Contrary to the typical advice of well-meaning but misinformed trainers and health organizations, the key to fat loss is not to simply “eat less, move more”, but to eat better, and exercise harder. The idea one should eat less and move more to lose fat is based on a few assumptions: that fat gain and…
Category Archives: Nutrition
Thoughts on the Paleo/Evolutionary Eating and Exercise Trends
Over the past few years the concept of “paleo” or “evolutionary” eating has been gaining popularity. Not surprisingly, various “experts” have popped up with blogs, books and programs based on the concept; some good, some not, some nuts, and many with totally different takes on it. Unfortunately, this has caused confusion for people interested in…
Opinions on Nutrition
The following was written to address some of the most common questions I receive from readers and personal training clients and during phone consultations. Calories versus Macronutrients Whether you’re trying to lose fat, gain muscle, or maintain your current weight and body composition both are important. Calorie intake is important for a change in fat or…
Nutritional Supplement Hucksters
I just read the following post in a forum for personal trainers: Five Simple Reasons Why Trainers Should Sell Nutrition And Supplement Products 1. Creating a solution when your clients are not with you as a trainer 2. Everyone can NOT afford Personal Trainers but they all use supplements When you do meetings with individuals…
How Many Calories Is Your Time Worth?
Fitness and weight loss “experts” like to recommend finding ways to incorporate more physical activity into daily life, usually exchanging efficiency or convenience for increased physical exertion, based on the mistaken belief that doing so makes a meaningful contribution to health, fitness, or fat loss. They claim these little changes add up to a lot…
Bullshit Fat Loss Claims
Over the past couple of weeks there have been a few attempts to comment spam some of the articles on this site with links to a web site claiming you can lose “30 pounds in 30 days without diet or exercise” by taking products they sell. Of course, this is complete and utter bullshit. For…
Writing It Down
Over the past 16 years I’ve trained hundreds of people one-on-one and have probably advised thousands through phone and internet discussions. Regardless of the goal, one factor that has consistently made a huge difference in results has been whether the client kept accurate records of their daily food intake, and if they were a long-distance…
N.O. Supplements? No Way!
This article is published here with the permission of the author, Ellen Coleman, RD, MA, MPH Supplements that allegedly increase nitric oxide (NO) levels within the body are being heavily marketed to build muscles. “Nitric oxide” supplements supposedly: 1) promote an extended “muscle pump;” 2) signal muscle growth and speed recovery; and 3) increase muscle…
Humans are “lazy overeaters”
The following is my response to a post on another blog about why people crave bad foods. It references something Arthur DeVany said on his Evolutionary Fitness blog about humans evolving to be “lazy overeaters”, which I agree with: Arthur DeVany suggested a big part of the reason for overeating is that we evolved to…
Calculating the Daily Calorie Deficit For Maximum Fat Loss
In books and articles on fat loss it is common to see arbitrary recommendations for daily calorie intake or deficit, such as 1,200 calories per day for women and 1,500 calories per day for men, or a deficit of 500 to 1000 calories per day to lose 1 to 2 pounds of fat per week….
