10 Fat Loss Myths (First Five here)

There are misleading programs and tactics that are not only ineffective but often dangerous when it comes to fat loss. Below are 10 FAT LOSS MYTHS that you must know about.

MYTH 1: ELIMINATING FOOD GROUPS WILL CAUSE FAT LOSS

This myth is a bit confusing, so let’s set the record straight.
Eliminating (or at least minimizing) certain foods such as foods that are high in sugars) should be part of your transition into healthy eating. You always want to minimize the number of high fat (low energy) foods whenever possible.

However, eliminating complete food groups from your diet and focusing on eating only one kind of food are not only very difficult to stick with, but in order to maintain a healthy diet, you need a well rounded selection of wholesome foods from all of the food groups. So when you hear about a diet that consist of just eating CARBS or Protein or Fats instead of a healthy mix of all three you can pretty much be 100% sure it won’t last and won’t work for long.

MYTH 2: DRINKING COLD BEVERAGES REDUCES FAT

This is a very common myth that actually is believable if you consider the reasoning behind it.

The myth goes on to indicate that because your body needs to heat up the water, it automatically begins to burn calories whenever you drink cold water. This calorie burning frenzy continues until your body has adjusted the water temperature to be that of your regular body’s warmth.

While drinking water (at any temperature) is an important part of any weight loss system, don’t count on losing weight just from drinking alone. And even if it sounds good in theory, the energy used to heat up that water is so little that it won’t have an effect in itself on your weight loss.

Water does however help to flush out your system keeping you healthy and free of toxins, but you cannot burn calories just by drinking it without a healthy diet.

MYTH 3: SPOT REDUCTION WORKS

If you focus your exercise and weight training on specific areas of your body you will be able to reduce the amount of fat in that specific area. FALSE!!!

In reality, there is no such thing as spot reduction, and instead as you begin to work out and exercise you will start to lose weight evenly throughout your entire body.

Another common myth is that a high number of repetitions will burn more fat, when in truth, fewer repetitions with a heavier weight will actually cause you to burn more fat in a shorter amount of time than a higher number of reps with a lighter weight.

MYTH 4: LOW CALORIE DIETS ARE THE ONLY WAY TO LOSE WEIGHT

Nearly every diet out there focuses on lowering your calorie intake and increasing your overall level of activity, and rightly so. The problem comes when dieters believe that by dramatically reducing their calorie intake they will shed the weight and keep it off.

It’s important to gradually reduce your calorie intake so that your body’s natural system doesn’t shift into ‘starvation’ mode, which triggers your system into believing that you need to store food for a possible period of famine (this has been part of our system since the beginning of man).

You also need to watch out for a disruption in your body’s natural metabolic pace, as dramatic reductions in calories can slow it down making it harder to shed those pounds.

MYTH 5: YOU MUST WORK OUT AT SPECIFIC TIMES

I’ve seen this myth circulate the weight loss communities many times over the years and while the “best time of day” always seems to change, the basic idea remains the same:
You need to work out at specific times for maximum results.
In reality, you really don’t have to work out early in the morning, late at night or anything in between as long as you are actually exercising.

Focus more on maintaining a consistent schedule of activity and less on when you actually get it done.

For busy moms to business owners, being able to set a specific schedule isn’t always the easiest thing to achieve, so it’s great news that the real facts are that regardless of when you actually exercise, your body will burn the same amount of calories for the same workout regardless of the time of day.

Stay tuned for the next 5 Fat Loss Myths. They will be out in the next blog post.

Come in and sit down with me for a free consultation and go through a TRIAL SESSION to see what it’s really like to get fit and healthy.

Chad Cannon is the owner of Shaping Concepts Fitness Training Center in Bluffton, SC.

Chad thanks Peter Carvell for his contibution to this blog post.

Fitness Professionals... What are you paying for?

One of my clients told me a great story recently.

Nancy, who has been a client of mine here at Shaping Concepts Fitness Training Studio for about 5 years was recalling how back in the day, when she belonged to the local Gold’s gym. On her very first day she was given a free personal training session where she was taken over to one specific wall of machines, about 8 machines in total (even though there were over 50 machines in the gym) and was shown one time how to adjust the seat height according to her own height. She didn’t actually do anything on any of the machines accept about 5 reps just to figure out how to use them. The trainer wrote on her little workout card that she needed to do 3 sets of 12 reps at a certain weight.

So Nancy said for years and years, because she is very religious about doing her exercise, she did this same routine at the same weight, same seat adjustments, same repetitions, same number of sets, same everything. Year after year! She did it because that is what her trainer told her to do… Her trainer that she was given to her, for free, for a one time “personal training session”.

I’m sorry but this is not PERSONAL TRAINING! There is nothing personal about what he gave her. Nothing! He probably didn’t even know her goal, or even bothered to ask. Nancy said to me the other day how stupid she was for doing that same routine for so many years. She knew she was never improving in any way, but kept doing the same routine because that’s what her so called trainer said to do.

There are reasons why personal trainers are not considered as professionals. This is one reason.

Times have changed!!!

Nancy has been attending fitness sessions here at Shaping Concepts for many years now. Here’s some of the main reasons why…

We want to know what your goals are from the get go. At Shaping Concepts you don’t pay much for the training session itself. What you are paying for is the program design. We follow a very drawn out design that has been made just for your specific goals.

And forget about sitting on machines, we want you to move and be active. Move functionally, as you do throughout your entire day. You would be very surprised how many squats, lunges, pushing, and pulling movements, and rotations you do all day long. So this is how we train. I mean I can’t remember the last time I did a seated leg extension with a load down at my ankles in the middle of the day, so why would I train my body for that?

And don't forget about learning how to eat properly for your goals and overall health. We do that too. Infact that's 80% of you getting the results you want. When's the last time someone from the local gym told you that?

Another reason to come to Shaping Concepts or any training studio, and not a gym is this…
We are going to teach you about fat loss!

You could do this on your own, or at your local big national chain gym… mobilize fat, transport and oxidize it in the body, keep the insulin stable and glucagon high, raising your metabolism and make sure your omega-3 intake is optimum. Alright GO!

OR

You could join my studio and I’ll take care of all that for you!

This is what today’s fitness professional is. So don’t make the mistake of hiring yourself a personal trainer. Instead go find yourself a fitness professional that knows how to do all this and knows how to come up with a program design according to your goals and needs. Anyone can take you through an exercise routine. Not everyone, however, can teach you how to lose fat.

Your body changes by the minute. Stop doing the same exercises, the same weights, the same reps.

I AM THE SOLUTION TO YOUR PROBLEM!

Come in and sit down with me for a free consultation and go through a TRIAL SESSION to see what it’s really like to get fit and healthy.

Chad Cannon is the owner of Shaping Concepts Fitness Training Studio in Bluffton, SC

More Muscle = Less Fat

More muscle equals less fat. It’s a scientific fact!

I know, I know, you don’t want to look like a body builder. Let me tell you, as a fitness professional for 22 plus years now, you WILL NOT get huge bulky muscles unless you inject something into your body, and I highly suggest you NOT DO THAT! It’s unsafe, illegal, and will give you countless side effects for life!

But you still must be improving your muscle strength and muscle tone to increase fat loss. See the body burns fat through the muscle. So the more muscle you have, the less fat you have. It’s really that simple when it comes to fat burning.

You can lose weight with all the fad diets, and just doing cardiovascular exercise day in and day out, but you will not be burning fat. You will however be burning off your muscle when trying to lose weight with low-carb diets and too much cardiovascular exercise. If you do choose to take this harder way out, which most people think that it’s easier, you will see and feel the effects of losing muscle rather than fat. If you want to have the “flabby skin” look and be really run down all the time, then that’s your choice. You will still lose weight, but you will be very unhealthy, and probably have a higher percentage of body fat than when you started, and add that to a higher cholesterol and bad blood sugar readings. Your choice.

If you want to look good, feel good have great readings in your blood sugar, and cholesterol, then start strengthening those muscles.

Here’s an example of how true this is…

Many of you know I’ve had two surgeries on my arm recently, one for a pinched nerve, and the other a torn tendon, which I’ve had for over 3 years. So I’ve been doing really no resistance training for about 6 months. In this time, I’ve been running quite a bit, even training for a marathon.

So before all this happened I averaged about 12% bodyfat. Since there has been no “muscle training” and lots of cardiovascular training, my weight has dropped 20 pounds (I wasn’t trying to lose weight), HOWEVER, my body fat went up to over 20%. I haven’t weighed this little or had this much fat in 20 plus years. I mean I was down to 150 pounds. Here’s the other thing… I had no energy, and really didn’t look good. And more importantly people noticed all this about me.

Here’s what I’m doing now…

As I said I had two surgeries, and still can’t do much strength training, especially some of the functional movements I love doing. But I have started. So here’s the plan I’ve done for the last month: (each day only last about 20 minutes total, if that.)

Monday – 4-5 sets of Chest 15x / Back 15x (nothing over 50 pounds)
Tuesday – 4-5 sets of Shoulders 15x / Triceps 15x / Biceps 15x (nothing over 12 pounds)
Wednesday – the same as Monday
Thursday – the same as Tuesday
Friday – the same as Monday and Wednesday
Sat / Sun – off

(I do my leg exercises each time I run with injury preventative non-weight barring exercises)

Notice that there is NOT ONE ABDOMINAL EXERCISE in this routine!!!

Since I have 8 weeks until my marathon, I’m still doing quite a bit of cardio, which completely counteracts what I’m trying to accomplish.

My running routine is this:

Monday – 3-4 miles (about 30 min)
Wednesday – 20-25 (3-4 miles worth) minutes of interval training
Friday – 4-5 miles (30-40 minutes)
Sunday – 10+ miles (90+ minutes)
Again, this cardio is VERY counter-productive to what my goal is (trying to build more muscle).

MY RESULTS AFTER 4 WEEKS:

I’ve gained 6 pounds of muscle, and have lost about 7% bodyfat which is now down to 15%...and still dropping!

Now imagine what the results would be like if I weren’t doing all that counter-productive cardio. I should only be doing about 2-3 days of an average of 30 minutes.
By the way, remember I said I was doing NO ABDOMINAL EXERCISES? Well, I did this just to prove a point that tons of ab exercises don’t make your tummy tiny. I have a great 8-pack right now, after not having one 4 weeks ago at 22% bodyfat. All I did was uncover them. REMEMBER, THIS IS ONLY AFTER 4 WEEKS!




I have maintained my eating routine of eating right away each morning, and every 3-4 hours until right before I go to bed. Yes, I said MY LAST MEAL OF THE DAY IS 30 MINUTES (or less) BEFORE I GO TO BED. Each time I eat, I make sure there is a lean protein and a complex carb (higher fiber), and either a fruit or a vegetable. That’s it!

I did change my supplements a bit. As you know I take AdvoCare supplements, mainly because of the science and the product testing behind it. I have my Spark energy drink about 5:30am with 5 Catalyst (amino acids). I have an Arginine Extreme drink (for increased muscle endurance) mixed with a Mass Impact drink (for muscle building) 15 minutes before my strength training workout. I have a Post Workout Recovery shake after my workouts. Another Spark around 2-3pm. Sometimes I’ll try to have 3-5 more Catalyst. I have continued with other regulars such as OmegaPlex (Omega-3’s), Coreplex (multivitamin), Purple Champs (development of the brain, eyes, and nerves & overall health), and CitriZinc ((immune support). I will also have a Rehydrate drink (electrolyte replacement) before and after runs, and O2 Gold (enhances oxygen intake for prolong periods) on my long run days.

So I’m telling you all this so that you really understand the differences of losing “weight” and losing FAT! Honestly people, if you choose the rout of losing “weight”, 99% of the time you will be heavier in the future than when you started. That is a FACT, not an opinion! Losing “weight” is actually harder to do than losing fat. Think about it, you have to cut carbs, or even worse, cutting calories. That’s just not easy for anyone. I’m not sure why anyone would want to cut anything from their diet. You can eat more carbs and more protein, and actually eat more food than normal when you plan to lose fat. It’s also harder to do hours and hours of cardio in order to lose “weight”. When trying to lose fat it only takes 2-3 times a week for about 30 minutes.

Most people pick the losing “weight” option simply because of the strength training. The perception is that it’s hard, it’s painful, and it just flat out hurts all the time. That is only a perception. If done correctly, strength training can be fun and be done in a minimal amount of time. Being coached on how to train your muscles the correct way is vital as you want to do it in the most efficient way possible.

There you have it. It’s your choice, but know that I will always pay more attention and work more with those that choose the losing FAT path. The path that people choose tells me a lot about what type of person they are. Trust me when I say this, I know it when you choose the losing “weight” option. I can see right through it, and so can everyone else.

Again, it’s your choice. I don’t want to steer you towards one path more than the other, but…

Okay are you kidding me???? Of course I do! Everyone needs to burn FAT, not just lose weight. This is what makes you a healthy person or not. And that is what it’s all about… being healthy and fit!

If you would like help in losing that unwanted FAT and become a healthier, come in for a FREE TRIAL SESSION Today!

Chad Cannon is the owner of Shaping Concepts fitness studios in Bluffton, SC.

Big Factor in YOUR Success (FREE Gift for You!)

What is one of the biggest factors in YOU achieving success in reaching your fitness, health, and weight loss goals? It’s something everyone knows about. It’s something that everyone intends on doing. It’s something that is honestly one of the hardest things to get started doing, but does get easier and easier as time goes on.

Watch this video to find out what it is…




As said in the video, I’m giving you the perfect walking program for you to lose weight, and get a really good jump on your health. Trust me when I say this program really works. I’ve had many people go through this program, many times over. It’s a “progressive” walking program, meaning it begins easy and builds up for eight weeks, then all you do is repeat it. This “cycle” will keep your body guessing and working harder instead of getting bored and run down.

HOWEVER, this program will NOT get your butt out the door and do it for you. I can give you all the tools you need to get great results, but YOU have to be the one to get off the couch and hit the pavement. YOU have to be the one that decides to go out and get it done. YOU have to be the one that checks it off each day after it’s completed, and YOU are the one that has to live with the guilt if you skip a day or two, or completely fall off all together. I’ve given you this program that flat out works. If you follow it and stay CONSISTANT it will work. If you don’t lose weight with this program, I’d be absolutely amazed!

Now if you follow the program and eat crap, you will NOT get results. If you’re going to do it, eat healthy. Cheat a little, but eat 80% healthy everyday and you WILL lose weight.

EIGHT WEEK WEIGHT LOSS WALKING PROGRAM
(on the days where it has a total number of minutes, then two more numbers below it, this means it is an INTERVAL day, meaning the fist Monday, you will do fast walking for 30seconds, slower walking for 1minute for a total of 30minutes. On the first Saturday you will walk fast for 5minutes, then slower for 1minute for a total of 30minutes. All Wednesdays are medium paced.)

WEEK
1 MON-30 min. 30sec/1min WED-Walk for 20 min. SAT-30 min. 5min/1min.
2 MON-30 min. 1min/1min WED-Walk for 25 min. SAT-30 min. 5min/1min.
3 MON-30 min. 1min/30sec WED-Walk for 30 min. SAT-30 min. 5min/1min.
4 MON- 40 min. 30sec/1min WED-Walk for 30 min. SAT-40 min. 5min/1min.
5 MON-40 min. 1min/1min WED-Walk for 35 min. SAT-40 min. 5min/1min.
6 MON-40 min. 1min/30sec WED-Walk for 40 min. SAT-40 min. 5min/1min.
7 MON-45 min. 1min/1min WED-Walk for 40 min. SAT-45 min. 5min/1min.
8 MON-50 min. 1min/1min WED-Walk for 45 min. SAT-50 min. 5min/1min.

If you want to have more consistancy in your program with some one-on-one personal training, partner training, or even our small group boot camp and circuit classes, come in to Shaping Concepts and try us out. Everyone gets a FREE TRIAL.

Chad Cannon is the owner of Shaping Concepts fitness studios in Bluffton, SC.