If losing fat were easy then we’d all look like fitness models, right?

Unfortunately, the fat loss game is more frustrating than most care to admit. The scale quickly becomes a dreaded enemy—a constant bearer of bad news.

If the number on your scale won’t budge then read on for an explanation:

Possibility #1: You’re Not Eating Enough Calories

This only happens in cases of severe calorie restriction, so don’t take it as a license to eat whatever you’d like. When you’re trying to drop a few pounds by eating next to nothing, it actually counteracts your efforts.

There’s a base number of calories that you should be eating in order to maintain your proper bodily functions, including fat loss, so check with a doctor or nutritionist to make sure that you’re eating enough.

Possibility #2: You’re Eating Too Many Carbs

Processed carbs will promote fat storage quicker than you can say the alphabet backwards. Blood sugar and insulin levels always respond the same to processed carbs – whether those carbs are in the form of a FiberOne bar or a Twinkie.

You’re fooling yourself, but not your scale, if you think processed carbs should be included in your fat loss diet.

Possibility #3: You’re Doing Too Much Cardio

If you’re doing hours of steady-state cardio, it’s gonna end up working against your fat loss efforts. All that cardio promotes the release of stress hormones in your body, which counteracts your ability to lose fat.

See me about designing your ideal exercise routine for maximum fat loss. I’ll let you know how much cardio should be included in your routine.

Possibility #4: You’re Not Getting Enough Sleep

You may not see the connection between your sleep patterns and the number on your scale, but it’s there. Sleep patterns have an impact on your hormone levels, and hormones are a huge factor when it comes to losing fat.

Be sure to get a full eight hours of sleep each night to boost your fitness results.

Possibility #5: Your Snacks Have No Protein

Small, whole foods snacks throughout the day can help maintain your metabolism and encourage fat loss, but it all depends on what you’re snacking on. Fruit-only snacks quickly break down to sugar, which causes insulin to be released and potential fat storage to occur, much like when you eat processed carbs. Sure, the fruit will make less of an impact than a candy bar, but you could be snacking smarter.

Only eat snacks that contain more protein than carbs, and also some fat. This will help to stabilize your blood sugar levels while also keeping hunger at bay longer.

Possibility #6: You Eat Diet Foods

I get it, you have a fat loss goal so it’s tempting to fall into the trap of purchasing foods that claim to help dieters. The problem lies in the fact that these ‘diet’ products have been highly processed and contain potentially harmful chemicals and artificial sweeteners that will confuse your hormones and promote fat storage.

The best diet strategy, when working towards a fitness goal, is to stick with real, fresh, whole foods. Steer clear of anything fake or processed.

I’m here to help you reach your fitness and fat loss goal. Call or email today to get started on a fitness program that will quickly and permanently transform your body.

Don’t wait another week, another day, or even another hour to take action. I’m here now, and I'm ready and excited to see you through your goals.

Let’s do this!

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A toned, lean stomach is the ultimate sign of a fitness plan that’s working. It’s also one of the hardest things to achieve.

It’s time that you forget everything you’ve heard about how to sculpt your abs. The truth is that crunches simply won’t give you a six-pack. Ever.

Doing crunches with the hope that it will turn your midsection into a washboard is to operate under the most widely held fitness myth. I’m talking about the spot reducing myth. Here’s the truth: training one area of your body will not specifically burn fat from that area.

Even those who have heard that spot reducing is a myth often still train as if it is true. So here’s the hard truth that you need to face: Doing crunches will not magically make your tummy shrink, it will not cause your muffin top to melt away, and it will not give you washboard abs.

Only a reduction in body fat will do that for you.

So want the secret to great abs? The secret to great abs is a combination of fat burning cardio, resistance training, and clean eating.

It is very possible for you to dramatically shape up your waistline before the holidays arrive. Yes, I’m talking to Y-O-U. Weight loss is not reserved only for the people you see on the Biggest Loser or on exercise equipment infomercials. You can do it too.

So is your current routine getting you closer to that six-pack, or have you simply been burning time? Answer the following two questions to find out…

How many times per week do you exercise? If you answered with anything less than 4 times a week then that’s the first thing getting between you and streamline abs. What is a fat burning workout? A routine that incorporates intense cardiovascular training with challenging resistance training. Does this describe what you do?

I’m sorry to be the one to break this to you, but walking on the treadmill for 30 minutes at a comfortable pace isn’t a fat blasting routine. Neither is a leisurely, not-a-drop-of-sweat 20 minutes on the elliptical machine. The truth is that exercising smart allows you to dramatically increase your results while spending less time in the gym.

Cardio exercise is most beneficial when done at an effective level of intensity. This doesn’t mean that you should be out gasping for air. It does mean that you need to dig down and push yourself. Every time.

Resistance training is the second vital part to a workout that burns fat. This means working your major muscle groups against resistance in a way that challenges you and stimulates your metabolism. The key here is to find the right intensity and to keep each muscle group guessing.

Do you eat clean? Diet is the number one reason that most people don’t have great abs. If your diet is out of control then your abs will be too. To trim your waist, start by trimming the junk out of your diet, regardless of how hard you exercise.

• Don’t eat too much. Do you know approximately how many calories you eat each day? The best way to find out is to record every single thing that you eat for a few days. Take those numbers and do an evaluation—feel free to recruit me to help out with this part. Together we’ll come up with improvements for your diet and adjust your calories for maximum results.
• Cut out the junk. While this may seem obvious, your definition of “junk food” may need to be updated. Start with anything that contains sugar. Refined sugar is one of the biggest ingredients in the junk food world—it is found in soft drinks, blended coffee drinks, cookies, cakes, packaged snacks, and other sinfully sweet treats. Processed fat is another monster to avoid. As a rule of thumb, view all processed or refined items as junk food, and kick them to the curb.
• Eat when hungry. You’ve been told to never let your metabolism “crash” by going hours without eating, but it turns out that all-day snacking may be counter-productive. Instead of trying to schedule meals and snacks for certain times throughout your day go with how your body feels. If you are hungry then have a small, protein-based snack. If you aren’t hungry then don’t force a snack on yourself in the name of fueling your metabolism.

Now you know why simply doing crunches will not get you the abs of your dreams. While it is important to exercise your abs a couple of times a week, don’t expect fat to fall of that area after thousands of crunches.

If you seriously want to flatten and sculpt your waist in time for the holidays then all you have to do is decide that you really want it. Commit to yourself. You deserve it.

Come see me for fat blasting workouts that deliver the results you want. Together we will get you on a program that will melt the fat off your abs, exposing shape and definition—with visible results before Christmas.

Call or email me today for a no obligation consultation. I’m here to propel you towards your fitness and fat loss goals.

Let’s get you started on a fitness program that will get you on the fast track to your best abs ever.

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Working out hard is an essential part of any fat loss plan. It sculpts your muscles, raises your resting metabolism, whittles down your waist and gives you functional strength and endurance.

The only catch is that you can seriously slow, or even reverse, your results by eating poorly. There’s nothing quite as frustrating as when you are working out like a champ only to face the same belly rolls each morning.

To keep you from giving up in frustration, I’ve put together the following 3 Easy Food Hacks to amp up your results.

Easy Food Hack #1: RICE

Rice is a big part of many a meal. There’s white rice, brown rice, stir fried rice, sticky rice, wild rice and the list goes on. All of these kinds of rice (yes, even brown rice) are packed with carb and calories. This is great, if you are a growing child or an athlete, but not so great for someone like you with a fat loss goal.

Rather than give up rice completely, because that would make your veggies and meat look really lonely on a half-empty plate, let’s turn to Easy Food Hack #1.

CAULIFLOWER RICE: Now, don’t get skeptical on me until you give this food trick a try. To make rice from cauliflower first wash it and trim the leaves and stems. Chop into small pieces and then run those pieces through a food processor with the grating attachment. This will result in a rice-like consistency. Place the cauliflower rice in a large skillet with a Tablespoon of olive oil and cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and you are good to go. Serve your normal vegetable and meat dishes over a bed of cauliflower rice just as you would traditional rice.

Easy Food Hack #2: NOODLES

Have you ever noticed that when you crave your favorite pasta dish, you’re actually just craving the sauce? Noodles alone are bland and unspectacular. The magic, as well as the protein, is in the sauce.

Noodles, like traditional rice, are packed with calories and carbs that get in the way of your fat loss results. So, rather than just eating a bowl of sauce, try Easy Food Hack #2.

ZUCCHINI NOODLES: Again, try this trick before you knock it, I’m guessing that you’ll be pleasantly surprised. Wash a zucchini, and then run a vegetable peeler down its sides, creating long, wide noodles. Stop when you reach the inner, seedy part of the zucchini. These raw, zucchini noodles do not require any cooking, simply throw them onto your plate and top with your favorite pasta sauce. (Of course, I’m assuming that you’re not going to use a white, cream-based sauce, but that’s another article for another day.)

Easy Food Hack #3: BREAD, BUNS, TORTILLAS

Cauliflower rice and zucchini noodles are all find and dandy for those meals that you prepare at home, but what about your meals eaten out? Many restaurant meals revolve around bread, buns or tortillas. These things are tasty, yet filled with calories and carbs that add to those annoying belly rolls.

That’s when you turn to Easy Food Hack #3.

THE LETTUCE WRAP: This trick is more popular than the first two, so you may already be familiar with it. How does it work? When ordering your meal, be it a sandwich, burger or tacos, ask that it be wrapped in lettuce in place of the bread, bun or tortilla. Most places are really cool about it, and you end up getting to eat the good part of the meal – the meat and flavors—without the carb-filled extras. If for some reason the restaurant is unable to wrap it in lettuce for you, then ask for the filling to be placed on a pile of greens and eat it with a fork.

Try these 3 Easy Food Hacks out for the next 30 days, and see how quickly your fat loss results ramp up. The improved results will motivate you to workout harder and more consistently, which will then add to an even greater level of fitness.

If you aren’t yet one of my clients, now is the perfect time for you to start. My focus is to get you to your goals using my results-driven method.

Simply call or email me today to set up your first workout.

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