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I’m Not Losing Weight! Exercise Doesn’t Work!

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You decide that it’s time. Time to make a change. You want to lose 20 or 30lbs and you know that exercise is going to help burn that fat, so you do what most do and join the gym. You start working out 3 or 4 times a week and bust your butt in the gym. A few weeks go by and you step on the scale… no change. You get discouraged and skip your next workout, then another and before you know it you have lost all momentum and the desire to even try anymore. What’s the point right? You worked hard for a few weeks and the scale showed nothing.

This scenario happens over and over and over again at the gym. Let me assure you that it’s not exercises fault.

The problem usually occurs because most of us think that exercising 3 or 4 times a week will just melt the fat away. Don’t get me wrong, exercise is a very powerful weight loss tool. We talk about that all the time and it is true. But in the grand scheme of things weight loss comes down to burning more energy in a day then you take in. A typical 1 hour exercise session with a mix of strength training and cardio will burn approximately 200 to 400 calories depending on your weight, gender and your exercise intensity. Let’s say you workout 3 times a week and burn 400 calories each session. That’s 1200 calories burned in a week. It takes about 3500 calories to make up one pound of body fat loss. So, exercise alone will not get you there.

What is almost always missing is the attention to your food intake. If weight loss is your goal and you only focus on exercise but don’t address diet you could be setting yourself up for failure. You are using exercise as your only tool, and we just showed how exercise alone leaves you short, and then you are most likely using the scale as your metric to measure success. This is the formula that is to blame for so many people giving up on their weight loss goals. It’s a cycle of hard work met by disappointment once they step on the scale to measure their success.

I won’t get in to the best ways to address your diet here because that is a whole different conversation but you can download our book Eat Smart, Eat Often, Eat Small for free above this article and learn everything you need to know.

Hopefully this gives you something to think about. We have to rethink the way we talk about exercise. The amount of health benefits that come from regular, consistent exercise is a list a mile long. Don’t stop. Just because the scale isn’t showing dramatic weight loss, don’t give up.Weight loss happens over time, not in an instant. Address the missing piece of the puzzle, your diet. Just don’t blame exercise. It does nothing but good things for you!

Can I Really Eat Anything I Want?

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Over the last week or two I have had a few members asking about diets, what foods to eat or avoid and how to deal with cravings of certain “bad” foods they enjoy. It’s actually a question we get a lot so let’s tackle it here.

First, on the topic of diets, I would say there really isn’t a specific “diet” that we would recommend. What we recommend is learning how to eat properly, what a real portion size is and how much you should be eating in terms of calories depending on your specific situation and goals. There is a really good book about this called “Eat Smart, Eat Often, Eat Small” that you can download free right above this article. Ask yourself, “is the way I am eating sustainable and can I see myself doing this for the rest of my life?” This is where typical “diets” fall short. They are usually a short-term solution. They work, no doubt about that, but for most of us are not sustainable for the long term and therefore not a real solution.

Is there a way of eating that still allows you to eat what you want?

To this I would say yes! The catch is that it can’t be whenever you want. If you are eating well 80% of the time, there is nothing wrong with indulging in some of your favourite foods that might be a less than optimal once in a while. A couple tips on this:

  • When you do indulge, be mindful of how much you are eating. 2 slices of pizza will not stop your progress but 6 might. And you won’t feel good either.
  • Think ahead and include the calories from this less than optimal choice in your regular meal time and into your overall calories for the day.
  • Don’t feel guilty. Eat it and move on, picking right back up again on your normal healthy eating choices.

The key is moderation in dealing with eating foods that are of the “bad” choice column. Remember the 80/20 rule. If you are eating well the majority of the time, one indulgence here or there won’t make a difference, because remember, you will be eating this way for the rest of your life! Over the long term you will be healthier, and feel and look amazing.

Another big tip is to keep your metabolism high by making strength training a regular part of your routine as well. The higher your metabolism, the more calories you burn throughout the day.

So yes, you can eat whatever you want, as long as it is not whenever you want and it’s in moderation. It’s the key to long term success and happiness! For a more complete picture make sure you download the SOS Book!

Fasted vs. Fed Cardio for Weight Loss

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I have been asked this question quite a lot over the years, if doing cardio first thing in the morning on an empty stomach is better for weight loss.

As with most questions the answer I always give is “it depends”.

You do burn more energy from fat in a fasted state, so in theory yes, doing cardio fasted would use more calories from fat then had you ate something before your workout.

You have to also remember that weight loss occurs over time, not in a single workout. It happens from consistently repeating good habits like eating good foods in the right amounts and exercising regularly.

Exercising fasted gives a slight edge to you but it is by no means a solution for quick weight loss. You still have to follow the fundamentals.

Another interesting fact I learned a couple years ago listening to one of my favourite speakers, Dr. Len Kravitz, at a conference talk about this topic was that in his research he found that although a person exercising in a fasted state did burn slightly more calories from fat during the workout, the person who ate a small snack before exercise burned more fat throughout the entire day compared to the person fasted because eating kickstarted their metabolism sooner. He recommended eating a small snack before your morning workout.

For me there is no benefit, one over the other, it’s whatever you feel better doing. Some of us feel great working out fasted and other don’t. So, choose what allows you to have the best workout you can, whether that is fasted or fed.

If you choose to eat something, it shouldn’t be a big meal and it shouldn’t be consumed immediately before exercise. Try to eat 30-60 minutes before, and keep it small.