Here is some basic information that might be helpful as you pursue a fitness program. These are ideas and techniques that have worked for me and which I often recommend to my training clients.

1) Don’t starve yourself in an attempt to lose weight . Although the basic formula is that you want to burn more calories than you take in, simply stopping eating and starving the body actually works against your weight loss goals in the long run. The body, sensing that it is not receiving enough calories to sustain itself, thinks that it is starving and reacts by trying to protect itself to survive. It does this by holding onto fat cells (which will sustain it the longest under starvation conditions) and uses up muscle cells instead. Thus your body will look much worse as opposed to better because your fat cells will remain while your much needed muscle will diminish. Worse yet, most dieters who starve themselves eventually break down and then gorge themselves on bad foods in reaction to their starvation. Thus when they put the weight back on they body is fatter than when they started! They have lost muscle and gained back more fat.

This is why “yo-yo” dieting doesn’t work and why many people who go on multiple diets end up with more fat than when they started.

The solution: Eat a balanced diet of healthy, low-fat foods and restrict calories gradually over time. The idea is to simply eat slightly less calories than you need to sustain your present body weight, but not so few that your body moves into “starvation reaction” mode and holds onto its fat cells. A weight loss of one pound a week is very reasonable. This may seem slow to many people, but a slow healthy adjustment in weight, coupled with weight training and some cardio, is the best way to improve and change your body. You must think “BIG PICTURE” here! Slightly adjusted eating which brings one pound of weight loss a week could result in 52 pounds over a year—and without denying yourself radically or starving yourself.

For a great explanation of these concepts I recommend Everything You Need To Know About Fat Loss by Chris Aceto.

2) Allow yourself a cheat meal. Restricting your eating (or “eating smart”) can be a challenge for many people who are not used to discipline in their food choices. Allow yourself one cheat meal each week where you can eat anything you want. I find that on my personal diets I will have great fun planning what decadent choice I will make each week, usually on a weekend since that is when I am most likely to be going out to dinner with friends. In fact, if you are eating smart and restricting your diet it can be good for your body to have a “high carbohydrate” day every 4 to 7 days. This keeps your body from altering its metabolism and processes when it “gets used” to the new eating plan. Mixing it up once a week can actually benefit your diet. In addition, the body tends to lose its proficiency of storing fat if it does not have a lot of fat to “practice on” all the time. Thus this one bad meal will tend to not influence it and the body will not have the mechanisms in place to store the fat with this one meal….assuming that you return to “smart eating” after your one cheat experience.

3) Eat five to seven times a day. Supplement your three regular meals with smaller snacks in between. At the least add healthy snacks between the other meals. This keeps your metabolism revved up and burning fat all day, as well as keeping your body fueled with nutrients. Make sure and include some protein in each meal or snack. (Women are notorious for not eating enough protein.) At the least purchase some healthy snack bars to keep at your desk at work for those quick between meal snacks.

4) Eat breakfast. Your mother was right! This is the most important meal of the day. You need to start the day with some good balanced nutrition with protein, carbs, and some fat. Even if you don’t wake up hungry right now, get in the habit of eating breakfast and you’ll soon find yourself ready for some good nutrition to start your day the right way.

5) Eat the same amount of calories every day. Your body thrives on consistency. It will only feel confident shedding excess body fat if it thinks it will be receiving a steady stream of good nutrients every day. If you eat a lot one day, then starve yourself the next, the body gets confused and will not shed body fat because it’s not sure what will happen tomorrow. (This goes hand in hand with the idea of never starving yourself as it is counter-productive.) If you want to lose weight then you should strive to eat the same number of calories every day, regardless even of what kind of food or when in the day it comes (though consistency there will help also.) Simply eat slightly less than the number the calories needed to maintain your present weight, but not so few that your body thinks it is starving and holds onto its fat. Then with confidence that it will be regularly fed, your body will shed body fat slowly over time.

6) You are what you eat. If you want a great-looking healthy body you have to put good healthy food in it. You wouldn’t put bad gas in your Ferrari, so why treat your body any differently? Or, as my trainer Rich Kline used to say, “Junk food, junk body.”

7) Use supplements. The world of fitness nutrition has exploded in the past few years. No longer must anyone chock down bad tasting protein drinks or bars. The market is flooded with great tasting choices for healthy snacks, protein supplements, and other ways to improve your health and workouts. Make sure and do your research and find a knowledgeable person at a health food store to help direct your choices. Creatine, when used correctly, can be a great way to improve workout stamina and recuperation. Those trying to add muscle should make sure and get adequate protein, and those trying to gain weight now have lots of healthy ways to add calories to their 6 or 7 “feedings” daily.

8) Get a workout partner. Having someone there to encourage you can be a huge benefit to helping you work out consistently and vigorously. If nothing else, you are much more likely to simply show up at the gym for your workout if you know that someone is there waiting on you and counting on your help. Plus, most people will train harder and attempt to lift more weight if someone is there both encourage them and to spot them for a safe lift. A little healthy competition in these situations can be very helpful. I once trained with a very strong powerlifter and while I could not match his poundages, I almost always lifted heavier than I might have otherwise because of his enthusiasm and example.

9) Hire a trainer . I recommend this for everyone who can afford it, but most especially for anyone who is new to weight training. You don’t have to take out a second mortgage here. Just invest some of your substance in some great information and motivation. If you are new to the gym or to weight lifting I strongly recommend that you hire a trainer for at least a week or two to get you started on the right track. Nothing could be more valuable than having a knowledgeable trainer show you the correct form for each exercise. This will keep you from being injured (unfortunately a common reason many people quit the gym) and will assure that you are using the best form to get the best results from your time in the gym.

No one wants to waste his or her time in the gym. We are all too busy for that and want to see results. And yet I often see members at the gym that year after year consistently train and their body never changes! I cannot imagine why these members will not invest some money in some new information. Everyone has new ideas and tricks to share with others, and a trainer is a great way to jump-start your training to a new level.

By the way, I recommend that you hire a Certified Fitness Professional. Ask if they are certified and check to see that the company is well established and nationally recognized. You deserve only the best!

10) Read and learn! There are countless book and magazines about fitness and exercise available these days. Even if you hire a trainer it is always great to keep learning about nutrition, new exercise techniques, or new break-throughs in the fitness industry. Plus these book and magazines can be very motivational and inspiring to keep your enthusiasm high. See my list of fitness books in the “Recommended Reading” section of the website for a few suggestions to get you started.

11) Make it fun! The bottom line is to find a fitness activity that you enjoy. Certainly I recommend that you include weight training as part of your on-going fitness regimen. However, spend time doing other things that you love. The idea is to “be active” and get out there and move! Many people love to run, bike, rollerblade, swim, hike, skateboard, ice skate, water ski, snow ski, play basketball, play catch with your kids….the list is endless. Use the weight training, cardio, and diet as a base to allow you to be in shape and enjoy these other activities. Find a balance and enjoy your exercise.

12) Make exercise a family activity! Some people lament that exercise takes away from their family time, but what they need is a dose of creativity. Take your kids away from the TV or videogames and go on a family bike ride. A game of catch or Frisbee can be a great family activity. Grab your wife, husband, or life partner and go do something fun together. Be creative and find ways to involve everyone.

13) Give it time to become a habit! Someone has said that it takes doing something 10 times to make it your own habit. Commit to heading to the gym at least 10 times before considering quitting. It takes time to get over the newness and intimidation of a new experience. You’ll find that by the 10 th visit you’ll be hooked and into a routine that is comfortable. Plus by that time you’ll see some benefits and start to look and feel better.

14) Be patient! Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither will your biceps. It takes time to make changes, so keep that perspective and always consider the “big picture.”

15) Monitor your progress . Take photographs of yourself at each step of the journey. You see yourself in the mirror every day and will not notice the changes as much. Taking pictures is a great way for you to ‘step outside” yourself and see your progress from another perspective. Take measurements every 3 or 4 weeks to see how things are changing (realizing that as you lose fat some measurements like your biceps may go down even though they will look larger as you lower your body fat!)

16) Accept compliments! Once you start to change your body you’ll start to get some comments and compliments. Always accept these graciously and take that good feeling inside! If you’re not good at receiving compliments, make yourself simply say “thank you” and smile back. You’ll get the hang of it.

17) Set goals. Though you may have a long-range goal like “lose 20 pounds” you would be well served by creating smaller more immediately reachable goals that you can monitor. Losing even 1 pound in the next two weeks is a viable goal and something that is attainable. Working to add 5 pounds to your lift is another way to monitor your progress and feel good about your workouts. Don’t sabotage yourself by working only toward that 300 lb. bench press. Going from 250 to 255 is a much easier way to progress and make yourself feel good about your progress, keeping that ultimate goal of 300 in the back of your mind.

18) Don’t weigh yourself all the time . I used to get caught in a trap of weighing myself every day in the gym to see how my body weight had changed. This is counterproductive. Change happens on a slower pace and being obsessive will not help anything. Set aside one day each week (or two) to monitor the changes and then get on with the workouts!

19) Reward yourself. Set goals for yourself and then create rewards for attaining them. Be good to yourself and allow yourself to celebrate your victories, no matter how small. Perhaps the most fun is buying those new clothes when your old ones no longer fit well! Of give yourself a nice meal at your favorite restaurant or a trip to the theme park to celebrate that 275 lb. bench press! (I once bought a workout partner those new lifting straps he wanted when he finally accomplished his 300 lb. squat.) Whatever it is, be nice to yourself and make it fun.

20) ANY workout is better than no workout. A bad day in the gym is still better for your body and your self-respect than a day skipped. Going to the gym for even a short amount of time and doing something is better than skipping. Many people get trapped with the idea that “I don’t have time for my entire hour and 15 minute workout today so I’ll just skip it.” This is ridiculous, of course, because getting on the treadmill for 20 minutes will bring you benefits, especially compared to nothing at all! Plus, on those days when you feel low on energy, go ahead and head to the gym. More times than not you’ll feel much better once you get there and get started. Plus maintaining the habit and discipline of going to the gym is invaluable for long-term success. Of course, don’t train if you are actually sick and need to recover, but if you just feel a bit tired you will probably find yourself rejuvenated and feeling much better after your workout.

21) Don’t use performance-enhancing drugs. Steroids are unsafe, illegal, and unethical. Hire a trainer, get a good workout partner, eat well, workout hard, sleep adequately, use legal supplements, and grow into your potential. You’ll end up looking better than 95% of the people walking around in this world, and you’ll know that all that muscle you’re wearing was earned proudly and fairly.

22) Decide what’s really important to you! This philosophy has been very helpful to me in keeping me on track for my goals. When faced with an important decision (or a small one), always think about what you ultimately want. “Do I want this donut or do I want the abs to show?” (I put down the donut and make a better food choice.) “Do I want to lay in front of the TV or do I want those 18 inch biceps?” (I get in the car and make it to the gym.) These simple but important questions are a “hands-on” way to stay focused and motivated and see the big picture at times when you might not really want to! If you stop and think about what you REALLY want, it’s easier to make the right choices in moments of weakness.