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Losing fat isn't as exciting as you may think.  The truth doesn't involve trendy diets or gadget exercizers.  It all comes down to training and nutrition.  Nutrition is easily the single most important factor when it comes to weight loss.  I've discovered that you simply can't out train a bad diet.

But  a proper training program will undoubtedly enhance the weight loss process and effectively build lean muscle mass.  Our daily energy expenditure looks something like this; 10% dietary, 20-30% activity and 60-70% resting metabolic rate. The effective methods of losing fat have been proven over and over again, but the problem is… it's plain old vanilla boring.

And let's face it, the overweight population is NOT disciplined in the least.  Overweight people are the result of eating too much of the wrong stuff.  From a personal trainers' perspective it is way harder to train an overweight person than others.  Oh by the way, saying you don't want to use weights because it will make you "bulky" is the absolute biggest cop out in history.  Having lean muscle by lifting weights (and not light weights for 20+reps) has been proven to burn fat and you would have to lift a hell of a lot of weight before you ever get that "bulky" look.

Here are the most effective nutritional weight loss tactics:

• Eat Fruits & Vegetables, Lean Protein & Take Fish Oil. This is all there is too it.  Nothing fancy or bling blingy.  Eat fruits and vegetables regularly every day and eat lean protein such as chicken, fish, turkey, buffalo, pork tenderloin, etc.  Also taking a fish oil supplement has been found to enhance the fat loss process.
• Spread Out Your Meals Throughout the Day. A study found that those who ate 6 meals a day lost significantly more weight than those who ate only 2 meals throughout the day.   When you have irregular meal times you will gain fat.  It's not just about how many calories you take in, but the meal frequency plays a big role.
• Low Carbohydrate, High Protein Diet. Consuming a high carb diet will cause you to gain fat as numerous studies have shown.  Research has shown that there was significant fat loss with a low carb, high protein diet.  It will enhance satiety and increase your metabolism.  If you're overweight your diet should look like this; 40% carbs / 30% protein / 30% fats, erase whatever notions you have that a low fat diet will make you skinny.  Bad fats (saturated, trans) will make you fat, healthy fats (unsaturated) won't.
• Avoid Grains Like the Plague. Grains are not vegetables!  That includes corn and it's manufactured friend, high fructose corn syrup.  High fructose corn syrup is found in everything from sports drinks to ketchup.  Go for rye bread next time instead of whole grain.
• If it's White, then Don't Eat It! Stay away from things that are white such as rice, pasta, cereals and go for things that are colorful and nutrient rich.

Alright, now that we have the nutrtion part out of the way, let's look at the training fat loss principles:

• The Heart Rate Aerobic Fat Burning Zone is a Load of Crap. Keeping your heart rate in the 65-80% heart rate zone for burning fat is a bunch of hogwash.  Yes, in this zone you are burning more calories percentage wise than 85% and above, BUT when you go 85% and above you are burning more total calories overall and therefore burning more fat.  Steady state aerobics will have zero to no effect over dieting alone, the science simply doesn't support it.
• You Have to Lift Heavy Weights. Resistance Circuit Training is incredibly more effective and causing fat loss than aerobic cardio work.  You're going to have to lift heavier weights than the light weights you may be used to for your 15+ reps you've been doing.  Keep it around 8-12 repetitions and don't rush through it, your time under tension (60 seconds) is a big factor here.  Try alternating a upper body exercise with a lower body exercise with 30-60 seconds rest in between them, by alternating we will maximize our work density, therefore increasing our total calories burned.
• Use Interval Training. Interval training has been scientifically proven to burn 9 TIMES more subcutaneous fat loss than endurance training.  The belief behind this is that there will be a metabolic disturbance in your body in the post workout period and will enhance your EPOC (Excess Post-Exercise Consumption).  If you're obese this will most likely be too intense for you. You should first realistically focus on lifting weight 3 days per week and doing some light walking.
• Time Is the Biggest Variable. If you had all the time in the world to work out, then you would want to do something in this order; Metabolic Resistance Training, High Intensity Anaerobic Interval Training, High Intensity Aerobic Interval Training, then Steady State Aerobic Training.  Unfortunately we live in a real world and most of the people I see I can only see 3 hours a week, so I'm going to have them do resistance training with me.  But if I had a few hours more I could do more interval training, and then if I had more time then I could add some steady state aerobics to aid in losing weight.
• Write Down Your Goals. When a client first comes to me and I ask them their goals, I'm really asking them to be specific.  It's not enough that you just want to lose weight.  We have to have a plan of attack.  Always answer the following questions; what do you weigh? how much do you want to lose?, by when?  Then record their body fat %, take girth measurements and take pictures.

So there it is.  Everything you need to know about losing weight whether you're obese or just trying to lose 10-25 pounds.  It's really very simple but unfortunately not very easy or exciting.  But if you have a goal don't let anything stop you from achieving it.

- Josh Schlottman

Ok so we've all been lied to. Who knew all the stuff they put in bodybuilding magazines would become imprinted in our brains as the right stuff to do? Surely it has to be true and expert information if it was in such a prestigious magazine. Right? Somewhere along the way we we brainwashed into the bodybuilding cult by wishing to look massive instead of actually being strong.

The most effective ways of increasing strength and overall health are significantly different then the old school bodybuilding methods that Schwarzenegger made famous. There's now scientific research that clearly shows how increasing your actual strength is far more superior in overall health and real world performance than just increasing your muscle size.

But hey, I was there too. I've done the bodybuilding thing for past 7 years ever since I first started working out. And it wasn't because I didn't know any better! It was because I was willing to trade performance for appearance. As a result of this, I've had several serious back injuries over the years that have kept me from enjoying life.

I've had numerous golf playing clients in lower back pain and have actually tried doing these types of bodybuilding training routines! Exercise and flexibility are critical for golfers, but not the traditional bodybuilding stuff. Most golf players aren't getting any younger and these workouts would just regress their health and strength. But it's not really their fault, a lot of golf players have low back pain but most don't know how to get out of it, so they resort to methods they see in magazines.

Here are my list of the Top 5 ABSOLUTE WORST Exercises for Lower Back Pain…

1) Back Loaded Exercises: Back loaded squats and lunges are really hard on the lower back. The spine compresses when you place a barbell on top of it. When doing the 10-12 rep stuff bodybuilding magazines recommend, you're often pushing yourself to do more reps then necessary. When you do this your form is more likely to suffer and injuries start flowing. Doing this is what caused the majority of my back injuries.

2) Situps: Situps are another horrible exercise for those in low back pain. Situps are done with intentions to strength the abdominal muscles but it actuality they are working more of the hip flexors. The hip flexors actually are attached to the vertebrae of the lower back and are one of the major causes of back pain. Also when performed with the hands behind the head, you're more likely to pull on your neck (cervical spine) and add additional unncessary back stress.

3) Crunches & Leg Raises: Crunches are intended to be done to work the "six pack" muscles of the abdominals. Most people unfortunately way overdo it with crunches and as a result create a significant imbalance in the abdominals causing a flexion-chain imbalance. This will give you the "slumped" look with your hips moving forward and your ribcage moving inward. The is BAD considering the body always wants to be in balance. Leg Raises are also bad because they tend to involve more of the hip flexors and can put your lower back in a compromising position.

4) Supermans: This is a very traditional exercise to do if you're in low back pain. Hell, there was a time when even I would recommend it to my clients who had lower back pain and a weak core. The problem with it is that it creates an extreme amount of compression of the spine and this amount of force can easily damage ligaments, joint surfaces and even disc ruptures. For a great core exercise try doing a Hover Plank instead.

5) Leg Press: When done correctly and with sufficient weight, the leg press can be a very effective exercise. But most gym goers throw on a ton of weight, aren't very flexible and try to feed their ego by pushing some big weight. When doing this they are very likely to lift their lower back off the pad that is keeping the integrity of the spine. When this happens with all that weight on the leg press, injuries will happen. Instead of going heavy, go light and do one-legged presses.

These are the exercises that I've found to cause the most unnecessary stress to the lower back. I'm not saying you have to completely drop them from your workouts, but from now on be smart with your training. Especially if you are in pain and over the age of 30. If you are already in lower back pain then I would definitely not recommend doing any of the following exercises…

- Josh Schlottman

Does eating breakfast every morning really matter? I hear all the time how we don't have time in the morning to eat breakfast. Waking up after hopefully 8 hours of sleep our bodies are really dehydrated and hungry. The first thing I do every morning is drink about a half liter of water even if I have to force myself to do it. Our own personal productivity is heavily dependent on the way we start our mornings.

The first meal we eat is the key meal of the day. Why? Because the first meal sets the context for the rest of the meals you'll eat today. If the first meal you eat is a healthy and well-balanced meal, then the next meal you eat you will want it to be a healthy and well-balanced meal. But if you cheat and eat something bad for breakfast, then you're way more likely to eat bad the rest of the day. This is why the first one is so important.

Same things goes for your personal productivity. If you have a clear cut ritual you do every morning then you will be more likely to continue on with that productivity throughout the day. My morning ritual takes about an hour and here it goes; wake up and drink half a liter of water, meditate and deep breathing exercises for about 5 minutes, drink a Super Shake, next take care of personal hygiene and bathroom duties, then eat a bowl of oatmeal with some blueberries and finally take my vitamins.

Try to include exercise into your morning ritual for at least 30 minutes and take a shower afterwards. Oprah said by exercising in the morning it starts a fire in the body and soul for the rest of the day. It's also a great feeling to know you're done with your exercise and you don't have to worry about it for the rest of the day.

You may have to start waking up earlier and going to bed sooner than what you're used to. It's going to take around 30 days of this before it will become habitual. But if you do you're morning ritual every day then I promise you'll spend your day with more energy and will get much more accompished.

Here is what I put in my Super Shake every morning; 1 cup of water, 1 scoop of protein powder, tablespoon of flax seeds, tablespoon of Colostrum, 1 cup of frozen mixed berries, tablespoon of plain yogurt, 1/2 cup of steel-cut oatmeal, and 1 scoop of Green Vibrance. Make your breakfast as healthy as possible, Registered Dietician Chris Mohr says, "If it has a cartoon on the box, then the cereal isn't healthy!"

This also applies for when you go to sleep. The hour before sleeping spend the first 30 minutes doing chores or planning the next day, spend 15 minutes to change into your pajamas and to take care of your hygiene and for the final 15 minutes or so spend it reading. To increase your personal productivity make sure you get the 8 hours of the sleep you need, determine what time you have to wake up tomorrow morning and count backwards from there, this is your bedtime.

Here is the first step for you to do, plan out your morning ritual on a piece of paper and get started on it tomorrow morning. Plan your meals and everything you're going to do. And don't check your email during it! Tonight also take a piece of paper and write down 3 things that must be accomplished and make them the priorities for tomorrow. Do them before everything else. The best advice I can give to do this is to START NOW and DON'T DEVIATE.

You don't have to do this every day of the week, if you only do it once, do it on Monday and set the energy for the week. In fact, try switching up the morning ritual a little bit each month to perfect it. I'm a firm believer you never want to get too caught up in your ways, because it doesn't leave an opening for progression. Remember the saying, "what you stick with, you're stuck with."

- Josh Schlottman

ok I know the holidays are over, but still some useful info for you guys!

Josh

People Gain 5-10 Pounds During the Holidays & Most Never Lose It

1) Work Out Early in the Day. Work out as early as you possibly can. All the distractions & parties in the afternoon & evening can build up & before you know it you can’t make it to the gym. If you work out early, you get it over with, you stay on track & you don’t have to worry about it.

2) Break A Sweat Every Day. Whether you’re running for 30 minutes or lifting weights, getting a daily sweat by keeping the intensity high is the key to staying fit & on track.

3) Plan in Advance. Know when you’re going to do your work out & make sure to have options to allow you to get your workouts done quickly. Exercise is such a huge stress reliever, something we all need & we need it even more at this time of year.

4) Do Interval Training. High-Intensity Interval Training is scientifically proven to burn NINE TIMES more fat than the long, slow & boring aerobic training alternative. If you don’t know how to do interval training, get with a trainer to show you the ropes.

5) Listen to Dr. Seuss. Use the green, eggs & ham plan during all non-holiday meals. Eat at least a fist-worth of green vegetables & lean proteins with healthy fats filling the gaps as much as possible every 2-3 hours. This is going to keep your glycogen or carb tank low as possible so you’ll have more leeway when you eat those mashed potatoes, stuffing & pumpkin pie.

6) Eat Early & Eat Often. It’s important to start your engine for the day with some protein. I suggest something like eggs or oatmeal, yogurt & nuts for breakfast. Eat often by keeping nutrient dense snacks around such as protein powder, chicken/turkey jerky, granola bars, nuts, dried fruit & string cheese. Now you’re less likely to overeat at parties or do any late night binging after running around like crazy all day.

7) Stay Hydrated. We often confuse thirst for hunger so drink water to control your appetite. Raise your metabolism by drinking 2 cups of cold water first thing in the morning. You’ll also re-hydrate your body after 8 hours of sleepy dehydration.