Have you noticed how people jump onboard with a popular fad diet, lose 5, 10 or even 20 pounds…only to gain it all back and then some? Why does this happen? It’s actually a simple concept, and once you understand it you will be forever saved from the tortures of yo-yo dieting.

Fad diets saddle you with unsustainable calorie restrictions and some even cut out entire food groups just to produce that short-lived drop in weight—a process that is actually harmful to your long-term metabolism. The fad diets also ignore one major component to shaping up: exercise.

You see, most fad diets operate on one age old premise: cut calories, cut calories, cut calories. By restricting the type and amount of food consumed the fad dieter usually sees an immediate drop in weight. If only it stopped there…

But it doesn’t stop there. Life continues, and the fad dieter returns to their pre-diet eating habits—with one major difference in their body due to the sudden drop in pounds. Their calorie requirements have gotten smaller.

In practical terms this means that the dieter will begin gaining weight even though they are eating their normal pre-diet portions. And since exercise hasn’t become a part of their routine, the unneeded calories will result in pounds gained. So what’s a dieter to do? Find a brand-new diet to follow—right? Wrong.

There is a way to drop pounds and firm your body, but you won’t read about it in the next diet book or hear it on the news. The solution to your fad dieting nightmare is a lifestyle change.

What is a lifestyle change? To change your lifestyle means to replace unhealthy habits with healthy ones, and to do so consistently. It isn’t something you do for a week or two, only to revert back your old ways—a lifestyle change redefines who you are.

I know this is starting to sound like some heavy stuff but hear me out. Changing your lifestyle from one that is unhealthy to one that is healthy will be the best thing that you ever do for yourself. Trust me, I help people like you make this change every day with amazing results.

Fact: The shape of your body is the direct result of your current lifestyle.

So how do I change my lifestyle? That is a great question, and the answer is actually easier than you might think.

Most people who are unhappy with their bodies are really only holding on to a few bad habits. Once these destructive habits are identified and then replaced with healthy habits their body naturally transforms from one that they loathe to one that they are proud of.

In other words, to get the body that you want simply determine your unhealthy habits and replace them with healthy ones. Here are the most prevalent unhealthy habits:

• The habit of inactivity. Failing to exercise on a consistent basis is one of the most destructive obstacles for your health and figure. (The key word here is consistent. If you aren’t exercising at least 3-4 times each week then you own this habit.)
• The habit of overeating. Consuming calories in excess of your daily caloric needs is one of the main reasons that more adults are overweight today than ever before.
• The habit of empty calories. your diet with foods that hold little to no nutritional value is a great way to expand your waist. (Hint: if a food item is made up of mainly sugar and/or fat consider it ‘empty’ calories.)

You can lose weight and improve both your appearance and your health.

You can look and feel great.

You can transform yourself into the person that you’ve always wanted to be.

Don’t let another day go by that leaves you a slave to unhealthy habits. Take action now. Call or email me today and together we will recreate your lifestyle and redefine your body.

By the way, I should mention another deadly habit that destroys too many people’s dreams. The habit of procrastination.

How many times have you told yourself that you will start eating healthy tomorrow? How many times have you promised that you would call me to start your personal training program? Each day that you succumb to the habit of procrastination is a day that pulls you farther and farther from your goals.

Break that nasty habit of procrastination—contact me today.

You’ve probably heard that High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) produces an afterburn effect, which means your body continues to burn extra calories at an elevated rate for 24 hours after the completion of your workout.

Sure that’s sounds amazing, but is it too good to be true?

The Science of Afterburn

There is a scientific term for afterburn: excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPEOC). This refers to the oxygen that your body needs to restore after a heart-pounding workout.

So afterburn is indeed real.

While you exercise your body needs fuel to keep your muscles firing, and this requires oxygen to transport the fuel into the muscles. This causes your metabolism to rev up to an elevated state during and after exercise.

Intense Exercise = Intense Afterburn

Studies show that there is a direct correlation between the intensity of your workout and the amount of calories burned during the afterburn period.

In order to get the most afterburn bang for your buck, you must push yourself to 70-85% of your max heart rate during your workout. The more intense your workout, the more bonus calories you will burn in the hours afterwards.

Intense and vigorous exercise keeps your body burning calories hours after the workout is through. And this is not the only benefit to HIIT workouts – there’s also the bonus of increased muscle tone, fat loss and an increase in your aerobic capacity.

Keep this in mind the next time that you push yourself through a workout. Remember that intensity pays off, and an HIIT workout has more proven benefits than a steady state cardio workout.

I’d love for you to experience one of my intense, fat-burning workouts!

If having a lean and sculpted body is your goal then I’ve got good news for you: follow these 5 Workout Secrets and your goal will quickly become a reality.

These secrets aren’t secret in the sense that you’ve never heard them before, because you likely have heard them. The secret is that by faithfully following each and every one of these 5 steps your progress will become automatic and your results will be guaranteed.

Workout Secret #1: Consistency is KEY

If you want a fit body then exercise MUST be a consistent part of your life. You can’t exercise hard this week and then take the next two weeks off and expect to see results. Results come from consistency.

Workout Secret #2: Set ATTAINABLE goals

Let’s be realistic here, you aren’t going to lose 20 pounds in a week. That’s not an attainable goal! Those who achieve the most amazing body transformations do so by reaching a series of progressive, attainable goals. If you would like help in determining what an appropriate, attainable goal would be for yourself then simply reach out to me, I’d be happy to help.

Workout Secret #3: Make it CONVENIENT

Are you straining to include your chosen exercise routine into your life? If your exercise time isn’t a seamless part of your daily life, if it causes too much of a strain and headache to accomplish, then you won’t stick with it. Find a time, a place and a modality of exercise that is as convenient to your real life as possible, so that you can be faithful to Workout Secret #1 by staying consistent.

Workout Secret #4: Find something you LOVE

Similar to Workout Secret #3, finding a modality of exercise that you LOVE is key to making this a permanent part of your life. You may never love swimming because you hate getting your ears wet, or you may never love biking because you’ve always struggled with balance. If you’re straining to get through a modality of exercise that you loathe, then you won’t stick with it. It’s best to move on to something different that you would enjoy more.

**Note for exercise-haters: If deep down you consider yourself an exercise hater, then DO NOT take this Workout Secret as a free pass to forego exercise altogether under the guise of not loving it. Part of becoming fit for life is learning to find a type of exercise that you can learn to love.

Belly Fat Habit #1: Too Much Sugar
Sugar is found in many of the foods that you eat daily. From breakfast cereals, to coffee drinks, to protein bars, to energy drinks…more items in your daily diet contain sugar than you’re aware of. All of these sugar calories add up quickly and translate into many pounds gained.

Make it a habit to read the ingredients and the sugar count in the foods you are eating. Pay special attention to breakfast items, yogurts, protein bars and any item that is packaged. Avoid eating foods that contain added sugars as a part of your daily diet.

Belly Fat Habit #2: Daily Dessert
There used to be a time and place when desserts were reserved for Sunday evenings and special occasions. Not anymore! These days dessert has become a daily occurrence. Much like the first Belly Fat Habit, having dessert is another form of having too much sugar, and all those sugar calories rapidly turn to fat.

Forget eating dessert everyday. Save desserts for cheat days and special occasions, and stick with fresh fruit as your daily after-meal sweet.

Belly Fat Habit #3: Bad Snacking
In recent years snacking has been named one of the best ways to maintain your metabolism, in order to burn fat all day long; and while there is some truth to eating small, high protein-high fiber meals frequently, for the most part all of this snacking has done nothing better than make us fat.

Most snack items are crunchy and salty, 2 qualities that you’ll rarely find in a healthy snack, and contain loads of simple carbohydrates and, you guessed it, more sugar. In order to avoid belly fat you’re better off avoiding all traditional snack foods, and to fall out of the habit of ‘snacking’ entirely.

If you’re hungry between meals then eat a small amount of protein and fiber, such as a hard boiled egg with cucumber, or a packet of tuna with celery.

Belly Fat Habit #4: Daily Alcohol
Having that drink with dinner (or two, or three…) can quickly become a fast and steady habit. It’s easy to justify the drinks because you had a long, hard day and you deserve it. The alcohol takes your mind off of your troubles and loosens you up for a good time. However, all those alcohol calories are basically sugar, and all that sugar is going straight to your belly. (Beer belly, anyone?)

Breaking your daily alcohol habit is tough, I’ll give you that, however it may motivate you to know that it’s nearly impossible to lose fat on a day when you’re drinking alcohol. Alcohol = fat storage mode. Also it’s great to know that once you’ve allocated alcohol to cheat days and special occasions, you’ll lose fat quicker and easier than ever before.

Belly Fat Habit #5: Lack of Exercise
This one is kind of a no-brainer, right? If you aren’t moving your body in a consistent, challenging way then you’re going to store body fat. Plain and simple. An effective, invigorating exercise routine is the ticket you need to dump that fat for good.

I’m here to help you simply and easily lose all of your unwanted belly fat. The start of this brand new year is the perfect time to begin an exercise program that really works – and my programs have been proven to be the most effective, so let’s get going!

Call or email me today to ditch that belly fat forever.

Holiday Secret #1: Listen to Your Body

It may not speak quickly enough all the time, but you know your body is constantly telling you things. Sometimes it tells you to stop a certain activity before you get hurt. During the holiday season, it tells you to put the brakes on your eating before you go beyond the point of no return. When your body tells you it’s full, listen up! A single bite after you’re full will lead to extra calories and eventually, extra pounds.

Holiday Secret #2: Confine the Holidays

For some, holidays become weeks and even months of poor eating. Be careful to avoid this pitfall by digging into your holiday foods only on the actual holiday. Treat the other days like normal days—even if you’re off of work. And when the holiday is over, let someone else take the leftovers home and go to your own house without any pudding or gravy in tow.

Holiday Secret #3: Eat First, Party Second

You read right—it’s good to eat before heading out the door. Have a healthy, well-rounded meal at home with fruits, vegetables, and your protein source of choice. And drink a tall glass of water. Why? So when you get to that holiday party that is overflowing with cookies, cakes, candies, and calories, you’re not hungry for it. Your stomach is full of healthy goodness and has no room for the fattening stuff.

Holiday Secret #4: Plan Your Escape

Getting away from food isn’t easy. If you expect to be able to walk away from delicious thigh- and gut-growing foods without any forethought, think again. Before walking into a potentially fattening situation, plan out what you’re going to eat and take your own dish to share if necessary. Any time there is a particularly difficult eating situation, make plans an hour or so after the dangerous-to-your-diet event begins and excuse yourself.

Holiday Secret #5: Exercise Everywhere

One of the best excuses to gain weight is that you have to travel to visit family and don’t have access to your personal trainer. Well, guess what? Just because your trainer isn’t staying in the hotel with you doesn’t mean you aren’t accountable! Scope out the area where you’ll be travelling and take advantage of whatever exercise opportunities are available. There may be a gym or pool at your hotel, a pay-as-you-go gym, or a nice park nearby where you can walk or run with or without family members.

Holiday Secret #6: Pay Attention to People

Holidays are about family and friends…right? Then stop focusing on food! When you go to a party, there is no need to hang out by the food table when there are people all around you! Ignore the grub and go for the meaningful stuff that you’ll remember and cherish. Besides, it’s much easier to talk without munching and you even listen better when you’re not stuck thinking about how good the next bite is going to be.