Actually, on the face of it, the logic doesn’t seem that faulty at all does it? If I eat fewer meals throughout the day then I will reduce the amount of calories my body takes on board. That means that my body will then have to start using up its fuel reserves which we know are stored as fat. That means I will lose fat and lose weight. In fact, you should be aiming to do the exact opposite of the above. It is certainly a good idea to alter the frequency of meals you eat during the day. However you shouldn’t reduce the frequency, you should increase it!

Our bodies have come to develop some very sophisticated defense mechanisms over the thousands of years we have been roaming the earth. However we have actually only been able to develop farming methods and other food production methods that allow us to have a continuous source of nutrition quite recently. In the past when we had to go out and hunt for our food it may not have been that easy to find and so we may have had to go for long
periods of time with no calorie intake at all. As discussed in myth number one the defense mechanism which keeps us alive during times of starvation starts to burn fat slower and actually starts to break down our lean muscle mass as a way to obtain valuable protein. This response comes into play much quicker than you might imagine. In fact your body starts to react in this way after you have been without food for as little as three or four hours. By sticking to the regular three meals per day routine, there will be several periods during the day where your body is in defense mode.

In order to promote weight loss and lose fat more efficiently, the number of meals you eat throughout the day should be increased in order to maintain a higher than normal metabolism for a longer period of time. Most people would typically consume two or three meals every five to seven hours. For example you might start with breakfast at 8am followed by lunch at 1pm (5 hour gap) and an evening meal at 8pm (7 hour gap). Don’t forget there is then another 12 hour gap before you eat breakfast again. It is easy to see why you might get hungry between meals and resort to raiding the fridge for a snack. This is because your metabolism starts to drop and so does your blood sugar level.

But what if you were to eat smaller more regular meals throughout the day? By consuming five to seven meals every two to three hours, your body comes to believe that its food supply is plentiful. It will therefore make more energy available to you and it won’t be too concerned with storing fat or using up your lean muscle for protein. Also, by allowing your body to release more resources for use as fuel rather than storing them up as fat, you will feel more energetic throughout the day. You will also notice that any snack cravings you may have had before should also disappear as your blood sugar will be kept at more consistent and healthy levels.

This is “Myth #2″ in our “12 Myths of weight loss” series. Follow the link for Myth #1 – Drop the Calories, Drop the Fat?

However, have you ever wondered why this approach isn’t that successful for most people? The answer is simple, it doesn’t work. The assumption uses faulty logic which doesn’t take into account the fact that your body alters how it works depending upon the situation it is in. If your goal is to permanently lose your body fat, then reducing the amount of calories you eat by a large amount is counterproductive and may even be harmful.

So what does your body change to make the logic faulty? Well, your body has complex defense mechanisms that swing into action in all sorts of different circumstances. If you suddenly reduce the amount of calories you take on board, then your body thinks it is being starved and so starts to slow things down in order not to burn up fuel as quickly as it normally would. Your body’s goal in doing this is to keep you alive when food is scarce. It is true that the body will start to consume fat stores when the amount of food available to it is low, but in order to keep you alive for longer, it decides to burn fat at a much slower rate. In fact, your metabolic rate can in extreme circumstances be reduced by up to 40%.

There is worse news though for those of you thinking that a crash diet like this will help you reduce your body fat content quicker. The lack of calories means that you will start to lose muscle too. So, if you are thinking that when you lose the fat, your muscle tone will be more defined, think again. So why does this happen? Well, muscle is expensive in terms of the amount of resources the body is required to expend in order to sustain it. Consequently, in times of starvation, the body will start to break it down and get rid of it, thereby freeing up much needed protein for use elsewhere. The weight you lose during a crash diet may actually consist of up to 50% muscle tissue. By crash dieting, you will end up achieving the exact opposite of what you intended. You will start to lose muscle tissue, but you will lose fat at a much reduced rate.

So what should you be doing? In short, take some hints from how your body works. In the end, your body is much better at deciding how to use up the resources you feed it than you are. Don’t reduce your calorific intake by a substantial amount in a short space of time, but instead lower your calorie intake by a smaller amount over a longer period of time. Around 15 – 20% below what you need to eat to maintain your current weight is about right.

Fat Loss is a marathon, not a sprint. Focus on losing body fat gradually. By taking this approach, your metabolism won’t crash and you will achieve the result you are looking for. Which is the preservation of lean muscle tissue and a steady reduction of body fat over a longer period of time. You will also feel much healthier and more energetic as you won’t be starving yourself. You will never achieve these results with a crash diet.

This is “Myth #1″ in our “12 Myths of weight loss” series. Stay tuned for more in the series soon!

NEVER, EVER QUIT! MAKE FITNESS A LIFESTYLE!

Do you know what is the biggest mistake made by beginners?

They quit!

Remember in the January issue, where I mentioned how attendance in our gym shoots up for about 6-8 weeks around New Year’s? Well, it’s back to normal now because all the quitters dropped out already.

What’s especially sad is that most people quit right when they’re on the verge of making substantial progress.

Remember: You’re never a failure as long as you’re working on the progressive realization of a worthy goal. But the second you quit, then it’s official – you’re a failure.

Quitting should not even be an option because…

FITNESS IS A LIFESTYLE!

Don’t let these four words slip by you just because it’s an oft-repeated cliché. This is an important mindset! You have to stop thinking of getting in shape for a New Year’s resolution, vacation or wedding (or a contest, you bodybuilders). You must start thinking about getting healthy and in shape FOR LIFE.

When you’re just starting out, firmly resolve that quitting is not even an option. Don’t approach this endeavor with an “I’ll try” attitude. If you accept quitting as a possibility, you might as well not even start; just grab that remote control, a bag of chips and get back on the couch where you were before.

Also, understand that results may come slowly in the beginning if you’re not the genetically-gifted type. This process requires great patience and persistence for most people.

Most beginners never allow themselves the time it takes to get any momentum going. They expect too much too soon, get discouraged and quit.

It takes a big push to get started. It’s like getting a rocket off the ground – it uses most of its fuel just launching off the pad, but once it’s in the air and the inertia has been overcome, it can keep going with very little energy expenditure. Don’t quit just because it’s difficult to “launch!”

GET A PERSONAL TRAINER, COACH, OR MENTOR

Life is too just too short to learn everything there is to know on your own. Don’t waste time climbing the ladder only to find it’s leaning against the wrong wall! Learn from the experts. Get a trainer, personal coach, or mentor to help you start right – right from the start.

Don’t know what to look for in a trainer? Read my new article about personal trainers. You’ll find it in the Fitness Renaissance website library here:

www.fitren.com/res3art.cfm?compid=18&artid=86

JOIN A GYM IF YOU CAN, BUT A SET OF DUMBBELLS ARE MORE THAN ENOUGH TO GET YOU STARTED

I admit I’m showing my bias by saying everyone should join a gym (I’m in the health club business), but I sincerely believe nothing beats working out in a high quality health club. In a well-equipped gym, the possibilities are endless, the atmosphere is motivational and people are there to help you.

More often than not, however, beginners start at home. That being the case, I admit that you don’t need a gym to get started. You also don’t need any of that garbage advertised on late night TV. The only piece of equipment you need has existed for over 100 years – that’s right, the humble DUMBBELL!

Remember – don’t overcomplicate this – think basics, basics, basics (and dumbbells are as basic as it gets.)

Dumbbells are the single most versatile piece of equipment in existence. You can perform hundreds, even thousands of exercises with dumbbells.

Ladies, a set of 3 to 20 pounds will be more than sufficient. Guys, a set from 10 to 40 pounds should do the trick (for now). I’ve also heard wonderful things about Powerblock dumbbells for space-saving, although I don’t have first hand experience to cite.

If you also get yourself a bench and clear out a little corner in your favorite room, then you’re ready to roll!

Here it is – The beginner’s all-dumbbell routine:

1. Dumbbell bench press (chest)
2. Dumbbell side lateral raise (shoulders)
3. One arm dumbbell row (upper back)
4. Dumbbell extension behind head (triceps)
5. Dumbbell Bicep curl (biceps)
6. Dumbbell Lunges (thighs)
7. Dumbbell One leg calf raise (calves)
8. Dumbbell leg curl (hamstrings)
9. Crunches (abs)

There you have it. Simple and effective. At home or in a gym.

If you’re just starting, do this routine for 2-3 sets of 8-12 reps per exercise, except calves and abs which you can go up to 20 reps. Rest 1 minute between sets. You’ll train your whole body in each workout, 2 -3 three days per week, non-consecutive days.

After 3 – 6 months, you’ll probably need to add exercises and move up to a split routine. (So I guess I have to do another article, called 8 tips for intermediates: How to keep going).

WEIGHT TRAINING IS NOT OPTIONAL – IT’S MANDATORY!

It’s is a common misconception that you should start with aerobic workouts and lose the fat first before adding weight training.

Unfortunately, the best you can hope for from diet and aerobics alone is to become a “skinny fat person.” You may lose weight, but you’ll have a poor muscle to fat ratio and a “soft” appearance.

Obviously, weight training is the key to developing strength and muscle. What few people realize is that weight training also increases fat loss, although it occurs indirectly.

Weight training is anaerobic and burns carbohydrates (sugar).Cardio is aerobic and therefore burns fat. So it seems logical to focus on aerobic training for fat loss.

However, something interesting happens “beneath the surface” when you lift weights. Weight training increases your lean body mass – aerobic training does not.

Low calorie dieting and aerobic training without weight lifting can make you lose lean body mass. If you lose lean body mass, your metabolism slows down, and this makes it harder to lose fat.

If you increase your lean body mass, you increase your metabolic rate and this makes it easier to lose fat. With a faster metabolism, you’ll burn more fat all day long – even while you’re sleeping!

If you have limited time, and your main priority is fat loss, then do a very brief weight training program and spend the majority of your time concentrating on cardio. But never neglect the weights completely – always do both, and if possible, devote equal attention to each.

About the Author:
Tom Venuto is a lifetime natural bodybuilder, personal trainer, gym owner, freelance writer and author of “Burn the Fat, Feed The Muscle” (BFFM): Fat Burning Secrets of the World’s Best Bodybuilders and Fitness Models. Tom has written over 140 articles and has been featured in IRONMAN magazine, Natural Bodybuilding, Muscular Development, Muscle-Zine, Exercise for Men and Men’s Exercise. Tom is the Fat Loss Expert for Global-Fitness.com and the nutrition editor for Femalemuscle.com and his articles are regularly featured worldwide on literally dozens of other websites.

To get the FACTS on exactly how, what & when to eat and how to train to achieve maximum fat loss, without losing muscle or slowing down your metabolism… AND to discover the shocking truth about the diet, weight loss and supplement industries, Check out Tom’s e-book online here: www.burnthefat.com

There are so many opinions about how to lose body fat that many people end up completely confused and they don’t do ANYTHING!

They’ve read about 27 ways to diet, 34 ways to do cardio, 101 ways to lift weights and 79 supplements to take. But they still don’t have a clue how to start.

You stuff your brain with so much information it feels like it’s going to explode, but then you never do anything about it. You’re like a deer stuck in headlights. Sound familiar?

I call this the “paralysis by analysis” syndrome.

The most important thing you can do is take action. Just begin the journey and figure it out as you go. Better still; get a coach or trainer right from the start.

Actually, losing fat is not that complicated. You don’t need a PhD in exercise physiology to figure out that any exercise is better than no exercise. You don’t have to be a genius in nutritional biochemistry to figure out that an apple is better than a pop tart. Getting lean is simple: Exercise. Eat healthier foods. Eat smaller portions. Isn’t this stuff just common sense? Didn’t your mother tell you this?

So what’s stopping you? What makes you freeze up?

If you’re like most people, FEAR is stopping you. You’re so afraid of doing something wrong, you choose to do nothing rather than make a mistake or look foolish.

What you must understand is that people who accomplish much and people who accomplish little BOTH have fears. The difference between the two is that the latter feels the fear and lets it immobilize them. The former feels the fear and does it anyway.

Begin the process. You can always fine-tune your program as you go. Naturally, it’s better to aim and then fire, but its better to fire and then adjust your aim later than not to fire at all. You can’t win a battle by hiding in the trenches.

WALKING IS A GREAT WAY TO START A CARDIO PROGRAM

Ok, so you’ve decided to forge ahead in spite of your fear and start working out. Congratulations. Now what? How do you choose between Stairmaster, Tae Bo, Lifecycle, Yoga, Kickboxing, Elliptical machine, jogging, swimming, etc.?

Any exercise is better than no exercise so stop over-analyzing: just pick something and start. Just do it.

If you can’t make up your mind, then here’s the simplest, easiest, most guaranteed way for any beginner to successfully start a fat loss program:

Walk!

Here’s why:

It requires no equipment
It requires no knowledge of exercise technique
It can be done by almost everyone, regardless of experience
It can be done almost anywhere
It’s safe

For all these reasons, walking is the perfect way to begin. However, the better your condition becomes, the more you’ll need to advance to higher levels of exercise intensity to reach higher levels of fitness.

I’m not saying you should abandon walking, but if you decide to keep walking, a casual stroll will no longer do. For an experienced exerciser, I would consider walking a method of locomotion more than a serious workout.

There’s a big difference between walking for health vs walking for fat loss. Even a 10 or 15-minute casual walk has health benefits. But if you want to turn walking into an effective, fat-melting workout, you’ll need to push yourself for 30 minutes or more several days per week. Walking briskly uphill (or on an inclined treadmill) is an excellent fat-burning workout for anyone.

DON’T GET CAUGHT UP IN MINUTIA – FOCUS ON FUNDAMENTALS

Read any book about success and it will tell you “pay attention to detail.” Sounds like good advice – unless you haven’t mastered the fundamentals yet. In that case, it’s the worst advice you could follow.

Every day people send me questions like these:

“Should I use a fast acting protein powder like whey or would casein be better? What if I mix both and also add a little bit of Soy? If I use all of them, what ratio of the three would be ideal and when should I take them?”

“I want to do the ephedrine-caffeine stack and it says to take 20 mg of ephedrine with 200 milligrams of caffeine. The ephedrine comes in 25 milligram tablets, so should I chip a little bit off the tablet to get the right ratio?”

Do you see the problem here?

These are legitimate questions, but they’re completely moot if you’re eating doughnuts and sitting on the couch all day long. Fix your diet and get your butt moving first, then worry about the little things.

Emerson said, “The height of the pinnacle is determined by the breadth of the base.” The heights you reach will depend entirely on how broad a foundation you build. Great coaches such as Vince Lombardi and John Wooden credited most of their success to drilling their players on fundamentals.

Forget about ALL the minutia until you have the fundamentals down cold!

Forget about supplement dosages
Forget about macronutrient cycling
Forget about tempo manipulation
Forget about glycemic indexes
Forget about the latest Bulgarian or Russian periodization program

Master the fundamentals first!

The fundamentals of fat loss include: (1) Do your cardio, (2) Lift weights, (3) Burn more calories than you consume (4) Eat 5-6 small, frequent meals and never skip meals, (5) Keep your fat intake low, but include small amounts of good fats, (6) Eat natural foods; avoid processed & refined foods, (7) eat more complex carbs, fruits & vegetables, (8) eat lean proteins with each meal, (9) Think positive: visualize yourself as you would like to be.

If you’re not doing all these things, and you’re looking for the perfect supplement stack or the optimum periodization plan, I’m afraid you’re barking up the wrong tree.

I don’t want you to think that details don’t matter – they do. The “Law of Accumulation” states that every success is a matter of hundreds or even thousands of tiny efforts that often go unnoticed or unappreciated. Everything counts. Everything either helps or hurts. Nothing is neutral.

The problem is when you get bogged down in minutia before you’ve even learned the basics. Minor details produce minor results. Major fundamentals produce major results.

Don’t major in minor things. Lay your foundation first, then move on to the finer points. And remember, as Jim Rohn says, always be suspicious of someone who says they’ve found a new fundamental.

KNOW YOUR CALORIES

The most important dietary factor in fat loss is not how many grams of carbohydrate, protein or fat you eat, the most important factor for fat loss is calories. Eat more than you burn each day and you will store fat. Eat less than you burn each day and you will lose fat.It’s just that simple.

Where the calories come from is important too, but unless you understand the calorie concept, nothing else matters.

I’m appalled at how many people claim to sincerely want to lose body fat who admit they haven’t a clue how many calories they eat.

Get serious! If you don’t have the faintest idea how much you’re eating, how can you expect to make any progress?

Did it ever occur to you that your ONLY problem might be overeating!

Do you realize that too much of anything gets stored as fat?

That’s right – even if you’re eating nothing but “natural and healthy” foods, if you eat too many of them, you’re still going to get fat.

Portion control, my friend, portion control!

On the other hand, maybe you’re under-eating and slowing down your metabolism. There’s a fine line.

For all the details on your daily calorie needs, refer to my article Calorie Calculators

Click Here to read the second part of Tom’s great tips for weight loss

About the Author:
Tom Venuto is a lifetime natural bodybuilder, personal trainer, gym owner, freelance writer and author of “Burn the Fat, Feed The Muscle” (BFFM): Fat Burning Secrets of the World’s Best Bodybuilders and Fitness Models. Tom has written over 140 articles and has been featured in IRONMAN magazine, Natural Bodybuilding, Muscular Development, Muscle-Zine, Exercise for Men and Men’s Exercise. Tom is the Fat Loss Expert for Global-Fitness.com and the nutrition editor for Femalemuscle.com and his articles are regularly featured worldwide on literally dozens of other websites.

Learn the Truth About Diets, Weight Loss Programs And Fat Burning Supplements

To get the FACTS on exactly how, what & when to eat and how to train to achieve maximum fat loss, without losing muscle or slowing down your metabolism… AND to discover the shocking truth about the diet, weight loss and supplement industries, Check out Tom’s e-book online here: www.burnthefat.com