Burn Fat Fast with This Simple Workout

January is without a doubt the most crowded time of the year at the gym. With recently firmed up new year’s resolutions, many people flock to the gym for their hit-it-hard, quick-fix, no-pain-no-gain workout plans only to be left discouraged, disappointed and dipping into the Ben and Jerry’s come February. Because we are inundated with messages about the benefits of cardio in regards to working out and feeling great, when it comes time to drop a few holiday pounds, most people do what they’ve been told: cardio. You know, long runs, hour-long spinning classes and high-intensity aerobics classes. Logically, this makes sense. The longer and harder the workout, the better it is for me, right? Well according to our biology, no - it’s not. Many people who use long cardio workouts to lose weight and tone up become increasingly frustrated: they don’t see the results they want, they are highly susceptible to plateaus (meaning that they need to workout the same or more every day to just maintain their level of fitness) and some even report gaining weight.

Cardio Can Make Me Fat? What Are You Talking About?

Because extended cardio increases cortisol, those looking to lose weight and lower their stress should stay away from excessive cardio exercise. As Strength and Conditioning expert Charles Poliquin stated in an article on cardio exercise in IronMan Magazine, “I'm utterly convinced that if gym rats cut down on cardio, they'd be leaner. Humans aren't aerobic animals. We're designed to throw a rock or spear at the prey; not run six miles to get the food. Aerobics works only for about six weeks. Once the enzymatic response is maximal, you're wasting your time. It's a myth that cardio burns body fat only. That's based on antiquated studies that couldn't measure all fuels contributing to exercise. Amino acids have been underestimated for the longest time as fuel sources for cardiovascular exercise, [meaning that] cardio burns not only fat but muscle as well” (IronMan magazine, July 2008). So over time, excessive cardio starts to decrease your lean muscle mass. And as many of you know, lean muscle mass is what’s largely responsible for a toned physique, low body fat and a very fast metabolism. Poliquin further addresses this cardio/weight gain phenomenon in a study called “The Chunky Aerobic Instructor Syndrome” wherein he found that women who did excessive duration cyclical exercise (such as in an aerobics class, on an elliptical machine or in a spinning class) tended to store fat in their thighs, buttocks and calves commensurate with the amount of long duration cardio that they performed.

Okay, I Think I’m With You Now. I’ve Seen That Chunky Aerobics Teacher At My Gym. What’s The Solution?

The bottom line is that you will burn more calories doing interval training - which is performed at a higher intensity for a shorter period of time - rather than extended cardio training. So if you want to use cardio exercise as a supplement to your strength training workouts for fat loss, switch to an interval-training program instead:

High-Intensity Cardio Workout Plan:

Warm Up: 5 minutes (during the warm up, you should be working but able to carry on a conversation).

Burst: 30 seconds at a perceived exertion level of between roughly 75-90%. This is high intensity, meaning that conversation is no longer possible.

Recovery: 1 minute at a perceived exertion of roughly 50-60%.

Work up to 10 bursts with recovery in between each burst. In other words, your max cardio for this burst/recovery plan is 15 minutes total.

Cool Down: 3-5 minutes at the same pace as the warm up.

Easy to fit in before work or on your lunch break, over before you know it and when paired with smart strength training workouts, delivers a lean, mean, cardio-enlightened machine. Good luck and keep up the hard work for a healthy and happy 2011!

New Year, New You: Three uncommon health and fitness resolutions to help you kick start your fitness for 2011

If you’ve been on the planet long enough to be able to log onto your computer and read this newsletter, you’ve most likely heard every just about every New Year’s resolution. “I’m going to lose weight” or “I’m going to exercise more.” The reason most people don’t stick to these common resolutions is simple: they are too general and in most cases, not very informed. While losing weight is a great idea, most people have no idea where to start so they usually begin cutting calories, going on cleanses and eating sugar-free products, all the while getting sicker and fatter each week. Exercise in theory is a fantastic idea but what kind of exercise is right for fat loss and what kind will actually make it harder to lose weight? Most people aren’t sure and unfortunately rely on so-called health and fitness magazines to give them the answer. This year, let’s try something different. Below are three very specific and researched resolutions to help you lose weight, look younger and feel better in 2011 and beyond.


Resolution 1: I’m going to increase my growth hormone!

Human Growth Hormone, also referred to as the “youth hormone” is absolutely crucial when it comes to looking young, staying lean, burning fat and even fixing DNA damage. Although its name suggests that it only has to do with growth, HGH is actually critical for a variety of bodily functions, such as the turnover of muscle, bone and collagen and the regulation of fat metabolism. So how can you increase your levels naturally? Through sleep, the right kind of exercise and a low-carb diet. HGH production follows a circadian rhythm and is secreted at its highest level in the first hour of early sleep (early being a 10pm bedtime) so if you want to burn fat, create lean muscle mass and look younger, getting to bed on time is a must. Additionally, recent studies show that strength training far outweighs cardio training when it comes to the production of HGH. So sticking to short bursts of high intensity exercise (such as a strength training circuit) will create more HGH than a five-mile run. Finally, because an elevated blood carbohydrate level switches off the secretion of HGH, sticking to a diet that contains high-quality animal proteins, healthy fats and low glycemic carbohydrates (in other words “yes” to dark leafy greens and “no” to potatoes) is essential for keeping your HGH revved throughout the day.

Resolution 2: I’m going to eat more coconut!

Because of its high levels of healthy fat, coconut is a wonder food for those of you who want to burn fat, think clearer and look younger (and, as a bonus, it tastes great). Simply put, for those of you who want to lose weight, you have to cut all of the trans fats, vegetable oils (and don’t even say margarine) from your diet and replace them with healthy fats (such as the fats found in organic, high quality animal products, avocados, coconuts, etc.). For those of you who are still hesitant about eating healthy fats, you should know that sixty percent of your brain is composed of fat - so when you don’t eat enough saturated fat, such as the fat found in coconuts, you actually compromise the chemistry of your brain. In addition, because the fat found in coconuts helps maintain the integrity of almost every cell in your body, it decreases wrinkles, strengthens hair and nails and even increases bone strength. In times of stress, the healthy fats found in coconuts even provide support to the heart and help lower the body’s overall inflammation, decreasing your risk of heart disease and high cholesterol. And as an added bonus in the winter months, coconut is highly anti-viral, anti-parasitic and anti-bacterial, helping you stay healthy in addition to helping you stay lean. My preferred source of coconut fat is coconut oil, a wonderful addition to any broth, shake, and even a great oil for sautéing vegetables and cooking meats.

Resolution 3: I’m going to break my addiction to stinkin thinkin!

Your mind plays a huge role in your ability to lose weight. Many people listen to the same tapes over and over in their heads, playing and re-playing negative thoughts day in and day out. These thoughts are actually addictions, and are no different than an unhealthy addiction to chocolate, cookies or even drugs and alcohol. Common thought addictions range from “My genetics make me overweight” to “I don’t like the way I look but I can’t change it” to “I’m exhausted, over-worked and living off coffee, but so is everyone else.” These tapes are like old software on your computer that no longer works and needs an update. This year I challenge you to replace your negative thinking software with one that better serves you. To do this, think about your thoughts. Categorize them. Are they thoughts of the future (rehearsing)? Are they thoughts of the past (remembering)? Do your thoughts make you feel better or worse? What would you gain from losing that negative thought? Remember, most people have not only physical weight to lose, but emotional weight as well and in MOST cases, the two are so interwoven that you rarely see one without the other. Finally, as Dr. John Sarno points out in The Divided Mind, our bodies quite literally listen to what our brains say. So if you tell yourself over and over again that you’re just not losing weight, your body will respond by not losing weight. Instead, write a positive script for the new year. Stop weighing yourself daily or beating yourself up over your calories in/calories out and instead focus on the bigger picture. Your body will thank you and your mind, no longer focused on beating you up, will allow you to relax and get that early sleep I’m always talking about.

So when everyone is saying that they are going to lose weight or eat better, here are a few specific resolutions that you can implement (and stick with) for the new year. Remember, the more specific the goal, the easier it is to achieve. Cheers to a healthy and fit 2011!

Working out, eating right and still not losing weight? What gives?

So you're spending time at the gym every week and you're eating a high-quality, gluten-free diet but you're still not losing weight. What gives? You know your diet is healthy and you feel the effects of your workout...so what's the issue?

The most commonly overlooked and most effective tool for losing weight and looking younger is pretty simple: stress management and sleep. I put stress management and sleep together because most people who aren't managing their stress also aren't getting enough sleep.

Let's take a minute to talk about what exactly I mean by enough sleep. When we were cavemen, we fell asleep soon after the sun went down and we woke up when the sun came up in the morning. Now, with easy access to work email, television and other sources of nonstop information, we are going against what our biology craves (i.e rest and repair) and moving more towards a state of degradation and disease.

According to health and weight loss expert Robb Wolf, just one night of sleep deprivation makes you as insulin resistant as a type 2 diabetic. For those of you who might now know, insulin resistance causes increased insulin and glucose in the blood, which leads to relatively rapid weight gain. So can you imagine what getting inadequate sleep night after night does to your belly? And if the idea of belly fat isn't enough to get you to tuck in earlier at night, how about this: The Centers for Disease Control recently qualified shift work (aka disrupted sleep patterns and inadequate sleep) as carcinogenic. That means lack of sleep, over time, leads to cancer.

In addition to making you gain weight and potentially put you on a path to disease, lack of sleep also causes wrinkles. It doesn't matter how many creams you put on your face, you aren't going to look youthful if you don't get enough rest. Because lack of sleep shoots up the levels of insulin and glucose in your blood, not getting enough sleep is pretty similar to eating a diet that's loaded with carbs (aka sugar). These high levels of insulin and glucose have the effect of aging your skin by degrading collagen, the protein responsible for giving your skin strength, flexibility and resilience. So now after no sleep you're not only fatter, but you look and feel older. Gross.

"Okay, okay, so I need to sleep. Let me have a few glasses of wine to unwind." Think again. Wine is like a sugar bomb to your system. Even though you might feel relaxed after drinking it, it's actually causing quite a bit of stress inside of your body. In addition, drinking wine before bed leads to disrupted sleep patterns. Even if you think you "passed out" after a few glasses, wine actually blocks the release of human growth hormone during early sleep. As you all probably know, growth hormone output is responsible for everything from developing muscle to stimulating the immune system. And for those of you who prefer a little sleeping pill to a glass of wine, you should know that drugs such as Ambien also interfere with the body's ability to generate growth hormone during sleep. Instead of relying on alcohol or drugs, the best way to fall asleep naturally is to dim the lights after 8pm, avoid the computer and TV, take a relaxing bath, have a cup of chamomile tea and/or read a book.

So now that you're going to start managing your sleep, you also need to start managing your stress. Why? Well, increased cortisol (the hormone your body sends out in a stressful situation) over time leads to decreased memory, a decreased sex drive, tons of belly fat and unfortunately, an EZ Pass to aging. Why? Well think of a zebra being chased by a lion. The only thing that zebra can think about is survival. Sex, procreation, weight loss and memory all go out the window. The zebra's only job is to get as far away from the lion as possible. When you live in a state of chronic stress (from bad food, bad relationships, unhealthy work/life balance, etc) you are that zebra, running as fast as possible from these common stress lions 24 hours a day. While we need stress hormones to live (that burst of energy that gets us away from the lion does come in handy) if you're stressed for too long without adequate rest and repair, your liver releases sugar and fat, leading to an unhealthy mind and body and tighter pants.

What You Can Do To Manage Stress Today:

1. Sleep in a cave. Okay, maybe not a cave but make your room as much of a cave as possible. Even a small amount of light on your skin impairs your body's ability to generate melatonin, the antioxidant responsible for putting you to sleep.

2. Get 8-9 hours of sleep a night and no, you aren't "fine" on 6 or 7. You might be able to survive on 6 or 7 hours of sleep, but you need at least 8-9.

3. Try working in instead of working out: You're sick, you're tired, and you're killing yourself with 2 hour workouts. You might as well have a slice of cake instead of going to the gym because that long workout is not helping you lose weight - it's just creating stress (and increased fat storage) in your body. Train smarter, not harder: stick to bursts of strength training and ditch the endurance stuff (I'm talking to you, 5 mile run - or anything with loads and loads of reps for that matter).

4. Cut back on the bevvies: Seriously. If you have to drink, drink earlier in the evening. Drinking before bedtime impairs your body's production of growth hormone. Another drinking tip: keep the alcohol clear. Beer is loaded with gluten and wine is loaded with sugar. Try Robb Wolf's famous recipe: lime, soda water and tequila (or other clear alcohols) as a lower-sugar beverage. Also have a snack with protein and/or fat (such as sliced organic meat) before bedtime to help your body metabolize the alcohol.

5. Prioritize your life. This one is usually the trickiest for people...but that fancy car or expensive vacation really isn't all that fun when you're too sick and tired to enjoy it. Instead of letting stress (and car payments) control your life, make excellent health and vitality your priority. It makes everything else a lot more fun.

If you missed it this past month, click the link below to see Holistic Fitness on CBS5:

http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2010/11/12/consumerwatch-high-tech-tool-can-help-visualize-weight-loss-goals/

Four Reasons You’re Not Losing Weight

Despite what most people believe, fat loss is not as simple as calories in/calories out. Because the human body is a system of systems, it stands to reason that weight loss relies on the ability of each of these systems to function optimally and in harmony with one another. Unfortunately many people think of weight loss linearly, wrongly believing that their bodies are like bank accounts wherein a three mile jog affords them one bowl of ice cream. The diet industry only perpetuates this myth with its system of points and balances, its bags of 100-calorie junk food snack packs and constant obsession with the number on the scale. If this way of thinking about fat loss works, why are we getting sicker and fatter each year? In starting to take care of all of the systems in your body, you’ll see how easy it is to lose weight and keep it off for good. So here you go, the top four reasons you’re not losing weight.

Not Getting To Bed On Time: If you don’t sleep, you won’t lose weight (and as recent studies show, you might even gain weight). Lack of sleep not only causes a huge spike in the stress hormone cortisol (which leads to weight gain) but also diminishes the hormone that tells you when to stop eating (leptin) and increases the hormone that makes you think you’re hungry (ghrelin). Put these three hormonal interferences together and after a night of insufficient sleep you’ll overeat (and eat too often) and your stressed body will store most of what you eat as fat.

Living in a World of Gut Dysfunction: You are what you eat. In eating the Standard American Diet (often referred to as the SAD diet) you overload your system with foods that cost you more energy to break down and digest than they yield. In addition, in eating overly processed foods such as gluten and most dairy products, you inadvertently increase your body’s stress hormones, which leads to weight gain and a host of other issues such as leaky gut syndrome, a weakened immune system, decreased digestive enzymes, nutrient mal-absorption, abdominal inflammation and even depression (as 98% of seratonin is created in the gut). Forget about counting calories. In order to lose weight, you have to cut out processed foods and switch to an organic, whole food diet. And remember: not all calories are created equal. Yes, that grass-fed steak has more calories than the Atkins meal replacement bar but where the steak is bio-available and gives you energy, the Atkins bar is as unrecognizable to your digestive system as plastic.

Riding the Non Stop Stress Express: So you’re not sleeping, you’re eating processed foods and then you think you can go to the gym and beat yourself up on a treadmill or in the squat rack and all will be right in the world? Think again. Exercise is a form of stress and needs to be modified according to your overall stress levels in order for it to be a successful weight loss tool. In our highly stressed world, traditional cardio and other forms of “training hard” serve only to exacerbate stress levels and increase body fat. Instead, take time to “work in” in periods of high stress and hire a professional to prescribe a workout plan that takes your various stress levels into account.


Too Much Mental Aerobics: Weight gain and/or the inability to lose weight can be psychosomatic. Stress doesn’t just stem from a long day at the office or from sitting in bumper-to-bumper traffic. Your own thoughts can create a hugely stressful reality for your body. If you constantly think that you can’t lose weight, you inadvertently create stress for your body, which will lead to weight gain. The more you tell yourself that you can’t lose weight, the more your body will listen. The more you beat yourself up with the number on the scale, the more your body will hold on to the pounds. Practice letting go of the negative tapes that are on repeat in your mind and instead embrace weight loss as a long-term health plan. Being overly critical and hard on yourself will only lead you to frustration…and tighter pants.

Four Tips for Revving Up Your Fitness Routine

People find the months leading up to the holidays to be the most difficult time of year to stick to their workout schedules. It starts to get dark early, there are parties to attend, travel plans to arrange…plenty of excuses to keep them out of the gym and slowly creeping into holiday weight gain territory. To help you resist putting on those stubborn extra pounds this fall, here are four easy tips to help you stay motivated to workout through the coming months and beyond.

Put it on your calendar: Just as you wouldn’t ignore your doctor’s prescription for medicine if you were sick, you shouldn’t ignore your prescription for a consistent workout program to stay healthy. Try blocking time off on your calendar for your weekly workouts and think of them as a necessary appointment that you simply cannot miss.

Less is more: If time is truly an issue, select exercises where you get the most bang for your buck. Because total body exercises (such as lunges, squats, dead lifts and pushups) recruit almost every muscle in your body at once, they take less time and burn more calories than less demanding exercises (such as bicep curls) for a fun, time-efficient workout. The same is true for traditional cardio exercises. Instead of spending an hour doing a traditional cardio exercise at a moderate pace, try just 10 minutes of sprinting. With intervals of 30 seconds at a very high intensity followed by 60 seconds at a moderate intensity, sprinting will burn calories and rev up your metabolism without making a large dent in your schedule.

Train with a very specific goal in mind: My clients are most successful with their workout schedules when they have a particular goal in mind. So whether it’s that you’re heading somewhere warm where you’ll have to shed your sweater in favor of a swimsuit or somewhere adventurous where you’ll need to be fit for a long day of surfing or skiing, having a goal in mind will help guarantee that you get to the gym each week, regardless of how busy you might be.

Work your brain: Let’s be honest: if it’s boring, you’re not going to want to do it. Try breathing a little life into your workout with swiss balls and/or bosu balls. Because they require a great amount of concentration and coordination, using swiss/bosu balls will add more neurological demand to your workouts, keeping them fun and engaging.

Is A Vegetarian Diet Really Healthy? Three Vegetarian Diet Myths Exposed

Closely tied to the cholesterol and saturated fat scare comes the notion that vegetarianism, or the strict avoidance of meat products, leads to improved health and vitality. Pick up any so-called health and fitness magazine or medical journal and you’ll find quite a few articles promoting the benefits of decreasing your meat consumption and increasing your consumption of grains, vegetables, fruits and legumes. Where vegetables are tied to health, vitality and energy, meat products are tied to heart disease, high cholesterol, cancer and ultimately, death.

While I don’t believe that one-size fits all when it comes to nutrition (as many of us have varying macronutrient needs), I strongly believe that a vegetarian or vegan diet is one of the unhealthiest diets one can follow. Here are just a few vegetarian myths that most people wrongly believe to be true.

Myth #1: Vegetarian diets are healthier than diets that include animal proteins

Fact: Vegetarian diets cause nutrient depletion

Because there are a number of vital nutrients that you can only get from eating meat, vegetarians are often deficient in nutrients that are critical for overall health and vitality, including:

B12: Vegetarians who do not take B12 supplements often develop anemia and digestive disorders. Additionally, because B12 is also responsible for maintaining nerve health (including the optic nerve), a severe B12 deficiency can lead to blindness.

Omega 3: An essential fatty acid that is found primarily in animal products, Omega-3 promotes a strong immune system, protects from chronic disease (such as heart disease and cancer), lowers overall body inflammation and even triggers weight loss. Without supplementation, most vegetarians will develop an imbalance of Omega-6 to Omega-3, causing an increased risk of disease.

Vitamin A: Also known as the anti-infective vitamin, Vitamin A is found only in animal fats (such as butter and cod liver oil) and organ meats. Vitamin A is hugely important for the repair of bodily tissue (especially the skin), maintenance of the thyroid gland and maintenance of healthy vision.

Myth #2: Vegetarianism promotes mental acuity and increased energy

Fact: Vegetarianism is linked to depression and fatigue

High quality, grass-fed, organic red meat contains various amino acids that are essential for brain health, such as cysteine, carnitine and taurine. Over time, people who refrain from eating meat become deficient in these vital amino acids, and report experiencing depression, weight gain and chronic fatigue syndrome. Additionally, because these amino acids are so important for cognitive function, recent studies prove that a deficiency leads to decreased attention span, learning capacity and memory.

Myth #3: Vegetarianism improves athletic ability

Fact: Vegetarianism decreases lean muscle mass and does not generate adequate energy for athletic competitions

This one is pretty simple. You need to eat complete proteins in order to help your body create lean muscle mass. Complete proteins are found almost exclusively in animal products, such as eggs, red meat, chicken, etc. Because a vegetarian diet consists largely of carbohydrates, grains and sugars, those on a vegetarian diet have a much harder time creating muscle than those on an organic, balanced diet.

There’s also been a lot of hype lately regarding the benefits of a vegetarian or vegan diet for athletes. Many of these athletes report feeling less lethargic and more energetic upon eliminating the meat from their diets. However, if you read closely, the proteins these athletes often refer to is actually protein powder--most likely a cheap, synthetic, highly processed, hard-to-digest form of protein. Anyone would feel better upon giving that up! You also have to wonder about the quality of the animal proteins these athletes eliminated. There’s a huge difference between eating the protein from sick, antibiotic-fed animals, and eating the protein from certified humane, high-quality, organic sources.

In addition, a recent study proved that when athletes carb-loaded for events (which would be the only option for a vegan or vegetarian) they reported having significantly less energy than athletes who fat loaded. Why? Because for most, proteins and fats are a much better source of energy than carbohydrates (which are metabolized simply as sugar).

There is no question that organic vegetables are an essential part of a healthy diet. But I urge you all to make your own educated decisions when it comes to eliminating animal protein from your diet. For more information, check out Mary Enig’s research, which can be found with a simple google search, or do a search on Mercola.com for his clinical vegetarian and vegan findings.

Should you really cut salt out of your diet?

Like saturated fats, salt has earned a bad reputation in the medical industry, leaving many people eliminating salt from their diet in an attempt to lower their blood pressure and risk of heart disease. Unfortunately, most people fail to realize that there are two very distinct forms of salt: refined, white table salt, a stripped or nutritionally lacking form of salt, and unrefined sea salt, a naturally-occurring, nutrient-rich form of salt. Most people also fail to realize that most of the documentation on salt and its negative effects on heart health is based on research conducted on table salt, and not on salt in its organic form.

Why table salt is so bad:

Because our bodies are designed to eat until we are nutritionally satisfied, when we eat a food that is stripped, such as table salt, we will continue to eat and eat until our bodies believe that we’ve obtained adequate nutrition. For this reason, foods that are loaded with table salt, such as potato chips, cause people to eat and eat without ever truly feeling full. Surely you’ve heard the Pringles tagline “Once you pop you can’t stop”…well, Proctor and Gamble did their research when they developed that one. Food companies have known for years that adding table salt to their products causes people to consume more of that particular product (which provides quite a nice increase in sales).

In addition, table salt contains additives such as heavy metals (such as aluminum, a metal that is often linked with diseases ranging from alzheimers to various forms of cancer) and even dextrose, a form of sugar. Many of these additives are thought to be associated with mineral mal-absorption, bloating, joint pain and over time, kidney and heart disease.

Why sea salt is so good:

As opposed to stripped, processed table salt, sea salt contains over 40 trace minerals that are essential for optimal health, aiding in many of the regulatory functions of the body. Additionally, sea salt is a natural antihistamine, helps prevent muscle cramps, removes excess acid from cells (specifically brain cells), balances blood sugar levels, helps the GI absorb nutrition from food particles, clears excess mucus and phlegm from the lungs and increases bone strength.

So yes, you should remove salt from your diet...but it should only be the table salt. For optimal health and vitality, add some organic sea salt to your food (and a pinch to your water). I highly recommend the Celtic or Himalayan brands of sea salt. Generally, sea salts from France or New Zealand are also very high quality.