Archive for the ‘Fat Loss’ Category

Roy Interviews Sam Bakhtiar from Fitconcepts.com on nutrition

Here’s an interview Roy did with Sam Bakhtiar who is a fitness and weight loss guru in Chino Hills, CA. Sam has a track record that Roy and I aspire to with getting his clients great, life-changing results. We listen to him, and so should you!

Don’t forget to check out his blog at http://www.fitnessgurusam.com/

21 Tips to Rock Your Fitness Training

If you’re like me, you can sometimes get motivated easily, and other days…well, it’s not so easy. Here’s 21 tips to help you ROCK your fitness training so you get focused and motivated to dominate your fitness goals!

1) Have a plan, and log your foods! It doesn’t do much good to just “jump into it” without a little bit of a game plan. Do some research. Google is a great place to start. There are so many ways to approach fitness, it’s really up to you and what you think will hold your interest, challenge you, and get you to your goals. The people who get the best results are always the people who log their foods. Use www.FitDay.com or the iPhone app, Loseit! to keep track of your calories.

2) Drink lots of WATER! Drinking a bottle of water a day just doesn’t cut it when you start exercising. Did you know 7 out of every 10 people are dehydrated right now! Are you one of them? Keep your house, car and work stocked with water bottles, and invest in one of those BPA free bottles. Staying hydrated will help pick up your energy, aid you in your workouts, and ultimately aid in fat loss as well.

3) Exercise with a friend. Isn’t it much more motivating to exercise alongside a buddy? Challenge your friend to see who can exercise the most days in a month!

4) Form a habit with 21 days. Research has shown that it takes 21 days of doing something to create a habit. Exercise for 21 days straight and it will become a regular habit that you won’t even have to think about, you’ll just do it. Just like brushing your teeth! Hopefully… ; )

5) Use interval training during cardio. If you want to speed up your metabolism, perform interval training. Periods of high and low intensity is the proven method for burning fat and getting toned and lean. (This is one of the tricks we use in our bootcamp…)

6) Grocery shop once per week. Schedule a time and day where you will go to the store and load up with fresh fruits and veggies, nut, lean protein sources and whole grains.

7) Prepare your food for the week. This is important. If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. If you take a few hours on a Sunday to prepare some meals and pack them in tupperware, it will be sooooo much easier to grab-and-go with your healthy foods during the week. You won’t even have to think about it!

8) Eating healthy isn’t enough. One of the first things I hear from people trying to lose weight is “I eat really healthy”. Don’t get me wrong, you have to eat healthy foods to feel great and stay lean, but that’s just part of the equation. You can still gain weight and store fat by eating too much healthy foods!

9) Workout with full-body exercises. If you’re doing bicep curls and crunches all day, good luck. You’re likely to get frustrated and quit because of lack of results. Use compound movements like push-ups, squats, back rows and lunges. These movements use the most muscles at once, and burn more calories overall.

10) Stop worrying about bulking up! Trust me on this one. You’re not going to get bulky. If you’re on a caloric deficit, you’ll be losing fat and creating muscle tone. Believe me, you’re lucky if you gain even 1 pound of muscle!

11) Add muscle to boost metabolism. One pound of muscle burns up to 50 calories per day. That means if you add 10 pounds of lean muscle to your body, you’ll burn an extra 3,500 calories per week! (500 calories x 7 days per week.)

12) It takes a deficit of 3,500 calories to burn 1 pound of fat. This isn’t so much a tip, but a fact. This means you can burn 250 calories with exercise and eat 250 less calories and you’ll be at a 500 calorie deficit. This adds up to 3,500 calories and will get you to drop 1 pound by the end of the week.

13) Be happy when you lose 1 pound! Sometimes people tell me, I “only lost 1 pound!” and they sound disappointed. Do you have any idea how big 1 pound of fat is?!? If I put it on a plate in front of you, you’d be impressed! Remember, slow and steady wins the race.

14) Set performance goals. Set a goal for how many push-ups you can do. Or how about going from your knees to your feet? Set a goal for how much weight you can do in a one-arm row. How about setting a goal for how long you can wall sit or hold a plank? These goals keep you motivated and help you get in great shape!

15) Join a fitness bootcamp! It’s a great way to stay motivated when you’re with a group of like-minded people. Bootcamps are challenging and lot’s of fun. Not only that, they get results. Find a bootcamp that has a 100% guarantee. This will let you know that they mean business and have your best interest at heart. Also, try out a class before you commit. You want to make sure you vibe with the energy and the instructors philosophy. Some are more “Army-style” and some are more “positive coaching”. Find what fits you…

16) Don’t set unrealistic goals. An example is, I’m going to Hawaii in 3 weeks and I want to lose 20 lbs! Remember, your body can only lose 3 lbs of fat per week. It’s designed that way as a defense mechanism for starvation during famine. If you lose more than 3 lbs in a week it’s muscle and water. And you don’t want to lose muscle! That lowers your metabolism and will make you gain the weight back…and then some!

17) Avoid starvation diets. You won’t get far with these, and you’re not likely to exercise with low energy from not eating enough. The trick is to be on a caloric deficit, while at the same time eating enough protein and essential fats.

18) Read other peoples success stories. Knowing that other people have been there and gone through the same struggles you have will help you when you are in need of some motivation.

19) Find your “WHY”. Why do you want to get in shape? You say you want to lose weight, but why? Knowing your why, will help you when you come across obstacles in your training. If your why is strong enough, nothing can stop you. Some of the strongest “why’s” are things like being in shape for the family, not wanting to die of heart failure like a parent or grandparent, sick and tired of not feeling like your old self, wanting to get back in shape after a break-up or divorce, an upcoming event like a wedding or a reunion. Do you see how much more powerful these are then just saying “I want to get in shape and lose weight”.

Exercise: Give me your why right now in the “comments” section of this blog below.

20) Don’t give up. Challenges will come up. You will get sick. You will binge eat. You will skip a workout. You will feel like quitting. What are you saying to yourself if you quit? Stay with it, and you will reap the rewards. I often tell people to imagine your life 5 years from now. One version with exercise, and one version without. Where do you want to be in 5 years, 10 years, 20 years?

21) Pat yourself on the back! Don’t forget to give yourself encouragement and a reward every so often. Buy yourself an iPod or treat yourself to a movie after you’ve exercised consistently for a month. And don’t forget to add a cheat meal once per week. You will stick to your plan better if you eat at your favorite pizza or burger joint once per week. Using this as a reward prevents you from feeling deprived and gets you to your results much faster!

There you go, 21 tips to ROCK your fitness training! Have fun!!

Your Trainer For Life,

Forrest

P.S. – Don’t forget to tell me you “WHY” below!! I want to know what motivates YOU!

3 Crazy Ways to Stay Accountable to Your Fitness Goals

You’re about to learn about 3 absolutely crazy ways to make sure you hit the mark on your fitness goals. You and I both know it’s one thing to set a goal, but it’s a whole different ball game when it comes to staying accountable to your goal.

WARNING: These accountability strategies are not for the faint of heart. They may even offend you. But if you put even one of these strategies in place, you will increase the chances of hitting your fitness goals by 50% or more!

Now that you’ve been warned, here are our top 3 Crazy Ways to Stay Accountable to Your Fitness Goals:

1) The Alpo Diet - You’ve heard of Alpo dog food, right? Well, this strategy consists of you calling up your best friend and asking them for help with hitting a fitness goal. Once they say they will help you, tell them that you promise to lose at least 8 lbs in one month (or maybe 4 or 6lbs, or maybe stop smoking or drinking, or whatever health goal you want…), or you will eat a whole can of Alpo dog food right in front of them!

This insane strategy does two things. One, it gets your goals out of your head and into the public eye, in this case your friend, who is sure to talk this up among your entire circle of friends just for a few laughs.

And two, it makes you associate a painful situation if you don’t hit your goals. Think about it. Are you likely to miss that workout or order that scone at Starbucks if you might have to humiliate yourself in front of your friend and down a whole can of nasty, smelly dogfood!

2) The Poorhouse Method – This strategy has to do with one of the most motivating factors in your life…money.

Call a friend, family member, or even your trainer. Tell them you need help with hitting a health goal. Tell them you plan to log your foods and exercise daily. For every time you don’t exercise or log your food, you promise to pay them 10 dollars! Now that’s motivation!!

3) The “Scare You To Death” Method – Yes, this accountability strategy is the craziest of them all. In this one, you take something in your life that scares you to death (jumping out of an airplane, spiders and snakes, a class on public speaking) and you agree that if you don’t hit your goal by the end of the month, you have to do what you agreed to do that will scare you to death!

This method, although incredibly crazy, will undoubtably get you to your fitness goals and beyond!! Have fun!

Your Trainer For Life,

Forrest

Chocolate Milk and Your Best Body Ever!

Ok, so you know how Roy and I are always harping on you guys to get in more protein, especially post workout as a protein/carb drink for full protein synthesis and glycogen replenishment?

Well check this out. Because your body has a certain time frame after a workout to get these nutrients into the system for optimal recovery, you need to drink your protein/carb, not eat it!

That’s why you don’t see Roy walking around snacking on a chicken breast after a workout, you see him drinking a protein shake (I think he uses the SNAC brand product, Proglycosyn, which is a great product. You’ll have to ask Roy directly if you want to try it…).

So if you want the next best thing, check out this article that Bill sent me:

http://www.health.am/ab/more/chocolate-milk-is-a-natural-for-post-exercise-recovery/

By the way, if you haven’t heard already, the cat’s out of the bag! We’ve officially announced our 21-Day Rapid Fat Loss program, and we’ve already sold out of our 6pm time slot! (maybe I could fit one or two more in…).

We still have a few 9am and 7pm spots available in Foster City, and 6am in Mountain View, so call me right away at 650-771-5149 if you want in on it. This offer isn’t for people who like to “think about it” or who’d like to put it off for another year. This is for people who want to get lean and toned NOW!

And for $97, what have you got to lose…except for inches off your waist! ; )

OUR NEW ONLINE MAGAZINE IS LAUNCHED!!

Hi there, Forrest here,

I’ve got great news for you today! We’ve just launched our online magazine and it totally rocks! Check it out and forward your favorite articles to your friends or on Facebook!

Don’t forget to check out all the cool exercise videos! =)

Fit For Life Solutions Magazine

Fitness Magazine Articles

Your Trainers For Life,

Forrest and Roy

Eating Frequency For Fat Loss

Here’s a cool post by our go-to registered dietician, Jayson Hunter. Enjoy!

Q: I’ve heard that eating more frequently will increase my metabolism and help me lose weight? Is this true and how does this happen? I thought you had to eat less to lose weight.

A: You’ve probably heard this advice from many different places: personal trainers at your gym, online weight-loss websites, and popular diet books. Even though it has some merit, it may not be entirely correct, especially if your physical activity levels are low or non-existent.

The suggestion to increase your eating frequency, meaning going from eating three square meals a day to six smaller meals and snacks, stems from both research and anecdotal findings. Some of the benefits attributed to eating more often include reducing hunger and caloric intake, boosting your metabolic rate, and controlling hormones that increase your desire for food. For some people this is true, for others, not so much.

In the research world, scientists have shown certain benefits from eating more often compared to less:

• By eating the same amount of calories in several meals spread throughout the day there’s a suppression of free fatty acid release from adipose tissue, which enhances your ability to use glucose (from carbohydrate foods) as fuel
• The amount of insulin secreted from your pancreas to help you use the nutrients you’re eating is reduced, so there is less potential for those nutrients to be stored in fat cells. Instead, the insulin that is released sends those calories to your needy muscle cells where they’re used to provide energy for daily movement
• Your stomach is stretched less with smaller meals, which slows the rate at which food is delivered to your intestine, and in turn, your blood stream. This creates a consistent flow of energy to your body rather than one fast, large dump of nutrients
• Blood total and LDL-cholesterol levels in your body are decreased due to less cholesterol synthesis and increased cholesterol removal

Despite these findings, reviews of all the scientific investigations looking at the effect of increased eating on weight loss have not shown that eating more often reduces body weight. The recent review by Palmer and colleagues in 2009, and the ones by Bellisle and colleagues in 1997 both found this same result; eating more often does not seem to decrease body weight in every person. Explanations for this finding includes the fact that the energy density of our food has increased over the years, even though we’re evolutionarily meant to be “grazers”. Even with lower calories, eating more frequently does not help decrease the numbers on the scale by itself.

For body composition, some observations of people that eat more rather than less show that their body carries less fat. However, research investigations have not shown that just going from eating less to eating more magically lowers body fat. Those people that eat more may simply burn more calories naturally during the day, or expend more calories in movement. Then there are those people that never gain fat no matter how hard they try (not the norm nowadays though).

However, there are clear benefits to eating more often:

• You stave off hunger before it sets in and pushes you to overeat
• You give yourself more energy to exercise harder
• You prevent swings in your blood sugar levels which can make you cranky, unhappy and lethargic

As far as increasing your metabolism, eating more often can potentially increase the amount of calories you burn in a day, by a mechanism known as the “Thermic Effect of Feeding”. However, this effect is relatively small and can be made easily obsolete with poor food choices and excess caloric intake.

It is true though that when you eat more often rather than less, you’re more likely to meet your exercise goals instead of not having the energy to even begin to do anything. Then, when you exercise more, especially a combination of weight training and cardio, you can increase your muscle mass and lower your body fat, which makes your body look tighter and fit better in clothing. And who doesn’t want that?

However, eating more often doesn’t work for everyone: If you’re not exercising, eating more will definitely cause fat gain – those calories have no where else to go! And, when you eat more you still have to make good food choices and balance your intake of protein, carbohydrates and fat; eating more chocolate and soda will not help your metabolism at all. Considering that most “snack” foods are based off sugar and starchy carbohydrates (crackers, granola bars, etc), it’s really easy to over-consume carbs and miss out on important proteins and fats.

Bottom line: Eating more can help meet your body composition and weight goals if you’re selecting your nutrients wisely and using them to help you exercise consistently.

Click here to see 7 powerful nutrients that boost your metabolism

Resources:
Palmer MA, Capra S, & Baines SK. Association between eating frequency, weight, and health. Review
Nutr Rev. 2009 Jul;67(7):379-90

Bellisle F, McDevitt R, Prentice A. Meal frequency and energy balance. Brit J Nutrition. 1997;77(Suppl 1):S57–S70

Jenkins D, Wolever T, Vuksan V, et al. Nibbling versus gorging: metabolic advantages of increased meal frequency. N Engl J Med. 1989;321:929–934

Frequent Eating Associated with Lower Lipid Concentrations. JWatch General. 2002: 3-3
Farshchi HR, Taylor MA, Macdonald IA. Beneficial metabolic effects of regular meal frequency on dietary thermogenesis, insulin sensitivity, and fasting lipid profiles in healthy obese women. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 2005;81:16-24

Ruidavets JB, Bongard V, Bataille V, et al. Eating frequency and body fatness in middle-aged men International Journal of Obesity. 2002; 26: 1476-1483

Bodybugg Product Review and Kristen G. Great Results!

Today I’m writing to share with you two things.

1) An amazing Fit For Life Bootcamper, Kristen Gansheimer, and her results to help inspire you.

2) Our Bodybugg product review video, starring Kristen.

Kristen started up with us in early January 2010. Here’s what she had to say about us in our Yelp.com review.

(more…)

3 Fitness Survival Tips for College Students

If you want to beat the “freshman 15″ and make your way through college in as good or better shape than when you started, here are simple 3 tips to make sure you come out on top.

1) Do your own shopping and plan your foods for the week. Getting in the habit of brown-baggin’ is the best way to make sure you stay away from the fast food and vending machines while saving some duckets for the weekend.

Yes, I know you’re a super-busy student , and it takes some prep time and extra work, but it’s all worth it. Do you think it’s going to get any easier when you’re an on-the-go working professional? The habits you start now last a lifetime.

If you want to be on your A-game, keep your energy levels up and your mind sharp, make sure you eat every 3 and 1/2 hours to stabalize your blood sugar levels.

2) Join a college fitness class, sport or a bootcamp to keep you accountable and motivated to exercise. You know as well as I do that if you don’t have to do it, you probably won’t. However, if you sign up for something, you’re way more likely to follow through because you’ve made a commitment.

Remember – If you don’t make exercise a priority, it just won’t happen. And the thing is, now that you’re in college, no one really cares if you exercise or not. YOU have to be the one that cares about your body now!

“You’re all growns up!” – Swingers (if you haven’t seen it, make sure you Netflix it!)

3) Keep the drinking to the weekends. Yes, I went there. Yes, I’m a hypocrite, looking back on my college days. But really, if you keep the drinking until the weekends, you’re not only going to be sharper during the week to stay on top of your studies, but you’ll have more energy during your day (which is way sexier than being all hung-over in class), and you’ll steer clear of tons of unwanted booze-and-brew calories.

Hope this helps!

And props go out to Greg Solin and SFSU!!

Your Trainers For Life,

Forrest and Roy

Bonus Tip: I know you need energy for those long nights of studying, but please stay away from those sugary, high-calorie energy drinks like Redbull and Rockstar. A healthier energy drink is the one Lance Armstrong endorses, called FRS Healthy Energy. Another option is to take a good multi-vitamin.

Hollywood Celebrity Workout Videos

I tracked down some of the hottest Hollywood Stars and put their workout secrets in this blog. Enjoy!

Beyonce Knowles

Gerald Butler

LL Cool J

Angelina Jolie

Jessica Biel, Wesley Snipes and Ryan Renolds

Exotic Dancer, Author and Abs Expert Darren Michaels Interview

I hope no one thinks this blog is too “risk-ay”, because, after all, it is about male stripper Darren Michaels, his abs-o-steel and his exotic dancing. But beyond all that, this is about a guy who took a vision and turned it into a reality, through hard work, dedication, consistency and a passionate determination, he did what some might think impossible.

What did he do? Well, let me paint the picture.

Imagine a chemist with a Masters Degree, working a 9-to-5 in a lab, nothing special otherwise. The guy is shy, and I mean super-shy. He’s got no luck with the ladies (25 year-old virgin?), and his fitness level…average at best.

I was teaching abs classes at the Foster City Athletic Club when I first got to know Darren. He would join in on my half-hour, ab-marathon classes, and each time he’d push himself harder than the time before. He seemed like a man on a mission, and we got to know each other after a while. I could tell he meant business. The quiet people in the gym are always the ones to look out for, because they are the ones who get the job done.

He reminded me of myself during my martial arts days. I didn’t go around telling everyone I was going to become a second degree black belt, I just did it.

After months of taking my class, Darren showed interest in teaching abs classes, and I introduced him to the group exercise director there at the club. Sometime around then, he had an emergency appendectomy, and after the doctor said to lay of the abs training, he came back, more determined than ever to create his 6-pack abs and to teach his abs class.

Somewhere along Darren’s path, he met a professional exotic dancer, got it in his head that he wanted to become one, decided to go for it, and did it! And I’m talking from scratch!

He packed on the muscle, lowered his bodyfat to below 5%, and got the kind of indoor tan any WWE wrestler would be more than proud of. The dude didn’t even know how to dance for Pete’s sake! Not only that, but like I said, he was incredibly shy. I don’t know about you, but in my opinion, it takes a hell of a lot of courage to make that big of a life change.

Whether you agree with his path or not, I’m sure you’ll agree that he has demonstrated the exact kind of mindset it takes to make a real body and life transformation.

These days, Darren is a super-successful chemist by day, superstar exotic dancer by night. He’s found success in all areas of his life, and is sharing his passion about fitness with others. Did he ever get the girl? What do you think!?

If you want to find out more about Darren (and all his crazy stripper adventures!), I suggest reading his book or checking out his website at www.AbMiration.com.

When you break it down and analyze how he was able to pull it off, you can see the steps he took and apply them to your own life. In my view, this is what he did:

1) Desire to change. He had a desire to change because he was frustrated with where he was at in his life. He had a career, drove a Mustang, and had the looks, but no girl! Believe me, that will fuel any man’s desire to make a life change, no matter how successful you are!

2) Commitment to take action. After desire comes commitment. Through his training and mentoring, Darren made a real commitment to the type of people who would hold him accountable to his actions. You can think about something you want to accomplish all you want, but until you make a commitment, nothing ever happens.

3) Consistently taking focused action toward the goal. Although having desire and making a commitment are the first 2 important steps, the steps lead to nowhere without consistency. Darren showed incredible perseverance by coming to the gym almost every day, meeting with his dancing mentor every chance he could, visualizing how he would look and feel when he reached his goal, and never quitting, no matter how impossible things may have seemed at the time.

Great work, Darren! Thanks for being an inspiration to me, and to so many others. Although this may sound cliché, you are living proof that you really can do ANYTHING you set your mind to!

So without further ado, here’s my video interview with Darren and another video of him “doing his thang” at one of his photo shoots.

WARNING: ADULTS ONLY PLEASE. NOT X-RATED, JUST PROVOCATIVE…THANKS!

P.S. – Only cool people leave comments! Put yours below!

The 6 Step Bootcamp Plan for Fat Loss

Here it is. This is THE PLAN to get you results in your fitness bootcamp!

THE PLAN

Step 1) Log calorie intake DAILY (go to www.fitday.com) and set up a food logging account or get the LoseIt! app for your IPhone. A general caloric goal for weight loss is 1,800 for men and 1,400 for women (adjust calories to suit your needs). See The Diet Solution for our recommended nutrition plan.

Step 2) Exercise, Fit For Life Bootcamp style, 5 days per week!

Burn 700 calories/day x 5 days/week = 3,500 (it takes 3,500 calories to burn off 1 pound of fat).

Step 3) Cardio on the weekend to accelerate fat loss.

Burn 500 – 700 calories with your own cardio workout on Sat. or Sun. (1 hour hike, bike ride, treadmill, etc.). Mix it up, get outside, have fun!

Step 4) Build muscle and accelerate metabolism (this is done in bootcamp, so as long as you show up, it will happen!). This will ensure you burn fat and keep muscle.

Step 5) Choose a rest/cheat day on a Saturday or Sunday. On this day you will rest your body and mind from exercising and counting calories. Have fun and enjoy your cheat day, you’ve earned it, and it will actually get you to your goals faster!

Step 6) Show up on “Assessment Day” every 5th week to see your progress, and make any changes to your program if you’re not seeing results. Give yourself a reward for a job well done by going out to eat, party with friends, or buy yourself a gift!

And that’s it! Nothing motivates better than results. Work hard, and you will be rewarded through your own hard-earned efforts. If it were easy, anyone could do it. Not just anyone trains in Fit For Life Bootcamp, only the brave!!

3 Simple Strategies to Lose 8 lbs in 28 Days

Would you like to lose 8 lbs from your stomach, hips and thighs in the next 28 days?

This year, year of the Tiger, is the year of taking action. What better way to take advantage of the New Year? In this blog, I help you create a simple plan, go into action, then stick to it. Give yourself a goal to lose 8 lbs of fat in the next 28 days. With these strategies at the heart of your focus, you will get there!

1) Take control of your calorie intake. You need to start thinking in numbers (and once you learn numbers, you can think in terms of portions). It doesn’t have to be forever. Just do it for 3 weeks. I know it doesn’t seem like much, but after 3 weeks a mental shift takes place because you start understanding and memorizing the calories of your favorite foods. (Minimally do it for 3 days…you can’t make excuses about just 3 days!)

Keeping a food log really helps deter you from reaching for a donut when you think of that donut in terms of calories and fat grams instead of just Homer Simpson’s famous phrase, “mmmmmmm…donuts…”

So to take control of your calorie count. I recommend going to www.fitday.com to start logging your food. It’s free, so what have you got to lose? This one thing will be the most important action you take when it comes to understanding how many calories you consume on a regular basis. This is the key to weight loss!

A good, comprehensive nutrition program is the Diet Solution by Isabele De Los Rios. I recommend it highly.

2) Make a commitment to exercise. That’s right, I said that scary word that everyone runs from, “commitment”. I have to admit that I’ve always been scared of that word myself. But the commitments I’ve made have changed my life in incredible ways. Once you make a commitment, it makes things so much easier, and you will be amazed by how good you feel when you do finally commit. So join a gym, or even better, join a boot camp or get a trainer. Your commitment will keep you focused and clear despite the obstacles that are sure to arise.

Think about the word commitment for a second. Now ask yourself, have you ever achieved anything worthwhile in your life without making a commitment at some level? Probably not. I think the best thing to do is to suck it up and sign on the dotted line. When most people have thrown in the towel, you’ll still be moving toward your goals because of the commitment you’ve made to your training.

3) Write down your goals, then set a date of completion. You can do this yourself, or join a weight loss contest to bring in a sense of urgency. Either way, having your goals and a date written down will make you consciously and subconsciously work harder toward your weight loss goals.

Your conscious mind is good for setting goals, but it’s your subconscious mind that gets you performing daily habits that will get you to your goals. Your subconscious mind is like a compass. Once your subconscious mind is set properly, it will continue endlessly to follow it’s course until it reaches it’s goal for you.

Writing down your goals, setting a date on the calendar for your completion of those goals, working out regularly, visualizing how you will look and feel when you reach your goals, taking your vitamins and supplements, eating wholesome and nutritious foods. All of these things align your subconscious mind to get you to your goals. The power you possess by putting this into practice is unstoppable!

Please leave a comment about this post, it really helps me deliver you more content!! Thank-you!!

Thinking about a 5K?

When I mention a 5K to most people, usually their initial response is “I’m not a runner” or “I can’t do that!”.

Not being a runner myself, I can relate.

I’m been a professional fitness trainer for close to 10 years.

I’m a second degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do.

I’ve hiked 30 miles in 3 days in Yosemite with giant blisters and a bruised knee, I’ve mountain biked some of the most wicked singletracks in the Bay Area, and I’ve participated in every sport known to man except figure skating.

But I’ve only done ONE running event in my life.

That event was a 5K.

It was the Carneros Valley Vineyard 5K at the Artesa Winery in Napa and it was awesome!!

This was a few years ago, and ever since I’ve really been sold on 5K’s, but haven’t done any…until now!

You see, I want to do something to motivate both myself, and YOU!

I’ve found that anyone can do a 5K. If you don’t believe me, click on this link:

http://www.active.com/running/Articles/6_Reasons_to_Run_a_5K.htm

If you want to join me and the others who have decided to challenge themselves with a 5K, just go to our 5K Club page. Make a commitment. You’ll be surprised at what you can do!

Hope to see you out there!

Your Trainer For Life,

Forrest

Our NEW Solution to Healthy Nutrition and Fat Loss!

Roy and I have been doing a lot of research lately, trying to find a comprehensive nutrition system that we can recommend to you so you can get the best results in 2010.

In the past we had used various nutrition strategies that covered the basics, but we wanted something that could not only get you results, but help you create healthy eating habits for life.

Great news. We’ve found it!

You see, one of the things Roy and I believe is that your nutrition can’t be a cookie-cutter approach. Everyone is different. This program is customized to your unique metabolism and body type. It even has you take a metabolic typing test before you get started, that’s how dialed-in this program is to YOUR body!

It also shows you that it’s not just how many calories you eat but where your calories come from that matters when you are trying to reshape your body and develop your health.

If all we cared about was your weight, we could just tell you to eat celery and non-buttered popcorn all day and you would lose weight. BUT you’d also lose precious, metabolism-boosting muscle tissue, you’d have low energy, get headaches and feel grumpy all day. You wouldn’t even have the energy to exercise properly in that state. Not Good.

In this plan, developed by nutritionist Isabele De Los Rios, you will learn all the best foods to stabalize your blood sugar, maximize your vitamin and mineral intake, boost your energy, and build healthy, lean muscle tissue.

The program comes with a manual, the metabolic typing test, a quick-start guide, a success journal, a shopping guide, and done-for-you meal plans.

The plan also comes with bonuses, including a 14-Day fast results plan, the top 10 nutrition mistakes booklet, and a recipe guide.

I’m even adding in a bonus of my own for you if you order here through our link today, which is an article I’ve written entitled “You will NEVER get a slimmer waistline by doing ab exercises…PERIOD!” This article finally uncovers the truth about getting a flat stomach and what strategy you need to use to get there. (just e-mail me after you place your order and I’ll send it to you.)

One of the best things about this program is that it’s in downloadable PDF form, so you’ll be able to access it and start implementing it right away. You won’t need to sit around waiting for a hard copy, because there is none. Just straightforward information in an easy-to-understand format that you can print it out right there at home immediately after purchase.

I included a link to her nutrition plan and presentation video below.

*NOTE* – The video is very informative and will help you understand a lot about this nutritional approach. However, you need to get past the first 2 minutes or so to get to the good stuff, trust me on this one.

Just click here for your nutrition plan.

Your Trainer For Life,

Forrest

P.S. – You can e-mail me at Forrest@fitforlifesolutions.com if you have any questions. I’m really excited about sharing this program with you, and believe in it’s approach of creating higher energy and burning fat 100%.

Fit For Life Bootcamp Amazing Transformation – Shanon Mah

Here’s a testimonial from an amazing client of ours, Shanon Mah. From the beginning of her training, I knew there was a quiet fire burning inside her to make a change, and that she was ready to grow and develop as a person.

Shanon followed our advice to the letter, attended Fit For Life Bootcamp as much as she could week-by-week, and turned in food logs to us weekly. She pushed herself every class and she got involved with the beta version our “Accelerated Bootcamp” program (which we plan to unveil in spring of 2010!), which helped speed up her results.

Thanks Shanon for your hard-work, sacrifices, and for being a true inspiration!

-Forrest and Roy

——————————

BEFORE

AFTER

I used to be a very athletic person, very energetic, and I noticed within the last couple years a big slump, in a rut, and gaining weight. I couldn’t keep up as well with my kids and with the things I like to do. I wanted to do something about it and change it. I thought I’d try something new, that’s when I tried Fit For Life Bootcamp and I loved it, and I’ve continued on since then.

At first it was just about the “me time”, and not getting caught up in being a mom all the time, and then when I started to see results it fueled my desire to set goals for myself.

What I like most about the training, because I’ve tried personal trainers before, was that training in the boot camp was always different. I don’t think I’ve ever done the same routine, and I feel like there is a lot of individual help and a lot of change-ups so your body is always feeling it. Through the week I’ll know, ok, we’ve hit that spot! It’s just exciting to come and know that there is something different that’s going to happen each time.

Actually, I wasn’t expecting to see the kind of results that I did. I came in with expectations of losing 5 lbs and I didn’t even consider body fat % and inches, but when I saw those results come within the first 4 weeks I was amazed! It made me want to drive, go harder and go for bigger results.

Ultimately, I lost 18 lbs, over 7% body fat, over 4 inches off my waist and over 3 inches off my hips. I went from a size 6 to a size 2, which hasn’t been since high school!

A lot of my friends went away over the summer and when they saw me their response was “Oh my god! What have you been doing? I want to do that, too!” My family has noticed the changes as well.

Mentally, my whole attitude in life is so different. My confidence has been raised. I had sunk into a shell for a while, and now I feel I’m coming out of that, and it’s an awesome feeling. It’s more than just physical, it’s also mental.

-Shanon Mah

Drink, Party and Burn Calories this New Years 2010!

This New Year I am really looking forward to going BIG with everything I do. Bigger focus, bigger fitness, bigger results, bigger business, bigger fun, bigger family, bigger goals. The only thing that isn’t going to get bigger are my clients! HaHa!!

So I’ll let you in on what I’m doing for New Years (especially now that I’ve set up a babysitter…thanks Natalie!).

I’m going to a place in San Francisco called the Coda Lounge to see my brother Tommy’s band play. They are called Dynamic and they rule!! You can check them out at www.dynamicliveband.com.

If you don’t have plans yet, you should go!! www.CodaLive.com to make a reservation. (It’s only $20 without dinner, and I think it’s $60 with dinner.)

I’m looking forward to dancing the night away (I may look like a fool, but hey, I have fun doing it!)

I checked out how many calories a 160 lb person burns in 1 hour of dancing and it’s about 350. (If I dance for 3 hours that’s over 1,000 calories!!) Not bad for a fun night out, eh? I’m sure that a few drinks would cancel that out…but I don’t think I’ll have more than 3 drinks, so I think I’ll come out ahead.

My favorite drinks when I go out are either a Guiness, a Hefeweizen, or a White Russian.

Here are some calorie counts for beers to help you plan your night. (I got this from: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_many_calories_are_in_beer)
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Calories in Beer

Here are some calorie counts for 12 ounces of different beers:

Sierra Nevada Pale Ale: 175
Sam Adams Lager: 160
Pilsner Uruqell: 160
Michelob: 155
Guinness: 153
Heineken: 150
Corona: 148
Budweiser: 145
MGD: 143
Stella Artois: 140
Bud Light: 110
Coors Light: 102
Budweiser Select: 99
Michelob Ultra: 96
Amstel Light: 95
Miller Genuine Draft Light: 64
Anchor Steam – 153
Bass Ale – 160
Beck’s – 140
Budweiser – 140
Corona Light – 105
Guinness Draught – 126
Guinness Stout – 153
Miller Lite – 96
Sierra Nevada Pale Ale – 175
Sierra Nevada Stout – 210

By the way, the average wine has about 275-300 calories per 12 ounces. Of course, one glass of wine isn’t usually 12 ounces. You might drink half as much wine as you would beer, making wine slightly lower calorie.

Mixed drinks are about the same. Gin & tonic or vodka cranberry have about 300 calories per 12 ounces. Margaritas are very bad: they might have about 750 calories!
————————–
Well, there you have it!

So have fun, eat, drink, dance, and enjoy life, cuz come January your butt is mine!

Roy and I look forward to seeing you and helping you achieve your fitness goals this 2010!

Your Trainer For Life,

Forrest

4 Questions to Catapult You in Your Fitness Journey

Questions are soooooo powerful.

Did you know that your mind has the ability to answer ANY question you ask it?

How do I know this? I’ve extensively researched this topic by reading about NLP, hypnotherapy, meditation, law of attraction, neuroscience, psychotherapy and quantum physics.

Not only have I read about it, I’ve put it to practice, and IT WORKS!!

…But don’t take my word for it, try for yourself.

Here is the list of my 4 most powerful questions for being my best as it relates to health and fitness. (Ask yourself these questions and put them in writing.)

1) What does “being in good shape and good health” mean to me?

2) What actions must I take to get the fitness results I desire?

3) On a scale of 1-10, how committed am I to this process?

4) If I’m not at a 10, what will it take to get me there so that I will be so excited about it I couldn’t help but take action and get started today?

Once you ask yourself these 4 questions, you will be amazed at the answers that seem to come straight out of the sky! Then, once you have your answers, make a “To-Do” list and start taking massive action immediately! (Nothing happens without action!!)

You will be blown away at the results of this simple exercise. (TIP – This will feel so easy and get you such fast results, you will think this method is too good to be true!!)

Your Trainer For Life,

Forrest Folen

The 5 Secrets Tactics to Fat Loss

I can’t believe I’m doing this, but I’m going to give away my top 5 secrets to fat loss that Roy and I use in our bootcamp! They might not be what you would expect (notice that we don’t even mention crunches even once!).

1) Food logs. We put this as #1 for a reason. It’s like Roy always says, “Abs are made in the kitchen.” Ask any expert dietician or weight loss guru, and they’ll tell you the same thing. Actually, you can just ask some of the folks in the Fit For Life Bootcamp who’ve transformed their body, and they’ll tell you it’s true. Bill lost over 40 lbs, but he never saw a single pound come off until he started logging his food. Shanon and Julie lost a combined total of 30 lbs, but they were on our Accelerated Bootcamp program, which requires food logging! (We will be launching the NEW version of this program in early 2010). Even Weight Watchers has the saying, “Write it before you bite it!”

To get feedback directly from Roy, visit www.FitForLifeSolutions.com/forum and let him know what you’re eating. Two other great resources are www.fitday.com, a free, internet-based food log software and www.calorieking.com. Log on, log in, and start logging!!!

2) Set SMART goals and write them down. SMART (Specific Measurable Attainable Realistic and Timely). Goal setting is sooooooo important. We recommend writing down a time-specific, long-term goal, such as “I will lose 10 lbs of fat and fit into a size 6 pants by February 15th, 2010.” After you’ve written down a long-term goal, then write down three short-term goals that are aligned with the long-term goal. For example, 1) I will log on to www.fitday.com and log my food every day this week, 2) I will substitute all soft drinks with water for the next 21 days, 3) I will attend boot camp at least 3 times per week for the next 4 weeks.

After writing down your goals, print them out and post them on your fridge, in your office, above your bed, in your car. You can share them with your family and friends. You can also visit www.FitForLifeSolutions.com/forum and share them to a like-minded community. Sharing goals makes it “real” to you. That’s just the way it works. When you put your goals out there for the world to see, you suddenly become accountable, and you become much more likely to follow through.

3) Take baseline measurements. How can you know where you’re going if you don’t know where you’re at? By measuring your weight, bodyfat %, and getting at least the basic circumference measurements of the chest, waist and hips, you put yourself on the path to making changes. Also, it helps to revisit your measurements every 4-6 weeks to see if you’re on track. If things aren’t changing the way you wanted them to after 4-6 weeks then it’s time to quit, right? WRONG!!! This is the problem most people have who don’t train alongside a qualified professional.

If you’re not seeing results, there is a reason for it. Or maybe your body is changing, but you don’t know how to correctly interpret the changes. Are you feeling more energy? Are your pants fitting looser, despite what the scale tells you? Then you’re on the right track! Whatever you do, DON’T QUIT! It’s the lifestyle changes you are making which ultimately benefit you in the long run. If you have to go back to the drawing board and make some changes, that’s fine, but remember, quitting is for losers!

Also, don’t just measure your body measurements. It’s also extremely helpful to measure your strength, cardiovascular endurance, flexibility, and even track your attendance in the gym. Tracking performance is a powerful motivator and will help keep you moving forward in your progress.

4) Visualize and Re-Commit daily. Your mindset is the single biggest determining factor of you seeing results from your training. Everything that you get from your training is really because of your own desire, commitment and perseverance. If you make it, or don’t make it, don’t give the credit to anyone but yourself. As trainers and boot camp leaders, Roy and I do our best to set up the environment for change, provide exercises and motivation, push you when the going gets tough, and arm you with the knowledge to get results. Ultimately though, it all comes back to you. Ask yourself, “do I put in 100% commitment to each day”.

Start your day by visualizing how you want to look and feel. See it clearly in your mind, even if you feel like crap, visualize yourself at your best. Take 3 minutes every day (it’s not the length of time, it’s the consistency that’s important) to purely visualize like this, then re-commit to your self, your health and your life. This simple practice is one of the secrets of the mind-over-matter power of many successful people in business, body transformations, professional sports and people who live extra-ordinary lives. Don’t take my word for it, try it for yourself!

5) Re-charge your life energy! There are several ways you can keep your energy high. Your life energy is comprised of many things. Your thoughts, your nutritional habits, your exercise habits, your accumulation of stress, your overall health. I recommend starting with exercise and positive thoughts. When you start exercising, you bring direct control into your life. You are saying to yourself that you want to be healthy, have strong life-energy, and that you want to be your best.

When you eat pure, organic foods, you feed your body and give it the energy it needs to keep you focused and mentally clear. When you practice deep breathing, meditation, mindful walking, yoga or other mind/body methods, you clear your stagnant energy and habitual thoughts and open yourself up to the present moment, which is where all action takes place, right here, right now.

If you put these 5 secret tactics into practice, not only will you lose weight and see incredible body transformation changes, but you will see things improve in all aspects of your life! Now go and make it happen. Ideas are good, plans are better, action is king!

Your Trainer For Life,

Forrest Folen

Hormones and Fat Loss From Jillian Michaels Newest Book, Master Your Metabolism

Jillian Michaels, personal trainer on the hit TV show, The Biggest Loser, has recently released a new book, and in my opinion her best book, Master Your Metabolism. The book gives answer to this question, “Is your scale stuck no matter how little you eat or how much you exercise?”, and then proceeds to dive into the little understood world of hormones-a world I feel we all could stand to learn a bit more about.

I don’t know about you, but from my perspective, as a weight loss coach and fitness bootcamp instructor, I want to know why I can take two similar people through a diet and exercise program and witness one person get incredible transformative results while the other can barely shed 1 or 2 pounds. What gives?!

They were both on a caloric deficit. They were both working out with the same consistency and intensity. They were both given customized nutrition programs and followed them to the letter. They were both the same age and gender (granted they have different genetics).

Can you imagine my clients frustration as they see their best friend put in the same hard work they did, but have to go home and get back to the calorie counting “drawing board” as their friend is off to the mall to buy new, smaller and tighter fitting clothes? It’s enough to bring my clients to tears…and it has.

As a trainer, this burns me.

The people I train often joke with me about how I must lie awake at night thinking of new, torturous exercises because our bootcamp and personal training programs are very creative, to say the least. Although it’s true that we put a lot of creativity and thought into our exercise programs, what really keeps me lying awake at night is being able to deliver results to my clients.

Nothing matters more to me than to be able to show others the impact of fitness on their lives. Sure, there are more reasons to train the just weight loss. More energy, a strong body, and stress relief are very important as well. But seeing your body change and obtaining the confidence that comes with that is monumental.

This is why I’m writing this blog today. To tell you about the importance of what not only Jillian Micheals is saying in her book, but where the future of health and fitness lies – creating and maintaining health through healthy eating, exercise, and balance of our bodily systems, especially that of the endocrine system.

Question: What is metabolism?

False Answer: The way my body burns calories.

Burning calories is something your metabolism does, but that doesn’t explain what it is.

The Real Answer: Your metabolism is your hormones! It’s the biochemistry of your body!

In this blog I’ll share with you information from Jillians book about 3 very important hormones – Insulin, Cortisol and Human Growth Hormone (HGH), which are essential for you to understand if your goal is to lose body fat and keep your body at it’s optimum health.

Insulin. Insulin’s most important function is to lower the concentration of glucose in your blood. Insulin is released from the pancreas when you eat. After you eat a meal, your food is broken down into simple sugars we call glucose, and released into the bloodstream.

I think a good way to think about insulin is to think of it like a Taxi driver. One of the places the Taxi driver (insulin) likes to go is to drive glucose (sugar) to the liver, where it can be converted into glycogen for use by the muscles.

Insulin can also turn glucose into fatty acids and drive them to fat cells, where they can be stored as fuel that the body can use at a later time.

It’s also interesting to note here that creating an insulin spike by digesting simple sugars after intense exercise will cause the taxi driver to help drive amino acids into the cell for protein synthesis to occur. This is where that carb/protein shake with a 2 to 1 ratio comes in super handy. It can improve post-workout protein synthesis by 600%!! I highly recommend it for my personal training and bootcamp clients. Click on this link to get my favorite post workout shake mix: http://fitforlifesolutions.getprograde.com/pre-and-post-workout-drink.html

Jillian’s writes, “let’s say you had a Milky Way on an empty stomach. Your blood sugar surge is then so dramatic that insulin overreacts and works twice as hard to clean the sugar out of the blood.

This overefficient sugar removal doesn’t leave enough glucose in the bloodstream, so your blood sugar concentration drops, you feel hungry again, and you crave (and probably eat) more carbs. That’s postsugar “crash-and-binge” cycle, the root of sugar addiction.”

She also says, “While you may have heard that obesity causes insulin resistance and diabetes – and it does – another plausible sequence is that insulin resistance comes first, spikes insulin production and blood sugar and makes people fat.”

The key points to take away on insulin is that according to what and when you eat, insulin can work for you or against you. That’s why we always recommend staying away from refined carbs like white rice and white bread, and going with the stone-ground wheat bread or brown rice that takes your body much longer to break down into sugar.

Cortisol. This is an important hormone to understand, because in our society, it’s elevated in epidemic proportions and although many have heard of it, and know that too much of it leads to fat gain, they don’t do the steps necessary to keep their cortisol levels in check.

Cortisol, also known as the stress hormone, can be a real menace when it comes to trying to lose weight. Cortisol is emitted by the adrenal glands, and is a catabolic hormone (breaks down, rather than builds up, which would be anabolic). Released by the adrenals, cortisol “tells your body what fat, protein, or carbohydrate to burn and when to burn them, depending on what kind of challenge you face.”

“If you haven’t released the excess cortisol in your blood by punching back or running away, cortisol will increase your cravings for high-fat, high-carb foods.”

She also writes, “Once you eat, your body releases a cascade of rewarding brain chemicals that can set up an addictive relationship with food. You feel stressed, you eat…you can become physically and psychologically dependent on that release to manage stress.”

Now here’s where the weight loss stuff comes in, “When stress continues for a long time, and cortisol levels remain high, the body actually resists weight loss. Your body thinks times are hard and you might starve, so it greedily hoards any food you eat and any fat already present on your body.”

Cortisol also takes healthier fat from butt and thighs and turns it to a very unhealthy type of stored fat called visceral fat in your stomach area, which stores a specific enzyme that converts inactive cortisone to active cortisol, “yet another vicious cycle created by visceral fat.”

Meditation and specific mind/body techniques are known to decrease cortisol levels naturally by as much as 44%!

It’s also worth noting that excess cortisol also deconstructs bone and skin, leading to osteoporosis, easy bruising and stretch marks.

Human Growth Hormone, also known as HGH or simply as Growth Hormone, is one of those hormones that we all want more of. “It seems to make everything better – it builds muscle, burns fat, helps you resist heart disease, protects your bones, increases your overall health, and some say it even makes you happier. People with high levels of growth hormone live longer, and better.”

Growth hormone is produced in the pituitary gland, a tiny gland under the hypothalamus in the brain. “Growth hormone is amazing at helping you tap into your fat stores.”

Hollywood actors have been known to spend up to $20,000 per year for HGH injections. However, this practice is not only pricey, but can cause horrible side effects, one of which is insulin resistance, because it counters insulin’s ability to shuttle glucose into cells. Production of HGH drops as we age…as much as 50% by the time we reach 60 years old.

There are natural ways to get your body to produce this anti-aging, miracle hormone. An excellent way is to reach delta brain wave patterns, which is accomplished during meditation practice. (Another reason I’m so big on keeping a regular meditation practice!)

HGH is also released when you get enough sleep, 8 hours being the magical number.

I could go on and on, but I’ll let you find out more on your own. If you’re interested in learning more, check out Jillians book, entitled Master Your Metabolism.

Please leave any comments below. I greatly appreciate feedback. Thanks!

P.S. – Shout out to A.V. Woop! Woop!

It’s True, Exercise Won’t Make You Thin

A Trainers Response to “Why Exercise Won’t Make You Thin” by John Cloud in TIME Magazine and “For Losing Weight, Diet Beats Exercise” by Erin Allday in the SF Chronicle.

Recently, TIME Magazine published an article written by a man named John Cloud about how we have all been misinformed about exercise. In his argument, John suggests that “Exercise isn’t necessarily helping us lose weight. It may even be making it harder.” John then goes on to site various studies from experts such as Eric Ravussin, chair in diabetes and metabolism at Louisiana State University who says, “In general, for weight loss, exercise is pretty useless”.

As you can imagine, after this article was published, hundreds of personal trainers and exercise experts from all over the world published on the web their bitter responses as to how this article was by far doing the public a great disservice. Think about it…how hard have these trainers had to work to motivate their clients to sweat out their long hours in the gym? How many personal trainers, fitness magazines, fat loss experts, and exercise gadgets have their existence at stake in the name of the all glorious, all righteous path of exercise as being the holy grail of weight loss? I would say quite a few people’s lives might be affected by this controversial angle on exercise – even mine.

Then, if TIME Magazine wasn’t enough, on August 27, 2009 one of my loyal clients tells me about how the San Francisco Chronicle published “For losing weight, diet beats exercise”. The Chronicle? Now this was getting a lot closer to home. And if all my boot camp and personal training clients were privy to this info, I had better start looking into this! So I got ahold of both articles. I read them. I read them again. I came to a conclusion.

However, before I came to a conclusion my first gut reaction, as a fitness trainer of 10 years and owner of Fit For Life Solutions, a business specializing in fitness and fat loss boot camps and making exercise a way of life (www.FitForLifeSolutions.com), was that this was a bunch of bull! How dare these writers use this fitness propaganda to twist the minds of these poor misguided people who already have it hard enough, and now have to struggle through the dark and angled musings masked in highly-credible columns of TIME Magazine and the San Francisco Chronicle! Couldn’t I just as easily publish an article on how water isn’t necessary for good for hydration, and how it can even kill you!

So, as I said, I read the articles. And I read them again. And I came to a conclusion.

And my conclusion is…they are both absolutely right!

Exercise is not the key to weight loss. I tell my clients this all the time, “if you’re looking to lower the numbers on the scale, you have to focus on nutrition!” But here’s where I differ from the columnists, exercise IS MY LIFE – and the quality of my life has been improved tremendously through living a fitness lifestyle – so much so that words cannot express. Therefore, on behalf of myself, other personal trainers helping people around the world, the hundreds of people who’s lives we have touched here at Fit For Life Solutions, and the millions of people who love exercise, I have to say the following statement:

Exercise and fitness are not about losing, they are about gaining. Gaining energy, gaining muscle, gaining confidence, gaining respect for ourselves and our bodies, gaining friends, and gaining a power over our lives than we otherwise wouldn’t have if it wasn’t for this wonderful experience we call exercise and all the benefits it brings us.

There’s also another very important piece to exercise as it relates to weight loss. Here’s the thing…do people want to lose weight or lose fat? Fat of course! Instead of fat though, people often use the word weight, but losing weight could mean something quite different thing than losing fat. For example, let’s say you went on a diet without exercising and more specifically, lifting weights. Well, what would typically happen is you would lose weight, but not necessarily fat.

Let’s say you lost 8 lbs in two weeks. Sounds good, right? Not necessarily. You see, that 8 pounds you lost were probably a combination of fat, muscle and water weight (most diets have you severely restrict salt intake…that’s because they want you to think you’ve lost more fat than you really have!). So if you lost 3 pounds of fat, 3 pounds of muscle and 2 pounds of water weight, that would mean you lost 8 pounds on the scale. But losing that 3 pounds of muscle really means you’ve lowered your metabolism. That’s why when people go on diets, without exercise, they end up gaining the weight right back…and then some! (TIME Magazine didn’t tell us that, did they!).

I say stick with weights training to promote or at the very least maintain muscle mass. If you’re on a caloric restriction, you lift weights regularly (and properly), and you have adequate essential fat and protein intake, you’re on the road to successful FAT loss, not just WEIGHT loss. See the difference?

Thank-you Time Magazine and SF Chronicle for helping us to revisit why exercise is so important to our fitness lifestyle, how we indeed must focus on nutrition to lower the weight on the scale, and how we can choose merely to lose weight, or to really make a change and lose fat by transforming our bodies and our lives through exercise.

Your Trainer For Life,

Forrest Folen, MCT

Cure for Type II Diabetes?

As you may know, diabetes is one of the biggest problems with America’s growing obesity epidemic. I personally know quite a few people who are pre-diabetic, people with type II diabetes, and even type l diabetes (I have had 2 cousins with type l diabetes – it really sucks.)

My take as a fitness lifestyle and fat-loss pro is that we need to address the root of the problem. Granted, we can use exercise as a way to combat type II diabetes in a big way. The guys over at WebMD.com (full article at http://diabetes.webmd.com/guide/exercise-guidelines) said this:

Exercise is very important in managing type 2 diabetes. Combining diet, exercise, and medicine (when prescribed) will help control your weight and blood sugar level.

Exercise helps control type 2 diabetes by:

Improving your body’s use of insulin.
Burning excess body fat, helping to decrease and control weight (decreased body fat results in improved insulin sensitivity).
Improving muscle strength.
Increasing bone density and strength.
Lowering blood pressure.
Helping to protect against heart and blood vessel disease by lowering ‘bad’ LDL cholesterol and increasing ‘good’ HDL cholesterol.
Improving blood circulation and reducing your risk of heart disease.
Increasing energy level and enhancing work capacity.
Reducing stress, promoting relaxation, and releasing tension and anxiety.

Take a look at this video (keep in mind many, perhaps most, doctors say curing type II diabetes is impossible)

BOSU Circuit for Fat Burn and Muscle Tone

When I work out, I like to make my workouts simple, yet effective, and have a little edge of challenge to them. That’s why I often incorporate the BOSU. BOSU is that blue little half ball, dome-shaped thingy that you see laying in the corner of most gyms. They’ve been getting more popular recently, and they are something I’ve used for years to make my workouts, and my clients workouts, more interesting and challenging.

The reason they benefit you when you use them is that they work on your muscle/brain/central nervous system communication pathways. The term we use in the training world is proprioception.

When you do squats on the floor, you work through a range of motion that puts a workload on the muscles of the quads, and gluteal muscles, along with some hamstring and core muscles.

When you incorporate a squat on the BOSU, watch out!! You have entered a whole new world! All of a sudden you have to balance, stabilize your core, and focus your mind on a whole new level.

Add a BOSU into a circuit routine and you’ve got a fun, challenging fat-burning circuit that gives you tons of benefits if you practice it regularly.

I’ve included a video of a workout you can do here that will help you burn fat using the BOSU!

Disclaimer: Remember, all our videos are for informational purposes only and we recommend using the guidance of a qualified trainer before progressing to these or any other exercises. Thanks!

Your Trainer For Life,

Forrest

Fitness – It’s gotta be a lifestyle!

Weight loss can be a great motivator to start working out, eating right, and getting in shape.  However, if weight loss is your only motivation, it won’t work out in the long run.  Eventually, weight loss, as a goal, will become a superficial reason for working out and staying disciplined to eat healthy.  Why?  Because weight loss, on it’s own, has no purpose.  You have to have a reason why that weight loss is important to you.

I received an e-mail today from a client thanking me for helping her with her new healthy lifestyle and achieving a bodyfat percentage under 20%.  I wrote her back and asked told her that she is a success story that is sure to inspire others.  Her response was “I am not sure what happened, I guess I just got focused on working out to make me feel better.  As soon as I stopped obsessing about getting back to where I was, it just sort of
happened.”

That’s it!!

When she wrote that I knew that she had shifted her perspective and is now training as a part of her lifestyle, and not just a superficial goal.  That’s why she became a success story!  That’s also why she will continue to gain the great results of more energy, less stress, and a strong body and mind!

I’d like to thank Crystal for inspiring me to continue to help others make that lifestyle switch!

Thanks Crystal!!

Your Trainer For Life,

Forrest Folen, MCT

Ultimate Fat-Burning Cardio Video

I’ve gotten a lot of requests on cardio routines that burn the most fat. Our take on cardio at Fit For Life Solutions is that unless you have an extra 2 hours per day, you should skip the long, slow, boring treadmill routines and get started with some interval training.

However, if you’re just starting out, you may want to just do some easy 10, 20 or 30 minute routines to ease your system into it. As always, consult your doctor before starting any exercise program, and if you ever feel pain, stop immediately.

To make it easy Roy and I put up this video for you. It’s our ultimate fat-burning cardio workout!

Your Trainer for Life,

Forrest

4 Cornerstone Nutrition Tips for Fat Loss

Nutrition is the topic people have been asking me about the most lately. The reason for that seems to be because everyone has been really putting in the effort in their training, and they’ve realized they can’t do it without eating the right foods.

You see, gone are the days when you can lose weight by diet or exercise alone. Today you need both.

If you lose through diet alone, you’re bound to lose muscle at the same time you’re losing fat. When that happens, and you return back to your normal eating (which inevitably happens at some point), you will regain the weight… and MORE! That’s the typical yo-yo diet nightmare; not fun.
If you attempt to lose through exercise alone, but don’t eat the right proportions of nutrients at the right times of day, you’ll be cheating yourself out of the great results you could be getting if you were to only eat the right foods.

Here’s 4 nutrition tips that are crucial for you to get results for weight loss training:

1. Eat 5-6 meals per day. You may have heard this a lot, but you still tell yourself you don’t have time for between meal healthy snacks because of your busy schedule. Look… take yourself to GNC or Max Muscle or Target, pick yourself up some ready-to-drink protein shakes (the Myoplex brand is a good one), and you’ll be half way there. Then take some fruit, cheese sticks, nuts, a few cliff bars, and some wasa crackers and you’ve got some serious snack ammo.
2. Plan your meals. Have you heard the cliché, “If you fail to plan you plan to fail”? If you don’t plan you’ll end up going for what’s most convenient, and that can sometimes be a big mistake.
3. Take 3 or so hours every Sunday to do some shopping, cook/prepare some meals, and pack them in tupperware in the fridge and the freezer for the week. This tip is worth its weight in gold. Three of my favorites dishes for this are whole wheat past w/ marinara sauce, tuna w/ low fat mayo (throw in a can of corn and some hot sauce and eat w/ a whole wheat tortilla…yummmm, and baked chicken breast w/ brown rice and a garden salad.
4. Have a protein/carb shake after every exercise session, especially the intense ones, such as our bootcamp routines. This one is a must for anyone who lifts weights. Usually an insulin spike is something you don’t want, because that means fat storage. However…if the insulin spike is within about 30 minutes after an intense exercise session, and you have the liquid protein for quick digestion such as whey protein, that insulin spike works toward muscle gain which will help you burn more fat then the fire-pits of hell on the fourth of July! Yee-Haw!! A 2 to 1 carb to protein ratio is what we recommend. That means if the shake has 30 grams of carbs, usually in the form of dextrose and maltodextrin, it should have 15 grams of protein.

There you have it. These 4 nutrition tips are the cornerstone of a fat loss nutrition strategy. Print it out. Memorize it. Magnetize it to your fridge. Whatever you do, do it!

No More Excuses!

Your Trainer For Life,

Forrest