At best, fat-burner supplements might give you a short-term boost. At worst, they could kill you (remember the Ephedra horror stories)!

Don’t be a “scale junkie.” What’s a “scale junkie?” My definition of it is a person who is so worried about losing weight that they lose sight of the fact that fat loss and inches loss is much more important. Permanent fat loss takes longer and you have to really work hard and smart to achieve it. Pills, powders and patches won’t get the job done when it comes to permanent fat loss/weight loss.

Credible personal trainers want health, injury prevention and permanent fat loss/weight loss for you. Doctors, health professionals and personal trainers agree that the only safe and surefire way to good health and fitness is through good nutrition and regular exercise. Enough said!

Train hard and smart!

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1. Add foods to your menu that you like. You are more likely to stay with a menu loaded with foods you like. I am amazed at some of the “healthy menus” in some magazines! Do people really eat that stuff! Find healthy, nutritious foods that you like and get rid of the foods that are bad for you (interpreted “adds fat to your body“).

2. If you eat a “cheat food” one day, its not the end of the world. Just exercise a little harder that day….and get back on your menu track ASAP! If you stay with your nutrition program 90% of the time, you will do just fine.

3. A good tactic to use: challenge your accountability partner to “eat-no-bad-food days or weeks.” That way, you keep each other in check.

4. List in your food journal items you will not eat/or severely limit like: sodas, sugary fruit juice drinks, candy, cookies, donuts, fried meats and fried foods, fast foods, ketchup, mayonnaise, etc. Right next to that “bad food list,” write down good food items you will replace them with like: whole grain breads, whole grain cereals, oatmeal, almonds, walnuts, low-fat dairy products, low-fat yogurt, fruits, veggies, unsweetened tea, water, lean meats (baked, broiled or grilled), olive oil, cinnamon, mustard, etc. Remember, make a list of foods you like. This replacement tactic works well.

Keep your FOCUS…..see ya tomorrow!

Be sure and visit my new site, Your Fitness University, where you can get help with your nutrition planning!

Need more exercise and nutrition tips? Subscribe to my weekly Fat Blaster eNewsletter and get a FREE 4-week Fat Blaster workout and 2 Fat Blaster eBooks (Her Fitness Hut’s Fat Blaster Guide for Women and Blast the Fat, Have a Lean Body for Life)!

In America for sure, we are kings and queens of “too large” servings of food and that’s without even “super-sizing” anything! Here are 3 tips to get this series started:

1. If I eat a serving of oatmeal and an apple for breakfast, that’s good. If I eat 5 servings of oatmeal and 2 apples for breakfast, that’s too much even though I’m eating food that is good for me. When I played football in college, that was not too much food because of the rate at which I burned calories in the weightroom and at practice. It doesn’t help to burn 600 calories exercising if you later eat 1000 calories! It is better to eat 4-6 small meals a day to keep your energy and blood sugar levels steady. So, portion size is a big problem for many people.

2. Don’t graze during the day! With the holiday season right around the corner, grazing can become a huge problem! Grazing is eating haphazardly and often between meals. This often leads you to eat high-calorie foods and junk foods. Schedule your snacks between meals with healthy foods like fruit, almonds and low-fat yogurt.

3. Keep a food journal. Research has proven that you will have a better chance of succeeding with your nutrition plan and fat loss if you keep a food journal! By logging your actual food choices, you are holding yourself accountable throughout the day. You will also be forced to plan your meals better. It will also help protect you from binge eating and emotional eating if you write down why you eat what you eat!

Get started today sharpening your focus on eating better! I will help you do that….see you tomorrow!

Be sure and visit my new site, Your Fitness University, where you can get help with your nutrition planning!

Need more exercise and nutrition tips? Subscribe to my weekly Fat Blaster eNewsletter and get a FREE 4-week Fat Blaster workout and 2 Fat Blaster eBooks (Her Fitness Hut’s Fat Blaster Guide for Women and Blast the Fat, Have a Lean Body for Life)!

Mark Dilworth, Performance Enhancement Specialist

Here are some nutrition checkup tips:

1. Research has proven that you will have a better chance of succeeding with your nutrition plan and fat loss if you keep a food journal! By logging your actual food choices, you are holding yourself accountable throughout the day. You will also be forced to plan your meals better. It will also help protect you from binge eating and emotional eating if you write down why you eat what you eat!

2. Find out your basal metabolic rate (amount of calories you would burn if you did nothing all day). You will use this rate to set the amount of calories you need each day to maintain a caloric deficit (burn more calories than you consume).

3. Drink water and unsweetened drinks (like tea) most of the time.

4. Add volume to your diet (eating wet). Eat as many foods as you can with high water content/low calories. Foods such as fresh fruits and vegetables are examples. These types of foods help you to feel fuller (satiety) while eating fewer calories. For instance, grapes with the same caloric amount as raisins will provide more satiety and theoretically help you eat less the rest of the day.
Energy density of food is a key component when trying to add volume to your diet. Energy density (ED) is defined as the amount of calories of a food divided by its weight in grams. Focus on foods with low ED value such as fresh fruits (apples, etc.) and vegetables (such as tomatoes and broccoli) whole grain pastas, rice, whole grain breads and cereals, soups, salads and skinless white chicken/turkey.

5. Don’t starve yourself (severe calorie restriction)! This will only encourage your body to store fat because it thinks you are starving. Eat small meals every 3-4 hours to keep your body energized and to keep your metabolism humming!

6. Forget the quick weight loss gimmicks (they lead to yo-yo dieting and even more weight gain)! There are no quick solutions to permanent fat loss and weight loss. Change your eating habits permanently!

7. Severely limit these foods: fried foods, fast foods, foods in a bag, sugary sodas, candy, cookies, donuts, processed foods, etc. And, watch your alcohol intake! Alcohol has calories too—7 calories per gram to be exact!

I think you get the idea. You have to make changes to your eating habits! If you don’t know what changes to make, then get help!

Scheduling a fitness and nutrition assessment with a personal trainer will get you started in the right direction.

Be sure and visit my new site, Your Fitness University! It is a one-stop site for your fitness needs!

Need more exercise and nutrition tips? Subscribe to my weekly Fat Blaster eNewsletter!

Mark Dilworth, Performance Enhancement Specialist

There are many ways to change up an exercise routine—-do new exercises, adjust the intensity, start eating better, adjust the amount of weight, adjust the repetitions/sets, etc. One of the best ways to get you “out of your exercise funk” is to add some power exercises to your workout routine! Shorter, more intense workouts (weight training or cardio) will give you more fat loss gains!

Here’s an example: instead of doing cardio on the elliptical machine, do your cardio with a pair of power exercises. All it takes is 20 intense minutes! It can go something like this:

–Full speed medicine ball chops, 1 minute
–Slow jog for 2 minutes
–Full speed butt kickers, 1 minute
–Slow jog for 2 minutes

Just do this rotation for 20 minutes and you have a very intense cardio workout! And, on your weight training days, you could mix in some power exercises. Before you know it, you will have broken through your plateau! Try it! From personal experience, I know it works!

Be sure and visit my new site, Your Fitness University! My Fitness Hut’s Fat Blaster Athletic Training System incorporates many power exercises!

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Client Q: I’m tired of my butt being fat and ugly! Help me tone it up!

Mark’s A: You should take the approach that you will sculpt your total body, not just your rear-end. Total body fat reduction (especially abdominal fat) is the goal! Full body circuit weight training (including bodyweight exercises) and interval cardio is ideal for sculpting your body.

Some top cardio exercises for shaping your glutes (and legs) are: sprinting (including uphill), walking uphill, stair climbing and jogging. You don’t need any gimmicks or fancy gadgets!

As for strength training? You can’t leave out squats! Do your squats—bodyweight squats, dumbbell squats, barbell squats, split squats, lateral squats, one-legged squats, etc. Mix it up but do them. The benefits of the squat exercise extend beyond your legs. The same can be said for deadlifts (traditional, stiff-legged or other variations). Other top glute exercises are:

1) Step ups (front, lateral, transverse)
2) Lunges (front, reverse, walking, lateral, transverse)
3) Standing cable hip abductors
4) Standing, prone or floor hip extensions
5) Floor lateral thigh raises
6) Glute bridges and marching glute bridges
7) Pelvic raises and posterior pelvic tilts

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Commercialized weight loss programs lead people to focus too much on weight loss and not enough on fat loss! Health should be priority numero uno for you! A healthy body is one that is “lean and toned.” You can achieve the “lean and toned” body with regular weight training (including bodyweight training) and interval cardio. It may take a little longer but you will love the results! And, the results will be permanent if you continue to exercise regularly.

This man has now begun to lift weights and hopefully he can shed the loose skin (body fat). If you’re trying to get in shape, take a three-pronged approach—good nutrition, weight training (3 days a week) and interval cardio (3-4 times a week). This approach will give you the hard body you want. And, you will be healthy!

Be sure and visit my new site, Your Fitness University! Test your fitness IQ, get exercise tips, nutrition tips, articles and much more!

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1) Don’t stop or slack off on your exercise program this Labor Day weekend! And, if you aren’t exercising, then this would be a great time to start. I have a goal of at least trying to maintain my pre-holiday weight during the long weekend.

EXERCISE TIP: FLAG FOOTBALL IS GREAT EXERCISE AND FUN!

2) Go easy on the food condiments and other sauces. They are loaded with calories.

3) Stick to your normal nutrition plan as much as possible during the holiday. Go back to your normal nutrition on Tuesday!

4) This rule always applies to any day—if its fried, let it slide!

5) Alcohol has calories too—7 calories per gram to be exact. Don’t tank it too much!

6) You don’t have to eat until you are stuffed! Just eat enough to satisfy yourself.

7) Don’t spend all of your time eating during the holiday. Walk around the mall for a couple of hours, walk the pets everyday, play flag football, cut the lawn, etc.

Drink lots of water and you will eat less.

9) Allow yourself one dessert a day (or a sample of a few) It’s okay since you are going to exercise tomorrow—-right?

10) Here’s something that also works for the Labor Day holiday: start your day with a workout and toward the end of your day take a long walk in the park or at the lake.

Happy holiday weekend!

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One of the critical measurements is your waist-to-hip ratio (waist measurement divided by hip measurement). This measurement is important because there is a correlation between chronic diseases and abdominal fat. A ratio above .80 for females and above .95 for males could put you at risk for a number of diseases, including cancer. For example, if your waist is 31 inches and your hips are 41 inches, your waist-to-hip ratio would be .76. A “skinny-fat” person could have an unfavorable waist-to-hip ratio.

Someone who is overweight and loses say, 80 pounds, can be at risk of having high body fat. How? If you lose that much weight mainly through calorie restriction (i.e., without much exercise), you will have alot of loose, hanging skin on your body. What you need is a lean, toned body through good nutrition and consistent exercise.

Many people are confused about what Body Mass Index (BMI) means as it relates to body fat. Keep in mind that it is just one tool to use when you are looking at your health. Scientists use BMI as a research tool to make objective comparisons as to how fat a person is. A person with a BMI of 25 or above is considered overweight and a BMI over 30 is considered obese.

BMI uses a person’s height and body weight to measure a person’s fatness. This method has some limitations because it doesn’t consider a person’s body type (slim, muscular, etc.) For example, a fit person with high muscle mass will tend to have a high BMI which suggests that the person is overfat. This person would actually be fit and healthy with low risk for fat-related diseases. So, even though you might use BMI as a starting point, a person’s level of fatness is best measured using a direct method which tells you WHERE YOU ARE FAT. Two methods used are under-water weighing and skinfold measurements. Under-water weighing is not readily available to most people. Having a skinfold body fat test with calipers done by a fitness professional is convenient and reasonably accurate.

Get your body fat measured! It might surprise you.

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Client Q: I have shin splints. How do you get them and how do I get rid of them?!

Mark’s A: Ouch! It hurts just thinking about shin splints!
Shin splints are much more than shin soreness. Shin soreness happens through overuse of your shins during training. Soreness can be treated with the R.I.C.E.R. principle (REST, ICE, COMPRESSION, ELEVATION, REFERRAL FOR MEDICAL ASSISTANCE). Shin splints refer to a medical condition called Medial Tibial Stress Syndrome (MTSS).

Problems with your tibia (shin bone), fibula and the many muscles that attach to them cause shin splints. There are two main causes of shin splints:

1. Overloading - Exercising on hard or uneven surfaces bring on shin splints. Other common causes of shin splints are exercising with cheap shoes, exercising after a long layoff, a sudden increase in exercise intensity/duration and excessive uphill or downhill running.

2. Biomechanical Problems - The most common biomechanical problem is running with flat feet which lead to over-pronation (foot and ankle roll excessively inward). Poor running mechanics can also lead to shin splints. And, finally tight lower leg muscles contribute to shin splints.

Prevention of shin splints includes the following:

1. Quality footwear is a must. You may need the recommendation of a podiatrist and/or expert footwear saleman.

2. Proper warmup of your lower leg muscles and tendons before your activity.

3. Proper running mechanics will help prevent shin splints.

Treatment of shin splints include:

1. R.I.C.E.R. application during the first 24-72 hours of injury.

2. After 72 hours of ice treatment, use heat and deep tissue massage. You can also massage the shin area before and after exercise activity.

Prevention of shin splints is the best policy!

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