to be a big deal. Eat a handful of almonds. Grab a dozen grapes. Surround yourself with "It doesn't matter how many of these I eat" snacks that are good fuel (and not likely to be stored as fat...again, email me, and I'll send you a list of foods you should go after). If you pick healthy options (not watermelon by the way, email me!!!!), they will be a blessing to your system and your metabolism . Eat SOMETHING every 2-3 hours. Make it your mission!

Personal Trainer Metabolism Secret #3: Make Your Workouts Fiber-Tearing Intense

When people tear a lot of muscle fibers during their workout (which almost always requires weight training), the metabolism is forced to work harder to break down nutrients better to repair the torn tissue quicker. Therefore, make weight-training a staple of your workouts. Studys have prove that metabolisms are boosted up to 39 hours after weight training, compared to up to 24 hours after intense cardio training. Read my other blogs about weight training to get an idea of what to do (or...you guessed it, email me....or submit a comment and I'll blog an answer for you). And after your intense weight-training workout, follow it up with a whey-isolate-based protein shake.

Personal Trainer Metabolism Secret #4: Run Away From Artificial Sweeteners (like Diet Soda!)

Artificial sweeteners are metabolsim killers (read the diet soda blog to learn more!). A 12 oz. can of regular Pepsi has 41 grams of sugar in it. Guess what Diet Pepsi has to live up to: 41 grams of sugar. If my only job was to drive around the Twin Cities area (Wayzata, Eden Prairie, Woodbury, Minnetonka, Maple Grove, Minneapolis, St. Paul) and take diet soda out of the hands of people on the street and give them water instead, I'd have a full-time job (with a lot of angry, addicted diet soda drinkers chasing after me!).

Natural sugars in moderate quantities is much better than massive quantities of artificial sweeteners. Running away from artificial sweeteners will help to repair a broken metabolism.

Personal Trainer Metabolism Secret #5: Do Everything You Can to Feed Muscle-Growth

If I were to guess, I would say 90% of people pursuing weight loss go wrong by trying to lose any type of weight instead of focusing on losing fat weight. Guess what, I wrote an article on that too (keep reading the blog and you'll do just fine!). If you focus on feeding your muscle, your body will be forced to burn fat. And...the more muscle tissue you have (and it can be lean muscle tissue...I'm not talking about biceps that are so big that you can't scratch your own back!), the more calorie-burning capacity you have.

When we focus our foods and supplements on keeping, repairing, or gaining muscle, our body is forced to respond by burning fat (again, read the blog for more on this topic).

If a weight-loss-minded person took these five ideas to heart and applied the principles discussed above, their metabolism would be sure to take off...which would result in more calories burned, which would result (assuming secret #5 is being followed) in fat loss and weight loss.

AdamErwin is a personal trainer who travels the world working with people who want to experience fat loss and weight loss in record-time. He currently resides in Minneapolis, MN and loves to train the great folks in the Lake Minnetonka area. Visit www.keepyourbetterhalf.com to learn more about his work.

Losing Fat and Losing Weight Are Accomplished Most Simply By...

As a personal trainer, I encounter many people who feel lost and defeated when it comes to fat loss and weight loss. They have tried everything! They work so hard but see very little return on their time and energy investment. Two ideas later they are new clients, excited about working out and getting their foods right, and on-board with a guy who has shown much of Minneapolis, MN how to burn fat.

NOTE: If you want to spend less time trying to figure out how to fix your body and have me work with you directly, please contact me through my website, www.keepyourbetterhalf.com.

The Fat Loss Principle Few Consider: Triggering Survival Mechanism to Burn Fat

Consider this: your body is constantly burning calories, but what kind? It has three options: calories you just consumed (the meal you ate 30 minutes ago) or the two forms of stored energy (muscle and fat). The calorie source your body will burn depends on what your body determines you need to burn. Most of the time our bodies burn muscle...this is a survial mechanism. Our body doesn't know when the next meal is coming, so it saves the best energy stores (fat) and pulls energy from the least effecicent source: muscle.

If you want to burn fat, it is critical to trigger the fat-burning mechanisms in your body. When exercising, this means creating a workout that demands the best energy source (fat) to be used. Heavy exertion (lifting weights, sprinting/interval training) forces the body to burn fat most effectively.

The Weight Loss Principle Few Consider: Consuming Calories That Trigger Fat-Burning

What happens a person consumes carbs? The body uses the energy from the carbs that it can use right away and stores the rest as fat. What happens when a person consumes protein? The body uses the protein to repair muscle tissue, and forces the body to use fat for energy while the protein is repairing muscle tissue. Therefore, the more protein we consume, the more our muscles are repaired (and therefore can't be used for energy), the more fat we burn. How beautiful is that?

Consuming protein throughout the day helps us to burn more fat. Brilliant! We still need carbs and protein throughout the day, but having a protein focus will help us to burn more fat and prevent us from burning muscle.

The Most Damaging Weight Loss Principle: Weight Loss at Any Cost

I cannot count the number of people I have worked that have said, "I just want to lose 15 pounds, I don't care how it happens." This is a dangerous way to think about weight loss!

When weight loss is the only goal, with no care of what type of weight is being lost, muscle is almost always the type of pounds lost. When we lose muscle, our ability to burn calories is decreased. If we can't burn as many calories (muscle cells burn 70% more calories than fat cells), weight gain is right around the corner!

This is why most people lose weight and then gain it back...they lose weight any way they can, lose muscle in the process, and then can't burn as many calories. For healthy and long-lasting weight loss and fat loss, be sure to steer clear of this type of thinking.

AdamErwin is a personal trainer who travels the world working with people who want to experience fat loss and weight loss in record-time. He currently resides in Minneapolis, MN and loves to train the great folks in the Lake Minnetonka area. Visit www.keepyourbetterhalf.com to learn more about his work.