By Jeremy Likness, International Health Coach

Copyright © 2008 Lose Fat Not Faith

All Rights Reserved Worldwide.
You are hereby granted explicit permission to distribute this freely, provided you do not modify
the content in any way – it must be distributed “as is.”

www.LoseFatNotFaith.com
 "If we could give every individual the right amount
of nourishment and exercise, not too little
and not too much, we would have found
the safest way to health." –
Hippocrates c. 460 - 377 BC

Click here to interact with others who are working hard to lose their fat!

Learn from the mistakes I made . . .

As the opening quote suggests, the "answer" to good health and weight loss has been known for
thousands of years and is simple.

Doing what it takes, however, is not so simple -- there are a number of reasons why dropping
excess fat can be quite a struggle.

I am keenly familiar with the struggle. While I lost over 65 pounds of unwanted fat, after
struggling with the extra weight for most of my life, the clients I work with have had twice that
much or more to lose! It is a tough battle, but it is one you can w in. I know from my own
personal journey that fighting your way through the fat to that lean, fit person you want to be can
be like a maze, littered with obstacles and dead-ends.

I am painfully familiar with those dead-ends, and hope that by identifying them here, you can
avoid the many pitfalls involved with massive fat loss and burn your way to the lean
bodybuilder you deserve to be. So, let's find out about the ten fattest mistakes you can make!
(Note: the titles denote what not to do or follow.)

Of course, this report is only the beginning, and part of a larger work - something I dedicated
several years of my life to completing. That is my own book, Lose Fat, Not Faith. While many
books focus on calories and exercises (which I do write about), I have found that the majority of
my clients struggle with the mindset and making a true commitment to living healthy. Therefore,
a large portion of this book, like www.LoseFatNotFaith.com, is dedicated to the personal
development aspect of healthy living.

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 1. Decisions and Goal-Setting Waste Time

Don't fail to make the decision up front.

Are you kidding me? Of course you've made the decision. You know you want to get rid of that
extra tire, exchange the six-pack of beer for the type of six-pack you can show, rather than share,
at the beach. It was a simple choice, wasn't it? You're sick and tired of being overweight, so it's
time to go. Right? Wrong again. Wrong!

The biggest mistake many people make is starting a fat loss program without truly making a
decision. Sure, you know you want to get rid of the extra weight, but have you stopped to truly
think about why? It may seem trivial, but having a deep, meaningful reason is critical to success.

It is one thing to throw the scale into the corner and bust down the gym door with a barbaric yell
and start smashing iron around, or to throw on the latest cardio tape and do step aerobics until
your legs are numb. Eventually, you will lose that initial high, and reality will come crashing
down in its entire splendor.

You spent years filling those sacks of adipose tissue with extra fat calories, so why would you
expect them to empty their precious load overnight? You'll prepare a healthy meal and suddenly
it will look too bland, or even revolting, and the only thought on your mind will be something
taboo -- something unhealthy.

Or you will hear the alarm blaring and decide you are just too tired. You might be staring at the
treadmill and suddenly get the uneasy notion that it is mocking you, and decide you don't feel
like struggling with the sweat and pain today.

It is during these moments of weakness that the decision comes into play. If you just jumped into
the endeavor chances are, it will be just as easy to jump out.

Sure, you are overweight, but man, that meal makes you happy, so you're just gonna sit down
and have it anyway, right?

Oh, yeah, you wanted to drop weight, but these workouts are tough, and don't you just want to
rest? Sure, you can rest. There is always tomorrow to train.

You know what? It has been a rough week. Let's just start over again next week.

You lull and coddle yourself into a pipe dream that isn't real, but hey, you let it seem real -- you
let it pull you in. You haven't truly committed to anything, so it gives you a nice, comfortable
back door -- push the eject button and stay awhile.

Let's get real. You've spent many years living a certain way. You do not know what it feels like to
be lean, strong, and healthy. Sure, you can try to imagine it or read articles about it, but how does
it really feel?

[3]
Don't you owe it to yourself to make a choice -- an informed decision? Can't you handle living a
few months differently than you have before, even if you hate every moment of it, if it means
emerging from the other side with a new physique, a new you? It might be a battle, but then you
will know what it feels like to com e out victorious. If it isn't what you had chalked it up to be, feel
free to lapse and fall back into old habits. But , you will never really know for certain if you don't
give it a try.

Make a goal. But don't just make it. Make it real. Make it tangible. It should not be "I will lose
weight."

Instead, "I will lose 40 pounds," is better.

"I will lose 40 pounds by July of next year" is probably best.

Did you know that the only difference between a dream and a goal is a deadline? You need a
specific deadline. Y ou want something realistic?

This is the real thing. A Real Transformation. The photos in this article are not touched up
pictures with a professional model, but real live examples of me at my worst and my best.

If you are overweight, you can transform yourself. You just have to be willing to do it. And
unlike the infomercials promise, it is not instant and it is not easy.

Consider this:
Men can typically lose between 0.5 - 1.5 percent of their body weight per week in fat if they are
aggressively performing cardio and resistance training, and eating in a healthy way. Women are
more in the 0.5 - 1 percent range.

If you are male and sitting at 300 pounds, then look to lose between 6 - 18 percent of your weight
(18 - 54 pounds) in 12 weeks.

Wow, a big range, I know, but let's get real -- you know where you are starting and how well you
will stick to it. Slow and steady? 18 pounds is comfortable. You think you're ready to go all out,
and hit it like no tomorrow? Then set those sights high and take the 54 pounds.

It is not enough just to want to lose the weight. You need compelling reasons. If you don't have
them, your mind will play tricks with you every step of the way. It is very easy to talk yourself
into "I will be happy if I just eat this piece of food so I am going to do it" -- if you don't have a
solid reason not to.

Just want to drop the weight? Who cares? Take an eternity! Doing it for health? Then realize this
isn't something to stop and start at will -- it is a full-time commitment. If you are doing it for your
children, then know that you need to set a consistent example around the clock, not just when it
is convenient.

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Set those goals, know your reasons, and explain how you will achieve the goals. W rite your goals
down. Put them on paper. Share the word with everyone you are comfortable with. Print
multiple copies and carry them with you. Read them every day. Most importantly, make a solid
decision. Don't lie to yourself and sell yourself short -- this is a major undertaking. And once you
form your decision, be willing to see it through to the end.

This "Fat Mistake" is also an excerpt from Lose Fat, Not Faith. Click on the link to learn more
about this success guide that spans more than 300 pages.

[5]
 2. Cardio Until You Crawl

Don't put too much emphasis on cardio.

For some reason, aerobic exercise continues to be pushed as the end-all and be-all answer for fat
loss.

It does not take much common sense, however, to look around and realize this may not be the
case. Consider the number of overweight aerobics instructors you see in the gym. Evaluate the
information available that female aerobic instructors are more apt to seek liposuction than any
other group except actresses.

When we look at marathon runners, we see they are lean ... but so are sprinters, and I don't know
many sprinters who spend hours at a time on treadmills or recumbent bicycles.

Excess cardio work, a huge stumbling block for fat loss, stems from an argument that sounds
entirely logical. Let's do a little Energy Systems 101 so we can better understand why this myth is
so prevalent, and figure out what to do to dispel it.

First, your body has something called energy systems that are used to fuel activity. Contrary to
what some people may believe, your body draws on all of these systems, all of the time. The
activity you perform, however, dictates which system is the one mainly being used (not
exclusively). Just as your body always gets some of its energy requirements from protein, your
body is always using a little bit of each system.

Two systems are anaerobic, which means they do not use oxygen. Th e ATP-CP system is used for
short, intense bouts of work. Without getting too technical, a molecule in your muscle cell is split
to generate energy, and creatine phosphate is used to rebuild that molecule so more energy can
be produced. This system is especially important for high intensity activity such as weight
training, but it only lasts for around ten seconds. Creatine supplementation can increase the
capacity of this system.

The second anaerobic system is known as the lactic acid system or anaerobic glycolysis. This
system is the predominant system for moderately intense activ ity that lasts around 2 minutes.
This system uses glucose (a form of sugar) present in your blood, or glycogen stored in your
muscle cells, for fuel. Post workout nutrition, such as shakes, may help recharge this energy
system and keep you primed for the next workout.

The final system, and the one that takes center stage with aerobic activity, is the oxidative system
because, yes, it uses oxygen. This system can use protein, carbohydrate, or fat for fuel, but relies
mainly on carbohydrates. What is interesting about this system is that, depending on your heart
rate; it will use more or less carbohydrate, protein, or fat. The lower your heart rate, in general,
the more it will use fat for fuel rather than carbohydrate or protein.

[6]
This is where science stops and pure speculation can ruin the whole affair. First, people get
excited when they realize that the lower heart rate burns more fat. If you think about it, sitting at
your desk or sleeping makes you a fat burning machine! While this is, to a certain extent true, if
you focus too closely on the details, you'll lose the big picture. What is most important for fat loss
is total calories, period and point blank. The type of activity you perform, the nutrition you use,
and even supplementation, will all affect this, but without the right calorie balance, you will
simply not have a net loss in fat.

Choosing a system that uses more energy from fat doesn't necessarily burn more fat. To illustrate:
let's say you are sitting at your desk for a few hours. You may burn, say, 80 calories and maybe
80% of those calories are from fat. (These are arbitrary numbers to illustrate a point -- you just
burned 80 total calories and about 64 of those were from fat.)

Now if you get on the treadmill and run on an incline for 1.3 miles in 10 minutes. You probably
burned 200 - 300 calories in 10 minutes. You may have only used 50% or even fewer calories from
fat, but in those 10 minutes on the treadmill, you still burned more fat than in 2 hours of sitting at
your desk! So, you can burn a high percentage of calories from fat , but a lower number of total
calories; or you can burn a lower percentage of calories from fat , but a higher number of calories.

The fact is, zeroing in on cardio is oversimplifying and setting you up for failure. Incorporate
some cardio. It is great for your heart. It helps to burn calories and will contribute to fat loss. But
nutrition is just as important -- you will have to stay on the treadmill for a long, long time to
make up for one super-sized value meal at a fast food restaurant.

Resistance training not only burns a ton of calories when done intensely, but it can actually raise
Not only that, it stimulates muscle growth. Muscle tissue burns additional calories and
contributes to your ability to drop fat. An interesting fact about gaining muscle is that more
muscle tissue means more enzymes and small cellular structures called organelles that are used
to burn fat.

Muscle tissue gives your body more materials used in the processing of fat for energy. Hence, its
contribution to helping you lose fat goes beyond just burning extra calories. This is why a
program that balances proper nutrition with cardio and resistance training is key to maximize fat
loss.

See also: Maximum Cardio

I tried to avoid citing specific studies for this article, but a few key examples may help drive
home the point.

Weight training combined with diet burns more fat than weight training by itself or diet by
itself. (1)

Weight tra ining combined with cardio burns more fat than cardio by itself. (2)

So the best combination appears to be all three! And don't get caught up in that more-is-better

[7 ]
mentality, either. Save the extra cardio and exercise for when you are closer to your goal. Add too
much, too soon, and you will simply burn out with nothing more to give.

[8]
 3. Never Weigh Yourself: The Scale Lies

Do not fear the scale

The truth is, many people use the scale to measure their progress and are successful with using it
as a fat loss tool. A good scale does not lie -- it tells you exactly how much you weigh.

The danger comes from interpreting that number the wrong way, or placing too much emphasis
on it. Understand that fluctuations in the scale do not represent pure fat or muscle -- it is a
combination of both. The scale reflects the amount of water you are retaining along with any food
that has not yet been processed by your system.

The key to using the scale is to understand this:

If you have a large amount of fat to lose, the scale will go down. If you are 300 pounds and unless you have
access to some cache of steroids like none other on the planet, you w ill be hard-pressed to drop 100 pounds
of fat and gain 100 pounds of muscle at the same time.

Your scale weight will fluctuate from day to day based on many factors, including the amount of
carbohydrate you ingest and the ratio of sodium to potassium in your food (both which pull
water into your system - carbohydrate through glycogen in your muscles and sodium through
water retention via the ion pump).

You might gain 7 to 10 pounds after a cheat day and even 4 to 7 pounds after a cheat meal. It
really depends on your nutrition plan and how drastic the cheat meal is. This rapid ga in is not all
fat. To gain 10 pounds of fat would require overeating 35,000 calories, a tremendous feat to
achieve and one that would be worthy of the record books. Instead, it is more than likely some fat
and a lot of water weight.

Don't weigh every day unless you are mentally ready to handle the fluctuations. I weigh each
day but I know my body fluctuates, so I do not freak out when I register a 3-pound rise from the
day before. I enjoy watching the trend, but it is the average weight change over several weeks
that I am more concerned with than day to day.

In short, do not use the scale as your only guide. You might gain 2 pounds of muscle and drop 2
pounds of fat in a given week, and the scale will not move. But taken as an average over time,
those with a lot of fat to lose should expect the scale to go down.

Very few people actually reduce body fat while the scale remains the same or moves up, and
those people are usually lean to begin with. Used in conjunction with tape measurements, skin -
fold measurements (body fat), strength, and other parameters, the scale is a great tool for those
with a lot of weight to lose.

Finally, there is one last reason why the scale could be an ally for someone standing to lose a
tremendous amount of fat.

[9]
Research shows that when you are extremely overweight, you are more likely to drop fat than
muscle when reducing your size.

The converse is also true: a lean person is more likely to lose muscle when they are cutting than
fat, which is why preparing for a bodybuilding competition is infinitely more difficult than
dropping the first 100 pounds of weight; because more care must be taken to preserve or even
increase lean muscle mass.

If you are over 30% body fat, focusing on the scale is probably your most accurate w ay to
measure success. Tape measurements will help, but skin-folds and other body fat assessments are
probably not going to be accurate. You can be assured, however, that even an aggressive 1% drop
in body weight per week (for a 300-pound person, this is 3 pounds per week) is more than likely
going to be fat loss and water weight if you are engaged in resistance training and obtaining
proper amounts of protein, carbohydrates, and healthy fats from your nutrition plan.

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 4. Body Fat Percentage is More Important
Than Weight Loss

Do not live and die by your body fat percentage.

Body fat is, like the scale, another way to gauge progress. But when you are extremely
overweight, body fat measurements can be extremely prone to error. It seems like every male
over 250 pounds is automatically 30% body fat regardless of his height or weight or size.

The fact of the matter is that many body fat measurements were not calibrated to extremely
overweight people.

The problem with worshipping a body fat measurement is that it can set unrealistic expectations.

I remember when I first computed my body fat. I quickly calculated what my lean mass was and
then did the math for what I would weigh at 8% body fat if I did not lose any muscle mass. Then
I started dropping pounds and eagerly waited for the day I would see my ripped six -pack. Of
course, that day came and went -- but no six-pack! I was frustrated, and like many people at this
point, made up the excuse, "My genetics must be keeping me from it .".\ The reality was that my
"measurement" was off by a long shot, and I put too much stock in that one measurement.

If you are curious and want to track your progress, use a comb ination of measurements. Sure,
body fat is a valid one to use because you do want that measurement to go down. But don't place
too much emphasis on its being the exact, correct measurement. Being able to state that you lost
exactly 10.5 pounds of fat and gained 2.5 pounds of lean mass in a given time frame might be
great for supplement ads or to promote the latest weight loss fad, but numbers that precise aren't
realistic without expensive, laboratory -grade equipment, or at least a very skilled professional.

Instead, use body fat, along with the tape measure and your scale weight, to track trends. Don't
worry about trying to figure out what you will weigh at a particular level of body fat, because
every person is different. It is hard to predict just how much lean mass you will gain or lose. I
have seen so many people, who do not even realize what lean mass is, frustrated by loss of lean
mass due to body fat calculations.

Lean mass is not only muscle -- it includes most of the nonfat substances in your body. Even fat
itself contains water, so when you lose a significant amount of fat, you lose a significant amount
of water. This will register as a loss of lean mass, but that does not mean you lost muscle!

It is amusing sometimes to see people who are far from seeing their six-pack claim they are 8%
body fat, while some who are ripped to shreds swear they are 18% body fat. This is an example of
where the number becomes too much of the focus.

Really, who cares except you? You are the key person -- if you feel great and like the way you
look, does that exact number really matter? Remember, we are not talking about a bodybuilding

[11]
competition here!

If you are really interested in giving yourself a reality check, consider the fat free mass index.

The equation is your weight (in kilograms) divided by your height (in meters) squared.

A study of elite athletes (some admitted steroid users and some not), combined with an analysis
of 20 Mr. America contest winners from the 1939-1959 pre-steroid era, determined that a fat free
mass index of 25 is pretty much an upper limit for someone who does not use steroids.(3) A fat
free mass of 19 is the average for males.(4)

To calculate your lean mass:

First, subtract your estimate for body fat from 100 to get the lean mass amount.

For example, if you believe your body fat percentage is 30%, then your lean mass percentage is
going to be 70% (100% - 30%).

Second, divide the result (e.g.,79% by 100 to get a decimal. In this case, the result is 0.7.

Third, take your weight and divide by 2.2 to convert it into kilograms.

Fourth, multiply the number of kilograms of weight (in this case, 84) by the percentage of lean
mass (0.9) to arrive at the number of kilograms of lean mass (in this case 76 kilograms).

Fifth, convert your height from feet and inches to meters by multiplying the number of feet and
inches by 0.0254.

For example: I am 5 ft. 10 inches tall (70 inches). 70 inches multiplied by 0.0254 = 1.78 meters.

Sixth, multiply the number of kilograms of lean mass by your height in meters squared to get
your lean mass index. In my case, that's 76 x (1.78 x 1.78) = 23.90.

In the study, the Fat Free Mass Index was adjusted for a 1.8 meter tall person. So,

Finally, to arrive at an adjusted Fat Free Mass Index (FFMI), use the following formula:

FFMI + 6 * (height in meters - 1.8). In my case, that means, 23.90 + 6*(1.78-1.8) or 23.90 - 0.12 =
23.78 or 23.8.

To Recap:
Fat Free Mass Index (FFMI) = Lean Mass (kg) / Height (m ) ^ 2
Adjusted FFMI = FFMI + 6.0 * ( Height (m) - 1.8 )

If you use this equation and find that your fat free mass index is higher than 25, then there is a
good chance your calculations are off. If it is less, it does not mean it is absolutely more accurate,

[12]
but at least it is in a more probable range.

If you have more than 30 pounds to lose, give yourself a break. The mirror and your clothes will
show if you are losing weight, and the last thing in the world you need to trouble yourself with
are these insane equations. You are fat and you now are eating better and working out. You are
losing weight and achieving your goal. Who cares what your body fat measurement is? You are
becoming less fat.

[13]
 5. Just Cut Fat and Carbs and You'll Be Home
Free

Do not think that fat or carbohydrates are the only macro-nutrients to tweak
in order to reach your goals.
Almost everyone agrees that protein is important. What becomes a matter for debate is the role
that other macro-nutrients, such as fat and carbohydrate, should play.

In the previous two decades, fat was considered the evil culprit. People in industrialized Western
countries were inundated with the message to avoid fat at all costs, and the food industry
responded by generating a plethora of new food items that touted their amazing low fat qualities.

Of course, the rise in obesity was not curbed despite the innovative new products that essentially
amounted to lumps of refined sugar with no fat to slow digestion.

Learn the Five Keys to Healthy Eating

Some of us have since learned our lesson, and realize that fats are an important part of the diet.
The mainstream has come to accept such space-age sounding terms as omega-3 and omega-6 and
even the average consumer can talk about eating cold-water fish and taking flaxseed.

We are still unnecessarily afraid of saturated fats, however. While saturated fats are definitely not
the most favorable fats, their consumption is not a prescription for a slow, agonizing death.

Someone who is maintaining or dropping weight will more than likely metabolize saturated fats
for energy. There are certain saturated fats like coconut oils that are a different type of saturated
fat than their animal counterparts (yes, even saturated fats have their own styles).

One of the greatest advantages of saturated fats is that they retain their molecular structure under
high heat. The recent increase in knowledge about trans-fatty acids has taught us to beware of
vegetable-based oils and other unsaturated fats.

While these oils may be healthy in the diet, when they are superheated (as in frying), they can
transform into carcinogens. A little bit of saturated fat, on the other hand, keeps your eggs from
sticking to the plate and does not add hundreds of calories if kept in moderation. An egg yolk
here or there, from the right type of egg (i.e., from free-range or grain-fed chickens rather than the
corn-stuffed mainstream version) can actually provide a healthy dose of healthy fats, vitamin E,
and high-quality protein.

Of course, once we realized that the irrational fear of fats was a knee-jerk overreaction, we had to
find some other obsession to craze the nutrition w orld with, so we focused on carbohydrates
instead.

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The notion of limiting carbohydrate intake has been around for several centuries. It has been
studied extensively for its role in treatment of epilepsy, but not everyone with a lot of weight to
lose suffers from recurring seizures.

It is not the concept of limiting carbohydrates that is new, it is the trendy marketing packages
that wrap them up and serve them to us. Nearly a thousand low-carbohydrate products have
been introduced to the market over the past few years.

Can you say, "trend"?

Let's get the facts straight. Your brain prefers carbohydrates as fuel. Your liver dedicates itself
almost exclusively to the management of carbohydrates in your bloodstream, so it stands to
reason our bodies were designed to handle carbohydrates. Muscle requires carbohydrates, stored
in the form of glycogen, to contract. While a low carbohydrate diet can slowly replenish muscle
glycogen through the process of converting proteins into sugars, this is an inefficient process.
Most people report feeling fatigued and drained, and like they have lost strength on low
carbohydrate diets.

Protein can and will be stored as fat if eaten in excess. While it requires more energy to
metabolize, it is not magic and will increase your midsection. On the other h and, reducing
carbohydrates may reduce your ability to train intensely. This, in turn, can reduce the number of
calories that you burn during a particular training session, which can therefore limit muscle gain
or even cause loss of lean tissue.

Everyone is different. People will respond to different ratios of fats and carbohydrates. Take a
step back, however, and don't get lost in the trend.

All macro-nutrients (water, protein, fat and carbohydrate) are important to fat loss. You should
not instantly minimize one or the other without understanding why you making the change.
Most people can successfully drop fat simply by restricting overall calories. This means it is okay
to eat the occasional cold-water fish or lean ground beef despite the fat. It means that a baked
potato or piece of fruit is not going to automatically shut down your ability to drop weight.

More important than obsessing over carbohydrates or fats is to find a program that you enjoy
(Who wants to live on foods they don't like?), and that supplies sufficient energy to allow you to
both train intensely and recover fully.

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 6. I Don't Want a Photograph of Myself Now
When I am Fat. It's Embarrassing. I'll Wait
Until I’ve Lost All My Weight Before I Take
A Picture.

Do not make the mistake of not taking a "Before Picture."

In August of 1999, I stood in front of the blinds at the front of my house and waited patiently as
my wife snapped a photo of me holding a newspaper for a competition I would enter. At the
time, this was just a necessary step for the competition. I did not think much of it, except that I
felt humiliated and disgusted.

When the pictures came back, two things happened.

First, I realized what an amazing woman my wife is for being so supportive of what I saw, and
second, I w as fully motivated to make a change because, while I trick myself looking in the
mirror, the photo did not lie.

Not everyone is entering a competition for prize money, and not everyone is comfortable sharing
his or her photographs. Some people are starting out much heavier than the 245 with which I
began my own journey. However, I cannot tell you how powerful taking a picture can be. It may
be the one decision that makes or breaks your efforts to lose fat!

Even if you have no plans of sharing that picture with anyone else, take it. Tuck it away
somewhere safe. You might not even want to look at it for months. But, inevitably, two things
will happen.

Those who struggle or hit roadblocks will pull out that old photograph. It will remind them of
how trapped they felt before they began the long journey to losing fat, and it will inspire and
reinvigorate them to continue the journey.

Or, someone who is making great progress will look back and, with nostalgia, vow to never
return. They will study that photo and use it as continuous motivation to live the healthy
lifestyle.

If you transform and decide you never want to share that picture with anyone, you don't have to.
But what if you did not take the picture and suddenly you want to remember where you came
from, or to share it with someone else to prove that they, too, can make the journey?

It would be a shame and a great regret to find you had no photographs to share. This is where the
power of the picture really comes into play -- it is not only something that can help you with your
journey, but it holds tremendous power to spur others to make the amazing change themselves.
And that can and should encourage you to continue -- not because you need to drop those

[16]
pounds, but because in doing so, you'll not only be making a difference in your own life, but for
the lives of others as well!

[17 ]
 7. I Missed Two Workouts This Week So I
Might as Well Give Up. The Black and White
Syndrome.

Do not get stuck in an all-or-nothing mindset.

I first learned about this from David Greenwalt, a former coach and mentor of mine who helped
me break the mysterious "single digits body fat" barrier in 2000. Understanding this made a huge
difference with my progress!

Just because you can't see it, doesn't mean it is not happening. Sometimes you might be
improving your health in less visible ways.

It seems there is a prevalent "either/or" mentality that can disrupt many programs. Either you are
perfect, or you just give up. Either you train at exactly 4:30 a.m., or you simply don't train that
day. The either/or, or black and white syndrome, can interfere with a lot of progress.

Keith Klein, a well-known and respected nutritionist, has a great way of describing this. He
compares it to a car. When you get a flat tire, what do you do? If you can, you change the tire. If
you don't know how, you have someone help. Eventually, you repair or replace the tire and
move on.

So why is it, on nutrition programs, that people get a flat tire, then instead of fixing it and moving
on, they insist on flattening all of the other tires as well? It is like taking a crow bar and smashing
the car instead of saying, OOPS, there is a setback, time to move on.

This can be applied to working out as well. For example, someon e might read that morning
workouts are superior for burning fat. Without debating whether or not this is true, the either/or
mentality would say that if you cannot get your workout done in the morning, why even bother.

In reality, working out in the evening is still better than not working out at all -- you should train
when you can do it consistently, and when you have the most energy. So if you cannot always
train in the morning, why not go ahead and try it in the evening? Be flexible and don't get caught
in the black and white syndrome.

Another example comes with rest between programs. People recognize the need to take some
time off from training every once in a while for recovery or sometimes even special "detraining."

One complaint I get is, "It was so hard to discipline myself to get up at 4:30 a.m. to train. If I take a
week from training, I will break out of that habit and not be able to start again."
This is a great example, because let me rephrase: either I wake up at 4:30 a.m. to train, or I sleep
in. Why not compromise? Why not spend that week waking up at 4:30 and then writing down
new goals, or reading a new book, or taking a calm walk? Keep the schedule, keep the discipline,

[1 8]
but let your body have a break! There are many other examples to follow, b ut the fact is, there
will never be a perfect 8 weeks or 12 weeks or whatever time frame you design your program
around.

Life happens, and obstacles appear. You can choose to have a rigid, inflexible standard for
yourself, and allow the first bump in the road to derail your progress, or you can avoid the black
and white syndrome, and adapt to changes while focusing on progress.

Envision yourself standing in front of the mirror, a satisfied

smile on your face because you have finally lost the weight
you were struggling to drop.

More importantly, you are happy because you have

become who you DESERVE to be - you finally feel you are
doing it RIGHT and that this is something you can LIVE
WITH.

Why don't more people experience this exciting moment?

Is it because they don't know the true secret to permanent
weight loss and healthy living?

Don't you deserve to find out?

Visit Lose Fat, Not Faith – http://ebook.losefatnotfaith.com/

[19]
 8. I Didn't Lose 10 Pounds in 2 Days Like I
Planned So I Might as Well Give Up.

Do not think you can undo overnight what it took years of neglect to create!
We all are trapped by some notion that we need to see changes right away. We give a program
our full, all-out effort, but within 2 weeks we don't see our abs or cuts in our legs or the scale
stops moving and instead of progressing, we stop. We step back. W e try to change things, switch
programs, or buy a new supplement. The fact is, that first program may have been the best one --
but if you are too impatient, you may never know.

It took years to build the physique you have now.

I sometimes jokingly refer to my before pictures as the biggest investment of my life. I look at the
gut I had at 245 pounds and think
about how many six packs, pizzas,
fast food visits, videos I sat and
watched instead of training, etc.,
went into building something that
large.

This is not meant to belittle anyone

who is overweight -- it is an honest
tool I have used to motivate
myself. Like it or not, a lot of time
and lack of energy went into
building your physique!

While some people have

experienced rapid weight gain, for many this was a gradual change. It started out when the first
pair of 34" pants got too tight, and after losing patience with squeezing into them, pulling in your
gut, and not tucking in your shirts, you went ahead and bought the next larger size. This lasted
for another several months, and then you went up a size again.

What is nice is that jeans and slacks can be forgiving -- we can stretch and squeeze into them for
quite some time before the zipper stops working or the buttons pop off. So, over time, we invest
in size.

This investment, however, is not going to suddenly unroll. Just as it took time to put the weight
on, it will take time to take it off.

Let's be very real here -- while the weight may drop quickly during the first few weeks or even
months, ultimately (and optimally, I might add), you may only lose a few pounds per week.

[20]
When you have 100 pounds to lose, that may seem like it will take an eternity. What is worse,
you typically don't allow yourself to see the changes until you reach lower body fat levels -- this
is when the muscle definition shows through and the abs start to pop.

At that level, changes can be seen almost weekly -- but until then, you simply become a smaller
you, and the flab still hangs on.

This can be very frustrating. But the trick is to use many ways to gauge your progress and not get
too caught up in one or the other.

Accept that this will take time. Even if you only lose 1 pound in a month, guess what? That is 12
pounds a year. With 100 pounds to go, you can only move closer to, not farther from, your goal.

A few tips to help pass the time:

Take pictures and use these to monitor your progress (see tip #6)
Buy a pair of pants that is one size too small. Then, periodically try this pair on until you can
fit. Then, buy the next size down.
Take waist, biceps, and other measurements. The waist should always be going down, never
going up, as you drop your weight.
Find examples of other people who have lost similar weight. Read their stories. Look at their
pictures. Talk to them and learn what to realistically expect.
Remind yourself of the time it took to gain the weight, and don't expect to lose it any faster.
Look at other indicators of progress. If you did not lose a pound this week, think of the fact
that other changes are happening as well. You may be reducing your cholesterol, lowering
your blood pressure, and in general, improving your health.

Don't give up. Focus on progress, no matter how slow, and keep in mind that every pound you
lose, no matter how long it takes, is another pound of unwanted fat you will not have to deal
with again!

[21 ]
 9. This New Super-Cool Thermogenic is How
Mr. Universe Loses Weight and Maybe It'll
Work For Me.

Do not think that supplements are the only way to lose fat.
How often have you wondered, what supplement will burn this fat for me? Or have you been on
a forum or in a chat room, and heard, "I just tried a new fat burner, and man, it is really working
for me."

You felt a surge of excitement, a firsthand testimonial. You quickly ask what the product is, and
rush out to buy it. And when you get it, it does work. You feel a rush. It feels great. You are
skipping.

But a few months later, the weight loss stalls again. What w as it? I know … I know … your body
"adapted" to the supplement, right?

In reality, supplements are a complex matter and the point of this article is not to debate which
ones are effective and which ones aren't. But , after working with countless people who have had
a ton of weight to lose, I can tell you this: supplements are not the solution.

There are merely tools, like a screwdriver, that can help you create the solution and achieve your
goals, but they cannot fix bad nutrition or lack of intensity in the gym. A screwdriver, by itself,
may help you drive a screw into wood or some other material but ultimately, you are the one
who has to perform the work. The tool itself helps perform the work, but you must put forth the
effort.

Covering all supplements and their effects is beyond the scope of this article. Will Brink,
however, has written a complete, unbiased, independent guide to diet and weight loss
supplements . . . containing little known information about ineffective "fat burning" products that
could save you a small fortune (this is information the diet and weight loss supplement industry
spends millions to hide from you).

There are many supplements targeted at burning fat. Many of these supplements are surrounded
by hype. The one supplement that has been studied the most for losing fat, the renowned ECA
stack (the combination of ephedrine, caffeine, and aspirin), has come under fire for more political
reasons than anything else, and therefore is being pulled from the shelves by many
manufacturers.

Even this supplement, which was very effective during many research trials, only achieved the
equivalent of an extra 50 - 150 calories per day. This same deficit could be easily obtained by
limiting portion sizes or increasing activity. The problem with this is that someone who has a
very detailed nutrition plan can afford to make a tweak that is 50 - 150 calories. Their nutrition
and training are consistent and the additional "burn" may be beneficial. Many people, however,

[22]
are haphazard with their nutritional approach. They consume foods based on eyeballing the
portion sizes and allow themselves to snack on various foods throughout the day and even take
entire days to eat whatever they like.

Many supplements are marketed based on the "I feel it" syndrome. Most end users do not keep
detailed journals of their weight or measurements or even food logs. So they really have no clue
if something is working or not. They only have their emotions to go on. So when they start taking
a product, it gives them a buzz or some other kick. This makes them believe they can "feel" the fat
burning, literally "sense" the supplement working.

While this is great for sales, it does little to really help you move closer to your goal - feeling a
buzz from drinking a cup of coffee or popping a thermogenic pill is a far cry from actually
burning fat. As I mentioned, supplements will not and cannot fix a broken program. You must
already have the discipline to control what goes into your mouth and what effort you put forth
when training. Once you have established this baseline, you can look to adding these new tools.

Be realistic. Regardless of what the latest study says, you need to kn ow if it works for you. Saying
that most people lose an extra 5 pounds of fat is fine, but that doesn't help you. You are not "most
people." You are unique in your environment, with your own set of genetics, your own training
regimen, and your own nutrition. So, study the supplement and go to the sources. Don't learn
about protein powder by reading articles published by protein powder companies. That is like
asking Phillip Morris if it is okay to have a cigarette.

Instead, dig deeper, find qualified research, ask fitness professionals, and read FAQs and other
sources of information.

Take the supplement, but keep that journal. You should assess the effectiveness based on how
your weight changes or how much closer you come to your goals, not how you feel when taking
it.

By all means, cover your nutritional bases. Recent research suggests, and I firmly believe, that
everyone should be taking a quality multi-vitamin.

Remember, supplements may help, but you must put forth the effort yourself, and remember
they will not rescue your program, only help an already effective one perform better.

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 10. I don't need to diet; exercise will just
"burn it off."

Do not get caught in the trap of thinking you can eat anything you like,
because you can simply exercise to "burn it off."
I have heard this time and time again. "I am going to be fine for Thanksgiving dinner. I'll just run
a few extra laps."

Not that I think that running or exercising after overeating is a bad idea. It is not. It is a good idea.
It is smart to burn extra calories and train to take advantage of the extra calories you consumed.
But it can be fatal to assume you can consistently overeat and then fix it through training.

Let's be realistic. A person who runs an incredibly intense 20 -minute HIIT session may burn
around 400 calories. That is fine if your splurge was limited to a few extra French fries or a typical
Snickers bar. But when you consume a large plate of Italia n pasta in a cream sauce loaded with
sausage and then have that Cesar salad on the side with the buttered down rolls and finish it up
with a chocolate mousse pie and espresso shot mixed with Kahlua, you may be in for a surprise.
This meal, alone, can account for 1000 - 2000 calories due to the fat, alcohol, and carbohydrate
content (there may be protein, too, but not as much as a bodybuilder would desire). So a simple
20 minutes hard on the treadmill, or even an hour going easy, just won't cut it.

What is worse is that your body continuously adapts to your level of nutrition intake and
exercise. Eventually, homeostasis will slow your metabolism. At this point, the only solution will
be to eat less. Normally, you could increase exercise, too, but you are already overdoing it by
continuously knocking out hours of cardio to overcompensate for meals that you could have
simply controlled in the first place. Not a fun situation in which to be.

The most sane approach to losing fat is to balance your nutrition an d training. You do not
necessarily have to weigh everything or count calories, but you need to be consistent. Whether
you know a meal is 400 calories, or a cup of something, or a fist -sized portion of something, is
irrelevant. What is relevant is that you have a consistent method of making that meal.

This way, if you find you need to cut back in order to lose more, you can move to 300 calories or
¾ of a cup or just less than your fist size. Be consistent with your portions and you will be able to
adjust them. Nutrition is by far the major component that determines success or failure for fat
loss. So eat clean, most of the time, and try to allow yourself only occasional cheat meals. One
meal a week should be fine, and then adding exercise to compensate is n ot necessarily a problem.

It is when you overeat every day that no amount of exercise is goin g to account for those
additional calories. Probably the most important thing to consider is the mentality behind this.
Regardless of the science, giving you the ability to "exercise off" the calories is just giving yourself
an easy out, a backdoor, and an excuse. It is keeping you from truly committing to the lifestyle. In
the back of your mind, you never truly have to learn to enjoy the new, healthy way of eatin g

[24]
because you can always slip and burn it off. It is exactly this thinking that can prevent you from
succeeding at Point #1 -- truly making a decision. So, don't sell yourself short or give yourself any
excuses. Forget the nonsense about burning it off. You are looking at it backwards. Instead of
burning off the foods you eat, eat to fuel your body for the workouts you use to build a better
body and burn off the unwanted fat. There is a cliché expression that describes this perfectly: Eat
to live, do not live to eat.

[25]
 Conclusion
In my experience, these are the top ten (10) major mistakes many people make when trying to
lose a lot of fat. More important than avoiding these mistakes, however, is focusing on the
positive changes that you can make to take you closer to your goal.

A friend of mine, Cory Babstock, started at 300 pounds. He is now under 200 and I am coaching
him for his first bodybuilding competition. He shared with me the top ten (10) things he has
focused on to remain successful while dropping fat. I would like to share that list to conclude this
article.

Cory's List
Set goals
Keep a journal
Educate yourself
Move your body
Eat, but eat smart
Keep the focus
Maintain intensity
Ignore distractions
Embrace success
Succeed

[26]
 Footnotes
1. Ballor, DL et al. Resistance Weight Training During Caloric Restriction Enhances Lean Body
Weight Maintenance. Am J of Clin Nutr. 47 (1): 19 -25, 1 988.
2. Westcott, W. Resistance Weight Training with Endurance Training Improves Fat Loss. Fit
Mgmt, Nov 1991 .
3. Kouri EM, Pope HG Jr, Katz DL, Oliv a P. Fat -free mass index in users and nonusers of
anabolic-androgenic steroids. Clin J Sport Med. 1995 Oct;5(4):223 -8.
4. Schutz Y, Ky le UU, Pichard C. Fat-free mass index and fat mass index percentile s in Caucasians
aged 1 8-98 y. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord. 2002 Jul;26(7 ):953 -60.

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