I know you’ve all heard me tell you this time after time after time, but I’m hoping my sage advice will really stick this time. Before you embark to improve your health and physical condition I am going to give you a lesson on what to look for, and on how to choose what program is best for YOU! Not what is “Selling”, not what “they” want you to do…What is BEST for YOU! I’m not going to sugar coat it for you. I will not tell you what you want to hear just to sign you up on my program. I’m not going to try to turn you into an athlete, because I’m not a licensed athletic trainer, nor do I have any on staff, and I’m definitely NOT going to help you if you refuse to correct your nutrition plan.

RunningDo not train like I trained when I was a powerlifter. Do not train like I trained when I was a runner – yes, the truth is out. I used to love to run, I loved the high, I loved the endorphin rush of getting out on a cold morning with my Asics Gels running shoes on. However, I did NOT do any of these training programs to reduce body fat or lose weight. That has to be one of the most idiotic things I’ve ever heard of when I see people do these things to lose weight. The only program I used to reduce body fat is when I was a Bodybuilder and to be totally honest, the main thing I did was to change what I ate.

When you work out with weights you are tearing down muscle tissue. When you rest and eat, you are rebuilding that muscle tissue. If you eat crap, you’ll have a crap body. People tell me all the time they want to work out and do a bunch of cardio so they can eat whatever they want. This hurts my head whenever I hear this. I try so hard to find the logic. I try to explain to these people that working out is just like taking your car out on a cross country trip. You need more fuel, water and oil. If you aren’t properly nourishing your body when you exercise you are only losing MUSCLE and WATER. So if you aren’t willing to make changes in your diet and follow a properly balanced meal program, you are not only wasting your time and money when you are working out, you are making things worse.

Educated fitness professionals know this. Even my new educated trainers at The Crest learned this in college. Human physiology has NOT changed since fitness has begun. The only thing that has changed is that everyone is trying to sell you some new fad or gimmick to cover up the fact that they don’t know what they are doing. They are only trying to capitalize on this billion-dollar industry.

eggs and oatmealYour nutrition is so important to losing weight and looking better that if you never progressed past a basic workout program, but made sure you chose foods that are high in nutritional value, you’d never need to be an exercise fanatic. Who has time for that anyway? Have your eggs and oatmeal with a little fruit – berries are the highest in fiber and lowest in sugar. I love putting a tablespoon of coconut oil in my oatmeal along with some cinnamon and a tablespoon of honey. For lunch, have a clean carbohydrate like a sweet potato or some brown rice and a piece of lean meat, like a chicken breast or some tuna and some green veggies. For dinner, have the same as lunch or you can skip the carb and just have more green veggies. Eating is simple. Working out is simple. If everyone would just stop looking for the quick fix we as a country would be in a whole lot better shape.

Stay healthy my friends