“How To Get Maximum Weight Loss & Fitness Results In Minimum Time”

15 Tips For Looking And Feeling Better Than You Have In Years

Top Certified Fitness Expert Reveals The Essential Strategies For Lasting Weight Loss And Lifelong Fitness

By Bruce Carpman BSME, NSCA CSCS

1. In the beginning, your fitness plan should not be overly aggressive. One of the biggest problems most people encounter when starting a fitness program is rapidly depleted motivation after only a few weeks due to an overly ambitious fitness plan.

If you are very out of shape, you should probably start by implementing good eating habits and low-intensity cardiovascular exercise (walking, biking, swimming). Once you’re accustomed to some level of activity, you can progress into two or three days per week of resistance training on top of the cardiovascular exercise. As you become acclimated to the lifestyle “shift” you can add more days and get improved results. But beware: if you try to do too much too fast, you may end up quitting altogether, but if you don’t continually (but slowly) increase the amount and/or intensity, your results will also stop. If you’ve tried and failed doing it alone, then I suggest you get a training partner or personal trainer who will help you sustain your motivation.

2. Don’t waste your time working small muscles with isolated movements. If you don’t enjoy doing resistance training or are pressed for time, concentrate on working the largest muscle groups with compound resistance movements. When I see overweight people doing wrist curls or lateral raises, I wonder why. It’s generally just a lack of understanding of how their bodies work. Most people want to lose fat and tone and firm their bodies. The way to do that is to use resistance (weights or machines) to train the large muscle groups. The best exercises for legs are lunges or squats (your personal trainer will show you the proper form and then monitor you during the exercise). The best chest exercise is bench press, and the best back exercise is the seated row. All of these are compound movements, which means they incorporate multiple muscle groups.

Along the same lines, don’t try to “Spot Reduce”. Sit-ups do not flatten your stomach and the thighmaster won’t trim your upper legs. Your body loses fat in a pre-determined pattern. Building the muscles up under that fat won’t make the fat go away. If you have problem areas, you will need to follow all these rules to lower your total body fat. Once you have trimmed off the fat, then you can decide what muscle groups you want to build.

3. Set realistically attainable goals. You must have tangible, quantifiable, short-term and long-term goals for your fitness program so you can gauge your progress. It’s crucial to have a “baseline” before you begin, so you can measure success. Your health club or personal trainer can give you a complete fitness analysis (don’t be shy – you need this) that will aid you or your trainer in developing a personalized fitness program which addresses your particular needs.

Having goals, particularly short-term goals, allows you to track your progress and keep you motivated when times are tough and you don’t feel like exercising. Keeping a journal of your cardio and resistance training workouts, as well as tracking what you eat is truly a fitness success “secret.” Just remember that your goals should be realistic and attainable.

The best way for you to understand what is realistic and attainable for you is to talk to a fitness professional – not to buy into the “hype” of infomercials, diet and fitness products that blatantly mislead. If your goal is fat loss, you should never plan on more than a pound or maybe two per week at the MOST. Any more than this, and you will be loosing more muscle than fat, and that won’t do you any good. If you lose 20 lbs, but 10 of it is muscle, then you’ve really only lost 10lbs of fat and the loss of 10lbs of muscle will make every part of your body less firm.

4. Set exercise appointments with yourself. Use your day-timer to set appointments for exercise – and then stick to them. You wouldn’t miss a business meeting or client appointment, would you? So don’t miss your exercise appointment with yourself. Nothing is more important than your health. NOTHING! Everything else will crumble around you if your health goes south. So make your exercise appointments a priority. If you find it difficult to keep these appointments, then consider hiring a personal trainer who will hold you to your commitment. When you have money invested, and someone waiting for you to show up – you are much more likely to actually show up!

5. Remember the benefits of exercise. Remember that feeling of euphoria you experienced after a particularly good work-out? You experienced that feeling because the most powerful “feel good” drug in the world – endorphins – are coursing through your veins. If there is a panacea, it’s exercise. Nothing feels better than the post-work-out high you experience after exercising. Revel in that feeling. Let it wash over you and truly experience it. Etch that feeling in your brain. It will fuel your motivation on those inevitable days when you just don’t feel like exercising.

Being physically fit affects every single aspect of your life: you sleep better, eat better, love better, overcome stress better, work better, communicate better, and live better! Once you get close to obtaining your goal, it will get easier. You won’t be able to imagine going back to the way you used to be.

6. Exercise correctly. So much time is wasted doing, at best, unproductive exercise, or at worst, dangerous exercise. Get educated on how to exercise correctly. And the absolute best way to do that is to hire a personal trainer to develop a program for you and then teach you what to do and how to do it right. Personal training does not have to be an ongoing process. You can hire a personal trainer for whatever length of time you need to learn the ropes. It could be ten sessions, or it could be fifty sessions. It’s completely up to you. But statistics prove that those who understand how to exercise correctly, get better, faster results. And that’s what you want, right? Results!

Exercising properly also includes avoiding fad exercise plans and “One Size Fits All” exercise. Every year some “guru” comes up with a “new” way to get in shape. Invariably it’s some very simple system that ignores the fact that fitness is multi-faceted. Yoga, for instance, has always been an incredible way of increasing your flexibility, and balance, but doesn’t do anything to work on cardiovascular fitness or increase/maintain muscle strength and joint integrity. It certainly won’t speed up your metabolism in any way.

2003’s big fad seems to be Pilates. Joseph Pilates invented his system to help injured dancers maintain their flexibility while they recovered. I have a feeling he’s rolling in his grave at the way Pilates is now being marketed as a “one stop solution” for everyones exercise needs.

Exercise Science is REAL. We do know the facts behind fitness and weight loss. Any weight loss or exercise plan that does not include both cardiovascular and resistance training will always fall short of a properly integrated plan.

7. Always, always, always stretch. Stretching improves flexibility, blood flow, muscle recovery, reduces low back pain and a host of other things. Additionally, stretching can prevent injury, improve your posture, make you sleep better and improve your performance in all sports. Always stretch, but be certain not to stretch cold muscles. You should always warm up before stretching. However, it is very important that you know how to stretch. Never bounce! Your personal trainer will show you the proper execution and timing of your stretches.

8. Enjoy yourself. The most difficult thing is actually getting into your running shoes or going to the gym. But once you begin your work-out, relax and enjoy the process. Don’t fight it. Make exercise your personal time. When you are exercising you can focus completely on yourself. Yes, exercising can and should be somewhat rigorous (depending on your level of fitness), but it is just that investment which makes it supremely rewarding. As with anything, if you are in the moment, you can’t fully appreciate the experience and truly enjoy the process. Since your exercise time is planned ahead of time, you shouldn’t be in a hurry to get finished. Also realize that your exercise time is an excellent time to temporarily leave all your other concerns behind.

9. Americans eat too many carbohydrates for our lifestyles. You must minimize your intake of bread, pasta, rice, potato and of course, all sugary drinks. We are no longer an agrarian society participating in manual labor. Most of us are completely sedentary throughout the day and therefore do not need the high levels of carbohydrates to sustain our energy. Additionally, carbohydrates are addictive. The more donuts you eat, the more you want. The bulk of your carbohydrates should come from vegetables and fruit. And those with high water content, such as cucumbers, grapefruit, tomatoes, cantaloupe, strawberries and even vegetable soups (watch out for high sodium), will fill you up nicely. By the way, numerous studies have conclusively proven that the quarter of the population eating the most vegetables get half the cancer of the quarter eating the least! As an additional benefit, vegetables are high in fiber. Fiber is best know for keeping us “regular”, but it has also been shown to cause weight loss all on it’s own. That’s right, when you increase your fiber consumption (through eating more vegetables), you will probably lose a couple pounds without doing anything else.

10. Deep-fried food has no nutritional value – none! Almost every food, whether it’s steak, chocolate or red wine, has some nutrients to contribute. But one thing is absolute: fried foods are garbage. Potato chips, French fries, onion rings, breaded chicken strips and all the rest of the deep-fried junk are pregnant with the worst kinds of fats and calories, and they contain almost zero nutritional value. Also, it doesn’t matter what type of oil something is fried in. Certain fast food restaraunts would like you to believe their fried foods are healthier because they are fried in vegetable oil instead of lard. The problem is, once ANY oil is heated to over 350 degrees for more than 10 minutes, it then has the nutritional value of used motor oil!! If you’re trying to lose weight and/or reduce fat, simply eliminate fried foods completely from your diet. Yikes! That stuff is scary.

11. Never, ever skip breakfast. If you want to maximize your fitness results or fat-loss efforts, you’ve got to eat breakfast. Even if you don’t exercise at all – breakfast remains the most important meal of the day. Your breakfast should contain complete proteins and complex carbohydrates (if you’re trying to lose weight, you should eat the bulk of your complex carbohydrates at breakfast and lunch and only have vegetable carbohydrates at dinner). A great breakfast is oatmeal (not the pre-packaged, pre-sweetened kind) with a little honey and banana and a protein drink. Or try scrambled egg whites with low fat turkey sausage.

Along the same line of thinking, don’t eat within 3 hours of going to bed. You’re body doesn’t need energy while you’re sleeping, so get the energy in the morning when it can use it the most.

12. Get at least 1 gram of protein per lb of body weight. So if you weigh 140lbs, you should be getting about 140 grams of protein per day.

Why so much? First of all, even if we want to loose weight, we really want to loose fat, not muscle. Studies have shown this level of protein intake will help preserve muscle while you diet. Also, protein takes more energy for your body to process so you can eat more at a given meal. Protein also has a statiating effect, causing you to be full for longer after a meal.

Your body only stores a very small amount of protein outside of muscle tissue, so anytime you go for very long without protein, your body will start to eat into the protein in your muscles. So get some protein in every meal.

13. Eat fat to lose fat. Healthy fats are necessary to your body for a bunch of reasons: regulating hormonal production, improving immune function, lowering total cholesterol, lubricating joints, and providing the basics for healthy hair, nails and skin.

The singular distinction you must be aware of is the difference between healthy “good” fats, and dangerous “bad” fats. Good fats are monounsaturated fats like olive, peanut and canola oil, avocados, all natural peanut butter and nuts; and omega-3 fats like salmon, tuna, flax seeds and mackerel. Bad fats are partially hydrogenated fats (killers!), and trans fats, as well as ALL fried foods. Almost anything you buy in a box or bag has bad fats and no good fats. Your personal trainer can provide you with a simple diet program that will complement your exercise to help you live longer, feel better and boost your immune system.

The bottom line is that your body needs good fats (especially omega-3’s which our diets are deficient in) – and will revolt if you attempt to abstain from them – and absolutely does not need bad fats. If that weren’t enough, adding a little good fat to a meal will satiate you for longer since it will take your body longer to process the meal. This means it will be longer until you’re hungry again.

14. Drink plenty of fresh, clean water. Yes, I know that you’ve heard this over and over again. But there’s a reason for that – it’s the gospel truth! The recommended amount is approximately eight glasses, or 64 ounces, of water every day. When you are exercising, you need to drink even more. Over 75% of your body is water (even bone is more than 20% water). When you don’t drink enough water, and substitute diuretics like coffee, tea and caffeinated sodas, you dehydrate your body, your blood doesn’t flow properly and your digestive system doesn’t operate smoothly (among other problems). Even a small deficit of water can radically affect how your body performs.

Studies have shown slight weight loss in the average person just by increasing water consumption. What better reason could you ask for? Here’s a good rule of thumb: if you’re urine is a dark yellow and/or has a strong odor, you’re not drinking enough water. Drink up!

15. Eat regularly throughout the day. Fasting or overly restrictive diets will enable you to lose weight – in the short run. Because the weight you lose is primarily water weight and lean muscle mass. But in the long-run, it has exactly the opposite effect you want. When you restrict your diet, your body instinctively thinks it’s being starved and shifts into a protective mode by storing fat.

Energy expenditures are fueled by your lean muscles. Therefore your body fat remains essentially the same and you lose vital fluids and muscle instead. The less muscle you have, the slower your metabolism becomes, and the less fat you burn. You should be eating three nutritionally balanced meals each day, and you should have at least one or two healthy snacks. This keeps your metabolic furnace stoked, so you burn more at a faster rate. I know, it’s counter-intuitive, but it’s the gospel truth!

Try to plan your meals so that you are always a little hungry when you eat (but not starving), and always eat just what you planned to eat. Never more!

There you have it. 15 essential strategies for an effective weight loss and fitness program that will have you looking and feeling better than you have in years – maybe ever!

I realize that starting (or re-starting) a productive and effective health and fitness program is not easy. That’s why I encourage you to get help.

If you’re sick, you go to the doctor. If you’ve got a tax problem, you see an accountant (or an attorney!). Have a toothache? You’re off to the dentist. Leaky pipes result in a call to the plumber. So why is it that so many people attempt to solve their health and fitness problems without consulting an expert? I don’t know exactly, but I encourage you to make the investment in yourself – in your quality of life – by hiring a qualified professional to educate you and help you get started…

…because the hardest part is just getting started and sustaining your motivation until fitness becomes habitual. Once you develop the habit, which can take as little as thirty days, your whole life will change for the better.