Commonality Amongst Losers

by Neil Anderson

Weight loss isn't magic.  There is no secret formula or method.   There is only basic knowledge, hard work and perseverance.  We all know how to make weight loss work.  We DO.  You take amazing exercise programming and combine it with balanced, low calorie nutrition.  Then, BE PERFECT! 

Still, this process is hard.  For whatever reason(s) (there are many) it is still a struggle.  So, to make it somewhat easier for those who struggle, we have compiled this list (not exhaustive) of the traits all successful losers have in common.  

1.  They get on a roll.  Sometimes weight loss success is just a matter of putting one foot in front of the other and continuing on.  We've learned it takes around 4 days to get on a roll.  After 2 weeks it is easier to stay on a roll than to come off it.  

2.  They stay hungry.  Not terribly.  Not to the point of detriment, but ALL the FRICKIN time they are somewhat hungry.  They go to bed hungry.  They wake up hungry.  They walk around hungry.  They eat meals and are still hungry after.  They realize this is part of the process.  They also realize those who say, "I wasn't really hungry at all" simply forgot about the first two weeks of this process.  They have been on a roll for so long, they became used to it.  You should look forward to getting to this point.   

Many have forgotten just how uncomfortable it was to become an over-eater.  The first two weeks (and every day after) of this process were simply miserable.  The bloated stomach.  The gas.  The heartburn and indigestion.  Despite all this, most persevered.  This perseverance lead to tolerance.  It isn't that they aren't still miserable.  They've just gotten on a roll with the misery.   

Know this: Constant over-eating is exponentially harder on you than low-calorie dieting is.  Over thousands of years of genetic programming your body has created coping mechanisms that allow it to be, in fact, healthier due to low calorie input.  Your body is absent coping mechanisms for dealing with long term over-eating.  Although you may eventually learn to cope with the ill-feelings of eating too much, doing so will always lead to poor health, lack of function and disease.        

3.  They are in touch with reality.  They never seek comfort outside of it's realm.    

4.  They reject the notion of an excuse.  At GPP we have heard hundreds of REASONS why a normal functioning person might be less healthy than they ought to be.  But, we've never heard 1 excuse.  

5.  They completely understand their own body.  How does your body do with high protein?  What types of proteins are best for you?  How many carbs can you eat before you gain weight?  What kinds of carbs?  Are you gluten intolerant?  Are you a vegetarian?  Should you be?  How much water do you need daily?  Do you realize it would be different daily?  How will the amount of sleep you had last night affect your workout today?  On a scale of 1-10 where is your stress level?  What, specifically, will higher stress do to your success?  

6.  They meticulously keep track of successes and failures.  It is a mistake to think you'd gather this info without deliberate, sometimes painstaking action.  We are convinced that some form of logging (your body, your nutrition, your workouts, your stress, etc.) is integral to your long-term success.  

7.  They learn from these successes and failures.  They "get" that the best learning methods are those which are multifaceted.  On top of conscientious experience, they will employ coaches, writings, lectures, video, audio and community to help them. 

 Weight loss is not complicated thing.  It certainly isn't magic.  It's just HARD.  All things worth pursuing are.  But the health you seek from weight loss is worth the toil and trouble.  We hear this almost every day.  Apply the list above and you'll get there sooner than later.  If you do not apply this list we suspect it will be "later." ... Much later.

Best Way to Fight Flab Is Quickly, Study Says

Yeah...We noticed this too!  

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Friday, July 16, 2010

A controversial weight-loss study found the best way to shed flab is to do it fast, The (Sydney) Daily Telegraph reported Friday.

Dietitian Katrina Purcell presented a study to an international obesity conference in Stockholm this week which defied conventional wisdom that "slow and steady" was the best way to permanently ditch those muffin tops.

"Surprisingly and against current beliefs this study shows rapid weight loss appears to be superior to gradual weight loss in achieving target weight," she said.

Her results found 78 percent of those on the rapid diet achieved the target loss of 15 percent of their body weight within the period, while only 48 percent of those on the gradual diet met their target.

In fact, four people on the gradual diet gave up before the end of the experiment, compared with only one in the rapid diet group.

Purcell said one explanation could be psychological, with those achieving big weekly results remaining more motivated. The dietitian, however, warned against crash diets, in which weight was lost very quickly by slashing calories. "Don't do it by yourself, do it with a dietitian," she cautioned.

Dietitians Association of Australia spokeswoman Melanie McGrice said the heavier you were, the easier it was to shed weight quickly.

But she warned that "what you lost" was more important, with crash diets likely to strip the body of muscle tone and water than targeting fat cells.

"If you're going to go on a diet where you're losing weight quite quickly, you need to maintain your nutritional requirements," she said.

"Research has shown if the weight is lost slowly you keep it off."

Conventional weight-loss wisdom holds the quicker it comes off, the quicker it returns — with interest — so Purcell plans to follow her subjects over the next three years to see which of the two groups best maintains their target weight.

"Where They Got It Wrong Chronicles" - Breathing

by Neil Anderson

I've been in the health and fitness biz, exclusively, for over 16 years now.  That is long enough to see some things come and go.  It is also long enough to EXPERIENCE where experts got it wrong and have reversed their positions.  What was once considered "law" in becoming healthy is now, not only proven wrong, but may even be bad for you.   

Breathing is one place they got it wrong.

If you were forward thinking enough to have been working out in the late 80's you'll remember:

"BREATHE OUT UPON EXERTION."  Or, "BLOW OUT WHEN YOU PUSH." 

Remember this?  Back then, in the health and fitness scene, it was bright colors, Doc Marten's, Hammer pants, and lots of HISSING.  Everyone was HISSING.  Aerobics instructors were HISSING.  Weight lifters were HISSING.  Trainers were telling their clients to HISS.  I even witnessed a water-aerobics instructor encouraging her class participants to blow bubbles under water when they did certain movements. 

This HISSING (pursing lips and teeth and blowing out while lifting) was supposed to help keep your blood pressure down.  Back then, high blood pressure was supposedly one of the biggest dangers and drawbacks to exercising. People who exercised were told by those in the know (mainly doctors and rehab specialists) that exercise was inherently dangerous.  And people who chose to exercise (not considered entirely necessary back then), had to be careful not to have an aneurysm, stroke, or heart attack while doing it.  To prevent such, they were to avoid and suppress their natural instinct to grunt and hold their breath for an instant while lifting something heavy.

This was great advice, but it only applied to a VERY small portion of the exercising population.  These were mainly heart patients.  Unfortunately, the vast majority of exercisers could be harmed by NOT taking a deep breath and holding it briefly while exerting. 

How? 

BACK INJURIES. 

It turns out that your natural instinct to grunt and hold your breath a little while lifting heavy and/or shifting your weight vigorously serves a purpose.  By holding your breath a little with each rep, you create intra-abdominal pressure.  This pressure supports and substantiates spinal integrity.   When you blow out you create an absence of intra-abdominal pressure and expose the muscles of the spine to greater strain.  This increases your chances of sustaining an injury. 

Also consider the fact that blowing out may be keeping you from health and fitness gains.  Your body is nothing if not self-preserving.  Built-in mechanisms may prevent you from making injurious mistakes.  Lack of intra-abdominal pressure for support may cause your body to naturally and subtly weaken its output during lifts.  There are many examples of this.  Weak output yields weak results.  

How did they get it so wrong back then? 

It was trickle down science from cardiac rehab. 

You have to remember that very little was "scientifically" known about exercise and its effects in the late 80's.  Back then you only had a couple choices for selecting an exercise method.  These came from popular culture (sports, celebrities, magazines) or the medical field.  And since FEW people trusted the dubious nature of the advice given by popular culture, the general public was more apt to seek out and obtain advice from those in the medical field (equally dubious as it turns out).  

And the advice given was..."don't hold your breath while exerting."  

This advice was quickly adopted by popular culture (sports, celebs, magazines), integrated, and perpetuated in a way that it still exists today.  And it is still as bad for you as it ever was - unless you have a blood pressure issue. 

If you are still HISSING while exercising, consider stopping.  You have taught yourself to lift in a way that is anti-nature.  Your natural urge to hold your breath briefly (DO NOT HOLD FOR LONG PERIODS - you should breathe between each rep) during each rep of heavy exercise is there for a reason.  And unless you've been specifically told by a M.D. or therapist to "blow out while you lift" you may be unintentionally exposing yourself to needless injury or shorting yourself the full benefit of your workouts.