Are you under the impression that all you have to do to ‘work off’ a bad meal, a bad weekend, etc., is to bust your ass in the gym and ‘burn it off?’ If that’s the case, then I hate to say it, but you are sadly mistaken…
It’s a cool, rainy day here on Long Island, and it seems the sleep gods have aligned with me. After a weekend of nominal amounts of sleep, I found myself up early to accommodate a client for a 6 AM appointment. Due to the rain (we meet outside), we had to reschedule to later in the week, and I was able to catch up on a little more shuteye. The same thing happened when I awoke an hour later to prep for an nterview on the MenProvement Podcast… After checking my email, the hosts had to reschedule due to a personal matter, and now, I feel fresh as a daisy, ready to drop some truth bombs on you today about why exercise is NOT a sufficient strategy (on its own) for weight loss!
Working out can do great things for your health: It can improve your endurance, flexibility and strength, and can make the physical aspects of your life a heck of a lot easier. However, when it comes to the science behind exercise’s effects on weight loss, the science comes up wayyyy short…
Since my career in health started as a generic personal trainer nearly a decade ago, I’ve had many weight loss clients who busted their butts three, four, and even five days a week in the gym, but didn’t do their part outside of it to keep their eating in check. As a result, after the first few weeks of water weight reduction, their weight loss stalled, they’d blame me for their failures, and would move on to thinking that what we were doing in the gym wasn’t right for them.
I’d ask them what they were eating during this tough period, and I’d hear quite a few things that would have contributed to their plateaus or even their WEIGHT GAIN since starting up. Despite urging them to cut certain things out, this just didn’t translate in their minds, and I’m sure they’re still toiling away all these years later..
(Cue the story behind why I decided to acquire a nutrition certification and make that a non-negotiable part of my current programs, but I’ll save that for another day ;-) )
There are three things you need to have absolute control of if you want to lose weight FOR GOOD in a healthy, sustainable way: 1) Mindset, 2) Nutrition and 3) Exercise — IN THAT ORDER!!!
Think of it like a three-tiered pyramid. The base is your mindset around food, fitness, and health, in general. If you’re blaming others or certain life’s situations for your turning to poor food choices, then you’re NOT going to reach your goals. If you’re turning to sugary, processed garbage to get a dopamine release so you don’t feel as bad about your life, you’re really not doing anything different than what an alcoholic does when he/she drowns their sorrows at the bottom of a bottle.
Main Takeaway for Mindset: If that foundation’s broken, then the rest of the pyramid is going to crumble, and success is not very likely…
When it comes to Nutrition, this is by far the most IMPORTANT element of losing weight, and KEEPING IT OFF! It doesn’t matter how hard you work in the gym — If you’re fueling your body with constant garbage (AKA sugar, grains and processed junk!), then you’re altering your biochemistry. Your hormone levels are going to fall way off where they should be, you’re going to accumulate fat, accrue quite a bit of inflammation that will lead to aches and pains, and you’ll suffer from brain fog, all with increased levels of stress and anxiety.
Calories in = Calories out is a faulty notion when it comes to human beings, because while we are physical beings (The whole calorie thing is based on the Physics Law of Thermodynamics, after all!), we are also biochemical beings that metabolize different macro and micronutrients differently. Processing copious amounts of fat does different things to us than processing copious amounts of protein, which is different than processing copious amounts of carbs.
What’s the best way to eat to lose weight and never go back? Two sentences: Eat meats, vegetables, nuts and seeds, some fruit, little starch and no (added) sugar. Eat ONLY when hungry, and just to satisfy — NOT to stuff your face.
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And what’s the ‘cherry on top’ of the whole pyramid? Fitness!
Exercise boosts your metabolism, improves circulation and has numerous health benefits. When coupling metabolic-revving workouts with a sound nutrition plan, you’re going to expedite your results. BUT, if you couple fat-burning workouts with Domino’s and beer, you’re not going to get anywhere, because it’s not physically possible for you to exercise enough to undo all of that damage to your body’s systems.
Moral of the Story: Stop fooling yourself if you think a tough gym session or two is going to atone for last weekend’s slip-ups! It takes a sound foundation (or mental approach) and a sound fueling strategy (nutrition) to lose weight and KEEP IT OFF!
Oh, and one last thing — The way you eat to LOSE weight is the same way you’d eat to SUSTAIN your results!! How cool is that?!
You don’t have to ‘go on a diet’ for any amount of time! A few simple tweaks is all it takes to get you to the promised land :-)
Until tomorrow!
Sincerely,
Pete Weintraub
pete@weightlossbypete.com
P.S. If you’re READY to lose weight FOR GOOD, then boy, do I have the program for YOU!
If you didn’t hear in my last couple of messages, I’m looking for my next big success story, and I want to help YOU reach your goals, and never look back at where you started!
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- Someone Who’s Sick and Tired of Being Overweight and Unhealthy
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If you feel you meet the criteria, please go to www.weightlossbypete.com/nextsuccessstory to apply for this amazing program!
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Think you have what it takes? To apply, please go to www.weightlossbypete.com/nextsuccessstory, and see if you make the cut!
If I feel you may be a good fit, I’ll personally email you and set up a date and time to get things squared away for you to get things going.
P.P.S. This Once in a Lifetime Opportunity CLOSES on June 1st, 2017, so if you don’t take advantage NOW, you may NEVER get this opportunity again!
That link again is www.weightlossbypete.com/nextsuccessstory.