Hello, It’s Fred Hatfield again. I am back with some tips on finding the right type of Exercise for yourself that you will stick to and get the results that you are looking for, This is not a one size fits all journey and you may need to incorporate 1 or more styles to reach your goal, but none will work without the proper diet to go along with it.

Exercising has many benefits, some of which are: mental clarity, improvement in your mood, and its benefits to almost all systems of the body.  All are good reasons, but the number one reason is (you guessed it) they want to look good!  Where do you go from there?  A fitness center can be quite intimidating for someone new to exercise with all its barbells, dumbbells, machines, and classes.  Furthermore, there are those infomercials with revolutionary and “cutting edge” programs. What’s right for you?  I’m going to discuss a few options so you know what to expect with my main focus being weight and fat loss. 

First, let me give you some solid foundational rules to increase your chances at succeeding: 

1.  You must enjoy it.  I have personal trainers say, “exercise isn’t supposed to be enjoyable!”  It’s not supposed to be comfortable, but you better enjoy it or at least tolerate it enough to enjoy the results. 

2.  If you are looking to lose weight or gain muscle weight, you must eat properly. 

3.  Your choice of exercise must be proper for your level of fitness and lifestyle.

4. If you are a beginner, you are going to need help setting up a program.  Each one of those rules could be an article of its own.  For now, I am just bringing them to light.  With that, let’s look at some exercise options.

Endurance Training

In this category, I am talking about running, swimming, cycling, and rowing (to name a few) for longer periods of time at a near steady-state.  It doesn’t always mean that, however; many endurance programs involve intervals of harder work followed by rest periods or periods of easier work. 

This form of exercise has great cardiovascular benefits.  You can expect your resting heart rate to drop and your local muscular endurance to improve.  It’s not going to improve muscle mass, however (which ironically is important for weight loss), and in some cases, you may lose muscle.  What may be disheartening is that by itself, it probably is going to lead to minimal weight loss. 

Let’s crunch some numbers.  A pound of fat contains 3500 calories.  If you go on a running program you can burn about 11-20 calories a minute depending on your weight and metabolism (how efficiently you use calories).  If you run 3 times a week for 30 minutes you are going to burn between 990 and 1800 calories.  That’s a good start, but at best that’s averaging 2.25 lbs of fat loss per month.  More disheartening is the fact that while you may burn those calories, they aren’t all from fat!  Your muscles will use stored carbohydrates as their first choice of energy and under extreme circumstances, it can even cannibalize its own muscle.  In that case, you’re making fat loss even harder.

There are those that take such training to an extreme.  Triathletes and marathon runners, for example, can burn 1000 to 1500 or more calories a day. This type of training takes years of conditioning to be able to handle. If you are not properly conditioned endurance training (no matter what the distance) overuse injuries are likely to happen.

The bottom line is that if you are going to engage in this type of exercise, do it for your heart health.  It can help you lose weight, but only if you stick to your diet plan. 

Anaerobic Threshold Training

This is a fancy, scientific term for working extremely hard for a short period of time, followed by a period of rest or less strenuous activity. For example, sprinting for 20 seconds followed by jogging for 40 seconds. There are many programs that fall in this category: T90X for one, which is done in a circuit, as well as any form of High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT).

These programs will also benefit your cardiovascular system, local muscular endurance, and depending on how hard you work, increase muscle strength.  For weight loss, it is a better choice for long, slow-distance endurance training.  Even so, it alone is not very efficient for weight loss.  Some of these programs are extremely difficult and beginners may be well-advised not to tackle them right away.  Exercise should take you out of your comfort zone, but at a safe level. 

Core Training

Core training is popular, and actually very good in what it does.  Core training involves strengthening the abs, the lower back, the hips, and obliques (those muscles on your sides between your rib cage and hip).  Well-designed programs even focus on your hamstring and hip flexibility, which can alleviate lower back pain. Unfortunately, it’s not going to help you get rid of belly fat.  Likewise, the leg abductor and adductor machines aren’t going to help take fat off your hips or inner thigh.  They will strengthen the muscles in those areas and you will enjoy the benefits of that, but sorry folks… You cannot spot reduce fat.  Crunches are good for the muscle hiding under belly fat, but they don’t make that fat go away.

Resistance Training

In a very sneaky way, resistance training may be the best method for overall health and fat loss.  The problem is there is a stigma about it and people don’t consider the difference between weight loss and fat loss. 

When you mention weight training or resistance training most people assume they will get big muscles because bodybuilders use it and they assume they will end up looking like them.  This is especially prevalent amongst women.  Rest assured, ladies, it takes years of training for female bodybuilders to get their physique, and no, it’s not all “natural”.  Yes, you will get stronger muscles and they will grow in size, and that is a good thing.  Understand that weight loss and fat loss are not the same.  We should be less concerned about what the scale says and more concerned about what the mirror or dress size says.  If nothing else, if you are worried that you will become too bulky, rest assured it will not happen overnight, and it’s just as easy to reverse it by stopping.  If you find yourself becoming uncomfortable with how your muscles look, well then back off. 

Remember when I talked about running and burning 11-20 calories per minute?  Well, that’s dependent on your weight, and more specifically, your muscle mass.  People with more muscle mass burn more calories, plain and simple.  Muscle burns calories; fat does not.  The data I accessed shows that a 120 lbs. person will burn 11 calories per minute during that run, but a 180 lbs. person will burn 20 calories per minute.  These numbers are just examples to show the trend that when you have more muscle, you burn more calories.  While the exercise itself doesn’t lead to much fat loss without a proper diet, increasing your muscle mass burns more calories throughout the day –even while at rest or sleeping.

Resistance training has other benefits as well.  When properly set up works the entire body.  There are some cardiovascular benefits with resistance training, although not at the level that endurance training or anaerobic threshold training provides.

A problem with resistance training is that it can be confusing.  How many sets?  How many reps?  What exercises should I do?  Entire books have been written about such subjects and it’s a debate that is non-ending!  Remember the 4^th rule I spoke of at the beginning of the article: as with all disciplines of exercise you will need someone to help you set up a program.

In summary, you should choose the right exercise program for you, as no one program is “best” for everyone. If you are a beginner, you will do well to have someone teach you and set up a program.  Finally, while there are many benefits to exercise, fat loss as a direct result of exercise is very difficult without a proper diet.

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Hello, my name is Fred Hatfield and I have a Masters Degree in Physical Education from Middle Tennessee State University and a Bachelors degree in Exercise Physiology from Kent State University.  I was an ISSA Personal Trainer Professor for 8 years.  I also have 8 years of experience as an Assistant Strength and Conditioning coach at the collegiate level.  I am also a competitive cyclist, runner and I am training for my first triathlon.

I see so many people trying to lose weight, trying this diet and that diet, and having little or no success. This lack of success leads them to give up. I understand the frustration of feeling like your starving and for nothing because your goals are not being met. Because I see this so much, I wanted to try and help those that really want to make a lifestyle change and make realistic goals and actually meet them. I thought I would start by talking about the various ways people try to diet, why they don’t work and how to fix it so you will see some results.

The goal of a proper nutritional diet is to give you the resources needed to sustain life at an optimal level.  When the body has the proper amount of protein, fat, carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals its ability to carry out all the body’s functions and fight illness. Since we all live different lifestyles, nutritional requirements differ to some degree for each person.  Unfortunately, many people do not eat with this goal in mind; they eat because they are hungry, stressed or they have a craving for their favorite foods. 

This has led to an estimated two-thirds of Americans being either clinically obese or overweight.  Americans spend an estimated $16 billion a year on various weight loss programs and products on the market.  Unfortunately, it is also estimated that 95% of diets ultimately fail.  While that number may be disputed by some, it’s clear that what most people are doing isn’t working.

There are many factors that can hinder a person’s weight loss efforts (slow metabolism, life-style changes, the wrong diet for the person, or simply it’s a bad plan).  However, the biggest reason why diets fail is that people don’t consistently stick to the diet. A person may believe they are sticking to their diet, but there are many subtle (and not so subtle) points they miss.  Let’s look at a few things people may miss when dieting (and how to fix them):

• You aren’t really counting all your calories.  If you are planning out your meals and any allotted snacks in-between, you are doing well.  However, are you counting everything that you eat?  Did you include the tablespoon of mayonnaise on your sandwich or the handful of M&M’s your co-worker offered you? Did you count the teaspoon of sugar and tablespoon of half and half in your coffee?   These are just some examples, but these 4 foods alone add up to 250 calories which you may have totally missed.  The fix:  First, when you prepare a meal, account for each ingredient, including cooking oil if you use it.  Next, discipline yourself not to eat outside the plan (dips into candy dishes, for example).
• You underestimate your portions.  Let’s reexamine the mayonnaise on your sandwich.  When you look at the calories per serving, chances are it’s 100 calories for a tablespoon.  Are you really using only a tablespoon (it is actually an exact measurement and not grabbing a spoon off the table and seeing you much you can pile on that spoon!)?  This holds true for many other foods as well.  Unless you are measuring or weighing each item you eat, your calorie count is inaccurate.  The fix:  It may be a hassle, but measuring and weighing your portions with proper scales and measuring utensils is the only fix for this.  At least take this step for a week or two; it will allow you to become aware of what your portions really are.
• Your “small modifications” aren’t so small.  Suppose you found a diet plan that makes sense and fits your needs.  There is just one little problem:  you still want just one comfort food as the only exception.  That may sound like a reasonable modification, but is it really?  Suppose that small modification is ice cream at night or a soft drink while at work.  These two foods can fit into a sensible diet, as long as you keep it reasonable.  One scoop of ice cream may be ok (not three).  One can of a soft drink may be ok (not the 64-ounce fountain drink from the convenience store).  The fix:  If you must make an exception, keep it reasonable and make sure it makes it into your overall calorie count.
• Your cheat days go way overboard.  Let’s face it:  cheat days aren’t really a good idea!  While there is the theory that they may help stabilize your metabolism and they do give you a reward to look forward to, they still hinder your efforts.  Many diet plans do allow for a cheat day, but the problem is overdoing it.  For example, if you are on a 1200 calorie a day diet plan, a reasonable cheat day would be 1800 calories or maybe even up to 2400 calories.  What would not be reasonable is 3000 or more.  The fix:  your cheat days (if you must have one) should resemble a steady rainfall; not a category 5 hurricane!  Keep them reasonable and make sure you log them into your calorie count. 
• The diet is wrong for you.  Some diets are flat-out terrible!  But even if they are sensible, it may not be right for you.  We all have different levels of activity, metabolisms, and food preferences.  If you are physically active (either at your job or you exercise) you will need more calories.  If you choose a diet heavy on rice cakes, kale, and tuna fish but you don’t like these things, chances are you aren’t going to say with your diet for very long!  The fix:  don’t make things so unreasonable for yourself that you set yourself up for failure.  While you are looking to make lifestyle changes during a weight loss diet, it must be workable for you.
• Results aren’t what you expect and you give up.  This can happen in a couple of different ways.  You may expect to lose a pound a week with your diet but only lose a half-pound.  Another scenario that may happen is hitting the dreaded “wall”: you do great 4 weeks but then don’t lose any weight for the next two weeks.  Instead of staying in the fight, you decide the results aren’t worth the pain, and you give up.  The fix:  It’s simple:  stay in the fight even if it’s not going the way you wanted.  If you are making progress, keep it up.  If it’s not, or it’s going to slow, look at making adjustments, but stay with the plan.
• You don’t maintain what you’ve achieved.  Once you’ve achieved your target weight, your weight loss diet can still fail.  If you go back to the dietary habits you had before you will put the weight right back on.  The fix:  this one is simple too.   You must get a new plan to maintain what you achieve.  Keep monitoring your weight, and don’t go back to your old habits.

In summary, there are no shortcuts, special diets, or superfoods out there that will counter poor dietary practices.  It may be disappointing, but for diets to work they must be reasonable for your lifestyle and they must be followed!  While you may have to make adjustments at first and when you hit the dreaded “wall” (and you will hit it, count on it!), you can still succeed if you stick with the plan.

Written by Fred Hatfield

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